Mattie & Joe

Christmas Decorations

2011-12-05T16:27:00.000-07:00

Tonight we put up our Christmas tree. We let the kids decorate it. They could hardly wait for us to put it up and put the lights first. They had been begging us to get the tree put up. For some reason, kids like Christmas.

Their mom invited them to spend Christmas with them in Washington State. Joe and I began wondering what Christmas was going to be like for us. I was a little uncomfortable with just he and I sitting by the Christmas tree on Christmas morning. There is just something about Christmas that requires children on Christmas morning.

We thought it would be the best idea ever to spend Christmas with Mike and Shan'l. We invited ourselves to their house for Christmas so at least we could have a fun Christmas too. They welcomed the idea with so much enthusiasm. We felt so welcome and began looking forward to it with great anticipation.

Joe got me a stocking and wrote my name on it all fancy.

See what has become of us since I moved in?

Joe's Birthday

2011-11-23T16:12:00.000-07:00

Joe didn't want to celebrate his birthday, but how could I not celebrate the birth of a man who I love so much? Sorry, Charlie. We went out for dinner at least. We went to La Casita who is owned by a family in our ward. We said hello to them and ate a delicious meal. While we were waiting for our check, we saw a mischievous look in our friend's eye and could tell he was planning some sort of birthday surprise for Joe. Joe got a little uncomfortable but was grinning ear to ear.

A group of waiters and waitresses came over with a sombrero which he had to wear while they got the whole restaurant's attention and sang some sort of happy birthday song to him. Then they delivered a giant desert for us which we couldn't finish because we were already so full. Last of all, they didn't let us pay for our meal. How grateful we were for their kindness and expression of love and friendship.

Joe's Omlettes

2011-11-06T16:01:00.000-07:00

Every Sunday we gather at Mom & Dad's house for Sunday dinner. This time Joe wanted to cook dinner and wanted to do omlettes. He is great at making omlettes. If you know Joe, you know that he never does anything unless he puts all his heart and soul into it. This occasion was no exception. He had every possible topping you could possible want in your omlette. He took orders and made a custom omlette for each person. There were about 20 people there.

I love him. He is so passionate about so many good things. I look at him sometimes and say to myself, "He is my husband." "I have a husband." I look at him and think about how much I love him. He brings a smile to my face. The Lord was our matchmaker and He knew what he was doing. He is perfect for me in every way. The thing I love about Joe the most is how passionate he is about the gospel. His whole heart and soul are devoted to the Lord.

Halloween

2011-10-31T15:46:00.000-07:00

Halloween arrived and the kids were so excited. Joe and I took the boys trick-or-treating while Savannah went with one of her friends.

Jonathan was Thor

I was a MOM

Stephen was Optimus Prime (a transformer)

Savannah was "The Countess of Darkness"

They scored big-time and I even got a little candy while we were out trick-or-treating. It was a lot fun for all of us.

Pumpkin Patch

2011-10-18T15:23:00.000-07:00

We went to a pumpkin patch nearby to let the kids choose some pumpkins for Halloween. This year they had a tiny petting zoo with a llama and a kangaroo. At one point the kangaroo put its little arms around the llama's neck like it was giving it a hug. It was so cute!

They also had a maze made from giant bales of hay. We went through the maze and then got on top and did some jumping around. It was a lot fun!

Then we went and chose pumpkins with Joe's help. He is such a good dad! Look how he plays with his children and takes part in their lives with such love. He helped each one choose a pumpkin that they liked.

Cider Pressing

2011-10-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

The Condies started a family tradition where we all get together and press apples to make apple cider. The tradition began last year so this was the first year for my kids to participate. They had a great time. They got to try running the press by turning the hand crank and adding apples. They ate apples and drank the apple juice.

It was fun for me to see them experience something new. To see them interact with their cousins, aunts and uncles, grandparents, and great-grandma. They are already looking forward to next year's apple cider making party.

Snow Storm

2011-10-06T18:23:00.000-07:00

We had a snowstorm with really wet snow. I was home alone on the computer and I heard a sound like someone running up the stairs. We have a roommate living with us and I thought it was him running up the stairs so I wasn't too alarmed. Then I thought about it and realized he wasn't home. When I looked out the back window, I was that a huge branch of our tree had broken off and snagged a cable wire in our back yard.

