M&M Johnson Family Blog

Lake Powell 2009

2010-08-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Okay, so these next few posts will be slightly out of order chronologically speaking, but at least the experiences will be documented! In July, my Grandma Torgesen passed away (an amazing lady, more to come later), then we had a family reunion w/ the Torgesens (my parents, siblings, etc), and then I took our kids and rode down w/ my sister Elizabeth to Lake Powell to spend a few more days w/family while Marc began his training for his new business w/ American Family Insurance. Anyhow, here are some pics from the lake!

Bryce and Whitney both learned to kneeboard and enjoyed it! Olivia wasn't too excited to try...maybe next time.

We took an excursion in the boats one day over to a huge sand dune at the Lake and Carter and Gramps watched the boats while everyone enjoyed the dune and the mild cliff jumping.

Even Granny had to take the plunge!

Probaby hard to see in the picture, but this is Whitney and Bryce going together off the edge!

Pioneer Day -- 2009

2010-08-20T22:20:00.000-07:00

Our two older girls, Whitney and Olivia, were able to be on the float that our ward helped put together for our stake for the Pioneer Day parade here in town. Unfortunately, a year later I can't remember the theme, but our specific float theme was "Bloom where you are planted". Anyhow, it was fun to participate in building a float and the girls loved being in the parade! I admire those who were in charge of coming up w/ the idea and did most of the work...and glad it wasn't me! :

Mesa Falls

2010-08-19T08:07:00.000-07:00

On our way home from Island Park last summer, we took the scenic route and stopped at Mesa Falls. It was beautiful! Here is a picture or two. After hiking around the falls, we then continued home w/the necessary stop at Big Jud's for dinner (see the Island Park post) where they are known for their HUGE hamburgers, ice cream, etc. And as I mentioned in the post about Alyssa, I will be trying to catch up, so these next few posts will cover things from 2009 and I'll slowly work my way up to the present, maybe, one day, anyway, that is my hope! :)

Bryce and Olivia at the falls

Mesa Falls...a beautiful place and worth the stop

Marc and the kids

Introducing Alyssa!

2010-08-17T14:29:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I've gotten behind (like a year behind, really) in keeping up the blog. Loads of excuses but will save those for another time. Here is the biggest news in our family, bigger than buying our first home, bigger than getting our first puppy, bigger than trying to finish the basement of previously mentioned home purchase, you get the idea...

On June 3rd we welcomed Alyssa into the family. She was 8 lbs. 4 oz. and came with an appetite! We've loved getting to know her and continue to be surprised at how quickly babies grow up. At her 2 month appt. she weighed in at 12 lb 4 oz and took her first set of shots like a pro. And we love that she sleeps for long stretches at night! Here's a few pics and will post more later...sometime within the next year as I still need to catch up from last year! :)

Here she is a day or two old...Whitney is holding her.

The nurse was nice and let each of our kids listen to Alyssa's heart when she came to check on her. Here's Olivia taking her turn.

Granny and Gramps (Marie's parents) came to visit for a few days when Alyssa was a week old.

Just a random shot of Alyssa when she was 3 or 4 weeks old.

Fun in Island Park

2009-10-16T12:14:00.000-07:00

In the middle of July (2009), we took a short little family vacation and spent two days up in Island Park. Due to connections w/ a great friend, we had free lodging and enjoyed some of the local sights. After returning home, we asked the kids what their favorite part of the "trip" was and it was unanimous -- "The see-saw that Dad built!" Goes to show who needs money to have fun...only logs and flowers and such needed!

Here's a creative homemade hat rack...

A family of ducks enjoying an afternoon swim.

The kids at Big Springs

Dad is great...look at the seesaw he put together for us!

Of course, the trip back home wouldn't be complete without a stop at Big Jud's. The hamburger really is the size of an entire dinner plate... fed our whole family!

Whitney's Reward

2009-10-14T13:41:00.000-07:00

So Marc promised the kids that once they memorized all 13 Articles of Faith, he would make them a HUGE lollipop, carrying on a tradition from his grandma. Well, Whitney accomplished her goal and was excited to receive her very own "made-by-dad" giant lollipop. Here she is with her prized possession.
And what little sibling wouldn't want a piece of that yummy treat? Carter thinks if he does his special smile, Whitney will instantly share!

Happy 4th of July!

2009-10-14T12:57:00.000-07:00

Before the holiday we had gone to spend time w/ family in June. This is Carter receiving some love from a cousin that is 2 years older than him. :) Just a fun picture!

We stayed here in town for the Independence Day celebrations for the first time since we moved here 3 years ago! We enjoyed a fun breakfast with our ward family, then made a dash over to the parade, followed by a leisurely afternoon, and an attempted bbq with some families in the neighborhood. I say attempted as you'll see from the pictures that mother nature had other plans. However, by the time it was dark, the weather cleared and there was time for awesome fireworks.

Always nice to see folks from "home"!

The kids were always at the ready for any and all candy that might come their way.

Here is the storm that blew in that early evening. It lasted for about 2 hours from start to finish and included all the cool stuff...lightning, thunder, hail, wind, and water!

The kids enjoying the result of the storm and then a few hours later, Bryce and Carter ready to watch fireworks outside...

Back to Life...Back to Reality...I mean Technology

2009-10-14T12:46:00.000-07:00

Okay, so it's no surprise that I have once again been a slacker in the record keeping department. Now that it has been brought to my attention (thanks Heather & Elizabeth) more than once, I suppose there are others out there who may, on occasion, enjoy reading about the random day(s) in the life of our humble family. Not to mention I need to document at least a few activities from time to time so that my kids will know that we tried to be fun, cool parents and so they can have proof for their children one day that they too were children... etc, etc.

