Our New Deck!!!

Well, we FINALLY did something with the east side of our house. For the past 4 years it has been nothing but a big mud/dirt pit and it drove us NUTS! Larry would always come in with muddy paws or I would find Lydia right in the middle of a huge puddle of water...so dangerous and annoying.

One of Jake's old mission buddies does construction work so we thought he could do the job for us (and he was kind enough to give us the family discount :) Anyway, Pat's a great guy and on many occasions he let Lydia help out by letting her give him nails when he asked for them. She loved it and felt so important!!!
Here's the finished product. We still have to buy some patio furniture and a table but the wood work is done. We also still have to buy some plants, trees and put pavers in. But we LOVE it and pretty much sit on it all day and night. It's about 20 feet wide and 28 feet long.

The greatest thing about it is that the deck is completely shaded by 4pm so no more sitting in the blazing hot sun all evening...Lydia can just play and I can relax on my little swing in the shade. And this deck will be perfect for our first bbq that we have to christen it this summer :)

Living in a new developement has it's perks but the thing that sucks the most is not having mature trees to shade the yard so now we can actually have people over and not have to worry about killing them in the sun :)

And you're not a Johnsen unless you involve the Utah Utes in some way so the diamond in the middle just proves how hardcore my husband is about his Utah Football (it also proves what an awesome wife I am to not care at all that he did it :)

There's a laser ingraving place that Jake took the wood to right in our neighborhood on Redwood Rd. It was really cheap too. Go Utes!

One other thing...Since the miscarriage I suffered a few weeks ago, my doctor told me about this new study that is taking place for women who have lost a child at any point in their lives. The EAGeR (The Effects of Aspirin in Gestation and Reproduction) study will evaluate Low Dose Aspirin compared to placebo in women who have had one or two pregnancy losses in the past and are interested in becoming pregnant again. Click here for more info on this amazing study. This study offers you a lot of free stuff too. I got a free fertility monitor, a crazy amount of free pregnancy tests, free folic acid supplement and the best thing is that I get a free 6 week ultrasound when I do become pregnant just to make sure all is well with the baby and so I can put my mind at ease...for free :)

I had my first appointment yesterday and I can't tell you how nice each of these women are that are involved in the study. Sue (the nurse I'm working with) is amazing and makes me feel so comfortable and so normal. Oh yeah, they also pay you for your time and travel to their facilities(I chose LDSH). It's a brand new study and they need 1,100 participants. Right now, they have about 400 women so they need all they can get. So if you're ready and/or interested, please go to this website and check it out. I can't think of one negative thing about this study. And I'll also be a part of something that could potentially be great for women who have a history of miscarriages. It's a win/win in my book and I'm so happy that I have this opportunity.