Spring has Sprung the Snow has Fell

With the exception of only a few days the weather the last few weeks have been great and the weekends the best. It has given us the opportunity to do what we enjoy - work together in the yard. We have the fruit trees all trimmed, flower beds cleaned out, the lawn thatched, sprayed for weeds, fertilized and the irrigation system checked and turned on. The garden and orchid is tilled and ready spring. Stacey is most excited because Saturday she planted her peas. She loves peas, especially fresh off the vine, raw right out of the pod. She has also turned the laundry room into a garden with pepper, squash, and spice starts all planted and growing. She is the green thumb in this family. We are excited to plant the rest of the garden and the flowers as it gets a little warmer.

I mentioned in our last blog that we broke down and bought a truck and camp trailer. We have been saving up for a while. This is our first truck and we are excited to use the truck and trailer this summer. The old explorer was wearing out and we needed something big enough to pull the trailer. So I took last Thursday and Friday off. Thursday I drove to Cortez and got the brake system installed on the new truck. (part of the deal) and picked up a few things at Walmart. Friday I detailed the Explorer out, bought some new floor mats and put it up for sale. It was sold by 10:00 am the next morning. Maybe I did not ask enough.

We purchased the truck from a credit union in Provo. It is a 2004 Ford F-150. It was a repo and is in really good shape with 57,000 miles. I gave them a low ball offer that they refused at first, then called back later and took the deal. So we felt blessed to find what we wanted at the right price.

The trailer we bought out of Cortez. It is a 27' , 2006 Keystone Sprinter with a popout. It is really nice. We talked about buying a new truck with such good deals going, but decided a used truck and trailer for less then the cost of a new truck was better. I had a gravel pad with pit run base put in along the fence in the back yard so I would have an area to park the trailer. Everything worked out just right.

So thats whats new - the rest of our lives have been routine. Work is still the same - very busy with projects and progress for me and taxes for Stacey - she was saying yesterday how excited she was that there were only two weeks left of tax season. She is planning on going with me to St George on April 13th. My calling is keeping me busy as we plan for many summer camps and activities. I also enjoy visiting the ward activities and being with the youth. We had Ward temple night this last week also and enjoy going to our small temple and knowing everybody. More often then not I get asked to work at the veil and like doing so.

We love interacting with the kids and being involved in their struggles, successes and lives. We continually pray for Amanda and the boys and ask for your prayers too. Check out their blog to keep up on the latest there. Shad is excited to graduate in April, was notified this week that he is graduating in the top 10% of his class and will receive special honors, he and Brooke are having fun planning their wedding and future. Lant and Amy are still dating and Lant is very busy with school. He is planning on starting a job next week as a admin assistant at an optometrist. Haven is also busy with school and her Thunder dance team which has now started their performances.
So if anybody wants to come down and go camping this summer we are all geared up to play and hope we can find time to do just that.

Enjoying the Journey

It has been a while since we blogged, it has been crazy busy – especially at work for both Stacey and I. Stacey is in the middle of taxes and I am in the middle of several projects as well as several grant applications trying to take advantage of Obamanomics stimulus money.

It is Sunday morning and I am up in Provo. I flew up Friday afternoon with a two men from the Hearts & Hands in Action Foundation from Spanish Fork who were down in Blanding to meet with me on help for a project. I asked if I could hitch a ride back with them so I could pick up a truck I had purchased. (another story). I have meetings early Monday morning and had to drive up Sunday afternoon anyway so I decided to stay the weekend. I tried to get Stacey to come with me but she said she was too busy to leave work and did not like the thought of flying in a small plane anyway (too many crashes lately). She thought she might find a ride late Friday or Saturday but never did. So anyway I have spent the weekend in Provo with Cody & Amanda. They are fun to be around – Haven came over Friday after I got here and had pizza with us and stayed and watched a movie – then we all went out to dinner last night – including Shad, Brooke, Amy, & Lant.

I was able to pick up the truck from the credit Union where it had been repoed and I spent five hours on Saturday getting it serviced and then I detailed it. That and a little shopping pretty much took the day.

