June was a month of birthdays, peonies, kids home from college, visitors, and summer finally starting! Woohoo. See you later school!! Hello lake time!
First up was my 52nd birthday. On my actual birthday which was on a Friday... I woke up to a decorated house with cards, presents, and treats. Lots of phone calls and texts. I felt very celebrated. Tyler took a half day off of work and we stopped in to see Karson. I got to see my sweet babboo on my birthday!
After that Tyler and I went out for lunch at a new Ethiopian place that has delicious samosas. I also got my favorite brown sugar boba as my *dessert.* Reilly and Karson came over after Reilly got off work. Reilly made my birthday cake. She made my favorite Swedish Marzipan Princess Cake. Tyler used to be able to order one here but the lady that used to make them retired. Reilly found a recipe and made this herself. It was fantastic!
It was so fun to have a little birthday cake celebration with two of my daughters, Tyler, and our sweet little babboo.
After that we went to dinner at Fujiyama; I wanted Japanese Hibachi. Delicious!
After dinner we headed to Lake CDA so that I could get in some water!
I talked to all the kids and facetimed with Kameron and Erin. I had special deliveries from Ailey. I heard from friends and got flowers delivered from Kirk and Meki. It was a very good birthday!
The next day was my birthday activity which was our first boating of the year. The weather was a little overcast but still warm and the water was great! We went to Hayden Lake and had the best time! Hunter's birthday gift to me was to actually come boating. He doesn't like water or boats but he got on the boat and spent the day with us. That was HUGE! It has never happened before! I can't think of a better gift from him! I really appreciated that and it meant a lot to me.
I had to get a picture of this momentous event!
We had such a fun time! Birthday #52 was a success!!
School was finally starting to wind down for Bryn. She had end of the year projects that were due and finals. She finished her practicum at her elementary school and brought treats for all of the kids. She LOVED her practicum. I especially love that she got to work with her own kindergarten teacher who just adores her.
This whole experience was truly the highlight of her freshman year. The kids were so cute and wrote her cards and notes thanking "Miss Brynnie" and clutched her and wouldn't let her leave. I am so glad that she had such a great experience.
School finally got out on June 14th. Bryn's freshman year had its ups and downs but for the most part she had a good experience. Still...we were all glad when school got out for the summer!! We all jumped for joy!!
Bryn was home for about 5 minutes on the last day of school and then left to go to her friend's house for a pool party. Gone are the ol' ice cream days. Our kids are all grown up. Sigh.
Speaking of grown up kids...Ailey flew home for the summer that very night! We were super excited to have her home. But the night before she flew home she ended up in the ER. She was having all kinds of health issues...chest pain, a horrible headache, blood sugar issues, feeling like she was going to throw up. She was with Kameron and Erin when she started feeling terrible and with her pre-diabetes and anemia and all her many issues; they took her to the ER. When she got there her blood pressure was sky high.
They weren't sure what was happening but think it was related to her anemia. She was monitored for awhile. We were so grateful that Kameron and Erin were at the hospital with her.
Kameron has been such a huge help to her with all of her crazy health issues since going to college. Sometimes Kameron and Ailey annoy the hell out of each other but they are always there for one another too. Ailey depends on him and he never lets her down. I am glad that Ailey had Erin there too who has such a calming influence on both of them and is already such a good sister to Ailey. After awhile Ailey's blood pressure went back to normal and all her stats looked good so she was released from the hospital and cleared to fly to Spokane the next day. Hallelujah!
Needless to say we were really happy to have her home!
A few days later it was Father's Day and we had a great time celebrating Tyler! And Hunter too! To celebrate Tyler requested skipping church (and all of his many meetings) LOL. He requested a Father's Day brunch and Ailey's famous eggs benedict and her hollandaise sauce. Done.
It's fun to have two great dads to celebrate!
That night Tyler and I went to the John Crist comedy show. It was hilarious!! The two guys that opened for him were great too. It was such a fun day! Tyler heard from all the kids and all the soon-to-be in-law kids too. He felt celebrated and loved!
Over Father's Day weekend Kameron and Erin were in CA visiting her family. How fun that Kameron got to celebrate Father's Day with his soon-to-be father-in-law. They also got to check out the reception site and walked the grounds of the temple. Kameron had never been to the Oakland Temple before. He loved it and sent us all kinds of beautiful pictures.
I've never been to this temple before either. Looks so beautiful!! They had a good visit with Erin's parents and did some wedding planning/prepping. It feels very weird to have a wedding coming up so fast!
Bryn started her summer life guarding job. She LOVES it! She works 5-6 days a week. It is so good for her and she is doing such a great job! I got many texts from friends telling me what a cute (and good!) lifeguard Bryn is which was really nice to hear. Although I do think her love of children is taking a hit...ha ha...she said that her whistle gets A LOT of use! Want to hear the craziest thing about the world we live in? Every day the lifeguards have to inspect and then go down all the water slides to make sure that no one has inserted razor blades into the slides. This is a real thing that has actually happened. Unbelievable. Bryn also opened up her first checking/savings account and she is LOVING having money of her own.
