The Gauchays

Ethan Thomas Gauchay

2011-04-18T12:31:00.001-07:00

Our Little "E" returned to his Heavenly Father on April 12th. We had the wonderful opportunity to spend 7 wonderful days with his little spirit. It's hard, it's bittersweet. But we will cherish forever the time we were given to be his parents. After a long hard fight, Ethan passed peacefully in our arms. As hard as it was, we will always treasure those last moments with him. We had a beautiful graveside service with family and close friends on Saturday. We're so very grateful for the love and support that we've received through the difficult time in our lives.

I will hold on hope.

I'll find strenghth in pain.

I will change my ways.

I'll know my name as its called again.

For Ethan's Story, scroll down (it's in 5 parts)

Little "E" Part Four

2011-04-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

The next few days were a roller coaster of ups and downs. Every morning brought with it new accomplishments and every night ended with new challenges. Wednesday April 6th After the morning X-rays, the doctors said your lungs were looking much better. Our new doctor, Dr. D, doesn't think you were seizuring yesterday, he thinks that it was just reactions from being born so early and so quickly. The brain scan was sent to a specialist at Primary Childrens hospital. They say there's a possibility your brain isn't bleeding and instead it's just swollen due to the emergency situation of the day before. Today they put a bili light on you. They're worried about you getting jaundice, so they're trying to kick it early. Your little body is all swollen and puffy today because of the fluids they've been pumping into you. Yesterday you weighed 2lbs 7oz and today you weigh 3lbs 2oz. The nurses stimulate you as little as possible so you can be comfortable. They try to touch you only every 6 hours. We figured out their time schedule today so we can be ther to touch you and help them do your tests. Today they let us take your temperature and change your diaper while they were doing their tests. We LOVED to be able to spend that extra time with you. Thursday April 7th You maintained your blood pressure through the night and they've started to take you off your meds! We got back another ultrasound of your brain, this time they're sure there's been some bleeding and we're watching to see the effects and whether or not it's spread. We had a tough talk with your doctor on what this could mean for your little body. The nurses have also discovered some blood in your urine, which means your kidneys and liver are still struggling. Your little body is so swollen with all the extra fluid they've pumped into you. Dad, Rhett and Great Uncle Barry gave you a blessing of health tonight. It was beautiful. You were also given your first "fats" tonight through IV. We call the IV your twinkies..

Friday April 8th

We got back the second brain scan this afternoon. The bleeding stopped and didn't spread. This is a huge positive! Your kidneys are starting to catch up with your body and they're doing awesome now! Grandma Curtis got to spend some special time alone with you today. She's been our angel through this process. We're still watching the effects of the bleeding on your brain and we're still worried about your liver.

Saturday April 9th

The newest tests show that your liver might be doing better. Your lungs are doing better and they've been able to turn down the help you're getting from the oxygen machine. The nurse waited for mom to get there before she changed your diaper. We waited too long and you had peed through the bedding! The nurses don't like this because it means they have to take you out of your incubator, but Mom and Dad loved it, because we got to hold you for a few short minutes while the nurse hurried and changed your blankets. Your swelling has gone down a ton and you're starting to look like a skinny baby again. This is a good sign that your liver and kidneys are doing better.

Tonight was a tough night because we had a blunt talk with the doctor. You're showing signs of improvements in small areas, but they have some big concerns. They've decided to wait until Monday to make any tough decisions. Dad, Grandpa Curtis, Grandpa Tom and Uncle Jeffrey gave you a blessing tonight. We also asked all our family to fast and pray for you tomorrow.

Sunday April 10th

They were able to take you off all your blood pressure meds, but you've started showing signs of seizures again on your monitors. We got to change your bedding again today and weigh you. Mom and Dad got to pick you up and we LOVED it! The nurses are going to start putting extra big (Preemie size) diapers on you today so they won't have to change your bedding again. We talked to Dr. Chan today. The outlook is grim, but we're getting a second opinion tomorrow. They think the reason why you started struggling inside of me is because you somehow got yourself lodged up against the umbilical cord and it started to cut off your supply of oxygen and blood.

Monday April 11th

Today while Mom and Grandma were sitting with you, you started to wiggle your foot. We got so excited that it was a sign of your medications starting to wear off. The doctor told us it was just a muscle twitch. Mom and Dad had a feeling that the doctors would have a hard talk with us today. They did. They're not seeing improvements in the areas that they need to be seeing and they feel like they've done everything they can for you. We had a specialized doctor from Primary Childrens come over and check you out. He thinks they've done everything they can for you too.

It broke Mommy and Daddy's hearts to hear the news. Your nurse got you out of your incubator tonight so we could rock and snuggle you for the first time. We loved every minute of it and we're so grateful for the fight your little body has been giving for us. We had a really hard time leaving you tonight and going home.

Tuesday April 12th

We will always remember this as a bittersweet day. Your grandparents and some aunts and uncles were able to come say their goodbyes and hold you for the first time. It was a wonderful time as everyone took their turn to tell you how much they loved you.

Mom and Dad spent all afternoon with you. We had some pictures taken together that we will cherish forever. We were given the wonderful blessing to hold you and love you as you passed away peacefully in our arms. It was the hardest day of our lives, but we know you're in a better place and your little body is finally at peace.

Little "E" Part Three

2011-04-18T10:00:00.000-07:00

Ethan Thomas Gauchay was born on April 5th at 5:45 PM. He weighed 2 lbs 7oz and was 14inches long.

It seemed to take hours to get any news on what was going on with Ethan. I was getting anxious, as I was laying there being sewn up. I finally started asking how long it would take to get an update on our little guy so our anesthesiologist sent someone out to get answers for us. Though it felt like hours, it was really only 10 minutes before a doctor came in to talk to us about Ethan. The doctor said he wasn't stable yet, but they were doing everything they could. He had started seizuring right after he was delivered and the medical team was trying to get the seizures to stop.

