Fun at the park

Yesterday, we ventured out the park across the street to enjoy the afternoon. The wind was sure blowing, making it feel a little on the chilled side, but the sun was out and we enjoyed our time playing. The boys were super bummed that they removed the Merry-go-round, probably for liability or hazard reasons. Here are a few pics from our adventures.






Tonight I am off to Time Out for Women with my mom, Grandma, aunt Marla, sister-in-law Daymi and her friend Nayeli. I am excited for that time with them, and hope my boys won't be too grumpy for Daddy (they didn't take naps, stinkers!).

Dream the Dream!

I have been so blessed to see a few Broadway shows in my lifetime already. I saw The Lion King in Chicago with my Aunt Marla, cousins, and Grandmother (Courtesy of my Aunt!). I also saw The Phantom of the Opera last summer at the Fox Theatre in Atlanta, GA. I LOVED both of those experiences and was looking forward to a future time when I could go again. Little did I know that I would get to go so soon! Mike's friend in the Physics department had plans with his wife to go to Les Miserables on June 1st. They had the tickets bought... 3rd row tickets nonetheless!! However, they ended up being too busy with their summer internships to make it. They graciously offered Mike the tickets... and they didn't want to be reimbursed! How could we turn that down?

So yes at 36 weeks along, I traveled to Utah to see Les Miserables on Broadway. We had the car seat and my hospital bag just in case... the trip was uneventful in that regard though. We started the evening off by walking all around temple square, and the weather made for a pleasant walk. Around 5pm we headed over to Settebello's for an authentic Italian Pizza dinner, complete with Caprese salad and to top it off freshly made Gelato. I was in food heaven, Mike probably more so than I. We then headed over to pick up our tickets, and afterwards walked a whole block of downtown SLC. It was a slow walk, it is hard to walk fast when so far along in a pregnancy.

Time finally came to get into the Capitol Theatre and wait to be seated. We knew our seats were good, but we didn't know just how good! We were on the front row of the permanent seats, there were two rows in front of us that were set up for the show. I could see the hair and baton of the conductor in the orchestral pit. I could actually see the facial expressions clearly of all the actors... it was an amazing theatrical experience. My favorite actor was Jean Val Jean and Javert. Fantine and Eponine were very well cast as well. Mike and I both thought that Cosette was poorly cast, her voice wasn't as strong as the others, and she could never quite hit the high notes. Who am I to critique her though right? I was there to enjoy, and I did! We got back to Pocatello safely at 1 in the morning. Thanks Jason for letting us use your tickets!

Kids Bowl Free

Have children that can bowl? Well check this out: www.kidsbowlfree.com. Kids can bowl free ALL summer long at participating locations around the country. They get to bowl 2 free games every day! Also, for $24.95 you can purchase an Adult Pass, that will allow the names listed on the pass bowl with the children... all summer long! Our adult pass has me, Mike, and my parents on it. I can add names at any time, say for instance if I have guests in town that would like to go bowling. At our bowling alley in Pocatello, Pine Bowl, they offer unlimited shoe passes for $10, which is good all summer long. Because Brandon's feet don't fit in the smallest size the bowling alley has, he can bowl in his socks with adult supervision (duh!). So hopefully there is a bowling alley in your area (Sorry Idaho Falls, I just looked and there are currently no participating bowling alleys... bummer!).

First trip to the alley... Mike hates
bowling with bumpers, it messes up his game:)

Brandon enjoys it, after the first game
he kind of loses his attention span

Kimball had a ball!

Sorry, had to throw this in:) Since I can't
bowl because I have my own bowling
ball inside of me

Graduation!!!

Graduation of Michael Peter Matusek on May 7th, 2011
Idaho State University
Bachelors in Mathematics and a Bachelors in Physics

It was a grand weekend! We had Mike's closest family gathered for a celebration of his accomplishment, including his Grandma Nida from Texas, his parents and Sister Alyssa from Florida, Corey's family from Rexburg and of course my mom and me and our beautiful boys.... we all couldn't be more proud of him! WAY TO GO MIKE!!!

Mike and his Grandma

Mike and his parents

Me and my graduate sweetheart!

