Farewell Summer

We are now a week into the school year and summer is slowly, but surely winding down. As I look back over the last few months of craziness that was summer, I have no regrets. I feel like I truly sucked the marrow out of summer vacation… really made the most of it.

I…

…hiked many a mile through sage brush and wildflower both.

…distributed dozens and dozens of ice cold popsicles among the children of the neighborhood. (And subsequently picked up dozens and dozens of sticky popsicle sticks off the lawn).

…zipped across many a glassy lake on the jet skies.

…ate my weight in sweet, delicious, buttery corn on the cob.

…washed about one hundred and one loads of wet swimming suits and beach towels.

…made about one hundred and one salads for various potlucks and summer BBQs.

…religiously applied sunblock over and over on my fair skinned, red-headed children…and myself too.

…enjoyed cold, refreshing treats when the temperatures soared.

…picked hundreds of red, ripe raspberries, and ate those red, ripe raspberries.

…gave much needed comfort to a shell-shocked dog who spent most of July under the bed due to neighborhood fireworks.

..scratched a million mosquito bites.

…applied bandages to dozens of scraps and scratches on dozens of knees and elbows.

…attended several family reunions and girls camps

…sat through hours of my boy’s swimming lessons.

You get the picture. It was a great summer. I enjoyed it, savored it, tried to appreciate those summer experiences that won’t be possible when the weather turns cold. I’m happy that we are settling into the routine and structure that the school year provides, but I will miss the lazy, crazy days of summer…especially that corn on the cob!

Conquering the View

I could still feel the after effects when I climbed my stairs this morning; the after effects of hiking 14 miles, with a 4000 ft. increase in elevation, over 10 long, painful, and awe inspiring hours last Saturday. Remember this post, where I posted a picture of the view out my window and announced that I had a goal to finally hike to the top of Mount Timpanogos, the mountain I can see beckoning me everyday when I look out my front window? After living here for over 11 years and seeing that mountain everyday, I wanted to conquer that view once and for all. So…I climbed…and climbed…and climbed. I’ve never before been up so high in the sky (11,200 feet above sea level to be exact) and it was quiet the experience. I can see now, maybe just a little bit, the obsession that some people have with ‘conquering the view.’

Mike has been begging me for years to make this climb with him. He’s always claimed that the first five miles of this particular hike are filled with some of the most beautiful mountain scenery ever to be witnessed. Turns out he was 100% correct. Gorgeous! I couldn’t get over it. Hiking the first three miles, especially this year when Utah has had more than it usual share of precipitation, was almost like hiking through a tropical rain forest. Green, green, green, with mossy waterfalls, rocky trails covered in icy cold trickling streams and lush vegetation overhead.

We invited anyone who wanted to come with us, but in the end it was just Mike and I and my Uncle Brad, the most die hard hiker I know. There was no way Uncle Brad wasn’t showing up for this hike. He has hiked mountains on almost every continent on this planet and he still claims that Mount Timpanogos is one of the best hikes in the world. “A world class hike,” he calls it, and he would know.

Uncle Brad was the perfect companion to have on the hike with us. First of all, he brought me a pair of hiking poles which, I kid you not, saved my life on this hike many a time. (I’ve got to get me a pair of those things) And…he was SO patient with me. Uncle Brad is an incredible hiker. He’s hiked some of the highest mountains in the world. I know this hike was probably the slowest of his entire life, having me to deal with, but he was patient, kind and encouraging every step of the way. Thanks so much Uncle Brad. We made some great memories and I learned some very useful tips for future hikes, like how to safely cross a snow field for instance (three points of contact at all times). I hope you’re coming with us next year. In fact, I’m not doing it if you’re not coming!

Although I was in pain most of the hike (I learned the hard way that being in shape isn’t just about stamina, my hip flexors may never recover), but the scenery along the way simply took my breath away. God took plenty of care when he decorated the east side of Mount Timpanogos. Wowza!

Pictures never quite do scenery justice, but you’ll get a small idea of how beautiful it was…

Check out those mountain vistas behind us

The peak you can see behind Uncle Brad is the highest point of Mount Timpanogos

To our good fortune, the wild flowers were late blooming this year. Usually you see all this color in early July, but this year the flowers waited for us. We hiked through mountain side after mountain side of color. You should have smelled the Lupine. Delicious.

We had to trek through several snow fields. There was an unusual amount of snow up there for August. I really had the wrong shoes for snow hiking (got to get me some hiking boots too), thank goodness for Uncle Brad’s hiking poles and for the fact that we got to do this on the way down…

…sliding down the snow fields was my favorite part of the hike. Never mind that I had a soaking wet behind afterward. It was worth it!

Of course the view from the top was awesome, as was the euphoric feeling of having reached our destination. You could see for miles and miles all around. Again, I can see how people become addicted to the feeling of summiting a mountain and gazing upon all the splendor at the top. I found myself feeling a little jealous of the mountain goats that were grazing near the summit. They get to see this view when ever they want. Luckies!

