Abe and Lisa

56 day challenge

2011-12-30T09:23:00.003-07:00

I'm in the Relief Society presidency in my ward.
We challenged the sisters to read the Book of Mormon in 56 days... to be all finished by Dec. 31 and we started Nov. 6.
So, I took the challenge.
And i'm so glad I did.
I have read the Book of Mormon before, several times in fact, but not in this short of a time frame. It really blessed my life those 56 days!
All I have is 20 more pages to go. No biggie 10 pages today and 10 pages tomorrow!
Reading the Book of Mormon in such a short time frame is seriously what I needed.
And all the sisters talking about it at Church helped me to continue to read.
I loved that we were reading 3 Nephi just as Christmas time came. I truly love my Savior. He has given me everything. He is the light and the truth and my testimony of the restored gospel has been strengthened by the Riverbend Ward Relief Society Book of Mormon Reading Challenge.
Yes, I did read most of the book on trax. But that still counts. And I do have to say how great it is to see other early morning riders reading their own copy of the Book of Mormon. Strength in numbers people.

I also have to say how grateful I am for this time of the year and to spend quality time with family. And I am also soooo ready for a new year. 2011 was a struggle but through it all I have gained a better relationship with my Heavenly Father and his son.

I love this verse and will refer myself back to it through trying times...

3 Nephi 18:20 " And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you."
okay one more...
Mormon 9:21 "Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth."

Happy 2012 !!!!

Kaua'i & Oahu 2011

2011-11-18T12:36:00.019-07:00

Well we've been back from our Hawaiian adventure for over a month now but I still wanted to throw some pics up on the blog because it really was a fun trip. We had such a great time with John and Abe's parents. Paradise sure is wonderful!!

Here Abe and his Mom are on the train in Seattle. We had a few hours before heading to Honolulu so we decided why not do a little sight seeing. Then it was off to Honolulu with our a final destination being Kauai.

Our hotel was in Princeville but our first day in Kauai was a Saturday and we drove to Kapaa to catch General Conference and then we went to a coconut festival and did some snorkeling that day too. The highlight of that day was snorkeling with a sea turtle!

This pic was taken at Poipu where we went snorkeling.
The sunsets in Hawaii are seriously amazing. We watched all but one sunset on that trip.

Next day we explored Princeville and hung out at Hanalei Bay and Ke'e Beach.

Next up on our list of things we did... hike the Kalalau Trail to check out the Na Pali Coast. This pic above was taken just before my Teva broke at a half a mile into the 8 mile hike. So Abe and I had to play survivor man and somehow fix my sandal (which was being held together by ribbon.. all the rest of the way - 7.5 miles). I made sure that those teva's did not make it home with me!!!

Here's Abe and John on the Kalalau Trail.

Two miles into the hike you get to Hanakapiai Beach and then it was off to hike through the jungle two more miles to Hanakapiai Falls.

Here's Abe at Hanakapiai Beach. It sure was an amazing beach!!

After hanging out at the beach we got back on the trail.. headed for the waterfall.

Hanakapiai Falls. That water was SOOOO frigid but I didn't hike all that way with a broken Teva not to get in.

We ate a whole lot of guava on that hike!

Heading back down the trail Abe and John decided to have their way with the jungle trees. Meanwhile, I was getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. I think I had over 30 bites that trip!

The sunset from the Kalalau Trail.

And the next day it was off to Port Allen to take a zodiac boat ride to see the Na Pali Coast.

We saw the coast...

...dolphins...

and went in sea caves. Inside this sea cave Mary J. Blige filmed her music video "Everything." So crazy! Here's the music video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nZueSZRJrA

The other sea cave we went in was the Waiahuakua Sea Cave. It is the second longest sea cave in the world. It's known as the Sacred Water Cave and as the Double Door cave because it has both an entrance and an exit.

After the zodiac ride we drove up Waimea Canyon. The Grand Canyon of Hawaii. It sure was chilly up there. As you can see we really weren't dressed for the cold!

We also went to Queen's bath while in Princeville.

We did some jumping and snorkeling while at the big tide pool.

While in Kauai we did some surfing in Hanalei Bay.

And took pics at the classic Princeville overlook.

And went to a turtle cave in Princeville near our hotel. We had a great time in Kauai. I want to go back. There is still so much more I want to see, do and eat! We spent 6 days in Kauai and then it was off to Oahu for 3 more days before heading home.

In Oahu we went to the North Shore.. here we are at Turtle Beach. No turtles were there but we did see some surfers catching some waves.

And we went to the Polynesian Culture Center...

..and learned to hula...

... and participated in a New Zealand ceremony...

... and went to the Samoa village and watched this guy again (he was at the Coconut Festival in Kauai too!)...

.. and we partook in a luau..

... and swung by the Leia Temple before heading back to Waikiki.

The next day in Oahu we hung out in Waikiki. Got aboard a catamaran and Abe did some surfing around the swimmers.

Here's the Hawaii group with the Duke Statue in Waikiki.

Our last day in Hawaii was spent at Pearl Harbor.
What a great time we had in paradise!
9 days was just not enough time to see and do everything we wanted to. So, that means we'll just have to go back. AlOhA!

Great Love in September

2011-09-02T14:00:00.005-06:00

I used to work with this girl named Jenna Miller.
Well, she moved and now lives in South Carolina.
But we still keep in contact.
And a few months ago she contacted me about writing a little something something about Abe and me so it could appear on her blog Husband and Me.

We are her love story for September. Check it out... And it appeared two days after Abe and I celebrated our third wedding anniversary. I feel so lucky Abe chose me to go through this journey of life and eternity with!!
Here's our story:
http://jamandjklm.blogspot.com/2011/09/great-love-in-september-lisa-abe.html

Spring & Summer update

2011-08-24T18:00:00.002-06:00

It appears I have ignored the blog. And pretty badly I might add. Here is the longest post none to man. What can I say.. sometimes life gets in the way of updates. So, here are some of the fun things we have been up to lately (meaning the past five months). In May we finally went to the U2 concert. It was postponed a year due to Bono having emergency back surgery.
The Fray opened for them. Love this band!!
What a fun show it was. Seriously amazing! And we were SOOooo close to the stage. We got in the inner circle and only got in the general admission line at 4:00 p.m.
I got a visitor at work. My niece came to the Church Office Building. Here she is at my desk.
In June we had cousin time at the Granddaughters of Brigham Young luncheon at the Lion House. It was fun to catch up and to even have some of my AZ cousins come. The food is always amazing and this years speaker was Richard Turley, Assistant Church Historian.
On June 14 Abe's little brother Aaron got married in the Salt Lake Temple. It was such a beautiful day for a wedding followed by a great reception that night.
We just love Aaron and Annique!
Also in June, we celebrated my Dad's 60th birthday and Father's Day. My sisters and I listed off 60 memories we have had with him. It was fun to read all of our different memories. There sure have been a lot. And of course more to come!
Abe has been graduated from Brighton High School for TEN years. Here we are at his reunion. Mine is next year.. wow.. where does the time go???
We celebrated the 4th of July. We started the day at a ward breakfast. The ward my Dad grew up in. Then we headed to Farmington for a celebration at Abe's Aunt's house.
Also in July we spent some time up in Huntsville with some of my friends from high school. It was a great weekend at the Banks' cabin including a trip to Pineview Reservoir.
Sushi was eaten at some point this summer. We highly recommend Red Ginger and their half off sushi!
We welcomed a new nephew into the world.
Sawyer Thaxton Johnson
7/16/11
6lbs 12 oz
19.5 inches

We are in love with this baby!
Also in July, we headed down to Lake Powell. It was a rather a last minute trip but we were so glad we went. We spent some time getting to know some new people and hanging out with my cousin and his wife and my Aunt and Uncle.
The crew at Rainbow Bridge on Pioneer Day.
We did some wakeboarding, slaloming, double skiing and knee boarding while there.
At one point during the trip while cruising in the boat up Nauvoo Canyon we got caught in an intense rain, thunder and lightening storm. We waited it out and once the storm let up we were left with waterfalls. It really was amazing. I have been to Lake Powell tons of times but have never ever seen anything like it.Thanks to my cousin for inviting us. We don't get to see them too often since they live in Phoenix so it was good to catch up and make some memories.
Now that brings me to August.
Last weekend we headed down to Spanish Fork to the Utah County Fair to watch Abe's old neighbor and son compete in a demolition derby.

Cowgirl boots, illegal hits and dirt flying everywhere makes for a great time. And one of them took second place... not too bad at all!

I really need to update more often because this is just one long-winded post. And for you few readers out there that read the Johnson Jig thanks for making it through this entire post!

And more adventures are to come... September is going to one busy month.
We're head to Cali for the Utah v. USC game, then going to Provo to watch the Utes beat the Cougars and then the last day of the month we're headed Kauai. ALOHA!

Chopped Chef Critic

2011-08-18T09:15:00.003-06:00

I think Abe and I have been watching the Food Networks show "Chopped" a little too much! Last night I tried out a new recipe. A pasta in clam sauce recipe to be precise. It was real tasty if I do say so myself. The best clam sauce recipe I have found yet.

Well, when Abe was eating it he started breaking down the recipe... our convo about the food went like this...

He said, "the sauce is good it even has a bit of a kick to it."
I said, "yep, it has a splash of hot sauce."
Then he said, "is it a cream base?"
I said, "sure, it has buttermilk in it."
Then he proceeded to tell me, "the noodles are slightly over cooked and that they needed to be a little more al dente."
I said, "okay, well the lid was on it to keep it warm until you got home so that could have made the noodles a little more tender."
He followed up with, "I am just analyzing it like I was a Chopped Chef."

Oh goodess ... so is this what I get to put up with every time I cook now?? I have a food critic living with me. Too funny! That boy makes me laugh so hard.

Watch it and share it!

2011-03-30T11:14:00.008-06:00

Check it out… you can watch the latest LDS Church film right from your very own computer. Read more about the new Joseph Smith Film here: http://newsroom.lds.org/article/film-about-joseph-smith-now-available-online

Watch the movie here: http://radio.lds.org/joseph?lang=eng

Or watch the trailer: http://broadcast.lds.org/newsroom/2011-04-0010-joseph-trailer-6000k-eng.mp4

My boss is quoted in the article and I got to help dress and dirty up some cast members in a few scenes in the new film.

See proof... I was covered head to toe in brownish chalk.

The Church is hoping that the newly done film about the life and legacy of the prophet will be shared and understood by nonmembers! So go ahead and share the film with others and tell them why Joseph Smith and the Book of Mormon changed your life!

