BYU’s Rise and Shout Moment!

September 5, 2015 By

Jamie and I both graduated from Brigham Young University the same year from the same department, played volleyball together at the same complex and had many common friends but never met until several years later. We’re both proud BYU alumni but he especially bleeds blue when it comes to BYU sports. This season, he’s been glued to BYU Sports Nation on BYUTV and can’t get enough of all the preseason coverage. As for me? I love BYU (albeit I am not a fan of watching sports on TV) and went to many, many, many games with my friend Garritt when I was a student.

My good hubby invited a handful of friends over to watch the first game of the season vs. the Nebraska Cornhuskers this afternoon. I had a good chuckle when our friend Ariel–a true blue BYU fan from Bolivia–was among the first to RSVP while his wife responded she had family in town so he’d better not RSVP, which made me think football would not be the most exciting part of that game.

Turns out I was wrong. (And Ariel wisely didn’t defy his wife on this one. In-laws won over BYU today).

There were several things that were remarkable about the game. The Huskers haven’t lost a season opener since 1985– the nation’s longest winning streak. Jamie was confident BYU could take them with the return of our superstar quarterback Taysom Hill who had broken his leg last season.  He was having a fantastic game until he fractured his foot on a 21-yard touchdown run in the first half. Despite this, he still came back and played until he got hit hard on an 8-yard run in the fourth quarter. Amazing.

BYU turned to their backup quarterback Tanner Mangum and I thought “we’re done for.” Not only is he a freshman but he hadn’t played in an organized football game since 2012 because he just returned in June from his two-year Chile Antofagasta.

BYU was down by one point when Mangum heaved a 42-yard touchdown pass to Mitch Mathews with only one second on the clock for a 33-28 victory Saturday. Shock.  Had that just happened?  Then sheer jubilation. What an amazing victory!

Of course, BYU fans everywhere are celebrating the Hail May win against Nebraska but what really hit home for me when I saw a something Mangum had posted to Twitter two years before his mission:

Tonight, he proved putting God first can never be wrong.

Filed Under: LDS

Adults: Lamer than we look

June 17, 2015 By

As we were walking into Stake Conference, Hadley observed a man in the parking lot guiding traffic and then another holding the door open to welcome us.

“Mom, is it boring being an adult?”

“It doesn’t have to be.”

[I go on to list all the fun adventures I continue to have while she tunes me out.]

“Mom, I think I know what I want to be when I grow up.”

“That’s awesome! What is it?”

“I’ll want to be a kid again.”

Filed Under: Hadley, Humor, LDS

Yeah, what Bode said!

May 19, 2015 By

In our Sunday School class at church, our teacher shared a quote from Elder Marvin J. Ashton about the scribes and Pharisees who had brought before the Savior a woman taken in adultery. Their purpose was not to show love for either the woman or the Savior but to embarrass and trick Jesus…Jesus did not condone adultery but He chose to teach with love–to show the scribes and the Pharisees the need of serving the individual for her best good to show the destructive forces of trickery and embarrassment.

We were recently cleaning up from dinner and I asked Hadley to sweep the floor. She started complaining about one piece of cereal that was stuck to the floor–cereal that only Bode eats. “He’s soooooooo messy!!!” she complained.

My children are created equal as to their level of slobbery. Of course, both have varying degrees depending upon the situations but without fail, Hadley’s corner of the diner table is always the messiest.

I looked at her incredulously and quoted. “Let he who is without sin cast the first stone.”

They both stared at me, dumbfounded. Bode was the first to break the silence.

“I don’t know what that means but I’m going with Mom.”

 

Filed Under: Bode, Humor, LDS

April updates (nevermind that I’m overdue for Jan., Feb. and March)

April 10, 2015 By

I’m at the point I’m so woefully far behind on blogging that I’m never going to get caught up. And it’s too bad because we had a fantastic winter of travels–I mean, Canada, Colorado skiing and Mexico within a one-month span? Talk about amazing!

