52 Week Challenge: Question 3

52 Week Challenge: Question 3

What memories do you have of your father (his name, birthplace, birthdate, parents, and so on...)

KRISTIN:

Yet another tricky question for me. My memories of my dad are few. I was not raised by him and our relationship has been somewhat distant over the years. But I will say that in the last year my dad is coming through like a champ. He contacts me (and Stacey and Kelley) at least weekly if not more. Mainly through texting...but also phone calls and the mail. We are talking more than ever and it has been really nice. I am grateful to be learning more about him than I ever have before and it seems that he wants to be known more than he ever has before. I accept it and am grateful. Things that I know about my dad: he served a mission to Argentina, is very funny, hates the snow, loves to read, loves antiques, has very eclectic taste in music, loves sports, and worries about his daughters.

I have a few memories of him prior to my parents divorce... I remember running out to his brown truck when he would come home from work and being thrown up in the air. I remember eating cinnamon bears with him and watching Charlie's Angels. I remember riding horses with him. I remember the day we left him and moved out. I remember him coming to see us on several Christmases. I remember visiting him one weekend with my sisters and grandparents. I saw him a few times when he came to town when I was in college. He has always sent money on our birthdays and for Christmas. He also attended our wedding and paid for our hotel for our honeymoon in Vegas. :) When I was older and still lived in Utah I saw him a bit more often. But I haven't seen him in years. Tyler and I are thinking about taking a trip to Las Vegas (that is where he lives) with the kids maybe some time this year.

Because I wasn't raised by him I am changing the question around and I have asked him to tell me what his childhood was like. I was very close to his parents so I am curious to see what they were like as parents since I very rarely observed them in that role. They were absolutely fantastic grandparents!!

My grandparents tried for a long time to have children. Both of them were in their late 30's when my Grandma finally got pregnant. My dad was an only child for part of his life. Then his parents adopted a boy named Clayton. I think Clayton was around six or seven when he was adopted. They also had a foster son named Bobby whom they loved very much. Bobby drowned in a canal on a visit with his biological mother. It was devastating to them. Growing up there was always a tri-fold picture frame on an end table in their living room of my dad, Bobby, and Clayton. I know that my grandparents loved their boys and were grateful for them.

My grandparents lived on a farm in Provo, Utah off of Geneva Road out by Utah Lake. Their farm was one of my very favorite places in all the world. There were horses, cows, sheep, pigs, chickens, dogs, a huge vegetable garden, many out buildings, and an irrigation ditch that was always running with water. My sisters and I loved to play pioneer on their farm. It was our very favorite thing to do at their house.

Here is what my dad said:

My life growing up with Mom and Dad. When I was a child I really thought I had it bad. Too much work and not enough play. As I look back over the years of my youth, boy was I ever wrong. My childhood and teenage years were as perfect and as wonderful as a boy could have. I always knew that I was loved and wanted and that our home was a safe and protected place. Mom and Dad were strict and there were rules to follow: work hard and do your best, be kind to others, be honest, and live a clean moral life, obey to the best of your ability the commandments of God.

(I think this might have been a picture celebrating their engagement.)

My Mom and Dad always took an active part in my upbringing. We lived on a farm in Provo, Utah and besides farming Dad had a full-time job in the construction industry. Mom was a full-time wife, mother, and homemaker and she had a part-time job at an elementary school as a cook. I don't know how they ever found the time to do all they did every day. Farm work, occupations, rearing two boys, working at very responsible church positions. On top of that Dad was my little league baseball coach, my boy scout leader, and teacher of all things boy related. How to hunt, fish, trap, ride a horse, hit a baseball, drive a truck, and much more.

Mom had the worst job because she was the only lady in the house. (I never had any sisters.) Even when I was young she would jokingly say, "How can I ever get anything done in a house full of men?" But she accomplished miracles. We all pitched in and worked together. She taught me house keeping skills which I grudgingly learned, but became very useful in later years. Cooking, cleaning, dusting, dish washing etc. I still hate dusting to this day.

