My birthday month arrived and so did summer! Woohoo! The boat is in the water! Bryn finally got out of school at the end of the month. She is officially a high schooler now. Whoa. We celebrated Father's Day and Ailey's birthday. Also this little cutie is now 4 months old! There were all kinds of celebrations this month!!
Four months old!
The month started out with both Ailey and Kam hard at work at their summer jobs. Kam is working two jobs. He works at Costco and Nike. He got a full scholarship for this next year at BYU-I so all of his housing and tuition is covered. Yay! He is going to use the money he is making from his summer jobs to buy his own car. Sharing has been a nightmare. For all of us. It's fun to have Ailey working at our gym and we try to schedule our workouts when she is there.
Tyler and the kids got our garden boxes all built and planted. Exciting!! I can't wait for fresh produce. We used to always have a garden when the kids were little but somehow we got out of the habit and life got too busy. It's been fun! Tyler is in charge of the vegetable garden and I am in charge of all of the flower beds. It's the perfect compromise.
Tyler, Bryn, and I had the opportunity to go to the temple together early in the month. The YW needed some extra adults and we were happy to tag along. Bryn did a bunch of family names, Tyler was the recorder, and I was one of the witnesses. Bryn wanted to go to DQ afterwards. I got my first cotton candy blizzard of the summer! My favorite!
That weekend was also Stake Conference. Tyler was busy with all of that and so was I. We both attended the leadership meeting. It was nice to be there together. We attended the adult session with Kameron (Ailey was working) and then the Sunday session with Ailey and Bryn (Kam was working). Elder Brook P. Hales was the visiting seventy. He was alright.
That same weekend our fridge broke. Of course I had just done a huge grocery/Costco run and the fridge and freezer were packed. The kids weren't closing the freezer door all the way when they would get into it and it eventually burned out the fan. So that was fun.
The day after Stake Conference was my birthday. I tried s-t-r-e-t-c-h all of my birthday celebrating for as long as I could. LOL. Stake Conference always puts a kink in my celebrating. Annoying. So most of my celebrating got bumped to the next week. I got to sleep in on my birthday and Kameron took Brynnie to school. So nice! I woke up to a decorated house, flowers, presents, balloons, treats, and the sweetest cards! I also got to facetime with one of my best friends who lives in Wisconsin for 2 1/2 hours and it was SO FUN! Friends stopped by and dropped off birthday surprises. I had the nicest phone calls and texts. My friends Shannon and Mary took me to lunch and we had a long leisurely chatty afternoon. I felt very loved!
That night we went out for dinner with the whole crew at our favorite Mexican restaurant, Palenque, in Liberty Lake! I sure love this bunch!!
This little guy is the best gift that I received this year!
This grandma thing is FANTASTIC! I highly recommend!!
Karson makes turning 51 pretty darn sweet!! Being his Lovey is THE BEST!! Ailey made my favorite vanilla hot milk cake with homemade butter cream frosting and strawberries for my birthday cake this year. She made a triple layer cake. It was delicious!!
I wanted to ride the Hiawatha Trail as my birthday activity so we did it later that week. Kam had to work and Reilly couldn't bring Karson so it was me, Tyler, Bryn, and Ailey. It actually worked out pretty well because this is our biking crew! Johnsons Party of Four! Bike riding together is one of our *things*. Tyler and I have been wanting to ride this trail with Ailey and Bryn since we rode it with Naomi and Kevin a few years ago. We knew that they would love it and they did!
We got up early and drove to the Bitterroot Mountains on the Idaho/Montana border to Ride the Hiawatha! Huge shout out to Tyler who keeps our bikes tuned and hauls our gear everywhere! He's the best!
Fifteen miles of the most beautiful scenery, 10 tunnels (one almost two miles long and pitch black) and 7 sky high trestles. It's amazing!!
The longest tunnel...The Taft Tunnel...is always freezing cold, wet, and muddy...but so fun!!
One of the short tunnels.
Ailey finally working up the courage to look over the edge of one of the trestles. She hates bridges!
Having fun at 51!
Ty showing off for the girls! No hands!
The trail isn't without its perils. We had a lady supremely wipe out near us and needed to be shuttled back and so did another woman who had a panic attack in the Taft Tunnel. It's not for the feint of heart. My bike light went out in the tunnel going back last time. You ride through it twice. This time I made sure that we all had head lamps too. I got separated from the group on the way back and was pretty much all by myself in the tunnel and it was a little eerie. LOL.
Naomi and I declared that these hot dogs from the vendor at the bottom are the best hot dogs that we had ever had and I stand by that statement. They are *extra* delicious! My family concurred.
We ended the day muddy and tired but pretty darn happy! We also bought t-shirts this time! Well earned!
Our bikes were filthy!!
We stopped at the Snake Pit in Kingston, Idaho for dinner and some much needed pie! We had such an incredible day and I loved celebrating my birthday with my biking buddies and on this amazing trail and in this glorious beauty! The day after my birthday our refrigerator got fixed. THANK GOODNESS!! An extra birthday gift to me.
