Spring Break 2016

Spring Break 2016

For spring break this year we packed up the car and the kids and hit the road to Utah to go see Reilly. It is still rough having a child that lives 700 miles away. I am pretty sure it always will be. I can only go for so long before I need to see her in person and check her out with my own two eyes.

We got an early start and made good time. This year we left at 4 am, stopped for breakfast in Montana, listened to General Conference while we drove, and also listened to The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. It helped. A 12 hour road trip is a good 6 hrs too long in my book!!

Breakfast in Montana

But it was all worth it when we rolled into Provo and met up with Reilly at our hotel. Usually we stay in SLC when we come to Utah so it was extra fun and nostalgic to stay in Provo this trip. This pic caused some real concern on FB and Instagram because apparently it looked like Reilly had an engagement ring on. NO. That is TYLER'S hand on top of Bryn's head as we were all piled on the bed in our hotel room. Hilarious.

Then we were off to dinner. Ahh...there is nothing like having the whole family together again with everyone being loud and silly, talking over one another, arguing, laughing, and just having everything back to normal. I love it.

Reilly had to work while we were there so we entertained ourselves for a bit the next day. We started our morning off right at the Provo Bakery. The weather was gorgeous while we were in town. It was in the 70s. Delightful.

We tromped around Rock Canyon. It was fun to go to the places that we love but never have the time to see or visit when we usually come to Utah. This was the sight of one of me and Tyler's first dates/fights when once while hiking I asked him "Am I the most fun girl that you have ever dated?" and he infamously replied..."Well...(long pause)....you are ONE of them!!" 22 years later and it is still fresh!! Ha Ha!!

Then it was time to pick up Reilly. First stop...BYU. It never gets old and always delights. The kids humored me with one picture.

Except for this girl...

#favorite  ;)

Then it was off to see the new sights on campus, buy stuff at the bookstore, and eat at the Cougareat. Good times!!

Then we got down to business... we had some serious shopping to do...

Reilly was promised a belated Easter dress and some running shoes amongst other much needed items. We also happened to find Ailey a darling dress for her 6th grade promotion not to mention Tyler and Kam nearly bought out the tie shop. I bought some artwork. Boom. Everyone was pleased. Our shopping adventures took us to both malls. I haven't been inside the University Mall since I was in college. Tyler and I were both curious to see inside and to see if either one of us recognized anything from the mall that we grew up with. Nah. The only thing that we recognized was the glass elevator in Macey's that used to be in ZCMI. That was it.

That afternoon we drove to Springville. I used to live there before I moved to Springdell. I showed the kids my old house and my old elementary school.

Then we drove up Hobble Creek Canyon and went to Kelly's Grove:

Reilly found a butterfly...

We ran around Kelly's Grove and swung on the swings. I was dared to wade in the creek which of course I did. We made whistles out of the snake grass just like my mom used to make for us when we were kids.

On our way back to Provo we stopped to put flowers on my Grandma and Grandpa McKinnon's grave...

Doing all my family history posts has really made me miss them more than ever. It's been great though for Tyler and I to share more of our family memories with our children.

Then we hit the Provo Town Mall as we still hadn't found the perfect dress for Reilly. Luckily we did there. Then we hit the food court. What you may not know about our family is that we are something of food court connoisseurs. Whenever we travel and go to a mall; we must check out the food court. In case you were wondering...our very favorite food court that has yet to be surpassed is the one in downtown Seattle at the Pacific Center. There is every cuisine that your heart could desire. Vegetarian food galore. The Provo Town Mall food court wasn't too bad as it had delicious Brazilian food and we got to introduce our children to the delights of this magical place:

They were fans!! (Enlarge pic for full enjoyment!)

