Smile!

Our mini vacation

Call me crazy, but I do consider a weekend trip to Rexburg a mini vacation, especially when we can't afford a "real" vacation. Whatever the case may be, we had one heck of a weekend from August 6th to the 8th! It all started in Idaho Falls though, when Corey and Daymi took our kids while Mike and I served in the temple. I felt bad later on when I heard that Zach had been pretty fussy while we were in the temple for an hour and a half. Corey and Daymi were great though, and it was spiritually enriching for us.

They told us about activities that the Home Depot puts on for children, workshops where they can work on small projects. That weekend the project was a pencil box, so we decided to join in the fun. We made it a father/son activity only, and Daymi and I stayed in the cars with Zach and their two girls.

Working on pencil boxes at Home Depot

After their projects were done we were all pretty hungry, and what better way to entertain 5 young kiddos than a large play place... no we didn't go to McDonalds:) Arctic Circle is a little more palatable than McDonalds, at least to me anyways, so I was glad that is where we went. After making it back to Rexburg, we all got rubbed down in sunscreen and donned our bathing suits because we were headed to the new Rexburg Rapids swimming complex!! What a blast, certainly this complex is a great asset to the Rexburg community. The kids and adults alike had so much fun, and even the nursing mamma who had to sit it out on the side lines and not swim or go on the slides or lazy river had fun:)

Testing the waters

After a delicious BBQ at Corey's, Mike and Corey decided to get the boys together and spray paint their projects. While they painted, I watched the thunder clouds roll in, what a show! I just love summer thunder storms and the natural wonder and beauty of dark storm clouds against a clear summer sky with lightning dancing all around!

Painting the pencil boxes

After the kids went to bed, the adults decided to play... Wii that is:) I kind of got addicted to Tetris while we were staying there that weekend, which is why I am grateful we don't have a gaming system at home so that addiction would not last long! The next day was Sunday, the first of the month, and with that is Fast and Testimony meeting at church. I enjoyed listening to the testimonies from the mother's lounge, which was WAY nicer than the mother's lounge in Pocatello mind you!

Our summer would not be complete without a camping trip, and that is just how we decided to end our weekend together. There is a nice little campground near the teton river in Rexburg city limits and that is where we set up camp for the night. We enjoyed brats (the first time I'd eaten them... YUMMO) and hotdogs over the fire. Smores came later, of course! Corey and Mike enjoyed getting the fire going, and the kids had a blast exploring the camp site and getting filthy from head to toe! I was in the car half of the night taking care of Zachary while he had a blow out diaper, a sour tummy, and then when he got hungry. Zach and I also left camp around 9pm and headed back to Corey's house, I didn't want to take a 1 month old camping quite yet. The boys slept great in the tent. The only thing that would have made the trip more enjoyable is having a campground that had not been recently flooded by a river, the mosquitos were horrible.

Talking by the fire

Stoking the fire

Zach and mom enjoying the evening

Daymi and the girls just chillin

Kimball and Brandon ready for bed

Campfire serenade

So until next summer's rendezvous in Rexburg, we'll have memories from this trip!

Hot summer days...

What do the Matusek's do when the weather warms up? If you are just over a month old you sleep...

if you are older you play outside...

and we also try to find indoor activities to take a break from the summer sun...
and of course you just HAVE to climb poky trees in your swimsuit because the water is too chilly when it comes from the hose...
And if you are young enough, you try not to wear too many clothes:)

I have lost it all!

Every picture since 2005 after we got married... gone! I am still in shock really, I honestly can't believe this has happened to us. A few weeks ago our computer all of a sudden started bogging down and running completely and horribly slow. It would take hours to load a webpage, or to open a folder and retrieve a document. We were planning on taking it in to be looked at when we got paid again, but before that time came the computer crashed altogether. The hard drive, we found out later, was corrupt and the information on it lost.

There is still hope yet though, because there is a company in town that claims that can retrieve any information off any hard drive, no matter how corrupt. However, this hope comes with a hefty pricetag. It will cost anywhere from $200 to $2,500 to get all the information we want i.e. all our memories.

Lets say though, that for some reason this company can't get our pictures and videos recovered, all is not lost even then. I am so grateful that I have, for the most part, been a faithful blogger. I may not post that often, but when I do post I post everything that we have done as of late, a mass post if you will. Worst comes to worst, I will get all the pictures off of my blog and print them off. So far I have been able to print our pictures up to the summer of 2009, so I am missing 2 years worth of pictures in a hard copy. Also, my mom has taken quite a few pics of our family and different events, and there are pictures on facebook and our family websites.

