Happy 15 years To Us!

15 years? That is really hard to wrap my head around. Something about today thins time a little, and I can remember so vividly how warm it felt when I hugged John in his crisp black tuxedo, and I even more; I feel the fresh anticipation from that day of the life we would share together from that day forward. 

I knew John was someone who I wanted by my side through the mountains and valleys of life, but I don’t know if I could have predicted how hard and exhausting some of those valleys would be—and yet: John HAS stayed by my side and I can’t think of the pain and hard times without also thinking of our love for each other, our friendship, and how much our faith grew as we walked through together. The view I remember from life’s mountains are accompanied by John’s face because the joy of the peak can’t be separated from the joy I feel sharing it with him. I can’t separate him from any good thing in my life the last fifteen years and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Every single morning I wake up and can’t wait to look over and see John there next to me, and I know we get another day together, and say a “thank you” in my heart. It a ritual that has superseded the bad days, annoyed days, hormonal days, lonely days—I know that every morning I can feel gratitude that he is there with me.

We’ve had quite the year!!

Our third child, William was baptized!

He helped me with the Primary and PTO trunk or treat, and We dressed up for Halloween. (15 years later you still close your eyes!)

We cut down a Christmas tree

We went skiiing!

We watched our daughter play basketball…We watched so so many sporting events this year!

We went camping and caving!

AND we bought a house!! 

AND we became pregnant with baby number 5!

Excited to see what the next year holds!

First Day of School 2020

Today was a happy day. There was so much preparation, worry, anticipation, and uncertainty of how school would look and feel this year. I feel so grateful everything went so smoothly. I have a lot of hope for the coming weeks of online learning, also a some dread if I'm making sure to acknowledge the expected breakdowns from this afternoon...but I think we have a good handle on what is coming.

Cate: 6th, Johnny: 4th, Matthew: Pre-K, Wills: 1st

I woke up this morning and squeezed in a quick yoga routine before I woke up the kids. We got to our morning meeting in good time and were able to start the day reading scriptures and talking about how crucial it is to recognize the signs of Heavenly Father.

We had breakfast and then quickly the kids headed out the door to walk around the block back to school. Haha! They divided into their separate rooms and logged into their zooms. It was a busy five minutes getting everyone settled, and then it was a peaceful excitement. 

(we had to try a couple different spots for William!)

Caity excited after her zoom

William not excited after the zoom.

I walked down my hall feeling so grateful to have all my kids home. So many years I walk away from student drop off and feel loss realizing I won't see them for hours. There wasn't that separation from them this year, and it was so fun to witness their first day in real time.  I am likely in the honey moon stage of homeschooling. 

It was funny, I worked so hard to get the three oldest settled, I completely forgot I'd have to keep a preschooler busy during this as well! I closed the last bedroom door quietly only to turn around to Matthew looking at me expectantly, "OK, what about me now!?" Luckily, his Aunt Kristen had sent me the curriculum she was doing with Maria, so we were able to dive in to the letter A! Matthew and I read a couple books, then continued helping all the kids while he played with blocks. 

Everything just.went.well. 

William and Caity had longer zoom meetings than Johnny and they got a little burnt out, but stuck it through until the end of the day. One of my highlights was John coming for lunch.

 After school, we invited some friends over for cookies. It was so nice and needed to unwind with other moms while the kids connected with real humans (as opposed to computer screens.) 

Then we got to end the night having cake and ice-cream at the Rice's for Mckay's birthday!  The kids played night games past their bed time.

There will not be school tomorrow, due to wildfires in Medford. I am trying to not to over-react or freak out, but it is nerve-wracking watching neighbors evacuate as we follow the Jackson County recommendations. So far no homes have caught fire, so I am hoping we wake up to good news tomorrow. John is out now helping a friend prep his farm in case the fires come his way. Caity just came in and said, "My thought about the fires, is what Rachel Lynn would say 'Trust in Providence'" Goodness, I love her!

In other news, Happy 13 years to John and me!! We didn't get to do much celebrating today, but we got to do a bunch of living. I am grateful for him and the life we share. Even though John didn't have time to pick up the flowers he planned to, and I didn't get to write out my very favorite thirteen memories of the last thirteen years; it's not lost on me that newlywed John and Mary would be so pleased and excited if they got a glimpse of our what are lives looked like today. There is something satisfying and joyful about living the life you always dreamed with your soulmate.

