New Kids on the Blog

Hello, One and All. Thank you for visiting our blog! I thought maybe the best way to kick this off would be to recap the past 6 years Matt and I have spent together.

2003

A couple of our engagement pics. I chose these two, because for anyone who was around me and Matt that year (especially my roommates, I'm sorry!), these pictures hit it right on the head. From the time Matt first kissed me in December to our wedding in May, kissing, kissing, kissing is about all we did. ...sigh, I miss those days.

Our wedding was May 7, 2003 at the Salt Lake Temple. It was a little drizzly outside, but no matter- I was still as happy as a clam.

We went to Disneyland for our honeymoon. We had a blast until Matt got fried at the beach and I couldn't touch him for a week.

When we got back, we went straight to work for LivingScriptures down in St. George. Our first mistake as a married couple... wait, it was Matt's decision. I wanted to go to NY... so, yeah.

It was really, really miserable there. I remember I cried the first day I had to go out and knock on doors. I hated it and would very often leave my assigned area (Santa Clara) to go and find Matt in his (Bloomington). I do have some good memories of our time there, though. One of our favorite dates was to go get shakes from Iceberg and take them to "the movies" at Boulevard (a furniture store like RC Willeys with a home theater section). We also went to the Grand Canyon, the Manti Pageant, and got an upclose look at those wacky Polygs.

In August, we moved into Colonial Court Apartments (behind the Ogden Temple) and started going to Weber State. We actually took a lot of the same classes at first because we decided Radiology was a good career choice for Matt, and I thought, 'Why not do it with him?'. We both got a job at the Marriott Hotel. I lasted a total 8 hour shift before I quit, but Matt persevered.

2004

Oddly, I don't have a lot to say about 2004. I finally got a job at America First Credit Union, which was the only job I'd consider. I don't know why, I just thought I'd love it. The other event to note in this year is that our nephew, Mitchell, was born this year. Cute pictures of him to follow. I received my Associates Degree, while Matt made his first attempt at getting into the Radiology program at Weber. (It would take a second try... It's very competitive, you know.)

2005

In the Spring of 2005, we moved to Brigham City. Matt's brother, Jason, owned a house with a basement apartment with cheaper rent. So, we packed it up and set our sights on Box Elder County. I kept working for America First, just transferred branches, and Matt commuted for a little bit until he began a huballoo of various jobs that year (Landscaper, Repo Man, Warehouse Worker, Janitor, and Construction worker... which almost took his face off and resulted in a stitched up chin). These jobs were often doubled up and went around a school schedule, as we had transferred to Utah State.

A good part of this year was when my extremely generous Dad agreed to take me and Matt on a California Coast Trip . I surprised Matt with it for his birthday. We started it off in Arizona, where the Cubs were playing their pre-season. Then, we hit Southern CA and took Highway 1 all the way up to San Francisco and the Redwoods. It was awesome. You'd also be interested in knowing that I went shopping on Rodeo Dr. That's right. I still have those sunglasses.

This was Matt's 24th Birthday, right after we got home from the CA trip. You can glimpse the glory that was our BC basement apartment.

During this year we went through some rocky roads and made up for it by trying to make each other happy by eating out. This is what would come to be called "That Darn Denny's Summer" or "The Beginning of the Bulge".

This is a picture that I never knew existed. When Matt saw it as we were downloading old cds, he couldn't take his eyes off himself. I like it because Mitchell was the cutest baby of all time... just a squishy peanut holding that drumstick while Matt's bedhead looks very "rocker".

This picture continues to prove the above statement concerning the all time cuteness.

At the end of 2005, we successfully pulled off a fake move to a nearby funeral home. We were offered the opportunity to live in the upstairs apartment of Myers Mortuary rent free, and all we had to provide in return was Matt facing his unfounded fear of picking up dead bodies in the middle of the night. It was a sacrifice I was willing to make. We painted walls, packed up, said good-bye to our ward and then was given the heave-ho by the manager who decided to give it to his son. We went back to our ward the next Sunday, and said "Just Kidding!" It was a great way to get released from teaching 7 year olds.

2006

In 2006, Matt reapplied for the Radiology program and was accepted! He was assigned to do his clinicals in Salt Lake, so another move was on the horizon. But first, he worked for the Brigham City Mosquito Abatement, which meant he got to ride around on a four-wheeler by himself all day. He loved that job.