Mike and his mother-in-law

Mike with his sister Alyssa

Mike with his Brother-in-law Corey

Congrats dad! We love you

Don't you love Mike's smile? So happy!

Easter (A little late, I know)

Well, I was uploading the pics on my camera, to make room for all the upcoming baby pics and realized that I had not uploaded any pics since Easter... yes I am a slacker:)
I only have pictures of our Easter egg decorating adventures, the Easter egg hunt we had at Corey's house was fun but I have no pics, and the morning of Easter when they went hunting for their basket after Church isn't undocumented. We took a video of that, and videos take FOREVER to upload onto blogger, and I don't feel like uploading it to YouTube and then posting it on here... slacking again! So eggs...

Brandon having some fun coloring eggs

Our lovely eggs:)

Kimball having fun!

Self Family portrait... trust me this is the best
one that we took!

Daddy helping the boys put decorative
bands on the eggs

I hope that I can at least maintain my current level of "slackerness" when the baby comes, but I am pretty sure that it will get worse and I will get behind on blogging and will blog about an event months after it has occurred... forgive me in advance:)

Blessings

Every day truly is a gift! Being a mother is the hardest thing I have ever done, but every moment is worth all the struggles. I try to teach my children all about life but in reality they are teaching me what life is all about. I have my moments of weakness, moments that I wish I could do over but I have quickly come to realize that I need to make mistakes. In making mistakes I can learn to overcome my weaknesses and fears. I have this image in my mind of the mother I want to be, the mother I want my children to remember me as being every day. I see her when I wake up and she is the last thing I see before I fall asleep.

I want to say that once I no longer am working, that life will all of a sudden be simplified and more focused on my family. However I do know the unique challenges that come with being a full time stay at home wife and mother... it is indeed a job in and of itself. What I hope for myself after Zachary joins our family is the ability to discern between that which is "good, better, and best" so that at the end of the day I can be content with a half done to-do list, knowing that I spent my day pursuing efforts that truly matter.

I feel myself becoming more introspective as the days pass, and I draw closer to the addition of a new family member. The responsibility of raising 3 boys unto the Lord is one that I must not bear alone. I am so blessed with a righteous husband who loves, supports, and sacrifices for our family. Our responsibility as parents to raise these young boys to the Lord is sustained through our faith in Him.

34 weeks and counting... The braxton hicks contractions come so often now, I really have to be careful about how much I exert myself. Working late nights on my feet is difficult, but my co-workers are taking some of the responsibility that requires I be on my feet. My last day at work is June 2nd. The boys are super excited to meet Zach. They were in the cart at the store the other day, and we were waiting in a long line to check out. Kimball called me over to him and asked if he could feel the baby. So we stood in line for a while and my boys had their hands on my belly. Mike is anxious to meet Zach. We have been attending a birthing class together (we never did with our first 2) and he is super supportive. He is a great partner in the birthing process, I'm excited to see him in action again!!

In everything we count our blessings, life is full of them!

Outlooks on the future

"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt

We are excited to announce our future prospects, we have worked many long and hard hours to achieve our dreams. Mike has held many full and part time jobs, has spent countless hours studying, and has balanced all of these responsibilities on top of his first priorities of being a husband and father. My role has been to support and try to sustain him in all his academic endeavors, and I have faltered at times but for the most part the kids and I have been supportive through every day. I have taken a full time job (which didn't last long, too stressful) and am currently working a part time job that I have been at almost a year. We haven't seen much of each other in the weekdays, but we felt it important not to get a babysitter, we wanted the kids with either me, Mike, or my mom if necessary.

So without further delay, I'll start with the summer time news. After graduating with a dual degree in Physics and Math, Mike will start an internship/job at the Idaho Accelerator Center here in Pocatello. It is a full time summer position, that will continue on part time in the Fall. From what I understand he will be doing research in Physics, and that is about all I know really. Haha, I would definitely misspell or give the wrong idea if I try to explain exactly what he'll be studying... I don't get physics:)

As for the fall, Mike has been accepted into the Physics Graduate program at ISU. He has received and has accepted a Teaching Assistantship in the Physics department. This will come with a regular salary, which we are grateful for. He has also received a full-ride scholarship for tuition and fees. We feel so blessed and look forward to new adventures... I am grateful that we don't have to move! Hopefully he will do well on the tests for the PhD program so that we can stay in Pocatello for the remainder of his education, I would be thrilled!

