Glorious Fall!

Hello world!I've noticed that I've lagged in the blog department lately, and for that I won't apologize. When the end of summer turns into the beginning of fall (a season that lasts about a week in Idaho), I believe it is my duty to spend every moment I can outside or doing something that will not be o glorious in a few months. Malcom and I have been going on a lot of walks around town, visitingthe parks, swinging in swings, feeding ducks, and generally just enjoying the warm weather.

Have I mentioned how adorable my kid is?! Holy cow! I love this kid. He's getting to be a pro at sitting up. He'll even sit by himself for a little while, un-propped! He gets better every day. I still can't believe how quickly he's grown. He also eats solids now, which has been a fun adventure. I was surprised to find that he prefers the greens to the sweet fruits like banana... who'd he get that from?! Definitely not me. I'm pretty sure I was swigging chocolate syrup from a bottle by

3 months. (not really though)

The last few weeks have been full of random shenanigans. We kidnapped our old friend's boyfriend, whom we hadn't met. We had a handful of boys dressed in black and camo help us, and it was great until half-way through "interrogation" time when Malcom decided that he had had enough.

We also got to celebrate Ben's 27th B-day. It's true, he's and old man. :) I hope he had a good birthday- I made him a chocolate layered cake from scratch with a vanilla custard filling, then made a whipped nutella frosting to encase it in. MMMM!! Sometimes I swear I'm a genius.. haha I got the nutella frosting recipe (and it's SUPER easy). While Ben was at work Malcom and I also snuck by Melalueca and saran-wrapped his bike to the bike rack with 200 yards of cling wrap. It was glorious. I took pics on my cell, but unfortunately I haven't been able to get them on here. Ben thought it was hilarious (he likes being pranked, trust me). :)

Last Sunday we enjoyed some yummy shishkabobs (sp? anyone?) grilled on the landing of our stairwell. Malcom got to try out a sippy cup for the first time and it was a big hit! It was also his first time with apple juice (well, super diluted apple juice). Then we got to go for a bike ride to the park.

That's all we have for now! I've got some chicken sausage gumbo in the crock pot and a cup of hot chocolate calling my name. :) (It's a rainy day today! Love fall!!)

Love you all!

Wha..?

What in Hades?!
By far the freakiest thing I have ever seen... ever...


Excercise with Poodles

A Good Reminder

I found this little ditty on the back of our church program yesterday, and just thought I'd share.

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Thought for the day:

Let's all remember to take the time to LIVE!!!

A Friend of mine opened his wife's drawer and picked up a silk paper wrapped

package: "This," he said, "isn't any ordinary package." He unwrapped the box and stared at both the silk paper and the box. "She got this the first time we went to New York, 8 or 9 years ago... She has never put it on. She was saving it for a special occasion. Every day in your life is a special occasion." I still think those words changed my life. Now I read more and clean less. I sit on the porch without worrying about anything. I'd spend more time with my family and less at work. I understood that life should be a source of experience to be lived up to not survived through. I no longer keep anything. I use crystal glasses every day... I'll wear new clothes to the supermarket if I feel like it. I don't save my special perfume for special occasions. I use it whenever I want to. The words "Someday..." and "One Day..." are fading away from my dictionary. If it's worth seeing, listening or doing I want to see, listen, or do it now... I don't know what my friend's wife would have done if she knew she wouldn't be there the next morning. This nobody can tell. I think she might have called her relatives and closest friends. She might call old friends to make peace over past quarrels. I'd like to think she would go out for Chinese, her favorite food. It's these small things that I would regret not doing if I knew my time had come. Each day, each hour, each minute is special. Live for today, for tomorrow is promised to no one.


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Love you all! Have a great week!

Mmmm Hmmmm

I know I've already posted this picture of Ben and Malcom a the duck pond, but I think it deserves it's own post because I love, love, LOVE this picture so much.

*sigh*

My husband is way too attractive for his own good. :)

2 Year Anniversary

We had our two year anniversary last Sunday, and it was wonderful! We hadn't planned anything for a few reasons: 1. We're last-minute people and we were busy playing with Ben's family during our last-minute period of time, so things obviously didn't get planned. 2. It was a Sunday, so we didn't want to spend money (even if we had it, haha). 3. (The real reason) We both really suck at planning things.

After we said goodbye to the Matheson clan Sunday afternoon, we headed to church, came home for a nap and some grub, then called my brother to see if he would take some family pics for us. We're too cheap to get them done professionally and I've been noticing that we don't have many pictures with all three of us in them. First we headed to the duck pond, where a snapped a few pics of Ben and Malcom feeding the ducks, then headed to the gardens on campus to meet up with Kevin and Becca. I'm so thankful for these two! Kevin was our photographer, while Becca was wardrobe/Malcom control. They made a great team and we got some great pics. We also got some photos of some more romantic mama-and-papa time, which made us all laugh a bit because I'm sure it looked like we were taking engagement photos to passers-by.