They said they would try and let us see him as soon as possible. After about 45 minutes of being stiched up, I was wheeled back to my room to recover. As soon as we got back in my room, they told Geoffrey he could go in and see Ethan for the first time. He grabbed the camera and took off to see our little guy.

The medical team was still trying to get the seizures to stop while Geoffrey was with him. It took a lot of doses of 2 different powerful medications to finally get them to stop. They were also having trouble with his lungs. They weren't quite big enough to support his little body. He was on a ventilator that was pumping 600 breaths per minute and causing his tiny chest to bounce quickly. The third concern came from an ultrasound they did of his brain. There were some dark areas showing up on the results and doctors were debating whether or not his brain was bleeding.

The doctors thought it was best for me to get to a certain point in my recovery before I would be able to see my sweet little Ethan. So, for the first couple hours of his life, all I got to see were pictures that Geoffrey took.

Two hours after he was born, I was finally able to see him for the first time. They wheeled my entire bed from my recovery room into the NICU. He was perfect. Ten fingers, ten toes, a tiny little body. It broke my heart to see how many tubes and machines were hooked up to him. I couldn't get to him very well because he was in an incubator, but they opened up the side and let me touch him for the first time. I couldn't believe this tiny little man was my miracle baby that had been fighting for months to stay inside of me. After just a couple of minutes with Ethan, they wheeled me back into recovery, and then finally back to my room that had become my home in the hospital. The doctors kept us updated of his condition and I pushed my nurses to let me see him again. We were told that they weren't sure if he would make it through the night, but if he did they would reassess his condition in the morning. With that weighing on our hearts, we decided to give him a name and a blessing that night. Our nurse and the wonderful nurses in the NICU made it possible for my parents, Geoffrey's parents, and both Geoffrey and I to all be together in the room with him while Ethan's Dad gave him a beautiful blessing and in it, named him Ethan Thomas Gauchay. We stayed with him for as long as we could that night and then headed back to our room to get some rest.

Little "E" Part Two

2011-04-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

April 5th started like any other day in the hospital. My Dad stopped by first thing that morning to say Hello and spend some time with me, and then my Mom came in the afternoon to talk and entertain me. About 3 o'clock that afternoon, I went in for another non-stress test. I was nervous about the test because the last couple of days hadn't showed results as good as what I'd gotten in the past. I had voiced my concerns to my doctors about the tests, but they reassured me that it was normal to have variations in the tests and they thought he was doing fine. My mom came into my test with me like she did most days and talked to me while I was being monitored. Geoffrey was also in and out of the testing room. He was usually at work while my tests were being done, but it was a lot later in the day then I normally had my test done, so he happened to be back from work this time. About 20 minutes into the test I started to realize I hadn't felt Ethan kick yet, this is one of the tests that he was usually pretty active during. When the nurse came to check how my test was doing I voiced my concerns to her, she looked at the test results and said he hadn't had any accelerations in his heart rate. This was a big concern. She suggested giving the test a couple more minutes and then she'd go show it to my doctor and get an opinion on what the next step should be. After a couple more minutes, they still weren't seeing the results that they wanted to see. She took the test results and went to find my doctor, when she came back she told me my doctor wanted me to go in for an ultrasound called a biophysical profile. They would watch Ethan for 4 different types of movements for a 30 minute time period and give us a score out of 10. It was the longest 30 minutes of my life. Geoffrey and I sat watching the monitor begging Ethan to move around and let us know he was okay. By the end of the test, he had moved very little. The ultrasound tech gave us a 0 out of 10 as our score. Our hearts sunk. I couldn't believe this was happening. I had made it 8 weeks and still had 7 1/2 to go. It was too early for him to come. At that point, our doctors decided to move us immediately into the labor and delivery wing of the hospital. I was hooked up to monitors so they could continue to watch Ethan. My doctor came in and reassured us that they weren't ready to deliver him yet, they just wanted to monitor him some more. She told me to relax and let me know that I could be in there for awhile being monitored and then turned and left the room. I asked my nurse to find my mom and send her in to sit with us. A couple of minutes later my doctor came quickly back into the room with an army of nurses and residents following her. She told me that they had looked at my tests a little bit closer and felt they needed to deliver him immediately. Before I could blink I had all kinds of people working on me and getting me ready to deliver our little Ethan. Somewhere in the chaos Geoffrey gave Ethan and I a blessing. I felt everything would be okay. Geoffrey was given scrubs to change into, and they were pushing me down the hall into an operating room. The operating room was just as chaotic, there were so many people and so much happening around me, I couldn't make sense of it all. My anesthesiologist gave me a spinal block and I was ready to go. The delivery happened so quickly, Geoffrey was able to stand at my head and watch our little man come into this world. As soon as Ethan was out, he was immediately whisked through a window into the NICU so they could begin working on him. I didn't get to see him and Geoffrey only got a quick glimpse as he was handed off to the Neonatologist. As they continued my surgery, all I could think about was our little man and if he was okay.

The Beginning

2011-04-17T18:13:00.000-07:00

On February 9th, my water broke. I was only 18 1/2 weeks pregnant. After a long day in the ER we went home with little to be hopeful for. I was told that the chances of me going into labor or getting an infection in the next week were huge. If I made it past that first week, I still had 5 more to go, before I would be 24 weeks and my pregnancy would be considered "viable". I was sent to a specialist the next day, put on antibioitics, and told to stay in bed. There wasn't much else they could do for me or my sweet baby boy.

With 24 weeks as my goal, I started my bedrest. For the next 5 1/2 weeks I stayed in bed at home. I would have gone crazy if my Mom hadn't been there every step of the way. She arrived at my house before Geoffrey left for work in the morning and stayed until he got home every night. Not only was she there, but she always had something for me to do. She taught me how to crochet, and how to knit. She brought all kinds of craft projects for the nursery we were planning. We spent our days doing crafts and watching old movies. On top of entertaining me, she would feed us, clean my house, and run errands for me. One of the biggest blessings I received out of this experience was all the time I was lucky enough to spend with her. She was my rock and I couldn't have made it through the days ahead without her.

