Johns Family Reunion
July 2007

For all of those reading this blog who are not members of my family and who have always wondered (because I know you have) what my entire family looks like, well, today is your lucky day. This picture was taken July 2, 2007 and I love it!

This picture is the original 9 Johns. I have the best looking brothers, sisters, and parents.

All 34 of us gathered in Provo, UT for the 2007 Johns Family Reunion and to celebrate Mom and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary. It had been six years since we were all together and in that time 11 nieces and nephews were born. There are a total of 19 nieces and nephews...the oldest is 15 and the youngest is about 15 months old. We all had the best time. It was so fun for me, as the organizer, to watch everyone interacting together. My parents were in heaven with all of their children gathered around with their spouses and children.

I have many highlights from the four days we spent together but I think at the top of my list would have to have been Sunday, the very first day we were all together. As one of the gifts for Mom and Dad I has asked all families to be at church Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. As of 7:00 p.m. the night before I knew we would have all but one family there because of a change in their travel schedule. However, as each family filed into the chapel Sunday morning I was almost brought to tears when I saw this family walk in. It was all I could do to not jump over the pews to get to them. They had driven all night! Picture if you will Mom and Dad surrounded by 7 families...we took up 3.5 rows. It was quite the site.

Just to give a brief rundown on the fun we had together:
Sunday: church, dinner and family night at Mom and Dad's. Mamii came for dinner and family night. It was great to see her surrounded by great grand children. Murray gave a lesson on the armor of righteousness; Katelyn played the piano; all of the grandchildren sang, "I am a Child of God" and the adult children and spouses sang "Love at Home".

Monday: family pictures in the morning followed by lunch, home tours, swimming and then a BBQ at a local Provo Park.

Tuesday: Children's Discovery Museum in Salt Lake City, more swimming followed by a special presentation at Mt. Timpanogos Park in Provo Canyon. This was another highlight for me. I had prepared (with professional help) a video highlighting Mom and Dad's life. It is 33 minutes of pictures put to music. I had been anticipating this moment, this unveiling for months and it was a hit. There were tears, laughter and just a genuine enjoyment by everyone. In addition to the special presentation we also had a talent show. Monica and Keaton performed some ballroom dances that they have both been learning. They are excellent dancers! Brynn did a somersault; Madeline and Halayna did a cheerleading cheer; we watched a video tape of Anneka's ballet performance and Jana's hip hop performance from a recent dance recital; Clark shared family trivia from a Q&A that he had sent to each of us. It was so fun to all of this talent. Clark also gave a little lesson prior to the unveling of the family movie. Clark taught the importance of accepting everyone regardless of their race, color, language, physical or mental disabilities or struggles in life. He tied this to the family movie: even though we all come from the same family we are all diferent and that is what makes our family (and all families) so wonderful. The entire night was awesome!

Wednesday: 4th of July celebrations. We all did different things throughout the day. Clark and his family left in the morning for the airport, some families went to the parade and to Stadium of Fire. Most families did go swimming in the afternoon to cool off and we enjoyed a BBQ together at Mom and Dad's.

All in all it was a huge success. My work and planning paid off, at least, from my perspective. Each family contributed in some way: Dad made his delicious chili and hosted three families at their home; Murray's Sunday evening lesson; Rick's help with the video equipment; Monica's plans for the talent show; Clark's lesson on accepting everyone; Graydon hosting me at his homoe for a couple of nights; Jana's help with the family pictures; Carrie Anne created and printed the "Reunion Guide"; Megan coordinated the photographer for the family pictures and she is still handling the picture orders. In addition to all of this everyone helped with meal preparation and clean-up.

I get so much from each of my siblings, their spouses and children, and from Mom and Dad that I wanted to give back to them. I wanted our time together to be memorable and I dare say that was achieved. I am so blessed to be a part of such a wonderful, amazing family. I am so proud of my brothers and sisters and what they have achieved so far in their lives. Their families are beautful...their children are tremendous, so talented, good looking, well behaved and kind.

Here are more pictures:

August 18, 2007
No More Victims 5K Run
West Jordan, UT

Now that's dedication! I completed my fourth 5K today...in the sprinkling rain and blowing wind. My sister, MB, ran with me...her first 5K. As we walked from my truck to the registration area I thought, "This is going to be interesting...pouring rain, no sun, and a lot of wind". I really wanted it to be a great experience for MB so she would want to run again and again. By the time the race started the wind had calmed down and the rain was just a light sprinkling. It was actually quite nice...although my sun glasses kept fogging up. I finally gave up on those and moved them to the top of my head.

As for our performance, MB had enough extra kick the last stretch of the race to come in at about 34:45. I was lagging behind and came in at about 35:05. I was hoping for 32:00 but...every race seems to be different or I seem to be different every race. MB is pleased with her time and it now gives her a bench mark to run against and improve on. I just need to get faster. I am training for the triathlon so my focus is not just on running but you would think that with the training I am doing I would be doing better. I'm not complaining just making a point...I am not going to give up!

All proceeds from this run went to the Child Advocacy center in West Jordan...fighting abuse. Members of BACA, Bikers Against Child Abuse, started the race--engines roaring--it was awesome! We also had police escort the entire race because it was not a closed course. I wanted to fake an injury just so the cute blond policeman could rescue me. However, once they had their helmets on I could not tell who was who...not helpful!

This is a post race picture of me and MB. Aren't we cute!?

August 8-10, 2007

St. George, UT

Last week marked our second annual trip to St. George for our office retreat. Let me just say, it was as much fun this year as it was last year. Last year I took it upon myself to plan the trip and I did the same this year with a lot of help from SL. I will not give you all of the details...just highlights. SL and I arrived Monday night in order to get things ready for everyone's arrival on Wednesday. We went food shopping, tested the AC in the house and the temperature of the pool. I made sure the walking/biking trails were suitable for exercise and SL made sure she knew the way to and from the house to the spa so we would not have any lost colleagues.