Tyler was attempting to use Reilly's selfie stick. It's trickier than it looks. This hot dog on a stick got high marks from all of the Johnsons and a lot of our money because not only could you get a regular hot dog on a stick you could also get various kinds of cheese on a stick ...american cheese, mozzarella cheese, or pepper jack cheese... AND you could get a tofu dog on a stick. SCORE!! They also have three flavors of lemonade, really good fries, and FUNNEL CAKE STICKS. Yes, we ate everything!! The hands down winner was the american cheese on a stick. When I was a kid the University Mall had a knock off one of these called The Corndog Factory. My mom always let us get something from there every time we went to the mall and to my delight it was still in operation when I was in college. My favorite there was the shish-ka-dog which was cheese then hot dog then cheese then hot dog on a stick. You could also get a sausage on a stick which was my second favorite and a tasty lemonade. Sadly, there is no Hot Dog On A Stick in Spokane.

Then it was back to our hotel to regret our food choices as we put on our swim suits and went swimming and soaked in the hot tub.

The next morning we were up bright and early and headed to SLC to meet Tyler's brother, Brett, and our cute niece Liv for breakfast at Kneaders in South Jordan.

It was good to see them. Liv was also on Spring Break which was perfect for the kids to have some fun cousin time.

The girls took my phone and took a bunch of pictures and videos. There are some real gems!! Ha Ha!

After that we went over to Temple Square. We haven't been there in quite awhile. Bryn was pretty little the last time we went and actually walked around the grounds so it was fun to show her things that she could really appreciate now.

It was a gorgeous day with all the trees in bloom and flowers everywhere.

I mysteriously had quite a few pics like this on my phone. :)

It's hard to believe that Kam will be heading out on a mission in three years!!

We got to go into the Tabernacle and listen to the tour. That was kind of neat since the kids hadn't done that before. We have always missed the tour and they have only been able to peek inside. It really is surprising how small it is compared to the new conference center.

We got to take the tour there too. Tyler and the kids had done that before. They took the tour several years ago when we were in town for one of my vintage shows but I was working that day. They kindly went on it again. I was surprised at how beautiful it was inside. I mean I knew that it would be nice but I didn't realize how truly gorgeous and lovely it would be with the woodwork, windows, fountains, and breathtaking artwork. I am really glad that I got to tour that beautiful building.

Some of my favorite original artwork inside:

I particularly loved this painting of Justice and Mercy and the penitent man...Mercy Claimeth That Which Is Her Own by Jonathan Linton. It is so beautiful and moving and brings me to tears every time I look at it.

I also loved the artwork by Walter Rane. This one is called Alma Arise. A painting depicting Alma the Younger and the sons of Mosiah. I love the movement and power that his paintings show.

View from the top

It was fun to take this picture and think about where once two people stood now four more stand.

Then we were off to City Creek another place that I hadn't been before. Our kids love City Creek and have been there several times with Tyler. They were happy to give me the grand tour. It is amazing how cool it is!! Also if you must know... their food court is top notch!! :) We happily snarfed down Greek food while admiring our lovely surroundings. Also, Reilly introduced us to this delicious treat...

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Chik-Fil-A's Frosted Lemonade. Clutch the pearls!! That was AMAZING. A lemonade milkshake?! Yes, please!! It was sheer heaven. Reilly has been raving about this treat since she arrived in Utah last August. We don't have Chik-Fil-A here in Spokane and that is truly UNFORTUNATE!!

After our fun filled day downtown our next stop was dinner at Kirk and Meki's house. I sure love my brother!! It was a late night full of lots of laughs, teasing, baby holding, and good food. Kirk wanted us to try their favorite Vietnamese place called Oh Mai. I LOVED IT!! We ate Banh Mi, Pho, Kimchee (a family fav), and my favorite the Bun Bi Nuoc which was shredded pork and noodles in coconut milk. So fab! I love hanging out with my brother!! We always have so much fun together!!

Kirk and his youngest son ...baby Kirin

Our kids had a great time helping Meki take care of him. They did a great job!! Bryn loved feeding him. So cute!!

