Matt's 29th Birthday Celebratorium

This year I decided to surprise Matt with a party for his birthday. This is the first time I've thrown a successful surprise party where the person is actually surprised. It was so much fun! We all had a blast and Matt was truly touched that so many people would come celebrate him. For those of you that missed out, you missed out on a great party! So, here's some pictures for you to view.

Me and the birthday boy, gosh I love him!

Lydia, Jenn, Me and Kelly at the cornmaze, thanks for coming girls!

We broke the rules... haha

Me, Mary, my mom and Hayley.

All of us minus Kelly who's taking the photos, and those of our friends that had to leave early.

Spooky birthday cupcakes.

All in all it was a great night, and a special shout out to all who helped make it so! Thanks to Jenn and Matt for the use of their time, and their home! Thanks to Brian and Kel for helping set up decorations, thanks to my mom, dad and sister Hayley for helping with food, and the cupcakes!

Adventures in growing up...

        So, Matt and I have been talking a lot lately and we decided to take the plunge and see if we qualified to buy a home. Matt isn't keen on paying rent much longer, and frankly, it would be nice to have a place of our own and really get settled down. Especially since we are feeling ready to get started on trying to start a family! (I know, I can't believe it either!) So, we've gotten our limit, and the realtor called me today to set up some times to go look at some homes. We've been looking at a specific website, and had quite a few homes saved that we liked. I went through the list, got the listing numbers of the ones that are doable, and sent them over to him. Most of the houses we liked are short sales, and I'm well aware that short sales can take months and months to decide and close. Since I'm still really nervous about becoming a homeowner its okay, I'm not really in a rush! We are going to try and go out and look at some places Friday afternoon/evening. Did I mention I'm really nervous? Pretty excited, but REALLY nervous. Maybe something will come of it now, or maybe it won't and we'll end up waiting another year or two, I don't know. I didn't want to Facebook about it because I didn't want EVERYONE to know, but I don't care if the people who take the time to read my blog know, because obviously YOU reader, are a pretty good friend. Well, that's all for now, I just needed to get that off my chest. EEK!

Fall Bonfire

We went up Big Cottonwood Canyon a few weekends ago to enjoy the fall weather, a fire, some roasted hot dogs and marshmallows and of course some good friends. :) I didn't get pictures of everyone, but we went with Matt and Jenn, Kelly, Lydia and Fernando. It was a good relaxing time.

Our Seattle trip

Back in July, Matt and I took a trip up to Seattle to visit my family, and for a friends wedding. My cousin let us stay at her place since her and her family were out of town. It was nice to have a place to stay for free and to have it to ourselves.

Ferris Wheel on the dock at the Pier.

A boat called 'Beaver'

The Space Needle from the freeway

Matt and I with cousins, from left: Ellie, Cole, Trevor, Me, Lincoln and Matt.

Space Needle from the parking lot of the Space Needle

This cat was doing the robot outside this museum and his friends were filming it.

The view of Seattle from the restaurant inside the Space Needle.

Space Needle as seen from Alki Beach

Bridge we drove over one of our scenic drives

I was feeling artistic, what can I say. Check out the barnacles

Matt and I atop the Space Needle

Driving and being tourists

Seattle

More Space Needle, its so cool

Us and Seattle

Us on Alki Beach

Not a sandy beach

Looking for rocks

Lunch, yum!

Rooftop seats at Duke's Chowder House at Alki

Ferry ride

Snoqualmie Falls

Snowqualmie Resort

Cheesing it on the ferry to Kingston

Makes my heart melt

My favorite and I

Me and baby Lincoln

All in all we had a wonderful vacation, and we are so grateful for all my family that took care of us while we were there and those that showed us around and showed us a good time. :)

Xanax anyone?

Lately I've been noticing that I worry a lot. And usually about dumb things. I don't know if it's how I've always been and now I'm just starting to get sick of it, or if I'm getting worse. Matt and I have great jobs and yet I still worry that we won't be able to pay bills. Life will be going smoothly, and I worry the other shoe is going to drop and something will happen to ruin it. I feel like we are always playing catch up, I feel like we are constantly 1 step forward and 2 leaps back. I don't know if this is normal or if I'm overly negative. I try to tell myself not to worry but its much easier said than done. I constantly feel uneasy and can't just enjoy the good things because I'm worried its too good to be true and something is creeping up and going to boot us in the rear.
How about any of you guys? Is this normal? How do you deal with it?

Night of the Running Dead 2012

My little sister Mary registered as a human, Me, Matt, Alisa and her Matt registered as Zombies. Needless to say, Mary was out numbered.

It's been too long, let's get caught up.

My last post was all the way back in May. A lot has happened since then. So, let's see what I can recall...
*We had lot's of fun hanging out with Matt Van Duren while Jenn was in NY. We watched movies, went hiking and had a beach day on the 4th of July. 
*Matt and I went on a vacation to Seattle in July and had a seriously awesome time.
*Jenn FINALLY came home from NY.
*Matt Van Duren finally graduated from school and is officially a registered nurse! We are proud friends, he's worked really hard.
*Matt got full time work at Ebay! YAY!
*We made Jenn go hiking to Donut Falls and she did it, she's a trooper!

*We went to Oktoberfest at Snowbird for the first time this year and had a lot of fun, we took the tram, and the ski lift all over and ate yummy food. What more could you ask for? See above as we take in the 11000 ft elevation views.
*We got a new camera and I'm trying my hand at photography, haven't had too much practice lately, but I love it anyways.
*Matt and I are thinking of buying a house, its a pretty involved experience, and will be awhile before we find out or even decide what we are going to do. Either way, we'll be moving out of my parents house soon. :) Not that we don't appreciate or love my parents, but we're ready to be on our own again. So, this is our life lately, nothing too crazy, but we're enjoying life, taking it easy and we're happy. That's all that matters.