erik & ann

my christmas present . . .

2011-01-09T15:52:00.000-08:00

My husband actually having some time off to do projects!! My passion right now is getting my home all put together. I love it! I have so many things i want to do just never have the time. So I made my workaholic self take a few days off over the break and we got a lot done.

This was Erik's dresser he used before we got married and it is still really nice but the cherry wood just didnt match and instead of spending lots of money to buy a new dresser we decided to refinish it. I am glad Erik helped me cause it was a lot of work. Plus he is such a hard worker and if he starts something he has to finish it asap. He kept dragging me down to the basement to get it done. I love that about him!

Yeah! the first thing we've painted in our house, I love color, I think it adds so much!

Here is is all finished, I think it turned out really great!

So. . . my other bed that I refinished just wasn't cutting it! It was to squeaky and Erik couldn't fix it so we decided to just buy a new one and why not upgrade to a king? So we went and laid on a million mattresses and looked at a ton of different bed frames. I didn't find another white one I liked so we bought this dark brown sleigh bed and I actually really love it with the white night stands. We love our new mattress too way comfy!

This pic is just from my phone but I think it is a little more true to color

Way late Halloween

2010-11-08T19:19:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday Kel! We decorated cookies instead of cake and ice cream. So fun!

All the different cookies. I kept trying to put the crappy ones on their own special plate but the kids caught on and got their feelings hurt. :(

Witches Night Out. . . also for Kelsey birthday. We ate at the restaurant there and the food was amazing!

We all got ready at the salon before, gotta love the cape. My mom made them for us when we were little and it went perfect with her tiny hat!

Fun night! I wouldn't survive Erik being in school without my girls!

We went out to dinner again with the salon girls, we were the only ones dressed up there. A little awkward but still fun

My body really does look broken in this one, It freaks me out a little.

My brother Terry was in town from Vegas! So fun to see his cute kids all dressed up

Trick or treating in the rain with all my nieces and nephews, thanks for letting me tag along!

Addi and Lilly, best little cousins. They get along so well.

We finished the night with lots of yummy food, candy and games. . . what more could I ask for? Well besides Erik being there. He had to take an 8 hour test that day, what a lame day to do it. He was to tired to come down after and who could blame him. That would suck!

Cruise Pictures

2010-09-19T15:34:00.000-07:00

MIAMI

Erik loves Florida ever since he served his mission there. He was so excited to wake up early and go walk along the beach before we went to the ship. He was in heaven when we found these I tried doing a pull up, but you don't want to see that pic!

THE CARNIVAL VALOR

Just leaving Miami! Wohoo

They had a harry chest competition on one of the days at sea. How weird is that guys white hair on the top of his chest and dark on the bottom? Rotten too might I add!

The slide was pretty fun until the end and you get ocean water up your nose. . . was not expecting that!

We had chocolate cake every day and then ordered it almost every night for room service. Along with an ice cream cone every time i walked by that stupid machine. And lots of other yummy food, it was fantastic! Definitely worth the 5 pounds I gained!

Check out the most jacked up fork ever that Erik got! Megan this one dominates all the ones you have ever gotten. Ha ha

Waiting for the comedy show to start

Amber and I had to wear pants and jackets every night cause they keep the ship so freezing! I couldn't even wear any of the cute clothes I brought :(

What a beautiful sunset!

"hum. . . should i get the melting chocolate cake again? Definitely! "

Dress up night! I love it but Erik couldn't wait to change.

GRAND CAYMAN

We rode on this boat to what it felt like the middle of the ocean to a sand bar. with tons of sting rays everywhere. It was unreal how shallow, clear and blue the water was! I was in heaven until the sting ray swam its nasty, slimy body through my legs! I screamed like a little girl, it was pretty funny everyone was staring at me! I thought they would be just like fish when you snorkel. . . swim away from you. But nope!

check out all the stingrays! You can really tell how clear the water is in this pic.

Our tour guide made us all kiss the sting ray for 7 years of good luck!

Check out the tour guides dreads. . . I swear they were past his butt!

Amber's first try kissing it! She totally got rejected, it whipped her in the face!

Much better!

I was so scared even holding it but I finally got over it!

Funniest pic, it looks like I am smelling it or something. . .Erik sucks at taking pics. I promise I really did kiss it!

How amazing is that water?!

After that we went to Seven Mile beach and just relaxed.

I had so much fun with my sister, except for when I made her cry! I was doing her hair one night and burnt her face with the curling iron. Really? you would think i knew how to use a curling iron.

ISLA, ROTAN

We got to this island and had nothing planed to do so we hired a driver for the day. We were a little sketched out at first but we didn't want to go through the cruise and pay double.

We rode around in this beaut that had hardly any AC. That is why our faces are so greasy in some of the pics

He took us first to the zip-lines. To get there we drove off the main road to this one way, dirt road. We were all a little nervous cause we didn't really trust the guy yet. Steve asked him, "um. . .where are you taking us?" He didn't hear him so he basically yelled at him, where are you taking us. The zip line was right in front of us by then and everything was totally legit. We were all a little scared but he ended up being really nice!

