A look back in time...and regretting it!

Being on the road to motherhood, I've been thinking about all the things I want to do and share with my children: the love of Christ, the love of family and friends, family vacations, horseback riding, soccer games, dancing, holiday traditions, and of course good looks, which will most likely come from Kelly's side! :)
It will be fun to look back at old pictures with my kids and see all of the fun places we have been, as well as the goofy hairstyles and make-up that we thought were oh-so-HOT! (Who wouldn't?!)
I happened to stumble upon this website called http://www.yearbookyourself.com/ where I could take a blast into the past and see how glamorous Kelly and I would have looked in the 50's and up. I suddenly decided that maybe I will reserve my pictures and yearbooks for private purposes only. I don't want to traumatize my children too soon!

1950

A match made in heaven!

1960

1970

My hair is not to be confused with a football

helmet. It really is supposed to be hair, I think!

1980

Between the 2 of us , we would have gone through at least 4

4 cans of hairspray a day!

1990

Nice.....mullet......Kelly! (At least I didn't post

the real pic of him and his mullet!) One word: H-O-T!

Back off ladies! He's a married man!

2000

And finally, who could forget the bangs!? Girls, don't you

remember perfecting these beauties every morning?

Curling iron, ratting brush, and a WHOLE lot of hairpray,

and you're on your way to the perfect bangs!

Season of Change...and a whole lot of pee!

Being the super-intuitive, always-knowing-what-my-husband-wants/needs/and hopes for kind of wife I am, I have the intuition that Kelly is planning on posting about all of the changes and exciting things that have consumed our lives for the past month or so here very soon. (Actually, I just happened to look at the camera and saw that he got some snapshots of them....ok, ok, so I'm not as sharp as I'd like to think!)

So in the meantime, I would just like a small vent session about how much pee a 4 month old puppy can produce. Did you know that if a puppy drinks 12 oz. of water, within the next 30 minutes 40 gallons of pee are produced?....or so it seems with our magnificent pee-hound. Kelly and I are a bit tired of scrubbing our brand new carpets and swiffering up puddles (P.S. Thanks AD and T-Rav for the swiffer, it's quite possibly the most useful gift we have ever received!) We did expect accidents, just not this many! I am taking this opportunity to plan for motherhood, however! When little baby Johnson comes, I'll be sure to post the stats on his/her flood gates!...I'm sure you're all waiting in anticipation for that ingriguing post! Patience!

Peanut

At about 10 weeks, this is the basic shape of a little embryo forming into a fetus which will soon transform into a little bawling bundle of joy to be "delivered" on March 2, 2009. Oh, that's right, you heard me... we're bakin' a baby.

The news is out! Shelli and I are expecting a little addition to our family this coming March, who we have affectionately named 'peanut' (due to he or she's striking resemblance) for the time being until we discover the gender and give he or she a proper name. We are so thrilled! This is such an incredible blessing, though a surprise, and we couldn't be happier.

The amazing news really hit us when we got home from our anniversary festivities and Shelli wasn't feeling well. Since we knew there was a possibility that Shelli could get pregnant we thought we better make sure she wasn't just encase. Well, to our surprise, pregnancy test numero uno came up positive. We realized there was no possible way that could be accurate, so we tried again. Positive. Of course, something must be awry, right? We figured to try again in the morning. The next morning came and test numero tres... positive?!?! How can that be? So we went and saw the doctor. they needed blood test to confirm, of course, and we knew they would reveal the inaccurate performance of the pregnancy test we had first turned to. Ummm... not so much. Not only were we expecting a baby, but we found out a week later at our ultrasound that we were 10 weeks along! Umm... how... really... but... wow.

that ultrasound was one of the most incredible moments of my life. Though we didn't necessarily expect to be pregnant at this point, I couldn't be more happy and excited about it, and I know Shelli feels the same too. At the ultrasound we expected to see the little fella still in 'blob' stage, but that was not the case, you could totally see the little baby! Arms... legs... head... it was amazing! I could not believe that we were about to be parents and this amazing feeling of joy and anticipation came over me. I couldn't help but beam with excitement.



Ever since that moment it has just been sinking in more and more. This past Monday we went to our first visit with the midwife and she has been very helpful. Everything was A-Okay and we even had the chance to hear the babies heartbeat! Again, I was breath taken and amazed. I cannot believe how amazing it is to hear my baby's heartbeat like that. I don't think I have ever felt more overwhelmed in all my life.

I love my wife more than life itself and I look forward to starting a family together and sharing our love with our children. I don't think I have ever been as ill-prepared and excited about something at the same time.

"Woohoo, I'm gonna be a good daddy!"

