The Johnson Family

Will Spring Ever REALLY Be here?

2010-03-09T13:28:00.004-07:00

The snow is starting to melt here in Jackson which seems a little early, but we are not complaining. It is so funny how the kids think that 35 degrees is summer around here. We were driving home from church the other day and William said "Oh, I just want to go home, put on some shorts, my bike helmet, and run around the neighborhood." Why the bike helmet I am not quite sure. Maybe because there is still some ice to slip on?

So I posted some pictures of Ella's indoor lemonade stand she had because I had to break the news to her that no one is really out looking for lemonade this time of year. It was a happy surprise for the boys when they got off the school bus, having lemonade ready for them.

I also posted a picture of Ella and William having a picnic in the "summer weather".

Spring is such a magical time! I miss living in a place where blossoms bloom and tulips grow.

Putting the Dog to use

2010-02-15T16:28:00.003-07:00

So, when our family left today...Sam cried, we felt depressed. We had to get outside. So, while Adam and Ella were napping, I took the boys out for some dog sledding fun. Right behind our house is a groomed cross-country ski trail and we went out so Huckle could pull the boys -Sam on his skiis and Will on one of our Norwegien "Sparks". We laughed and we had a little crying when Huckle got distracted by another dog and tangled Sam up in the rope. Also when Huckle ran towards the horse coral that he loves to run through. Overall, it was lots of fun and it changed our mood.

Weekend Fun

2010-02-15T16:17:00.003-07:00

Mimi, Papa, Uncle Ben, and Cousin Olivia came to visit for the weekend. It felt so good to have some visitors!! It always makes home feel like vacation when people come to stay. The highlights include: Valentine's Day parties at the kids school, oil painting by Adam, Papa, and Ben, Downhill Skiing, Eating cheese fondue and pear almond tart, watching the opening ceremonies for the Olympics (Go cross-country skiiers!!) Getting Thai food, decorating Valentine's Day cookies, laughing and hanging out in our jammies. It's so sad they had to leave today.

Red House in the Country

2010-02-10T13:36:00.003-07:00

Here is a picture I took today of our new house. It is coming along!! When the red first started going up, I started to panic. There are not any other red houses in the neighborhood - mostly brown. Sometimes the color freaks me out, other times I love it. It depends on how much sun is shining on it. But here it is!! Our red swedish house in honor of Adam's grandpa who grew up in a red swedish house in the countryside of Sweden. Projected finish date: April 2nd (crossing my fingers). It will be a relief to have the building process behind us!!!

Adam is 34!

2010-02-03T12:13:00.003-07:00

Here is a picture of Adam on his birthday. Yes, the candle is stuck in a baked potato. We don't allow cake around here (yeah right!). We hadn't quite gotten around to the cake business yet. So, here he is.....Adam at 34!! Looking pretty good!

Happy Birthday Adam!!!

Huckleberry

2010-02-03T11:53:00.003-07:00

This is our new dog Huckleberry or "Huckle". We went to Salt Lake City for Christmas to be with extended family and came home with a car full of toys, bags, skis, and a dog! We were very loaded down and even had to leave a few things behind.

Huckle is a Pudel Pointer that we got from some friends who were moving to Arizona and didn't think that was a good place for him. They wanted to find a family that could give him lots of love and who would get him outside and be active. So far, I think he is getting what he needs most of the time.

Sometimes I think we are a little crazy to add a dog to the chaos of three young children, but overall we are happy. The kids totally adore him. The first thing they say when they wake up is, "Where's Huckle?" Then they all snuggle him in his dog bed. He tolerates a lot from the kids.

One good and bad thing about him is that he requires a lot of exercise. He loves to run fast! Adam and I have been taking him out cross-country skiing with us on the groomed trails behind our house and at Teton National Park. If I want to be lazy, I can't because I have to take Huckle out so he can run. Last weekend Adam and I got a babysitter for Adam's birthday and we went skiing at Teton National Park. We brought Huckle and a harness because dogs have to be on a leash there. It was so fun because when I got tired on the way back from our 8 mile trip, Huckle pulled me! I was laughing so hard. I felt like I was on a dog sled race.

