MIA

Our blog has been rather neglected these last few months ... and will probably continue to do so for at least a little while longer. Just thought I'd let the few that actually read this know that I'm still here and will catch up eventually ... my list of everything I need to blog about is piling but that's ok.

So ... stay tuned

(New Mexico Bowl week and Christmas in Disneyworld are just some of the highlights to be coming)

and ....

MERRY CHRISTMAS !!!!

and ...

Happy New Year !!!! hopefully I'll get around to blogging before then .... but just in case

Thankful Thoughts

Thanksgiving came at perfect timing for me. I have so so much to be grateful for and I needed a reminder of that.

Our T-day went a little like this:

Matt had practice all morning and I mixed up some salads. After Matt got home we jumped in the car and headed up to Brigham City. We spent the afternoon with the Putnam's ... lots of food, games, a talent show, and some good ol' chit chat. We stopped by an old friend's and then headed back home. It was a quick trip but a very happy Thanksgiving.

I am grateful for so much. I've been pretty selfish this last little while and a lot of woe is me. Yesterday was a good reminder of everything I've been blessed with and all the things going right in life that so much overpower the things that seem to be going wrong.

I am so incredibly thankful for:

- My awesome hubby

- That Matt and I were and are married and sealed together for time and all eternity and that we have the amazing opportunity to create and expand our family in the years to come

- The examples, love, and support from mine and Matt's families and for the amazing people each one of them are

- The gospel and everything it entails and how much it has blessed and continues to bless my life

- Doctors and medicine and that even though I may not be able to be cured all the time, I at least know what's wrong with me

- Technology

- Electricity

- Our condo ... our place of refuge

- Planes, Trains, and Automobiles .... modes of transportation

- My job

- Football and that Matt is so awesome at it even though it means taking him away every weekend ... absence makes the heart go fonder

- Priesthood blessings

- Movies

- Our SleepNumber bed

- Tender mercies

- Earth

- The stars

- Trees

- Photography and cameras and the ability to capture moments

- And so so much more

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sweetheart (yesterday)!! My sweet hubby is now 25!! HOLY COW!

Most of his birthday this year was spent in Colorado for the game against Colorado State, which he played a great game and had an awesome blocked pass (pics to come). He got home at about 7 and we went to ComedySportz and just had fun together. He got an ipad earlier in the year as his present (he got early so he could have it for school) and then I got him a shirt and a jacket from american eagle so he actually had something to open on his birthday. So, nothing too crazy.

Otherwise, I don't even know where to begin. He's awesome. If you've followed this blog for awhile, then you probably, or should, already have a good idea of how much I love and adore my husband. I really do feel like we were kinda made for each other and that he's like my matching puzzle piece. Sure ... we still have rough moments and things aren't always perfect but I think we make a pretty good team. There's been several things over the last 2 years where I've thought about what I would have done or what he would have done if we didn't have each other and weren't married ... and it just seems unbearable from either side...I don't know what I would have done without him and I'd like to say he thinks the same. Basically, I am so incredibly grateful to have him in my life and that I get to claim him as my husband. He's everything I could have ever asked for in a husband and more. I am blessed. He is amazing. I could go on and on and on about all of his awesome qualities and everything he does for me but I think that might take hours and hours.

So ... I was trying to think of what my absolute favorite thing it is that Matt will do on a somewhat regular basis (hopefully I don't embarrass him) ... sometimes when he's just waking up or still really tired and slightly out of it, he'll reach out and grab me and pull me close to him in bed or on the couch (naps) and snuggle up to me and won't let me go. I just love it ... I kinda feel like I'm his teddy bear and I know he loves me.

I LOVE YOU SWEETHEART! HAPPY 25TH BIRTHDAY!!

My brother snapped this picture of us on his iphone while we were at my parents a little while ago ... This is us and what we're like a lot of the time (or at least I think so) ... Matt being a goofball and me enjoying every second of it.

Rise and Shout

Well, we're smack in the middle of football season. Matt's had a great season so far. He's starting as defensive end. It's been an interesting season, but none-the-less it's a blast to watch Matt play. It's so fun to see another side of him on the field and see that competitive fire and drive light up when he goes on the field. Sometimes I wonder if that's the same guy I'm married to. He told me a couple weeks ago that you have to have a little crazy in you to play defense .... what?! Matt .... crazy .... hahahaha. Pretty sure I was laughing for at least 10 minutes after that ... but he insisted that's the truth. So you can ask Matt about his 'crazy side' next time you see him and see what he says. ha. But I am SO PROUD of him. He's gone through a lot and continues to go through a lot to be where he is today. He is amazing. I'm so incredibly lucky. I love to brag that he's my hubby.