What have we learned from this fiasco? Back your computer up in a viable way. Our computer used to be backed up on an external hard drive, but that hard drive crashed a few months back and we never got around to replacing it. We are investing in an online backup program that automatically backs all information up on your computer when you use it.

All that aside, I luckily had 300 photos on my camera that have been sitting on there during our computer mess... and now guess what time it is? Thats right, Tiffany's mass posting:) I'll start off with 2 quick pics of my baby Zach when he was about one month. I stuffed him into a newborn outfit when he was definitely too big for it. I had to though, the outfit was so darn cute, and he hadn't worn it yet.



The second picture is from a photo shoot that he had with mommy, lots of camera flashes and cooing trying to get him to smile. I love spending time with this little guy, he is so fun!

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)

Motherhood Is a Calling (And Where Your Children Rank)
I saw this article on Facebook on a friends page and it struck home so deeply, I have read it twice today. I needed this article, especially now as I have had several women at grocery stores and around town comment to me "Gee, you have your hands full don't you." Now I know exactly what to say and will no longer return home after receiving these comments frustrated and upset. Read the article and you will see what I mean:)

I chose motherhood. I chose to have three children and will be having more in the future. I chose not to pursue a career in the field that I graduated in. I chose to live on one income (really 1/2 an income because Mike is in school). I chose today to dance, paint, laugh, and play with my boys instead of making sure that my home is spotless. I choose every day (sometimes it is a struggle) to put my children's value ahead of mine. I am a mother, it is my calling, it is hard work, but in being a mother I am fulfilled and find joy each and every day.

A quarter of a century...

I have gained 25 years of wisdom, experience, and memories...
I don't feel old at all, what I feel is gratitude for 25 years...
and I look forward to the next 25...

I had a wonderful birthday this year, very relaxing and enjoyable. Mike treated me to a lovely buttermilk pancake breakfast, delicious! I spent the whole day at home with my boys while Mike worked. We played on the slip-n-slide for a good majority of that afternoon, what a grand time that was! A good friend of mine, Shawna Morissey, brought us a spaghetti dinner and a cake. Mike made me cupcakes, and we had a little birthday celebration with the boys.

Zach didn't care that I was about to blow out candles,
he wanted to nurse:)

Kimball and Brandon helped me blow out the candles

Mor-mor took the boys that night for a sleepover, and Mike and I went out for ice cream and then rented a movie.

Here is hoping that the next 25 years finds me many more days as relaxing and fun as my birthday was!

Grammy and Grampy time!!

We are very excited to say that we once again live very close to Mike's parents! Grammy and Grampy Matusek made the move from Florida to Utah, hopefully for the last time. Kimball and Brandon could not be happier that we live so close to them! They are anxiously awaiting their special trip to Utah so they can spend the weekend with Grammy and Grampy... without Mommy and Daddy there!

We had a wonderful time visiting with them on July 8th when they took a break from unpacking boxes to come and meet their newest grandson. They spent the whole day with us at our home visiting, and playing with their grandkids. Kimball was SO bummed when they left, he wanted to go home with them, cute kid.

The three amigos

Introducing the Matusek boys!! Life is crazy with 3, but let me tell you about how my older boys have taken to having a new little brother around.


This is what I heard constantly from Kimball for about 2 weeks after he came home from Rexburg: "Can I hold baby Zachary?" Kimball is a great big brother! Besides being a great friend and playmate to Brandon, he is Zach's "Guardian." He has to be there for everything, runs to his aide if he starts to fuss, talks to him, and comments on any little thing that Zach does. It is amazing to watch how he interacts with Zach.

"Mom, I gave Zach my bunny!"

Kimball is so proud of his brother Zach

Brandon has adjusted so well to being a big brother. It was his reaction to a new baby that we were concerned about, but we were both pleasantly surprised when he warmed right up to Zachary. He likes to be around Zachary and show him some of his toys. If mommy asks, he will go and put Zach's pacifier in (or attempt to). He likes to sit by Zachary and look at his face and watch his movements. He will hold Zach, but doesn't beg us like Kimball does. He is a caring big brother, Zach is lucky to have Brandon!

Brandon watching Zach

Stars and Stripes

Enjoying private fireworks in front yard

I hate blogger sometimes! When I upload pictures in chronological order, they always upload disorganized. Grrr!!

