Wednesday, February 15, 2017

Valentine's Day

This questionnaire for couples has been going around Facebook recently and I thought it'd be fun for Valentine's Day ♥

1. Who's older? Justin (34) Me (31)
2. Who was interested first? I think Justin, but it didn't take long for me to fall HARD ☺
3. More sarcastic? Probably Justin, and he'd probably be more sarcastic if I wasn't so darn sensitive.
4. Who makes the most messes? Nolan haha - but probably me because I don't know what to wear and put clothes all over the bed, which then end up on the floor when I'm inevitably too tired to put them all away before bed.
5. Who has more tattoos? No tattoos
6. Who's the better singer? I think we're both equally not good.
7. Hogs the remote? Justin! But we have a lot of shows we watch together too. Currently we're watching the new 24, Timeless, Hunted, Suits, and This Is Us.
8. Better driver? I'm going to say Justin. We're both good drivers, but he doesn't speed or tailgate quite as much as I do ☺
9. Spends the most? Me for sure. Justin has very few needs and I kinda love that about him.
10. Smarter? We both have knowledge in different areas I think, but he's got an amazing memory and one of those minds where he can read something once and retain it. I have to work a lot harder for it haha.
11. Most common sense? Hmm, not sure. But Justin would probably say him, haha.
12. What are your middle names? Melissa and Douglas (like the toy company! I just realized that haha)
13. Whose siblings do you see the most? It's about even these days, leaning more towards mine though now that Brianna is in NYC. All of them live in a different state than us.
14. Do you have any children together? 2 super cute and super sweet boys ♥
15. Did you go to the same school? Yes, BYU, but we didn't meet there.
16. Who is the most sensitive? Ugh, ME, without a doubt. I wish I wasn't. But Justin is sensitive in a positive way - he's very tender with me and the boys, even when our behavior doesn't deserve it.
17. Where do you eat out most as a couple? Our favorite place is probably the Old Spaghetti Factory. That mizithra cheese...yummm!
18. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple? Cancun (our honeymoon), then probably Hawaii, then Connecticut.
19. Who has the worst temper? Me for sure
20. Who does the cooking? Me 
21. Who is more social? We can both be very social when we need to, but I think we both have more introverted tendencies. We need to go home and recover after a bit!
22. Who is the neat freak? Justin is a very neat person in his every day habits and isn't guilty of the 'typical things husbands do that annoy their wives' (as in, he doesn't leave socks on the floor, or shavings in the sink, and he puts the entire toilet lid down every.single.time #blesshim), but I'm the one that insists on cleaning the apartment, doing the dishes, mopping floors, etc. And I do all the organizing and rearranging and purging (although full disclosure, I probably bring in most of the crap anyway haha).
23. Who is the most stubborn? Me
24. Who hogs the bed? Justin says me, but I don't believe it for one second.
25. Who wakes up earlier? Me! If Justin has a flaw, it's that it's like pulling teeth getting him up in the morning!
26. Where was your first date? I say it was when I asked him to come to my hockey banquet on May 2, 2012, but HE says it was 3 days later when he asked me to go to a Real Salt Lake soccer game on May 5 ☺
27. Who has the bigger family? My immediate family is bigger. As far as extended family I'm not totally sure, but I definitely see and interact with a much larger number of family members on a regular basis. I think Justin gets overwhelmed sometimes by how many cousins and second cousins and parent's cousins, and great aunts and uncles, etc. that I have and know personally.
28. Who does the laundry? Justin takes it down and switches it more, but I'm usually the one folding and putting it away.
29. Who's better with the computers? Justin, without a doubt.
30. Who drives when you are together? Justin, but I do a lot of driving on road trips.
31. Who picks where you go to eat? It's always a struggle. He usually wants me to decide (which is sweet), but I rarely know what I want and hate the pressure haha!
32. Who wears the pants in the relationship? It probably depends on the scenario. I defer to him on a lot of topics, but when it comes to going out and doing activities, making sure household chores are happening, things I feel we need to buy for the boys, etc. that's me. One thing I love though is that we parent together and we're very much on the same page about how we want to raise our boys/children.
33. Who eats more sweets? BOTH! Justin can't resist if there are Red Vines, Reese's Pieces, or Sour Patch Kids in the house ☺

