Matage has MOVED!!!

You may have heard me talk about my brother opening a Custom Framing Store a couple years ago, called Matage! Many of you have been there & I have no doubt, been very HAPPY with his work! He has been located on Gilbert & Southern, next to Mesa Frozen Yogurt...so when you stop by & he is not there...DON'T FEAR!
He has MOVED locations!!!
Go check out his new location at:

166 W. Main St. Suite 101
Mesa, AZ 85201
(Northeast Corner of Main St & Robson)
next to Bella Fine & Domestic Bliss

Check out his website for more contact info

He can frame ANYTHING!!!
We have had him frame our marriage certificate with a picture of the temple(LOVE it!), a huge Suns Jersey with pictures of Steve Nash, I have used him to frame clocks that I have made, I have a beautiful picture of Christ in my front room that he framed, I even had some premade cheapo frames & took them in & he cut custom mats for each frame!

I've seen him frame little girl's blessing dresses in shadow boxes(adorable!)

I saw the cutest idea to make a board with a cute color of fabric & then lay glass over the top & frame it...& then use it as a "whiteboard" to write notes, reminders...but it LOOKS WAY CUTER since it framed in fabric of your choice! Anyways...that is my next thing I am going to have Rob frame & I know I will love it!

Think of some fun ideas & things around your house that you have been wanting framed & go see Rob @ his new location!

I keep MOST of the commandments...

You know the whole "Love Thy Neighbor" commandment???

I've been breaking it.

For approximately one year.


But today, when I looked out the window & saw them moving box after box from their house...I can honestly say that I felt a rush of TRUE LOVE towards them & I am currently JUMPING UP & DOWN!


GOODBYE...
beer bottles all over the sidewalk
cigarettes all over my lawn
trash strewn all over the place
late night parties that never end
loud music that wakes up my babies
vulgar language screamed as loud as words can be screamed
drunk men passed out in front of our house in the morning
2nd hand smoke
smoke & smoke
& more smoke
broken glass in my grass
and on the sidewalk
and in the parking lot
beer cans stashed in our bushes
dog poop left on our lawn
later to be stepped in by my 2 year old
and spread throughout my carpeted house

GOODBYE...GOODBYE...GOODBYE!!! :-)


I promise I will try harder to love my NEXT neighbors!!!

Does that count for anything?

Who is the older brother?

Matt commented the other day that he thinks my milk might have steroids in it.
I didn't argue with his comment...
Cuz, I think he might be right.
LOOK at this kid!!!

College Football Teams are going to start recruiting him soon!!!

Guilt Gone

Remember THIS post???

I have been feeling so GUILTY about strapping Parker into his stroller for his naps, so that he can't get out & so that he will fall asleep quicker.
Yesterday, I layed Parker down on his BED for his nap & I walked back in 10 minutes later to check on him & found him like this...

...he got out of his bed on his own & climbed in his stroller to fall asleep...and in what looks to be a VERY UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION!

At least I was laying him down on his back, making sure he was comfortable, when I strapped him in! :)

I am done feeling guilty about it...
it looks like he PREFERS his stroller!

I don't even know how he fell asleep in that position!?

Helmet Please...

Can someone PLEASE buy this kid a helmet...

to wear FULL TIME!

Because he is going to have brain damage soon, if he doesn't stop hitting his HEAD!!!

These pictures don't even do it justice, but he the HUGEST goose egg & an instant bruise, after falling off a stool in our bathroom...minutes before we planned to leave out of town. I was just SO GLAD that it didn't split open or we would have been heading to get stitched up, instead of out of town for the weekend!

Memorial Day

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY!!!
We had a fun Family BBQ @ my parents house for Memorial Day!
Parker is going to be a little fish this summer! He LOVES the water & just kept jumping off the side to Matt...over & over again, with no fear!

Hope you all had a WONDERFUL MEMORIAL DAY too!!!

