Friday, December 16, 2011

Carter is 9. Egads.

It is Carter's 9th birthday today. I can't believe it. I can't believe how much has changed since he was born. He is a great kid. Whether he is skiing, playing video games, soccer games, basketball games, running everywhere and anywhere, working on his math facts, etc...he does it with a gusto. He is just a good kid. He wants to be friends with anyone...whether the other kid is a boy or girl, 5 years old or 9 years old, it doesn't matter - you just need to be a kid that wants to have fun and he is happy.



I love listening to him talk to his brother and friends. Recent conversations include:
To his younger brother Becks: 'Did you know that 95% of kids don't eat enough whole grain?' Yeah, I bet you all didn't know that unless you happen to read the back of cereal boxes.

He was talking with Friend Z and both were trying to figure out what a Check was. You know, a check that you pay people with. They couldn't decide if it was money or just paper that you would give to someone to let them know how much you thought something was worth...but they couldn't really do anything with that paper. They were both very confused, yet discussed it with each other for 10 minutes.

He was running around the block several times this past week. He came running inside and was 'working out' by running around, doing pushups and jumping jacks, etc. He informed me that girls like boys that are 'super fit.' He then told me that yes, he was in fact, super fit.

So, he got to pick out what to do today. Breakfast at McDonalds...Donuts at school...an afternoon of skiing up at Brighton...dinner at Chuck A Rama (his choice) or hopefully, a Wings place (my choice!) and then finally a Utes basketball game. Yep, he likes to party all day long.





Carter - you are a great little buddy. I can't wait to see what you do with your life.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Free glass and crummy spelling

So, being the terrific dad that I am, I took the boys to McDonalds last night. They have a deal where you can get a free glass Diet Coke glass if you buy a meal. Who could pass up such a great deal? I got the meal and the free drinking glass. Carter then enthusiastically proclaimed, 'All we need are 3 more glasses and our lives will be complete.' Yep, 4 Diet Coke glasses = life fulfilled.

And I saw this on the news the other night. The injustice done to reporter Marcos Ortiz was immense with this story. First they spelled his first name wrong and spelled it: 'Marocs'...yeah, thats not his name. And second, under his name it says 'Bound and Beaten.' Yeah, this was not the tv editor's finest hour.

Monday, November 21, 2011

soccer season

Carter finished up his Fall soccer season a few weeks ago. He plays with his Impact Academy team so they are forced to play up a year in age level, so his team of 3rd graders are playing 4th graders. They finished the season at 4-3-1. They lost two of their games by 1 goal. The boys they are playing are bigger and faster, so it has been fun to see how his team adjusts for that. Carter played defense for most of the year and he likes it because he gets to protect his goalie. I need to learn how to not care so much...egads, I am not a yeller, but I will walk up and down that sideline about 200 times during a game.



He is playing on the Academy winter team which means indoor practices twice a week and games on Saturdays. We are trying to figure out how he can fit in everything this winter with soccer, basketball and skiing. Oh to be a kid again where your worries are how to fit in so much fun all the time.

Friday, November 11, 2011

11.11.11.11:11

Today is: 11/11/11. And I posted it at 11:11.

Egads, I am a dork.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Cool Awesome Hair, just like a Vampire

I have never quite known what to do with my hair. It has stayed the same for 30 years. But I found the answer that I have been seeking...hair like Edward. Edward the Sparkling Vampire. What is even stranger about this all, I saw this Hair Straightener at Best Buy. Yes, while looking for a camera, I found a Hair Straightener. Let me just say - Brodi is going to struggle to keep her hands off of me when I show off my new 'do.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Egads, Bees on the Loose

Few things scare me. Few things make me nervous. Except for Bees. For whatever reason, I see a bee come close to me and I will run away screaming like a little school girl. I was stung a lot growing up. Yes, the bee stings are relatively painful...but nowhere near painful enough to cause the reaction that I give when I see a bee come remotely close to me. I can't explain it, but a tiny little yellow bee scares me more than a zombie would if it was chasing me.

