Grandma Johnson

There are very few people whom I would use the words, "angelic" and "Christlike" to describe them and not feel like I was exaggerating.  My Grandma Johnson was one of them.  She just passed away yesterday from complications of a stroke, and I have spent the last week really thinking about her and remembering her.  I have no complaints about my Grandma.  Every memory I can conjure up is a peaceful, happy memory.  She was a presence of peace and serenity that just colors every memory I have of Logan, USU, and Lake Powell with love.  

I am really sorry she's gone, because the world was a more lovely place with her here.  However, I didn't like to see her struggling as her body shut down, and I would much rather have her be at peace in heaven with a Savior that she loved, and an eternal companion who couldn't wait for her to join him.  I know my Grandpa Johnson was right there waiting for his sweetheart.  

I'm grateful for Jay, for being another love in my Grandma's life for the last nine years.  He took care of her and treated her so well.  I'm convinced that he is one of the reasons my Grandma lived so much longer after my Grandpa died ten years ago.  And those are years I'm so grateful for, but I'm really happy my Grandma and Grandpa are back together again.  

I really hope that one day, I can have just a small bit of love in me that my Grandma just radiated with every breath, smile, and hug.  I think that the hardest part of having her go though, is that because of this virus, we can't even have a funeral.  Each visit to Logan for the last two or three years I have visited my Grandma and said good-bye to her like it was going to be my last time.  I knew she was failing, and I knew that I was going to be far away.  And even though I was able to video chat with her on Sunday, which was a huge blessing, it still would have been nice to be able to gather with my family and remember her together.  They are trying to pull together a video feed of some sort for her funeral on Friday, but it's not going to be the same.  She was an amazing matriarch of the Johnson family, and I wish we could all be there together to say good-bye to an incredible woman.  

I wrote a letter to be put with other letters from my cousins remembering her.  Instead of trying to recreate it (I'm struggling) I'm going going to copy and paste it here:

March 20, 2020

     I can honestly say that every single memory of my Grandma was a pleasant one.  Every time I saw her, she would give me a great big hug and make me feel like I was one of the most important people in her world.  During my teenage years, that was such a comfort.  She was patient, she was kind, and probably one of the most angelic women I have ever met.  I have a lot of simple memories of Grandma that I want to share. 

     I don’t know what made her magnets so magical, but somehow, they could keep me entertained through an entire hour of sacrament meeting.

     Her candy drawer was always full when we visited.  But the treat I looked for and coveted the most, was her homemade fruit leather.  I’ve been on a hunt to find something that compares, but I just can’t.

     She was always so happy to see us when we dressed up as little girls and showed her our fancy outfits, complete with huge clip-on earrings.

     As one of the younger grandchildren, I watched her work on the crocheted blankets for my older cousins and couldn’t wait until I was old enough to have one of my own.  A blanket where I could cuddle up in and immediately feel my Grandma’s love for me.

     She always smelled like roses.  It’s a smell I can’t really describe but whenever I smell it now, I immediately think of her and am so grateful for the memory.

     I loved hearing her sing.  She never needed much of an excuse to sing, and she had such a sweet voice.  I especially loved when Sheri, Teri, and Maureen would sing with her.  There was so much love in their songs.  I loved when we would sing at Lake Powell or Bear Lake, because they made the rest of us sound really good!

     When I attended school at USU, I was able to do my laundry at Grandma and Grandpa’s house.  I thought I was the luckiest girl in the world because I was able to visit them every week.  And every time I visited; I was treated to a delicious dinner.  I can’t think of roast and potatoes, freshly baked rolls, fresh green beans, or a lemon cake without thinking of her.  They spoiled me during those years, always sending me home with zucchini from the garden and a loaf of homemade bread.

     She always looked at my Grandpa with so much love in her eyes.  It felt like she was a new bride adoring her husband, even after fifty years of marriage.

