Happy 4th of July!!!

I wanted to take a few moments to reflect on the upcoming July 4th Holiday, and share with you a few thoughts and memories that I have in regards to this glorious holiday!

Independence Day has always been one of my favorite holidays of the year. Thanks to the deep love and respect that has been shared and instilled into our hearts by my dad, his dad, and many others in our family, loving the United States, and the freedoms that it affords us has been a great piece of my life. Some of my greatest memories of my childhood are around this holiday and the many great activities we always participated in as a family. From the earliest memory of sitting along the streets of downtown Salt Lake, with lounge chairs, umbrellas, and blankets, anxiously awaiting the July 4th Parades....to the yearly tradition of gathering at Sandy City Hall for food, fun, and of course a tremendous Fireworks display at the end of the night. I love everything that this holiday represents and the incredible emotions that always come with it.

I look forward every year to waking up early on the holiday, and hopefully, if we are all together, I like to plan that we can start the day out early and make it a jam-packed, American-filled, fun day. It seems the past several years, our attempts to attend a parade have been thwarted by different elements, but nonetheless, I love to take the kids to parades. I love watching the floats...holding flags up in the air....watching the military march in place...and watch the kids dive in and out of the street for candy! All of it.

I love sharing our family tradition of gathering at Sandy City Hall for the day's festivities and fun. We've done it so many years, we know when to arrive, what tree to sit up under, and how much space to mark our territory with. As our family has grown, and as we invite friends and their families to join us each year, the Johnson "territory" tends to grow each year, and we find ourselves throwing-down for space. But nonetheless we prevail and we find ourselves with plenty of room to sit and relax.

I love sitting around for the day listening to the "terrible" entertainment. I think of the past 15+ years, that Sandy City has maybe had one or two "good" bands. But I think that having bad entertainment has become part of our tradition! We have fun making fun! I love the sharing of the food tradition, sharing of candy, and all the junk that always finds it way to our stomachs! I love of course the endless photo-ops and all the silliness that we document! Seeing and looking at all the kids dressed to the hilt in Red, White and Blue is always a plus!

But at the end of the day, my favorite part is the fireworks display. I mean, I know everyone loves fireworks, so this isn't a big surprise. But the piece that I'm particular to is that of being with my dad. Nothing means more to me than spending this time with him every year, and watching him as he watches the fireworks above, listening to his favorite Neil Diamond tune, knowing that this is one activity that dad will always love to do. As long as Dad is around, and long after, I hope my kids will learn to love this country and respect this holiday as much as their Grandpa does. I will always be thankful to Dad for sharing this with me.

So as the short week hopefully flies by...I hope and wish you all the best 4th of July Holiday! May you not melt at the parade, may the rains and winds stay away! And may God Bless America!!!!

Thankful Thursday's

This week, although busy and crazy as usual with work, has been actually a bit of a "down-time" week for me; and it's been really nice. Nice that I've actually had some quality time to offer and share and accomplish some "me" things. And for that, and these five things, I've been very thankful for this week:



1) Quiet, Summer Nights - We have a great view of the valley from our front porch. And for the first time since we moved in, I've actually spent time out on my porch this week. In the evenings, after the kids have gone down, I've popped in some music on my computer, opened up the office window to the porch, and have just enjoyed myself sitting back and just thinking.






2) Quality Kid Time - It's a rare occasion that I get to have time with my three kids alone. So I was so thankful to spend an evening picking up some Pizza and playing at the park one evening. I love watching them play and show me all their tricks. And of course, I loved sitting on a park bench with Cydnee, who is growing up so fast, and well just chose to sit and chat with her mom.







3) Long Chats with Old and Far-Away Friends - Catching-up and going down memory lane with friends you love is always good for the Soul.







4) My Weekly "Fix" - Although I had to wait a bit longer this week than usual, the latest chapter to "Sacrafices" - my favorite Twilight FanFic has been one of the best chapters yet! Did I mention that I love Edward? Oh and Bella too? But Edward, really? Love him!





5) "Just saying it like it is" - It's a motto I'm really trying to live by. But this week, I've been particularily thankful for a few great colleagues for being there for me and doing just that!

What a Weekend!

