Well, hello again!

SO... my slight OCD has been what has kept me from keeping up on this blog. I know right? You would think it would be the other way around. But No. I realized something the other day. I was so worried about posting/blogging without pictures that I would wait until I had a cute little picture collage or whatever to post along side my babbling that the months got further and further behind and here we are, a year and a half later and lots of missed posts and thoughts and...journal keeping. Oh well, since I'm sure everyone who read my blog has given up hope of ever hearing from me again, I'll just write for me.
Over my absence from the blogging world there have been so many changes that have happened in our lives, and since May of 2012 we have had

Babies Born.

Brandon's Aunt Aline had a little boy Henry James in July of 2012 and his cousin Amy had a little boy, Trace born in July of 2013.

We have also celebrated marriages!

 Brandon's uncle Patrick and his girlfriend Charla were married in October of 2012, and his cousin Daniel and girlfriend Britney were married in March of 2013! I LOVE WEDDINGS!

There has been lots of Soccer, more Farmington plays, and many Lagoon days!

After much deliberation, we gave Dash to Brandon's mom after she offered to take him off our hands. 

It was a hard decision but best in the long run. And the kids still get to see him!!! 

Sam broke his arm in December of 2012 (big shocker) and Natalie got braces in February of 2013.

Our biggest shock came in April 2013 when we found out we were going to have a baby.

After I had an ectopic pregnancy in July of 2012, we were pretty discouraged, and though that maybe it was not in the cards for us to have another one. But...

Words can't even describe the feeling of joy we've had at preparing for this little baby girl to join our family!

It's weird to think that I have an 11 year old and a 5 year old. 

Yes, that's 6th Grade and Kindergarten, and it's CRAZY!

And if our lives weren't busy enough already, we are finishing our basement too!

WHEW! See, that wasn't so bad catching up on all the fun we've had over the last year and a half.

Now, if I can just keep up on the blog, then I wouldn't have to recap. 

We shall see how good I do with that. *Fingers Crossed*

Just found this so I thought I'd post it!

January to April 2012

See, I told you it would be months (a year) until you heard from me again. Let's see...where do I begin?

Ah yes, all the way back to February 2012...

Our little man turned 4 years old. I can't believe how big he is! He had a Birthday Party at Pirate's Cove at the Layton Fun Center. We also had some of the family up for Cake and Ice cream.

Brandon's dad and grandma came out from Missouri for a little visit and stayed with us.

I went to time out for women with a few ladies in the neighborhood.

It was very fun, and spiritually uplifting.

The kids and I made heart shaped tie dye crayons for Valentine's Gifts

I spent my Valentine's Day in Vegas with Brandon and Levi & Tiff Nelson. Brandon and Levi had to work and me and Tiff got to see first hand some of what they do. We also saw a couple shows and played a bit while we were there too. 

Marching right on to March...

Spent a week relaxing on St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands with the Emrazians, the Goffs and the Marshalls. It was such a blast.

Natalie was in Beauty and The Beast Jr at the Farmington City Arts Center. She was a townsperson and an enchanted plate. It was a big cast, but a great show.

Are you shocked to see that I would go to another young adult novel turned blockbuster movie showing? Didn't think so.

Hopping into April...

 Our Easter weekend is always full of Fun. 

Josh and Kenzie love having the kids over to dye eggs, 

and we love to see their cute baby girl!

Then, on the Saturday Before Easter, we get together with our neighbors and have a neighborhood Egg Hunt. It's always a hit!

And of course Easter wouldn't be complete without new outfits, gifts and searching for eggs at Oma and Papa's.

Some monkeying around at The Zoo! 

Sam took to riding a two wheeler like a fish to water...

and he hasn't stopped since!

AKA T-Bug and Bonehead

The end of 2011

I know I know, it's shocking to actually see something new on here.

