One year!

Today marks a year since Matt and I decided to become a couple. We had been dating, and I ran into him unexpectedly at the institute building. I was really happy to see him. I ended up going to institute with him, and going to his house afterward. Before we went to his house, I told him that I didn't want him to get sick of me from spending too much time together. He said that he was feeling quite the opposite about spending time with me. We were talking on his couch and Matt said that he had a friend who wanted him to give a defined answer as to the status of our relationship, and that he told his friend that it wasn't defined. I took the opportunity to ask him if he wanted it to be defined. We decided to date exclusively. We've seen each other every day, except for one, since we have been together. It has been a fantastic year together. I love my Matt.

You have to try this

Posted by CarrieAnn.

Our carpets were looking REALLY BAD. I wanted to get a carpet steam cleaner, and Matt thought it was a good idea too, so we did some research, shopped the sales, and ended up with the Hoover F914-900 SteamVac.

I was really excited to try it out, and I was not disappointed. It is so much fun and so satisfying to suck all of that dirt out of the carpet.

The before and after!

The best Autumn on record

This has been one of the most fantastic fall seasons I can ever remember. Not only do I have a wonderful new husband to share it with, it has been much longer and warmer than usual. Sometimes in Northern Utah it seems like Autumn is over before it begins. It is my favorite season.

From a fall drive a few weeks ago:

Birthday #30 for CarrieAnn!! (Part II in the birthday week series)

Birthday week was great. My family made my birthday so much fun.

On the actual day, my parents sponsored a birthday dinner for me at the Garden on top of the Joseph Smith building, since they couldn't be here. I loved the food an the atmosphere.

While waiting for the food, my cute date consented to a sassy photo shoot. What great company!

That weekend, Matt threw a birthday party for me. It was fantastic. He had our house all decked out in birthday decorations, and he made great snacks. I saw friends I hadn't seen in ages. (Thanks Matt!!!!)

Here is me in my birthday gear--crown, glowstick necklace, 30th birthday blue ribbon--pretending to be the birthday queen (the balloons were my loyal subjects).

Alan and Maren, a necessary addition to any great party

Mike, Kellie, Lukifer, and Matt. Doesn't get better than this.

Celina bonding with Rufus

A slight snack mishap. These tricky mini corndogs came back to haunt us about a month later when a forgotten batch of them were found in the oven, burnt to charcoal!

Birthday Week Part I: The Twins

In mid-September we had Birthday Week. CA's birthday is only 2 days after mine (and my twin brother Mike's). For Mike's and my birthday, CA made a yummy dinner for us while we played MarioKart on the Wii. It was a baked deli sandwich--meats and cheeses baked inside a shell of bread dough--with baked asparagus and taco-flavored fries on the side. Yum!! It was followed up with some delicious orange-flavored birthday cupcakes.

After dinner I opened my presents from CA. I got Taboo, which is my favorite game but which I have never actually owned; a jacket; and a new copy of the first CD I ever owned as a young teenager, but had long since lost: Staring at the Sea: The Singles by The Cure. (She had been holding on to that little nugget of information since January or February.) Earlier, Mike gave me the new Coldplay record and Radiohead's classic Kid A, both on vinyl. Mike got a subscription to Gospelink.com.

Then CA blindfolded the birthday boys and led us through the streets of SLC to a surprise location. It turned out to be the Broadway Theater, where we watched a documentary called Man On Wire. It was something that I had mentioned wanting to see weeks and weeks before after reading a review, which CA was cool enough to have remembered even after I forgot. As anyone can see, CA is a super-thoughtful and sweet birthday planner and gift giver.

Courtrooms, Condos, Confections and Coinkadinks

In got subpoenaed to testify in August for a court case I worked on back when I was a full-time translator. The bad new was that I would have to be away from home for a few days. The good news was I was put up in a vacation resort condo on beautiful white-sand island in Florida, all expenses paid, and CA got to come with me for only a hundred bucks!

