Super Gymnasts

Don't let the title deceive you...we are far from super gymnasts, but we had the chance to pretend we were this weekend.

We went with the sensational 6 to an open gym, with all kinds of inflatable equipment, trampolines, and a big pit of foam. It was fun to do pretty much whatever we wanted without being too worried that we might get hurt.Afterward, we went out to dinner at Zupa's (yum!) and then played games at the Souters. Hanging out with the sensational 6 is the best. These guys are hilarious when they get together! A good sense of humor and no fear of being made fun of are both a must with these guys!

Pillow Fights, Tickle Tournaments, and Sugar Cookies

My niece Lizzy stayed with us on Friday night, for our very own Slumber Party! We took her to her favorite place for dinner "Old McDonalds". After that we went back home, and set up the tent so we could play and sleep in there. We watched "Meet the Robinsons" and then had bedtime stories and prayers.Here is Lizzy pretending the tent pole is a fishing pole. In the morning we painted Lizzy's toenails and fingernails, made and decorated sugar cookies, and finally stopped at the SLC library before taking her back home to her Mom.Lizzy is quite the precocious little character, and kept us laughing all night with her funny thoughts and stories. Just before we went to bed, we had to put a note on the door that said, "No monsters allowed inside this house". She made up a story (with all voices included) about how the monsters came to our door to scare her, but then they read the sign and said, "Oh, I guess this sign says we can't come inside and scare Lizzy", and then they went home. That was about all it took for her to feel safe, and she fell fast asleep. She went back to Maryland today, and we already miss her!

Storytime with Grandma

I just wanted to post these pictures because I thought they were so cute!

This is Lizzy and Andrew, my sister's kids. We hadn't seen them for about 8 months, and they seem like they have grown up so much since then.

Weight Measurements and Poultry...Huh?

This story is only being published with Matt's permission, so in case anybody thinks I'm a mean wife...I'm not!

A few nights ago I came home late from some Relief Society Visits to find Matt cooking dinner. "Woohoo!" I thought to myself.

I wasn't exactly paying attention to what or how he was cooking, but at one point I did notice him take a chicken breast, place it between 2 pieces of wax paper, and proceed to pound it thoroughly with the blunt end of a knife. Of course I was curious, but didn't ask since I was just happy that he was cooking instead of me.!

The pounding continued, and finally my curiosity got the better of me. When I asked Matt what he was doing, he simply answered, "pounding the chicken". Well...DUH! I started to read the recipe and immediately noticed the confusion. The recipe called for "1 pound chicken". I showed that to Matt, who finally stopped the pounding to read the recipe. He thought that it meant he needed to pound the chicken, instead of cook with 1 pound of chicken. I laughed and laughed until it hurt. If you don't think that's funny, well...either you don't have a sense of humor, or I guess you just had to be there.

Still, thanks Honey for the delicious flattened chicken dinner.

Fun with the Fam

My sister came into town from Maryland for a couple of weeks, and it was really great to have a chance to see her!

In honor of her coming, we all got together for a family dinner on Sunday. It always amazes me how loud we can be when we get together, and for some reason, I absolutely love the noise. It is great to feel so comfortable with everybody that we can be silly and crazy, and basically act just like we did when we were growing up! It's also great to have the grandkids now, because they just add to the fun.

After dinner we sang, played games, danced with the little kids, wrestled, and just about anything you can imagine.

I am so grateful for such a wonderful family. Each family member adds something very special to the family and I hope they all know how much I love them! Here are a few pictures to enjoy.

Sleepy Head

My poor little nephew Andrew...he was such a tired little guy. As soon as we sat down to dinner, this is what happened! I haven't laughed as hard as I did that night in a long time! I can't believe the noise of our laughing didn't startle him or wake him up! Enjoy the laughs!

A Night on the Town

A couple in our ward invited us to go "contra" dancing this weekend. If you are thinking the same way as Matt, NO, I'm not saying country with an accent. It is kind of a mix between square dancing and ummm....I can't think what else...but I'm sure it is some type of mix.Most of the other people there were older couples and possibly some polygamistst?!?!
We ended up actually having a lot of fun and getting pretty dizzy by the time we went back home.
After dancing, we stopped over at our friends' Joe and Lissa's apartment for some ice cream and games. They introduced us to the Wii. I have to admit that I have never been into gaming systems, but I may have changed my mind...
We boxed, played tennis, and bowled, and I am proud to say that I beat Matt at boxing and bowling, and he beat me at tennis. I think the boxing was our favorite...it was pretty intense, and great exercise too!Here are the Wii characters we invented. They are just the spitting image aren't they? Matt is thinking about adopting this new look permanently.