For my birthday that year, Matt planned a trip to New York City... only the #1 place I've ever wanted to go. This is a picture of Matt in front of that famous Monk's coffee shop from Seinfeld... only it's really Tom's Restaurant. We ate breakfast there. The entire inside was filled with Seinfeld memorabilia and they really did have "big salads".

This is us at the Central Park Zoo.

And this is us on our first Subway experience. I look dumb, but I thinkMatt looks sexy!

This is my Brooklyn face... that's Brooklyn behind me.

One of my best friends, Amanda, was pregnant this year. This is me and my girlfriends from High School getting together for her baby shower. Oh yeah, apparently I went brown that year, too. It's got to be tried.

In August, we moved to the armpit of Salt Lake and lived next to about 40 cats that would run in our apartment if we left the door open too long and left muddy cat prints all over my white car every night. This is a pic of the inside. Sorry, no pictures of the cats.

I stayed on with AFCU, but transferred to Human Resources. This was a bazillion times better than tellering, but I had a CREEPasaurus of a boss, so in the following year, I transferred to Training, which is where I'm still at. It's a pretty slick job. In fact, I'm at work as I type this. Matt goes from exam to exam all day long and I just sit at my desk looking for split ends.

For Christmas that year, I got Matt tickets to see Jerry Seinfeld in Vegas. It was pretty dang funny. I'm not sure, but I think this was also the year that my dad took me to Vegas to see Paul McCartney. It was the best concert I've ever been to, by far.

2007

I decided to finish my degree and transferred to University of Utah this year. Go Utes, I guess.

In 2007, we took a little jaunt up to Yellowstone and stayed in a cabin with my brother and his family. It was a blast. We never saw any bears, but Mitchell liked looking for "trains" with his binoculars.

This picture was when Matt took me on The Fancy Date. He rented a nice car for the day. Took me kite-flying in the morning. Bought me a new dress. Took me to The Roof for dinner. And then escorted me to the ballet. What a nice guy I've got me.

That summer, Miss Faye Pants (my niece) was born on the coveted 07/07/07. This is one of my absolute favorite pictures, taken on her Blessing day. Look at that hand on the belly, yawning!

This pic is another one I like because I think it's hysterical. Look at Matt's face! We're at the Bee's game here.

In September 2007, we started construction on a townhouse in North Salt Lake, in a development called Foxboro North. It was an extremely long and frustrating process, but totally worth it to live in something brand new!

2008

We finally moved in at the end of April.

In May, I got to be Faye's mommy for a whole week. I loved it and cried the night before I had to give her back. She is such a good girl.

We hurried and got our yard in so we could get this little guy. (I have to say thanks to my brother for all his work on our much talked about pergola.) We let Mitchell pick his name, which was "Thomas" of course. (He referred to him as "Thomas the Dog" so you wouldn't confuse him with Thomas the Train..) The first pic was Thomas at 6 weeks and the other one is at about 3 months.

We both graduated last summer with our Bachelor's. I got a Human Development and Family Studies degree from University of Utah and Matt got a Spanish/Radiology degree from Weber State. ...PHEW! It feels so good to be done!

Then in July, we had a very happy surprise when we found out we were pregnant! I had the camera ready when I told our families.

This was my aunt, mom, sister, and cousin's reaction when I told them at our "Girls' Night Out" in Park City. What's up, Hailee and Mom? I guess it wasn't too exciting for them.

This was my brother and sister-in-law, Nick and Stacey's reaction. (Sorry, I know you're in your pajamas, guys!)

This was Matt's family's reaction when we told them during an outing at Bear Lake.

This picture is a little crazy, I know, but it's my friends' reaction while at dinner at Iggy's.

So, we've got a little boy coming in March! It's so exciting and so crazy at the same time. It's comin up really fast. Before you know it this blog will be all about him.

After we started stressing about having a new puppy and a new baby at the same time, my awesome mom offered to give Thomas a whirl. I miss him sometimes, but thankfully he's much happier at her house anyway.

To finish up 2008, Matt has applied for the Physician's Assistant program at the U for his Masters. Again it's an extremely competitive program, but he beat out 650 other applicants to be offered an interview (Jan 29/30), so we've got our fingers crossed that he won't have to wait another year and reapply.

And so, some exciting stuff is coming in 2009. And you'll get to read all about it, right here. Aren't you lucky.