Johnson Family Reunion

We're fully recovered from the non-stop excitement that was the Johnson Family Reunion this June, so it's time to look at back and re-live some of the highlights.

photo copyright - racheljonesphotos.com

Only room for 2 on Grandpa's lap for story time?  That won't stop some curious grand-kids.

A lot of people think the best part of the NASCAR Bristol Motor Speedway tour is after you get 'out' of the transport van.  We make a strong case here for the opposite.

Warrior's Path, Watauga Lake, Steele Creek . . . did we hike enough that week?  It depends on who you ask.  These kids can really hit the hills though, by anyone's standard.

Craft time was a big hit.  There's nothing quit so fun as customizing your own fidget spinner.

No reunion is complete without a dose of memory lane embarrassment.  Love that perm, Michelle!

Thanks for coming to Tennessee - see ya'll in 2 years!

Vacation to Utah

We took the family out to Utah for Royce & Harly's wedding and lots of extended-family fun.  I think that there is nothing as thrilling as luggage and kids on public transportation. Here we are having a great time!

We got to visit with my Grandma Johnson in Salt Lake. The kids are clutching their new treasures from their Great-grandmother's collections.

We got to try out a new hike nearly everyday around the Sandy mountainsides with Celeste & Skye. It was so nice to smell the crisp air of the desert mountains and climb over rocks.

Our favorite hike was up the Temple Quarry site. So many rocks to jump on, and so many mountain goats to impersonate!   You might be able to tell we never did really see any mountain goats; we've got a lot of improving to do on our impersonations.

And the real reason we went to Utah --- Congratulations to Royce and Harly! Here are all the cousins together in front of the Provo City Temple.

And here are our kids in the fountain. It was so hot that I thought it wouldn't hurt them to get a little wet and cool off. The great news is that no one fell in, although Carl was unusually wet by the time we headed home.

So much fun in so packed into such a short time.  I don't know when we'll get so many cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents and grandkids in one place again!

Summer Food

The best thing I ever did was teach the kids how to decorate their own cakes. I do have to approach my desserts with half-closed eyes now. That is a serious riot of color.

Another brilliant idea I had was to teach the kids how to make salsa. We only had one minor mishap involving a knife and a finger. Now they cut bell peppers with butter knives (by choice).

We managed to grow some potatoes this year even though our gardening strategy left something to be desired. Maybe we planted them and then totally ignored them. No watering, no weeding and no singing to the plants. I don't know how they survived without the last one.

We were really successful at growing zucchini. This "little" friend was waiting for us when we got back from a vacation to Utah. We tried to disguise it as a doll and give it to Amber. She wasn't fooled.

The grapes did really well and made for a fun harvest and I got to use my juicer.