Ally's 9th Birthday

It's crazy how time flies, and how suddenly your cute chubby baby is now a young lady. Ally, from the moment she was born, was such a little smartie. She was, and still is, SO determined to do things her way. I am so proud of her and honored to be her mother.

Ally turned 9 on the 19th of December, (I know this is outdated). She had chosen to have her party at I Rock. I must say that having a party somewhere other than your home, is the best way to go!!! Despite the bad weather, friends and family still made it to the party.

Finally!!!

Ok, so here is a link to our honeymoon video. We had way to many technical difficulties, so you can see the pics on the side or watch full screen via Youtube. Thanks!!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ib6kiSt5nF8

Our Honeymoon

Here is just 172 pictures you can enjoy from the original 750 that we took on our honeymoon. It's near impossible to fit 2 weeks in under 10 minutes.

Our adventure began trying to get to Guatemala City. Our origianl intinerary was to fly from Salt Lake to Dallas, Dallas to Miami and then we were supposed to arrive in Guatemala at around 7:30pm. Well our flight to Guatemala was delayed by 2 hours and then once we were on the plane, someone opted not to fly, so we waited another 45 min while they tried to find the persons luggage. We finally arrived in Guatemala City at 11:30pm, only to find they had lost one of our luggage. At least our driver was there!!!

We arrived in Antigua about an hour later. We weren't able to see much scenery since it was so dark outside, just really steep and very bumpy roads. The next morning we got up and decided to go walk around the city. Antigua is a wealthier city, it was the first City built by the Spanish when they came and conquered the Mayan people. So most of the city, such as the cobble stone roads are just restored as needed. There are Catholic churches everywhere, some being restored and some that are almost rubble due to 2 major earthquakes, one in the 1700's and one in 1978. Antigua is also surrounded by volcanoes. There are 33 of them in Guatemala and 4 of them are acitve.

We had to walk down the guantlet everyday, which was more like the walk of death. It wasn't so much the horrible exhaust that you really couldn't hold your breath long enough for, but that the side walk which was about 2ft in width, was your only safe zone from the crazy chicken buses that speed, without slowing for people or anything else for that matter, through the narrow streets. The rule is "The bigger vehicle wins"!! Honking is how they make there way through.

Ok, I can see that this might take me forever to type, so I will have to shorten it up again! While in Antigua we took a coffee tour. Guatemala's economy is coffee and other agriculture. Once you've been on a coffee tour you don't feel bad paying $4 for a cup. They have the schools out during the harvest season so the children can help in the fields. A large family, with mother, father, and 5 children can earn about $700 a month combined. 60% of Guatemala's population are very poor. You can see in the pictures that the native people, the ones who wear the colorful wardrobe, really depend on selling. They sell food, meat, blankets and all kinds of souvenirs. They come down from their village to sell to the wealthier people and tourists.

We also took a tour of Antigua and the surroundings areas. We were able to go inside the catherdrals and churches, went inside the hospital but we weren't allowed to take pictures. Louis took us up to one of the villages and showed us the monument of the Spanish conquering the Mayan people. It is interesting that the people worship the Spanish, almost like they celebrate their own conquering.

Our tour to Lake Atitlan was the most scenic and beautiful drive. It was very, very bumpy, but by this time we were used to it. We passed small villages, homes and fields with the children working and the women carrying bundles on their head, men carrying things on their back with the strap across their forehead. Women washing their hair in the stream, children walking the farm animals and we even passed a wedding procession. That was cool!!

Lake Atitlan, or the volcanoe that comes out of the lake, was beautiful. We took the boat ride across to a small village. Here we were able to walk the streets, see women selling their goods from their homes. I had the privelage to use the bathroom in one home. I sat with the shower dripping on my head. At least they had a bathroom! Our guide took us to see Maximon, a statue of a Spanish saint that they worship. According to legend Maximon stayed in the village while the Mayan men and the Spanish went to recruit more Mayan's. Maximon started sleeping with the wife's of the villagers. When the men returned, the caught him with 2 women. Maximon begged for his life, so they spared him by cutting off his arms so he couldn't touch the women and cut off his legs so he couldn't leave the village. They worship this man!?!?