We also had so many other family members and friends that were there for us every step of the way. We rarely had to make our own dinner at night thanks to good friends and family. We were lucky enough to have lots of visitors that would come over and entertain us and spend time with us. The only time I left my house was once a week to go to a doctors appointment, so I was very grateful for the time people came over and spent with me.

Once I made it to the 24 week mark, I was admitted to the hospital. Up until now, the doctors were only monitoring me and my well being, but now they felt there was more they could do for our sweet baby. Our biggest concerns were his lung development and his movement. When my water broke, I lost all of my amniotic fluid. A baby can survive without it, but it really hinders lung development and makes it harder for them to move around. I was given steroid shots the first couple of days to help with lung development and we were both checked every 4 hours for any signs of stress, infection or contractions. On top of our checks every 4 hours, I would have a non-stress test that lasted about 45 minutes each day.

We started to learn about his personality with each of these tests. He hated the doppler machine that would tell us his heart rate every 4 hours. Whenever a nurse would come in and turn it on, he would get really active and move around a lot. He hated them poking and prodding at him to find his heart, and once they would find it, he would kick at the wand that was pushed up against my belly, or move around so they would have to start the test all over again. These were the times we would feel him the most.

For the next 2 weeks, we basically moved into the hospital. Geoffrey would sleep there with me every night on a pull out couch next to my bed. I spent my days with my mom by my side, doing craft projects and entertaining me, and my nights going on wheel chairs rides around the hospital and watching Greys Anatomy with my husband. We didn't love our time spent at the hospital, but we were getting into a comfortable routine everyday and enjoying our time together.

A Total Loss

2010-08-19T21:58:00.001-07:00

Its official- My poor car has been deemed a total loss!! Last Friday (Friday the 13th) was a long day. I was at the bottom of the freeway exit ramp, on my way to work, waiting at a red light, completely stopped, minding my own business- When a silver SUV hit along side of my car going 60MPH! I'm really lucky that he grazed all along the side of my car, rather than hitting me straight on. After he hit me, he hit a small white car and sent it flying into the trailer in front of him, and sent the trailer into the back of a truck! In the end he ended up totaling my car, the white car, and his own car (a brand spankin new 2010 Nissan Rogue).

Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures from the scene of the accident. The best I could do was beg my insurance adjuster for a couple and I snapped a couple on my phone when I went to clean my car out the other day. Most of these pictures were taken in the process of tearing my car apart to assess the damages.

The car that hit me, basically started at the back of my car on the drivers side, came all the way up the side ripping off all the paneling and denting my car pretty good along his way. When he got to the the front of my car he pushed my front wheel up into the engine of my car.

This picture was taken after the repair shop put my car back together. You can kind of see my front wheel hanging there awkwardly- that's because it was shoved up into my car at one point.

One might ask- How in the world could you miss seeing a whole line of cars waiting at a red light??

Well, he didn't see us. He has had multiple concussions in his life and had his most recent one a couple of days before the accident. He was on medication for the concussion, but claims he hadn't taken any meds since the morning before. He passed out coming off the freeway and was completely out when he hit into me. He ended up hurting himself more than anyone else. He was the only one that was taken to the hospital.

The funny thing is I'm not even mad at him. I feel bad for him and his injuries. I'm so grateful he wasn't hurt worse, and I'm grateful the rest of us were able to skip the ambulance ride with him. The only thing I'm even slightly annoyed about is that I'm officially back in the market for a new car. So if you here of any good deals- Let us know!! We want to make it as quick and painless of a process as possible.

Playing Catch Up

2010-07-13T23:52:00.000-07:00

I'm finally starting to catch up on blogging and journaling what we've been up to the past couple months. This is a start... But stay tuned for MORE!

First Camping Trip

2010-07-13T23:13:00.000-07:00

Our first camping trip this summer was to Palasades to celebrate my moms birthday! Happy Birthday Mom! Somehow I didn't end up with a picture of her- But here's her Cake!

The best part was that Walmart less than 15 minutes away. I think in the 3 days we were there we went 3 times. We had some serious tent drama while we were there. Our tent from last year was broken. Remember this post? So we stopped at walmart on the way up to buy a new tent. By the end of the camping trip, we ended up exchanging tents 2 more times to find that wasn't broken. Gotta love Walmart.

On top of buying a new tent, we had to buy a massive tarp to cover it, because it rained 95% of the time we were there.

We spent a lot of time hanging out in the trailer to avoid the rain. One of the best parts of the whole camping trip was the Food. Jeremy is an amazing camp cook!

I LOVE Chicken Kabobs!

On Saturday it stopped raining for a few hours so we hurried out on the lake in our paddle boat. I let Geoffrey do all the paddling while I sat back and enjoyed the water and the sun.

Besides that, we spent a lot time playing with these 2 cute girls! Kaitlyn and I spent a lot of time trying to catch tiny guppy fish out of the lake with our hands and a paper cup. We had no luck. They were just too small and too fast.

Thanks for the fun weekend MOM and DAD!

Happy Graduation

2010-07-13T23:04:00.000-07:00

Yay! He's done! I'm so proud of this man. He graduated in May with a double bachelors degree in Sociology and Journalism. Now onto a new job... If you here of anything let us know.

His Dad and little sister came down to celebrate the big day with us!

I'm so proud of you Babe!

The BEST team EVER!

2010-04-09T14:41:00.000-07:00

Geoffrey loves Sports. All sports. Me-not so much. Since I've known him, he has been encouraging me to choose a sports team. Any Sport, any team. He thinks if I choose a team I will learn to love sports. I played with the idea of making the Golden State Warriors my team. I really enjoyed watching them play against the Jazz. But it just didn't feel right.

