This is Natasha & Yuri just last week! We're so excited to see them, we're seriously going nuts!
(that's the hat Nate sent back for Yuri - we love that he's wearing it!)
A couple of years ago, and the first picture we saw of him.
Natasha's arrival, October 17, 2009. Thanks to Ryan for interpreting!
Reunited with her best friend, Shelby/Ira!!
The beautiful halloween girls! Natasha, Kayla, Shelby
Noah, Kayla and Nate (and Kayla and Nate learned how to surf! Noah already knew how...)!
Our friends the Hathaway's and our Monson cousins
Rodney and Leslie, Shaun, Mira and Perri
Kayla's even beautiful draped in seaweed
It's becoming a tradition for us to visit our dear friends Bob and Ladorna on our California trips. I love these two so much and miss seeing them often.
Matt has worked so hard on this coop, chicken run and chicken yard. Kayla and I painted it like a barn - we love it and so do the chickens. We wanted them to feel like this is their home and they definitely do!
Matt built a fence and sectioned off a corner of our backyard for the chicken yard so that they can free range.
Matt named this one Breakfast... and no, he's not eating her for breakfast, ever. 
This is Ruby - she's so friendly. All of our chickens will let you hold them and most of them will come right up to you if they know you.
Kayla and (I think) Santa.
Mango and Cupcake
Breakfast again. She's the 1st in the pecking order and is very cute and protective. The first night they were all at their new home, Breakfast literally spread out her wings and the 5 others huddled under them. Three of the chickens came from a different farm so this was so sweet that she took them in and helped them feel safe. They are hilarious, silly things to watch.
The black one is Princess Leia.
Need I say more? These dogs are beloved in our house. Kona is 4 and our recent adoptee, and Sadie is 2, and loves her new "brother."
So our first garden in 2007 failed miserably. Since then I've done a ton of homework and this year our garden took off! It's been a blast and Matt and the kids are wonderfully helpful. We are harvesting tomatoes, canteloupe, bell peppers, eggplant, zucchini, crook neck squash, watermelon, pumpkins, gourds, parsley, thyme, rosemary, oregano and spearmint. We are harvesting about 10 pounds of tomatoes a day at this point, and we can't keep up! But we love it! Needless to say, we've had lots of homemade marinara sauce, cream of tomato soup, etc.
Alex & Camille, Kory, Cher & Matt, Brooke & Mark, Tatiana, Jessie
Arlington National Cemetary
One of my favorite pictures!
Our DEAR dear friends, the Piantanida's
Jill, Caroline, Margaret and me at the fave restaurant, Carlyle
My introduction to Georgetown Cupcake... thanks, Caroline!
Noah
Kayla and Asher
Mira Jade
Noah, Mira, Kayla
Noah and Kayla
Mira
Mira and her grandpa on a ski lift.
Mira did an AWESOME job on skis for the first time! Go Mira!
Mira, you have the best dad in the world - he even helped ME a lot as I was learning to ski!
Very cute cousins.
Favorite man in my life, and a close second!
Shaun and Nate charging Solitude.
Shaun, MJ, Dad, Cher, Nate, Matt, Kayla
Mira and Shaun on a snowmobile up at Daniel's Summit!
And that would be Matt...who else would take a jump and be able to look at the camera at the same time (okay, maybe Nate).
PG-13 snowmobile-style.
Not that you can tell, but this is Kayla, Shaun, Nate, Emily and Mira.
Cher and Emily - LOVE you, Emily!
Mira and Kayla - crazy Mira and Kayla.
And with helmets off - Kayla, Matt, Nate, Cher, Emily, Shaun, Mira
Nate goes large. Yes, the kid is 10...and on a 450 lb. snowmobile. Oh my...
Of COURSE there was a little "incident" with Pete and the snowmobile... Notice he's in the trees... snowmobile's are not supposed to be PART of the trees. Love ya, Pete!
