SWEET HUSBAND

This is just a really quick blog. I thought this was a funny conversation Matthew and I had today. This is how the dialogue went:

Alli: "I'm sorry that I'm so grumpy, and onery and annoying all the time."

Matthew: "You're not annoying."

Isn't he a sweetheart!?

In his defence, I am really grumpy a lot and he is really really great to put up with me! I probably make his life really hard sometimes! He really is a sweetheart!

HAPPY HALF BIRTHDAY MATTHEW!!

November 2009:

Once upon a time Matthew went swan hunting for the first time, and had a blast! He came home with the BEAUTIFUL swan, and put it in a pillowcase and garbage bags and in his grandma's freezer. I wanted to have it stuffed and make it a birthday present. His birthday is in May so he knew it was going to be a late birthday present. He just didn't realize how late.

One day, under false pretenses (he thought I had colorgaurd practice) I drove up to his grandma's house to get the swan out of said freezer. The man that was doing the taxadermy was supposed to be available for me to drop the swan off at his work. However, I couldn't get in touch with him, so I was on a desperate search of dry ice throughout all of Cache Valley. Do you think I would have any such luck of finding dry ice?

No.

I had to SNEAK (Matthew was in our bedroom when I finally got home with the swan) a big white cooler full of swan and the little dry ice I did manage to scrounge up into our basement. I had succeeded!

I got in touch with the man who was working on the swan and dropped it off and all was well. (This would be much more exciting for you if you knew how hard Matthew is to surprise)

All was well? So I thought. We all went up to his grandparent's home and as we were cleaning up and putting chairs away, Matthew went downstairs and for some unkown, insane reason, decided to check on his swan in the freezer. Why he felt he had to do this, I have no idea. The swan was wrapped up like a mummy! He couldn't have seen it anyway...but he just had to look.

I was busted.

Thankfully Jeff had the swan for about 4 months and I didn't tell Matthew when I had been talking to him, so I thought he had no idea that his swan was done and I could pick it up anytime.

Or again, so I thought. I got Jeff's (the taxadermist) information from a friend of ours, who was also keeping tabs on the swan. Matthew heard our friend talking about how good his swan looked.

Again, I was busted.

Granted, Matthew wasn't sure when I'd bring it home, but it was like he had a little spy the whole time this opperation was taking place.

Maybe one day I will be able to surprise him with something, but I think it will be a lifelong battle.

After much annoyance, and attempted secrecy, and about one year later, Matthew came home from work on Tuesday to a big ol' swan laying in the automan with a green birthday bow wrapped around it's neck!

November 2010:

It's a good thing he LOVES it!!

The End.

I love you Matthew, and I hope you had a great birthday in May,

as well as an awesome half birthday!

ACT ENTHUSIASTIC & YOU'LL BE ENTHUSIASTIC, HEY!!!!!

2010 SkyView High School Colorguard

KOTO

I am so proud of my girls!!!!!!! However, let me start by telling you how nervous they made me at the beginning of the year! We had a really, really rough start. I didn't go into this season with very many returning girls because all my seniors graduated last year. I had about 18 (if I am remembering right) rookies this year. We have an awesome band director who planned a really smart show. It was one that was smart in that drill worked out well but it was easy enough to accomplish, but also challenging enough to keep the kids interested...for the bad. I think the guard was RUNNING in and out of every set for the most part! :D Plus we have an awesome choreographer who wrote some pretty hard stuff. To top it off, I wasn't there a lot this year because of my work schedule. I had heard a lot of parents at the beginning of the year talk about how worried they were about the guard, and how they looked so dirty, etc. etc. Anyway, honestly, up until the practice before our Red Rocks performance, I was still extremely nervous!

But my girls quickly changed my mind, had an AWESOME rehearsal and then went out and had an AMAZING performance!! It was so fun to watch their energy and see the flags spin together and see how much fun they were having!!!

Red Rocks is basically the championship competition for the season in Utah, and I was going to be proud of them anyway, and then we had our scores being announced and it turns out that my girls are:

THE NUMBER ONE COLORGUARD ON THE UTAH CIRCUIT!!!!

I'm probably the happiest director around! Not to brag (and I love A.F. and Davis) but my girls took first place over the guards that have been on top for the last, at least, 8 years! I'm so proud of them! I love them tons!

To top it off, we went to B.O.A. and competed against about 30 bands from Texas, New Mexico, California, Nevada and Utah and the SkyView High School Marching Band took

5th PLACE!!!!!

I love our kids! :D

This is what they really act like most of the time! They're SO pretty!