Besides being a wonderful homemaker and mother, Mom had many other skills, talents, and interests. Mom was a people person and loved entertaining and had many many friends that she loved to entertain in our home. People loved my mom and gravitated to her. Her laughter could light up a room and she had a crazy sense of humor. People always had fun at our house and her good home cooked food was legendary. Mom loved her church work and she served God by serving other people. Her positions included Primary President, Relief Society President, YWMIA President and she taught classes in all of the ward and stake organizations. My mom loved to sing and had a beautiful clear soprano voice. She sang in the ward and stake choirs with my dad. Besides church work and homemaking Mom had many and diverse interests. She was the 4H Leader for four of the clubs that I participated in. She was a leader in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. She enjoyed politics and served as a judge of elections and our home was an election polling place for many primary and general elections. Many of Mom's other interests included: reading, travel, history, cooking, family (especially the grandchildren). She and my dad loved sports and never missed any of my ball games. Mom loved the BYU Cougars. We watched the games on TV and before TV we would gather around the radio and listen to the Cougar games as a family.

I guess you could say that our family was a middle income rural family. We always had good food, a warm home, and tons of love and respects for each other. We were sometimes poor in worldly goods, but we had each other and that was what counted. I loved my Mom and Dad and I am proud of them and so thankful to be their son. Even though many years have gone by since Mom and Dad have passed on I still find myself reaching for the telephone to call them for advice or to share a bit of news with them. Mom and Dad live in my heart and continue to help and guide my life. I know that we will all be together again some day. Love, Dad


TYLER:

(Tyler's dad passed away from a heart attack when we were dating. Tyler's parents divorced while he was on his mission and Tyler was living with his dad when we met. I have several memories of his dad and they are hilarious and very much cherished. Although he passed away before we were married and our children were born, our children know their Grandpa Johnson well and his memory is very much alive in all of our hearts and minds.)

My father, Larry Luvern Johnson, was born in Duluth, Minnesota, on October 7^th to Alice Luella Johnson and Engner Axel Harris Johnson.  His mother was a school teacher and his father was a railroad worker.  He had an older brother Ed and a younger brother named Rick.  He grew up in a home out in the woods of Minnesota.  It sometimes doubled as a hunting lodge throughout the hunting seasons.  I remember a story he used to tell me about a pet deer they had while growing up.  He truly loved his time there.  At around 14 he, his brothers and his mom moved to Port Orford, Oregon.

He served a full-time mission in Oslo, Norway.  Both his father and mother spoke a little Norwegian but he had grandparents that were all fluent in it.  He really loved the people there and always had such amazing stories about living there and being in such a beautiful place.

He began his undergraduate at the University of Oregon in Architecture but then changed to Political Science and he transferred to BYU and went on to complete his Masters.

He worked for a bit in Provo utilizing his Political Science degree but was offered a job with IBM selling what was then new technology in giant server computers.  In his training for this job he learned many of the programming languages which gave him a whole new career in computer science.  He worked in the programming industry for many years and ended up becoming a professor of computer science at Utah Technical College (UTC).  It changed names from UTC to Utah Valley Community College to Utah Valley State College to the now known Utah Valley University.  He loved teaching.

My dad also loved to garden and landscape.  He truly loved working outside in our yard.  Whether it was the many rose bushes that we had in the front yard, the fruit trees in back, the blackberry bushes, or the enormous garden.

He loved to go camping.  I have so many memories as a kid being up in the woods all over in California and Utah camping with my dad.  We always had this awesome canvas tent that was huge or so it seemed and then when we got older we had a tent trailer for our camp outs.  It was always his dream to be a camp host at a campground near enough to home that would allow us to camp all summer long and still allow him to work and commute.  We did spend one amazing summer up in Yellowstone.  My dad took a position as a night auditor with the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.  This allowed us to have an all access pass to the entire park.  Dad would work through the night and then most weekdays and every weekend that entire summer we explored every inch of Yellowstone.  During that summer we lived just outside the park in a mobile home in Gardner, Montana.  It was a very memorable summer and such a great opportunity.  Part of the reason for this trip was for dad to share his love for the National Parks.  In one of his summers during his college years he spent the summer as an official park ranger in Teton National Forest.  He had such fond memories of that time and always wanted us kids to know the beauty and splendor of those national treasures.

Dad was a voracious reader.  Going to the library with him was always fun and interesting.  Trying to guess the size of the stack he would be bringing home was always a surprise.  Dependent upon the size of the books his stack would be a minimum of 12 inches tall.  Sometimes it would be multiples of that stack.  The crazy part is that he would always read through that stack of books in under his two week checkout time.

