Today we went to the Zoo in hopes to see the baby elephant... but... as soon as we reached the Elephants they were going inside for the day (it was freakin' cold) which was quite disappointing. The saving aspect of the day was seeing a baby aligator, chimp, monkey, penguins, giraffe etc. Going to the Zoo this time of year isn't the most ideal to see the animals but we still had fun and were lucky to have stayed long enough to see the Zoo Lights come on! A lot of fun was had by all!
Even the famous Lion water fountain was repilcated, Ali
couldn't help but try to grab a drink
Look at this fine looking beast... the giraffes look
pretty cool as well
Later that night we met some friends and Ali's oldest sister at Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon. Ali and I had a great time and I would like to thank our family and friends that helped make Ali's 22nd birthday one to remember!
Today we're celebrating Allisons 22nd birthday! It's been a lot of fun and a great way to continue enjoying this holiday season and there's plenty more to look forward to. On Sunday we enjoyed a family dinner with the Franks where Ali, the baby and I enjoyed some good food and a dessert the family has named Matts Cake!
I gave Ali this Tree of Life necklace along with some of her favorite lotion from Restoration Hardware and a Pink Floyd cd that has nursery renditions of some of her favorite songs. Today has a lot of fun and we're looking forward to spending tomorrow together at Hogle Zoo where Ali hopes to see the baby elephant. Later that night Ali is asking me to take her to Ruth's Diner up Emigration Canyon! Should be fun! Happy Birthday Allison!
Thanksgiving has come and gone and today I came home to my wife setting up this beautiful tree! Not that Black Friday is held closely to my heart, but I was a bit bummed out having to leave my wife for work today. The Franks were kind enough to let us have this tree to help our house have the look and feel of the holidays and honestly it brightened my day so much!
It may be a little past Thanksgiving to share what I am grateful for but lucky for us showing gratitude can be expressed everyday. I want my wife and family to know how lucky I am to have them in my life. This year has been filled with changes and I know that I'm never alone. I'm very excited for this Christmas and it's amazing to think that next Christmas will be spent with our little family growing.
I still can't believe that I'm going to be a daddy, but I'm excited for this new responsibility and challenge in life. This new year is going to be great! Happy Holidays Everyone!!!
So We've known for quite some time but we recently announced to my family that we're expecting our first spud or spuddet!!! We were with my family celebrating November birthdays and announced the only way that we could agree on. After we sang an early happy birthday song to Ali and my nephew Caleb we told my family that Allison had brought something for everyone and that it was in the oven behind my parents. My mom opened the door and looked puzzled as she pulled out a tiny hamburger bun that we quietly slipped in during dinner. It seemed that most of the family caught on quickly but my mom continued to look at the bun and then towards us, long story short everyone got the announcement that we have "a bun in the oven" and were excited for us.
So Mark your calenders because our due date is June 6 2010 and the world will never be the same because Allison & Matthew are having a baby!!! We have a doctors appointment on December 9, our doctor is convinced that we'll be able to find out the sex of our awesome new addition to our tiny family! I love my life and I love my wife and little baby!
In my first post I had mentioned something about how this blog would be an outlet for my music and various projects I'm involved in. Well today is a beginning to what I hope will be an album in the near future. For well over a year I've been trying to get the hang of Garageband on my IMac and have seen both wonderful creations and frustrating heartache when it comes to creating music. I hate to be one of those people that has a laundry list of excuses of why this music sounds the way it sounds but here it goes.
While you listen to this song keep in mind a few key factors. One, this track was created very quickly so the song idea would not escape me. Two, I am running a very crude system that does not compare to the sound quality of a major musical production. Three, this is not a complete product and will most likely be recreated for a better final product. That being said, to listen to the song in it's entirety please make sure you have access to both speakers or headphones because some effects only run onto one track. And once again please keep in mind that this is a very rushed and rough cut of the opening to a future albums... to make a long story short.... Please be gentle. Thank You and hopefully enjoy!