Well our Fourth of July was AWESOME! We enjoyed our time with my parents and my brothers Corey and Matt and their families. We hosted a super fun BBQ at our house on July 3rd. This is the day we got our boys back from Corey and Daymi, we were ready for them! They were so excited to see Zach again, they stood around his swing with their cousins for a while when they arrived (see 3rd picture).
For the BBQ we had Corey's Badminton set up, the slip-n-slide set up on the hill in the backyard, the pool set up, lots of delicious food, and a large shade tree providing cool relief on a 97 degree day!

The crew enjoying the afternoon

The kids swam all afternoon

Adoring Zach upon arrival

After all the fun of the day, it was time to get the fireworks out and have some fun in the dark! We started in the back yard with sparklers (see last pic of the post). After the sun had fully set we headed to the front yard to enjoy a private fireworks show (See pic at top of post).

On July 4th, I took Kaydien and Kimball and Brandon to see the parade. Mike was gracious enough to stay with Zach, plus he was trying to help his parents with directions because they were stuck in Missouri on their road trip out west.

Brandon in awe at the Parade

Shortly after the parade we headed to Idaho Falls to enjoy the company of my extended family at my Grandparent's house. We enjoyed our time their, although I spent most of my time on the bench nursing Zachary:)

Mike jumping on the tramp with the Kiddos

We headed home early from that party, missing a good game of Wiffle ball, so we could relax a little and get ready for the big fireworks show in Pocatello. The park right across the street has the perfect view of the fireworks show that is set off at the fairgrounds here in Pocatello. It is the place to be if you do not want to fight crowds!! Matt's family came over to enjoy the works with us, and I heard later on the next day that it was a good show. I, of course, had to leave the park before it was even dark because Zach was fussy and wouldn't calm down. Trying to get him to calm down under a nursing cover, at dusk, in a park is kinda hard. Oh well:)

All the kiddos enjoying the big
fireworks show at the park

Kaydien and Kimball with sparklers

We feel nothing but pride and gratitude for our country, and when we see the stars and stripes, it reminds me of all the freedoms that I enjoy! It was a grand few days enjoying our family and remembering those freedoms and the men and women who have fought to keep our freedoms intact.

Zach's first week

We had a good stay at the hospital, short and to the point. We left on Sunday at 5:00, so we were only there for one night. While at the hospital we had a few visitors from Rexburg, my brother Corey, his wife Daymi, and two of their three children. It was good to see them and introduce them to Zachary.

Corey and little Zach

Kimball and Brandon came twice to the hospital to see their little brother. They were very excited to see him, and wanted to watch and hold him. We were very happy with their reaction to Zach's arrival.
My mom was very gracious to make us a few meals in our first week with Zach. When we got home on Sunday night, she met us at home soon after with a nice hot pot roast! Yummo! We didn't get a lot of sleep those first few nights, but hey, we knew that would happen. Kimball and Brandon went back to Rexburg with Corey and Daymi for a whole week, so that made the lack of sleep manageable. We missed our boys but were grateful for the time that we had to adjust to life with a newborn again, to have that time to get to know our little Zach.

We spent Monday at home relaxing, and then went to see his doctor, Dr. West, that evening. Tuesday was the same story, except it didn't end so happily for Zach. Zach had his circumcision performed at the Dr's office on Tuesday evening, and he was in pain for about 2 hours afterwards. He wore himself out pretty good in screaming, and slept pretty well for a number of hours.

Zach and dad at the Dr

We spent lots of time admiring our son, so grateful to have him in our family and to get to know him. He is a good baby, and is calm for 23 hours of the day. Right after dinner between 7-8 he gets really bad gas, but only at this time of day. Minor colic issues, but other than that he sleeps like soundly, eats soundly, and keeps all his food down.

Dad with Zach

Mom and Zach

We had some more visitors on Tuesday, from Idaho Falls. My grandparents came down to see our new addition, and we had a good visit with them. It is always good to see my dear grandparents, it is indeed a great blessing to have them as close as we do.
Mor-mor is in love with this little guy, and would hold him all day long if she could! We are so blessed to have her living in Pocatello, it was a great experience to have her in the labor/delivery and to see her interact with Zach in these few weeks since he was born. She has so much on her plate already and yet she was making meals for us and inviting us over to her place, watching the boys so we could go on a date to see Harry Potter.... what an angel she is!

Mor-mor and zach

All things considered our first week was amazing, and we are very proud parents of 3 handsome boys!