Dad never forgot about his degree in Political Science. He was always very involved politically in the community. He even ran for a city council position in Orem and had the whole family involved in his campaign.

Dad also loved to sing.  He joined a barbershop choir and also was involved in a quartet as well.  He sang bass and was always taking us kids along to sing in the ward choir.  Both mom and dad were very active in the ward choirs throughout my childhood.

Tyler and his Dad

Out of all the things my dad taught me over the years I think that his example of hard work was the most important. He was a very dedicated provider for our family between his job and what we did at home; he was always showing me by his amazing example the importance of work and getting the job done right the first time. I love my dad and his amazing example to me and I will always cherish the last year that he and I had together.

52 Week Challenge: Question 2

52 Week Challenge: Question 2 

Question Two: When and where were you born? Describe your home, your neighborhood, and the town you grew up in.

KRISTIN:

This one is more difficult for me. I was born in 1972.  I have lived in 15 different homes and in 7 different cities while growing up. I was born in Provo, UT. Where I lived until my parents divorced when I was four years old. My mom and sisters and I moved to Bonners Ferry, Idaho, then Orem, UT, Springville, UT, Springdell, UT, Kansas City, and Houston, Texas.

The place that holds the most significance for me and that is my true "hometown" is Springdell, a little gated community, up Provo Canyon that is between the Squaw Peak turn off and Bridal Veil Falls.

This whole blog is basically an homage to my life there and the significance of those years. They shaped me into who I am and put me on the path I am now. I am forever grateful. It is holy ground to me. I have described it in great detail on this blog over the years so I won't do so again. But I will describe our house there because it was super cool and my favorite house ever. Tyler and I would buy it in a flash.

Not the best picture but the only one I can find right now. That weird arbor has been added by the current owner.

It was built in the style of a Norwegian Manor house. About 80 plus years old now. (I also found out that it is now an approved site on the National Historic Properties list.)  I was told that a doctor built it for his Norwegian wife. Springdell was originally the site of summer homes for the wealthy citizens of Provo. My Grandma McKinnon said that when she was a girl she used to go up there and have picnics and get rowed around on the "lake"...it must have been much larger and grander back then because now there is only a small but beautiful pond.

Anyway, this house was made of gorgeous hearts of pine wood. It was painted brick red with black trim when we moved in and it still is to this day. The walls are dark polished hearts of pine wood half way up and then there is white stucco. There were wood and stone floors throughout. When you enter through the front door. You come into a stone floored entry. There was a beautiful staircase going up and a stone staircase going down and with the living room to the right and a hallway to the left. The flight of stairs going up was gorgeous wood with a beautiful carved railing with a landing halfway up and a huge multi-paned window and then it goes on up to the top floor. This led to the upstairs hallway. On the left side of the upstairs hallway there were rows of small closets with shelves and some were interconnected. Perfect for hide and seek. The shelves were long and wide enough that you could lay on them. Which I often did with my Bugs Bunny Flashlight and would read. The first bedroom on the right had gorgeous wood built in beds complete with reading lights. This was Stacey and Kelley's bedroom. My bedroom came next also on the right. It had three huge windows overlooking the back yard I could hear the Provo River rushing by. My room had gorgeous wood floors and had a little hallway with coat hooks and deep but very short closets with built in shelves. The little hall ended with an interesting shaped door which opened into the room we called "the alcove". It had low eves and a big window at one end. We used this as our playroom. We were told that back in the day this was the maid's room. There was a little buzzer/bell type thing on the wall in there. It was so cool. Back out of my bedroom and into the hall way and at the end of the hall was our bathroom. Totally vintage, darling, and charming. On the other side of the hall there was a little nook  with windows looking out into the dell. We put a desk there and telephone there. That was where "our phone" (me, Stacey, and Kelley's) was with our own phone number. We thought that was so cool!!

Back down on the main floor and to the entry...If you went left down the hallway you came to a closet at the end of the hall and to your right was another hallway that you could enter. The entrance to this other hallway could be sealed off with an enormous and thick wood door that was more like a wall panel that you had to use your muscles to slide over and it could be bolted from inside the second hallway. Once the door/sliding panel was bolted you couldn't even tell that there was a door there. Legend has it that this was put in the house due to the original owner's wife who was European and who was deathly afraid of Nazis and wanted to be able to block off and bolt closed the section of the house where her bedroom was located. In the master bedroom which was to the left and down the second hallway there were two walk in closets...his and hers. In her closet there was a trapdoor that led down into a tunnel that ran underneath our house and came up in the large abandoned chicken coop (that kind of looked like a mini-version of our house) that was behind the garage. She needed to have a way out!! Once my stepdad opened it up and jumped down in and looked around. The tunnel was sealed off part way...the part that went to the chicken coop. Also in my parent's bedroom on the wall was a buzzer so that the lady of the house could ring the maid who was upstairs in "the alcove" but it didn't work when we lived there.