1st Dip of the Summer

We weren't PLANNING on swimming{so please excuse Matt swimming in his clothes & Parker & Ryler in their diapers} but we stopped by parents house this weekend & Rob & Julie and their kids had come over to swim...so we decided to see what Ryler would do if we stuck his toes in the pool...

He wasn't smiling his ears off, but he wasn't crying either.
I think he liked it!

All THREE of my boys had a BLAST!
Parker is showing NO FEAR of the water this year...jumping off the side to Matt, over & over again & Ryler liked it
UNTIL...

...we tried putting him in his own floaty. He didn't like that too much...

We are excited to spend the MAJORITY of our summer in the pool...
because it is HOT out there!!!

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

My Best Friend is My Brother

It has been SO FUN to watch them become FRIENDS!!!

They can't get enough of eachother!!!

I hope this friendship lasts throughout the years...

Parker can be quite over bearing with Ryler, but Ryler loves him so much & just smiles & laughs when Parker plays with him!



Quote of the Day:
"A friend is one who knows you and loves you just the same." -Elbert Hubbard

Restrained...

Parker was doing really good with his naps in his Big Boy Bed & if there was ever a bad day, where he was overly tired & fighting his nap...then I'd just stick him back in the crib, so that he would fall asleep, instead of coming out of his room, over & over again. Well, he decided this week that if I put him in his crib, he will just crawl right out. He has NEVER attempted to crawl out & it has been so nice...but now, the crib is no longer an option...

Parker came to the conclusion THIS WEEK that naps are TORTURE & he decided that he doesn't want to nap anymore! I put him in bed over and over and over again on Monday & he just kept fighting it & ended up never napping. Tuesday he fought his nap again & didn't take a nap. He is SOOOO grumpy when he doesn't nap & has starting hitting people & throwing things, when he doesn't get a good nap...so I KNOW he still needs one. Wednesday I tried EVERYTHING. We read books together, we watched a movie, I layed down with him, I tried bribing him, I gave him a bath, drove around in the car, hoping he'd fall asleep & on & on...trying to get him to take a nap!
Nothing worked.
I was about to give up & mark 4 days in a row without a nap(he doesn't nap on Sundays because of church)...
when I decided to put him in his stroller...strapping him in, so he could not get out.
Child Abuse?
Maybe.
But he napped.
And I regained my sanity.

Thursday & Friday I "restrained" him again & his naps were wonderful!

Am I cruel mommy???
Tell me the truth.
Actually, nevermind.
I don't want to know.
I need my sanity sometimes.





*I do have to say that I don't feel so bad, because on Friday I asked him, "Do you want to sleep on your bed or do you want me to put you in the stroller?" hoping he would just lay down on his bed & go to sleep. But he pointed at the stroller & said "that", wanting to lay in the stroller & was asleep within seconds of strapping him in.

Seventeen

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI!

My BABY sister turned SEVENTEEN yesterday! I really can't believe it. She is supposed to still be 6 yrs old! My mom checked her & her best friend out of school & the girls met up at Cafe Rio for lunch{yummy}!

Then Heidi was SOOOOO NICE to sub for us on the v-ball team I play with on Thursdays! It was fun to play with her & to remember how I USED to be able to play...before 2 children...when I had more energy & less weight on my body:)

My best friend {& cousin}, Holly, went with Heidi & I to Nielsen's after our games & we laughed & laughed & ate & laughed, until they closed. I had so much fun, I hope Heidi did too! :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEIDI!!!

Birthday Details...

Matt is now one year older & hopefully wiser too...
We had a fun day celebrating with him:)
He gets to come home for lunch now(I LOVE IT!), so I made him homemade pizza for lunch & we got to hang out with him on his lunch break.
After work we had dinner plans, but we took a last minute rain check on those plans(maybe we will get to go tonight instead??)
Later that night, we went over to Matt's parents house for DESSERT:)
Matt told me I wasn't allowed to do ANYTHING for his birthday. At first I listened & last minute decided to ignore him & invited his family to have dessert with us that night & Parker and I made a Reeses Pudding Cake for him.
I think he forgave me, since I kept it very low key:)

Parker helping daddy open presents!:)

...and then there was dancing...