Something about Men on Meds

2011-02-21T11:00:00.002-07:00

Abe had surgery on Friday. He had a deviated septum and FINALLY he went in to get it all fixed up. The recovery process will take about a week (that's what the doctor says) and i'm sure he'll need the FULL week. Hopefully we'll be able to go out and do something next weekend. This past weekend we stayed home. I helped him out by ... making him cream of wheat, grape juice, and making sure he takes all his meds and moving the humidifier around so he'll get a change of scenery.

The doctor says the surgery should make it so he breaths better, tastes better and smells better. Maybe that will mean that he'll now smell the perfume I put on, taste the dinners I make for him better and maybe just maybe he'll order Mexican, Thai and Indian food medium spicy instead of hot hot hot!

So men on painkillers when they're recovering from surgery is not too bad at all. At least for Abe he's a bit loopy and tired .. but he's also been extra sensitive and sweet and is always praising me for taking such good care of him. What a cutey he is! Unfortunately today i'm at work so he has to fend for himself until I get home tonight.

On the mind

2011-01-26T09:25:00.003-07:00

I've been thinking and praying a lot for this one particular family from the last ward Abe and I were in. I've been thinking what can I do to help! She and her husband had five fabulous kids. They were so involved in the Ward and in the community.

Last Tuesday the Mom was moving the family van under the carport when she accidentally struck her two-year old daughter. 2-year-old Akayla followed her Mom outside unnoticed. Akayla didn't survive the accident.

I saw the news story on KSL that night, Jan 18 and thought that that family had to be in our Stake. Then this past Monday I found out that it was a family that Abe and I knew in our previous Ward and they are in fact still in our Stake. It really hits you hard when something tragic like this happens to someone you know, have had conversations with and have heard them bare their testimony about the gospel on several occasions. These kinds of accidents could happen to any of us at any time.

Please help! The family is in need of funds to help with funeral costs and other expenses related to the tragedy. http://akaylasfamily.blogspot.com/

The news stories:
http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=148&sid=14055644
http://www.fox13now.com/news/local/kstu-toddler-2-run-over-in-driveway,0,697239.story

The obituary:
http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/deseretnews/obituary.aspx?n=akayla-ferguson&pid=147982174&fhid=11609

Nieces

2011-01-19T22:10:00.003-07:00

I was going through some pics tonight and found these pics of our nieces from our wedding 2 and a half years ago. The girls are so young in these pics. Aren't they the cutest things in the whole world!! Then again I am their Auntie and am totally biased. In fact, my sister-in-law is pregnant right now and i'm so excited to be an aunt once again!!

Visitors... eight to be precise

2010-12-20T23:23:00.003-07:00

This past Sunday our neighborhood got EIGHT furry visitors. I was driving home from Church meetings when I found the deer. I never thought that we would see deer in our neck of the woods because we literally live in the middle of the valley. However, I saw eight deer hanging around Tai Pan and then four or five of the eight ran right across the street while these deer hung around Tai Pan. I nearly missed the dang deer that darted across the road. They must have been coming down far into the valley to get some of the good stuff... GRASS.

Tis the season to be grateful

2010-12-15T12:45:00.003-07:00

I love the holiday's because I feel like I am constantly surrounded by reminders of the things that matter most. Such as ... family, friends, good neighbors, Ward friends, co-workers and the Savior. When I get in the elevator at work and head up to the 22nd floor I love seeing the thoughts that are posted on the walls. Right now they are ALL centered around CHRISTMAS.

One says: "The Christmas season, with its special meaning, inevitably prompts a tear and inspires a renewed commitment to God."
President Thomas S. Monson

While another says: "Three days of light without darkness was the sign God gave to the descendants of Lehi, heralding the birth of His Son."
President Henry B. Eyring

How grateful I am for this time of year!
I am especially grateful because come January I will be going to full time employment at the LDS Church which is where I currently work. I love my job in the Audiovisual Department and will remain there when the new position begins in January. I will maintain my current duties and will be adding some new ones as well. After searching for full time employment for over a year now (b/c I was laid off last November) I can say I am so happy to be where I am now! Many times I felt discouraged about the job situation and MANY many MANY times I referred myself back to President Uchdtorf's talk "Continue in Patience." In fact that is what life is all about waiting and while doing so using patience.

Making the list

2010-12-03T13:12:00.001-07:00

Abe and I have been discussing Christmas gifts.

(P.s. we had a great Thanksgiving real busy and real great. I'll blog about it later.)

Now for Christmas.

The tree is FINALLY up and it appears that no lights will be adorning our Home this year. It's too cold now and last year I hung the lights. That's right me ... a girl! And I don't feel up to it this year and Abe doesn't seem to want to go out in the cold and do it either.

So, onto the gifts. Last night we were talking about things we really need. This is what I want ... I would even call it a need ... I sure need to make room on my kitchen shelves if I actually get the gifts I want.

A new Crockpot ... with a timer on it. I love the one that my fabulous family gave us as a wedding gift but I need one with a timer so my food won't cook longer than it needs to while i'm away at work.

Next up a pressure cooker.

But what size to get? Six quart, eight quart, 12 quart... I need to do some more research. But I can't wait to start pressure cooking. In the meantime, I am borrowing my mother-in-law's.

I hope Santa sees my list!!

Better late than never

2010-11-23T16:37:00.014-07:00

Two days until Thanksgiving and I have yet to post Halloween 2010 pics. SO here we go!

This year Marie and Ryan hosted the High School friend Halloween Party. We had a great time playing games and eating some good grub.
Of course it was a COSTUME party. Abe is my prisoner and I am his police officer.
I loved Katie's outfit and that we sort of kind of matched. Besides the fact she was a "male" police officer... with a baby bump?? So great!
All of us posing for the camera.Then it was off to Farmington for the annual Parker family Halloween Party. Abe loved holding Simon the python. As for me i'm not a real fan of snakes... especially the way they feel so I passed on holding the slithery guy.
We also got to see Simon eat his dinner. It sure made for a rather interesting Halloween Party. Here he is finishing the rat off.
Then we had some of Abe's friends from High School and their wives over to our place for some Halloween fun.
And yes costumes were a must!
On Halloween Eve my niece had her fifth birthday party. It was a princess party and my Mom wanted me to dress up as Belle and to see if my friend Allison (who dresses up as Cinderalla for kid's birthday parties) could come. Sadly, Allison couldn't come because of her work schedule! Maybe next year we can be a duo. I loved dressing up as Belle. It was real fun and the little girls loved it. We played games, ate yummy food, did a craft and opened presents.
I do love how my Belle costume turned out. I think Allison and I need to go into business together attending Princess Birthday parties. Belle and Cinderella make the perfect princess pair.

Trip down South

2010-11-13T16:13:00.001-07:00

It seems I forgot to write about the trip Abe and I took with my family down to Lake Powell. As they say in the blogging world.. better late than never!!
We headed down the end of September/beginning of October. Just in time for some Fall boating before it got too cold. The water was chilly for Lake Powell but it was a fun vacation and we didn't deal with the crowds that are usually around in the Summer time. We even got to celebrate my sister Heather's 30th Birthday on the Lake. We haven't gone on a Young vacation for a while so it was a much needed family trip.

We stayed in Page, AZ and one of the days we went to explore Antelope Canyon.
This pic is of Nicole (my niece) and me waiting for the truck to take us to Antelope Canyon.
Aboard the truck with my parents.
The "heart" of the canyon
We spent much of the afternoon exploring Antelope Canyon. It's located on an Indian Reservation so you can only see it by taking a tour. What I learned on our tour: that many of the professional pictures taken of Lake Powell come from this very canyon.
The next two days we spent on the lake... exploring, tubing, skiing, wakeboarding and just relaxing!Eating plums off of Grandma Gough's tree.

Abe trying out the double ski for old time sake
My sisters and niece Cooling off!
While the water had cooled off a bit the air temp was still in the 90's.
Like I said we celebrated Heather turning the big 3-0 at the local Mexican Restaurant in Page. It was actually real good!
We did some exploring. Here we are heading up Sheep Canyon. It's definitely one of my favorite things to do at Lake Powell.
Laura was sure a trooper trying to get up on the double ski.
Nicole sure loves tubing. She discovered it at East Canyon and she took turns with most of us.
Abe doing a little wakeboarding.
Me slaloming.
My mom getting ready to ski.
My Mom's still got it!! She sure showed up my sisters. Maybe next year Heather and Laura will get up on either the ski or wakeboard.
And of course we made a stop to Dangling Rope for Ice Cream
Yep, while we there Abe had to surf the tire.
We had a fun Young family vacation. Hopefully it won't be too long until we get to go down to Lake Powell again. I sure do love love LOVE that place.

Breaking Ground

2010-10-26T17:05:00.001-06:00

On Friday Abe's Grandma and Aunt made the local news.

His Grandma Helen Parker and his Aunt Erin were interviewed by KSL's Carole Mikita about LDS Church President Thomas S. Monson breaking ground for the Rome, Italy temple. This temple will be Italy's first and Europe's 12th and will be made out of granite. Abe's Grandpa served as a Mission President in the City from 1993 to 1996 with his wife Helen. Erin also served a mission in Italy before her parents did.

Gerald Parker with some of his missionaries in Rome

Watching the news story about the ground breaking brought tears to my eyes. Not only to see Abe's Grandpa (who I only had the pleasure of spending time with on a few occasions before he died) but because I thought about all the members living in that part of Europe who must be overwhelmed with JOY! When the Temple is completed, it will serve over 23,000 Church members living in Italy and in neighboring countries. Abe's Grandpa, Gerald Parker is in Heaven now but i'm sure he is thrilled!

Watch KSL's story here: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=12928720&autostart=y
Or the story from the Church's newsroom: http://beta-newsroom.lds.org/article/president-monson-breaks-ground-for-rome-italy-temple

The Truth About Pumkin Pie

2010-10-22T10:19:00.014-06:00

Sometimes it's better not to know the process...

I got this in an email today. I sure do love pumpkin treats and seeing this just made my day!! I love the pumpkin man's face and how he is sitting on a make shift toilet. So great!

Tis the season

2010-09-28T23:37:00.007-06:00

I love this time of the year for one specific reason... UTE FOOTBALL!!
Two days ago as I was driving home from work from downtown just trying to get to the freeway when I saw this lovely pic on the UTA bus. I am a proud UTE and loved seeing that UTA is too.
One thing I miss now that both Abe and I are graduates from the University of Utah is the MUSS section. There is nothing else like it. I love the MUSS.. loved spending time w/ my friends on the 5th row in the MUSS.. and loved going on dates w/ Abe to Ute games and sitting in the MUSS section.
I sure do miss the MUSS and unfortunately am now watching Utah Football games at home via the MTN.

