happy anniversary

Dear Jeremy, You are not the favorite parent. If our kids had to pick who the #1 parent is, they would choose me. You have come close on different occasions, but still fall short. I'm sorry that your dreams of being "best parent" have never come true, but you shouldn't have married someone so cool. You have to acknowledge the fact that when they come in that door everyday, the first name they yell at the top of their lungs is MOM! Everytime. Not Dad. Mom rules. Maybe you could try again next time. Oh ya, Happy 13th Anniversary - at least you will always be #1 husband. (Good job honey!) LYL, LLL, BLF, Yours truly, #1 P.S. As they say, GO BROWNS, WHOOOOO..........

before...

after...

love you #2!

(for those of you who don't think J.P. starts anything)

I run for life...

I got off the phone with my sister today after talking with her about her 'run of death' last weekend. She rules. She is the woman. She is my hero. She sucks! She ended up in the Medical tent, had to walk a little, felt like she was going to throw up, cried a tinsy bit and STILL ran a marathon in 3 hours 47 minutes. Next year I hope to run one in under 5 hours. 'Chicken Little' makes TLG Robyn look BAD! I love Dawnie and hope to be her one day.

After discussing her ordeal, we decided there are so many other reasons to run, than just to run. I run for Life. I run to live life better. I run for me, I like myself better and feel healthier. I run for my kids, I am a better mom. I run for J.P., I am a better wife (he may say different). I run for my dad, he taught me to do things that are hard. I run for my mom, she showed me that we can beat this disease we more likely than not could get. I run for my grandma, I didn't know her, she died from ovarian cancer when I was a child. I run for her sister, Aunt Gin, she died from breast cancer. I knew her and she was marvelous. I run for all who are battling a disease. I run for those who can't run, because I can. I run because God gave me these legs that are able, I have to.

Running brings out the good in people. Not only does it strengthen your heart, it strengthens marriages, friendships, relationships. Angels surround you when you run. Training with Jeremy was a highlight of my life so far. Running with my children is joy. Running with my sister or friends brings happiness to my heart! Try it, it will.

We all have those moments we don't want to run. Or live. We get 'tired'. I say these are the moments we must do it better. Keep running, keep living. Doing something that makes you feel better, stronger, happier, healthier is something you should never quit.

So live. Run. Live better.

what poor people eat for dinner...

As far as dinner goes, what makes you think of being so poor your mom just fed you the only thing she could conjure up with the measly ingredients in her kitchen? Is it Top Ramen poured over mashed potatoes, or something like saltine crackers covered in Tomato Soup mixed with cheese soup. (some call that rarebit and it was a treat to Jeremy) Maybe at your house it was something from a chef boyardee can (generic brand for us) or better yet something from a jar your mom had in her food storage for at least 8 years! When I think back to my parent's 'hard times' I remember eating a lot of mush, lynn wilson burritos and pancakes. The pancakes were actually a treat for me, my dad truly makes the best! My father in law, to this day, can not eat chicken pot pie! He has bad memories of being a child and getting fed silly old store bought chicken pot pies when times were tough. He can not even eat a homemade pot pie, or the yummy one from Archibalds at Gardner Villiage! I couldn't help but think of him the entire time I took those disgusting chicken pot pies from my deep freezer, out of the box and into the oven a few nights ago. (6 people in my fam, I only cooked 5...Robyn can't eat those either) I actually laughed at the fact that if he came over, he would be so disappointed in me. So I was happily surprised when I walked in after Alec's court of honor to see my father in law sitting on my couch clearly un-impressed with what was for dinner at my house! Dangit, of all the nights to come over, he totally caught me. He also saw the 'malt-o-meal' cereal in my pantry that I just bought at Albertson's 4 for $4, who passes that up, right? (generic cereal is clearly as unimpressive) Well I've come to the conclusion that I am officially making my in-laws cry over what I am feeding their grandchildren. Maybe I should have my kids explain how much they love chicken pot pie, and how they all really wanted seconds that night, except for Luke who won't even eat bread so he doesn't count! They also need to tell them that they LOVE top ramen, mac n' cheese, potato pearls, oatmeal and pancakes for dinner! Times are definitely tough, ask any american, times are tough. We eat what is put in front of us, and my kids will one day will tell people their parents made them eat a piece of toast with cream of chicken soup poured over it, topped with shredded cheese. Everything tastes better with cheese. Then they will admit that it was a treat!