Just coming off what was one heck of a jam-packed weekend! I don't remember the last time that my entire weekend was spent with my extended family! It was a great and welcome break from a long and crazy-CRAZY work week in Atlanta! It was just what the doctor ordered!


I do want to take just one short minute though to talk about my big Trade Show on Friday in Atlanta. For all my IHG family in Atlanta reading, most of them will already know what I'm talking about! And in fact, most of them probably have some part in the success of this day. The Government initiative project that I've been working on for nearly a year now is coming down the wire and we held a large Trade Show for IHG's AOC (America's Operating Committee) on Friday to show them what we have accomplished, and well to show them where all their money was going! And it was a HUGE success! I was so excited. And I couldn't have done it without the help of my FABULOUS PAL team and all my friends! I especially have to thank Jennifer who painstakingly stayed with me at Kinko’s while we had to completely redo my display board because the original board was done completely wrong! So here are a few pics of how the day looked, and Thanks again to everyone for putting up with me all the time and making my trips back to Atlanta so worth while! I love you guys!

Now, back to this weekend! As soon as got off the plane Saturday afternoon, I grabbed a Taxi (COMPLETELY different experience in Utah vs. a city where these guys actually do this for a full-time job!) and headed to Jr's baseball game! How exciting to have Dave playing again! But more exciting (sorry Dave) was getting to hang out with my Jaxon, and my little Kalli and Riley! It was 97 Degrees outside and we were just trying to make it through the long hot game! So I decided to share my "expert" digital photo taking skills and teach the kids how to use the camera. Wow, did we get some fun shots or what! We got to spend the entire day with our cousins and of course Jaxon loved having his "best friends" with him!

Sunday was a really wonderful day. We started the day by attending church with my parents and all my siblings. My dad has just been given an opportunity to serve in what is considered an important role within our church and we are all so proud of him. He was so nervous and of course so humbled. I love my dad! I know how unworthy he feels of such a position, but I couldn't think of anyone better. My dad is the greatest and I don't know where I would be without him in my life! I love you dad!





After we got to go to a Johnson Family gathering to welcome home our cousin's eldest son who just returned from London, England! What a fun day! Family had come in from out of state and from far away cities, and it was a blast seeing everyone again. We sat around listening to my cousin talk about his 20-year H.S. reunion stories and I have all but decided that any thought of ever going to mine is now gone. I have no desire to show up only to be judged by everyone about how I look, what my kids look like compared to someone else’s, and who has what career or lack of! Don't we get enough of that on a daily basis! HA! Yeah, I think I'm not going to make mine! Not like it's tomorrow or anything...but WHEN it comes up! I'm not going! :-)





All in all, I love sitting around with my cousins and I love hearing about their lives and what's going on in their worlds. It's just a nice escape! And an awful lot of good laughs! And who doesn't need that every once in a while!

So Happy Monday everyone! Have a great week!

Thankful Thursday's

Well, another Thankful Thursday is upon us...Ahem!

So today's theme of Thankful Thursday comes from a new word I learned today... SWAPNA.
It's an Indian term meaning "Dreams". And no, I'm not referring to the dreams we have at night, nor am I referring to the dreams that have tormented me my entire life since early childhood! I'm referring to Dream-Dreams; the dreams we have of those things we wish to come true! Happy wishes! Happy Thoughts! You know...Those Dreams! The ones that hopefully don't get squashed too often and keep a glint of sparkle in our eyes. And I guess if we need a reminder of what dreams should look like we can always look at the dreams of our kids through their eyes! So here are five things that either have inspired a Dream out of me, I am dreaming of, or someone I love is dreaming of this past week! Enjoy!

#1 Summer is here and what better time than Summer to let those Summer dreams come to fruition. Kids find things to dream about and even some to make a reality. This week it was Jaxon's New Spiderman Slippin' Slide! Too Bad Jaxon decided he didn't want to get wet! He didn't realize there was Water involved!

#2 Okay, so this is a fun one! The Lincoln MKZ! This is the car that I've been driving all week in Atlanta! And this is the car I want! I've been holding out forever for a Nissan Murano, and there is still a very GOOD possibility for one of those. But if I/we end up going for just a regular size, Just for Natalee car...THIS IS THE ONE BABY! In RED of course! No more white or gold colored cars for me!

