Christmas List & Addresses

Maybe this is cheesy or maybe it's not but I am finding that many of my addresses are outdated. If you would like a Christmas card please e-mail me your address. mitchjohnsonfamily@yahoo.com Or I do usually try and do a post but I know it's really fun to get stuff in the mail and to hang up on the Christmas Hall of Fame in your House.

Utah Trip

We are a little behind on posts. Cari is a little busy and has a lot on her plate, while I am wondering what to do while I wait for it to snow so here is one of my first attempts to help us keep up. I will apologize right now for any errors. Dating back a few weeks Cari and I had a great opportunity to attend the BYU/Utah Game. Thanks to a very dedicated sister and brother in law who slept on a sidewalk for 18 hours to get us tickets. We cant thank you enough Nat and Justin. The game was awesome! However, I had to stop yelling 5 minutes into the game because I was already losing my voice. I hate to say it Justin but I still haven't convinced myself that I am a Utes fan even though you made me wear all red for the game. However, I would do it again for tickets to another big game.

We promised Lex a ride on the Tram through downtown Salt Lake, So hear they are with Grandma & Grandpa. It was all Tanner had in him to stay awake for the whole ride. As you can see if you ever go downtown during a Utes game you should probably wear red!

The only way we were able to attend the game was because we have great babysitters on Temple Square. When Grandma asked Lex what they should do while we were at the game Lex Said "Oh we should have a party". She thought they should have popcorn, blow up balloons, watch movies, and play games. She is as demanding as her mother. So Grandma spoiled her and that is what they did. Thanks again Grandma and Grandpa.

Justin is doing his best to corrupt them while their young so they don't know any better. Tanner & Lex supporting the Utes. We still catch her yelling Go Utes quite often, but she likes to color things cougar blue. So we will see what she decides a few years down the road.

I just had to post this so that everyone can see a picture that I actually smiled in, because people say I never smile in pictures so see this is just proof.

The Big 26

Well its that time of year again...time for me to turn one year older. I can't belive how time flys. I still think that I am only 21. I think I will just stay that age for a while. If you know my daughter; she's just like her mother. She's been planning my birhtday party for weeks. She wanted to make me a cake. This is the cake that Alexa made. Mitch said she made 92% of it. Yes she decorated it and evn wrote the word "Mom" all by herself. Then that night she kept saying mom we need to call all your friends and have them over for cake and the party. We didn't have a big party but just a nice one with a few visitors that stopped by.

Thanks for the giant Cupcake Jesser! It was super cute and very yummy!

Me blowing out the candles on my cake and cupcake.

26 things that I love and/or that I am grateful for...
1. Mitch-he always makes me laugh and how he's such a great Dad
2. Alexa-she's so sweet & thoughtful with a tiny bit of spice
3. Tanner - just the coolest little man
4. My best friend and sister Wendy
5. Mom - her love and support and I am so thankful for all she has taught me
6. Dad - his quiet example and love
7. Great Family-in-laws (Brothers & Sisters and Mitch's amazing Parents)
8. Mitch's Job & great employers
9. My Job & great owner of the complex I work for
10. My calling - Nursery singing teacher
11. Loving Family & Friends
12. a wonderful community to live in
13. wakeboarding
14. swimming
15. scrapbooking
16. throwing a party
17. shopping
18. Chocolate covered cinnamon bears
19. eating at Red Lobster
20. decorating for Holidays
21.watching a good movie
22. bags & jackets
23. The gospel
24. Prayers - answered and unanswered
25. I am grateful for our Prophet Pres. Monson
26. My Savior Jesus Christ and His Atonement

Our Halloween Adventures

This post is a little late...but better late than never. I think this is the first year that I was actually excited for Halloween to be over. The kids have dressed up three times and I dreseed up twice, I was host one Halloween Party and assisted in 2 others and none of these were on Halloween... so then we got to do all that fun trick or treating etc. Plus we had two different Family Home evenings that were Halloween centered (carving pumpkins and decorating sugar cookings). Well it's been fun--just a long month and I am looking forward to Christmas and winter just a touch.

Minnie & Mickey Mouse Trick-or-Treating.

Fireman & Belle for a Fun Halloween Party.