So, when I see that a semi truck hauling an estimated 25 million (yes, 25 MILLION!!!) bees overturns down near St. George, I break out in a cold sweat. Here is the terrifing article: KSL It is safe to see that I will not be traveling down south anytime soon. Seriously, 25 million bees? I bet half of them are killer bees. Not many escaped, but poor residents of St. George.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Burial, in pictures

Brodi put up a great post on her blog on my Uncle Glendon's burial. So, I thought I would include a link to her post. I love the pictures from that day: Brodi's blog

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Uncle Glendon Johnson

My Uncle Glendon passed away this weekend. He was my dad's brother and he was 87 years old. He has been in fabulous shape all of his life until the past year or so when he had a stroke, which slowed him down a bit but about 3 weeks ago, he started getting really sick. But, it has been a great few weeks as we have been able to spend some time with him and talking with him. He had many visitors over the past couple of weeks (President Monson, Elder Nelson and others) and he would always become animated and excited to see more of his friends and family who he could talk to...it was great seeing him with my dad and his sister just talking and being there for him.

I thought over my life and Glendon played a large role in it. I started mowing his lawn and taking care of his house since I was a teenager He supported me on my mission. I got to drive his Porsche, Lancia, BMW and other cars over the years. Brodi and I had our wedding dinner at his house. We spent many holidays swimming at his pool. We spent every Thanksgiving down at his ranch for the past 15 years. Several Sundays every month, our boys got to go down to his house and drop off food with their cousins and say Hi. He truly lived a great life and will be loved and missed by all of those that have ever met him.

Glendon Johnson


Glendon Elwood Johnson
1924 ~ 2011
Glendon Elwood Johnson, 87, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, as well as noted attorney, businessman, rancher, and friend of all who knew him, passed away October 9, 2011, in Salt Lake City, Utah, surrounded by his family. He was born in Cleveland, Utah, on Feb. 19, 1924, to Ivan and Hildur Johnson.

Throughout his stellar career, people always came first, and those who were fortunate to know him in business and civic service, in church callings, or on a ranch, soon felt the embrace of a man who showed them in word and deed how much he loved them. His leadership style was to choose the best people and then give them a loose rein to do what they did best. He used to tell friends that he grew up on the back of a horse and never sold his saddle-his way of saying that despite his successes, he never left his cowboy roots behind.

Glendon attended East High School where he was editor of the school newspaper and valedictorian at his graduation in 1941. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a BS degree in 1948 from the University of Utah, where he was on the championship debate team and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity. In 1973, the university awarded him their Distinguished Alumnus Award.

In World War II, Glendon attended Army Officer Candidate School and taught small arms combat before being stationed in Europe. He served a church mission to New England, and upon his return, married his college sweetheart, Bobette Heppler Peterson, in the Salt Lake Temple on Aug. 15, 1949.

Glendon attended Harvard Law School on the National Prize scholardship and, following graduation in 1952, Glendon clerked for Henri Henroid of the Utah Supreme Court. In his spare time, he helped his father break horses.

In 1954, Senator Wallace Bennett asked Glendon to come to Washington, D.C. to be his Administrative Assistant. For the next four years, Glendon worked on Capitol Hill.
In 1958, Glendon moved the family back to Salt Lake City where he joined the law firm of Ray, Rollins, Jones, and Henderson. But a year later, he returned to Washington to become vice president and general counsel of the American Life Convention of Washington D.C. This began a respected and trailblazing career in the life insurance industry that included serving as President of Great Southern Life Insurance Company in Houston, Texas; President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of American National Insurance Company in Galveston, Texas; and President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of John Alden Life Insurance Company in Miami, Florida.
Glendon has also been President of the Health Insurance Association of America and the chairman of the Joint Committee on Social Responsibility for the Life Insurance Business. He served as Director of Waddell Reed Advisors Retirement Shares, Inc. since 1971 and was Chairman Emeritus of the Wellness Council of America.

Throughout his long career, Johnson received numerous awards for his leadership and public service. A member of the national executive board of the Boy Scouts of America, Johnson was awarded the Silver Buffalo Award, scouting's highest commendation for distinguished service to youth.

In his later years, Glendon continued his life-long love of the range as Chairman of Castle Valley Ranches, a working cattle ranch, and Castle Valley Outdoors, a hunting, wingshooting, and fishing operation in Emery, Utah.

Johnson was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and among his many church callings, he served as Stake President of the Houston Texas Stake and as a Regional Representative.

