Just Another Day in Paradise

Summer Lovin'!

2011-07-06T15:11:00.000-06:00

Oh, wait! That should read Lovin' Summer! :) We have had a great time this summer, that has been pretty cool, actually! The kids and I went with my mom to This is the Place Heritage Park for their free day. it was fun, and warm! We also went with the Ash Family to the Bee's Game. They lost, but we had a great time together. Abby has proven herself to be a VERY good girl in public, and it is not as difficult to do things with her, like it was with Matthew at this age. We will see as time goes on!

Father's Day was a nice, quiet day. I sure love Matthew. He is an amazing Daddy to our two kiddos! He is always playing with them, making sure they know he loves them! He is so patient, too. What a good guy! I also love my Dad tons. I didn't make it over there that day, but he is a wonderful man, who has taught me a lot over the years!

I have learned how to do two things I have always wanted to learn, this year! I have learned how to make freezer jam, which was SO easy, that after Emily and my mom taught me, and I had made three and a half quarts of Raspberry, I made six pints of Peach Raspberry, and two quarts plus eight pints of strawberry! It was awesome, and now we have enough jam to last us for quite a while!

Next, I learned how to make an Artisan Bread, thanks to a Relief Society activity. It is only three ingredients, and is done in two hours total time, with 40 of that being raising and 30 of it being cooking time! It is so yummy, and Matthew gave me the go-ahead to make that whenever I wanted! So, I went out and bought a bunch of flour, kosher salt, and yeast! Yep, those are the three ingredients, besides water! It is fantastic! Another thing I have been doing is Amish Friendship Bread. My mom had asked me if I wanted a start, and I said no, since I didn't want to have to nurse it, etc. But, then she made hers, and I tasted it, and knew that I had to have it! It is totally amazing! Yum! Three loaves every ten days....Well, all I can say is that I better give some of that away, or else I am gonna gain some serious weight! Matthew also gave the go-ahead on that one, too! He loved it! I feel so domestic when I am making those things! Especially the Artisan bread and the jam, as I have made lots of quick breads before. Plus, I feel like I can contribute a bit. I am going to learn how to make regular bread one of these days from Pantry Secrets (I just need to sign up for a class!), and then we will not have to buy our bread from the store! Yum! This is a picture of my bread, with my jam on it! Yummy! Fresh bread out of the oven with yummy jam is one of my favorite treats! Might as well be dessert!

One of our favorite things we have done so far this summer is go to Lagoon with the Ash Family! We had a great time! Here we are on one of our breaks. Matthew Jr. was a champ and he rode roller coasters without fear (where as before he would not even DARE!), and Abby rode some rides too! She got a little nervous about them all, but did it! I was so proud of her! Plus, she was such a champ. I wish I would have gotten a picture after the log flume, but Andrea, Don, Abby, Crystal and I rode the log flume, and with that much weight in it, we were like drowned rats afterwards! I have never been that soaked after a ride before! It was hilarious! And Abby didn't cry, or anything! She smiled and laughed along with the rest of us! (Even though secretly I wanted to cry really hard!) She stayed in her stroller so well through a lot of the day, and was SO incredibly pleasant. It was wonderful!
It makes me happy to see that, because next May we are going to Disney World, and six days in theme parks is going to be a little rough, I must say! I know we will love every minute of it, but still... There will be long breaks swimming at the hotel everyday so that we can stay sane! :) And taking naps! I am so excited! I never thought Disney World would be a possibility, just a dream. But, here we are, planning one of my dream vacations! Cannot wait!

We have fun plans for this month. We are going to stay up at the Westgate Resort for two nights in Park City for our anniversary. The kids are coming with us, and we plan on hiking, riding the gondola, and eating yummy Blue Iguana, along with lots of swimming time! We cannot wait!

On a different note, It has been a year this week that Denise passed away. I cannot believe that she has been gone so long. We miss her terribly. I still expect her to walk down the hall, with her cheery hello when we walk in teh house. I miss seeing the rugs strewn all over while she cleaned, I miss doing fun things with her, and the occasional phone call for a trip to Tai Pan. I miss her every day still. I am sad that our kids are not going to remember their Grammy who loved them so much! I am doing my best to remind them of that often, but the memories might not ever be there. Miss you, Denise! Love you!

What a break!

2011-06-16T16:04:00.001-06:00

Things here have been pretty crazy. Work is taking over, it feels like some days, especially in the summer when everyone else is taking big, long vacations, so I get more work! Plus, I made got three scrapbooks ready for printing, and that took some time! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE them!! It is so fun to see what I have made on the computer, but to see it in book form is pretty awesome! Also, our yard is taking lots of time, it is a disaster! We have lived here for almost four years, and the weeds have been unbearable. So, this year, we decided that we were goign to lay a weed tarp down and cover that with mulch in the flower beds, and pea gravel around our garden boxes and patio. So, we have been busy with that! Plus, I have just been too dang lazy to get on and update this here blog! :) Have you heard of Pinterest? Um, yeah. That would explain a little bit of my hiatus here as well. It is so addicting. I am trying really hard to just limit my time doing that, but, well, you know how it goes! Also, this week my sister and mom introduced me to the EASE of freezer jam making. Yeah, that is going to start a new obsession, as we LOVE jam in this here house! I have made three and a half quart jars of raspberry jam, and am going to make some raspberry peach jam that sounds AMAZINGLY yummy! Don't you think? And, as Sunflower Market had their peaches for 47cents a pound (Yes, you saw that right! 47 cents!!!! And, their red grapes, get this, 59 cents a pound!!!! Two pounds of yummy grapiness for just a little over a dollar! Yummmm.....) I can make a few batches!! I think I'll head back there tomorrow for some more! My kids have been drawing on everything they can find! I love their cute pictures, just not the paper that is littering my whole house!
Another thing I have been up to, well, I have lost 15 pounds! YAHOO!! That is since Abby stopped nursing. So, it has been 5-6 months since I have started, but hey, I am down, and still going. It feels good. I still have mucho more to go!, but I have started out on the right track! I am eating a lot better, lots of fruits (as you can tell from above!), adn not as much in the sweets department!
Another fun thing, Matthew's sister, Andrea and her hubby Don have moved here from Oklahoma. My son LOVES them to pieces, and so do we! So, we have been spending as much time as we can together! We went to a Bee's game this week with the whole Ash fam, which was fun! We are headed to Lagoon later this month, maybe Logan for fireworks, and a camping trip, all in the works!
For Father's Day I got Matthew "Dominion Seaside," A game that is SO FUN! We love the first Dominion game, and really played a lot, so I thought this would make a great addition to our game family! It has been played once, and I expect to play it soon again! So fun!
Also, primary has kept me rockin'! I am in charge of sharing time this month, which I can't say that I love this month, mostly because in past years I have written the primary program by now, and now it is just two months away, and I am STRESSED!! Yeah, you heard right, I am in charge of writing the whole dang program, and I haven't written two single words. I honestly have been on finishing touches by now the past two years, but this year I have not felt all together with things. So, this week and next, I have to work on sharing times AND writing the program. That junior primary has me scared silly lately! Probably because I am unprepared, and haven't thought of anything FUN to do with them!
Anyway, that is us in a little bit of a nutshell lately. I feel crazy, my house is a disaster, but that is all okay. We are enjoying each other, enjoying life, and staying cool in our home because matthew is the master with swamp coolers! :) (THANK HEAVENS!)
I hope to write more before September, but you never know!! :) Thanks for being patient with me!

Super Random!

2011-03-24T17:10:00.000-06:00

It has been a crazy couple months. So, I apologize for neglecting the blog. We have been ultra busy, doing lots of fun things!

One thing we did was go to Gardner Village with my mom. It was a beautiful day!

I have been into organizing like crazy! One of my favorite projects that we have done is put all of our DVD's into sleeves, and it has saved a TON of space! I love it!

Another thing I did was clean out the laundry room, the hallway closet, the extra bedroom, and the closet in that room. We moved some things around, moved around furniture a bit, and have a bunch of stuff that is going to garage sales or given away! One thing I loved was putting all of our games together! We had a lot more than I thought!

I also cleaned out drawers!! YAHOO! I feel so much better! Everything has a home, and I love it!

Abby is such a fun girl!! We spend Fridays with my mom, and I think the kids really love it! Abby loves being fed, and being silly with Grammy! I just love how happy she is!!

Okay, how is this for random?! We still have a LOT of work to do on our bedroom, but we have a start! I got rid of our "college dorm" dresser, and I also got rid of the big DVD shelf, because we moved everything into the sleeves! :) This is exciting stuff to have LESS in our room! :)

I know Abby doesn't look really excited, Matthew is taking her space, but she still looked cute! :)

These two are best friends! They are so funny together, and have given lots more hugs lately. Matthew used to want nothing to do with sister, but now he loves her so much! It makes me so happy!

This is on the way to the opera! I like getting dressed up sometimes!

This is my mom's fiftieth birthday party. We had a surprise birthday party for my mom! It was fun! It was my dad's idea, then my sister Emily and I did everything for it! I made the birthday cake. I was pretty excited about it! This was my first "from scratch" cake, and my first fondant cake, so two firsts, and I thought it turned out pretty good! I also made the cupcake toppers for the yummy cupcakes that Emily made. We decorated, and I made a movie for her. It turned out really nice!

Surprise, Mom!! Happy 50th!

We went to Discovery Gateway when Matthew had a day off, and had a lot of fun exploring! Matthew Sr. told Matthew jr. that he looked just like Daddy on the rock-climbing wall, terrified!

The kids LOVE playing with Daddy on the computer! I had to get a picture of it! Lego games are the favorites lately!

Oh, totally out of order! This is at Discovery Gateway in the helicopter on the roof! Abby was really timid at first about everything, but then ended up loving everything so much!

Man, this is bad! Sorry! This is at my mom's birthday party! Lawrynn, Ryley, and Matthew! Cute kiddos!

This is my beautiful Grandma Urry. She is such an amazing woman! I love when people in my ward find out I am her granddaughter (we are in the same ward!) because they always have the most wonderful things to say about her spunk and love for life and the way she works so hard (she is always in her yard, naughty!). She is an amazing woman, and I am very blessed to have her as a role model in my life!

These are just a couple super cute pictures of Abby! Her hair has gotten long enough for two pig tails, and let me tell you, they are so perfect for her cute personality! She is the sweetest, spunkiest little girl and we just love her around here!

Last but not least, this is my favorite thing I got accomplished this month! This used to have so many boxes of Matthew's Jr's clothes, and now there is space for my crafty stuff, and exercise ball! And yes, those are all scrapbooks that you see. Uh, I wish they were digital! Oh well!!

Thanks for bearing with me on this super long, super random post of what we have been up to! I better go get a little girl who just woke up! Hopefully I will post again soon! :)

I just wanna win!

2011-03-22T15:27:00.000-06:00

I know it is so silly of me to keep doing this, BUT, I am wanting to win one of these SO BADLY!! http://www.decorchick.com/giveaway/silhouette-machine-giveaway-and-a-discount-code/
I can think of a million projects that a silhouette could do, and really want to play with one! Plus, my birthday is coming up, and that would be an awesome gift!!

True Confessions

2011-02-13T22:31:00.000-07:00

This morning I was listening to some Hilary Weeks (LOVE her!) and there is a song called, "He is Able." It brought back a memory from my mission that I still feel guilty about. I was a fairly new missionary, and being in the Bible Belt, I KNEW I had to go check out another church, just to see what it was like. I was sitting there listening, while my companion talked to this guy. All of a sudden, she stood up and followed the guy out. I was FREAKING OUT!!! (There is a rule that you have to stay with your companion, and a one on one situation is a no go!) I was scared to death, and motioned to the Elders who had met us there, to come follow us out. I didn't know if this guy was a psycho or what, but I couldn't figure out why we were leaving, and I didn't feel good about it! My comp and this guy were out in the hall talking, and there was a big banner hanging up, that said, "God is Able." I remember very distinctly my comp and this guy laughing about it, saying that "God's name is not Able. I don't even know what they are talking about." I don't remember if I said anything, but I felt very uncomfortable with the situation because I knew that they were not talking about God's name being Able. I wish I would have testified right then and there, about how God IS able. He is able to lift us up. He is able to carry our burdens when we need help. He is able to make us whole through repentance. He IS able. I learned then, that I have to open my mouth and testify. It is one of my regrets and I feel guilty every time I hear that song. But, it serves as a great reminder that I need to be more brave.

Tonight we went to a missionary fireside. I felt so much love and peace. I felt the Spirit testify to me that the Church is true. I need to share it with others. I am so blessed.

I hope you have a great Valentines Day! We kind of already celebrated, but will still have fun tomorrow!

Would you be interested?

2011-02-09T16:11:00.001-07:00

Black: Ette's Bliss paper pack and embellishments, CK Bella font
Brown: Melissa Nuttall Fresh Start paper, Tan Flower: Paula Philllips Glitzy Garden Flowers, Brown Flower and Button: Julie Klaus Almost Christmas Embellishments, Brads: Ette's Priate's Life Embellishments, CK Bella font.
Blue: Melissa Nuttall's Fresh Start Paper, The Ette's Be Inspired embellishments, CK Bella font

Would you be interested in me making this a printable? Let me know. What kinds of things would you like as printable? Just wondering!

PS, Mom, do either of these others look good for you? I can link it so you can print it! (or anyone else!)

Free Valentine Printable

2011-02-05T23:43:00.002-07:00

Okay, we are going to try this. If you want my "Grow old along with me" sign, click HERE.

See if you can download it! :) I have never done this before, but might be willing to try this with Visiting Teaching handouts, Primary Handouts, Birthday cards, Christmas cards, etc. if it works!

LET ME KNOW HOW IT GOES!!

Also, one of these days I may start a scrapbooking/crafting blog, because Matthew said he would like to see pictures of the kids more on this one (Can you blame him? They are way too cute!). SO, we will just see how that goes, and what happens! :)

Love Signs

2011-02-04T00:20:00.005-07:00

So, lately I have been looking at all the word art all over the place in the blog world, and decided that I wanted to try it out. I had these three frames that I bought from Target over a year ago that have been sitting in the closet, in their original package (they were in their dollar section, so I worried about cheapness!) and decided to pull them out today! I was surprised that they didn't look as cheap as they really were! :) Love those surprises!

Then, I got onto Memory Mixer, and played around. I found some fun paper, most of the stuff I used is from Summertime Designs (find her link on the right hand side of my blog. If you are a digi-scrapper, you MUST check out her site! She has TONS of cute kits for FREE! Yes, that's right, free!), her latest kit Dance with Me, and also from the Vintage Oreo kit.

This was super easy, and I thought turned out pretty cute. I don't know that I LOVE where they are hanging right now, but that can be changed! It was the only place that had three hooks, perfectly spaced! :)

They say, "Grow old, along with me. The best is yet to be." "Hold me, Thrill me, Kiss me." and "Truly, Madly, Deeply."

I figure I can change these out for other fun pictures, or word art, or whatever, whenever I want! :) Love my FIRST Valentines Day Decorations! (Yeah, you read that right! It's been seven years since I got married-almost- and I am just getting my first V-day decorations. I am building slowly! Christmas was my first priority! Don't judge!)

I am linking up to:

The CSI Project -Typography

February Desktop

2011-02-03T07:48:00.001-07:00

This is our computer desktop for February! I am really liking this! Matthew Sr. says, "Oh good, I have been looking forward to seeing what you were going to do!" That makes me feel good!

AbbysABCbook

2011-01-28T09:36:00.001-07:00

Click here to view this photo book larger

Mod Podge Journal: My first Tutorial!

2011-01-28T08:19:00.012-07:00

ANYWAY!...

Here we go!!

You will need:
pens,
glue stick (to hold things in place before you mod podge, if you'd like, or you can just mod podge!)
Mod podge
scissors
Three sheets of 12x12 paper
Composition notebook
Ribbons (just long enough to be able to tie a bow!)
Embellishments

(Don't ask why this next picture turned. I have NO CLUE how to get it back to normal!)

So you can read it: Fold a pice of paper over each cover of the book. Put the most paper on the inside, the frong part that is empty will be covered later.

Translation!:
Once mod podge is dry on the inside, close book. Cut slits in the fold on each side so that you can have flaps that will fold down.

Then, fold the flaps down and mod podge them down!

Please let me know feedback. I know my English is horrible, and I have SUCH a hard time writing technical instructions! Let me know what questions you have, or if this is easy to follow.

This is my first tutorial, and who knows if I will ever do another one! :) But, It is fun to try new things!

Good luck and enjoy your fun new journal, that is personalized just for you! These make great gifts, and people know that you took the time to think about them! You could use them for anything! I have one for my "scripture journaling," one for my journal, one for my gratitude journal, and now one for my life history! Imagine the possibilities!

Enjoy!!

Also, I did my first link party!!! I don't know if I did it correctly on their site, but I will keep trying!

So You Think You're Crafty Craft Party

(I couldn't get the button to work, so the link will have to do!)

It came!

2011-01-21T00:47:00.003-07:00

Well, the book came! Abby's ABC Book! Man! I LOVE IT! And, you know what I love most about it? The fact that Abby has brought it to me three times today to read it to her! :) that is happy!

