Matt and Jade

Goat Farm

2011-10-17T10:50:00.008-06:00

I promised myself that I would be better at posting pictures, I guess I failed that goal.

A few ladies and I went to a goat farm this weekend while the boys are gone. There was horses, goats, cows and lots of stray little kittens.

Kalyne and her son Ashton.

Amy and Tristan. I love this little boy, he gets this big toothy grin when he sees me. He looks just like my nephew Charlie.

Ali and me, with this sweet stray kitten. She followed us around, and purred constantly. I want to take her home.

Sally's little boy Boon feeding a goat. (and the back of Ashton's head)

Kalyne feeding the goat, Ashton wasn't to sure about them.

We had a blast atleast the adults did. After we watched the goats, horses and cows, we went into the little store and bought goat cheese. I bought goat butter for Matt, when he gets back. I hope he likes it, he loves weird food.

Then we went out to the restaurant called the Wagon Wheel. Super good Italian food. I always get Pizza Prosciutto e Chipolla. It's ham and onion pizza. I love it.

EFMB Graduation

2011-08-17T12:49:00.010-06:00

The last 2 weeks Matt has been in Germany doing a course. The Expert Field Medical Badge course. They had 1 week of learning everything and then 1 week of executing what they have learned. It is suppose to be a very hard course to pass. Only about 10-15% pass. They only offer the course once a year. The last event in the course was a 12 mile ruck march, it ended about 45 minutes before graduation. So I blindly drove up to Germany (8 hours) hoping and praying Matt would pass his test and then complete the ruck.

Matt waiting in line to get pinned. The pin is another tab that goes above his Airborne wings.

Matt getting pinned by General Hertling. He gave a speech and was cracking jokes the whole time. Even when he was pinning people, he was making jokes. It was the funniest ceremony I've been to.

Matt getting his certificate of completion from Major Capel.

Matt and the other 2 guys Whiteneck and Bundy that got pinned from our battalion. They are also in Matt's platoon. The guy in the cap is Josh Hetisimer he helped run the course and is also in Matt's platoon.

I'm so proud of Matt and all he has accomplished there, it was difficult for him because the platoon is mostly Medics and they have experience doing Medical things. Matt doesn't, he was a little behind the curve. He did amazing.

This is the 8th ceremony Matt has been in, since he's been in the military. I haven't missed one and don't plan on it.

Matt's Birthday

2011-07-05T12:39:00.005-06:00

I am not a birthday person. I just do not like being the center of attention, I do like to force other people to be though. The last two years I throw Matt a surprise birthday party. It was great fun. However with me being gone for almost a month right before his birthday, a party was out of the question. Let alone a surprise one. I did buy Matt a few clothes and cds. I know I'm a party pooper. He's not really a toy kind of guy. Okay he is. But that gets very expensive. I did buy him this sweet globe.

He has been asking for one for months, possibly even a year. He would say he needed one when he wanted to see the distance from anyplace. Like from he to Paris. He wanted to look at a globe, to determine that. I love him. He's cute. A little unpredictable, and a little uncertain. But he is a keeper.

Marostica

2011-05-29T12:27:00.010-06:00

This is a walled city with a castle at the top and a castle at the bottom. This is a view from the highway.

This is one of the towers at the end of the wall.

The town is known for a live chess game (like Harry Potter-Wizard's chess). If you look closely you can see the chess board. The show is only in September every even year. 2012 here we come. The tickets are super expensive, about 80.00 a ticket.

This is one of the castles at the bottom where all the shops are.

The town is also know for cherries. We stopped at this little store and bought some chocolate covered cherries. Matt was in heaven.

This is a cherry vineyard. We stopped at this roadside stand and bought some cherries. We bought a kilo and it only cost 4 euro which is about 4.75 to 5.00. The guy that sold them had a button up shirt that was unbuttoned half way down his belly. Gross. And he was old.

You can see he filled that whole bag.

Nove

2011-05-17T12:59:00.007-06:00

This entire town makes Ceramics. Everyone makes all different kinds, plates, bowls, vases, mugs, pizza plates. This is the front of the VBC, a store that everyone loves.

All the ceramics in the store.

This is a staged area. So you can see how everything will sit out.

We've bought a few serving bowls and plates and love, love them. They are some beautiful pieces.

Military Ball and Sightseeing

2011-05-11T11:51:00.012-06:00

The Edelweiss Resort where we stayed. It had a spa and pool down stairs. We went swimming and hot tubbing after the ball.

Matt and I at the ball. You can't see my dress, but it's a big puffy ball gown.

The town of Oberammergau. They are know for their wood carving and The PassionPlay. They have some beautiful Nativity Set and Candle Pyramids.

A croissants that I had. German ones are the best, better than French or Italian. Theirs are too sweet.

We walked through this fair in Garmisch. We bought the croissant and brats here. They had laderhosen. It was really expensive clothing. Like 200 euros, which it about 350.00 dollars.
The brat I bought. It was so good. I did not want to share.

Humpty dumpty. The store behind Matt, was full of wood carved humpty dumptys. It was crazy creepy. Stalkerish creepy.

King Ludwig II palace. Sorry I didn't get a closer picture. It was beautiful. He was so full of himself. He had mirrors everywhere, so he can look at himself, all over his home. Everything was gold plated, doors, walls, scones, and chandeliers.

We had a so much fun in Germany. It was beautiful. The sky the weather the Bavaria food, it was all wonderful.

Rome

2011-04-13T00:16:00.013-06:00

Yup, our hotel was that close. Look at that view, the Colosseum was amazing.

Inside the Colosseum.

These are ruins in the middle of the city. Yes you heard that right. They were all over the place. Ruins. Just fenced off. Crazy right?

At the Roman Forum.

Pantheon. The Doom was open, and it was raining. So they had the middle section blocked off, since the marble was slippery. The whole floor was different colors of marble. It was beautiful.

The Doom in the Pantheon.

A column at the Pantheon. Rose and Paul trying to wrap their arms around it. It is solid marble. Could you image how much those suckers weigh?

The Trevi Fountain. Look at those sculptors. Breathtaking.

It's tradition to turn around and throw a Euro in backwards and make a wish, and that's what we did.

Matt, Me, Paul, Mom, and Rose. We didn't get many family pictures.

The Spanish Steps. Matt and Paul ran to the top. There was a crazy vendor that kept on pushing roses onto us, and then didn't understand that we didn't want them, if we had to pay for them.

Rome was incredible. There is so much history and beauty in everything. For all those who want to come and visit, Rome is a must. Be prepared to do a lot of walking. My feet hurt after awhile.

Vatican City

2011-03-27T01:19:00.013-06:00

This is the wall , guarding Vatican city.

Inside St. Peter's. There was so many paintings and sculptors. The Roman's did so much with marble. Everything was.

The Vatican guards. Aren't they awesome.

Outside of St. Peter's Basilica in his square. It was amazing. We saw where the Pope would address the people.

