The Power of the Human Mind

Don't delete this just because it looks weird. Believe it or not, you can read it.

I cdnuolt blveiee taht I cluod aulaclty uesdnatnrd waht I was rdgnieg. The phaonmneal pweor of the human mnid aoccdrnig to rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a word are, the olny iprmoatnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be in the rghit pclae. The rset can be a taotl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.

Amazing huh?

Transformer Noah

Some of you may not have known this but baby Noah is actually a transformer! Click on the link below to see for yourselves!
Noah the Transformer

Im a licensed helicopter pilot!!

As of today...I finally have my private helicopter pilot license! I took the test this morning and flew with the FAA examiner for about an hour. I performed all the emergency maneuvers really well and before I knew it, I was done. I am so happy to have this finished because now I will start flying several times a week again to get my commercial rating as soon as possible. Soon I'll be able to take you all up for rides!

Pictures, pictures, pictures...

I thought I would post a link to our Bahamas pictures. I also uploaded the entire Family Pictures album from last Thanksgiving. If anyone wants to order prints of any of those pictures you can do it directly from that site and it's really cheap. Hope you enjoy the pictures. - Noah
http://rasheta.shutterfly.com

Fun Waves!

We had so much fun playing in the waves at Nassau. We got some of the waves on video but unfortunately the biggest ones came when the camera was nowhere near. Believe it or not, the lady getting knocked around by the waves did not want help...we tried and she said she was having fun, so we filmed it!

Cruisin....

We flew into West Palm Beach on Thursday night, and took the train Friday morning to Miami where our ship was ready to set sail!


Once we got onto the ship and had some time to look around, we participated in the mandatory safety thing...those lifejackets are so cute!


The weather was bad enough (hurricane season) that we weren't able to stop at our first port. Cococay is a private beach owned by Royal Carribean, but there isn't a port--tender boats pull up next to the cruise liner and shuttle people back and forth from the island. The waves and wind were too great for the tender boats to be able to safely attach to the ship, so instead we went on the Nassau one day early. This ended up being perfect because we had time to walk around town, shop at the flea market, and visit the Atlantis resort without cutting into our beach time the next day.


The evening of our Captain's formal dinner.


Finally some fun in the sun. The clouds broke and the rain stopped just in time. We were able to spend the whole day on the beach, playing in the waves and soaking up some rays. Here are a few pictures of Noah playing in the big waves over on Paradise Island.

We had rented scooters, so when the boys were worn out from the big waves, we rode over to the other side of Nassau to Cable Beach (the other big tourist area before Paradise Island was developed). It was by far less busy, and it was my kind of ocean. Calm water you could sit in without waves crashing over your head--it reminded me a lot of the way Waikiki is.

Departing shot: a view from the pier to our ship, the Majesty of the Seas. The entire ship had been renovated in the past year. All of the furniture, flooring, and bedding was new. There was also a brand new gym (which I did use) and 2 new restaurants on board. It was so awesome. We were already excited because we knew the ship was great, but then it turned out to be even better!
We had such a good time. I will be putting a slideshow together so you can see all the good pictures, but I didn't want to bore you with more than this for a post.

And we're off...

Tomorrow (thursday) morning we leave for our cruise to the Bahamas...we'll take plenty of pictures so we can have something good to blog when we get back. When we get home on monday, I want to have lots of new stuff to look at and read about, people, okay??

We love you!

Jack Robert Johnson

Look at this kid! Can you believe he was born just last night? He looks so big, I cannot believe it. From this angle, he looks more mcneil-y to me than he did before, but judging by the pictures from last night he is a total johnson. We'll see!

We actually went down for the birth, but she didn't have him until 3 hours after we had to leave to go back home. I had a kinesiology test this morning at 7 and Noah had a flight at 7. It's a good thing we came back, because after his flight he found out he would be going to Idaho for his Private Pilot License check ride with the FAA!

