Hitting the Slopes

I would like to start this post with a disclaimer. It is my first attempt at using the Blogger app, so we'll see how it goes. Anyway, Cody leads a very hard life. He was forced by his company to spend the last week in Ruidoso for an ag conference, where he basically entertained and enjoyed the royal treatment himself. Being the loving wife that I am, I could not let him spend another day in Ruidoso alone, so on Friday after work I drove up to join him for a little weekend getaway. We stayed at the famous Inn of the Mountain Gods, where we dined in the delicious restaurant and enjoyed a room with a balcony view that was absolutely gorgeous. It was a little hard to come back to reality. Saturday morning, we indulged in a fantastic brunch, where I was greeted with a huge dessert buffet. Clearly they knew I was coming! After stocking up on lots of carb-filled energy, we hit the slopes for my first attempt at snow skiing. I was a little nervous, but figured that my natural athleticism would carry me through. I'm not going to lie, the brakes on my skis didn't seem to be working on the first couple of runs, so I did what any intelligent young woman would do and took full advantage of the junk in my trunk. That's right, I fell down in order to stop, and I'm not ashamed. I did catch on pretty quickly though, and by the third run I was shoop shooping like a pro. We'll definitely be going back soon, but not before I acquire the proper snow bunny attire and accessories. Cody is thrilled about that, too.

Here are a few pics from our day on the mountain!

Ski Apache, Ruidoso

Do I pull off the snow bunny look?

The hubs and me after a successful day

A little dark, but this is the view from our room off of the balcony

My hot ski instructor :)

Another one of the serene view outside our window. Blissful!

Baller Status

My husband is a celebrity everyone. A few weekends ago, Cody participated in the Big Brothers Big Sisters charity basketball game with a few "local celebrities", taking on the Harlem Ambassadors, a group similar to the Harlem Globetrotters. It was quite entertaining to watch, but I will say that I was incredibly proud of my man's mad skills, as it has been quite sometime since he's hit the court. He even scored a 3-point shot on the pros! He's an all star, no big deal. I did allow the fame to go to his head for about a week, but it seems he has finally come down from it and returned to reality. He'll always be my MVP though! (Just excuse the ick factor, ok?) The event was lots of fun and for a great cause and I'm so glad that Cody was able to represent Wilson Binkley Advertising and Marketing in such an awesome way.

 Cody and his second biggest fan before the big game

 My husband the stud waiting for the game to begin

 Here come the Harlem Ambassadors. That's a slam dunk. Ready Cody?

 Cody in action!

 Ready to throw some 'bows

 Not only does he ball hard, but he can dance. Cody and his teammates also provided the halftime entertainment when they did the Cupid Shuffle with all of the kids.

 Thanks to a few freebie points, we were ahead at the half!

 Our friend Chris was a great sport and let the Ambassador girls bully him for our entertainment. 

 At least they put up a good fight! That's the final score.

 Samantha (Chris' fiance and a fellow Texan!) and I cheering on our guys.

 So proud of him!

Kilbourne's Hole

I'm going to go ahead and admit that I've been a bad blogger lately. Sure, my husband saved face by posting something this week, but it's pretty clear that I've kind of been slacking since all of the Christmas and New Years festivities have come to a close. That's not to say that we haven't had exciting things going on though... in fact, it has been quite the contrary. In the spirit of keeping things simple, here's the first update on what has been going on in the life of the Johnsons during the month of January. (By the way, can you believe it's almost over? Crazy I tell you!)

Lucky for us, January in New Mexico means gorgeous weather. Of course we've had the occasional chill, but for the most part it never feels as cold as the thermometer reads because it is typically sunny. We took advantage of the great weather by going out to our friend James' farm a few weekends ago. James took us on a tour of the desert on his Ranger, and we had a picnic at the site of Kilbourne's Hole. This is a historic site in our area, as it is the location of a huge volcanic crater. Call us nerdy, but we were fascinated by the layers of sediment that were visible in this ginormous hole that at one time housed a family at its base. Cody even climbed down into the crater and found some gorgeous rock. I'm no geologist, but it was green and sparkly, which made it pretty interesting to me. It was a great day of spending time with our friends, getting some fresh air, and enjoying the history of some of the natural elements of our new state.

 Kilbourne's Hole. If you look closely you can see where huge crater begins and ends.

 Zetdi and me in front of the crater

 Performing a very intense geologic study

 Amazing scenery

 James, Zetdi and Cody overlooking the hole

 Cody and the girls

Professor Johnson taking a few rock samples in the crater

Not only did we enjoy the chance to play scientists for the day, but it was pretty fun to change up our typical weekend activities and actually see something historic. We just love becoming one with nature!