We took so many pictures, but we didn't want overload you. If you ever coming to visit us. We have to, have to go here. It was amazing to see the way they lived. They sure no how to keep everything in tac.

Weekend Fun

2011-01-11T01:31:00.002-07:00

Just a few things we did this past weekend.

Friday night we went bowling. At the bowling alley they have family night on friday. $24.00 you get shoes, 2 hours of bowling, and a pizza. So cheap. We met some of Matt's co-workers and their wives. 6 of us on a lane. Mistake # 1. It took us 2 hours to play one game. I didn't even get any pizza. Mistake # 2. Life is hard. It's time to move on.

Saturday night we went to our Branch President's surprise birthday party at a Japanese restaurant. I didn't care for it. I had 2 drumsticks, and some noodles. It was the sadest $20.00 meal I've ever had. Mistake #3. Now Matt did eat enough for 3. So we didn't completely waste our money. It was nice to visit with other members of our branch.

Sunday we watched The Sorcerer's Apprentice with Nicholas Cage. I like it. Matt bought it for me. I like his movies, or atleast the Disney ones.

So all together it wasn't to bad. We did learn some valuable lessons. Lesson #1: Get own lane at bowling alley. Lesson #2: Don't go to a Japanese restaurant ever. Lesson #3: Do not buy a movie you've never seen before, Until your sure you'll like it. Returning things sucks.

How was your weekend?

Verona

2010-12-11T11:31:00.008-07:00

Matt and I went to Verona today. It was amazing.

This is ruins of a castle that we passed. I love castles.

This is Juliet's house. I loved the movie Letters to Juliet. So we had to go see her house.

This is the view of Verona from a tower. It was beautiful view.

Your wonderful world travelers.

San Antonio Temple

2010-10-27T10:31:00.004-06:00

Matt and I went to the temple this past weekend. We love to go. For those who know I have this goal to see all the Temples in the United States. We are doing pretty good.

Rosann and I outside the temple. She was so kind to drive down with me to San Antonio. I really appreciate all the things she has done for us over the years. She realy is a good friend. Thanks again Rosann.

Funeral

2010-10-12T12:52:00.006-06:00

I am not a person who shows emotion. I don't know if I was raised like that or I just acquired this attribute. My Nana passed away at the beginning of August. It was the hardest thing I had ever seen, to see my Grandpa so sad, and not able to help him.

All of my siblings in order. Paul, Rose, Zach, Me and Zion. This is right before we left for the funeral.

At the airport before Matt and I fell back to Utah. Zion and his wife Lauren, me and Matt.

One very busy August

2010-09-01T09:37:00.003-06:00

I went to San Diego the end of July for my Nana's birthday. It was fun. She was getting very frail. I'm so glad that I went. I got back on monday and a week later I was back in San Diego, she passed away. It was really sad. I miss her. All of my siblings came out. We are the only grandchildren. I was able to meet my brother Zion's new wife Lauren. (They are stationed in North Carolina.) Zion taught us a new game. You know how I love games. Matt and I had counted how many we have, we are up to 45. Crazy huh!

We posted my job at work. It was so hard. I love this job. I have to hire and train my replacement within 6 weeks. Shanna starts Friday.

Matt completed his training in Fort Lewis, Washington and came to visit. We tried to get everyone, if we missed you sorry. Matt and I hung out, watched movies, went camping and fishing with Greg, Nicole, Pete, Chris, and Lincoln. It rained, lots of lightning, and thundering. I found out that I don't really hate camping. Shh, no one tell Matt.

In between all of these super fun activities I worked, worked, and work some more.

Stadium Of Fire & Pops Concert

2010-07-16T08:27:00.007-06:00

At the Pops Concert on Weber State Campus. Rosann, Me, Jessica and Evie. Jessica's dog is so sweet and loving. Thanks for coming and hanging out with me.

Fireworks at the end. I had a blast. I had never been before and it was so worth it. You should go if you haven't been before.

Carrie Underwood performed, I love her. I have all her cds.

This dance was amazing. This is how they ended. I went with Tina, thanks for inviting me.

MAX

2010-06-22T15:10:00.003-06:00

My cute friend AnnMarie had her little boy on Saturday. He was a whopping 5lbs 12oz. He was huge. LOL! They named him Max Joseph Harris. He is so cute. I was lucky enough to be able to hold him later that day, and again on Sunday. AnnMarie and Larry are going to be great parents of this little boy. Congrats! We love you and will miss you when you move.

Super Cool Party People

2010-03-29T15:20:00.000-06:00

For Spring Break, Matt and I went up to our friends Josh and Kate's grandfather's cabin in Wyoming. Now remember that Spring Break was in the middle of March. There was snow everywhere. Sometimes up to 4 feet. I fell lots of times. The cabin was beautiful.

This is Chantelle right before we went snowmobiling, her and her husband Jeremy came up there with us.

This is Josh, Kate and me after we fell off our snowmobile. It was completely terrifying, however a lot of fun.

I love this picture. Jeremy, Matt, Chantelle, Jade, Josh, and Kate.

We had another couple Lyndsey and Daniel that came up on Sunday, I just forgot to take a picture of them. Sad!

We had a blast, thanks for inviting us Josh and Kate.

Moving Time

2010-02-04T08:30:00.003-07:00

I am a terrible blog keeper upper. I can't believe that I haven't posted since October. Can you say slacker. Sorry my fellow blog writers.

So for some news....

Matt will be graduating in April, he is so excited, as a result of Graduation we will be going back into the Military. YEAH!!! I'm so excited. I love moving, I love to go to a new place, find my way around and meet new people. I don't actually like packing up all my crap and then moving it. I do love to throw stuff away though. It feels so good to release yourself from material items and simplify your life. Now for the part you have been waiting for... We found out where are going. Now some of you know that We picked Germany as our first pick and Hawaii as our second. Now alot of you wanted us to go to Hawaii so you can come and visit. Sorry to disappoint.... We are going to GERMANY. We picked Germany so we could travel and visit all those temples in Europe and very pretty castles. We are so excited, if you didn't catch that yet.

I'm taking ideas of what to do when we get there, any thoughts?

I will post more on our traveling details in the future.

I'm right

2009-10-22T09:32:00.002-06:00

I hate when someone tells me that I'm wrong when I know I'm right. I know that I have a Rapid Rewards account with Southwest Airlines. I know because when I opened a credit card with them, I only did it so I could get free flights. That was the whole purpose. I'm not an idiot just smarted then the stupid lady on the phone. Stop answering the phone if your stupid. Stop helping, get another job. I argued with her for about 20 minutes. Before I hung up and then proceeded to call back hoping to get someone new. No luck, her again. In the end I proved that I had an account. Great way to start a work day, lucky me.

Funny thing though. After I get irritated during the day, my boss then goes around and tells all the employees that I'm mad and stay out of my way. He does it in a humorous way and every time it makes me laugh. I have a great boss.

