Summer Vacation

Todd and Jayden in front of a "painted bison" in West Yellowstone.

They were all over the town.

The beautful cabin we stayed in. It had tons of room fr all of us.


Ryan says "WOW" as Old Faithful erupts.

The whole family !

We spent the week in Island Park Idaho. It was cool, relaxing, and so much fun. This will be the last time that we could all spend some quality time together before Chad leaves to serve as a missionary in Tulsa Oklahoma. The cabin we rented was amazing, the scenery was spectacular, and the time we spent together was priceless. I love my family so much. Oh-we're not without our flaws, what family doesn't have them. There was some bickering at times and some frustrations, but overall, it was great. Jayden and Kaylie had the best time playing hide and seek in the big house. We loved Yellowstone but the kids were disappointed that we waited for an hour to see Old Faithful blow, only to have it last less than a minute. ( Jayden thought it was cool but he's only 4 ) Vacations are the best when you're able to relax, make new memories, and realize how much you cherish every moment with those you love.

Summer of fun

I don't keep up with this as often as I should. I can hardly believe the summer is half over. Melissa and Tyler are now happily married. The wedding day was beautiful and everything was perfect. Most of June was so rainy and cold, I worried that the day would have bad weather. In fact 2 days before it was windy and still a bit cold. But June 6th came and the sky was blue with a few white clouds, a slight breeze with temperatures in the 70's. It was the best day. The next week we drove to California for the open house which was wonderful as well only it was cold there ( sweater weather ) . Ryan, TJ, Chad, Tiffany, and her friedn Amy all came and they spent a day in Disneyland. The Open House was at the Garrick's home ( friends of the Jensens) Thank you Curtis and Cynthia for opening your beautiful home to us.

Melissa with Ryan and TJ at the open house.

After getting back to somewhat of a normal life after the wedding we have taken time to visit family and friends, go to the zoo with the grandkids, and Chad has been busy getting his mission papers in. We are now awaiting (anxiously) for the mission call. Other than that I'm just busy with work, home and family. Life is good at the Johnson home. We always have time for live, laughs, giggles and smiles.

Chad Class of 2009

Today I've been stamping wedding invitations and stuffing graduation announcements. I'm not sure why I didn't think about the fact that Chad would graduate and a week later Melissa would get married. I'm very happy for both of them. I think all the wedding plans are in place-hopefully there will only be minor glitches, what wedding day deosn't go by without one. Chad has been soooooooooo busy, especially these last few months. He has had such an awesome senior year. I'm a little sad it's going to end for him. He's been an SBO as video specialist, in the school play, in chamber choir, he started his own "boy band" called Guys in Ties. The list is endless with that son of mine. Last Sunday as I sat in sacrament meeting I realized he wouldn't be blessing the sacrament in our ward too many more times as he will be going to the singles ward this summer and then off on his mission. I am so proud of him as I am of all my kids. I am so glad that Families are Forever ! Life is Good!

This is Life...and then some.

I realized I don't always have to have pictures before I post a blog. Life has been pretty busy since the engagement. It took me a few days to help Melissa realize we need to start planning now. She thought we had plenty of time but she doesn't realize that places get booked, invitations need to be sent out 3 weeks early which means they need to be printed before that which means thay need to have pictures taken before that. You literally have to think backwards when planning a wedding. She's had way too many people give their opinions ( including me) but I try to stay neutral I know it will all come together and it will be beautiful.

Right after Melissa's engagement we had another "emotional" thing happen in our family. Todd was realeasd as Bishop of the BYU 98th ward. He had been Bishop for 2 1/2 years and he was the high councilman for that ward for 3 years before that. It was bittersweet to say the least. Part of me was happy to have him back in our home ward and part of me was so sad to see him leave a place that he loves, to see him leave the families that he has grown to love. When you are a BYU bishop it's harder to leave, because once you walk out the door you may never see any of those students again. It's now been over a month and it's been extremely hard on him. He has had so much stress and anxiety over this, mostly because of a certain family in the ward that he had been working hard with. I won't bring up any names or details. Just know that he talked with the new Bishop about the situation and they both felt that it would be good for us to continue talking to them and hopefully help them through a difficult time. It has been hard--on both of us. He even asked our home ward bishop to give him a blessing. I know it's hard on him coming back to the home ward. He feels like he's new in the ward. There have been several new families move in. I know he'll be fine but it's so hard to see him go through this. I'm the one who has always been the one to lean on him-now he needs me to lean on and I don't know if I'm strong enough. I love him so much and I will be here for him. That's what eternal marriage is all about-Right? I am thankful that we have each other through difficult times. I pray that we will learn and grow from this experience. I know we will !

Melissa is engaged!

It's official! Melissa became engaged to Tyler Jensen on Dec. 31, 2008. I'm not sure who was more nervous, Tyler or me ( probably me) I had known about it for over 2 weeks. Tyler and I had been texting about the tentative details. I even got to go pick up the ring for him because they were traveling home from California the day before. And thank goodness I had the sense to give Tyler my camera.