Luke came for a visit about a week after Ailey got home. He is working hard doing summer sales in CA. He had never been to Spokane before so we had a great time showing him around! Fun fact...his grandparents actually grew up and went to high school in Coeur d' Alene so he has heard a lot about the area. It is a special place to his family. We took him to all of our favorite places.
He got to meet Reilly, Hunter, Karson, and Bryn. He got the thumbs up from all of them.
We played at Riverfront Park and did some shopping at River Park Square. Luke was only here for a very short visit so Ailey wanted to pack it all in!
Karson had fun at the Lego Store!
Luke fits right in!
That night Ailey, Luke, Tyler, and I went on a double date to our favorite sushi place in CDA. We showed him Coeur d' Alene in all its glory. The day before Luke got here; he was playing basketball with his friends and got nailed in the eye. He had this painful looking bloodshot red eye the whole time he was here. Ailey was not happy about that! Ha ha!
They are very cute together!
We had a great time with them! Tyler and I kept looking at each other and thinking how is it possible that our little Ailey is going to be getting engaged soon?! Very surreal.
The next day Ailey and Luke were gone most of the day shopping for outfits to wear when Luke proposes. Ailey is a planner and she wants to know where and when. Luke (like Kameron) has hired a photographer and Ailey wants their outfits coordinated. They found some cute things.
When they got home we had dinner out on our deck. Tyler and Luke grilled smash burgers on the Blackstone. The next day Luke came to church with us and caused quite a stir! Everyone was very curious to meet Ailey's boyfriend. Bryn got called to be the 1st counselor in the older girls YW presidency and we all got to go in and be with her when she was set apart which was really cool. Luke got to meet a bunch of my friends too. After church we ate lunch and then it was time for Luke to head to the airport. It was a short but sweet visit. Ailey was sad to see him go but she was glad that he will be coming back in two weeks for the 4th of July.
While Luke was here; Kameron and Erin were in Utah looking for married housing. They stayed at my brother's house while they were apartment hunting. We facetimed with them several times as they toured different places in the Ogden area. They also sent us lots of videos and pictures. They are hilarious! Erin got to meet my brother and his family. They all really liked her. One day in between house hunting they all went to the pool together. Kameron said that the visit went well and that they had a good time. They also found an apartment that they really like! Yay!
Next up was Ailey's 20th Birthday!!!
It was one celebration after another around here. It was busy and chaotic and fun! Ailey was spoiled rotten on her birthday by Luke from afar and by us too. But she started her birthday off with an early morning doctor appointment. I was glad that she was able to get in and see her regular doctor about all of her crazy health issues. She had to get some blood work done to see if her anemia was improving.
After that it was lunch and shopping with me and Bryn. Definitely preferable to getting your blood drawn! We also made a stop at Sonic. What is the best gift for a critically anemic girl?
A giant bag of Sonic pebble ice!
Reilly and Karson came over when Reilly got off work. She brought over Ailey's requested birthday dessert that she made. No birthday cake for her. She wanted Dirt and Worms. It was delicious!
Karson was the world's cutest party pooper! He was NOT in a partying mood! LOL
Eventually he decided to let his Aunt Ailey play with him for a bit!
That night we went to PF Chang's for Ailey's birthday dinner. She was hoping for a boating day that weekend but the weather didn't cooperate. :( It was a fun day celebrating our girl!
A few days after that my mother-in-law turned 80! I love this picture of Judie and Joel. We miss him. His birthday was in June too...on my birthday. We were birthday twins. Coincidently my sister-in-law Meki and I share a birthday too. So fun! My brother will never forget to celebrate us! LOL. Judie also told us that she and my sister-in-law Lori are wanting to move to Washington now! Wild.
I texted her a little "Birthday Favorites" questionnaire. Here are her answers which I shared with her grandchildren:
1.) Favorite Color: Purple
2.) Favorite Flower: Rose
3.) Favorite Food: Gluten-Free
4.) Favorite Animal: Hummingbird (especially the one on my back porch)
5.) Favorite Dessert: Chocolate
6.) Favorite Season: Fall
7.) Favorite Smell: Cedar
8.) Favorite Author: Chris Martin but it depends on who I am reading.
9.) Favorite Subject in School: I have always loved to learn.