It was a mess. I called Joe and he came home and took care of it all. That tree just needs to be cut down anyway. Unfortunately, we are renting the home and haven't been able to get permission to cut it down. Having half the tree fall was kind of a blessing in that way.

We cut up the tree with a chainsaw and saved the wood for our fireplace for the rest of the winter. See? There is a blessing in everything.

Meadow Land

2011-09-28T18:11:00.000-07:00

Before I was married I purchased 5 acres in the town of Meadow, Utah. We took a little trip to see what the land looked like now that I had a new family. I had talked about it and they were all curious about it.

The land was full of wild grass that had browned and there were a lot of red ant hills that the boys were fascinated with. There wasn't much else to see. We walked the perimeter and when we got back to the car we had stickers in our socks and shoes. It really isn't that pretty but it has potential!

Okay, maybe I'm the only one who could see the potential.

Look how thrilled they all are!

School Carnival

2011-09-22T18:01:00.000-07:00

The kid's school put on a carnival and Joe took the kids. I think I wasn't feeling well that night so they went without me. I'm so glad they got to go! They were looking forward to it for a long time and it looks like they had such a fun time!

Family Bike Ride

2011-09-17T17:53:00.000-07:00

Wyn organized a family bike ride for us. She and I went on the bike ride earlier to gauge how long we should make it. It was fun for her and I to do something together. Then we all gathered together and went up Provo Canyon for our big family bike ride.

Kids in the back of the truck for bike safety instructions

The group all ready to ride!

Stephen found some snails

Jonathan's Utah Cake

2011-09-15T17:31:00.000-07:00

For an assignment at school Jonathan had to make a cake in the shape of Utah and decorate it with landforms. I baked the cake but left the artistic work up to Joe and Jon. Jon had a great time and was so proud of his finished project.

Playing at the Park

2011-09-15T17:23:00.000-07:00

I was having some cabin fever and Joe could tell I needed to get out of the house. He told me to get in the car and when I asked where we were going, he wouldn't tell me.

We ended up driving through the canyon and at a park. We just walked around and played on the playground. There was a little stream that we looked at from a bridge. What a great guy. He is so good at seeing what I need and fulfilling that need.

I love that guy. He is so good for me!

We even wore matching shirts that day!

Neighborhood Cleanup

2011-09-10T17:15:00.000-07:00

Our ward had an activity to clean-up our neighborhood. The kids weren't that excited to go but I made them come anyway. They ended up having a great time! I was so proud of them as I watched them work so hard to clean-up. It ended up being so fun! With all the people that came, it didn't take us very long but it was still so rewarding.

The first day of school

2011-08-22T15:17:00.001-07:00

Before we knew it, the summer was over and school was starting again. We took the kids shopping for new school clothes. Somehow their clothes kept getting smaller and smaller. They were excited for the new school year. Savannah was entering the 5th grade and the boys entering the 4th grade.

Derby Cars

2011-08-18T15:12:00.000-07:00

The boys are in Cub Scouts and they got to decorate and design their own car for a race. Dad helped them shape it and paint it. They didn't get to race them because we were out of town but they loved making those cars. When it was the sanding phase, the first thing they did when they woke up in the morning was to keep sanding those cars. And when it was time to paint them they would ask me all the time "Mom can we paint our derby cars now?" Joe used his artistic skills to help paint them but the boys did most of the work on that part. When Joe put the wheels on, they raced them all day. They made ramps and obstacles. I never knew a derby car could be so fun. I'm glad it wasn't all a loss since we couldn't race them with the rest of the scouts. Stephen and Jonathan seemed pretty pleased with them anyway.

Pioneer Day

2011-07-24T14:41:00.004-07:00

In Utah we celebrate the 24th of July as Pioneer Day to remember the pioneers who settled this valley. The kids got to be on a float in the little Mapleton parade.

Here is a video of the kids before the parade while we were waiting for the float to arrive so they could get on it.

Then that afternoon and evening we went to the park and enjoyed watching the fireworks show up close. It was so amazing. It felt like the fireworks were falling on top of us. Every explosion inspired Oohs and Aahs from us.

