Tag

I guess I've been tagged by Tarisa. So here we go.

Ten years ago:
I was in fourth grade (I think). Mrs. Hyde's class. Probably the best year of my life thus far. Just kidding. But she was my favorite teacher so it was good.

Five things on my "to do" list today:
Today is almost over, but this is what I would like to accomplish:
-Write on my blog
-Eat dinner
-Sleep through the whole night. This has become almost impossible since I have been pregnant. It's only happened once the whole time!
-Maybe clean the bathroom
-Watch "The Office" or "Seinfeld" episodes

What would I do if I suddenly won a billion dollars?
-Consult my dad on the best way to cheat the government out of the most money...just kidding.
-Buy a house
-Buy another car
-Buy lots of clothes and nursery things from places I can't afford now for the baby and then quit my job and stay home and clean my house and actually get things done every day
-Donate a bunch of it to the Perpetual Education Fund
-Travel the world

Three of my bad habits:
-Sleeping in.
-Procrastinating
-Not being able to stay motivated...wow I sound like a loser!

Jobs I have had:
-Filing invoices at Making Memories when I was 15
-Helper/hostess at the Mandarin
-Cashier at Bahio
-Delivery girl at Daines Goodwin
-Receptionist/bookkeeper at Daines Goodwin

Five things people don't know about me:
-While taking AP English my senior year, I loved to write essays and poetry. I was also pretty good at it. I have lost my ability to do that now, which is sad.
-Although I consider myself a fairly avid reader, I've never read a whole Jane Austen book. I have started Pride and Prejudice and Emma probably three times each, but I've never finished them. So, I never tell people that I LOVE Jane Austen like some girls do because technically I've only seen the movies. Don't kill me!
-I'm REALLY excited for summer and I don't care how hot it's gonna be. I used to love winter when I was a child, but I have no desire lately to go skiing or sledding or build a snowman. It's just too dang cold.
-I cry a lot in Primary. Two Sundays ago, we watched a video tribute of President Hinckley and I bawled my eyes out. Then one of the boys in my class turned to me and said, "President Hinckley wasn't the most importantest person." I had to laugh about that because of course he's only four and doesn't understand how important President Hinckley was.
-I don't listen to music as much as I used to. I used to always have music on in the car, but now I'm turning into my mother. She always turns down the volume when she gets in the car.

Five snacks I enjoy:
-SweetTarts. I crave these all the time now!
-Ice cream
-Peanut butter bars
-Chips and salsa
-Ritz crackers

Five TV shows I watch:
-The Office
-American Idol
-The Office
-American Idol
-American Idol
We only have channel 13 and occasionally the other network stations, so yeah.

Places I have vacationed:
-Island Park
-Playa del Carmen
-Cabo San Lucas
-Washington D.C.
-England
-Flaming Gorge
-Yellowstone
-Grand Cayman
-Jamaica
-Cozumel

Five things I want to learn:
-How to knit and crochet really cute outfits for my baby
-Play the piano well again
-How to speak French fluently
-My family history
-How to play the guitar

Ok there you go. Now I tag Jamie, Tara, and Brooke (but I don't think she'll do it - that is a challenge Brooke!). Hope you learned lots!

Top Ten Newsworthy Stories of 2007

All right...I know that it's February 6th and that it's a little late to be blogging about our favorite things of 2007, but maybe after you read the list, you'll understand why I've been such a slacker. So here is our "Top Ten" of 2007:

10. We moved! I don't really have any pictures of this event, but it sure was big. We had a lot of help from our great friends and it only took a couple hours to get everything loaded, driven to the new place, and unloaded again. I decided that we moved from a really cute (but teeny) apartment to a really ugly (but huge) one. I can't decide which I would rather have...I think in a couple days I'll be posting about the ugliness of our apartment.

9. Attending Will's football games. We love football! And it so much more fun when you have someone specific to watch. We were pretty good at going to support him and it was a blast, especially watching my dad coach. It's a side of him I've never seen before. Here's a picture with both of them. Doesn't Will look huge and so intense?

8. Lots of weddings. We attended lots of weddings in 2007, which was awesome because I love it when our friends get married! That mostly means that they don't feel awkward hanging out with us old married people anymore, so it's easier to stay in touch. One wedding in particular was really special. My cousin, who was baptized two years ago, got married in June...in the Salt Lake Temple! We were so excited and it was a really special experience for me and my parents to be there.

7. Christmas. Christmas was great this year as you know from my previous post. We loved being with family and celebrating the season. I love Christmas!

6. Trip to Pineview. For my family's family vacation this year, we took a weekend and rented a condo at Pineview. We went boating, ate good food, watched the premiere of High School Musical 2, played games and just hung out. It was awesome!

5. Flaming Gorge. Scott and I decided to take a little weekend trip by ourselves sometime in June or July up to Flaming Gorge. I love that place more than words can express. It reminds me so much of being a child. My grandparents have a trailer up there (yes, it is in a trailer park, and no, we're not white trash) so the best part was that it was free. We drove around the lake, barbequed some hamburgers, went fishing at my family's secret spot (which is secret for a reason, see picture below), and had a nice, relaxing time.