I also have always been a fan of Kenny Chesney's and I am so LOVING that his latest hit to hit the airways is all about football. THE BOYS OF FALL! And Kenny's latest CD just hit store shelves TODAY!

GO UTES!

They're blogging

2010-08-18T12:20:00.003-06:00

While I was listening to KSL radio on my way to work I heard that a Mormon apostle was blogging. I thought to myself how exciting that they are using blogging as a way to talk about the LDS church.

So, it all began last week when the blogging website Patheos.com asked the Church to write about the future of Mormonism. It appears Elder Quentin L. Cook took the challenge because his entry was posted.

I loved what Elder cook said, "as the church moves forward, it would work with other like-minded faiths to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ in reaching out to fellow citizens." I think that that is what the LDS Church is all about serving and reaching out to others all over the world!

Read the blog and what the Mormon Times had to say about Elder Cook's entry by clicking on the link:
http://www.mormontimes.com/article/16533/Apostles-blog-may-be-a-first

In case you needed to know...

2010-08-15T19:35:00.000-06:00

Baking soda is supposed to help bee stings!

Yeah, wish I had none that Thursday morning.

See I was deadheading some plants and decided to sit on my porch when all of a sudden I felt something on my finger. I then raised my arm and it instantly stung.. i then looked down and there was a bit of blood on my middle finger. Well, a bee got me and two of my fingers started swelling up. I haven't been stung since elementary days so I couldn't remember what to put on the wound. I was texting with a friend at the time of the incident and asked her what I should do and she said mud or ice should help. So a few hours later I iced my finger and it helped a bit. But when I got to work later my co-worker said baking soda is what you are supposed to put on stings. So, in case you get stung like me.. now you know.. baking soda is what the internet and my co-worker says will help.

A Hail storm, body bag and a geyser

2010-08-12T07:58:00.004-06:00

Yes, this years cabin trip was very eventful.

The Johnson family (minus Thomas, Melissa and Mae ... who we missed immensely) headed up to Star Valley Wyoming to the family cabin for a little vacation.
Before heading up we made a stop in Ogden to see Abe's grandpa who isn't doing too well.
We visited him in the hospital, then headed to the temple with Grandma Johnson and made a final stop at her favorite eating spot, Chuck-A-Rama.
Look at my bro-in-law indulging himself in some oreo goodness.
As we drove to the cabin was saw the most intense sunset over Henry Lake. So Gorgeous! Love mother nature .. on our trip we saw F I V E rainbows and a handful of gorgeous sunsets.
At the cabin we each had a night to make din din. I was giving Johnny a hand with his reuben sandwich's. He used to work at Gandolfo's and I should say he really learned how to cook up a good sandwich. So good! I have totally been converted to the reuben... rye bread, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, corned beef.. mmm!!
Once we hit the Palisade Reservoir that's when we saw a body bag.
We launched the boat and were waiting for Abe's Dad to get aboard when I asked search and rescue if that was a dead body. They said yep! We read in the paper the next day that the man had died trying to rescue his son who had fallen in the Snake River near Lunch Counter in Jackson Hole. His son survived but he did not. So sad and a bit creepy. We could see the impressions of the guys arms, legs and even nose through the bag!
Now onto a good note.. The palisades reservoir has some of the best water around.. nothing but glass. A little YMCA action near the cabin.
Even though most of the time the water is pure glass we were caught in several rain storms.
Twice on the lake we were attacked by strong waves, wind and one of the days when we pulled the boat off the lake and put the covers back on we got drenched and pounded by hail. It was quite the adventure!! As the cashier at the local market said, "Welcome to the Rocky Mountains."
On our vaca we also traveled nearly an hour from the cabin to Jackson Lake, boated around and stayed the night in a tent cabin in Colter Bay ... then it was off to Yellowstone for a day too!
Abe has always wanted to boat at the bottom of the GRAND TETON'S and he was loving life. Those are some intense mountains!!We all took a turn taking a ride ... we looked everywhere for great water and found it near this island so we made probably a hundred spins around it.
Abe riding
Ooding skiing

Like I said we stayed the night in a tent cabin at Jackson Lake. Well, since we were in bear country we had to put all the food and cosmetics in the bear box.
Since Abe's brothers had never gone to Jellystone we went for the day. I was amazed at how much we saw in such a short length of time. Yellowstone is one of my favorite places to visit for sure. Since i've only gone there in the Summer and Spring I really want to go in the winter and go snowmobiling. I also want to stay in the Old Faithful Lodge at least once in my life.. love that lodge.
Touring around the hot pots

We watched Old Faithful blow!

Yep, she still is as faithful as EVER! And if you want to see her right now then click on the link ... it's a geyser webcam love it! http://www.nps.gov/archive/yell/oldfaithfulcam.htm

i SURE do love my in-laws! I have so much fun with them (even if bickering occurs during acquire games). And since I grew up with all sisters they sure are breaking me into being around BOYS!
Next trip for us ... Abe gets to go on his first Young Family Vacation and the ratio there is mostly girls!

J U L Y

2010-07-26T15:00:00.014-06:00

Well it appears that July is nearly over. I thought I would post a bit of what we have been up to this month.
We went to the Stadium of fire to see Carrie Underwood with my my aunt, uncle, cousin, sisters and some of their friends for the fourth of July.
We had a blast singing along with her tunes before, after and during the show! Poor Abe had to put up w/ us girls all night. He is such a trooper!!
Before the show we decided to get a bite to eat and Abe was saying how he loves Rubio's. I had never been there and neither had my sisters. So we made a stop in Provo, ordered and then we saw NieNie and her family. They are such the celebrities! A bunch of people came up to them and said how great she, her family, her blog and the Mormon Message that she is in is! It is so true. They are such great examples of strength, courage, love and compassion. I also had to tell her how great her Dad is too... because he was a State Rep. when I worked up on the hill during this last Legislative Session.
How great are they to take pics with us??!! We were hesitant at first but i'm so glad we asked them because they were so sweet and even talked with us for almost ten minutes.

This past weekend.. being Pioneer Day weekend we had a bbq w/ the neighbors, hung out with the fam and did some home rearranging and updating on the home.. more to come on that.@ the neighbors eating dinner!
Anjuli and me
My contribution to the bbq... fruit pizza
We then went up to Ogden on the 24th. Here's Abe and his Daddy bicycling to his Uncle Ben's house from the hospital where we were visiting Abe's Grandpa. We then swam for a bit at his uncle's house and that night went to Cedar Hills to have one last Pioneer Day party at Abe's Aunt's house, the Hale's home, before they took off to DC to go into the Foreign Services. We sure will miss them!! I can't believe I didn't take one pic :(
And just last night we went to dinner at my parents house and while we there my grandma showed us what came from her garden. Some sort of double cucumber! She needs to enter that into some sort of veggie fair competition!!

What! What!!

2010-06-28T22:18:00.006-06:00

What have we been up to this Summer you ask??( well so far that is...)

Celebrating Abe's birfday...

With both fams
Hiking to Timpanogos Cave
Visiting graves on Memorial Day followed by iMax show at Clark Planetarium and bbq w/ the Young's.

Chilling with the Young cousin's (and Sister Barbara Thompson from the LDS Relief Society Presidency) at the Granddaughters of Brigham Young luncheon
Celebrating Father's Day/Daddy Yo's birfday
Going to June wedding's... this one taken at Dayne and Kaylee's wedding on a chilly June day
Finally taking our first boating/camping trip of the 2010 boating season
While at Jordanelle Abe lost his sunglasses to the lake. So, he thought he could sport my jewel shades. Sad day to see the Smith's go right in the lake!
More Summer is to be had. This weekend: Stadium of Fire w/ Carrie Underwood

Hey, I liked my b-roll so much I'm in it!

2010-06-11T11:20:00.007-06:00

This YouTube video is so stinking funny! Having to deal with finding b-roll in the media industry I totally relate to it. Like when an editor says what do you want me to cut for the segment about the economy... and you say just find me something to do with people at Wall Street or people swiping credit cards, editors choice. So relate!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SItFvB0Upb8&NR=1

Here's to you

2010-05-26T16:25:00.000-06:00

Yesterday (may 25th) was this boy's birthday! I am so L U C K Y to have him in my life. It's hard to believe that I have known him for 4 years now. We met and started dating May 2006! We celebrated his birthday with both of our families but due to a complicated schedule yesterday we haven't had a private party so tonight is the night! Can't wait... i'm hoping Abraham picks some sort of Indian cuisine for the celebration.isn't this man a major hottie!!! but then again i guess i am biased

Going too far

2010-05-13T22:09:00.008-06:00

As I was driving home today I saw this car on the road. Yep a pink sentra! I love pink and all but I could never drive this around town. It's like pepto on wheels!! I guarantee this driver went to Maaco and had it *specially* painted just for them.

Foolish i tell ya

2010-04-27T18:46:00.006-06:00

The wind is sure whipping around today and these fools are out golfing.. i just watched the weather and they said parts of the county we're seeing winds gusts up to 65 mph plus. Sure doesn't seem like golfing weather to me folks. Since we live on a golf course -- the 9th hole to be precise -- I best not be hearing FOUR from any of these guys!

So true.

2010-04-26T09:02:00.000-06:00

I got this as a forward and immediately started chuckling! If Utah were to have a TRUE census this would be it for sure!! Okay some are a little extreme... but still a good laugh!