A little patience, please, as this technology stuff, though not difficult, is still a learning process (I know, if I kept up the blog on a regular basis, it would not be such a slow process...see, I know what you're thinking). So here goes a few posts to update everyone on the past few months. ENJOY!

Runners - In - Training

2009-06-12T21:53:00.000-07:00

Some more catch-up....the weekend following Marc's graduation, the kids participated in an Endurance Festival event, here in Poky. The cool thing about the event was that the local hospital covered the entry fees for all participants under the age of 18! All in an effort to encourage kids to be active, etc. Anyhow, the event consisted of runs and bike races (road races) ranging from a .66 mile run for kids, a 5K, 10K, half-marathon and a bike race (just under a mile) for kids as well. Also, there was varying lengths of a Duathlon competition (run & bike ride), again, ranging from 5k run/20k bike ride up to 1/2 marathon run/1/2 century bike ride, I think.

We enjoyed a fun morning at the park encouraging the kids in the run as well as cheering on Marc's brother as he participated in one of the duathlon competitions. The Endurance Festival sponsors another similar event in Poky in September where it will be running and biking on trails rather than the road.

Here are a few play by play pics to help you feel like you were there! The kids did well and had fun. They were particularly excited that they got water bottles & back packs w/coupons and free samples for registering for the race! Olivia did inform us that next time she wants to participate in the bike race as running makes her legs too tired! :)

Above, the participants gearing up! Our kids enjoyed having their cousins participate as well.

On to the finish...

Peyton challenged himself and did awesome in the 5K run!

Kind of like a "Where's Waldo?" picture below...Can you find Scott (Marc's brother)??

Hooray for Graduation!

2009-06-11T15:00:00.000-07:00

So, although Marc technically finished the MBA program in December 2008, he participated in the graduation ceremony at ISU on May 9th! It was quite a different experience from the BYU graduations we've attended, but a neat experience. Plus, we enjoyed a visit from Grandma & Grandpa Johnson to help celebrate! We are so proud of Marc... I won't ramble on; he's an incredible man, awesome father and husband and I love him! Enjoy the pictures!

We Love Home Depot!

2009-06-11T14:48:00.000-07:00

The first Saturday of each month, Home Depot (at least the one here in Poky) has an activity for kids....free!! Marc took the three older kids at the beginning of May and they made Mother's Day gifts! Here are a couple pics of the process and the finished product.

Free Floats!!

2009-06-03T12:40:00.001-07:00

I got an email from Sonic and they will be serving free (10 oz) floats from 8pm - midnight tonight, June 3rd! It does say (in small print) at participating locations, but if you have a Sonic near you, it might be worth checking into! Just wanted to pass along the info!

Hope everyone is having a marvelous June! One of these days (real soon) I'll get some more updating and pictures posted!

Catching Up

2009-05-26T09:37:00.000-07:00

So once again, time seems to have passed more rapidly than I realize. It's been two months since I've managed to post anything so there's bit to catch up. Mostly we've been living life each day, enjoying the rain, the sunshine, each other, etc. Let's see, back to the end of March, first of April....

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter and the kids had fun coloring eggs.

At the end of April, we enjoyed a short trip down to Utah for Kara's graduation from BYU. We had lots of fun being with family and the kids enjoyed playing with their cousins. It was fun to see Elizabeth & David (thanks for letting us stay at your place!) and their girls, and Andrea and her kids, Kara & Scott, and Granny and Gramps "T".

Don't worry, there is still much, much more to catch up on! Stay tuned for more pictures and updates to come, and you won't even have to wait for another two months...maybe just a day or two!

Nothing like a Little Blue to Make Some Memories

2009-03-24T14:19:00.000-07:00

At the end of February we were able to go to Utah for a quick trip and see a few other Johnsons! Marc and two of his brothers were able to go the the BYU v. Utah Basketball game in Provo and took along some of the cousins to cheer on the cougars. Fortunately that night the Cougars pulled through and won, making the event even better. Too bad our cheers from home couldn't help them out last weekend in the tournament...

Just For Fun

2009-03-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Here are a few pictures of Carter and one of Whitney, just being silly around the house.

And another one, showing how grown-up Carter is getting...he can serve himself up breakfast, anytime of day! Of course, you can tell Olivia seems to enjoy the fact that Carter can get out snacks for everyone!

A Birthday to Remember

2009-03-24T13:53:00.000-07:00

So Marc and the kids really outdid themselves this year in honor of my birthday. By the end of the day, I wasn't sure I would be able to go back to "real life" the next day! To sum it all up, I don't remember doing a single bit of work/chores, etc for the entire day! Marc was Superman all day! He took all 4 kids to run errands in the morning, prepared all the meals and gave me strict instructions that I wasn't to lift a finger, but to only do things I wanted to do, ie read, sleep, etc. Anyhow, unbeknownest to me, he had arranged for a good friend to invite me to a movie in the afternoon as he needed me out of the house for a couple hours. So I enjoyed a movie w/another adult, then she surprised me and took me to get a haircut. When she dropped me off at home, I was greeted by these amazing workers/wait staff.

The living room had been transformed to a quaint little restaurant for two (well, a third person insisted on joining), complete w/menus and everything! Needless to say, it was wonderful and the kids were quite the professional wait staff, even eating their own meal, on their own, in the kitchen.