What bugs you?

Lesley's Baby Shower & Half Marathon

2009-10-01T09:31:00.011-06:00

Our Family (FHE group) threw a baby shower for Lesley. She is a mother-to-be in about 3 weeks. She is so excited. She received lots of clothes, diapers, lotions, and a stroller. We had a great time. We are so excited to meet your little girl.

Carly and Steph at the shower.

Our Family! Rosann, Shanae, Lesley, Nicole, and Me.

On Saturday morning, Cameron and Matt ran a half marathon. This is Cameron coming in. He did really well. He finished 6th out of 137. Lesley is so proud of him. They are both runners.

Matt coming in. He finished 32nd out 137. This was his first race. He did really well. He wants to continue to do more races.

Matt and Cameron all sweaty. It was sick. Good job guys.

Cameron placed first in his age group, so he got a prize. It's that little box that's in his hands.

Eden was beautiful while we were there. All the trees are changing. Thanks Lesley for getting up early and going with me.

San Diego

2009-09-18T15:00:00.013-06:00

Matt and I went down to San Diego for Labor Day weekend to go visit my Nana and Grandpa. My mom Ida, brother Paul, sister Rose, sister Yolie, niece Angelina, and nephew Charles, came from Arizona to visit also. We had a full house. It was wonderful to be surrounded by so much family.

Sign in front of the Newport Beach Temple.

Newport Beach, California temple. It was beautiful.

My uncle Anthony, and Aunt Nicole came over to meet Charles. He was about a month old in the picture. Anthony though it was funny to put his chain and glasses on him.

We went to the La Jolla aquarium. Angelina and I loved walking around and looking at all the fish. Matt and Paul in front of the huge whales.

They told us we weren't allowed to pick up the starfish, so we did. Farmer's can never listen to the rules. Like my siblings say, "Rules are for stupid people."
Angelina holding a starfish.

This is outside the aquarium. Look how close we are to the beach.
Paul, Mom, Angelina, Nana, Matt, Me, and Rose.

Just the girls. Rose, Me, Mom, Angelina, Nana, and Yolie.

I love this Mexican Restaurant Cotijas. It has the best rolled tacos, and so cheap.

Example of Tacos. Sorry I had to taste them before I took the picture. Yummy every time.

All in All we had a great time. We should plan another trip to go down there. If you haven't been, you should go. There is so much to do in San Diego, fun for everyone.

P.S. We did go to the beach, however you can't take pictures when your jumping in the waves.

Taste of Home and Kara's Baby Shower

2009-09-14T10:10:00.007-06:00

On Friday Night I went to the Taste of Home Cooking Show at the Dee Events Center with my friend Katee. I love going to this show. They make meals and show you easy tricks, to help you cook. I was a little disappointed this year. This is the last time I will be able to go and I still didn't win anything. They give away all the food they cook, gift baskets, gift card from vendors, and a range from RC Willey.

On Saturday I went to a former co-worker Kara's Baby Shower. She looks so good pregnant. You can only tell that she's pregnant from profile. I hope I look that good when I'm prego.

Her opening gifts. I hope she is able to use everything that was given to her.

Amanda, Kara, and me. Amanda and I were both surprised to see each other. We didn't know we shared Kara as a friend.

It was fun Kara. I'll be excited to meet your little boy Pete when he comes October 1st.

Lava Hot Springs

2009-08-28T10:25:00.006-06:00

A few weeks ago the lot of us went to Lava. Brady's family owns land up there. So we decided to go camping. Unfortunately, Matt and I weren't able to camp. We went to a wonderful hamburger place, and then to this ice cream place. Left to Right: Brady, Shanae, Rosann, Pete, Me, Matt, Nicole and Greg. We had quite a bit of camera trouble while up there, but we finally got a good picture. The lady that took this was so patient with us.

Shanae, Rosann, Me and Nicole. We just sat around and chit chatted while the boys fished. This chipmunk was stealing my grass pieces. That was mine.

Matt, Brady, Greg and Pete. They tried so hard and still didn't catch anything. Poor boys. They had fun though. They could hear us laughing from across the pond.

We had a great time at Lava. Thanks for the invite Brady and Shanae. We should do it again before it gets to cold.

A very busy weekend

2009-08-26T10:35:00.009-06:00

This past weekend, Housing had all the new residents move in. Which means overtime for me. I had to work 10 hours on Friday, 10 on Saturday, and 5 on Sunday. It was quite busy. When I wasn't working, The girls and I had a craft night at Nicole's. (The boys went fishing and camping.) I don't have any pictures from their activities. Matt said that they all caught fish though. Good for them.

Rosann made cards as her craft. I was very intrigued by this. Now, everyone that knows me well knows that I'm not a crafty person. So naturally this was interesting. I asked a lot of dumb questions.

Sara and Shanae made earrings. Sara is wearing the ones she made, they're blue and so pretty. Shanae was teaching her, it was cool to watch.

All of us. Left to Right: Sarah, Me, Nicole, Shanae, and Rosann.

Pete and Rosann had a house warming party on Saturday night. Pete, Shina, and Dave. Dave is Pete's brother, and Shina is Dave's wife. This swing set is in their back yard. Pete was afraid that Dave was going to break it. I was surprised that it didn't break, up close it looks ancient. It was a great party. Thanks for inviting us Pete and Rosann. I hope you enjoy the candle.

Family Home Evening Monday Night. Shanae and Brady were in charge of the dessert. We had strawberries, bananas, and marshmallows on skewers, then dipped in chocolate. Yummmm! Great idea Shanae. Pete and Brady.

Our group. Left to Right: Rosann, Pete, Shanae, Brady, Greg, Me, Nicole, Lesley, and Cameron. Lesley and Cameron are our newest members. Welcome.

I Love Taylor!

2009-06-25T14:54:00.010-06:00

We went to the Taylor Swift concert at the end of May. Matt even had fun.

This is Gloriana. I have never heard of this group. I loved this song of theirs.

Yes, we had nose bleed seats, and they still were expensive.

I didn't get any clear pictures of the song love story. That's okay though, we got video. I just don't know how to upload it. Sorry. I would go to this concert repeatedly if we had the money. Wishful thinking.

Air Assault School

2009-06-11T14:06:00.007-06:00

Matt went to Air Assault School in Fort Knox, Kentucky in May. I was lucky enough to go see him graduate. His mom, dad, and Nanny also came.

There was about 180 people graduate. Everyday when he would call, there would be lots of people that went home that day. He said there was about 50 people that went home throughout the course.

If you look closely, Matt is the one, in the second row, 5th from the right.

Matt and his dad, Don. His Dad is always so proud of him.

This is the Louisville Temple. For all those who know me well, know that I would love to see all the temples in the continental US. There are about 64 and we have been to about 22. A goal I actually think I could accomplish. We are planning a trip to Manti, does anyone know of a place to stay, or recommendations?