The next big celebration was Father's Day. Tyler and I started the weekend off in Sandpoint, Idaho. I took him out to dinner at The Dish which is on the water on Dover Bay. It is so good! We ate out on the patio and looked at the water and enjoyed some downtime.
Tyler proclaimed that for Father's Day he didn't want to do anything! He wanted a pure day of rest. So he ditched church and relaxed. Ailey made him her famous Eggs Benedict and he got breakfast in bed. He spent most of the day outside in his hammock or inside watching movies with the kids. He was THRILLED! When Hunter heard about Tyler's Father's Day request, he decided that he would like that too, in the form of a long afternoon nap so Reilly and Karson came over and spent the rest of the day with us. We didn't think that we would see them on Father's Day so we had already given Hunter his Father's Day gift and card. Tyler was thrilled that they came over and hung out!
Check out Karson's face! He loves his Pops!!
His other request was a KFC feast!
This reminds Tyler of his dad and growing up in Utah. The kids were quick to comply.
Happy Father's Day to the best Dad and Pops that you could ever have! We love you!!
Happy Father to the newest dad!
A few days after Father's Day Bryn FINALLY got out of school for the summer! Woohoo! She had all kinds of fun things leading up to the last day! She had her spring (and last middle school) orchestra concert and did a great job! She is excited for high school orchestra!
One day on the last week of school she and her friends all wore Hawaiian shirts and had a potluck at lunch. Everyone had an assignment and there was a ton of food! They had a great time! She and her friends do such fun things!!
The middle school music department all went to Silverwood, our local amusement park, and got to spend the day. They were scheduled to perform but it rained for a few minutes during their time so they didn't have to perform and just got to ride rides all day! No one was sad about that! LOL.
Another Johnson passing out on another amusement park ride.
Finally on June 20th Bryn had her last day of middle school. It's felt extra long since the college kids have been home and on *summer break* since April.
Bryn with one of her very favorite teachers and coaches and her friend Liv. All of our kids have had Mr. Smith and he is great! We will miss him!!
Jumping for joy that school is out! In her purple party pants of course!! She and her friends had a big pool party to celebrate!
Two days after school got out Bryn left on the Pioneer Trek. Tyler and I drove her nearly two hours to the drop off spot in a remote area of the Washington scab lands. It felt very pioneery. Hot and dry.
The kids all seemed a bit apprehensive at what they had gotten themselves into but were in pretty good spirits once they saw all of their friends. LOL.
We got to see who Bryn's Ma and Pa were and who was in her family. She got a great family!
Then it was time for us to bid her farewell.
After we dropped Bryn off, Tyler and I decided to do a little exploring. About a half hour away from the Trek was the little town of Harrington, WA. Hunter has ties to this town. I believe his grandparents and great-grandparents were from here. Anyway...he and Reilly occasionally come to Harrington for family events and Reilly told us that there were some fun things to see so we decided to check it out while we were in the area.
It does have a cute little downtown and a darling park with all the old school play equipment that this 51 year old mother/grandmother likes to leap out of cars and play on whenever old school playground equipment is spotted!
The Mercantile has some darling home décor! I found some cute things!
Post and Office is the CUTEST little coffee shop and cafe. They did such a great job converting the old post office into this coffee shop. We walked up and down Main Street and grabbed some lunch and ate it at the little park. It was a fun little adventure!
Three days later we were back in the scab lands picking up one very tired and dirty pioneer!! It was so fun to cheer them all on coming into *the valley*!!
Just like her older siblings before her...she greeted us with a big smile on her face!! Reilly and Kameron still talk about what a special experience this was for both of them. Both of them were glad that they participated. It changed them both for the better. I wish Ailey could've gone too. Her Trek was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic.
Bryn and her Ma. Bless the hearts of the people who donate their time to participate in this event and who become such cheerleaders and supporters of the kids forever after this.
I am so glad and grateful that Bryn got Malerie and Matt as her Ma and Pa! She loved them!
Next up was Ailey's 19th Birthday!! Ailey wanted a day of boating and wakeboarding. Her wish was granted! We had a gorgeous and perfect day on Lake Roosevelt! Reilly and Karson came with us. Both Kam and Hunter had to work. This was Karson's first time boating and swimming! He was a champ!!
We claimed our favorite beach and set up for a fabulous day on the water!
This little sweet babboo loved it!!
It was a great day for wakeboarding!!
We had such a great day on the water!! It was the perfect way to spend Ailey's birthday!!
Later that night and back the house, everyone was off of work, and we celebrated Ailey some more. She requested pink decorations, the boating day menu as her birthday meal, and dirt and worms for her birthday cake! LOL.
It was a fantastic day celebrating Ailey!!
Kameron has just been a working machine this month. Two jobs...in and out...to bed early. We basically only see him coming and going or sleeping. But he is making good money and is on track to buy his car which has him pretty stoked!!
When we do see him it is usually like this!! That 3am to 10am shift at Costco is rough and then he usually works at Nike from 2pm to either 7pm or 9pm. He is the cutest uncle to Karson. He adores him! Kam is going to be a great dad one day!!