Happy Halloween! Thought I'd drop a quick line after carving our pumpkins this morning. Tonight Allison is off to a Murder Mystery party with her sisters while I'm stuck at work on one of my favorite holidays. Oh well, can't win them all I suppose. Hope everyone has a fun and safe night.
Ali carved the awesome Frankenstein Monster, while I paid tribute
to The Nightmare Before Christmas with Jack The Pumpkin King.
Back in the day whenever my birthday would roll around I would of course be excited for the fun day ahead. But also for the rarely used "you are special!"plate my mom would keep in the china cabinet. Needless to say I would always be jealous whenever my siblings would get to use it and held a bit resentment when my special day would roll around without me using the awesome plate, for the fear of me breaking it. While Allison and myself spent time in St. George for our one year anniversary, we stopped into a pottery decorating studio on Main street known as Brushfire. We have discussed making future traditions for our someday family. I told Ali my scarring story (because we always seem to remember the heartbreaking stories from our childhood.) She loved the idea so we spent an afternoon creating a "You are The Special Norman Today!" plate and we were quite happy with the results. In the beginning the colors looked dull and sketchy but everything of course worked out.
It may be a while before we use this, but we can't help but
Recently I was checking out blogs of some of my family when I realized that I have yet to make a plug for a website my sister runs on behalf of her daughter Eliza. Eliza was diagnosed with late-infantile Metachromatic Leukodystrophy on September 11, 2007 after months of frustration and misdiagnosis. Now four years old Eliza has touched many lives and has created service opportunities throughout the community and the state of Utah. I encourage you to check out her website where you can find Eliza's story, receive regular updates and learn how you can contribute new and used books to Eliza's Library where they'll be donated throughout the Wasatch Valley.
While you're there be sure to stop by http://www.teamgive.org/ to find ways you can help support research for treatment and cures of rare neurological diseases.
A ground breaking accomplishment occurred today, It was our one year anniversary and symbolized one year of successfully not chasing off Allison! To carry on tradition Allison and I have returned to St. George at my parents summer home and will enjoy a week long of fun in the sun. Despite Allison catching a small case of the flu we enjoyed a casual night out to dinner and a movie. I was very excited for Allison to open her gift that I almost spilled the beans on the surprise. Besides getting Allison Snow White on Blu ray/DVD to start our Disney collection, I think she enjoyed her pear necklace!
When I first met Allison she had a wide variety of jewelry that covered many different styles. But she constantly wore a Pearl Necklace which she "borrowed" from her mother for quite some time, Now she has her own.
We're having lots of fun down in Southern Utah and to be honest we're not looking forward returning back to regular life. Have a great week everyone!
So... This is a little random but... While Ali and I spent the day together out and about we stumbled upon a huge toy store. During that time we found a Steve Irwin doll ironically placed next to some plush sting ray dolls... we found it a bit distasteful...
Have you seen such a perfect example of automotive history? It looks like the sweet ride in the Ghostbusters movies! Ali and I found this in a parking lot after we went bowling. Keep your eyes peeled while you're in the Salt Lake Valley and you too can catch a picture next to perfection.
Allison had the pleasure of attending the State Fair twice this year! Both times I was stuck fighting crime at the hospital... (probably zoning out to keep my sanity). She was lucky enough to spend time with friends and family enjoying the night seeing the wonderful sights and sounds of Utah. She didn't catch to many photos but she had some funny experiences and ate some interesting food to boot. Here's hoping that I'll make it next year!
Ali and Mckenzie enjoying a 310 lb. pumpkin... imagine how many
baked goods could be created!
Ali is seen here enjoying a frog leg and finally had the chance
to try crawfish and fried Aligator... mmmmm good eats!!!
So this awesome blue machine has been in my family since I was ten years old and has covered a lot of mileage. Most of my days back then was spent cruising around with my friends in Donner Trail Park. In High school we would strap on Rollerblades and pull people behind for asphalt skiing... a lot more fun than you might expect.