Josh and Cassie

2009-06-08T09:04:00.003-06:00

Cassie received her endowments on Saturday at the Bountiful Temple. Her and Josh are going to be married in a couple of weeks. We are so excited for them both.

I'm glad that we got to share this opportunity with them. Congrats to you both, we love you guys.

Finished

2009-06-05T13:24:00.002-06:00

I finished all four Twilight Books in 7 days. I have a problem. My mother in law Bell told me that she would think about them too, when she read them. She said that after she finished she was fine though. I thought that was how I was going to be, it's not. I can't get them out of my head. I still dream about them, constantly think about them, wonder what would happen next. I even started reading another book, but after about 40 pages, I put it down, because it wasn't Twilight. I watched the movie twice this morning while I was at work. Apparently I need a hobby, of something else to do. Anyone have any ideas? Someone help me.

Twilight, A problem I think so....

2009-05-27T15:49:00.005-06:00

I have been fighting it for about a year now. I have had no desire to read those books. Zero. Nada. Zilch. Okay maybe a little. I love to blog hop, even on blogs of peeps I don't know. I would always see those stupid Icons that said " My heart belongs to my Husband, my neck belongs to Edward". Cheeeeeeeeeesy. I thought they were so stupid, and who would ever do that. Who would be so involved in a book for crying out loud. A book. Silly Twilight series. Everyone I know that has seen the movie kept on telling how good it was, so like an idiot, I put it on my Netflix page. It said it would be a very long wait. Tricky little devils, they lied. It came the next day. So now I had to watch it, or not and waste 3 days until the next movie came. I watched it, loved it, made my mom buy it for me, and then preceded to watch it another 8 times in a week. I bought the first book, read it in 2 days. I'm one of those people. I can't stop waking up in the middle of the night thinking about reading. I haven't loved a series so much. Anyone else loved this so much they can't think about anything else???

Cooking Out

2009-04-24T09:49:00.016-06:00

Family Home Evening Monday night. We had an end of the year BBQ and hit around some waffle balls.

Pete had a very nice swing.

Matt gotta love him. They had a blast.

Nicole isn't she cute. This is right after we put on the meat.

Greg grilling. Nicole and I were watching the meat, and didn't know what it was suppose to look like.

Rosann just got there. She has been so busy, I'm glad she got time to come and eat with us.

Nice swing Greg.

Greg and Nicole. Greg wanted everyone to think that his bottle was beer, it wasn't it was cream soda.

Rob taking a bit out of his steak.

Pete thought it was hilarious, so he thought he would lick his.

Look at that intensity in his face. Priceless.

Everyone with our clubs and balls. We had so much fun. With the semester ending, we wont be together much longer. Matt and I will miss each of you so much and miss our friendships.

After the Manner of the Adverb

2009-04-21T10:02:00.013-06:00

Family Home Evening totally rocks. We have a group of 5 couples that we do FHE with. Every week a different couple hosts it at their house. Then every couple gets an assignment (opening prayer, song, thought, lesson, closing prayer, activity, and treat). Pete and Rosann happened to be in charge of the activity this week. We played this awesome game called After the Manner of the Adverb. It was hilarious. Here's some pics from that night.

This is Josh Henderson, he's a ninja.

Matt being a ninja.

Nicole Price and Rosann Owen being conjoined twins.

Josh and Cassie.

Nicole and Greg.

Matt and Rob Haney. I forgot what they were doing. If anyone remembers what they were doing let me know.

Rob, enough said.

Rosann was driving, I'm not quite sure what Greg was doing.

Cassie. I think this is when she was being a carnivore.

Cassie eating her mannequin head.

That Pete and Rosann for introducing this game to us. Some of the pics are a little blurry, due to laughing so hard. Anyone have suggestions for FHE activities?

MoTab Rehearsal

2009-04-20T08:21:00.005-06:00

As an activity, our ward rented a Weber State Charter bus and took us down to Temple Square. We went inside the tabernacle and saw the Mormon Tabernacle Choir practice. I have never seen them practice, just perform.

Matt and Dave Ryerse just chit chatting before we leave. They served donuts and milk, I love donuts, they make me weak.

This is Emma, the Ryerse's little girl. She is so cute. She was dancing, but I didn't get that.

View from where we sat. I was amazed about how much they practice together. I was really cool to see.

If you haven't been down there for the practice or for Music and the Spoken Word. I highly recommend it. It was really fun, thanks Ryan and Kim for a fun activity.

Being Commissioned....

2009-03-24T13:02:00.004-06:00

Our good friend Marcus is now a commission officer in the Army. On Thursday we went down to Salt Lake to see him get sworn in. He is getting ready to go to Dental School in Oklahoma. His family and him will be leaving in May to move there. Matt and I are excited to see them adjust to Army life and hope the best for them. I was telling Nicole (the wife) about all these different things to expect, she seams so excited. I think she is more excited to go the commissary then anything else. Here's some pictures from service.

Marcus is the one on the far right, being sworn in.

I know it's blurry, but that's Marcus shaking hands and getting his Letter.

Matt and I had a good time, we especially had fun at Crown Burger. If any of you haven't had Crown Burger, I recommend it. If anyone has a good recommendations in downtown Salt Lake let me know.

6 Years today!

2009-03-12T11:06:00.015-06:00

Matt and I have been married 6 years. I started this post and then forgot. So sorry it's late. We had a wonderful day. We got up early and went to the Hogle Zoo with some friends Marcus, Nicole and their girls. We had a blast. Then we went to see Aunt and Robbie, we chatted with them for about an hour. We found this cute little bakery in downtown, when we first moved here, so we stopped there after we left there. When we got home Matt took a nap, after about 2 and a half hours, I told him to get up, he was ruining our anniversary by sleeping. Gotta love him. After he got up we went bowling, I won the first game 121 to 97. And I would of won the second game, but I lost instead 114 to 87. I did terrible that game. Then we drove down to Nicklecade. I love Nicklecade. There is this truly evil game, that you drop a ball into holes, I could stand there for hours, playing. Stupid game, you take my money and then you give me crappy toys in return. I know all of this but I still love it. Here's so pics from the day.

Elaine (blue jacket) and Lily touching the big ball. Apparently it was freezing, I was smart enough not to touch it.

This turkey was so pretty. It started to puff up and walk towards us, it totally freaked Matt out it was awesome.

Marcus, Elaine, and Lily. They were sitting on an elephant trunk.

We thought this Ape was dead, until he started flinching.

This looked like a house cat, it wasn't.

I would like this as house cat though. They are just so pretty.

They drained the penguin enclosure, so they didn't come outside very often. He came out to say hi, we were so glad he came out. Elaine and Lily were so disappointed they weren't out.

Nicole and Lily on the Carousel.

Matt bowling. This is when I won. Yeah for me.

We had an incredible anniversary. It has been 6 great years and can't wait for more and more to come. I love you Matt. Thanks for everything. You're the best.

