2012 Recap

What did you do in 2012 that you have never done before?

Brain surgery- definitely never done that before
Self injections
Lake Powell with my dad and step-family
Matt started building houses- and thinking about building a house for us someday
Looking back, it felt like a fairly normal year minus January
 

Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions and will you make more for 2013?

I finished my monster quilt and made more home video DVDs, but I seem to make resolutions that have no definite "end." They'll stay the same this year, as always.

What would you like to have in 2013 that you lacked in 2012?

I'd like to keep Matt in school. The brain blob prevented that in 2012. Maybe some material things too, like a truck and a boat.

What day will be etched in your memory?

The day I had my brain biopsy. The day the neurosurgeon called to report that I did not have cancer or a tumor, but an MS plaque. Luckily this happened at the beginning of 2012 and the rest of the year was so good!

What was your biggest struggle this year?

I can't think of anything. With the diagnosis and everything that followed there was no struggling, just acceptance. We got out of other things we were struggling with this year, like our jobs, and found more peace and happiness.

What was your biggest achievement this year?

Lots of happiness! Sometimes I forget that the brain biopsy and MS stuff happened this year. It seems like the year started in June once we moved to Logan. Everything before that was kind of a blur.

What was the best thing you bought this year?

USU season football tickets!

Where did most of your money go?

Hello? Medical bills. We'd be in a totally different place if we didn't have those.

What did you get really excited about this year?

Being back in Logan. I missed everything about this place and we love being back.

 

What songs will remind you of 2012?

Anything by Fun. and "Home" by Philip Philips and "Drunk on You" by Luke Bryan

What was your favorite television program of 2012?

New Girl and Duck Dynasty

But...

We still are watching Glee, Bones, Once Upon a Time, Big Bang Theory, Grimm, Guys with Kids, Gold Rush, the Voice, and Matt's outdoors shows

Oh...

and

SPORTS, SPORTS, and more SPORTS...

We currently watch the Jazz (every game), other NBA games (seriously, ask me ANYTHING about the NBA), Real Salt Lake (every game), every major college football team in Utah (yes, three games a week), some NFL, Utah State basketball and the NCAA tournament

What did you want and get this year?

An awesome new apartment in Logan
A brain blob... oh wait, that fits under the category "What did you NOT want and STILL get this year" :)

What was the best movie you saw this year?
Pitch Perfect and John Carter. Matt and I see a lot of movies and were not so impressed with the movies this year. Hopefully better movies will come out in 2013.

What did you do for your birthday and how old did you turn?

I turned 25 this year and Matt turned 27. On my birthday we went to the pumpkin walk after work with Randy, Jenny, the kids, Alex, my dad and Laurie, and Matt. Then we went to Olive Garden for dinner, as per tradition. Matt's birthday was in the middle of us moving, finishing our jobs, and getting ready for Lake Powell. I didn't buy him a birthday gift until August or September. Definitely a slacker. Good goal for next year.

How would you describe your personal fashion statement this year?

Wranglers and cowboy boots. I love living somewhere where this is okay! Matt's fashion statement is thermal underwear. Working in sub-zero temperatures has him dressed every day in millions of layers. It takes him five to ten minutes to undress after work!

Christmas and New Year's 2012

Matt and I are lucky to have so many great family members, and even more good friends to spend time with over the holidays. This year we started our Christmas on December 23 with Matt's extended family at a party at his Grandpa's house. We stayed at Diet and Myrna's overnight and spent the day with the immediate family on Christmas eve. The kids made gingerbread houses,  and around lunch time we opened presents. We had a fun time messing around together for the rest of the night. We went bowling and had dinner and played games. Part of the shenanigans included Randy and Matt playing a new game with Harrison:

Late on Christmas eve we went to my mom's house to sleep over. Little did we know that Jeff had other plans for us. They bought a new TV for Christmas and needed Matt to help move the old TV, and old, HEAVY, TV by the way, and the furniture to fit the new TV. My mom and Jeff were so excited. We spent the night and were woken too early by an excited mom who wanted to open presents. It's supposed to be the kids who wake up the parents right? We spent a nice relaxing morning with my family and then headed over to my dad's house for more presents and family. After lunch we headed back to my mom's for some well-needed naps and dinner with the extended family, followed by more games. Matt and I had so much fun, but were definitely ready for our own bed and relaxation!