Last week we were in Fanzz and I did it... I chose a team.

And I chose the team because of this awesome Hat. Probably not the way he wanted me to choose a team- but look at how cute the hat is. I never like hats on me- but this one is awesome!

So I've been doing some research about my new favorite team. The research started with watching this movie...

and then asking Geoffrey everything he knows. Here is what I learned:

My new favorite player is David Ortiz- Nickname: Big Papi.

Doesn't he look like such a thoughtful man in this picture?

The Red Sox play at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. It opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. How COOL is that?

It is well known for the Green Monster. Which is the nickname of the thirty-seven foot, two-inch (11.3 m) high left field wall.

I also learned that I now Hate the NY Yankees! BOO!

So far my team is down 2-1. But I know they have it in them to win the World Series this year!

GO RED SOX!

Finally something that makes sense

2010-04-08T18:09:00.000-07:00

I've personally had a hard time forming an opinion about the new health care bill. I know what I don't agree with and what I get frustrated hearing about. I truly believe Obama is trying to do his best for this country and I will continue to support him as our president.

Geoffrey came across this article today and it hit home for me.

Obama, Reid, Pelosi deserve our thanks

By Lynn M. Hansen

As an American and a resident of Weber County, I salute President Obama, Sen. Harry Reid, and Speaker Nancy Pelosi for pushing the health care reform bill through the legislative process. Until the administration of George W. Bush, I was an avid Republican and served in the Reagan and Bush (senior) administrations as a political appointee. But I will not allow Sean Hannity or Rush Limbaugh to define conservatism for me, nor will I accept the half-truths and invectives with which they pollute the airways.

Those who listen to these hate-mongers should realize that they have become millionaires by peddling the views they do. I recall Limbaugh frequently stating that he hoped Obama would fail. That is tantamount to wishing America would fail for Obama is our freely elected president.

What has happened to civility in this country? I did not vote for Obama but we, the American people, did. I consider myself an American, not a Utahn. I served 23 years in the United States Air Force and repeat the Pledge of Allegiance to one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all.

For as long as he is president, I will respect the office of president and the person who occupies it. It is pure hypocrisy or worse for those who legislate (many, if not most of whom are millionaires) to try to deny basic insurance coverage to middle- and lower-class Americans. We must understand that each member of the House of Representatives and each senator -- Republican and Democrat -- has health insurance with the major portion of their premiums being paid by the taxpayer. I know because I having worked in the government also have such a policy. Where is the "justice for all" in this?

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the legislation would extend coverage to 32 million Americans who lack it and cut deficits by an estimated $138 billion over a decade. If realized, the expansion of coverage would include 95 percent of all eligible individuals under age 65.

For the first 10 years, it will cost about $100 billion a year. This is about the yearly cost of the Iraq War. Why is providing health care to Americans less desirable than invading and fighting a protracted war in a country far away that did not threaten us?

Republicans constantly assert that we will pay more taxes. Wait a minute. Who will pay more taxes? Not people in my income bracket! In fact, we may well see tax relief. Those who will be taxed more are families whose income exceeds $250,000 annually or singles whose income is at $200,000. Why do those who claim we will pay more taxes never mention these details?

The insurance industry, which spent millions on advertising trying to block the bill, would come under new federal regulation. They would be forbidden from placing lifetime dollar limits on policies, from denying coverage to children because of pre-existing conditions and from canceling policies when a policyholder becomes ill. Does the ordinary citizen understand that CEOs of insurance companies make millions of dollars every year? Some make as much as $24 million a year. Is this what we mean by free enterprise?

Never in the more than 15 years that I have resided in Europe have I met a person who wanted to trade their health care system for ours. I had a hip replacement performed in Germany. The procedure was no different or the care less than that I received for a like operation at McKay-Dee in Ogden.

It is disingenuous to say that we will receive inferior care under the legislation that Obama has signed. It is equally devious to cite horror cases from England or Canada. We have enough of our own. And it is simply wrong to call this socialized medicine knowing that people tend to associate socialism with communism.

Finally, my religious faith believes that governments are instituted of God for the good of the people -- all people, not just the rich and privileged! We are often reminded of our duty to care for the less fortunate. I therefore find it odd that the residents of this state are so anti-Obama.

West Haven resident Lynn M. Hansen received a B.A. from Utah State University and an M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Utah. Appointed ambassador by President Reagan, he served as head of the U.S. Delegation to the Geneva Conference on Disarmament and later with the CIA as vice-chairman of the National Intelligence Council. He recently returned from Hamburg, Germany, where he served as LDS mission president.

Here's the Link to the article!

Spring Break

2010-03-24T21:31:00.000-07:00

This week is Geoffrey's Spring break from school. To celebrate, we spent the weekend in Idaho with his family and then we took Monday and Tuesday off of work so we could spend some time together here. It has been a BLAST!

We've been able to sleep in super late both days and spend a lot of time being lazy. We've been to the zoo, on a double date with some good friends, Played Dance,Dance Revolution, went to see Bounty Hunter, ate at Olive Garden (YUM!), went to the mall and just chillaxed together at home.

Here are some pictures of our day at the zoo. It was the perfect day - not too cold and it wasn't crowded!

These turkeys made me laugh. The female turkey would follow the male around pecking at his face. He was so patient, he would try to scoot over and she would follow. Eventually he just sat there and let her peck... It reminded me of us, haha

I loved that there were so many baby animals at the zoo. They are so much more active then the other animals. There were tiger cubs, a baby giraffe, a baby orangutan, a baby alligator and a baby elephant!

