Family Pics...

We finally got a copy of the family pictures we took in August. Thank you so much Jessie, you captured my kids so beautifully. And thanks Matt for putting up with us. I love you.

do we really want this going around the neighborhood?...

We awoke to find a great new lawn ornament Sunday morning. Thanks , to whomever it was, but don't be alarmed if you find it on your doorstep. Just pass it on. (And thanks Adhis for bringing this to all of our lives.)

thanks jennica...

I normally don't do these things, but I thought why not, a moment to think about Matt, hey I can do that. Sorry Matt I know you will probably not enjoy this, but I don't think you really read our blog so HA!...
Husband Tag--
1. Where did you meet? **Note this is kind of odd and random, just hope it makes sense and you follow***I worked with his brother, Nate, and Nate set me up with Matt's friend Cj, after hanging out with Cj a few times he brought Matt to come to my house to visit. Matt was different than any other guy I had ever met, I thought he was a little odd but in a good way. A few months went by, Matt moved to Provo, and then we finally started hanging out.
2. How long did you date before you were married? After hanging out with all of our friends for FOREVER, we finally decided to publicly announce we liked each other. After all that it took almost THREE years, but then we were married.
3. How long have you been married? It was three years on June 14th.
4. What does he do that surprises you? He is always so willing to give me back rubs, and brings me a root beer for my "root beer kind of day". Also surprises me with Cabelas red licorice, Oh so yummy. We are both terrible at surprises, but i love the phone calls telling me what surprise he is bringing me!
5. What is your favorite feature of his? I agree where do I begin..... (sorry Matt, don't get upset) I love your eyes, your knobby knees, your shaved head and of course your cute buttock. (thank heavens saige got his, sorry milo you got mine, (thats a post in itself))
6.What is your favorite quality of his? I have always loved his strong will and that amazing drive and determination that he doesn't want all to know exists, but those who do know you see right through that hard exterior. I admire his ability to talk to anyone and can relate with everyone!! And that sense of humor:

SORRY MATT FOUND OUT ABOUT THE PIC HAD TO DELETE IT!!!

(Need i say more?)
7. Does he have a nickname for you? Buddy. It use to endearing but he now refers to everyone like that, so not so much, but anytime anyone says "hey buddy" i think of him and laugh. So its still good.
8. What is his favorite color? (I agree Jennica, is this even a real question?) browns or greens. Anything neutral and earth tones.
9. What is his favorite food? Sushi
10. What is his favorite sport? His sports are a bit different then most guys. He loves to watch football, basketball, etc. but he doesn't really participate in them. He is a hunter. Bow hunter. Need I say more?
11. When and Where was your first kiss? After he moved to Provo at his house on 8th north and I don't know the date, and I know Matt has no idea.
12. What do you like to do together? NOTHING! We both usually have a million things going on, so if we can just sit and talk that is our favorite. Sitting watching Saige, usually laughing at her shocking things, tickling Milo. And cooking together, Matt is a great cook.

13. Do you have any children? Yes, Saige 2 and Milo almost 9 months! Having them so soon in our marriage makes up for the 3 years of dating right? that is what i tell myself!
14. Does he have a hidden talent? He is an amazing singer, but i love it when its just for me. Also he has great knowledge of the scriptures, which I am getting to pick his brain even more. (He never wants to be the know-it-all who talks to much!)
15. Who said I love you first? He did. We both felt it long before we said it, but were both too stubborn to say it first. Ha I won that one.
16. What is his favorite type of music? Best way to describe his music is... coffee house. He likes acoustic stuff, but if the lyrics of any song have some great deep meaning he is all for it. Ben Harper is his love and secret crush.

17. What do you admire most about him? His ability to work so hard everyday, come home and be the best Dad he could ever be. He tries so hard to help me out, and makes sure that I am doing ok. He makes me laugh and i appreciate that more then he could ever know.
18. Do you think he will read this? Only if someone tells him about it, he doesn't really know how to log on to our blog!!!
I LOVE YOU MATT!!
I Tag--- Natalie Smith, Jen Barney, Bonnie, Sadie and Jo, and anyone else!

IRON CHEF... MCDONALD??.....

For my Dad's birthday we decided to follow his wishes! Every year he makes it hard for us to get him anything by saying, " Don't get me anything, I don't need anything!" or "just a hug and to see my kiddos is good enough for me!", so WE DIDN'T get him anything! Instead Candace came up with the idea to have
" Iron Chef McDonald" (in my best chairman voice)

Instead of having three groups make a main course, dessert and side, we decided to have each group make one the choices and eat one magnificent meal. The secret ingredient being RASPBERRIES, my Dad's favorite thing to eat, made things a bit different and exciting.

My group, Bobby Flay, :

picked the main course, and I knew we had to make it fun, different and somewhat simple, we only had a hour after all. After some searching we constructed a simple recipe of stuffed chicken breasts that we would pan fry for the yummy flavor and roast for a bit in the oven to melt the mozzarella cheese that we stuffed inside and placed on top.

Team Kat Kora:

had the sides, and made a delicious cold raspberry soup,

and a yummy raspberry and greens salad, with candied nuts (yummmmo).

And team Morimoto:

had dessert, and they made TWO desserts, one a raspberry upside down chocolate cake, which was amazing (and i don't really like chocolate), and the other was a German ( i think) dessert with peaches. (Candace you'll need to refresh my memory on what it was called!but it was oh so delicious) Plus a raspberry drink, and artisan bread for us all to enjoy.