On Friday I headed back to Salt Lake for dinner with some friends from high school, which is always so much fun. I slept over at my mom's and on Saturday had lunch with another friend. I'm glad the holidays give me a chance to catch up with people I don't get to see very often. I came back home on Saturday night and Matt and I had no plans for New Year's. I forget that living near Randy and Jenny usually means that we have some kind of plans. We spent New Year's Eve at a party with some of Randy and Jenny's friends who we have gotten to know and the boys lit the rest of the summer fireworks. I have to admit that I was a little nervous after the fireworks disaster in July. But things went off without a hitch (definitely too cold for fireworks in December) and we spent the rest of the night with the kids in bed and the adults playing games.

So I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and a happy new year! We are so excited for 2013 and more fun to come!

Jordan's Wedding

On December 17, my step-brother Jordan was married in the Salt Lake temple. Matt and I were so lucky to be there to celebrate with them. Now, I don't mean to throw anybody under the bus here, but I have to share some memories of the day. Matt and I were the first people in the waiting room in the temple, but slowly Jordan and Melanie's families started arriving. We were a little concerned when only one of  Jordan's brothers was there with us, and we were also missing Jordan's mom. My dad told us that she was on her way. We get walked to the sealing room, still no brothers or mother. We sat in the sealing room for what felt like forever, and finally Jordan's brothers made it. Still no mom. Waited. And waited. I thought for sure she would miss her youngest son getting married! But, just as they were ready to start, Laurie ran in and was able to be there for her son's wedding!

What a day to choose to get married. While we were waiting for Jordan and Mel, Matt and I walked around temple square and froze to death! It was sooo cold! They finally came out, we did some pictures, and then Matt and I bailed. We had to find the perfect gift for Jordan (Matt's idea) and make it to the luncheon to help set up in less than two hours. We were literally RUNNING errands. In the freezing cold wind. Matt and I were the first ones to get to the luncheon to help set up and nothing was ready. Guests would be arriving in 30 minutes and nothing was set up. We were putting tablecloths and dishes on the tables, meanwhile there is no food except the desserts Matt and I were assigned to pick up. Laurie arrives with the food at the same time that the guests start arriving, so Brooke and I start frantically putting salads together. When all the food was finally ready, we were 30 minutes late in starting. The food was worth the wait though, maybe not the hassle! We had a nice lunch, and it was fun hearing from all the friends and family. Then the crazy cleanup begins. We are being pushed out of the room for the next event. Crazy.

Matt and I rush over to change clothes for the reception and then head to Provo with a quick stop at Cabelas. It was 5:00 and the reception wasn't until 6:30. We get a call that we have to be there for pictures at 5:30. No way was that happening. So we pick up Alex and hurry to the reception around 6:00. My dad is mad that we are "late" but we weren't even the last family members there. They actually took the "family" pictures without everyone in the family there! Guests started showing up way early because the weather was awful and we spent the next few hours at the reception. The reception was beautiful and Jordan and Melanie were very happy. They had a receiving line that went on forever, but finally they got to leave, and so did the rest of us! By that time it was a crazy blizzard outside and I was so nervous about everyone driving home. What a crazy (and long) day.

This is how Matt gets out of dancing at weddings- he grabs the nearest baby. What a slacker!

Avery is so cute! Even with her finger so far up her nose!

From left: Cassie, Alex, Matt, me, Ashley, Kelly, Trevor (in front of Kelly), Chris holding Sadie, Melanie, Jordan, Rylie (in front of Jordan), Laurie, dad, Ryan holding Kevin, Kylee (in front of Ryan), Stacey, Chason holding Avery, Brooke, Chelsie

Going Bowling!

This year, much to our pleasure, the Aggie football team got to go to the Idaho Potato Bowl again, which meant that we got to go again! Matt and I have loved having season football tickets and look forward to a long tradition of going to games at Utah State. Matt said that we'd follow the Aggies wherever they went bowling, and it happened to be in Boise again this year.

Bowling with Randy was an adventure. He has so much energy (I have no idea where his son Bradley gets it)! The whole ride to Boise he was on his phone, looking up restaurants that were nearby, or showing us videos on the internet or just jabbering away. He found us a fun burger place to eat before the game, Big Jud's, which was way good. We had to wait in a 45 minute line to get in to this tiny little burger joint, but it was worth it. The boys were too chicken to try a one-pound patty on their burger though!

We had better seats this year, and it was definitely worth the extra money. We sat just in front of a group of old people all dressed up. One of them was Santa and the rest were reindeer, and his wife was Mrs. Clause. We had a blast chatting with this group throughout the game. I hope that when we're old that we still do fun things like this!

Before the game started, I was worried that we had overdressed. Last year we froze our butts off and so this year I dressed in millions of layers!

