Reunion in the Tetons

The Johnson Family Reunion was held in the Tetons this year. We camped, hiked, canoed, swam, laughed and feasted. There was a total of 20 of us, 12 of which were kids.

Here you can see Rylie and cousin Porter hiking like little mountain goats. This was taken at the top of Devil's Staircase. Nothing was going to slow them down!

Here we are in the canoe. This was Rylie and Sara's first time in a canoe and they did great! We named our canoe the "Hummer" because it was big, heavy and indestructible:

Each family had a canoe, so there were four. Mom and Dad are in the front with Sam and Porter in their canoe, followed by Ryan's family:

We canoed in three different lakes...I think this one was Leigh Lake. Any way, it sure was pretty! I think this is Ryan's (my brother) family on the left and Erin's (my sister) family on the right.

Sammy and Grandpa paddling around:

Kaeli and Aaron swamped their canoe. And no, it wasn't on accident. I guess it's supposed to be fun, but I haven't figured that one out yet.

Here is Rylie and cousin Hannah. They loved splashing Grandpa and throwing rocks in the water!

Hiking up to inspiration point:

Cousins at the top:

I love this one of Sam and Kaeli on our descent:

We were sad that my brother who lives in California wasn't able to make it. We sure missed him and his family!!!

Miso deprivided

A few years ago if you had asked me if I would ever eat sushi I would have told you an emphatic NO WAY! And that no meat was meant to be eaten raw. When we first moved to Boise, Aaron flew to Japan a few times a year for work. He always enjoyed eating sushi during his visits and I would scold him for eating something so VILE! But he loved the stuff. I'm not sure what switched in me, but when we first moved to Utah I found myself curious about those sushi rolls. They looked so pretty. Honestly, the presentation that goes into sushi is quite impressive. I think it's a whole different art form. The avocado and cucumber and other yummy veggies that were beautifully wrapped up in rice paper convinced me that it might be worth trying, despite the slugs of raw fish poking out of the center. I bravely tried a few rolls and actually liked it. In fact, I think I liked the wasabi/soy sauce that you dip the rolls in just as much. After a few times of eating sushi rolls in addition to my main entree, I started ordering ONLY sushi as my main dish with a side of miso soup. I loved the stuff! I craved the stuff! Aaron and I went out for sushi on date nights and completely pigged out! Yes, you CAN pig out on sushi! Now I am pregnant and any raw meat is forbidden! I felt so deprived...up until yesterday that is! Being very hormone-driven I was really craving sushi last night. I called up our local sushi restaurant and explained to the receptionist my incredible craving for sushi, but my dilemma of not being allowed to indulge. I asked her what was actually cooked and safe for me to eat. I ended up ordering three rolls and two bowls of miso soup (of course) and Aaron obediently picked it up on his way home from work. I enjoyed my not-so-raw sushi. (...can I still call it sushi?) It isn't the same when you bite into tempura shrimp (breaded and fried), but it still satisfied my craving...for now. I told Aaron he just might have to bring me some real sushi after I give birth in the hospital. Now I only can scold Aaron for eating sushi when he's eating it without me.

Weeeeeeee!

Yesterday we spent the day at Utah's funnest amusement park...Lagoon! And better yet, we got to visit the park for free, another perk of being a Dannon employee. The kids loved every ride and had a blast!

Rylie on the carousel:

I was happy to find that there were a lot of rides that Sara could go on. So if the big kids were on a wild ride, Sara and I would run back over to the kiddie rides and meet up with the others later. Her favorite was the carousel and I think she would have ridden it all day long had we let her. Here she is fighting off enemies in space:

Sam and Aaron are in the very front of the roller coaster:

Sam is exactly 50 inches tall and therefore was able to go on most of the big kid/adult rides. He and Aaron even went on WICKED! Sam was thrilled and loved every minute of it. As you can see from the picture below, crazy rides DO have their side affects:
Kaeli wasn't able to go on all the same rides that Sam could, but there were still some pretty wild ones that she loved. Next year Kaeli will be able to go on more:

I am a sucker for cute "sisters" pics. So sweet:

And apparently you are never too old to ride the carousel:

Yuba Lake

On Friday we left to go camping at Yuba Lake. This is the beach near our camp ground. The water was a perfect temp and the kids were in the water before we could even get their swim suits on:
We met up with some friends of ours on Saturday to go boating! Aaron likes to wake board. Here you can see him "catching some air".

The kids really loved riding in the boat. Sara was so content on the boat and later fell asleep across one of the seats.