I love you Shelli and "Peanut"

the adventure

As you can tell, I am catching up in the blogging lately. Don't worry there is more to come, its been an eventful couple of weeks. Today we'll turn our attention to July 24th: Utah Pioneer Day and the narrow-minded ambition to conquer the mountain.

For what its worth, I'd done it before. This was nothing new, except that I'm older, balder and fatter, but then again, that's not the point. I woke up at 7 am to begin the trek, by eight o'clock a.m. I was packed up and ready to go, however my overly ambitious hiking buddy was not. None the less, it was an hour later when we finally pulled off the road and claimed our parking spot. For the next six hours my little white truck would wait faithfully for our return.

It towered upon our approach and even more so standing at its base. She goes by the name of Mt Olympus and Paul and I were determined to reach the top, clinging to the recklessness of our youth. 3.7 miles, 4,000 vertical feet, and little did we know at the time, 99 degrees of sweltering heat awaiting our descent. Let's roll.

If you want a beautiful hike scattered with breathtaking views and well trekked trails I highly recommend this particular day-hike. Though be warned, its not a casual undertaking. At about the half-way mark you're headed straight up the mountain. That aside, if you get the chance - do it, its worth it.

As we set our course for the peak we stopped off from time to time tracking geochache after geocache on our GPS's, and resting plenty in the shade so as to not overwork ourselves. My buddy Paul is preparing for a trek to the top of Mt Rainier come mid-August, so he decided to take it to the next level and load his pack with and extra 30 pounds of rock. Not my idea of a good time, but to his credit he hauled that bag of extra devil-rock hitchhikers up one side and down the other. Kudos, Paul.

We caught a few photos of butterflies and lady bugs, incredible valley overlooks and all types of natural beauty along the way up. The first half is relaxed and enjoyable, but half-way through you begin the real hike. Shooting straight up the mountain then twisting through switchbacks, resuming your straight ascent and finally rock crawling your way to the peak you'll discover your reward. Gorgeous panoramic mountain and valley views stretch across ever horizon. On a clear day you'd think you could see the ocean from there. We enjoyed some sustenance upon reaching the top, signed the log book and took off back down. The way down was a straight shot, no photos, just descent.

What we least expected was that the way down was the most grueling of the excursion. About a sixth of the way down I made the process a little more complicated. Getting a little careless and wearing my old hiking shoes (hence retired) I recklessly took a step of a rock and lost my footing. Okay, so thats an understatement, I lost my feet and came down hard, landing on my right thigh... on a rock... a big pointy rock. I thought I knew what a charlie-horse was, oh lord I was wrong! I spent the entire descent with a severe limp and slow pace. Trying to carry all my weight on my healthy leg only wore it out, by the time we reached the bottom both legs could hardly bear the stress, I near collapsed. Though I must say the heat played its part.

Long story even longer: well, we made it down alive and fairly well - all limbs, though bruised, attached. I must admit I am not a bruiser, so I questioned whether or not I would have some legitimate evidence to corroborate my story. I am proud to say that at this time I have a brutally colorful bruise adorning my thigh.

That night we enjoyed the Dancing Cyber Monkey and Keg o' Color fireworks down at the Haskin's farm. I do have to say my Father-in-law Gary puts on quite a fireworks show complete with a mesmerizing choreographed dance number. If you see plan on seeing a broadway show anytime in your life, cancel now, its got nothin' on this. Oh and I must add, I celebrated the conquering of Mt Olympus with not only fireworks but a delicious steak dinner. Kudos to Gary for yet another delicious steak, a perfect follow-up to the days activities.

The next day Shelli and I got away again after work, heading up to Deer Creek Reservoir for some camping. Though we had a lot of fun, and I would certainly go again, I have to admit this throws off my youthful ideas of camping. We were right next to the restrooms so our campsite was incredible during the day providing every convenience we could ask, however at night it was the Vegas strip complete with an accordion serenade. Let's just say we didn't exactly 'rough it'. However, that being said we had so much fun: cooking dinner, playing cards (yes, Shelli will boldly announce she cleaned house in the card games, i didn't stand a chance) and playing in the lake. We'll have to make another trip soon, right when I get done practicing my 'Go Fish' and 'War' skills.

one year and the infamous flower debacle

373 days ago... 365 days ago as of July 21st, 2008 (I am a little behind) Shelli and I were saying our "I do's". I can't believe  how fast this year has gone by and how much has happened. It has been an incredible and wild ride. I have discovered many things in marriage in one year, none so much as discovering that I love my wife more with every breath and every moment. I am unexplainably excited for everything the future holds for us. It is going to be an incredible year two with many more memorable days. 