The evening was concluded with one of my favorite cakes, a mandarin orange cake, made by Marc! Seriously, it was an amazing day and I am amazed at the wonderful family I am blessed to be a part of.

Thanks, Son!

2009-02-13T11:20:00.001-08:00

So here's a conversation that took place last night at dinner:

Marc: So kids, who knows how old Mom will be on her birthday?
Olivia: Thirty-three!
Marc: No, that's how old I am, but how old will Mom be?
Bryce: uh, fifteen? yeah, fifteen?

Poor kid, being raised by a "fifteen" year old...I'm in more over my head than I thought. Actually, it was kind of funny because the kids know how old Marc is, and I thought they'd remember I'm just a year younger. On the other hand, somedays I still feel like I haven't aged past 20, except adding the extra pounds and the decrease in my ability to handle life well on 3-4 hours of sleep at night.

I do get more sleep than that, most nights anyway, and hopefully I've grown a little wiser from what I was when I was 15. However, I find myself feeling very young mentally on many days as I realize how much there is to learn in life and how many different perspectives exist on those many things to learn. Although I've learned tons in my short life span, there are so many things that I have yet to learn and many topics that I've only begun to skim the surface on. Yea for each new day to try to learn more and realize I may need to "re-learn" a few things I thought I knew! And how thankful I am for kids who ask questions and want to know the whys and hows of all aspects of things on the earth!

How fun and challenging to be part of a world in which there are things to learn and principles to understand and live by, and billions of individuals, all unique, yet very similar!

ALASKA!

2009-02-13T10:08:00.000-08:00

Here are a few pictures taken in Fairbanks, Alaska! Yes, Marc and I had the opportunity to fly out there where he had a job interview, and since Carter can fly for free, he came along! We were there for about 3.5 days and got to experience the great people, the great town, and the chilly weather. One day the high was -30 and one day the high warmed up to -12! Quite an experience and worth every minute. While Marc was in interviews, I was able to spend a couple hours with the mother of one of the elders serving in our stake at home. It is amazing that we truly have "brothers and sisters" everywhere we go!

Anyhow, I could ramble on for a long time, so I'll spare you. We were hoping to catch a glimpse of the Northern Lights while in town there, but didn't have any luck until, as we were flying home, we had left Fairbanks at 1:30 am local time and 10 minutes after taking off, Marc says, "Marie, I think I see the Northern Lights!" Sure enough, as we were high in the sky, above the clouds, you could see the beautiful "dancing" of the Northern Lights -- Amazing! If only we could have captured it on our camera...

Enjoy the pictures!

Driving the streets of Fairbanks

The Alaska Pipeline

Ice Sculpture of Al Gore (taken from the car, while driving)

An Ice House/Chapel outside our hotel

Carter and Marc standing inside, Carter sitting on the "altar"

Ice Sculpture of Nativity

Marie & Carter in front of the statue at Golden Heart Plaza, by the Courthouse in downtown Fairbanks

Kicking off the New Year -- Highlights From January!

2009-02-13T09:51:00.000-08:00

Holy cow, this new year is off to a fast start...I'm a little behind, but let's try to catch you up!

We started off the New Year by playing and having fun w/family. We all (except Carter, I think) managed to stay up til after Midnight and enjoyed spending time at Scott & Danette's house! Thanks to Russ & Aspen for the new fun game "Swap!", the kids and adults alike all had fun in an almost 24 hour "Swap!" marathon. Literally, I think there was a game of Swap or Sneaks going on all day and well into the night, only to pick back up the next morning!

Now on to the biggest and best highlight of January -- Marc's birthday! (Along with countless others that first week of January -- happy belated birthday to you all!) We had fun spending the day w/Marc and he actually had the kids convinced that his birthday was a national holiday. He kept telling them, "There's no school, the banks are closed, there's no mail that day, and people all over are gathering in congregations..."

Hopefully Marc enjoyed his "holiday" at our house! The day started of w/ me going to a 7 am meeting, so he didn't even get to sleep in. Plus, since it was Fast Sunday, no big Birthday breakfast, but hopefully the roast and mashed potatoes, etc. made up for it. Finished the evening off with a yummy, homemade carrot cake topped with cream cheese frosting! What would life be like with out the hero in our home? Thanks Marc for having a birthday and for being such a stellar husband and father!

Also, Carter had his first real hands-on experience in the snow...it seems like it's always too windy or way too cold...but he loved it and was rather mad when we had him come inside!

A Lesson or Preaching?

2009-01-21T11:49:00.000-08:00

So here was a conversation that took place on Monday evening, as we were gathered together as a family for Family Home Evening.

Marc: Okay, I guess we'll go ahead and have an activity and then a treat.
Olivia: You mean we're not having a lesson? Wow! Just the activity and treat, cool!
Marc: Mom just taught us a lesson, don't you remember?
Olivia: That wasn't a lesson, she was just preachin' the gospel! (if only I caught on tape the little dance move she did while talking...)

So, I haven't decided if that is good or bad... good that she didn't feel like she "had to sit through a lesson" or...well, I suppose I'll look at the bright side - at least she knew we were talking about the gospel, right? That could be a bad sign, though, if she feels like I'm "preachin'" !

Magic in the air...

2008-12-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

We love Christmas!! December is a great way to end a year. I think the only down side to being away for Thanksgiving was the fact that we weren't home to put the Christmas tree up on the day after Thanksgiving...Actually, I think Marc would set up the tree and decorate for Christmas before Thanksgiving if he thought he could get away with it. Anyhow, although now it is past Christmas day, here is a brief recap of what December has been for our family! We've had the traditional parties, school, church, friends, etc. For the first time since cold weather began, we've had some serious snow! It was definitely a white Christmas for us and very fun to be together as a family in a nice warm house for the whole day on Christmas day. Even as an adult, I still feel magic in the air during the Christmas season. Our family has been blessed by true Christmas miracles this month and I am truly grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who watches over His children. Anyhow, here are some pictures taken throughout the month to help you visualize our recent happenings!

