Life in Loveland!

So many people to love!

2011-02-17T19:14:00.000-08:00

Steve and I don't usually go out to dinner right on Valentines Day since my birthday

is just a few days later. Instead we go out and celebrate both

occasions at the same time which if fine with me. I just make a nice meal

for the family on Valentines, but this year we all decided to go out and we

had a great time. We were so happy to have Becca home so we could

enjoy her since she has been so busy with showchoir lately. Our "at home" family is

so small right now and we really wish we could have had

everyone with us....but that just isn't possible so we

have to face reality and enjoy the two wonderful

daughters we do have home!

MY VALENTINE FOR 25+ YEARS!

I LOVE YOU!

The girls found these lovely lips in their Valentine bags this year...

PUCKER UP!

Becca has two really good guy friends who sent her on a wild goose

chase around the yard and the house and she eventually ended up finding

this cute stuffed dog on the hill in our back yard. She was babysitting two neighbor

boys who ran around with her and they had so much fun "going on

a treasure hunt"!

HAPPY BELATED VALENTINES DAY!

SO GRATEFUL!

2010-11-27T19:08:00.000-08:00

We have so much to be grateful for! I so often feel unworthy of all of the many blessings I have, but I will be happy and thankful and try not to take the people in my life for granted. Steve and I had the wonderful opportunity to meet our new little grandson William Peter Pearson for the first time last week and that was such a TREAT! He is the most beautiful little baby I have ever seen ( I can say that because I am his grandmother)! All of his little features are just perfect and I couldn't get enough of him when I was there. One of my favorite afternoons was spent in a very comfortable rocking chair with Will on my chest...both of us dozing and enjoying the sweetness of the moment. It is hard to believe that it has been almost 24 years since Will's dad Brad was born and Steve and I were doing exactly what Brad and Michelle are doing! I remember that time so well. I was so happy to be a mother and to have a sweet little baby to take care of and to love. To see Brad and Michelle loving parenthood like we have is so rewarding! They are such good parents and don't seem to be able to get enough of their sweet baby boy.

I was able to be there for a baby shower that my sisters Laurie and Julie gave Michelle and I really enjoyed that since I am never able to be in Utah for such

celebrations. I just love to be with my family....both immediate and and extended..

Brad also blessed William on our last Sunday in Utah and that was an amazing experience. There's nothing better than to hear your son give a blessing to your grandson...a payday moment for sure! Brad and Michelle had several friends there to support them as well as family on both sides of the family. I am sure they felt loved!

It was hard to kiss and hug our little grandson goodbye...especially since we know we won't be seeing him for a few months, but we really don't have anything to complain about...we can get daily updates via text or email and we can skype with them whenever we want! Thank goodness!

National Honors Society

2010-11-06T08:35:00.000-07:00

Becca had the honor of being inducted into the National Honors Society

on Wednesday night!

She is a very conscientious student and strives to do her best in

all she is asked to do as she serves at church or at school. I am so grateful

that she strives for excellence in her life and that she chooses to

surround herself with wonderful friends who also have

high standards. Becca loves life right now which makes

life enjoyable for us as well...who said

teenagers are hard?

Becca signing the roster for new inductees

Becca with some of her friends

Elizabeth, Becca and Madeline....great friends!

Becca will really miss these girls when they graduate

at the end of the year!

GO UTES!

2010-11-06T07:55:00.000-07:00

This post is in honor of Steve and my daughter-in-law, Michelle who are both Runnin' Utes! Even though I am a BYU fan, I want to support the Utes today as they go up against TCU! Steve is so excited to be able to watch the game and cheer his team on and I will be cheering along with him. I hope this is a good day for the red team. There is one day a year however that we are divided... that day this year is November 27 when BYU and the U of U go head to head! BYU will definitely be the underdog team, but it won't stop me from yelling....GO COUGARS! Today however I will yell...GO UTES!

Grandma,Granny,Nana? Grandpa, Gramps, Papa?

2010-10-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

Regardless of which name we choose to use...that's what we are! Grandparents! Early Sunday morning we got a call from Brad and Michelle who let us know they were on the way to the hospital because Michelle's water had broken. This was great news because the baby was two weeks and one day early! We had all been hopeful that little William would come early, but since he was a first baby we tried not to have our hopes up! But he wanted out and out he came around 10:30 Sunday morning. I don't usually take my cell phone to church, but I did on Sunday and was glad I did because we got play by play texts like..".She's dilated to a 10...she will start pushing in about and hour" and "she's starting to push". It was a little bit heard to concentrate on Isaiah in Sunday School and the Relief Sodiety lesson because of the anticipation! Steve even wanted to stay in Relief Society for awhile, because he can't get texts on his phone. I assured him I would come and let him know if anything happened. We didn't get the final text that he was born until after we got home from church and then there was much celebration on our part! Thank goodness for technology because just an hour or so after he entered this world we were looking at him via skype on the computer. What a blessing that is when you have family across the country. He weighed 7 lb. 4 oz. and is 20" long and has beautiful chubby cheeks! Birth is truly a miracle and I am so grateful that both Michelle and William Peter Pearson are healthy and strong!