Also, I have created a tutorial, my first! Be on the lookout for it! I will try to post it this weekend (I have to do some tweaking with the pictures!). I have been so impressed with all the fun tutorials out there, and wanted to try to make one. And, since I was crafty this week (it doesn't happen a lot!), I took pictures of each step! Fun stuff!

(PS, do you just LOVE her pigtails or WHAT?! They seriously match her personality so well! She is so funny, and they just make me smile!)

Today my sweet little baby turns ONE! Oh my, where did this year go? It feels like yesterday that we were on our way to the hospital at 5:00 am, and going through that terrible labor (glad THAT wasn't yesterday!), and then meeting my beautiful little Abby for the first time. It was truly love at first sight! Tonight she knew something big was going to happen tomorrow. I tried to feed her to get her to bed, but she just wanted to party with mom and dad. She danced, she clapped her hands, she flashed the most beautiful smiles, she laughed so hard, she danced and clapped some more, and then gave out her Abby "special kisses" that melted my heart! She knows that tomorrow is HER day! And, Matthew jr. said today, "I can hardly wait for Abby's birthday tomorrow!!" Cute big brother! (He is doing much better with the jealousy issues of late, which I am so grateful for!) What a big year, what a hard year, what a good year! We are so blessed that this angel is part of our lives. She made the hard times better, she made the good times wonderful! She is so happy most of the time (not so happy when I am trying to work! She likes to cry at my feet when I am doing that! And, not so much at naptime!). Love the beautiful moments that I have shared with this little girl! :)

AbbysABCbook

2011-01-11T21:55:00.003-07:00

SO DEPRESSING!! I just erased the photo book!

Abby's ABC Book

2011-01-08T22:48:00.006-07:00

This is what I have for Abby's ABC book so far. I have a long way to go, and a short time to do so. I can get a free 8x8 book for free, but I have to have this done by the 12th. YIKES!

C is for camping

D is for Daddy

E is for Easter Dress

F is for Family

G is for Grandpa (This is Matthew's Dad)

H is for Hugs from Grammy

I is for Ice Cream

J is for Jello pop

K is for Kisses

L is for Loves from Grandma (This is Matthew's Mom)

M is for Mama

N is for Naptime

O is for Outside

P is for Papa (This is my dad)

Q is for Quilt

R is for Relaxing

S is for Swimming or Swing

T is for Tutu or Toes

U is for Uncle

V is for Village

W is for Walking

X is for eXcited

Y is for Yummy

Z is for ____ (Zhu Zhu pet? NO CLUE on this one!! HELP!!)

I want to add aunts and uncles in there somewhere and also her other two cousins, but I don't know how!

Any suggestions for things I could do, and also for ways to add others in?!

January Desktop

2011-01-07T08:03:00.003-07:00

So, I have fallen in love with the desktop scrapbook pages, and the Ette's used to do one each month, but decided to do their freebies differently, and not offer desktop pages. So, I just took teh matter into my own hands and created one of my own! It doesn't have the calendar on it, but that is not what I was going for anyway! So, here is my creation! Enjoy!

Scripture Gumballs

2011-01-06T14:43:00.004-07:00

The theme for primary this year is "I know the Scriptures are True." In order to encourage the kids in our primary to read their scriptures, we are giving them bags of gumballs with this little note I made, attached. It is kind of fun! I used the Ette's "Celebration" kit and also the Ette's "The Good Life Kit." I love these two new kits that I got!

A little thinking

2011-01-04T13:54:00.002-07:00

So, I don't know that anyone reads this blog anymore. I feel like I am going no where with it. I have been reading a bunch of new blogs (as you can see the list of linkies is GROWING! If you ever want, they are such fun blogs to check out!!) and have really enjoyed it! I think I am going to start posting my scrapbook stuff more on here. I don't think that it will be fun for most people that would read, but this way, you can see my scrapbook ideas, and if people want to stay caught up on our family, they can.

So, here we go.
I am a digital scrapbooker, and I use a program called Memory Mixer, which I totally LOVE! There is a link HERE if you want to check it out. I looked into MANY programs, never found one that was super easy to use, and didn't ever find any with cute stuff that I could add on to. Well, Memory Mixer has ALL of those features! I started out a couple years ago, and was able to start it up and GO! Plus, the website has started adding tutorials that are fabulous! It has a lot of fun features. Plus, you can buy new "Stuff" to add into it.

I like digital scrapbooking because you can reuse what you buy over and over. I felt like I could never use the embellishments that I spent a fortune on before, because then I wouldn't be able to use it again, and I felt like I had to use it on the perfect page. This way, I can spend $4.00 on embellishments (lots of them, compared to just one for the same price!), and reuse them! I love that! Same with the paper! I made a 145 page scrapbook for 2010, and didn't feel bad using that much stuff!

My favorite designer is The Ettes. Their shop is in Pickleberry Pop, or you can buy their stuff on the Memory Mixer site (But straight from them on PBP is MUCH cheaper! Believe me!), plus you can get the paper, embellishments, alphabets, etc. all in a bundle, which you cannot do on MM! I also love Carolyn Kite, who has a shop at Pickleberry Pop and also one at Memory Mixer! Check her out, too!

I have been finding other free scrapbooking sites which have super fun stuff on them. Some I just found today were Summertime Designs and also Shabby Princess. I will keep adding linkies as I find new sites on my right side bar.

Anyway, I will sign off for now, but my first project of the year is to create an ABC book for Abby, and also a "Who Loves Abby" book. (I made a "Who Loves Matthew" book for Christmas) Keep your eye out for that! Maybe I will post Matthew's book for you, just to show you what I did! :)

Do you like the change? Or do you like it when I post every once in a while, just random things? I am sure I will keep doing that, but this gives me more of a direction!

What programs do you use? What sites do you like? Who are your favorite designers? I want some feedback if you are into this!

Some Christmas

2010-12-27T22:32:00.002-07:00

I have been busy scrapbooking, and have figured out how to upload my pages VERY fast, so I thought I would share some! Let me know what you think of them!

All paper and embellishments are from the Ette's (See the link at the top left of my blog!). The first two and last two are from their "Hip Christmas" packs and the middle two are from their Frostbite packs. I LOVE the Ette's! And I love scrapbooking! :) Especially this way!

I just gotta win!

2010-12-26T08:28:00.003-07:00

Brown Paper Packages is giving away a Silhouette, and I just have to win one!! :) You can go and enter here! Go check it out! Silhouettes can do the most amazing things, I am most excited about the way it can cut vinyl, which is something I would LOVE to be able to do! I love these giveaways!! I just hope I can win something one day! :)

Life is Good

2010-12-01T11:14:00.002-07:00

Do you like the new blog? Fun, huh! I found this great website, LeeLou Blogs!

This is the view out my back window one night this week! I know that the icicles mean that we have problems with our rain gutter, and I know they are dangerous, but I still think they are absolutely BEAUTIFUL! So, I will look at the positive and enjoy them for now! This is our home in a snow storm. In Virginia, they didn't put Christmas lights on their homes as much as they do here in SL. Instead, a lot of people put the candles in their windows, and I LOVED it! After that, Matthew and I decided that we would do that instead of the lights on the house for a more traditional look, plus it is perfect with our home's style. It brings back floods of memories when we drive up and I see those lights shining in the windows! Plus, it reminds me of the book, "The Candle" that is out there. It is such a beautiful story! (See my Facebook page for a picture where the candles glow brighter!)

Abby stole a chocolate chip cookie off the table, and proceeded to shove it in her mouth! This is the happy, satisfied look we got afterward! She is so fun! She is into EVERYTHING! She is starting to stand, and pretty soon will be taking her first step. She is getting too big too fast!

If you look closely, you can see her two teeth on the bottom.

Here is our handsome boy. He is so into computer games, it is crazy! He totally loves to use his imagination to create zoos, theme parks and cities! (Zoo Tycoon 2, Roller Coaster Tycoon 3, and Sim City Societies Destinations) He even loves to play PBS Kids and Starfall.com. He is so smart, and is getting better and better, so much so, that he amazes me everytime I watch! Plus after an hour or so, he says, "Mom, I need my exercise!" and proceeds to run back and forth at top speed! So, that makes it nice! I tell him he needs to use his brain to do lots of things, not just play computer. We get out blocks a lot, which he loves to make cities with, we get out trains and cars, and we draw a lot! He is such a cute boy! (Even though he is a professional "patience tester!")

So, as you can see, life around here is good. We are just getting ready for Christmas, enjoying all teh little things! We are planning on spending the night in a hotel downtown, and seeing the Christmas lights, swimming, etc. We are also going to do a campout under our Christmas tree one evening with lots of treats and stories and laughing! It will be great! I love this time of year. It reminds me of my sweet Grandma Judy and how much she loved it, and how she really tried to make it so special. My mom carried that love on, and works hard to make it so special, too. She does a great job! It is so much more work than I ever thought, but at teh same time, it is so special, and I am grateful for those fun times!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

Silhouette Giveaway

2010-11-23T10:14:00.002-07:00

I came across this fun little giveaway as I was looking around today, and I really would love to win! This website, the Idea Room has all sorts of fun ideas, and I love to look at it! Here is a linkie! http://www.theidearoom.net/ Enjoy! And I would say go enter the contest, but then I wouldn't have as good of a chance to win! :)

Les Misérables Selections performed by Butler 4th and 10th Wards 11/12/2010

2010-11-14T21:41:00.001-07:00

This was our performance for Broadway Our Way in our stake. It was SO MUCH FUN to perform! We worked very hard, and as you can see, it turned out wonderfully!!

Video compliments of BihShya Croft.

Dear Abby,

2010-11-05T23:10:00.003-06:00

You and your brother are best friends! He can make you laugh harder than anyone else can! I LOVE watching you two together!

Smiley girl!
And that toy in the background, yeah, this week you took off, pushing it around the room! It was so fun to see you walk behind it, trying to keep it close to you so you didn't fall on your face! Good job, baby!

You were so tiny back then!

Can I just say that you are the cutest little girl EVER?! Your cute little hairdo, sticking up like a mohawk makes me melt, because below it are the most beautiful eyes, and most beautiful smile ever! You are growing into such a big girl, walking around everything, pulling everything off of shelves, out of cupboards, and you even stand up by yourself now! I am pretty sure you were just born yesterday. No? Okay, but it seems like it! You have the sweetest disposition, and are so fun! Today when I went to feed you, you laughed so hard as I got ready! You were so excited! It made me laugh! You are excited about everything! You know how to make me smile! And, every time I hold the camera up to take pictures of you, you flash the most gorgeous smiles, and usually the camera is just a second too slow, because by the time it takes teh picture, you are off doing somethign else. Because you really cannot sit still. You have to explore everything! I love that you take two great naps during the day so that I can work! I love that you stay up late at night, and talk, and play with mommy and daddy! You love to cuddle with daddy, and it makes my heart melt! I love being your momma! Thanks for making me smile today!

Dear Drew,

2010-11-05T22:14:00.003-06:00

Good luck cute little brother!!

Put on the whole armor of God!

(Tallahasee, Florida)

Sister Oliver, Me, Nichole Correy, Elder Brown, Elder Cazier

(Tallahassee Fifth Ward-Nichole was awesome!! This was her baptism day!)

Sister Power!!!
(Tallahassee Fifth Ward- We spent MANY hours using the Institute as a great asset to our work! We LOVED Institute!)

Me, Sister and President Bradshaw

I LOVED President and Sister Bradshaw. They were truly my parents away from home. They loved me and took such good care of me. I am so grateful I had such an amazing Mission President!!

I am so proud of you! I am so excited that you get to go serve a mission! And to think you are leaving on Monday morning, bright and early! Time goes too fast! I still think of you as being a little twelve year old, when I left on my mission!! :) When did you grow up?! SErving a mission is going to be such a great experience for you! My mission was the building block for the rest of my life. I remember how scared I was. I remember feeling super inadequate. I WAS super inadequate! I remember wondering what I was doing. I hate leaving my comfort zone, and the mission puts you out of your comfort zone for every minute of every day (well, almost!! I sure had some moments where I was with all the sisters, and we would just laugh and it felt like I was back at home with all my friends!).

I remember going tracting that first day, and someone starting to tell me things that threw me for a loop! I went home and studied Grace like no other! Especially serving in the Bible Belt, how could I not have thought that that topic would come up? But it did, and FAST, and I didn't know what I believed about it. I gained a testimony of grace VERY quickly!!

I remember the day, as a senior companion, when it was pouring rain, harder than cats and dogs, and we didn't have any appointments. We had to go out and tract, and honestly, I didn't want to. I was miserable. But I remember as we sat in our car, feeling the Spirit of the Lord come over me, and knowing that I had to get out there and tract, and that I could do it. No miracles happened that day, other than two sisters overcame self-pity, and worked hard because we were servants of the Lord.

I remember the first time I taught a discussion to someone that was truly interested in the Gospel of Jesus Christ! She was a miracle, she'd been going to church with her friend for months, and when my companion and I asked her if we could teach her, she said Yes! I remember when seh came to us, telling us that she was facing an incredible amount of stress from her family. I remember her telling us about the testimony she bore to them. I remember watching her get baptized, and the most amazing joy I felt!! I went the first nine months in my mission, not teaching very many people, and everyone we taught was promising, and then fell away. A year into my mission, I witnessed my first baptism, and then they came rapidly for the next few months. Each person had their own beautiful story, overcame amazing odds, and taught me amazing things. Each of them were why I had to serve a mission! And you know, even someone I taught the first nine months of my mission got baptized after I left the mission, and I was still thrilled!

To be involved in the Lord's work is amazing. There is heartache, there is fear, there is a desire to be lazy at times, but then you feel the Spirit come over you, comfort you, buoy you up, and fill you with a desire to teach all those you meet! The things that were hardest for me, were the things that helped me grow the most, and the things that I learned to love the most.

A mission was what I needed to teach me to trust in the Lord. He knows me, and He knows what makes me scared, He knows what I need help with. It taught me so much. I am so GRATEFUL that I was able to serve the Lord for eighteen months, and am thrilled for you to be able to go out and have your own amazing, growing experiences! Trust in the Lord, Lean not to thine own understanding and He WILL direct your paths! Going back out is probably going to be hard, but you know, now you can say that you KNOW, without a doubt, that this is where you need to be in your life. You can do it! I look forward to hearing all about your experiences!

Dear Matthew,

2010-11-02T07:44:00.003-06:00

How did I ever get so lucky to be married to you? These last almost seven years have been amazing and I have loved every minute of them! You are so loving and are such a wonderful father to our beautiful children. I thank my Father in Heaven for you every day. The journey has just begun, yet we fit together like we have been with each other for eternity! You are my perfect match! I love that we go out and do fun things with our kiddos! Watching you with them is the best thing in my life! I know that our kids love you with all their hearts, and it shows, because of how they light up when you come home from work! (Even if Matthew does get grumpy sometimes!) I love this stage in our lives SO MUCH!!! I love that we just want to be together!

I loved our adventures back East! Sometimes I wish we could still be there, in that time of our lives, because it was so fun to just go do what we wanted, whenever we wanted! It was so much fun to go travel as much as we did! It was such a wonderful experience, and I'm glad you went and "found a little wife" like your mom wished for! I loved being with you back there! I cannot imagine if we would have waited to get married. I know we made teh right choice!!

Wasn't this a wonderful day?! I still remember so many of the little details so clearly. I was so in love with you then, but that love has grown more than I ever thought possible!

I look forward to many more years with you! These ones we have had have been wonderful!

I am so THANKFUL for you! Thank you for all you do for me and for our family!

I love you mostest first!

Dear Andrea,

2010-11-01T14:48:00.003-06:00

It was so good to talk to you today! It made my whole day! I am thankful for your friendship, I am thankful to have you as my sister! I love that you can lift me up, and hopefully I can lift you up and make you feel better! You always make me feel good about where I am in my life, and you always know how to make me smile! I am very lucky!! PS, Can't wait to see you in December! YAY!!!
Melissa

Who knew?

2010-10-24T17:14:00.002-06:00

Who knew that it would take a couple months after losing someone you love, someone that meant so much to you, and someone who was such a big part of your life, to get back into the swing of things?! Losing Denise was so hard, but it didn't hit until about two months after. I still expect her to be there, laying on the couch, when we go see Marv and watch football. I still expect to see her cleaning on tuesday nights, the rugs strewn all over the couches because she is cleaning the bathroom, and the rooms. I still expect to be able to call her when I have a question with work, and have had to put the phone down a couple times because it was just natural to pick it up. I still expect her to call and say, "Why don't you guys come over to watch football and I will make appetizers for dinner!" I still expect her to call and ask if I want to go shopping. I still expect her to come out of the house when we pick Marv up to go to dinner on Fridays or Saturdays. I still expect her to come to Scripture Journaling at my house on Tuesday this week. (One thing that is going to be very difficult to not have her there. It has been our special "thing" together since it started a few years ago.) The holidays are going to be very different this year, one thing that I am nervous about. I ache whenever it hits me that she is really gone. I struggle when we go over to Marv's and I don't see her there. I sometimes feel her presence, it lingers in her home, and I know that sometimes she is watching us to make sure we're okay! I know that she would be SO PROUD of Marv! She was so worried about him, "who would clean the house?", etc. BUT, he has done such an amazing job! He is such a great father and granddaddy! We all love to be around him! We try to spend as much time as we can with him.
Life moves on. We have to keep doing the things we need to do in our lives. We as a family have done some pretty fun things the last little bit! Here are a couple snap shots of us!