In the middle of the hallway that could be sealed off was a larger bathroom and then to the right of that was Kirk and Jordin's bedroom. It also had large multi-paned windows and floor to ceiling built in bookshelves on one wall. Beautiful wood floors. So pretty.

If you went back down the sealed off hallway and out into the regular hallway and to the entry... if you went to the right when you walked in you entered our incredible living room. Gorgeous wood floors...so beautiful and spacious that ballet lessons were held there every Monday for the girls in the dell. The cathedral ceilings were 20 plus feet high. A huge multi-paned bay window that was three sided and boxy rather than curved and nearly floor to ceiling looked out onto the front yard. On the other side of the large room was another huge multi-paned window that ran nearly floor to ceiling and looked out on the back yard and views of Mount Timpanogos. There were huge beams from which giant black iron chandeliers hung. They looked very medieval and awesome to me. The beams were so big and so high that we hung a swing from them in our living room. I loved to swing and read a book in it. There was a huge stone fireplace made from large rocks from the Provo River. Next to that was a built in cupboard for wood. There were also floor to ceiling built in book shelves on one huge wall. It was a stunning room.

From one end of the living room you could step up into the kitchen. There was a little telephone nook to one side with scroll work and it was so cute. Our kitchen was very pretty with large multi-paned windows on two sides and what we called "the back door" that opened up to a little landing with stairs that went to the front yard and driveway. There was large white tile on the floor and small white tile on the counter tops. It was very pretty but an absolute pain to keep clean and white. (Yes, that was my job to mop that floor once a day...usually several times a day.) There was also a special spigot on our kitchen sink from which icy cold water from a near by spring flowed. That was what we always drank and it was the very best water that I have ever tasted. On the other side of the kitchen right next to our refrigerator was what we called "the cooler" which was original to the house. It was built into the wall and quite big almost the size of a refrigerator but looked like an old ice box on the outside. When you opened it up there were three shelves and in the bottom was cold running water that came from a spring. It kept what was in there nice and cool. We used to keep our bread, fruits and vegetables, and things like that in there. It was neat. Then you could go through a doorway from the kitchen into the dining room. The dining room had gorgeous multi-paned windows and built in lighted corner shelves with gorgeous scroll work. You could step down into the living room from the dining room.

If you went back to the entry way you could go downstairs. The stairs going down where beautifully polished river rock. On the first landing there was a multi-paned glass door going out into the back yard. If you kept going downstairs it led into a large family room. There was a fireplace down there as well with built in shelves on the sides. This was the part of our house that was carpeted. On the right side of the room there were a row of four doors. Each one opened into a big walk in closet...some had shelves and some did not. At the end of the family room there was a door that led to another bedroom. This was the bedroom that our nanny had. It also had it's own bathroom. You had to walk through this bedroom to get to the laundry room and our laundry room had an outside entrance. You could also lock the door between the nanny's bedroom and the laundry room. There was a micro hallway between the two rooms. When there was a nanny in residence which there nearly always was while we lived there we would have to lug all our laundry outside and bring it in through the outside entrance so as to not go tromping through the nanny's room. This was annoying!! But that outside entrance was perfect for sneaking out which I very often did. We had a super nice nanny, Amber, who is still like a sister to me who would never lock the doors and would let me sneak in and out as much as I wanted. It was fabulous!! On one wall of the laundry room there were rows of built in cupboards and pantry shelves for canned goods. At one end of the laundry room there was a door to another room that had a bunch of built in shelves. We called it "the sport room" this was where we kept all our skis, camping equipment, and sports gear. There was another little micro hall next to that door that led to a storage room...a previous owner had left quite a collection of rocks in shoe boxes down there that we loved to go through. From there it lead to another room which we called the "furnace room" this also had a coal bin that held the coal to put in our furnace. It used to be delivered once a year. The heating in our house was horrible and the so-called furnace barely put out any heat so we mainly used our two wood-burning fireplaces that had blowers and space heaters. It was chilly in the winter but always delightfully cool in the summer. We got wood delivered maybe twice a year as well.