Rachel's Baby Shower

2009-02-25T10:42:00.007-07:00

I attended a baby shower on Saturday for my friend Rachel. She wasn't due until March 10th but had a Owen on Feb 19, which was a Thursday. Then had a baby shower on Saturday. We were all surprised to see her. Owen is doing great. Rachel and Dave are loving every minute being parents. Here's some pictures from the shower.

This is right after Rachel put my gift down, I'm a little slow on the uptake.

This is what I got. She registered for it, so I got it. Easy as pie.

She got this beauty blanket. One of the girls made it. Lucky.

Bottle cleaner.

This was a bottle warmer, that you can plug in, in your car.

Nikki, Rachel, and Me. Nikki is prego also, can't wait for her shower.

Funny Story. The shower was at the Greenery Restaurant (Rainbow Gardens), at the mouth of the canyon. Well I hav only been to the place once before, and I never drive by it, so I wasn't exactly sure where it was. I drove right pass it, without seeing it and was 5 miles to Huntsville before I realized I had gone to far. I had to call Matt and ask him where it was. He laughed so hard when I told him that I was almost to Huntsville. When I finally was able to turn around, I got there a minute after it started. I'm glad that most people survive on Mormon Standard time.

The food was good, anyone else else like this restaurant? Anyone like something better?

Losing stinks!

2009-02-21T15:51:00.007-07:00

Mike and Nikki came over for dinner last night. Matt grilled some hamburgers, I made all sorts of sides and Nikki made some pasta salad. That salad was amazing, especially coming from someone that doesn't like pasta salad. After dinner we talked about all the massive pet dying in Nikki's family, and goats. Yeah I don't know where goats came from either. Mike actually started crying from laughing so hard, it was awesome. No offense but his crying made us laugh even harder. We then stared to play games. First, we played Sorry!, then Jenga.

Look at the concentration on Mike's face, priceless.

When Matt won. I don't mind losing, I mind losing to Matt. It's not a fun experience.

For some reason Matt is using two hands, isn't that illegal? Good thing it fell right after this.

Not very stable? That's half the fun. I have to go buy this game.

We had a blast Mike and Nikki. Thanks for the company. We should do it again soon. Does anyone else hate losing?

IGOR

2009-02-14T11:18:00.002-07:00

Matt and I watched this movie on Thursday Night. It was great. If you have kids they will like it. It had humor, wit, love and a hunchback, this movie could not go wrong in my eyes. You should check it out. Let me know what you think.

Movie Review

2009-02-11T16:06:00.000-07:00

I watched The Secret Life of Bees, last week. It was so good. There was a little bit of heart wrenching going on, so beware. The movie was set in the 60's and was about a girl who was haunted by her mother's memory. Queen Latifah, Dakota Fanning, and Jennifer Hudson was in it. Dakota has grown up so much, it's so surprising all the movies that she has made with being so young. Good for her. I didn't know this was already a book, so now I have to go read it. Does anyone else like this movie? Any movies I should see?

Paying It Forward....

2009-02-10T10:45:00.000-07:00

Congrats to Heather, Barbara and Ashley! You have won the Pay it Forward contest. Now because I am not a crafty person by any means, you are going to get something edible. What that is I'm not entirely sure right now. We'll find out though.

Heather, if you could email your address to me, that would be great (badger726@gmail.com).

Ashley, I'll do yours tonight.

Barbara, I'll call you when it's time.

Remember to post the Pay It Forward on your blog. You will have a rewarding experience, I promise. Thanks to Liv's again, can't wait to see you tonight.

Pay it Forward!

2009-02-05T10:03:00.000-07:00

A chance to give back! Thanks Liv for letting me win on your blog. This is going to be some much fun. Good Luck.

1. Be one of the first THREE bloggers to leave a comment on this post, which then entitles you to a handmade item from me - something crafty or yummy, who knows?!

2. Winners must post this challenge on their own blog, meaning that you will Pay It Forward, creating a handmade gift -anything!- for the first THREE bloggers who leave a comment on YOUR post about this giveaway!

3. The gift that you send to your 3 Friends can be from any price range and you have 365 days to make/ship your item. This means you should be willing to maintain your blog at least until you receive your gift and have shipped your gifts. And, remember: It’s the Spirit and the Thought That Count!

4. When you receive your gift, please feel free to blog about it, sharing appropriate Linky Love! If you are not one of the Top Three Commenters on this post, you can still play along. Go ahead and start your own Pay It Forward chain, and encourage your blogging friends to do the same! SO, REMEMBER...Pay it forward!

Don't be afraid to comment even if your not the first three, I would still love to hear from you.

Chinese Food

2009-02-05T08:54:00.000-07:00

I get this text message from my friend Natalie yesterday, it said "Let's get Chinese and watch American Idol". You know how I love to eat out, so it took after 10 seconds to say okay. At about 6:15 pm AnnMarie, Natalie, and I go to Golden Jade on Harrison (near Javier's). I have never been there before, it was really good, and a lot of food. I got Chicken Lo Mein.

When we got back to the house, we ate and watched American Idol. Natalie and I are devoted fans. AnnMarie not so much, she went home to do homework. We had a good time hanging out and watching TV. Natalie same time, same place. We should try a different restaurant every week it would be fun.

I have some sad news, 1 of the 3 girls that I liked got kicked off. Poor Rose. Oh well, at least Anne Marie and Megan are still on. They didn't show Megan singing last night, but she made it through. Good Luck to her and Anne Marie.

I highly recommend Golden Jade if you haven't tried it yet. It was very reasonably priced (Matt and I both ate for $8.90 and still had leftovers) and their lunch specials even cheaper. Same amount of food, just less money. Does anyone have suggestions for our weekly dinners?

Superbowl Sunday

2009-02-02T14:42:00.000-07:00

The RA's (resident assistants) Josh and Cassie that are in charge of the married residents had a Superbowl party.

Housing bought steaks for us. Pete was kind enough to grill them for us. They were a little too pink for me. I just don't like my cow still kicking.

Everyone was asked to bring a dish to share. I made wings. It was the first time I made them. I had this new recipe I was just dying to try it. The wing sauce was made of Pace salsa, ground ginger and honey. It was sweet and a little tangy. But for some reason I had a brain fart and didn't get a picture. I know what your thinking, Jade without her camera, big mistake.

Matt made this cake. The recipe is in the family cookbook. But the name has left my mind. If you want to know what kind it is, you'll have to ask Matt.

We played Nerf War again. All of us with our weapon of choice.

Rosann. She is very brutal when playing. You don't want her turning on you.

Cassie. Look at that crossbow. It hurts when you get hit by it.

Kerstin. Two guns. Enough said.

So we watched the game. I was a little disappointed when the Cardinals lost, but life moves on. After the game, we played a couple of rounds of Nerf War. Then at 9 we watched The Office. I had never watched a full episode. It was hilarious. I'm not sure if I would continue watching it, but it was on, so why not. Afterward, we played a few more games of Nerf War. All in all, the night was a blast. Props go to our fabulous host and hostess Cassie and Josh. I hope the rest of the semester is just a good.