For the past few years this sweet ride hasn't seen much love since only one adult can fit on this thing at a time and the fact that most of us have a car we can legally drive on the streets. With my parents continuing to downsize, I was told that this can no longer be used around their neighborhood or around the St. George house. Since Ali and I live near quiet open streets we were happy to accept my parents offer to have this sweet ride for kicks and giggles.
Lucky for us, Ali took auto shop at Davis High and knows the basics of fixing up an engine. We spent the better half of the day tuning, draining, cleaning and got a majority of the work done to add a third "vehicle" to speed around in. There's still work to be done but so far things have gone smoothly with the purchase of a new filter, oil and some gas. All we really need now is a new spark plug and one un bent tire frame so we can rally around K-town!!!
I was going through some discs of old concert footage and whatnot and came across this wonderful gem. Audiovent has been one of my favorite bands since 2002 and despite a short career managed to create one of my favorite albums. RIP Audiovent...
So I've been happy to admit every single time my wife proves me wrong! My wife has a great eye in seeing the potential in projects that we've worked on throughout the summer. We're coming up on one month in our beautiful new home here in Kaysville and hopefully we'll post some pictures of our complete pad!
Recently we've been looking into buying an ottoman for our less than stellar couches. A few weeks ago we remembered that we stored Ali's old coffee table in my parents garage. when we brought it home Ali had the idea of creating an ottoman out of what I considered a piece of junk. Well, Ali is freakin' amazing because she managed to change this old coffee table into a new center piece in our living room. Here is the proof that my wife is a very talented designer.
For the past year or so we’ve enjoyed spending time with friends finding and watching the worst movies we can find. It started with Return of the Living Dead with our friends Seth and Keri which is filled with countless one liners, an over the top story and some of the worst acting performances I’ve ever seen… I was confident that we had found one of the worst films ever created… I am happy to announce that I was dead wrong! With a little help from youtube we stumbled upon a delightful film called Troll 2… A film considered by many to be the worst film ever created. Troll 2 is the exciting sequel to the forgettable Troll 1 which unlike its successor had impressive production values but a slow and pointless story. If you are unfortunate enough to have seen the first Troll movie, fear not! Troll 2 has no relation, in fact the film has no mention of Trolls except in the title… sorry folks only Goblins in this cult classic. This wonderful example of cinema history is filmed in Morgan Utah! Troll 2 is a tale of Joshua and his family traveling to a small country town to participate in a house swap for the next month, landing themselves in the peaceful town of Nilbog. Once there, Joshua's dead grandfather returns to warn him of the evils of Nilbog and tries to get him to convince his family to leave. His parents and sister ignore him. Joshua learns that the town's inhabitants are actually burlap wearing goblins. And that their mission is to get outsiders to eat their goblin food, turning them into trees, where they can be eaten and devoured (the goblins are vegetarians). He must work with the ghost of his grandfather to rid the town of its goblins and restore peace to Nilbog. The funny thing about this movie is that I’ve now watched this at least three times simply to watch people’s reactions and it becomes funnier with every single viewing. I would love to describe my favorite moments of this film but words can’t describe this wonderful mess of a movie. You’ll ask yourself how a script like this was ever financed and created. There are movies that are bad. There are movies that are so-bad they're-good. And then there's Troll 2… a movie that's so bad that it defies comprehension.
So as of yesterday we now have carpet and the place is near completion! All we need is have the countertops installed move a couple of kitchen apliances and we're good to go! Last night we began moving stuff we can go without for a week and with only twelve days left to go we're doing pretty well. Our apartment downtown is becoming larger everyday. Everything seems to be working out pretty well and we expect smooth sailing...