This was on thing I wanted to do so bad and it was so fun! I wasn't scared one bit and even went first! Amber on the other hand had to be persuaded a lot to do it. But that is pretty normal to be scared of this vs touching a harmless stingray. What is wrong with me?

I love this picture of Steve! It was so fun to go upside down, to bad there wasn't a pic of me doing it

Wohoo! So fun

Afterward we got to hold the cutest baby monkey

I think this was Amber's favorite part of the trip cause she missed her baby Luke so bad!

What a cute daddy?

I had to put this one in here cause it looks like he is trying to get a little milk! ha ha i had no idea he was doing that!

Then he took us to a few different gorgeous sights.

We ended the day at another beautiful beach!

BELIZEWe did the cave tubing adventure in Belize, so we rode 4 wheelers first through the jungle and then went to the caves!

Nice and muddy, ready to go wash it off in the river.

Look at the cave in the back, that is what we floated through! It was pitch black, so cool to look at everything with our headlamps.

We make these cheesy life vests look good!

At the end after we were so hot we jumped off this little rock, the cool water felt so good!

COZUMEL

We rode around with our snorkeling gear and just found our own places to snorkel, It was really fun!

We rode around the entire island and just stopped at random beaches

These water toys looked so fun but we didn't pay to use them cause we weren't staying long but it was just as funny watching everyone else falling off of them. We were snorkeling over behind the big iceberg one and I look over and Erik is climbing it with his flippers! I was laughing so hard, I wish I had my camera out there! He didn't make it very far up before he slipped off.

Always gotta do a little shopping!

Don't we look sexy?MIAMI

We had to kill some time in Miami before our flight left so we decided to do the everglades tour. It was pretty cool seeing the alligators but the mosquito's were the worst! I forgot my bug repellent on the bus and got eaten alive.

Cruise Pics!!

2010-09-06T10:52:00.000-07:00

MIAMI

THE CARNIVAL VALOR

Just leaving Miami! Wohoo

Check out the most jacked up fork ever that Erik got! Megan this one dominates all the ones you have ever gotten. Ha ha

Waiting for the comedy show to start

Amber and I had to wear pants and jackets every night cause they keep the ship so freezing! I couldn't even wear any of the cute clothes I brought :(

What a beautiful sunset!

"hum. . . should i get the melting chocolate cake again? Definitely! "

Dress up night! I love it but Erik couldn't wait to change.

GRAND CAYMAN

check out all the stingrays! You can really tell how clear the water is in this pic.

Our tour guide made us all kiss the sting ray for 7 years of good luck!

Check out the tour guides dreads. . . I swear they were past his butt!

Amber's first try kissing it! She totally got rejected, it whipped her in the face!

Much better!

I was so scared even holding it but I finally got over it!

Funniest pic, it looks like I am smelling it or something. . .Erik sucks at taking pics. I promise I really did kiss it!

How amazing is that water?!

ISLA, ROTAN

We rode around with our snorkeling gear and just found our own places to snorkel, It was really fun!

We rode around the entire island and just stopped at random beaches

Always gotta do a little shopping!

Don't we look sexy?MIAMI

10K

2010-07-31T18:04:00.000-07:00

I ran my first 10K it was in Provo on the 24th of July. It was a really pretty run, nice and shady too! in the pic. . . Brother Terry his wife Amber and her mom. Steve my brother in law and Hope Erik's sister. Very random group but it was a lot of fun

Me coming in at the finish line, I thought I would be walking at the end for sure. But I did a lot better than I thought, just over an hour. I kept up with everyone until I had to ask some random old man if i could use his bathroom! Ya it was awkward and it took me a while to finally get the courage to ask someone but it was so worth it.

My newest project

2010-07-05T11:28:00.000-07:00

My Aunt gave me this bed frame so i figured its free why not paint it and make it cute? . . .

So here is the after, much better!

I was a little sad that the mattress was so tall compared to the frame but oh well. I don't know if i am keeping it though, it squeaks so bad! I didn't think to check that before i put all the work into it. Drives me insane at night when i am tossing and turning. So i decided if Erik can't fix the squeaking then i am just going to go buy a new bed!

Busy May!

2010-05-24T17:55:00.000-07:00

We had our 2nd Anniversary!! We went out to Red Lobster, my choice of course. . . I love sea food!

I had my family over for my birthday! I thought my house was big until it wasn't just us too.

Addie of course had to help me blow out the candles!

Erik started summer semester. . . Yeah! that means he only has less than a year left. He decided to join the race car team for his senior project. This is the toughest project they offer but he was most interested in it. He is on the engine team so I guess he has to help make the car as fast as possible so they can win!

My family came up for memorial day and we went to Oquirrh Lake and had a picnic. It has a really fun park, but of course i didn't take any pics of the lake.

Gotta love Kel always posing

I don't know who had more fun the kids or adults?

Erik and Steve

He made me climb up there and kiss him on the top. Really with the hand up my shirt?

Pictures Finally!!

2010-05-09T10:32:00.000-07:00

Here is your proof Terry! We really did buy a house, I am not just making it up.