It was a super fun night hanging out with Kirk and his family!!

The next morning we slept in and had a leisurely day. We helped Reilly with a bunch of things that she needed our help with. While she and Tyler ran a bunch of errands, I shopped for Sisters Creed. We hit Swig for drinks and cookies. That place is awesome and, again, I am glad that we don't have one here or I would be there daily!!

We cruised around American Fork. Reilly wanted to take us to the Puppy Barn which is a place you can pay to play with puppies by the hour. Or...you can walk around and hold and pet various puppies for free. (That is what we did.) It was spring break in Utah  so the place was packed!! There were some super cute puppies though. Especially the pug puppies!!

Tyler showed the kids where his grandparents used to live in American Fork:

Grandma and Grandpa Kofford's house. 

I have fond memories of family gatherings there when we were dating and newlyweds. Tyler's grandparents were so sweet! We also stopped by the Orem City Cemetery to put flowers on Tyler's dad's grave. Then we drove up Provo Canyon and went to Bridal Veil Falls.

Provo Canyon was gorgeous as usual!!

Then we got the crazy notion to hike to the Y. So back to our hotel we went to change into appropriate clothing and shoes. I remembered having hiked the Y a few times... that the hike is harder than you think it will be...but we were up for the challenge, itching to get on a trail, and to get on the mountain.

Well after legit two minutes of actually getting on the trail I remembered exactly why I have always hated this hike!! It is steep and there are 50 million switch backs. It all came rushing back to me. It was a flash back to jr. high when we had to hike the Y for PE and to the two other times that I did it in college to impress boys.

While we were hiking up we were passed by some paragliders who hiked up and leaped off the mountain. It was awesome and they glided right over our heads. So cool.

They glided down and then hiked up again. They passed us for a second time and leaped off once more. Thrilling to watch yet again. We were slow hikers (I the blame the altitude) but we weren't the only ones gasping for breath and taking regular breaks. That hike sucks.

Finally the Y was in sight but unfortunately there were about 20 more switch backs to get there.

We finally arrived at the top and everyone was THRILLED.  Ha ha!! We sat on the tip top of the Y.

Looking down the Y and out across Utah valley with the sun setting over Utah Lake. It doesn't get much prettier than that. It was spectacular and worth the hike!!

I love this picture of Ailey!

Much happier after we had rested for a bit!! ;)

Then it was time to head back down the mountain...

It was a completely gorgeous night and we were so happy that we did that hike. It was stunning. Then we headed to Brick Oven Pizza to celebrate our victory. The kids were thrilled!! Aahhh...it brings back so many memories of BYU. Plus, they have a great salad bar and apple beer on tap!! :)

We dropped Reilly off at her apartment after dinner. She was scheduled to work the night shift. She is a med tech at an assisted living facility while going to school. She's a busy bee. The rest of us headed over to the newly dedicated Provo City Center Temple. It is amazing to see how this beautiful building has risen from the ashes quite literally and is now a shining beacon. I remember going to the Utah Valley Symphony there many times and other community events. I am so glad that this building and piece of Utah history has been saved after being burned in a fire and rededicated for a higher and holier purpose. It is magnificent.

The next morning Tyler and I took Reilly out for breakfast by ourselves. It was nice to have a little private time with her before we left. (Our hotel had a great breakfast and Kam had things under control.) It was great to see her and spend some alone time with her. It is fun and painful and hopeful and tender to see the growth that has occurred since she has moved out on her own. Some good experiences...some mistakes... and a lot of living life on her own terms for the first time. All of these experiences have had an impact and have changed and matured her in little ways. She is still our living loud daughter but there is also a vulnerability that hasn't always been there before. I guess that will probably always be how it is with our children as they grow up and move away. We will visit and we will always search their eyes, and their faces, and probe their hearts to make sure that they are okay; that they know that they are loved and that Tyler and I are always there for them. Gah! That is the hard part of this parenting young adults thing!! They aren't five anymore. You can't make everything okay with a kiss and an ice cream cone. You can't hover and meddle. You offer advice and hope they take it. Sometime they do and sometimes they don't. You have to trust them and have faith in them. You celebrate their victories with them and encourage them when things are difficult. You have to say a lot of prayers and hope for the best, right? And then... you have to drive away. It doesn't get easier. I hear it never does.