ISU sponsored a night where student families could come bowling with Santa on campus. The kids had fun meeting Santa, bowling, and multiple trips to the table for hot chocolate and cookies throughout the evening. We've been very impressed with the number of activities ISU has for students with families (all free activities, to boot!). We will definitely miss participating in those!

From a contact at his internship, Marc received a family pass for us to go to the Festival of Trees...

Thanksgiving Day

2008-12-11T13:25:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas is here, I'd better at least document that we celebrated Thanksgiving! And boy, did we celebrate! The day was spent with lots of family and great food. We have so many blessings to be grateful for, but I think not one can top the blessing of incredible family! Since Kara was married the morning before Thanksgiving, all of my siblings and their families were around for Turkey day, plus some extended family and friends that are basically considered to be family. I can't remember the exact count, but I've heard between 82-90 people were in attendance for the meal. Marc joined some of the menfolk for a little Turkey day basketball in the earlier part of the morning while the kids and I spent some quality time with our "extended" family, the Speckhards. Then we met up with everyone for the rest of the afternoon/evening and enjoyed the meal and company.

After the feast, we topped off/filled in the cracks with the traditional and non-traditional pies alike. All counted, I believe it was 41 or 42 pies total... not to bad a ratio, roughly one pie for every 2-3 people! And of course, keeping with our tradition, we did enjoy leftover pie for breakfast the next morning!

Girls' Gala

2008-12-10T15:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, so a few days after Carter's birthday, Carter and I headed down to Texas (with a stop in South Jordan) for a "Girls Weekend" with all the girls (sisters/sister-in-laws/mom)at Denise's place! We spent a great four days there and had lots of fun, food, games, visiting, late nights, movies, etc. It was fun to see all the girls and hang out! Carter was the only male, but he survived! Some highlights include going to the Houston LDS Temple, a day at a spa, lunch at Los Cucos, and Chick-fil-A (another day), shopping, but most fun (for me, anyway) was just being all together! On the way home, Carter and I spent a night at Brent & Penny's before returning to Poky where we faced a wonderful homecoming w/Marc & kids. Marc did a marvelous job running the house/taking care of the other three kids while I was gone... Thanks for being so wonderful Marc! I LOVE YOU!

I must admit, it was nice to hear that the kids cried for me the first night I was gone...honestly, I have moments where I wonder if my kids even care that I am around. Of course, I know I didn't always let my own mom know how much I appreciated all she did for us growing up... even so, it was nice to be missed and even better to come home!

Thanks Denise for hosting/planning etc. and having us all together!!! Looking forward to the next one! :)

The Wedding!

2008-12-10T14:53:00.000-08:00

So I'm sure we had other fun things going on after the birthday and girls weekend and before the last week of November, but we'll skip right to the last week...Kara & Scott got married! It was great to be in the temple with all of the family and share in such a great experience. The kids had fun playing with cousins while waiting for all the adults and had the added bonus of meeting and shaking hands with Elder L. Tom Perry (he performed the sealing) afterward.

Here are a couple pictures to enjoy! Don't Kara & Scott look good with that instant family? When Marc and I were married, just over 10 years ago, we only had a total of 4 nieces and nephews on my side of the family...now it's up to 33.5! Crazy what happens in ten years.

Another Birthday!

2008-12-10T10:41:00.000-08:00

The beginning of November found us celebrating Carter's birthday! He's survived his first year with us...amazing!!!! We were visiting up at Scott & Danette's house and they were kind enough to let us celebrate the festivities with their family at their home. Thanks guys! Here's a few pics to tell the story (what little story there is for one so young...).

Making Grandpa T truly proud...all the kids love to lick their dessert plates/bowls clean!

Fun times with family!

Some Random Items Before November!

2008-12-05T11:02:00.000-08:00

Okay, so looking at our pictures refreshed my memory a little...so before going into November I'd better mention a couple more things.

Olivia's kindergarten class took a fieldtrip to the firestation!

And then, just before Halloween, almost one year to the day of getting a second vehicle, we went back to a one car family...

She was great for the year that we had her...don't worry, Marc is okay. The truck took the brunt of it (thank goodness!)

And then a random picture or two just because!

Back in Time... a couple months, anyway...

2008-12-05T10:23:00.000-08:00

So take a moment and go back in time with me...back to October anyway. Slowly but surely I will catch you up to speed as to the happenings, interesting and non-interesting alike, in the our little spot of the world.

October brought us continued nice weather, Bryce's birthday, and Halloween. Those being the highlights anyway as I can't remember much else at the moment.

Bryce requested a BYU basketball court cake (yes, that was his specific request, he even specifically stated, "Mom, I'll show you how to do it; You need to put a "Y" in the middle...")
True to his word, he spent two days making a diagram for me, complete with 2-dimensional basketball hoops at each end of the cake respectively. I had Marc go buy some small cake decorations as I didn't have any creative juices flowing and couldn't come up with how to make the b-ball standards, thus there was only one hoop in the set and Bryce easily forgave the cake-maker for not following his diagram to a tee.

Aside from his love for sports, he loves all things mechanical and artsy, needless to say he enjoyed the day and his treasure hunt for his gifts.

