Boston!

An old church. Wish I could remember the name of it!

Ok, here are the pictures (finally) from Boston. It was SUCH a fun trip! We did it all: Boston Commons, Fannueil Hall, Quincy Market, the whole Freedom Trail. We even climbed the monument at Bunker Hill (we thought we were going to die)! I thought I was in ok shape, but I was wheezing and dizzy by the time we made it to the top. Great view though!

Bostonians have an obsession with Dunkin Donuts...they are everywhere!

If I were a coffee drinker, I would have been in heaven!

Me & Missy at Fannueil Hall

Being silly!

Missy & Ty at Paul Revere's house.

Me & Ty at the Frog Pond at Boston Commons. There was the coolest guy ice skating. He had earphones in and had obviously choreographed an entire performance. He was completely oblivious to anyone around him and was so dramatic! It gave us a good laugh!

Cheers at Cheers!

Cheers baby!



We also went to Cheers, right next to the Boston Commons. I have a sneaking suspicion that Tyler fulfilled a life-long dream by going to Cheers. Last week he said to me: I regret not getting the sampler appetizer at Cheers. Funny boy.


Missy is a silly girl.

So, Christmas is coming! Ty's family is going to be in St. George, and I feel really bad about it. But I'm sure my family will cheer him up! : )


I really do have a cute hubby.

Sorry!

Yes, it has been a long time since I last posted. I blame it on my new obsession with Facebook.
Thanksgiving was fun. We spent some time with both families- good times! The southern Utah folk were here over Thanksgiving so it was good to see everyone. Me and Ty have been busy with work, but we do fit in some time for fun things too.

We are going to Boston next weekend, so we are excited about that. The "Cheers" pub is right by our hotel and I am going to try to eat the 1.5 lb burger. Okay, I might have Ty help me with that one. I'll be sure to post pictures of the Boston trip next week.

Tyler has been traveling A LOT for work the past while, but I am proud to say that I finally slept at my house by myself earlier this week. I used to all the time, but then I had a really scary dream and would not sleep there while Ty was gone. I know, I'm a baby, but it was a really scary dream.

I'm so excited for Christmas! I tried to start listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, but Ty nixed that idea. Tomorrow is Dec. 1st so I'm going to be listening to Christmas music non-stop until the big day!

We were asked to dog-sit our neighbors two dogs over Thanksgiving weekend. Ty fell in love with them of course, although the golden retriever scared me because he was so huge. We both want a dog but we're gone all day so we would feel guilty leaving it at home, plus- it would probably destroy our house in the process.

I'll post again soon- with Boston pics!

NYC

Me, Tyler and Melissa went to NYC last weekend and it was SO fun! We went to the Met, the Natural History Museum, Central Park, Rockefeller Center, Ground Zero, Times Square etc. We stayed at the Times Square Hilton one of the nights and it was amazing- we were right there in the middle of everything. It really is mad there, but so much fun! We want to go back in December when everything is decorated for Christmas! Anyway, click on our web album to see the pictures!! Shan and Missy at the Met

Missy & Ty-hotdogs!

Ty & Shan at the Met

Shan & Ty

Pictures from Chile

Here are some Chile pictures! Tyler is having a great time and I think it is making him nostalgic for his missionary days. If you want to see more Chile pictures, click on the link to the left to see our web album.

I got to see my friends last night! Dawnell is getting married to Trever Midgley and Kristy had a shower for her. It was so fun to see everyone. I got to meet Haddon's little guy Caleb and he is so cute- very blue eyes and very light hair. I got to meet Penelope too! She is a gorgeous little girl! Amy is doing great too! Trish has a cute tummy now, and she says she isn't feeling as sick anymore which is great. She is due in January. We really missed Jen and Brooklyn and Michelle and Lauren and Paige. We wish you could have been there! I got to see Cami too, she is as gorgeous as wonderful as ever. Kristy made such great food and everything was so cute. She did such a great job. Dawnell is really excited to get married and we are all excited for her! I love seeing my friends. I miss them!! If anyone has any pictures from the shower, send them to me please!