So here's how it happened. He picked her up about 12:30 pm. They walked to Martin Park which is about halfway between our house and his. He told her he had a surprise for her to thank her for cleaning his house while he was gone to California. As they approached the park there was a path he had made in the snow and every so often there was a rose with a note attached. there were 12 roses and each had a reason why he loves her. The last rose was inside a big heart that he'd made in the snow and the envelope was empty. He then told her how much he loved her, got down on one knee and pulled out the ring. She was so excited and after calming down the first thing she said was, "I need to call Aubrey ( her best friend)". Tyler told her no, she needed to call her mom first ( Thank you Tyler !!) She sounded so happy. The rest of the day she was constantly on the phone or texting friends. They both immediately changed their facebook status to engaged. They are such a cute couple and I am so happy for them . They have set the date for June 6th in the Salt Lake Temple. So let the wedding plans begin!

And Time Marches on...

Happy Birthday Todd !

Where does the time go, I'll never know. November seemed to fly by. Todd and I celebrated our 26th anniversary. Todd had his 47th birthday, and we enjoyed Thanksgiving at my sister's house the Sunday before and had a quiet Thanksgiving day with just our immediate family.

Kaylie on Thanksgiving day-She is getting so big and she's so CUTE !

Ryan can't wait to eat that big bird !
Melissa turned 20 on Dec. 6th and we had a fun morning with her. Since everyone has become so busy, we had the whole family over for breakfast. Tyler brought her a dozen red roses which she was thrilled about.

Ryan just got a job at the Mens Wearhouse. Now everyone in the family ( except me) has worked there. Here is a great picture of Todd and Ryan in the tuxes for the Mens Wearhouse holiday party.

Chad has become quite the singer, he and 5 friends have started an accapella singing group at school called " Guys in Ties" Mrs. Warby calls them the newest boy band. They are really good.

"Guys in Ties"

Life is good here at the Johnson's . Here's wishing all of you a very Merry Christmas!

An Eventful October

Ok, so I know I've been slacking in the blog department but after you read this you'll know why. Alot has happened these past 2 month. First of all, I was involved in a very good cause at For Every Body. Every year we have a Think Pink Breast Cancer Awareness Event. Since I am a 13 year survivor-I knew I had to be involved. The company sponsors one woman who has been going through Breast Cancer and is making a difference to others. This year they chose a woman from Layton Utah and you'll never believe it until I show you the picture, but her name is Ginger Johnson. She is 34 years old and the mother of 3. She is the sweetest woman and her story is so touching.Below is a picture of myself, Ginger ( from Layton-in the middle) and Becky Anderson-founder of For Every Body. Please go to http://www.thinkpinkforlife.blogspot.com/ and read her story. She is amazing.

Becky Anderson and the "two Ginger Johnson's"

After this event was over I thought things would settle down, but not to be. October became a month of many events. First we had a surprise birthday party for Melissa's boyfriend Tyler Jensen. He is a wonderful guy and he and Melissa have truly fallen for each other. ( wedding bells you ask-we'll see in the future) Anyway, His family came to visit from California and Logan. We had so much fun. We went to Desert Star, we played games, we laughed ,ate ALOT of food, and just had a great time. What's interesting is his parents, and Todd and I, all share the same wedding anniversary. ( is that a sign?) Tyler is really a great guy and Melissa is lucky to have found him.

The Jensen's and the Johnson's

Happy Birthday Tyler !

A week after Tyler's birthday we celebrated our son, Ryan's birthday. I made him a birthday pie instead of cake ( he loves banana cream pie) We went to his apartment and just hung out for awhile. He's now 22. I'm so pround of him for serving a mission and now going to college. It brought a tear to my eye when I realized this is the first birthday we have had with him since his mission. Happy Birthday Ryan-I sure love you !!!

Ryan and his Birthday Pie! Jerrica & Jeff 's big day.

In the midst of all this birthday celebrating we had a wedding and a funeral. My niece, Jerrica Olson was married in the Bountiful Temple on Oct. 14th. It was cold that day but very beautiful. She married Jeff Hancock and they looked so happy. I'm so happy for both of them.

My Grandma-Bertha Johnson 1915-2008

( She loved pink ! )

Finally, the bittersweet part of the month came when my sweet 93 year old Grandma passed away on Oct. 9th. Her funeral was Oct. 15th. She was such an example of righteousness in my life. She was humble and prayful. She made me laugh and cry. She was a cancer survivor ( just like me). She loved all of us so much and she worried about us too. I will never forget her funny jokes, homecooked meals, her beautiful garden and love of flowers. She always sent me a birthday card, even in her old age. She had a small,but humble home, but it was all she needed. She had been a widow for 29 years and the day she died I looked to the heavens and I knew she and grandpa and many others were having a wonderful family reunion. I will always love my grandma. Because of her I am who I am today. I will never forget when my sweet grandson Jayden was born, 3 years ago. My grandma was visiting and as she held him in her arms she looked into his little face and said, " I'm the best grandma because I'm the great, great grandma." She will always be the best grandma to me. I love you grandma.