My heart x 4

We broke up our trip home with a stop in Rexburg, Idaho to see my Grandma who lives there now to be near my aunt. We have missed having her close to us. When we drove into town we immediately ran into my cousin Zeke at the gas station. So crazy. It was fun to visit with him. He's a great kid. The assisted living place that my grandma lives at is really nice. I was impressed and think that it is the best place for her. It is LDS run and so she has an opportunity to take the sacrament and attend services in the commons area. It is the little things like that that mean a lot to me and to her. I think she is treated with dignity and respect and she seems to be happy there. I thought that she had gone down hill a bit more since we last saw her over Labor Day. We had heard that she wouldn't know us and doesn't really talk anymore. I was pleasantly surprised that she did know us and would talk a little. I pretty much kept up a running one-sided conversation but she would chime in here and there. We made her laugh a few times. We had letters from the great-grandkids that we read to her and we decorated her walls with some new family pictures. I know that she can't see them but she is loved and missed and her walls represent that. It was hot in Rexburg that day but my grandma said that she was freezing so we bundled her up in her Christmas blanket and had a sweet visit.

This is the building that she is in on her campus. It is really cute and cozy.

I was really happy that we got to see her. I am especially glad that she knew who I was and that we got to laugh together again a little bit. I am also glad that I got to tell her once again how much I love her and how much she means to me. She told me that she loved me and misses me too. That is priceless.

This picture was when we were telling her good-bye. I have tears in my eyes and she has a little smile on her face that you can barely see peeking out from her blanket. She was comforting me and teasing me a little when Tyler took that picture. It reminds me that my grandma is still in there and that she is still her...strong personality...and loving grandma...even if it is only in fleeting moments. We also stopped and visited with my uncle's mother, Iris, who also lives in the same facility for a few minutes on our way out.

Then it was back into the car, back on the road, and back to real life. We got home in a good amount of time and still had a three day weekend left to our spring break which was awesome. It was a fun-filled and packed trip and a great spring break!!

Easter 2016

Easter 2016

We started our celebrations early on Saturday out at the lake. We met my mom, Stacey, John and their kids, and Kelley and Elle out at the lake. It is weird not having my grandma out there this year. She seems to be doing well in Rexburg near my aunt Marji but we miss her.

The lake was gorgeous as usual despite it being overcast. We did get a few sunbursts and that was nice.

It was such a fun day out at the lake. It was nice to just be able to relax and chill after a crazy week and half of worrying about our mother. We met at the lake around noon and had a fantastic Easter feast: Ham, funeral potatoes, jello, rolls, veggies and ranch, green punch, and birthday cake. It was also a quadruple birthday celebration for: Stacey, Kelley, Elle, and Bryn.

We had our annual Easter Egg Hunt with the eggs hidden by John, Tyler, and Kameron. This year they kicked it up a notch and made it quite a bit more challenging now that the kids are getting older.

Lining up: youngest to oldest

Ailey and Dane

River

Elle on the run

Brynnie

Kameron lining them up to give them two additional hints when the coveted golden eggs still hadn't been found. It was MUCH harder this year!!

Smaller group this year. We missed having Reilly here and we missed our Ellersick cousins who usually celebrate with us.

Ailey and Bryn in their matching outfits. That almost never happens anymore. Sniff.

Our cute man boy!!

When I saw Kameron and how darn cute he looked I had to go all Mama Goldberg on him and smother him with kisses. He was not having it! Ha Ha.