Much of our schedules revolve around football but that's ok ... I guess it's a little more exciting that way. And can I say that I am SOOO excited for the bye week this weekend!! I get to be with Matt ALL weekend ... none of this being by myself Friday and Saturday :) We've got it all booked with fun stuff and we'll be all over the place but it's gonna be a fun one! Happy Halloween!

Anywhoos ... here's a bunch of pictures from the games (courtesy of BYU Photography) in no particular order (and it's very likely that I didn't put some of them with the right game):

*to see the whole slideshows of the games where I got these from click here

See if you can pick him out in all the pics ...

v. Florida State

How awesome is this pic

v. Washington

v. San Diego State

He's right in the middle

v. Air Force

v. Nevada

v. San Diego State again

I looovvee this picture (above) ... how awesome - Matt swatting down a pass

Isn't he just soo cute

Independence Day

We spent July 4th at Wendy's house, Matt's sister, and her kids. I never knew someone could get so excited over spinners and smoke bombs and all the other little fireworks you buy at the stands. It was like watching a little boy at a candy store when we walked into the fireworks tent.

This picture does a pretty good job of showing how happy he was

The little kids loved running through the smoke

National Golf Day

Happy National Golf Day yesterday!! And so to celebrate it ... I thought I'd share some of our golf pictures from this summer.

We've been golfing a lot more than just these 2 times but they were the only times I took pictures ... or that Matt would let me take pictures.

At Hobble Creek:

John and Jake - 2 of my coworkers/friends that invited us to come with them

Matt got a birdie (I think) on this hole below (I wanna say it was his 1st or 2nd ever...but it's been awhile so I'm not sure) and this was his face after-the-fact above ... He really didn't want me to take the picture ... but I did anyways

I just thought this was pretty

"Where did the ball go"

Me having fun in the golf cart as we drove from hole to hole

Jake

I kinda love this picture

At Sleepy Ridge:

This is us going at the very beginning of spring so it was still super cold but we just wanted to go golfing so bad

InCreDibLE

Of course this is late, but it just had to be documented.

It all started after BYU beat Washington at home a couple weeks back. (Sidenote: it was an awesome game to watch and attend) My brother, Michael, came with me to the game and we met up with his roommate and our friend, John, afterwards to give them a ride home. We were all hungry so we decided to go to Denny's.

Little did we know that we were going to be there for over 2 hours.

We hit the last of the game crowd when we arrived but were seated immediately. (After about 20-30 min there weren't very man people there at all.) Our waiter didn't come to our table for 10-15 min ... which we thought was kinda weird but didn't think too much about it. He took our orders and then we only saw him once before he brought us our food .... 1 1/2 hours later ... and it was cold (like it had ready for an hour). Our drinks were never refilled ... even when we asked him to. Michael couldn't even finish his food because he was so thirsty. Another waitress that came on shift ended up cleaning our places and telling our waiter to bring us our checks. Every once in a while, I would see him peer out of the kitchen door, look around at the tables for 2 seconds, and then go back to hiding in the kitchen. It was sooo crazy. We watched several other groups of people walk out without receiving their food but we wanted to be better than that. It actually really bothers me when people do stuff like that, but that's another story. Poor guy ... he was obviously new ... but ... had his parent's never taken him out to dinner before?

Anyways .... for such a crazy, unusual, horrible restaurant experience with our food .... it was the most ideal group of people it could have happened to. We were laughing pretty much the whole time. Mike and John are 2 of the funniest people I know ... put them together ... plus Matt ... and there's no way of not laughing so hard your crying. We made light of the situation and time passed by with the game of "3 things", making paper airplanes out of the placemats, finger people acts, and so on. The 2 hours passed by fairly quickly for how starving and thirsty we were. We couldn't imagine if this had happened to a couple on their first date .... it would probably be the worst first date experience ever.

So ... moral of the story is this:

Go to IHOP

And ... I'm extremely grateful for good friends and especially friends that me laugh so hard I cry.

I really hope this doesn't come across as being mean ... we just all thought it was such an unusual, crazy, incredible experience ... I just had to write it down for memories