Newport Pictures

Our Trip to Newport

We are back from our trip to Newport Beach. Each year we get to spend one week visiting with Matt’s grandpa. He has a great little place right on the beach. The kids just loved staying on the beach. We found that while Gabby enjoyed learning to boogie board in the water Jake enjoyed the new hot sport of sand bodysurfing. We would dig a hole and then he would body surf down the sides. (If I can figure this out I will post the video.) We took our annual trip over to Balboa Island and enjoyed nightly excursions for frozen chocolate covered bananas.
We were able to catch up with lots of friends while we were in town. We saw Jim and Katie Watkins with their cure baby boy, Roy and Cora (my brother and his wife), Kevin and Karsen and their beautiful daughters, and Matt’s friends Bethany and Rob with their kids. We were also able to overlap with Matt’s sister Emily and her family. Gabby and Jake loved playing with their cousins.
If the pictures posted above are not enough (if you have time to kill or you are related) here is the link to Matt’s web album:
http://picasaweb.google.com/mattsheffield/NewportBeach

Seriously, so blessed

OK, I had to add this to my list of blogs because it really is funny. Matt sent me an email with the link and two hours later I was still laughing. It is a spoof blog on married Mormon moms. You have to be able to laugh but it is the funniest thing that I have read in a long time.

So Enjoy!!!!!!!

http://seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/

S.Y.T.Y.C.D.

For those who don't know SYTYCD is short (almost short) for So you think you can dance. I really don't watch reality TV but thanks to Emily E. I am completely addicted to this show. In fact for three years we have been trying to go to the SYTYCD tour and I think that this is the year! We will find out on Saturday if we can get tickets but I am pretty excited!!!
Just for Emily: my prediction of the winner....Twitch or Joshua!!

Check out my Slide Show!

Daddy is Chasing a Beaver

Background:
This summer we have been reworking our back yard. In summary it has involved a tractor, new sod, concrete removal (and burial in some cases like the old concrete septic tank buried in the back), trees and growing grass from seed in a few large spots. This story is really about the grass growing from seed. We splurged on sod for areas in our yard that did not have any grass before the 'Project'. In order to save a few bucks, however, we decided to let the grass grow back where it had previously been. When that didn't happen fast enough, we bought seed, fertilizer and enough water to fill a small lake. Matt has been heard saying that this will make a great story about faith and things 'unseen' IF the grass ever grows again.
Yesterday:
The grass has indeed started to grow back. But yesterday we had an intruder. Matt got home from work and was headed into our room to change. When he looked out the door to the yard in our room he saw the unthinkable: a gofer! A very large, fat, happy gofer. So shirt pulled out he went chasing after the gofer with a push broom. I suddenly had images of a night two years ago where Matt when crazy and chased and killed a mouse with a broom in the middle of the kitchen floor. Only this time the kids were watching and the animal was much bigger.
In the end Matt just chased it around the yard for a while and then it ran into our neighbor's yard. A few minutes later the doorbell rang. At this point I had just opened up raw chicken so I asked Matt to grab the door. It was the Comcast guy (who is LDS, single and about 19 by the way) coming to talk with us about our phones. So here is my husband in the early stages of undress opening the door and my 3 yr old blurts out, "Daddy has been chasing a BEAVER!!" Very Nice.