Let's see, that brings us to Halloween I believe. The kids had a great time "shopping" for Halloween costumes at some friends of ours. This dear family has four or five bins of costumes they have made/put together over the years (most of their family is grown and out of the house).
Here's what they came up with. Carter was Winnie-the-Pooh dressed up as a Bee.

Olivia wanted to be Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.

Bryce was a Bat.

Whitney fell in love with a sleeping cap and wanted to be a "pioneer granny".

For the first time in 3 years, Marc did not have class so he was able to help take the kids trick-or-treating around the neighborhood. Afterwards we attended a halloween party with lots of friends. The weather was extrememly cooperative and for the first time in awhile, even Marc and I dressed up (well, we were forced to as this was the price of admission to our friend's party).

Now...time to move on to November...

Where does the time Go??

2008-10-25T13:36:00.000-07:00

So, I still am trying to figure out where September went and how can October be almost gone?!! Just when I think I have a spare minute or an hour or two without any plans, poof, the time disappears and somedays I find myself trying to recall all that took place, since I know I didn't laze around and watch movies all day, or any TV for that matter! Not to mention pick up any of the books I've been "in the process" of reading for far too long.

Back to September...a fun busy month getting even more into the groove of school, etc. Olivia celebrated a birthday, the kids got to see both sets of Grandparents, some aunts, uncles, and cousins and probably a few other fun things I can't recall all during the month!

Here's a few pictures to tell of our September! Enjoy!

The Johnson boys...well, 2/3 of the boy cousins, anyway.

The kids got an up close look at the local LifeFlight helicopter as it landed at the park for the big Union Pacific company party!

Olivia wanted a castle cake, so this was my first/best/only attempt. She and Bryce enjoyed four weeks of being the same age, until his birthday in mid-October...more to come later...

August in Review

2008-09-25T13:28:00.000-07:00

Now on to August...a fun month in which Whitney finished up her 16 performances as a Munchkin in The Wizard of Oz and celebrated her 9th birthday. Olivia started Kindergarten! And all three kids began the routine of school! With all three older kids in school, Carter has figured out that he can be extremely mobile and has developed his own unique crawl. Last but not least, Marc is in his last semester of grad school!! We also took a day and went to Lava Hot Springs. And our family enjoyed our first experience picking Huckleberries!

Olivia standing outside the school -- she loves to ride the bus with Whitney and Bryce!

While taking a lunchbreak from picking berries, the bees started to swarm. Bryce ended up with Carter because the bees seemed to especially love him!

The Winkies took a fancy to Carter after the show!

Here's where we went to pick huckleberries...a fun experience for a tasty treat.

Carter enjoying the day in Lava Hot Springs, at the pool.

With the Olympics going on, Whitney requested a swimming pool cake. The kids loved watching Michael Phelps and are striving to be great swimmers.

Technically it was July when Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came to visit and went to see Whitney perform.

Then in August, Grandma and Grandpa Torgesen stopped in to see the local star as well!

The pool in Lava Hot Springs...a great way to spend a warm day!

A Few Days Later...

2008-09-25T12:50:00.000-07:00

So here it is "a few days later" as I mentioned in our last post, well, okay, so it's more like a few months (two to be exact) later, but later does come, just not always as soon as we plan or expect it to!

Alright, a brief synopsis of the rest of July...

We had a great opportunity to go to Oregon and visit with Marc's brother, Jeff, and his family! Thanks to Jeff, Terri and kids for letting us hang out with you for a few days! Our kids were able to spend quality time with their cousins and were also able to see the Pacific Ocean. We hadn't been to the coast since Whitney was almost two, a few months before Bryce was born. We also took in the free University Aquarium/museum, a picnic at the beach and Oregon Salt Water Taffy. We decided to do a scenic loop, starting in Eugene, north to Corvallis, west to Newport, south down the Coast Highway, turning East at Florence to head back to Eugene.

Bryce and Whitney checking out the sea anemones!

Here are "the cousins" trying to feed the ducks...apparently the kids weren't feeding them fast enough, thus getting chased, finding safety on the picnic table.

Carter had fun with one of his older cousins, protected from the crazy water fowl!

The trip was fun with a stop at Multnomah Falls (sorry if I misspelled that) just east of Portland on the way back home. Enjoy the pictures!

For your viewing pleasure!

2008-07-29T14:28:00.000-07:00

Father & son...what happy boys!

The Heceta Head Lighthouse on the Oregon coast...more to come on that trip next post!

Marc helping the girls fly their kites...the wind is almost always blowing here in P-town, yet now that we have kites...it seems to have died down!

And here we have cousins, Rachel and Carter. Rachel was born two days before Carter. Stay tuned for another post in the next day or two with details and more pics about our trip to Oregon!

Our Summer...in a few words

2008-07-29T14:20:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been told I'm not publishing the blog frequently enough, so let me sum up June and July in a few words, then I'll try to post some fun pictures to add some excitement to your day!

internship (Marc)
play practice, now performances (Whitney)
funerals
births
free lunches at the park
garden (yea...we've picked peas, broccoli, and Romain lettuce so far!oh, and one strawberry)
funerals
family reunion
Oregon trip
funerals
visitors (G&G T, Aunt Jamie + kids, G&G J)

I think that's about it...6 funerals & 5 births in 8 weeks to be exact for any wondering. I'm still trying to figure out how I only have 3 days left of July. School registration is next week for the kids...

so, I'll try to do better at posting news/pictures to keep all updated on the exciting happenings at the Johnson household!

Torgesen Reunion Fun!