I will spare you any anniversary photos, however Shelli and I had a blast on our trip to the Anniversary Inn in Logan. We reminisced back where it all began and had a chance to get away from all the craziness of our lives (not to mention we had a chance to soak up the deliciousness of tiny spicy chicken from Formosa, one of my favorite dishes).

I tried to be somewhat surprising and have flowers delivered to Shelli, however I forgot she traded shifts on Friday and when they went to deliver the flowers to her the missed her by about 30 sec. They called me right as Shelli was walking through the door (with no flowers) to confirm that she had received them. I informed them that my wife had not gotten the special delivery and they decided they would pick them back up and deliver them on Tuesday the next week (Our Anniversary was Monday). Well, too late, because a co-worker had already texted to let Shelli know that she had a little something waiting for her, thus blowing any shot at a surprise. This is my life. Surprises just aren't my forte, but I try, though I fail about 98.6% of the time (of course, this rule carries over into most facets of my storied life).

Well thanks for reading my lame anecdote. If nothing else it should help you fall asleep tonight. Its has been one of the best years of my life and I know they can only get better from here. I am very blessed to have such a loving, wonderful and beautiful wife. I have no idea how I ended up so blessed, but thank God! I couldn't be happier. 

I love you Shelli and I only love you more with every moment - here is to many more great years of marriage!

The infamous flowers...

back in the saddle...

For years Shelli and Summer blew away the competition in the 4H circuit as an indomitable team. Shelli has been on sabbatical for a few years while she was attending college, however Summer has continued her all-star form with a new rider. Well, they're back. Shelli is back in the saddle and Summer was certainly glad to have her as they completely stole the show a few weekends ago cleaning house with 4 first place awards, a second place and a third place. They were both so excited they even did a little pole dance for the audience (if you weren't there you'll have to ask Shelli, and its not what you might think).  It was incredible to see Shelli back atop Summer and to watch how graceful and powerful of a team they make; it was beautiful. Shelli plans on training their other horse Milly to jump this next year and get her ready to take the world by storm. Shelli is an amazing and gifted rider, and Summer is an incredible and beautiful horse. Milly has a ton of potential and it is exciting to think about what lies ahead. So for now, may I just say great job to my wifey and to Summer for an incredible show. 

The secret is out.....

.....I am a slight.....(ok, let's just be honest)....big fan of American Idol. It's my guilty pleasure that I just can't seem to break. I plan my work schedule so that I will be home to watch AI during it's season. I plan the most important of life's events around it! Who wouldn't? Kelly (either by default, or perhaps because he knows it's amazing as well) is a big fan of American Idol also. So, when my mom got him and Travis tickets to the American Idol Live Tour for their birthdays, I was a little bit pumped. (Thanks MOM!)

The concert was last night, and it was a lot of fun! The concert began at #10 (Chikezie) and went to #1 (David Cook). They all sang 3 songs, except for of course Utah's one-and-only David Archuletta, and David Cook. They also sang songs as a group mixed in there a bit. The crowd (comprised of mostly teenage girls with very high squeaky voices) was pumped, and whenever the word "Arch..." was mentioned, it was all over!

We refrained from buying any memorabilia, but Kelly did admit to me that he really would like a Mrs. Archuletta t-shirt.....I'm pretty sure that it would look awesome on him. I know what I'm getting Kelly for Christmas! Hehe.

Here's a few pics that captured the night, just make sure you're sitting down. That's how incredible it is!

The 5 Year...

After almost a year of planning, we pulled off our 5 year high school reunion this weekend. It was a success and it was really great to see everyone that I was buddies with back in the good ol' days! Being a Sr. Class Officer in high school means that I now owe my life to Riverton High...eek! Let's just say that getting a hold of 750 people from your past isn't exactly easy! I look forward to the next 4 years of rest before we have to plan for the 10.

*HaPpY BiRtHdAy KeLlY!!!*

Today was the day, 26 years ago that Kelly came into the world!....and I'm so glad he did! We started the morning with a cool song and (almost) dance from none other than His truly! Unfortunately, it's back to work for me, so we'll have to party like it's 1982 when I get home!
I love you Kelly, thanks for being such a wonderful husband, and I hope your 26th year is the best one yet!

Road Trip Math

4 Haskins (2 former), 3 Lansings and 2 Johnsons for a total of 7 family members crammed into one Ford Explorer loaded to the brim with blankets, pillows, over-packed bags, climbing gear and snacks stacked so high they would rival New York’s Skyscrapers. Tack on a total of 10 days and five states (Utah, Idaho, Oregon, California and Nevada) over 2100 miles and who knows how many hours and you have a one-of-a-kind recipe for fun.