Thanks to all our family and friends for their continued support and love for us and for our dreams!

The best cookies ever (no joke)

These cookies are the prettiest, softest, most delicious cookies that I have tasted in quite some time... you HAVE to try them, trust me you won't regret it! The name says it all:

Mini Cinnamon Roll Cookies
(I apologize for my icing skills,
obviously I have no icing skills
judging from the pic I took)

Mini Cinnamon Roll Cookies

1 cup butter, softened

1 ¾ cups sugar, divided

3 egg yolks

1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. honey, divided

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. cream of tartar

1 Tbsp. ground cinnamon

8 oz. white baking chocolate, chopped

In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 ¼ cups sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg yolks, 1 Tbsp. honey and vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cream of tartar; gradually add to creamed mixture and mix well.

Shape a heaping tablespoonful of dough into a 6-in. log. In a shallow bowl, combine cinnamon and remaining sugar; roll log in cinnamon-sugar. Loosely coil log into a spiral shape; place on a greased baking sheet. Repeat placing cookies 1 in. apart. Sprinkle with remaining cinnamon-sugar.

Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until set. Remove to wire racks to cool completely. In a small bowl, melt baking chocolate with remaining honey; stir until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. Let stand until set. Store in an airtight container.

**I put the melted chocolate honey mix in a small plastic bag and cut a tiny hole in one of the corners, it was an easy way to distribute the icing

ENJOY!

Dirt and blocks... a boys favorite things!

This is my life... dirt and more dirt! I figured the other day that I could quickly do up the dishes while my boys went outside. I got their jackets on and shoes, we headed outside to check out the muddiness factor, and I was pleasantly to surprised to find slightly damp earth... no mud. I thought "Awesome, the boys can't get dirty." I was wrong.

Brandon's dirtiness far exceeded Kimballs, but that is because Kimball was the one making Brandon dirty. When the dishes were done, I headed out to check on them, and found Kimball spreading dirt all over Brandon's hair and face...

We proceeded to the washer and threw everything in there, and then to the bathroom where they were hosed down (but not before a few good pics right?).

While I was in Idaho Falls this past Saturday, the boys received a special gift from their Great-Grandparents. My grandpa has been quite busy cutting and sanding home-made blocks for all his great grand kiddos! Isn't he amazing, I love him to pieces, and so do my boys. They have had so much fun with this gift, they have asked every day this week to play with them, and so we put them in a special place in the living room.

Kimball's creation

Brandon's road for his tractor

Come listen to a Prophets voice

Conference Sunday was amazing! I received so many "personal epistles" through the talks that were given. I particularly enjoyed Elder Scott's talk about True love in marriage, and enjoyed everything that he shared so tenderly in regards to his late wife. I also loved hearing Elder Carl Pratt's talk about tithing. Mike and I both enjoyed President Monson's address about temples. To hear the him speak about the Rome Italy temple was poignant, more so for Mike who served in Italy than myself.
To prepare my little one's for Conference, I printed off a conference packet for each of the boys. It was complete with coloring pages, activities, cut-out activities, and other stuff. This was our life line of sanity for the first session (they were both asleep for the second session.) I found it on sugardoodle.net, so check it out next conference if you have young ones. They have a nursery version, a JR primary version and a SR primary version.

The boys coloring their cut-out activities
before conference started

Kimball in front of the TV, with what he called
his "Prophet puppets" and the podium

This is the activity that kept Brandon's attention for
about an hour... cutting paper

We also had posted on the glass right next to the TV a picture of each of the First Presidency and the Quorum of the Twelve apostles, with a space under each picture to write briefly about their message. Kimball really got into this idea, he would say stuff like "Mom, he is talking about Christ, we need to write that down."
And what would General Conference be without homemade cinnamon rolls? That is our conference tradition, what are your conference traditions?