Tyler gets back Sunday morning and I CANNOT WAIT. I've missed him so much. I'm counting down the hours!

News from Chile

Tyler called last night and I got to talk to Cesar, his good friend he is staying with. Oh! He was so cute- I'm talking about Cesar (well, Ty was too). He kept giggling while he was trying to speak English. I really can't wait until Ty and I go back together and I get to meet all his Chilean friends. No pictures yet, but I think Ty will be emailing them later today, so I will post again!

Other news- no one will really care about this unless they live in Bountiful, but they are turning Excel into a Golds Gym! What? I went to the gym last night and they were handing out these letters about it. So as of today, Excel is a Golds. The thing that is really bad is that Golds is franchised, and of course the franchises are owned by the same owner from Bountiful down to St. George. BUT- not Layton. And Layton's Golds Gym is WAY more expensive than all the other Golds. Why? The person that I talked to at the Layton Golds said it is because there are less gym choices in Layton, so we don't have to be as competitive.

So anyway, not only am I upset about the Excel thing, but my membership is running out on Wednesday and I have to buy a new one and Golds is more expensive than Excel. What bad timing!

I saw Amy's husband John and his little brother Mike there last night. Mike just got home from his mission. Anyway- John and Amy just had the cutest little girl named Penelope. She is SO cute. Look at Penny's picture and compare it to the pictures of Amy. Pen definitely has her mom's lips and cheeks right?

So after the gym I went home to my empty house. It is weird not having Ty there! I think I will go down to Provo on Thursday and stay with Missy. I do have to work on Friday but maybe I'll make it a half-day. I haven't even seen where Missy lives and I really need to go down to visit her.

More later.

Chile

Well, Tyler made it to Chile. He will be there for the next week! A whole week...it just seems so long. I'm used to Tyler traveling for work, but he has never been gone for a whole week before. Besides, this isn't for work, it is for pleasure. Tyler served his mission in Chile and decided a few months ago that he wanted to go back for a visit. He went with his good friend and former companion Clint. I couldn't go because I have to work. Blah. Oh well!

So I've been taking things pretty easy. Ty left on Saturday, and after I dropped him off at the airport I went shopping. No time wasted there. Then I met up with my Mom and Emily for the Women's Conference that night. Good times. I got a bunch of library books and have pretty much just been reading which is paradise to me. Still, it seems like forever until Tyler will be back. He is coming back on Sunday morning. I miss him!

Not much else is new. We were called to be in the Primary teaching the 6 & 7 year olds. We only teach every other week which is great because Ty can go to Priesthood and me to Relief Society. So, we will still be in the loop so to speak.

Tyler promised that he would email pictures every day so when I get the first batch, I will be sure to post them.

Later!

I saved $50 today

It is the worst feeling when you watch the door of your car shutting and still sitting on your seat are your car keys, glinting in the sun. Crap. I hate spending money for stupid reasons, and what is more stupid than giving a locksmith $50 to unlock your car for you? But guess what? I guess I work with some good people after all. Janet called AAA and had them unlock it for me, she just used her account number and it didn't cost her anything. I did learn something today (other than the fact that you should keep a back-up key in your purse). If you ever want to learn how to break into a car, just go online. You can learn- step by step- how to break into a car. There are instructional videos, tips, blogs - and it is all about how to break into a car. Maybe I'm naive- but don't you think that is sad? Scary too. Although it would be a GREAT skill to have for mornings like this!

Corn Fest

This weekend we went to the annual "Corn Fest" in Enterprise. Wow. Very small town. It was fun though- we got to see Kori and Adam's new house. It is beautiful and sooo big! We loved it.

So, we had to speak in church on Sunday. I get so nervous speaking in front of people, as I think most people do. Tyler wasn't nervous though. He says that going on a mission pretty much deletes any nerves you have when speaking about the church in front of large groups. I can see how a mission would do that to a person. Anyway, it was good to get it over with. Both sets of parents were there and Brian too! I'm just glad it is over and now I don't need to worry about speaking again for another year or two (hopefully). I think that is the unwritten rule isn't it? Once you speak, they can't (shouldn't) ask you to speak again for a few years. I hope this ward follows that rule...