We went to the "Fishy Museum" in Matthew-lingo, "Aquarium" for everyone else, with Grandpa. It was a lot of fun! Abby was completely fascinated with the fish. Too bad our yearly membership expired the next day!

We have had a lot of fun playing, doing crafts and just spending time together, being silly! We love family time!
One of our most favoirte things that we have done this Fall is go to Gardner Village as a family one evening! We had to go get Marv's birthday present, and so we decided to go there, get a Jim Shore statue, and then spend time walking around! It was so nice and relaxing! We love the Witches!!!

Isn't that the cutest picture ever? I love my family the most!!

We have had some great park days this year! It has been such a beautiful Fall! And we were determined to take advantage of it! I loved this picture of Abby, her first time by herself on the swings! I just love it, becuase she was giggling so hard! She is such a good girl, such a fun personality! We are constantly amazed at how much joy she brings us! She is moving all over, crawling everywhere, climbing where ever she can, in to EVERYTHING she can get her hands on, and smiling about everything! She is a lot bit clingy to me, but we are trying to nip that one!! And Matthew, let me just brag on him for a minute!! :) He is getting so big! He is in preschool and LOVING it! He had such a hard time adjusting to it at first, but now loves it. It has also helped with another problem area. We have had such a hard time getting him to go to Primary this year. It has been a huge struggle, so stressful for us as parents, especially when we have callings that do not allow us to spend class time with him. (Matthew is Ward Mission Leader adn I am the second counselor in teh Primary Presidency!) But, these last few weeks he has gone to primary without any prodding, it is just expected, and he knows it! I think we could have been in trouble had we given in and pulled him from preschool, but now he knows that we expect it, and that we expect him to go to primary without us! He has been so good, even running back to me saying, "I am having such a fun time, Momma!" *Sniff! My little boy is growing up!*

We have had a great time together lately! I love my family, and I am so grateful they are so patient with me! I have been so ornery, but they still tell me they love me, and are so great! I am so blessed!

Little things

2010-10-15T17:24:00.003-06:00

My favorite little thing this week was being able to pull Abby's hair back for the first time! It was a super tiny ponytail, but SO cute, and it made her look so much bigger! (Follow the link above to enter a giveaway for free Memory Mixer product by telling them what your favorite "little thing" has been this week.)

PS, have I told you how much I LOVE Memory Mixer? It is the BEST digital scrapbooking program ever! It is the program that I did Denise's book with, and all my scrapbooks for the last three years!!

True Beauty

2010-07-29T13:15:00.001-06:00

This was posted on NieNie's blog (an amazing woman, her blog link is on my sidebar!), as a video, but I didn't post the video. Perhaps I will add that link too!

http://www.lds.org/ldsorg/v/index.jsp?locale=0&sourceId=81e3f5036e881210VgnVCM100000176f620a____&vgnextoid=43d031572e14e110VgnVCM1000003a94610aRCRD

This was such a powerful talk. I think one thing that I have always struggled with in my life, is that I am very plain, my skin has always had many imperfections, now I am gaining weight faster than I care to even think about (and it makes me sicker than EVER!), I just have never been one of those "beautiful people." But, I realized after going through everything with Denise, that none of this really matters. Sure, I still try to take care of myself. I am a steward over my body, and need to continue to strive to lose weight, to make myself look nice, etc. But, we are all Children of a very loving, very caring Father in Heaven. The most important thing in life is to live our lives in the way that we need to in order to return to Him. I need to focus on the Gospel, studying my scriptures, applying the things that I learn. I want to do this. I don't HAVE to! I WANT to! I want to serve those around me. I saw the service that was given to Matthew's family, and stand in awe at the complete selflessness, the complete love, and want to be like those who served. It has made me realize my baptismal covenants, to mourn with those that mourn, and comfort those that stand in need of comfort, just by giving a hug. That's all we need sometimes! Sometimes all I need is just to have someone to talk to, so I need to be that listening ear for someone. I need to focus on teaching my children to be good people! I need to not go off the deep end when they wash their lunch dishes in the bathroom sink, because they are just trying to help! (which I did yesterday, yes folks, I earned the worst mother of the year award yesterday, and was called "freak" by my son, over and over!) I need to strive to have the spirit in my life, and have that spirit enter every part of our home, so that there is a feeling of peace and love for all who enter. I need to strive to be like our Father, and like our Savior. And in the end, it is the relationships that we have here on earth, it is the things that we did with what we have. And you know what, even though I am not "beautiful" in earthly standards, I am a Child of a loving, wonderful Heavenly Father, and I am comfortable with myself. I feel that love enter every part of me. And it makes the plainness go away! I am so thankful for the hard times in our lives. It helps me remember what is most important. Losing Denise has seemed surreal. I see her picture on the program from her funeral and I hurt, deep down inside. I can't believe my friend, my sweet mother in law is gone. I will miss her deeply. I will miss all the fun things we have done together. She has been such a big part of our normal, every day lives, stopping by as seh was out walking the neighborhood, going shopping at Tai Pan together, going out to lunch almost every saturday together, everything... I miss her so much. But, I know that Heavenly Father has a plan, and that this life is so short. It makes me want to savor each day with my children. It makes it easier to work at night so that I can be a mommy, instead of stressed about work in the daytime. It has helped define my priorities, as my family is all I have, all this worldly stuff is just stuff, and not important. It has helped me realize I need to keep records. (Denise was an AWESOME record keeper, and one day I would love to look back on what she wrote, what she found sacred, what made her tick!) I am so grateful for the hard times that help us to focus on what is most important. And, I am thankful for President Uctdorf's message on a day that I feel less than beautiful on the outside, but striving to do what is right on the inside. It made me feel beautiful for a moment! And it made me realize that life is beautiful!

He made it!!!

2010-06-28T18:45:00.001-06:00

Matthew made it through all but 2 minutes of church, the LAST two minutes!!! Perfect angel!! I knew he could do it!! He is such a good boy!!!

Just had to share our little victory!!

I love you the mostest, FIRST!

2010-06-25T15:54:00.004-06:00

I love being a mommy! I struggle some days. My little guy is a little difficult sometimes. He has a mind of his own and a stubborn streak that can make a person crazy! But, then he says things like, "Mommy, I love you the mostest, FIRST!" I tell you, he can melt my heart! He has been really super good this week. I have been really praying for him, becuase he has been such a nightmare in church lately, and I just pray that we can get him to go to primary. I think he might do it this week! (Keep your fingers crossed!) He has been so great, and obedient, and loving this week! I am in heaven! Also, Abby is a wonderful baby girl!! Look at this first picture of her, eating a pudding pop on her own!! (Yes, you too can make cute pudding pops!! Make vanilla pudding, separate into three containers, add whatever food coloring you want, and then layer them in ice trays! Freeze an enjoy!!) She wants to eat EVERYTHING I put into my mouth! We have started solids with her already, and she loves them the more we give them to her. She is so cute about it! She makes the best faces, but then wants more even when you think she thought that last bite was just disgusting! She is sleeping better, she is so smiley, she loves books, she is sitting better all the time, and hopefully soon will be able to sit up on her own! She talks very well (in her own way!), and is super interested in the phone and the computer! (should I be scared?!) She is so fun to have around! Even though she doesn't like when I work, and screams a lot when I do! Both my kids love to explore!! They are so fun to watch!

This is a random picture in the post. It is my dad's father's day present. We could have gotten him three MAJOR models that he loves to put together, and they don't have the chance at crashing, but you know, he wanted to go for the big one, and it might crash (and then we'll all cry!) but it was his dream gift!! So, he got it, and it is a happy birthday gift, too!! This thing is HUGE!!!
My mom and I took Matthew and Abby to Silver Lake this week. LOVED it!!! It was so beautiful! Matthew has not wanted his picture taken for the last few months (explaining NO pictures lately!), but that day he kept saying, "Mom, take a picture!!"
CUTE!!!

Grammy and Matthew with "orange teeth!" I love the way Matthew is looking at Grammy, wondering what he thinks about this!!

Andrea came to visit and Matthew LOVES Andrea (I can see why!) She is such a good Aunt! He monopolizes all her time when she is around. I love that he calls her "Andra." She is great!!

I couldn't move this picture to where I wanted to, so it is between the two with "Andra's" visit!

But, who could resist! Look what Abby found this week!! (and, do you notice that her hair is growing in? It is so cute!!!)Andrea, Lexy, Grandma, and Matthew in their Fourth of July hats!!! So cute! They had so much fun, throwing them up in the air, catching them on their heads, and saying, "Yahoo!!" Thanks for the fun game, Andrea!!

Hooray!

2010-06-14T11:08:00.002-06:00

We gave Denise the book yesterday. She LOVED it. We were all bawling. This whole thing has made me realize how important each little moment is in our lives. We need to take advantage of all the time we have with those we love. Life is too short to stay angry. Life is too short to hold grudges. Life is too short to not love. I have felt the most amazing peace lately, even with all that is going on. I am extremely grateful for the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the opportunity that I have to know of the Plan of Salvation. There is life after death. There is a work to do hereafter. We can be together with our families FOREVER! What a blessing it is! It sure makes losing a loved one easier. It will be hard to not have Denise around. (she is still here, but thinking for teh future) But I know that Heavenly Father has a plan for her, and that she is needed to work up in the Spirit World. We are so blessed!

The Project

2010-06-07T23:22:00.003-06:00

A little background. Last year in March, Matthew's mom was diagnosed with cancer of the esophagus. She went through chemo and radiation, and it was absolutely HORRIBLE on her body. She also had surgery last June to get it out. Well, time passed, she was free of cancer for a while, but still didn't live at her fast paced, active lifestyle. Just before Mother's Day she had some more tests (just a few months after tests were done, and she was still cancer free). The Thursday after Mother's Day we found out that the cancer is back. But not only in her esophagus. It has spread to her lungs, her stomach, her lymph nodes and her esophagus. So, she thought of all the options. But it is so aggressive, that she has decided that she would let it work its course. It has been a rough month to say the least. To watch someone you love as they are dying is really difficult. I miss Denise already, just because she is not able to do the things she loves to do, and really hasn't been able to get up to her full status for a year now. Her health has declined so rapidly in this month that it is amazing to think we just found everything out so recently. We were gone on vacation for a week and when we came back we were shocked to see how quickly she declined in just that week. I am so very grateful for the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Because without knowing the Plan of Salvation, and knowing that we can be together as families eternally, this would be so much more difficult than it already is. I ache for Marvin. I ache for her kids. I ache for the grandkids whose memories of her will fade over time, as none of them are very old. I ache for me, as I am losing a very good friend. I decided when we found out what was happening, that I would make her a book and get her husband, kids and grandkids to write letters and put pictures in, etc. I luckily have an AMAZING scrapbook program that I LOVE, and was able to get this thing going. I was going slowly, but after vacation and seeing her declining so quickly, I decided that this must be done this weekend. So, in four days I busted out this project. It is truly a labor of love, as I have spent over forty hours on this thing. I am just so grateful for her influence in our lives. She is a great person. I sure love Denise.

I will try to post the book later. I just realized that 36 pages of files this big would take me all night to upload. So not willing to do that right now, but I will see what I can get done here soon!
(I have tried twice this morning, and it will not let me upload them. I will try again soon!)

I have the cutest kids!!

2010-05-13T08:12:00.002-06:00

Isn't Abby cute?!

This is in April at my parent's home.
Salt Lake Temple
(yes, I took this! I am pretty proud of it!)

Ryley and Matthew were completely MESMERIZED by this statue of Jesus. Matthew kept saying "WOW!"
Mommy and baby Abby!

She has the most beautiful smile ever! This isn't even one of her best smiles!!

Miracles

2010-04-20T10:49:00.002-06:00

I just finished reading a friends blog post about the Staker Family whose little Bronson drowned in the bathtub, but made a full recovery, after being pronounced dead upon arrival from the hospital. I cried, and cried, and realized that though I have not had an experience quite like that, I have seen God's hand in my life many times. Then, I cried some more. I am so blessed! Even from birth, I was deemed a miracle child, having been born with a birth defect (my esophagus ended in a pouch, not conecting to the stomach). I still bear the scar around my chest and side of that reminder of God's love as I recovered. I watched my Grandma suffer from Alzheimer's. I was 19 when she moved in with my family as we took care of her. Even with her mind as far gone as it was, I knelt by her bed as she prayed, and felt the windows of Heaven open, as her mind cleared and she thanked the Lord for her family. It was the last time I heard my "old grandma," the grandma before the Alzheimer's. It was one of the most beautiful reminders of how much Heavenly Father loves each of us individually, and He knows our needs. He knows I needed that reminder of who my grandma, my beautiful grandma, was before that horrible disease took over. It was beautiful! SErving a mission showed me thousands of times how much the Lord watches over our every move. I am so thankful I was able to have that experience in my life. As Matthew and I lived Back East, we lived off of student loans. Nice, huh! Yeah, I didnt' even make enough to cover our rent. Talk about terrifying. BUT, we tried to live like we should. Before we were married, we went to see my Stake President, Alan Hansen, who gave us the best advice we ever received (or close to the best! Definitely super important!). He said that when times get hard, we should double our fast offering. We have done that twice in our marriage thus far, and have seen INCREDIBLE blessings because of it! We made it through Grad school, and still were able to do fun things! We were desparate for Matthew to get a job, and as soon as we showed our faith, and doubled our fast offerings, Matthew found a GREAT job, with great benefits! We have also been able to overcome huge financial hurdles only by the hand of the Lord. Frankly, I don't know how we made it this last year and still stayed in our home. But we did, and it is a miracle. Our children are miracles to me. Not long ago, I looked at Abby and the most overwhelming feeling of joy and gratitude came over me. I was able to assist in creating a beautiful baby! And she is beautiful! And Matthew is handsome (he informed me he is not cute, not beautiful, but handsome!)! And we get the beautiful blessing of assisting in creation! WOW!!! These are some of the things that have come to my mind. THANK YOU Lindsay for helping me remember what is so important! That we are loved and watched over by a very loving Father in Heaven. I am so blessed! There are so many other blessings, but these stood out in my mind today! And I am grateful!

St. George

2010-04-07T08:21:00.005-06:00

These are pictures of our fun St. George trip this weekend, but a little backwards! We were able to go down with my family which was super fun. We did a lot of fun things. The rest of the fam stayed in a beautiful condo, and we stayed in a hotel (there wasn't enough room in the condo). It was so great!

This is Matthew on the way HOME!

I love DVD players for the car! It sure helped!
This is before our Easter Egg Hunt.
Let me tell you, this was not the smartest idea. We decided to do the egg hunt ON Easter, but didn't think about it being a stressful time, with everyone trying to get packed and cleaned up, and the kids being hyped up on sugar from the morning. It was not good. As you can see, Matthew is crying, because "Ryley keeps getting all the eggs!" Matthew is still a little slow in this department. He just followed Ryley around, and then got upset everytime Ry found an egg. Well, I had to have him follow me, and then point them out. Too bad Abby was screaming, and I was trying to take pictures too. Yeah, that did not work too well! At least Matthew got some eggs!

Drew and Ryan took the kids swimming on Saturday night. It was so fun to watch...until Matthew almost drowned, luckily Ryan saved the day!

Here is Yarin (as Matthew calls her. He cannot say his L's!!) Lawrynn is so stinkin' cute!!

Saturday we decided to go to Zion's, along with just about everyone else in Southern Utah! We had a great time! I had never ridden the shuttle, and learned some very interesting facts. We hiked up to Weeping Rock and then we did the Riverwalk up at the Temple of Sinawava. They were both beautiful, and I loved getting out there! Matthew Jr. was a little out of control, and at Weeping Rock he was not paying attention to where he was going. He almost fell off a cliff, and actually his hand went over the barrier as he fell. I think I screamed really loud (if not, I was screaming inside!). The night before Matthew's Aunt had told us that she had been hiking Angel's Landing, going out to the last little bit, when all these people started coming back with ashen faces, and told them that someone had just fallen off of Angel's Landing. With that story still fresh in my mind, I was totally panicked when Matthew almost fell!!

My cute parents! (My Dad has a cute hairdo!! He couldn't get it to stay down that day!)

What Matthew did the entire time! RUN!

Weeping Rock

I LOVE my new infant carrier! It sure made hiking easier! We didn't have to worry about bringing the stroller, and I am so glad we bought this, so we don't have to take a stroller to Florida at the end of May!

Friday we went to Snow Canyon in the afternoon. This was probably my most favorite part of the trip! We went to teh Sand Dunes, but decided to hike back to the rocks and explore (which we later found out was against the rules! OOPS!). It was so fun!!!

We found a little cave and explored there for a while!

Here's proof that I made it all the way, even though I was scared of falling a few times, and almost didn't keep going because of that! Matthew kept me safe!

One of the scarier moments for me. Matthew took Matthew and Ryley down first, and then helped me come down a giant rock that was pretty steep!

I am Dum Dum, you give me gum gum. (Night at the Museum!)