Nana surprised us the Monday before Halloween during FHE with a fun Halloween Package and the kids just loved the Dracula Teeth and Crazy Eyes.

Kids holding "their" pumpkins. They picked the pieces for their individual pumpkins.

Pumpkin Head pieces are my way of doing pumpkins...Mitch's way of pumpkins/jack-o-lanterns are good ole CARVING.

All our Crazy pumpkins.

This is the spider Mitch carved into his pumpkin. Patterns are work great. You can see the spider best when it's lit from the inside--that's why you can't really see the pumpkin/jack-o-lantern.

All I have to say is that the kids LOVED the SPRINKLES.

Sprinkles....Sprinkles....Sprinkles

Tanner's Medley

This is Tanner's favorite thing in life right now, he will walk around the house all day with our mini hymn book and just sing. It is pretty funny but he has done it enough now that I have to ask him to be quiet.

Halloween Party

Welcome Terrible Twos...Happy Birthday Tanner.

I just love this little man and I can't beleive that he is growing up so quick. I love his smile especially that dimple. A few of his "terrible two" tricks are...he only wants mom (to change him, feed him dress him, he tells dad, "uh-hu...MOM." He also likes to pinch his sister just to here her scream then when he gets in trouble he looks at you with an innocent face (kinda like his dad does). He's really a sweet little boyand pretty mellow.

Tanner really blew out his own candles.
Tanner got this big dump truck for his 2nd Birthday and his favorite thing to push in it is Alexa and Baby dolls. Tanner at two weeks.

I think this is when Tanner was about 7 or 8 months. That's 13 rolls from ankle to ankle. He was a chunk and a dang cute one.

Tanner's 1st Birthday eating his cake.

Dad's can do Hair.

One day Mitch was watching the kids for a little while. When I came home I noticed something was different about Lexie. I asked her who did her hair; she said, "Dad." Mitch said, "well she just kept handing me rubber bands and I just kept putting them in her hair.

Now I know why so many kids in the USA are OBESE.

Yes...That's an X-large soda, a bowl of M&Ms, and a bag of chips. Let me explain. I was at my sister in laws house and we had treats all over the counter and we were just starting to prepare lunch. I had set Tanner up to the table because he was getting really fussy. We were getting stuff ready when I turned around and found Tanner like this. Mitch does call him a junk food junkie. NO-HONESTLY we don't eat like this all the time. It was a movie day one Friday while the kids were out for Harvest break. OOPS!!

FUNNY!! I just had to share.

Okay. Sorry for the crudeness but I saw this and just laughed. Mitch and I had gone to breakfast at the Original Pancake house in Utah a few weeks back and we parked next to a car and this is what they had on their car.

BUNCO

I got to have October's Bunco at my house this year. YEAH!!! If you know me I love throwing a party. It was really fun. It's a tradition to dress up; we all just get to be kids again. Happy Halloween. Of course... when I am hosting, I tie for first place. I mean really can you really tie for 1st. We had the same number of Buncos and the exact same points. Good Job Melanie! Thanks Jenise for having me do October.

April - Little Bo Peep & her lost sheep, Jenise - Hippee and kitty cat, Melanie - cotton candy

Melanie - the devil, Marie - witch, Tammy - Lady Bug

Danyelle - Clown, Wendy - "Lil Red in the HOOD", Kirsten - Jail Bird

Cari - Wilma Flinstone, Emma - Dark Fairy, Lara - I can't remember the name she's the girl from Scooby Doo. Leave me a comment and I'll fix the name.

Tagged again.

SWEETHEART TAG: a) The rules are posted at the beginning. b) Each person answers questions about their sweethearts. c) At the end of the post, the person then tags 6 people and posts their names; then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know they have been tagged.

What is your husbands name? Mitchell Troy Johnson - we call him Mitch

How long have you guys been married? 6 years 29 days

How long did you date? 7 months until we were engaged and then we got married 2 months later.

How old is he? 28

Who is taller? Mitch

Who can sing best? Me - not because I am a good singer I think I just do it more and a little louder. So ability is about the same. We're not great but we do okay at church and don't get weird looks from people.