We met our new neighbor last night. Her name is Tara. She came over with her baby girl Chloe to say hi. I feel guilty that I haven't been over to introduce myself and that she had to do it, but oh well. Her husband wasn't there but his name is Obi- short for Obadiah. Cute family.

Well Melissa is officially moved into her new apartment down at college. I hear the apartment is really nice and she is so excited to be in a college town again. Me, Tyler and Chelo are going down to visit her for the day next Saturday. We are catching a ride with Brian and Jordan who are going to the BYU game. For all of our sakes (and Jordan's health), I hope BYU wins! If they don't, Jordan will become physically ill and the ride home will not be enjoyable. Please, please let BYU win.

Anniversary Details

Last night was so fun. Tyler picked me up from work and gave me a dozen red roses! So beautiful. He then took me to the Atlantic. It is a cute little cafe on Main Street and they serve my favorite...cheese and tomatoes. Delicious!

After dinner Tyler took me to the Gateway where he picked up some chocolate covered strawberries that he ordered from the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. He gave me chocolate covered strawberries on our wedding night and our first anniversary, so he is making it into a tradition.

We were sitting there wondering whether or not we should go see a movie, when a guy gave us free passes to see "Stardust". I think there was some sort of promotion going on. It is actually a really cute movie. My favorite character is Robert DeNiro. Watch the movie and you will see what I mean.

It was a great night!

President James E. Faust

President James E. Faust passed away early this morning. To read more, go to http://www.lds.org/

I have always loved listening to President Faust speak. He seemed like such a gentle and loving person and he will be missed. He is in such a better place now.

Two Years Today

Tyler and I have been married for two years today! Have a look at our wedding album by clicking on the Picasa link to the left.

Tyler is taking me somewhere tonight but he won't tell me where! He usually can't keep a secret (birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, "surprise" trips, etc- he ALWAYS ends up telling me) but this time he is keeping his lips sealed tight. I wonder what he has planned...

We were together for over a year before we got married (which I fully advise). It gave us a good chance to get to know each other, although of course there were still lots and lots of surprises after we were married. There have been bad surprises (he refuses to go grocery shopping) and good surprises (he does all the laundry). I'm sure he could think of a few good and bad surprises about me too! Marriage isn't easy (as any married person will tell you) but it is definitely worth it. Cheers to being married!

Bourne Again!

Tyler and I LOVED the Bourne Ultimatum. If you haven't seen it yet, you MUST. Here is a link to learn more about the movie starring Tyler's man-crush (Matt Damon): http://www.thebourneultimatum.com/ http://www.bourne-ultimatum.net/

The trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DY7CnUY2EWk

I am also really excited to see Becoming Jane with Anne Hathaway. Go here http://www.becomingjane-themovie.com/ to learn more about the movie.

Becoming Jane trailer: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYViBfUvSOA

I have previously mentioned on the blog how excited I am for the movie adaptation of the book "The Other Boyleyn Girl". Here is a first look at the movie poster:

Updates!

It has been too long since I posted! There has been a lot going on lately...

We are finally settled in our new house and we love it. People in the neighborhood call it the "dollhouse" which is funny. Tyler and I have been working hard to keep the lawn nice and green and keep all the landscaping maintained. I can't wait until next Spring when the trees in our front yard will bloom. They are "Flowering Pear" trees and are beautiful in the Springtime. All of the rose bushes the back yard will bloom too! And in the front yard, all of the flowers will be in bloom, so Spring will be fun. I am thinking of planting lilac bushes along the backyard fence. The smell will be overwhelmingly delicious!

Some big news: Tyler is going back to Chile (where he served his mission) for an entire week at the end of September. He is going with his childhood friend (who also served in Concepcion). Tyler is so excited and he will be meeting up with many of his dear friends in the areas he served in. He will be taking a lot of pictures and I will be sure to post them here!