Well, I started these posts months ago, but didn't finish them, and since I'm determined to keep up on this blog I decided to finally finish and post them. Even though nobody cares what happened to us WAY back in 2011. But since I use this blog mostly for journaling, here they are.

OCTOBER IN AN ACORN!

October is one of my favorite Months of the year!!! It is so full of sights and sounds and smells that just get me so excited.
One of the SIGHTS we saw was a Utah Utes football game. I love to go to at least one game with Brandon, and it's even better when they win. I love to bundle up in my red attire and cheer on the best team! Go Utes!

***

One thing that I've done for the past 3 years is take the kids to Pack's Pumpkin Patch, to pick out pumpkins. I always take them on one of the UEA days and we spend some time picking out Pumpkins and the kids run through a kid's haymaze they have, then we go get lunch. It's been such a fun tradition, I don't know what's going to happen when I eventually plant my own pumpkins...?

***

After our fun Pumpkin Patch outing, the next day we drove down to St. George with some friends and neighbors, The Hellewell's for a UEA weekend of fun! Of course, it's all fun and games until someone breaks the cap off of their front tooth! And not just someone, ME!

Yes, I'm a dork and totally broke the cap off of my front tooth (it's actually called a 'composite', but I've had them on my two front teeth since I was like 10). Anyway, I had to go the whole weekend looking like this...

Sorry about the nose shot-SCARY!

We actually went down to St. George to see The Little Mermaid at Tuachan. It was such a fun show, and really cool the way they did the special effects and everything. The stage had actual water running on it, raining on it from above, and the characters moved around on those Healy shoes. It was really cool. We had such a blast, and the weather was nice and the theater was awesome!

***

Okay, so of course, October cannot come without a little fun halloween decor right? Well, last year I filled bottles, old jars and pretty much anything I could find with scary apothecary items, such as Witches' Wart, Toadstools and Love Potion #9. It was so much fun I HAD to do it again, and I added a few more items to the display, such as a Hocus Pocus Spell book, a very lifelike skull and a few other little things. Have I mentioned that I LOVE Halloween?

***

This year for Halloween Brandon and I were Han Solo and Princess Leia. We couldn't talk the kids into being Star Wars characters with us, but they were cute too. Natalie was Clawdeen Wolf, one of the Monster High Dolls characters, and Sam was SpiderMan, complete with muscles and all!

CRAZY NOVEMBER!

November was quite a busy month. Between me spending countless hours with Alice in Wonderland, Natalie being IN Alice in Wonderland, me being in Guitar lessons (have I mentioned that I started taking Guitar lessons?), getting my front teeth replaced with veneers, seeing the midnight showing of Breaking Dawn, Dash almost dying then going into surgery to have a stuffed animal removed from his intestines, Celebrating Thanksgiving AND a Piano Recital, it was certainly a crazy month, but we had a little time to stop and be thankful for all that we have!

All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth!

IT'S THE MOST WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR!

OUR DECEMBER

Well December seemed like it came so fast, and that wasn't the only thing that was fast. On December 1st, Davis and Weber Counties were met with record high winds, some of which reached over 100 miles an hour. Our Neighborhood was hit pretty hard, but luckily no one was hurt. The schools were closed and we lost power for a day, so the kids and I decided to go down to my parents house to stay the night. Our fence ceases to exist now, which stinks, and our yard looks like a junk yard, but things could've been worst. It was amazing to see the people in our neighborhood and Ward giving so much service to each other.

* * *

For our 11th Anniversary this year, Brandon and I had a really fun night together. First we went to Tucci's for Dinner (our favorite Anniversary spot), then we went and saw the Nutcracker Ballet at Capitol theater. We fancied ourselves up and had a REAL date night. It was a blast!

* * *

I'm and AUNTIE again! Well actually a TIA~which is Aunt in spanish. My newest niece Isabel Marie was born on Dec 18th at 6:01 am. She was born at 4 lbs 8 oz, and 17 inches long. Yes! She came early. My sister in law was only 33 weeks and 5 days along. Talk about a scare, but from day one Isabel was a fighter. She was in the NICU for almost 2 weeks spending her first Christmas there, but she was eating and breathing on her own for the majority of that time. She's such a cute little peanut and I'm so excited to have another niece to spoil!