Matt and Jared - if it's not surfing it's something in the snow. I've only ever seen these two together when they're doing at least one of those things...
This is part of what made Matt's birthday so perfect.
Jared.
Matt and Syd...aka "squidums"
Brothers Stockwell
Jill, Becs, Matt, Cher, Abby, Chris
Anyone who knows Matt knows he loves Rice Krispy Treats... enough to want them for his birthday cake. Goes against everything Martha Stewart in me... but I'll do it for love.
Could anyone have serenaded Matt better for his birthday than Paul Jacobsen? If you haven't seen Paul Jacobsen and the Madison Arm, you MUST. Thanks, Paul! Your rendition of The Cars' Just What I Needed truly made the party.
Abby and Chris
Jones' and Swainston's
Adam, Nicole, Jared and Tresa
The beloved Rice Krispy Treats cake
Jon and Debbie
And to perfect the night even further, Scott and his famous sushi skills.
Ryan, Marianne and Debbie
Nancy & Steve's clan!
Cher & Tre
Our crazy clan... normal picture to follow. Check out Connor!
There you go.
The Thompson clan (and thank you for hosting us at your home Layne & Carly)!
Awww... cute John and Tre
Nancy, Mom & Uncle Rick 
The movie Twilight premiered in November and Matt and I bought 10 tickets so that Kayla could see it with all of her friends. I think the photo's speak for themselves...
We liked the movie, too, but not as much as these girls!
We went downtown to Temple Square to see the lights while Bob, Suz and Ellie were in town, with all of the Stockwell cousins.
I love this picture...
In November my sweet dad underwent triple bypass surgery, and we are so happy to report that he came through it beautifully. They even took a picture of his heart while they were operating and brought it out to the ICU waiting room to show us. When I told Matt about this, he asked me if dad's heart looked beautiful, because to him, dad's is the most beautiful heart he's ever seen. When dad woke up after the surgery, with tubes in his mouth, etc., I told him what Matt had said, and he got these sweet tears in his eyes.
Here we are on the day after the surgery!
Amalia and Gordon were SO nice as to offer us their home while we were in San Fran. Look how darling it is! Thanks, guys - we love you!
These pictures are in kind of random order, but I'll just go with it... We spent some time in San Francisco in November and December, and had a great time with family and friends. This is my friend Kristen Anthony, obviously about to deliver her little boy, Charlie!
Cousins climbing trees!
Crazy cousins!
Chinese lunch (that was not that great, to be honest...). The company was wonderful, though!
More time with the Anthony's! Thai food...much better!
Matt, Sarah, me and Karen at Karen's house. Dave's not in the picture but he was there, too. We love you guys!
Sarah, Amalia (who's beautiful house is posted), me and Karen.
We are so happy for Whitney and Tom!!! What a wonderful weekend, and reconnecting with the DC girls at the same time was a blast (see all of their blogs)!! Whit and Tom were married in the Salt Lake Temple on October 24th and had a beautiful ring ceremony and reception at Sundance on the 25th. The girls all had a sleep over at Traci Rampton's in-laws home (not a lot of sleep that night...) and it was wonderful to be with Whitney again so much that week.
The girls outside the SL Temple: Adrienne, Jill, Mauri, Kathy, 
Inside the Sundance reception - sane group, adding in Whitney (gorgeous bride)!
If you haven't seen the movie Catch Me If You Can you may not be that familiar with Frank Abagnale, but I remember seeing that movie and being astonished that it was based on a true story. Matt and I attended a dinner at The Grand America Hotel with Matt's parents and were so excited to hear Frank Abagnale address the group as the keynote. We did not leave disappointed and I am now eager to read his autobiography, and am so inspired by what he's learned, what he teaches, and how he is so apply able to transfer that wisdom to others. His version of his life differed a little from the movie, but not by much, and he explained why there were some creative licenses taken with his story when it was made into a motion picture. 