"Eating fish sticks todaoooo!"

2009-12-22T09:04:00.003-07:00

We have been listing to Christmas music lately. On our way home from church the other day, we were listeing to "Angels We Have Heard on High" William asked us, "Why are they singing about fish sticks?" First of all, I had to ask how he even knows about fish sticks because I don't recall him ever eating them. Then I had to figure out exactly what part of the song said something about fish sticks. When I did, we all had a good laugh and we sang instead of "in excelsis Deo" We sang, "eating fish sticks todaooo!" It's hard figuring out the words to songs sometimes!!

House pictures

2009-12-16T12:36:00.001-07:00

For those of you who are curious.....some pictures of our new house that I took today!! Despite the cold, they are making progress! Yipeeee!

Halloween pictures

2009-11-21T21:44:00.002-07:00

Is that a mullet?

2009-11-21T21:30:00.002-07:00

A halloween picture from Trick-or-Treating at the town square. I must say I am very proud of Adam for sporting a mullet through town. That is usually not his way... but he probably was afraid I'd call him a party pooper. This was our first time at this event and it was fun! Being in a small town, you see people you know at these events and it made me laugh. I especially enjoyed the Barlows who dressed up like Jackson Hicks. One tourist really stopped them to take a picture to send home!

Questions answered

2009-09-20T20:58:00.002-06:00

Since we posted a photo of the lot we are building our house on, we have gotten a lot of questions. We admit, the photo is a little deceiving: it look so pristine and isolated. The reality is that we are building our house on industrial zoned property. On the one side is the county land fill, and the other side is a slaughter house. That is why we got it for such a good deal.

Okay, I'm kidding. But the photo is a little deceiving. We do have neighbors on either side. Our lot is 1/3 acre. Right behind where we are standing is a road, but on the other side of the road is conservation property, so the view that you see in the photo will always be our view. We are in the town of Jackson, and it takes me (Adam) 20 minutes max to ride my bike to work. We are planning on breaking ground in a couple weeks. We are super excited.

New Photos

2009-09-09T09:13:00.001-06:00

We are building a house!

2009-08-31T22:41:00.003-06:00

After a year of agonizing over our housing situation in Jackson, our search is now coming to an end. Thanks to the slow housing market, we have landed ourselves a lot and will begin building a new house next month! We are so nervous and excited. We feel so grateful for this opportunity and we feel like God has heard our prayers and is truly mindful of us. There are moments in life when I feel totally amazed at the love He has for us. This whole process of moving to Jackson has been full of those moments. We have learned that answers come, but not always in the way or the time frame we expect.

Above, is a photo of Adam and the kids on the lot we are building on. What a dream!

Highlights from this summer:

Visits from friends - Megan Gillmore and her girls, The Syme family

Visits from family - Liz's parents, Liz's grandparents, Liz's brother Ben, Liz's brother Jeremy and his family, Adam's mom and sister Ali and kids, Adam's brother Bryce and his family

Vacations - 10th anniversary trip without the kids to San Juan Islands WA, Salt Lake City to see family, Bear Lake, Newport Beach CA (we unexpectedly ran into our dear friends the Davises from Maryland and our friends the Henriods from SLC)

Highlights around here - the usual Snake River beach, biking and roller-skiing on the new trail at Teton National Park, floating on the white water on the Snake River, kayaking and canoeing at String Lake, hiking the trails, Pioneer Trek to Martin's Cove to relive the pioneers coming West, playing at the park behind our house, catching bugs, snakes, frogs, and having a lemonade stand

Mud Season

2009-04-16T21:09:00.004-06:00

You know spring has arrived in Jackson when it's 40 degrees outside but the kids insist on playing in the mud in shorts and short sleeves because "it feels hot outside." I guess it is similar to people in San Diego who think that it is cold when the thermometer is reading in the 60s. Since these photos were taken we have had temps in the 50s and rarely in the 60s, and we can see grass in most areas in our yard now. Plus the ice on the north facing slop of our roof has finally melted off. But the surest sign of all that winter is over is that Adam put storage wax on all the nordic skis.

what have we been up to?