Several months ago my beautiful wife surprised me with two tickets to see Incubus! I consider myself to be a huge Incubus fan and I was stoked for this awesome gift Ali gave me, all I had to do was gain patients to wait for the show. Last night was finally the concert and after a busy day of school, packing and what not we left for the USANA Amphitheatre with Al's sister Stacia. We arrived early so we could get a decent seat since we were on the grass section which is first come first serve. We got a great seat right against the gate so there would be nobody blocking us, we spent several hours patiently waiting for the show to start and were amused at how many underage kids were caught drinking.
The opening band was The Duke Spirit which did a good job but I of course was to excited for Incubus to really care. Finally a little before 9pm the show started and to our surprise the four feet between us and the gate, was filled with a crowd of people who rushed forward for a better view & decide to stand the entire time... kind of a bummer but I didn't let it get to me (usually these things really make me a little upset.) I'm to tired from waking up around 6am for work to share details but to put it simply... the show was amazing and was a great event to take our minds of the stresses of work and school. Last night was a wonderful example of how amazing my wife is! She isn't really into Incubus herself but she was willing to spend her time and part from her hard earned cash so that I could finally have a chance to see one of my favorite bands. We're approaching our one year anniversay and I'm reminded every single day of why I married this incredible woman! Thanks again Allison for a wonderful night! I know there are plenty more to come!
Ali's family is freakin' awesome because they never stop working. They definitely make us look bad but they make everything alot easier. Today we're in Kaysville and to our surprise the cabinets are well on the way to being complete! Everything is coming together very well, The carpet arrives on Wed. after that we'll be able to move furniture in very slowly.
My beautiful wife modeling off the new kitchen!
The Ladder will be replaced with a dishwasher, no more handwashing!
So it's been a while but a lot has been going on... As of yesterday we informed our landlord that we'll be moving out by July 31. Our apartment hasn't been so bad but we've found as soon as our good neighbors move out we have become surrounded by people who lack common sense and courtesy. Needless to say the new place was put on the back burner for sometime until we realized we'd be moving in less than one month. Here's some pictures of what has been done lately.
Here's our wonderful kitchen floor which Carolyn put together in no time. The large boxes are the cabinets just waiting to see the light of day. Ali is very excited to have a normal sized kitchen that two people can fit in. As for myself I'm simply stoked for a dishwasher.
Just one of our many lovely cabinets... On the top right corner of the cabinet are the samples of the counter tops that we're pretty sure we'll choose.
Here we have our soon to be family room, we're excited to receive the carpet for this room on July 8. This room may look small but it's much larger than our current family room.
Last Wednesday we finished painting our bedroom which became more time consuming than we first expected... but we're happy with how it looks. Ignore the all the clutter in the middle because it'll be gone soon enough.
The bathroom is still a work in progress
As you can see our laundry room also doubles as a tanning bed!!!
We still have a lot to finish before the end of the month, but we feel everything will work out.
So I consider myself to be a huge movie fan... my wife would say that's an understatement. Even though we watch our share of movies we never make it out to the theater, but lucky for us we stumbled upon a free movie ticket to see the new Pixar movie UP! Ali and I made a date night and enjoyed a rushed dinner at Iggy's before experiencing UP in 3D. Now I was very skeptical of how good this experience would be... after all, in my mind 3D does have a history of being a cheesy novelty that'll leave you with a headache. After we paid for our tickets I was surprised to have been given a plastic pair of glasses instead of crummy paper ones with red and blue lenses that were designed for a small child. We were both nervous we that we made the wrong decision and were going to experience motion sickness or something equally unpleasant. Once the trailers and film started I soon realized that I was completely wrong. The picture was sharp and clean, the film didn't create scenes or special shots to take advantage of the 3D aspect... Disney and Pixar did the correct thing in making this film simply have the impressive visuals stand out to immerse the audience. In short, this was perhaps my favorite Pixar film to this day.
The film has only a handful of characters which differs from past Pixar films, While it may seem to have a limiting premise and characters, it's done so well that it's easily on par with the Pixar films that came before it.
Like films such as Finding Nemo & Ratatouille there's also a good balance between humor and necessary character drama. These guys definitely believe it telling a good story.