Wednesday, as guests arrived they were welcomed by a goody box that contained treats, a CD of summer time music, and what SL and I could determine might be an enjoyable magazine for everyone. We headed to The Painted Pony for dinner...I speak on behalf of everyone when I say it was one of the best meals we had ever eaten. Unfortunately we had to rush through the main course in order to make it to the Tuacahn Theater production of Cinderella. I stayed behind with KH to sign the check and get dessert...for everyone. The show was fantastic and everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves. For those who have never been to Tuacahn it is an amazing outdoor theater set up against the red rocks of southern Utah.

Thursday we all had breakfast together feasting on JG's famous egg dish. Delicious! There were nine of us gathered together and of the nine, six had spa treatments scheduled for the day. That left the other three, me included, to do what we wanted...more pool time and naps. What a great way to spend the day. Once the 6 spa goers returned we began preparations for a BBQ and Karaoke! The food was delicious...it seemed a good number of us provided some favorite dish. The Karaoke was a hoot! I consider myself a semi good singer but you would not have been able to tell if you had listened to me. But, when you look as lovely as I did (no make-up, hair slicked back and hidden under a straw hat...just wait the pictures will tell the story) you tend to feel less inhibited and do crazy things. It really was a lot of fun and we had BC and MB to balance out the off-key singers. They both have excellent voices.

Two of the groups left Thursday night leaving five of us to suffer along without them. Friday came with three of us going to the spa. I had two treatments: Reflexology and a pedicure. The reflexology was incredible. I would take that over a massage any day. The therapist focused on the pressure points of my feet...spending just a little time on my hands. I am generally VERY ticklish on my feet but this did not bother me...no I did not kick the therapist in the face. I wanted to crawl out of there so I wouldn't disturb the good that had been done. After returning home I spent more time at the pool. By Friday night it was just me and DS left in the house.

Saturday I woke up, went riding for an hour, and came back to start the deep cleaning. DS left before noon but I wanted just a bit more time at the pool. Once back inside I showered and then did the final cleaning and packing in order to begin my trek home. By the time I arrived back in Provo I was pooped having trained every morning and enjoying the festivities during the day and into the evening. It was a memorable few days. Below is a picture of the entire group at The Painted Pony.

August 4, 2007
St. Louis, MO

A trip for the books! One like any other as far as work trips go. I flew in to St. Louis the day before the presentation. SRC was scheduled to fly in the day of the presentation. It was just so strange to be on my own for the logistics, etc. I was craving vegetables! Attached to the hotel is a mall and what did I find in the food court, Panda Express! It was delicious! I got up in the morning and headed to the gym...bike first and then run! It felt great!

I met up with ER, the rep from a PR firm for the client and together we covered the logistics of the event: the venue for the general session, the press room, entrance and exit strategy, etc. Once all of this was done I headed back to the hotel to meet SRC. Once back at the venue we headed to the press room and then onto the General Session. SRC spoke for one hour and he was awesome...a home run for this group! It was incredible. Here is the biggest difference between this event and all others, I left before SRC was done. He got through his slides and the videos he wanted to show and then I was off. I had a plane to catch! What I didn't know is that Southwest has its own terminal at the St. Louis airport and with traffic at a minimum on Saturday afternoons I made it to the airport in about 13 minutes. I had plenty of time to change my clothes, get a salad, and find a place to sit on the floor in line "A". The flight home was uneventful...

July 30 - 31, 2007
San Diego, CA

I must say that if given the right opportunity I could live in San Diego. The weather was divine during our two day stay there. Plus, the view from my room was amazing...I looked down at the resort pools and out at the ocean. I saw big aircraft carriers cruising through the water. It was pretty cool!

SRC and I were in San Diego for a 7 Habits Certification event. This is the second event of this sort and it was awesome. The group was smaller...about 155 people but the caliber was excellent. All of these participants were so anxious to hear from SRC and to learn from him. They were also very enthusiastic about becoming certified in 7H. SRC presented for about 4 hours the morning of the first day followed by about 40 minutes of Q&A with the entire group. Once again I learned a lot of new things about SRC. He told storied and related experiences with his research and study that I had not heard before. The afternoon of day 1 and morning of day 2 consisted of visits to each of the break out sessions. SRC answered more questions and had a chance to connect with the participants. It is so inspiring to see the fire in their eyes and the fire that lights up when SRC is talking to them. It is times like these that remind me of why I love my job.

The evening of July 30th SRC was invited to participate in an LDS Young Single Adult Fireside. The event took place in Corona, CA which was about a 90 minute drive. Upon arriving at the event we had maybe two minutes to spare before it was to begin. As I was walking in a kind man asked me if I needed anything as I prepared to go on the stand to set up my AV. It was right then that I was processing in my mind, "I hope I remembered to pack my power cord...YIKES!!!!!" I had left my laptop in my hotel room. Before leaving my hotel room to go to a cocktail party and then the LDS Fireside I mentally checked off what I needed and even thought to "lock" my computer so that anyone coming into the room would not be able to access anything on the internet. Whew! Smart thinking...they couldn't access anything on the internet but they could steal my laptop. Anyway, back to the fireside. I looked up into this man's eyes and said, "I forgot my laptop". There must have been a look of fear and devastation in my eyes because he immediately said, "I live three minutes away I will go and get my laptop" and like a knight in shining armour he was gone. Now, SRC was in the restroom while this exchange was taking place and to this day he still does not know that I forgot my laptop. Once they got through the welcome, song, and introduction I was on the stand plugging in the laptop.