Feeling Old!

2010-09-21T18:58:00.000-07:00

I have always felt pretty young...I mean why wouldn't I? I have always been able to go out and run 5 miles whenever I want with virtually no pain (ok sometimes there's a little, but nothing to complain about), I have a lot of friends who are still in their 30's so when I am with them I feel like I am their age, I work with the Young Women and they keep me young and I can still sleep through the night (most of the time) without getting up to go to the bathroom! Well now that I have said all that...I don't feel young anymore! Why you ask? Two things:

1. My oldest son Brad and his wife are only a few weeks away from having a baby...which would mean I am going to be a Grandma!

2. My youngest daughter Jane just turned 12 and is now a Young Woman....Yikes

So even if I feel young and can run around with young people, I am not young anymore...in fact I am officially middle-aged! But I have decided that that's ok because I am super excited to be a Grandma and it's fun to have a 12 year old who keeps us laughing all of the time with her jokes and clever remarks. So three cheers for being OLD!

Jane's friends came to her birthday party dressed crazy which is how Jane wanted it...They all had a great time and the house was even all in one piece when they left that night!

So grateful for my family!

2010-08-17T17:25:00.000-07:00

I feel so blessed! We just returned from a wonderful trip to Utah where we were able to see our parents, brothers and sisters, nieces, nephews, and last but not least our daughter Anne and son and daughter-in-law, Brad and Michelle! It makes me so happy to be surrounded by family and I always feel a little blue when our time together comes to an end. As we drove from the airport in Cincinnati I became a little teary-eyed as I looked at many familiar Cincinnati landmarks and was reminded of good times with our family...the Reds Stadium, the Waterfront restaurant, Sawyers Point etc. Seeing these different places warmed my heart, but also reminded me that we were driving home with only two of our five children....my heart has a hole in it because we are not all together! Life is like that though and that is why family reunions are so great!

Jane loves to ham it up with her cousin Megan at Grandma and Grandpa's house by getting into the dress up box...we get a lot of good laughs as we listen to them talk in their foreign accents!

We had to get a picture of all the kids together (minus Ben of course who is a little too far away!)

Natalie Lloyd is married to David Bennett! What a great day!

Brad, Michelle, Patrick and Sarah enjoying the wedding reception

Becca, Anne and Jane outside the Provo temple! They are oh so cute!

My beautiful mother with Anne!

Becca with Grandpa Johnson after she received her Patriarchal blessing from him...

We were able to spend some evenings with Grandpa Pearson...the girls have wonderful memories of the swing on the ditch bank so we had to capture it on film with Grandpa!

We had a cold day at Bloomington Lake near Bear Lake, but that didn't stop the brave ones from jumping into the icy water....those on the shore had to rap up in blankets and coats and wonder how in the world anyone could brave the glacier water!

One of our favorite nights of the reunion was going to see the play Juanito Bandito rides again at Pickleville playhouse. Grandpa treated us to the barbecue dinner before the play...yummmm, yummm! It was fabulous to be together with all the people I love the most and to be reminded that I am truly blessed to have an amazing family who never cease to amaze me!

Alive once again!

2010-07-26T16:55:00.000-07:00

Miracle of Miracles...I am posting something on my blog after a year of nothing! It's not that I don't think about it! I really do...It's just that I don't sit down and do it and I am bound and determined to be a little bit better about blogging even if it is just something small. In February I was asked to be Stake Young Women's President and since that time life has been busy, busy, busy preparing for our youth conference in June which was a Pioneer Trek. Fortunately I have wonderful counselors as well as a great Young Men's Presidency to work with, but nonetheless it was a lot of work for all of us. We were able to utilize many people in the Stake as Trek Specialists which made our lives so much better...in fact we couldn't have done it without them at all! So after several months of lots of work we embarked on a three day trek at Ceasars Creek State Park where 100 youth and about 35 adults worked together pulling 11 handcarts along hiking trails with many obstacles. It was inspiring to see these youth in their families working together to solve problems and forming lasting friendships along the way. I wasn't a Ma in one of the families,but I did walk along side some of them and observed. I felt the spirit many times as I walked, listened and watched our amazing youth. I felt so blessed to be able to be a part of such a great group of people.

During the evening after we returned from Trek, Becca commented..." I wish I was still at Trek!" I am grateful that she had such a positive experience at Trek and that she wanted more of the same...I call that a successful Youth Conference!

Busy time at the Pearson house!

2009-07-05T16:41:00.000-07:00

Well I am sure that if anyone has been looking at my blog...you have given up because I haven't posted anything for the longest time and for that i am sorry! It seems like we have had one thing after another here, but I think we can now take a breather until we have to plan Ben's Eagle Court of Honor which should take place sometime in the next month before he heads back to Provo to go to school! Since I haven't posted anything for about 5 months let me give the highlights...

