Mels Jazzercising 1988

I just got back from a really fun trip to Marrakech in Morrocco with my friend John. He went there to buy rugs for his shop and we saw cool things including:

the airport in Marrakech

 lanterns for sale in the market

crazy geometries in tile

storks who live on top of the city walls and watch the little kids below them drive mopeds and pull their friends on rollerblades behind them or grab onto the back of taxis and ride with them

stop signs in Arabic (and a man in his thirties driving a moped holding a child that couldn't have been more than 6 months old, and a man riding his bicycle with a washing machine perched on the rear)

useful items for sale in the flea market

bundles of sticks

lots of old metal stuff

many mosques

 a bedroom at the house where we stayed

the city walls

more nice geometry

the courtyard of the house at night

stacks of drinking mugs

John and his friend Corrine who lives in Morocco smiling 

at a dreamy place called the Beldi where we

went swimming

and smelled fields of roses.

1982, 1983

Emilie and Julie 1980, 1981

March 13, 2000

Andrew, Rebekah, Dad and Julie (and his yiddle doodriver).

November 5, 1993

Rebekah, Paul, Mels, Mom, Dad.

Our New YOUTUBE Channel.

I've been going through old home videos, since I have a copy of Dad's collection here in Paris. With Xavier's computer powers, he was able to figure out how to just cut a portion of a DVD and isolate it or edit it. This is exciting because I have created a youtube channel for the Johnsons and I am going to upload clips from our home videos through the years there, a sort-of chronically of our lives. I found this clip this morning and I laughed so hard watching all the dynamics while Chinese Jump Roping with the missionaries...



Anyway, I will also embed the videos here on our blog and then we can often collectively revisit the past. It is surprising how nostalgic these videos make me; most of all it makes me miss you all tremendously.

Tulip Fields Forever

Each April the Skagit Valley, which is 60 miles north of Seattle, holds a Tulip festival.

Today was gorgeous with blue skies but cool temperatures -- around 60 degrees -- and we decided to experience the Tulip Festival first hand. We put our mountain bikes on our new bike rack and drove to Mount Vernon -- the Tulip capital. The breathtaking tulip fields exceeded our lofty expectations. These picture give a glimpse of what we found but do not convey the full beauty of this marvelous exhibition.
We rode 23 miles as we went by all the fields that were in full bloom (Rosie says "It would have only been 15 miles if I had been the navigator"). Here is Rosie riding along the road on her 80 pound cruiser/tank for a bike!
We originally were going to take our road bikes but at the last minute Rosie suggested it might be better to take our mountain bikes/cruiser. She was right on the mark as we soon discovered we could ride our bikes through the dirt paths in between the fields.

On the left is a painter with a most colorful subject. In the background you can see a few of the majestic mountains surrounding the Skagit Valley. The only disapointment of the day was the clouds were over Mount Baker -- the third highest mountain in Washington at 10,778 feet.
The variety of colors was incredible from pastels to deep, rich reds and purples.

One of the other tourists we came by agreed to take a picture of both of us.

The last fields we rode by (above) were the most impressive of all. Brad stopped his bike and put his hand over his heart. It was acres and acres of crimson and gold -- Logan High School's colors. Rosie thought it was going to move him to tears and claims she heard him humming his school song the rest of the afternoon "Neath the crest of Wasatch Mountains with her...".

We wish all of you could have experienced this marvelous day with us. It was every bit as impressive as anything we saw in Holland when we were there years ago at peak tulip season.

We agreed that a bike tour of the tulip fields each April will be a tradition as long as we live in Washington. Come join us next year.

Mom and Dad

Videos of Joyce

Due to a very slow internet connection, I don't feel up to posting the video of Joyce here but go check out www.searcypages.com to see Joyce in action.

