Check this out!

So, the other day I was looking for some documents we had saved to our computer years ago and I came across a folder that had some scanned photos. I think Matt used them a long time ago for a school project, but I was dying going through them because there are some classic and very significant ones. If you are interested in hearing about these photos, keep reading.



This is my hubby post-mission. He is with his friend Chris and they are heading down to BYU for school. I like this photo because this is a typical Matt expression while taking a photo. He looks young, huh?

Probably not as young as he does here. I have mentioned to a few of you how Matt was stick-thin growing up. He blames it on his sisters big appetites and fast metabolisms. This photo is proof how skinny he was.

This is Matt and I in Southern California. We were engaged and visiting my family for a week, back before they moved to Utah. We miss those trips!
We were engaged here as well. This was up at Stewart Falls in Sundance. I think anyone who has lived in Provo has probably hiked to this fall. Just as a sidenote, Matt and I did this hike the night he proposed.
This is definitely a classic! This is the VERY FIRST date Matt and I ever went on. We hardly knew each other, can you tell by how close we are standing? The other couple is my roommate and her date. I asked Matt; it was Preference (girls choice). We got take-out cafe Rio, went to the dance in Spanish Fork, then came back for ice cream. We covered our table in saran wrap and ate ice cream sundaes off the table. We had a great time and clicked so well.
I had to throw this in--Matt hard at work with other missionaries!
Matt's family came down to Provo to celebrate his b-day with him; his brother and sister and mom and dad.
Here is his entire family!
We were engaged and going to some banquet for the Marriott School. We spent the whole summer laying out by the pool and it shows! Matt also worked at Golds Gym and got free tans. That was fun!
Halloween 2002
My graduation from BYU-my youngest sister Loni and my mom.

Younger sister Lindsey, myself, and my mom on Christmas in 2001.
Another classic! In August 2000, my parents, my brother Landen, and my two younger sisters Lindsey and Loni. We all backpacked up in the Sierras. This was one of the coolest trips I have ever been on; we truly roughed it! We hiked in the first day and stayed for another couple of days at Treasure Lake. That was the clearest water I have ever seen; yes, even compared to Hawaii. We drank water from the lake that had been purified with water tablets, ate boxed dinners, and stared at the stars in the sky at night.
Matt and his siblings on our wedding day!
Classic photo of Matt: doing what he loves and that is concentrating his hardest on video games. this photo was taken before I even Matt him, must have been after the mission. This is at his uncles cabin in Sundance, the same place where he officially asked me to marry him!!
So, yeah, we had fun looking at these and taking a trip back in time, so I thought I would share!

Merced

On Saturday morning, Kathy--my buddy and co-worker from Jelly Belly--picked up Reagan and I and we headed down south to the cute little town of Merced to visit a friend of ours, Cathy. We we're expecting it to be a longer drive, so we were pleasantly surprised when we did arrive. Merced reminded me a lot of Utah; mostly the older neighborhoods with older homes. It had kind of a small farming town feel to it. Really cool. Cathy had an old piano and so she played a little for Reagan, then I played a little for them.

Kathy and a very tired Reagan.

Yup, she was pooped.

Marcus, Cathy's husband, played for a minute with Reagan, She definitely prefers grown men to women. She always has!

Cathy made us a scrumptious-and healthy-lunch. We had chicken salad sandwiches on fresh criossants with a spinach and feta cheese pasta. The desserts are in the middle of the table and were calling my name the entire time: chocolate mint cookies, chocolate graham cookies, and Lofthouse pink frosted sugar cookie. If you have never had a Lofthouse sugar cookie, you are missing out. They melt in your mouth. As a side note, I went to the Lofthouse plant out in Syracuse, Utah, when I was in college. They do not let you in on how they frost the cookie during the manufacturing process. That information is highly proprietary.
Cathy made name plates for us, including Reagan!!
I had to include this: the Paris bathroom. And yes, I got to use it.Hanging out by the pool.
Swinging--such a fun activity!
Everyone is smiling...except Reagan.
I loved Cathy's kitchen. She had two convection ovens (lucky!) and a little nook in the corner. And a luxury I do not enjoy in my kitchen right now: windows!!
This refrigerator rocked.
They pretty much redesigned this entire house and it was gorgeous.
Cathy preparing lunch.
This is Reagan's famous grin.