The kids in Zions waiting for the group to catch up. (Sorry, this is out of order)

Matthew, Abby and I in Snow Canyon
This is how Abby looked on our hikes. She slept during the whole Zion's experience almost (until we got to the top of our second hike and then was inconsolable until seh was fed. I guess waiting five to six hours is too long for her!! I can't blame her! I had to RUN down the trail, and then feed her on the shuttle).
Matthew got to go golfing at Sky Mountain Golf Course on Friday morning with Emily, Ryan and Drew. He loved it. I think he needs to go more often!
Matthew LOVES hotels! He was in heaven! Did you notice his haircut?! It's about time I did it!
Anyway. that was our trip.

we got to go see Matthew's Aunt Brenda and Cousin Jim and his family. It was so nice to go to Brenda's BEAUTIFUL house and let Matthew run wild with some other kids, and eat pizza. We also went to the ARt Show while we were down there. It was a great trip, super relaxing, and nice! Thanks Urry Fam!!

Here's to a great thirty years!

2010-04-05T14:52:00.007-06:00

I cannot believe that I turn thirty years old this week! Crazy! I know it is not that old. I am actually comfortable with the thought. I have been so blessed in my life, and have had some great experiences! I have learned so much from everyone I know! I want to be like each of you! (Seriously!) Here are some blast from the past and not so past pictures!! There's a million, so beware!! Abby's birth

Matthew's birth

Williamsburg

Jefferson Memorial

Matthew graduates from Georgetown

Prague

Engaged!!!

Newlyweds!

My family loved spending time in the mountains when I was little. That love has carried on for my whole life!

This is on my mission. I served on the Florida State University Campus for six months of my mission. I LOVED this time in my mission!

Nichole was one of the people I taught that actually taught me. She is selfless, and loving, and has a very strong testimony of the gospel.

Dothan, Alabama

This was one area of my mission that I couldn't get out of fast enough! It was a rough six weeks, but I learned a lot, still!!

I served in Panama City Beach, which was beautiful! This was Christmas morning, and we ran on the beach for two minutes, snapped a couple pictures, and ran off the beach! I loved PCB!

My brothers and sister. We were young! (I think I was a Senior in high school, maybe a little younger!) You know, growing up we were friends, but not super close. As we grow older, I have really grown close to my family, and love them and respect them, and am so thankful for them. They are all great people!

The "Trailmaster" is what we were when we led the family on hikes. We all took turns, and loved the "responsibility!"

This is Zion's National Park, and I am pretty sure it is either at Weeping Rock or the Riverwalk at the bottom of the Narrows. This is me, Barry and Emily. Going back this last weekend was so fun, because it brought back memories!

Emily and I. SISTERS! :)

This is right before my mission. I don't know where Emily was, but we went to Temple Square to take pictures of me before the mish.

Garrett, Dad, Mom, me, Barry, Drew

Mae Funk (We were best friends growing up!), Emily and I on Halloween.

Christmas Morning Probably 1987

Notice the socks in my hair! That is how we used to curl our hair!!

Some of the Judy cousins. Grandma used to make our PJ's for us, or at least she did this year! I am the little girl on the bottom left of the picture! I love my big family! I loved being able to say, "I have 40 cousins on the Judy side (not including my family), and 27 cousins on the Urry side (again, not including my family). I love my cousins! They are all great! :) We still have Judy family campouts every year, and the Urry's get together at least once a year, too. I love my family! Just now, the get togethers are HUGE, because each of those cousins has their own family now! It is wild and crazy, and lots of fun!

Me at eighteen months or something like that.

Newborn

I can see Abby in my face here!!

This is only part of my life! I have a lot of in between years that I don't have pictures downloaded for. I have had a great life, seen great things, married the greatest man! I have the greatest kids, and I have the greatest friends! I am so blessed! Thanks for being a part of my life!

WOW!!

2010-04-01T09:46:00.002-06:00

It is amazing what upgrading your internet speed can do! I think I will start posting more often! It would take me an hour or more to upload pictures before, but it just took 2 minutes! YAY!! I thought you'd enjoy a couple pictures of our cute kiddos! (I guess I am a little biased!)

Here they are in their Easter clothes!
Here is Abby being super cute!! She is smiling now, and I just love it! I go crazy trying to make her smile, because it makes me so happy!
I must say that she is a pretty awesome baby! She sleeps almost through the night (all but one time waking up!, and that is around 5:00 in the morning!). She is so happy! She is a GOOD eater! She is only two months old (already? What?! When did that happen?!) but has almost doubled her weight. She weighed 6 lbs 6 oz when born, and now is 11 lbs 5 ounces! Crazy! CUTE GIRL!! Such a joy to have in our family!
Daddy and his girl!

Abigail Anne

2010-02-01T14:54:00.002-07:00

Hi there! Here is our little Abby! I will tell you about her journey to this earth!! (It was quite exciting!!)

We were told to go to IMC at 5:00 am. We were so excited. Labor was progressing nicely until about 9:00 when I got an epidural. Then, labor kind of stopped, and my blood pressure (which had been around 145/90-95) dropped to 90/50. Um, yeah, it was super scary. I almost passed out, I felt super nauseous, and just plain YUCKY!! They started to up pitocin, which made labor progress, but it was super painful, and didn't numb me all the way, so I felt an incredible amount of pressure. It was all I could do to breathe through the contractions. So, we redosed the epidural. Which, as you can guess, made my blood pressure drop again, and didn't even help. The contractions got worse, and before I was even dialated to a ten, I had to start pushing. It was so painful! It was like I had her naturally, even though I had had an epidural. Luckily I only had to push for 10-15 minutes!

She was perfect! When they laid her on me, I cannot express the love and awe I felt! A beautiful girl straight from a loving Father in Heaven .

Matthew wasn't allowed in the hospital at all, so this is their first meeting! It was a beautiful experience!! They were best friends at first sight!! He has been a wonderful big brother, which has been such a blessing!!!

Mommy and Daddy meet Abby!
(She was so super alert for a long time when first born! It was amazing!)

Comment Spam

2010-01-24T19:36:00.002-07:00

Sorry everyone. I have been having a lot of comment spam on my blog lately. I hate to do this, but I turned on word verification when you leave a comment, to cut back on them. I am sorry for the inconvenience (because I HATE word verification!), but hope that this works.

(Thanks for the tip, Angie!)

Getting ready for baby!

2009-12-17T20:20:00.002-07:00

Well, this is going to be a personal kind of post, just so that I can record what is going on with this pregnancy, and what I have been feeling. So, excuse the personal nature! You can stop now if you want to!!

This has been a very hard pregnancy for me. When I found out I was pregnant, Matthew was going through a stage that was so hard for me to handle. He was throwing major tantrums, and I just felt like there was no way I could ever handle another child, but it was too late for that. I am a person who likes to feel in control of her life, and to feel so out of control, and have a child who was totally impossible to control, I didn't know how I would do it! But, I did feel joy, and I knew that it was right that this baby come into our family. For all I know, maybe she will help calm a big brother down a little bit! That would be nice!! The first few months were filled with nausea that was almost unbearable. I handle it fairly well and didn't ever throw up, but wished I could have! I spent a lot of time laying down, and eating very small portions, and just wishing I could get over it! Then I hit the middle of the second trimester and things started to improve, for a while! I had a few weeks of actually really enjoying being pregnant! Then, I started swelling, EARLY!! And, I got the swine flu on top of it! Talk about just wanting to cry. Then the sciatic nerve started hurting, and me, having never experienced that before, wanted to die! The swelling is horrible now, the sciatic is still painful, the other hip hurts, and now I have carpal tunnel SO BAD in my right arm and hand, that it keeps me up most of the night, every night!!

BUT, through it all, I have been so excited to bring this little girl into our home, into our family, into our lives! I have been excited to have another baby in our lives. It is a little terrifying thinking about how to provide for another child. Babies are expensive, and we really cannot afford to have another one. But, I remember what a sweet friend told me when we got pregnant with Matthew (who we had a hard time fathoming the expenses with) that somehow it just works out. I know that "somehow" is by the power of the Lord blessing our lives. And it is true! We have felt it in every possible way. We were nervous about clothing this baby, and sure enough, someone in the ward was an angel and called and told me she had a bunch of clothes, a cradle and a bouncy chair for the baby! The clothes were beautiful, too. These dresses are to die for! I cannot wait to dress this little girl in them!! :) This last week we finally got the baby's room painted. I am so thankful for a brother who spent the day with me, and worked so hard to make this room look perfect. It was so nice to visit with him, and to spend time talking, which we have not done in YEARS! He is such a good guy, and I am very blessed to have him as a brother. Anyway, I will surely post pictures soon! We are getting there! And tonight we MIGHT have chosen a name. We have to "sleep on it" in the words of Matthew, so I will not tell you what it is. But, I have wanted this name the whole pregnancy!! So, that is exciting news!

Anyway! Baby girl is coming (hopefully early!! I can be positive, right?), and we are super excited for her, in spite of the problems that have come with this pregnancy! I would do it all over again to get her! I am ready for her to come and bless our lives! I can't wait to find out if she will take after her big brother, or be a calm little one (everyone PRAY that she is calm!).

Sorry this is so random, and so personal. I just had to write it down somewhere.

2009-11-29T19:23:00.003-07:00

Some pictures of our trip
Are you amazed that I actually got pictures up? It took FOREVER, but I wanted to get some up here for you! Look for details on the trip, and other happenings in the next post!

The top picture is Crystal Cove State Park. We had shakes at the Shake Shack two nights at sunset. It was so beautiful!

This is Matthew at Peterson Automotive Museum. He LOVES Herbie, and was so excited to see Herbie at the museum!

Riding the ferry to Balboa Peninsula! It was such a beautiful area! We loved it!

The guys at the Newport Beach Temple. It was so different in architecture, but still SO beautiful!

The sunset from the Shake Shack!

Matthew at Crystal Cove State Park Beach

(DANG IT!! I JUST DELETED THE PICTURE!!! SO SORRY! Maybe I'll try again another day!)
Matthew LOVED the beach!

The Aquarium in Long Beach. It was so fun!

Matthew LOVED playing in the snow a couple weeks ago!

Matthew and his friends at the ward party! Aren't they so cute!?

This was this last week, our family Christmas card picture! We were at Gardner Village and it was such a nice day! We had fun!

Yeah....

2009-11-29T18:45:00.002-07:00

Well, I apologize for the lack of posting. Our internet apparently is the slowest thing in the UNIVERSE, and to post anything, especially pictures, has been um, let's say complete MISERY, and takes far too long. If this posts, I will frankly be AMAZED!

Enough about the stupid internet...
We have had a great few months. The pregnancy has been going pretty well. These last few weeks have started to get very difficult. I have been super swollen, and it is starting to reach my arm and hand (right), so that I worry about work. I feel like it is asleep most of the time. We will see how this continues. Also, my sciatic nerve problems are horrendous. I never had this problem with Matthew, so this is new. It is super painful! BUT, we have a little girl that is growing and she seems to be doing well. She is kicking like crazy, and I am loving that! I remember how strange it felt when I had Matthew, and couldn't feel him inside me anymore. It made me a little sad. I know it will be the same again. I really do love knowing that I can have babies, and that is a great blessing!

Matthew has been such a little "Jekyll and Hyde" lately. He is so super sweet one minute and tells me how wonderful I am, and then he is ORNERY!! He is mean as can be, and is very physical. (by the way, this is Matthew JUNIOR!) I am struggling as a mommy, and praying that I can get through this stage. I think it is harder because my patience is so shot! I know that he is such a good kid, and is so loving. That is why I have a hard time when I have to take him out of restaurants as he screams, "Mommy, You are POOPY!!!" I hate feeling afraid to take him anywhere, even to my in-laws! Sad, but we will get through this. I know it is just a stage. He really is super cute, and is so sweet right now, sitting by daddy and relaxing while they cuddle and watch Santa Claus.

In September we went to California (Newport Beach) for eight days, and it was a fantastic vacation. We just relaxed, hung out at the beach, the resort was AMAZING!!! and we really enjoyed just spending time in our room. It was so nice to have three rooms in the hotel. We could sit in our living room while watching movies, they even had a DVD player, and then sleep in our rooms. I hate that about hotel rooms. We have to all lay on the bed and watch DVD's on our laptop. This was so much better! We had a kitchen, a dining room, two separate bedrooms, and two bathrooms. It was fantastic! We went to the Aquarium in Long Beach and went to Peterson's Automotive Museum in LA. It was a super fun trip, and so relaxing! I am sorry that I am not going to get many pictures up of our trip, if any!

We had a wonderful Halloween, and celebrated for a whole week (family parties, ward party, work party, etc.) Matthew was a cute skeleton and was so excited to scare everyone!

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We had my family over for dinner! It was a success! I even cooked my first turkey. Preparing it was TORTURE! Bleh! That is one disgusting thing to have to do! But, other than that, it worked out well! I assigned a lot of the things that had to be done that day out, and I just had to get appetizers ready, the turkey, and stuffing. It was so nice to be with family. We also had so much fun spending the week with Matthew's sister Andrea. She is great! We just love it when she is here! She even saved me one morning, when I couldn't get my little guy dressed before I had to be out the door to go visiting teaching. I was so thankful for her phone call at the height of my frustration, and that she ran over within minutes!! :) THANK YOU!

Black Friday was fun! And super different and short for me this year. I went with Andrea to Shopko. We were there right as the doors opened, and then home by 5:40. Usually I go with my mom and her friend Barbara, and we go to lots of stores. This year, being pregnant, not having anything we really wanted too much, and having a 3-year old who had the possibility of being impossible (who actually did FABULOUS!!!), we just kept it super simple. It was nice! We got some games for Matthew, and some PJ bottoms for really good deals. Nothing TOO exciting! Not like last year's "booty" but still got some good deals!

I got all my Christmas decorations up this week. Well, it took me a few days because I can't do a whole ton at once (I am too sore!), but it looks really nice!! I love Christmas decorations! I think it is so beautiful! One thing that we saw in Virginia all over, was candles in the windows, and wreaths on the doors, instead of lights all over. We decided to do that to our home, and it takes me back to Virginia, and brings back such wonderful memories! It is different, but I love it! I also love driving around the neighborhood and seeing Christmas lights all over! I think I want to head to the Christmas Utah House (or whatever it is called!) within the next week before everyone decides to head over there! It is a house that has a musical light display, and it is amazing!! I love this time of year!

We are working on getting the baby's room put together. It has been super slow, but the ceiling is finally fixed, and we just need to paint and get everything put together! I have been trying to get things in the house organized. I guess the nesting has really kicked in. I just feel a super push to get it done, even though it has been a little difficult! It has been good!

Anyway, that is what has been going on in our lives (it is a little bit brief, but still long enough!). It has been a good few months, and I am so blessed to have such a wonderful husband and son. It has been great spending time with them. They are the BEST! We have been blessed beyond measure! What a great few months!

A little of This and That!

2009-09-09T14:01:00.005-06:00

Here we are on the Mormon Pioneer Trail up at the top of Big Mountain Pass. This is a hike I would really love to actually do! We went on a drive up East Canyon for Matthew Sr.'s birthday, and got out to walk along the trail a little bit! It was absolutely GORGEOUS!! I can't wait to go back when the leaves are changing! It will be even more beautiful!!A fun adventure! I have never been to Kennecot, and I have lived in SLC most all of my life!! So, Matthew said we needed to go. Pictures really do not do the canyon justice, so I didn't even post them!!! But, here is one of my cute guys on the edge of the big "HOLE"! This was such a fascinating adventure! I LOVED the little museum! I learned a lot! It was super fun!

Golden Spike National Historic Site
That same day that we went to Kennecott, we got home and found out that there was a Railroader's Festival at Golden Spike National Historic Site. So, we decided that since we had all afternoon and evening free, we would be spontaneous for once in our lives (so not for once in our lives, but it doesn't happen very often, especially big adventures like this, with a little guy!) and go play! We drove all the way out there (which it really is in the middle of no where!!!). It is, once again, another place I have never visited, though I have lived within two hours of it most of my life!
I think the only way to do this place is when they are having this festival! It is only free on that day, you actually get to get on the trains, and they have tons of free things to do and see!! Most of the time it costs money just to go and see the trains, without even getting on! It was a really fun thing to see the demonstration of what happened that day, and to learn about that important event in history, the driving of the Golden Spike! Pretty cool!

These two were super excited!

Judy Family Reunion
These were taken at my mom's family's reunion. We went up to East Canyon, right below the reservoir. I did not stay overnight, but I did go up two of the three days. Above, are Matthew playing on the beach, and then my cute brother Barry pulling Matthew around on the boogie board! He is so good with the kiddos!! Matthew loved this until he fell under water!!

Isn't that such a cute smile?!

Matthew playing with my cousins kiddos!! It was so fun to see everyone, and to have the kids play together!

A while ago we decided we had not seen enough of the fun things here in Utah, and were keeping ourselves locked up!! :) (Not really locked up, but we didn't sight see in UT! Well, here is one of our adventures! We went to the planetarium. Here is Matthew walking on Mars!

And here is Matthew Sr. walking on the moon!

Another thing we did was hike Cecret Lake. Let me tell you, this was not an easy hike for me!! It was easier than last time I hiked this (probably because last year I was carrying a little boy the entire way, almost!). But it sure was beautiful! The guys hiked out in front of me, while I took pictures from behind (when I was close enough to take pictures!)!