Anyone else enjoy Superbowl Sunday? How was the parties?

American Idol

2009-01-30T10:42:00.000-07:00

I am a devoted American Idol fan. I was watching tv and a commercial came on that said American Idol will premiere on January 13, I got so excited. I literally got my planner out and planned so I could not miss one episode. On Tuesday this week there was a girl on named Anne Marie, I loved her. On Wednesday there was two girls I liked named Megan and Rose. This is the first year where I have watched every episode so far. I love the auditions, there is so much potential and some, not so much. Does anyone else have a desire to do nothing else in the hour the shows on? I can't wait for Hollywood week to start on Tuesday. Maybe this I might even vote.

Nerf Guns

2009-01-27T14:51:00.000-07:00

So I am totally digging FHE. When you have awesome people to do this with, it's just so much better. The lesson was on "Let Him Do It with Simplicity" by L. Tom Perry. Check it out here. It was in the October General Conference, which would mean it was in the November Ensign. The talk was one simplifying our lives, really good talk. After the lesson, Rosann made a cake, it was so moist, so good. She put cool whip on top of it. I have never done that, but it was so good. Rob was in charge of the activity this week. So we went done to the lobby and had a Nerf gun war. This is a picture of a wicked gun. It's not one that Rob had, but look at it, isn't it cool. I want one of these. There was 5 of us playing, so 2 of us took turns going out of the lobby and counting to 20 before coming out and shooting the others before they could shoot us. We played for about 1 1/2 hours. It was a blast. Usually I don't like guns of any kind, but I loved the activity. By the time we were done I was so pumped up and sweating. Poor Rosann had a sweater on. She'll think twice the next time Rob's in charge of the activity. I am going this week to by a couple of guns from Walmart.

SnowBoarding

2009-01-26T12:39:00.001-07:00

Our ward had a snowboarding/skiing activity on Saturday Night. Matt and I have never done either, so we decided to go. We rented our stuff from the WRC (Wilderness Rec Center) on campus. We were even able to rent snow pants from them. All I have to say is, this is a very expensive activity. Besides the price, it's a lot of fun. The bishop said there was about 35 people there from the ward. That is a good turn out for an activity. We all met at the church at 2:00pm and left shortly after. It took about 35-45 minutes to drive up to Powder Mountain. Pete Owen was kind of enough to show us how to snowboard. One of the first things he taught us was how to crash properly. Your suppose to fall on your knees, elbows, or on your butt; not on your hands, you could break your wrist that way. He was a really good teacher. We practiced falling, and I have to say I am really good at it. My knees look like the are rug burned. When I finally was able to stand up and go down I couldn't figure out how to stop, so I would just fall to the side and eat a lot of snow. Pete's wife Rosann took this pictures for me.

I love this picture.

After I biffed it, I got all tangled up. I couldn't stop laughing.

I am actually standing, look at me go.

This is at the end of the night, we were beat.

It so snowy there. The snow was coming down really heavy. Everyone kept on saying that it was the perfect day to be out. It was so much fun. If you haven't been this year, I recommend that you go.

Christmas in Sierra Vista

2009-01-22T13:44:00.000-07:00

I know, I know, Christmas was almost a month ago. Yes I know I am a slacker. So Matt and I went to Sierra Vista, Arizona to visit my mom, my dad, my sister Rose and my brother Paul. We had a great time. We saw old friends we knew in our previous ward, hung out with my dad, went out to eat quite a few times, and played with playdoh. It was great. We flew out on Tuesday the 23rd and got back on the following Tuesday the 30th. On Friday after my mom got of work we drove the 7 and a half hours to San Diego to see my other two brothers Zion and Zach, my grandparents, and my Uncle and Aunt. Here's some pictures from the trip. This is the Garner Family. Matt, Karen, Courtney, Carson and Sydney. They were really good friends of ours when we lived there. They are getting ready to move to Hawaii. Jealous? So am I. But that's the sacrifice military families have to make. This is the Staley Family. Atleast part of it. Jim, Karen, and Davis. We haven't met Pax or Josh yet. Jim and Matt served in the Servicemen's Group together. Karen has been a good friend ever since.
This is my little brother Paul.
This is my Dad. Don't we look alike.

This is Matt playing Guitar Hero.
This is Rose's cat Lucy. She has the softest fur. She's like a rabbit. This picture doesn't show it very well but she's quite fat. One time we were sitting on the back patio and she's crouching down in the grass and starts to run and catches a bird in air. It was awesome. She might be a fat white chick, but she's a keeper.
This is my sister Rose and her dog Bowser. He is way hyper, but otherwise so darn cute.
My mom made this hotdog, isn't it awesome.

I made this pizza, I love Pizza.

Matt made this sailboat in water.

I didn't take very many pictures in San Diego and I am a little ashamped of that. The one at the top behind our name is from San Diego. It's at the beach in Coronado. It is such a pretty beach.

New Years Resolutions

2009-01-20T18:31:00.000-07:00

I hate New Years Resolutions. I always feel that I never do well at them, so I just don't make them. Problem solved, right? No! Then I start to feel guilty about not trying to do better, and then I start to break out cause I'm worried, which make me break out more. Terrible, I know. Anyways, one of my ideas was to do Family Home Evening, regularly. I know, hard to do, without any kids, but we need to build this habit now... So we will be prepared when we finally have children. So our neighbors/friends Pete & Rosann, and Rob decided do do this with us. So far, So good. Yesterday we listened to the talk from Oct. General Conference "A Return to Virtue", by Elaine Dalton. Such a good talk, if you still have your Ensign it's on page 78. Check it out here. Afterwards, as an activity we played with playdoh. My idea. Totally worth it. Here's some pictures of the fruit of our labors.
Pete trying to fix Rosann's snowman, after he flicked it of the table.

Rob with his alligator thing, we weren't really sure what he was doing. Matt's house plant. It looks a lot like the one we have in our kitchen.

Pete with his Papa Smurf. Classic.

Rob's UPS truck. He doesn't know that Matt works for them.
Matt's open sign.

Ball and Bat. That concentration, priceless.

I have to say that was the best FHE we had. It was a lot of fun. Can't wait until next Monday.

Snazy new digs

2009-01-13T09:17:00.000-07:00

These are Matt's new ROTC uniform. I think they were for Ranger Challenge. He was so excited about them. Look at him cheesing it up. I love him, he's my favorite.

Super Cute Neighbors

2009-01-13T09:07:00.000-07:00

AnnMarie and Larry Harris

This was at a ward ultimate frisbee night. We had hamburgers, hot dogs and lots of chips. Only about 3 or 4 guys got up to play frisbee, the rest of us just sat around and talked. It was great a whole lotta fun.