After taking several months off, both kids are back in sports. Hadley started volleyball this week and Bode is well into the soccer season. Everything seems to fall on Thursdays: piano lessons, Cub Scouts (for Bode and me), soccer practice, Activity Days at the church for Hadley and also volleyball games. Usually I handle all after-school activities but I’ve had to recruit Jamie because I can’t be 10 places at once.

Hadley has been taking a drama class from Colorado ACTS and their big performance is in a couple of weeks. We’re delighted Jamie’s parents will be joining us from Utah. I hope having extra bodies will help spread out the chaos. A few things:

Easter

Making Easter cookies

Our Easter was probably one of the most low-key we’ve had and not coincidentally, one of my favorites.  I forgot about our community Easter egg hunts and we didn’t get around to dyeing eggs but we didn’t miss them one bit. The kids are getting older and though they enjoyed our family’s Easter egg hunt on Sunday, they didn’t get caught up in bunny festivities like in years past.

Something we did do better was put Christ back in Easter. We did a “Holy Week” countdown, watched these awesome Bible videos and also A.D. The Bible Continues on NBC (I can’t tell you how happy it makes me to see the networks picking up religious-based shows). On Easter, we made cinnamon rolls, watched General Conference, went to Jamie’s sister’s for brunch, took a long walk where we boomeranged and jumped over the serpentine stream about 100 times. At least Bode and Hadley did while Jamie and I leisurely strolled along as they accused us of being “anti-adventure.” Then I reminded her of the back-flip they all dared me to do on the trampoline last week and she shut up (’twas my first black-flip in 20+ years).  The girl barely figured out how to do a somersault.

School

After all the drama this year, we’ve decided to pull Hadley out of Mountain Phoenix Community School and put her back in our public school for sixth grade. It’s not a done deal yet–I’m meeting with the principal next week to talk through everything. Not the interim principal at her charter school who spews poison darts whenever she sees me but the new one at her old-new school.

Hadley was at our public school for K-2nd grade and still has a lot of friends there. I still don’t feel like it’s the best place that really taps into her talents and style of learning but for now, it’s our only/best option. I’m feeling a lot more peace since coming to that conclusion but that doesn’t mean I’m going to leave our charter school quietly. It has the potential to be great (and it was for a while) but the administration and governing council are driving it into the ground and the result, as one of the parents voiced, “I feel like this school has lots its soul.”

Kids

I have a pretty strict rule on sleepovers: not until after you’re 8 years old and even then, rarely and we have to know the parents really well. I’ve heard too many horror stories and frankly, my kids haven’t been invited to many sleepovers because most of our friends don’t allow them. So tonight, Bode is having his first sleepover at his friend Sean’s house while Hadley was invited to enjoy court-side seats at the Nuggets basketball game with her friend Alex. Tomorrow, it’s a boy’s night out as Bode and Jamie go to the Avalanche hockey again (tickets courtesy of Uncle Chris) while Hadley and I will have an adventure up in the mountains. Basically, their social lives are better than ours.

Jamie

It’s pumpkin season. His will to live has returned.

Me

It’s pumpkin season. My will to live is gone.

 

Filed Under: Bode, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, LDS

Why Siri is my soulmate and my children are savages

February 5, 2015 By

The Compromisers

Every New Year, our church schedule changes from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. For most people, 11 a.m. is the most optimal time to give you extra time in the mornings. I was particularly looking forward to the change this year because it will still give us time to drive back from the mountains and make it to church on weekends we’re away.

I was recently reminded that all that extra time lends itself to mischief.

It started out innocently, as it always does. Jamie’s and my king-sized bed is a central place in mornings and evenings. Somehow, we all congregate here to snuggle up, read, watch TV and just hang out. On Sunday, we were playing around on my iPhone and we had a blast looking at their technologically outdated websites Jamie made announcing their birth, which I haven’t seen in years (Hadley’s and Bode’s).

That led them to asking about milestones in their lives like the first day of kindergarten, birthdays, etc. and it was so fun to glean the archives in my blog. It made me so grateful I’ve kept a record of all these memories and reminded me I need to bite the $$$ bullet and get my blog printed into a book for our own family history.

Then they started getting bored and who better to entertain you than Siri on the iPhone? We learned some interesting facts about her animal preference:

Ummm, OK.