I love my kitchen! The best part about it is that the washer and dryer are not in it! Haha not to sad leaving our tiny apt.

We haven't really decorated yet, been way to busy with work and Erik's finals. Hopefully this week I can find some time :)

We are hopefully getting our yard in soon :) You can see the temple in the picture, I love driving by it every day and it is so beautiful lit up at night. I better start going more now that i can walk there. . . no more excuses for me!

So Excited!!

2010-04-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

I was going to wait to post till I had pics but couldn't wait!! We bought a house. . . We are moving on Saturday, yeah! i love my new house and have had keys for a week. I wanted to just take off a few days of work and move in asap but Erik is in the middle of the semester so we had to wait till this Sat. Longest week of my life! I will post pics soon

Jason Aldean!!

2010-03-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

I love this girl!! She won us front row tickets and it was definitely the best concert I have ever been to!

This is Luke Bryan who opened for Jason Aldean. He was really good and fun to watch

JASON!! he was so good and I knew almost all of his songs! I still can't believe we were in front row

The best part about the concert was the after party!! We were getting ready to leave and the security guard told us to wait for a minute and we watched him tell other people to leave. I looked around at all the half naked girls around me and realized what was going on . . ya they picked out a few girls to go hang out with the JASON and everyone else! It was unreal, i felt like i was in a movie haha. They were really nice but thought i was weird for not partaking of the boos! I almost said welcome to utah :) So Becca and i were in heaven hanging out until a security guard comes in and says Becca your dad is waiting outside for you. We drove to the concert with them and told them to go home and we would figure out another way. . . but nope! They were upset and made us ride with them hahahahah I felt like i was in junior high or something! Well at least we got to hang out for a bit, but to bad they wouldn't let us take any pics:(

HaPpY bIrThDaY

2010-02-08T17:02:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to BJ, we miss you so much!

We decided to go up and put some balloons on his grave and sing happy birthday. Poor Addi was so confused that we were singing to him when he was still in heaven. But we told her to sing loud and he would hear her!

A few weeks ago my sister Amber got new couches. . . so good news for me we got her old ones! Compared to what we had these feel brand new. I wish i had a pic of the old one but funny story. . . we took the old one to DI and they REJECTED IT!! ha ha they said they would throw it away for us though.

I was cleaning out my purse the other day, Amber copied my idea but hers was more of a project! ha ha that would drive me insane! I love how her little guys are ready to attack. Thanks again for the couches!

Finally!!!

2010-01-21T19:15:00.000-08:00

. . .i finished my blanket!!! It took me forever, i would do one step and get so sick of it and put it away for about a year. I can't believe it is actually done!

Me and my cute mommy tying it, she has made a million blankets and kept pointing out everything that didn't turn out perfect. But this was my first one so i didn't expect it to be perfect.

really?. . .no wonder why my back hurt so bad after. haha

All finished! It took me a while to find the back for it, i looked at 4 different fabric stores and when i finally found something i loved there wasn't enough. So i finally found this and it ended up looking perfect!

The best part :) I picked the thickest bating for it cause i am always freezing. . . its soooooo warm. I am in love!

the holidays

2010-01-07T12:31:00.000-08:00

I know this post is a little overdue but i have been so busy at work and just been a slacker!
This is the only thing that erik really asked for, its a torque wrench to work on his car. Who knows what it does, but he was definetly excited!

Last year Erik got this sweater as a joke from his sister so we kept and re-gifted it this year! It was hilarious again because most everyone forgot about it.

Opening presents with my fam Christmas eve. It is so much fun to get together with everyone, but so loud and chaotic. I guess i am getting a little used to my quiet apt. Erik loves to tease my nephews, he was pushing the toy to make noise and wouldn't let them open it, they were freaking out!

We played bunco. . . only we can do that at our family party. We had a lot of fun and i won, to bad there wasn't a prize.

erik playing computer games with Conner, so cute!

This was the only thing i really asked for, i am so bad a reading my scriptures this one is a lot easier and it has pictures!

We were playing more games and Erik didn't want to so he got to take care of the baby. We will be pros by the time we have kids :)

Amber got rock band for Wii whatever its called. We played a ton! My niece lily rocking the drums!

We pretty much did the same thing on new years eve too and then i fell asleep at 11:30. . . I tried so hard but couldn't do it!

to busy to blog. . .

2009-12-13T16:45:00.000-08:00

Erik just started a job/co-op last week at L3 communications. I don't know exactly what he does but he is working 20 hours a week and we are getting full benefits and tuition reimbursement! Which is amazing since i work for myself and we have to pay a ton for crappy health insurance and haven't had dental. Plus Tuition is more every semester . I am so happy he got the job and so proud of him, he is such a hard worker! So with him working and going to school my life pretty much consists of working extra long hours because of the holidays and then coming home making dinner, cleaning, grocery shopping, packing lunches etc... since Erik never has time to help out.

