Walk MS

The first weekend in May, I was asked to lend a helping had at the MS walk in Willmar. As some of you know, Chris’s sister was diagnosed with MS a little over four years ago. Since the diagnosis, his family as become extremely involved with the Minnesota Chapter of the National MS Society and all of their efforts to raise money towards finding a cure.

As one of their many efforts, Chris’s family was a key driver in running “Walk MS” this past weekend. They had over 100 walkers attend this event, raising over $10,000. One of my favorite groups to watch was “The Blue Crew” (wearing yellow). They were a group of Best Buy employees and their families. The Blue Crew actually had some runners… these runners finished the 5K route before I could even get the finish line set up!

All-in-all we had beautiful weather and a great turnout! A sunny afternoon filled with family, friends and fun!

Chris’s family and I will once again be participating this August in “Ride MS.” Ride MS is a motorcycle tour through Minnesota and Wisconsin; this two-day event provides hope and encouragement for those living with MS across the nation. Because Chris’s mom and I don’t ride, we volunteer and drive the truck/trailer behind Chris’s sister in case she needs to take a break.

Right now I am in the process of raising money for this event by organizing events near my hometown and receiving donations for the silent auction. If anyone would like to help, please let me know. Any monetary donations can be submitted by clicking on the webpage below.

UPDATES!!!

So after six months or so, I figured it was about time for an update!

November
November kicked off with a trip to Duluth (as seen in my last post). The month continued to be full with working both Schwan’s and Movie Gallery. I attended a Vikings game with my family, and was happy to have witnessed the Vikes beating the Packers at a home game! November ended with a wedding, a weekend with just DaShawn and myself, and of course Thanksgiving with the family.

December
The crazy holidays continued… making December full of family! Lots happening no matter where I was, and as always the Toys-For-Tots drive. Chris also moved in during December making my townhouse seem smaller and far more cluttered, but it typically seems just about right! Sad Note – December also marked the graduation of one of my best girls, Kim. We all knew it was coming, but it was sad to see her go. She headed down to Kentucky to pursue a new career along with her daughter, Theran. (We offered to keep Theran, but for some reason Kim wasn’t understanding…)

January
The year started off extremely busy. It seemed as though both jobs were taking their toll. The girls made sure to get me out at least once a week, and there was a shopping day with Mom and Tiana. With all the chaos a break was needed, so we ended the month with a trip to the Toughest Man’s Rodeo with family members.

February & March
The months are supposed to be filled with Love and Luck, but for me it was filled with travel. There were numerous trips to the cities for various events, including working in the MS booth at the International Motorcycle Convention and SIFE Regionals. Chris, his dad and myself volunteered one weekend to work at the convention in the MS booth registering riders for the charitable motorcycle tour this summer. And I made sure to head down to the cities for SIFE Regionals to watch my little brother present for the DSU SIFE team, in addition to cheering on my former SMSU SIFE team. March also marked my last days at Movie Gallery, deciding to leave so that I had more time to spend with family and friends, not to mention housework… boo…

That brings us to April, while the month is nearly over, I thought I would mention some of the highlights. The month started with a trip to Fargo and last weekend we attended a bridal shower. Sunday night, Schwan’s was a star on the hit TV show The Celebrity Apprentice! Be sure to check out the new products at http://www.schwans.com/. (I so deserve a raise!)

Spring has come, and with that it was time to put out my bird feeders! As of right now, my selection of birds has been limited to purple finches, but given that I live in a newer development with very few trees (none of which as full grown) and no water, I am happy that I have attracted birds at all. Chris is not a fan, as they love to hang out on his grill…

This month I have also attempted to start up a few new hobbies, like there isn’t enough going on already. I’ve tried my hand at knitting, and have to admit, I am not very impressive… I guess I need to start taking lessons from my cousin! But, last weekend I also gave quilting a shot, and I am proud to say I have completed my first quilt!


I made it out of old jeans and flannel shirts, leaving all the seams exposed so that they would fray. I also used my handy-dandy embroidery machine to embroider one of the corner squares. I plan on giving the quilt to a silent auction later this summer for the MS River Road Run.

Last Tuesday, I was able to go see my favorite little man in the world! The little guy celebrated his third birthday today! It’s hard to believe that he is getting to be so big!