He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Bobette Johnson; son Glendon E. "Woody" Johnson, Jr.; daughter-in-law Page; grandchildren Jennifer Champoux (Mark); Erin Stewart (Kyle); Katie Critchfield (Matt); great-grandchildren Justin and Brooke Champoux, Ellie and Avery Stewart; sisters Joyce Taylor and Genevieve Knudsen Gowans; brothers Marvin Johnson and Franklin Johnson; and numerous loving nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his son, Eric "Shad" Johnson and his daughter, Tawny Bobette Johnson; his sister LaVerne Briggs, and brother Clifton Johnson.

Funeral services will be at noon, Thursday, Oct. 13, 2011, Monument Park 16th Ward Chapel, 1320 South Wasatch Drive, Salt Lake City, Utah. Friends may visit the family at Larkin Sunset Lawn Mortuary, situated near the chapel at 2350 East 1300 South, Wednesday evening from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. They may also visit Thursday at the chapel from 10:30 to 11:40 a.m. Interment will be Friday at the Johnson Ranch in Sevier County, Utah.

Condolences may be shared at www.larkincares.com. Donations can be made in Glendon's memory to the Boy Scouts of America at www.scouting.org.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Random Tuesday

A couple of random things: On Sundays at church, I get to help out in the nursery with all of the little kids. As a result, I get to play with the Legos. This is what I built. I wanted to take it all the way to the ceiling, but the little troublemakers busted it up. I do have to say - my Lego building skills are nearly as good as Carter's skills.

Brodi and I went out to a restaurant and this was the ridiculous scene I came upon in the restroom. Seriously? The handles on the sink were less than an inch big. I need to have hands like a 5-year old to be able to turn on the water. I get style. This wasn't it.

Fall has arrived. I guess it means that I can no longer walk shirtless around the neighborhood. It also means some cold Saturday morning soccer games. Time just seems to go too fast sometimes.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Long Hauled in Vegas (and thats not naughty talk)

So Brodi and I went down to Las Vegas and partied for a few days celebrating that she has finished the initial draft of her second book of the Everneath series. We stayed at the Wynn Resort on the strip. It is a great place...I looked into it and realized how insane money spending is at times. It cost almost $3 billion to build it. Are you frakkin' kidding me? But when you have a golf course, 1600 seat arena, huge casino, two hotels with 60 stories (We got to stay on the 58th floor), but sheesh...that is oodles of money.




We spent the couple of days hanging out at the pool, winning huge on the nickel slots (hello, we raked in $6...that is not a typo, $6...its like the Wynn casino paid us to stay here with winnings like that), seeing Le Reve production which was pretty amazing with dancing, acrobatics, etc., and a fabulous albeit too expensive steak dinner, along with lots of other side things like visiting a Tab-less CokeWorld. It was a nice relaxing trip.



When we arrived in Vegas, we took a taxi to our hotel. I hadn't flown in to Vegas in years, since I worked for the government. I couldn't remember how much it cost. Well, it was $38 and it seemed to take a lot longer than I remembered. We then took a taxi on our way home and we we took a whole new way to the airport. I was a bit confused at first, but Brodi caught on...we got to the airport and it cost us $14. I asked our taxi driver why it was so much cheaper and he explained that we must have been 'long hauled.' Driven further to get extra money. Nice. It is illegal in Vegas though. I called American Express and explained it to them...they filed their claim and it was settled and I got my money back. Yay for us. Boo for us though to have it happen in the first place.

Monday, September 26, 2011

She left the country


I got this text from Brodi last week: "I'm in Zimbabwe." I was a bit surprised because I had just seen her a few hours earlier. I had gone in to get some dental work (thank you Dr. Dan) and when I came out, I noticed that text. Good thing she clarified though and said she meant 'Zumba.' You gotta love autocorrect. I have to say though, I will be wondering next time I get a text where she says that she is at Zumba if she actually means Zimbabwe.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Butter on a Stick. Sign me up!

You may have seen the stories on this...but the Iowa State fair is offering a tasty treat for everyone. Fried Butter on a stick. Yes, you read that right. Fried Butter on a stick.

You can youtube a video of how they do it, but basically they stick a cube of butter on a stick. Dip into a honey and cinnamon batter and then deep fry it for 3 minutes. The butter pretty much melts into the batter. So you are eating a donut or a scone with a cube of butter melted inside. That could be yours for $4. Or make it at home. Its a party. And it probably only has around 1,000+ calories and nearly 100 grams of fat. It takes quite a treat to make my poptarts look healthy.