4. Island Park. Every July, my dad's family heads up to Island Park for a family reunion. Not everyone was there this year, but we still had a great time hanging out. We, of course, went boating, played games, ate amazing food (the married grandkids were each in charge of two meals this year....that was really scary for me), hiked at Yellowstone, saw Footloose at the Playmill, walked the streets of West Yellowstone, and as always, had a great time.

3. Thanksgiving. We drove down to Orderville, Utah for a traditional Thanksgiving with the Russell side of the family. We don't see Scott's dad's siblings very often so it was nice to get to know them better. They are really awesome people and I'm glad we went down there. We went to Orderville because that is where Sterling grew up (Scott's dad) and they still own his parents' house but they are getting ready to sell it. So it was kind of a little bit of a last hoorah. Orderville is a REALLY small town and we had fun walking around the whole town in oh, about....thirty minutes. This picture below was at the cemetery where Scott's grandparents are buried. This headstone was classic. We're probably related to him in some form, but I thought it was appropriate especially because he died on our wedding day (but two years earlier). I think Kyle Nelson would get a kick out of this. Is it bad to laugh at the dead? Sorry....

2. Washington D.C. In August (don't ever go there in August), we took a little trip to our nation's capital. It was a blast to say the least! We had an amazing time seeing all the sights. Scott just got excited to see everything in real life that he had only seen in movies before. And I was just amazed the whole time that we were actually able to do it. It was just so funny to me that we could just get around Washington D.C. all by ourselves! No parents, no other adults...I guess it was my little taste of freedom! But of course we would have been dead meat without the GPS that came with our rental car. That was a life saver. So we did all the normal stuff...Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, the mall, Lincoln, Washington, and Jefferson Memorials, the Smithsonians, the White House, the FBI Headquarters for Scott, the Washinton D.C. temple, yadda, yadda, yadda. We also visited our good friends the Stevens. They took us to dinner and Nick's football game and then we came home and watched home videos of us when us kids were all little. It was great, but I think Scott felt a little awkward. Anyway, it was the trip of a lifetime! And again, don't EVER EVER EVER go to Washington D.C. in August, unless you're used to 98 degree weather with 100,000% humidity. It was unbelievable. I thought Utah summers were bad, but I had no idea. You can tell it's definitely hot by my bright read face in this picture at the White House. Over all we had a great time and we're excited to continue traveling. When? We don't know, probably not until we're retired.

And drumroll please..............

The number one most newsworthy story of 2007 for the Russell Family is................

WE'RE PREGNANT! Yep, it's true. We found out on December 27th. I'm ten weeks along, my due date is September 7th, and I'm feeling really crappy. That is why I don't blog much anymore. Good excuse huh? And that is why I'm blogging right now in the middle of the day. Lucky me, I'm sick as a dog and I get to stay home from work! But hopefully it's just a couple more weeks and then I'll be on to feeling great. We went to the doctor last week and she said everything looks great. We even got a little ultrasound, which I wasn't expecting. We're getting really excited to welcome a little baby into our humble family and we're just praying that everything goes well. Here's a picture of the little person. It's the blob inside the black hole. I think it looks like the cutest baby ever, but am I just being partial? I also think it looks like a girl, but we'll be excited for whatever we have, just as long as it's healthy.

So as you can see, 2007 was quite eventful for us. We had an amazing year together and we're counting on 2008 being even better!

tribute to a car

Well, she's gone, out of our lives before we could even think twice about selling her. She was the best car we ever owned together, but we had to give her away (not because we couldn't afford her car payments or anything...don't worry). We had some good times together. She took us to exotic places around the country, such as Los Angeles in ten hours for the BYU-UCLA game, Island Park for a family reunion, and Orderville for Thanksgiving. We will never forget her. You are welcome to leave your goodbyes.

merry christmas!

We had a most eventful Christmas this year, although it was not nearly as bad as last year. It's getting to the point that we'll probably want to do the every-other-year thing from now on. Just too much fun!

On Christmas Eve Eve - the Sunday before Christmas - we had a traditional Russell family Christmas Eve (untainted by the relatives). We had a nice dinner of fondue, Christmas jello, veggies, and Shirley Temples. This is a picture of Scott sporting the napkin rings. I laugh so hard every time I see it.

We then delivered some of Kelli's, Kerri's, and Brooke's Christmas presents to their friends and along the way, we wished all people walking by a "Feliz Navidad" or "Mele Kalikimaka." I had a hilarious video of Scott yelling "MELE KALIKILAKA!!!!!!" to someone walking by but I accidentally deleted it and now I'm kicking myself for it. When we arrived home, we read Christmas stories, sang Christmas carols (The Friendly Beasts was the best - complete with all the animal noises by Scott and Brooke), opened a present, and had dessert. Some of us stayed up until the late hours of the night playing Monopoly and Life. It was awesome. The traditional Russell family Christmas Eve (untainted by the relatives) was a success! This is a picture of Kelli, Brooke, and Kerri in the car on our adventure. There is also a picture of Kelli, Kerri, and me in Scott's 3XL shirt that his mom gave him with a picture of the family ironed-on. It was hilarious that we could all fit inside it.