To My Sweatheart...yes, I do mean Sweat!

As I was thinking of a title for this post, I remembered a funny story.
All through our time dating, and while he was on his mission, Matt would write letters, and somewhere in those notes and letters, I would find the word "sweatheart". I of course knew that he meant sweetheart, and I just didn't have the heart to tell him what he was really calling me. It took me about 4 years before I finally decided I ought to let him know...he had no clue. I thought it was pretty cute though!

Anyway, onto my post...
We had kind of a crazy Valentines Day, but it was great. Matt made me breakfast in the morning and brought some beautiful flowers to me at work. We got stuck in traffic and missed our dinner date and had just a few minutes before we had to be in the theater for "Breakfast at Tiffany's" so we grabbed some Taco Bell. During the movie, I felt so sick, and we ended up leaving early.

Friday night we went out to dinner at Braza Grill, to make up for the night before, and it was delicious and soooo fun!
Thanks to my Sweatheart for making Valentines Day, and everyday so special for me.

Roughin' It...In The Living Room

Matt really enjoys camping, and me...well...not so much. Being kind and thoughtful like he is, he thought I might enjoy it a little bit more with a comfy air mattress, so he used a credit we had to an online store to get one. I didn't exactly know what he was getting, but figured he would choose something that would be fine.

Our mattress arrived the other day, and we decided we would check it out! We blew it up, and the bigger it got, the bigger my eyes got! The mattress is a queen size double mattress, and is pretty big. According to my explanation, this doesn't seem to be a problem right? Well, we just so happen to have a 2 man tent, aka, a really small tent.

I was giving Matt a pretty hard time, and I warned him that he had better make sure the mattress fit before we decided we were keeping anything. I went off (grumpily...sorry Matt!) to my relief society meeting and then to water aerobics.

I came home to find our tent set-up in the living room and our giant mattress stuffed inside. I have to admit, the mattress technically fits, but it is still pretty tight! We decided that as long as we had a tent up, we might as well use it, and yep...you guessed it...we camped out in our living room. The mattress is actually really comfortable and I slept pretty warm and cozy! We were too lazy to take it down right away, so we have been sleeping in it for the last 3 nights. I figure we have to enjoy being spontaneous while we can!

Don't worry, we finally took it down tonight, so I guess we'll have to go back to our big kid bed now:(

My Man

Since Matt has had a couple of weeks to kill before he started his new job, he has been a big help around the house. I have to give him kudos. The last 2 Fridays when I have come home from work, he has had our entire apartment clean AND all of the laundry done so we haven't had to do any of it on Saturday. So, thanks Matt. I love you!

High School Buddies

We spent this last weekend with our old friend from high school, Andy, and his wife Brittany. Even though we live pretty close, we don't see them very often, so it was a lot of fun. We played a fun game of "what if", during which we found out that some of us don't know each other very well...
After that we watched a movie, during which I promptly fell asleep!

On Saturday we got a surprise call from another high school buddy, James! He and his date stopped by on their way home from Gateway and we played Scattergories. We are grateful for good friends and great memories!

Wonderful

We had the chance to go to President Hinckley's viewing on Thursday afternoon. The lines weren't anything even close to what they were on Friday. The whole thing probably took us about 1 hour. I was so grateful for the opportunity to go. It was such a peaceful and special experience that Matt and I were both so glad to be a part of.

On Saturday we spent most of the day watching the funeral, which was so touching to see. As the funeral ended and we saw the map on the news of were the funeral entourage would be driving, we realized that we live just 1 block south of where they would be passing. We decided to walk down and see it for ourselves.

It turned out to be such a special experience. Our neighbors were down there, and lent us a white burp cloth, because that was all they had. It was so touching to see President Hinckley's family driving by, and waving back at everybody who was along the street waving their white handkerchiefs. It just showed the family's gratitude and appreciation. It was nice to have one last chance to say a private goodbye to President Hinckley. I am so grateful for that wonderful man, and likewise, so grateful for President Monson, to take on this huge responsibility. Isn't the gospel wonderful?