...and more dancing...

HOPE YOU HAD A WONDERFUL BIRTHDAY!!!
I love you so much!!!

My Hilarious Husband...

...is CELEBRATING his Birthday TODAY!!!

Thanks for making me laugh EVERY SINGLE DAY & for just being so WONDERFUL in every way!

this picture was taken after Matt gave Parker a bath...they came into the family room with both of their hair WET & sticking out everywhere...silly boys!!!

LOST KEYS

We had a VERY FUN Ward Party last weekend & our family ran one of the stations.
We played the "Game of Life"---every family was a team & they played games all throughout the church building & in the parking lot, earning (play) money along the way...which they could later buy dessert with. Each station was a fun game with a spiritual application. We ran the "PRAYER" station in the nursery. The idea was that every family has been in a rush at one point in their lives & can't find their car keys...so they say a prayer...and then are able to find their lost keys.
So we hid 10 sets of keys throughout the nursery & dumped ALL THE TOYS out everywhere & families raced each other to see who could find the most keys in a set amount of time.

Parker was definitely entertained the whole night, with toys ALL AROUND HIM!!!
He even made sure Ryler didn't miss out on the fun...providing him with toys all night & he made sure he wore this hat the majority of the time too:)

A Day To Celebrate...

...The TWO most IMPORTANT MOMS in our lives!!!

HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!!!

We can't say ENOUGH about both of YOU!
We LOVE YOU SO MUCH!
Thank you for ALL YOU DO! We don't THANK you enough!!!

Love, Matt, Staci, Parker & Ryler

Best Buds

These TWO love spending their days together...

...and I LOVE watching them spend their days together!


Quote of the Day:
"Never Explain--your friends do not need it and your enemies will not believe you anyway.
-Elbert Hubbard

What happened???

To My Sweet Little Parker???

Poor Ryler was the victim to one of his "2 year old moments" this week...

OUCH!!!

Parker has NEVER bitten before!
I hope this is the first and LAST...
If he turns out to be THAT KID in Nursery that bites,
I don't know WHAT I will do!?!

Thought of the Day:
"A patient once told me that a trip to the mall was twice as effective as Prozac."
-Paul Cook's Diary

Aunt Staci :-)

Being an AUNT is SO MUCH FUN...
You get to spoil kids rotten, without worrying about discipline & then send them back home to their own family. I can only imagine that is why being a Grandma is SO GREAT...you get to do that, but you don't have your own kids to worry about at the same time! :)

Well...last weekend I got to babysit Rob & Julie's kids on Thursday & Friday:) Julie & her best friend Crystal went up to Utah for Women's Conference...I was slightly jealous, but since I was home, I was MORE THAN HAPPY to watch her kiddos while Rob worked!

Thursday my ward was having a play date at the zoo. I wasn't planning to go, because I thought taking 4 kids to the zoo would be insane. But last minute, I decided that it would be FUN & give us something to do! I decided we wouldn't walk around much(in fear of losing a child), but instead we would go straight to the Splash Pad & play in the water, eat lunch & head home!

Ryler was GREAT, as usual!

I hope to be a mom of 4 one day...but I think I will spread them a little farther apart in age:)

I was running late, so I got there just before everyone in my ward left, but it was still fun to see them for a minute & the kids had a BLAST in the water!

They took a quick break for LUNCH:)

played in the water a little more...and then headed home...

...stopping to see a few animals on the way out

On the way home, we stopped at McD's for icecream cones, because they were SO GOOD at the zoo!
And I wanted one.

Friday, we decided to go to the PARK...
but it was so warm, we didn't last long...
and headed to Peter Piper Pizza:)

Then we picked Mason up from school and went to Sonic for Sundaes, because I promised Mason a treat, since he didn't get to go to the zoo.
And I wanted one.

We had so much fun with theses CUTE kids!!!

...But I am NOT quite ready for 5 kids!



Quote of the Day:
The surest way to minimize your own burdens is to carry someone else's.
-Paul Cook