On Christmas Eve, we had the usual party at Grandpa IVon's, which is always fun. I didn't take any pictures though. We opened a gift from Lorie and Sterling there. I got a really cute pair of pajamas and Scott got an awesome jacket that he's been wearing pretty much everyday since.

Then we went to my parents' house to open "Pixie Presents." We each draw a name of a family member after Thanksgiving and do kind deeds in secret for that person during December and then get them a gift for Christmas. We find out who our Pixie was and then open the present on Christmas Eve. That was fun. Lauren gave Scott and me a gift card to Megaplex 12 at the Gateway to see a couple movies. We were so excited for that! Then my mom and dad gave us each a pair of pajamas to wear that night. Here are two pictures of all of us in our pajamas. A cute pose and a funny pose.

On Christmas morning, we woke up at 7 to open presents with the kids. My family got a Wii! I used to think it would be stupid, but it is awesome! We had so much fun playing it and Lauren and I were even a little bit sore after. Scott gave me a beautiful Brighton necklace and I gave him some cologne. We also gave each other some smaller gifts and a new entertainment center. I didn't really take any spectacular pictures on Christmas day, which I'm bummed about now.

After opening presents, we went to breakfast at Little America, which is always a good time. We then went back to the Russells' and opened presents there. Scott and I got a nice new printer from his parents, some Jazz tickets from Brooke, and I got a cute shirt from Kelli.

I'm a little tired of writing so the rest will be brief: we went back to my parents' house for lunch, to our house to open the rest of our presents, to Scott's parents for dinner, and then home to bed, and for me, work the next day! Scott didn't have to work the day after Christmas and he surprised me with clean laundry and a clean house. I was so excited when I came home. He's the best.

Christmas this year was awesome. It's so much fun when you're married, to have someone special to share it with. We had a very merry eventful Christmas to say the least. We hope you did too!

eye doctor

I went to the eye doctor today after about a year and a half of having a really bad prescription, and this is about how I felt. Just watch the first 20 seconds or so.

happy birthday scottie

Happy 24th birthday Scott! He's getting to be so old. I just can't even believe it. Last night he wanted me to make him spaghetti and meatballs so I attempted homemade meatballs from a recipe off of foodnetwork.com and I'm not going to lie, they were dang good. He kept raving about it, so I felt pretty confident about my domestic/homemaking skills. That was just what I needed after a couple weeks of feeling down on my good-wife abilities (the last thing I want to do after a being at work and school for twelve hours is come home and cook or clean).

He asked for spaghetti and meatballs last year, but I didn't make it because we basically had that meal at least twice a week in our first couple months of marriage. So instead I made salmon that was pretty nasty because it was taken from the in-laws' freezer and who knows how long it had been there. We were both really disappointed about his birthday dinner last year, so I decided to grant his birthday wish with homemade spaghetti and meatballs. We both kept saying how much better these meatballs were than the frozen ones from Costco, which are pretty good...and really easy. And then I thought, "Wow, Mattie, maybe they're better because the meat hasn't been run through machine after machine and then frozen for 10 years." So anyway, that was our experience with spaghetti and meatballs last night. Just ask Scott how wonderful they were.

Lorie then made excellent London broil for him tonight. They even had my family over, which is a huge deal, and I was really grateful for that. He got some awesome gifts: a 20" monitor for his laptop (which is beyond me. He keeps asking me if I want one now for my laptop and I say, "No, Scott, I don't need a 20" monitor for my LAPTOP. This screen I have attached to my computer now is just fine."), some gym clothes, a new basketball, and $50! Anyway, I'm really grateful for Scott today. He's the best husband any girl could ask for.

It's a Wonderful Life

Non-Crappy Holiday eCards on JibJab

I just think these JibJab videos are hilarious. Here's one to remind you that life is wonderful.

Snow Day

I know this was last Saturday, but I thought you might be interested to know how much it snowed at our house. A lot. And we get to shovel it - one very long driveway and the normal-sized driveway you see in the picture. After about three hours of shoveling, we finally talked Grandpa into buying a snow blower, which was really cool because he likes to do things his way and doesn't get talked into doing much.

the inaugural blog

I guess you could say that I caved in and I have officially started a blog. Who knows if I'll keep up with it. But I will try. Just a caution: our lives aren't that interesting even though we're married (which seems to be a requirement for having an interesting blog), and especially since we don't have kids. But I think of this blogging thing as more of a way to document the interesting things we do do because frankly I'm horrible at journal writing and scrapbooking and this seems to be a little easier. So here's to the wonderful world of blogging. Please enjoy!