3 Years!

3 years ago today, Matt and I were married in the Salt Lake Temple! It is amazing to think how much time has gone by. We have had many adventures, and hope to have many more. I love you Matt! Thanks for all that you do!

Sydney's First Halloween

Halloween was Sydney's last "first" holiday. Although there are still many "firsts" to come in her life, it is weird to think that her first year, with so many monumental "firsts", is coming to a close. I truly can not believe that it has been a year since she was born.

We had a fun Halloween! As my family has gotten older Halloween has become less exciting, and we have adopted new traditions like sitting around talking to each other and having Taco Soup. Taco Soup is by far my favorite Halloween tradition. I even carried it on in college, making it for my roommates and friends on Halloween. It was one of the few recipes that I contributed to the many greats of Kelli, Chelsey, and Stacie's. Needless to say, Taco Soup was available this Halloween.

Halloween was a bit more exciting for me this year because I got to dress Sydney up! We dressed her up as a puppy dog. Brett actually wore the costume as a baby, and I borrowed it from my mom. Sydney is fascinated by dogs, so we were excited that she could be a puppy for Halloween. Every time she sees a dog, she says, "oooh, ooohf" in a deep dog like voice (at least deep for her little voice) imitating their bark. It is so funny! She even loves dogs that do not like her. The dog at the house I tutor at, does not like her, and will growl at her, and she just loves her. It is very funny. Anyway, we taught Sydney to say "ooohf, ooohf" when we ask her what a puppy says. She says it, without fail, every time, unless someone is watching, or we are video taping it. Typical I guess. So, she was very prepared to be a puppy, but of course, never said "oooh, ooohf" when she was actually wearing the costume. Even without the bark, she was an adorable puppy!

The night before Halloween we carved pumpkins with Allie and Brett at our house. Sydney enjoyed touching the pumkins and exploring them. It was fun, but did take a long time. . . pictures follow of our night and our masterpieces.

Notice the Yankees pumpkin...we have one every year!

On Halloween, Matt got off early, and we visited his grandparents and Jonne at their house. They got to see Sydney walk a little bit, but she is pretty shy and doesn't perform tricks very willingly, which is why we don't have any video of the "oooh, ooohf." Then we went to my parents house, hung out a little, had Taco Soup, made cupcakes, took Sydney trick-or-treating, and took lots of pictures. We only took Sydney to one house, just to say she went trick-or-treating, and she picked out a couple of suckers. So she had her first sucker and loved it! It sure was a sticky, drippy, drooly mess! She enjoyed carrying it around, along with her bone, and actually loved wearing the puppy costume! It was a fun night!

Bakin' Cookies

Well, now that it is a new weekend, I am finally catching up with putting my pictures up from last weekend. On Monday, Allie and Brett didn't have school, so they slept at our house on Sunday night. We played games and watched a movie at our house, then headed over to their house to bake fall/Halloween cookies. Brett always complains that they "never do anything" so my mom went and bought a bunch of stuff to make cookies, and we made an activity out of it. It was really fun to decorate the cookies, and to have Sydney sit there with us. She loved to look at them, and point while saying, "oooh." She must have approved, thinking they were nice and colorful. It will be fun when she can help out more someday!

Pumpkin Patch!

Last summer my family moved back to Utah from Arizona. When they moved back, they moved to West Jordan. When I was done with student teaching last year, I spent a lot of time at their house, because I didn't have much to do besides prepare for the baby to come and wait. When I would drive to their house, I would pass a pumpkin patch. I remember driving by the pumpkin patch and watching all the families and little kids picking out their pumpkins. I would tell Matt every time how much I wanted to do that next year with our little baby girl. So, this year we went to the pumpkin patch! It was so fun! It was actually my first time going to a pumpkin patch, and I loved being able to walk around and pick out the perfect pumpkin. Sydney loved to look at the pumpkins, and play in the dirt. The weather was nice, warm actually, so we were able to enjoy it and spend some time there. We went with Matt's old mission companion, Matt Appel, his wife Jen, and his son Colton. Colton and Sydney have a pretty fun time playing together- she loves to follow him around. All in all, I think it will be a tradition that we will try to keep!