Utah Census Form

1. (Given name)_____________________

2. (SURNAME)_____________________

3. Descendant of:
A. Brigham Young _____
B. Heber C. Kimball _____
C. Laman and Lemuel _____
D. Cain _____

4. Tribe of Israel : _____________________

5. Number of occupants residing in home in each category:
(Listed in chronological order)
A. Nursery _____
B. Junior Primary _____
C. Senior Primary _____
D. Young Women's _____
E. Young Men's _____
F. Relief Society _____
G. Elder _____
H. High Priest _____

6. Occupation [Please select all that apply.]:
A. Amway dealer _____
B. Shaklee dealer _____
C. Noni juice dealer _____
D. NuSkin dealer _____
E. Melaleuca dealer _____

7. Automobile:
A. Station Wagon _____
B. Van _____
C. Suburban _____
D. School Bus _____
E. BMW (Big Mormon Wagon) ________

8. Favorite place to eat the night before Fast Sunday:
A. Chuck-A-Rama _____
B. Hometown Buffet _____
C. Sumo Sam's All You Can Eat Feeding Trough _____

9. Favorite Hero:
A. Nephi _____
B. Abinadi _____
C. Samuel the Lamanite_____
D. Steve Young _____
E. Johnny Lingo _____

10. Which of the following do you bring to church [check all that apply.]:
A. Scriptures _____
B. Franklin Planner/ Daytimer _____
C. Pen/Pencil _____
D. Lifesavers/ Cheerios _____
E. Tic Tacs _____
F. Game Boy _____
G. Big Gulp _____
H. Cooler _____
I. Sony Walkman _____
J. TV Watch _____
K. All of the above _____

11. Do you prepare your church lessons:
A. A month in advance _____
B. A week in advance _____
C. While in the bathtub _____
D. While on the toilet _____
E. During Sacrament Meeting _____
F. Just wing it [according to the promptings of the Spirit]

12. Do you think pews should be permanently equipped with Big Gulp holders?: yes___ no ___

13. How many years has your family sat in the same place for Sacrament Meeting:
A. 10-20 years _____
B. 20-30 years _____
C. Over 3 generations _____

14. How much time does it take for you to fall asleep during a high council talk:
A. 1 minute _____
B. 1 second _____
C. 1/10th of a second _____

15. Which day of the month do you go home/visiting teaching:
A. 31st ______B. 30th ______C. 28th ______D. 29th ______

16. How many church basketball fights were you in last year:
A. 1-10 _____
B. 10-20 _____
C. 20-30 _____
D. You'll have to ask my lawyer _____

17. Which of the following has been your most effective Family Home Evening:
A. Arguing about getting along
B. Having an opening and closing prayer with dinner
C. Gathering around the television to watch, "Dancing with the Stars?"

18. How many times a year do you make:
A. Green Jell-O salad _____
B. Funeral potatoes _____
C. Cabbage and Top Ramen salad _____
D. Turkey , cashews and grape-stuffed croissants_____

19. How many water-filled two-liter bottles do you own:
A. 1-2 thousand _____
B. 2-3 thousand _____
C. 3-4 thousand _____
D. Enough to fill the Great Salt Lake _____

20. Which of the following do you feel is the most secure facility in the nation:
A. Alcatraz
B. Fort Knox
C. Ward Libraries

21. How many structural engineers do you hire annually to insure you'll win the pinewood derby: _________

22. Keeping the Word of Wisdom in mind, how much of the following do you consume:
A. Chocolate: ___ pounds daily X 365 days annually= ____
B. Cola: ____gallons daily X 365 days annually = ____

Not my kind of day

2010-04-15T16:58:00.001-06:00

On my way downtown this morning I was changing lanes when I hit pieces of semi tire tread head on! Pieces of the tire went everywhere... to the side of the car, under the car and over the car. I'm glad I didn't hit another car too b/c it was definitely morning rush hour. I made it downtown and looked at the damage. The consensus (at least mine)... I need a new bumper and there was some leaking going on. SO.... I spent roughly six hours running around trying to get mechanics and the dealership to look at the damage to see if I should even be driving Desi (yep she's been named that for 5 years) with her being damaged and all. No work today b/c of the mishap. Well.. turns out no one can find what's leaking.. so hopefully nothing is wrong in that area. Now for a new bumper... ahhhhh! That'll cost hundreds of dollars. Geesh.. i'm for sure shopping around. Stupid tire tread, it all came so quickly!! And another not great thing... my cute Grandma Young who turned 93 on Monday fell on her hip last night and she just got out of surgery. She is a snowbird so she is in Arizona right now... I hope she gets better enough to come up to her Midvale home at least one last time. Many people say that at that age when they break something it's a hard hard recovery and the usually end up going soon after.

F a m i l i e s

2010-04-05T17:03:00.005-06:00

During Conference I took it upon myself to give my toes a much needed makeover. Now all I need is the SUN!!

I also have to give thanks my many blessings!! It seemed the theme for the 180th General Conference was F A M I L I E S. During the two days as I listened to the various talks I couldn't help but reflect on how grateful I am for eternal families. Tears were even brought to my eyes many times. Since I was adopted I needed to be sealed to my family... I am so grateful for worthy parents!! I was sealed to them when I was just a babe in the Salt Lake City Temple. Then 24 years later I was sealed to my husband in the Salt Lake Temple for time and all eternity. I am also grateful for the relationship I have with my own Mom. Elder M. Russell Ballard, of the Quorum of the Twelve, focused his comments on the nurturing nature of mothers saying, “A mother/daughter relationship is where a daughter learns how to nurture by being nurtured.” I am SOOO grateful for my eternal family and never want to take them for granted!

Ok ok you got me!

2010-04-02T17:48:00.000-06:00

A correction must be made...it appears that I was playing a trick in the last post. April Fools ya'll!!! ((And if I was on top of things I would have posted this late last night but things got in the way.)) So anyway... No, I did not cut my hair off. I played a bit of an April Fools joke in my last post!!! Allison seems to know me too well :) But, I did get quite the cut last month. Like four or five inches taken off. It feels short for me and some of the layers are real short. Most of my hair sits below the shoulder and i'm happy with it. Someday I may cut off all those inches. (Thanks for the support Meliss!!) So the trick came about last night as I was waiting for Abe to get home from work I started playing around with one of those websites that replaces a celebs face with your own. So that's what you saw... my face w/ Jessica Love Hewitts hair. It was a pretty cool site. But now of course I can't find it again because I clicked out of it too soon. Anyway, here's another site I found pretty fun...
http://www.hairstyles.knowage.info/

And here's a real pic of me... see some of the layers are REAL short and it looks like the bob I had in 9th grade.

Couldn't take it anymore ... you like?

2010-04-01T20:23:00.004-06:00

I have had long hair for quite sometime.. years in fact.. so I decided to chop it off! I decided I had had enough and wanted a change. As I was leaving the salon today the lady that I go to took this pic of me. Not a great pic but still a pic. It's crazy to think I just cut off like 7 inches and my hair color is all brown!! Meaning...no highlights!! It will for sure take some getting used to and i'm not sure if I'm okay with it yet?? we'll see....

Session over & one year older

2010-03-23T16:40:00.008-06:00

It seems as though once again I have turned into a bad blogger. Well, since last time I posted I aged by a year, ended a job, started searching for a new job and got to visit with my bro-in-law who came into town from China. Since posts are better with pics here ya go..
While working at the Capitol I had an office with a great view. My birthday was actually the last day of session, March 11th and worked up on the hill all day. It was one long day. I worked 17 hours.
Me with the Speaker of the House, David Clark on the last night of the session. During my time at the Capitol I wrote press releases for the GOP Representatives, talked with reporters, set up press conferences, tracked bills and various other things. It was fun to see first had what goes on during a Legislative Session.
Rep. Oda and me... careful he packs.
Also on the last night, a visit from Vincent D'Onofrio from "Law and Order" and "Men in Black." He was there because he is involved with a "Meth Cops" program.
Now on to turning one year older... We celebrated with the Johnson's by going to "Alice in Wonderland" 3D style.
Presents from the hubby... which included a two year subscription to the "Cooking Light" magazine. It appears that playing a game with the friends a few weeks ago paid off.. because Abe got the gift idea from our answers in Rate Your Mate.
And celebrating my day with the Young's. I love that Nicole helps all of us blow out those candles.
And now up to last week... look at that... I am making some progress to the blog. Abe's brother Aaron came home from China for a week to visit Chemistry Labs here in the U.S.A. He came to decide which school he wants to go to to get his Phd. Yep, he's a smarty pants.

Now stayed tuned because the next blog post I will go into detail about our first canyoneering trip, which we went on last weekend. Here's the teaser... at one point I was dangling 60 feet and fell of the back of a truck injuring myself.

The Piano Men

2010-02-27T15:19:00.004-07:00

Abe and I bought tickets to go see Elton John and Billy Joel in concert at the ESA almost a year ago. Originally we were supposed to see them in November but due to the fact that Elton and then Billy were sick they postponed the show. Now come February 19th the piano men were live in concert in the S.L.C! The pair put on one of the best shows i've ever been to! They started the night off with Elton's masterpiece "Your Song" and finished up the night with Billy's "Piano Man." They sang about five songs together at the beginning.. then Elton went for an hour.. then Billy an hour and then they came back on together for 5 more songs. Abe and I loved the show and loved spending that time together singing along with some of the greatest musicians ever!! The night was so much fun. We even met up before the show for dinner at Red Iguana, one of our favorite Mexican restaurants.
Dueling pianos...

Ever since nannying in Long Island, where Billy lives, and saw the musical "Movin Out" I have been in love with his music. He's so talented and wrote many of his hit songs before I was even born. Lullaby, Just the Way You Are, Piano Man, Movin Out, Italian Restaurant, Vienna, Keeping the Faith, She's Got Away, Captain Jack, The Entertainer, And So it Goes... i love them all and could go on and on.
As for Abe, he was more into Elton John's music growing up because of a road trip to CA where that was the only cassette tape they had in the vehicle, Elton's greatest hits. But I am a big fan of Elton too. I am mean come on it's Sir Elton! He's such a classic: Tiny Dancer, Crocodile Rock, Rocket Man, Benny and the Jets, Daniel, Goodbye yellow brick road ... the guy is a LEGEND!!

Next show we're looking forward to... U2 in JUNE @ the U of U!

In honor of...

2010-02-22T22:35:00.002-07:00

In honor of Valentine's Day Abe and I celebrated it on Saturday, like most of you I suppose. We started off the day by eating dutch babies and finding a place to store our V-Day present until the weather gets better. We got ourselves a patio set and are excited to put it to use! I hope there will be many a game played on the table while watching the golfers play through hole 9. As for that evening, Abe and I spent it with some happy Chinese families. See I am reading this book called "Garlic and Sapphires" which is amazing.
It's about a food critic from the New York Times. The critics sense for food is one of a kind. The way she describes the food she eats is something that I can only dream about. I mean she can get down to every last spice a dish contains. So anyway, in one chapter she talks about eating dim sum at a NYC Chinese restaurant and ever since then I have been craving dim sum. So, Abe was nice enough to indulge me and we went to Cafe Anh Han for dim sum. We were the only Caucasians in the place. And by the end of our meal we were SO satisfied. (man what I would give to be a food critic, the one in the Deseret News, in my opinion of course, needs to be replaced)

Anyway, back to the dim sum, if you don't know what it is then take a gander at the pics below or go to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dim_sum
If you plan on trying dim sum let me recommend the steamed buns with bbq pork

After our Chinese outing we hit up the dollar theater, since we're still trying to save a buck or two or three or four. It was a great Valentine's Day which was followed by a yummy dinner at the Young's on Sunday for a true homemade V-Day meal - steak and tatoes!