Geoffreys favorite animals were the orangutans. In the top picture you can see the baby swinging around on the ropes. She is quite the acrobat and quite the Show Off! In the bottom picture is the mom monkey and if you look in the bottom left corner of the picture you can see a small rabbit. The monkey was trying to be sneaky and get close to the rabbit. She would come down off the rock slowly and the rabbit would run back under the rocks. Then she would go back up and wait for it to come out again. At one point she was pushing the bushes out of the way and trying to feed it a leaf so it would come out. It was so funny to watch!

My favorite part was the baby elephant! She is so so cute! She would nurse a little bit, then play, then eat some straw and then come back and nurse again. I could have sat and watched her all afternoon. I forgot how much I love going to the zoo.

Great Deal

2009-10-29T20:40:00.000-07:00

I just found out about a great deal!!! 50% off of everything at Payless Shoes- Today and Tomorrow Only. I'm in desperate need of new shoes! Click "HERE" if you want in on the great deal!

Announcing...

2009-09-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

Brightyn Nicole Butterfield

Born August 6th, 2009

I love both of these pictures (below), because of the looks on Kaitlyn's face! She's not so sure of her new little sister.

I love both of my neices and am so proud to be thier Aunt!

Summer Catch Up

2009-07-21T21:44:00.000-07:00

This summer has been a blast! We've been able to spend a lot of time with family and friends, doing fun things. Geoffrey is going to school this summer and doesn't love it, but is glad it means he can graduate next April! We've lived in Student housing for almost a year, and it's the longest we've stayed in one place since we we've been married. We are fond of our cinder block palace, and love all of our neighbors that really make this place Great! Here are some posts of all the fun things we've been doing this summer.

Girls Camp

2009-07-21T21:37:00.000-07:00

I'm YW President in my ward, so I got to go to Girls Camp this year. I loved it! It was a stake girls camp with 13 girls and 4 of them were from my ward! Our Stake youth is tiny, but It gives the girls more time and opportunity to bond. My favorite activity was the hike we went on the second day of girls camp. Here's a picture.

Campout

2009-07-21T21:25:00.000-07:00

In June we went on a campout with some of the other families in our ward. We were so excited! We bought a brand new tent last year and only used it once before the year was over. We packed up what felt like our whole house and headed up to some church property near Morgan. When we got there and started to put our tent together, we realized that the string that connects the poles together had snapped! I thought "No big deal", we'll just find the ends and tie them back together. I spent sometime stringing the string back through the poles, just to have it snap on me again! In the end we ended up finding some duct tape and taping each of the poles together.

We spent most of our evening playing games. We especially had fun playing horse shoes with Andy and Kat. We played Boys against Girls. The girls gave them a good run, but in the end the boys ended up winning both games. Here they are with some of their best shots.

Here's a picture of the beautiful Kat and Jana making us breakfast the next morning. Thanks Girls! The bacon was amazing!

We had a great time and can't wait to by a new tent and go again!!

The ZOO

2009-07-21T21:14:00.000-07:00

Every year for my moms birthday we go to the Hogle Zoo. This year was a lot of fun because Kaitlyn is at the perfect age for loving the animals. Our favorite parts were the bird show and the elephant show. Here are some pictures. Happy Birthday Mom!

The classic picture of your head in the Lions Mouth.

Kaitlyn Loved the Birdshow, but wasn't too excited to be so close to one this BIG!

Stoddards Creek

2009-07-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Stoddards Creek is Geoffrey's moms favorite place and is also a favorite camping spot for his family. At the end of May, Geoffrey and my little brother, Jeff, drove up to Idaho to hike Stoddards Creek. They met up with Tom, Kenzie and Teeny (the dog). They had a blast! Here's pictures of them at the top.

Seriously, So Blessed!

2009-06-14T20:41:00.000-07:00

So I found a new blog tonight... Hilarious! and I think I'm probably one of the last mormons to know about it. Seriously so funny, and let's be honest... most of its true!! Just in case you haven't already stumbled to it - here's the link....

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

Let me know what you think.
Happy Blogging!

AdDiCtEd

2009-05-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

I very rarely get addicted to TV shows, even though I watch a lot of TV. The only 2 shows that have ever made me feel that "I have to see addiction" are this one ...

And this one!

And this one starts in 7 days! The countdown begins.

So Far Behind

2009-05-09T14:04:00.000-07:00

Do ever feel like you get so far behind on blogging that there is no point in catching up? I go through that cycle every 6 weeks. I'll catch up my blog and promise myself that this time will be different. But it's not! A few weeks later I'm trying to decide if its worth catching up my posts or never posting again. Haha. So here's a very short catch up to our lives...

The Top 5 events of the last 6 weeks

1. Geoffrey finished one more semester! YAY! He'll be graduating with his bachelors degree this time next year!

2. My little sister Julie, was married last month! Congratulations to the new couple!

3. We bought a new car! Its a Hyundai Tucson and I'm in lOvE with it. Geoffrey rarely gets to drive it.

4. I turned 24. I know I'm still young, but 24 sounds so old!

5. I got to see Wicked! And i Loved it! Thank you Lindsey!

This is what happens at 1 am when you tell Klay there's no way he can fit in your sleigh bench.

Spring Break

2009-04-05T20:00:00.000-07:00

Geoffrey had his spring break a couple of weeks ago, so we both took some time off of work and headed down South to warmer climate. We spent a couple of days in Las Vegas, and a couple days in St. George. We did a lot of shopping, visited friends, went swimming, did a lot of sight seeing. went on some nice walks, and did some more shopping and relaxed! It was so enjoyable. We were both ready for a break from life and enjoyed the time spent together.

February...

2009-04-05T19:33:00.000-07:00

I've neglected my blog for a long time. So here's a quick update. February and March were busy months for us, so I'll keep it as short as possible.

We went to three Jazz games. The Rockets, The Celtics and The Suns. My husband is spoiled. We went to the Rockets Game with my sister Angela and were able to sit in awesome seats, courtesy of her work! For the Suns game Tom and McKenzie came down to join us. We had a blast!

