The Great Western Adventure!! Good Ride Cowboys!!!

Hey everyone! Its Taylor doing this post, and i think that i will do alright. Lets see...

Last week we went to Birdseye and rode horses. Me and Baylee got to ride first, and we took over an hour with Weston out in the sagebrush on the hunting grounds. After, we dismounted (got off for all you non-horsey-people) and ate some yummy pizza and brownies made by Richard's wife, Melanie.

We even got my mom to ride the Beautiful mule, Action -The one with HUGE ears-. When she swung around to try to get on, she almost flew off in the other direction. Richard had to catch her by her leg and pull her back on.

(The Sorrel/Chestnut -reddish orange- is Peaches, and the Bay-dark brown with black- is Stormy, and as you know, the bay one -with the long ears- is Action)

My mom teased my dad so much that he couldn't ride a horse, that he eventually gave up and mounted Action and walked her around the long pen.
To add to the fun, we put the horses in the round pen and Richard gathered up some cows and had all the little kids chasing them trying to touch one. If i can get this video thing to work, you will see Payton's sprint isn't even close to that cow's trot.

Meanwhile, me and Baylee and Kelsea were on the beautiful horses in the round pen. and again, if i can't get the video to work, i'm going to scream. ha-ha. Well whenever Action sped up, if you can view the video, then you can see that i sped her up and the others followed.

well we all got really tired, and it was really fun. my dad said it was like disneyland to us kids. only less expensive. :) Ha-Ha. well, that's all for this post.

Just Trying to Keep Our Eyes on the Ball

I just love that picture. It was taken after the U's Spring Game, but more about that later. I hope that everyone has not given up on me and my quest to keep this blog updated. I would make up some excuse as to why it has been so long between posts, like the fact that Taylor is always on the computer, or that life has been really busy, or that I spend all of my time on Facebook (I have never been on Facebook), or some other excuse that would explain my absence from the blogging world. But the fact is that simply I have dropped the ball, and for that I apologize. I don't know who I am actually apologizing to, but I really am sorry.

Now comes the part where I try and fit almost seven months worth of news into one post. Here goes nothing. By the way I just noticed that the U button on my keyboard is sticking.....Taylor!!!!

In March we celebrated Baylee's Birthday. Instead of having a friend party she decided that she wanted to "sluff" school and go to breakfast and to a movie with her Mom and Grandma. I don't officially condone the sluffing of school, but she did have a great time.

In April we looked forward to the start of Spring and again participated in the MS walk in Provo. It was a great day, and the rain even held out until we finished. I am not sure of the total number of people that walked in our group, but I think that it was around 50. We are so grateful for all of the family and friends that came out to support Deborah in her fight. We feel your love and prayers, and are grateful for all of you. I can't find the pictures that were taken on that day, but I do know that Deb posted them on her facebook page.

Johnson Tire celebrated it's 85th anniversary in April. All of us received red shirts that we wore to the big party. It's amazing that a family business has lasted that long without all of us killing each other. The kids had fun eating hot dogs and playing in the tires.

We celebrated Easter as a family, and Grandma Chris had her traditional egg hunt with her favorite people on earth (notice that I am not in the picture).

The Spring game for the University of Utah was also in April. I took the kids, at least the three that like me, and we went to the game. It was a lot of fun. The kids enjoyed being with a lot of their cousins, and they liked meeting the players on the field after the game. All of the players were so nice. The kids stood in line for autographs, and talked with the players. I think that their favorites were meeting Coach Whit and Robert Johnson.

Payton thinks that we may be related to Robert, but I am not so sure.

Look at the picture below and you make the decision.

In May we all got ready for school to get out. The kids all did well and made it on to the next grade. Baylee and Taylor will both be with me at Mapleton Jr. next year. Baylee is excited, and I think that Taylor is just trying to tolerate it for one more year until she is officially in high school. That is scary.

By the end of the month of May and the beginning of June we were heavily involved in activities. Payton played tee-ball, and Kelsea decided to try softball this year. Baylee and Taylor kept busy watching kids and getting ready for Girls Camp, which they seemed to enjoy.

Grandma and Grandpa Johnson were the Grand Marshall's of the Art City Days Parade.

They insisted on ditching the traditional convertible for a fire truck that they could share with their great grandchildren.

The roses in our yard started to bloom, and Taylor took some really cool pictures. Payton did not want his picture taken with stupid flowers, so she was kind and took one of him under the neighbors tree.

June seemed to fly by like it usually does. We took a few trips to see my mom at Shadow Mountain (no pictures, forgot the camera). Payton has decided that when he grows up he wants to teach school so that he can work there. We also took a trip one evening to the Manti Pageant. It was a late night, but a lot of fun (can't take pictures if you don't have a camera). It was nice to spend an evening with the family talking about spiritual things. We need to do that more.

Now it is July. Softball and tee-ball are over (thank heavens). It finally stopped raining, but has turned hot, and our little house does not have central air. We spend most evenings out in the yard enjoying the shade of Grandpa Earl's (our neighbor) tree while watching his flowers bloom. We enjoy our ward, and the kids have made some good friends.

All in all, we feel blessed. We have a roof over our heads, and I am pretty sure that no one has ever gone to bed hungry unless they chose to. Deborah has started going to another doctor who has changed her medication, and she seems to be doing better. It is nice to see her enjoying life again.

Well, I think that is about it. It is 1:15am, and I am ready to go to sleep. I don't know how Danielle Thompson does it. I will try and do a little better at keeping things current, but I am not making any promises. One thing that I will promise is that I am going to do all I can to make some memories with my family in the month of Summer that we have left. I will keep you posted....maybe.