John Calhoun IV

I realized this afternoon I take for granted how nice it is to be married to someone I like so much. I know, I know- I won't try to get too mushy here. BUT for all the sappy stuff I write about the kids, it is only fair that I get to spot light John on occasion.
Life has presented me with quite the extraordinary experience.  Some days are perfectly perfect. On those days, I can't wait for John to come home so I can share the goodness of it all and we can enjoy it together.  Some days are lousy. On those days I also can't wait for John to get home. The moment he walks through the door, no matter how stressed I am I instantly have something to smile about. He just makes me feel happy when I'm with him. If I'm the one that is out conquering the world, I get excited the moment I realize I get to go home and see him again.
Really- he is the highlight of my day, every day. Not an event goes by, a book read, a thought conjured, a failure or accomplishment achieved, that my first reaction isn't- "I gotta tell John about this." And whether or not he enjoys a play by play of my seemingly insignificant daily life- I will never know because he always makes me feel like it is important to him. I want to be more like that.  Maybe after a few more years of this marriage thing more him will rob off on me. I feel so blessed.
And I'll end it there even though I could go on forever and if you know John you already know that.
But I mostly wanted to write down that little reflection and to publicly thank John for not only being the highlight of my every day but of my life period. He's made this life so much brighter for me. I'm lucky to have him.

It also helps that he just brought me a mango gelati.

I'm tellin' ya'- he's a keeper!

Helicopter Flyin'

Yesterday, John and his supervising attorney, Marc, were asked to give a presentation by the Drug Enforcement Agency for all the federal agents in Idaho that deal with marijuana grows. 

To get to the training sight, they got to ride in a helicopter! Originally, they were going to ride in a black hawk with the canine team, but that got postponed for the next day.  On that note, they were also going to have the chance to put on protective gear and be attacked by said dogs during training, but alas, also cancelled to John's disappointment. 

BUT, he did still get to ride over there in a chopper. The videos he took looked absolutely breathtaking. John was describing to me how it felt to just have his legs dangling out the sides flying over the landscape and it sounded pretty magnificent. 

The presentation went well, and John came home with an even stronger desire to get some sort of license that gets in the air, so I say, all in all a good day.

Isn't he handsome?

And Then He Graduated Law School...

Ladies and Gentlemen...we have a law school graduate in our midsts!

I couldn't be more proud of this guy. Three years have gone by so fast, and yet at the time they never felt like they would end! 

It seems like just yesterday we were pulling our entire life behind Sally in a huge, smelly, homemade trailer and unloading into University of Idaho's student family housing. 

I don't think we had any idea what was ahead of us, from Moscow, to Seattle, back to Moscow, to Denver, then Boise.  We started as a family of four and are ending as an almost- family of six!  We've  had times where wondered how we were going to pay rent or for groceries- yet, somehow it always worked out. We grew closer as a family and though it was John attending school, it was a learning and growing time for all of us, and I am grateful for all we have gained.

It is fun to look back on how much we have grown, especially John. I sound like a broken record but I am so proud of all the work he has put in the last three years and yet still always making time for his family. I just love that guy. Good Job, John! We are proud of you!

(johnny got pretty tired and was ready to crash before the ceremony even started. Unfortunately the band playing the prelude music was a little too loud for his liking.)

How could we have survived law school without the Stotts?? Glad we got a picture with them! (AKA-thanks Whitney for making sure we got a picture together! :) )

To celebrate we went out to a Thai restaurant by the office John has been interning at, since that is John's favorite cuisine these days.  After the ceremony we went to get frozen yogurt with my Aunt Janae and her family which was a nice "cool down" for a long day.  It was just such a fun day of celebrating. Unfortunately, John still had finals for the next couple of weeks, so on the last REAL day of school, I made him an apple pie because I must love him or something! :)
Today, John starts Bar Prep classes- oy vey! Here we go!!

Storytime with Dad

Every time John reads a story to the kids he makes sure to read the copyright page word for word, then proceeds to make up the text on each page there after.  Seriously, I can't get the kids (William) to sit still through a page that reads "Where did the dinosaurs go?" and yet, they are raptured as John reads, "All rights reserved. No part of this publication...etc." He even reads the ISBN numbers at the bottom. And they just sit there: listening, cuddling, and so happy that Dad is home. 

