February treated us kindly. Unfortunately not so Ukraine. It's devastating. That situation is breaking my heart. It's absolutely horrific.
This month the weather here was slightly less severe (sometimes) and the days were a bit cheerier. The girls started a new semester at school. Ailey's last high school semester. That's starting to sink in for her. I think she thought it would be all fun and excitement; she didn't anticipate the bittersweet that comes with the *last* of many of her high school activities. Our days this month were filled with basketball and dance team. Early morning practices...after school practices...basketball games...dance team competitions...and Rubber Chicken. It was go-go-go. Unfortunately, Puxsutawney Phil saw his shadow this year. 6 more weeks of winter. Blah. But at least we are halfway through with winter so... Hooray!
Tyler celebrated his 51st birthday! More on that in a later post but true to his word he did NOT have a Super Bowl Birthday Party. LOL. On Super Bowl Sunday, we ate good food, watched the first half of the Super Bowl, and then turned it off after the half-time show...the true highlight of the game! There was nothing to see after that!
The Olympics began and ended. We started off kind of excited about watching and then it just petered out REALLY quickly. This seems to have happened to a lot of people. Why? Why did interest for so many just fizzle? For me, most of it had to do with the difficulty of actually watching what we wanted to watch. We have Peacock. We have all the channels and all the streaming and it was still a huge pain. Then there were the complications with China...political and logistical. Sometimes I could watch the events that I was excited about, like ice skating and snowboarding, but it was without the commentary. I found out really quickly that I need some commentary to enjoy watching. Anyway... we started strong and then didn't watch at all. Kind of disappointing.
Yep! I want to hear their backstories and struggles and triumphs.
COVID and all of its annoying variants seems to be subsiding around here. FINALLY. Most states no longer have a mask mandate. Not so WA. Our governor decided that we can take our masks off on March 21st. Then the President and the CDC said that it is time to lift the mask mandates and our governor said that he would *think* about it and do his own *research*. Good hell. This is the man who has been in lock step with the CDC until now. He came back a few days later and said that the mask mandate will be lifted on March 11th. Wow. A whole week earlier. Thanks so much Inslee. (Puke.) I despise him so much. But I am happy and grateful that COVID cases are going down.
Bryn's month was filled with basketball. We had so much fun watching her play and seeing the tremendous improvement that she and her team made. Her last game was truly the most fun to watch. She was so proud of herself and came running up to us and said, "Did you see how aggressive I was!?!" It was awesome to watch her confidence and skills grow in a new sport and to watch her have such a great time playing.
Proof of aggression. LOL.
Bryn's season ended at the end of the month. She celebrated with her team at a team breakfast and she celebrated with us at Starbucks. Her fave.
The night of Rubber Chicken finally arrived. It was fun to be in the arena again with a big group of our friends cheering on our kids. Everyone there had to show proof of vaccination. You also couldn't bring a purse into the arena. So bizarre.
Bryn is officially a teen. She ditched the parents after this one picture before Rubber Chicken even started and went to watch in the student section with her friends.
Rubber Chicken was on a Monday night so Kameron video chatted with us while we were there. It was super hard to hear him but it was fun for him to *kind of* see the game and to see people that he knows and who were wishing him well! Eventually Tyler and I went out to the concourse and both Bryn and her group of friends walked by so she was able to talk to him and then Ailey and her friends walked by and he was able to talk to her too before her performance. Reilly and Hunter weren't able to attend due to not being vaccinated but they were able to watch on TV.
Sadly despite winning both games and having the best half-time performance we did not bring Chuck the Rubber Chicken home this year. We were robbed. LOL. We got home incredibly late that night but we had a great time!! Ailey got home even later than we did and that poor girl looked like she had been on a three day bender the next day! Ha ha! I'm so glad that the school district was able to postpone this event for a few weeks so that it could still happen!
Ailey had her last dance team competition at the end of the month. That was bittersweet for all of us. It's hard to believe that our tenure as dance parents is over. We have consistently had daughters doing some form of dance for the last 21 (gulp) years. Reilly started ballet at age three and we've been going strong ever since. It's been a fun ride.
A few weeks ago Ailey attended a basketball game at another high school in Spokane with some friends and got to see Dane. He was playing against the team that Ailey came to watch. That was fun for the cousins. Ailey misses him dearly. It had been almost 2 1/2 years since she had seen him in person. Sad.
Ailey's big school trip to Orlando is just around the corner so she had several mandatory choir practices. Disney is very strict about the groups that perform and there are lots of rules to follow. She is getting excited! It is going to be such a fun Senior trip for her.