Code's Wedding!

First of all, I can't even say how much going to BYU changed my life. I made the greatest friends while I was there. Friends who I felt comfortable being myself around, which I never really had in high school. Until about the time I got married, it was pretty much just the 5 of us (Kelli, Stacie, Chelsey, Dayna, and me). But, over the years more friends have joined in on the exclusive group, and believe me when I say exclusive (we are very picky), and our circle of friends has grown. We are all in so many different phases of life, and in different locations, so we don't get together as often as we used to. So, it was a blast to have Code get married and get to see everyone! Here is a short recap of the day...

Waiting for the happy couple to come out of the temple...

The Newlyweds!


Pictures with Code's friends, who were still there...


After the temple, we went to Dayna's sister's soccer game. It was so fun to sit in the sun, watch the game, and talk. A perfect mid-day activity, while waiting to eat dinner. Then we ate a delicious dinner full of normal wedding festivities like advice, videos, pictures, and cake cutting. It was a fabulous day!! (I didn't take pictures with my camera for some reason, so these are from Kelli... There is a big group picture that DAYNA has, which she'll have to send to us!!!)


AND A FEW PICS FROM THE "SHOWER" WE GAVE HER...

A Fun, Long, Much Needed Weekend!

We had a very busy weekend, with a lot to blog about. Because I have so many things to do when Sydney is taking a nap, we will have to see how long it actually takes me to write about it all.... On Friday we went to Code's wedding in Logan, so Matt had work off, making the weekend especially long. It was fun to have an extra day with Matt after we had both had extremely busy weeks. Matt put in 50 hours Monday-Thursday, and I tutored extra time every day because my kid's parents were out of town, so I actually fed them dinner and other things that are beyond my normal duties. Saturday, we went to the U of U Football game, and to a pumpkin patch to pick out our pumpkins. Sunday was full, as usual, of church stuff and eating dinner at Chris and Lisa's new apartment. Allie and Brett slept over on Sunday night, because they didn't have school on Monday, so the weekend for me was even extended an extra day, although Matt had to go back to work. On Monday we played games, watched movies, and made Halloween/Fall sugar cookies! It was a blast!

Busy Life!

LIFE has been busy lately. I can't believe that it is already 10 days into October! From October to the end of the year is a busy time for our family. We have my birthday, Halloween, our anniversary, Sydney's birthday, Thanksgiving, and then the Christmas/New Year season. Then, we even have Matt's birthday at the beginning of February. Luckily after that, we don't have too many big family events...until October again. I feel like I won't be able to catch my breath for a while now! 3 main things have kept me busy these past couple of weeks...

#1 My Birthday
I had a great birthday this year! Matt had the day off work, so we were able to spend the whole day together as a family after he got home from school. We went to a movie, and then to dinner at The Cheesecake Factory. Dinner & the Dulce De Leche Cheesecake were both fabulous!


I also went to lunch with Kelli, Chelsey, and Hunter. We went to Zupa's, which was delicious as well! One of my favorite things about birthdays is the excuse to go eat at yummy places, and to meet up with friends! We missed having the other girls there... it has been weird to all be in different places. Times to get together are rare now. Luckily, we have Code's wedding coming up, and even Stacie will be in town!



#2 Conference
When I was little, I hated that my birthday was always on Conference Weekend. I felt like I could never have parties because of it. As I have gotten older, however, I have learned to love it! I love Conference! I love to sit at home all day and just listen to the Prophet and the apostles. I love the spirit that envelops the community. I love going to dinner with the girls, and watching all the boys and men in their white shirts and ties. It is wonderful! Conference was great this fall. I really needed the spiritual boost! I am excited for the Ensign to come out, so I can read the talks again!



#3 A Bridal Shower
Chris, Matt's brother, is getting married this November. I decided to plan a bridal shower for his fiance, Lisa. It was so fun to get to know more about her, and her relationship with Chris. We are excited to have her be apart of our family!