happy bird-day matthew.

so last thursday i surprised my sweet husband with a birthday weekend get-away to my grandparents' cabin. i'd been planning this celebration for over a month so i was so anxious to tell him. he was elated. he loves birthdays.

one of the most hilarious parts of the whole weekend was our pre-shopping trip. i told matt he could buy anything he wanted to eat for that weekend (and he likes to eat some pretty weird things folks). it was really good for me to relinquish all control.

matt was a kid in a candy-store. almost literally. he went up and down the isles, choosing the most sugary, fat-filled items you can imagine. we bought things we had never bought before and will probably never buy again in the future. but that's what birthdays are about, right?

...UP AT THE CABIN.

jordan and jessica + pierre and ashley + matt and a VERY scared christine = some fun ATVing action. we went on some ridiculous off-road trails. and by ridiculous i mean extremely dangerous. but it was good, good fun. we came back raunchy as ever with dirt in our teeth (cute) and matted hair. but it was more than worth it i would say.

matt and i played and sung together just like the olden days. it felt so good. his ability to play the exact notes i heard in my head was what first sparked my feelings for him. and, a year later, it still has the same affect.

BOHNANZA! this game has become a new family favorite. we taught Pierre, Jordan, and Jessica how to play, and now they too are obsessed. Pierre and i tied for last place. awesome.

ahhhh.... relaxation. it was so nice to just do nothing. we spent a few hours straight just talking about all sorts of interesting topics:
-what color are you? (the color code by dr. hartman)
-what stresses you out the most?
-what's your favorite cereal?
-if you had $10,000 that you HAD to spend within a few weeks, what would you do with it?

here's the bird-day boy. his "on-the-ball" wife forgot candles so we had him blow out one lowly match (if you can see it).

man, he's cuuuuuuuuuuuute.

looooooooooooook at those marshmallows! we found those guys at walmart and HAD to have them. they were divine, but oh so sticky.

there's the group. minus me of course. we so loved having everyone come up and celebrate matt's birthday. he felt really loved. and cj was a real sport for coming up to hang out with a group full of lovey-dovey couples. what a champion.


SUUUUUUUUUNDAY.
we did nothing besides stick pillows up our clothes (and go to church of course).

poor martha was trying to read while matt and i acted like 4 year olds. but it was too much fun.

something about today.

you know your day is off to a good start when you:

-wake up whenever you feel like it
-eat fruit popsicles for breakfast
-read scriptures while eating popsicles
-spend time really talking with Heavenly Father
-sit and daydream about future plans
-feel hopeful
-cuddle and spoon with your best friend
-shower at noon
-feel ok about your daily plan flying quickly out the window

exploring our planet.

so i babysat a ward members' baby today. little TUCKER. tucker is now walking and seeing the world from a completely new perspective. what an incredible thing to watch.

i took him outside. he was immediately drawn to the trees. he touched the branches and leaves, smiled and then looked at me. sitting on the ground, he dropped his head to eat the grass. he figured out pretty quickly that wasn't the best idea. i just observed him from a distance.

here i am, 24 years old,... trees and grass are kind of old news for me, and for most of us for that matter:) but to this miniature human being, who's lived on this planet just short of a year, everything is new. what an exciting way to live.

the scriptures tell us often to "become as a little child". meek, humble, submissive. yet maybe another characteristic children have that we could work on acquiring is the joy they find in exploration. little children get a kick out of things like grass, bugs, their hands, opening and closing things, etc., etc. maybe it wouldn't hurt to get excited about our everyday lives in a similar way.

it's like the youtube video: "everything's amazing and nobody's happy"
"oh really what happened next?...did you fly through the air incredibly like a bird... did you partake in the miracle of human flight?"
"everybody on every plane should just constantly be going--OH MY GOOOOOSH! WOW!"

we can learn a lot from those little kiddos. life can be just as new, just as exciting, just as adventurous.