Then he goes on to re-write a perfectly magical story.

Today, Where did all the Dinosaurs go? 

transformed into 

Look Out for the People Eating Dragons that Live in Sewers.

Johnny finds it hilarious. Caity, who can read, uses all her self control to not correct John on every page. It is a struggle for her.  And William...he will just sit there as content as can be, roaring occasionally while he points at various dinosaurs.

Meanwhile I watch on in disbelief that John gets away with it, and that I am so lucky to call that John Calhoun "mine."

Mr. (Not Quite) US Attorney

Look at him in court, acting like a grown up lawyer!

This fall, John got the opportunity to help with a case in federal court since he is interning at the US Attorney's office here in Boise.  One day, I was able to go and watch him and it was so much fun.  He always described things like I would be bored going to watch, but I thought it was really exciting. There was a lot of work put into the case, so it was really exciting when the jury found the defendant guilty.

The following is an email that was released to the US Attorney's office back in November:

I bolded stuff about John because I'm all obsessed with him like that. :)

Congrats to the trial team of Marc Haws, John Brassell, Angie Nyland, Danielle Narkin, Kristi Johnson & Cassie Morinville in United States v. Villasenor-Villa for guilty verdicts returned today.  After an eight day trial, the jury found the defendant guilty of multiple counts of manufacturing more than 1,000 marijuana plants, possession with intent to distribute marijuana, injury to government property and most notably, engaging a continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a 20 year mandatory minimum sentence.  The case involved a large-scale marijuana grow operation on BLM land in the Boise National Forest.  Marc led the case.  He gave compelling opening statement, closing and rebuttal arguments.  During the case-in-chief, Marc handled most of the 30 witnesses called by the government.  John, our U of I Law student extern in his first federal court trial, handled a number of witnesses, including an ATF nexus expert and a deputy sheriff who arrested the defendant, and performed like a seasoned trial attorney.  Angie provided impeccable ALS work and was present for each day of trial.  Among other duties, Danielle was instrumental in pretrial prep, and in preparing briefs and jury instructions.  As usual, Kristi and Cassie handled the 30+ witnesses without a hitch, no easy task because multiple witnesses were recalled.  Thanks to the investigating agencies: DEA, BLM, & Nampa PD for their great work investigating the case.  Sentencing is set for February 4, 2015.  Well done, Marc, John, Angie, Danielle, Kristi & Cassie!

Yesterday, the defendant was sentenced to 24 years in prison and this article was published about the case.

I am just so proud of how much John has accomplished the last couple years in law school, it is amazing what can be learned in such a short time.

My Husband, Their Dad.

Tonight, John took the kids on a bike ride while I finished my paper for school.

He is an awesome dad. 

I know that he is stressed at work, yet he comes home a tornado of energy and within seconds everyone is smiling.  And if they aren't smiling, it is because they are squealing as he flips them upside down or around or on top of each other.  Today he surprised us and came in through the back door. The kids saw him first and you would have though Elvis entered the building.  A stampede of dirty children haphazardly zoomed past me shouting, "DAD! DAD! DAD!" Well, William didn't shout- he just squealed and flapped his arms up and down. 

I just like that John of mine.

While I was finishing a paper, John took the kids on a bike ride to Caity's school.

I love looking through pictures of their adventures in my absence.

John said Will was imitating everything the older kids were doing. Even for hopscotch, he was doing the "baby bounce," squatting up and down.

They all came home out of breath and full of light.  I am so grateful when John does stuff like this with them. I grateful for him in ways a blogpost just doesn't do justice.

In other news: Master William cuddled with me today, for twenty minutes! That is a total record. Best moment of my day.  I also overhauled Caity's room and really organized it, so that is a huge relief. (I know, weird- but it's true, that room was a thorn in my side!) John got a chest freezer for free on Craigslist and fixed it and now it is fully functioning! He's awesome. Now, if only we could snag an elk to fill up said freezer.  And so he doesn't feel left out: Johnny yelled about a million compliments to Caity as she walked from our van to the playgroud this afternoon. "Caity! You're PRETTY! Caity! You're SPECIAL! I like YOUR HAIR! You make good forts! Really, you really DO! Remember you're cool and I LIKE YOU CAITY! BYE! I'M GOING TO ASK MOM IF I CAN WATCH JAKE TODAY! I love you."

She was positively glowing by the time she turned the corner.