Last, but certainly not least... this weekend I worked on my mom's birthday gift... I embroidered her a brown sweatshirt that had "Fish Whisperer" in pink writing on it. She loved it! Happy Birthday Mom!!!

Minnesota Oddities!!!

I am only as strong as the coffee I drink, the hairspray I use and the friends I have.

On November 1st my best girl (Beth) and I set out on a road trip. We decided a week earlier that we just needed a weekend away... so we decided to go to Duluth! A three day trip that would not be about the destination, but about the journey! There will be a few posts on this trip (or at least that is the plan), so I thought I would start out with the oddities! We recalculated our route so that we may see more of what Minnesota has to offer! Enjoy!

This is one of my favorite photos, yes it is simply us in the car, BUT we are in Wisconson! We crossed the bridge, but once we got there... we were scared to get out of the car, so I guess this is as good as it gets for the cheesehead state!

Here are some of the roadside attractions we saw during the weekend. Some of our favorites including the world's largest ball of twine, the grasshopper church in cold springs, a pantsless man, and our most favorite... a random guy chillin' in his trunk!

This is my favorite picture of the whole trip, and the very first picture taken! It makes me think of that tune... "which one of these is not like the other ones, which one of these just doesn't belong"... do you see which one doesn't belong?!

Apple Jelly!!!

Thought I'd give an update on the apple jelly us Johnson girls made a few weeks back. Mom ordered a bunch of crab apples and using Grandma Ardy's recipe, we made our jelly! Tiana took lots of pictures so that she can use them for 4H, so I thought I'd share.

So we cut up all the apples, it really helped once Tiana learned the correct end to cut off :-) We followed the directions, and it turned out beautifully!

Dad and Jared held down the couch for us so that it would be there when we were finished... they were a huge help!

We had a great family night, and again the jelly was gorgeous! That is what's important! However, it did taste wonderful, so that's just an added bonus!

Quick Post

DaShawn and Jackie came to visit earlier this week... my goodness is he getting big. He found a birthday card that I received from a friend, and thought it was the funniest thing on the planet.

Weekends At The Lake

Wow, so it has been a long and crazy summer... sorry again about not posting... so I figured I would update you on some of our weekends at the lake! As some of you know, my family spends a months worth of weekends at the lake every summer.

This year we have had a lot of luck fishing! We've brought in some rather large northerns on a lake I am not at privilege to disclose. I enjoy fishing, but I don't touch fish, so dad has to hold mine for me to take photos!

We've also been able to spend a lot of time with family and friends. One of which was an old friend of mine that I have not talked to in what seems like forever. We've spent nights around the campfire enjoying smores, conversation and spirits.

Cruises around the lakes in our new boat have provided many great pictures and lots of fun on the tube. I just got a new camera and have taken lots of pictures, so hopefully my blog posts will begin to increase! Tiana is also enjoying her new camera, an awesome new Canon Rebel!

Well until next time!

SIFE Nationals 2008

Hello once again! Thought I would put in a little plug about our SIFE Nationals trip to Chicago. We did well again this year placing within the top 8 teams in the nation (pretty impressive seeing as how there are over 900 teams in the U.S.)! We had a great time leaving early in the morning on May 13th and getting back late on May 16th. We competed against some great teams, and meet many new friends. Here are some pictures from our trip!

This is Kim and I during opening ceremonies at McCormick Place. We were both really excited to get to go there. Our entire conference was held at this location, and what a location it is! Gorgeous views and a great facility!

These are our "runners"!!! For all gathering in the big hall during the event, our team had fabulous seats due to these four gentlemen. A few minutes before the doors were opened and the masses stormed into the auditorium, the four of them would sneak to the front of the line, and make a made dash to the front by the stage! We never had to seat further back than second row all because of our runners!

Kim's finger on the top of the Sears tower! I know pretty exciting right?! Haha!

Jared and I outside of McCormick Place, sorry that it is so dark! Chicago was rainy and windy... imagine that!

And here was one of my favorite things about Nationals this year... look at the top of this huge banner at the competition, see the picture that I have circled? And the red head in the top left of that picture? That's me!!! They used one of the pictures that they took of our presentation team last year for all of there signage this year! We were plastered across signs, banners, video, and many other marketing tools! I have the picture from last year too so that you can all see it!