Go Matty...It's your birthday!

Ah Mattykins. Badgew. Matchoo-choo. Bunners. Happy Birthday, Matty! The thing that's awesome about Matty is he's this incredibly smart, tenacious, persistent kid who busts out and says the most outlandishly hilarious thing and manages to keep a straight face. He's an amazing listener and has a gift for being very thoughtful and sensitive. I got to be kind of a Matty hog for several years when it was just he and I up at BYU together and during those years, he became one of my closest friends. Being that it's his birthdee, I thought I'd share some highlights.

1. Matty opened his mission call in my living room in Provo. I had to help him figure out how to pronounce "Tegucigalpa." Funny how his Spanish can run circles around mine now.

2. It was my birthday and I'd had the worst week in the world. I went out to my car and Matty had literally crammed my car full of Hot Tamales, balloons and a really thoughtful note. Or on another birthday, Matty and Coach told me they didn't have time to hang out at all that day and then surprised me by showing up at the law school with balloons and took me to dinner at my favorite Mexican Restaurant.

3. The countless BYU games that Matty and I attended together. We had tickets with all the kids from the Valencia/ Santa Clarita Stakes but so many times it was just he and I. One game in particular duing Matty's freshman year, BYU beat U of U in a 4th quarter thriller so Matty and I rushed the field. Or this photo above where Matty and I decided to go despite the bad weather. We had like second row seats and Cosmo came by to reward our loyalty. Yay Cosmo!

4. He somehow talked me and Coach into playing on a co-ed intramural soccer team. Terrible wouldn't begin to describe how our team was but it was probably the most fun I'd had in ages. The highlight of the season was when I was down right by goal and one of our players was on a fast break. He made quick pass and both Matty and Coach saw it...only they were coming at the ball from opposite sides of the field. They both sprinted at the ball full speed. Neither one saw the other until too late and they positively flattened one another. It took like 18 whistles by the ref and roughly 3 minutes for us to stop laughing long enough to get back to the game.

5. Finally, the little show off went ahead and graduated like eleventy billion years early so we got to walk together. Lest any of you be decieved, I'd like you to know that under Matty's robes, he's wearing some surf T-shirt and cargo pants. TAKE THAT, DRESS CODE!

Matty, I miss you now that you're so far away but we'll always have "Lil' Brudder," won't we? Happy Birthday! Back to you folks. Let's hear your Matty love!

Because you REALLY wanted to see more...

I really have nothing to say...but isn't it time to post more pictures of Sarah and shamelessly endorse her as the cutest ever? I think so.

Here's her five month old picture. Remember when the bear was bigger than her? I do.

Here she is in her Easter dress from Nana. I love this face.

We've been giving her some baby cereal every now and then at dinnertime. This is a funny face but she actually really likes it and will smoothly eat spoonful after spoonful. I feed her as kind of a hobby, and to keep her happy while we eat. (Don't remind me of this when her emotional eating actually becomes a problem.)

And lastly - like mother, like daughter...

Friends...

How cute is this? This is "Pweston," one of my friend Elizabeth's kids. He is the cutest, squishiest little guy. He and Malia love to play. I love having him over because he's happy to eat and run outside the whole time. And, he doesn't take any of what Malia dishes out...and he calls her "Mawea." What's not to love about that?

*%#$ trash people

So, I came home from getting Bella her kindergarden shots today to see this. Anybody who knows Jake knows he is obssessed with basketball. He plays outside shooting hoops EVERY DAY...The stupid trash people must've knocked it over when they were getting our trash. They SUCK. A few weeks ago, they dropped the trash can in the middle of the driveway. I hit it when I was backing out (because it is too short for me to see it out our back window) and broke our tail light. I was ticked then but now I am beyond pissed. That hoop cost like $300+ and he got is for christmas. Rick called the trash company and the supervisor said it's against city code to have basketball hoops in the sidewalk or the street because it's city property. Ours was on our sidewalk.

So, who has any ideas how we can get this replaced by either the manufacturer or the trash company? If you know me, you know I can't just let something like this go. Somebody's going to pay for it and IT'S NOT GOING TO BE ME! So, let's hear your ideas...

I never blog anymore

Justin checks the blog more than me these days, it's sad. I discovered that I would sit at the computer while neglecting household chores, and I don't have that luxury anymore. I have to keep the sink empty, the laundry folded and put away, and every bed made. It is exhausting! I try to clean in the morning, leave and not go home until about bedtime. It is a pretty effective system. But we have a second showing tomorrow night, so everybody cross you fingers and pray for an offer before I get committed! Maybe then I can keep up with family news, too.

My little climbers...

This morning, the girls have been up to mischief... especially Brooke. She's definitely the leader and Brittany will usually just follow. Anyway, here's a couple pics of where I found them this morning and to make things worse, I found Brooke getting into the medicine cupboard earlier (she says she was looking for bandaids - which they're obsessed with), so I think it's time to move the meds to another location. Scary!

Living the Dream

Its been a while since I've posted on the blog so I though I'd get you all caught up on this crazy life I'm living. It's actually more for my sake than yours because I use these posts for my journal. Since knocking down the parking sign (which was the last time I remember posting)

I went to Vegas with a group of friends,

went to my first NBA game,
fell in love with my new roommate, had the best Easter since the year Justin got caught nailing Brett in the head with an egg, (picture taken at the release of our Easter egg hunt) became an expert hula hooper, and attended The Festival of Colors. As you may have noticed, my friend Lauren and I got REALLY into the spirit of things. When we arrived we walked into the temple, which had been transformed into this Hindu version of DI, and we just had to get some outfits. And whats an outfit without a jewel for your forehead and some face paint? Our ensembles did not go unappreciated...my friend found that first picture of us on the event's website the next day. I'm not sure if any of you have heard of The Festival of Colors but it is SO rad. Its at a Hindu temple in Spanish Fork and basically what happens is there are performers for the first couple hours and then they stop the show, light a witch manikin thing on fire and then signal everyone to start throwing their chalk at each other. The third picture was taken right after the chalk throwing started, I'm the suffocating smurf on the right. I was tempted to post more pictures so you could see just how chaotic the whole event was, but I'll spare you seeing as I already have 9.

The point is guys, I'm living the dream and I'm doing my best not to take it for granted. Sometimes when I get overwhelmed with midterms or finals I start wishing college away but then there are times like these to remind me of just how good I have it.