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I'm so torn on Valentine's Day. On the one hand, I love that it's a day set aside to show extra love to those closest to us. Sure, I get that you should show love every day, but life gets busy and it's easy to get into a routine and take for granted the people around you. So I like that we specifically remember to show love on Valentine's Day. But at the same time I don't like the pressure and expectations and expense. We've decided that for Valentine's Day and our anniversary it will be best to alternate planning responsibilities so that the burden doesn't always fall on one person. Plus it makes it easier to give reminders a week or two before so that the day is not forgotten. Anyway, this year it was my turn to plan V day and to my annoyance, lots of dinner places were already fully booked (3 weeks in advance!) and most had a 'special' menu (read: limited and more expensive) for that night. Not to mention it's kind of hard to get a babysitter when everyone else is trying to get one for the same night. Thank heaven's, once again, for Jeanni and the fact that Dan was out of town so she didn't seem to mind keeping the boys for an extra couple of hours ☺

So anyway, after thinking a lot about it I decided that I do like Valentine's Day and I want to celebrate it, but I also want to keep it simple. A nice dinner for Justin and I, maybe a small gift or flowers. And for the kids, a little treat and maybe a special breakfast (this year it was heart shaped pancakes for Nolan).

Here's what Nolan woke up to this February 14th. He didn't really understand why he was getting treats and a card from Gm and Gp Mathews, but he wasn't complaining ☺ And Branson just got extra hugs and kisses! XOXOXO
(sorry the pic is so dark, I didn't have a chance to turn on a light)

After checking out his treats he was back to his normal, silly self. Here he is watching cartoons with his blanket on top of his head.

Jeanni sent me this pic of Branson on his first Valentine's Day. He seems to be excited about the cute little bear that Jeanni got for him. Nolan got one too.

I got Justin a BYU golf hat, which was a little lame compared to the awesome-sauce gift he got for me! I have been wanting one of those digital photo frames for my desk at work, because how can I choose just one picture of the boys when a zillion in rotation would be so much better?! I love it SO much! In fact, it's kind of distracting because I basically have to look each time the picture changes and sometimes I linger if the picture is particularly adorable. You understand, right?


After work I had Justin meet me in the lobby of the JSMB where I revealed to him where we were going to dinner. The Garden Restaurant! So here was our view for the evening ♥ (again, sorry for the dark pics) 


I love this man and am super lucky he keeps asking me to be his Valentine! 


We sent out a cute picture of Branson to the family for Vday, and just as we hoped we would, we got some cute pics in return ☺
(Beck, Warren, and Rhett)

(Baby Logan)

Saturday, February 11, 2017

A Day in Logan

My great Aunt Beth passed away on January 24th. She was my Gm Mathews little sister and the last of the Stanton girls to pass away. Beth and my grandma used to tell funny stories about how they used to fight all the time. For instance, there was the time my grandma lured Beth into a rabbits cage and locked her in! Or the time Beth got so mad at my grandma that she threw a hairbrush at her and cut her head open! (or was it the other way around?). Of course they grew up to be the best of friends, but their stories of the early years were hilarious ☺ Beth was a pretty great lady and, in reading her obituary, I learned something new about her - she had served a mission to the New England States during a time when not as many women served. Very cool ♥

Anyway, the last time I saw Beth was in 2015 when she was sent up to a hospital in Provo from Richfield and I went to see her. We had a pretty good conversation, even though she was a bit out of it and her memory was clearly going. No doubt she was a Stanton girl though because when I took this picture all she could comment on was how terrible she looked and how she didn't have any makeup on ☺ Silly Beth, you looked beautiful!!

Here's a pic of Beth and her sweetheart, Uncle Denzil. He was just the sweetest guy and always had a hug and a smile ready for you. I sure loved him! In fact, he would always comment on how I used to go to him before anyone else when I was a baby and toddler. I am so happy that these two lovebirds are finally reunited again ♥

The funeral was in Richfield, but it was during the work week and with me just getting back from maternity leave, there was no way we could go. But the burial was in Logan on a Saturday so it was important to me that we go.



Her son Daren (left, with the microphone) gave a short message and then Rob (in front of him) dedicated the grave.

Beth's daughter, Jani, and her husband, Larry Pearson.
Side note: Jani was asking me for help with some family history because she got most of Grammy's (Beth and my grandma's mother) stuff from Beth. I of course told her I'd love to help! I told her that we actually have old video's of Beth and Denzil's wedding in Logan! She was pretty excited about that. Then I remembered that we also video's of her wedding. I didn't expect it, but she got so excited and said she doesn't even have any videos of her wedding! I guess they planned to have someone take some videos, but it fell through. Anyway, I can't wait to get her a copy of the videos my grandpa took. I guess it's a good thing he took that big 'ol camera everywhere!