I can’t even do the stories justice. Since our adventures in Prineville where we last left off, and also first began usage of our favorite word ‘obligatory’ (the word first took off in description of the obligatory climbing butt-shot, and has carried through), we have visited Cannon Beach, Oregon. Cannon Beach, located in Northern Oregon, is probably best known for most visible landmark: Haystack Rock. A prominent monolith located just off the beach that plays home to a blanket of seagulls. We spent hours walking up and down the coast, snapping photo after photo of the rock. We walked downtown and enjoyed dinner at some local restaurants, explored the quaint local shops and nearly passed out from all the ice cream (actually, I am pretty sure we did pass out from it once or twice). During our exploration we also discovered a new catch phrase for our trip, ‘mostly’. It seems that the work mentality along the beautiful Oregon coast is slightly more light heartened than our inland Utah, typically opening from “10am-5pm, Mostly”. We caught the ‘mostly’ days.

We topped off our Cannon Beach portion with a bonfire and s’mores, mmmm… mmmmm… good.  Travis, Adrienne, Gary, Shelli and I roasted ‘mallows and ate s’mores by the ocean until Gary and the girls decided they had had enough. Travis and I enjoyed a few more hours before calling it a night.  After the bonfire and a good nights sleep (mostly) we packed up and traversed the coast all the way down to Gold Beach (very Southern Oregon) stopping along the way for ‘feely rocks’. We learned the intricacies and anatomy of the perfect feely rock, the necessity of the hand to rock fit and the appropriate smoothness and texture by the expert herself Mrs. Pam Haskins. And after Shelli gathered close to a half ton of rocks we were done.

Gold Beach was nice, but short. We pulled in, found dinner, went to bed, got up and said ‘goodbye,’ waving in the distance as we closed in on the Majestic Redwoods and the Trees of Mystery. Travis turned us on to this little wonder where we had a conversation with a 50 foot tall Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox. After strolling through the mammoth redwoods we backtracked our way back to Oregon and along the border to our present destination: Tulelake, California.

Tulelake is the hometown of our one and only Gary Haskins. Gary’s parents still live here in Tulelake making the population a strong 10 or so. Actually, it’s really like a thousand, but you get the picture, right? We spent yesterday eating delicious food, and then eating some more. Grandma Joan has fed us well. After eating again we checked out the Lava beds and went spelunking in the caves. It was an awesome experience. Some of the lava caves are absolutely endless, weaving in and out and over each other. Others are so untouched by the sun that they still house Ice even in the warm weather.  Still others house bats and other creatures. It is incredible to see how the lava has cut its way through the rock melting it away. You can still see the organic drips of rock that solidified into unbreakable little points that kept jabbing our kidneys and foreheads as we crawled our way through the narrow passageways.

Post-caves and more food here we are today. The girls took off this morning for a girl’s day out and the boys spent the day around the house being lazy. It’s felt good to be lazy.

It’s been a great vacation, one that will not soon be forgotten. Tomorrow we head back for the homestretch Tulelake, CA to Salt Lake City, UT. It’s a long one. No one has killed anyone yet, in fact, we all seem to be pretty good friends still. It will be good to be back home and in our own bed, but it will be sad to leave all of our wonderful family and all the fun sites we have seen. Our families have been great to us from Prineville to Tulelake and everything in between. I am thankful to have seen all we have seen; I feel like I have been able to soak up a wonderful portion of Shelli’s family history through the places we have visited and the amazing stories we have heard. I’m glad to have a place in all of this and it has been an exciting time.

Well, I am done for now, mostly. One more long day on the road and its back to the real world. Salt Lake City here we come…

Tyler having the time of his life in Prineville

Shelli and I after a day of climbing at Smith Rock just outside of Prineville. We were told it is one of the premier climbing locations in the world, it was pretty incredible.
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Next Stop Cannon Beach, b-e-a-utifiul!

Shelli was excited to see Haystack Rock.

The views were pretty, but nothing compared to my beautiful wife.

Downtown Cannon Beach outside the shops. 

Cannon Beach Panoramic. 

Look ma, I can hold up Haystack Rock!

This Seagull thought he was hot stuff.

Found a few sand dollars on the beach. Unfortunately I left them at the beach. 

And then we started down the coast...

The Lansings on their way down to the beach

Beautiful Cannon Beach views before we leave.

Sad to say goodbye, but we had fun...

Bye,  bye.

The Girls having fun on the beach...

Still having fun...

Cute little Tyler enjoyed the Redwoods.

The Cathedral Trees at the Trees of Mystery.

Last Stop Tulelake, and the Lava beds.