Nephi Hayley & Ezrum

End of year Vacation

2011-12-11T23:40:00.000-08:00

As a gift from Shem and Rachel our family were able to spend about 3-5 days in St George all together. They booked 3 condos side by side with 3 bedrooms in each. Onsite there was a pool, hot tub, playground, basketball court, fitness center, pond and golf course, it was gorgeous! Even though we weren't there too long we were still able to have a ton of fun and see and do a lot of things - family pj and talent night, shooting, family photos, cards games till 2am everyday, zions national park, St George temple lights and we ate and ate and ate! Hopefully this will continue to be a bi-annual event. We loved every minute of it!

Photography

2011-11-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

I love photography! But.... I need a lot of practice!! So if you want to help I'd very much appreciate it, whether its giving me the opportunity to take pics of you or giving me advice! All of it is welcome.
Here is my blog of some of my most recent work. hayleypjohnson.blogspot.com. These pics I took yesterday and today are an example of the extreme weather here in Utah. One day its gorgeous the next its snowing! At least Ezrum enjoyed it:)

Ezrums little green chair

2011-08-25T15:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, Nephis Mum bought Ezrum and his other little cousin Kae'o matching green chairs on our way to the lake. He love love loved it! After pulling it out for him he inspected the back of it, then the legs, then he wanted help getting into it. So for what seemed like forever all he wanted to do was sit in his chair, get out of it then climb in it again..... I realized that the smallest, simplest and even the most boring things in life can actually mean the world to your little one:)

From Hana to New Zealand to Utah

2011-03-17T10:52:00.000-07:00

The stark contrast between Hana Maui and Salt Lake City Utah is phenomenal. Its proof that only God and his infinite wisdom and creativity could have pulled off something like these two totally different landscapes. I love them both but would have to agree that New Zealand was his best geographical creation! I don't think anyone will dispute with me on that.

Our time in Hana, Maui has come to a sad close now that Nephi has finished his documentary project out there. Im not sure if I ever took the time to explain what life was like out in Hana, I don't think I can compare it to anything. Ill start with the road to Hana. This road is world famous for its natural beauty unblemished landscapes and towering waterfalls. It has over 600 turns (some of them a full 180 degrees) and 54 bridges, most of them have only one lane. It takes the average person without stopping about 3 hrs or so to make a 35 mile trip. A lot of tourist websites actually have Road To Hana driving and etiquette tips. My personal opinion.... I hated the stupid road! I could never make it from one side of the road to the other without having to pull over and relieve my stomach of it previous inhabitants. But for those that dont get car sick, it can be one of the best experiences ever.

Once your in Hana its like taking a step back in time. One word to describe it - RESPECT. The people there are one of a kind. If you want to have a great experience there, get to know the people. Thats what made our trip there so much fun. Besides that, some of my favorite things I did include diving into Wainapanapas fresh water caves, driving to Ohe'o or the seven sacred pools, the hike up through the trails, the bamboo forest across streams to I think its called Waimoku, the tallest waterfall I have ever seen. Probably about a 400ft drop. This is found in the Kipahulu district just outside of Hana. Hamoa beach. My favorite beach! You can swim, bodyboard and surf at this one beach. It has lots of trees, bbq spots and warm white sand to lay on, aaaaaahhh. We would also spend time harvesting fresh vegetables at Hanas community garden, spend time at Hana Bay, watch the blowholes at Wainapanapa explode with water, or just stay home and relax. I learned so much about being here especially from Kara, Nephis cousin whom we stayed with. She is amazing! I hope we'll get to go back and visit.

Random fun sidenote.

This is Ezrum at 3 months old in Whangaruru New Zealand. He loves to talk. One of our favorite things is waking up to the sound of his little noises. One of the precious gifts of parenthood.

5 months old!!

2011-02-27T02:05:00.000-08:00

On the 24th of Feb Ezrum turned 5 months old! Its crazy scary how fast time has gone by. This encourages us to soak in every moment we get with him because before we know he'll be wanting to run away from us and refuse our hugs and kisses! noooo! It has truly been the greatest 5 months of our lives!

Our Little Tourist.