*At the end of April I was able to fly out to Utah for my nephew Mark's wedding. I was also able to pick Anne up at the airport upon her return from a four month Study Abroad in Israel and that was a great treat. Furthermore I connected with Ben and Brad and Michelle after not seeing them for about three months. While there I put Ben on a plane back to Ohio where he had a grand reunion with the rest of the family! I think in the four days I was in Utah I went back and forth to the airport four different times....what fun!

*The month of May we worked and worked and worked to get our home and yard ready for Brad and Michelle's open house at the end of the month! Since we repoured a front walk as well as a back patio recently, we had a lot of landscaping to do and Steve and I did it together. We planted lots of perennials and annuals as well as some new grass to fill in some of the bare spots. It was well worth all of the effort...we are very pleased with the final results. Hopefully because of the perennials we won't have quite as much planting next year!

*Brad and Michelle arrived on May 24 for a week of fun with the family. Even though we had a lot to do to prepare for the open house we managed to have a lot of fun together. We are so grateful for our family and that we have now increased our number to eight people!

*We had a great time at Brad and Michelle's open house...we are so happy that many of our friends came to celebrate with us. I think Brad and Michelle felt very honored! So many of my wonderful friends helped me so that everything turned out great...I couldn't have done it without them!

*The day after the open house Ben graduated from High School! For him it seemed a little anticlimactic because he graduated early from high school and has already completed one semester at BYU. He walked in the exercises to appease dear old mother and I think it did bring a little closure for him as well. I am so happy we had the whole family together to celebrate his great accomplishment! It is so strange that our three oldest children are now in college and we only have two remaining at home....I feel old!

*Along with both of those celebrations we had Becca's 15th birthday and Ben's 18th birthday that week as well so it was very busy! I can't complain about any of it though because it was all fun and I have so much to feel thankful for!

We have had troubles in our garden...namely rabbits eating our newly planted flowers! There have been several times where I have felt like Elmer Fudd and I have wanted to kill that screwy rabbit! Well Steve decided to set up a trap to catch it and then release it in the woods near our house. As you can see by the picture the only animal we were able to catch was a Sammie dog! I haven't laughed so hard in a long time when I saw her all squished in the cage looking very guilty! She knew she wasn't supposed to be in there, but there was no way she could get out until we released the latch...Good one Sammie!

This is our back patio with the newly planted pots...I will post pictures later so you can see how they've grown...they are so big! I love how they look this year!

CHANGES AT THE PEARSON HOUSE....

2009-03-04T16:42:00.000-08:00

What changes are those you might ask? Well the big one that affects all of us is that Steve was released as Bishop of our ward after 7 plus years! What a blessing those years have been to our family. Steve has loved the opportunity to serve the members of our ward so much. Brad was 14 when Steve was called and Jane was only 3...that really put's how long it's been into perspective. I guess we had a relatively young family at the time and now we only have two children living at home full time...WEIRD! The day Steve was released our ward was divided as well which made the day even more sad...We have been in the same ward with some of the same people for 15 years! Now what used to be the Milford Ward is now the Milford Ward and the Little Miami Ward. It will be hard to get used to, but we know it will be ok. We are excited to be able to spend more time with Steve on Sundays and in the evenings...Jane has roped him into playing lots and lots of games with her which makes both him and her very happy. Jane would play games as a family every night if the rest of us would agree to it...Oh to have the life of a ten year old again.

The other big change was my age...I turned another year older and Jane got a hold of the camera and got a few shots of me on that glorious day! Steve made me a great dinner and I was able to talk to lots of friends and family so that made for a very happy birthday! Thanks everyone!

How do you think you would look if you had just been given some extra time?

My cute daughter Jane giving me a kiss after revealing her gift... a great smelling candle!

A promise of softer more beautiful feet thanks to Brad and Michelle's gift...THE PEDEGG!

A very happy birthday girl!

Even sammie wanted to get in on the birthday action, but trying to rip off the ribbon!...She is so tough!

CHRISTMAS....JUMPING FOR JOY!

2009-01-15T11:33:00.000-08:00

Is it obvious that we got a new camera that helps us capture action shots! We had so much fun trying new things...especially the jumping...what is it about jumping that is so much fun? Brad and Michelle weren't with us during the jumping moments so we'll have to document that at another time. We stayed in Utah after Brad and Michelle's wedding and let me tell you this was a momentous occasion. We have lived in Ohio for almost 16 years (in March) and this is the first time we have been back to Utah since we moved! So all six of us moved in with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson with all of our junk ( and let me tell you they reminded us often exactly how much junk we actually have) for 2 1/2 weeks! Now that is a lot when you are used to peace and quiet all of the time! They are good to put up with us whenever we come for a visit and we really appreciate it! Since we were there for such a long time we had time to do quite a few different things...