And then he was having it... because he is a sweet boy who loves his mom. What he isn't...is that much taller than me. I think I was standing in a gopher hole or something.

Then it was onto the forbidden Easter Egg Toss for the grown ups:

You might think that it would lose some of it's danger and excitement with Granny living in Southern Idaho now...but you would be wrong...it is still thrilling. :)

This year our eggs turned out pretty cool...nice and bright!!

Then it was onto the birthday party portion of our day...

Bryn and Elle have birthdays two weeks apart. Elle's birthday is at the end of March and Bryn's birthday is the first part of April.

Kelley and Stacey both have birthdays in March.

Ailey and Grandma

The manly men...who are always completely outnumbered: John, Dane, Tyler, Kameron

Dane and River

Happy Birthday Stacey, Kelley, Elle and Bryn!!

The boys played basketball most of the day and the little girls played outside for hours finding treasures on the beach and then making this video about their "lake treasures museum." So funny. Bryn is the narrator. They found some cool things. This reminds me of what I used to do with my cousins...finding things on our hikes at the lake and making collages with them and our VERY favorite activity was taking our floating mats out past our dock and then diving off of them with our goggles and finding all the treasures that had fallen into the lake out of people's boats. My kids and their cousins do this too. I love it!! 

The Lake Treasures Museam...and Bryn's shadow

Easter Sunday we were up at the crack of dawn...even before dawn cracked...to do our Easter baskets because we have early church and we had to be there a half an hour earlier than that because Kameron was in charge of the bread and had to prepare the sacrament. There was no time for much of anything including breakfast. We ate candy for breakfast. Woohoo. It was also absolutely pouring rain and there was no way to take any cute pictures of the kids in their Easter outfits before church. Then it absolutely poured rain all through church and for the rest of the day. I did get a few pictures after church on our porch but we are slightly worse for wear.

Picture we texted to Reilly

Here were some of the delicious treats that were made by Ailey for our Easter Luncheon:

Tyler helped with the cupcakes too. They are my kryptonite. Homemade Coconut Cupcakes. It doesn't get better than that!!

All in all, it was a wonderful Holy Week and Easter weekend. Despite the hectic month and all that we had going on we still found lots of opportunities to reflect on our Savior's Atonement and glorious Resurrection. I am so grateful for my Savior Jesus Christ.

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL EASTER!!

Update on My Mom

Update on My Mom

The Tuesday before St. Patrick's Day I was volunteering in Bryn and Elle's classroom when I got a phone call from my mom which I couldn't answer, then a phone call from my sister Kelley that I couldn't answer, and then a frantic text from Kelley asking me to call her immediately and that it was an emergency. I was right in the middle of leading a small group outside the library with a bunch of kids from Bryn and Elle's class. It turned out that my Mom was needing to go to the ER immediately with potential heart issues. She had just been seen at her clinic and was told to go immediately to the ER. She refused to go to the hospital in her little town, didn't want to be seen in Coeur d' Alene, and was wanting to go to Sacred Heart, a hospital here in Spokane, that has a fantastic heart institute. It was where Tyler went with his heart issues.

My mom had been telling us for the past week that she was sick. She thought it was a sinus infection or the flu. I had just talked to her just the day before I got the call from Kelley and she said that she was feeling really run down, not feeling any better at all, super dizzy, and feeling really short of breath. She told me that she was short of breath just talking to me on the phone. I told her that shortness of breath was weird and that it could be heart related and that I wouldn't mess around with that. I told her to get into one of her clinics and get checked out ASAP. She is a health care CEO and has multiple health clinics and all kinds of doctors at her fingertips. But she is a nurse and always thinks that she knows best and I really doubted that she would go to the doctor. That day she was heading in to work and could barely make it across the parking lot and into her office. When she got checked out she had an erratic EKG and still had the shortness of breath. Also her blood pressure was bottoming out. That is weird because she normally has high blood pressure and has been on bp medication for the last several years. She wasn't allowed to drive herself anywhere. She called me and then Kelley from her clinic. One of her staff drove her home and then she needed one of us to drive her to Spokane. Sometimes it really sucks that she lives an hour and a half away.