If you went outside to our free standing two story garage it was pretty cool. We had a basket ball standard mounted on it. I loved to shoot hoops. If you went into our garage at the far end was a huge wooden box that my stepdad had built to hold the majority of the big chunks of coal that would be delivered. There was a door behind it that led to another storage room. We called this "the wood room" this was where we would stack all the wood and keep it when it was delivered. It smelled amazing. On the other side of the garage there were built in workbenches and it the far back there were stairs that led up to the large attic room. We didn't really keep anything much up there. That was where I would have slumber parties. It was perfect!! We could hook up a TV and VCR up there and watch movies all night. It was great!!

Our backyard was beautiful with views of Mount Timpanogos looming up on one side and Cascade Mountain so close it felt like you could touch it on the other. There were several large cottonwood trees and tons of lilac bushes and a few old rosebushes. We also had a blackberry bush. One of my favorite sounds is the sound of wind in the leaves of cottonwood trees...my nightly lullaby. Our lake house is surrounded by cottonwood trees as well and that sound is one of my favorite sounds of the lake. My parent hung up a hammock between two trees and there was a stone patio back there. It was beautiful but we very rarely played back there because we had the dell and the mountains to roam.

As far as what it was like to grow up there. Magical... and terrible... due to the utter dysfunction of our family while we lived there. But in the years that have followed it is the magic and the beauty that remains and outshines the darkness. It saved me then and it continues to save me now. The magic of Springdell is in everything I write and everything I am. The feeling of those who lived and loved in that place and in that house were palpable. The history close and encompassing. I am grateful to have added to the history of that place.

TYLER:

(I will add some pictures of Tyler's house growing up when I get them.Tyler grew up near the Old Trafalga Water Park on the hill that heads down towards Geneva Road. His backyard bordered a farm that was owned by a woman named Josie who had ducks, geese, rabbits, peacocks and all kinds of animals. I have heard many stories about Josie. Tyler and his brother Brett were also undoubtedly the menaces of the neighborhood as they rode their bikes and pummeled other kids in the surrounding orchard. Don't mess with the Johnson brothers!!  Tyler has told me many hilarious stories of his "adventures" in his neighborhood growing up and the cast of characters that lived there. It sounded like a fun place to live as a rowdy boy.)

I was born in 1971 in Castro Valley, California.  I do not really remember my childhood home until we moved to Santa Rosa, California.  We lived in that home until I was 3 or 4.  We then moved to Flagstaff, Arizona.  We then moved to Orem, Utah.  This was where I lived and grew up until I went on my mission.  The neighborhood was a kind of a circle drive with one entrance and exit. It was a relatively quiet neighborhood and a great place to grow up.  The Orem & Provo area was a great place to live as a kid and be a BYU fan.

My childhood home was a two story home with a very large yard.  We had an entire second lot that was filled with 2/3 grass and 1/3 garden.  Lots of mowing time and loads of weeding time as well.  We had a large deck on the back of the house and plenty of play space.  Our yard was often referred to as the Johnson park in the neighborhood.   It was my home for 14 years.  It was a great house and we had many fond memories created there.  It's interesting to see that the color my brother and I painted the house one summer way back when we were teenagers is still the color it is today. 

52 Week Challenge: Question One

52 Week Challenge: Question One

Our Bishop asked that our ward do a 52 Week/52 Questions Family History Challenge this year. We are to write our own family history and to write about 52 different prompts that we are given each week. I think it is a great idea. I will write mine on the blog and Tyler's too.

Week One: What is your full name and explain why your parents gave you that name?

Here is my answer:

My full name is Kristin Marie McKinnon McClellan Johnson. My mom initially wanted to name me Kristin Kara and my dad wanted to name me Nancy Marie. They compromised. My mom got to pick the first names of their children and my dad picked our middle names. I am delighted not to be named Nancy. (No offense to any Nancys out there) :) My mom liked Kristin because her best friend growing up in Bonners Ferry, Idaho was a girl named Kristin but she went by Kris. My mom always liked her name. My Grandma Ellersick (my mom's mom) once told me that my mom asked that the family not call me Kris. Unfortunately for her I guess, I started going by Kris in high school and college. All of Tyler's family calls me Kris. But after adulthood and moving to Spokane I started going by Kristin again. I like both.

