MightyJohnsons

Megan’s Broken Arm

Megan was at soccer practice when I got a call from her coach. He said, “Megan fell at practice. (She was doing a soccer drill under rope and a girl hooked the rope with her cleat lifting it up just enough to catch Megan’s foot causing her to fall. She reached our her arm to catch herself and that is when the injury occurred). She got up and kept playing but she is crying and Megan never cries so I assume something is seriously wrong.” He drove her home and upon seeing the swelling, I figured we better go see the doctor.

Sure enough, Dr. Wise took one look and said she better go down to the orthopedic doctor downstairs. After x-rays and such they concluded that she had two fractures in her arm. I didn’t get a shot of the x-ray but honestly they were difficult to see. He wanted to see her back in two weeks to receive a cast.

Two weeks later and more x-rays Dr. Evans said she didn’t have to have a cast. He said the fractures were healing nicely. The one catch was that if she didn’t get a cast than she couldn’t play soccer this summer. If she did get a cast that meant she would need one from the middle of her hand all the way up her shoulder. He left that up to her. The cast didn’t sound fun for a hot summer so she opted for the cast and no soccer.

I know it was hard for her not to be a part of the tournaments and practices this summer, but I think a little rest from any sport never hurts. She seems to have healed up nicely, but still has limited range of motion in her left arm. We have been told this will go away with continued stretching.

Jake turns 15

Jake’s birthday was the last day of our family camp out. Unfortunately that means we all came home, tired, disorganized and with not much of a plan for the celebration. I was so impressed with Jake this year. He insisted that we keep it low-key. What kid does that?! I know he could tell we were all pretty exhausted. It is tradition to go to dinner as a family, but he requested we bring in Dominoes pizza. We didn’t have a cake made but he said he didn’t want one (or so he said). Seth and I did pick up a slice of cake while we were out getting the pizza.

So we celebrated by eating pizza, a slice of cake and a few presents. It was pretty quiet and not real exciting, but honestly it was one of the best we had – no pressure and time together.

Jake getting a smooch from Ellie after opening his new cologne.

Jake has played the guitar since he was eight. He wanted to get himself a ukulele to try as well.

Jake has been wanting a TV B Gone for quite some time. I have a feeling this one might cause a little mischief.

Jake finished up at Mountain Ridge Junior High this year completed the ninth grade. He is growing like a weed at about 5’10 and his shoes are size 11. He towers over my 5’3 self but still treats me like he did when he was a little guy. Although he is stubborn as they get, I think it attributes to his persistence and determination in all that he does. He is a go getter. He financed his saxophone this year through his grandpa and worked hard being a referee and starting his own lawn business to pay it back. He is already planning an expansion of his lawn business in the spring.

He was the Student Body President at Mountain Ridge last year and will now be a part of Lone Peak High School’s student council as well. He earned his Eagle Scout Award this year as well. We sure are proud of him. I am not sure where or what he will do down the road as he continues to grow-up but I am most certain it is going to be something spectacular!

Annual Johnson Family Camp Out 2015

I am not sure how many years we have been doing our annual Johnson family camp out now, but it has been a very long time…I think my first one was when Drew was a baby so at least 8 years now. My kids look forward to it like Christmas. Under no circumstance can we miss it. This year was no different. We had a blast!

On Thursday we set up camp in the afternoon, made our dinners and played games (four square, riding scooters, Nukem, etc.). The Rowberrys often attend so we invited them again this year. Mom works so hard every year to make this fun for everyone. The kids now have certain expectations. We must always make homemade ice-cream, go on a hike and have a scavenger hunt. You know kids, you can’t change any of it without serious repercussions.

Megan rolling her ingredients to make ice-cream.

Megan and I hiking up a trail we never really found.

A lot of time we sit around playing cards, eating (lots and lots of eating), visiting, roasting marshmallows, going on walks and more. This year Mom even brought some fun water games to help us bear the heat a little better. In the evening we all make a dutch oven meal, side or dessert to share. It is amazing how great all the food tastes.