We got to hang out today and make gingerbread cookies with Erik's family, a tradition they have done since they were little. The recipe is amazing(val had to swear me into secrecy haha) they are really soft, nothing like the gingerbread houses. We had a lot of fun and more importantly got to relax, thank goodness for Sundays :)

Erik and I decorating, that's the funnest part! (besides eating it) Last year we did it, I spent like an hour doing one and it was so cute. It had these little silver balls all over it that break your teeth and sprinkles and mostly anything that was cute that didn't taste that great, ya no one gave me the heads up on that. So this year I just loaded mine with chocolate, it wasn't as cute but it tasted way better!

This was Erik's man out of the oven, i don't know if he tried to make it a muscle man with no neck and a grill in his mouth but that's what it turned out to be! it was pretty funny, i thought the tie was pretty creative though :)

Mere and Hope

Val rolling the dough, she was there for a while. we made 10 batches!

Violet copying mommy. . . don't worry after she was done she put the dough in her ears and hair

addi and teyah decorating

grace and grandpa, all the kids love their grandpa. its so cute

More decorating, it takes all day but its worth it, they are so amazing!

Mere and grandma putting tons of cream cheese frosting on them. Ummm they are so good. This was only about half of them, we made a ton! I decided to make them for all the girls i work with so hopefully they enjoy them

Football game or 7 am movie??

2009-11-22T13:55:00.000-08:00

We totally look like we are at a football game in this pic but nope. . . that's right we went to new moon at 7 am! We waited to long to get tickets and everything was sold out for the weekend, but they just added a 7 am one so we figured why not? I had a sleepover at my moms and watched twilight the night before. We rolled out of bed and filled our purses with yogurt, granola, bagels and cream cheese. there were people buying popcorn. . . way to early for popcorn, sick! It was so worth getting up for! LOVED IT!

All the girls but Kelsey who wasn't feeling that good so we drug my brother Anthony along. . . who knows what he is doing in that pic, I promise he is not gay. Don't we all look so good though i didn't bring anything to sleep over so i just had to borrow random shiz.

Halloween Pics

2009-11-03T18:33:00.000-08:00

Kristan and Kel came as my dates to a party that Shanna invited us to since Erik didn't come. We had a lot of fun! Kristan just wore Erik's costume and Kel was a black widow.

Don't we look hott together!!

Mark and Shanna, the Trio and Jayni and Ben. . . since you can't really tell who they are

All the cool people who dressed up for work! I only lasted about an hour in my heels though. Becca kept her skates on the whole time, she was amazing

We went to a party on Halloween at Erik's friends house. We ate food and treats till we were sick, then put in Ghost Busters. I was out in 10 minutes. I am a party pooper :(

He was supposed to wear the red suspenders Kristan had on, they weren't even close to fitting. haha

It was fun to hang out with my hubby again, I was looking on my blog and he hasnt made it on since this summer. . . stupid school. P.S. he is such a hottie in this pic

THRILLER

2009-10-25T14:35:00.000-07:00

My sisters and I all went to thriller this week for Kelsey's birthday, it was so so fun! If you haven't ever been you definitely should!

Before and after the show there were all the dancers walking around scaring everyone! she was the creepiest one for sure. . . they didn't scare me, so my sisters made me sit on the isle seat. My sister Amber was by far the worst, she was screaming like a little girl. It was hilarious!

I love having sisters! So my eyes are getting worse and i don't realize it until times like this. So at intermission Kelsey had an extra pair of contacts and she let me wear them. I gave them back to her after, that's pretty nasty but that's what sisters are for! Thanks Kel

Happy Birthday Kelsey!!

2009-10-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

25 things I love about my best friend and sister Kel

1. She loved and still loves more than anyone i know!
2. She is the best mom to Addi
3. she has gone through so much in her life and still keeps a smile on her face

4. She can be entertained for hours with just a few glow sticks
5. She is so easy to work with, i am always sad when she is not there
6. everyone she meets instantly wants to be her friend

7. She is so creative, she did her and all the kids makeup for 4th of July.
8. She is so easy to talk to, I can tell her anything!
9. She always listens to the most random music and cant live without it

10. She always volunteers to be the boy at times like this ha ha.
11. Even though she was a dancer and cheerleader. . . always a tom boy. It all started when we were 10ish, I loved to do my hair and I would get so mad at her cause she wouldn't even brush hers.
12. She is always the favorite aunt. . . ( i get a little jealous, but i can't blame them) she is just so fun!

13. She is an amazing dancer!! (pretty sure i quit right after this pic)
14. She already teaches Addi to dance, it is the cutest thing ever!
15. She used to fall asleep at night in the splits. . . i can't even touch my toes.

16. It's just not a Halloween party without her!
17. She is an amazing artist
18. She made a sculpture of legolas on Lord of the Rings, it was perfect! then one second later my huge a$$ knocked it off the table and smashed his face in and she just laughed!

19. She is beautiful! couldn't find a normal pic of her, she only takes funny ones of herself.
20. She always makes me laugh. . . and everyone else!
21. Her favorite outfit is basketball shorts, some random huge t-shirt and her ugg boots

22. She always comes up with the best Halloween costumes for us!
23. She is an amazing poet! She always let me use hers to turn in for English class :)
24. She has such a sweet spirit!
25. And the most beautiful smile, it's just contagious

bAbY CaLeB!