Stacey had her birthday this week - I had City Council that night, still we were able to sneak in dinner. Mom Webb made a cheese cake we had for desert. It was so good - but only two of us - we will have to share or be eating cheese cake for a month.

Last weekend all the kids got a wild hair and decided to come down. Cody & Amanda were coming anyway because Stacey was throwing a baby shower in Blanding with all the extended family. We did not know if she would be able to come or not because she has been having contractions, but the doctor ok'd the trip. We had fun playing games and eating lots of good food. Stacey cooked Italian on Friday and I cooked dutch ovens and barbecued on Saturday. Here are a few pics of last weekend. This is one of Lant & Amy - they seem happy together and are getting pretty serious - more weddings this year? I think soooo!

This is a few pics of the shower - "Double the Fun"! Everything double for the twins.




This is a picture of Shad & Brooke - their wedding date is July 11th. The weekend before the big extended Ralph S & Mildred Webb reunion.


This is Lant, Shad & Haven doing a little sing along - Brooke and Amy listening in.


This is Cody & Amanda, they are so excited for the twins. She gave us a scare while in Blanding and started having contraction every 5-7 minutes for an hour Friday night - we took her to the urgent care clinic and she got a shot to stop the contractions - whether shot, prayers or both the contractions stopped and all was well the rest of the weekend.


This is the family - (except for Haven - she was getting her hair done by Kendra) - enjoying dutch oven and barbecue.
I have always thought that once my kids were out of High School, out of the house and up to school that life would be less stressful and that I would not have to stress so much. Wrong!! Then I thought well when they graduate college and get married then the worries would end. Wrong!! You can never know what life will throw at you. New babies, a new job, unexpected sickness, a new calling, a broken bone - I decided at least in this life that you can not ever get rid of the stress. It is not going to change - so the only way to enjoy the journey is if I change! I am working on that. It will take divine intervention, but I am working on it. It all comes down to faith and relying on the Lord, that he is in control and will make all things work for your good if you are living righteously. So we keep our recommends current, go to the temple often, use the prayer roll often and pray alot. I consider my worries with only a few kids - then imagine Heavenly Father's with billions - then the realization hits - this life is not the end of my worries - it will last forever - for eternity. Man - I really need to learn to "Enjoy the Journey".

Another One Bites the Dust

The news for the week is Shad proposed to Brooke and she said yes!! Last week I was up North for meetings. Shad & Brooke had been talking marriage and looking for rings and Shad wanted a special way to pop the question. After some brainstorming he decided he wanted to ask with the help of a custom quilt. So we called Stacey and asked if she could help and have it ready for Valentines. Without hesitation she said she would do it - took the next morning off (last Friday) and went to Cortez to find the material. She had to work that afternoon, that day I was headed home. Saturday I helped her put the quilt on and she called her sisters and the Grandma's who all showed up to help. She had it all designed out to pop the question. "Will You Be Mine Forever"? The next few days were a whirl wind of activity around the quilt in anticipation of sending it North with those going up for State Wrestling. Mom Webb went the extra mile in helping Stacey get it done on time. Thanks to all who helped. We were all excited for Shad and couldn't be happier then to get such a wonderful person as Brooke as a daughter-in-law. We promised to share the details - so here they are.

Shad planned to propose to Brooke at a special breakfast on Valentines morning. He arranged to sneak into her apartment the night before and leave a flower and a note expressing his love and inviting her to breakfast at his house. His roommates were going to be gone and he set up a picnic style breakfast on the quilt with a red table cloth over it, hiding the proposal. He had romantic music playing, flower pedals leading to the living room and a dozen roses, candles and breakfast layed out. As she came into the room he came out of hiding and they hugged. She presented him with a valentine gift and they had there romantic breakfast. After finishing eating they cleared and Shad said he had a surprise. He had her step back and he pulled the cloth off the quilt and asked her to read it. As she read outload, "Will You Be Mine Forever", he dropped to a knee and asked her to be his eternal companion with ring in hand. She said yes!