Who is smarter? I am definitely book smarter. He would agree because we have had this conversation before. I will start explaining something to him about insurance or taxes and he looks at me like...What did you just say. He likes one sentence answers. He is just real life smarter. Cars, cooking, Home things, Nature - it just comes natural to him. He really can fix just about everything. We make a great pair. Although we both have had blond moments before. :)

Who does laundry? Me, Mitch says he doesn't know where anything goes. He will put his clothes away.

Who pays the bills? Me, I like saying I am the CFO of the "Johnson Family" & sometimes the CEO

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Which side is the right side? When you are facing the bed or laying in the bed? Laying in the bed - Mitch

Who mows the lawn? neither, we currently live in a town home so it's hired through the HOA. When we have a lawn I am pretty sure Mitch will because he's a little picky about lines on a lawn...he's in lawn care business.

Who cooks dinner? Me, but Mitch is an awesome cook if it is something on the grill. He also makes the best breakfasts! (Brett and Mitch must be brothers.) Mitch is the BEST "baker". He loves to make treats, rolls, & awesome cinnamon twists.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Good questions We don't really fight a lot because Mitch just won't. If you know him...I can't get him to fight with me; it's kind of annoying sometimes. We usually just talk. If it's a matter of "facts"...Mitch is never wrong. Then he makes up some really cute answer and I just pull a face and laugh. I think he inherits it from someone. HAHAHA (His parents are always betting each other about who's right or wrong and honestly I don't really know the winner of those battles either. It's all done in a very loving way. I think Dora owes Wayne a Harley Davidson.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me first, of course, we have different answers for this. The place and date are also up for debate.

Who wears the pants? I like Tiffany's answer... "Depends on the subject" well maybe me more because Mitch is just so laid back. I just make decisions because indecisiveness really bugs me.

I LOVE YOU, Babe!

Time to tag 6 people, so I tag: Same people I tagged before. I guess you can choose which tag you want to do.

Tagged...

For all of those who have tagged me before...Sorry. I really did have good intentions on responding. This is my first response to a Tag.

Natalie my sister-in-law tagged me. Thanks :)
1. I HATE mopping the floor. I don't think that any mop gets it clean enough because the dirty water that you dip the mop back into and then the mops are just nasty. If I mop I get down on my hands and knees and spray every inch of floor and wipe...oh yes I rinse the rag out really really good after every wipe. See why I don't mop very often. I usually talk my wonderful husband into mopping for me.
2. I think that I am on the edge of OCD with being organized. Don't worry I have plenty of little junk baskets for all the stuff that doesn't really have a home BUT that's their home. For example when putting the kids toys away I make sure that all the pieces are in the right spot making sure that none get lost under the couch etc. If one is missing it kind of stresses me out and I worry about it until I find it, which means searching the entire house for it or putting it on a LIST of lost things that I need to find.
3. I love watching re-runs of "Friends". I mean what can say it's "Friends". I still laugh at all the same parts and I really do cry every time Ross and Rachel break-up. It's on every day at 2pm ( I think now maybe 10am) and its a perfect companion to folding laundry and cleaning. I think I may have got my sister-in-law Sheri a little addicted. Sorry Sher. Heck "Friends" even makes for great conversation and laughs later.
4. I collect Cars. Yeah I wish they were real, but they are the Disney Pixar little match box cars. I love that movie. It's kind of a secret and I let Tanner play with them and say they're his toys but almost every store I go in that I know sells them I have to check just in case there's one that I don't have. Mitch said, "why did you buy more cars?" I said, well it's Tanner's Birthday and I kinda like to collect them. I guess the cats out of the bag. OOps!
5. I love wake boarding. I wish we could go all year long. I love Rexburg so I guess it's just a fun summer activity. I can actually get a little air. The best time to go is right at dusk when almost every boat is off the water and the water is truly glass.
6. I hate the dark. Seriously I am terrified of the dark. We have little night lights in every room. Something to go along with that is I like things to be well lit such as: having the blinds open (until dark then they're closed cause the boogie man can possibly see in), I hate when restaurants have bad lighting (I usually complain to Mitch), Lighting is everything.
7. I have a very interesting medical history. 18 months - broken arm, 3 yrs - appendix removed, shingles, acute mononucleosis, tested for leukemia (all under 10); had a very large ovarian cyst and had to have it surgically removed so now I only have one ovary and 1 fellopian tube. BUT HEALTHY NOW.