I asked my dad why he picked Marie as my middle name. My Grandma McKinnon (his mother) told me that he named me after her sister, Marie, who passed away before I was born. I asked my dad and he wrote this amazing answer about his Aunt Marie. It was really cool to hear his thoughts since I haven't known anything about her. It was also cool to be able to have a conversation like this with my dad.

Here is what he said:

The mysterious name Marie. While I have always liked the name Marie, you were named in honor of one of my favorite aunts. Aunt Marie (Andreasen) Hoffman. Your Grandma McKinnon's oldest sister. Aunt Marie was the oldest of all your Grandma's sisters and brothers. She was born in 1905 and passed away around 1965 before you were born. Aunt Marie married Uncle Will (William Henry Hoffman) in the late 20's or early 30's and made their home on a ranch in one of the remotest and harshest areas of Northern Utah. Their ranch was many miles north of Randolph, Utah in the rolling prairie hills. Their house was an old wooden two story farm home with no other houses in sight for miles. As you might imagine, life was hard back then. I remember that the only indoor plumbing was a hand pump in the kitchen sink from a well. I always thought it was cool when Aunt Marie let me pump water. Of course the bathroom facilities were an outhouse. Aunt Marie and Uncle Will were the real deal. A hard working pioneering family who loved each other and raised a fine and happy family. They were active in the Church and held many responsible jobs in the priesthood and relief society. Also aside from helping Uncle Will on the ranch, Aunt Marie was very active in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers. Aunt Marie was a wonderful homemaker, cook, and seamstress. Her home was spotless and full of antiques. When we visited she always made a great dinner with fresh homemade cookies or a warm cake fresh out of the wood burning stove oven. My aunt and uncle always fussed over me. I loved them. Uncle Will always had calves or horses or dogs he wanted to show me and Aunt Marie always had some special treat or gift that she made for me. On my birthdays until she died, she always sent me a birthday card with a quarter taped inside. I still have some of those cards and quarters. Aunt Marie was a large and loving woman, much like your Grandma. She had a round face and beautiful long salt and pepper hair which she wore tied up in a bun on her head. She always wore a clean starched apron. Now you know where your name came from. I hope this helps with your church assignment. It is a special name and you are a special daughter. Love, Dad.

As for the multiple last names... when my parents divorced and my mom remarried we all started going by my stepdad's last name which I did from age seven until I got married. It was terrible to have two last names...to have one name on school records and everything else and one name on legal records. Plus they are similar McKinnon/McClellan everyone was always confused. It was a huge hassle. I was THRILLED when I got married and got one last name!!

So there you go!

Here is Tyler's answer: 

My full name is Tyler Jan Johnson.  My parents chose my first name, Tyler, due to its uniqueness at the time I was born.  Since being born with a very common last name my father wanted to make sure that I had a unique first name.  My middle name, Jan, pronounced Yawn, came from a good Norwegian friend of my father's.

Short and sweet but he did it!! Yay!!

It's January

It's January

Can you tell? A protein shake and a green smoothie pretty much scream it. January 2016 time for new goals and resolutions and getting in better shape is definitely one of mine. Especially since Kirk and Meki are having a destination wedding here...

So time to kick it into gear!!

My entire family is doing a fitness challenge which is great motivation and the plank challenge which sucks rocks. Even my kids are doing the plank challenge which they love. Apparently they plank all the time at school.

I hate planking but need to strengthen my core. It has been nice to have a bunch of workout buddies in person and via our FB page. My Costco cart is looking pretty healthy...because I plan to win!! :)

I also did the Instagram #2015bestofnine and this is how mine turned out...

Apparently it was the Year of Reilly which seems about right. It was pretty momentous.

Reviewing 2015 here are some of the highlights:

-Reilly's boyfriend, Justin, took the discussions and was baptized. That was quite an interesting experience for our family. It was fun to have the missionaries over so frequently and to get to know them and for our children to see the whole conversion process in action.

-Tyler and I went on two romantic getaway trips: one to Portland for Tyler's birthday (We LOVE Portland!!) and one to California ( I LOVE California!!).

-The Seahawks won the Superbowl and the Royals won the World Championships!! It really was a red letter year for our teams.