     Probably one of my absolute favorite memories of her though, is her love of playing games.  After dinners we would clear off the kitchen table and play games.  Games like Lucky Duck, Razzle Dazzle, Sinister Seven, King’s Corner, and of course, Zilch.  I loved watching her get out her yellow pad of paper to keep score, and her huge bag of dice, because it meant it was time for some smiles.  She always played the slow and steady game, never risking too much on a single roll.  However, on those rare occasions when she risked it and had a good roll, she would clap her hands and throw them both up in the air in surprise and celebration.  When we weren’t playing around her kitchen table, we were playing at Lake Powell.  I don’t think Grandma ever turned us down when we wanted to play Zilch.  She pulled out her blue snack tin and we munched on peanuts and M&M’s for hours while we played. 

     My Grandma Johnson was a pretty spectacular and special lady.  I was truly blessed to have her as an example in my life.  Love you Grandma.

Love,

Annette Johnson Rogers

Official "stay-at-home" orders

Not every day during our Covid-19 quarantine are created equal.  Some days pass is quiet simplicity, some days require a bubble bath, chocolate, and a chick flick.  

But since I think that journaling during this time is incredibly important, I'll share some more of our daily repetitive lives.  We had been blessed with great weather so the kids could get outside.  Unfortunately we had a snowstorm roll in which meant we were stuck inside for a couple of days.  By some miracle the boys both decided to sit down and color.  It meant I had a few, blessed, quiet minutes.

Cambrie has always been super creative with her ducks.  They are also officially in social distancing mode.  Cambrie made each one of them a little mask, and placed them six inches apart on her bedroom floor.

 For creative time one afternoon, we decided to try making beignets.  They weren't nearly as fluffy as Princess Tiana makes them look, but we still managed to each about ten of them each.  They were delicious.

Hannah came over to talk with McKenzie.  Their time spent playing together was a little different than in the past.  They chatted at McKenzie's window for awhile before going outside and standing exactly two cement squares apart from each other at all times.  I think both girls were really grateful for some social interaction.  My phone has been claimed multiple times the last two weeks so they can video chat with their friends.

 McKenzie also decided (after I had failed to make dinner) that she was going to make cookies.  She was incredibly proud of herself that they came out so successfully.  

 Because we have nothing but time, we've been working on a few house projects.  We cleaned the basement, Jeremy has been working on the caulking in the driveway, and he even fixed our balcony door that wouldn't open.

 We have also been looking for ways to serve while stuck inside.  I was connected to a local group who is trying to sew as many hospital masks as they can, then donate them to doctors and hospitals who are requesting them.  My kids have been incredible helpers; they have pinned, sewn, flipped, and ironed.  So far we've completed 120 masks!

 Four missionaries in our ward were sent home because of the virus spread.  Because we can't have any type of welcoming party, we decided to have a parade.  About twenty families from the ward gathered together and we drove by the return missionaries' homes with honks, cheers, waving, and signs.  The girls were so excited that they were able to see their friends, even if it was from within another car.

But even while we've tried to keep things interesting, it has been a rough two weeks.  I know there are others who are struggling more than we are, and I'm trying to keep all of our blessings in perspective.  It's still hard when we don't know how long this is going to last and what our world is going to look like on the other side.  I took the boys outside on a walk this morning because I just needed to clear my head.  They brought some toys and played in the trees while I walked around trying to keep warm.  

While we were out I received a call from Daxton's teacher, they had made little activity kits for their students and we went down to pick it up.  The teachers miss their kids just as much as we miss them.  This is a really hard time for everybody.

Our new fairy garden

Yes we technically have a garden box, but when my creative girls are cooped up with just each other for company, they have better ideas for it than growing tomatoes.  

They made it a fairy garden.  They pulled out some of their old houses, builts some new houses, a bridge, and a fountain, and created this charming little city.  They were insistent on lighting a fire in the fire pit before letting me take a picture.  They also planted some new bulbs around their village so that before long it will be all grown in and beautiful.

Snow day

This felt like a normal snow day.  Hooray!  The kids stayed home from school, we played in the snow, and Jeremy helped the kids build a snow fort.  It was really wet and heavy snow, and since we didn't get to it the first night it was a little rough for them to work with.  However, they still managed to pull our a full fort with inside, stairs, and a slide. 

 They played on it for two days until the Colorado sun melted it away.  

The second day was better than the first (it was warm and sunny).  Cambrie sharpened some of the edges of the fort to make it look prettier.  