* * *

Sam had his winter sing at Challenger and it was so cute. The kids had little scarves on and sang fun wintery songs. But the best part was Santa Clause...well not for Sam it wasn't. He heard Santa coming and ran and hid under the legs of some random lady. She was cute and let him stay there, until I came over to find him. I thought he'd be okay with the big jolly guy this year, but I guess I was wrong. Oh well, it was cute!

* * *

Our Christmas this year was an emotional one, and a little bitter sweet also.
We woke up bright and early to open gifts, the kids were so cute, and in awe of everything and of course, spoiled like they always are. Then we got ready and went to church. There was such a wonderful spirit at church. The choir sang songs and a few ward members were invited to come up and bear their testimonies, including a few members who have had pretty sad hardships throughout the year. It was a wonderful way to spend our Christmas morning.
When we came home, we changed and got ready to go to my parents house, but before we left I got a phone call from my Oma telling me that my great-grandmother had passed away that morning. It was a little hard to take in that she had passed away on Christmas, but also such a blessing since she'd been waiting to go.

When we got to my parents house Dominic and Sam were there with Scarlett. Mark, Kelly and the kids were there and Grandma and Grandpa Mattena and cousin Chris. The kids were so excited to see what they got at Oma and Papa's and as soon as they could, they were tearing through presents. Scarlet was so cute, she didn't much care about the presents, she just wanted to climb all over the boxes.

After Oma and Papa's we went to Grandma and Grandpa Harden's for a little bit, then back to our house where we met Grammy and Papa Dave and opened more presents, and ate some dinner, then we went to the hospital to visit Josh, Kenzie, and Isabel.

It was certainly a memorable Christmas and one that wont soon be forgotten!

Whew! I hope that tided you over for now. Look for our next installment of blog posts in about another 6 months!

September in a nut shell

One thing I love about September is that we go up to Snowbird every year for a family reunion. We have a condo and we eat and visit and then go to the Oktoberfest. It's the crazy German side of my family, but I love them tons!

For the past couple of years we have taken a family picture at the same spot. This year we thought we'd be a little BOLD in our wardrobe. What do U think?

***

It always seems like I'm waiting around for my Birthday, but this year it came so fast.
We went to Dinner at Tucci's with my parents, my grandma and Dominic, Samantha and BB Scarlett. It was yummy, and lots of fun. We love Tucci's because it's really never busy and the staff and owners are amazingly friendly (watch for Tucci's to come up in December -it's our Anniversary spot too).

***

I decided that I was going to help produce yet another Farmington City Jr. play again. Auditions were in September and the play is Alice In wonderland Jr. The play is a fun kind of upbeat version of Alice, we have a ton of kids, but it's so fun to be a part of it all again.Of course I've been crazy busy with it, but it's a blast. Natalie got the part of one of the Flowers-Violet. She has a few lines and she is ecstatic. She also sings The Golden Afternoon song.

Natalie is the far left flower.

Adventurous August 2011

After the tragic accident that took the life of a young man in our ward and neighborhood on July 30, life seemed to go at an incredibly slow rate at the beginning of August. But then, amidst the sorrow for our friends and neighbors, we were able to celebrate on August 11, when our friends Sarah and Stu Reeder were blessed with their first baby. A little girl that they named Hannah. She is so stinkin' adorable and such a blessing to Sarah and Stu.

More celebrating was to be had that same weekend when my oldest and dearest friend Mandy went through the Temple with her husband Scott. Then the next weekend they took their children, Sydney and Max, to the Temple to be sealed as a family for Eternity. Mandy and I have shared so many of life's milestones together, and what an amazing feeling it was to be with her as she embarked on another one. Congrats Donavan Family! Love you Mandy!

