Okay....So I'm a little behind!

Alright, I admit that my blog has been, well...neglected for lack of better words. I just started it a few months ago and really haven't thought too much about it until recently. Anyways, I hereby promise to TRY to update it a little more often. If no one ever reads it or finds my life interesting, that's okay. I simply want a 'journal' of sometype to remember all the wonderful 'small things' that happen in our everyday life. For example, the cute little things that Ryder says day to day that make my heart melt with emotion, or my eyes water from laughing so hard, NEED to be documented so that I always have it to look back at and remember what an amazing child he is.....Especially for those days when he is being not quite so amazing ;) I also promise to try and make this blog a HAPPY one, for the most part. In other words, I will try not to use this blog to complain about every single thing/person/experience that makes me mad. I will try to keep it as positive and upbeat as possible, but...I am human and can have my days ;) So anyways...Here we go, back at it again!

Ahhhhh...What is new at the Johnsons?! In a nutshell, Ryder got his three year old pictures taken last week by the lovely Sarah Pollio Photography....She came to our house and I think/hope we got some great pics! (Of course, I will post when I get the pics back!) The day after pictures, Ryder got sick which was NOT fun! He threw up absolutely EVERYTHING that entered his mouth for a little over three days, poor little man.... There is nothing worse than a sick child :( However, we made it and now have a healthy little man again who is running around at ninety miles per hour once again! Other than that, we have been getting ready for Ryder's birthday party which will be May 2nd (His birthday is April 28th). I'm still trying to figure out how in the world my son is turning three?? He is turning into such a sweet but independent little boy, it makes me sad to see how "old" he is getting! He will even start preschool with cousin Calvin this fall in Litchfield, I can't believe it.... He also got a new swingset/fort for his birthday from Max and I and so far he loves it!

On a happier note, we have been outside CONSTANTLY and we have been SO BLESSED with such a beautiful Spring this year! We have been out working on our landscaping, bought and planted some new colorful flowers to brighten everything up, and will be HOPEFULLY planting our garden this weekend! I have never gotten into landscaping and 'outside work' like this before but I found last year how therapeutic it can be! It is so much fun to be outside with Ryder running around and spend some time with the hubby planting things to make our home look better. As far as the garden goes...You can expect to hear about it in future blogs I'm sure as last year we did not have the best luck... We'll see!

Other than that, most of my excitement has been from work lately. The program that I work for (chemical health intervention for youth ages 13-22) has truly taken off lately and our numbers have been multiplying like crazy lately. It is the most rewarding/difficult work I have ever done... The relationships that I have built with my youth are so priceless to me, I'm not sure if I am helping them more or if it is the other way around! Their stories are so different, yet they've each faced hardships and have lived lives that I could not even imagine, and yet they continue to amaze me day after day with the hurdles they are overcoming and the great things they are doing with their lives. We had a talking circle with our youth last night and an officer from the Willmar PD came and gave an inspiring presentation on drinking and driving. We had about thirty kids present from 4 different counties, pretty impressive :) It was so touching when we gathered them in a circle after the presentation and watched them open up to us about how alcohol has affected their lives in some way or another... I ended up working a 12 hour day yesterday and left work feeling more energized than I have in a long time :) Speaking of work, it brings me to my OTHER favorite thing about my job....The fact that I have Fridays off with my little man which is tomorrow, yay!! Have a great weekend everyone!

Finally... A Vacation!!

...well, sort of! After debating for a LONG time whether or not we should/could do a vacation this year, an opportunity came to us that we decided was too good to pass up. Through family (Ryder's grandparents) we were able to spend an entire week up at Breezy Point Resort this past week. It was just the type of vacation we were looking for (although I admit I would have preferred to go somewhere warm!!). We wanted to go somewhere that was kid friendly and not too expensive, and Breezy was perfect. We shared a condo with my sister and her boyfriend Nate, which was nice because we could kind of take turns taking care of Ryder every once in a while... We basically fell into a routine every day of waking up, making breakfast/lounging, going to the swimming pool (where Ryder was OBSESSED with a waterslide there that he had to go down all by himself!) working out, eating lunch back at the condo, and then NAPTIME (which we all participated in, of course) and then doing some snowmobiling, tourist type stuff, and shopping in the afternoons. As far as the shopping goes.....my family is lucky that I didn't make it to Nissawa to shop at all their little shops until the afternoon of the last full day we were there. If I had found out how FABULOUS they were earlier in the week, I'm afraid I would not have spent too much time on the resort as I am now officially obsessed with those little stores! I WILL be taking another trip back for the shopping when it warms up! Overall, the whole trip was so much fun, we hope to be able to go back for another week this summer...unless of course I can convince my husband to take us to my FAVORITE place on earth, Bozeman, Montana!!! (I have been dying to get back there, it's been almost three years :( ....maybe someday!

...a little catching up to do!

The past year has been crazy for our new family! 2009 went by so fast I don't even know where to start!! The majority of our excitement began last spring when construction of Max's house was finished....It seemed to take FOREVER but in the end was well worth the wait! We LOVE spending time decorating our house and are not completely done yet but it continues to be an ongoing project...Shortly after that on April 28th, Ryder turned TWO and we were able to celebrate with family and friends in our new home! Then on June 5th, 2009 while Max and I were laying on our front porch watching the sunset, a very shaky Max dropped to one knee and asked me to marry him....Of course I said YES!!! and wedding planning began! We didn't want to waste any time in starting a new lives together so our wedding date was set for September 5th, 2009. Our wedding was everything we had ever imagined with the ceremony held at the Johnson Cottage on Lake Stella. It was a beautiful day and everything went PERFECT!! Following the ceremony we tore it up on the dance floor at Peters on Lake Ripley. Max and I then spent the next week at a FANTASTIC bed and breakfast, Solglimt, in Duluth and from there our life as husband and wife began...
Since then we have been busy making our house into a home, working to pay the bills, and chasing a very busy Ryder around!!