Kelley was going to go and get her but she had used the van pool to get to work and so Tyler left his office and hurried over to pick up Kelley from her work and then took her to get her car while I was trying to extricate myself from my group of kids I was helping and from Bryn and Elle's classroom without freaking them out. Kelley was able to get to my mom in record time. She picked her up, packed her an overnight bag, and loaded up her enormous dog Maggie Mae since we didn't know what was going on or if she would be admitted. They dropped off the dog and headed to the hospital where they sat for an hour and a half in the ER waiting room. Stacey and I both got there and spent that hour and a half waiting with them. Tyler left work early and ran carpool for all our kids, provided pizza and entertainment, and tucked them all into bed.

When she was admitted my mom's EKG and BP were looking slightly better. She had a bunch of blood tests run and one came back positive for potential blood clots. She ended up having a chest xray and a CT scan where they found numerous blood clots in both lungs. She had four pretty large ones and then her lungs were filled with tons of micro clots. My mom had some tenderness in one of her calves and remembered having what she thought was a horrible charlie horse in it one night prior to the onset of all her many symptoms. The doctors think that she had a blood clot in her calf that broke up into several larger clots and flicked off into all those micro clots.

She was on an IV and was immediately given a Lovenox shot and started on Coumadin. She didn't stay in the hospital very long...she checked out the next afternoon...which was worrying because she is an terrible patient!! She flat out refused to stay with either me, Stacey, or Kelley. She was bound and determined to go home. The doctors said that she should be fine being on her own as long as she got up and moved around every two hours, took her shots twice daily, and went to her Coumadin clinic appointments daily, She latched onto that information and refused to stay with any of us. We thought that was a huge mistake and still do. Tyler and I drove her and her beast of a dog back home, got her settled, picked up her prescriptions, bought groceries for her, and set her up with several days worth of meals. Tyler lent his diabetic expertise about giving yourself shots in the stomach. We were there for several hours and then VERY RELUCTANTLY left. I don't think my mom really thought about what a toll it was going to take on her. She had a pretty miserable week and needed more help than she thought she would. Stacey ended up going to her house and staying with her for a couple of days and she still was pretty out of commission. She is used to bouncing back and charging forward and her body flat out refused to allow her too. I think she was surprised to see how much help she actually needed. Kelley and I were in the line up to each take a day with her but then we got some snowy weather and she didn't want anyone driving up. She ended up getting off of the Lovenox shots after about five days but she still has to be on heavy doses of Coumadin for 6 months to a year and she is still attending her Coumadin clinic daily. After a few months they will test her to see if she has some kind of blood clotting disorder and maybe that was why she formed a clot. No one knows why at this point. I hope not because that is usually hereditary and so we were told, as her children, to take a baby aspirin a day (I already have for years) particularly before flying. If we do fly or go on a long road trip we need to make sure that we get up and walk around every two hours etc. After being home for a week my mom went into her office to do payroll and had to face facts that it was going to take quite awhile to get back to feeling normal. She came out to the lake last Saturday for our family's Easter celebration but she still was feeling terrible and  just had to take it easy and allow me and my sisters to do all the work. She doesn't enjoy not being in charge and wasn't a happy camper. But I thought she looked a hundred times better than she did the week before. She is back to work this week but not working a full day most days...at least I hope.

It has been quite a wake up call to her and to all of us. This coming on the heels of her still dealing with complications from breaking her arm last summer...surgery...and still going to physical therapy for that. It has not been a fun season for her and I know that she gets really annoyed dealing with me and my sisters about her health concerns and us voicing our many opinions.  But what can you do?! It's definitely hard. I am happy to say that she is continuing to improve and I hope that her road to recovery continues to go smoothly.