2009-10-19T11:00:00.000-07:00

Most of my family went down to Vegas for a weekend to see my newest nephew caleb. . . this makes number 10! He is so tiny and cute

We went and did a few fun things while we were there. . . this is the Beligio, it was decorated so awesome for halloween!

We also went to an aquarium me and kyle are standing in this tunnel thing and you feel like you are actually in the tank, it was so crazy!

We were lucky that the mermaid came out too while we were there. The kids loved it! it freaked me out that she was swimming around all those fish.

What I've been up to

2009-09-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

I went to the womens conference last night at the conference center with some girls from my ward. I don't know hardly anyone from my ward so it was really fun to get them. We went to dinner after and had a lot of fun. The sunset was beautiful when we came out!

My mom and my sisters and I love to get together and do crafts! We first go to the wood connection and look at all the cute ideas. Then we take a pic of the one we decide to do, and buy all the stuff to make it. It is way funner to make the craft than to buy it!! Well Brooke doesn't think so, as you can tell by her expression, but she came anyway :)

My finished product! everyone did theirs really different and they all turned out cute! btw it doesn't matter what we make Kelsey's always turns out the best cause she is so talented!! We all hate her for it!

Rock Starzzz!!

2009-09-27T14:45:00.000-07:00

We got to sing with Keith. . . it was free and so fun! We look like rock stars for sure!! It took me forever to post it cause i couldn't figure out how. . . enjoy!

KeItH UrBaN!!!

2009-09-12T20:04:00.000-07:00

Erik's sister Meredith got us last minute tickets!! Her friend got a suite and had extra tickets. It was pretty nice in a suite. . . not crowded and still pretty close. Not as good as front row i can imagine but we still had so much fun! Thanks Mere

This was my second time seeing Keith, but i didn't get to take a picture with him the first time, or hold his hand! :)

This is the only good pic i got of him he wouldn't look up for any of the 100 pictures i took. He looked as hot as ever!! Its ok. . . Erik knows i have a crush on him, he went with me last time to see him and was so mad that i wouldn't stop talking about it. ha ha

2009-08-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Erik and I finally dad some time to spend together this summer before he started school. We went wave running with my family down at Yuba lake, really fun lake! It was pretty cold and windy that day but we still had a lot of fun!

Erik knows how much i love to hike so he found a good hike up by snowbird to cecret lake. It was a fun hike, not to hard.

It was beautiful so up there!

While we were eating our lunch we saw this obese chipmunk! It was hilarious, so we gave it some more food cause it was so cute to watch it eat.

I love this pic i took! I should be a photographer :)

We went camping up to AF canyon with Kevin and Chelsie and Kristan and Eric, We had so much fun, i don't think Erik got off the 4 wheeler the whole time, thanks for bringing them kev.

Hideous pic of me, but hey we are camping. . . i didn't get a pic of the guys :(

Erik is deathly afraid of outhouses so he decided to cross the river with to tp up his shirt to go the bathroom. . .crazy kid. He made it just fine and then got stuck on the way back fell in! ha ha

The best thing this summer! My brother Anthony got home from his mission! My mom was freaking out!

We love you Ants, its so good to have you back. He is just glowing!

5K RUN!!

2009-07-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

My brother in law Steve and I ran the steel days 5K(3.2 miles) . I have been wanting to start running more and he was running it so i figured why not? It was my first one and a lot of fun! I want to run a 10K next and maybe a half marathon. . .
I finished in 32 minutes, pretty slow but hey at least I finished! If i would have known he was taking a pic, I would have pretended like i wasn't gonna die!

my new chairs

2009-07-16T19:16:00.000-07:00

I needed some bar stools for my kitchen so I picked up two of these chairs at the DI for $6 each! So here is the before. . .

and after. . . It was a lot of fun making them. But a lot of new things i had to figure out how to do. Thanks for the idea Amy. . . I got the idea from one of my clients

Congrats Kristan!

2009-07-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Emily and I threw Kristan a bridal shower, it was a great turnout. . . everyone loves Kristan!!

A few of us went out to Happy Sumo and dancing for her bachlorette party. It was so so fun

Kristan and her new husband Eric doing the chair dance at the wedding. . . so much fun! Even though she is tiny it was so hard for us girls to hold that chair up. Shanna looks like she is ready to die!

Kristan looked amazing and so so happy! I didn't even get a pic of the two of them but they looked perfect together, such a cute couple. Congrats Kris and Eric!

Vegas Baby!!

2009-06-20T17:42:00.000-07:00

A bunch of us Dyson girls went to the Las Vegas hair show. It was a lot of fun. . . espically since i have never been to one. We learned a few new things. . .

but mostly just saw some funky nails, lots of crazy cool hair

a spray painted man. But the best part of all. . .

we got our makeup done

glitter toes. . .

relaxed in an amazing massage bed. . .

got our hair did!!

and layed out at the pool!!