The gulfside beach of Okaloosa Island behind our condo

On Sunday morning we picked a local ward and went there for sacrament meeting. Of all the Mormons in all the world, who do you think would be speaking in that random ward on that very morning? It was Kelly, one of CA's best friends from High School. We were beyond shocked. I mean, seriously, what are the chances? Here's a picture of the girls to prove it:

Among our various activities, we discovered one of the South's hidden secrets: The Waffle House. In all our excitement, we overdid it a little bit:

Before Waffles

After Waffles

In between my judicial duties and sampling southern cuisine, we had a little time for snorkeling and walking around on the beaches. Unfortunately, we didn't happen to have our camera when we saw the sandpipers, dolphins, herons, crabs, fish, conchs, or jellyfishes; but here's some toes on the beach:

Face Average

Matt and I were playing on a website that Alan introduced us to. You can upload a picture of your face and it will morph it in a variety of ways. Masculinize it, feminize it, age it, etc.

There is also a feature where you can take pictures of two people and make a composite of the images. Below is a picture which is an average of Matt's and my face.


To Matt, it looks more like me, to me it looks more like Matt. I think the 5 o'clock shadow tips the scale.

www.faceresearch.org

Please Vote for Me!

Matt and I watched a great documentary, "Please Vote for Me". Five stars from both of us. Students in an elementary school class in China hold an election to decide who the class monitor will be. The kids in this class are around eight years old and are totally adorable and hilarious.

Here is the trailer (which doesn't do it justice):



The best parts are when the three candidates are at home with their parents, being coached on what to say for debates and what to do to win over their classmates. It is some good stuff. It is available for viewing online with Netflix.

Our kid-loving cats

Two of our three cats are amazingly good with kids. A lot of cats don't like small children, but Rufus and Gizmo just soak up the attention. They tolerate things I wouldn't expect.

Matt's friends Barrett and Katie came for a BBQ a few weeks ago with their two daughters. The youngest, Claire, and Rufus got along quite well.

The 4th and the 24th

Yay for the July Holidays!

The 4th, we watched the fireworks from inside Red Butte Gardens. We expected a great view of U of U stadium fireworks, but they didn't have any this year, so we watched the Sugarhouse show from a distance instead.

Before the fireworks, we hiked through a stream and over and under some daunting obstacles to find a camping spot nearby for the night. We found a really cool spot next to a stream. The space was tight, but we set up there anyway to be close to the water. It was the first time using some of the new camping year Matt has been collecting for us. It was a fun overnight camp out.








On the 24th, we went to Liberty park to catch the fireworks. A guy there had two pet pygmy goats he walked on a leash. They kind of looked like dogs with heads that were too small.





Over the 24th weekend, we went to Mom Paula and Mark's cabin again. On the way, we stopped at the Manti temple. Matt saw so many people he knew there. Even more crazy, his parents were there at the time--someone clued us in, and we found their car outside afterwards. Matt left a message on the windshield. We really love that temple. It is so beautiful on the inside and the outside. We are really jealous of the people in that temple district.





After the temple, on our way to the cabin, we stopped at the store to get food and find some dental wax because Matt was getting a sore from his braces. Walmart didn't carry it, so we looked all over the store trying to improvise a solution. Something sticky to cover his braces. We picked up some chapstick, in hopes that sticking a chunk on his braces would help. Next, we asked a Walmart employee in the fishing section if they carried fishing wax, but we found out there is no such thing. The employee recommended we borrow some from his wife, who has braces, or look for some beeswax in the snack section. I think beeswax for snacking is as fake as fishing wax. We looked anyway. Before leaving, we bought some caramels as a back-up solution in case the chapstick failed. Fortunately, at another store we found some dental wax, so we were able to eat the caramels rather than use them for medical purposes.

The zoo train

Below, Matt and Mike on the Hogle zoo train.


After years away, Matt will ride again.....


This time the caboose!


Matt fearlessly takes on the drinking fountain, and conquers.


Me as a giraffe.


The giraffe's view of Asher, son of Mindi and Will whom we went to the zoo with. Fascinating.


Goodbye to the zoo. We'll be back in no less than 20 years for another train ride.