Me and my Valentine (aka Abraham William Johnson)

One other in honor of...

In honor of Mardi Gras, homemade benyas were made and devoured last week! I think that this will become a tradition because they were just so tasty and not too hard to make. I just love southern food and New Orleans has some of the best food around. mMMmm doesn't all that oil look tasty.

A visitor or two

2010-02-11T17:05:00.000-07:00

During the Legislative Session it's quite common for a U.S. Congressman, Senator or local philanthropist to stop on by and talk to the Representatives during floor time. But today, Real Salt Lake stopped by! They even brought a soccer ball. They ALL passed by me TWICE in the hall. I must say I was a bit star struck! Watching them in the shoot out, that they won, making them the MLS Cup 2009 winners, will go down in my book as one of the best sporting events EVER watched! And how about the entire team getting a standing ovation from both the Senate and House Chambers for their accomplishment. That's got to feel good.So on that note, GO REAL... way to bring Utah the first major professional sports title in nearly four decades.

One fish, Two fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish

2010-02-09T17:25:00.000-07:00

Last week, since I am a Legislature House staff member (for the Leg Session that is) Abe and I were able to go to the Living Planet Aquarium for free. Part of Legislative Family night! It was fun to see all the creatures that live in Utah and come from a far. They had some cool creatures considering we live in a desert state.

Abe was like a kid in the candy store with all the fishies around.
See what I mean! He would stop and stare at them for hours on end if it was possible.
They even had a gator... creaptastic!!
And you could "Feel the EEL" It was fun to get the legislators kids to touch it. When you touched the sensor it would feel like your arm went to sleep for a bit.
Now that Abe and I have more room living in our townhouse we have decided we want to get his fish tank that is currently residing as his parentals home empty and feel it with fishies. I'm thinking we get ourselves some angel fish.

Now to Vancouver...

2010-02-06T17:30:00.007-07:00

First off, I have to say that I love that Utah still has connections with the Winter Olympics.
I mean common on, just a few months ago (okay maybe more like six) I saw Apolo Anton Ohno at Albertson's. Maybe someday we'll even get them again. So, I say that I love the connection that we have because, just a few weeks ago Abe and I and some of our friends headed up to Park City (in the snow) to see the final Grand Prix halfpipe contest in snowboarding.

It was fun to see the Flying Tomato in action and nearly a foot away!
Those headed to Vancouver were named the night we were there, they are: Shaun White of course, Louie Vito (who is from Sandy, UT and danced in the last season of "Dancing With the Stars") and Scotty Lago for the men's team ... as for the ladies it's Kelly Clark, Gretchen Bleiler and Hannah Teter.

Going to the finals in PC made me all that more excited for next week to see the kickoff of the Winter Olympic Games! GO USA!!

New calling, new calling, new calling

2010-01-27T17:47:00.005-07:00

Just as the headline reads, Abe and I got a new calling in our new ward.
We are the activity chair people for the Riverbend Ward. Neither of us have ever had this calling before so it shall be interesting. But hey we're excited. My last calling was in Young Women's and they sure know how to have fun so i'll just have to carry that attitude over. In the meantime, if anyone out there has some ideas that worked in their wards for parties and such let me know. Tips are greatly appreciated! Now that we have callings I really, really (fingers crossed) hope they don't ask us to speak in sacrament meeting. Or at least too hold out until the Leg Session is over.

Bad at updating...

2010-01-21T08:34:00.018-07:00

It seems that I have been neglecting the blog. Ya, I guess those things happen. Especially around the holiday's. But here's what we've been up to for well over a month now...

Celebrating Thanksgiving at the Young's and then pie with the Johnson Fam followed by a game of touch football - team Edward v. team Jacob with team Edward prevailing ... thanks to my hubby who made a touchdown on a picnic table!
Next up... December a packed month

Freelancing at Fox 13 for Good Day Utah = many overnight hours and seeing this little raccoon at the station
Celebrating Christmas with some of the Alumni XI babes at Chili's
Hosting a Christmas Party with the High Schools gals

Opening presents Christmas morning in our new house!
Followed by breakfast and games at the Young's and then off to the Johnson's for Christmas dinner, games and watching "Julie & Julia."
Dec. 26... Johnson family talent show. Grandma J tapped dance, which was amazing! As for me, I was kicked out of the band due to the fact that my flute overpowered the singer. And Melissa is a fantastic singer.. she seriously is!!

Now onto ringing in 2010!!
New Year's Eve is also Father Johnson's birthday which was celebrated at Asian Star. Then we met up with friends at Mimi's Cafe and went over to Matt and Faroe's place for some talking and some bubbly.. Martinelli's of course.

As for January...
Abe and I road tripped it with his fam to Phoenix for some much needed relaxation.
But on our way down to the AZ we stopped off at Bryce Canyon
Here are some of the highlights in Phoenix...
Negotiating with scalpers for fiesta bowl tickets at the Cardinal's stadium... we paid $20 a piece in the lower bowl. Those same tickets were originally $250 a piece. I would say we did well!
Swimming, hot tubing it and playing tennis at JW Marriott
Going to a Suns v. Rocket game. I must admit i didn't know exactly who to cheer for since i'm not a Steve Nash fan, but I am a Grant Hill fan. So i cheered for the Suns. And they won!
Taking in Arizona sunsets!
Making a stop at the Mesa temple for a session, followed by a visit to the Waffle House.
Taking a tour of Thunderbird in honor of Abe's brother Thomas (who is going there) and his cousin Clay (who went there). In the pic you see Johnny showing his mad skills at jumping over water!

Also highlights from the trip.. a visit with Melissa and Mae and an intense game of Apples to Apples... and lunch with Grandma Young (all of which had no captured moments)
On our way home... stopping at Hoover Dam to see the new bridge

Now this is what we did just this last weekend.
Abe and I went to the Auto Show. We love looking at all the new cars. Even though it was a disappointment that BMW, Mercedes Benz and Nissan decided not to show up this year!

Now this is where i'll be for the next six weeks.
Starting Monday, i'm going to be the Majority Media person for the UT House of Representatives. The liaison between the media and the representatives during the 2010 Legislative Session. I'm a bit nervous, but excited to be employed for at least six weeks, and for this new experience!

Feeling blah

2009-12-15T18:47:00.004-07:00

Let's see, what's new with me??
I'm still unemployed but I am freelancing for Fox 13 during the holiday's.
So, that means back to the life of sleeping in the day and working at night... in other words NEVER SEEING daylight and only sleeping w/ my hubby on the weekend. But hey at least I have that for a few more weeks and it is fun hanging out with the "Good Day Utah" gang. I must admit that I missed them, catch the crew 5 - 9 am... and hey you may get a glimpse of me in the background.

Full time employment is still always on my mind (making it hard to get into the Christmas spirit) ... job hunting is the worst (especially around the holiday's) ... I have now reached the one month mark of being unemployed.

On the hunt

2009-11-25T10:09:00.004-07:00

I'm on the hunt for a new job. Unfortunately, I was laid off from my job on Friday the 13th (I know NOT too lucky) b/c of some changes in the office. It came as a total shock to me b/c I really enjoyed that job. So, while unemployment rates are on the rise i'm trying to stay positive that I will find something soon.

And since tomorrow is Thanksgiving I wanted to at least make a list of some things I am grateful for (you know to stay positive)... that Abe and I are healthy, we have two families to spend Thanksgiving day with, a temple session on Friday, Abe's new job, the BYU v. Utah football game on Saturday, and that we're now going to be going to our new ward.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!!! ... now let's just hope that the pies and Lion House rolls i'm making for turkey day will turn out.

Rescheduled

2009-11-20T16:37:00.005-07:00

Since these two decided that they are not coming to Salt Lake tonight and are now planning on coming in February...Abe, my sister and I are going to see this!! In just 1/2 hour New Moon will come to life ... can't wait!!

a welcome surprise to the day

2009-11-04T17:01:00.002-07:00

Yesterday when I got to work and opened up my laptop a white piece of paper fell to the ground... I thought to myself... hmmm what is this? To my surprise my wonderful husband had written me a love note and hid it in my laptop for me to find in the morning. I love notes from Abe!! What a great way to start off the day. What was in that note?? Just stuff, for me and him to know. Thanks for the note sweets! You're the best! And since I know that he merely blog stocks "our" blog and doesn't contribute, I know that he will see this post and hopefully see how much I appreciate those lovey notes and continue to leave white 8 1/2 X 11 sheets of paper hidden somewhere for me to find.

It came & went & left some candy behind

2009-11-03T11:38:00.015-07:00

Well Halloween season is officially over. I cleaned up the last of the cob webs last night... I guess that means I have to start dusting again :) But while Halloween was upon us Abe and I dressed up and had a good time! Because Abe says he doesn't like dressing up it was my task of finding him a costume. Since I couldn't find a knight costume Abe went as a three musketeer and I went as a Renaissance Woman. We celebrated the goolish holiday by... eating yummy homemade treats, having friends over, going to Abe's Aunts house... Going to my niece Nicole's friend birthday party dressed in our costume (okay so Abe missed out on that party... I know who wouldn't want to go hang out w/ 10 four year old little girls!??!)

And then we were planning on going all dressed up to our ward's trunk or treat but missed out on that fun b/c of a last minute invite to the 2009 Governors Gala... which I must say was fabulous!
And on Sunday we officially celebrated my niece Nicole's birthday. Here she is opening the globe that Abe and I gave her. She loved it... what a smarty pants she is!! She's only four and already asks where places are in the world. I just love that girl to pieces!

Winter is upon us

2009-10-27T15:42:00.005-06:00

These flowers I planted are dying right now... and these tulips I planted a few weeks ago won't bloom for another six months!
As I was driving away from the house yesterday to go to work IN THE SNOW I realized that the few flowers I planted at our new place are officially on their last leg. So, I guess that means welcome Winter but you're not exactly wanted!

Reality Check

2009-10-20T14:37:00.005-06:00

Today at work I got an email from my co-worker titled "Reality Check on Debt." Inside that email was a picture of this little girl. That's right it's a reality check. The U.S. owes $1.42 trillion (this according to an AP story from three days ago). That is more than the total national debt for the first 200 years of the Republic, more than the entire economy of India, almost as much as Canada's, and more than $4,700 for every man, woman and child in the United States. That ladies and gentleman is how much money the U.S. needs to pay back! Lovely huh ... while we a regular citizen are expected to NOT go into debt (and if we do there are severe consequences), the Federal Government can spend spend spend as long as they have a freaking printing press! Well one thing I do know, there's no way that this little girls generation will be able to pay all those trillions back... so I guess on to the next generation, maybe.