It was definitely a lot of work. . . and no play!!

vacation pics

2009-05-20T20:41:00.000-07:00

We went to Miami Beach, a cruise to the Bahamas, and got to visit Eriks mission all in one week! Erik served in Ft. Lauder dale FL and 6 months in the Bahamas. It was so fun to experience his mission with him all over again. . . not so much the humidity part. I would have died!

This is at Miami Beach, we loved it there. . . all but the few topless women! We had no idea and no car to drive to a different beach.

Erik couldn't wait to go back to Florida to have Cuban food, it is his favorite!

This was a really cool tree that was right in the middle of the shopping area, the roots of the tree grow from the top of the tree.

Just chillin on the beach at night. . . its my favorite

This lady looked so much like a statue. . . it was so creepy!

Getting Ready to get on the Ship!!

We had to do a drill before we took off. I felt like I was on Titanic for sure, it was so scary!

We both got dressed for dinner the first night and didn't even realise how matchy we were. How cute are we :)

Just gettin off the ship to the first island, Free Port. This is where Erik served his mission

Erik took us to this beach he knew about, there was only a few people, it was a real beach and so beautiful. You could walk out forever and see fish swimming all around your feet

This is my favorite thing to do on vacation, it is so relaxing to just fall asleep in the sun.

We rented a scotter for the whole day and just cruised around and saw where he lived and the new missionaries there, the church that was built right aftrer he left, he was so excited because he worked so hard to get one while he was there. We took tons more pics but I couldn't put them all up. . .

I didnt want to drive the scotter cause you have to drive on the left side of the road, but i had to try it out once. Dont worry one second after he took that pic i almost crashed.

This is one of the families Erik loved on his mission. He started playing street ball with the son and eventually met the whole family and they still have the picture of Jesus he gave them on the wall. We just showed up and they were so happy to see Casper! I can't believe how dark they are, but even worse they couldn't believe how white i was. The little ones just stared at me like I was an alien. One of the kids even asked Erik why he had spots all over him (freckles). ha ha ha

It was a lot of fun to meet them, I can't believe how they live though. They had so many people living there in a tiny little shack! These kids were so cute, they had to borrow our sunglasses for a pic.

We went kayaking and snorkeling and of course didn't bring an underwater camera, but you can see the kayaks behind us. . . they were clear so you could see the fish. We loved it

This was the last island we went to, it was a private island. They had a huge BBQ, music playing, volleyball and little shops. What more could I ask for?

The palm trees were so huge there and grew so weirdly.

We hiked up to this spot and the water was so blue it was amazing!

We had someone take a few pictures for us cause we were getting sick of the single ones. He was pretty good and even got the bird in the background.

This was our last night on the cruise so we played a little 5 cent poker. Erik taught me and it was pretty fun!

We had so much fun spending time together, we definitely needed it!

Our First Aniversary!

2009-05-05T22:20:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it has already been one Year!! I love you Erik and I can't wait for many years to come. We celebrated by going to tucanos for dinner and ate ourselves sick and then came home and ate the wedding cake that has been taking up all the room in our freezer. It was suprisingly really good! We didn't go all out for the actual day cause we are going on a cruise to the BAHAMAS on friday!!! I can't wait, i will post a ton of pics

Just a couple of our wedding pics to remember the day:)

Baby Luke!

2009-05-05T22:10:00.000-07:00

I feel bad that i never posted about my new nephew. . . this is not a cute pic of him but the only one i had. He is so so cute, i love to hold him cause he is such a good baby. His name is Luke Anthony Mattson. After my brother Anthony that is on a mission!

Sleepover and Easter

2009-04-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

I dying Easter eggs the other night and my sister Amber was so tired cause she is about ready to pop, and doesn't get much sleep so i took her kids to my house for a sleepover. I took them to rent bedtime stories and let them pick out a treat! Erik was doing homework at a friends anyway so i needed some company. It was so much fun having them over but Erik and I both woke up everytime we heard any noise and had to go check on them. It was so funny how worried we both were :)

We had a big bbq and easter egg hunt at my parents on sunday. I just love spending time with my family

I was helping Lilly who just started walking, she is so cute! I hate that she lives in Vegas

Mikayla got the most eggs. . . btw i cut her hair off and it is so cute on her

Addi just kept finding all the eggs that Conner dumped the candy out of and put back. . . it was hilarious

These are all my nieces and nephews. . . and two more on the way!

Shanna's Shower!

2009-04-05T19:37:00.000-07:00

Jayni and I threw a bridal shower for our friend Shanna. We all had so much fun!! I am so excited for you to get married Shan and I hope you are all set for your wedding night ;)

Jayni put robin egg on her lips so of course. . . we all had copy her. Don't we look hott!

Cedar brought her cute lil sis Dani, we were so glad she came!

Shanna Playing the ? game. . . she obviously didn't do that well

New Car!