We had a fun time and are looking forward to going back! The drive home wasn't as quick as the drive there. We hit some traffic on the 580 and 45 minutes later found out that there were two accidents near the 580-680 interchange. Reagan was pretty good though! I did have my portable DVD player and it came in handy!

Today Reagan is 11 months and in one month she will be 1 year old. I remember thinking almost a year ago that I couldn't imagine having a 1 year old. I wondered what she would be like, look like, her personality. Now I know :):)

A little bit if Everything

The last week has been a rough one, but I am really starting to feel up to par. Again, thanks to everyone who lent a helping hand one way or another. We love our friends and family! We feel so blessed. Here are some tidbits going on in our lives:

1. Mothers Day was good. Matt took Reagan to church for most of the time and I stayed home and rested. Reagan (aka Matt) got me two Martina McBride cd's and a beautiful card. She (he) didn't even need to get me flowers, thanks to some friends and family! :):) Also...Matt is taking me to see Martina in concert for my b-day in August! I am so excited! She puts on an excellent concert and I just love her music! I can't wait! The cd's are to get me prepped for it! :):)

1. This is Reagan's 'Path of Destruction.' She leaves it wherever she goes! She takes the shoes off our shoe rack and one-by-one tosses them to the floor. As you can see, she can't quite get a grip on the top row. But she did manage to move the rack some. She is getting strong!
I usually pick this book mess up, like, three times a day.
She thought is was so funny!
3. Here is Matt goofing off. I don't like to get all mushy, mushy on here, but I have to brag for a second. I am married to the greatest guy I could ask for. He really takes good care of me, our child, our home, and just about everything. This last week wasn't easy for me, but it was even harder on him...he was more emotionally and physically drained than he has been for a while, yet ne hever complained once about it! I'm not really surprised, since he rarely complains :) But I am grateful every day of my life for him and couldn't ask for a better companion! 4. In exactly two weeks, I will be pow-wowing with my BFF's in sunny San Diego! I cannot wait! (How many times can I use that phrase?) Lori, Jenn and I have been BFF's since freshman year in high school and we have had some of the raddest times ever. They came out to see us when Reagan was a month old and we haven't been together since. Now Jenn is getting married and we are together again! I love these girls! Here are a couple pics of us from our high school days...(thanks, Lori, for scanned photos!)

And here we are now. These were taken last July when we spent the day in San Francisco!5. How about them Jazz? Honestly, the Warriors-Jazz series could have gone either way and we would have been happy, since we enjoy both teams. But once a Jazz-fan, always will be one for Matt...he found himself rooting for them anyways! We thoroughly enjoyed the series, but my favorite part was watching the Warriors coach, Don Nelson. He looks like my dad! Only my dad has dark hair :)
6. This pic is in here for kicks!
7. Enjoying some watermelon.
8. Last, but not least, THE OFFICE season finale!!! My toast is no longer dry--I have enough jam to spread throughout the long summer! Is it September yet? Well, it was by far my favorite episode of the season. Oh, Jan *sigh* she really is a mess. Its funny to see how clearly sane Michael is when compared to her. And Dwight as RM? With Andy as his second? That was a riot! Karen was not so nice. I have never really disliked her, but this episode I did. And Jim asked Pam out on a date! Her last talking head when he asked her to dinner was awesome! She is such a good actress. But my favorite part was Ryan getting the job! The look he gave the camera was great. To watch the episode, click here.

Happy Mothers Day!

We love you both!

Thanks so much for your prayers

After several weeks of stomach problems and hospital visits Lacy gave us quite the scare on Wednesday. The surgery went well and she's on the slow road to recovery. We feel very blessed.