Passing of a Great Man

2008-12-02T09:21:00.000-07:00

SALT LAKE CITY 2 December 2008 Elder Joseph B. Wirthlin, the oldest living apostle of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, died last night, age 91.
Elder Wirthlin had gone to bed at his Salt Lake City home, and died peacefully at about 11:30 pm of causes incident to age. His oldest daughter, Jane Wirthlin Parker, was present. A member of the family had been staying and caring for Elder Wirthlin, whose wife, Elisa Young Rogers Wirthlin, died in 2006.
He had continued to work at his office right up until the Thanksgiving holiday. Funeral arrangements will be announced.

He will surely be missed.

Savior of the World

2008-11-26T13:57:00.000-07:00

So I know I've been a total slacker, I just haven't had any motivation to post pics. We have done a quite a bit of things since my last post. But here I am slacking. Last night when went to go see the play Savior of the World in Salt Lake at the conference center. It was great, very moving, very inspiring and totally lead by the spirit. I loved it. We have a guy at work named Ethan, he was in the play, he played Nicodemus. You can still buy tickets at this site. There are only $8.00 a ticket. A steal. Check it out there is a variety of shows and times.

New Calling...

2008-11-07T09:53:00.000-07:00

Now don't think I don't like church...I do..I swear. I just don't like it when I am coming into the chapel and the 1st Counselor in our Bishopric comes up to me and says "Can I speak with you for a moment". Now the first thing that goes through my head is, oh crap, here comes the calling. I kind of had an idea, that someone put in my head, of what my calling was. My friend Kendra and I are the new Marriage and Family Relations teachers. I am a little scared. I have only given one lesson in RS since I have become an adult. Almost 6 years. Everyone said I did a good job, but that still doesn't change the fact that it scares me. I will be spending a lot of time on my knees to prepare for this lesson. Now because there are two instructors we have to figure out how to teach together. It will be a learning experience and a way for us to become better people in general. Here's to a wonderful, trying time. Wish me luck.....

Halloween...

2008-11-04T10:43:00.000-07:00

As young adults I wonder what are we suppose to do on Halloween. I mean we are too old to go trick or treating, the apartment building we live in doesn't have children (so we cant hand out candy), and it takes a lot of work to find a party. So what do we do? I had never been to haunted house, so Matt and I and some friends (Brian and Kendra) decided to check out Haunted Hallow in West Haven. Before we had left I told Matt that we needed to go to the ATM to get cash, because we didn't know how much it would be. Actually I thought it would be about 10 to 15 dollars. Matt thought it would be about 5 dollars. So we get there and its 15 dollars. I was totally right. Matt said he just hopes it is 15 dollars worth of scariness. I hoped it wouldn't be. It was. Check it out. We are just disappointed that we didn't go several times this season. So for all those people that have never been, I recommend going to a haunted house next year. I heard there is this one in Salt Lake that is 15 floors high and cost 50 bucks, I don't know if I would like to be scared that much.

Corn Mazes.....

2008-10-23T18:51:00.000-06:00

On Monday night, Matt and I were invited by our friends Brian and Kendra to go to a corn maze. I don't think I had ever gone before and Matt hadn't gone in years.

There were signs all over the place that said "DON'T JUMP IN THE HAY". Now for some reason that wasn't a good enough reason for Matt or Brian. Boys, Boys, Boys...They just couldn't behave. Now don't think I did everything right. There were also signs that read "DON'T THROW CORN", Kendra and I both are guilt for throwing corn. She pulled the kernels off and threw them, I just threw the whole cob. We had some much fun, I really enjoyed going, we might take the boys when Ash gets back into town. I know they will enjoy going down the slide. I sure hated it, I hate not being in control of how fast I go. It's terrifying. Just like the stupid ride, Lady Bug Drop. (For all those who have been to Lagoon).

Thriller

2008-10-16T09:12:00.000-06:00

On Friday night, Matt and I went to see the show Thriller. It was our first time going. I loved it, I love the singing, the dancing, and especially those crazy women walking around before the show. The show was awesome. When I was younger, my family loved to watch Monty Python and the quest for the holy grail. So when the guy comes out and says, BRING OUT YOUR DEAD, I just died laughing. It was hilarious. I recommend the show for everyone. I think you should at least go see it once. I know that we are going next year. Here's to crossing my fingers that it comes back, next October.

General Conference....

2008-10-13T15:34:00.001-06:00

I know I'm a little behind, but I thought you all should know anyways..... That I love General Conference. I love to hear our prophet speak, and to listen to all the wisdom of the apostles and other general authorities. I was lucky enough to go to the conference center a couple of sessions ago. I think everyone should have the opportunity to go, so when April come around try to get tickets. Elder Oaks gave a talk about Sacrament dress, appearance, and participating in a appropriate manner talk; I have to say it was a great talk. It is the talk that I remember so clearly, it was great. I can't wait to get my Ensign so I can read it. Totally check it out.

Cooking School...

2008-10-03T14:31:00.000-06:00

Last Tuesday I went to this cooking school at the Dee. I went the first year we were here and then this year. I just love to go. The first couple hundred people get these bags full of Tupperware, coupons, seasoning samples and cookbooks. Even if you just go to get the bag, it's totally worth it. At the show they give out lots of stuff and teach you how to make some recipes. On the side of the picture you see those brown paper bags, they are full of groceries. They give those out too. I have been unfortunate not to win. A couple of ladies around me won. It was terrible I never win. I got some great ideas, and learned some new things about cooking. I think they will come in handy when I start doing those cooking classes.....Yes I am going to start teaching cooking classes. Let me know if your interested in coming. Anyways, you should attend this school next year. It's so worth it.

Dinner with Friends

2008-09-26T14:49:00.000-06:00

We had some friends (AnnMarie and Larry) invite us over for dinner. They live next door to us on campus, we share a patio. We really enjoy hanging out with them. Larry is unbelievably the hairiest person I know. Its awesome. They (Larry) grilled tri-tip steak for us. I have never had it before. It was so good. I am not sure how much it cost a pound, but to me it was totally worth it. Next time I go shopping I am going to buy some. If anyone knows of a good butcher, be sure to let me know.

Movie Lover

2008-09-25T13:33:00.000-06:00

If you know me, you know that I love movies. I watch movies at work, at home, online, and occasionally I go out and see one. I watched this the other day. I just love everything about it. It is the perfect chick flick. It has humor, love and heartache all rolled into one. I highly recommend it for your next girls night out.

New Job

2008-09-24T10:53:00.000-06:00

So, I started this kind of new job... I worked for the Housing Maintenance department part time, and the Housing department part time. Same umbrella different office. About a month ago, the other part time girl Rachel got another job, so the big boss man Lynn asked if I would like the full time spot. I jumped at the chance to finally have one job, not two. So last Monday the 15th was my first full day. It was great. Lynn got the girls at Art Services to make this sign for us. I thought it was way cute. He wanted to make this transaction as smother as possible, I am grateful for an awesome boss. My hair is a mess in this picture, sorry about that, that's what happens when you have curly hair.