It's crazy how you wait all school year for summer to come and then in a blink of an eye it's over and "back to school."
I'm speaking for the kids of course, and YES, it was KIDS going to school in our house this year.

Samuel is finally in Preschool and loves it! For a kid who is so full of life and energy and curiosity, school is the perfect place for his little mind and body to be-even if it's only for 2 1/2 hours twice a week.

Natalie on the other hand has NOT been excited about school this year. The pic below shows how she was on the first day of school. I bought her brand new shoes for school and "somehow" when she put them on, on the first day of school, they didn't fit right. Talk about drama over a pair of shoes. Then it was all downhill from there on out...and that's almost how it's been everyday since. I'm not sure what's going on with her, and why she's being so grumpy about school this year, but I hope it passes soon.

As if sending the kids to school wasn't crazy enough, we decided to go on a little weekend getaway with our neighbors (the Marshalls, Goffs, Zeiglers, & Biesingers) down to the Utah Shakespearean Festival the weekend of the first week of school. Ahhhh! Well, for Brandon and I, it wasn't much of a weekend, more like a day trip because he had to be back to fly out to Vegas for work. It was a bit a of a whirlwind but we had fun anyway. We drove down Friday the 19th and had tickets to see Noises Off! It was a hysterical play about what goes on while in the production stages of putting on, and during a show. That night we drove down to St. George and stayed in the Zeigler's parent's house. It was such a beautiful house, complete with swimming pool, and Saturday morning, while the guys went Golfing, us ladies stayed behind and lounged in the pool (I promised I wouldn't blog those pics ladies-so I didn't)! After the guys got back and swam for a bit, we all got ready, ate lunch and headed back up to Cedar to see A Mid-Summer Night's Dream-one of my favorite Shakespeare plays! After that we all went to dinner at Lupita's Mexican Restaurant, which had an amazing salsa bar and even better Chimichangas. Mmmmm I want one right now. Anyway, after dinner Brandon and I headed back for home (I told you it was a quick trip).

The singing, dancing and acting camp that Natalie attended over the summer had two performances on August 23rd and 26th. The first one was at Bountiful Music on a tiny little stage that the kids barely fit on. It was very hot in the room and the music kept skipping every time the kids danced. The one on the 26th was at Cherry Hill and it was on a cute little outdoor stage. The kids performed their show and their solo songs that they'd worked so hard on over the summer, and Jessie Clark Funk (their teacher) performed some songs also. It was a beautiful night and a great little performance by the kids. Natalie had such a blast over the summer doing the things she loves best. Acting, Singing and Dancing! Not sure where she gets that from... ;)

On August 27th me and the kiddos went to the Federal Heights Rehab & Nursing Center for an Alzheimer's Fundraiser. Our Neighbor Pete is the Executive Director of the facility and we went in support of him, and of course, the cause. There was much fun to be had, including bounce houses, a "boxing ring," booths with lots of fun things to buy, carnival food, and Natalie's favorite-a rock wall. She and I took a turn climbing the wall. I was able to get to the top (in bare feel of all things) and Natalie made it up about half way. She kept freaking herself out and repelling down. It was a lot of fun, and a great day to spend time with our neighbors, Pete, Ashli and their son Boston. All for a good cause!

It was a pretty exciting end of August for Sam. He got to finally play soccer, and to our surprise...is really good at it. He dribbles the ball well and is kind of pushy (at 3 years old we still have to tell him to be nice, but one day that aggression will be good for him on the field). His team name was THUNDER and they were really cute boys. He had such a blast playing, and we really liked Tuesdays because it meant Sam slept really well that night. I'm hoping to find an indoor soccer league to put him in for the long winter months. That would be a win win for everyone!


Ahhhh, well that was a look at our Adventurous August...one of these days I'll blog within a reasonable amount of time, and maybe avoid this month-by-month blogging thing....then again maybe not!