This goat gave Mike the stink eye…or maybe he was just posing for the camera. I can’t tell.

 

I found me a nice place at the top to rest my weary muscles and enjoy the view. I was a little worried that if I sat down too long it might be a bit difficult to get up again. I was right. But get back up I did, because if you go up…you have to go back down. Surprisingly there was no helicopter service at the top to take us to the bottom. What’s that about?

Mike took this picture of me on the decent. See those pursed lips? That’s pain. Ouchy. When I do this again next year I vow that I will be in better hiking shape. As great as this hike was I’m sure it would be much better minus the pain. (I’m hoping the experience will be a bit like child birth…over time you forget how painful it was and are willing to do it all over again to experience the reward at the end).

After 8 hours of hiking and after drinking several Camelbacks of water in an effort to stay well hydrated, it was inevitable that a bathroom stop would be necessary. Luckily there is a toilet along the trail…or maybe that’s not so luckily…look at this thing…

Yes mom, I actually used it. I was desperate. I was exceedingly grateful for the privacy those sturdy walls provided…hah! Good thing I had Mike to provide look out.

The beautiful scenery, seeing a bird’s-eye view of our valley, the overwhelming sense of satisfaction from having accomplished a difficult goal, all that was nice…but like always, for me it’s all about the people and my favorite part of this adventure was hanging out all day with Uncle Brad and of course, my wonderful husband, whom I love. Thanks for hiking with me babe. Seriously, you can get me to do almost anything!

And last but not least…

…the retiring of my walking/hiking shoes. Those shoes have seen many, many, many miles of…everything. It seemed fitting that their last hurrah was a 14 mile hike up a gorgeous mountain. Unfortunately, when I got up this morning to go for a walk (I finally felt recovered enough to do so) I went to put on my old trusty shoes and remembered that they had met their demise in the trash bin. Looks like I’ll be making a trip to the sporting goods store tomorrow.

And just in case you were wondering…no, I could not walk for days after the hike. Not. at. all. But hey, now when I step out my front door and look up at that mountain in front of me, I can proudly say that I ‘conquered the view.’

School Begins

Monday I dropped my baby (although you can clearly see that she’s not really a baby anymore) off for her first day of Junior High school. I felt like I was leaving my sweet, innocent baby lamb at the entrance of a lion’s den. The junior high is a huge maze of a place (I even had a hard time finding my way around) and is filled to capacity with big, loud, smelly 8th and 9th graders and all kinds of who-knows-what. I left her there and watched her walk in through the big double doors despite the millions of butterflies dancing around in my stomach (and hers); because sometimes as a mom you just have to let go and hope for the best.

Turns out I had no reason for butterflies. Turn’s out she loves it! Little lamb is learning how to negotiate the lion’s den and she’s doing fine. I think she’s going to have a great year this year. She’s finding her classes, opening her locker easily, has already made two new friends, likes her teachers well enough and is determined to work hard in school. Plus a bonus: three of the most popular, handsome (and nice) 8th grade boys are in our car pool. That can’t hurt, right?

MK and her friend Megan on the first day

As for the boys…

…they started school today. They left this morning literally bouncing off the walls with excitement and anticipation and they came home flying higher than kites. They both had a great day and seem to be perfectly happy with their situations (they’re in separate classes right across the hall from each other). Of course lunch time (they were over the moon about bringing their own lunch boxes) and recess on the big playground were their favorites. No surprise there.

 

Now all three of my kids are in school all day long. It’s taken 7 years to get to this point in my life. Everyone has been asking me what on earth I’m going to do with all my free time. They seem very concerned that I’ll be bored and lonely all day, but I’m not the least bit concerned. I have a list a mile long of things I’m going to do to fill the quite hours. The problem is…where to begin? I will admit that it is going to take awhile to get used to the quiet. And yes, I will miss those three.

Mostly I’m just happy that my kids are happy. Another school year…here we come!

Summertime is Family Reunion Time: Part 2

There is an Ingrid Michaelson song that I’m obsessed with. The words go like this…”Everybody, everybody wants to love. Everybody, everybody wants to be loved. Oh, oh, oh…oh, oh, oh." Sing it Ingrid!

It’s a good thing we have families in this life, because if you want to love and be loved (like everybody does…so Ingrid says) you can count on a family to provide.

Last weekend was the Johnson (my mom’s side of the family) reunion. We’ve been having these reunions every other year for 18 years (we are much, much greater in number now than when we started, the picture above is only about half of us). I have so many cherished memories from these reunions and this weekend we made even more.

We’ve started some reunion traditions over the years and this year we stayed true to those. We had, among other things…dancing (square this year, which Mary Kate says is the most fun thing she’s done all summer), a tennis tournament, Muggles Quidditch, stacks of Little Caesars pizza, plenty of water balloons, missionary night, amazing food, and a multimedia presentation to end things with a bang.

A few visuals…

Dean: tennis tournament CEO

Alex: tennis tournament champion (along with Aunt Kathy)

Lyndey: budding tennis pro

Tennis Tournament snacks: I cannot emphasize enough how good these pastries were. Uncle Todd found out that only one box had been ordered for the tennis tournament breakfast…he promptly called and ordered two more boxes. Good thing too because we ate every last one.