Here’s the thing about Siri: I’ve trained her well. Not only does she talk to me in an Australian accent but she calls me “Queen Mother.”

The kids have a whole string of funny nicknames and songs they’ve made up–most recently they’ve been calling me “Muzzy, Muz, Muzzy Boo.” That would have been swell if they’d programmed Siri to call me that but it was worse. Much worse. Poor Siri had been compromised and all I could do was sit back and watch. Deeply dismayed, I finally rescued Siri and told her “Don’t let my children play with my phone.”

She responded with a web search for “Raising Savages.”

It’s like she totally gets me.

Filed Under: Humor, LDS

When roadblocks are actually stepping stones

January 26, 2015 By

As many of you know, I served an LDS mission in Switzerland and France in my early-20s. My experiences there were completely life-altering and changed the entire trajectory of my life, including who I ended up marrying.

One of the very best parts of my mission was teaching and baptizing Isabelle, a “golden” 16-year-old girl. I could write volumes about the instant connection we formed and how proud I am of this beautiful mother of three today. She lives outside of Lyon, France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Over the years, her family has endured a fair amount of trials but she’s still as stalwart as ever and a tremendous example to me.

They bought a plot of land with gorgeous views mountain views upon which they were going to build their home. Almost from the offset, there have been challenges and roadblocks that have dragged on for ages. I started wondering if it was ever going to happen and last week, I received an email from Isa telling me that it wasn’t. Almost at the very moment they felt inspired to abandon the project, her husband was offered an incredible new position with his same company in Annecy. So, in July, they will be moving to one of the most beautiful places in France at the base of the French Alps and the startlingly turquoise Lake Annecy, a stone’s throw away from Geneva, Switzerland.

Suffice it to say, I’m already planning my family’s visit.

Like Isa, I’ve felt like I am at a crossroads in my life and that I should be changing directions but have no idea where I’m supposed to be. Over the past several months, I’ve been obsessed with doing an international homeswap for a few months and we found a lovely family with whom to do it in England’s Cotswolds–we even had the kids accepted at school in the nearby village! This family has a 19th century converted barn in the middle of a 700-acre private estate and National Trust Land with stunning views of the surrounding woods and fields.

Views from the family’s garden

But the timing of everything just wasn’t meant to be as neither or our husbands could figure out the challenges of working abroad on such short notice, even if they are both self-employed. However, we’re still hoping to visit each other’s homes in the future.

Hearing Isa’s relief and joy after these several agonizing months reminded me that there is a Master Plan.  I have no idea what is in store for me or why I’m requiring this period of patience when I very firmly feel like there is something else I’m supposed to be doing.

Annecy, France

Photo: en.lac-annecy.com/

Lake Annecy, en.lac-annecy.com

Annecy, en.lac-annecy.com

Lake Annecy, en.lac-annecy.com

But let’s hope there is something glorious like Annecy waiting for me at the end of it.

Filed Under: LDS, travel

A sledding party!

December 31, 2014 By

On Christmas, we received a glorious dump of snow. That night, I emailed a bunch of friends from church to see who wanted to go sledding the next day and almost all of them came–40+ people. Chalk that up to how you know you have the coolest friends ever!

My friend Eva suggested we sled at the hill behind her school, which was perfect because we had it entirely to ourselves.  I brought hot chocolate to warm everyone up and we played for hours.

Bode photobombing the Phillips

Snowman photobomb

Sledding train!

The lowlight: Some of the dads were egging me on to tube down the hill at warp speeds. It was early in the day so the fluffy snow was not yet compacted. I took a running leap onto the tube, it completely stuck to the snow while I flew forward, face-planting in the powder. Jon took a picture and after years to exploiting everyone else’s humiliations, I totally deserved it.

The highlight: Earlier that day when I crawled up the ladder in our garage to retrieve our sled from the overhead storage, I asked Bode if he’d catch me if I fell.

“No way, Mom. You weigh like 100 pounds!”