Bad Call or Bad Rule?

So after the win over Washington, BYU is now #18 on the AP Poll and #15 on the USA Today Poll. I love Cougars! If any of you watched the game, did you think that BYU won the game because of the celebration flag thrown against Washington or do you think it had something to do with the blocked extra point? I personally would have loved to watch that game go into over time, it was a dang good game! However BYU did deserve the win, if you look at the stats they were the better team. Washington did deserve to take the game into over-time until the blocked kick. So was the excessive celebration call a bad call or is it a bad rule? The ball was clearly thrown high into the air. Did the ref have a choice?

Here is just one of the articles, and a little clip of the play itself.

The Pac-10 has decided that the officials got the controversial call near the end of Saturday's BYU-Washington game right.

Mike Tedesco/US Presswire
Jake Locker's celebration after scoring a TD on a 3-yard run with two seconds left in the game drew an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
"The rule seems pretty cut and dried," Coordinator of football officiating for the Pac-10 Conference Dave Cutaia said, according to the Seattle Times, of Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2c, which states that a player can be penalized for an unsportsmanlike act for "throwing the ball high into the air."
The controversy was the 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on Washington quarterback Jake Locker after he scored on a 3-yard run with two seconds left in regulation. Locker flipped the ball over his head into the air and began celebrating with his teammates. The fling drew a flag for excessive celebration.
As it's written, Locker did violate the rule. But the decision to throw the flag in a moment of jubilation provided a muddled conclusion to an exciting game and brought a storm of criticism from college football pundits. The penalty left Washington's Ryan Perkins attempting an extra point from 35 yards. Perkins' kick was low and blocked by BYU's Jan Jorgensen, leaving Washington 0-2 after the 28-27 loss.
"It is a celebration rule that we are required to call," Pac-10 referee Larry Farina said after the game. "It was not a judgment call."
However, David Parry, national coordinator national coordinator for college football officiating, said Sunday that all calls are judgment calls, although he was in no way critical of the call or the official who made it, since there's no doubt Locker broke the rule.
"I think what he meant is this was so obviously against the rule and flagrant you have no option but to throw a flag," Parry said.

home alone!

So it has now been three weeks since the adult children started school. Yes I have three adult children who are in school full-time. No pre-school or kindergarten, no half-day-mess the whole day up school anymore. I do have one 2 year old friend I get to spend the entire day with. It's been quite interesting getting use to each other for such a long period of time. I am hoping I can live up to Savvy in the entertainment department! His OCD is making each day very amusing (perfectly lined animals, food, cards etc.) and I have forgotten how much fun it is to be able to spend so much time on just one child! We've been working on letters, sounds, numbers and different species of bugs. He is now officially potty-trained thanks to animal stickers and crayons. We have been to Thanksgiving Point, Wheeler Farm and the pet store to get his animal fixes in. It seems to make him a happy kid when we can see and touch the furry little things. We still can't talk dad into a dog, so I guess I will be visiting every animal spot in the valley before the end of the year. Give me idea's if you have any...ANY animal will do!

I am getting through this Junior High thing just fine. (crossies count) I have found out why my mom lived in denial most of my teenage life. However, I, Robyn Johnson can not live that way. I have found out I will most likely be one of those mom's who has to know EVERYTHING. Where did you go, what did you do, what did they say, then what did you say, how did you feel...am I too much? I totally think I am a 'cool' mom but am starting to wonder if Alec thinks differently. What is the 'right' way to raise a teenager? (I only have 6 months until he is 13) Please someone help me. I want to raise a thankful, respectful, happy, giving, confident son. How do you do that? Is it possible? If only prayer was enough. I guess if I mess him up, I still have a few more to try on! I knew we had so many for a reason...I know we can get 1 out of 4 right! I am competitive enough to even try for 4, but it's not gonna be easy. We already got the 3 boy 3 girl party invite...he was busy! (duh - figured that one out!) The boy/girl swim party we allowed but my heart hurt. He had a blast, so my heart was healed. He says he doesn't care about girls, he only "cares about basketball". Basketball is clearly better than girls and always will be.