She's a Ham

Reagan is such a ham these days. She loves to grin at us. Look at that mouth full of teeth! She loves taking a bath and when she does, she sucks on the washcloth (prior to a wash, of course) and sucks out all the water. Then she kind of coughs and keeps doing it. Let's see...she also stands up in the tub, but we give her a firm "No!" and she definitely gets the point that that is not okay. All in all, bathtime is fun time. If both Matt and I are home, we put her towel in the dryer during the bath so that it comes out all warm for her. I think she appreciates it :)

She has started to read.

And lift weights--can you spot them in the background??

More grins!! :):)

We were hamming it up with her on sunday.

She was putting the binky in my mouth, then immediately pulling it out and putting it in her own mouth. Then she would immediately take it out and put it in my mouth, and so on. It was a riot.
Here we are, enjoying a warm Saturday in Walnut Creek. Doesn't Matt look happy with me?
Go BYU Cougars!
I didn't get a photo, but Reagan is also standing on her own!! She falls after a few seconds, but I think we have reached a record of like 10 seconds. It's hard to get her to do it for you, she kinda only does it when she feels like it.

ROCKETS SHOT DOWN

Bring on the wimpy warriors!

Womens Appreciation

I had a hard time finding a new quote that was appropriate for the blog!! Yesterday's episode had many cringeworthy moments, didn't it? In real life, Michael would so be gone by now for his conduct at work. But this is The Office and Steve Carell isn't going anywhere! I am very much looking forward to next weeks episode, mostly because the NBC promo shows that we may have a few JAM moments! That is good because my toast was tasting a little dry. Also, we get to see all the characters out of the office and in a more comfortable situation, similar to Booze Cruise from Season 2. This time they are at the beach (or a lake). I won't give many spoilers, but let's just say that Pam has some things she would like to say.

AI

Hey, yo, dawg, that was hawt! Okay, only kidding, but seriously American Idol tonight totally BLEW me away! Wow! I am listening to Bon Jovi as I type this. Bon Jovi's Crossroads was my very first CD I ever owned and has always been one of my absolute favorites. I think they are everything rock music should be. If you want a good cd to listen to, I highly suggest that one. Anyways, as you can probably tell Jon Bon Jovi was the guest artist and most sang his songs. Some were surprisingly bad, but most everyone was seriously on fiyah!

Phil-I still am liking him. He sang my all-time favorite Bon Jovi song, Blaze of Glory, and he really did well. He wins the award for Most Improved, in my book. I don't know if he will stay past next week, but I think he really has talent. Plus I have a bald brother, so I am partial to bald men. ;)

Jordin-she really was not on tonight. She knew it, too. Those first low notes she sang really set the tone for the whole song. And not that it matters, but her hair was outta control. However she need not worry, since she has probably the largest fan base in the competition and there is no way she is going home.

LaKisha-I really thought this week would be her last week to perform, but now I don't know. She really did well and redeemed herself from the last few weeks of let downs. She sang a song I didn't even know, but she 'sold the song' as they say. Simon kissed her too...on the lips...HEY NOW! I am sure Ryan was jealous ;) And again, not that it matters, but her hair looked fantastic! She really did awesome and I think she will stay.

Blake-LOVED HIM! He is the biggest risk taker and he manages to completely pull it off. He sang You Give Love a Bad Name--another goody by Bon Jovi. He added his beat boxing and his own rendition to the song. In fact, it was so awesome, I may need to pull it off youtube to post for those who want to see his cool performance. And seriously, what is this--hair night?? His hair didn't impress me; he looked 12 years old. He needs to go back to the blonde. But either way...he rocked the house and in my prediction, will be this seasons Chris Daughtry and sell more albums than other contestants, despite where he places. He has mega talent.

Chris-the judges gave him rather good reviews, but I didn't like it. Wanted Dead or Alive is probably my 2nd fav from BJ and I thought he didn't 'sell the song.' He made it sound pretty and soulful and that is not how that song is! It is edgy and a little rough, IMO. He has a great voice, but I think this was his last week :(

Melinda-Matt and I both sat back and said "wow" after her performance. She really did well, especially considering she isn't a rock singer and doesn't know any rock songs. She kinda played on that, as she usually does, but its okay. She did amazing. Again, don't know the song (one of BJ's newer ones) but it was great. She will be in the final. And might be the next Idol!