Monday, September 12, 2011

World of Coca Cola - WHERE IS MY TAB?

Brodi and I spent a few days (partying it up like it was 1989) in Las Vegas last week. I will post more on the trip later, but I had to talk a bit about our trip to Coca Cola World down there on the Strip.

You walk in this store on the Strip, and it is Coke products everywhere you look. Diet Coke, Coca Cola, etc. I went to a worker and asked him about Tab. He then takes me across the store to a guy and says, Here he is. I then explain to this other Coca Cola worker that I am looking for Tab. He gives me a confused look and says 'I'm Tab.' I was ready to start saying 'Whose on first?' I then clarified that I was looking for Tab cola products. He informs me that they do not have any Tab products (shirts, glasses, etc.) but I can find some online. WHAT? I am at the world famous Coca Cola store and Tab is one of their products and they don't sell any of that stuff in the store. He did say though that I could probably find a bunch of stuff on Ebay. Thanks for that insight, genius.

Brodi and I did try out the Tastes from Around the World. Basically, they fill 16 cups full of Coca Cola's different products from every where (Peru, Mexico, England, China, etc.). We happily tried a bunch. But it nearly killed me. We tried the drink called 'Beverly' from Italy. Egads...truly a horrific experience. It was like liquified black licorice dipped in coffee blends and black tar added to sweeten it. Wowzers it was brutal.



We also went to the huge M&M store right next door. Yes, its chocolate...but not the same awesomeness of Coca Cola World. We did, however, get a bunch of coconut m&m's handed to us about every 10 steps.

Friday, September 9, 2011

So, it begins


It is time for the obligatory 1st day of school pictures. Carter has now started the 3rd grade and Becks has started Kindergarten. Absolutely crazy. It really just seems like yesterday, I was taking them down to a little park to crawl around and play.


Now, they are gone all day. Sheesh.

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Hello Mr. World Peace


Ron Artest is a basketball player. He is an interesting guy, to say the least. Well, you may have heard - he wants to change his name. Good for him. So, what will he change it to: Brad Jones? Jamal Jones? Byron Anderson? Nope, that would be too unlike Ron Artest. He wants to change it to: Metta World Peace. Yes, Metta World Peace. I hope that his lawyer hurries and gets it done as he was just announced as part of the cast in the upcoming Dancing with the Stars. I want to hear them announce him, 'Metta World Peace will be performing the Cha Cha.'


Sunday, August 28, 2011

I'll take 2 pins with that broken arm


Carter broke his arm a couple of weeks ago. He was playing on the monkey bar glider...the little thing you hold on to and you 'slide' across to the other side. Well, it hit the other side and Carter let go and flipped a bit and landed on his arm and broke it right above the elbow. Brodi knew it was broken right away. I was a bit more dense and it took a bit of convincing. We took a quick trip to InstaCare and they x-rayed it and gave us the bad news and sent us up to Primary Childrens for the night. Carter had surgery the next morning.



He now has two good looking pins in his arm to help with the healing process. He plays for Impact Academy, so he has had to miss some practices (they have practice twice a week, for 1.5 hours each practice), but he wasn't going to miss his first game. We had to bubble wrap his arm up to protect the other team from getting hurt by his cast...Carter had a good laugh at that, 'I'm the one with the broken arm and they are worried about getting hurt?' He gets his cast off in a couple of weeks.

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Guest blog post

Hi everyone. I just did a post on Brodi's blog. I can't do two blogs in one day, so you are welcome to head over there. Brodi's blog readers posed some questions and I got to answer those questions: Brodi's blog

Monday, August 15, 2011

Utah Site: Salt Lake City Library

This is another post on things to do in Salt Lake City. You can see our other visits by going here: http://samandbrodi.blogspot.com/search/label/Tourist

I used to work downtown, right across from the Salt Lake City library until we moved on to the East bench last summer. Brodi and the boys would often join me down there after work to hang out at the library. It is a great library and for those of you who were/are fans of Archie Comics, they actually did a comic book storyline on the library. So, for all of those preteens and teenagers of Archie comics, our library is famous.

The boys and I headed down to the library a couple of weeks ago. We try to get down there a few times every summer. The cool part of the library is that there are a ton of things to do just outside. There are several water features spread throughout the side and back of the library as well as bridges, benches and lots of open space to just hang out and read or relax.