2011-02-16T00:27:00.000-08:00

I've been so bad at keeping this blog thing up, so sorry people. On my recent visit home to New Zealand my Mum, talking to Ezrum said, "well aren't you just a little world traveler!" I thought about this and decided I wanted to just write about it, listing the pros and cons of exposing our 4 1/2 month old son to things some people might raise an eyebrow at. First off Ezrum was born in Salt Lake City, Utah, then at 5 weeks old moved to Hana Maui, then at 2 months we took a trip to Kona for a week then back to Hana. A month after that we left for New Zealand for a month then back to Hana again. Next we will be flying back to Salt Lake with a good chance of possibly coming back. Crazy huh. Here goes: Cons first 1. Rather lengthly plane rides, possibly full of sick people, recycled air and the effect of the cabins air pressure. (total of 28hrs of flying time so far) 2. Unsettled routines. This is a big one I've struggled with. Every time we finally get him into a routine we're off on another adventure causing his routine to change. We do stick to one routine though, a routine called EASY. You might have heard of it. Eat, Activity, Sleep, Your time. Ever since he was born he has followed this routine except when he's going through a growth spurt or (like recently) begun teething. Its been very helpful. 3. Lack of consistent exposure to family and friends. 4. He doesn't have very many toys. This could possibly delay his motor skills. Its quite expensive buying toys wherever we go, so wherever we are we try to use our good old ingenuity and use your everyday objects we find around us. He does have a little toy monkey that he just loves to chew on! Any comments about that? Ok now on to the Pros, 1. Travelling has definitely helped to strengthen his little immune system. He hasn't been sick once! No colds, no fever, nothing out of the ordinary (well yet). Our Dr told me that as long as Im breastfeeding he'll been ok. 2. Exposure to different environments and situations that may heighten his senses, different sounds, taste, patterns, people, comfort etc. Sometimes I just love to watch him and wonder what the heck he is thinking about or how much of what he is seeing is being soaked up, like a piece of bread dipped in milo. Yummm! 3. He got to finally meet his Nana and Koro in New Zealand and tons of other close relatives who have been dying to squeeze him! That was very important for me, I want my Son to know how much he is loved by both sides of his family and how much I love them too. Of course he won't remember that trip but my family won't forget it, and he will have tons of pictures of him having loads of fun with his cousins! He was spoilt rotten! 4. Both Nephi and I agree that by exposing Ezrum to many different things at a young age will help him to have an adaptable personality. Already we can see it in his little eyes and in the way he interacts with his environment and different people that he is very aware of his surroundings. Overall our experiences have brought our little family closer together. With all our worries set aside, in his first 4 1/2 months of being on this earth he has seen more of the world than most people see in their whole lives. We love this little boy a whole stinkin bunch and we feel very blessed and humbled to be parents. We know there is no perfect way to raising a child, only that there needs to be a lot of quality time, attention and love.

He's finally here!

2010-10-25T13:56:00.000-07:00

Its taken me forever to update my blog, sorry about that. Our little bundle of joy is finally here! He arrived on the 24th of September at 2:48 am. He weighed 8lbs 8oz and was 20 1/2 inches long. We named him Ezrum Manaia Johnson. The very second we saw him we totally fell in love with him and decided to keep him, haha. The joy and happiness of being new young parents have been overwhelming, we feel so blessed and so complete. This is short but more will come later. We are also moving back to Hawaii for a while. More on that later too!

Quick update!

2010-09-16T12:33:00.000-07:00

So 38 weeks down 2 weeks to go! I have more energy then I've had in a while, weird huh? but some say its the nesting period new mums go through right before babys born. Today I went and bought a bunch of cleaning supplies and laundry supplies, a few more pajamas, outfits and other necessary items for baby, stuff for me after delivery, and a whole bunch of good food I can start cooking and freezing so I don't have to do a whole bunch of cooking after he comes. Its been a blast! Seriously! Im feeling more ready and excited now that I've splurged a little and have progressed toward a more organized environment.
We also took a little trip to the ER Tuesday. Yep I went into labor and because of my bad cold and coughing fits that caused me pain they wanted to hook me up to some machines and monitor baby. All is well, the painful contractions stopped as soon as I got to the hospital (go figure) and I was discharged with a prescription for antibiotics about an hour later. Fun huh! They did tell me I have dialated 2 cm and 70% effaced. Any day now! Oh and one more thing. We didn't end up getting that house. So sad but I know something else will come up soon. It will probably be a good thing in the end. I know Heavenly Father is definitely watching over us.

Less than one month to go!

2010-09-01T12:50:00.000-07:00

I first want to say how blessed I am to have a great family here in Utah! I cringed at the thought of moving here but over time I have grown to love the mountains and people here (excluding weather, I hate it), and most importantly get to know my husbands family better. Let me say they are all awesome!!! No wonder why he is such a great guy. Awww. My baby shower was 2 days ago and out of nowhere I was struck by the thought that my life is about to change forever! Am I ready? I have almost everything I need for him; beware its easy to get carried away shopping, I learned to wait till after the baby shower, a tiny mistake I made:) Yesterday I did something totally unlike me, to save money I kindly asked my mother in law to teach me to sew then hit walmart to buy fabric to make receiving blankets, hooded towels and quilts for baby. Don't ask what got into me. I just felt like learning to sew, she got so excited that I wanted to learn and happily and patiently showed me how to make all these things. After hours of cutting, pinning and sewing it became a little addicting. I seriously had a blast and did pretty well considering my lack of experience.

Family

2010-08-05T12:53:00.000-07:00

Here is a picture of my neice Nevaeh I edited in Lightroom, whom by the way, I haven't met yet as well as my nephews Raiatea, Kauri and Kalae. I miss them all especially Tayla-Paige. Can't wait to go home and see my family, not long to go now!

