Happy St Patrick's Day!

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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.

Oh January!

Every year just after Christmas I start singing in my head, "I Cry the Day I Take the Tree Down" from the Forgotten Carols. I have always felt sadness as all the decorations come down and the streets are no longer lit up with colorful lights. Generosity from complete strangers and good manners seem to disappear and we all get back to the rat race.

Then comes January and all the lofty goals are set of losing weight, going to bed earlier, reading more, cooking more, or whatever it may be, and we are rearing and ready to go for the best year of our lives by cutting out all those bad habits and replacing them with new desirable attributes.

But wait a minute then comes January 15th, and we realize we are still waisting too much time watching TV eating Cheetos and Valentine's day candy and those exercise videos that were ordered and rushed to us for the beginning of the new year are still unopened on the TV console. That's when I start to loath the month of January and I realize I hate change... I liked me and my bad habits just the way we are. And besides last year wasn't so bad, and there always is another year just around the corner.

But then again the guilt starts creeping in and it's not just the bad habits that start to bug, it's the lack of being the person I know I can be and should be. A little more patient (especially with my one-year-old), and little less critical of people (especially those at church), and a little more thoughtful towards family members whom I take for granted day after day.

So this year, my new year's resolution is to not hate January so much but embrace the month of change and the opportunity for starting over again and again. So here's starting today, January 28th to making 2011 the best year of my life.

My attitude was somewhat changed when my husband showed me this video he shared with the teachers quorum last week. I will try really hard to not procrastinate this year and not get discouraged when somedays I do because I am completely exhausted from chasing around a very head-strong one-year-old! Thank you Elder Eyring for putting everything into perspective like you always do.

Merrily, merrily on our way to Grandma's House

We spent Christmas in Idaho this year. We were so excited to escape the rain for some brisk winter air:) Actually we do enjoy getting out of Southern California for a bit to experience winter--and Idaho was good to us this year with mild temperatures and very little snow.

Jack was in heaven for a week exploring Grandma's house and getting into EVERYTHING! He also thoroughly enjoyed the horses. He kept track of them all day long and loved to feed them.

He enjoyed being around all his cousins. Here's how our Christmas Eve broke down.

That morning he and dad enjoyed a good read of the Pocatello Journal.

After some good napping and lunch all his cousins came over for some Christmas cheer.

All of them were anxious to open their Christmas PJ's so we did not let a minute go by after dinner for them to rip into their packages.

We were then entertained with the nativity acted out by all the cousins. Jack is an Angel donning his new BYU PJ's.

We also were treated with some great music and a lesson. Jack thinks it is necessary to always lead the music wherever we are.

He was pretty tuckered out after the night's festivities. And Christmas morning was so much fun with him finally being able to rip open all the packages under the tree.

Even with all these new toys, we couldn't keep Jack out of his favorite drawer at Grandma's. He thought those pens, pencils, and keys were just fascinating.

We had a wonderful time with family again this year and wish we lived closer so we could be with everyone more often.

Snips and Snails and Puppy-Dog Tails

Yes, this is a post about snails and boys, because that is what little boys are made of.

I don't know why, but Carlsbad, CA has a lot of snails on the sidewalks, especially after a good rain. This is what our pumpkins looked like right before Halloween.

Well yesterday I was outside with Jack, and it was a beautiful sunny day. I sat down on our step inside the house and was watching Jack play in the dirt. Well his back was facing me so I couldn't quite see what he was doing in the dirt but assumed he was just playing with rocks since he LOVES rocks as do most little boys. As most mothers learn quickly, you never trust an extremely quiet child for more than a few minutes. I got up to just verify it was rocks that was entertaining Jack so well. Nope, not rocks! He was torturing a slimy snail. Yes, he had smashed the little dude's shell and was squishing and pulling apart the snail and thoroughly enjoying the slime on his hands. It was like he was pulling that snail between his fingers like taffy. I'm just glad he didn't try to eat it like taffy. And just know, that snail secrete the stickiest slime that doesn't come off with soap and water. It took a good ten minutes of scrubbing his hands in soap and water and then alcohol to get that slime off!