Our next adventure....hiking Pacaya volcanoe!! The children renting sticks in the video was our welcoming party once we arrived at the trail head. We were followed by several very thin stray dogs, hoping for a scrap of food. Once we were closer our guide said, here is lava from 20 years ago, here is some from 5 years ago, here is some from yesterday..... Yeh, we were walking on the lava from yesterday. We reached the lava flow, it was only 2000 degrees!!!! Thank Jory for the pics, I didn't last long!

Our last day in Antigua we hiked up to the cross and over looked the city. We had meet a lot of really neat people from all over the world, but were looking forward to the next part of our trip, TIKAL.

Tikal is in Northern Guatemala, you can drive there on a bus for 10 hours, but we opted to fly. Our tour of Tikal was SO incredible!!! Tikal is lower elevation so it is a jungle!! We immediately saw wild turkeys and spider monkeys. You really can't describe something as magnificant as Tikal. When you climb the temples and look over the kingdom, it is amazing to think what it would have looked like in its prime. They say there are over 4,000 sites yet to be excavated, but they are just too covered in the jungle floor. There are mounds everywhere and we kept thinking, what is under that??? We also heard the howler monkey's predicting the rain. They sound more like roaring jaguars, it was so cool!!

We ended our day in Tikal by ziplineing through the jungle. There were spider monkeys who were not too happy with us climbing their tree. They were breaking off small branches from the trees and throwing them at us. It was a gorgeous evening and this was a great way to end it.

The next morning began our journey to Belize. We took a shuttle to the border, where we had to walk through customs on both sides. Then reload and drive 15 miles to the next city, San Ignacio. Here we grabbed a cab, which happened to be this run down little car.

In Belize they speak English, Garafuna and Creol, when they would talk to eachother you couldn't understand a word they said, but when they spoke to us they spoke clear english. Anyway so our drive to our next stay was about 40min to go 8 miles!!! The road was unpaved and SO bumpy and wet in some parts. I thought we were being taken to the center of the earth!! Finally we arrived at Black Rock lodge, the most remote, nice and quite place in the middle of the jungle that you can imagine. Completely self sufficient, they get water from the spring, solar power energy, most of the food in grown right there and it was all delicious!!!!
We had our own cabin, which had light but no phone and no TV. Once it was dark you relied on playing games or other honeymoon events. ;-)

Here at Black Rock we took the ATM Cave Tour. This was incredible!!!! We had to swim and walk through water through most of the cave. Then when we reached the dry chamber we had to remove our shoes and put our shirts back on to show respect. This was where the Mayan performed religious ceremonies and performed human sacrifices. The skeletons in the pictures are just of few that were found in the cave.

We also took a night hike where we saw plenty of tarantula's, a scorpion and lots of other huge spiders including the huge tiger spider which we found in our room the following night. We also spotted a crocodile in the river. This same river we canoed down, but didn't see any crocs only bright orange iguanas in the tree tops. The bird watching tour was also a lot of fun and we saw a lot of exotic beautiful birds.

Our transportation from Black Rock to our final destination, Hopkins Belize, consisted of hitching a ride to the Belize Zoo from our friends we met at Black Rock. Then riding a shuttle, then riding the chicken bus for an hour and a half to Dangringa and then a cab to Hopkins. We began at 9am and didn't arrive till almost 4pm. We were so tired!!!!

Our bungalow in Hopkins was clean, quite and just 60ft from the ocean. We were the only tenants so the owners Angela and Tony were very good to us. Since it was Garafuna Independance day, Angela and Tony took us to a couple of bars to watch the locals drumming and singing. We had missed most of the festivities earlier in the day, but this was really neat to see.

We spent the last couple of days riding our bikes into town and kayaking in the ocean. The people of Belize are very friendly and the children are beautiful. Again people with nothing living so happy.

The morning of our departure we woke up early to watch the sunrise. We took the kayak out one more time hoping to see dolphins, but didn't. We packed up and Angela and Tony took us to Dangringa where we hopped on a commuter flight to Belize City and flew home from there to 48 degree weather. What an awesome trip!!! But good to be home none the less!!!

Halloween

Halloween 2008. Myah insisted that she be a mummy, she really had to be something scary. That costume took a while to make, but I think she makes a darn cute mummy.

Of course Ally had to be a witch, like always. She really likes showing off her sassy side.

Trick or Treating was a lot of fun. For one it was warmer than it has been on Halloween for a while, and second, we live in a good neighborhood that was easy to trick or treat too.

Yes, the honeymoon picts will be coming soon....

A Look Back....