I had to take off several layers before the game started and through the first half. But, as you can see in the next picture, they all were on my body by the end of the game! It was cold when the wind started blowing and the sun went down! I am wearing jeans, wool socks, snow boots, coveralls, long-sleeve shirt, two sweatshirts, a ski coat, two layers of gloves, a scarf and a headband!

And much to my additional pleasure, the Aggies took home the win this year! And while we are so sad to lose Gary Andersen, Matt and I still love Aggie football and look forward to more Utah State games!

Merry Christmas!

Perfect Tribute

Go Jazz!

This year I really got into the Jazz spirit when I decided to track the progress of the Jazz throughout the season and use this as a way to relate math concepts to my fourth graders. Right now Root Sports is having an "Ultimate Fan" contest and I thought it would be fun to take a picture with all of our stuff and submit it to the contest. I hope you can see all the posters the kids made at home and brought for this picture, along with the bar graph of wins and losses, the calendar showing upcoming games, and the Jazz flag that the Utah Jazz donated to my class. And check out all the awesome Jazz gear that the kids found at home! I was so impressed! Hopefully we will win! Watch for our picture when you watch Jazz games!

Claire's Dance Recital

This week we got to go see Claire dance in her Christmas recital. Seeing all those darling girls in their costumes was so much fun! That's why you have girls! Matt was just shaking his head the whole time. Claire was the best in her class, and definitely the tallest! I can't believe how fast she is growing right before our eyes. I am so glad that we can share these fun nights with her while she is still little. We love you so much Claire!

Christmas in the New Place

We absolutely love where we live. So when it came time to decorate for Christmas, both Matt and I were pretty excited. Matt had grand plans to put lights up on the roof of our townhome, but that never happened, so we put lights on our bush outside, up the post on our porch, and in the two windows. Matt and I have been fighting about Christmas lights and we finally came to a compromise: He gets colored lights outside and I get to decorate the inside of the house however I want, including the tree. He wasn't happy about it, but it was the best way to solve the problem!

I love decorating my tree every year. This year Jenny and I took the kids out to buy Christmas trees. We didn't have the energy or time to go out and cut one down. Maybe next year. I think Jenny was a little shocked at how much I spent on our tree- I definitely buy the tree I want! This year I also bought the beautiful Christmas painting on the wall next to the tree. It is a picture of Santa holding the Baby Jesus figure from the nativity. I don't have a nativity, and I thought it was a good substitute.

Matt made me a beautiful crown molding shelf and I just got it painted. But, because we haven't put it up yet (still fighting about where it should go), the stockings had to go on the railing. I hope Santa will find them!

Every year I use the leftover decorations and ornaments to put my wreath together. I love having a festive wreath on our little street. I am surprised at how few people decorate their door or houses for  Christmas!

Friends Christmas Party

Matt and I are very lucky to have such good friends. These are the girls who I lived with at some point while I was at Utah State. The moment we decided we wanted to do a Christmas party, I called everyone and they all set aside the date on their calendars and made it a priority to be there. I was so glad that everyone could come, because our group is growing with new spouses and new little ones!

From left:
Natalie and Zach Neibaur who live in Salt Lake, Matt and I are now in Logan, Jeana and Marc are in Tinnic (not sure of spelling?) and have their first little one due in February, Jenni and Jared live in Logan with little Trennon, and Lindsay and Tom live in Roy with one-year-old Olivia

We had a great night catching up on everyone's busy lives, making pizzas and eating yummy dessert, and we also played the present game (which I totally screwed up!). It was so fun watching the two one-year-olds playing and walking around and talking. It's crazy how they are only a few months apart but are so different! We are planning a summer camping trip and it is going to be a blast!

Thanksgiving Weekend

This year was our year to have Thanksgiving with the Fischer family. So we spent Wednesday with my mom and Jeff, we went to a movie and dinner and slept over. Then on Thursday morning we met up with the Fischer boys to go shooting. This is one of our family traditions, and it is one of my favorites. All the brothers were able to come this year, and Bradley got to come this year. It is fun that he is getting old enough to be included in things like this! My mom, Jeff and Cassie were all able to come, and I'm so glad that they enjoy this tradition too!

After shooting we had a fantastic dinner and even decided to do some Black Friday shopping. I swore I would never do this, and even though I didn't have anything special I needed to buy, I went with the others for moral support. I was definitely no help. I got lost in every store because I was so interested in watching the crazy people! I couldn't believe how crazy people are, especially when the deals weren't that great! We did end up having a good time. Whenever the four Fischer boys are together, things are always a little more exciting. While they were waiting for the women, the boys started "supporting" the other shoppers waiting in line. They were high-fiving everyone, and cheering for people with full shopping carts. It was definitely exciting just to watch those guys get stressed out shoppers to smile! I definitely think we should make this a tradition for us all to go out every year, even if we don't buy anything!