Rio's First Duck Hunt

Over Christmas break this year Britt, Rio, and I got to go down to Harlingen which in turns means I got to do a little hunting.  I was lucky enough to go duck hunting with Ryan and Chip Falls, along with Jake Morton and his son Carson.  We had a great time riding on the air boat and shooting lots of ducks.  This was Rio's first time to ever be in water where he had to swim, his first time to retrieve a wounded bird, and first time to be around a bunch of people shooting over water.  All in all it was a great trip and I hope you enjoy the pictures as much as I did taking them.

 Long retrieve sequence

 Rio not too sure why the duck keeps biting his face.

 The crew after a great hunt

 Hunting at the base of the high hill

 Rio and one proud owner

The hunting party on Ryan's airboat in the decoy spread

Hello 2012!

OK, I know it's about two weeks late, but I've finally gotten around to doing a Happy New Year post. In my defense, 2012 is shaping up to be quite a busy year so far, and I just seem to be finding ways to fill my time that don't involve being tied to my computer typing blogs. Surprising, I know. Anyway, as I sit and reflect on the events of 2011, I can't help but feel such a mix of emotions. It was a tremendously eventful year full of challenges, adventures, excitement, uncertainty and success (and yes, it ended in success!). God taught us so much through the last 12 months and while so many things describe the events themselves, one feeling stands tall above the rest and most accurately describes the place that Cody and I have finally reached after our first year and a half of marriage: we are thankful.

Not only did we face a lot during the past year with moves, sickness and new jobs, but our family and friends did, too. With all of the work that God has done thus far, we can only look forward to what he has waiting for us this year. Week before last, our pastor's sermon in church really hit home, as he said that the number 11 in the Bible is a symbol of chaos and calamity, while the number 12 signifies restoration, peace and hope. Because my "Suzy Sunshine" optimism enables me to focus on the positive, I would just like to say that I have never believed so strongly that this is what 2012 will be for us, and I can already feel the peace and promise after just a couple of weeks.

For your viewing pleasure, here is a photo collection of some of the highlights of the past year in the life of Cody and Brittany Johnson!

 We started the year with a few snow days in Memphis. It was my first (and what I thought would be my last) real, white winter!

 In March we traveled to Dallas for the marriage of one of my very best friends, Rachel, to her wonderful hubby, Joe.

 While in Dallas, Cody got in touch with his Irish roots (or mine I suppose) to celebrate St. Patty's Day.

 My cousin Carissa journeyed to Memphis during her spring break. We took her to all the necessary spots including Beale Street, Bella Vita and Graceland!

 In April, we were blessed with one of the most beautiful spring seasons we've ever experienced. We took advantage of this and the amazing scenery around us and went camping in Hot Springs. 

 We celebrated our first Easter away from family, and did it up right with all the fixin's. Of course we participated in the Johnston track meet via telephone, too.

 Tequila did not make my clothes fall off at the Joe Nichols concert, but it was lots of fun to see a country star in such an intimate setting! This was definitely a fun way to celebrate the hubs' big 2-4.

 One of the highlights of the year was getting to visit one of my very best friends, Janet, in her new hometown of San Diego. She is so strong and has been such an angel to me since I met her almost 3 years ago. 

 June was a love-filled month! We celebrated our first anniversary, the marriage of our good friends Wes and Nicole Toudouze, and my grandparents 50th anniversary. Whew!

 There they are, a true example of love and devotion that I'm so proud to call my Grandma and Grandad.

 In July, we took to the water with a trip to Harlingen and South Padre Island. Kirby even caught her first fish and became a true fishing pro!

 The end of July brought this little angel into our lives, and we'll never be the same again! He's a little bigger now though... :)

We travelled to College Station to celebrate Kirby's departure from the teen years, and to cheer the Aggies on to their first victory of the season.

Cody's family visited us in September and we attended the annual White Sands Balloon Festival, where we took our first hot air balloon ride over the gorgeous sand dunes. What an experience!

 Cody went on his first elk hunt and brought in a big one!

Rio learned to retrieve like the champion hunter that he is. Mom and Dad couldn't be more proud!

 Two of my very best friends came to visit us in Las Cruces. It was Carrie's first trip to New Mexico, and I had so much fun spending time with these girls. We go way back after all!

 We celebrated Thanksgiving in San Antonio with the fam, and were pretty pumped before the Aggie game...not so much after though.

 How ironic that we started and ended the year with snow! The last month of 2011 brought another snow storm, convincing us that crazy weather follows us across the southern US. 

 We took a trip to Cloudcroft to experience the true beauty of New Mexico in the winter. Rio loves the snow, too!

 We gave thanks and celebrated Christmas in Harlingen with the whole Johnson clan. What a tremendous blessing!

My family returned for New Years Eve!

Dad and Cody spent the last day of 2011 at the Sun Bowl, while Mom, Kirby and I did what we do best all year long...shop!

Dad and Rio were spent. It was a great day and a very eventful year!

I feel it only appropriate to close with my favorite Bible verse, which is so perfect for the anticipation of things to come in a new year...

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight." -Proverbs 3:5-6