2009-03-03T07:50:00.000-08:00

This is me hugging the neon goodbye. It is the only car i have ever had so it was a little sad, plus it was paid off. I didn't want to get a new car but the transmission was ready to go out so it was time. We had some great memories, good and bad but the funniest/worst one was driving home from St George. It was me and Jayni and Alisha King. Me and Jayni were cruising along with the music blasting and Alisha asleep in the back. All of the sudden the AC went out so we rolled down the windows and didnt think anything of it. Then a little while later Alisha wakes up sweating to death. We told her the AC went out and she asked if the car was over heating. I said I don't know how do you tell? Ya another Blonde moment, but I didn't feel to bad cause Jayni didn't know either. So sure enough we were blowing out black smoke and barley made it off the exit before it died. Long story short I had to get a new engine. Luckily i had saved up $1,000 for the first time in my life and I thought I was rich, ha ha. Sadly I had to spend it on that.

Yes I know my new car looks almost the same but I just loved this color the best. It is so fun having a new car!

Draper Temple

2009-02-24T19:27:00.000-08:00

We went to the Draper Temple open house on Monday. They have you park at a church down the road and you ride this bus up to see it. It was a really pretty ride looking over the valley. The temple was so beautiful, don't ask me why i didnt take a pic of it. I am so mad at myself for it. Everyone should go see it, there is amazing murals on the walls and it just defferent than any other temple. So Beautiful

We went to lunch after at my brother Terry's favorite place. JCW's we were sad you weren't there. We had so much fun!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

2009-02-16T14:57:00.000-08:00

We have to combine the birthday celebrations in out family now since it is getting so big! We all had dinner and root beer floats at Amber's last night and it was so fun! So Happy Birthday to Amber

Little Kyle
Addi. . .

And BJ!

Addi looks so innocent in this pic, but don't be fooled she smacked me in the face 1 second before that! She is definitely in her terrible two's but we just have to laugh cause she is so cute!

Dyson got cornrows. They are so cute on him! But he does look like a little thug. . .

He has to wear a nylon on his head when he sleeps so they don't get all fuzzy and so kyle and Dyson were having way to much fun with it. We were laughing so hard!

Kyle totally looks like a sumo wrestler!

I finally did it!

2009-01-29T19:48:00.000-08:00

I know . . . everyone cuts their hair after they get married. But it was time, i was so bored. I have had long hair forever!! Plus Erik thinks its hott :)

snowboarding

2009-01-11T14:35:00.000-08:00

Eriks sister bought him a day pass to snowbird for Christmas so we went the other day. It was so much fun, thanks Val. Erik and I love to snowboard! I taught him how a few years ago and he picked it up so quick. I hate him for that, it took me so long to learn how to carve and he was doing it the first time. . . He is getting so good, he goes flying down the mountain, goes off jumps and I just try to keep up now :) These are the only pics we took cause it was way to cold to take out the camera on the runs. This will probably be our only time going during the day this year since Erik starts school tomorrow and I work every Saturday. So freezing night boarding here we come! ! ! Oh and by the way my snowboard is supposed to be white on the bottom but me and Shanna are retards and waxed it with black wax, it is so hidious

CHRISTMAS EVE AND NEW YEARS EVE

2009-01-04T13:34:00.000-08:00

This is my sister amber playing the piano for us on new years eve. . . backwards. It was so creppy! I can't believe her hands can do that

I am so glad you guys came up for the holidays! It was really good to see you

We always make Erik play with my nephews while we cook so they don't annoy us

Cute little lilly! I want a little red head like her. . . one day

I have to do addi's hair every time i see her, cause she just looks so cute!

TEPPENYAKI
We had such a fun new years with our only friends. . . since they are the only ones who live up here. The food was amazing, definitely worth the price!

our chef was kind of boring compared to some of them but it was still way fun!

How amazing is this picture?

TEMPLE SQUARE

2008-12-28T19:35:00.000-08:00

I love going to see the lights! It was awesome cause it was the first time going back there since we got married.
We love hanging out with Kristan and Eric! They are always so much fun. Thanks for inviting us to go with.

So random. . . right when we got there we ran into shanna, who jsut got engaged earlier that day!! it was so cool that we saw her. ( kinda creepy, it looks like kristan is just holding up a fake hand). Congras Shan!! I am so happy for you.

Christmas Tree!

2008-12-09T20:27:00.000-08:00

I put this up a few weeks ago, it was my first time putting up a tree. And thanks to my sister Amber it was free! And pretty much the only one that would barley fit. Thank you Rachel (my cousin) she made me that tree skirt for my wedding. I had no idea it took so long to decorate but it was fun. Erik thinks decorating is unnecessary in an apt, but he will plug in the tree at nights when i forget so i know he likes it :)

TWILIGHT!!!

2008-11-25T08:23:00.000-08:00

i made erik come see twilight with me on sat night. I know you are all jealous that i have my own vampire at home. . .

CHECK OUT THOSE FANGS!!

all my sisters and mom went and took our husbands. they said they liked it ok but i felt really bad when all the 14 year olds were screaming. But I LOVED IT!! if anyone hasnt seen it, you need to, even if you didnt read the book

Carrie Underwood!!

2008-11-23T12:57:00.000-08:00

eriks sisters merideth and hope had an extra ticket to carrie underwood, so they invited me! It was so much fun and our seats were amazing.

She was incredible live! She is so talented and fun to watch. Can i please have her body?. . .

she changed her outfit prob 4 times and looked amazing in all of them. its so funny cause a guy would never change :)

She had a girl from the audience come up and help her sing "all american girl". It was so funny how nervous she was, but she was actually really good.