2009-02-21T09:05:00.004-07:00

We have had visitors lately! Last weekend we had a mother moose and her calf hanging out in our yard for a couple of hours. This picture is of them right outside our front door. They were trying to eat whatever leaves they could find and for about an hour they lay down in the snow for a nap!

We also had my parents (liz), my brother Stuart, his wife Lauren, and their little baby Maddie for the long weekend. We had fun downhill skiing, going out to dinner, playing the card game "Ligretto", going on winter walks, and trying to track down Harrison Ford. We did see him twice! I saw him at storytime at the library the night before my family came. He was there with his son. Then my dad saw him while he was on his morning walk, driving by in his suburban. He even waved!!

This week Sam received his Dragon Belt in Karate. Look out everyone! His is pretty tough! I do need to say that I have grown respect for karate which means "empty hand". I am tempted to take karate. It is good exercise and it would feel good to be an empty handed threat.

So the obsession with skate skiing continues! Adam is totally obsessed and I am loving it too! Last weekend I entered my first race. Adam went too, although it was not his first. Mine was 12k and Adam's was 25k. I was really slow, but I had so much fun!

2009-01-23T16:06:00.002-07:00

So, It's Liz this time. I know New Years is long gone, but I just can't resist sharing William's perspective of New Year's Eve.

New Years Eve my brother and his family were here visiting. All day we kept saying, "It's the last day of the year!" and "We're going to have a party tonight!" William kept asking, "This is really the last day?" and we would say, "Yes! Isn't it exciting?" We made some creative party hats, got our noise makers ready, then we headed out to the local ski resort to watch a torch light parade and fireworks. We were all standing outside watching the skiers ski down with torches and then I said to William, "The fireworks are about to start! This is exciting!" William then asked "This is really the last day?" I said, "Yes, it's the last day of the year!" He then asked again, "This is really the last day?" I again said "Yes!" Then he asked, "When are we going to die?" My mouth dropped open and then I realized what he had been thinking all day. He thought we were having a party to celebrate the last day EVER! He thought we were all going to die and go to heaven! The amazing thing is, he was so calm about it. Well, I guess I would be too if that was how I was going to go. We all have a party together and go at the same time! That's the way to go! A few people in the crowd heard this and started to laugh. I quickly explained to him that it was just the beginning of a new year and hopefully many more to come!

Sometimes children see things so differently!

Skis and "Sparks"

2009-01-18T22:29:00.002-07:00

Here are more photos from the weekend. Grandma and Grandpa brought some Swedish "Sparks" (kick sleds) with them, and the kids had a blasts. Grandma and Grandpa got out cross-country skiing with us a few times too.

Wild Kids and Wild Animals

2009-01-18T22:14:00.005-07:00

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came up for the weekend. They brought Isaac and Luke (my brother Bryce's boys) with them for Sam and William to play with. Our house is still standing, despite having 4 boys running on junk food all weekend. We got some great video footage of the 4 boys breakdancing, which will come in handy some day when we need to blackmail them.

We went on a sleigh ride through the National Elk Refuge which is the wintering grounds for over 8,000 elk and happens to be 15 minutes from our house. Out on the refuge we saw a couple coyote, two bald eagles...and thousands of elk.

Fifteen Below Zero

2009-01-04T20:56:00.004-07:00

My brother Sid lives in Hawaii with his family. With an average of 85 degrees in Hawaii, we were exactly 100 degrees colder in Jackson Hole today. Here is a photo I took this evening about 100 feet from our house. It did warm up to zero degrees by the time we were done with church at 2pm. Which is another big deal for the new year...our ward no longer starts at 8:30am! That was even earlier than school. We never seemed to get to church on time without A LOT of arm twisting to get our kids out of bed, dressed and ready. Today was a much more peaceful experience getting ready for church.