-Tyler and I celebrated our 20th Anniversary!! Woohoo.

-We visited dear friends who we don't get to see very often. It was so fun!!

-Ailey had a big part in her 5th grade musical. She was Glinda the Good Witch and she did awesome!!

-Reilly FINALLY got her Drivers License.

-Reilly graduated from high school and Kameron started high school.

-Kameron went to an amazing youth conference called Joseph's Legacy.

-Ailey got braces and I can't believe how great her teeth are looking. Amazing.

-Reilly got her CNA certification.

-We saw the super star on June 30, 2015 when Venus and Jupiter were in their closest conjunction in nearly 2,000 years. It was pretty neat!


-I went zip lining for the first time and paddle boarding. I LOVED THEM!!  

-We got a new nephew!! Baby Kirin. It is pretty exciting because we are winding down in the baby making department in my family.

-Kameron went on his first scouting high adventure and I lived through it. I was definitely a nervous mother!!

-Tyler was ousted as the reigning croquet champion. It only took 20 years!!

-We took two trips with the kids: Utah and Montana.

-Reilly got a sizable scholarship. Who knew Paul Mitchell had scholarships but they do.

-Our oldest child moved out and is going to school in another state...and I survived.

-Kameron ran high school XC which was a completely different ballgame from middle school XC.  Bryn ran XC too and kicked butt!!

-All the Johnsons can now ride bikes. Hallelujah.

-Reilly started cosmetology school and people ACTUALLY pay her to cut their hair.

-Kameron started taking bagpipe lessons.

-We survived the nastiest windstorm in 126 years.

-I am talking to my dad more than I have in years. It's been nice. Thank heavens for texting.

-I had a fantastic year with Sisters Creed!! I exceeded my goals and had my very best year yet by A LOT.

Favorite Books I have read this year:

-Ready Player One by Ernst Cline

-Written in My Own Heart's Blood by Diana Gabaldon

-The Death of Santini by Pat Conroy

-The Martian by Andy Weir

-Frederica by Georgette Heyer

Goal Review for 2015:

In reviewing the goals that I set for myself last year, I feel that I have made some real progress, and accomplished so many of them. That is always nice. My Goals for 2016 are set and I am ready to accomplish them too. :)

Happy 2016!!

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

We rang in the New Year up at my Mom's house with Kirk and Meki. Reilly flew back to Utah early early New Years Eve morning. Her plane tickets were significantly cheaper to do it that way but it was a mistake. I hated it. I want her here through New Years next year... it wasn't worth the money saved. Saying good-bye was rough. I think it always will be. But it was fantastic having her home for ten days.

Cuddling and snuggling this little cutie pie definitely helped!! Kirin is the sweetest and happiest baby. We pretty much mauled him for days and he kept on grinning.

My mom's house was gorgeous and festive as always.

For New Years Eve we had an enormous seafood feast. It was to die for!! King crab legs, lobster, and clams. It was a beautiful thing!! We also had some good salads and other side dishes. It is always fun to hang out with my brother. He is always up for fun and adventure as are we!!

Ringing in the New Year with these party girls!!

And this party animal!!

New Years Day was an absolutely gorgeous North Idaho day and we had to get out in it. So we put on all our snow gear and went for a hike/walk to burn off all the calories from all the fattening food that we had been eating!!

Gorgeous!!

Crazy picture of us!!

It was an exquisite day and a fun weekend enjoying the beauty of nature and family.

Kelley came up and we all had a big traditional turkey dinner since we missed out on one for Thanksgiving and watched movies and enjoyed the first day of the New Year.

Happy New Year!!

Christmas Day

Christmas Day

Christmas morning dawned frosty white. We told the kids that they could get up at 7:30 am this year. Yay!! That is a whole extra half hour of sleep for Tyler and I and we will take all that we can get. We rang the Christmas bells and let the fun begin. It turns out that the kids were pretty good this year!!

I took a picture of Kameron with all of his loot but somehow it mysteriously got deleted. But you can see his pile of gifts from Santa behind Reilly on the piano. I did get a picture of him with one of his favorite gifts... an Ironman watch. He's pretty excited to train with that.