*recuperated from the wedding

*enjoyed many different snow storms...it was so beautiful. I was so happy to miss the rainy Christmas season in Ohio

* went sledding down a reaaaally steep hill ( ask Becca how her tailbone feels..hopefully it is healed by now, but she was hobbling around for a few days

*attended the annual Pearson family Christmas party...some asked us who we were and what we were doing at their family party! (just kidding!)

*attended the annual Johnson family party and were glad that the girls planned an impromptu song for the program so we weren't scratched out of Grandma and Grandpa's will

*Enjoyed getting to know Michelle's family while eating a Russian specialty...Borsche

*Movie for 50 cents...yes only 50 cents because we went on monday to the dollar theater and it was half price... you really can't beat that! Grandma was glad she was treating that day!

*Wackee six game night!

*Skiied at Brighton without any casualties except Michelle's bruises (only her 2nd time skiing...what a good sport!)

*tried to work off all of the Christmas food by working out at the Sports mall...what fun!

*ate ourselves silly at Cracker Barrel...an annual Steve Pearson family tradition ( we felt like we were in Ohio when we walked in the doors since they all look alike inside!)

*connected with Kathleen's cousins at the annual Wood family gathering...lots of laughs!

*laughed a lot, ate a lot and played a lot!

JUMP!

JUMP!

JUMP!

CHRISTMAS MORNING ON THE STEPS....ANTICIPATION

ANNE AND HER COUSINS PLAYING THE PART OF THE SHEPHERDS...ACTUALLY ANNE IS JUST GETTING READY TO GO TO JERUSALEM!

BRAD AND MICHELLE CAME FOR OUR FAMILY DINNER WHILE THEY WERE ON THEIR HONEYMOON...GOOD SPORTS HUH?!

ENJOYING THE NEW FALLEN SNOW...WE JUST CAN'T GET ENOUGH OF IT...ESPECIALLY JANE...WE OHIOANS MISS LOTS OF SNOW!

A wonderful wedding!

2009-01-11T08:24:00.000-08:00

Wow can it really be that this 47 year old lady is now a mother-in law? Unbelievable! Whether I want to believe it not though it is true and I have many pictures to prove it in case my old mind fails me! December 20 was and absolutely wonderful day...in fact there is probably not anything I would change other than the 10 degree weather during pictures outside the temple. We at least had coats on for that, but poor Michelle had nothing. She said she wasn't that cold... that's a newlywed statement for you! After our part of the pictures was finished we walked across the street to the Joseph Smith Memorial Building where the lunch was held and thawed our feet, our hands and everything else! In spite of the snowy weather we had a large group join us for the lunch and it was so much fun. Brad and Michelle asked the parents to say a few words and I worried that I would just cry my way through it, but I surprised myself and did better (as far as the tears go) than I thought I would! Brad's best friend, Dan Talbert, gave the perfect toast as he officially handed off the best friend title to Michelle and made all of us laugh hysterically while doing so. Dan has been such a great friend to Brad for so many years...we love that guy! Becca sang a beautiful song... The Prayer, and Grandpa Johnson gave some newlywed advice as only Grandpa can do with a few of his many jokes! Steve did a great job as did Robert and Nally (Michelle's parents). We ended the lunch by having a slideshow of Brad and Michelle and I was so happy with how it turned out. My friend Becky Stansbury helped me put it together and it was great! It seemed surreal having a son get married, but it was a perfect and unforgettable day for sure. We couldn't be happier with Michelle as our daughter in law...she and Brad are perfect together...they really compliment each other which is what you want in a marriage.

The reception that night was held at the Red Butte Gardens and it was so beautiful! It sits up on a hill and you have a perfect view of the Salt Lake Valley. We had votive candles along the window sills and tall candles on many of the tables along with amazing floral centerpieces. We saw so many of our friends from the Salt Lake area and that was so much fun! We haven't lived in Salt Lake for almost 16 years and yet we still had many friends who came which we were so grateful for. Michelle and her mom chose great food... a crepe dessert bar, a hot chocolate bar, sandwiches, cheeses, crackers, meats etc. We of course didn't have time to enjoy the food, but I think all of the guests did and that's what is important! We loved getting to know Michelle's family better as well and felt so happy that Brad is getting such a great family to be a part of. I know how much he loves them already!

Well I have definitely rambled on way too long...but it was an exciting day for sure and I had to write about it! Enjoy the pictures!

New kitchen...finally!

2008-11-18T16:40:00.000-08:00

Well we are finally in our new kitchen and have moved out of the dining room. We even had company over for dinner on Sunday and ate in a clutter-free dining room. I am so happy with the outcome of our kitchen. I have a lot more space even though we only added about 6 more inches all the way around the room by taking out the soffit on top. I still have some empty drawers and cupboards which makes me very happy! We still need to add one more coat of paint to the walls because they got a little nicked up while the cabinets were installed and the hardwood floors will be refinished next week while we are on vacation so we will come home to a dusty mess, but nice shiny floors. I am also adding a hardwood border in the dining room and putting a piece of decorative carpet in the middle where the table is. That will really spruce up that room since we still have the original carpet in their and it really has seen better days. It is gross right now since we were living in there through the remodel! So enjoy the pictures of the new kitchen!