My Dad retired from his job. Thanks Dad for all your hard work! WE LOVE YOU!!
And my little brother came home from his mission in Vancouver, Canada. Welcome Home!!

We were able to be with Megan when she was baptized and Geoffrey was able to go to Idaho for his Grandparents Birthday Party!

Like I said we've had a busy couple of months, but we've enjoyed spending so much time with friends and family.

Plates

2009-02-08T17:56:00.000-08:00

I've had a lot of people ask where we colored our plates at. Its a store in Foothill Village called Color Me Mine. I heard it's a chain store, so there might be more in Salt Lake. I'm not sure. You have to pay a studio fee to use the paint, but they have nights where it's only a dollar a person. Once your inside you pay for what you want to paint. It ranges anywhere from a couple of dollars up to $70 dollars depending on what you choose. We loved it and I would reccomend it anybody looking for something fun and different to do!

Also, I found a new super cute site called Make it and Love it! If you like being crafty you'll love this site! (Amanda, we need have another craft day and try some of this stuff out!)

What a Weekend

2009-02-02T19:08:00.000-08:00

This weekend was super busy and super fun for us!! Friday night we went to the Jazz game together! It was a blast and the Jazz won! Saturday night we went on a double with our friend Eric and his girlfriend Tracy. We ate at Main Street Pizza and Noodle in Park City. Eric had a gift card to spend and took us all out! Thanks Eric! (and Thanks Dusty and Heather!) Sunday we spent the day in Orem at Uncle Pauls house for the Superbowl. I was the only one that was rooting for the Steelers! I rock! Haha! Thanks Uncle Paul and Aunt Penny for having us over!

Here's a picture of us in Park City. I love Main Street!

Date Night

2009-01-29T22:09:00.001-08:00

Last Monday Geoffrey took me on a date. First we went to Color Me Mine, a pottery painting place, and painted plates. After that we went to dinner at Chili's, then came home to watch Friends! (We're pretty much addicted to Friends) We loved painting the plates and wished we had more time to be more creative. We can't wait to go back and try again. Here are a picture of our plates before they were fired.

They keep the plates at the store to fire them, and you go back to pick them up a week later. Here's a picture of the finished products.

Draper Temple Openhouse

2009-01-29T21:48:00.000-08:00

Last week we went with my family to the Draper temple openhouse. It was Awesome! At the beginning of the tour, they have you meet in a church to wait. They pull you aside in small groups to watch a movie about the church and temples. After that you're loaded on to a bus and they drive you up the hill to the temple. In each room of the temple it explains what the room is used for, or something significant about it. At the very end of the tour you walk over to a church where they have refreshments and missionaries waiting to answer anyones questions about the church and temples. I loved the way they presented it. It really made me think about the basics of the church and I was able to feel the spirit very strong throughout the tour.

Kaitlyn came with us. She did awesome for a two year old! I couldn't believe how quiet she was being. Here's a picture of her in her pajamas ready to go home after a long night!

Sledding

2009-01-29T21:37:00.000-08:00

Every January my family has a tradition of Sledding together at Soldier Hollow in Heber. This year Marissa wasn't able to join us because she lives in Washington, and Jeffrey wasn't able to join us because he's on a mission in Vancouver! (PS he only has 6 weeks left!) But we had an addition of Jeffrey Mousley! (Julie's Fiance). We had tons of fun! We met at the lodge early to have chili and breadsticks. Kaitlyn is still too young to sled so Angela and Grandma hung out in the lodge with her. Our favorite part about sledding is that we don't have to climb to the top of the hill. All you have to do is hook your sled to the tow rope and sit back and relax! On our last run down the hill, Geoffrey decided to do it topless... He stripped down and took off down the hill in 20 degree weather! Holy Cow he's crazy! He jumped right off his sled and ran into the lodge to warm up!

Julie and Jeff

2009-01-29T21:28:00.000-08:00

Julie and Jeff are getting married in April! YEA! I went with them to have their engagement pictures taken at the Gateway and Memory Grove. It was a perfect, sunny day. Here are some pictures I took.

Family

2009-01-29T20:59:00.000-08:00

We were lucky enough to see lots of our favorite extended family after the holidays. We love when family comes through Salt Lake to see us! Here are some Pics!

One night we had Geoffreys Family visiting, while they were in town Geoffrey's Uncle Kent and Aunt Kathleen were here from Idaho as well as their daughter Collette and her family from Arizona. We loved seeing them! Here's a picture of all of us at Red Robin.

We were also able to spend some time with Lisa! Our cousin that lives here in Salt Lake!

The next week we were also able to see Jill, Alex and and their cute daughter Abby, who were visiting from Sacramento!

A couple weeks after that our family from Idaho and LA came through Salt Lake! Thanks for dinner Uncle Barry! Heres a picture of all of us at Olive Garden. Judy, Barry, Brandt, Jack, Jamie, Emma, Jackson and Sadie

Two Months...

2008-12-28T18:01:00.000-08:00

Wow it's been a long time since we've updated our blog! We've had a lot to be thankful for this holiday season and are ready for a new year to start. Geoffrey is finally done with this semester and is happy for the small break before the new one starts. He loves working at Huntsman Cancer Institute and loves walking to work. I was just promoted at my job and am now the assistant manager at Country Furniture. I love it and am excited to keep moving forward with this new year. We spent our time off over Thanksgiving in Idaho visiting family and friends. It's been the first chance we've had to get up there since this summer and we were glad to see all those we love. We were going to try to make it up there for Christmas but didn't think our car could handle the snow. So we were happy to stay home in our nice warm apartment. The upside of it was we got to spend time with my family on Christmas Eve and talk to my little brother on Christmas Day. He only has 10 weeks left of his mission and we're excited to get him home! We've had a good Christmas and enjoyed spending the day off of work together. Geoffrey's favorite present this year was a leap frog toy I got him. Its a world globe that plays geography games with you. He was also excited to get Jazz tickets to a game this season. My favorite present was the rocking chair he restored for me. I've had my grandma's old rocking chair sitting in my moms basement for years. He refinished it and found new pads for it. It's now in our living room and I love it! We wish everyone a late Christmas and hope this new year brings joy to your life.

