Family Fun in Florida

Yes, we are back in Florida. This makes two drips to the magical Disney state before Jack even turns two. Wish he could remember these fun times we are having. A few pictures will have to prove that we did take him on vacation:)

This time we are vacationing with the Johnson family. My parents started a tradition many years ago to bring all their posterity to Florida every four years to enjoy some good sunshine and fun-filled days at the Disney and Universal Parks. This year everyone was able to make it--all 34 of us. Can you believe that!?! I wish I had a picture of all us to share, but with that many people, it's hard to gather for a group photo in the midst of all the chaos. But I promise we all made it and had a fantastic time. So glad I could bring my little family to participate in the festivities.

The best part about the trip really is being with all my brothers and sisters and parents in one place now that we are all scattered. And it's fun to watch the cousins all interact--plus the older ones are great babysitters!

Animal Kingdom was probably Jack's favorite park. He loved all the animals and the safari ride. Too bad he was messed up on sleep and ended up passing out on his favorite ride, the Safari. One minute it was smiles and laughter and the next he was asleep in my arms.

We definitely packed it in. We made it to all the parks and found that afternoons and evenings work best. Neither Jack or I enjoyed standing in long lines in 90 degree weather.

Another great trip that we hope to repeat!

Happy Easter

We kept it low-key for Easter this year. We started our Easter traditions with Jack and he LOVED coloring Easter eggs. Especially when I brought out the stickers.

Jack must have been so excited for the Easter Bunny to visit because he didn't sleep a minute past 6:00am... or maybe that's just his usual wake-up time.... . He was pretty excited to get a basket full of trucks and bubbles.

Mama Said There'd Be Days Like This

Yes, I guess it's true that all of us have bad days--even 1 year olds. Last night consisted of head butts to the nose only to have it beed all over mom's bed (and it was mom's nose bleeding from Jack's wild tossing and turning), movies at 1am, three bottles to finally get Jack to sleep at 3:00am! The following morning consisted of an early wake up call at 7:15 only to be followed by mischievous behavior: 1 bottle of sun screen smeared all over his face and hair (that doesn't rinse out easily in the shower), bananas for breakfast only to be squished and played with, tantrums galore (especially when he couldn't drink Root Beer for breakfast), messes in every room of the house, scooting chairs to climb on top of the bathroom sink just to throw everything off. It's noon and I finally get to go catch a few zzzz's myself and hope that the afternoon is better!

I guess it's also true that it's all worth it. I do have a pretty cute mess maker though... don't I!

Happy St Patrick's Day!

This free picture collage personalized with Smilebox

Obsession as of late...

So like many others our household took the news of Brandon Davies being suspended for the rest of the season pretty tough. I don’t know if there were too many other people as excited about BYU basketball this year than Jared and me. I was ready to book my tickets to Las Vegas and Denver and hoping they would come to Anaheim to play in some championship games. March Madness was just getting started in our home.

And then the biggest downer of all for any BYU fan. A key player didn’t keep his end of the contract with the Honor Code. So many emotions to go through. Are you mad at Davies? Mad at the honor code or the administrators who enforce it? Mad at yourself for getting so excited about BYU? Well we experienced the whole gamet of emotions and exhausted the subject for two days going back and forth on how we really feel about the news.

And in my opinion (after two days of debating the issue) it all comes down to being honest. As a BYU alumn I feel the right thing is happening. There are some key factors a lot of people don’t know about BYU’s honor code.

1. It is for EVERYBODY--Member of the LDS church or not.
2. EVERYBODY signs the Honor Code EVERY year they attend school.
3. Whenever a violation is being reviewed the person is removed from any extracurricular activity throughout the investigation whether it be a Young Ambassador, the principal ballerina, or the star of the basketball team.
4. The Honor Code isn’t meant to be punitive in nature (though most see it that way), it’s goal is to keep harmony with the teachings of the church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by having a student body live a higher moral law than the world will provide.

Some argue that athletes and other participants of organized programs in the public’s eye get stricter punishments. And that's not true. It just seems that what because while their cases are being reviewed they have to be removed from the program that puts them in the public eye. I guess you could argue that seems more strict, but that is part of the rules... written in black and white and signed on the dotted line. Besides, it's not the punishment that is stricter, it's just more embarrassing because it is public, but anytime you chose to be in the spotlight you are, well, in the spotlight. So your good and bad behavior is seen.

And some argue that others get away with breaking the code and that makes the code unfair. That doesn’t make the code unfair, it just means that some people don’t know what honor means and will have to learn hard lessons later in life. I am sure those who severly cheated the honor code at BYU (I’m not talking about staying out past curfew or not adhearing to the grooming standards) will forever cheat their honor throughout life and will have bigger embarrassments in life than taking a semester off of school to clear up an infraction. But like I pointed out above the Honor Code isn’t meant to be punitive. There aren’t secret agents spying on the students all day and night long. The administration leaves it up to each individual to abide by the principles of the school. And for the majority of the student body they do abide by the rules. Infractions of the Honor Code are not overtly seen around campus and that’s what sets BYU apart from any other school. For the most part, the student body wants to live the standards of the Honor Code, and they do so quietly without being viewed under a microscope day after day and continue to live this way after graduation from BYU.

There is a unique feeling on BYU’s campus that remains there year after year; and every time an alumn visits it’s campus they are brought back to those innocent care-free days of being a young 20 something at BYU. Maybe that feeling is what every alumn feels (a sense of nostalgia) when they visit their alma mater, but I’d like to believe that BYU’s feeling is unique and far superior to any other campus because it stands for truth and righteousness. I know that may sound a little cheesy, but it is just my opinion.

I look back on my days at BYU with great memories and a quiet reverence for the change it made in my life. Every person that attends BYU for the right reasons leaves that university with a better sense of who they are. Maybe it was the Honor Code or maybe it was my upbringing or maybe a little of both, but I view myself as a very honest person in everything I do. Living a life with no regrets is a great way to live each day. And the ability to live a life with no regrets doesn’t mean I am perfect, it means that I confess and make right the mistakes I make.

Go Cougars!

The New Mr. Potato Head

I think we have an artist on our hands... . Jack spent minutes* creating Mr. Potato Head.

* minutes in Jack terms is a very long time. Spend an hour with him and you'll understand that he can do a lot in an hour. Some days it's exhausting to hang out with him.

January wrap up... at the end of February!

So January turned out to be a VERY busy month and one full of lots of change.

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson came to visit for a week at the beginning of the month. Mom was definitely looking so forward to their trip... she LOVES company. Unfortunately, Jack decided this was the week to start teething molars... all four at once and boy was he cranky and feverish. We didn't get out to do as much as we wanted but it was still fun.

The best part of the trip was a visit to the Kid's Pool in La Jolla to see the Sea Lions. Not sure what Jack enjoyed more, the Sea Lions or the dogs? Every day I'm reminded to NOT bring a dog home for Jack... but he would love it so much, Dad... .

It was beautiful weather while Grandma and Grandpa were out and we enjoyed being outside so much.

For MLK day we took Jack to Sea World. We were so impressed how well Jack did at an amusement park for the day. He LOVED the rides and was mildly entertained with the aquariums and shows.

But wait January is not over yet... we had more company come for a visit, Grandma Taylor. She came out not only to spend time with Jack but also entertain him for a weekend while we moved. Yes, I know I promised we wouldn't moved for another year, but we got an opportunity to move next door into a larger town home with a backyard! We were able to get everything done that weekend and are really enjoying the new place. Jack LOVES his backyard and spends most of his time checking on the flowers. He loves to water them, smell them, and unfortunately pick them.