Right Now

I am really liking my bedroom.

Maybe almost too much.

I really like the old school clock on Corey's side.

The sitting/reading area on my side.

My lamp is probably my most favorite of all.

My favorite thing about the room is everything (including the chair) was less then $65.

I am becoming quite thrifty.

I am not done yet.

I need curtains.

I need art.

Any ideas?

Dear Elder Garrett

My Brother.

I thoroughly enjoy his emails.

They come every Tuesday now that he is in the field.

I'd like to post a small paragraph from one of his recent happenings.

If there was ever any doubt that Gordon and I are actually blood related, this next excerpt should clear all that up.

We received this from him Tuesday May 26th. Again this is just a snippet of his email. Not the whole thing;

"I am not sure I should even tell this one, because mom might die of a heart attack. I surely hope not because I am telling it anyway. But before I do I guess I should tell you about the people I live with. Their names are the Drown's. They are in an english ward. They are really nice and tell us to eat what we want and when we want. And they kind of get mad if you don't. So that's good. They have a son in Argentina right now. Okay so I wake up one of the days this week and have to go to the bathroom. so I do. I only have to go numero uno, but something is kind of wrong with their toilet I think. So I flush, and the water starts to come up instead of go down. Somehow the toilet was clogged from the night before or something. So anyway I am sitting on the edge of the bathtub praying it doesn't overflow. And it stops like a quarter of an inch before it would get to the point where it would overflow. And thank Heavenly Father, and think about what I am to do now. Cuz i can't plunge it because the water would go everywhere. And I couldn't find the plunger anyways. So the water starts to go down, I start to feel relieved. The water gets all the way down, and I find the plunger. So I'm thinking shoot, now there is no water to plunge with. So I think I got to flush the toilet again, and wait for the water to go down. So I flush. . . and the water is coming up a whole lot faster than it was before, I start praying again. and it gets to the point where it was before, and its still rising. And... it overflowed. Anyway, I ran in and got my companion, with plunger in hand, and we cleaned it up for our work out time. and that is the end of my embarrassing first week story. Sorry it had to do with toilets and stuff. Hopefully you got kick or two out of it. And hopefully you are still breathing. But who knows you guys may not even find it funny. But I am laughing as I am writing."

Oh trust me brother. We find it funny.

I thought only stuff like that happened to me? I would like to point out he says, "I am sitting on the edge of the bathtub praying it doesn't overflow."

I am glad to see he is exercising faith.

When discussing this event later on with Natalie I said;

"Nat, Gordon grew up with 5 sisters. How does he not know how to plunge a toilet?"

"Oh, he knows how." Nat said, "I'm pretty sure he just didn't want to get toilet water on him."

So I took it upon myself to send Elder Garrett a........

"Do it yourself. Don't make your companion help. Plunging kit."

Complete with;

Latex Gloves (for the ultimate hand protection)

Protective Face Masks (as to not breathe in any germs)

Goggles (to protect his handsome eyes)

Rain Poncho (to protect his clothing while knee deep in toilet water)

Drop cloth (guard the bathroom floor so the members continue to feed him)

Shoe Guards (you get the idea)

Last but not least;

Mini Plunger

(for the plunging of the toilet)

The kit wouldn't be complete without this picture of Corey demonstrating the use of the plunger.

Hopefully Elder Garrett finds this as funny as I did.

And hopefully he sends a picture home while wearing all his gear.

Dear Opal,

Do you like my glasses?

They reminded me of you.

I liked them too.

Until they broke and fell off my face yesterday.

Corey says big deal.

I say he doesn't know they cost $140.00.

Thank heavens for that 1 year warranty.

One- upper

My last night in AZ Consisted of tie-dying shirts at Mysti's.

Oh what fun.

Mostly because Mysti got schooled by Nat and I.

I believe at one point she tossed this purple shirt on the counter and exclaimed....

"You always have to one up me Krystle."

I can't quote her exactly because I only speak like a lady.

We had to step in and show her just how it was done.

Rylie wanted in on the fun too.

So she tie-dyed herself this pink onesie.