From Beginning to End (well..... almost!)

2010-08-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

I am 32 weeks today and measure about 45 inches around my belly! Here are some pics at 8 weeks and me at 32 weeks. Can you tell I've gained like .....100 lbs!! haha. So Nephi and I have been attending childbirth classes at the U for the past 4 weeks and I highly recommend it to all new parents. Last week we talked about pain relievers and watched a graphically nerve racking film (ouch!) and had all of us convinced an epidural is the way to go. Will see though, I haven't decided just yet. Tonight we are writing out our birth plans and taking a tour of the labor and delivery floor so we know where to go, what to expect, where to find things etc etc. That should be fun:) Also we have been approved for a home loan! Yay for us! So hopefully we will be able to find something we like and move before baby is born!

Pregnancy Update

2010-07-30T13:32:00.000-07:00

Well I am 31 weeks now and at Wednesdays Drs appointment I asked the one question people keep asking me. "Why do people keep telling me Im small?" My Dr simply replied, "you're tall and you have big boobs." LOL!!! Nephi and I both cracked up out loud. Love his boldness! He said I'll still grow a lot before its time to give birth. Baby is completely fine, hes the right size for my date and he's head down and probably won't turn again. Good for baby..... bad for me! For the past month his feet have found a nice comfy spot right in my ribs. I've found that if changing positions don't work I just gently push to the side of his little foot and he moves it out of the way (until he puts it back, I think he's gonna be stubborn, just like his mummy!) Total weight gain since I first got pregnant it 30 lbs! It feels like im growing a baby in both my thighs too, haha. I don't care, im happy to meet my son soon and give him all the love I can give. Add his Daddy to that, and thats a lot of love. Oh and this is the best stuff to use for stretch marks. I have no stretch marks, except for this tiny tiny little tear on my right side you can barely see. I love it!

Peanut Butter Blossoms

2010-07-21T13:04:00.000-07:00

1/2 cup of Shortning
3/4 cup of Creamy Skippy Peanut Butter
1/3 cup of White Sugar
1/3 cup of Brown Sugar
1 Egg
2 T Milk
1 t Vanilla
1 1/2 cups of Flour
1 t Baking Soda
1 t salt
Mix well then add to wet ingredients

Mix wet ingredients well till light and fluffy then add to dry ingredients already prepared in separate bowl. Roll into 1 inch balls and place on cookie sheet. Bake for exactly 9 min at 370 degrees.
Place hersheys chocolate (truffles if you can find them) in the middle immediately after baking. Then allow to cool. This is the best recipe you will find! YUMMY!!!

Summer

2010-07-19T11:04:00.000-07:00

Im still not quite sure how to use this site. Maybe its because I never post anything, haha. Well heres the latest update..... We are still here in hot dry Utah and its not fun being pregnant during the summer:( However we have made use of the local swimming pools and even recently we went camping at Rockport and got to swim in the muddy but refreshing lake! Only 2 and a half months to go now till our little munchkin graces us with his presence and then hopefully when can buy our own home, fix it up, rent it out and move to New Zealand! Well thats the plan. lol, does life ever turn out the way you expect? We can only wait and see now.

Oquirrh Mountain Temple

About 28 weeks!

Fishing at Rockport!

Utah

2010-02-27T21:45:00.000-08:00

So it was a Wednesday when our Landlord told us her house was going under foreclosure and that we had 7 days to move out. After having no luck finding another place nearby we threw out the idea of moving to Utah. That was a Friday. Saturday we posted a whole bunch of stuff including our car on Craigslist and then bought our tickets to SLC UT. Monday we sold our car and flew out that night. It was crazy how everything fell into place perfectly, and so fast. That was about 3 weeks ago. We are both still unemployed (know anyone thats hiring?) but we are doing great, in fact by moving we were able to pay off our credit cards. (A goal we had set to accomplish by this Dec!) Our plans now...... find work, save money, rent our own place, have baby, then move home to New Zealand. Hopefully before Christmas this year. Its freezing cold here but its livable I guess. Haha. We both miss Hawaii, you know how it goes, the white sandy beach, swaying palm trees, the sun that encompasses you and makes you feel at home, the friendly people that become your family after only a short time. Its a very special place that I will always miss. Here are a couple of photos of us here. We will take more soon.

2010-01-30T09:43:00.000-08:00

This is Koko Head. Its a killer hike that will seriously test your fitness and endurance. We were very unprepared for this hike but after about 50 stops and buckets of sweat we eventually made it to the very top overlooking the crater, the city and the pacific ocean. It took us about 1 1/2 hours to get up and 10 min to get down! Ask Nephi what happened when we got to the bottom. lol

Our first blog

2009-12-28T01:48:00.001-08:00

Hi. Heres our new blog and I think its looking awesome. Beginners luck I guess! One day Im pretty sure it will end up as professional looking as Breannes!