Here are some videos for my enjoyment. My husband riding our motorcycle.

Before the fireworks there was a ping-pong drop from a helicopter. Each ping-pong ball has a number on it and those numbers are used for a drawing to win a bicycle. Very exciting.

Stephen said that he was standing out-of-bounds and a ping-pong ball fell on his head.

Savannah with cousin, Kate Condie

Boys' Birthday

2011-07-21T14:35:00.001-07:00

This year the boys' turned 9. We made them each a special cake and celebrated with them. They were excited about the Legos they got and especially when there was a big box in the mail from their "real" mom. She sent them fun things like Nerf guns, walkie-talkies, and compasses.

Swimming Lessons

2011-07-16T14:29:00.000-07:00

This summer we enrolled the kids in swimming lessons. It was fun for them and for me. They got to swim and I got to sit and talk to my sister, Rindee, whose kids were also enrolled. It was so hot but that's just how summer is supposed to be.

Fourth of July

2011-07-04T14:11:00.001-07:00

This was a fun day. We bought some fireworks and invited friends over to set off some fireworks with us. Sparklers are still my favorite.

Orton Family Reunion

2011-07-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

We drove to LaGrande, Oregon for the Orton family reunion. It was my kids' first family reunion and they had a great time. They made some new friends with distant cousins and enjoyed the camping and playing outside in the "forest".

Savannah's Camping Trip

2011-06-03T12:45:00.003-07:00

One weekend Savannah and her sister Rachael were invited to go camping with one of Savannah's friends, Sammi, and Sammi's Mom. From the pictures it looked like they had a great time.

This is Savannah's friend, Sammi

Savannah and her sister, Rachael

Memorial Day

2011-05-31T12:44:00.000-07:00

For Memorial Day we went to Spanish Fork Cemetery to help take down the crosses and flags they had put up the previous day to remember the veterans from that city. We chose Spanish Fork Cemetery because Rindee and her family helped put up all those crosses and flags. I wanted to do something to celebrate. It was a hot day and the kids were eager to go but I think they had fun anyway.

Butterfly Release

2011-05-27T07:46:00.001-07:00

Here is what Jonathan wrote about our day:

And here is what Savannah wrote:

And Stephen wrote this:

My First Mother's Day

2011-05-07T07:38:00.000-07:00

For my first Mother's Day as a mother, Joe took me on a date to celebrate. He took me bowling. We had so much fun together and he let me win both games. What a gentleman!

After bowling, we played some arcade games. Of course we chose a shooting game! You can see that military training in Joe by how he holds that plastic green gun. He was awesome! We kept putting in more and more quarters so we could keep playing. Luckily they had a change machine near so we could keep getting quarters! It was so fun!

The kids gave me these beautiful flowers for my special day! How thoughtful!

Sacramento, California

2011-04-25T10:14:00.002-07:00

We took a trip to Sacramento, California! Joe has family there and we took a trip to meet them and to do a little missionary work on them and to get some genealogy information. It was a success! Here are some pictures of Joe when he was a kid. We didn't have any pictures of him before.

We were also able to get a picture of Joe's mom who died when he was young and is the only picture we've seen of here. So the kids and I got to see what his mom looked like and now Joe has a picture of his Mom.

We also got a picture of Joe's grandparents. It is an awesome old photo!

I got to meet his sister, Karen, who had these pictures. I brought my scanner and computer with us just in case and it paid off! Here are some pictures of Joe's sister, Karen.

We visited with her for a day and showed her some pictures we had on my computer. Joe even brought "Together Forever" video and showed it to her and told her about the gospel with tears in his eyes. He has such a great desire for his family to join the church so they can be an eternal family.

I also got to meet his Aunt Sharon who has been a great source of genealogical information for us. She is an awesome lady. We took her to "Old Sac" and walked around with her for a while. The kids love her to death. The kids had never met her before either.

We also made a special trip to go see the Sacramento Temple.

We got to stay in a hotel and the kids got to swim in the hotel pool while I took a little nap.

It was a great trip! We made some good memories together including Savannah getting carsick on the way home and we had to pull-over really quick so she could take care of some business. That brought back some memories of road trips when I was a kid. Good times.