I had such a good time, I am a lover of good food and great company and the night was filled with both. It was such a nice time to be with everyone, learn from everyone and laugh. For once not one person had slaved the day away making the meal for us all, except Candace did put in some serious time doing all the shopping and setting up (thank you candace!). Thanks for not wanting anything for your birthday Dad, i believe we all gained from your love and kindness and for just wanting to be together! We all love you!!

(and some how by the end of the night Saige ended up on top of the pot rack begging not to get down..... hmmm)

No Fear.....

I've always considered Saige a bit fearless, but yesterday confirmed our thinking. Adam and Natalie took us out to Utah Lake to play, and Saige had a great time. She immediately jumped right in, something Natalie and I both wouldn't have done because it was just too cold, but it didn't seem to bother Saige one bit.

Adam then pulled out the wake surf board and was showing us some tricks, quite impressed with Adam's skills I must admit.

Then Matt tried and did well for his first attempt, but if Matt would fall Saige would say, "OK Mom, its my turn!", or "I want to jump in now!" So we let her try! Adam took her out with him, got settled on the board, dropped the rope and she surfed away!!! She loved it too! Didn't want to come back in.

And Milo was quite content sitting with the girls, eating candy, two of his most favorite things in the world. He's such a chubby guy!!

Thanks Adam and Natalie we LOVE having you live by us now!! (Just don't get too sick of us!)

I ask to take a picture of both children and I get completely different responses!! Does Saige remind you of someone else?

Happy Happy Birthday Poppa!!

What an amazing Dad I have! Today is his 51st birthday and I hope he knows how much I love him. He has been an inspiration to me as long as I can remember. I am so lucky to have been able to work with him and get a kiss on the forehead from the boss everyday. He has such a great relationship with our Heavenly Father and has always honored his priesthood and brought our family the blessings of the priesthood. (Which is a task with 7 women to take care of). He always makes me feel so welcome and I love to see his face light up when he sees my family. My children love him and love playing with "Banka". Thank you for all the lessons you have taught me, and the things I am still learning from you. Happy Happy Birthday! I love you

gygi recipes

So after dragging my feet, and pure laziness, We have decided to start adding recipes to our Gygi blog. I really have failed as a "blogger" neglecting both blogs, but with many requests for recipes and how to use items we are selling at Gygi's I felt it was needed. So I am hoping by posting this and letting everyone know, it will keep me on the ball and add at least ONE recipe a week, and/or fun things to do. Just keep in mind- - I enjoy baking much more than cooking, so be patient with me if there are much more desserts than anything else, but when is dessert a bad thing??? PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE email me if you have fun recipes, or just ideas, either here or on the gygi blog, orsongygi(dot)blogspot(dot)com, we are always interested in seeing what people can do! I am so amazed how creative everyone truly is! And if you are reading this and never been to Gygi's lets plan a field trip cause if you A) cook B) bake or c) breathe YOU NEED TO COME SEE WHAT A GREAT PLACE IT IS!!!!

OOPS!

I thought since it was cooling down and the summer is coming to an end, which I am not too excited about but that is a whole other post, I'd change my background, but I accidently erased all the contacts. SO if I don't have yours on the side PLEASE leave me a comment so I can check yours. SORRY if I have left yours off, its 11:30 and I am ready for bed. Please forgive me. Also,-- Saige's birthday pictures are coming soon, and other fun things thatI have neglected over the past few weeks, its hunting time which means I AM A SINGLE MOM !! Good thing we love you Matt.

Not sure if I should be posting this....

Life has been so hecitc lately, I have completely neglected my blogging but Saige just said the funniest thing to me and because I was on the computer I thought I'd share the laughter with you all.....
..... After grunting in the corner for a moment she came running over,
Saige- "MOM MOM its a little guy its a little guy!!"
Me- " What is a little guy?"
Saige- "My Peeyou! (that is what she refers to her poop as)! Oh Mom i just love him!! I love him!! Can I see him?"
Me- Busted up laughing and still concerned why we love our poop and want to see them.
(And yes I let her see him)
Please tell me this is normal!?!?!

Coasten Faust Smith

Nate and Shana had a healthy beautiful baby boy yesterday. 6 pounds, 13 ounces and measured 20 inches We are SO excited for you guys, you both will be amazing parents. Welcome Coasten!! We love you!

tragedy...

We have had some interesting things happen to our friends the Chickens. At first I thought it was this:

But after looking at it Matt is convinced it was this:

But I am pretty sure that the only thing capable of doing what happened to our chickens is this:

So we are now down to only one chicken, the past two nights our mystery intruder has quietly attacked and had a midnight snack. We didn't hear a thing the first night, but last night Matt and I both heard the chickens squawking so we ran out to see our chicken struggling. Matt ran inside put on his boots, a head lamp and grabbed his bow. (Now if I was only smart enough to snap a picture of that!! White underwear and work boots are a great combination!) He saw the raccoon but I was terrified it was going to attack me, sorry Matt I am NOT a good flashlight holder!, so by the time he convinced me to come out and stand behind him the monster was gone. So Matt tried to set a trap but the devil outsmarted us and somehow finished off our chicken. Sorry to the neighbors who we may have woken up at 3:00 am. On a good note-miraculously the black one hid quite well, is unharmed and Saige is content with playing with only one now. Poor thing, its seen its nights of tragedy the past two nights.... We'll see what happens tonight.