#3 I dream of having more Happy Days than Sad Ones!

#4 Digital Photography - So this is my newest love and wannabe hobby! And this is the camera I need to get me to where I need to be! I really enjoy taking pictures and I truly wish to take my picture-taking to the next level!

#5 And this is my favorite representation of Dreams coming true. This was the on the Season Premiere of "America's Got Talent". And I need not give any further explanation. Just watch this precious clip:

The Power of Girl Talk

I don't know if it's just me or not, but I find it interesting the power of "Girl Talk" on our lives. In so many aspects and on so many levels does the power of what someone can say to you have such an overwhelming and lasting impression. It's funny because today at my office in Atlanta everywhere, and I mean everywhere I went there were pregnant women. And I found out today that THREE women that I work with regularly are pregnant and all due at the same time! So of course that was the talk of the day, and it of course reminds me of Jaxon asking me just this past weekend, despite me being 2 lbs away from a very large weight loss goal, if I have another baby in MY tummy! "No sweetie, that's STILL just left over from YOU, and your brother and sister! But thanks for asking!" Anyway, my point here being that words can have lasting impressions!

However, for the purpose of this post, the words I'm focusing on are those bundled up and found within those "girl talk" chats, accidental meetings in the hall-ways or at the store, planned GNOs, glorified text messaging, and of course blogging! I think they actually write books about this now. I'm pretty sure the "Today Show" did a feature about BFFs, and the power of "girl talk" and how therapeutic it is for women, etc. Our husbands, boyfriends, dads, whatevers, they never seem to get it, or maybe just don't want to get it, but nonetheless, don't get it. But it really isn't about Not loving them! Nor is it about Not wanting to be with them. Nor is it about Not wanting to Not communicate with them. There is just something about being able to talk with your BFFs and Sisterships that seems to work.

For the past several weeks, this past week especially, I have found myself in multiple conversations, or "girl talks" where the girlfriend I was speaking to thought that I was helping and listening to them. But in actuality, just having them reaching out to me and allowing me to be a part of their world was so good for me, that it helped me more than they realized. I don't think we realize a lot of the times how even the smallest contact can help someone out. That's why I love this modern technology stuff! I love getting texts from people. It could be completely insignificant info, but it means the world to me. I love postings to my blog. Again, it may seem like some small nothing to you, but it means mounds to me. I just spent the evening with a close friend just gabbing the night away. Best therapy I've had all week! And to end the night I chatted with Bestest Best Friend Cydnee...nothing sweeter than keeping in touch with your daughters and becoming their friends at the same time!

So Thanks BFF's for all the chats! Thanks for all the silly text messages on book updates. Thanks for all the Twilight indulgences! Thanks for being my friend! And if you're reading this..then you know who you are! Hugs!

Thankful Thursdays

Man, it's been one incredibly emotional and long week for me! And there is still one more day to go! Heaven help me. There has been so much going on this week and every day I've struggled to find just a little peace or repreave. So today's list are the Five "comfort" items that I have in my life that have seemed to help me out a bit this week and that I'm thankful to have had around during this crazy time!

#1 - FanFics!!! I know you all already think that I'm a bit too obsessed with Twilight, but until "Breaking Dawn" comes out in August, I have found some great stories to pass the time. My favorite is titled "Sacrifices". It's helped me escape to the world of Edward and Bella a little bit every night! The story is not complete so the author is still adding chapters every 3-4 days. Here's a link if you're interested in checking it out!

http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3940174/1/Sacrifices

#2 - Popcorn!!!! I know this is a total comfort food thing, and contrary to the picture that I have posted below, but hey...when I'm down, and I want something good and salty, a bag of Homestyle flavored popcorn always hits the spot!

#3 - My Music!!! Every night as I lie in bed longing for sleep, or for an escape from the days events, I love to just put on my headphones and escape to the tunes on my various playlists. Seriously, you gotta love iPods and iTunes! Godbless Apple! (Now if only Chris would take me of his "naughty" list and let me replace my lost 8GB nano!)