After seeing what Santa brought, we then opened our gifts to each other. I love all the little handmade gifts and cards that everyone receives. Ailey and Bryn had been very busy making all kinds of thoughtful things for everyone. Ailey was especially excited that she had babysitting money this year and could buy everyone a little something. I got a black North Face puffy vest from Ty that I was pretty stoked about. I love a puffy vest!!  Tyler got some electronics stuff and survival/preparedness stuff but his favorite gift was the pair of slippers that he got from the kids. They are pretty cool. Reilly gave everyone haircuts (except for me...I'm not quite that brave and neither is she)  and Tyler and I got scalp treatments and a head massage. Mine lasted for an hour. It was sheer heaven. And...don't forget every one's favorite gift in the Johnson household this year...THE GENERATOR. Woohoo!!

We ate a leisurely delicious Christmas breakfast and toasted all those we love and those we miss.

We hung out in our pajamas, listened to Christmas music, and enjoyed all of our new Christmas gifts and treats. We didn't have to be at Kelley's until 3 pm so it was great to be able to relax and enjoy.

We met up with my family at Kelley's. Everyone contributed to the meal and we had quite a feast.

The kids table...minus Dane who was somewhere else when I took the picture. Kameron was thrilled to FINALLY be able to join Reilly at the grown-ups table this year. :)

My mom made her famous sugar cookies that all the grandkids love. She brought all the fixings and they were able to decorate cookies together. Fun.

Mom with some of her grandchildren. Reilly, Dane, Elle, Ailey, River, Bryn, and Kameron. We really missed Kaiden, Jaylah, and RJ. Kaiden was with his mom this Christmas and Jordin and her family weren't able to come for the holidays. They were very missed.

Tyler's mom texted us this picture of her with Tyler's sister Lori and his brother Brett. They were all gathered at Brett's house for Christmas this year.

The Johnsons Christmas 2015

It was a great Christmas but it was especially nice to be able to go home and spend Christmas night at our house with just our own little family and do the things that we like to do. It's the start of somewhat of a transition in my extended family and one that will just continue as the years go by of kids moving out and coming home for the holidays and trying to balance time with our own families and with extended family. All in all, it was wonderful to be together and to celebrate the birth of our glorious Savior Jesus Christ.

Merry Christmas to All and to All a Goodnight!!

Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve

We spent Christmas at our house this year and it was perfection. We usually always head up to my Mom's on Christmas Day but this year my sister, Kelley, hosted Christmas dinner at her house, which was nice for us since we live 3 minutes from each other. It was great to head home after a long full day and be able to just chill out.

This year for Christmas Eve everyone wanted to do different appetizers and I wanted seafood and a big salad. It worked out great! Reilly made Mexican 7-layer dip. Ailey made a delicious cheeseball. We also had two kinds of shrimp...tempura and coconut. We had wontons. Every year the kids request a cheese platter with cheese from other countries and Tyler picks out a bunch of cheeses and makes little flags to label them. He did it again this year. It was delicious. We also made my grandma's cherry jello squares. I made a huge spinach salad with strawberries, apples, candied pecans, red onion, feta cheese and a mustard vinaigrette. The girls also made rolls. It was divine.

After dinner we had our Christmas program that Ailey and Bryn planned out. It was full of stories, singing of carols, talents, and the nativity.

Tyler donned a less terrifying Santa hat...a step up from his terrible turtleneck of 2015. We opened up our Christmas jammies and ornaments and let the festivities begin!!

Reilly narrated the Christmas Pageant as usual.

Kameron was a very enthusiastic Joseph. Ha ha! When you are the only boy, you are Joseph forever.

This year we had somewhat coordinating pajamas. Reilly and I had the same style of pajamas but different colors and so did Ailey and Bryn. Tyler and Kameron were matching in their Seahawks gear.

We played a big tournament  of Chicken Foot and then Tyler read The Night Before Christmas.

The kids put out their stockings and set out cookies and eggnog for Santa. Then we took our usual Christmas night pictures. Always entertaining...

Then we turned off all the lights in the house, lit our candles, and Tyler read the Christmas story to us from the Bible out of the book of Luke. We sang Silent Night and said family prayer. Then with all the lights still off we walked the kids to their bedrooms by candlelight and tucked them in.

Later that night we enjoyed one of these, got an energy boost, and Santa's little helpers got to work.

This is our favorite summer time drink...the Avatar... that we buy from a place near the lake. We cracked the recipe a few days before Christmas and now we can enjoy these delicious beverages year round. Merry Christmas to us. :)

And to all of you!!