First of all, the trees in our neighborhood look like this during the fall, and I wish this picture could do it justice because the streets look like they are on fire - it's beautiful. 
Dad carved the best pumpkin this year & took great pride in it. It was pretty cool - see below!
Dad and the kids at our carving-fest!
Kayla and some cousins picking out their favorite pumpkins.
No, that was not Matt's final selection - I think he knew I would decorate with some fun small ones, but it still looks funny that he's carrying that one around while the kids were carrying gigantic ones!
Natalie, Kayla & Lauren
The Stockwell gang!
Noah, Kayla, Sarah at Salt Creek
Nate, Kayla & Mira at RFD!!
Shaun & Matt
We love the Goodsells!! Glen, Faye, Tess & Noah (pictured here), we miss you!
Mira, Nate & Kayla at Universal Studios with Sponge Bob...
Matt & Cher at Salt Creek
Matt in his happy place...
Great Nate
Matt's favorite bird...the Great Blue Heron
We spent an afternoon with the Eichenberg's in Newport Beach. Such dear friends that I wish we could see more of! They took us out on the "Duffy" to the Cannery for lunch, and then back to their house for a few hours. Bob let Nate and Kayla drive the Duffy...they're pros!
Tonight we celebrated my dad's birthday with my Aunt Irene and Uncle Terry and their son (my cousin) Brett Jenkins and his wife, Kathryn, and their son's Landon, Parker and McKay. It was a lot of fun to hear stories about the Monson side of the family, and to see the interaction of my dad with his family. It has been so much fun having him living nearby - and the kids love it just as much as I do! Happy Birthday - we love you so much! 
Some of our dearest friends and their beautiful family! 
Louise Jones was my former Relief Society president in the Corona del Mar ward and she and her husband, Chris, are just dear to my heart.
Matt and my brother, Shaun, got in touch with their feminine side with a little pedicure...
Kristy Dunning and Rowan and Sarah (and baby #3 on the way soon)! Love you, Kristy!
The only photo's missing are of our dear friends, the Goodsells. We love you guys so much and promise to get a picture for our blog when we're back there, next!
Kayla & Jessica and the tiniest dog I've ever seen!
Jessica & Kayla and their music teacher, Mrs. Jones.
Kayla was just walking around the house this particular Sunday and she caught my eye - she's just so pretty and growing up so fast in this last year that I couldn't help taking pictures of her.
Matt adores his girl(s)!!!
Lisa & David Piantanida!
Snowbird, Utah
Cher, Lisa & Caroline at the reception
Jen, Cherstyn, Lisa, Caroline, Rachel at the reception
What fun to have Dad in town (Mom was with him for the whole summer except for the last little bit when she had to get back to St. George, and Dad stayed to watch some grand kids) for his birthday!! We sure love you, Dad!
Of course I don't have a picture of the beautiful bride and groom (working on that...) but we did have a fun time and some family shots turned out. Sam & Sam are friends through my brother, John's family, and they just got married on August 1st... pictures soon.
Nate and Parker up at Solitude for some birthday biking.
Family/Friends/Neighborhood joint birthday parties!
Backyard pyramid - this is their 4th try...
Julie, Cherstyn, Kristen
Of course the girls all congregated off in the corner together... 
Every year the DC girls get back together again at the Outter Banks, North Carolina. I haven't been able to go in the last few years and I'm so happy we made it happen this year. Love you guys!
JJ and Caroline with Jill's pina coladas
Up all hours of the night watching the Olympics!
Hot Matt in the mountains!! On our way hiking up to Red Pine Lake.
Nate, Kayla, Emily and Cher crossing a bridge on our hike.
Pretty pretty Emily.
Family photo, Matt style...
Market Street Grill with Mark Raymond.
Kayla & Nate digging for fresh water shrimp - such fun kids!
August 30, 2008 - Amber Sechrist in town from DC. LOVE this girl!