Inside, the architecture is very cool. The basement is where all of the kids books are and they have big rooms where kids can hang out and play around in while they read. There are also computers set up in the basement to play computer games or reading games, etc. It is a great setup.







You can roam around the top of the library and get sprawling views of the entire city. You can also head down the big stairs on the outside and continue to get the great views.

If you have a few hours and you haven't been down there with your kids, do it...it is worth a few hours.

Thursday, August 11, 2011

Rain and sexiness

The rainstorms last week caused flooding throughout the valley. I was down at the SportsMall and the parking lot was a lake. Carter decided to go out in it and play around. It all ended up flooding the indoor basketball courts and racketball courts. But at least Carter had fun swimming in the parking lot.








If you ever thought of buying HUGE eyelashes to put on the front lights of your car, don't do it. I haven't decided if it is the stupidest thing that I have ever seen or if it is actually kinda funny. Still, don't do it.

My brother got this shirt for his birthday, '40 isn't usually this sexy.' Yeah, thats pretty awesome. I will be on the lookout for this shirt when I get to that age. So very stylish.

Thursday, August 4, 2011

Don't bother me this weekend, I am eating

You all know I love PopTarts. And lets be honest, who doesn't love poptarts? But I have decided to stay away from them for a while. You can't eat just one...one becomes two and two becomes three and three becomes puking in the sink because you jammed waaayyy too many of them down your throat. So, I haven't had bought any for months.

Brodi goes out of town to a big writers conference in LA. I opened up the newspaper ads and saw this staring at me. A 12 pack of poptarts, which are normally around $3.50 (they are kind of on sale now for only $2.50), are now only $1.50. But I have to buy 10 of them. 120 poptarts. Brodi is gone for about 5 days. That means that I will have to eat 24 a day and there will be no evidence that I ever had those 'tarts. Well, except for me being terribly bloated, sick and 'high' on sugar. But it would be worth it. WON'T IT???????

Sunday, July 31, 2011

Drink Party

We spent last weekend up in Midway and visited the 'famous' Dairy Keen little food joint. They had a fountain machine, for the 21st century! It is cool because there are basically countless options of drinks. You get the standards - pepsi, coke, fanta, etc...but when you click on individual drinks you are given further options to add Vanilla, Lime, Lemon, Raspberry, etc. I think I tried 10 different comboniations. Worst idea? Diet Coke with Orange twist. Egads, what was I thinking. I will say though that I fell in love the Vanilla Root Beer.

Now, I just have to figure out how to buy one of those bad boy machines for our house.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Utah site: Red Butte Hike

Every July 24th, my family does the Alta to Brighton Hike with all of the kids. But with the amount of snow this year, our pathway was going to be blocked by snow...so we improvised and we hiked Red Butte right in the Foothills. This hike is right above the University of Utah and gives you some pretty fabulous views over the whole valley. We also had a pretty good crew of about 20 of us trudging along the trail





About a month ago, there was a fire that went up through the hills. You could still see the scarred mountainside, but it was pretty cool to see how fast the green was coming back. Probably next year, the hill will be well on its way to looking just fine.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

He needs to get NBA ready

Carter likes basketball. He likes to dribble the basketball. When he was 6 years old, he would dribble around our house and he dribbled it 1100 times in a row without messing up. Well, he is now midway through his second straight basketball camp. Last week, he attended the Advantage Basketball camp down at Thanksgiving Point. 9am till 5pm every day. He was one of the younger kids in it (8 years old to 17 years old) but he held his own. He liked it even though it nearly killed him every day. They did have a motivational speaker one of the days and Carter told me, 'It was so boring.' I asked what the speaker said and Carter replied, 'It was just blah, blah blah blah and blah.' Glad he got something out of that.



This week he is at the University of Utah basketball camp. First day at the Huntsman Center, we ran into the new Utah head coach, Larry Krystkoviak (Coach K). Carter introduced himself to the Coach and he then walked all the way around him and he looked up to Coach K and said, 'Wow, I am only as tall as the top of your shorts.' 6 foot 10 inch Coach K laughed. He has had a great time at the camp...he even won a Hustle award and Carter said he also won the 'Niftiest Passer Award for the best passer.' Not sure he won that award but he was happy.

Not that I am putting any pressure on him, but I have told him that I expect nothing less than him being at least a rotational player in the NBA.