Scott

M.S. Walk -ONE STEP AT A TIME

I have the best family. They have been so supportive of me and my family. In Feb of '08 I was diagnosed with M.S. Shortly after that, I learned of the M.S. walk in Provo. I called Scott's family and my family and friends to see if they would help raise money and join us on the 3 mile walk. Most of Scott's brothers and sisters brought their families to walk. His mom and my mom were also there to support us. One of my childhood friends that I hadn't seen or talked to since high school came with her daugher and dog. Many other family members who could not make it made donations to the MS foundation. It was a great day, and it showed me that I am not alone in my struggle. It meant so much to me. I tear up every time I think about it. We had so much fun, and we all agreed to try and make it an annual event. My brother in law Riley was all pumped up about getting matching shirts next time we walked.

Well, that time has come. The walk this year is April 25th, in Provo. If anyone is interested in walking with us ( its only 3 miles, very easy walk ) you can go to my web page and sign up, we would love to have anyone who can come. My web page is http://main.nationalmssociety.org/goto/deborah.fisk.johnson the password is deborahjohnson. I again want to thank my family and friends who came to walk with me and who support me every day. I love you all, I couldn't ask for a better family. Love Deborah. :)

I've Been Tagged

Here is my (Scott) Top 5 Addictions:

5. 24--I love that show. I have to admit that a whole year off made me a little worried, but I am glad that Jack Bauer is back making sure that I am safe. He is one bad dude.

4. The Office--"That's what she said". This show really makes me laugh. I start laughing when they show Dwight in the intro and I don't stop until the show is over.

3. Chili-Cheese Nachos from 7-11. I know it sounds gross, but there is really nothing better after midnight than stale nachos with chili, nacho cheese, and jalapeno peppers. I always pay for it the next morning, but I always seem to go back for more.

2. Utah Football--At the risk of making half of my family mad. I hope that I am not one of those "rub it in your face" fans, but I have watched the Byu game and the Sugar Bowl at least 20 times each. Every time I watch it the Utes win and I am happy. I don't think that being a Ute fan will keep me out of heaven, will it?

1. Diet Coke--I only need it to make my headaches go away. Being a Ute fan may not keep me out of heaven, but this little, okay big, vice just might. My goal during the year was to drink less diet Coke this year than I did last year. So far no good. Sometimes when I feel guilty about all of the diet Coke that I drink I will repent and have a diet Pepsi. Hey, I am a work in progress.

I am not sure how this stupid Tag thing works, but I now tag Tim Thompson, Kyle Johnson, Kalli, Todd Jackson, and Marthea Jackson. If you have already been tagged just relax and have a nice cold diet beverage for me.

Merry Christmas--Our Grateful List

First of all I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season. We just returned home from my sisters house and the annual Christmas Eve dinner. Pictures will come later. In an effort to try and get a little of the Christmas Spirit into our home, I asked each family member to share with each other what they were most grateful for. Here is the answers they gave: (In exact words)

Taylor: Um, I think it would be that my family talks to me about a lot of stuff and they reassure me about a lot of stuff too. I say "stuff" a lot.

Baylee: Our family, this house, and all of our great neighbors.

Kelsea: I am thankful for my parents, and everyone who loves me.

Payton: I am thankful for everyone that loves me and supports me.

Deborah: My family

Scott: I am just thankful that I am surrounded by people that I love

Merry Christmas and Go Utes!!!!!!!

Long Time Coming

I know, I know. Quit your complaining and belly-aching. I have not updated the blog for a while...a long while. I would promise to do better, but we all know that would be a promise broken eventually. Besides, no one leaves messages for me so how do I know that people actually read the blog in the first place?

Life has been hectic since soccer season ended. Here is a list of some of the events along with some pictures that have happened over the time since I last posted:

1. Deer Hunt with the cousins--no the guns aren't loaded...I think

2. A few days and glorioUs nights spent at Utah football games

3. Family Halloween parties--Sorry Kyle but I had to post the picture of your girl

4. The big move from the house on Eldorado Drive

5. The renting of a house about 1/3 the size of our old one

6. Hanging up the Christmas lights and putting up the tree

Life has been hectic. It has been hard to sell a home that we built and thought we would spend the rest of our lives in. Saying goodbye to the friends that we made and to neighbors that we love was difficult. But what we have realized is that the things that matter most in life are still with us. Those things are our Faith and our Family. Our new neighborhood is fantastic. Our home, although small, is comfortable. And we have some of the nicest neighbors that you could ask for. I thank my Heavenly Father everyday for all that we have been blessed with.

The Season Comes to an End!!!! YEA!!!

It is now official. Soccer season is finally over. It ended tonight with Payton's last game. Kelsea and Baylee also played soccer this year, and each of them did really well. Baylee is a good player. She can kick the ball a mile when she gets a hold of it. She is a team player who likes to pass the ball to others and watch them score as much as she likes scoring herself. She had one of the prettiest goals of the season. She knows how to "Bend it like Beckham." Kelsea also did well. She was on a team with some of the girls in the neighborhood. I was always impressed at how much energy she had. She loves to run around. This year she was more aggressive than in past years. At times she really took it to the other team. She also had a great game winning goal that we celebrated. Hopefully there are more to come.

Payton played Cub Soccer for the third and final year. He was on a team with four of his cousins. His games were definitely a family affair. He did really well. One game we quit counting after he scored his 12th goal. I think that he really enjoyed this year. The pictures included in the blog are of his game tonight. The lady in the yellow shirt is Nancy, I told her she would be famous because she is on my blog. The rest of the pictures are just of the game and the fam.

It got really cold tonight. It is hard to believe that another season is in the rear-view mirror. The kids are already talking basketball. So I guess it is time to put away the soccer uniforms, shin-guards, cleats, and socks. Hopefully when we get them out of storage next year they still fit somebody. Congratulations kids on a great year. It is always nice to see you involved in good things.