Both Ailey and Bryn have had a fun month with friends. Social lives, hang outs, get-togethers, parties, and dates (for Ailey) were in full swing. Ailey, in particular, was a blur this month. Tyler and I found ourselves in an empty house on the weekends. It wasn't awful. LOL.
All the college acceptances started rolling in and Ailey and her friends are feeling that their time together is getting shorter and shorter. Reality is setting in and they are equal parts excited and in tears. SO. MANY. TEARS. I remember that feeling when all of my friends and I started getting accepted at different universities and realizing that we weren't going to be seeing much of each other in the future. It's hard.
Bryn attended a birthday party at the pizza place that Kelley's boyfriend owns. He wasn't there so what could've been a potentially awkward situation was averted. Although I would be surprised if he even recognized Bryn. He wasn't a super active participant in family events.
Kameron is doing well and enjoying his area. He and his companion are busy and having fun. They love this family in their branch that takes such good care of them. This sister in the branch really *mothers* and spoils them. They need it! I am grateful for people like that. This wonderful woman keeps me regularly supplied with pictures, videos, and kind words about how much Kam is loved, enjoyed, and appreciated. It's fun to hear about all of the nice things that our kid does that he doesn't ever mention to us...
...Like going to youth high school games/matches on their P-Days and supporting the kids in their branch. The kids love it when the elders show up!
Kam doing a service project with one of the kids they watched compete.
Playing Monopoly.
Watch out kids. Elder Johnson is a SHARK! He loves this game and has no mercy!
Having Nerf gun wars with some of the same kids on their P-Day.
Yes, I got after him for STANDING on someone else's couch!! Good grief. But the kids had fun and the missionaries had fun and the parents (and owner of the couch) couldn't say enough about what a blessing these Elders are to their branch. Their branch president really wants the missionaries actively involved with the youth. That is one of his top priorities. He wants the youth spending time and being influenced by the missionaries. Kam and his companion were asked to plan some youth activities in March and they are really excited about that.
Kam and his companion are doing good work and teaching people. They serve all kinds of people in all kinds of ways in their little community of New Prague and it's a wonderful thing!
There was a big winter storm that hit Minnesota this month. All of the missionaries were told to stay home for 48 hours. Being housebound was awful for them but sadly they are used to it.
Kameron's gotten really good on the piano!! Must be the missionary mojo! The Holy Spirit is just flowing down into his fingers! He was the one Johnson kid who absolutely REFUSED to take piano lessons. He should have listened to his mother!
Kameron manages to make mission life look easy when I know that it is definitely not. His work ethic is off the charts and I'm glad to see that his play ethic is still in existence too. :)
Reilly and Hunter are doing well. We saw Reilly several times this month: on Tyler's birthday and at his birthday celebration, at our family Valentine's dinner, and she stopped by Tyler's work one day which was sweet. She and her co-workers have been doing some service for our homeless population. There is a tent city off of the freeway that they brought supplies to a couple of times and visited with the people there. Reilly enjoyed being able to serve others and to help in any way that she could. She started a supply drive at several coffee stands around town for donations. It has been so cold that it is impossible not to do something to help.
She and Hunter went on a little getaway for Valentine's Day to Flathead Lake, Montana. She texted us all kinds of pictures and videos of the beauty there. We need to go there this summer. It looked so gorgeous even in the winter.
Tyler LOVED his first month back in the office. It is still pretty empty. He says that it feels good being back in a regular routine and is enjoying seeing his colleagues and co-workers. Tyler goes in early in the morning at 6 am and then gets off work at 4 pm. This allows him to only work a half day on Fridays which has been fun. Most managers are starting to come back and prep for a bigger return of employees in March and April after the mask mandate ends. He got his bonus this month too so that was nice!
This month was his turn to conduct at church and our bishop was gone quite a bit so he was the presiding person and had to run all the meetings and do all the things. It was a little stressful for him but he did a great job! We also had Ward Conference so he got to experience that from a different perspective. He and Bryn got to be dance partners at a combined activity for the YM/YW. The kids learned to Swing Dance. Ol' Daddio is pretty darn good! Brynnie was surprised at her old man's *moves*. This has had an unfortunate side effect...now Tyler wants ME to go country dancing with him. Oh geez.
My month has been good with steady sales at Midtown which kept me working on projects and on the hunt for cute things for my booth. It's always fun to have the booth decked out in reds and pinks for Valentine's Day.