HALLOWEEN (A FEW WEEKS LATE!)

2008-11-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

OK so Halloween was two and a half weeks ago, but I needed to post my cute girls in their last minute Halloween costumes. You know your kids are getting old when they can dig through the costume box (or through mom's closet as was the case for Becca) and find their costume. Jane was really excited to be just a weird person and Rebecca as you can tell was a nerd (should I feel insulted that she used my jeans?) Oh well I have a good self image so I didn't get too depressed about it. Halloween night was a perfect balmy night so I sat out in our culdesac with our neighbors and handed out candy while Steve walked around with Jane and a couple of her friends. I don't even know why Jane goes trick or treating because she ends up with a bag of candy that she hardly even eats. I had to go into her drawer and throw out a couple of ziplock bags full of candy from last year...she is just like her brother Brad! Please notice our most talented dog Sammie standing and posing in the picture with Jane. Steve has now taught her to walk on her hind legs all the way around the kitchen...she takes a walk with Dad!

Our kitchen...A work in progress!

2008-10-24T14:01:00.000-07:00

At the end of September we started our kitchen remodeling project so I just wanted to post some pictures along the way...obviously now it has been a month since all of the work started and we have been using our dining room as our kitchen...but I am proud to say we have lived through it and we only have a few weeks to go! The first three pictures are before pictures and then I just took some random picutres along the way. Our kitchen was red before the remodel and now it is a mustard yellow....actually Swedish mustard yellow! We have had workers in the house every work day for four weeks, but this week has been quiet because now all of the new cabinets are in and we are just waiting for the counter tops to come...that should be sometime next week. We then will have a new sink, stove top and oven to use. So we are all excited to see the light at the end of the tunnel. It actually hasn't been as bad as I though it would be and when it is all over the children are going to have to get used to doing dishes once again. I just hope no one accidentally throws our silverware or utensils away. I will post some more pictures when I can them of the finished product!

BRAD IS ENGAGED!

2008-09-25T07:29:00.000-07:00

Well as you can tell...a lot can happen in a weeks time and this news certainly beats all news. Our newly returned missionary son Brad is now engaged to Michelle Chidester! Yea! We love Michelle so much and all agree that Brad couldn't have chosen anyone better to spend life and eternity with! Brad and Michelle were both missionaries in the Ukraine, Donetsk mission and became very good friends there. When we went to Utah in August for our family reunion they got together as friends usually do...and, well it quickly progressed into more than just a friendship. They have chosen December 20 as the big day so now Michelle is working hard to make sure everything goes smoothly that day and Brad is at BYU trying to concentrate on his schoolwork (hah, hah, hah!) A December 20 wedding means that our family will be in Utah for Christmas after having been away for 15 Christmas's so that will be fun as well. So much change and so much fun!

Next week our kitchen will be torn apart as we are starting on a Kitchen remodeling project so I will definitely post some pictures along the way so that we can chart the progress. Today I need to start boxing everything up and organizing it in such a way that we can access what we need when we need it! Good Luck to me!

2008-09-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday to Jane! Her birthday was on September 2 so I am little bit slow in blogging this, but we did just have her friends party last Friday so now I can put up the pictures from both events. It is so hard for me to believe that our youngest daughter is now 10 and in the double digits! Boy does that ever make me feel old! But I am also so grateful that I have a 10 year old and that I am not going to be an empty nester any time too soon! Jane is a gift to our family and makes us all laugh! I have been feeling a little sad lately realizing that my family is growing up and leaving the nest and that most likely all 7 of us will never live under the same roof again for any length of time. But then I guess that is what we strive to do as parents...teach our children to be able to live on their own and to be independent. It is wonderful to see how all of our children are making great choices and doing so well...I couldn't be any happier about what they are doing...I am grateful for that.

Anyway, Jane was able to celebrate her birthday on three different days...how does she rate? We had birthday cake and icecream and opened a few presents the night before her birthday because we knew her birthday night would be crazy with meetings at the church! But on her birthday she had her traditional Swedish pancakes in bed, lunch out with mom and then we all went out to dinner and opened up her final gifts. I think she felt sufficiently honored! Finally last Friday night we had 9 giggly girls over for a swim/ game night with pizza, fruit, cookie cake, icecream and candy...lots and lots of candy. It made me so happy to see these girls having some good, 0ld-fashioned fun together without any media of any kind. I think we need more of that in our society. We definitely rely too much on media to make us happy, but it's the games together that can bring closeness and create real memories! All in all we had a great party without too much mess! Happy birthday to our little sweetie!

BREAKFAST IN BED...AHHH THAT'S THE LIFE!

BECS AND JANE...WE MISS ANNE!

FAMILY DINNER...WITHOUT OUR COLLEGE STUDENTS...WAAAA!

