Summer Montage – 2015 (part three)

In true Dickey fashion, Mike made sure the kids spent some quality time out of doors this summer. Camping and hiking expeditions abounded. Mostly the boys were involved in these, but I did get to join on occasion (when I was feeling cooperative). MK was too busy trying to earn some cash. She missed out on many adventures this summer in the pursuit of the all-might dollar, thus her appearance is non-existent in the pictures below.

At the end of July, Mike went with his mom’s side of the family to their annual Yellowstone backpacking adventure. He offered the experience to both the boys, but only Jeffrey felt the inclination to go. Mike said he was an absolute trooper the whole time, even when he took a massive tumble that included an complete face plant. It seems his ginormous backpack sub par shoes got the better of him.

Jonathan stayed home with me and spent all his time whining about missing Jeffrey. It was both heart-breaking and heart-melting when Jonathan cried himself to sleep missing his brother each night. This missing wasn’t just one-sided. As soon as Jeffrey got home he ran down to the bedroom where Jonathan was trying to fall asleep and pounced on him. “My brother!”  Reunited at last! I think that was the longest stretch they have ever been apart. Mike said the separation was pretty rough for Jeffrey too. Kinda sweet, if you ask me.

Towards the end of summer we decided to hike up to the top of Mount Timpanogos again, but this time we brought the boys along. We had no idea how it would go. We picked a hot day to hike and the exertion and heat got the better of us
(read: the boys) at certain intervals, but we finally made it to the top! I was so proud of my boys and quite proud of myself too. That hike is gloriously beautiful but also long! It’s no easy feat to make it to the top and back. There may or may not have been some groaning and tears on that last stretch. Can’t say that I blame them!

The view at the top is always spectacular! The boys had fun trying to find our house, their school, the swimming pool etc. The world looks different from a high vantage point. I think we are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place. It makes you want to sing out, Maria Vontrapp fashion. I might have, actually.

My friend Heidi came too. It was certainly a memorable, summer day.

Summer Montage- 2015 (part two)

In the LDS church, summer always means youth activities galore! This year was extra fun in this regard for MK because she got to participate in her first Pioneer Trek. She had a fantastic experience. When she arrived home, caked in 3 days of sweat, grease and dirt, I asked her how it went. This was her response: “I loved every minute, of every hour, of every day!”

How’s that for a positive report? I have suspicions that the quality of the experience may have had something to do with these two handsome young men pictured below…

The boy on the left (Mark) was her “brother” in her Trek family and the boy on the right (Garrett), may or may not be a special “friend” of hers from school. These boys took good care of MK during Trek. The were true gentlemen in every sense of the word.

She also had a wonderful Ma and Pa and brothers and sisters. I’m sure that was part of the happy report as well. Don’t worry, she also reported that her experience was spiritually, not just socially positive.  I’m grateful our church goes to all the effort and expense to provide these positive, growing experiences for the youth. It’s such a nice perk!

Another summer perk is the visits from out-of-town family members. The Jones family came from Boston for the whole month of July. As a result there was lots of excuses for family gatherings  One such gathering was our annual Hyrum Dam Jet Ski day.

Jeffrey and Jonathan were reunited with cousins they miss all year.

Doesn’t this picture just scream “summer?”

Jeffrey and Bryn took about a dozen adventurous trips across the Dam in Grandpa’s kayak over to their secret “no adult’s allowed” island. It was very Swiss Family Robinson. Jonathan and Calvin found a secret place as well. Cousin relationships extra unique and fun.

I won the award for aunt of the year when I took Amelia and Ivy on a wild and crazy jet ski ride…

…and Mike won the best uncle/brother/son/dad/husband award for manning the jet skis so everyone could have fun. He spends so many hours of his summer doing that for lots of people. He’s a good one!

Summers are all about family reunions and this year was the Johnson family reunion. We have a big one every other year and this year was full of good times, as usual. These reunions are always a lot of work to plan and execute, but they are worth it when we finally all get together. Since we have gotten older and busier, we don’t get to see each other much at all and it’s nice to have an excuse to get together and reconnect. Those who aren’t able to come for some reason or another are always greatly missed.

I was on the planning committee this year and was in charge of T-shirts. Eric, Andrew and I collaborated and I think they turned out fabulously! Yeah?

There are 214 members of the Johnson family now. Of course not all of them were at the reunion (I never did get a final count of how many came this year), but we did get a pretty good group considering. It’s such a comfort and a blessing to be part of extended families. In a world full of billions of people, it’s nice to know that all 214 of the Johnson would have my back. I love these people more than anything and I’m so grateful for the common heritage we share.

Here we are in from of Great Great Grandpa Rais and Grandma Charlotte’s house in Beaver Dam, Utah.

Highlights of the reunion: Muggles Quiditch (as always), delicious food, relay games and Aggie ice cream on the quad, visiting significant sites around Cache Valley that are important in Grandma and Grandpa Johnson’s history, visiting and catching up, and of course the ice skating. That was a first and my little family loved it!

Summer Montage - 2015 (part one)

Summer was a crazy blink of an eye. I honestly don’t think I sat down once the entire three months. There is no doubt that we sucked the marrow out of this summer season, H.D. Thoreau style. We made many pleasant memories that hopefully won’t be completely forgotten if I take the time to record some of them here.
My kids are well into the new school year and thankfully all three have adjusted seamlessly (mostly). They are still talking about summer memories though, and that makes me happy. Summer can be challenging with very little breaks from being in each others company. Their chatter about the good times help me think maybe we did some things right.