10.) Worst Subject in School: Math
11.) Favorite Holiday: Christmas with family
12.) Favorite Hobby or Pastime: Reading and word puzzles
13.) Favorite Type of Music: Religious or the Beach Boys
14.) Favorite Band or Singer: The Beach Boys
15.) Favorite Restaurant: Costa Vida
16.) Are you a salty or sweet person: Sweet
17.) Favorite Snack: Cosmic Apples
18.) Favorite Ice Cream: Rocky Road
19.) Favorite Birthday Cake Flavor: Chocolate
20.) Favorite Cookie: Chocolate Chip
21.) Favorite Sandwich: Peanut Butter and Nutella
22.) Food you dislike: Anything too spicy
23.) Favorite TV Show: Jeopardy
24.) Favorite Movie: The King and I
25.) Favorite Actress/Actor: Yul Brynner
26.) Pet Peeves: Swearing especially the F-word.
27.) Favorite Day of the Week: Sunday
28.) Favorite Way to Spend a Day: Spending it with those I love.
29.) Are you an early bird or a night owl: Early Bird
30.) Do you believe in ghosts: I believe in guardian angels. I feel I have many helping me.
31.) Favorite Place to go on vacation: The Pacific Coast and California
32.) Favorite Country you have traveled to: Sweden, Ireland, and Denmark.
33.) What was your favorite thing to do as a child: Ride my bike or roller-skating.
34.) Do you or did you have any nicknames: JAK in college.
35.) Personal motto: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
36.) Favorite Pet: I never had my own pet. I enjoyed my dad's when I was growing up and tolerated the ones my kids had. I didn't like the scorpion or tarantula at all. My dad always had a dog. Blondie was one that I can remember but he also had a cat and he trained them to be friends.
37.) Best advice for your grandchildren: Honor your covenants and stay close to your Father in Heaven. Be honest in your dealings with others.
(I also quizzed her son and asked Tyler to see how well he knew his mom and he got quite a few right!)
Our stake presidency got released and a new stake presidency was called. Before that happened two area seventies came to interview potential candidates for the new stake presidency. Tyler was one of the men interviewed. He said that it was a pretty crazy experience. Tyler met with Elder Adeyinka A. Ojediran and Elder Douglas P. Maxfield.
Tyler and I attended a Leadership Training with them too. The good news is that Tyler was NOT called to the new Stake Presidency. No one is sad about that! LOL. They said that everyone that they interviewed would have made an excellent Stake President and that is pretty amazing. They said that most of the time when they come and interview people there is usually one or maybe two people who stand out. They said that this time every single person they interviewed could have been the new stake president and that it was very rare. I thought that was a great compliment to Tyler and everyone else that was interviewed. The new stake presidency that was chosen was a good choice and all three are friends of ours. Two of the men are previous bishops from our ward. The whole process was pretty interesting. The new stake presidency switched around a lot of the stake assignments. Tyler got moved from being the high counselor to one ward and got assigned to another ward. He was sad to leave the previous ward that he had been working with. He really loved that assignment. That particular stake conference was pretty lively in other ways too. Tyler and one of his friends were on parking lot duty. They stopped two would be thieves and an ambulance had to be called for someone. Craziness.
Kameron and Erin were busy with wedding preparations. Erin went wedding dress shopping and sent me pictures which was so thoughtful! She found a beautiful dress! Kameron went shopping for his suit. We bought him a gray Calvin Klein suit and he got it tailored. They also designed and ordered their wedding invitations/announcements. We started addressing them and getting them ready to send out. Things are getting real!!!
It's been fun having Ailey home. She is working at the gym again. She is my little shopping buddy. She loves to be out and about doing things. We've had a lot of fun lunch dates and shopping when she has had a day off and Bryn comes occasionally too. Bryn is actually getting more hours at work than Ailey which is kind of crazy. Ailey came with me several times to Midtown Market to help with my booth. One day we ran into our good friend Jennifer and it was fun to catch up with her. Bryn is happy to have Ailey home to do sister things. It's been fun to be Johnsons Party of Four again. A lot of laughs for sure.
Tyler, Ailey, and I attended the temple together which was fun! We have also had several graduation parties, dessert nights, and bbqs. It's been a busy but fun month!
Tyler had a bit of residual bleeding in one of his eyes but his doctor isn't concerned about it. I guess that can happen and should resolve. Hunter hurt his back on the job at the farm. He was off work for a couple weeks and was pretty miserable. He is getting tired of the farm and the hassle that can come with working for family and the long hours. He is looking at other options that will work better for their little family. Right now he doesn't get home most nights until after 8pm. That is rough with a toddler. Also our whole family has been plagued with allergies more than usual. I don't know what the deal is this year. It's been bad and lasting a lot longer than usual.
We've done a crazy amount of yard work this month but the results are splendid. Gorgeous flowers blooming, a garden sprouting, a beautiful yard and deck. We added more patio lights too and I love it! It's also peony season!! My favorite! My peonies are gorgeous right now. One of my mom's that I transplanted from the lake bloomed for the first time. Yay!
We ended the month with 4th of July Sunday and wore our red, white, and blue. I can't believe that it is almost the 4th of July and that soon Kameron, Erin, and Luke will be here! It is going to be so fun to have them all here!!
Happy Summer!!
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