Myah and Ally with Cousins Maren and Jessie in North Fork on September 28, 2008. Our trip to North Fork is a yearly tradition in the Snow Family. Usually we go up and have a picnic a few times a year, but with busy schedules we only made it up once. Though it was the perfect day to go. The colors were brilliant and the weather was perfect. This year we were able to celebrate Jory's birthday while we were up there which was Jory's first time up there with the Snows.

The kids had a blast just exploring the camp area and looking for the "perfect leaf". They also had fun in the small stream, which in the spring is a river, throwing rocks and catching waterskeeters. Ally had it down to a science and soon had a paper cup full of waterskeeters. Ally had all her cousins gathered around and said, "look, they walk on water just like Jesus did." Myah responded, "its like a cup full of tiny Jesus's!" We laughed and laughed.


VACATION TO THE BLACK HILLS: This trip was SO much fun. We left on Aug 18th and returned on the 25th. We spent a few nights in a nice Cabin at a KOA, managed by Jory's friend Josh, in the Black Hills. We were joined by Jory's family. His parents, Jerry and Donna, his brother Jason and his two boys Kyler and Tatum, his sister Chantel and her four children, Keegan, Bodee, Chevy and Dyami, Jory's cousin Tom, his wife Kim and their daughters Toby and Jackie, and of course the four of us.
The campground had everything from horseback riding, to a waterslide and a nice pool. We spent a lot of time in the pool and on the waterslide. We were able to explore Jewel Cave, Devils Tower, Cosmos, Reptile Gardens and of course Mt. Rushmore. Ally had always wanted to see Mt. Rushmore so she was really excited about going.

This picture is of Chevy, Myah, Ally, Kyler and Bodee. The skeleton behind them is of an prehistoric sea turtle. This was at Reptile Gardens. On top of seeing all kinds of reptiles we were also able to see a fantastic snake, crocodile and bird show. It was fun for all of us young and old.

Cosmos was another crazy experience. Aparently the area has a strong gravitational pull and things aren't what they seem. I was sick to my stomach after this tour. WOW! That was crazy!

Regardless of what you think, I am standing straight up. The last few days of our trip was spent in Gillette, WY. This is where Jory's family lives. Me and the girls were able to meet Jory's extended family which was a really neat experience especially to meet his Grandmother. It was such a fun trip it was hard to come home and have the summer end.

Our summer also included a trip to Red Canyon in the Flaming Gorge area. This was spent with my family and everyone was there, even those from out of state. We slept in a tent for a few nights and were able to take the girls down the Green River. This is a pretty mellow river, so it was a perfect beginning run for the younger children. We also were camped by a small lake which had row boats and foot pedal boats, with a dock and a lot of fish and ducks. The kids spent most of their time at the lake, trying to catch the minows and the crawdads. They had luck with minows, but none with the crawdads.

Left, Maren, Grace, Myah, Paige and Ally catching minows. Right Myah, Ally Paige and Abby in a pedal boat.

Other summer adventures included our day trip to Bear Lake, St. George for the girls trip to see the Sound of Music at the outdoor ampitheater.

We also took a vacation to Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon in June with Jory's family. We had so much fun and were gone a lot, but it was a good experience being together as a new family and also having the opportunity for us to get to know Jory's family and Jory broke into my family. Anyway, here are some more pictures of our FUN summer of 2008.

Our Wedding Day: Aug 9th 2008

Announcing the new Mr. and Mrs. Jory and Christina Johner!! Accompanied by the beautiful Ally and Myah Bylund. We are now officially FAMILY!!! Finally the big day arrived and with all the help from the family, it ended up to be a success.

The day threated to rain, and the wind was furiously blowing, but by some miracle the sun came out and the wind slowed down and we were able to get a few picturces and enjoy our ceremony. It was cold, but not wet and that was a blessing!

My good friend, Dean Hurd, was the officiator. He did a fantastic job, the ceremony was short and sweet. Alan Gamble filled in last minute for our photographer due to my sister Marcy, who was going to be our photographer, being involved in a accident the Tuesday before. It was wonderful having almost the whole family there. On my side I had my two brothers from Wyoming and Colorado come with their families, and my only existing Grandfather, "Grandpa Pete" from Price in attendance as well. It was an honor to have them there. Even Marcy, my sister who had broke her pelvis in three places only 4 days before, edured the long winding road to be in attendance.