It got dark and Becca invited us over to "play games". We went home first to change into pjs, then upon arrival to the Walkers' apartment Becca blindfolded us, drove us to the gardens again, then lead us to a little table they had set up with candle-lit dinner for two. They took Malcom back to the apartment and gave us some wonderful time alone. We had such a great time! After Ben and I had finished eating, we walked around, talked, kissed, and found an old gazebo area and waltzed like we did in the old days. We were aware of Kev and Beca's return when we heard the screams-of-bedtime from little Malcom. We had such a wonderful time!

We ate tapioca pudding and played card games until 1 or 2 in the morning afterward... haha, Good times. I'm amazed at how thoughtful these two silly Walkers can be and I really need to do something in the form of a "thanks, you guys rock my world" type of way... if anyone has any ideas, you should email me. :)

I treasure my family more than anything. I am the luckiest girl in the world to be married to the best friend I've ever had, to call him "husband" and wake up every morning next to him. What can I say? I've always been in love with my life, but I love it even more now that I have Ben and our little son sharing it with me.

The Luckiest- Ben Fold Five

The Matheson Zoo

Summer is flying by all too quickly. School resumes on Thursday which is a bittersweet thought- it means we won't see much of Ben at all until Thanksgiving, but it also means another semester closer to the end. Malcom and I are going to miss him so much in the next few months! I just can't wait till we're done with school and he won't have these insane 16 hour days. *sigh* Ah well, it'll go by quickly and we'll focus on enjoying ourselves and our many blessings in the meantime.

I'm still working on getting those before-mentioned videos to work. I really need to have the technological guru (AKA the husband figure) to check it out. We've just been sooo busy lately with family, our anniversary, and just trying to get the most out of our last few days of summer we haven't had much time to tinker with it. Someday, I promise!



This week the Matheson family came to visit, and it was a wonderful time. I never tire of watching Ben interact with his family- they're all just down right hilarious! Malcom got to meet some cousins for the first time- Sage (3) and Tanner (14 months). He's not too interactive with other babies quite yet, but it was fun to see nevertheless. I have a feeling that Tanner and Malcom will have a lot of fun together when they're both able to run around and cause mischief. :)

On Saturday we went to the zoo with Bens family, then headed back to the hotel and swam until Sam broke Luke's nose while they were racing across the pool. I don't think a matheson reunion is complete until someone (probably Luke), is bleeding or limping while everyone else just laughs. :) Good times... at least for the rest of us...

Here are some pics from the visit:

As we passed this exhibit, this little monkey was just staring out the window like he was bored to tears. I chuckled as I overheard a little boy ask his mom why the monkey was dead, and heard her quickly reply, "Nooo, he's not dead, he's just tired of being in a little cage!" ...It's kind of a sad story now that I tell it. Perhaps its one of those "you had to be there" moments.. haha

Jack, Ben, and Sage looking at the lions










Uncle Sam and cousin Tanner stopping for a snooze along the way

Luke, Jack, Sam's arm, Grandpa Lance and Grandma Doreen, and Malcom at the duck pond

Grandpa and Grandma, Cousins Sage, Tanner, and Malcom

L to R: Sage, Ben, Vicki, Malcom, Doreen, Lance, Luke, Sam, and Jack. I married into quite the handsome family, don't ya' think? :)

Sage on Ben's shoulders

Malcom, held by Grandma Doreen, at nap time in the zoo

I suppose we'll leave it there. Yesterday was our 2 year anniversary, and we had a wonderful day filled with all sorts of fun surprises. Last night we headed to the gardens on campus and my brother, Kev and his wife becca took family pictures of us. It was a great day, but it'll have to go on another post... later. Love to everyone!

Yellowstone

Why is it that our computers and pieces of technology only want to go crazy when Ben isn't home to fix them?? Grrr.. I have some Malcom-of-much-fun videos to post, but I'm having trouble getting the computers to read the video info once they're uploaded. Hopefully I'll have a real post soon. Sorry!

Here are a few more pics to tie us over:

Mr. Malcom the Magnificent rolled over for the first time last Friday. This is a picture taken just after he made it to his back. Go little man! :)

We went to Yellowstone with Mom, David, and their exchange student Giorgi a week ago. We saw the buffalo first, the hit the geysers just as the sun was going down, and it made for quite the site:

(this is Giorgi with Malcom. They were good friends.)

Well, that's all the pics blogger is letting me post today. I guess we're done for now! Love to all! :) Have a great week/long weekend!

Mama Really Likes Taking Pictures of Me!

The manchild is 5 months old now and getting handsomer and more fun every day. He eats rice cereal now and can sit by himself for a little while before succumbing to gravity. Malcom has started scooting and he's trying to figure out how to crawl (though it'll be some time before he masters it). We suspect that he's begun teething as well (not as fun). It's amazing to watch how quickly he grows and develops! Here are some recent pics (20 & 21 wks/5 mos old):

Malcom sleeping in his "cave" at the lake

Contemplating ducks. And feet.

Hello, Nice to see you! Come sit!

This is where pie goes!

Mommy is soooo funny!

When laundry attacks.

Malcom likes to stick his tongue out when we're outside. I have no idea why. :)

Belly button! Haha!

First time on a swing...

Totally dazed afterward...

Mama kisses!!! Mwahaha! No escape.

Bragging about his belly button again

Playing in the crib with his bear/bunny

Love to all!