New Family Picture

Yes I know that the family picture above is pretty out of date and doesn't include Shane. My mother in law actually gave us a gift certificate for family pictures for Christmas I am just waiting for it to warm up a bit so we can do them outside. So hopefully we will have an updated family picture soon.

Brian Head

Back in January we had a chance to go to Brian Head resort. My nephew was getting ordained a deacon and my sister-in-law manages a bunch of properties there so she put us up in a ski in ski out condo. It was a blast!!!!! I was even able to ski for a bit and leave Shane since I literally just went out the back door and could ski to the lift. I truly love skiing and look forward to the day when I can go all the time again. Parker skied for the 1st time there and he like it OK. He was a bit nervous but he wanted to go again so that is a good sign. The kids played in the snow all day, building snow forts and sledding hills. They have a great pizza place we went to one night as well. On Sunday we drove down to Parawon for Ryland's ordination and then we had a lunch at their house which Chef Ryland prepared himself. Which is pretty impressive for a 12 year old. It was fun and relaxing. We are going again over the 4th of July for a Johnson Family reunion. I am excited to see what Brian head has to offer in the summer.

Recipes

Lately I have become obsessed with recipe blogs. Whenever I find a new one I seriously spend like 2 hours looking through and finding some good recipes. I think it is partly because I am home so much with a newborn and it is something I can do here. It has been fun trying new foods, and I have found that I really do love to cook. Some girls in my ward started a recipe group as well. We get together once every few months and share recipes. It has been a lot of fun. This is the latest one I found that Dave and I both loved so I thought I would pass it along. If you know of any other great cooking blogs please let me know.




Chicken Vegetable Chow Mein


1 pkg spaghetti (or udon noodles if you want to get fancy)
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into really thin strips
2 tbs cornstarch
2 tbs oil
1 small onion, cut in half, then sliced (half moon shaped)
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3/4 head napa cabbage, thinly shredded
1 1/2 c frozen Chinese snow peas (or any vegetable you want)
1 carrot, peeled, and sliced into matchstick size
2 1/2 tbs soy sauce
2 1/2 tbs rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
salt and pepper

Cook spaghetti according to package directions, making sure to add plenty of salt to the boiling water to flavor the noodles. While noodles are cooking season chicken with salt and pepper, and toss with cornstarch. Heat 2 tbs oil in wok or large skillet on high. Cook chicken until brown and crispy, (this takes about 10 minutes). Remove chicken onto a plate with slotted spoon. Add onion, carrot and garlic and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, then add cabbage, stir fry for 3 minutes or until tender. Add chicken, frozen vegetables, cooked, drained noodles, sesame oil, rice wine vinegar, and soy sauce. Toss until noodles and vegetables are warmed through, about 3 minutes. Serve!

highlights of 2010

2010 has been an interesting year. There has been many blessings, but also a lot of sad things too. We will start with the good.
1. The greatest part of 2010 was the birth of our healthy baby boy Shane. He has been such a blessing. I truly thought I would be done having kids after him but he has changed my mind. I think I am going to have to beg Dave for 1 more. Even if it is another boy I will take him.

2. Finishing our basement. It is so nice to have the extra space and the boys have loved having it to play in


3. Dave changing jobs. Even though this was scary and we have had to cut back financially it has been such a blessing. He actually gets home around 5:30 now so we get to see him. He was able to coach Parker's T-ball team which he would have never been able to do before. He is around to help me with the kids which I feel has bonded us as a family even tighter.
4. Parker starting Kindergarten and Jack starting preschool.



5. Jack being potty trained and me not having to change diapers for 8 months until Shane was born.

This year I have had so many hard things happen to people I love as well. I attended 3 funerals this year of people who went too early. 1st was the funeral of my friend Stacy's husband, the 2ND was the funeral of my cousins little 2 1/2 year old boy Beck. It was so hard to watch my cousin have to face the death of her little boy, and to continue to watch her morn the loss of such an angel. The 3rd funeral was my Uncle Rex. Seeing his wife have to go on with life without him in it truly has broken my heart. I have had people I love in my life experience marriage trouble, health problems, pregnancy difficulty, family issues, financial difficulty, and loss of jobs. I have just felt like all around me people have been suffering. It has truly made me appreciate all that I have been blessed with and what is truly important in this life. I hope that 2011 is a much better year for those around me that are suffering.

Christmas

Christmas this year has been a blast as usual. On the 23rd we got to go with my moms ward to a thing called Come to Bethlehem where they basically rein act what happened that night. They serve food from that time period, have a real donkey and sheep. They asked last minute if Shane could be the baby Jesus as they didn't have a real baby for it yet that night. So he was the star of the show and he cried the entire time. It was a great experience.

We spent Christmas eve with just our little family. We took a tradition that Camie's family has done for a few years and we went to the store on Christmas eve and split into teams and each team has to buy presents for the other team. Then you go home and wrap them and open them that night. We made cookies for Santa, ordered pizza and just watched Christmas movies together. It was nice and relaxing.




My brothers family came into town on Christmas day so we gathered at Camie's house that night. We had a gift exchange between cousins and a little talent show. We spent the next few days together, my mom always makes breakfast for everybody when my brothers family is here and then we make plans for the rest of the day. We went and saw Mega mind together, did a Christmas pageant, shopping bowling, sleepovers and lots and lots of yummy food. We always have so much fun when we are all together. After my brothers family went home we took a day off to just veg and actually get my house clean and then came New Years with a party with my cousins at Camie's house, and today a prime rib dinner at Dave's parents house. I am so grateful to be surrounded by so much family. It truly makes the holidays so great.

Temple Square

A few weekends ago Dave was out of town so the boys and I decided to go to Temple Square with Jen's family. We rode the trax up, which the kids thought was pretty neat. The kids had a great time. I haven't been to Temple Square in years to see the lights and I didn't realize how crowded it is now. I was a little stressed the whole time that I was going to loose one of my boys, especially since Dave was not there to help me. I think I might wait a few years to go back when my kids are a little older and I don't have to keep such a close eye on them. I just love this time of year and doing all these fun things with my kids. Both Parker and Jack get so into the Holidays which makes them even more fun for me. As you can see my boys are total goof balls so we rarely get a normal picture of them, but at least you get to see what they are really like.

Lovin our Baby Shane

Shane just turned 2 months old and we are just loving having him around. He is such a sweet baby which has made being a mom of 3 a lot easier for me. He is smiling all the time now and has the cutest little dimple. He is pretty chubby. I went in for his 2 month check up and the doctor thought it was his 4 month because of his size. He is in the 80th percentile for his weight. I think it is great. I always wanted a little chubby baby but my other boys were always so skinny. Parker is such a great helper and always holds him for me in the morning while I get some cleaning done. They watch cartoons together and I think it is so precious. I love my 3 boys and love being a mom to them.