A New Baby and a Retirement

 

 

Well, Lindsay and James little baby girl was born on Thursday, June 12...eight days early!

Her name is Ivy Alyse Johnson and she weighed 7 lbs 8 oz. and she was 221/4 inches long. She is long and skinny.

Her daddy and grandpa were very happy to finally meet her!

 

 

 

 

This little Ivy has dark hair and dark blue eyes that look right at you. It is so fun watching her explore her environment.

Lindsay is a very tender mother, and it brings back so many memories for me of when she was that little!

 

 

 

 

 

She planned her arrival well, and came just 3 days before Father's Day. What a wonderful gift for James...she is definitely a "daddy's girl".

 

 

Brookie and all her cousins just love her and have welcomed her into the family with open arms.

 

Ivy really took to her Uncle Jon, they enjoyed spending some quiet time together. Looks like he is ready for his new baby in November. In just a few weeks he and Tiff will know if they are having another boy or another girl. We are excited for them either way!

 

 

Ivy was given a name and a blessing on Sunday, by her father James. Joining him in the sweet event were her two grandfathers, Doug and Jerry, and her uncles...Jon, Cam, Mark and Sam.

We had a dinner out at our cabin at Wizard Lake after church on Sunday.

It was a great feast with all of James family and our family there together.

 

 

It is always such a blessing when we are all together!! The cousins had fun eating and playing together!

 

 

 

Doug has finally worked his last day of work at his dental office. His retirement was official this last Monday, June 30...

 

We had a retirement party for him last week and invited the people in our building to come and enjoy a Marble Slab "ice cream buffet" in the atrium. It was so much fun!

So Cameron is now officially taking over the practice!!

Doug won't have very much 'down time', as we have been called to serve in the new Temple Presidency in the Fall.

I am so excited for this calling in the Temple, mainly because we get to serve in the temple and be near our kids and grandkids!!

 

Mark had a first time event that was fun for him...he ran his first five km run. It was called the "Graffiti Run".

He's trying to stay in shape for his 'West Coast Trail' hike this summer.

 

 

 

 

 

He ran it with two other friends and they really got plastered with paint during the run...looks messy, but fun!

It has been a busy, but very memorial few weeks...we are so blessed!

 

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Weekend Fun!

Last weekend we had to go down to Canmore to a meeting we had to attend. It worked out really good for us to stay at Jon and Tiff's on Friday night and then go up to Canmore with them on Saturday morning. We went for a walk in the morning and stopped and played at the park,

Joshie had so much fun swinging with Grandpa higher and higher!!

 

Tiff and I took the kids swimming while Jon and Doug attended their meeting at Banff Gate, where we have our time share.

It is always so beautiful in the mountains!!

Ava is a little water beaver, she just loves to swim, and had do much fun paddling around on her tube.

 

 

 

Joshie hung out in the big pool with me most of the time and I loved the hugs he gave me as we swam around together in the pool.

 

 

Tiff relaxed at the pool as well! She is 4 months pregnant now, but she sure doesn't look like it!

She is sure a sweet mom, we're excited about the new little one coming.

 

 

 

 

 

It was so good to be with Jon and Tiff again...I wish we lived closer to them!

Mark went down with us and always enjoys giving hugs to Ava, they developed a close friendship when Mark was living in Calgary...cute friends!

 

 

 

Back at home Doug and I have been working on a gardening project at the cabin. We decided to start doing "square foot gardening".

We made four upright containers that have 8 square feet in each one. We have planted beets, beans, lettuce, peppers, brussel sprouts, kale, arugula, and tomatoes. Finally we put up our old dog run around it to protect it from the deer that would enjoy feasting on it out there!

On Sunday we had a birthday party BBQ for our dear friend Myrna and her family...

Brookie is checking out the size of her piece of cake.

 

 

This is Mryna and her boyfriend, Toni, he is now investigating the church and hopes to be baptised soon.

 

They had some fun playing foosball in the basement.

 

 

Cam, D and the kids came over for dinner, and Cam entertained Brynnlee in the hot tub. It was so funny to watch her dangling her feet in the water to finally going all the way under...she is cute!

 

 

Grandma was there, and Bruce Wilson...dad cooked us up some good burgers and potatoes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our friends Ron and Eileen Hallett came over for the BBQ. Our kids always love visiting with them.

 

 

 

Ron woke up Colby so he could hold him, he is a baby lover! Luckily he has several grandchildren of his own!

He is a wonderful grandpa to our kids and grandkids!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lindsay is very close to having her baby now. After dinner, as D sat feeding Colby they talked about the "joys of pregnancy"...yes...it is worth it Lindsay!!

It was a wonderful weekend...full of family and friends....lots of visiting and good food!!

