French Canada

After deciding a trip to Europe was just out of our reach this year Ben and I decided to do the next best thing and go to Quebec. It clearly felt like a foreign country when we walked off the plane and everyone around us was speaking French. Montreal was the first stop and below is a picture of Ben walking around the old town.

Our second day in Montreal consisted of visiting the Botanical Gardens. The best gardens were the Chinese ones seen below.

Later that afternoon we took a 2 hour drive northeast to Quebec City and found our hotel in the old town district. You can see our hotel just behind me in the picture. It was an old building that had recently been updated.

The next day we spent exploring Quebec. After taking the Funiculare up to the top of the mountain we found the very well known and beautiful Hotel Frontenac.

All around the famous Hotel Frontenac are quaint little shops and historic churches and homes.

The UN actually named Quebec a world historical site, remnants of the old town wall and Citadel still are present.

After visiting the Citadel on our last day I couldn't help but want to see what I looked like in one of their uniforms.

Summer Fun

We always love when Stan, Nga and Anise come stay with us. Glad we got to enjoy a night at Deer Valley with the Utah Symphony and Ben Folds for a summer evening concert. Wish they could have stayed longer.

Happy Birthday Lila!

Got together with the grandparents this weekend to celebrate Lila's second birthday.

Can't believe it has already been two years

Love my little red head!

Update

Here's just a few pictures to update the blog. Can't believe I got Stan and Laura together for a dinner this year. This was definitely a rare occurrence. We went to the Paris and enjoyed good food and good company.

I'll have more of Lila next week. The big #2 birthday is coming up and I'm trying to organize a small party to celebrate.

Easter 2010

So in the usual Johnson tradition we packed up our bags and went up to the annual easter egg hunt in Logan. Although there was a big snowstorm the day before we came prepared to hunt. I purchased the obligatory cute pastel easter hunting outfit for Lila but all she cared about was the candy and getting that big bow off of her head.

Liam knew from prior years this was a good hunt and ran out of Grandma Johnsons' house quickly for his stash of eggs which are filled with candy and cash.

Lila figured out what to do after we picked up the first egg for her. It's amazing how quickly they catch on if they know they get treats.

On Sunday Liam decided to stay in Logan so easter morning we took Lila to the Grand America hotel and had easter brunch.

Liam's Birthday

After much anticipation Liam turned 7 on February 25th! Can't believe how time flies and how much he has changed over the years. He was a happy baby as you can see here.

Loved by his little sister Lila.

So to celebrate Liam's 7th birthday we rented a room at the Clark Planetarium. As you can tell all had a wild time and lucky for me it wasn't at my house as there was way to many 7 year olds in one room to manage.

Luckily I had some help with the staff and they did several experiments with the kids.

Then surrounded by a mob of excited boys Liam opened his presents.

Liam's babysitter, Amy, made a fantastic alien cake.

Following cake everyone went to a movie in the dome theatre called Attack of the Space Pirates.

So glad Liam is part of our family. Happy Birthday!

The OC

Mid February in Utah can be a little bit depressing and the perfect time to take a trip to somewhere warm. This year we met my Mom in Newport Beach for the weekend. What a nice change from the snowstorms and grey skies. Our first day in Orange County we went to the Long Beach Aquarium.

The second day we went to Huntington Beach and walked out on the pier.

The last day we went to Laguna Beach and played in the ocean. Liam had a lot of fun until he was knocked down and beaten up by the waves a bit. As you can see he survived and enjoyed a walk into town.