Taylor Swift

2008-11-16T13:15:00.000-08:00

If any of you haven't heard her song "love story" you have to listen to it, its on my playlist! She is amazing. She writes all of her songs, sings and plays guitar. She wrote the song " tim mcrgaw" in 15 minutes!

2008-10-27T09:38:00.000-07:00

I am making this jean blanket, i started it over a year ago. I am pathetic but i am determined to finish it before it gets freezing out. I can't wait, it will be so warm for the winter. I really need some more jeans though so if any of you have a pair that you are just going to di I would love to take them off your hands. :) Oh and ya i am selfish and making it for myself. . . My family has all asked me who i am making it for.

2008-10-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

DYS turned 9 yesterday! We all got together for a barbecue at Brooke's. Me and my mom got him this hoodie. . . i tried it on when we bought it and it was big on me. I thought for sure he would have to take it back but it fit perfect. He loved it!!
I just love Dyson he is so cute, but i am sad he is all grown up. He weighs 130 lbs already and i think he is almost 5' I can't believe it!

Congrats Sarah!!

2008-10-19T18:09:00.000-07:00

I look hideous in this one but Sarah looked so beautiful so i had to post it. Her dress was amazing and i loved how casual the reception was without a line. Noah's was amazing too, everything was so so unique and beautiful, so Sarah.

Yeah Erik finally made it to an event with me. See I really do have a husband... thank goodness for fall break!!

All the girls

2008-10-17T09:28:00.000-07:00

TODAY IS A GOOD DAY :) :) IT ONLY COST ME $26 TO FILL UP MY CAR. I ONLY HAVE A 10 GALLON TANK AND I DIDN'T RUN ON EMPTY FOR 2 DAYS LIKE USUAL BUT STILL, ANYONE CAN APPRECIATE THAT!!!

2008-10-14T11:21:00.001-07:00

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HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!

2008-09-24T07:37:00.000-07:00

all the girls took my mom out to chillis for her birthday. . . i ate like two bites of my dinner to save room for the chocolate cake they have there. it is my favorite :) as you can see the plate scraped clean and tons of take home boxes. me and my sister amber gave my mom and kelsey, since kelseys birthday is next month, tickets to. . . . . . .

the dancers were amazing. i just wish we were front row that would have been awesome to see them up close. my favorite dance was the door one. . . if you ever watched the show you will remember it.

Who looks more like my mom. . . i cant decice

we ran into . . . . twjayni. . . i dont know how she spells it but thats what she calls herself. isnt she so hott! i am a little jealous

. . . and jobi!

we were in the dancing mood afterward so i told kel to do her best dance move. . . this is all she gave me. but it was still way cooler than mine.

it took us forever to get this pic cause i kept falling. thats pretty sad how bad i suck

we had so much fun!! i just love hanging out with my sister, and my mom she loved it i was so happy she was there!

2008-09-17T21:06:00.000-07:00

since my husband is to busy with homework me and shan went on a date. . . we went to kneaders and then to the south jordan temple. i am so glad i have an rm around to get me to go cause i love going!! so i did have to give her a few dating tips since i was her first since shes been back. we were just starting to eat our food and she called on me to say the prayer. i about died i was laughing so hard. she was dead serious and so i told her i would say it in my mind since there was a million people around. she is such an returned missionsary, i just love her. i told her that she probably shouldn't call on her next date to say the prayer, she might not get a second one. . . but you never know.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY jAYNI!!

2008-09-10T09:52:00.000-07:00

I thought you would enjoy a good laugh for your birthday!!! I can't stop laughing out loud to myself. We should find that video we made that night, we would laugh so hard. So I can't decide what is hotter your thong bum or megan's bangs... I love you and hope you have the best birthday ever!

2008-09-04T19:34:00.000-07:00

I know this was FOREVER ago but this was in Cancun on our honeymoon!! I was just thinking how sad I am that summer is already over and wishing I was back in Cancun.

12 or 13????? sadly i looked like this the whole time because i forgot to bring my makeup

beautiful. . . it couldn't have been more perfect!

2008-07-27T11:22:00.000-07:00

this is eriks favorite thing besides me :)

2008-07-24T15:08:00.001-07:00

2008-07-23T19:26:00.000-07:00

Yeah!! i finally updated. . . We have been married for almost 3 months and are loving it! We live in sandy in a one bedroom apt. its just perfect for us and so much fun! Thanks for all of you who came to our reception. It was so good to see you all there and if you didn't come you missed out :)

Time is FLYING!!

2008-04-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

Can you believe it is almost here. My wedding is right around the corner. I feel like time has gone by so fast probably because I have been staying so busy. I hope to see you all at my reception:)

Bridal Shower

2008-03-03T23:06:00.001-08:00

I had such a good time at my friend bridal shower. I loved seeing everyone. Thank you everyone for coming and putting this on. You guys are the best!!

Me posing for the camera.

This is what I will be wearing when I cook dinner clean my house;)

Me and some of the girls.