2008-09-23T10:08:00.000-06:00

Matt and I had a date night on Saturday night. We went to a marriage seminar at the institute building. The speaker was Val Baldwin, she did an awesome job. We had dinner and then we found out about our love languages. It was really cool. Afterwards, we went back to our house and watched this movie called Nim's Island. I liked it, it's a nice family oriented movie. If you like family movies, this is a must see. It was a wonderful date night.

St. Paul, Minnesota

2008-09-16T14:44:00.000-06:00

In the church news the other day, there was an article about a fire at the St. Paul Minnesota temple. I was upset that someone would try to burn down a temple. Whether this was intentional or not, it's just wrong.

No pictures this time

2008-08-04T06:59:00.001-06:00

This morning I got into a discussion with a coworker of mine. He wants to make changes to the sex offenders registry so that it not only includes those persons with crimes of a sexual nature but of all persons committing any crime. We talked about that for a little while and he mentioned that there were teenagers that were on the registry because they had committed that specific sort of crime to another minor to get on the list. He said he would rather know if there was a drug dealer in his neighborhood then he would some teenager that is just exploring things. Well, I was somewhat troubled by this because obviously the registry that exists exists, in my opinion, because the most sacred relationship that a person could potentially have with another is eternally violated. I brought up the possible argument of requiring any criminal to be known to his neighbors may be invasion of privacy, but by this point in the conversation my coworker had taken a turn. He mentioned that there were so many teenagers (under 18) these days being prosecuted as adults because they are committing "adult crimes" that he thinks in ten years the age of adulthood will be lowered to 16. I mentioned that at the age of 16 a person does not have the maturity to be tried as an adult. When I was sixteen I was far from figuring life out, and even now at 24 am only a little closer. He then mentioned that at ages 12 and below children are sexually active and that only a few hundred years ago children were given in marriage at 12 and there must have been a reason that they did that. I quickly pointed out that those ages were dark and that today if a 12 or 13 year old has a child the child has a much greater likelihood to have disabilities, and that the reproductive system is hardly beginning to develop at such an age. He mentioned that the LDS church says that the age of accountability is 8 years of age and that is to mean that they know right from wrong. I told him that I fear for the day that at 8 years old a person is tried as an adult and is sentenced to federal prison. He continued that today's elementary children are learning what he learned in high school subjects, adding that when he was in high school only juniors and seniors may have had a problem with smoking and that this terrible habit is now in elementary schools and prevalent in the later grades. His point was that there is so much that has changed over the years and only seems to be getting worse. I reassured him that this was true. He mentioned television and how the influence of it changed people noting a theory a long time ago that whatever happened on TV would happen in reality just a few weeks later. He named some court show and that judges had come up with the theory as they noticed that what happened on the show they would see only a little later in their own courtroom. Then he mentioned the internet and the terrible things that are brought into our very homes. I commented that of course as technology and good ideas progress so would the opposition. The marvelous things that come from the internet and every other good thing is nearly matched by the adversary in crudeness and degrading things. For the number two things searched on the internet are pornography and genealogy. Since the discussion stemmed from his desire to add all criminals onto a registry I told him that he had good intentions to do so and make changes in society, I told him that all of this can be solved in the home. The greatest that he and I can do is raise our children in truth and righteousness then they can be examples to their friends and in faith this can continue on through the generations. He mentioned that people are pushing to regulate the position of a computer in the home, that parents must have the computer in the open to monitor the children's internet surfing. In my opinion, I told him, this is obviously a great suggestion but for the government to regulate such a thing as little as that would induce an uprising in the people that the government might be in danger. He pessimistically continued that things were only going to get worse and if we did not do something about such societal problems then we would be in for it. Of course things are going to get worse, that is only since, however, that the power of good will only become stronger and the spreading of the gospel will only increase. I responded by saying that the prophets have said that the family is the basic unit of society and without the strength of the family society is pretty much going to fail. We ought to place our emphasis upon loving and teaching our families as we have been taught, forsaking the things of the world and being Christlike to all around us. I left the discussion with a knowledge of the ability and potential of the family to become something great, and also a feeling of urgency to make my own family great by doing what is right and then standing for it. I have always felt a need to explain to others why I do certain things, but I left with a feeling of "if it is true, then do it, what is the big deal?" and "truth does not need an explanation, it is true." This happened this morning and it is only 7:30am, hahaha!

Been a while...

2008-07-20T17:38:00.000-06:00

There is too much that has gone on in the past couple of weeks to adequately display, but here are a few highlights! We have had a lot of fun visiting family and friends recently!

This was at my birthday. I received lots of presents, Thanks everybody! This was a picture of myself and a friend (Mike E) playing with some army men, they are great little toys!

On the fourth of July we visited with my sister-in-law and her sons, my nephews. This is two of them and myself having a little fun on the trampoline, both of these boys do flips and all sorts of tricks on it, they are amazing! The other two were preoccupied, one had been injured pretty badly and the other was in trouble because he caused the injury. They are all great boys though!

This was also on the fourth, in their backyard doing a little swimming. Now the fourth nephew not in the picture is sitting down watching us have fun just having returned from the ER. It was nice to take a little dip. These boys have so much energy it is hard to keep up with them!

On the 12th we went to Rexburg to visit my sister and my cousin and his family. They are attending the "I" (you know, the "Y", the "I", and the "H"). We played a little guitar hero to pass the time!

This is my cousin Andrew and his wife Tiffany and another cousin, Rebecca; all Norris'. We went to a Thai restaurant and shared food, we had a blast!

The weekend of the 12th in Rexburg was action packed, we attended a Demolition Derby! Just a crazy awesome event that everyone should attend at least once a week. haha!

My sister Meredith, myself, and Jade at the demolition derby. Meredith was dressed up as part of a "white trash bash" with her roommates and other friends. I had a cowboy hat, and Jade was just happy to be there! It was very smelly and loud: cars leaking all sorts of stuff and putting off all sorts of burned gases with a muddy arena and decked out engines! Oooooooo, you know you want to go!

Fireworks from the "Pops Concert" on campus.

Jade and some friends waiting for the fireworks to start. The fireworks were supposed to start at 10pm and we started waiting and playing games at about 5:30pm just enjoying the atmosphere!

This past Saturday, Jade picked up my sister Meredith and we visited for a bit with my sister-in-law and nephews before she left. These two nephews were rockin' some nintendo game that I was terrible at!
Woohoo, we've had fun, but the summer is not over! Just this week we have planned a campout right on campus with friends and neighbors for Pioneer Day!

The Beginning......

2008-07-03T11:26:00.000-06:00

So here it goes....We have another blog, however, it's a family blog. We wanted to start are own personal one though. So keep coming back for more updates on the wonderful life of Matt and Jade. We are excited for all your comments.