First of all…hats off to Grandma Janice and Grandpa John! The Lagoon passes that were so generously given to all of us at Easter time have been one of the best highlights of our year, let alone summer. We have squeezed every drop out of those passes and have made some fantastic family memories. There was epic bonding happening in our immediate and extended family. I’m pretty sure that was my parent’s ultimate goal. I think you can count yourselves successful on that, Mom and
Dad! Thank you so, so much!




Jonathan was very selective about the rides he felt comfortable on. He would barely walk near a roller coaster but was totally okay with the mile-high Ferris wheel. I don’t get it. Being up that high freaks me out!


We discovered that Uncle Eric has some serious “Spill the Milk” skills. He won each of the boys a Minion singlehandedly.


Keeping kids busy is always a challenge in summer. I think we will always remember this as the summer of Pearler Beads and Harry Potter…


Every kid on our block (and maybe the next one over too) was at our house this summer, gathered around the table crafting with Pearler beads. Even I got into the action. My favorite creation was this family group we completed together. I love my mini skirt and naturally curly hair!



It actually got quite annoying, but the boys spent a good majority of their summer tracking down Mary Kate and begging her to read Harry Potter books out loud to them. She was incredibly busy, but I’m so grateful that she made the time to do this with her brothers. They loved every second of it! They even made it half way through book four before the summer ended. Now she is even more busy so we’ll see what happens.


Another major highlight of the summer for Mary Kate and I was going to the Utah Shakespeare Festival down in Cedar City with Grandma Janice. Mary Kate has such happy memories of Cedar City after going there every year with the school Shakespeare team. I have never been, so it was a special treat for me too. MK got to show me all her favorite spots and relive some happy memories with me. We had such a relaxing and enjoyable time. Lots of generational bonding going on. Thanks for the idea, Grandma!

While there saw fantastic productions of South Pacific and Taming of the Shrew. I honestly can’t tell you which one I enjoyed more. I’m leaning toward Shrew because it’s Shakespeare…you know.
Hopefully this is something we will do again.

The Sweetest 16

Summer, 2015 was a significant for Mary Kate...

…she had her 16th birthday!

Turning 16 is an important milestone in anyone’s life. Life changes when you’re sixteen.

It goes without saying that it’s been a little shocking to my system that I’m now the mother of a 16 year old who can drive and date and all that jazz. I can’t figure out how we arrived here so quickly? It seems like it moments ago when my baby girl was donning crooked ponytails, dripping popsicle juice on her shirt, and squealing with delight whenever Elmo’s World came on TV. Now look at this beautiful young women!

I don’t know how sixteen year olds are supposed to be, but this one is a pure delight. I have no idea what I did to deserve such a lovely spirit to be my daughter? This girl is a wonder. I hope that saying that doesn’t put too much pressure on her. I know it can be hard to live up to perceived expectations, especially parental ones, but I promise there aren’t any perfection illusions or expectation here. Of course she is human like the rest of us. She makes mistakes and struggles with life like we all do, but this girl brings so much joy into our home. She has a special something. I know that despite what life will bring and the challenges that will inevitable come, she will do great things.

Here are 16 things we love about MK, in no particular order…

1- She is sweet and patient with babies and children. They love her and she loves them.
2- She takes seriously and works hard at the most important things in life. She knows which things have true value.
3- She has a very pleasant and infectious laugh and she puts it to use often.
4- She is kind to everyone. She treats people how she would want to be treated.
5- She has a natural desire to do what is right and when she does wrong, she admits it. She is readily willing to say, “I’m sorry.”
6- She strives to stay in touch with things of the spirit and this is obvious when you’re around her.
7- She is adventurous and isn’t afraid to try new things. Even when she is afraid, she still goes for it.
8- She loves to learn and gets excited about gaining knowledge and putting it to good use.
9- She is so fun to watch on stage – she has a special talent for acting.
10- She delights us with her piano skills daily.
11- She is completely and shamelessly in love with the dog! It’s very sweet and entertaining.
12- She shares her personal life with us. As her parent, I can’t tell you how wonderful and valuable that aspect is.
13- She doesn’t give up. When things are hard, she keeps trying.
14- She has a beautiful smile that lights up any room she is in.  
15- She is trust worthy. When she isn’t here I don’t worry too much about what she is doing.
16- She is exceedingly patient with her nagging parents (especially her mom). She forgives us over and over. We so appreciate that quality because we are learning too and making mistakes left and right!

I have to admit that it has been a bit of a mama bear struggle to watch her learn to drive a car, go on dates, work her first job, start her junior year of High School… I feel such a feeling of desperation that time is flying by too quickly and soon she will be off on her own. I want to soak up all the time we have with her close by.

I just love this girl so very much. I hope she can feel that love and know that we will always be here for her, no matter what.

Heading to her surprise 16th birthday party.

Party guest-- and such good friends!

The braces are finally off. Hallelujah!

She has a drivers licenses! (Someday the story of her hitting the parked car one day after she got her license will be funny).

Asked to her first Homecoming dance.

Happy sixteen Mary Kate!