Wonderful family friends, the Dahlquist's, met us for dinner this summer while my parents were in town. When I grew up in the Sandy Granite South Stake, President Dahlquist was my Stake President and I always adored his family. It was a fun reunion since my parents don't always have an opportunity to reconnect with friends in SLC.
Shawni Pothier was in town and we met for lunch at The Cheesecake Factory. She's still as beautiful inside and out as she always has been, and it was wonderful to catch up in person. Shawni has always been such a wonderful listener and gives great feedback. Wonderful to see you and hear about your life, Shawni!
Doug & Karen McMinn invited a fun group over to Karen's parent's home this summer and invited long-lost friends Liz and Andrew Florence. It was WONDERFUL to see Doug & Karen again (waaaayyy tooo long!) and to reconnect with Liz & Andrew. It will be fun to get together with the Florence's here in SLC, and we look forward to Doug and Karen's next visit!!! Thanks for having us!
On August 30th was Whitney Klomp's bridal shower. SO happy for you, Whit! 
Office party picture of the girls from the UAR! Deanna, Kaci, myself, and Megan.
Nothing like a visit from Traci Rampton and lunch with the girls at Nordy's Cafe! So great to see you, Traci! (August 27, 2008) 
So part of the reason that I haven't posted in so long (all summer!) is because we went on a long and fun summer vacation, and there were so many pictures to sift through that this post became a bit of a chore. Couple that with how much travel our family has done since, and blogging just hasn't happened. But I'm back on the bandwagon and you'll see lots of updates to catch you up on our last few months. Here goes! (this picture above is us being ridiculous in H&M in DC. Ridiculous happened a lot on this trip!) 
One of the most special stops in DC for us was to the Jefferson Memorial. Matt had proposed to me at this monument (learning from my friends that it was my favorite monument), and the kids had been part of the little notes that he lined the monument with during his proposal. They were so excited to actually be where this proposal happened, and wanted us to walk them through EXACTLY how it happened. Very fun.
Cedar Point is an amazing amusement park in Ohio. Nate was talking about it for several weeks prior to and several weeks post our trip. Ask him about Top Thrill Dragster...
The kids were floored by New York City... so fun to experience it through their eyes!
The Albert Einstein statue in Washington, DC.
Max, Noah, Nate & Kayla at the Lincoln Memorial.
Our family at the Jefferson Memorial.
The boat house in Central Park, New York City.
Nate, Max & Kayla at FAO Schwarz in NYC.
My nephew, Daniel. He's so awesome, wonderful, adored, grown up!, and good looking!
Me and Matt with Daniel and my other nephew, his brother, Joe. LOVED seeing these guys. They have always meant so much to me and I'm so impressed with and proud of them.
The whole gang at Lombardi's pizza in NYC.
A highlight of the trip - the whole family in the sacred grove, Palmyra, NY.
This was a common scene every time we got out of the car on the trip... Max and Nate throwing a tennis ball on any strip of grass, at every truck stop, and every park.
Matt and Shane love to fish and thought it was pretty funny that they have a vending machine for fishing BAIT in Palmyra.
Their first view of Times Square.
Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, NYC.
I love this picture...at the visitors center in Palmyra, the kids are so cute looking at this statue of the first vision.
The Palmyra Temple.
Kayla in the sacred grove.
Matt and Cher in the sacred grove.
The kids loved how many states they drove through on this trip (8 total!), but loved even more that they can now say they've left the country by going to the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.
Niagara Falls.
This one is Matt's favorite view of the falls. He's been here before and wanted to walk us all right back to this awesome spot.
The family at the Hill Cumorah.
Cute flying kids.
Max and Nate.
Niagara Falls.
The Kirtland Temple.
Everyone at Niagara.