Tyler and I are both very busy with our jobs. Tyler has been traveling often which is very tiring for him, and hard for us to be apart, but he manages to make many of the trips into "day-trips" which is nice. He is really enjoying his job and all of the projects he has been involved in. I am extremely busy at work, and every day there seem to be more and more projects to complete. We hired an additional person for the HR department, and she and I get along great. The commute from our home and jobs is quite the journey. It takes us about 40 minutes to work and 1 hour on the way home. The nice thing is that we are able to carpool so it cuts down on gas, plus we get to be together!

Last weekend was the annual trip to Park City with Tyler's family. It was a great time, some of Tyler's cousins even joined us for a night! Most of all, it was relaxing and I even had a few hours to read one of Lisa's books (start to finish- it was that good!). The book is called "Twilight" by Stephenie Meyers.

Apparently, she graduated from BYU and is LDS too. It was a great book, and I am excited to start the sequel "New Moon".

Visit Stephenie Meyer's site at: www.stepheniemeyer.com

Speaking of books: I think that Tyler is now a bookworm. He just finished a book called "Hornet Flight" by Ken Follett. It is a book set during WWII and Tyler loved it. He can't wait to get his hands on another Ken Follett book to start.

This coming Saturday is the bi-annual Johnson family reunion. My Mom planned the whole thing and it should be really fun. That day is also my Grandma's 83rd birthday, so there will be a lot to celebrate. Hopefully, I'll take some pictures and post them here.

Melissa has been a busy girl- a few weeks ago she went to Rome with some friends and loved it. She is now obsessed with travel, and more specifically- Europe. I knew she would be hooked. I was the same way after my six weeks in beautiful Europe and Great Britain. I haven't made it back, but I plan to! Melissa is leaving at the end of the week for another trip- this time to England, Scotland and France. She will LOVE it. Especially London and Edinburgh- she will just fall in love with those places. Cheers to being young and to traveling!

Brian went on pioneer trek a few weeks ago. He hasn't told me much about it, but I think he secretly liked it! He just got back from scout camp last week and said he had a lot of fun.

Last Saturday we had the opportunity to meet Marie Laure and her husband. I have grown up hearing stories about Marie Laure so it was great to finally meet her. My Mom served her mission in Paris. She and her companion taught Marie Laure and her friend named Marie Leen. They were both baptized and my Mom has kept in close contact with them since. The last time my Mom saw Marie Laure was when she came out to her wedding, almost 30 years ago! Marie Laure's son, Jeremy attends college in Idaho, and I think I am going to try to set him up with Melissa- she just doesn't know it yet! : )

Jord and Chelo bought a house! It is a really cute house, with a nice, open floor plan. I am so excited for them, and they love it. They especially love the air conditioning (coming from an apartment with a swamp cooler!).

More later!

Moving Day

Today is the day! We are moving into our new house and we are SO excited. Click on our Picasa link to see the pictures. It is supposed to be over 100 degrees today...yup the perfect day to move. Now all we need is a dog and we will be a little family. :)
Not much else is new, we went to Eden with Tyler's family for the weekend and it was fun. It was great to see Austin and Dallin and our new little niece Ally. Cute! Next weekend we are going to our cabin for a relaxing weekend and to escape the heat of the valley. Should be fun. For the 4th of July, I'm not sure what we are doing, we will probably still be unpacking!

Graduation Day!

Graduation
Day!!
Now we are
both college
graduates!

Countdown to graduation...

Only 12 days to go until Tyler graduates. We can't wait! Then we will both be college grads. It has been a lot of hard work but it is almost over. It looks like it has been worth it because Tyler was just offered a job at the same place he has been interning for the last few months. We are excited and Tyler is eager to start. He will begin his full-time job the Monday after graduation!

The roots of education are bitter, but the fruit is sweet. ~Aristotle

Melissa and her friends are headed to Puerto Rico today for a few days. She is probably going to Europe this summer on a Contiki tour just like I did. I am excited for her! I already have the tour picked out for her:

http://www.contiki.com/en-US/Tours/Europe/European.Vista/Dates.Rates.htm

It is the same one I went on and it gives you a little bit of everything. I also think she should go stay with my friends in Scotland for a few days. So much fun!