They were headed to Ogden that afternoon and he wanted her to have her ring so they could show the family. The date will be the first or second weekend in May it sounds like but not set for sure. We expect Amanda will be having the twins sometime in May so it will be a fun and busy month.

The rest of the week seemed pretty uneventful comparitively. We had calling stuff, I had City Council, taught roundtable, did preparation. Friday I took off work and did the laundry and cleaning and then took Stacey to dinner at Old Tymer - we then went to the basketball game and came home and watched a movie. Saturday was Valentines and we worked on invitations to the baby shower for Amanda being held at our house the first weekend in March and delivered all those invitations. I spent a couple of hours Saturday answering questions for Haven on our parenting philosophies. It took me about five pages - I got a bit carried away. It was thought provoking to remember and reconsider that important role. The day was relaxing we went to a dinner/theatre at the Arts & Events center that night. The dinner was good, and we enjoyed the play, a romantic comedy -"Slight Indulgences". We enjoy our time together.

Twins Are Double the Fun!!

A Week in Our Empty Nest

I hesitated to post to the blog this week because is was so uneventful. Of course we kept busy with family, church and work responsibilities but just the usual. Stacey and I continue to have family home evening as a couple. It is kind of strange and I continue to push the traditions like saying – I would like to welcome everybody to (and we all yell) Family Home Evening – Stacey seems think that our traditions should change with the growth and changing family – I guess I am still a kid at heart! We usually pick a Conference Talk and study it together – sometimes an article out of the Ensign. We still sing together and I enjoy the spirit it brings as we do. I am usually the only one eating refreshments – unless of course it is popcorn and then Stacey can’t resist. She still watches her sugar intake – I don’t.

Tuesday was City Council and I was gone till late – work is busy – we still have projects under construction and several in the works. It is all about steady progress. I never have a hard time getting more then my share of hours in and will be losing several vacation days if I can’t find a good time to take them – Stacey is tied up at work steady until tax season is over and is putting in more then her 40 hours too.

Wednesday I had to teach pow wow – two sessions for a total of 38 boys – alot of them came to City Council Tuesday creating standing room only - I had set up the sound system before Pow Wow since we continue to teach dance classes to the youth each Wednesday night for an hour after mutual – we get 80 plus kids out each week – so I topped the night off helping teach the cha-cha - we have a few more weeks of that leading up to our Valentines Dance.

Thursday was YM basketball and District Banquet – it was our Stakes turn to be in charge – only once every three years so its wasn’t bad – Stacey came with me and enjoyed the turkey dinner – but mostly the ice cream and brownies for desert.

Friday I was off in the afternoon and did the normal weekly house cleaning and laundry – Stacey had to be at work so I was on my own – She had been craving seafood lately – it was the Red Lobster Commercials on TV that did it to her I think – So I decided to surprise her with a Seafood dinner of Salmon and Shrimp – I cooked me a steak since I am not so much a fish guy. It actually turned out pretty good – We went to the Bronco Basketball game after and enjoyed a close game where we lost to South Seiver (ranked #1) by two points in the last minute.

Saturday was fixing the four-wheeler and a few fix it things around the house – I also spent a few hours in Timberline Preparation reviewing the lessons and syllabus since I am helping staff this year as an assistant Scout Master. We watched a movie later in the evening after enjoying a nice sweet-n-sour pork meal – (prepared by Stacey) – we ate a little early since it was time to start fasting.

Today we are enjoying the Sabbath with the usual Sabbath music and relaxation – no extra meetings today so we are waiting for our block to start at 1:00 PM.

We continue to plug away – always hoping for a chance to interact with our kids and friends – if not – we enjoy each other and grow closer with passing time.