Jory's family including his parents, Jerry and Donna, his sister Chantel, and her four children and his brother Jason drove from Gillette, Wyoming to be with us as well.

Paige Gamble, my 7 year old neice, was the owner of my bouquet and Keegan Johner-Shubert, Jory's 8 year old nephew, was the new owner of the garder.

Jory looked SO handsome and Ally and Myah looked so beautiful they were the highlight of the evening. It was beautiful! I was so happy to finally be called the wife of someone who I love so much with all of my heart. Someone who I can grow my family with and be happy as a family.

All in all the day was a success. We couldn't have done it without the help of the family. Everyone helped in one way or another so Thank You all for coming and making our day special!

Enjoy the pictures!!!

Summer So Far....

Ok, Ok, I know it's been a while since the last post. I can say that we have been busy with moving, vacations, and planning a wedding has kept us occupied. So here is a glimpse of what has gone on in our live so far.

In April, besides celebrating Myah's birthday, the girls had their dance competition in Logan. Ally performed her ballet dance of "Ever Ever After" from Enchanted, and Myah performed her tap dance of Kung Fu Fighting. Both of their classes won awards for high performance.

At the first of May, we took a trip to Fort Collins, CO. The purpose of the trip was so I could run in the Colorado Marathon. This year I chickened out and only signed up for the 1/2 Marathon rather than the full like I did last year.

We stayed with my brother Ryan and his wife Tiff, and since Jory's family is from Wyoming, we were able to combine a bit of the families together. Jory's parents, Donna and Jerry, his brothers Jason and Josh, with his wife Shawna and their adorable daughter Jaden all came down to hang out with us.

My brother Steve with his wife Becca, children Parker and Sarah, came from Cheyenne. I was amazed at how well the famlies meshed. It was just another reason for me to love Jory even more!

The end of May also brought the end of the school year and the move from Plain City to Jory's home in Layton. Jory had been working so hard to go through his house and make space for 3 women and another dog. He spent most of his free time cleaning out and painting the extra bedroom downstairs, which was transformed into the girls lovely lavendar room, then transforming the misc. room upstairs to a sage office area for the both of us. From selling furniture and organizing a garage sale and buying new items for the home, we spent most of May packing, and most of June getting settled in.

June brought the summer time fun and busy schedules. Ally and Myah had their dance recital, and I was SO proud of them they are both talented dancers.

We also enjoyed a day trip up to Timpanogoes Cave. We had to wait for two hours for the next tour to go up so we spent our time walking the trails and finding inch worms.

The girls were troopers hiking up the mile a half trail up to the cave and the caves itself was amazing! I was a bit clastrophobic, and was glad to see the sunshine again.

The end of June we enjoyed an awesome trip down to Southern Utah with Jory's parents, and three of his sisters kids, Bodie, Chevy and Dyami. Ally and Myah loved hanging out with the kids, they get along so well.

We spent the first couple of days in Zion, hiking and sight seeing. The kids earned their Junior Ranger badges which was one of the highlights of their trip. We then spent time in Bryce Canyon which was amazing! Of course all of the kids earned their Junior Ranger badges here as well.

Jory and I took Ally, Myah and Bodie on a hike. They thought this was amazing, it was a great way to see just how majestic the hoodoos are. Jory and I had to coach Myah on the second half of the hike, she had about had it.

Donna and Jerry, Jory's parents, made this trip to be such an amazing time. Thank you for such a memorable vacation!

July 4th Ally and Myah were with their dad, so Jory and I took the opportunity to plan for the big day. We decided on August 9th on Mt. McKinnon. As far as the wedding plans are concerned, we are almost complete! We better be we only have 3 weeks!!!!

Last weekend, along with the rest of the girls in my family, were able to go on our Girls Trip. This was a trip that my mom gave us for Christmas, a trip to St. George to see the Sound of Music in the outdoor ampitheater. The girls have been so excited for this and we had a lot of fun. Since the play Ally and Myah can't get the songs out of their minds. It's been the Sound of Music for almost two weeks.

Thanks Mom for such a fun trip!!!!

This weekend Ally and Myah are with Nate in Vegas. Jory and I are trying to finalize wedding plans while they are gone. For the 24th of July my family is going down to Flaming Gorge to fish and river raft. We are looking forward to this trip as well.

Ally and Myah have had an eventful summer and we are looking forward to more adventures.