I Tag: Wendy, Kirsten, Tammy, Jesser, Leah, Lindsay K., & Mandi

Happy 6th Anniversary! & Utah Trip

A few weeks back Mitch and I celebrated our 6th Wedding Anniversary. We took a part family/part couple trip to Utah. Mitch's parents are on a mission at Temple square and Natalie his sister lives down there so we thought it would be great to go visit for the weekend. We had a great time. Mitch and I got to spend a day just the two of us while we left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and then with Natalie and Justin for the night. The kids had a blast. Lexie got to bake with Grandma and then Nat and Justin took the kids swimming. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa & Nat and Justin. We love you!

Mitch and I didn't do anything spectacular just got to hang out together. One thing that we did do was see the Joseph Smith the Prophet of Restoration at the JSMB in the Legacy Theater. Elder & Sister Johnson had a shift that night and so we went to see them hard at work and then watched the movie. What an amazing movie-Can I just say that my testimony of the mission and life of Joseph Smith was strengthend. He truly was a prophet of God. I would definately recommend it to anyone. Plus it makes for a cheap date. We did get to eat at PH Chang's too. Yummy!!!! Natalie and Justin were keeping the kids over night so we got a Hotel Room

Saturday is Elder and Sister Johnson's P-day so we got to watch Justin play water polo - go Utes! and then the girls did a little shopping at Gardner Village and Thai Pan Trading. Yippee!!!! I ran into an old friend - Brittany Livingston, it was fun to see her and sat hello. Then we got to go to the General RS broadcast at the conference center. We had awesome seats. It helps having in-laws with a few connections. What an amazing experience. You couldn't help but feel the spirit when just walk into the conference center with ~20,000 of my fellow sisters in the gospel. Then to listen to the messsages that the Sisters and Pres. Uchtdorf shared. WOW!!! It's like they were speaking directly to me - I guess that's kinda how the spirit works. Right?

Then on Sunday, Natalie watched our kids while Mitch and I went to the live broadcast of Music and the Spoken Word. Can I just say another great recommendation. The Mormon Tabernacle Choir was, of course, AMAZING. It's just amazing to me and a testimony to me that the Lord is really at the head of His church. Temple Square is so organized, peaceful and planned, the complete opposite of chaos. We will definately go again and take our kids, they do have a cry room for children under 8.

Here are a few pictures.

This is the only picture I have from the General RS broadcast. Well I have some on my phone. Maybe oneday they'll make it to the computer. WE actually had a little miscommunication and none of us ended up bringing our camera. The view behind is from Wayne and Dora's condo. They couldn't have asked for a better view its great of the whole city and just across from the Conference Center.

This is the Conference Center notice the building in the top right corner, that's where they live.

Justin teaching Tanner how to blow bubbles in the water.

Natalie and Lexie afer swimming.

I love all the cute witches at Gardner Village. Lexie would not look at us because "it's too bright."

Happy Campers!!!

Yeah! I think this was the most fun I have had camping in a long time. Thanks Kamachi's. I don't know why we haven't been camping much, but this camping trip made me want to go even more next year. *Tip*Invite the Kamachi's camping--they go gourmet. We bring hot dogs and make you cook them yourself. Cade made stuffed trout that we (well the men) caught (we were all on the boat together) and also made us homemade fried chicken, scones, and Dutch oven potatoes. What great friends! The kids were so good too. Well Tanner had a little episode one night and screamed and wouldn't sleep unless I was sitting up holding him. Yes, we survived. What more could a women ask for; filthy children, peeing in the woods, dirty finger nails, bees buzzing and sleeping in the cold on a air mattress with two others. NO, I really did have fun. See you next year mother nature!

Johnson Family

Kamachi Family

Don't we look so cozy on the 4-wheelers.

Kids throwing rocks into the reservoir.

Lexie playing with the worms. I don't know what got into her. May it was that she hadn't bathed in 3 days and her hands were already "really"dirty.

Our Family on a "little" hike we took.