JANE GOT A NICE SURPRISE IN THE MAIL FROM BRAD AND MICHELLE...YOU CAN TELL BY HER FACE THAT IT MADE HER VERY HAPPY! HER FIRST FLOWER DELIVERY!

THE BIG JUMP!

PARTY FOOD AROUND THE TABLE!

COOL SHADES WITH CLAIRE!

CAN YOU TELL JANE'S HAVING FUN?

THE HAPPY COOKIE CAKE...by the time we got to this point in the party everyone had had too much sugar and were not very excited about adding more...but at least it looked cute!

BACK TO SCHOOL!

2008-09-07T18:23:00.000-07:00

August 26 was an exciting and sad day all at once! Sad that summer came to an abrupt halt with school starting and exciting because school started! I love summer time so I am always sad when those somewhat lazy days are over and we have to get back on a schedule again. But then getting back on a schedule feels good as well and I seem to get a lot more accomplished so it definitely is a catch 22! We only have three children left at home as we left our oldest two, Brad and Anne, in Utah to go to BYU.

Ben is a senior this year which is so hard to believe...but of course he is so excited to think that in a few short months he will be finished and be able to go to BYU to join his brother and sister (that is his goal anyway!)

Becca is excited to be starting her freshman year in high school, but with that comes a little nervousness and anxious anticipation of the unknown. She and Ben started seminary this week which means we are all getting up at 5:15 each morning so that they can be out the door at 5:55....OH THAT IS SOOOOO EARLY! Needless to say there is not a lot of talking going on when we pass each other in the wee hours of the morning!

Last to leave in the morning is Jane, our fourth grader, and she is as happy as a clam (who even knows if clams are really all that happy anyway?) to get on the bus and join her friends in Mrs. Croskey's class. She loves to do her schoolwork and she is very conscientious about it.

I am so sad that our family is growing older and I want to put a stop to it right now, but I don't think that is possible! When Brad graduated from high school three years ago, I knew that the other children were right behind him and that I wouldn't be able to stop what was already in motion. I am so happy that all of the children are making such great choices ...choices that will bring them happiness now and in the future. Even though they are leaving me too fast I can at least feel peaceful that they are prepared for life and that they will do well with whatever life brings them!

Trip to Utah!

2008-08-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

We just got back from a wonderful trip to Utah and I loved every minute of it. Whenever I go there and look up at beautiful Mount Olympus and breath the non-humid air I remember why I miss Utah! I love my life in Cincinnati, but I do miss our families, hiking in the mountains, Temple Square, beautiful blue lakes, Brad and Anne who are sophomores at BYU, and lots of really great friends! I am grateful that we have been able to visit every summer for at least two weeks while we have lived here for the past 15 years. Because of our yearly visits our children have wonderful memories with their Grandparents and cousins and have not missed out on relationships with them. Most of the summers we have visited my parents have had a Johnson family reunion and this year we had a great one at Bear Lake. There were 34-35 members of our family spread out between two different cabins on a hill overlooking the most gorgeous lake ever....it was truly picturesque! My dad loves pictures so we of course had two different slideshows where we all laughed ourselves silly over the old hairstyles and old clothes. Steve got in trouble however as both of his sons questioned why he threw away some of the "sweet" clothes that he used to wear. Oh if only we could have known that our boy's favorite place to shop was Goodwill! Anyway...we had a perfect hike day ( which is mandatory for a Johnson family reunion)! One of the reasons that is was a "perfect hike" was: it was short so that everyone, young and old, could complete it and it ended up at a little lake nestled in the mountains where there was a fantastic rope swing as well as some awesome cliffs for the teenagers ( and other brave souls) to jump off of. We loved that spot so much that we had to go there a second time later on in the week. We also spent a whole day boating which is also a must of our reunions. Grandma and Grandpa are so generous and rent a boat and two wave runners for everyone to use for the day! We made good use of everything and it was a perfect day. The sun was shining, but it wasn't too terribly hot and the water was cool, but not too cold...so can it get any better? My brother Mark and my brother-in-law Ray rode 50 miles around the lake that day as well so they were pooped by the time night rolled around! Another must, that I don't have any pictures of is Ultimate frisbee. Usually it is the Cutler clan versus everyone else, but this year they were down in numbers so it was the Cutlers and Lloyds versus the Johnsons and the Pearsons. Well the Cutlers put up a great fight and their newest member John Peterson helped a lot, but let's just say they want a rematch next year when Dave and Paul can join the team again!

Two more highlights of the week were going to Pickleville Playhouse where we watched a melodrama and laughed until we could laugh no more because of the lead character Juanito Bonito....we loved it. And finally we celebrated Grandpa Johnson's 80th birthday while we were there and had a superb program with music, laughter, slides and good food provided by the Cutlers. We all love Dad so much and we hope he felt honored...because we do honor him as the Patriarch of our family. Well I have gone on a little too long now, but I just wanted to get it all down before I forgot the details.

Jane and Megan in the tub at Grandmas... a tradition!

The more bubbles, the better!

Natalie, Lizzie, Anne and Emily...best cousin friends!