Filed Under: Bode, Colorado, Hadley, Humor, LDS, outdoors

It’s Christmas Eve in the City

December 29, 2014 By

When Jamie announced “we’re staying in Denver for Christmas,” I admittedly wasn’t too thrilled.  What on earth would we do for 2.5 weeks when we could be using that precious time off from school to travel?

As it turns out, plenty. We’ve been so busy in recent years going from grandparent-to-grandparent that our kids have no memories of Christmas day in our own home. Though we had a wonderful time in Utah last year with Jamie’s clan–and there is nothing in the world as fun as my family’s uproarious Christmas Eve–it was nice to actually be home to receive the onslaught of cards and treats from our generous friends throughout the week. We’ve been playing with them non-stop and it warms my heart to have such a cohesive ward family that is our family away from home.

It has also been my least stressful Christmas ever.  When my parents visited last month, I sent their gifts home early with them and I completed 99% of our shopping during my many excursions with my mom. On Christmas Eve day, all that was left to do was clean up and bake a bit and we went for a beautiful walk and skimmed rocks on the icy pond.

That night, the Cardons (a new family from our ward) invited several people over for a fantastic feast and plenty of fun Minute to Win It Games. In this picture, the kids are trying to flip a Rudolph pom-pom onto their Vaseline-greased nose.

Minute to Win It is just a nice way of  humiliating yourself publicly.

Case in point: panty hose antlers. We were divided up into families and the challenge was to blow up 10 balloons, stuff them in panty hose, put the “antlers” on someone’s head and belt out “Jingle Bells.”

We won. Or maybe by the looks of this picture, we were the goofball losers.

An awesomely fun night was topped off by a gift exchange and the kids performing the Nativity. For years, Hadley has been vying to be Mary (remember the Mary Mother of Jesus Take-down from last year?) And of course, several other girls wanted to be Mary as well. To make it fair, we drew names and I was relieved when Hadley won, for the sole reason she can stop bugging us every year about it.

All the boys (including Bode) wanted to be wisemen and I bribed another one of them to be our token shepherd. I usually have to coax a boy to be Joseph because, let’s face it, being married to a girl is pretty gross. I was surprised when Hadley’s arch nemesis Bryan (whom she endlessly loves to torment) volunteered. I didn’t bother to point out to either of them that it actually meant they were husband and wife.

Hadley bonded more with donkey Addison than she did Joseph


Our whirlwind night was topped off by opening our Christmas PJs when we arrived home.

Christmas PJs with Elves on the Shelf photobomb

And Hadley had waited to intentionally pull our her tooth so the Tooth Fairy and Santa would have to work overtime.

Because Santa didn’t have enough going on that night.

Filed Under: holidays, Humor, LDS

Merry Christmas!

December 25, 2014 By

If you read my blog, our annual holiday newsletter is old news to you. But I assure you, Fat Kitty has never looked better.

Merry Christmas!

If 2014 could be summed up quickly, it would be non-stop travels for the first six months and the other six were spent recovering with little/no travels. We’re so grateful for both and most importantly that we have had minimal health crises this year and no hospital visits (wood is currently being knocked).

Our year was unprecedented for travel and will likely never be repeated but what a blast we had! I attended a media event in Denver for the Maui Convention & Visitor’s Bureau and was thrilled when I won a trip for two! The coincidence? The only other time I’ve been to Hawaii was when my dad won a trip for two to Hawaii through work. Fortunately for my siblings and our kids, we let them tag along and truly fell in love with that island paradise as it was our favorite trip ever (see all the fun here)and I’m now moderately obsessed with buying a cabin there someday.

Just as we were recovering from Maui, I was asked to attend the Disney Social Media Moms, an invite-only, highly-sought-after conference at Disneyland so we decided to splurge. And Disneyland isn’t the same without family so we surprised the kids by waking them up the morning of our departure. For once, they did not complain about being woken up early.

One of our favorite ways to play is skiing and this past year we’ve been to Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Crested Butte, Copper Mountain and Park City Mountain Resort...and have many more ski trips planned for 2015. One of our favorite experiences was dog sledding for the first time in Breck!

