we have arrived

You may be one of the tens or hundreds of people who get Loudon Magazine, and if you are, you may be flipping through it and thinking to yourself, "that handsome couple semi-featured in the wedding section looks very familiar". And you would be right. It's us! We are famous! Kind of. But this may be the the biggest thing to ever happen to us, so just humor me. Since Loudon Magazine is not a national publication, feel free to view the online version here: http://www.leesburg2day.com/more_a/loudoun_magazine/

We are also available for autographs and/or personal skype sessions for a small appearance fee.

We are the tiny couple standing on a tree, and then the page spread immediately following. You will also notice I am the only bride with sleeves. Modest is the hottest. Literally, we got married in August. In Virginia. Next to a river.

A Wedding, a wedding!!

So I was looking through some photos I took last weekend at my friend Margo's wedding. I wasn't planning on blogging, but I saw this little photo gem, and decided the world should see it. If you can't quite see why I love this photo, just look at one particularly daring flower girl.

Like a good pair of bridesmaids, Nicole and I had our own photo shoot on the side (oh Margo, we don't deserve you)

The newest man in our lives. Jason, if you do not treat Margo like the Disney Princess she is, you will have to answer to us. Actually, we were all sort of obsessed with Jason by the end of the night, so well done Margo!

Pretty Bride!!

hear me through on this

Puppies are the greatest things in life. Dogs are a close second with very old, incontinent dogs a distant third. Everything else in life falls somewhere else along the spectrum after that. I can't think of a more perfect afternoon than spending some quality time with my man and my pup. Look at the puppy pictured above. It's just begging you to love it. If it were socially acceptable, and if that was actually my puppy, you would be looking at my future christmas card. I'll leave you with a top 10.....

TOP 10 REASONS WHY PUPPIES ARE BETTER THAN BABIES:

10. you're a weirdo if you try to put a diaper on a dog

9. naming a puppy "thor" or "rumplestiltskin" is cute, while naming it "kevin" is creepy

8. two cups of food in the morning, two cups of food in the evening. done.

7. puppies come out walking

6. the greatest gift you can ever give is a tennis ball

5. you can sell litter-mates for profit

4. puppies can follow one word commands after only a few weeks of training

3. people don't judge you for putting up "lost puppy" posters

2. no need to worry about post-baby muffin tops

1. puppies are soft, cuddly, and always land on their feet (sorta)

Epic vacation

There's really no nice way to put it: my life was better than yours last week. The Johnson family takes birthdays and vacations very seriously, so we had a serious birthday celebration in the Cayman Islands for my dad's 60th. It was a great week of sandy suits, stingrays, and driving on the left side of the road in a 9 passenger van. Sadly, we came home and the universe decided to remind me that my life really is not that awesome. So before you become green with jealous rage over my fabulous life, I better tell you that I somehow got a cold in paradise and that I was in a hit and run accident on the way to church yesterday. But...I'd do it all again in a second if I could. Hint hint...Turks and Caicos 2012 anyone? More pictures to come from our underwater camera!

Really not a bad view to wake up to in the morning:

My hardest daily decision was to swim in the 85 degree ocean or the 90 degree pool

Just so much sunscreen

Matt getting a little "me" time on the porch

It wouldn't be heaven without an iphone and ESPN.com....

I believe this little lady's name is Blondie

If Matt were to take engagement pictures with a stingray I imagine they would look a lot like this:

REALLY?!?!

What? Posed? No way...

Darn paparazzi always taking pictures of us

We look slightly awkward here, but the water looks gorgeous

I love Uncle Matt

We managed to sneak off to Georgetown for a look at a pirate ship

Princess week!

The Critchfields do Youth Conference

Hello blog friends! Here are a few pictures from our trip to Kirtland, Ohio. Somehow people thought that Matt and I were mature enough to pass as chaperones and asked us to accompany the youth. My first order of official, adult business was hysterically calling my mother at 6:00 am asking her to bring sleeping bags to the church because no one informed me that I was responsible for my own bedding. Once that crisis was averted, Matt and I piled onto a bus with awkward, gangly 14 year olds. We then watched such mormon classics as "Mormons and Mobsters", "The Work and the Glory", and "The RM", and before we knew it we had arrived! The trip was really packed and included visits to the Morley Farm, the Johnson Farm, the Whitney store, and of course, the Kirtland Temple. It was a fun trip and I learned a lot about the church and it's history. I also learned, and this is truly important to my future happiness, that Matt can do one mean electric slide. I bet he was just the hottest thing at those Lodi Stake Dances.

Vacations are hard work

Matt and I have been working very hard trying to relax and get tan. We managed to relax but have yet to find the secret of how to get tan while wearing 100 SPF (thank you dermatologist recommended Neutrogena). I had some issues uploading pictures so they are very out of order. Here's a brief synopsis of what happened: We took a 7 day cruise to Mexico, Belize, and Isla Roatan. On this cruise we ate 20 pounds of pizza, 5 tons of french fries, and 60 gallons of soft serve. We also went zip lining over the rainforest, went swimming/exploring in underground river caves, made love to a small monkey, and generally lived it up. Then we stayed for 4 days with our good friends Kevin and Nicole who showed us an AMAZING time that included jet skiing in gator waters, swimming in a natural spring, and body surfing in the ocean (read: getting rocked by waves and wishing I wore a one-piece bathing suit).

Our room steward was very handy with the towel folding. This is a pig. Was he suggesting something?
Impromptu conga line at dinner!
24 hour pizza = matt's nemesis

Another benefit of endless/constant food: free spa treatments

The lounge singer.

Inside the ship.

Love the Liljenquists

The monkey is jumping ship.

A view of what we zip-lined over. If you look closely you can see the wires, and there is the ocean. I felt just like the Bachelorette and even told Matt that I really "felt a connection" with him on our date.

Ready to zip line: who doesn't look good in a splunking helmet and harness?

Happy cruise faces!

So long paradise. What has everyone else been up to this summer?