Johnson Reunion {fourth of July}

We drove all the way to Oregon, my Dad's territory!  He has the most beautiful view from his home on the Mountain.  We got to stay the night at his place before we all headed to Whisper Canyon Ranch in Lake Selmac.  It was so fun to see his handmade "bridal veil falls" in his backyard.  The kids loved his view and shot golf ball off the mountain. ha!  

We all put on our Johnson family reunion shirts and did some morning Yoga while 

we enjoyed our view.  

We spent the fourth of July going through the Redwoods of California 

{super close to the Oregon coast} and then off to the Coast.  

It was a perfect and beautiful day to be so adventurous with so many people.  We were surprised that it wasn't crowded at all, perfect for us!   Grandpa told us lots of information and trivia!

Kids had a blast climbing up the huge Redwood trees and of course doing handstands/headstands!   The coast was gorgeous too, and the kids jumped in the ocean and swam for a bit.  After the Redwoods we went to a delicious pizza place and then off to the Coast.

****  The Redwoods****

   

The Oregon coast...

***The Rogue River***

possibly my favorite day and adventure... Something i have always wanted my kids to do

with my Dad, before he got too tired and old.  He knows this river so well, and i love that he took 

us all down together to have such an awesome experience.  Even Ivy went!
This was bucket list stuff for me!

Boston with all the crazy teenagers! good luck uncle Steve!

olivia apparently felt more safe in grandpa's raft. ha! {behind charlee}

Hayes and Ivy were with us and in this picture hayes got bucked off his seat to the 

floor, and so did pregnant Jacquie! 

***Whisper Canyon Ranch***

This place was so much fun, so beautiful and very peaceful...

horses, bunnies {brand new bunnies}, volleyball, horseshoes, etc... the kids had a blast.  The cabins

were so nice, with guest cabins, and master suites. Nice job dad and madge!

never a dull moment and many volleyball tournaments were played. 

2 week old bunnies...

Cousins are awesome!!!  

Ivy with her cousins! ha!  She's the youngest of the Johnson cousins so 

her bff's are the great grandkids!

The Whole gang...

i love this family like crazy.

cousins holding up their number order in the Johnson family...

My awesome brothers and sisters, I'm a very lucky little sister.  

My cute girls... {valentines pictures}

These two sisters have my heart... I love that my friends did a darling little photoshoot

for them to have valentines to pass out to their friends.  They turned out so cute.

Olivia-9 yrs old

Ivy- 5 years old

Welcome Home ivy!!!

One of the happiest Days of my life!!! after 5 weeks in the Burn ICU, our baby girl gets to come home!!!!  she walked out of the hospital and so excited to get home and to recover there.  I was 

overwhelmed with all the medicine i had to take at different hours, but my baby was home.  

I was home, i could be a mom to all my kids! 

happy happy day!!!

Our neighbors and friends made a cute sign and balloons out by the front yard so when 

we pulled up everyone was in the cup de sac ready to welcome Ivy home! 

i cried tears of joy!  

I had no idea they would all be there to greet us. 

 It was so beautiful and tender, especially for my little ivy.  

She loved pulling up and seeing her friends.  

She got a brand new car to ride all over and guess who was there holding 

balloons with a note that said "you can hold me ALL day?"  buddy our elf!! 

That may have been the highlight of her day!  

Welcome home sweet ivy,  you are SO loved!

Christmas Eve 2013

We stayed as close to our ivy girl for Christmas break as much as possible.  The kids loved

staying at the Grand America for Christmas and it was so nice to switch off sitting with ivy.

  

Christmas eve was spent making totally different, but still magical memories.  

The kids all got dressed in their jammies that Buddy the elf dropped off to them at the Hotel.  

They came up to see Ivy and visit in her room for a while then we went to dinner

and swimming at the Indoor pool. The Grand also had the coolest Gingerbread houses

all throughout the Hotel.    

They mostly loved jumping from Bed to Bed while watching our favorite christmas movie

"Home Alone!"  As hard as it was leaving Ivy for the night, my other kids needed me too.

She was out for that whole week, sleeping because she was intubated. Which kind 

of made it a bit easier to leave for a bit. I still struggled not having her home with us.

One of the hardest things we've ever had to go through.

We didn't make Santa cookies, but we left him some nice chocolate covered 

strawberries and sparkling cider. ha!

I adore these sweet letters... especially Hayes' {sniff sniff}

Recovery for Ivy...

We spent 5 weeks at the Burn Unit at the U of U, These people were AMAZING!  I can't even

explain how wonderful and special they are to us.  They made our stay there so wonderful and 

they are still a very big part of our lives today. 

After she was extubated she took a few days to recover from that,  and then my girl was back, drinking, eating (week sorta), talking in her raspy voice.  She was back!! 

We had visitors come daily. She was so excited to open all of her presents that were waiting for her to open.  She had her own special Christmas at the Hospital and Dad and the kids came up later that day to celebrate with her.  

Her cousins came for the New year and stayed at a Hotel in Salt Lake and came to visit her daily.  

We were More than excited to take her home on January 15th 2014.

Each of the kids had their own sleepover with Ivy and slept with me on the couch in her room. 

ugh! {ha}

She loved every moment of those special sleepovers, they would color, help her with her physical therapy, watch movies, etc.  The nurses were so amazing to us, and of course let my kids do ANYTHING and eat anything they wanted, just to help the sleepover more special.

 I love these people SO much!  

 Witney made this beautiful painting and it lit up the whole room! We loved looking at it 

along with all the balloons and flowers we kept receiving!

after a while, Ivy didn't like sleeping in her hospital bed, so she slept in mine.  Love her!

***Chrismas Morning for Ivy ***

 I will never forget her sweet face and excitement when she woke up and saw that Santa had found her at the Burn Unit!  Still brings tears to my eyes.  

She loved all her presents, and especially that Saige, her American girl doll now had a 

wheelchair and crutches. Ha! A Christmas that we will always cherish with our sweet girl.