2008-07-29T13:45:00.000-07:00

So it's been a long while since we've posted any news from our household; it's not from lack of news, more from lack of priority, time, and any number of other excuses I can't currently think of. The beginning of July found us visiting with family, most of whom we haven't seen for almost a year! Jamie and her kids were able to come stay a couple days en route to the Torgesen Family Reunion held in Northern Idaho (Blanchard & Oldtown to be exact). We sure enjoyed the opportunity to spend time with family! Here are some pictures to tell the story! Thanks David, Elizabeth, Kara, Scott, and Andy & Andrea for caravanning with us through the night!

Here is Carter (8 months old at the time) with his Great-Grandma.

What a good looking couple! Aunt Kara and soon-to-be "Uncle Scott" enjoying dinner out on the deck!

Here's everyone enjoying the traditional Torgesen Ice Cream pig-out (can't have an official Torgesen gathering without said event) before the fireworks on the evening of the 4th.

Some of the great-grandkids, while hiking on a trail beside Lake Coeur d'Alene in Northern Idaho.

Here the kids are actually hiking along the trail...feel like you're right there with 'em? Just trying to give the play by play...

The picture at the top shows the actual Lake. Due to my lack of blogging skills, I'm not quite there when it comes to formatting and getting the pictures where I want them!

Ah, a shot of Granny & Gramps Torgesen w/ the Johnson grandkids at their new home/Great - Grandma's home, in Oldtown, ID! It's been fun having G&G T stop by on their way to/from Oldtown over the past year as they've prepared to move up there... our door is always open!

Odds and Ends

2008-06-01T23:01:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of Olivia on a horse (her dream come true). At the end of the school year, she got to spend a few minutes "riding" a horse on a field trip.

Bryce is standing beside some tortoises (I can't remember what type) during his spring field trip. We have a local pet store that has a large "petting zoo" attached and it is completely free. It includes a bird room, a monkey, ostrich, fish, chicks, ducklings, etc. The kids love to go there.

This picture is taken inside Holt Arena, where Whitney's 3rd grade class took a field trip to see the Dodge National Rodeo Circuit SemiFinal (I think?) set up and various groups had info booths and they met Smokey the Bear. Here Whitney is the shortest one, standing by a 50 lb backpack containing water (these guys help put out forest fires).

Here's Carter, enjoying some attention. He was 17.5 lbs at his 6 month checkup. Now he is 7 months old, and just cut his first tooth. He loves to eat and so far has loved everything that he has tried, including a smidge of homemade ice cream!

Here is Whitney standing in front of the Mystique Theater (a dinner theater). She auditioned and was given the part of munchkin in The Wizard of Oz. She'll be in about 15 shows (they'll do about 25-30) as she'll be assigned a "buddy" with whom she'll alternate performances. She has already started rehearsals and seems to love it so far. Anyone interested, the show runs July 10th thru August 25th (on Mondays, Thurs, Fri, & Sat each week). You can get tickets for dinner & show, or just the show only. We'd love for any and all to visit! It's a pretty cool place; you can read more about it at www.mystiquetheater.com

Now that school is out, we are looking forward to free lunch (for kids) at the park M-F each week until the middle of August, a family reunion at the beginning of July, and attempting a garden. Should be a fun summer!

First time for Everything...

2008-05-30T14:43:00.000-07:00

So we all our first time for everything moments...right? Well, a week or so ago, Olivia and I shared a "first" moment for both of us! Just a quick bit of history, Olivia lost her first tooth in April while we were visiting the Speckhards at Bear Lake (in UT). Kathleen did a great job gently pulling the tooth out as I stood by watching. I honestly don't recall ever pulling a tooth out in my life (none of my own, Whitney's or Bryce's). I remember eating a bowl of Alpha Bits cereal once and realizing a tooth had come out while I was chewing, and I remember going to the Dentist because several of my teeth had changed color (becoming transparent) and the Dr. told my mom to give me an apple or lots of caramels and the teeth would come right out (I was afraid to let anyone touch them...and yes, they were loose). Anyhow, I digress...
Last week, Olivia had been complaining that her teeth hurt when she ate. Knowing she had a loose tooth, Marc tried one night to look at it and attempt to pull it out. Olivia refused to let him touch it, and barely allowed him to even see it. After MANY tears on her part, she finally went to bed with the tooth still intact. The next morning over breakfast, she began to cry again, saying it hurt too bad to eat, yet she was hungry and wanted to eat. Marc had left for his internship, Bryce and Whitney were at school, and Olivia actually allowed me to look closely at her tooth. It was ready to come out. So after a long talk with Olivia, mainly to get the tears to stop, I convinced her to let me "wiggle" the tooth for awhile. Although I played games to wiggle the tooth and have her forget about the possibility of having it pulled out, I was buying myself some time to get up the gumption to actually reach in my daughter's mouth and yank a tooth out (remember, I have NEVER done this before). Olivia did ask if we could "please go to Provo to Sister Speckhard's house so she could pull it out, because she does it so nicely". I finally persuaded her and myself that we could get this tooth out without either of us dying, and lo and behold, after two false attempts (yes, it slipped out of my fingers....what can I say, again, it's my first time) the tooth was removed, Olivia was still smiling, and I did not faint or turn colors! So now Olivia has a beautiful smile with her two middle bottom teeth missing.

Back in April, Bryce had his routine dental check-up and the Dentist suggested pulling five of his bottom teeth because his baby teeth were so tiny, and the adult teeth trying to come in had no room. So here are a couple of Pics of Bryce, brave boy that he is, with and without teeth.