This was a good month for workouts. I've been pretty diligent about working out in some form 6 days a week. Lots of outdoor time and some peloton time. I added weights to my peloton rides a couple of times and that felt great! I am hoping to go back to my gym after the mask mandate is over. It's been so long. I am one of those people who actually enjoys going to the gym. I am continuing on with intermittent fasting. So far so good... but sheesh...that perimenopausal weight gain is a real thing.
I've been able to have some good friend time this month and had quite a few catch ups with old friends who I cherish. That has been wonderful!! In person and via FaceTime. Technology is a gift sometimes for staying connected.
I've been trying to resurrect my desire to cook. Remember when I used to love it? That ship has sailed. I am forcing myself to try some new recipes and hoping that does the trick. Tyler and I rotate being in charge of Sunday dinner and that is about as elaborate as I get otherwise it is simple meals that can be whipped up fast. I hope Bryn takes over Ailey's baking when she heads off to college or we might never have another dessert around here.
I made two new recipes this month that the family requested that I keep in the rotation. I made Buddha bowls and Half-Baked Harvest's Creamy Chicken Chili. If you aren't following Half-Baked Harvest online you should be. All of her recipes have been winners.
The other joy of my life this month has been our Instacart account. If my desire to cook for my family is fleeting at best; my desire to grocery shop for my family is nonexistent. I lost the will to go to Walmart long ago but I could still do a visit to the grocery store every two weeks and do a Costco haul. Now, nope. I'm done. I don't care what it costs. Costco can come to me. The grocery store? Maybe...but that's a big maybe.
My Aunt Bonnie came to town and we got to hang out. It is always good to see her and I love the time we spend together. She is a touchstone...to the past...to my mom...to who I am. It means a lot to me. She is hilariously funny and incredibly loving.
My calling has been busy this month with Ward Conferences. I've been to three this month. In one ward I got to sit in on a primary class of 2nd graders. One of the children is from Ukraine. His family moved here recently and he is learning to speak English. His primary teacher uses a translation app on her phone to help him communicate with the class and for the class to communicate with him. It was awesome to witness and he taught me to say, "Hi Friend!" My visit to his primary class occurred only days before Russia invaded Ukraine.
Interesting fact about Spokane...we have a large Russian population and a large Ukrainian population here. 30,000 Ukrainians and 20,000 Russians live in Spokane. Most moved here in the 90s as Christian immigrants and have slowly brought their families here. Most Russians and Ukrainians attend Slavic churches together here in Spokane. This war between their two countries has been so hard on all of them.
Russia attacked Ukraine on February 24th and it has been a horror story watching what is happening over there. The day that happened our family texting thread and our family FB message thread that Kameron is on went crazy. All day we were fielding worried questions from our children who were all asking, "What is happening??" "What does this mean??" Tyler and I tried our best to help them understand what was going on and the history behind the war with Russia and Ukraine. Ever since then we are constantly monitoring events and trying to explain the latest updates to the kids. Their world seems so out of control (and it is). They worry what this means for the world, for the people of Ukraine, for the future, and what it means for their future...and we have no answers. They are incredibly sad because they all go (or have gone) to school and worked with both Ukrainians and Russians. Our community is hurting and is trying to rally around and support Ukrainian businesses and Russian ones too. They have nothing to do with Putin. Tyler's step-brother, Forrest, served his mission in Ukraine and when he has come to visit us he has taken us to local Ukrainian stores and bakeries and had us try all kinds of Ukrainian treats. We've had so much fun doing that with him. Our city had a very large rally for Ukraine and that was wonderful to see. We've done what we can to show our support. It feels like barely anything though in the grand scheme of things as this awful war rages.
In some other sad news... my step-aunt, Marylee, lost her husband John to cancer. I was able to talk to her and she was doing okay...all things considered. He had been quite sick for a long time. Kirk was able to talk to her too. Kirk, Tyler, and I (and Jordin) have some hilarious memories of visiting them in Denver. Epic Road Trips!
Kirk got his ancestry DNA results which was fun. We were hoping for some interesting surprises considering some of the tall tales we had heard from my step-dad. But they were just what we thought. Tall tales. I do love that he is connected to my mom and to me and we can see how our DNA matches up. I like that both my mom and father did their ancestry DNA and it has been fun to see. I share much more of my DNA with my mom. No surprise there. LOL.
Tax season is upon us and I am dreading it. Fingers crossed this doesn't open up another bunch of issues with my sisters. I'm sure that it will but I will pray, wish on a star, cross my fingers, and hope for the best.
In some rather exciting news... Spokane finally got a cookie/soda shop a-la a Swig type place. It's called Twisted Sugar. It's pretty good. It's nice to finally have something like that and it's five minutes from my house.
Wordle? Still going strong!
So yeah...that was basically February.
