Dinner time at the Johnson home

Glimmering Light after the "Summer of Darkness"

Yes, there is life after the BAR exam. I did not collapse into a study induced coma. What once seemed to be an everlasting summer of stress and studying, (hence "Summer of Darkness") the Johnson's have emerged out the other side happy and free like Andy Dufrain and the Shawshank redemption. Here is a taste of what we have been up to since that day.

Shortly after the exam, I played in a golf tournament with my co-workers. I am pleased to have shot . . . a score that will remain unstated.

We then spent a couple weeks in Utah. While we were there we tried to fit in as much stuff as possible. Here are the highlights:

• Kristin and I went to Lagoon. Kristin ran around like a kid in a candy shop. I got sick. (No kids!)
  
• Kristin and I went boating with her parents. I got burned. Kristin got fried. (No kids!)
• All four of us went wave running with Kristin's family. Owen loved to idle around the no wake zone and then hit the gas for 1 second at a time.
• We went to Costa Vida. (Always a highlight).
• Tree house museum.
• Fat Katz arcade.
  
• Street tacos in Ogden.
• Plenty of dinners with my family.
• Lots of visits with friends.
• Hit some golf balls at Wolf Creek.
• Hiking in North Fork Park with my family.
• Thought we lost Parker the dog.
• During a girls night, Blake and Grandpa did not equal one good mom. (Ella ended up in a dishtowel diaper, while Parker ate her poopy disposable one.)
• Weber County Fair
• Family Reunion with the my family.
• Temple trip to Bountiful Temple.
• Photo shoot with my family.
• Photo shoot on another day with just our kids.
• Ella's birthday parties. (One with my family, one with Kristin's)

We love visiting family. Here are a couple of pics. Any of them that actually look good were probably taken by my brother. Thanks Kelly.

Owen at Dallin's birthday party

Ella eating birthday cake at Grandma and Grandpa Eller's

Girl's Night Out

Owen and Blake sharing a corndog at the fair

Visiting our good friends, the Ipson's

When all else fails...

..clean your sink.

Even if nothing else gets done today, my sink looks awesome!

 

All Growed Up

After 11 years of use, I find it time to retire my old backpack.  Yes, I got this backpack for free in high school from the kindly folk at JanSport.  Yes, I believe those shiny straps on the bottom are for skis.  I don't ski.  It has been a great, albeit too large, backpack for 11 years.  No rips on the whole thing, except for where Parker ate some straps.  Luckily, she is in good condition, so she will spend her retirement going camping and going to the beach.  Relax blue backpack, you earned it. 

Look how tired she looks.

Enter, new brown bag.

No longer a student, I felt the need to use a bag that didn't come with an internal hydration bladder.  Going for something a little classier, I opted for this beauty.  Actually, this was a gift to me from my parents for graduation.  With sleek lines, supple leather, and triple gusset construction, the road looks bright for brown bag and me.  So when you see me flexing my skills in court or on the street, don't forget ol' blue that took me here.

Congrats Blake

Tomorrow Blake will be graduating from law school and I couldn't be more proud of him. He is very humble about his accomplishments, but he has worked so hard to get good grades and gain experience, and it has paid off immensely. The firm that he has been working for is very interested in hiring him on as an Associate. We feel so grateful for this experience and even though it has been a rough 3 years, it has been worth it. Congratulations on all your hard work at school. I love you babe, you are a wonderful husband and father.

Another fun project

Just wanted to post a few pictures of a book page wreath I finished recently. In case you're interested, this is where I found the tutorial.

Say what?

I still can't believe it myself, but I actually started and finished a DIY project in the SAME DAY! Maybe that's not a big deal for some of you, but it is for me. I would be too embarrassed to tell you how many different projects I have that are half way done. Some of them sit for months...maybe a year before they get finished or finally thrown out.
Anyway, here is my creation. I'm not a huge fan of natural wood and my knife block has always kind of bugged me, so I found a solution for the problem on this blog, and felt like I needed to copy it.

Before

After

What do you think? Better? I think so.
(Except now my knives look old and faded.)

Here is what I used: 2 flat black coats and 1 light misting of the oil rubbed bronze color.

(Plus wood filler for the stamp on the front.)