Nolan loved hearing everyone sing I Am a Child of God and smiled through most of it ♥

I love this sweet picture I caught of Justin and Nolan.

Nolan couldn't resist a long road to run down.

 Thanks for taking our picture Renae!

It's always so good to see family. My second cousin Jared, who I haven't seen since they lived in Las Vegas years ago, came right up and gave me a big hug. So sweet! One of my biggest fears about this older generation passing away is that we might not get together as much with our extended family. I guess that's what family reunion's are for!

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After the cemetery we made a quick stop at the beautiful Logan Temple

The first thing Nolan wanted to do was "touch the temple." Adorable!

Then we basically just had a photo shoot because he was looking so darn handsome!


He loved this little corner he found 

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 After the temple I of course had to make a stop in Hyrum. I wanted to put flowers on my grandma's grave, however I wasn't planning on the headstone being almost lost in a foot of snow!! It took us several minutes just to find it! Especially since we had to try to locate it from the road. It's not like I could just wander the headstones with all that snow!

I had to clear it a little bit just to see the names!



I'm thinking snowshoes would have been a slightly better footwear choice than ankle boots and tights ☺

Justin got this action shot of me trying to get back to the car haha.

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Last stop was to Maddox's where we met my friends and BYU roommates, Becca and Vanessa Hall!

It didn't take Nolan too long to warm up to them. Here he is checking out Vanessa's fit bit, of course!

He wanted to drink straight out of the pitcher haha.

Or how about with a glass on top of the pitcher? He had all sorts of ideas and Vanessa was happy to help him realize those ideas.


Speaking of ideas...this is him dipping a fry in rasberry butter. I guess he's definitely my child, dipping anything in everything. Or as B and V's dad would say, "that was a good bite, I don't regret it" haha.

Vanessa completely won him over. He even held her hand on the way out!

And Becca bribed him with a sucker! Lucky boy ☺


Thursday, February 9, 2017

Missing Daddy and Roots Tech

Well, it's happened. Justin has decided he's had enough and ditched us.

Just kidding of course! But he did head to San Francisco for a few days to go to a real estate convention. I'm trying to think, but this might be the first time I've spent a few nights alone with the kids (and obviously the first time with two kids). We missed him terribly of course, and Nolan kept asking where daddy was, but we had a good time just the three of us!
napping together at Jeanni's house ♥ ♥

The first night was crazy. We went to Target, then TJ Maxx, then McDonald's for dinner. I know, look at me go! haha. Branson was a champ and slept the whole time. Nolan was incredible and listened really well. He always held my hand when I asked him to and stayed near me at the store. His favorite thing to do at Target is play with the phones and he even put down the phone right away when I asked him to.

We got home and were there for maybe half an hour before I dragged them both to stake women's basketball. It was definitely harder with the kids, but they were good. Nolan kept throwing dodgeballs off the stage onto the court though and didn't really understand why he couldn't, so I finally just gave him the phone as a babysitter and he was perfect from then on haha.

It looks like Nolan documented his time on the stage ☺


When we went to bed that night I told Nolan he could sleep in mommy and daddy's bed (mostly so mommy didn't have to sleep alone haha). He always wants to do that, but we never let him so he was super excited! I am a little worried he'll put up a fuss when daddy gets home and he gets kicked out, but we'll deal with that when it happens. He was seriously so cute and took the "man of the house" directive seriously! He was my little helper without me even asking. If I was looking for a burp cloth or blanket he'd say, "it's right there!" Or, "I'll go get it!" And he was very meticulous about setting up my nightstand for baby branson. He said, "the bottle is right therrrrrrre, and the binky right theerrrrrrr." I even caught him trying to feed branson 2 or 3 times ☺. He would say, "I think he needs a bottle! and would put it in his mouth." SO sweet and cute.

I sure love my boys! They were so good for me and we did well on our own, but we definitely can't wait for daddy to get back tonight!! ♥

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On Thursday I went to RootsTech at the Salt Palace! 


 The Property Brothers spoke! Although I only caught the end of it because the registration line was so dang long! Oh well.

The Meg(h)an's! 



I thought this was a fun display to show the importance of digital preservation, rather than just a pile of stuff or a "stuff monster"