Good Job baby Ry Ry

Did you have fun?

"Home is where your heart is...

...So your real home's in your chest."

Bailey gets pretty depressed when she sees the suitcase come out.

It sounds ridiculous, but she knows what it means.

I always pack up and then sit with her on the couch before I leave.

It makes me so sad.

I cried the first 40 minutes of my drive.

I was still a little sad as I boarded the airplane.

Going away for a week was not as fun as it used to be.

I've become quite attached to my little home in Idaho.

I end up missing Corey and Bailey,

And I sometimes wonder how much longer I can do this.

Then when I passed through the security gates I was greeted by all of these faces.

I thought my heart was going to jump out of my chest.

And I cried.

I felt really blessed.

I remembered how fun it is to trek it down to Arizona.

I work hard.

But in between working I get to hang out with some special people.

I get to play Apples to Apples with Brooke Ivy and Bryton.

P.S. Ivy Unicorns can be very confusing.

One night I even got to go to dinner with Kara, Aimee, Kenny and Ryan.

We headed back to my house to play a mean game of Rummikub.

Kenny was a bit confused so I allowed him to enlist the 3 best teammates I could think of.

I believe he won twice with the help of these girls.

It's convenient.

I also had pictures of Aimee, Kara and Ryan.

Those pictures were mysteriously deleted.

You know who you are.

How rude.

Tune in tomorrow for the rest of my Arizona adventures.

Oh Precious, My Precious

My love, My love
I have to say,
May 15, 2008
Was a Happy Day.

It started off with a long drive to work
And ended with a check to the Maricopa clerk.

I was having a tough time trying to comprehend,
The 2 minute judge and 50 dollars to spend.

But then I thought about the money we saved,
Your endless love was all I craved.

Kristen and Lou were there to watch,
I prayed they didn’t notice the bulge in my……throat?

The previous stanza was an obvious joke,
Laugh a little and try hard not to croak.

We left the courtroom filled with joy,
And prayed to God our first kid is a boy.

We got in the car and drove quickly away,
To our first dinner together at the China Buffet.

We ended our supper with a fortune cookie,
And then went home for some serious nookie….



I awoke in the morning happy to see
The most beautiful woman there ever could be.

And now we embark on our journey together,
I just wish Twin Falls had some nicer weather.
Don’t you worry about the road ahead,
I promise to give you a kiss before bed.

Krystle is the best, you have to agree,
She’s by far the best thing to happen to me.

An Ode To My Love
By: Corey Johnson

How do I love thee?

Let me count the ways....

I love that you are thoughtful.
I love that you totally bought me a bottle of lysine for my first cold sore ever.
That was very thoughtful.

You are so patient.
I love that.

You love Bailey.
I love that too.

I love that you love my family.
I am so excited to start our own family.

I am so excited to see you become a Father.
I know you'll make such a great dad.
I love that about you.

I love that you wore matching pajamas on Christmas Eve.
Let's be honest.
It didn't take that much convincing.

I love that when we go to a party at Chuck E. Cheese,
and I can't seem to track you down
I find you here.
I love that you are silly.
You always make me laugh.

I love that you stand up for me,
At times when I am not brave enough to stand up for myself.

I love that you ride a Harley.
That is so hardcore.
I love that you take risks.
I love that you look for adventures.

I love that you're motivated.
I admire your drive and ambition.
I love that you ask me what my dreams are,
and you don't laugh when I tell you.
I love that you believe in me.
You encourage me to be my best.

I came home from church crying because I biffed it in the cultural hall on the way out.
(Ya awkward)
I love that you tried to comfort me by saying,
"It's okay. Everybody trips. By the way did you fall all the way down on your face?"
I love that you went back with me the next week so I didn't have to be embarrassed alone.

I love that you are so positive.
I love that you look for good in people.
I love that you don't judge or gossip.

I love that you hold my hand when I'm falling asleep.
It still gives me butterflies.
I can't believe it's been 1 year.
It feels so much longer.
In a good way.
I love that you look forward to our future just as much as I do.
I love you Precious.
Happy Anniversary.
5-15-08