Trip to Idaho Falls and SLC

We just got back from a fun trip to Utah and Idaho.   

We went to Idaho Falls for the wedding of our good friend Chris. 

Here are Scott and several of his closest friends from college:

They did an amazing job transforming the cultural hall in the church:

Also on this trip, we were able to go visit the grave of my grandma who passed away last December.  It was nice to be able to say goodbye to her.  I was also able to visit my grandpa's grave for the first time (at least that I remember).  He passed away when I was one. 

 On Memorial Day, we went with Scott's sisters to leave flowers at the graves of their mom's parents. I didn't have my camera there for that one.

We later visited BYU Provo and checked out the new addition to the Tanner building.  They have added dozens of team rooms including some with flat screens?  This would have made our group assignments so much easier!

 Scott was impressed by this classroom full of trading computers. 

On Tuesday, we visited the Church History Museum.  After teaching about Church History in seminary this year, it was really cool to go there and see some of the artifacts first hand like Emma Smith's hymn book, John Taylor's pocketwatch that stopped a bullet in Carthage Jail, some of the original transcripts of the Book of Mormon, and the stone that David O. McKay saw in Scotland ("Whate'er thou art, act well thy part").  I was really glad I had one more lesson to give to my class before the end of the year so I could tell them about it.

Also at the museum, we had a lot of fun in their children's area.  Building Nephi's ship and going fishing over the side of it:

Celebrating Mexican culture by learning a dance (complete with costumes):

We even got to practice speaking from a replica of the pulpit at the Conference Center (I'm willing to bet its much more fun than the real thing). 

I'm sure no one else has ever done this before:

If you check out the end of this video, you'll see a sample of Matthew's dance moves:

Some pictures from Easter:

Favorite Phrases, ABC Song, Etc.

I'm Back!

After a lengthy hiatus, I'm finally back on my blog. I guess I haven't had much blogging time between preparing my seminary lessons and getting sick every other week. Here's a pictoral review of some of the silliness that has been taking place around our house:

Matthew showing off for the camera (he calls the camera "cheese"):


Matthew exploring the mysterious lack of a front door. We got a new one installed very shortly after this picture was taken and it looks great!


Making an awesome fashion statement:


"We're #1!" Who needs to shell out the big bucks for one of those foam fingers?


Poor Matthew was so tired one day that he fell asleep on the couch while he was eating goldfish crackers:


Bad hair day?


Gardening time with Grandpa Egg:






Lest you think we are always happy here:


Falling asleep with his flashcards in his hand:

Who does Matthew look like?

Matthew:


Scott:


Melissa:

A Tale of Two Christmases

We had two Christmas celebrations this year. We started by spending a week and a half in St. George with my family; then we went back to California to celebrate with Scott's family. We had a lot of fun.

Here are some of the highlights:

Four years ago, Scott proposed to me just outside the house of my great-grandfather, which is in Green Gate Village in St. George. We went back there during our visit and took pictures with Matthew:



On Christmas Eve, we enjoyed playing in the backyard of my parents' house:



That evening, we gathered together for our traditional Christmas Eve celebration. Here's my niece, Abby, getting geared up for the fun:


We acted out the navitity. I think my nephew, Zack, looked like he was basking in the glory of playing baby Jesus:


Scott played the role of the donkey and he was roasting in his costume:


Here's the cast:


After singing a rousing rendition of "The 12 Days of Christmas", we discovered my dad had slept through some or all of it. We couldn't believe it!


We opened one or two presents on Christmas Eve and Matthew's first present was a coloring book and some crayons. He loved them!


Christmas Morning!


Santa brought Matthew an ornament in his stocking, which he was caught admiring with Grandma Vincent:


Finding what else Santa brought:


Who knew flashcards would be such a big hit?



Matthew with his cousins, Austin and Wyatt:


One of Matthew's favorite things to do at Grandma's house:


Leaping into the Christmas fun:


Another of Matthew's favorite things to do at Grandma's house. He would throw the ball down the stairs and erupt with laughter as his cousins threw it back up the stairs to him. He could play that game forever.


Matthew and Austin get some good night kisses from Grandma:


The day after Christmas, we got together with some of my friends from St. George:


At one point, Matthew climbed onto my friend, Tiffany's, wheelchair to try it out. Make yourself at home, bud.


On the day we left, Matthew enjoyed rolling on the bed while I was changing the sheets.


Once we got back to CA, we had a really fun celebration with Scott's family. Here Matthew is enjoying the attention of aunts Liz and Katie:


One of the highlights for Matthew was this set of Mickey Mouse socks. Apparently our son is totally satisfied as long as he receives socks and flashcards for Christmas. I hope this keeps up.


And last of all, we have videos of Christmas morning and of Matthew opening a present. Unfortunately, I filmed them both sideways and I think the quality went down a bit when I rotated the picture. I hope they are still enjoyable to watch.





We hope you also had a merry Christmas!