My Crazy Blog

2008-11-05T21:27:00.001-08:00

I just wanted to thank Ashley for helping me fix my blog! I had no idea it's been off center for the past month. Shame on all of you who let it stay that way and not tell me. Oh well, I'll get this figured out yet!

Not a lot has happened lately. I'm still busy at work and geoffrey is still busy with school and work. We've both recently recieved new callings that have kept us very busy. We're settling into our new apartment and ward (WE LOVE IT), and are happy to finally being getting into a routine!

Tagged

2008-10-22T20:16:00.000-07:00

8 T.V. shows I LOVE to watch:
1. FRIENDS
2. Everybody Loves Raymond
3. So You Think You Can Dance
4. The Bachelorette
5. Ace of Cakes
6. The Office
7. Wipeout
8. The News

8 Favorite Restaurants
1. Bajios
2. Wingers
3. Costa Vida
4. Cafe Rio
5. Village Baker
6. Red Robin
7. Chili's
8. Carls Jr. (Does that count??)

8 things that happened yesterday
1. I played with my adorable neice Kaitlyn
2. I lost my cell phone at least 5 times
3. I went to the mall and didn't find 1 cute outfit!
4. I bought my halloween costume! (I'm going to be a witch!)
5. I dyed my hair super dark
6. I finished watching the movie "The Illusionist" (super good)
7. I showered twice
8. I made spaghetti for dinner and burned the bread!

8 things I'm looking forward to
1. Witches Night Out on Friday. (I'm going to buy cute new jewelry)
2. Klay and Lindsey coming to visit
3. Going to Idaho Falls Thanksgiving weekend
4. Finishing painting my christmas ornaments
5. Finding a good book to read (any suggestions??)
6. The day I don't have to work anymore
7. Geoffrey finishing school
8. Not having pink carpet and cinder block walls!

8 things I'm on my wish list
1. Geoffrey Graduating
2. A house with a backyard and a craft room
3. A long vacation
4. A car that doesn't squeal and has a sun visor
5. To become a better cook
6. To be more creative and crafty
7. More time to do what I want to do!
8. For the Jazz to win the NBA title (added by geoff)

8 people I'm tagging
1. Amanda
2. Lindsey
3. Cassie
4. Kelsey
5. Melanie
6. Amberlee
7. Jami
8. Emily

Corn Maze

2008-10-07T21:44:00.000-07:00

On Monday we went to the Crazy Corn Maze for Family Night. When we got there, they gave us a map and told us if we got to all the check points they would give us a free game of bowling. I had mixed feelings about using a map, I kind of felt like it was cheating, but I quickly changed my mind. We had a lot of fun and were able to find all of the checkpoints in the maze. (Free Bowling! Yeah!) The only downfall was how muddy the maze was. At times my feet felt ten pounds heavier because of all the mud that had attached to my shoes.

Kaitlyn

2008-10-07T20:33:00.000-07:00

Our neice Kaitlyn turns 2 this weekend! Yeah! The first time Geoffrey met my family was when she was born, and she's loved him since then. Whenever I see her, her first question is "Where's Geoff?" It's so cute. He will tease and tease her relentlessly, then walk out of the room and she'll follow him for more. A couple of months ago we taught her to say "I want a baby brother", her mom and dad have tried to get her to change "brother" to "cousin" but haven't been ablt to get her to say it. Recently she changed it a little bit on her own, every once in awhile she'll say "I want a baby sister". I don't know where she got this from. Maybe she knows something about the future we don't. . .

Taking a nap when she was about 2 months old

Making goofy faces. Look at how she's staring at him. (about 6 months old)

Us at a bees game this past summer

Last Sunday we were at my parents house and she talked him into hiding under Julies old day bed and scaring anybody that walked past. Then, that night he tried to teach her how to play catch and throw a ball. My husband is so cute! He's going to be the best Dad one day.

Happy Birthday Kaitlyn. We Love You!!

Oh Deer!

2008-09-24T18:54:00.000-07:00

Monday, Geoffrey and I drove past a cemetry right in the middle of the city that had a couple young deer wandering around inside. I talked him into stopping so I could see them up close. When we pulled up, it didn't even startle them. They both looked up to see who we were then went back to eating the grass. I decided to see how close I could get to them before they ran away, so I got out of the car and started walking towards them. I got within 20 or 30 feet of the deer, once again they didn't seem startled at all, they were just watching me. The deer closest to me took one step forward towards me, it startled me and I took off running back to the car! I'm such a woos! It scared me so bad. I wasn't expecting to get very close to it and I definately didn't think it would walk towards me! (The whole time my husband was sitting in the car laughing at me!)

After our fun in the cemetry we headed downtown to see the Joseph Smith movie at temple square. Before the movie started we were trying to get a couple of pictures of the two of us together with the temple behind us. Our camera doesn't work very well and the pictures were coming out dark and weird. A couple of elders that were walking by stopped to help. He had us take our memory card out of our camera and he put it in his camera to take the picture (I had no idea you could switch memory cards between cameras). Thank Goodness for Elders! The picture he took made the temple look beautiful, but we came out blurry! So both of them didn't turn out. Oh well. maybe next time.

The picture the Elders Took:

Our Camera:

MIdnight Sun

2008-09-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Those of you who love the twilight books will appreciate this. Our Cousin Alex wrote it. (He has never read the books)

Twas Twilight, and the New Moon had been Eclipsed by a Breaking Dawn
or
As glimpsed by a non-reading husband

Isabella Swan packed her things and moved from Phoenix to Forks,
Where she met Vampires and werewolves and all kinds of strange sorts.