Why is it??

2009-10-13T16:43:00.005-06:00

Why is it that just looking at this picture I get the chills?? Hello, I know that this is just a picture... but for some reason my body thinks that it is right in front of me and that I am going to either touch it with my fingers or put it to my mouth to feel the utter coldness that it contains.

I know random post ... but I guess it just amazes me what the brain can sense real or not!

He said i couldn't blog about this ...

2009-10-08T11:02:00.005-06:00

Let me first start off by saying that after Abe told me this story I was laughing SO hard I said, "I HAVE TO BLOG ABOUT THIS." He said, "no no no!" But after Abe told our friends Matt and Faroe about what happened, Faroe agreed with me ... it must be blogged. And here is how the story goes or at least what Abe told me ....

So a few weeks ago, it was a Sunday mid September, and Abe had just gotten home from work (yes, he works Sunday's and we HATE IT! but we keep saying it's better for him to have a job then no job.) And he came across a cardboard box in the middle of our driveway which probably got blown over from the townhouses that are under construction right next to us. He took the box and walked it over to the big dumpster by the town homes and then decided that he wanted to go look inside them and see how the construction was going. Well, he says that when he was walking the box to the garbage he saw a cop truck parked on the street but didn't think much about it. So as he was giving himself a tour of a town house he heard a loud authoritative voice tell him to, "PUT YOUR HANDS UP" as Abe was putting his hands up he said a k-9 dog then came charging at him straight for his man part hitting him pretty hard... but lucky for Abe the dog missed his area (thank goodness we can still have children) and the dog had a muzzle on. As Abe was telling me this part of the story I was laughing so hard because not very many people have ever been told to "PUT YOUR HANDS UP" by cop and Abe is one of those curious people and I was thinking oh look how your curiosity got you in to trouble. So long story short, the cop didn't arrest him or cite him for trespassing. And as for the reason why the cop was even in the area? He said that he was checking things out at the town houses because he had gotten a report of kids vandalizing them. The cop also told Abe that he was lucky the dog had a muzzle on because they are trained to attack... well Abe and I are thinking, hello why are you sending a k-9 into a house when you don't even know who is really in it and why are you sending a k-9 in for a situation that involves children. Owe goodness Sandy Police ... if that dog hadn't had a muzzle on and HAD attacked Abe you would be paying us lots of money in damages!! So that's the story, I can't tell it as well as Abe does so next time you see him just ask him to put his hands up and to tell you the story about the attack of the k-9.

They may be fuzzy but i still wanted one more box

2009-09-30T12:47:00.006-06:00

Peach season is in my opinion the best time of the year when it comes to produce! They are my favorite fruit and I just love them oh so much and so does Abe. Well, last night I got good news from my Mom, she told me that the O'henry peaches from the orchard in Orem were ready and she was bringing a box to my house. Let's just say we had been waiting for weeks to hear the peaches are ready. The softball sized peaches are amazing cut up with milk and sugar. All that I could wish for... a second box. But because of a harsh Summer our orchard farming peach grower could only sell Abe and me ONE box.

Look at the size of those peaches... it's like they have their own weather system

Abe enjoying his first peach from the box with some milk and sugar ... next up Peach Crisp!!

The Best Day Ever

2009-09-28T11:02:00.004-06:00

The title of this blog is what Abe said to me Saturday night. So, lets reflect now on how we spent last Saturday. It started with me making a home-made breakfast for us... the menu: eggs Benedict. They were good if I do say so myself, we loved eating them on our cruise and I wanted to make them at home. Now all we need is a real egg poacher, which is on my list of kitchen supplies I NEED... that's right not a want a NEED! Next up on the best day ever, boating at East Canyon with the Johnson fam and Father Johnson's clients family. His client had two little boys who loved tubing... it was fun watching them as we told them that they were going as fast as the boat would go. On the way up to the lake it was fun to see the leaves changing colors. I am in love with Fall. Even though I am sad to see Summer end :( After boating Abe, his dad and I went to the University of Utah football game against Louisville. I just love seeing the Utes play well and WIN ... even though it is unfortunate that that game caused three of our key players to fall victim to injuries that could keep them from playing in the rest of the season. No good at all! The evening ended with a food stop to Hires Big H and as we were leaving the restaurant that's when Abe told me I think this has to be the best day ever!

It's ALL Talk

2009-09-21T16:17:00.009-06:00

Yes, I am one of those people that despite being totally annoyed with what is said on Sunday morning political talk shows I can't help but watch. I can't help it. The left make me want to pull my hair out! But I still watch Face the Nation, Chris Matthews and This week with George Stephanopouloson on Sunday mornings. Yeah, for 1:00 pm church. Well, this last Sunday Pres. Obama made his rounds on those Sunday morning talks shows where he urged Americans to get on his Obamacare ban wagon ... it was as if he was shouting out to viewers ... "ALL ABOARD... Free health care for all!" But I ain't taking his bait... especially when the Prez tells ABC's George Stephanopoulos "it's a lie" in response to George's question about health care reform causing taxes to go up for the middle class. Ya freaking right, taxes will for sure go up and even for the middle class if Obamacare is passed. Hello!! in 1967, Medicare cost the federal government $3 billion; in 1977, $19 billion; in 1987, $75 billion; in 1997, $190 billion; in 2007, $375 billion... so, who really paid for it?? yep, taxpayers. When Medicare was originally passed it was predicted to cost in the millions... look how quickly it jumped to billions. Obamacare is expected to cost a trillion something and that's not with every American on the plan. So, we could expect zillions -- again if it's passed.
So, here is an excerpt from my favorite part of the Obama media round interviews this last Sunday. It appears that yet again George Stephanopoulos is the only reporter to attempt to ask the President some hard hitting questions... http://wdbo.com/localnews/2009/09/president-obama-did-not-know-a.html If you didn't read it here's how it played out ... George asks Obama about the affairs with ACORN this past week and about them losing federal dollars, the president's responds, "George..This is not the biggest issue facing the country, it's not something I'm paying a lot of attention too." Oh, okay Mr. President so you don't care or are even aware of how our Federal dollars are being spent and you want us to trust you with our health care and the dollars that would go towards paying for it. Now remember, this is the same President who totally knew what was going on with the MTV music awards last week when Kanye West jumped up on stage and interrupted Taylor Swift in the middle of her accepting a music video award saying that she shouldn't have gotten the award and that Beyonce should have ... Well, when the President was asked about this recent event he called Kanye a jackass (off the record that is). So, Obama if you knew about Kanye I'm sure you know exactly what the latest is with your buddies over at ACORN.

When are you too old to???

2009-09-21T13:36:00.004-06:00

The other day while shopping in Macey's (the clothing store not the grocery store) I had a thought. See I was shopping in the Juniors department when they were having one of their amazing sale's and it dawned on me, when are you too old to be shopping in the Juniors department?? I mean I am a Mrs. now but I am so not ready to go to that department yet. I don't think I have to go there right now because I still get mistaken for a Young Woman when going to stake activities and such and I have to say "no i'm their leader." But still when does the transition happen? Is it in your thirties? I asked Abe what he thought and he said, "When the clothes don't fit you anymore." But seriously, sometimes I see older women in the Juniors department and they just look out of place. Or maybe they look out of place because of the clothes they are holding ... it's like they're trying to relive their youth miniskirts and all!

An Anniversary, a Hurricane & a Cruise

2009-09-16T16:20:00.027-06:00

First off I have to say Happy Anniversary to my husband. Yes, we had our first wedding anniversary over two weeks ago but I wanted to publicly (via Blog) tell my boy how much I love him before anymore time goes by. He is the best husband and my bestest friend! He loves me for who I am and I think that our love for one another will just keep getting stronger! It's just like the Ben Fold's song goes "I am the Luckiest." So, here's to one year my sweets and many more too come! Yes, I had to include pics from our wedding!
And how did we celebrate our blessed anniversary?? Abe and I kind of last minute decided to go on a cruise for our first wedding anniversary. 12 days before to be precise. We loved Mexico for our honeymoon and thought a trip back to Mexico to celebrate our one year would be great. So, we booked a cruise with Carnival, got a flight to Long Beach and set sail August 30 (our anniversary day). We were so excited about the trip because yes we love Mexico and it was my first time cruising. But sadly there was some disappointment that came with our trip... It all started when we went to go check in with Carnival to get our room key. They told us that the itinerary for our cruise had changed and that instead of going to Puerto Vallarta, Mazalant and Cabo San Lucas.... we would be going to Catalina (which yes is still in the U.S.), Ensanada (which I like to call Ensacrapanada), and Cabo San Lucas. The change of plans occured because of Hurricane Jimena which upgraded to a category 3 hurricane that Sunday. I was so bummed about the change... I almost started crying right there! I seriously never wanted to say that I had been to Ensanada... it's like 40 miles from the border and I have been to border towns before and all I have to say is that is crap Mexico! So long story short... Abe and I still went on the cruise, made the best of what was put in front of us and will never cruise Carnival again.... especially because we found out that Royal Caribbean (who we were originally going to cruise with but didn't because we wanted to see what Carnival's new ship was all about went to all the ports they were supposed to and just went around the hurricane b/c their captain wasn't some lame butt like Carnival's) So enough about that!! Abe and I still had a good trip despite the misfortune, I mean come on it was still our wedding anniversary! But since this was Abe's third time going to Catalina and Ensanada I wanted him to have the best time he possibly could have.

Abe and the airplane we took to Long Beach, CA... can I just say how happy I was that we didn't drive. 13 hours in a car just didn't sound like a good way to start off a cruise!
Waiting for the city bus to get us to the Cruise ship.
On top of the ship while at port in Catalina Island
Abe got a little too close to the fish in Catalina and one bit him... ouch! I guess that is what happens when you take fishy food into the ocean.
Lover's Cove where we snorkeled
Riding the tandem bike around Catalina... seriously so much fun. Poor Abe had to do the work for the both of us at times... there are some big hills around that city.
Horseback riding on the beach at Ensanada... okay, so we did for sure find the BEST thing you could do in Ensanada

Abe playing in the waves in Ensanada

Fancy night with lobster tails... let's just say I was REALLY looking forward to this night! I love lobster oh so much! and dessert... mmmm.... cream brulee!!!

Fancy dinner night
Me dancing with our waiter from Indonesia ... Wary was the BEST waiter!!