So Matt learned from my DC girlfriends that they were all going to the George Michael Concert in DC this summer, and I was dying to go (George Michael was my 7th grade crush). Matt, romantic schemer that he is, tells me that he needs me to attend a work function with him in San Diego on Tuesday evening, June 17th, so we made the arrangements. We flew out to San Diego and went to Fish Market for dinner (SO good...beautiful restaurant on the water). You'd think I would have caught on that something was up when he took me to dinner (don't evening work functions revolve around a meal?), but I was just along for the ride. Those of you who know me well know that I am a schedule/planner type - so any opportunity to NOT be in charge of a plan is a welcome vacation to me. I didn't even think about why it would be strange that we would go to dinner first before a work event. Anyway, it was so much fun to be jet-setting with my awesome husband and to be overlooking the water on a sunny California evening. We left the restaurant and got back in the car for a bit - maybe 20 minutes or so. Matt suddenly pulls into a Target parking lot (random) and says he wants to change his shirt. Whatever. So he parks and goes to the trunk to get in his suitcase. As I then take the opportunity to primp for a second in the rear-view mirror, I notice in it this gigantic sign flashing GEORGE MICHAEL TONIGHT!!! Turns out that the Target parking lot was right across the street from the San Diego Sports Arena where George was playing. I jump out of the car and run back to Matt jumping and pointing at the flashing sign. Matt, playing it very cool, acts clueless and just keeps putting his shirt on, starring at me blankly. He finally smiles and I throw my arms around him and it was so much fun. The concert was just so-so... don't get me wrong, George has a rich voice and performs live very well. I guess I've just been to such phenomenal concerts that I can't help but compare (Matt and I gave it a 7 out of 10). But it was sooo worth going! I'd always wanted to see him perform live, and my husband making a surprise out of it made the whole thing perfect. Love him!
Dinner up Emigration Canyon to Ruth's Diner with grandma and grandpa Viers. They visited us from Folsom, CA and we always love it when they come to town.
Here's Nate jumping over Matt and a couple of neighborhood boys...
...and another angle...this one taken from road-kill perspective.
This time our trip to DC was for work (National Association of Realtors midyear meetings). My coworkers all went to the Orioles/Redsox game on Tuesday night - very fun! Matt hadn't been to Camden Yards before and the weather/evening couldn't have been more perfect.
More time with the gang! Here we have Heather and Michael Bush, Jill Chappell, Amber Sechrist, Margaret Owens (peeking out the back), Matt, me, and Caroline.
Erika (Thew) and Travis Bowen met us at our favorite Carlyle Grand Cafe - wonderful to spend time with them. Love you guys so much!
On Mother's Day we had wonderful guests for dinner - the Herger clan and also Laura Cannon. I worked for Congressman Herger in Washington, DC for 5 years, and then Laura replaced me in that position when I left. Laura now lives here in Utah and works with me. So the Herger's were in town visiting their daughter, Julie (her husband Wil and daughter, Reagan are all in the picture) and wanted to come by and see us before they left town. What a perfect Mother's Day to share it with them. 
This is the second year that a few of us have attended BYU Women's Conference and this year I had such a pleasant surprise happen. This couple that I'm pictured with here are two very important people to me from my upbringing. They are Jim and Karen Talbot; Jim was my bishop when I was in High School while Karen was my Young Women's President. While browsing the class catalogue, I saw Karen's name as an instructor and I made the trek across campus to catch the class. She is amazing - always was as a teacher in my youth. Afterward, I made my way to the front to reunite after so many years (I haven't seen them since I was 18) and it was such a fun reunion. Bishop Talbot (Jim) was a wonderful leader as well, and they were such a strong example to me as the kind of couple to emulate my future marriage off of. What a blessing to see them again. 
My cute parents. They took us on a walk up Snow Canyon and it was beautiful. Matt and Nate rode their bikes (shocking... and we had already gone mountain biking that morning!) and we walked with the dog.
Nate's so good...
We had the most wonderful time in St. George with my parents! This is at a favorite restaurant, the Painted Pony.