This is a horrible picture of me, but it is PROOF that I made it up the mountain! And that last little bit was a killer!

Matthew building "towers" on the beach!

Isn't this the greatest picture of these two ever? I totally love it!! They really are best buddies!

Yesterday I went to Gardner Village, after much prompting from a certain someone smiling below!! :) He loves that place! It was truly one of the most relaxing little side trips to Gardner Village we have ever had! Matthew was SUPER good, and he is finally to the stage where he wants his picture taken! :) I love it! We just sat, ate our lunch, went to the Christmas Store which is the whole reason Matthew loves going to Gardner Village! They have the best christmas village stuff, and we seriously spent an hour in the store looking at their villages! They even have the most amazing halloween village, that I wouldn't mind getting one day! :) (Yeah right! like I could afford that!!) We then just hung out, went to the candy store, each picked out a candy, and sat and ate our treats. It was so nice!!!

"Mommy, take a picture!" and then he stood there until I took it!! LOVED IT!!!

Don't you just love this red door? It reminded me of pictures my friend Janae takes, and I had to try it!

Can you guess what Matthew's treat was? Yeah, a sucker, ROOTBEER nonetheless! (If you know this kid, he is a rootbeer FANATIC!)

Since we were close to the Jordan River Temple, and Matthew had never been there, and LOVES temples, we decided to head out there. He loved to smell all the flowers!

He was so good, so reverant and respectful! It was so fun! And he even sang, "I love to see the Temple" as we pulled up! What a sweet boy!

We have had some super fun adventures lately! I just love living in a place that has such beautiful places around!

2009-08-17T13:47:00.005-06:00

Urry Vacation
Matthew Jr. and I went with my family down to Fremont, Utah for a family vacation. My brothers Barry and Garrett are working at this beautiful cabin, and we were invited to come stay with them over the 24th. Barry treated us so well, and we had a lot of fun. That first night that we got there, we went on a 16 mile four wheeler ride. I was lucky and got to ride in a golf cart type thing that Barry drove. Matthew and Ryley sat on the back. I felt lucky, because though I got dusty, It was not nearly as bad as those who rode the four wheelers behind us!!!
Here are my dad, Emily and Lawrynn, and my mom getting a lesson on four wheeling from Barry. Matthew and Ryley on the ride.

Lawrynn joined us and I don't know how, but her and Matthew had a good little nap!!

We went and saw some petroglyphs and then went and ate dinner on a cliff, overlooking Fremont Valley. It was a nice evening! Matthew was such a good boy!

Here is the valley that the cabin is in. It was beautiful. We had to hurry back down, because we thought we were going to get a MAJOR rain storm. We were blessed to get back safely without too much rain!

This is Goblin Valley
We really were worried, because it took us 2 and a half hours to get there, and I was just hoping that it was cool, and worth the five hour drive!
Well, it was! It was such a neat place! Beautiful, and out of a story book! No wonder so many film crews film there!

My cute brother Barry. He took such good care of us this trip!

This was so sad. We had walked a long time in the middle of the day heat, and even though we had been drinking water, it wasn't enough. Matthew Jr. started slowing down (which is rare!), and turning bright pink. I got so nervous. My dad said, "We need to get him back to the car right now". So, he and I took him to a little cave for a second, let him cool down a bit, and forced some water down in him. He was having a hard time walking, so I went to pick him up, and my dad told me that I could not carry him that far. So, he put Matthew on his shoulders (which was huge, because Matthew is heavy, and my dad has a bad back, and gets sore so easily). As you can see, Matthew started looking pretty bad, it scared me! We hiked as fast as we could in that heat, and got back to the car, turned on the air, and forced drinks down him! He started perking up very quickly, so I felt super blessed! I almost killed my child at Goblin Valley!!! Lesson, take lots of water, and drink tons, and probably you should not go in the middle of the day!!

After we got back from Goblin VAlley, we decided to go to Fish Lake while my dad, Barry, Emily and her kids fished. It was a beautiful, peaceful evening (until Matthew started screaming and throwing his major tantrum!!!).

Barry let Matthew back the tractor out of the garage so we could get the four wheelers out. I thought it was so cute of Barry to make sure that Matthew got that ride, because he loves tractors so much!!!, As you can see by the smile on his face!!

Okay, so one thing I have LOVED this year, that I did not think I would, is gardening. Here is some of the fun stuff in our garden!
We have gotten so many tomatoes!! We planted two cherry tomato bushes, which we will not do again!! We cannot give them away fast enough!!!

Here is a cantaloupe!! CANNOT WAIT!!!

Here is one of our 3 very large watermelons!! Yahoo! I cannot believe how big they are getting! I hope they are as delicious as they look!

Here is one of two or three honeydew. Not the biggest fan, but it will still be super yummy!

Okay, this picture is in the middle of our garden pictures! We took the futon out of Matthew's room, and put a little bedside table with a lamp, and a little dresser. It looks so much better, more grown up!!

Okay, back to the garden!
I loved this shot of one of our tomatoes growing!

We have a lot of green peppers.

Anyone know what to do with some jalapenos? Or even want jalapenos? We have a TON and they are huge!!

Our Juliet Roma tomatoes!

For our fifth anniversary, we went to Park City. We decided to take the little guy with us (which we probably will not do again!!). We had a lot of fun! We decided to ride the Alpine Slide that first night we were there. Here are my cuties at the bottom! Matthew Jr. did really well. I did not think he would enjoy it, but he LOVED it!!!

Ready to go swimmin'! The pool in the hotel was awesome! Matthew Jr did not want to leave, and even through a screaming tantrum all the way from the pool to our room, that was a lot of fun!!

Walking around Main Street we met a bear!!

...And a moose!

This is out of order, but this is us getting ready to go
on the Alpine slide! Don't mind me, looking 9 months pregnant when I'm only 3 in this picture!! Man!!

Yahoo!!!

2009-07-13T20:01:00.003-06:00

Okay, We have been doing something fun!!
Don't you just love this top picture? Matthew was so tired after church one day he came in and just fell asleep as soon as he came in. BUT, the reason I posted this picture, was so that you can see the "before" of our stairs. Notice the ugly blue carpet. Okay, so it was not too bad for the person that lived here before us, because her decor was blue and white. So, it went! But, our decor is tan and red and black! So, we finally, after a year and a half, checked out prices on runners, and found the most AMAZING deal! We bought it immediately!

So, here is our "after"!

Isn't it an amazing difference?!! We are so super excited!

Camping and Lagoon

2009-07-05T11:02:00.003-06:00

Here are the pictures from our ward campout! It was actually after Lagoon, but I didn't think about that when I added the pictures! I am not good at moving them around! :)
We camped at Jordan Pines up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was so nice!! It was a beautiful, big camp site. We thought we were going to be one of the only ones, but it ended up a few more families came!
We went to hike Doughnut Falls in the afternoon. Matthew is such a good little hiker! He took a minute to get into it, but then did really well!Here are Matthew and Daddy at the Falls! It was so beautiful up there! And, look at these two cuties!

This is the next morning. Matthew was so cute! He was a filthy mess, but he enjoyed himself!

Okay, so this is our friend Easton. I could not resist taking this picture and putting it on here! He looked like a mini movie star!! He is so funny!!

This is our little family!! I love this picture, even though I look horrible!! :)

Okay, so these pictures are BACKWARDS!
Oh well!!
This is right before we left Lagoon. They skies got very dark, and Matthew is very afraid of the wind and rain. He looked so scared and sad, and I had to show this! I thought it was kind of a cool picture!Matthew LOVED the rides this time! We ended up getting just Matthew Senior a ride pass, and then bought a couple tokens for Matthew and I to ride some rides. A lot of them just let Matthew on, actually! Going on a Wednesday night was FABULOUS!! We just walked right on rides! It was so fun!

We ended up going with Matthew's brother Nathaniel and his family. This is Matthew and Jarom on the train! They were both so excited!

Here are Jarom and Matthew on the Carousel!

Matthew does not look super happy in this picture. BUT, he was!!! Last time we went to Lagoon he wanted to ride in these cars so badly, and we just didn't have time. This time, we did, and he LOVED it!! He was so excited! He wanted to ride in the red one, so we let people go until the red one came around!

We were very impressed with Lagoon. I know you pay a lot to get in (usually!), but they have improved it so much! It was a lot of fun! One day when we have older kids, we want to get season passes for a year! It was a lot of fun, and we did a lot in such a short time! :) It was wonderful!

Adventures of the Ash Fam

2009-06-29T08:25:00.003-06:00

This is the first adventure that we found out about lately. We are excited. There are times, though, that I am very nervous. I get nervous because we have a two year old that is sometimes totally out of control. He can be so mean, and do such scary things. For example a couple weeks ago, we were in Albertson's, and the little guy was walking around with Daddy. Then he started running. Matthew followed a little behind him, but eventually lost sight of him. I saw him take off toward the Redbox, which is one of his favorite things, so I went running. Well, I got to Redbox and he was gone. So, I went running out to the little outside room that has the carts in it (and also a bunch of candy machines, which he has run to before), but no Matthew. I was terrified. I looked outside, but did not see him. Then a lady came running in, and asked if it was my little boy that ran away. I told her yes, and she said he had run out and around the corner. I NEVER would have found him if it were not for that angel, or the angels that stopped him when I yelled for him to stop!!! I have never been so terrified! He rides in the cart when it is just he and I, and he holds Daddy's hand when it is both of us with him now. Also, My mom and I went to IKEA with him, and it was a total nightmare. I got out of the store and just cried. I realized at that point that I could not change that I have another one coming, and I have to tame some horrible habits NOW!! He is a little ball of fire. A cute one, but still, watch out for him!
Another thing is, that he does not sleep through the night consistently yet. Talk about annoying!! It makes me so nervous! I think we are going to have to put the baby downstairs with us for a while, because I just have a feeling that I will be getting up with both kids if the baby is upstairs! I hope this baby is a lot more calm than Matthew, and is a little bit better sleeper.
I do not mean to ever rip on Matthew. He is such a sweetheart! He is a lovey, wonderful boy! He is so smart, and he is so fun! Some days he is just a little more than I can handle!!
Also, I have been organizing the house so that we can be ready for a new baby. We have two extra rooms, but they are so full of stuff, and so I wondered how we would get everything in!! But, after a LOT of work, I think we should be able to get the baby's room together. We even started working on Matthew's room done, so that we can work on the baby's. I don't know if you can remember the horrible "curtains" (if that is what you could call them) in his bedroom, but we went ahead and checked things out, and actually spent just a small amount of money to get blinds. It is amazing how some things cost so LITTLE and we just haven't looked into it because we thought it would cost so much!! We put the blinds up, and his room looks so much better! Now we just have to buy one more set of blinds for the baby's room, and we are good in that respect. Then, we also are looking in to moulding around the windows, which costs SO LITTLE!! We are excited to do that!! It has been fun starting to get things pulled together!
Also, another fun project (since I am off on that tangent a little bit!) we finally pulled the nasty blue carpet off the stairs and found a runner for so CHEAP, that looks SO nice! We are going to paint this weekend, and then put the new carpet down! I cannot wait!! Anyway! So, we are working on the little things to get the kids rooms looking nice.
I have been pretty sick during this pregnancy. I have been so nauseous that food just does not sound good at ALL most of the time. But, I have to eat, or else I am so much more nauseous. It is kind of a yucky cycle. A friend told me about "Preggy Pops" or something like that. She has a couple of them for me to try, and I am excited about that. Hopefully they take away my nausea! I see the doctor this week, which will be good! I had to get a new doctor because my old one is not delivering babies after September. That does no good for me! Plus her whole office is moving out to Riverton HOspital, which once again, is no good for me! And Alta View was totally out of the question for me. The rooms are horrible. So, hopefully IMC is nice!!
Anyway, we are excited to have another baby around!!

Sorry, this is going to be a long, wordy post, because I have not taken many pictures lately!! And, there are so many things I want to remember!

Another thing that has happened lately, is that Matthew's mom went in for her surgery to get rid of her cancer. They believe that they got it all, which is such a blessing. She is still in the hospital, two weeks later, but should be home soon. She has had a few complications, but is looking fantastic, and is doing well.

Our next adventure was that Matthew went to camp last week. I was totally scared to not have him around because he is such a great help with Matthew, and the only one he listens to sometimes!! But all was well. Matthew just is not a big camper, and really struggles with it, but he did okay. He said that there was a lot of sun, and being out on the boat at Flaming Gorge was very HOT, so he stayed in camp the last couple days and just swam and hung out with the boys that did not want to boat. The last night the boys did the wilderness survival merit badge, and they got soaked in the horrible rain. He felt so bad for them. Luckily we have good boys in our ward and Matthew enjoys hanging out with them!

While Matthew was gone, we stayed busy at home. We spent Monday at my parents, hanging out, made them dinner, etc. Tuesday, we went downtown to see the JOseph Smith movie and then go to Olive Garden with my family before Drew went into the MTC. It was such a nice evening. We missed Barry, Matthew and Ryan. Then, that night, we went to Drew's Setting Apart. For those of you who don't know what that is, he was ordained a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and was given a blessing that talked about him being able to accomplish all that he needed to on his mission. It was such a neat meeting. Garrett, my other brother, came home from his mission early, due to health issues. He talked to Drew about how every missionary goes through a low point on their mission, and to stick it out. He said he regretted it, and I thought that was such good advice from Gar. He is such a good guy! Drew looked nervous, but at the same time, he looked so good, so ready to be a missionary! He is so great!! Wednesday, we just hung out at home. Thursday night we went up into the canyons with my mom and cooked tin foil dinners and played games. It was SO FUN!! It made me realize that we need to do that more often. We thought it would rain on us, but it was so gorgeous! What a nice night! Plus, my mom slept over that night, which was nice. Friday, Matthew came home and we were so happy about that! It is so nice to have him home again! We missed him tons!

Those are our adventures from the past few weeks!! Sorry this was so long, but I just had a lot to say! Fun stuff coming up in our lives! Look forward to a post about Lagoon and the ward campout this week!!! I promise to take pictures!! :)

Shelf Reliance Harvest 72" Giveaway

2009-06-16T15:59:00.002-06:00

For those of you who don't know me, lately I have become very excited about food storage. I was introduced to a program called Grocery Smarts by my friend Lara, and LOVE to grocery shop now, because I can buy $300.00 worth of groceries for $70. (I did this two weeks ago!) I get all sorts of dry goods that I can store, and I think it is wonderful! I think one thing that was so daunting about food storage was the fact that the Church talked about a years worth of Food Storage, as being beans, wheat, flour, rice, etc. I just do not enjoy all those things a whole lot, and so I just never really WANTED to do it! But, since the Church came out with the new food storage plan, of putting away at least three month's food that you eat on a regular basis, I CAN do that, and have!! (almost! There would be a few things I would miss terribly!! Gotta start on my water storage!!) It is more than food, too, it is toiletries, etc. Anyway! I could sing praises to Grocery Smarts all day!!! But, as you probably have found out, food storage takes a lot of room!! I would LOVE to win this 72"Harvester from Shelf Reliance!! It would make life so much easier!! I hope they pick me!!!

Look at this cute face!!!

2009-06-05T12:47:00.002-06:00

How could anyone resist giving this Ravioli Face kisses? I sure couldn't!!!!My super cute little brother Drew went through the temple on Wednesday! I am so grateful I was able to go! I can't wait for the day when my whole family can go to the temple!! It is such a beautiful place, and so peaceful. I think Drew was a little overwhelmed, but who isn't after that learning overload the first time!!?

This is my Mom, Dad and Drew outside the Draper Temple.

Me and my cute little Drewby who is not so little anymore!!! I can't believe he leaves on his mission in less then three weeks!!

Look at this cool shot!!

The cute "Mish-nary!"
This is his new suit, and I think he looks so good in it!! What a cutie!
Can you tell that Drew and I get along really well? He has always been my little buddy!

Random Stuff!

2009-05-25T17:07:00.004-06:00

Kelsi, Me and Lara.
Last weekend I "ran" in a 5K at Thanksgiving Point. I say it "ran" because I ran for about the first mile, and then got a major, major shin splint. I could barely move. Dang! I even added 4 minutes to my last time in this same 5K, and I have been training for this one. I didn't train for the other one. Oh well! You learn that you have to buy new, REAL running shoes (not just $13.00 Target Specials!), and then you cannot train on an eliptical (which I can do a 5K on in 35 minutes, not the 44 minutes that I did in the real one!!). You have to actually do road running to train! I am planning on doing a couple 5K's a year to keep myself in shape! I need motivation to get to the gym, and hopefully that will be it!! I bought the new shoes today (more then I have ever paid for shoes, and the difference is AMAZING!! I think running will actually be nice in them!), and might even take a run tonight!!

Saturday we had a BBQ at our house with the Ash Family (at least some of them!). It was REALLY a nice evening!! We had a very yummy dinner (thanks to Andrea and her yummy hamburgers that she sent!), and ended up making snow cones! Crystal and Nathaniel had the funnest snow cone machine (yes, we want one now!!), and even had the fun flavorings! It was a huge hit!
Here are the kiddos eating their dinner!

Snow Cone Time!