#4 - A Good Inspirational Thought!!! It's so easy to get bogged down in the daily woes of the world or even easier, in our own suffering, so I've been trying to keep some uplifting thought books around my bedside to read each day to "TRY" to help me stay focused. This is the thought that I flipped to this evening, and wow, it just nailed every part of every bit of my life and those around me. It's short but says a lot! Here it is:

Life is never a failure until we call it such.

There are so many who need your helping hand,

your loving smile,

your tender thoughtfulness.

#5 - Hugs from "MY BEST FRIEND!" Every morning, every hour, just about whenever it seems that I need one, my little guy is coming into my office or wherever I am and letting me know that I'm "his best friend" and he loves me and then gives me a big hug! Comfort doesn't get much better than that!

Well...****!

Not much more to say to that now is there!

Friendship is Healing

“No distance of place or lapse of time can lessen the friendship of those who are thoroughly persuaded of each other's worth.”~ Robert Southey

So this past weekend started out pretty rough. I received some less than happy news from close friend of mine that just left me rather down and sad all day on Friday. Of course it didn't help at all that I was extremely sleep deprived (going on 5 days) so my emotions were pretty high. Then later that night as I was about to call it a early evening (as Chris was on a rare Boys-Nite-Out), Jaxon decided to get the stomach flu! So much for trying to sleep! Night # 6 here we go! Poor guy, he was up every 30-minutes! I truly don't know who was in more pain, him or me. But by the morning when he finally stopped, I was in tears from exhaustion. To say the least, the weekend was not starting out so well.

How glad I was that a very dear friend of mine reached out and presented a day full of distractions for me. Otherwise, I think I would have just sat around, tired and allowed my exhaustion and all the worries of my LIFE (yeah, you know those days) overcome me! Instead, I packed up the kids and met my friend and we went to see "Kung Fu Panda!" Which, may I add, was a FANTASTIC show! But the fun did not end after the show. We ended up spending the entire day and night together!

We all met back up at my house where the kids spent the entire evening running around driving us crazy as usual. Chris made us a wonderful breakfast dinner. And then we proceeded to partake in a duel of Guitar Hero! It was an absolute blast!

It may seem just like no big deal of a day, but for me it was some pretty incredible medicine for MY soul. I've had a empty and large hole in my heart for this dear friend for several years now, and being one who doesn't heal so easily, it feels so good to patch this hole up.

(the only way out is through) Love you!

Thankful Thursdays...A Day Late

So I have been without the internet for almost two days now. Thus the reason for being late on my Thankful Thursdays List....so I apologize!

Here it goes!

#1 is Having my Internet Back!!!!

Besides the fact that I haven't been able to Blog, or access anything for two days, which felt like a week, I haven't been able to work without the Internet. Definitely a work hazard when you are working from home!!!! It's been a realllly LONG two days!

Speaking of Work, #2 this week is my 2nd Family...My IHG Family!

I know I tend to complain about job quite a bit, so I thought I would actually speak of one of the best parts about my job...my extended family! I have made some very dear and close friends over the past 15 years and I love them all! The support they offer me on a daily basis is incredible! I've been blessed with truly incredible bosses who have all been mentors, and just some of the greatest people I know. So this week, I'm just very thankful for all the great people in my life, here in Utah, in Atlanta, well all over the US that I've met through my job!

#3 & #4 are Katie Boo and Stacey Too!

Stacey took care of Jaxon for me on Thursday while I was flying home from Dallas. And yes, this is a HUGE help to Chris and I, but the part I am most thankful for is that Jaxon gets a break from Daycare. He LOVES his cousins, aka. his PALS and he had so much fun spending the day with Isabelle, and Baby Katie, and Isabelle's Mom! So Thanks Stacey! But the second thing I'm Thankful for is the fact that when I came to pick him up that Miss Katie Boo wanted her Aunt Nat! She wanted her Aunt Nat BAD! And this just doesn't happen! She was snuggling with me and hugging on me and even starting calling me "ma ma!" Sorry Stacey! I was loving it! So, Aunt Nat stayed a lot longer than originally planned!

And #5 on my list this week will be OneRepublic's "Dreaming Out Loud" CD!

I just cannot get enough of this Album folks!