It was so much fun to have Jill Jackson (JJ) in town! She is still living in NYC (see you there this summer, JJ) despite all of our efforts to get her to relocate to Utah. Becca Holt is actually the one who introduced me to Jill back at BYU in 1994 or so, and all of us lived in DC together for a time. Becca is now just up the street from me and it's been so wonderful to see so much of her this last year. We had them all over for dinner this week to celebrate Becca's birthday. Love you guys!
Kristen and Adam (and Luke!) Anthony were in town for General Conference weekend last week and I got to meet little Luke in person! What a cutie he is - no wonder Kristen is so enamoured with him! Kristen's friend, Raina, also lives in SLC with her family, so I joined them for lunch last Saturday afternoon. It was so wonderful to see them all. Kristen and I became friends before I ever moved to Newport Beach (a friend of a friend type of acquaintance through Heather Fortuna) and we became FAST friends. She is truly one of the best friends I have ever had (don't get me started...the girl is funny, feisty, feminine, creative, loyal, honest, beautiful, spiritual...). So great to see you, Kristen!
I held Luke for a while and didn't want to give him back! He's got the cutest little smile and dimple and they had some pretty funny stories about him.
There is so much that I could say about my beautiful, amazing, Kayla! Kayla is my best friend in the whole world (next to my own mother...it's all the same) and I am so grateful for, and have so much fun with, her! Her personality just keeps getting more and more entertaining and dynamic, and hanging out with her, even if we're just running errands, is a blast. She's got phenomenal taste (helps me decorate our house, pick outfits, etc.) and very interesting interests. She's smarter than I ever was at her age and is so diligent on her own with homework and chores, responsibilities, etc. She's so easy to love! In this picture we were making one of those tie-blankets last week and it turned out so cute - matches the pinks in her room perfectly. 
Kayla also loves babies more than you could ever know - and they love her. It's amazing how drawn she is to a complete stranger's baby, and also how good and fun and quiet babies seem to be with her when she holds them! Anyway, she is just beautiful inside and out and I (we) love her so so much.
This is Nate (on the right) and his best friend, Parker Swainston, a few Sunday's back walking home from church. I just wanted to take a few moments to talk about Nate and what impresses me so much about him. Where you could look at this picture and see two boys who look like church-going angels, it is probably no surprise to hear that they have "another" side to their personalities. It's true - they are "all boy" as Nate often reminds me (usually when he's covered in dirt and about to sit down to dinner having not washed his hands). They play pretty hard and make a lot of noise to say the least. This picture, though, really does depict how good Nate is... he's obedient and sensitive, and (truthfully) spiritual beyond measure. I'm often touched by his acts of service, his detailed nighttime prayers, his patience, and his work-ethic. I don't know where he came from, but it's probably a combination of Matt doing a really REALLY good job as a single parent for so long, and also that something special that Nate just brought with him innately. On top of that, he's so dang FUN. I love this kid. From the way he answers the phone when he sees that it's me calling ("Maaammmaaaa Maaammmaaa... a.k.a. ma-ma... ma-ma"... those who've heard it know exactly what I'm trying to spell out here in his funny voice. Who told him what "a.k.a." means?), to the way he climbs on me to give me the biggest, strongest hugs. It is an honor to be his mother and to learn from him as he grows. He's popular and doesn't know it (or doesn't care about it) and he's smart and doesn't brag about it. I'm just impressed with him and proud of him in every way. Now if I could just get him to pick up his socks/shoes/toys/dirty clothes... PS - his friend, Parker, is pretty fantastic, too.
We had SUCH a great time in Washington, DC last weekend. This is a picture of Heather (Fortuna) and Michael Bush at one of my favorite restaurants, The Carlyle Grand Cafe. Heather and Michael just got married a few months ago and Heather is one of my best friends in the whole world!! So great to see you guys!