7 CHILDREN!

hello!

just a reminder. i am keeping up on my blog, so if you wanna check it out, go to beddaboo.blogspot.com! :)

and.... SUMMER! i cant wait! love ya'll

Joyce

Joyce has been making leaps and bounds in human development. She is pretty close to walking unassisted (she teeters like a cute smiling zombie between John and I, her arms out in front of her tottering to the side at times). She has a huge vocabulary (mama, dada, ball, dog, no, hi - usually with her hand to her ear as if she were holding a cell phone). She can shake her head 'yes' and 'no.' And most importantly she can read to herself. Sometimes if I'm reading to her, she pulls the book away from me and proceeds to tell me her version of the story, pointing and jabbing at the pictures, all the while shaking her head for emphasis.

With Joyce now in our lives, the worst thing about living far away from family is that you don't get to see the everyday fun little things about Joyce right now. So I thought I'd give you a pictorial overview of the past few weeks.

Joyce really took to some mittens we bought when we were in Washington. She loves to wear them around the house. Here she is doing a maintenance check on my bike before I ride to school.

We had a friend from our ward over for dinner; she really likes Joyce and tells her over and over again "Hi baby girl, hi baby girl." I wish I could visually show you the way our friend draws out the 'girl' and punctuates the 'baby.'

Sometimes our friend tells stories that make Joyce a little skeptical.

I know I've posted pictures of Joyce's favorite hobby aside from reading - pulling books off the shelf. John said she took it to all new heights recently when she cleared the shelf in record time.

It's so satisfying to have a world of words lying at your feet.

In this picture, it is clear that Joyce is a little sick (observe the snot crusted nose, the open mouth, the sickly complexion) but I had to post it. She's reading her favorite book: Johnsons Go to Greece while I make her some breakfast. If I suggest reading another, she swats my hand and tells me "no no no." Thanks Uncle Stephen.

EVERYTHING'S COMING UP ROSES

Spring has sprung and I love-this reflection

-the river

-this hill by Grant's Tomb

-and these welcome back signs. My friend Abbey returned to work with a broken leg  after an accident at a grocery store where she slipped on some spilled dish soap. Tanya and I decorated her desk with these signs.

The Fiery Furnace -- Arches National Park

We spent this afternoon in the Fiery Furnace -- an area of the park that is highly restricted and requires a fee. To enter you must be with a Park Ranger or if you are going on your own you must go through a training process to ensure hikers do not destroy the delicate vegetation areas and to help them not get lost in the never-ending mazes that make up the Fiery Furnace. We chose to tackle this on our own. The Fiery Furnace is a treasure with unique views around every corner and unlimited slickrock climbing areas to explore. The warnings about getting lost should not be taken lightly as the multitude of little valleys and alleys between the countless fins are almost impossible to keep straight. GPS does not work in the Furnace and there are no maps or signs available.
The Fiery Furnace -- a truly spectacular and unique place
Andrew found a nice place for a little rest
Rebekah jumping over one of the many cracks in the Fiery Furnace
Rebekah and Andrew in a tight squeeze in the Fiery Furnace
Rebekah holds up Andrew in the Fiery Furnace
Rebekah found a nice place to curl up for a rest
A short break for an apple in the Fiery Furnace

Devil's Garden -- Arches National Park

Today we went on about a five mile hike this morning in the Devil's Garden and saw numerous arches and some fabulous views as we climbed on the ridges overlooking the National Park. It was another hike that won't be forgotten. Here are a few pictures from that hike.
Rebekah and Andrew in front of Landscape Arch -- One of the longest in the world
Rebekah, Andrew and Brad by Double O Arch
Not a bad spot for lunch
Brad and Andrew hiking on the slickrock ridges in Devil's Garden

Sunset at Delicate Arch -- Arches National Park

This week is Spring break for Andrew and Rebekah and so Rosie and I decided to take them to Utah. We spent last weekend in Northern Utah with Rosie's parents and my brother Rob's family. We have spent the last day and a half in a truly spectacular place -- Arches National Park outside of Moab, Utah in southeastern Utah.

Last evening we took the three mile (round trip) hike to the most famous natural arch in the world -- Delicate Arch. It is one of those sacred places in nature -- especially at sunset -- which provides a memory that one never forgets.
Delicate Arch -- a truly awe inspiring sight
Rosie and Brad
Andrew, Rosie and Rebekah

Rosie on the hike back. It was indeed an evening to remember.