And, of course, the kids and I spent our month-long vacation in Canada and the Western United States. Jamie joined us for a week at the lake with my family in Vernon, B.C. and we had a fantastic time boating. Usually our Canadian adventures are a reprieve from Denver’s searing heat so we won’t comment how it was actually cooler in Denver during our lake retreat.

Now, onto family matters.

Hadley (age 10, fifth grade)

Hadley grew leaps and bounds this year…literally. Her huge growth spurt over the summer launched her to the top of the class in height and continues to send us scrambling to replace all her clothes, which is challenging because she hates 99% of what she sees in the store. She has a wicked sense of humor and a large group of friends at church and school. She hates math and piano and enjoys handwork, travel, art, violin, pumpkin growing (hers weighed 401 pounds), Minecraft and crafts. Her favorite class trip ever was a three-day class camping trip to the Great Sand Dunes National Park where she was the second-fastest kid to summit the highest dune in North America (a bit perplexing because she’s always the first-slowest when it comes to leaving the house). For volleyball, we bumped her up to play with the 6-8 graders and she has had no problems keeping up the big girls. She’s a mountain goat hiker and is ready to be challenged on the big peaks (we just need to get our act together to take her), is moderately obsessed with bouldering and is constantly heckling the rest of us to keep up with her during her crazy traverses. She’s a great skier, is learning to tackle the moguls and we had a fabulous mother-daughter trip to the slopes in February during her school break. She loves the water and, despite her protests to try wakeboarding, popped up on her first try and now does it like a champ. Though she and Bode would never admit it, they’re besties and play wonderfully together 93 percent of the time; no comment on the other 7 percent nor who is the instigator for the fall-outs.

Bode (age 8, 3rd grade)

Bode’s big news is he got baptized in August surrounded by both sets of grandparents. He’s a happy, kind and thoughtful kid who has two emotions: joyful (most of the time) and sensitive (usually during the aforementioned fall-outs). He’s a whiz at math and a regular receiver of “Star Awards” at school yet has barely legible handwriting. He is recovering from an addiction to Calvin and Hobbes and Clash of Clans and he thrives on being responsible–he even sets his alarm early for school so he can be “extra-prepared.” For his eighth birthday, we threw him a surprise party where we hired Rolling Video Games Denver to come to the house and we invited all his friends for a two-hour video game marathon that was deemed “the best party ever.” He’s intrinsically more cautious than his sister but battled his fears and did an awesome job wakeboarding, cross-country skiing and a high-ropes course for the first time. Named after Bode Miller, he continues to rock the ski slopes and went on one of his first mogul run last week. When I asked him it was terrifying, he confessed, “A little bit,” and I can’t blame him because I sometimes feel the same way. He plays the piano non-stop, enjoyed growing his 325-pound pumpkin, loves Cub Scouts and is gearing up for his first Pinewood Derby where it will be revealed just how competitive his father really is. Bode went on his first six-day overnight camp to Camp Chief Ouray with Hadley last summer and had the time of his life. As smart as he is, he still puts his shirt on backwards but loves to snuggle up so I’m relieved he’s not growing up too fast, even if he sometimes acts like a responsible 40-year-old man in an 8-year-old body.

Jamie

The Pumpkin Man had his his worst pumpkin-growing year ever and lost both of his plants to yellow vine disease in August. Despite that setback, he was able to preserve one of them long enough to make it to the scale and it topped 500 pounds. We were sad we wouldn’t have a real giant pumpkin to display so rescued his buddy Joe’s from being axed and it just happened to be the biggest grown in Colorado this year. Jamie had a blast taking the pumpkins around to the area schools and had a ton of media interviews–he was even featured front page on The Denver Post’s YourHub. But his most memorable pumpkin moment was when he decided it would be fun to dress up as The Pumpkin Man, hide inside the pumpkin, and terrorize trick-or-treaters on Halloween. Fortunately no law suits were filed and we only had one casualty when he made Spiderman cry (watch the hilarious video here). His web development business continues to add more people to the team and we’re grateful business is growing (unfortunately so do his stress levels). At church, he’s the Stake Technology Clerk and the Priest’s Quorum Adviser but most importantly, a wonderful husband, father and mortal enemy to superheroes.