Edward is a strapping gentleman and a blood thirsty fella
And if he had a heart at all it would only beat for Bella.

In Short: He's quite a guy, but he'd suck her dry.

And so back and forth the romance teeters
between friendship, love, and the desire to eat her.

Yet they overcome temptation to become a lawfully-wed, baby-making vampire literary sensation.

Three cheers for Bella!

And for Edward three more!

poop on Jacob Black (at least till book four!)

So, in conclusion, I've renamed my poem about a tale of passion, blood, and glory:

To Knife, or to Spoon: A Forks love story

I laughed and laughed the first time I read this. Also, for those of you that don't know, Stephanie Meyer was going to write another book called Midnight Sun. (It's supposed to be about Edward) Someone posted part of her manuscript online without permission so she has stopped working on it indefinately. But... She has posted the unfinished manuscript on her website for everyone to read!

New, New, New

2008-09-03T21:03:00.000-07:00

Wow! We have had a busy couple of weeks. In the past two weeks we have both started new jobs, we live in a new apartment (new to us...but pretty old), and Geoffrey has started new classes at school. Geoffrey's new job is at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, as a messenger. He is going to spend his days valet parking, driving abulences between hospitals, driving shuttles, runing errands, and occasionally a trip to the morgue! He is very excited and officially starts on Monday. He teases that he is never going to leave this corner of valley. He can get to work, school and home on the University shuttles. My new job is at Gardner Village in the Country Furniture Store. (THANK YOU ASHLEY!!) I am a furniture and rug salesperson. I absolutely love the store, it's one of my very favorite. The hardest part for me is going to be not spending all of my paycheck at the store. So far we are loving our apartment. We bought a couch/living room set this weekend at RC Willey, and it's helping it feel more "homey" here. Here are some pictures:

Now we just need to decorate!

45 Reasons why we love the Johnsons!

2008-08-23T12:02:00.000-07:00

1. “Boots with the fur”
2. The Lisp Talk
3. “So You Think You Can………………………. DANCE (in a low voice)”
4. Avrie’s Tributes
5. “You two are the biggest queers!” as said at Applebee’s in Rexburg
6. David Archuletta’s biggest fan (Klay)
7. Blogs, Blogs, Blogs
8. She picked Jesse?
9. Craft Day!
10. Is Klay asleep already?
11. SKADUSH!
12. Let’s go boating baby!
14. EMERGENCY ROOM!!!!
15. That bird had diarrhea?
16. Lindz the King of Scum
17. Geoff the scum of Wacky Six
18. “As my client I highly advise you to….” (Geoffrey the marriage agent)
19. Big Red Balls (Wipeout)
20. Where’s the pole? (Wipeout)
21. It’s sure is nice to wake up at 11am each day
22. Having a Girl roomie again
23. Dancy, Dancy, Dancy, Dancy
24. We should go on a walk every day this week.
25. Kaulyn and Cloe
26. Glue in my crack and rip my shorts? Really Klay?
27. PEEK!
28. What do you want to eat tonight?
29. The Sizz
30. Bajios
31. Working hard all day and going on exchanges at night with GIRLS
32. Isn’t Comfort kicked off yet?
33. Shooting of the hand
34. Falling out of the trailor
35. Smashing of the thumb
36. Getting stuck in the Bronco
37. “What is that noise?” said Klay “I think it is the bronco falling apart.”
38. Girls in the big trucks save the day
39. Look what I bought today babe!
40. Rag blankets
41. That’s what she said
42. I’m gonna start a snow shack
43. Café Rio Burritos
44. Klay, Geoff jammed the nail gun again.
45. Just plain living with each other all summer!!!

Thanks for a wonderful summer! We're going to miss you three!

A busy week

2008-08-19T10:16:00.000-07:00

Last week was a busy week for us. We headed down to Salt Lake for my cousin, Kelsey's wedding and to look for jobs. I think that job searching is probably my least favorite thing to do. When I decided to go to school to get my bachelors degree, I assumed that once I had a bachelors degree I would have all of these options open to me and it would be a matter of choosing which job I liked best. That's not how it is. I've had some pride issues this week. Some of the jobs that I'm applying for are "starting" posititions to get my foot in the companies door. I was really struggling with this, but have finally come to peace with the fact that I'm not going to have a super fabulous job right away and everyone has to start somewhere and work their way up. So if anyone knows of any openings, please let me know. (And Thank You to all those that have helped me a ton already!)

Here's a picture of the cute couple right after they were married (above) and a picture of us on temple square!

To Update

2008-08-08T15:34:00.001-07:00

In June, we moved to Idaho Falls for the summer. I LOVE it here, and wish we could stay forever! We're living with my old roomate Lindsey and her husband Klay. We were blessed with an awesome set up, because Klay's parents are serving a mission in the Phillipines. Klay and Lindsey are living upstairs in his parents house and we're living in the basement. I love it. It's so fun to have a girl roomie again. We get to stay home all day and do crafts while the boys go off to work.
We're headed back to Salt Lake City in two and a half weeks for Geoffrey to start school again. We were just accepted into the Married Student housing at the U. I have mixed feelings about this. We have one of the apartments that's considered "updated" because it has air conditioning and carpet. They make it sound so nice when they tell you it's one of the "newer" additions. When in reality the last time it was updated was in 1972! (They don't have anything newer than that!) The upside of living in student housing is being surrounded by so many other students that are in the same position we're in. We are looking forward to our new ward and new neighbors. Hopefully the good outways the bad!

We Did It

2008-08-04T20:42:00.000-07:00

We finally decided to do it, we have a blog now! Yeah! This has been a long process with a lot of thinking and no doing. But it's finally here...