Where to?

Me, Missy and Tyler are going to Europe this summer. Trouble is, we can't quite decide where to go. First we thought going to Switzerland, Germany and Austria would be nice. Then, we thought Spain and Italy. I've been everywhere but Spain. If any of you have been to Spain, let me know - I need some tips as to where to go. I'm sort of over London & Paris for now...but would like to visit there again soon. There's just not enough time to go everywhere!

The Other Boleyn Girl

Scarlett Johanssen as Mary and Natalie Portman as Anne

The Other Boleyn Girl by Philippa Gregory



Ok, this is a GREAT book. I love it. The book is being made into a movie starring Scarlett Johansen as Mary Boleyn, Natalie Portman as Anne Boleyn, and Eric Bana as King Henry. Scarlett and Eric are two of my favorite actors- I guess I never really made it on the Natalie Portman bandwagon. Anyway- the book is wonderful, and I am hoping the movie will be also. I definitely recommend reading the book whether you plan to see the movie or not. The only bad thing- the movie doesn't come out until December 2007.


Visit the movie link:


http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0467200/


Learn more about the book:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Other_Boleyn_Girl

I can't help it

Phil

Sanjaya with that crazy grin on his face

Usually, I stay far away from American Idol. I think it is usually a pretty boring show. But this season, I find myself awaiting the episodes as if I actually like the show. Tyler HATES Sanjaya, and I am absolutely repulsed by Phil. I don't know what it is about him, but Melissa feels the same way too. When Sanjaya doesn't grin that huge, over-the-top grin (when he does, I actually cringe because its embarrassing to watch) I actually don't think he's that bad. I just think he is a skinny, slightly feminine teenager with gorgeous hair who doesn't quite know what he's gotten himself into. Phil, on the other hand- oh, he just gets on my nerves, I mean I just do NOT like him at all. The big surprise last night was that Sanjaya wasn't even in the bottom 3. What is going on?

The Wedding

Tyler and Keith at our wedding reception


This Saturday, Keith is getting married. Yes, its true!
There is not much more to say- I think that says it all.


Tina Fey


His fiance is totally cute too, she looks just like Tina Fey from SNL and 30 Rock.

Zachary Ariotti

Congratulations Andrew & Kathryn Ariotti-

they have a new little baby boy

- Zachary Ariotti.

He sure is a cutie!

Easter Weekend

St. George

Happy Monday!

Tyler and I got back from St. George yesterday afternoon. Sara's baptism was wonderful, she is such a special young lady. It was a bit of a Higgins reunion- everyone was there, even Gramps and Michelle, Merrill and Holly. After the baptism, we went over to the Bowler's home for some famous Veyo pie. It was lots of fun!

Tyler and I were able to spend a lot of time with Dallin and Austin- they are so cute. I can't believe how much Austin is talking now. He is a little chatter box. On Saturday, we went for a walk, a bike ride and had an Easter egg hunt! The weather was perfect and Bryce and Lisa were great hosts (like always).

Dallin

Austin

Bryce and Lisa are trying to figure out a name for their unborn baby girl. They like Alyssa, Allison and Meg. I like all three of those names...whatever they decide on will be perfect. Bryce and Lisa drove us past the place where they are filming the sequel to "High School Musical". There were several big white tents and signs indicating where the extras needed to be. It was pretty cool, and High School Musical isn't that bad of a movie- as Nat pointed out: "Disney movies don't have to make sense". When you think about it that way, the movie is a lot easier to watch. Also, it is a kids movie.

High School Musical

When we got back to town, Tyler and I went to a Rasmussen BBQ at Em and Joey's new house. It was so fun to see everyone, especially the boys (Ethan, Max and Owen). Owen is such a cute, fat little baby. So fun to squeeze!

The flight back was SO turbulent. I'm usually just fine in airplanes, but I was squeezing Tyler's leg so hard that I think I hurt him. It scared me a lot. I'm not too excited to get back on a plane any time soon. We are flying to Hawaii for a few days with my parents in May- so I guess I have to get over my temporary fear of flying!