Amber

As for me, I continue to juggle trips, kid’s activities and working from home. I’ve taken over the business/advertising side of Mile High Mamas, which has confirmed I’d much rather be writing. And traveling. And hiking or skiing. But unfortunately, I haven’t figured out how to make much money from those exploits so in the interim I’ll just dream of more playtime. I’ve become more of a regular contributor on 9News and have done segments on everything from travel tips to Halloween treats to their ugly sweater Christmas party on Friday. I was released as the Primary pianist at church and am on my way out the door for Public Affairs as I’ve been called as an Akela of the Cub Scout Bear Den. I am also an aspiring dodgeball player and if this writing gig doesn’t work out, I hope to go pro in the future.

Fat Kitty

Fat Kitty is the only serious one in the family. In addition to napping for 23 hours a day, he enjoys decapitating the occasional mouse, eating grass until he pukes and annoying Jamie. He also decided to get in shape this year and his favorite exercise is a cross between a lunch and a crunch.

Some people call it lunch.

Christmas Wishes

This time of year, we’re especially grateful for our many friends, family and for our our Savior. Have the happiest of Christmases is our Christmas wish and gift to you!

 

Love,

The Johnsons

Filed Under: Bode, Canada, Colorado, Family, Family travel, Favorite Posts, Hadley, Humor, Jamie, LDS, Marriage, outdoors, pumpkins, travel, Utah

How Elves on the Shelves are Actually Messengers from God

December 16, 2014 By

Nice title, right?

I hate Elves on the Shelf as much as the next mom and I really regret ever starting the tradition. I hoped the kids would forget about them and Bode certainly did because I think they creeped him out.

How would you like to wake up to an elf staring at you all night and reporting your misdeeds to Santa?

Hadley has been unrelentlessly bugging me to bring them out so I finally caved two days ago. To show her who was really in charge, I dressed the elves up in the kids’ underwear for their first appearance. For day 2 I had them hanging out at Fat Kitty’s littler box passed out covering their noses from the stench. I don’t think Fat Kitty was too thrilled about them, either. How would you like to poop to an audience?

Oh wait, every mom of young children knows exactly what that feels like.

We all have colds and I actually think Hadley has Strep so I am taking her to the doctor shortly (because her two week-stint with pneumonia wasn’t enough). I was lying in bed last night feeling crummy when I remembered I had to move those blasted elves.

Mumbling, I dragged myself out of bed and started trudging down the stairs. As I passed Bode’s room, I heard him sobbing. I stopped in my tracks and started to go in but heard him talking. As I listened, I realized he was praying. As he poured his heart out to Heavenly Father, my heart melted.

When he was finished, I tip-toed into his room, scooped him up into my arms and asked him what was wrong. My little overachiever was agonizing over a third grade in-class writing assignment that is due today.

“My teacher was helping me on it but now I’m behind everyone in the class and don’t know if I’ll finish,” he wailed.

The mom in me wanted to blow it off and say, “Dude, you’re in third grade, lighten up a bit,” especially when I heard the paper was about how to grow giant pumpkins (the horror!) But I validated his concerns and consoled him as we talked through his options for getting it done. Comforted, he rolled over and went to sleep. Even as a toddler, Bode has been a very sensitive, spiritual kid (remember Aslan the lion when Bode was 3?)

As I walked downstairs to move those elves, I had to ask myself when was the last time I really poured my heart out to the Lord with all my soul? I’ve had quite the week on top of all the holiday chaos. We’ve had major stresses with Hadley’s teacher and school that resulted in 10 parents meeting with the principal yesterday about our concerns. Now she’s sick and missing even more school.

And my mom is back in the hospital, worse than ever. She had a code 66 (she lost consciousness,) her hemo dropped to 68 (normal is 120-140), her stomach is bleeding and they have no answers.

If there’s anytime for me to pour out my heart and soul to the Lord it is now.

And I’m so thankful to my sweet Bode for reminding me of that during this Christmas season.

Filed Under: Bode, holidays, LDS
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