Kids everywhere!!! Lots and lots of kids. More than ever this year…just as is should be.

Johnson Reunions are good for Little Caesars Pizza profits

We play lots of field games at Johnson Reunions, but everyone’s hands-down favorite is Muggles Quidditch, a game created by some of my cousins many reunions ago. Since then we’ve never had a reunion without playing it.

Even Ginger (my cousin Alisa’s dog) joined in our Quidditch game this year. All was going well until she cased down and popped the ball. She’s so sweet though, everyone forgave her instantly.

Food is always top priority at a Johnson reunion. Saturday night’s dinner was part of missionary night. People brought food native to the places where they served missions. We have over 30 missionaries in our family so the selection was incredible. Curry from Indonesia, lettuce wraps from Korea, fruit soup from Norway, cheese bread puffs from Brazil, cookies from Switzerland to name only a few selections on the menu. Satisfaction was guaranteed.

Like I said, we always end each reunion with a multi-media presentation, usually a recap of the previous years and the current reunion activities. This year was a bit different…my brother Eric put together a movie that looked back on the memories of past reunions over 18 years. It was fantastic and I have to admit, I got a bit emotional and weepy being reminded of all the good times past. I love these people!

 

A big thanks to all those who worked so hard to make the reunion happen this year. It was a fantastic reunion…nearly perfect, except for one big thing…there were too many people missing. Every year it get harder to have everyone come. We are getting larger and larger in number, people are busy and live far, far away…some have even passed on (it won’t ever be the same without Grandma and Grandpa, although I know they were there in spirit). For those family members who weren’t with us, know that you were greatly missed and that is wasn’t the same without you. You were in our thoughts. Especially you Mom and Dad. We all missed you terribly!

Summertime Is Family Reunion Time

Last weekend we got together with Mike’s family at Bear Lake for a summertime reunion. Mike’s parents, all but one of his siblings, most of the spouses and all the kids were together. Some people wouldn’t claim to be fortunate in the in-law department. That’s certainly not the case for me. I very much love my in-laws, all of them, and feel so fortunate to have married into such a family. It was good to be able to get together with almost everyone (we missed you Lance, Pete, and Tim). Mike’s family is spread out all over the country and we don’t have the opportunity to get together very often. This year we were nearly complete… as close as we could get anyway. We had a grand time. I tried to savor, knowing it wouldn’t last long.

My brother-in-law Zack’s parents have a beautiful cabin on the west side of Bear Lake just across the Idaho boarder. They were so generous to allow us to use this incredible space for our reunion. (We stayed here once before many years ago) The cabin is a perfectly situated and delightfully cozy spot in one of the most beautiful places in Utah, and there’s plenty of room for everyone.

Bear Lake is one of my favorite spots on earth and you can see why…

A view from the cabin’s deck

Another view. Looks like a little slice of Switzerland.


The room Mike and I stayed in, appropriately called “The Sun Room.’ Lovely.

The accommodations and surrounding were amazing but really this trip was all about family…

Because all the grandkids were in one place at the same time, of course we had to get them together for a photo. It’s not easy posing 15 kids and getting them to cooperate. It wasn’t going so well until Uncle Zack whipped out his best ape impression to get the kids laughing and smiling. Worked like a charm…on the rest of us too. Zack’s got mad skills in the animal impressions department. His ape was dead on.

Little baby Lucy (Zack and Karen’s) was a major attraction at the reunion. For Mary Kate especially who, like I’ve mentioned before, is obsessed with babies. Anyone would be obsessed with this adorable one…

Some of us got in some last minute Aunt Dani beauty treatment before she was off to Boston. It’s a shame that she moved across the country. Those of us left behind in the west will not be looking quite as fabulous anymore…

Aunt Karen get’s some highlights

Mary Kate talked Dani into cutting some bangs which make my daughter look entirely too grown up if you ask me…

The cousins had a great time together. There’s very little in life that’s better than hanging out with cousins. I have many and I should know…

I think these two look so much alike (although they didn’t appreciate me pointing that out over and over). They got along swimmingly too. Jeffrey has learned some really useful and intelligent sounding new vocabulary words after hanging out with Bryn this summer. I wish she lived nearby because I think my boys would be ever so much better educated if she did.

Mary Kate has loved having Megan, the one cousin who is her same age, living here in Utah. Yeah for Darin and Kim for moving back to Utah for good!!!

Sarah played us some tunes on the guitar…

Jonathan and Ivy took a walk with Grandpa…

Momma Lynette was beautiful and pleasant…

And I spent three uninterrupted days with my favorite person. Not too shabby for a weekend at the lake.

This wasn’t all though. We caught a baby mouse, ate delicious food, laughed and talked into the late hours, watched movies, listened to music and of course went to the lake a few times to swim and ride the jet skies.

For a glimpse of all that lake fun see the next post….