The Johnson Clan

We spent the majority of the week of Christmas with the Johnson's, and I am so glad we did. Although I have always loved them and loved spending time with them, being with them for a week has really made me feel like an integrated part of the family.  On Saturday, Jenny, Clayton, Jenny's friend Charlotte, Charlotte's husband (who's name I can't quite remember), and I went to Jake's Archery Range. Clayton and I have been wanting to go there for some time to test out our bow and arrow skills. It was a little shaky at first, but we weren't too bad! In fact, by the end, the majority of our shots were on the target paper. It was really cool, and I think we will try it again sometime. On Sunday everyone went to Scott and Kathy's ward, after which we went home and hung out all day. Tommy and Annie came home on Saturday, so we had a mini Christmas with them Sunday afternoon. Then in the evening we celebrated Clayton's birthday with burgers, pu...

Finals were more stressful this semester than they usually are. It might have been because there were so many, or because my classes are getting harder, or because I've done the finals week routine enough times that it's getting old. The best part of the week was actually Sunday night. Clayton and I had just woken up from a nap when we heard someone knocking on our door. Clayton went to go get the door, and minute later Emma was jumping on my bed! Man was I shocked (and super happy) to see her. Apparently Clayton had known for a while that she was going to be up in Utah for the weekend, and they schemed together to surprise me. We didn't really do anything, just sat on my couch and talked for a couple hours, but it was so fun. I love her. After finals were over we deep cleaned our whole apartment. At BYU all the single housing students have cleaning checks at the end of every semester. Married housing doesn't do it, or at least ours doesn't, but we figured ...

As an LDS member, I celebrated my 21st birthday a little differently than your average bear. There were no clubs, drugs, or alcohol. Instead I ate a lot of really good food, saw a bunch of friends, and finally saw Catching Fire.  Every year since I've moved to Utah (3 years ago) I have gone out to breakfast with my friends to Kneaders on my birthday for the french toast. It is to die for. I never go to that bakery any other day of the year, only on my birthday, so that it stays special. So, this morning Clayton and I met up with my friends Maria and Zach to go to Kneaders. It was actually Maria's birthday too. Twins. As usual, it was delicious. Belly aching from being too full delicious.  After breakfast, Clayton and I went up to campus to study. Finals are just around the corner, so taking a whole day off is a little stressful. There is just too much to do. Four hours later, we came out of the library, went home, cleaned our apartment, and then the Brandts came...

This semester Clayton and I took a class together called the History of Creativity. Basically it just goes through every major civilization in the pre 1500 era, what inventions and big ideas were present during that time, and the rise and fall of the empires. It was pretty cool. Unfortunately it was scheduled to be once a week for two and a half hours. Consequently, we never went to it. At the beginning of the semester when we did make an effort to go we just fell asleep every time, and so we decided it wasn't worth it. We're both doing really well in the class though, so I don't feel bad about our poor attendance.  This past Monday we had projects due that counted for a third of our total grade. I designed a Romanesque style church, and Clayton made the Taj Mahal out of shadows. They both turned out pretty cool. That evening we went to the class for the first time in months because some students chose to perform their projects.  We had someone play the bag pi...

When I was little my family went to the Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, Texas to see the Nutcracker ballet. The Bass Hall was one of my favorite buildings ever. I thought it was so majestic. The carpets were red velvet, there were swooping staircases, and the ceiling was painted like the sky. Women wore sparkly evening gowns and men wore slick black suits. It was beautiful. I remember wearing my favorite church dress and sitting next to my sisters on the front row of one of the balconies. I felt so sophisticated.  One of my dreams was to play with one of my orchestras at the Bass Hall. When we lived in Texas I was part of the Fort Worth Youth Symphony, and after I had left they actually did perform there. Imagine my envy. Today as I was taking a shower, I was day dreaming about performing in the Bass Hall. Sometimes I get a little carried away in my shower dreams. As I opened the shower curtain, I was smiling and waving to my audience at the conclusion of my spe...

The day after Thanksgiving we decided that we had had enough of Provo, and it was time to take a mini vacation. Our friend Nathan lives up in Rigby, as do the Woods and the Bishops, and they invited us to come up for a few days over the weekend. So we packed our bags, grabbed some oranges for the road, and drove four hours up to Idaho. It's not far, but just far enough to let you feel like you've left the Utah bubble.  That evening we went to the National Forest about an hour north of Rigby to cut down a christmas tree for the Hardyman home.  When we got back to the house Nathan's dad, Paul, made a Thanksgiving dinner 2.0. Apparently they had Thanksgiving at their extended family's house, which meant that they didn't have any left overs. So, they cooked a whole turkey and all the usual sides just so that they could have left overs. I thought it was such as great idea that I wanted to cook a turkey too, and then I remembered that I have no idea h...