Today was a much needed vacation!! I have to start off saying that my usual routine is to put off work on Friday, and do it on Sunday morning before church, or whatever. Well, this weekend, I had the Primary Activity (a HUGE success!!) Saturday morning, the BBQ SAturday night, I spoke in church on Sunday, so I needed that time to finalize my talk, and I actually wanted to have a holiday, so I worked on Friday and got it done! So, today was the best holiday! We got up fairly early, Matthew put up flags in the ward and then helped someone move (he is the best!), and then we were on our way to Park City. We first went to Baja Cantina. (Sorry, Cheryl! We found out that we really like it and really want to go again!! Let's go soon!!) It was FANTASTIC!! Oh my! SO yummy! Plus, Matthew Jr. was so good in the restaurant, which is totally a miracle for him! We had almost gotten to the point where we didn't want to take him anywhere!

After Lunch, we walked up to the bottom of the Alpine Slide, and looked around! Matthew LOVED this "digger!" We had a lot of fun just looking at all the different things up there!

Then we stopped at the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory! Talk about YUMMY! We never buy treats from places like this (or rarely, anyway!), but since we were out playing, we thought it would be fun!

Then we headed to the Outlet Malls! It was such a nice day! We tired Matthew Jr. out, and then came home and took naps! It has been a fantastic day!!

Here is the latest in the yard. It is starting to really become our vision!! We love it!
Before the BBQ we flattened the area around the patio, laid bark around some of it (we still have an area that we are going to brick up a little bit!), and laid our stepping stones. Don't they look good? Matthew also worked hard this week to build our raised flower bed! We still have to buy some topsoil, and plant flowers in it, but it will be really nice when it is done! Now we only have three areas in the yard that need major overhauls, and really they should not take us TOO long to finish!! To have a finished yard will be a complete miracle! Mind you, we still want to put up a fence along the back, and put up a gate. We still have other projects. But, the major landscaping is almost done! YAHOO!!! I told Matthew I never want to move again, because I never want to have to do this much work on a yard again!!!!

A close up of our stepping stones, raised flower bed, and patio!!

2009-05-19T21:28:00.005-06:00

This is the beginning of a big project!!
Here are all the pallets of brick that were waiting to be made into a patio, plus more!

Here is the beginning of the patio. Are you amazed? Look at this area all cleaned out, no weeds! It is a total miracle! :)

The finished patio
Matthew really was a Master Brick Layer! He seemed to know just what to do! He whipped this 12x12 patio out in three nights! I helped of course, but still, amazing!! He did all the hard work! I married a pretty amazing guy! He is very talented! Last night he put a retaining wall around all the dirt that is sitting at the end of the patio there, and so now we have a raised flower bed! Pictures of that to come soon! I am so excited to have a nice place for a table, etc. Hopefully we can get a good deal on a really nice gazebo now!! :) Especially since the patio is in full sun!

Cute boys!
Matthew sure loves his friends! B, Licious and Matthew sure have fun together!

Look at this precious face!! Isn't he a happy boy?!

Matthew and Aunt Chelsea! He loves Chelsea!
We got to go to Gardner Village and eat with Chelsea, and Matthew's Cousin Jim and his wife Eliza and their little girl Elise. It was a crazy dinner, but so fun! Thank you for the good time. (And once again, I failed to get pictures with Jim and Eliza. Dang! I miss it every time we get together!)

Playing at the park!

Aunt Andrea came to SL to see the family, and especially to take care of Denise. I have not written anything about it, but Matthew's mom found out she has Esophageal Cancer in February (I think!). It has been a lot tougher then we realized. Luckily she is healthy, and has not had an extremely horrible time (I mean, it has been horrible, and at one point I really worried about her, but it could be worse.). She is doing well now, getting ready for surgery in June, and recovering from Chemo. We find out soon what the chemo and radiation did for her.

Anyway, Andrea came out to spend time with her mom, and we got to hang out too! We sure love when Andrea comes to town! We wish she lived closer! (We understand why that is not possible, too! We just love and miss you, Andrea!) Here are the two buddies reading a book! She is such an amazing Aunt!! Plus her graduate studies in child language really give me a good feel for how Matthew is doing in his language, and she gives me a lot of good advice, and I learn a lot as she talks to the kids! She is amazing! We can't wait to see you again!!!

Okay, this is a before, before picture. Sorry, these are super backwards! This is before we even did work on the side of the house! Look how green our lawn was! Next year, sprinklers will go on earlier!!

Look at these beauties!! Matthew did an amazing job building them for our garden! I am so excited! Plus, to get such a big area of the yard cleaned up was so nice!

Oh, these make me so excited! My cute littlest brother (who is not so little now) got his mission call a month or so ago! He is going to the Chile Rancagua Mission! He leave on June 24th! Soon! I got to spend a day with him getting his passport stuff, and it was so fun! We sure love Drewby, and are going to miss him! He is such a good kid, with his head on straight! His priorities are so good, and he is just good down to the core! I love him, and know he will be a great missionary!

Yuck! Look at how yucky it was before we did the work!! Here are the boxes ready to go in!!

Matthew and my Momma at Murray Park! She is so wonderful!

Look at this monkey! He makes my heart stop with how brave he is!!!

Fun Easter Eggs! Look how sparkly they are!! I think I will do this every year! But, it also makes it hard to eat such pretty eggs!

Matthew sure did not like biting into the egg! :) Here he is Easter Morning! It was a good day. Too bad Daddy was sick. We had Easter basket time in our bed, which was kind of fun!

2009-04-28T13:52:00.001-06:00

Update coming soon!! I am sorry! I have been so bogged down with work, and then have been lucky enough to have family in town, so I am really working on getting a new post soon!!! Thanks for being patient with me!!

A Day on Temple Square!

2009-04-07T08:23:00.003-06:00

Isn't the Temple beautiful?!

Matthew LOVES the Temple, and being on Temple Square! He was so much fun this day!

Ryley and Matthew, the buddies! I loved the spring flowers!

This is at the Church History Museum. They have the BEST kids section! They just played and played, and could have spent even longer there!

Matthew taking good care of the baby!

Ooops!! Guess he still needs some work!! :)
I laughed so hard when he did this!

OKAY, these next two are totally out of place! Sorry!
This was a day that I was trying so hard to not put him down for a nap, so that he would go to sleep early. Well, so much for that!! He just could not hold out any longer!!

Another "No Nap Day!!" Matthew was pretty talented, eating his dinner with the little guy leaning on him like this!! It was so cute, I couldn't resist!

Back to the Church History Museum!
They have a big "Lehi's Dream" set that the kids could dress up and act it out!
We could not believe that we could get the kids to dress up!
If you want to read Lehi's Dream, click here.

Matthew partaking of the Fruit of the Tree of Life, that was beautiful above all that was beautiful! What a sweet little guy we have!

The table with the cars on it! He loved this area! "The cars are going to the Temple, Mommy!"

Last but not least, I forgot to post pictures of Matthew "building a temple with blocks!" He is so cute! He was super excited, and could have "build temples all day!" as he put it!

I never got to put up on here what we did a couple weekends ago that was so nice. First of all, I must give some background. Matthew's mom found out that she has Esophageal Cancer last month. It has been very hard. Chemo and radiation have been very difficult for her. We have been praying like crazy, and just hoping things would be okay. She has done fairly well with her treatments, but has been super tired.
They had Opera Season Tickets, and couldn't got to The Marriage of Figaro because Denise was so tired. So, they offered to watch Matthew, and then let us go! It was so nice! WE went to Lamb's Grill for dinner downtown which was super nice! Then we went to the opera, which had to be one of my favorites that I had seen! So funny!!
Thanks for the great night out. We are sorry you could not be there Marv and Denise! We love you and you are in our prayers!

Our Latest Adventures!

2009-03-22T09:33:00.005-06:00

What we've been up to!

I made this super cute picture fold out "thingy" with my mom while Matthew was away at a winter's camp! I finally got pictures! I didn't post the picture of the other side of this, but it turned out so good!! I finally made something that I really am pleased with. Usually when I do something with my mom, I feel only half pleased with it, because she is so talented at things like this! Mine never look half as good at hers! So, I was very happy with how this turned out!
Thanks for the fun, Mom!My mom and I took Matthew, Ryley and Lawrynn to Cabela's. It is so fun to go and see the animals and buy treats! (Friday's my mom babysits, and we usually go do something really fun together! That is why my sister is never with us in these pictures!)

This week some of the friends that I made in Virginia came over. We have all since moved back here to SLC (well, Lisa is in Provo!), and it is so fun to get together! I love these girls, they helped me so much while so far from our families! They became family! Lisa and I were visiting teaching partners and were pregnant at the same time! Sarah and I-well, we lived parallel lives for a while!! They lived in Matthew's ward here in SL, then we moved in to the same apartment building, within a week of each other in DC. Then, we both got jobs at the same elementary school as aides! We drove to work together, and we also moved back to SLC within a week of each other!! So fun! It was so good to see our friends!

This is Matthew and Sophie (Lisa's little girl!)
Aren't they CUTE?! They played SO WELL together!

Mason is Sarah's little boy and he is SO CUTE!! He wanted to move constantly! He was so fascinated with everything new! So fun!

Sarah and Mason, Lisa and Travis, Me
Thursday we went to the park with my friend Karen that I grew up with! It was so fun to visit! Matthew had so much fun! I guess this would be our first park outing of the year! I LOVE SPRING!!!! It is making it very difficult to work, because I just want to be outside! We stayed at the park for THREE HOURS!! I just could not bear to go home!!!

This was just too cute to leave off!!!

This is our first zoo trip this season! I loved it because it was the first time Matthew was without a stroller! He did so well! He LOVED watching the animals! (although he did like to move through each exhibit quickly!)
Look Mom!! Turkeys!

He just stood there and posed for me! He is so cute!
He does this thing, lately where he picks his lip! Here he is doing it!

Me, Matthew, Ry and Lawrynn! We have so much fun with these two and my Momma!!

Matthew on the Carousel! You can see my mom, and niece and nephew in the background!

Matthew the turtle!
This is the first time we have played on the playground at the zoo, and the kids loved it!

The Itsy Bitsy Spider!

Mom and Lawrynn on the train!

Matthew and Ryley waiting to get movin'!

St. George trip plus some!

2009-03-03T12:02:00.006-07:00

I love this picture!! I came out of the bathroom one day, and Matthew, who was sitting at my work computer, with my headphones on, held up his hand and said, "Go watch a movie! I'm working!" Do you think he's heard that one before?!This is my friend Tiffany! We lived in Virginia in the same ward! We were fast friends! She was here in SLC, and I went to visit her! She has a daughter who is just a month younger than Matthew, and another daughter who is seven months old! We had so much fun visiting!!

We went down to St. George this weekend because Matthew's cousin Jim was blessing his baby. We had a lot of fun. Too bad both my guys were sick and kind of miserable! On SAturday, Matthew had mercy on me and took me to Zion's so that we did not have to sit in the hotel! I LOVED IT!!!
Here are the guys in front of the "Three Patriarchs".

We took a small half a mile hike up the Narrow's trail, and this is what we saw of Matthew the entire way!! He just ran, even though he did not feel good. I finally decided that on the way down, I would jog in front of him! It was so nice to get out and run!

Matthew on the Emerald Pools hike!

This was our second hike. It was just over a mile, and it was so pretty! I ended up carrying Matthew most of the way. He is one heavy little guy!! But, I felt better carrying him, because he liked to run right next to the edge of the trail, which was giving me heart attacks!!

The waterfall at Emerald Pools.

One funny story, we were waiting to eat at Village Inn and Matthew Jr. saw those little candy machines that take a quarter. He looked up at Matthew and said, "Daddy, do you have a quarter? I think you do!" How did he know that it took a quarter? Grandma Ash spoils him with candy from those machines every time we go out to eat with them!!

Sunday morning before church we went to the St. George Temple. These are some of the CUTEST shots I have gotten of Matthew in a long time!!! He has started to pose, which was so stinken' cute! Matthew Sr. slept in the warm car for the hour that we were there. We got to walk around, visit the visitor's center, and just sit and enjoy the nice warm day!

Matthew's favorite primary song is "I love to see the Temple" and he knows all the words! As we walked on to the temple grounds, he sang it loudly! It was such a sweet moment as a momma!!

Even though my guys were sick, it was still a really nice trip! It was so nice to be in the warm weather (mid 70's a lot of the time!)!! It was a nice hotel we stayed in, and just nice to be out of town, and together. The baby blessing was really nice. Elise is beautiful!! I wish I would have gotten pictures, but we were too busy keeping Matthew out of the dirt pile and fountain. We failed miserably, but hey, he had fun!

Fun Times!!

2009-02-21T15:02:00.004-07:00

My mom and I went to Gardner Village with Matthew and my niece and nephew.
It was such a beautiful, WARM day!! I cannot wait for Spring!!Isn't he just too cute??!!!

Silly kiddos! We ate lunch sitting here on this bench! It was so nice!

"How high can you jump?"
Silly kids!

I made these truffles for a Valentine party we had with some friends! It was so fun! And, these truffles were SO easy to make! Two ingredients! Baker's Chocolate and cream cheese!!!

Matthew gave me these roses for Valentine's Day!! Aren't they absolutely BEAUTIFUL?

As I talked on the phone with Andrea, Matthew decided he wanted to play in the water.
Yeah, he made a total mess!! But, he had fun doing it!!

Boys will be boys!
Look at this huge bruise on his head! He fell off the couch and landed right on his head. THEN, the next day, he was chasing me, and tripped over my foot. He split his lip! Poor boy!

Some favorite Matthew-isms!

2009-02-03T18:11:00.003-07:00

A few weeks ago, Matthew was playing. Then he looked up at Daddy and said, "Daddy, Life is a Highway!" It was said very seriously, and was so cute! Such a great philosopher!

Last night, Matthew was sitting at the computer and when asked what he was doing, he said, "I'm checkin' my email!" Also, he sits at the computer quite often and says, "Mom and Dad, I'm workin'!"

He knows that after lunch, it is nap time. So, today after lunch, he came over to me to get his face washed, and then said, "Mom, I'm just going to go play with my trains for few hours, then I'll take a nap!" TOO SMART!!! He says, "for few minutes" quite often, but realized that a few minutes is not as long as "for few hours!"

Today he heard Daddy calling me by name, and when I came downstairs, he said, "Melissa! Melissa!" in this high squeaky voice!!

HE SURE MAKES US LAUGH!!!!!

Also, his latest favorite movies crack me up! They are: DUMBO (he loves the train! Every time the train starts moving, he says, "Wow! Look at Thomas GO!"), MARY POPPINS (quite the surprise! He LOVES it though!), and CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (another surprise, but when you think about it, it is quite fun! Lots of fun music, a car that turns in to a boat AND an airplane!! What more could you ask for?!)!! He is quite funny and sings a ton lately! He loves music! And I think that is why he loves the movies he does so much!

One thing I forgot!

2009-02-02T11:01:00.001-07:00

I forgot one funny thing that happened on Friday! We went to the Draper Utah Temple Open House, which was so amazing! I went with my mom and niece and nephew and the little guy and I. Well, we walked by the baptismal font, and lo and behold, Matthew thought it looked like a nice, warm swimming pool! He started undressing and running for it! I practically ran out of the temple with a screaming, half dressed child! I tried not to laugh, because it also made me mad! But, I could not help it! He was so funny about it! He wanted to go swimming, and didn't see any harm in getting in to the font!
The temple was beautiful! The spirit was incredible! The kids were very good, for the most part! It was a wonderful time! (I think when we go with the Ash Family, we'll just skip the font!!)

Random

2009-02-02T10:04:00.003-07:00

Andrea, THANK YOU!!! They are BEAUTIFUL!!! You made my day!!

Yeah, this has been such a crazy time! I have been super busy, and the thought of getting on the computer has just not been exciting to me! I am dreading working today, and so I am stalling! Andrea (Matthew's Sister) reminded me that she loved this blog, and wanted to see pictures! I realized that maybe other people like to see pictures, too! So, here are some random things! (we have been super bad at taking pictures lately!!)

This is Matthew with some of his good buddies! We are so blessed to have so many friends with kids the same age as Matthew! This is Matthew, Gabey, Noah-oah, and Brooksey! (They'll love that when they are all 16, and I pull this out with their nicknames!! HA!!)
We go to BK and play often, and this was one of those days! It is usually a brawl (Gabe stays out of that! He is so calm! Good balance for the other boys!), but so much fun! Aren't they cuties?!

Grandma and Grandpa Ash gave Matthew these glasses for Valentines, and he loves them! He had to wear them when we went out one day! Hilarious! I was glad he actually stood still and smiled for a picture!

Combing your hair is fun to do!
Matthew is in a very independent stage right now! He has to do everything himself! Look at this beautiful hairdo!! (See above, his hair is now cut, and looks MUCH better!)

SMILE!!
I think he had just said, "Mommy! I stole your seat!" This is where I work all morning! And he has not wanted me to work lately, which makes it much harder for me to do so!!!