Jane and Megan...inseparable at the reunions!

On the hike to Bloomington Lake...Julie, Linda and Laurie...my beautiful sisters!

Brad and Ben about to jump into the icy waters of Bloomington Lake...they are mountain men for sure...unafraid of the cold!

Grandpa Johnson happily recieves kisses from two beautiful granddaughters, Anne and Emily...

The macho men of the lake...Ben, Brad, Grandpa and Patrick...watch out ladies...here we come!

The awesome teenagers...oh how we love them!

We had a wonderful weekend with Steve's family as well which included a celebration for Steve's parents 60th wedding anniversary! We went to the temple together, had a family picture and enjoyed a great barbecue at Lynette's house. What a great example Grandma and Grandpa Pearson are of living the gospel, loving each other and loving family...thank you!
This is a picture of Steve and his siblings Ann, Craig, Kent Lynette and their mom and dad. We all miss Marcia who passed away last summer at this time...she was such a wonderful daughter and sister!

This is our family with Grandma and Grandpa Pearson. You would never believe that they are 82 and 83 years old....don't they look great!

Our missionary has returned!

2008-07-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

Well after two long years our missionary son, Brad, has finally returned to us and boy are we ever enjoying having him home. He looks the same...(he didn't even gain that 50 lbs. that some missionaries gain), but we have noticed a slight accent. We can't decide if it is because he spoke Russian for two years or if it is just a little missionary accent that all missionaries come home with. We notice that he does have the accent mostly when he speaks in church or when he talks about church related subjects. I say he has a lilt in his voice and it is so cute! I think Brad really likes being home and best of all he appreciates everything and he helps us to appreciate things as well. There have been a couple of times when he has given Ben serious grief about his complaints. One night we were all driving somewhere and Ben said something derogatory about where he was sitting. Brad immediately said..." Ben, you are in a nice car with air conditioning in America....quit your complaining! Thank you Brad! Brad rode on buses every day of his mission with more people than he would have liked to, and most often they had their smelly armpits in his face because they were all trying to hold on for dear life. So yes Ben...we do need to be grateful because we are all spoiled Americans!

Steve and I were able to go to Ukraine to pick Brad up and that we definitely the best decision ever. We had an amazing trip meeting the members that Brad loved so much as well as some of the people he was able to work with in his English classes. It was evident that Brad has lots and lots of friends in Ukraine. We had so many people say thank you to us for sending our son to Ukriaine. It was very touching. The people have so little there and yet they have such big hearts. We were generously fed by several of the members there which was so sweet. Even though we couldn't speak the language we had Brad as our translator so we got to know them. It is amazing what you can communicate with a hug as well. We felt so much love when we were there and it made us feel so good that our son had the opportunity to be a friend to so many people. Because of the oppression the people in Ukraine felt for so many years they are not a very happy people. It is not common at all for people to smile at each other or even pay attention to each other which is very sad. So when the missionaries smile and talk to random on the street they find that very strange. So many of the members we met mentioned how happy Brad was and how much he smiled. I am sure that lifted a lot of spirits!

We met Luda and Sasha in Kharkov and loved having time with them in their home...they are wonderful people!

We had a picnic with the Soproon family by the side of a lake in Gorlovka which was Brad's first area on his mission

While we were in Kharkov we spent the day with two of Brad's English students, Daniel and Kristina. They both speak English so it was fun to actually be able to talk to them and not have a translator. Kristina flew to America that day to work for the summer and Daniel was waiting for his visa so that he could go to Canada to study.

This is a picture of one of our other favorite families, the Lavric family, who live in Donetsk. We were able to spend two afternoons in their home and had a lot of laughs with them and another friend Dima (who was just baptized a few months ago!)

I couldn't pass this picture up...Brad with his last missionary companion...his Dad! This was taken on our long walk out to see another family...they lived in a home in the country.

This is the Nadanyenko family in Kharkov. The two boys in the picture loved playing with Brad and basically did that the whole time we were there. Steve enjoyed holding the little baby most of the evening and it was a nice break for her mom as well.

This was taken in the Gyshin's home who live in Mariupol (Brad's second area.) He is with Sergey Gyshin, and his MTC companion, Elder Vanatta. Sergey has been a member for about 1 1/2 years and his parents were baptized while Brad was in Mariupol. We were able to stay in their home one night and had a wonderful time getting to know them.

The End of Brad's mission is just around the corner!

2008-06-13T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well we are officially in the countdown phase of Brad's mission now. His official release date is June 24 and Steve and I fly out on June 22 to go pick him up. We feel like this is a real privilege and are really looking forward to meeting the people he has worked with and whom he loves so much! It will be exciting to have Brad be our interpreter as most of the people don't speak English very well. When we spoke to Brad at Christmas time we had him speak to us in Russian which was fun, but it will be such a unique experience to see him in his element as a missionary communicating with his friends there. We will spend about 6 days in his misson and then we will take a train to Kiev and spend a couple of days there. We hope to see the temple which is being built there. Because we are flying through Vienna on the way home we decided to spend two days there as well so that Brad could see what Western Europe looks like...at least one city anyway. We feel fortunate to be able to spend 11 days with our missionary because we know when he gets home there will be lots of people for him to see and we won't be able to be selfish even though we will want to be. I just have to add this picture of Brad with four little girls who come to the weekly English class the missionaries teach. This picture is definitely one of my favorite!