The fun towel creatures we found on our bed after returning from dinner

On top of the ship
Abe loved that slide so much... he even entered in a contest to see who could go down it the fastest... he took second! Not too bad at all.Me in our cabin just about to go to dinner
Finally making it to Cabo San Lucas... because lucky for us hurricane Jimena didn't hit that part of the Baja!
In Cabo at Land's End on our way out to go snorkeling... one interesting note about that snorkel trip... we got stung by jellyfish... that's right, from now on i'll be checking ocean water a little more carefully from now on!

I love Cabo... I could spend a whole week there for sure! If we had had more time we totally would have gone deep sea fishing, I have always wanted to do that.
Us with the fun couple from CA that we sat with for dinner
Us on our last night with our great waiters!
And our desserts the last night too!! I do have to say one of the BEST things about the cruise is the food... it's amazing!
Abe aboard Queen Mary... before going to the airport (to go home) we toured this historic cruise ship which is now a hotel. It is one amazing ship. I don't know how the U.S. scored this amazing wonder but so glad we did, if you are ever in Long Beach it's totally worth your time to tour Queen Mary.
Aboard Queen Mary with the cruise ship behind us

One Year since news and temple

2009-08-27T12:07:00.004-06:00

One year ago today I went through the temple for myself. I was married to my honey three days later. It's amazing how fast time flies. My experience through the temple is a very sacred one, just thinking back to that day makes me tear up. My older sister and I went through together on my parent's wedding anniversary. Because it was their wedding anniversary I will remember that special temple day forever. One other thing changed a year ago today as well. My last day at Fox 13 was on August 27, 2008, I stacked and boothed my last show which was the 6 am hour and I was off. The station tried to get me to stay and pleaded with me not to leave (because I was really improving as a Producer) but I was sick of working overnights for almost two years and getting paid crap. There are many things I love about the news and my co-workers were awesome, but working in the middle of the night took it's toll on me that's for sure. After leaving Fox my career of working in politics began and i'm so happy to be where I am. And I still get to see some of my Fox friends at events!

Cabin Fever 09'

2009-08-24T16:41:00.007-06:00

Over this past weekend Abe and I went with the Johnson clan up to Abe's grandma's cabin near Star Valley, Wyoming. It's amazing up there! The cabin is right by the Palisades Reservoir, in fact we tied the boat up at the bottom of a trail that goes from the cabin to the reservoir. The trail is a bit overgrown and bug ridden but it's still fabulous. Our trip was filled with boating, wakeboarding on perfect glass, traveling up the Snake River on the boat, yummy food, reading (which you do a lot of if your with the Johnson's), several games of Acquire and who knew it??, cheese factory burgers, traveling in and out of three states, and arriving back in the SLC just in time to attend the Uquirrh Temple Temple dedication. Hopefully, we can go next year too and with Thomas, Melissa and Mae ... we missed them this year!

So EXCITED to get there!!

See that bridge in the background ... Abe and his crazy brothers jumped off it into the Snake River back in the day.

This is where the Snake River runs into the Palisades Reservoir

Movin' Out and Movin' In

2009-08-17T16:50:00.003-06:00

Abe and I officially moved into our new house. It took a week but we are in! Throughout the week Abe and his brother and myself took stuff over and then we made the BIG move Saturday with all the heavy stuff. It was a rainy and cold morning but we and along with some amazing movers did it! I am so happy with our new home and can't wait to spend more time there with family and friends. I am also SO grateful for all family members that gave up their time to come and help us move ... it's amazing how much love and support we receive from others!

a good friends wedding

2009-08-10T14:55:00.004-06:00

My good friend Allison married the love of her life Josh last week. I'm so happy for them! Abe and I love hanging out with them and now that the wedding plans are over hopefully we will see them more. I'm so grateful that I had the opportunity to see them sealed together for all eternity in the SL Temple and in the same room that Abe and I were sealed in almost a year ago by Abe's Grandpa. Congrats Mr. and Mrs. Meadows!!Striking one of our infamous poses at the SL Temple

Us girls in our pink and black at Allison and Josh's reception Me and my eternal companion

They're round, red and delicious with salt.

2009-08-07T11:55:00.006-06:00

Abe and I live on the third floor of our apt. building which means NO DIRT of our own. (yes, we bought a townhouse and yes it has dirt but NO we have not moved in it... that will be next weekend.) So anyway, I love gardening always have and I really wanted a pot to at least plant something in and I decided that a tomato plant would do the trick. Evidently they do real well in pots. My celebrity tomatoes almost died a few times because I didn't want to get someone to come over and water them when we were in Lake Powell and Bear Lake and those water globe thingys say that the plant can be good off of them for two weeks... well, that's a lie because they drink those globes dry in two days! Below are the first tomatoes from the plant... which Abe and I put on our homemade pizza's last Saturday. They were delicious!

yes, evidently I'm one of those people that take pictures of their home grown veggies and put them on their blog.

Is this for real?

2009-07-31T11:20:00.003-06:00

Hail to the CH- CH- CH- CHIEF...

I came across this lovely piece of "history" I guess some people would call it. This is just too funny and I could never imagine having any presidents bust as a chia pet but I guess someone is selling them and trying to make money off our 44th presidents image which grows hair?? Check out the latest Obama Chia pet for yourself... and make sure to listen to the little man at the bottom of the page b/c pretty sure he was in the LDS seminary video where he was wearing the armor of God.
http://www.chiaobama.com/

Pizza...Pizza

2009-07-27T16:10:00.001-06:00

At the Johnson house working 40 hours a week and wanting a home cooked meal that doesn't take too long can be a challenge because most casserole's take 1/2 hour to prepare and then an hour in the oven... okay well if I were to do that it would be 8 or 9 by the time dinner was on the table and I have a hungry husband to feed and I too don't like eating dinner that late. So, usually making home made pizza consists of various toppings and a pizza crust that I buy from the store already made. Well, those pizza crusts aren't cheap they're almost five bucks. So the other day when I was looking on cooks.com, just one of the many places I go for recipes, I came across a homemade pizza crust that doesn't use yeast-- which means no more five buck pizza crusts and since it doesn't have yeast in it I don't have to wait for it to set up which would be an hour! I used the pizza dough recipe last week and made a BBQ chicken pizza and it was soooo good. Abe was such a good help too he rolled out the dough into two circles so we each had our own personal pizza. Here's a picture of our creation! And I attached the recipe below so try it, you may be surprised!!NO YEAST PIZZA
1 c. flour
1/3 c. milk
2 tbsp. oil
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
Combine all ingredients. Gather in a ball. Knead 10 times. Let stand 15 minutes. Put dough on a greased cookie sheet. Cover with wax paper and roll. Remove paper. Top with favorite toppings. Try it with no sauce, bacon, broccoli, tomato, seasoned with a little garlic and topped with cheese. Bake 20-25 minutes at 425 degrees.

Mallows, Corn, Friends and a Campfire

2009-07-23T13:09:00.007-06:00

On Monday night my friend Kristie and her husband Jeremy treated a group of us to a dinner up Millcreek Canyon. It was fun to gather talk and have a sort of Friends Home Evening. We ate burgers, corn, chips, roasted mallows and chatted. My vote is that we do it at least one more time before the cold weather sits in.

We've got the keys, now for our move in date!

2009-07-20T16:42:00.007-06:00

Abe and I closed on our townhouse this past Wed. and got the keys to our new place on Friday. We're so excited about having a place of our very own ... no more renting! Now we need to decide when we are going to move in. Since our lease at our apt. isn't up until the end of August we're probably going to be all moved in by mid August. We still have to get some blinds for the place, seal in the grout of the tile, paint some walls, get the fridge in, and then all the other stuff can be done when we're moved in. We're so excited with the way it turned out and love the new home smell. I hope it lasts forever!

Our place all finished!

Bear Lake Adventures

2009-07-17T10:46:00.012-06:00

Last weekend Abe and I went to Bear Lake with some of our friends. I have to admit, it was my first experience being on the lake and even getting in the water, which I might add is awfully cold. I almost sat out because just the week before we were at wonderfully warm Lake Powell. But it was a fun getaway, we stayed at the cabin, played games, boated, wakeboarded, played some tennis, ate shakes and burgers, watched movies and as Abe would say "just shot the breeze."Abe doing some business from the vessel... when your trying to get a good interest rate and close on a home going out of town can be stressful!

Lake Powell and a whole lot of Jai Ho

2009-07-17T09:38:00.010-06:00

I'm playing catch-up right now on our blog... well other than my posts that involve political rants which I must first say to my few readers ... thanks for enduring them!!
So, Abe and I went to Lake Powell (the place that we actually met so we have fond memories of the desert oasis) Jun. 26 - Jul. 4 with his fam and some of his families friends from their ward, The Crandall's. Who are great amazing people! Seriously, when I have kids and have to be in charge of all the food down at Lake Powell I want to be like Nan Crandall, she is SO organized.

Now I will address the title of this blog... On our vacation to the LP as we were going through a canyon Abe wanted to listen to the "Slumdog Millionare" soundtrack, well luckily Melissa had it so we were listening to the Jai Ho song and soon after Abe was using the phrase everywhere... instead of saying "hit it" it was "Jai Ho" and when he jumped into the water "Jai Ho" and i'm sure there was even more jai ho's I didn't catch. Anyone, who knows my husband knows he has certain phrases he ALWAYS uses... so i'm sure this will be added to that list.

Anyway, back to the trip ... we were down at Wahweap and took the house boat to Last Chance Canyon. There is so much to do in Powell. So we canyon explored, slolamed, wakeboarded, tubed, went on an awesome hike which involved wading and swimming through water, seeing beavers swim one foot from your feet, holding tadpoles, and lots of wearing no shoes, also while we were in the LP we payed homage to Rainbow Bridge, went to Dangling rope for ice cream, saw rainbows and a plane take off from the water, played games, read, relaxed, napped... you get the picture.

The last night we had a Luau... look at Abe getting all dressed up!

Much like the DMV... take a number... that's what Obamacare will be like!

2009-07-14T15:00:00.004-06:00

What do you think about taking a number and then waiting two to ten hours to see the nurse/doctor in the hospital and in the end being told that if you want faster healthcare you'll need to pay MORE money or get on a waiting list which is years long?? Well that's the kind of healthcare you get in Canada... and don't expect anything less with Obamacare. Watch this video and you'll get the idea of what socialized healthcare will be like.

http://www.pjtv.com/video/Louder_With_Crowder/__PJTV_Undercover%3A_Steven_Crowder_Investigates_Why_CanadaCare_SucksWill_ObamaCare_Be_Any_Better%3F/2153/;jsessionid=abcRDveyhDr0UfFpI_5js

I'm not such a fan (not that that is a surprise to anyone) and I wrote Senator Hatch telling him of my anger over socialized healthcare, he (which really means one of his staffers) wrote me back saying that he'll do whatever he can do to prevent it. Now it's your turn, write your lawmakers or go ahead and expect to be taxed 50 percent.