Things are going well for us! We are all well and happy! We are all reading like crazy! (Me, Xenocide by Orson Scott Card and Matthew, The Three Musketeers!) We have been very homebound, and have not left much! I have not felt like going out, and have not wanted to spend any money!! So, we stay home! BUT, we did go to the Josh Turner concert this last Thursday! Talk about AMAZING! We loved it! We were not more than 30 feet away from him, in this little place! It was so fun! He sang Matthew's most favorite song, and my favorite song of his! It was awesome! (Did I mention that it was AMAZING, and we loved it?!!!) Anyway, we have not done too much!
Oh, I have not mentioned my new calling on the blog! I am the second counselor in the Primary Presidency now! Talk about fun! I did my first sharing time yesterday. Ummmm..... Yeah, let's just say I learned a lot. We introduced ourselves, and then talked about how the Priesthood has blessed our homes. So, the rest of the presidency did awesome! The spirit was so strong! But I ran out of things to say five minutes before I should have. I need to be better prepared! :) I love the Presidency! They're such awesome women, such awesome friends! I am going to learn a lot, and things will start going much more smoothly! The first Sunday in a new calling is always a bit rough!
Um...yeah, I don't have much else to say! OH, other than, I have the best hubby in the world! He has been so supportive of me, and all that I have been doing lately! He doesn't say anything when he comes home to a disorganized home, and a scattered wife! He doesn't mind watching Matthew for three hours on a SAturday when he would rather spend the time with both of us! He is wonderful! I love him tons and tons!

Some of my current Favorites!!

2009-01-13T14:07:00.003-07:00

Books:
Twilight Series (no new post last week? Well, I reread the entire series! My poor hubby and little guy! They were so patient with me!)
And right now I am reading a few new good ones! The Speaker for the Dead by Orson Scott Card and also Tales of the Beadle Bard by J.K. Rowling! I am also trying to get through Les Miserables, but I am going very slowly!!! I know, read one at a time! I like to live on the edge, though!!! :)

Cleaning stuff:
Ummm..So this is kind of funny, but I had to add this because I hate mopping, but my hubby got me a Shark Steam Mop (from Target) and I LOVE it!! My floors look so nice after I am done! Love this product!

People:
My sweet hubby who is so patient with me!
My cute little guy who says the funniest things, and the sweetest things! He sang, "I know you, I walked with you once upon a dream" to me as we shopped on Saturday. Plus, he has told me every day since then that I am pretty! LOVE IT!
My friend Lara, who goes to Burger King with me while our boys run wild and we can just talk, talk, talk!! Thank you!!

Exercise Equipment:
My mother in law called me a couple weeks ago and asked if I wanted her big balance ball that came with a resistance band and videos. I said, "Heck yeah!" I have tried to be faithful about it, and have noticed major results, very quickly!!! Hallelujah! Before we get pregnant again, I may have lost all the weight and inches I need to!!! :) (Wouldn't that be a miracle!?)

Home Scents:
I have totally LOVED my Scentsy lately!! If you haven't looked it up, you really need to!! They are the best smelling things ever! And I got a new car candle, Snowberry, and I must say that I LOVE getting in to my car now! It smells wonderful! The Nutmeg and Orange Zest is another new favorite scent!

I am totally in to organizing lately, and I have loved feeling like I live in a somewhat organized house!! Yahoo!!

Music: Some fairly recent favorites are
EFY Season for Courage CD.
I also like George Winston's Winter and Autumn CD's!
Plus we just got tickets to go see Josh Turner at the Depot at the end of the month!! Can't wait!

Movies:
We have been watching the Harry Potter movies through, which has been fun! I have also liked Nim's Island which was one we got for Christmas! I have been a little busy for movies! All that reading and cleaning!! :)

Video Games:
We just got the Mater National (I love Amazon.com because you can get games for so stinken' cheap!) which has been super fun to watch! Matthew Jr. Is totally thrilled, and has to play a little bit with daddy every night!

We went to the temple this last weekend, and I must say that I am still on a high from that! I love to go there, and feel the Spirit of the Lord so close, and learn and grow, and FEEL PEACE!!!! I can't wait to go back! We made a resolution to go every month this year!! I am super determined!!

We got to go to a birthday party for a niece (we'll claim her!!) this last week! It was so fun! Her grandma bought her this cake that was the most amazing thing I have ever seen! It was a princess castle! I was sad to eat it! I wish we'd taken our camera with us! The cousins had a blast running like crazy and playing with each other!

It has been a fun month so far!!

A Fun Night Out!

2008-12-28T10:07:00.002-07:00

FUN TIMES
We had such a fun time going to stay in a hotel downtown this last week! We had a free stay that had to be used by the end of the month, and decided to take advantage of it! We got down there, and rode the train to the Gateway! We walked around but it got pretty cold, and we decided to head back and eat dinner. So, we went to PF Chang's to eat. Yeah, it was good, but not worth the money you pay! Goodness! We then headed back to the hotel and got in the swimming pool. It was SO COLD! Why do these hotels have indoor swimming pools, and then not heat them? I do not understand! Oh well! We got in the hot tub, which was WONDERFUL! And it was not too hot (Kind of like a nice hot bath!), so we put the little guy in with us. Then we went up to our room, and decided to get ready to head to Temple Square! It was so beautiful! Matthew Jr. had so much fun riding the train! It was so convenient and nice. It was super easy to get every where we wanted to go!
When we came back, we played in our room, watched "It's a Wonderful Life" and went to bed!

"Mom, Pretty City!"
Matthew's favorite thing to do in a hotel is look out the window! He loves the lights of the city!

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!...

2008-12-28T09:07:00.005-07:00

WE SURE DID!!!
(Beware, this is a novel! You don't have to read it! I just wanted to document everything!)

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, the Ash and the Urry Families were decorating cookies and reading Christmas stories!
I started a new tradition that I LOVE this year! I wish I had taken pictures for the first part, but I totally forgot! We had Grandma and Grandpa Ash come over a couple Monday's before Christmas, and read Christmas stories to Matthew. We sat around and ate Christmas cookies and read, and talked! It was so fun! Then, because we were downtown the Monday before Christmas, we invited my parents over on Tuesday! I did not have any cookies, so I made some sugar cookies that day, and then we decorated them with Grandma and Grandpa. Matthew Jr. LOVED it!

Then, we read stories. I asked each set of Grandparents to bring a story with them, so they did, and it was so fun to get some new stories!

Here are our awesome cookies! (some of them! This recipe made a TON!) It was so fun to be creative!

This was Matthew Jr's decorating job. He did fabulous! Licking the knives and all!!!

This was Christmas Eve. I usually just take the camera, and then totally forget to take pictures! I was determined this year!
My mom has this really great game, where she reads a Christmas story with lots of "left's and right's" in it, and then we pass wrapped DVD's left or right, depending on what is said, and then at the end, we had a choice to keep it, trade it, or open a new one in the middle. We love this game! We ended up with three pretty good DVD's! Rundown, Pagemaster, and It Could Happen to You! This is pictures of my family during the game!

(a side note here, my brother Barry-far right-just got home from the ARMY! He had some problems with insomnia, and received an honorable discharge. So, he got a great experience, grew up a lot, and did not have to go to Iraq! He is a great guy, and we were glad to have him home for Christmas!)

My mom always makes Christmas Eve really special! We open presents, talk, eat a yummy dinner, and enjoy time together! She makes "crackers" which are little tubes with fun stuff in them, and though the stuff in them is a little silly, I totally love the tradition! It is so great! Thanks Mom!!

One tradition I had growing up was matching pj's. Well, I decided it is too hard to find extra large and then baby pj's that matched, and plus women's pj's that matched, too! SO, I stuck with the tradition of getting pj's but we did not match! Here we are Christmas Eve with our pj's on!

Opening the last square on the Advent Calendar! It was so funny! Every night it was such a surprise! "Chocolate!!!" Matthew loved it!

Setting out Santa's cookies and carrots for the reindeer. Ooohhh, that one looked TOO GOOD! I just had to eat it!

Christmas morning!

We had so much fun Christmas morning!
One of Matthew's presents did not get here by Christmas (and still isn't here-bummer!) so I wrapped up what it was going to be!! He liked it!!

We were super excited about this present! He loved his fire truck!

Grandma and Grandpa Ash got him a "road" and he LOVED it! Still does!

We set up a cool train track with all of Matthew's track! It was so fun! Matthew has not wanted to put "Thomas" away since Christmas! We have a constant mess of track and trains everywhere! I clean them up, and he gets them back out! OVER AND OVER! I guess it shows that he really loves them! Grandma and Grandpa Ash also got him a remote control "James" train, and it plays the Thomas Theme Song. He holds that thing up to his ear and sings and dances all day! He loves it!! Personally, I am getting a little sick of the Thomas theme song!!! :)

I feel really horrible. Usually it is my family that I forget to take pictures at, but I totally forgot the camera at Matthew's parents on Christmas Day! We had a lot of fun, eating a yummy lunch, opening gifts, relaxing and talking! They are great and we enjoy being with them!

It was a really great Christmas! We had so much fun! It has been so nice having Matthew off for an entire week! We have been able to just relax and enjoy the time together! It is not often that we get Daddy home that much! We love him tons, and Matthew just loves playing rough with his daddy! (which they are upstairs doing right now, as I hear screams and laughing!!) I am so blessed to have such a wonderful family! Ya know, all the "stuff" doesn't really matter. It is fun to get new stuff, but at the same time, the best part of the holiday was to be together! I am so grateful for the Savior, and His perfect life. I am grateful that we can celebrate His birth, and His life this Holiday season. The world has forgotten that is the reason why we celebrate Christmas, but I love that that is the reason! I hope I can be like Him, and show love to all around me. I am so blessed!

Sorry...

2008-12-09T14:43:00.003-07:00

So, I have been the WORST blogger in the world lately! I really should be cleaning my house right now, but had to sit for a minute to tell you what has been going on! I have been super super blessed lately!
First of all, we started POTTY TRAINING Matthew yesterday. Talk about dread of all dread!!! Well, yesterday, he went potty in the toilet 8 times and only had ONE accident!! One, people! Talk about complete miracle! He also woke up from a nap dry. We opted for the diaper to bed, though. Today has not been so extremely wonderful! Good, but not great! The dreaded "accident" happened today (I knew it was coming!), luckily it was as horrible as I thought it would be to clean it up. I caught it immediately (LUCKILY!). He also had one more accident-of a less dreadful nature. But, all in all, he is doing wonderfully! He has finally learned that he can earn things once he goes to the bathroom in the toilet! Yahoo! Potty=sticker, 20 stickers=Lightning McQueen prize!! He is doing well!

I never posted about our "Black Friday Killer Deals!" Let me tell you, I wasn't TOO excited about going out this year, because I knew I would have to take Matthew Jr. Yeah, 4:30 am in the cold (but not as cold as it has been in past years!), with a two year old who does not like to be held, and likes to get in to everything, was not my idea of exciting! Well, I woke up the little guy at 4:00 am, and got him ready (minus changing his shirt, which later he pointed out to Grandma that he was wearing the Hulk!!), and got him in the car. The only complaint was, "It's dark mommy! Go back inside!" We pulled up to Shopko expecting stinken' long lines, and were actually pretty close! No long lines! Plus, we were under the overhang, so we did not have to have our umbrella out. The little guy just hugged me and wanted to be wrapped in his blanket! He let me hold him until we got inside! He even rode in the cart without a problem! We got some nice new pots and pans, normally umm.... I don't remember how much!... for $20.00! They may not be state of the art, but anything is better than what I have right now! Then we got some pajamas for the little guy and I for Christmas Eve! Awesome deals! We got an MP3 player for Matthew Sr. for a killer deal! I can't wait to give it to him! So funny! He knew I got it for him, but I had wrapped it up before he got home, and he never got to check it out before!! :) I also got some games at $2-$4 a piece!
Our Spoils!!!

Then, we went to Walmart. I vowed I would never go to Walmart on Black Friday. It gets WAY too insane! But I was with my mom and her friend, and they wanted $2.00 movies! So, off we went! I got some really great movies (only one for the $2.00 price, but all were still super cheap!), some new towels, a Mack (from the movie Cars) for Matthew Jr. with three other cars that we actually don't have!, and some other cars for the little guy. Once again, Matthew sat in the cart without complaining! And we did the lines right. People were lined up to the back of the store, but we decided to check out all the lines, and we are lucky we did! We only waited for half an hour compared to some people's 2-3 hours!
Matthew Sr. hit up Smith's Marketplace and got some great movies for super cheap! So, we did REALLY well for our Black Friday Shopping! Plus, the deals are still AMAZING out there! We went to Shopko again this week, and actually found Matthew Sr. clothes IN HIS SIZE! Now, I know for most people that is a stupid comment! But, for a husband who is 6'8" tall, we can NEVER find Extra Large, TALL clothes! Never! So, when we found some nice sweaters for 50% off, we got a couple! Plus, we have been wanting a new bedspread, and found one we like for over 50% off! I'm telling you, we got some amazing deals this year! Good days shopping!

We were super lucky to have Andrea here for Thanksgiving! We got to go to Temple Square, hang out and watch movies, go out to eat etc. with her. We sure love it when she visits! We had a very nice Thanksgiving with Matthew's family. It ended with a tense game of Trivial Pursuit! I am telling you, I am HORRIBLE at that game. But his family is so good, it amazes me! And, luckily I am always on Matthew's team. We had a very big lead most the game, when Chelsea and Andrea came and tied us for first at the last minute of the game! I was pretty proud of us, (I even answered a few of the questions!) but to Matthew, the tie was "as good as a loss!" Hilarious!

Well, I have bored you all to death! MOstly I just write because this is like my journal, and one day I want to get this thing all printed out! So, you, in turn get stuck with the boring details!
I really better get back to cleaning the house! (and go check on my banana bread that is making the whole house smell FANTASTIC!) bye!

Hooray for the Holidays!!

2008-12-09T11:55:00.002-07:00

We got to go to Temple Square, and it was so fun! Matthew got to see Santa at our Ward Christmas Party! I got to sing, which was fun!

Matthew's sisters and brother at Temple Square!
Chelsea, Andrea, Matthew and Nathaniel!
Aren't they cute?!

Our Sweet Spiderman!

Our Family Room, all decked out!

Have I got a deal for you!!!

2008-11-25T20:30:00.002-07:00

So, this is the time of year for shopping on-line, and we found this great website that we LOVE! It is called EBates.

You just go to THIS WEBSITE. You search for all your favorite products, stores and coupons, click the links and shop. You get automatic cash back. It will automatically keep track of your savings, and then cut you a BIG FAT CHECK every three months or so!! We just got our first check for $20.00, and still have more that we are going to get back!!! You can find most the stores that you normally shop at, and then just shop from that site! It is so great! PLUS, You get $10.00 for signing up through me (Please use Matthew's name!) and we get some cash, too!! It will be a great way to save some bucks while you're doing your Christmas shopping!!

Happy Shopping!

So, do you shop Black Friday? Tell me about your success stories! I LOVE Black Friday! You can get some pretty amazing deals!!

Twilight, the movie!

2008-11-21T21:40:00.000-07:00

So, I don't talk about movies I have seen on this blog very often, but I must just say that I LOVED the new Twilight movie! It met all my expectations, plus more! I did not like the choice for Edward, but MAN! He and Bella have the most amazing chemistry on film, and it makes it so much better! Forks was beautiful! The acting was great! I really want to see it again and again! Let me know what you think about it!!

Halloween, snow and more!

2008-11-10T16:38:00.003-07:00

Candy, Candy, Candy!! This was our mega stash this year! We went trick-or-treating at Matthew's work, and talk about a TON of candy! Plus, two of our friends gave away regular sized candy bars! YUMMY! Mommy and Daddy thank you both!! :)We saw some of Matthew's friends out trick-or-treating! It was so fun!
Sorry we did not get around to all of our friends!
Noah (Charlie Brown) and Matthew the Dragon!

Matthew and Brooks (Chipper Jones)

Aunt Andrea got to come for Halloween this year. Unfortunately it was because Matthew's grandma died that weekend. But, we were so glad to get to have Aunt Andrea to go Trick or Treating with. LOVED your costume, Andrea!! :)
Emily the Dog, Matthew the Dragon, Andrea the Witch, Rachel (Snow White) and Jarom the Incredible Hunk (I mean Hulk!)

This is at Daddy's work! I may have to remind you about the Goldman Sachs traditional Halloween event! It is huge! There is a ton of candy for trick-or-treaters! Almost all of staff is dressed up! Matthew's group was Ninja's! It was great! Weapons everywhere! It was a lot of fun! Thanks for letting us come visit, Daddy!

Matthew sat at the computer today and said, "I am working, Mommy!" He is a good worker! It was so cute! Saturday morning we woke up, and he said, "You work, Mommy!" He sure likes his routine! He knows that is what happens in the mornings!

The other day, Matthew came crawling over to me, growling. I acted the part of being afraid. He said, "I am alligator!" So, I acted even more afraid! He came up to me and bit me. I said, "Oh, please don't bite mommy! It hurts!"
Guess what his reply was.
In a matter of fact tone of voice, he said, "Mommy, Alligators bite!!!"
I couldn't hide my smile! :) Funny boy!

umm... sometimes we throw fits, and this is what we end up looking like! Notice the tear almost ready to fall off of his cheek!

We got snow this weekend, and it was GORGEOUS!
This is what I saw when I walked out of my house the day after!

This was the day of! Notice our poor, sad little tree in the background. Well, it was when I noticed it that I decided to go fix it. Well, while I was out there, without any jacket and in my crocks without any socks, my cute, adorable little two year old LOCKED ME OUT OF THE HOUSE!!!!!! Yeah, I was FROZEN when I realized that the door downstairs was unlocked. But, that took a long time to realize! My neighbors almost got a little visit from a snowman, begging for help! Glad I left that door unlocked!!!