A Champion Among Us!

2008-04-19T12:37:00.000-07:00

Because of Marie's humility and modesty I will be the one to share the exciting news! Our ward held their 2nd annual chili cook-off / talent show tonight and Marie's pot o' chili took top honors. I did not get a chance to taste the delectable dish as I was busy pretending to be an MC for the talent show, but her chili was the talk of the night. She promises to post the ad-hoc recipe at a later date. Congrats Sweetie! We all knew you could beat the 9 year old from last year :)

Our family was able to share some of our talents with the ward, even though you will notice that we were missing one during the performance. (Small bit of last minute stage fright) Thanks goes out to Mom Torgesen for teaching us this song (Down By the Old Mill Stream). Hopefully we didn't hash it up too badly. As you can see Whitney definitely loves the spotlight.

G & G J Visit

2008-04-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson were able to make the Utah/Idaho
grandchildren circuit at the beginning of April. We werehappy to have them with us for a couple of days.

We were fed well via Grandpa's treat to a local buffet and enjoyed every minute of their visit.

Carter was able to see what he will look like in 60 years. Don't worry Carter it could be worse :)

G & G J are welcome anytime as well as any other family or friends.

A few Pictures!

2008-04-11T11:59:00.000-07:00

We had to wait until March to get enough snow to make a decent sized snowman!

Just a couple other fun pictures for your enjoyment!

Random!

2008-04-11T11:39:00.000-07:00

So Olivia and I just had a short conversation a few minutes ago...

"Mom, I wished we lived in the Philipines."
"Oh, why do you wish we lived there?"
"Because we wouldn't have to wear coats if we lived in the Philipines. Mom, is it cold at night in the Philipines?"
"I'm not sure, I've never been to the Philipines. Maybe we can ask someone who's been there before."

That was about it. She had just gotten her coat and gloves on to go out and ride her bike. We're suppose to warm up to the high 50's today, but it hasn't quite gotten that warm yet.

Another random happening at our house....Last night the kids and I had to go to a meeting while Marc was at class. Wanting to get the kids in bed as soon as possible after the meeting, I decided to have them all bath before we left. Bryce had gotten out of the tub and was in his room when I came upstairs to check on their progress. Sniffing, I followed my nose from the bathroom to his bedroom where the smell got progressively stronger.

"Bryce, what are you doing?"
"I'm getting dressed like you asked. Mom, do you like how I combed my hair?"
"Yes, you did a nice job buddy! What's that smell? Did you get some of Daddy's cologne?"
Smiling, Bryce responds, "Yes, Daddy always puts some on after he takes a shower. Besides, Mom, it's not cologne, it's called 'Classic'." (Which is the name on the bottle)

He loves his Daddy and wants to be just like him!

Pork chops for utensils, anyone?

2008-04-06T22:48:00.000-07:00

Okay, so the funny moment of the day in our house happened tonight at dinner. Bryce was asked to take a break from playing and set the table for dinner. He quickly put the plates and glasses around the table and went off to play. I called him back into the kitchen to ask if he wanted us to eat with our fingers or was he planning on putting silverware around at each plate. He quickly said, "I thought we could eat with pork chops tonight. Please, can't we eat with pork chops?" Marc and I started laughing as we realized he meant "chopsticks". Our home teachers (a couple in the ward) recently took a trip to Hong Kong to visit their daughter and brought our family back a set of nice chopsticks, each set individually in their own cloth case. The kids have been begging to use them. So tonight, when Bryce asked about them, I tried to explain that ginger beef/rice and petite peas might be a little difficult for us novice chopstick users and maybe we should wait to use them. However, we decided to give it a whirl and broke out the chopsticks for utensils. All through the meal Bryce kept referring to the chopsticks as "pork chops". I'm sure we were a silly sight, all of us trying to use chopsticks to eat peas and rice (uh, non-sticky rice that is). Next time we'll have to pay close attention when someone can show us how to eat w/chopsticks, even how to properly hold them for that matter!

Late Easter Post

2008-04-05T21:50:00.000-07:00

We had a wonderful Easter! We were able to do some of the typical fun activities (coloring eggs, hunting for eggs, etc...) on Saturday. On Easter Sunday we attended a wonderful Easter sacrament service at our ward. We finished up the day with a scrumptious ham dinner made by the world famous chef Marie. The dinner was enjoyed by our family and Brent and Penny's family (Marc's brother) who were up in the area from Utah. Good visit, but as usual, too short. Carter was able to finally meet all of Marc's siblings. Now we have to work on Marie's side of the family. That will take a little longer since there are quite a few more of her siblings.

Visitor From The Northwest

2008-04-05T21:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago we were lucky to have Marc's brother Jeff visit us. He was in town for a conference and was able to extend his stay a little longer. The kids loved the chance at getting to know Uncle Jeff a little better. They especially loved being spoiled by Jeff as he bought them whatever kind of sugared cereal they wanted and stuffed them full of popcorn and soda at the movies. We loved having Jeff with us, even though it was for a short time. Carter even had some one-on-one time with his Uncle from Duck country (Oregon). Thanks for a fun time Jeff!

TEXAS PRIDE....Even in IDAHO

2008-02-27T09:03:00.001-08:00

So we got a fun surprise in the mail shortly after the new year! It's just taken me a long time to post it!

No more are regular square waffles good enough for our kids...they love these! Enjoy the video clip and the pictures.