 

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Phoenix and Family History

Doug and I have been in Phoenix for the last 10 days and it has been a great trip to relax and enjoy the Phoenix sun. Phoenix is one of our favorite places to visit. It offers such beauty...we captured this sunset after a 105 degree day. It was breathtaking!!

We love the weather here and after a long winter in Edmonton, it's great to feel the heat and enjoy cooling off in the pool!

Also while we're here, we get to do the things we don't have time for in Edmonton...for me, that's pool time and family history!

 

We made a little office in our home and I spent several hours each day, often with Doug's help, doing research and preparing names for the Temple. I really felt the presence of my ancestors as I looked at birth, marriage and census records. Several times I was prompted to look again at a certain record and I would find one more child that I had missed. This work is so true, our Heavenly Father loves each and every one of his children, I have experienced that love throughout this work.

On Friday, we went to the Mesa Temple and did baptisms for over a hundred people. It was a wonderful experience! It gave me a taste of what I can do when I'm fully retired!

 

We met a nice couple at church last week, and we have become good friends. We got together several times this week. Their names are Roy and Mel Henderson, they just moved to Phoenix two months ago.

 

Mel and her husband produce a series on PBS called EscapeSeekers, and they travel around the world doing documentaries on various locations. When they found out we love to travel, they invited us to join them on an upcoming trip to Greece in the fall.

Mel helped us do our baptisms at the Temple on Saturday.

 

During our stay here we have enjoyed several different activities in the area. Last Tuesday we went to a Phoenix Diamondbacks baseball game, it was so fun! And we even won...how's this for a funny 'selfie' shot of us at the game.

Each morning we look off our balcony and see the hot air balloons floating by. It looks like fun, and what a great way to see the Phoenix area-from the air...maybe next trip!

 

We have also enjoyed some hiking! We drove over to Scottsdale on Saturday to Pinnacle Peak Park. It is a beautiful mountain that stands up as a pinnacle to the area.

 

We started up the mountain about 8:00. and hiked for about an hour and a half, the view was amazing. The desert is so beautiful and the cactus are in full bloom now.

 

But it was so hot, we were glad we started at 8:00 AM. As we finished about 9:30 , people were just starting up the mountain. I felt sorry for them! The sun is so hot here, and it's not even summer!!

This is a picture of our digital thermometer in the house showing the temperature today, at 105 degrees, luckily it's Sunday...an inside day! Thank goodness for air conditioning!

 

This morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise with a thankful heart for the relaxing time we have had here and family history work we have been able to do. We are so blessed and I am so grateful that we can do something for our ancestors that they can't do for themselves!! It increases my love and appreciation for our Saviour and what He has done for us!

 

 

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Home and Family

It's always so wonderful to come home to our family when we have been away for several weeks. We were home just in time for Easter.

 

 

 

We had Dinner at our house with Can and D and their family and Grandma. We finally had a chance to hold and cuddle baby Colby, he is so cute!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lindsay and James were there and loved holding Colby in preparation for their own little one in June.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a fun day...Mark and his roommate Rodney hid Easter eggs for the kids. It had to be an inside 'Easter egg hunt' because it was still pretty cold outside.

 

 

 

 

The following Saturday, I had my Primary class over (10/11/12 year olds) for a Primary party...we made pizza's and ice cream sundaes. They are so fun, I love them!!

That afternoon Jon and Tiff came up with their kids. They have announced that they are expecting their third baby in November... We are soooo excited for them!

Joshie will be a good 'big' brother, he is really growing up and looking more like Jon everyday!!

Ava looked so pretty in her spring dress, she was playing with this windmill, what a cute girl!! I love having them come visit us!!

We had a nice family dinner with everyone Saturday evening, It is so fun when Jon and Cam's kids get to see each other they have alot of fun together.

The following Sunday Cam blessed Colby and we all got together at Cam and D's for dinner after. Brynnlee and Grandma Hatch (D's mom) are exchanging kisses.

We also celebrated Brooklyn's 6th birthday, which was the next day, May 5th. This was the first time Brynnlee had seen candles, and she was 'awe-struck'!!

 

 

 

 

 

Lindsay had made Brookie her favorite princess cake..."The Little Mermaid". It was so cute, Debbie and I just had to show it off. Brookie loved it!!

 

 

 

Brookie was a happy girl at the end of her birthday...she loved all of her presents, but especially loved seeing and playing with all her cousins and family! It was a great day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Doug and Jon did some Spring skiing at Sunshine a few weeks ago.They have fun adventures together. Luckily, no one got hurt this year...last year they collided and Doug had a few broken ribs!

 

I think Doug will always love to ski and Sunshine offers some of the best skiing in the world!

It's a great country we live in!

 

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