Viva Las Vegas! (And St. George!)

2008-10-27T09:18:00.002-06:00

OK, This posted the pictures backward. Oh well!!
This first picture is of Matthew in St. George. We stayed with Matthew Sr.'s cousin Jim and his wife Eliza. We had a great time staying with them! We talked and talked, watched Iron Man (great show!), played in the park (pictured above), and ate out at great places! They introduced us to Texas Roadhouse and Cracker Barrel. The Cracker Barrel is now one of my more favorite places! I loved the cute little store, it reminded me of Amish Country kind of! It was so cute! Plus, the food was fabulous. It reminded me of my mission. People cooked the most amazing dinners there, and this was true, Southern Cookin'! (I served in the Florida Tallahassee Mission) There was tons of food, and it was so reasonably priced. We will return to Cracker Barrel, even though we have to drive clear across the valley here in SL!!

On the way to St. George, we stopped at HOOVER DAM! Talk about an amazing place. I have never held on to my baby boy SO TIGHT!!!!! Matthew Sr. was holding him, and even though I trust him with my life, and my son's life, my heart STOPPED as he leaned over the edge! I could do it when I was holding on to the little guy, but when Matthew was holding him, I freaked!
This is not the greatest picture of us, but we were hot, tired and hungry. Never a good combination!

Well, we started our vacation in Vegas. I was amazed by the amount of porno on the strip. It was HORRIBLE!! But, we focused our gaze anywhere else we could, and enjoyed our trip nevertheless! Here are the guys on Freemont Street. Matthew started out having a hard time when the show came on, but enjoyed it after a lot of coaxing!

We enjoyed walking up and down the strip. I will post more pictures later. I have to transfer them from our other computer. But, we went to the Bellagio and enjoyed the water show our first night there. The next day, we got up early and walked down the strip. Talk about a wonderful day! There were no people there trying to get you to go into nasty shows, and well, that says it all! We first of all went to the M&M Factory, where we saw the M&M Car. Matthew LOVED it! We then headed to the Bellagio's Conservatory. It was totally amazing, and one of the most relaxing places on the Strip! We really enjoyed our time looking around at their Fall Decorations! Then, we went to the Venetian. We took a Gondola Ride (inside) and it was amazing! Our Gondolier sang to us, while we went along. We all totally loved it! That was our big expense this trip! And it was worth it! We rode back to our hotel on the train (another highlight for the little guy!) and then that night went to Freemont Street. The next morning, we got up and went to see the lions at the MGM Grand and then went to Hoover Dam on our way to St. George. It was a great trip! It was fun to stay in the Excalibur! They had just remodeled their rooms, and they were excellent! Such a fun time to be with each other!

I'll post more pictures later!

TAGGED!

2008-10-27T08:24:00.003-06:00

At least I think Lara was talking about me!

Anyway, if not, who cares! I'll do it anyway!
This is the 4th picture in the 4th file in my picture folder!
This is Wenceslas Square in Prague, Czech Republic!
We were lucky enough to go to Prague in 2006. Matthew did a project for Eli Lily over there for school, and they all went over there. So, we decided to take advantage of it. We went 9 days early, and spent them seeing Prague! We had an amazing time! I was 10 or 11 weeks pregnant. I loved seeing a new part of the world. I look forward to going to more places. This was a most incredible trip!

Now I tag April (Weebo), Kristi (Fiddle), Lisa and Bryce, and Sarah W.
Post the 4th picture in the 4th file of pictures, and tell about it!
Anyone can do it!

Oh The Places We've Gone!

2008-10-20T21:22:00.002-06:00

We have been doing some fun things lately! This picture is from a "Thursday Park Day" with some friends in the ward. I wish I would have taken my camera to the Park Day that we had about 12 or 13 families come! We have had a lot of fun going to the park with our friends every Thursday! We have had a pretty good turnout. We go to different parks in the area every week. It is so fun because there are tons and tons of kids in our ward that are within a year either way of Matthew's age! These are two of his good buddies Brooks and Easton!
We sure love Silver Lake in the Fall. We were super lucky and hit it on one of the "peak" days for leaves! It was so beautiful! (and not crowded!)

(The pictures do not do it justice!)

This weekend, we decided we wanted to do something new. We decided to go to lunch at the Rio Grande Cafe downtown, and then go to Memory Grove. I have lived in SLC most all of my life, and have NEVER been there! I thought it was so beautiful! I know I have heard that it can be scary at night, but man, for a daytime place to go, I think I'll return often.

Plus, the leaves were beautiful there, too!

We have had some fun times together! Be looking for more pictures coming soon! We'll have some good ones in a week or so! (I promise to post again soon!)

The Host

2008-10-16T21:32:00.002-06:00

So, I just finished reading Stephanie Meyer's "The Host" today. I had a super hard time getting in to it, but let me tell you, I almost think I liked it as much or *gulp* a little bit more than "Twilight". It was such an awesome story! I sure hope that there is going to be another one, because it ended with so many possibilities.
Things I liked about it:
*There were some major changes of heart.
*The enemy becomes the most loved in the society, and the greatest asset to them.
*It was super exciting.
*It caused a lot of inner reflection. (I love books that do that!)
*It was totally far fetched, but yet she wrote it like it really could happen. I know it never will, but she is such an excellent author!

Hey, another good read that I finished not long ago is "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott. AMAZING! Let me just tell you, the movies do it no justice! Alcott is an awesome writer, and she pulls you in, and you feel all the characters feel. It is a good book that teaches so many awesome values, the power of the family, and the true meaning of love. It is so simple, yet so beautiful! You laugh, you cry, you cheer, you feel so good! It was a hard one to put down! A great book!

While I am writing about books I have read recently, I have to include Orson Scott Card's book "Enchantment". A Russian Fairy Tale in our times! It was AMAZING! I would say that this was one of my top five favorite books I have ever read! It was another book I had a hard time getting into, but was so fantastic that I could not put it down once I did get into it! It was so fun!

Another book I have read in the last year was Ray Bradbury's "Dandelion Wine." This book was another super fun read! I don't know what you feel about Ray Bradbury, but all I could think of before I started was "I hated 'The Martian Chronicles'." I had a super hard time actually picking it up, but once again, had a hard time putting it down! It is a collection of memories from a summer in his life. And let me tell you, there was not much boring about that summer! A book that reminded me of stories that my dad tells of his childhood. (except I think this summer was 1939, and my grandparents were still fairly young at that point! No thought of my dad then!)
Another book you just need to read!

I have read some pretty good books lately! There's all the Anita Stansfield that I was introduced to, and also the Twilight Series! I think I have also read some other books this year, too! But these were some that really stood out, that maybe everyone does not know about yet! Enjoy!

Sorry..

2008-10-09T15:50:00.001-06:00

So sorry that I have been a major blog slacker! We have been super busy! We finally painted the back room downstairs, and put it all together for Andrea (Matthew's sister) to come in to town. I sometimes wish our room looked so good! :) Also, just working like crazy and being a mommy! I promise to post more soon!
Love,
Melissa

Simple Joys in life...

2008-09-22T10:57:00.003-06:00

POP ROCKS!
My mom gave Matthew a package of Pop Rocks yesterday, and we ate them this morning! He was so stinken' cute! I wish I knew how to put video on here, because he was so cute!
But, you can enjoy the killer pictures I got of him enjoying his treat!
(and by the way, don't you love his gorgeous blue eyes?!)

PS, we went to the doctor's today, and he is in the 50th percentile for height and weight! And the doctor gave me ideas of books to read for the strong willed child, etc. Luckily, Andrea helped me out, and got me that one! Yeah, it's funny what a doctor can sense in a 10-15 minute visit! He is such a great doctor! Matthew took cars in to the visit, so the doctor played up that theme! He looked for cars in his ears, in his mouth, his tummy was checked for them, etc. He is awesome!

The Birthday Boy!

2008-09-21T22:05:00.004-06:00

Happy Birthday to Matthew!
He was such a cute little birthday boy!
We did not open presents this morning, but just played, and I made...This CAKE!
We have been looking for ideas on the internet, and I bought the cars a while ago knowing I was going to do a Cars Cake, and this is what we ended up with. Too bad I don't have a large, cute cake pan!

After church, our families came over for a BBQ and a little celebration! We had so much fun!

Here is Matthew BBQing our yummy burgers!
(Did I mention that we LOVE our grill!?)

Opening presents was pretty funny! Matthew had a hard time putting each present down after he opened it. He wanted to play with each one.

Inside this bag was the big present of the night, at least for a while! It was the coolest car that has lights, goes on its own, and even sings. Yeah, getting him to open anything after this was a joke!

Blowing out the candles!

Matthew with all his booty! Let me tell you, we have one spoiled child! He got so many neat things from everyone! A Transformer, a dragon that walks and breaths "fire", a Mater and McQueen sleeping bag and pillow (which he is sleeping in right now!), a Nemo beach ball, a fun jungle playset that does so many neat things, a cool car, an airplane and boat to go with his jungle, a Cars Race way, and another cool car thing where the cars go around this little track by themselves, fun CD's and books and a tic tac toe game. He had a hard time going to bed tonight, I must say! It was totally like Christmas! So fun! Thank you everyone for such a fun night! (and for such neat gifts!)

Happy Second Birthday, Matthew! We love you tons!

Our little tradition!

2008-09-19T14:00:00.004-06:00

My mom and I took Matthew to Temple Square last year on his first birthday. I wanted to carry on the tradition, and go get some really nice pictures! I hope you enjoy these! I love his cute little CHEEZER!

Enter to win at Bath and Body Works!

2008-09-14T16:39:00.001-06:00

Okay, so I love their products TONS! So great! And, they are having a little Giveaway, and I thought you might like the link!

Enter Here

GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL!!

Just for clarification...

2008-09-06T11:03:00.002-06:00

Just so you all know, Matthew did not build the deck!! :) Perfectly honest mistake! We sure wish he could have built the deck. We have a very handy man in the ward, and he did an awesome job, and didn't charge an arm and a leg! :) Matthew is very talented in many other ways. He is great at the computer, and is very knowledgeable. He is a good daddy and wonderful hubby! He just isn't the greatest at building things like that. He DID design the back yard layout, and he did have the ideas for decorating the house, too. And they look awesome. He did refinish our floors, and we are learning to be handy. There is just no way we could have built a deck!

Our latest remodeling fun!!

2008-09-04T13:59:00.003-06:00

Welcome DECK!!
This is the beginning stages. I wasn't home, so I didn't get to get a "before Before picture!" But this is just after the window was cut out and the door put in, and the frame to the deck put up! Notice it is not SUPER steady at this point! Also notice the low power lines!No stairs yet!

Hooray! We have stairs! Yes, that is my child out on them, without a shirt on, and still in his PJ's. Sorry, but sometimes it is how things go around here! (he's even taking a nap without his shirt on right this minute! Don't know where he got that from!)

Most of the railing up. Still no railing along the stairs, and not stained yet, either!

FINISHED!!!!
This is our deck this morning, all done, all stained, everything! Hooray!
We think it is pretty nice!
This little beauty (the grill!) is Matthew's Birthday Present to himself! :) And to me! We have cooked on it tons of times, because we love it so much!We added this light and outlet while our power lines were being raised up. I felt so bad when the guy told me how much it was going to be. My eyes probably popped out of my head. BUT, I think he deserved every penny, and did a FABULOUS job!

Here is the beauty! And do you notice that it is all clean underneath?! Oh, so nice!

You can't see it really clearly, but those powerlines that I used to touch standing normally, cannot even be touched by Matthew on tiptoe and arms reached out tall, now!! What a miracle!

This is the inside view. We have a gorgeous view of the mountains now (and always have, but the view is much better enjoyed now!)! Plus, it is so nice to be able to walk out into our backyard from our kitchen! We don't have to go out the front door and around or go downstairs to the very back bedroom! Pretty soon this school behind us will turn into a park with a Splash Pad, an amphitheater, and all sorts of sports courts and fields. I cannot wait! We will spend more time there for sure! Plus, the weeds in our backyard have finally been taken care of (at least for this exact moment!), and we are expecting 74 beautiful perennials to be delivered any day, so that we can have a beautiful garden next year! We cannot wait! Things are coming together!

What is next? Last night we went to IKEA, and saw that we could put new Countertops in for CHEAP, and they would be a HUGE improvement over the ones we have now! Hmmmm......What could be next?! Maybe countertops, maybe that nice bedframe and dresser we saw last night. Maybe I'll get a new oven, or tile in the kitchen. Maybe we'll tile our upstairs bathroom, put in a new vanity and mirror and light (which we already have the light!), etc..... Who knows!
Any ideas?!

Judy Campout!

2008-08-19T19:12:00.002-06:00

The little guy and I went to my family reunion (the BIG KAHUNA of Family reunions!!) last week. It was so nice. Usually there are ten million kids running around ( my mom is the youngest of nine kids, and each of those nine kids has a lot of kids and a lot of those kids have big families too!!)but this year there were a lot less people. Now don't get me wrong. I love my family so much. I missed my seeing a lot of my cousins. But it was the most relaxing 3 days! We just sat around and visited. At campfires we just shared memories of past camping trips one night and the next night we sang songs and my uncles and aunts shared stories of growing up. It was really nice. I did go home a day early, so I missed the "American Idol Karaoke" Campfire, which sounded fun to listen to! ;) My family has done these big summer campouts since I was born! They are such a part of the family, and I have always looked forward to them. It is definitely a lot harder now that I have a little one. Chasing him around can be tough! But, it is so fun! I hope they never stop!

We really have some ingenious ideas! One of the best is the "Store." This year it was done differently. But usually it goes like this. The adults are all given paper clips each morning. (ten or so) Then the kids do chores, etc, to earn them. I remember when I was little, giving back rubs, or picking up trash, or carrying things, etc. It is brilliant, because it gets the kids to work. Each night a "store" would open up. Different types of candies and toys were each given a price and we bought them with our paper clips! This is Matthew eating his sucker from the store!
This is some of the family! There was a "Polar Bear Contest" where the guys would go completely under water and see how long they could stay in it. It was super duper cold, and the highest time was 17 seconds. Pretty impressive. It was funny to watch! My family is crazy fun! :)

"Good Morning!"
This is my super happy camper!

I have a very talented family. A lot of them play guitars some play banjos, etc. (all sorts of other instruments I could not remember the names of!) and a couple of them even fiddle. We always have good music while at camp! They are so great to share their talent with us all, and we look forward to hearing it every year!

This was so funny. If you know Matthew, he is a fruit "NUT!" He cannot get enough! This was our last morning, and my Aunt Jeanette and Uncle's Curt and Brian and their families made an AWESOME breakfast of French Toast with homemade jam, eggs, sausage, hash browns and fruit! It was delicious! I could not believe how much Matthew ate. Then, they left the grapes up on the table during the morning. Matthew snitched grapes like crazy! I caught him on camera here with a full mouth, and more in hand! He was so fun to watch!

Well, sorry this post is so long! I am so thankful for a family that does such fun things together! I am so glad we make time to be together every year. It is so much work, and really, sometimes I must admit that I do dread the major crowd, but I do love my family! I loved going this year with a new attitude of "I can talk to people, and find out what they are doing in their lives! I do not have to be shy!" I had a lot more fun! What a great three days this was! Thanks everyone!

Look Who is 30!!!

2008-08-13T08:40:00.002-06:00

Matthew's 30th Birthday was the first of this month. I decided I wanted to do something special because you only turn 30 once! We had a few friends and our families over for desserts and visiting. It was really nice. I did not want to do silly games (although I could have!), but just wanted to be able to visit!Here are some friends who came to visit. We are so glad that everyone came! We loved visiting with Sarah W. our friend that lived in DC at the same time as us. Her and her hubby were out there for Pharmacy School. Matthew was in their ward before he moved back there, and then we ended up in the same apartment complex, almost right below them! Then, Sarah and I worked at the same elementary school, and I loved that! We got to be good friends! We moved back here to Utah within the same week! They live close by and just had a cute baby boy not long ago. We miss seeing them so much!
We had some friends from the ward, too, which was so much fun! We love this ward so much! There are so many good people and we have so many good friends! Thanks for coming to share this evening with us!

Look at all those candles! Wow! 30 is old! (Not really!!! It is just a lot of candles!)
We had a lot of good food. My mom made tons of cookies, and Chelsea, Matthew's sister, made some yummy chocolate cookies. Then, we had birthday cake that I made and then I bought a cheesecake from Costco (I will give my ode to Costco in another post. Can I just say that I LOVE that place? It is the BEST!) and ice cream. Yummy!

I made a fun book for Matthew (It is not quite done yet!) for his present, plus he also got some really nice pillows and some books, and a video game. Plus family gave him money with which we bought a nice Grill for our new DECK that is going in today!! ( pictures of that coming soon!) We can hardly wait to grill on our deck and watch the beautiful view! Just in time for fall. Too bad we can't get a fence this year. But, our yard is looking kind of better (there are still those dumb weeds that I hate so bad!) and it will be nice to enjoy Matthew's new grill the rest of the summer and this fall! Happy late birthday, Sweetie! You are the best ever!