Thursday, January 30, 2014

End of January. So much in between!

Tomorrow is the last day of January 2014. Seriously? January is a busy month for the Johnson family with numerous relative birthdays, banquets, new resolutions, and, of course, the celebration of Brandon Johnson marrying me. Let me see if I can sum it up:

On January 14, 2014, B and I celebrated 3 years of marriage. It's not many years, but so much has happened in those 36 months, it feels like a longer time than it is. To celebrate, B took the WHOLE day off and we got Grandma and Grandpa Johnson to babysit while we headed to Downtown SLC and spent the afternoon/evening doing sealings in the Salt Lake Temple, eating dinner at The Garden, and going to a movie. (Saving Mr. Banks- loved it.)

(I don't know why this picture is all glossed over.)

We got all fancied up- B in his suit and tie and me in my sparkly dress and heels. We both smelled really nice, too. We walked slowly around Temple Square with my arm in his and reminisced about our wedding day and our beautiful life together.

It was nice to be by ourselves for a while and look glamorous and crush on each other. Yet, as I walked through the doors of our home when it was all over, I couldn't wait to get the dress off and head for the boys' room and kiss their little heads as they slept and whisper "I love you." Oh how I love my beautiful home and the darlings I share it with...including my incredible, intelligent, kind husband.

Speaking of amazing husbands, mine really is. This month he was awarded, for the second consecutive year, Engineer All Star for Master Control and then promoted to Software Engineer Level 3 (highest engineering level for the company). These accolades came with recognition at the yearly banquet, a pair of all-stars, and a nice raise. A bit braggy? Yes, yes I am.

(Last year, he got bright green ones. Pretty epic.)

So, what did we do to celebrate? We took the children on Frontrunner! (Remember our last experience on Frontrunner, Elder Shaw?) For my dad's birthday, he asked all of us to pick something we'd like to do with him this year so he can post it on his "memory board" he and my mom are creating for his office. We mutually decided the boys would really enjoy riding the Frontrunner train with Papa from South Jordan to Provo. 


Finn did this the whole time: 


And Liam did this pretty much the whole time:


When we arrived in Provo, we walked a couple blocks to downtown and stopped to look at the progress of the Provo City Center Temple:

(A little blurry? Dad's first time taking a picture on my Galaxy SII.)

We ended up eating lunch at a little Chinese restaurant and then walking/jogging back to the station to catch our train back to South Jordan. 



Thanks Grandma and Papa! 
And Auntie Tay.


The End. See ya in February!

Sunday, January 5, 2014

January Birthdays: Lori J

Tonight we celebrated the birth of Lori Johnson. She is the mother to my husband, the grandmother to my children, and a wonderful friend, mother, and mentor to me. Some things I appreciate about Lori:

-She LOVES my children.
-She LOVES my husband.
-She LOVES me.
-She is incredibly kind, devoted, and close to the Spirit.
-She is BYU's biggest fan: LOYAL, STRONG, AND TRUE.
-She has an infectious laugh.
-She has perfected the art of "blooming where you're planted".


HAPPY BIRTHDAY GRANDMA J!