One of these days we'll post stuff a little more frequently than on a monthly basis. As for the family, we're moving right along, looking forward to spring and enjoying each day for the most part. I'll take any advice on balance at the moment...last night I found myself trying to be in two places at once, while I wanted to be in three places at once. Between and an enrichment activity (we're struggling to get sisters out, so I felt like I needed to be there, the topic was great so I also "wanted" to be there as well), the PTP meeting (our school's version of PTA), and wanting to be at home so the kids go to bed at bedtime and I could thus accomplish a task or two on the ever growing list of things to do/sort through/clean/organize/finish etc.

Needless to say, life is adventurous for this household, as it is in most other households as well.

Little Snowmen made by Little People

2008-01-30T10:33:00.001-08:00

Bryce has been begging to build a snowman every time we receive the slightest bit of snow. After a couple weeks of frigid temps, we finally relented to let him and Olivia play outside one morning while the sun made a short appearance. Although they didn't have much to work with, they played to their hearts content and created their own masterpieces. Who says you need lots of snow to build a good looking snowman? Keep in mind, this was solely done by them with no suggestions or help from anyone. Bryce was proud to prove me wrong when I told him there wasn't enough snow for a snowman. Way to work with what you've got, buddy!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

2008-01-30T10:07:00.001-08:00

Friday, the 4th of January found us celebrating Marc's 32nd birthday. Another year older, wiser, and better looking, he is aging gracefully. The day started off with taking him to breakfast (a tradition he started w/ the kids a few years ago -- he takes the birthday person out to breakfast for some special one-on-one time w/ Dad). Since Whitney was the only one in school and I was too lazy to ask someone to babysit the other kids, Bryce, Olivia, Carter and I took him to eat. The kids were excited to help make the requested birthday cake -- homemade carrot cake this year, although they steered clear of the kitchen come time to make the birthday boy's request for dinner -- Curry Chicken. Dinner turned out pretty well, if I may say so, especially considering I had never made that particular recipe. The carrot cake w/cream cheese frosting made a perfect end to the celebration. Marc opened a few gifts and hopefully will enjoy perusing through "Presidents and Prophets" when he needs a distraction from his studies.

Ringing in the New Year!

2008-01-18T17:03:00.000-08:00

We realize that this is a little late, so sorry!

We were able to spend a fun New Year's Eve together with the family. We ate the traditional pre new year-resolution food and played a lot of games (Marc ending up eating more food than planned to console himself for losing every single game). We rang in 2008 with the traditional count down and pots and pan banging. The video below shows our last seconds of 2007 and our first actions of 2008. HAPPY LATE NEW YEAR!

Christmas Morning

2007-12-26T16:47:00.000-08:00

We had a wonderful Christmas and hope that everyone else enjoyed their Christmas. We took a few minute video of the kids' walk down to the tree to see their gifts. Hope you enjoy! Have a great New Year!

Aunt Kara Visit to Poketown

2007-11-26T14:28:00.002-08:00

Aunt Kara arrived via a speeding bullet (Provo to Pocatello in under 2 1/2 hours - usually takes 3 1/2 hrs) last Tuesday evening and we enjoyed her company until late Friday evening. Her stay was full of fun, at least for our family and hopefully for Kara as well. On Wednesday we took Kara on her first trip to Rexburg, ID where we spent that night and Thanksgiving day with Marc's brother Scott and his family. After stepping out to the cold of Rexburg, Kara had the revelation that she would never live in this part of the country. Back to Poketown late Thursday and then Kara and Marc enjoyed the wonderful and surprisingly mellow crowd at the 5am door buster sales on Friday. Kara came away with some good finds as Marc just took in the scenery. After a pretty relaxing day of eating left over pie and such, Kara went on her way back to Cougar Town to cheer on the Cougs in their game against the team up North. See previous post on the wonderful result of that game.

Thanks Kara! We had a blast and you are welcome anytime in Pokeville or wherever else we may reside.

The Utes Blue Once Again!

2007-11-25T21:05:00.000-08:00

Rise all loyal Cougars and hurl the challenge to the foe. . .

As thousands of other BYU fans, we cheered loud and proud as the Cougs came out victorious against the team up North. Since we are in an area of the country that you have to pay for the expensive upgrade to get the BYU games, we were grateful for Don and Cathy Murdock lending us their digs to view the game while they were away. The kids played and ate while Dad and Mom watched the game. I will have to admit that my faith in the Cougs waivered a bit on 4th and 18, but with a quick reminder from my wife of our True Blue nature and a 49 yard pass completion, my faith was restored. Whitney, Bryce, Olivia, and Carter all joined us as we watched our main man Harvey score the winning touchdown.

To all of our great Ute friends, especially Charlie and Jessica in Cougar Town, it is never too late to change over to TRUE BLUE instead of being blue all the time.

Below are some pictures that should make the BYU fans happy.

Rah rah, rah rah rah! Rah rah, rah rah rah! Rah rah, rah rah rah!

GO COUGARS!

Welcome!

2007-11-17T18:36:00.001-08:00

To those who have been on the edge of your seats to get more info about the Marc and Marie Johnson family, now you have it at the click of a mouse. We hope to keep this up to date so you don't miss out on too much. Enjoy!

New Addition

2007-11-15T09:23:00.000-08:00

Carter Tyler entered into our family on Nov. 1st. He weighed in at a scale-tipping 6 lbs 15 oz and was 20 inches long. After spending a 4 day retreat with momma at the Portneuf Medical Center in Pocatello, ID, he was welcomed home by his excited siblings, dad, and Grandma T.

Carter has survived his first few weeks of being a Johnson and we all love having him.

Enjoy the photos of Carter and other family members!