Kameron went in to his cardiologist for a check up. He had an EKG done. The good news is that his heart looks no worse and that his Wolf Parkinson White Syndrome is very mild and its effects are minimal. The bad news is that being a pilot is most likely out of the question. Kameron is becoming resigned to the idea but it still sucks for him.
Sometimes I can snag him and get a little one on one time with him. It is always enjoyable and I am so proud of him and what a hard worker he is. I do wish he allowed himself a tiny bit more time for fun though.
Here are some pictures from Kam's friends' wedding. He was the most handsome groomsman. Obviously. :)
Ailey's schedule is a little more normal. So on her days off it has been fun to hang out with her. Ailey has an appointment with Tyler's endocrinologist on July 28th. I'm so glad that she will be able to get in and seen by Tyler's doctor!! She is still wearing the CGM 24/7. Her blood sugar is all over the place and her A1C is slowly creeping up so it will be good to get a game plan for her before she has to head back to Rexburg.
Ailey is fun to hang out with and is always up for shopping, lunch, or some kind of adventure! She enjoys running around with me and it's fun to have some one on one time with her too. We tried a new place near us called Hidden Coffee for lunch one day and did some shopping on her day off.
It's in a pretty cool location and one of her friends from high school works there. It really is hidden. I drive by it all the time and had no idea that it existed.
Ailey also found her time capsule in the garage that she made when she was nine and opened it. She made it in Activity Days and the date to open it was 2023. It was pretty funny!
It was so funny to hear what this little chick had to say to this one! And...what she thought 19 year old Ailey would like to see!! She was quirky to say the least!! Ha ha! But boy I loved that funny little 9 year old!!
And this 19 year old!!
Happy Birthday Ailey!! We love you very much!!
We've gotten to see a lot of Reilly and Karson this month. Not as much of Hunter. He is super busy managing the farm and works some long hours. Karson is so much fun! He gets excited to see us and now reaches for us which is truly THE BEST!!
He is so smiley and the happiest baby!!
Reilly is working full time...half from home and half in the office...although it has been a bit more in the office this month. Ailey, Bryn, and Kam help out when they have days off. Everyone has gone into work with Reilly and helped entertain Karson and love doing it! Reilly has to do a lot of taking pictures and marketing products. The kids have all taken turns helping her with Karson while she does that.
He's getting so big and can sit up and play with toys now! It's so fun!!
The amount of joy that one little person can bring to a family is off the charts!!
Reilly also had someone back into her car while it was parked at work one day and dented the crap out of the side. Just what she didn't need. Thank goodness no one was in the car at the time and the lady came into the office to let someone know what she had done.
On one of Reilly's days off she and Bryn took Karson swimming which he LOVED!!
Karson with that purple diving ring!! That cracks me up!!
My life has mostly been studying this month. My class deadline is July 1st so everything had to be finished, turned in, and graded. Then I began studying for my final. It took over my life.
Add to that working on projects for Sisters Creed and the store. I was feeling VERY FRAZZLED this month. Tyler and I (and Beverly) did a lot of evening walks to get out all of that angst. An angsty Kristin is not a fun Kristin. Here we are with the Strawberry Full Moon in the background. It doesn't get dark here until nearly 10pm. I love it!
When the weather was nice we tried to eat out on the deck. I love eating dinner on the deck with candle light and patio lights.
Tyler and I also try to enjoy what we call "the unicorn" which is when everyone is out of the house except for us. That has only happened twice this month and once it was only for one hour but it's exciting when it happens!! Ha ha!!
Tyler and I also attended 8 graduation parties!! Eight! We were invited to a ninth party but couldn't go. They were all really fun though (despite being really hectic) and it was so great seeing so many of our friends and celebrating these great kids. I was SUPER glad not to have a graduating senior this year!! I also had book club this month which was fun. We are taking off July and August and then starting up again in September. The summer is just too hard to get everyone together.
I had a hair appointment this month and my friend Shannon gave me a new eyelash system for my birthday so maybe both of those things will help me not morph into a frumpy 51 year old who is questioning what I have accomplished with my life. Oh wait...too late. The midlife crisis is REAL!!
Tyler was super busy with work. He has moved onto a new project with substation design. He also finished up his little side gig as an AutoCAD tutor which he enjoyed. His calling at church has been pretty lowkey after stake conference which has been wonderful!! His mom turned 79 this month which is pretty surreal. 79! 80 next year?! She is wanting a big party so that is already being talked about and plans are being made for next summer.
Bryn is taking summer piano lessons and staying busy hanging out with friends. She has also had some good YW activities. They did a great service project one day and then another activity was a bike ride on the Trail of the Coeur d' Alenes from Lake Chatcolet to Harrison, Idaho. This is a ride that our family likes to do. She had a great time!
We ended the month with the college kids getting their ecclesiastical endorsements signed, making plans for the 4th of July, eating all kinds of rhubarb desserts (our rhubarb plant was producing like crazy this year), and trying to enjoy any downtime that came our way.