On Saturday Matt and I went to the last Utah State football game of the season. They have had a great season and we have LOVED having football tickets this year. We will continue buying tickets for sure. And you better believe it... we ended up winning our conference and having the best record of all the Utah football teams!

After the game, we rushed the field with the rest of "Aggie Nation" to watch the Aggies get their WAC conference championship trophy. While we were out there waiting, Gary Anderson was so antsy to get his trophy! He actually said, "Where's my damn trophy!?" It was hilarious. We were so close to the stage that we ended up being in some of the pictures on KSL.  The Aggies were invited to the Idaho Potato Bowl and we are so excited to go to that game!

Can't wait for the bowl game and can't wait to kill some people in the Mountain West Conference next year! GO AGGIES!

MULLET!

I told Jenny not to cut Harrison's hair... his mullet is too cute!!!

Five Years!

Five years of my life were spent working on this quilt and now it is done! Okay, not five whole years, but it has been on my mind, and has been one of my New Year's resolutions for five years and now IT IS FINALLY DONE! I am so proud of myself. I definitely have to give a shout-out to Myrna, who (let's be honest) helped me with every single part of the quilt, and even saved me when I messed up, had huge knots, and when my fingers were so exhausted she took over at the sewing machine. She told me I need to buy my own sewing machine, but now that I'm done with my quilt, I never need to sew again! I filled my sewing quota on this project!

I took my quilt in to school and read some monster books for Halloween, we did a monster art project and did a monster writing activity and the kids loved it! When I showed them my quilt it was the best reaction I could have ever hoped for! Some of the kids told me it was the best quilt they had ever seen! I think what makes it so great, besides the great colors, are the individual monsters, so here they are! (Don't look too closely or you might see my blood from all the times I poked myself while I was stitching!)

Whenever Matt looks at my quilt, he thinks about all of the things his mom sewed for him when he was a kid, because all my fabric came from her sewing room. The colorful dragon/monster has a tye-dye fabric that Matt had "jammers" made out of...

The half-square triangles came from Myrna's monster quilt that she is working on (her quilt inspired me to start this project all those years ago). She had made all these half-square triangles and didn't use them all, so I grabbed them up! Aren't they amazing?

The back is just black with a swirl pattern, but it came together so well!

Pumpkin Carving and Halloween

I LOVE CACHE VALLEY! I love our Halloween traditions that we can actually do this year because we live so close to Randy and Jenny and the kids. This year we started the festivities with our annual pumpkin carving tradition. The boys were gung-ho as always, I think Matt and Randy carved six or seven pumpkins between the two of them. I decided this year to try something new, and I melted crayons over the top of my pumpkin which looked pretty cool! I think that next year I'll have to do a crafty pumpkin again, but also carve a pumpkin too because I missed it this year!

Even Todd got into carving this year, although he would have been more into it if it wasn't past his bedtime...

Matt's temple, Jenny's cookie-cutter stars, Brad's frankenstein and Claire's smiley face!

Todd's deer pumpkin and Randy's duck hunting pumpkin! I told both of them that we could melt some red crayons on their pumpkins and then they could show that they killed these animals...

Carving with Brad and Claire was super fun. Brad got so frustrated trying to make his pumpkin perfect, but Claire was a crazy carver! She did the whole thing by herself, tongue out the whole time!

My crayon pumpkin! For some reason the crayon would drip down the side and then lift up off the pumpkin (it wouldn't stick!). Claire had a blast picking the crayon off the pumpkin the next day!

Don't you love how Harrison is staring at Matt in the mask? He was so nervous, even when he knew it was Matt! Claire was a dead cheerleader, Brad was a vampire and Harrison was a devil. Check out dirty Randy's costume. Nasty mustache- check. Gross mullet wig- check. Cowboy hat- check. Tight, v-neck t-shirt- check. Nasty fake chest hair- check. GROSS.

I can't take enough pictures of this baby! He is just so cute!

Harrison in my boots! Okay I put him there, but he was just so cute I couldn't resist.

After the festivities of Halloween were over, we watched the Jazz game. I tried to steal a piece of candy from Matt and HE BIT ME to get it back! Look at the teeth marks! I could kill that guy!

All in all, a fantastic and very fun Halloween!