Christmas seemed to come and go way too fast again this year. A few highlights were: 1. Going to see Santa come to Jackson Town Square the day after Thanksgiving for the lighting of the Town Square (Sam asked for a pet reindeer...he didn't get it, too bad); 2. Going to see the play "Scrooge" at the local Center for the Arts with the kids; 3. Going to a Christmas Concert by "Loose Ties" (a very talented local Bluegrass Band); 4. Going to the memorial service for one of my young patients who died. It was held at the local Presbyterian Church. It was sad but very uplifting and moving...an experience I will never forget. 5. Cutting down our own Christmas tree up Red Creek (about 20 minutes from our house). It only cost us five dollars! 6. Making gingerbread houses, Christmas breads and cookies, and taking them to friends. 7. Going to Salt Lake and staying at Liz's parents for Christmas Eve/Christmas morning (and staying up all night trying to put together a stupid wooden doll house Santa gave to Ella that had the WORST instructions ever). 8. Having our kids on "autopilot" for a week while they were totally entertained by their cousins. 9. Going to Grandma and Grandpa Johnson's Cabin in Brighton on Christmas Day...more fun and more cousins! 10. Skiing with the kids at Solitude. 11. Having Jeremy and Amy and family (Lizzie's brother's family) come up and visit us for New Year's...we stayed up all night playing "Ligretto" (an Italian card game...order it on Amazon). 12. Resolving for the New Year to up date our blog more often...let's see how long that one lasts!

Happy New Year to all our friends!

Short but Sweet Fall

2008-11-02T21:54:00.004-07:00

Fall doesn't tend to last long at 6,000 feet above sea level. But it has been beautiful. We have had a few snow falls already warning us of what is to come. It is amazing how much lower the Snake River is now compared to last June. We took a family walk along the river, and I couldn't resist posting these photos we took on our walk. Notice William's face...he was saying "hurry, I need to go to the bathroom." Now compare to the next picture. Mom and Dad took too long taking the photo.

Cousins - Brotha's from another motha'

2008-08-31T22:36:00.005-06:00

Yep, it's us.

2008-08-26T15:16:00.004-06:00

2008-08-26T15:04:00.004-06:00

Living outdoors

2008-08-26T14:27:00.003-06:00

There is a pressure we feel here in Jackson to get outside and do things, especially while the weather is so nice. It makes it hard to get responsible things done, like pay bills, check email, balance checkbooks, grocery shop. We are grateful for this positive pressure though (don't worry,our bills eventually do get paid), and we feel ALIVE!!!

Recently we went to Newport Beach, CA and then to Yellowstone with Adam's brother and his family. Now we are enjoying lazy days on the beach at the snake river, biking on the bike paths, playing in creeks, and yesterday we tried to find huckleberries to pick (we failed).

School starts next week. William will be going to Lil' Explorers preschool and Sam will be in first grade. Ella turns 2 on Sept 6th!! We are enjoying the long summer days, yet we know they will come to an end. Yesterday we bought our season passes to Snow King. Locals get great deals! Hopefully our kids like skiing!!

We also got some new assignments at church: Adam will be working with the cub scouts and Liz is doing Activity Days with the 8-12 year old girls. We are both excited!

One adventure after another

2008-08-03T18:45:00.003-06:00

It has been a busy summer! We have found that 5 hours is not very far from Salt Lake City. Not only have we been down to visit family and friends a few times, but we have also had our share of visitors. At the beginning of July we went to SLC for a surprise birthday for Lizzie's mother who turned 60. The Rigby's (Lizzie's family) came up and we spend some great time on Jackson Lake waterskiing. Then the Johnson grandparents and cousins came up for more adventures. Summer can be short in this mountain town at over 6,000 feet elevation, so we plan on living up while the warm weather is here! Check out some of our photos.