Thanks everyone for making this a great family tradition!

Ava, Ellie and Spencer roasting marshmallows.

Grandma Ria’s Visit

Last year was the first year that I can remember my mom not coming down for a visit. Due to some health problems she was experiencing, I went up to visit her instead. All of the kids (except Ellie who went with me) missed not seeing her and were especially excited to see her this summer when she came for a visit.

We always try to cram as much in as possible when she comes because we only see her once a year. Some traditions we can’t skip. We visited Krispy Kreme donuts. We went and had a cookout in the canyon. We shopped until we could shop no more. We met Seth for lunch a few times. We took the kids to the pool a couple times and so much more. I am pretty sure we wore her all out by the time she headed back home.

Seth and I also took her up to Salt Lake to a German restaurant she was wanting to try called Siegfried’s Delicatessen Inc. I could tell she loved eating the food and that it brought back memories from her childhood.

The visit ended too quickly. We all had so much fun enjoying time with her. The kids can’t wait until next year when she can come again and have even more fun together. We love her so, so much!

Girls can backpack too

Megan turns 13 here in a couple weeks. Katelyn is 11. The weather forecast was perfect, and there weren’t any other conflicts, so we decided to head out on their first overnight backpacking trip.

The girls seemed pretty excited to go. I gave them general directions of what to bring and what not to bring, and they did a great job of packing themselves. When I got home from work Friday afternoon they were eager to hit the trail. I packed up the all the food, the tent, my Jetboil, and standard backpacking equipment. But, they each carried their own sleeping bags, pads, water, extra clothing, toothbrushes, and stuffed animals and brushes (they are still little girls, after all).

We decided to go up to the Ridge Trail (157) up at the top of American Fork Canyon. We parked up at the Alpine Loop summit parking lot, got on our packs and hit the trail. Uncle Eli and his little puppy Bert (short for Albert Einstein) came along with us. We were immediately hit with the rugged beauty of the Utah mountains and came upon many beautiful vistas.

The trail was pretty up-and-down, but there weren’t a lot of big climbs. We passed a great camping spot about 1.25 miles in which was occupied by a group of Boy Scouts. But, we had looked on the map and set our sights on the Mud Springs trail intersection (about 2 miles in).

The girls did great. They frequently commented on the beauty of the forest. The pretty flowers. The scenic views. They were already talking about what their Instagram posts would be.

We got to the Mud Springs intersection and found a place to make camp. The girls helped setup the tent as I started making dinner. Katelyn was scared when I lit the stove, and Megan had a hard time figuring out how to attach the tent poles, but they caught on quickly. We enjoyed a delicious freeze-dried meal and the girls raved about how much better food tastes when you’re in the outdoors. We made a dessert too and then got ready for bed.

We slept in until about 8AM. We didn’t have a schedule, which was really nice. The girls huddled around the fire, ate some instant oatmeal for breakfast, played with Bert and then started packing up to head back home.

The hike home felt longer, but the girls still didn’t whine, complain, or belly-ache at all. They just hiked. However, they were definitely happy to get back to the parking lot and take off their packs.

Along the way, we passed several mountain bikers and other hikers who commented on these tough, cute girls out backpacking in the Utah wilderness. Megan and Katelyn did a great job and I was sure proud of them. We will definitely be doing this again.

The Forgotten Baseball Season

Drew was excited to start baseball season this year. He’s played teeball before, but this was going to be his first year of little league (it’s machine pitch at his age). He plays for the Cubs. Thankfully (for reasons which will soon become clear), Drew’s friend Micah is also on the team.

Unfortunately due to our hectic family schedule Drew has played many innings without his family there to watch the game, cheer him on, or give him coaching on how to play baseball. His season isn’t over yet, but so far it has been a forgotten baseball season for Drew.