I couldn't NOT get into the water either, so here I am taking my turn on the skis.

Rylie's favorite part was jumping off the boat into the deep water to cool off:

And the highlight of Sam's day was when he got a chance to drive the boat.

Each of the kids got a chance to go tubin'. Nothing seemed to be fast or bumpy enough for Sam and Kaeli. Sara even got to go tubin' with her momma, but that was a much straighter and slower ride, and I still had a death grip around her.

Thanks to the Rosier's for such a FUN day!

California!

We had an AWESOME trip to California last week! We took two days to drive there and back, and the kids did great with the long drive. Who knew they would be so entertained with books on tape! We stayed with Aaron's grandparents in their basement apartment in Atascadero, which is only about 20 minutes from Morro Bay. Morro Bay is cooler than what you would expect for a CA beach and reminds me a lot of the beaches in Oregon. But not even the chilly temps could keep the kids out of the water.

We also spent a day in Avila. It's only a short drive south of Morro Bay but much warmer. I loved the little town and the beach was so much fun. We lost Rylie on the crowded beach for about 20 minutes which was terrifying! We thought we would find her in a complete hysteric but she had kept her cool and remained super calm in her search for us. I thought she was so brave. WOW...nothing has scared me that bad for a long time and I'm sure if she had been missing just a few more minutes I would have been the one in hysterics!

Aaron and the kidlets with Morro Rock in the background.

We also went hiking in Montana De Oro (Mountain of Gold) State Park. We took a trail that followed the bluff along the coast line. The geology and rock formations were really cool.

That same day we also drove north and toured a quaint little town called Cambria. We also visited the elephant seals. Although they were just laying around...molting their skin (lovely), they were still fun to see.

Aaron's grandparents were extremely hospitable! It was fun for the kids to hear their great grandpa tell stories about when he was young. We absolutely loved our visit with them and the memories that were made.

Of course the kids spent a lot of time playing in grandpa and grandma's yard. They LOVE the tire swing!

Uncle Craig took our family picture in the yard. Can you see my expanding tummy?

Already??? What's up with that!

Part of our vacation was also spent visiting my brother Andrew and his sweet family just outside of LA. We spent a lot of time just visiting and the kids and daddies all slept in the backyard. They have two super cute boys that the kids loved to play with.

Sam's favorite thing to do was pulling his little cousins and siblings in this wagon. Somehow we acquired it and it ended up tied down to the top of our van as we pulled away, Utah-bound.

Seating for seven!

Last week Aaron and I decided to set the table instead of asking the kids to do it. We set the table for the usual 6. We then scooted the highchair to the table and set it as well. When the kids came to dinner they all glanced at the high chair, but no one said anything. Sara saw it and instantly thought it was for her, but we put her in her usual dinner spot at the table. Sam seemed to wonder the most about the high chair and had a perplexed look. No one said anything so I continued to put food on the plate that sat on the high chair. I even cut the food up in small bite-size pieces. Finally, Sam asked, "who's the high chair for?" I answered him, "for the baby!" "You mean Sara?" he asked. "No, not Sara. It's for the baby." All the kids were staring at Aaron and I with questioning looks...anxiously awaiting some clarity. Kaeli muttered under her breath, "maybe mommy has a baby in her tummy." I smiled at her and nodded, but she still didn't seem to get it. The kids kept looking around wondering what the heck was going on and Aaron finally broke the news to them, "Mommy has a baby in her tummy!" They were all very excited and Rylie instantly perked up and said, "Are you going to the hospital tomorrow to get it out?" Unfortunately the wait is much longer than that. Our new little arrival is due on February 16th...just a little under 7 months to go....

Here's a picture of our little bean:
(I got to hear the heart beat this morning)

Stewart Falls

On Saturday we went for a little hike to Stewart Falls. So green and pretty!

Hmmmm?

I think Aaron has been spending WAY too much time in France!

Happy INDEPENDANCE day!

This is why I love the 4th of July!

Homemade strawberry ice cream!

Frisbee in the park while we wait for FIREWORKS!

Patriotic Pops!

Sparklers!

And of course lots and lots of SMILES on super cute kids!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

We attended the Oquirrh (pronounced: O-cur) Mountain Temple Open House on Friday. It was a busy day and we ended up waiting over 2 hours to get in. It was worth it to walk the halls of the temple with my little family. We like to call this temple "our temple" because it is within our district. Sara still yells, "The temple! The temple!" or "I see Moroni!" each time we drive past. What a beautiful temple!

Mr. Smarty Pants