2008-05-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been two whole months since I added something to this blog...I really need to get with it so that I can actually use this as a family history/journal. It won't be much of one if I only add to it every couple of months so I will try to do a better job. In April Rebecca played the part of Hot Lips in the play MASH. Her middle school always does an amazing job with plays and she will really miss that when she moves on to the High School. She was able to participate in all four plays while she was in 7th and 8th grade and has such a great time with the directors and all of her friends. Even though Rebecca is only in 8th grade she has probably been the busiest person in our family 2nd to Steve because of her involvement with Showchoir and the plays this year. Summer will seem quite boring after all of that going on! We just celebrated her 14th Birthday on Monday...Can that really be? I must really be getting old!

Anne came home from BYU at the end of April and that has been great fun (at least for me!) She had an awesome freshman year where she made a ton of new friends. She studied hard and played hard to make for a great year. So you can imagine how boring our home is after having something to do with kids her age 24/7. She is now a working woman with a full-time job! She leaves the house about 7:15 every morning and doesn't return until 6:00 or 6:30. She's part of the real world now and even though she loves making money I am not so sure she loves being gone all day. Welcome to real life! She worked full-time last summer though so she has had some good practice!

Brad was transfered to Donetsk about 8 weeks ago and will finish his mission there. It is so hard to believe that his mission adventure is coming to and end and that we will actually see him in just a few short weeks. He is really happy and enjoying life. He taught a young woman and her son in his last area and they were baptized last Saturday which is a wonderful blessing for them and for Brad. Those who have worked with Brad say that he always has a smile on his face and contributes wherever he serves

Ben just attended his first Prom! Doesn't he look dashing in his red and black? He had a great time and even smiled for the pictures! He is 17 and in that non-smiling at home stage, so we are always glad to get a smile out of him even if it is forced!

Jane is our little gymnast and we were able to go and watch her in one of her final classes for the school year (she has been taking an after school PTA sponsored gymnastics class at one of the schools. She loves it and learned how to do a back walkover this year which is a great accomplishment since we're not known for our flexiblity in the Pearson family!

Our kids away from home.... college and mission

2008-03-30T18:25:00.000-07:00

We got some great pictures of Anne and her roommates for next year tonight so I had to put one of the very cute ones on this page...oh to be young again. She has had a great freshman year at BYU and is sad to see it come to an end, but we are very excited to have her home again in one month....YEA!

Brad sent some pictures also this week and this one gives us a good view of one of the Russian Orthodox churches in the background. Boy they sure know how to build them there don't they? In the areas where he has served the churches are probably the most beautiful buildings there!

Easter at the Pearsons!

2008-03-30T16:28:00.000-07:00

We had a very happy easter here in the Pearson home! Even though the kids are getting older we had to have an Easter Egg hunt on Saturday and then as is tradition, they hunted for their baskets in the house. Ben found his basket, after much hunting, in the laundry hamper. I don't think he liked that spot very much, but it's hard to find places to hide the baskets since we been doing this for so many years. The favorite item in the Easter basket was a little wind up chicken that laid gumball eggs...it is so cute but I don't have a picture of it! We missed having Brad and Anne with us, but those days are over now because they will always be away at school at Easter time....boo hoo!

Snow Days in Cincinnati

2008-03-17T19:09:00.000-07:00

Believe it or not we got about 12-13 inches of snow about a week ago in Loveland and I've got the pictures to prove it! We were all so excited to be snowed in and to just have a Saturday to play, play, play! The kids built a snow cave, went sledding and went on an adventure hike! We had a blast! Ben and Steve had to shovel the driveway 4 times in two days...boy was Ben ever happy about that! Our dog Sammie even helped dig out the snow cave and she thought that was great fun.

Snow....snow.....snow!!!

The snow came down hard all day which made our neighborhood a beautiful winter wonderland. Jane and her friend McKenzie didn't even mind when Steve threw a big shovelful of snow on their heads!

Ben wanted to model on his car...let's hope he doesn't get into the habit!

Brad in Kharkov, Ukraine

2008-03-17T16:47:00.000-07:00

This is my very first post ever and I can't guarantee that I will keep up with this, but I think it sounds like a fun thing to do so I am going to give it a try!

Brad loves his mission and none of us can believe that he will actually be home in just over three months! It will be great to see him and we can't wait, but it has also been a wonderful experience for him and for us. The Lord truly blesses those who serve him and he has really blessed Brad! This is Brad with one of his good friends in his last area, Andre. Andre is a returned missionary and helps the missionaries whenever he can.