One last thing, while i'm moaning... Senator Hatch tried to pass a bill that was designed to ensure that health insurance reform (Obamacare) will not lead to taxpayer-funded abortions. Well, that was shot down. Long story short, our tax dollars are paying for abortions and i'm sure all forms of birth control and the after pill. That alone will drain the supposed Obamacare system that plans on paying for and supporting every citizens healthcare needs!

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705316666,00.html

EXTRA, EXTRA, READ ALL ABOUT IT... My letter to the editor has been printed

2009-07-08T11:59:00.008-06:00

Below is my editorial I wrote to the Deseret News and it was printed in today's paper and soon enough i'll put pics up from our Lake Powell trip.

Inn's map wrong

My editorial was printed in today's Deseret News and soon enough i'll put pics up from our Lake Powell trip.

This On the last night of my family's trip to Lake Powell (over the Fourth of July weekend) we stayed in Page, Ariz., at the Best Western Inn. As I was waiting in the lobby, my mother-in-law pointed out to me the map of Lake Powell painted on the wall. It clearly marked Rainbow Bridge being in Arizona. According to every other map I have seen and a park ranger at the bridge, Rainbow Bridge is in Utah.

On a side note, 100 years ago this Aug. 14 the first group of white men discovered Rainbow Bridge. Because of those explorers from the University of Utah and the picture they took in 1909 of Rainbow Bridge, it is now a national monument.

Lisa Johnson

Sandy

Link to actual letter:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/705315440/Readers-forum-Letters-Inns-map-wrong.html

Putting things into perspective: What If George W. Bush had ...

2009-07-06T12:33:00.003-06:00

My political friend put this on her facebook page and I had to share! It references somethings that I wrote about in a previous blog this year....

- What If .... George W. Bush had made a joke at the expense of the Special Olympics, would you have approved?
- If George W. Bush had given Gordon Brown a set of inexpensive and incorrectly formatted DVDs, when Gordon Brown had given him a thoughtful and historically significant gift, would you have approved?

- If George W. Bush had given the Queen of England an iPod containing videos of his speeches, would you have thought this embarrassingly narcissistic and tacky?
- If George W. Bush had bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia, would you have approved? (you have to see the video to fully appreciate this)
- If George W. Bush had visited Austria and made reference to the non-existent "Austrian language," would you have brushed it off as a minor slip?
- If George W. Bush had filled his cabinet and circle of advisers with people who cannot seem to keep current on their income taxes, would you have approved?
- If George W. Bush had been so Spanish illiterate as to refer to “Cinco de Cuatro” in front of the Mexican ambassador when it was the Fifth of May (Cinco de Mayo), and continued to flub it when he tried again, would you have winced in embarrassment?
- If George W. Bush had misspelled the word advice would you have hammered him for it for years like Dan Quayle and potato as “proof” of what a dunce he is?
- If George W. Bush had burned 9,000 gallons of jet fuel to go plant a single tree on “Earth Day”, would you have concluded he’s a hypocrite?
- If George W. Bush’s administration had okayed Air Force One flying low over millions of people followed by a jet fighter in downtown Manhattan causing widespread panic, would you have wondered whether they actually “get” what happened on 9-11?
- If George W. Bush had been the first President to need a teleprompter installed to be able to get through a press conference, would you have laughed and said this is more proof of how he is inept he is on his own and is really controlled by smarter men behind the scenes?
- If George W. Bush had failed to send relief aid to flood victims throughout the Midwest with more people killed or made homeless than in New Orleans, would you want it made into a major ongoing political issue with claims of racism and incompetence?
- If George W. Bush had ordered the firing of the CEO of a major corporation, even though he had no constitutional authority to do so, would you have approved?
- If George W. Bush had proposed to double the national debt, which had taken more than two centuries to accumulate, in one year, would you have approved?
- If George W. Bush had then proposed to double the debt again within 10 years, would you have approved?

-- So, tell me again, what is it about Mr. Obama that makes him so brilliant and impressive? Can't think of anything? Don't worry. He's done all this in 10 weeks -- so you'll have three years and nine-and-a-half months to come up with an answer.

You're sick please leave IMMEDIATELY

2009-06-22T14:47:00.006-06:00

My co-worker came to work sick today!! Yeah, sick and he doesn't know what he has. He said that he had all the symptoms of the swine flu. Well, if that's the case then why in the WORLD are you coming to work. He sits right on the other side of me and that is too close for comfort. So please co-worker of mine, work from home and DO NOT contaminate me. I am going to Lake Powell at the end of the week and would like to be in perfect health.

Okay phew, after six hours of coughing and filling the air with his germs he left for the day. Now hopefully those germs of his have been erased by LYSOL!!

Happy Father's Day and Birthday Daddy Yo!

2009-06-21T21:38:00.007-06:00

Today we celebrated my Dad's birthday and Father's Day all in one. (Sorry Dad that your presents always get clumped together.) Anyway, we LOVE this man tons and are so appreciative for all the help he has given us regarding our new townhouse. Bankers sure know there stuff :) And my Dad is by far the smartest man I know!! Here's my Dad and my niece... who is patiently waiting to help Papa blow out the candles.

My Dad and my Grandma Young... who is 92 years young and looking fabulous!!

Abe and me at the Father/Birthday celebration

Boating season has officially begun...

2009-06-17T20:05:00.032-06:00

We have officially gone boating for the first time this Summer. That's right the middle of June and we're now just feeling the wind in our hair. Our first boating experience was held at Utah Lake... Abe and I went with his dad and brother Johnny.

I brought cami the camera but the battery was not fully loaded so we only got a few pics in. Abe, Tom and Johnny wakeboarded and/or slalomed but I was TOO cold to get in ... so I took pictures :) It was such a fun night, even though we were eaten alive by huge misquitos. Bug spray is a must next time!!!

Here's Johnny wakeboarding... he looks like a pro even after his two year absence due to the fact that he was called on an LDS mission. Sorry the pic is a bit blurry.And even though my battery was runnin' low I did get this nice shot of Johnny. I think maybe a pre-historic mosquito flew into his mouth.

Every good boating group needs a good flag person! That was me!! Safety FIRST!!

Here's Abe's Dad skiing... look at the grin on that man's face!! Love it!!!

Boating at sunset... PRICELESS!!!

Next boating experience... hopefully East Canyon

And then on to Lake Powell

It's tradition... Grandpa Brigham would be proud!!

2009-06-09T21:43:00.004-06:00

This last Saturday was the Brigham Young Granddaughters Luncheon at the Lion House. My sisters, some cousins and my Aunt Carole were all in attendance. I really enjoy the luncheon because it's always nice to catch up with family and eat terrific food. Now the wait is on for next years luncheon... And in 5 years my niece Nicole gets to come to the luncheon!!

He's Home!!

2009-06-02T19:01:00.005-06:00

Abe's brother Johnny got home Saturday night from serving an LDS mission in Sao Paulo, Brazil. And on Sunday Abe's dad and brother came over for dinner (we missed Stephanie, Abe's mom, b/c she was home sick) and then we ate cake for Abe's birthday which was last week. It's fun to have Johnny back and to hear all his stories about the people and traditions in Brazil. Welcome home Johnny we missed you and are glad you got home safely!

FRUSTURATION!!

2009-05-29T13:34:00.004-06:00

Why is that when you start looking into buying a townhouse interest rates go up! Come on three months of being as low as ever they go up three times in one day. So lame!! I guess that's my bad luck rearing it's ugly head.

Memorial Day, Abe's B-day and Yellowstone

2009-05-28T12:24:00.025-06:00

For Memorial Day weekend and for Abe's birthday (a double wammy) we hopped in the car and headed up to Yellowstone National Park. It was my third time going to the park and it was Abe's first time. We really enjoyed spending so much time together. It seems like when you work 40 hours a week, and Abe working half days on Sunday, quality time together gets cut in half... so it was nice catching up and doing some exploring. We stayed in West Yellowstone, which is four blocks from the park entrance, at a little hotel which I think is family run. We had a great stay minus the terrible restaurants in that little town.

Our adventures in the park included seeing three black bears (which was my first time seeing a bear in the park), tons of elk and bison, a porcupine sighting and a bald eagle propped in his nest, hiking around numerous geysers and waterfalls, waiting for Old Faithful to go off, a tour of Old Faithful Inn, smelling lots of sulfur and getting rained on. One thing I learned this trip is that Abe loves bison ... he had me take a ton of pictures of them and I kept telling him "what are you going to do w/ all these pictures of buffalo?"

We finished our trip off going to Jackson Lake and Jackson Hole and eating a Bubba's. I love BBQ and they have the best BBQ in the West. It was quite the feast for Abe's Birthday which was on Memorial Day.

Quite a Successful Evening!!

2009-05-14T16:14:00.010-06:00

On Wed. May 13, Sutherland Institute (which is my place of employment) hosted their Legacy Awards Banquet at Rice-Eccles Stadium & Towers (Ute Land... sorry Cougar LaVell.)

That evening Sutherland presented three different awards to individuals who embody one or more of the institute’s governing principles.

The Legacy Award went to LaVell and Patti Edwards, for a lifetime of service in promoting faith, family, and freedom. The Family Award was given to Alan and Suzanne Osmond, for their work promoting the natural family. And the religion award went to The Most Reverend John C. Wester, for his work building bridges in Utah's faith communities.

The event was a big success with almost 250 people in attendance. My job before dinner started was to continue pressing the up button to the elevator so we could get people upstairs faster, but while I was doing this I had a chance to greet the guests as well.
So, the highlight of the night ... shaking hands and chatting with the Osmond's (including their sons), the Edwards, Bishop Wester, Elder Ballard and several legislators.

I love working at a place that truly believes and strives to make Utah a better place to live, work and to raise a family. It makes me want to go to work everyday!

My co-worker Lisa and I (yep her name is Lisa too... we have two David's and two Lisa's in the office) taking pictures before the volunteers arrived... I think we are looking mighty good.
And I even got new shoes for the event... a great purchase indeed!

My cute husband and me at the banquet...he even hurried up from working in American Fork to meet me. I love that he is such a good support in my political endeavors, he has been on my side from multiple galas to presidential debate watch parties to cottage meetings w/ Sutherland.

I love him tons!!!