This story kind of sums up Drew’s baseball season so far: Late one afternoon, Manina told Drew to be ready for his baseball game starting at 6:45pm. Drew was excited to play, so he ran and found his hat, uniform, and grabbed his glove. He got dressed all by himself and then ran out the door, saying, “Bye, Mom!” and he ran off to Micah’s house. Drew didn’t ask who was coming to his game, he already knew the drill. He would carpool with the Jensen’s and go play the game with none of his family there cheering him on. It’s a little sad, because we were always at the games for our older kids, but Drew already knows that doesn’t happen very much any more. He was totally OK going to the game with his team and having fun with his buddies.

We finally got to a game as a family and it was fun to see Drew play and have fun. He put on quite a show for us. He went 3 for 3, and scored 2 runs.

In the field, he still has a lot to learn, but did knock down a couple grounders (and had no idea what to do with the ball afterwards).

Since Grandma Ria was visiting, she got to cheer on Drew as well. He probably didn’t know what to do with all of the support.

Field Trips

I may have fallen behind, like way behind on my blog posts at the end of the school year. It is such a busy time of year. I find myself feeling a little overwhelmed with all that needs to be done. We have every concert, play, activity, and field trip imaginable. I went with Ellie to the Bean Museum, the Hogle Zoo, and Thanksgiving Point. I have so many great pictures that I want to share. This is just a few of things Ellie did in May as school came to an end.

End of the Year Programs

Every school year ends with lots and lots of performances. Highland Elementary had a performance where each class practiced and danced to a song. They practice for months and months. It is one of my favorite things they do at the school. Unfortunately they only do it once every two or three years. Claire performed an African song and dance called “Waka Waka”. Drew performed “Under the Sea” from Little Mermaid. They were so cute! We surprised them by inviting Grandma Jan. Claire’s face lit up when she saw Grandma had come to watch her perform.

Drew also performed in a patriotic program. He was such a cutie. He stood tall and sang loudly. It is so fun to watch these little ones as they learn to become more confident and perform to the best of their ability. It is one of those great things about being a mom…just watching your kids grow and develop.

Ellie’s Preschool Program

Another last…this was my baby’s last preschool program. She graduated from Bear Hollow Preshool. Although I won’t miss paying my monthly tuition, I will miss all the fun she had with Miss Molly and all of her classmates. She loved going to preschool and she had such a great time learning new things and making new friends. Next stop…kindergarten.

Miss Molly, Ellie & Miss Maize (assistant)

Jesse and Mikaela’s Wedding

My brother Jesse is a great guy, and always has been. Yesterday, he was married to his sweetheart Mikaela in the Draper Utah LDS Temple. It was a wonderful celebration.

The Johnson and Milne families all gathered on Thursday, May 14th at Brick Oven in South Jordan to have a pre-wedding dinner. Gatherings with all of my siblings are increasingly rare, so it was fun to have the whole crew in one place. Of course, having us all there did lead to some eventual shenanigans, and we probably won’t be welcomed back at Brick Oven any time soon.

Mary, Grandpa Cryer, Dad, Mom, Jesse and Mikaela

Friday was a stormy and cold day. We arrived at the temple with all the kids, all dressed in the prescribed wedding colors ready for pictures following the ceremony.

The ceremony was great. As is customary in a lot of LDS Temple weddings, not everyone could be there for the sealing. Thankfully there were plenty of people in the waiting room to make sure our kids didn’t get too rambunctious. Soon enough, the bride and groom appeared and the picture taking commenced.

The reception that evening was held at the Milne home underneath a heated tent. Mikaela’s dad, Ken, was born and raised in Scotland. He and his son, Ben, were wearing their kilts. Mikaela asked if I would wear mine as well, so I dusted it off and showed off my legs for the evening.

It was fun to see all the family and friends who came to celebrate Jesse and Mikaela. We’re very excited to have Mikaela as part of the family and very happy to see Jesse make this great step in his life. Well done, Jesse!