This delightful adventure story follows Carl Fredricksen, an elderly man who's still in mourning for his beloved wife. And he's about to lose his home to a greedy developer who wants to put up a high-rise in its place. Rather than allowing that to happen, though, Carl decides it's time to realize his lifelong dream by taking a trip to the South American wilderness with the help of thousands for balloons strapped to his house. As much as I would love to continue explaining everything I enjoyed about this movie, there are simply too many surprises that I would hate to ruin for those who haven't seen UP yet.
To simply put it, I loved this film. It has action, comedy a bit of drama and an unbelievable amount of heart. Ali and myself found ourselves becoming teary eyed for these wonderful living characters.
If you enjoyed previous Pixar films than I can say with confidence that you wont be dissapointed! These guys continue their streak of creating incredible films in a market filled with sequals and formulaic stories.
So we finally have pictures of the Cedar Chest that Allison's family gave us. I think everyone wasn't expecting much out of this project, but we surprised everyone including ourselves with this one!
Here is the before picture... got to love the 80's home look & faded wood stain... Here we have the final product... new modern... better...
We found the replacement hardware at Home Depot for $2.50 each, which was drastically marked down within one day of our first shopping spree. The black and white pattern on the top was originally intended for a runner on the top of our new TV stand. The paint cost roughly around $15.00 updating this piece to match our entire set. We were very happy to see this turn out much better than expected that we decided to buy additional black & white material to complete the runner for a match throughout the family room.
Our next project is to reupholster an old chair that is most likely older than myself but the look and comfort of it cannot be passed up. I think we've had a very productive and enjoyable summer so far, and we're enjoying creating new additions to help furnish our future home.
Today Allison and I made our way up to Kaysville where we continued work on our future home. With the help of our family we're finishing a basement apartment where we'll slave away with school and work. It's starting to come together but we've got a long way to go but thankfully we'll get there before August. Today we focused mainly on painting the second bedroom which Ali wanted to paint a light green which is called Guacamole Dip... tasty! Ali and I are enjoying learning the ropes of fixing up a home and are excited to see the final product of our new pad!
Since we enjoy watching HGTV and seeing the progress of projects, we'll take before and after pictures with a few in between to see our progress. As of May 13, this is what things are looking like!
Ali smiling in our new office!
We originally planned to leave the bottom of the room
My name is Matthew, I am twenty-five years old and live happily with my wonderful wife Allison. We currently attend Salt Lake Community College and are employees of Intermountain Healthcare which pretty much consumes our lives. We're very chill and laid back and enjoy the simple things in life. We're gearing up to move to West Kaysville where we'll continue countless years at Weber State which sucks but it'll be worth all the difficult work.
My wife and I have been married for seven months now and it's been the best time of my life! We're simply looking forward to what life offers us and the many opportunities that wait for us tomorrow.
This blog is to help consume my time at work and such as I plan, create and develop my future projects in music, video and whatever else grabs my interest. The Fall of Autumn is a name that I have created for all of the projects that I am currently developing for my family and I. Here's to the future and everything it brings!
Today we went to the Zoo in hopes to see the baby elephant... but... as soon as we reached the Elephants they were going inside for the day (it was freakin' cold) which was quite disappointing. The saving aspect of the day was seeing a baby aligator, chimp, monkey, penguins, giraffe etc. Going to the Zoo this time of year isn't the most ideal to see the animals but we still had fun and were lucky to have stayed long enough to see the Zoo Lights come on! A lot of fun was had by all!
Even the famous Lion water fountain was repilcated, Ali
Look at this fine looking beast... the giraffes look
When I first met Allison she had a wide variety of 
Ali and Mckenzie enjoying a 310 lb. pumpkin... imagine how many 
The Finished Project!
Perhaps if we play our cards right you'll see this in our new home in the future!!!
Bathroom counter
Ali smiling in our new office!
The Family Room with the Kitchen
Our future porch/front door