Snowman Down

Our snowman came down Tuesday, now it's only two slush balls. Also Tuesday was inauguration day, I got so tired of watching the same thing all night. Who designed whose dress and how many balls the president had to go to. It was all a little much for me, so the TV went off. I do hope he does a good job though. Thursday my niece came to town so the Johnson women had a girls night out. It was fun, you would think we never see each other, we all talk at the same time it drives my mom nuts (although she wasn't there-that's probably why). We had a good time. Saturday went to a shower for another niece. She got lots of cute things for her little baby girl. We always have a good time when we get together. Then that night we invited some friends to come play "rook" we won yay! I'm so bad at getting pictures for all these events, I'm going to have to try harder.(CLIFF)
Chris did some things also this week but not as fun a s mine, he did lots of things for his YM calling so we will just leave it at that. Hope you all have a great week, even if it's cold!! grumble grumble

Savor to a Simple Life!

The family picture is one of those goofy shots that came from November when we everyone was in town for Thanksgiving - I thought it was funny how everyone came up with a different scrunchy face. Amanda is 12 weeks pregnant and still so skinny - check their blog out for an update @ www.webbnet.blogspot.com.

The week was pretty busy, it seems I am still catching up on work since being off for the holidays. I had City Council on Tuesday which lasted a good while because we had not had one for a month. I had to get up the next morning (Wednesday) to be in Salt Lake to present a grant proposal to State Drinking Water at noon. I made it in good time - listened to Greg Poulsens, "The Hatchet" on audio book so the trip went quick. Stacey had to work with tax season in full swing so she didn't come with me. The grant presentation was successful and I got the money I wanted for the city - I just love it when a plan comes together. My favorite thing is putting together projects for the city, it is very rewarding to me.

I spent the night with Cody & Amanda and it was great to see them, we all went out to Red Robin for dinner except Shad who had school - so I didn't get to see him this trip. It would have been fun to see him and Brooke. Haven needed some help with homework and so she came over and did wash and got help. Cody had Elder's Quorum visits so Amanda & I helped Haven. She is lucky to have those guys up there as support. Amanda was in the same major and so she has been great in coaching Haven.

I took Friday off and did things around the house and made copies for Lant's scholarship proposal to Rural Water, I got it bound for him and sent off. Shad got this last year and so it is tough to think that they would give it to a brother - a strike against him in that way.

Haven came down this weekend. Tyler Gunderson has a little brother playing basketball for Manti and wanted to come to watch him. He asked Haven down on a date and they showed up for the freshman game. During the JV game he made an Italian dinner for us, and Stacey & I had dinner with them. It was really good - a new dish for us and very delicious. Haven had Kendra color her hair on Saturday morning and Tyler went with Stacey & I on a little service project, he was a good sport to come along. They took off early Saturday afternoon.


That afternoon after they took off Stacey and I went down to the Balloon Festival in Bluff with Randy & Lisa Rarrick. They are fun to be with and we enjoyed dinner down there and reminising about the good ole days before coming back to watch the Bronco Richfield game. (For those interested Broncos are about 50/50 this season and won Richfield and Lost Manti this weekend) They had several balloons they had up and it was fun to see them light up in the night sky.




































The last few weeks were good ones and we enjoy contact with family and friends. We are keeping busy with work church and family. I am helping with dance clinics for the youth in the stake right now, teaching a citizenship merit badge at the District Pow Wow and working with Kevin on Timberline stuff. We are anxiously engaged and glad to be involved. It gives savor to a simple life.

Back to the Grind

Well we had our fun now it's back to work. After Christmas we were tired of the snow and being cold. So we were trying to think of warm places to go. We decided old stomping grounds in Mesa AZ would be fun, so we headed down Monday. Went to the right place it was in the seventies every day we were there. I love to be warm! We stayed with Chris's sister and her family (thank you Patrice for having us). We shopped and got bargains for next year's Christmas season. We went out to eat lots, (Let the dieting begin) saw the movie "Seven Pounds" yes I cried lots--sad movie. We visited with old friends and neighbors, which was fun to do. We rode Phoenix's new light rail system, we hope they get the kinks out of that! New Years we played games, while Haven went to Mill Ave where STYX was playing, I think Chris and I would have appreciated their music more than she did. It's the 5th largest New Years celebration and she said people were everywhere. Lant flew out from Phoenix to Texas for a few days. Shad was up in Provo. We loved having family around during the holidays. We've set our new years goals and vow to stick to them.