McKenzie and Kelton built a snowman named Happy.  As soon as they were done though, they were worried about him melting, so they moved all of him to the shade.  It took them longer to move him than it did to originally build him, but they did it!

I cleaned all of the heavy snow off of the trampoline and then supervised the rest of the afternoon.

Living Daily

This is a very strange time right now with the Covid-19 outbreak.  I'm checking the news every day, every hour, because things are changing and updating that frequently.  Tonight we just received word that the Colorado Governor just closed all schools for in-school learning until April 17.  The kids have already been home a week before spring break officially began, and had hoped to go back on March 30.  I kind of thought that was wishful thinking, but I wanted it to be true too.  Now I expect to received all sorts of Google Classroom emails from the kids' teachers with lesson plans, projects, and things to work on.  Until now we've just been taking things super lightly and trying to enjoy these unique weeks.  My kids are disappointed.  I know.  They don't get their friends or any of the projects they've been working on (like the school play or battle of the books).  It's going to be tough on all of us.  I know the importance of "slowing the curve" with social distancing...but man, we're all going to need a little friend therapy during this quarantine, or a lot of it once the quarantine is lifted.

Here's some updates on what we've been up to just this week, and it really has been fun:

We have had a lot of outside time.  The kids go outside in the morning to play, then after lunch to practice their sports skills, then again before dinner to help get out any remaining wiggles.  Thankfully the weather has been fabulous this week and it actually feels a little bit like spring!  We've been trying to get things set up for the kids where they have a lot of options for outside play.  Besides the trampoline, the soccer goal, the big toy, and the hammock, we also decided to install a ninja line out in the backyard.  It's taken some experimentation with where to put it.  For a couple of days we had it installed over the trampoline.  While that meant a nice soft landing should a kid fall, none of the kids could really jump high enough to reach it on their own.  For now we moved it to where the kids can reach it easily, and as a bonus we now have a slack line set up.  

McKenzie has been begging for a gymnastics beam for years.  There's always been an obstacle of some kind, but with gymnastics being cancelled, we thought that maybe the excuses weren't good enough and decided to order one.  She was so excited today when we were setting it up.  Now if there's bad weather (like what's predicted for tomorrow), the kids have a place to balance, tumble, and swing in the basement.  

One bonus to quarantine?  We've been online shopping which means the boys have even more cardboard boxes to play with.  They turned these two recent ones into fire-breathing dragons.

These magnatiles have also been a lifesaver.  They have played for hours with them (seriously).  

This project made me laugh the most though.  

I'm trying to keep mixing things up for the kids so we can find ways to help, be happy, and still connect with our neighbors.  For the first time in my life, doorbell ditching is a positive thing!  We dropped off some leprechaun bark at some neighbors and friends houses.  It was great seeing my kids giggling as they ran away.  

We've also been spending time just walking around the neighborhood.  It feel like I live in Mayberry with Andy Griffith.  Families are walking together everywhere!  On our trails I'll see a few people here and there, but now there are whole families walking, biking, scootering...it feels like the city has slowed down and people are reconnecting.  Jeremy really enjoyed the few days he had at home quarantined with us.  We had nowhere to go, at all, and could just enjoy being together as a family.

St. Patrick's Day

Amidst all of this chaos, my kids reminded me before going to bed, that they weren't going to sleep that night.  "What?  Why?"  "Potsy's coming Mom!"  Potsy is our leprechaun who comes every year to leave chaos or a scavenger hunt, and leaves gold coins scattered around the house.  I was really grateful my kids were still looking for the normal things that are going on in their lives.  Then I forgot all about Potsy and went to bed.  The next morning I was making yummy apple muffins when the kids came running downstairs looking for clues.  "We need something that makes things warm.  Maybe the oven?"  Oh no.  I had the oven preheating.  I opened the oven and sure enough there was one of Potsy's clues and a couple of very hot gold coins.  Oops!  At least nothing had burst into flames.  

The rest of the day followed our normal quarantine schedule.  We played outside (but we also got to eat shamrock cookies).  

We did school time, sports time, and for creative time we did something a little different.  The boys helped me make leprechaun bark.  Basically it's chocolate graham crackers covered with caramel, melted chocolate, and chocolate candy.  Yes, it is just as tasty as it sounds.  Happy St. Patrick's Day!