The purpose of our trip was to attend another dear friend's (Kristina Khona) wedding. Kristina and Aaron met and live in NYC, but Kristina and I used to live in DC at the same time and also worked in the DC temple together for years. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding. Congratulations Kristina and Aaron - we love you so much!
We had fondue at Amber's house on Friday night - you'll see a couple shots like this. How cute is Matt... I always want to kiss him, but you add chocolate to the mix and he's even more tempting! (My kids will think that's so gross...) 
Sweet Matt was thinking of Kayla the entire weekend with all of the flowers in bloom in DC at this time of year. Every time we passed by some (whether it be a park or a gas station) he wanted to take a picture to show Kayla. He's such a good dad.
I love how much my friends adore Matt and Matt adores them, and I always hoped that whoever I married would really get how important to me my friends are. This is Amber, Jill Chappel (aka Chappy) and Matt piled on Amber's couch.
Choco-Chappy
Another dear friend is Richelle Hobbs - oh how I love this girl (she's the one in the red sweater). She joined our fondue party and we all ended up telling stories until 2am. Talk about being sleepy and still laughing at the same time...
Kristina and Aaron were sealed in the Washington, DC Temple, and it was so much fun to take Matt there with me. I worked there for 7 years and have talked about it so much to him. It was a beautiful day outside, too, and I loved being back there with Matt.
So at 3:15am on Sunday morning, March 30, there was a crazy car accident outside the window. This truck was (obviously) upside down and there were other cars involved, too. Soon there were 5 fire trucks and 5 ambulances, police cars, etc... pretty dramatic RIGHT outide your window!
Me, Matt and Amber at the Rio on Friday night. 
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008
Lot's of Stockwell kids (and this is only a fraction of 'em).
The "moms" took off to get mani/pedi's while the kids stayed with Grandma Sue.
Each Easter Sunday, Grandma Sue (Stockwell) has this wonderful tradition of going through the Easter story from the scriptures by placing little symbols in individual plastic eggs, along with the scriptural reference that applies. The kids can each take a turn reading through the whole story and sharing it with us.
After the easter egg hunt!
We have been so spoiled with visitors this last week! Deanna and James are the kids' aunt and uncle in town from Wisconsin (Deanna is Kara's sister) whose wedding the kids were actually in last August! We had so much fun with them in town - snowboarding, snowmobiling and a special dinner to honor Kara's birthday on last Saturday night. Please come again soon!
Sarah may kill me for posting this but how could I not??? Aren't they a beautiful couple...
We love it when Jill comes to town! So much fun. I was stuck at work a little late so she hung out with Matt and Kayla for a few until I pulled in, and I've been hearing about her High School Musical songs that she entertained Kayla with ever since. Miss you, Jill!
So excited to meet Holly's baby very soon! We had a very fun shower for her earlier this month and are so happy for the Jacobsen's!!!
Scott and Erika came over last night and treated us all to hand-rolled/home made sushi! Scott and Glen (Goodsell... who is in town with his son, Noah) met years ago when Scott was Glen's fly-fishing guide. Matt was then introduced, and we've had fun double-dating with them and getting to know them better. Scott is an amazing sushi chef! Take a look at what he did (he even tempura-fried some for me! I love anything tempura fried...!).
This is Scott and Erika Shubin with Scott's impressive display! Thank you, Scott and Erika!
Kenny and Pam Moser go up to an area near Jackson Hole each year (called Moose, Wyoming), and they've invited us for a couple of years in a row, now. Obviously we were honeymooning last year, but this year we were totally in and had a blast! There are these individual little cabins that each couple stays in (there were 7-8 couples) and then a center lodge where a chef prepared the most amazing meals throughout the day for us. At night we watch movies and play cards (or in our case, backgammon) and then get up in the morning to breakfast and the most intense snowmobiling. Guides take you back into these mountains, as there aren't groomed trails! The cool thing about having multiple guides, and staying at an all-inclusive dude ranch, is that every time your sled gets buried (often in my case!), the guide digs you out! Matt LOVED this!