He is in Idaho now, staying with Tim's sister Jan. He said they are so so nice and hospitable and that she's planning on waking up early to make him breakfast before his big test! Lary was kind enough to offer to drive him up there so he could a-not be so lonely and b-have 5 good hours of studying for the (2 hour) oral examination he will be given before the flight portion of his check ride. That really saved him, and I just want to say thanks to Tim's sister and Lary for taking care of my hubby while I am stuck here with school!

Mr. Snowman and Beardog Jr.

So, I went up to Kamas today to teach a couple private lessons during the break in conference, and it started snowing like crazy! When I came back upstairs, Billie Jo had gotten the new sizes of winter clothes out of storage for the girls, and they were heading outside.

When we looked outside a few minutes later, Ellie and Tess were rolling a snowball that was taller than Mia around the yard! It was the perfect packing snow, and they were having so much fun that Tim and I decided to join them. Billie Jo snapped the photos, and here are the results! Tim and the girls made the snowman, and I jumped in with the dog, and the girls helped me out.

If you were ever missing Kamas, Allen, I'd guess that this would be one of those times. I love it here--it's so beautiful and quiet. Enjoy the pictures!

Shall we dance?

So, after seeing "One Night Only" for four nights in a row, ha ha, Noah's got the dancing bug. He told me wanted to start dancing again, and I said, "GREAT!" I'd sold all his Latin pants to boys that were on the team I coached at UVSC, so he got measured for some new ones and they're being made right now. I also ordered him a new shirt so he can look HOT HOT HOT out there.

We learned our first routine on Wednesday (Cha Cha) and have another lesson to learn Samba on monday. We will compete pre-champ, which is just 3 of the 5 latin dances, and we're extremely excited.

I don't have any pictures of us dancing together, but here's a sneak peak of what you can expect from us when the time comes! Our competitions will be the end of October through November, pretty much every weekend. Hopefully some of you will be able to come watch us dance at some point!

Noah on Tour Team at UVSC
Giselle on Tour Team at UVSC

Kitchen Fire

I thought this was worth posting...you never know! Be safe in the kitchen!

Blast from the Past

This is just for Tiffany (Lee) Jack...remember this? Winter Haven, Freshman Year...one of our last nights of living together.

Tagged...

Jobs I've had- Babysitting (I think I was 10-about 16), Dick's Drive In 2 Summers, Gateway Grille (busser, hostess), Body Motion Dance Company (assistant teacher, teacher), Applebee's (expo, hostess/busser), Billiejo Clothing Company (cashier, swimwear consultant), Hapari Swimwear (consultant, management assistant), UVSC (back-up ballroom team director). Wow--that's a lot of jobs for being so young!

Places I love to go for a weekend- Guadalajara--just enough time to eat tacos, visit the Glorieta, and come home!

Guilty pleasures- eating, watching T.V., and reading. Basically my guilty pleasures include anything that I can do to stall from doing homework or cleaning. I'm horrible!

Places I have lived-Woodland, Orem, Pleasant Grove (wow...quite the spread)

First thing I thought when I met Noah- Wow, cute AND spanish speaker...Jenna is lucky!

Places I've been on vacation- Hawaii (twice), Nauvoo, Las Vegas, California (Disneyland), Mexico (East Coast, West Coast, border cities, Guadalajara), Florida (Daytona Beach), Yellowstone (can you call the 8th grade science research trip vacation?), Canada (Edmonton), London, Paris, Rome, Venice, Prestwick and Glasgow, Barra.

Favorite Food- Wow, it might be easier to say what I don't like...mushrooms, peach fuzz, anything with a really funky texture.

If I am in a jam with Noah- What's a jam, haha? I actually don't fight with Noah. One time I was frustrated about something stupid, so I closed the front door hard when I left, and I was so upset about it I cried all the way to school and immediately called to apologize.

Best first kiss landmark- Noah's BMW...he had waited very patiently!

Places I'd rather be- I love live as it is, but right now....I'd rather be in London.

Soggy Bottom Boys

This is why you don't post videos on the internet...they come back to haunt you! This was in 2001 when Nik and I had just returned from our missions.

Disclaimer from Giselle: please disregard the little boy in the beginning...