so blessed...

...to have spent 365 amazing days tag-teaming this thing called LIFE

with my wonderful husband....



...I can't wait for a lifetime more!

happy one year anniversary, my love!

the latest happenings on the johnson front

not sure how many of you care to hear what we've been up to, but i'm pretty sure i have a few far-away family and friends that check up on our blog and see how we're doing, so i thought i'd post a little update of the past few months.

theBIRTHDAY
josh turned __ (blank on purpose) on january 19th. and we're obviously very proud... just kidding--the guy may be racking up the age-points, but he's still as playful as a young chap and i love him to peices! we hit up javiers mexican restaurant for dinner with a few pals, followed by a visit to the yardhouse. josh was testing his new age at the nearest bar. eh, he sort of passed.

theCITY
we entirely lucked out this month and got the opportunity to travel for work together, and to no better place than new york city! okay, i misrepresent...we went to new jersey. i owed a visit to a project out there, and josh spent a day in his new jersey office working on a project with his boss. as soon as we were done with the work, we jumped on a train and planted ourselves in that freezing city for 3 days. this trip was fairly mellow for NYC--it was cold, and unless we had a plan of where to go and exactly how to get there, we weren't the most eager to simply roam around aimlessly. strangely enough, our initial plan had been to have no plan, and hadn't realized how much the cold would hinder us from "just hanging out in the city". ultimately we made it to a couple museums (the MoMA was our favorite!), the new york library, rockefeller center, and some random bars and restaurants. for those "how i met your mother" fans, we visited a bar called mcgee's, which provided the concept behind maclaren's in the show.

theMORNINGS
josh and i have stumbled upon some new found time, recently. mornings. how about that?! turns out, there's lots one can do at 6am, and we're learning it together. eagerly, i might add. i think the jet lag from NYC has yet to fade, and we're hanging on to it tightly. mornings have recently consisted of a long walk with the dog, a yummy breakfast and the today show, or an early start at the office. i've always had an appreciation for mornings, but managed to easily sleep through them. now that josh is finding how beautiful the early part of the day can be, i'm finding myself NOT sleeping through them anymore. it's nice, june loves it, and i would highly recommend mornings to anyone! a little word of advice, though--do yourself a favor and hit the sack before midnight.

theBOOK
our valentine's day was fairly low key. it consisted of church, lunch, errands, and the gym. later in the day, we buckled down and got serious--threw a steak on the grill(pan) and sat down for a romantic dinner. after dinner, we moved to the couch, and josh read "catcher in the rye" to me. it was so simple, and so sweet. i absolutely LOVED it; well, until i fell asleep in chapter 6, that is... i can't wait to be read to more...such a nice treat! and this book is an awesome classic :-)

theWEEKEND
we are heading up to bishop, california to (finally) do some outdoor climbing. josh, june, and i will hit the road saturday morning and meet a couple friends of ours on the rocks that afternoon. i am SO looking forward to sometime outside, away from the hustle bustle, and spending time with friends. we'll post some pics when we return!

theBUS

josh and i like to think we're fun, playful, and lighthearted folks :-) we could be wrong, but we still like to think it! we stumbled upon a school bus yard a while back and got some photos of the good time. here's a few, just for kicks!

Reaching New Heights

We’re back! We are coming up on our first year anniversary and we are finally starting to settle into a routine that we can all handle. We are figuring out what our schedule can handle and how far we can stretch ourselves and trying not to ignore friends and family while still getting in the things we want to do each week.

One of the things that slipped out of the rotation was our climbing. Around the beginning of the year we both decided that we would get back into it; first for fun and as a means of staying in shape as well. From the moment we started hitting the gym again we both realized how much we missed it. The first week it was practically all we could talk to each other about… and it hasn’t stopped! Four weeks later and we still can’t stop talking about it. The other day Gigi came home with a bubble jacket she got from a friend. She pulled it out of the bag, held it up, and said, “for our next trip to Bishop.” She knows the way to my heart, doesn’t she?

I got bit by the climbing bug the day I went to Joshua Tree with an old friend (Kevin Ranck – if you are out there, I miss ya, man!). I always knew the sport would be a big part of my life after that day and told myself, “I’m gonna marry a woman who climbs one day.” Guess what? I did!! Not only did I marry a woman who climbs, I married a climber! Granted, she didn’t know she was a climber at the beginning, but she knows it now! It is so much fun to share the sport I love with the woman I love!

It’s so fun to watch her light up when she reaches a new level of climbing. It’s awesome to watch her figuring out the problem she is working on. And it’s exciting hear her voice get louder and more excited when she talks about it with me and others. The other day we almost went to the gym twice in the same day because she wanted to go back! Now that’s a climber!

I have always contended that climbing is a great metaphor for relationships. With or without a rope there are two people looking out for each other. When a person falls, the other is there to catch or help protect the other person from injury. When one person struggles, the other is there to take up the slack or give guidance to help the other person through the tough spot. And like with any sport, the more you do it, the better you become at doing it. The same thing goes for a healthy relationship.

Coming up on our first anniversary of marriage, we can definitely attest to it having been a lot like climbing. We have each had our times of struggle when we were reliant upon the other to get through. We have also each had times of pure success that we have been able to share in together. We are getting ready to reach new heights both in climbing and in marriage. It’s an exciting time for us and we couldn’t be happier about it!

P.S. - We are always looking to introduce people to the sport we love so much. If you are interested, let us know! We’d love to take you climbing!