There were so many moose wandering around each day - we saw hundreds of them. Thanks for inviting us Kenny and Pam!
What a great way to kick off the new year - and get away from the cold Utah winter! Matt and I, (and 14 other friends/coworkers) squeezed in a quick (4-day) trip to Cancun last week. It was so nice! Weather in the mid-80's, beautiful beaches and Mayan ruins. This was a work trip so it wasn't just for fun, but it's a good thing that I adore my coworkers, and it's not too difficult to work in such a setting.
Cute niece, Mira. A California little girl who LOVED the snow.
Welcome to my new life... these are my boys.
Festive family room...
Christmas morning kids (and pup)...
This Christmas was FABULOUS and the kids were perfect. We have such grateful kids!! Being our first Christmas as a family, I was all about traditions (trying, anyway...), starting with Christmas breakfast, which meant waking up even earlier than was already necessary to get that going (so that we could eat as soon as presents were opened). I made a yummy breakfast strata and then a (fattening to say the least) coffee cake. They loved it, and that tradition begins. I kind of got that idea from my mom who, growing up, would make these great quiches for General Conference weekends. Same idea. Anyway, the day was really wonderful - and I loved how the kids were sooo excited to GIVE their gifts. Seriously, they were distracted from getting them when it came to whose turn it was to give one. So cute. That evening we had a large family dinner (26!) at our house. My mom has begun a new tradition where every individual family participates somehow during Christmas dinner. We all took a letter of the word CHRISTMAS and did something Christmas/holiday/seasonal related with that letter. The Stockwell's had "S" - Nate and Kayla proceeded to come up with 44 s-words (from snow to sleigh bells to spirit to Santa) and found this clever website that makes a crossword puzzle for you out of any words you type in. We also read a story ("You Are Special" - get it, "s"pecial), and then Kayla led the family in a Christmas carol on the piano. Others read a poem, sang a song, gave a thought, etc. We all were laughing and loving all of it. I will say, however, that next year we'll let someone ELSE host dinner at their home. Between hosting both Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners this year, we're tired... :) 
For Father's Day this year I surprised Matt with this family tree. You can see that it's painted directly on the wall and, with the help of my sis-in-law, it turned out exactly as I had imagined. Pulling this off was a labor of love as I had to do it in one day... I collected the photo's (4 generations worth) and got the vinyl lettering names together over 6 weeks, but had literally one day to paint it on the wall, place the photo's on/near a branch, wait for paint to dry, and then place the vinyl lettering. I sent Matt off fishing for the whole day (6am to 10pm...he may have loved this part of the gift as much as the tree!) and then went to town. When he got home we turned off all of the lights in the house so that it was pitch black and sent him straight up the stairs to bed so that he didn't see it until Father's Day morning. The kids were so awesome with this project and helped me so much. It was a tender experience with them and also with really bonding with their mother's side of the family (they sent so many perfect pictures for me to use). Needless to say, Matt (emotional as he is) was tearful and touched and LOVED our first Father's Day as a new family.
What a great year it has been! As you will see on our (forthcoming) Christmas card, the year was fun and FULL of travel, and now that it's the holidays, we are staying put. Thanksgiving was in our home with 20 people (I didn't do ALL of the cooking by myself, thank heavens), with Christmas decorating following that weekend. For those of you who don't know, we did a lot of work on our home this year (literally tore down walls...see photo). I LOVE the way it's turning out and each new thing (shall I list them?... expanded kitchen, added office/french doors, change living room, add new piano, paint paint paint, sand/strip hardwood floors and re-stain VERY dark, new furniture, new mudroom/bathroom, new "stuff" in Kayla's room, "family tree" and re-do family room, set-up all guest rooms. NEXT: double-ovens, new stove, new island. So excited!!) is making our house our own and making fun memories with our family. Our house is yours when you come to town and we look forward to showing you the before and after photo's!
