It was so much fun to have Jill Jackson (JJ) in town! She is still living in NYC (see you there this summer, JJ) despite all of our efforts to get her to relocate to Utah. Becca Holt is actually the one who introduced me to Jill back at BYU in 1994 or so, and all of us lived in DC together for a time. Becca is now just up the street from me and it's been so wonderful to see so much of her this last year. We had them all over for dinner this week to celebrate Becca's birthday. Love you guys!
Kristen and Adam (and Luke!) Anthony were in town for General Conference weekend last week and I got to meet little Luke in person! What a cutie he is - no wonder Kristen is so enamoured with him! Kristen's friend, Raina, also lives in SLC with her family, so I joined them for lunch last Saturday afternoon. It was so wonderful to see them all. Kristen and I became friends before I ever moved to Newport Beach (a friend of a friend type of acquaintance through Heather Fortuna) and we became FAST friends. She is truly one of the best friends I have ever had (don't get me started...the girl is funny, feisty, feminine, creative, loyal, honest, beautiful, spiritual...). So great to see you, Kristen!
I held Luke for a while and didn't want to give him back! He's got the cutest little smile and dimple and they had some pretty funny stories about him.
There is so much that I could say about my beautiful, amazing, Kayla! Kayla is my best friend in the whole world (next to my own mother...it's all the same) and I am so grateful for, and have so much fun with, her! Her personality just keeps getting more and more entertaining and dynamic, and hanging out with her, even if we're just running errands, is a blast. She's got phenomenal taste (helps me decorate our house, pick outfits, etc.) and very interesting interests. She's smarter than I ever was at her age and is so diligent on her own with homework and chores, responsibilities, etc. She's so easy to love! In this picture we were making one of those tie-blankets last week and it turned out so cute - matches the pinks in her room perfectly. 
Kayla also loves babies more than you could ever know - and they love her. It's amazing how drawn she is to a complete stranger's baby, and also how good and fun and quiet babies seem to be with her when she holds them! Anyway, she is just beautiful inside and out and I (we) love her so so much.
This is Nate (on the right) and his best friend, Parker Swainston, a few Sunday's back walking home from church. I just wanted to take a few moments to talk about Nate and what impresses me so much about him. Where you could look at this picture and see two boys who look like church-going angels, it is probably no surprise to hear that they have "another" side to their personalities. It's true - they are "all boy" as Nate often reminds me (usually when he's covered in dirt and about to sit down to dinner having not washed his hands). They play pretty hard and make a lot of noise to say the least. This picture, though, really does depict how good Nate is... he's obedient and sensitive, and (truthfully) spiritual beyond measure. I'm often touched by his acts of service, his detailed nighttime prayers, his patience, and his work-ethic. I don't know where he came from, but it's probably a combination of Matt doing a really REALLY good job as a single parent for so long, and also that something special that Nate just brought with him innately. On top of that, he's so dang FUN. I love this kid. From the way he answers the phone when he sees that it's me calling ("Maaammmaaaa Maaammmaaa... a.k.a. ma-ma... ma-ma"... those who've heard it know exactly what I'm trying to spell out here in his funny voice. Who told him what "a.k.a." means?), to the way he climbs on me to give me the biggest, strongest hugs. It is an honor to be his mother and to learn from him as he grows. He's popular and doesn't know it (or doesn't care about it) and he's smart and doesn't brag about it. I'm just impressed with him and proud of him in every way. Now if I could just get him to pick up his socks/shoes/toys/dirty clothes... PS - his friend, Parker, is pretty fantastic, too.
We had SUCH a great time in Washington, DC last weekend. This is a picture of Heather (Fortuna) and Michael Bush at one of my favorite restaurants, The Carlyle Grand Cafe. Heather and Michael just got married a few months ago and Heather is one of my best friends in the whole world!! So great to see you guys!
The purpose of our trip was to attend another dear friend's (Kristina Khona) wedding. Kristina and Aaron met and live in NYC, but Kristina and I used to live in DC at the same time and also worked in the DC temple together for years. It was an absolutely beautiful wedding. Congratulations Kristina and Aaron - we love you so much!
We had fondue at Amber's house on Friday night - you'll see a couple shots like this. How cute is Matt... I always want to kiss him, but you add chocolate to the mix and he's even more tempting! (My kids will think that's so gross...) 
Sweet Matt was thinking of Kayla the entire weekend with all of the flowers in bloom in DC at this time of year. Every time we passed by some (whether it be a park or a gas station) he wanted to take a picture to show Kayla. He's such a good dad.
I love how much my friends adore Matt and Matt adores them, and I always hoped that whoever I married would really get how important to me my friends are. This is Amber, Jill Chappel (aka Chappy) and Matt piled on Amber's couch.
Choco-Chappy
Another dear friend is Richelle Hobbs - oh how I love this girl (she's the one in the red sweater). She joined our fondue party and we all ended up telling stories until 2am. Talk about being sleepy and still laughing at the same time...
Kristina and Aaron were sealed in the Washington, DC Temple, and it was so much fun to take Matt there with me. I worked there for 7 years and have talked about it so much to him. It was a beautiful day outside, too, and I loved being back there with Matt.
So at 3:15am on Sunday morning, March 30, there was a crazy car accident outside the window. This truck was (obviously) upside down and there were other cars involved, too. Soon there were 5 fire trucks and 5 ambulances, police cars, etc... pretty dramatic RIGHT outide your window!
Me, Matt and Amber at the Rio on Friday night. 
Easter Sunday, March 23, 2008
Lot's of Stockwell kids (and this is only a fraction of 'em).
The "moms" took off to get mani/pedi's while the kids stayed with Grandma Sue.
Each Easter Sunday, Grandma Sue (Stockwell) has this wonderful tradition of going through the Easter story from the scriptures by placing little symbols in individual plastic eggs, along with the scriptural reference that applies. The kids can each take a turn reading through the whole story and sharing it with us.
After the easter egg hunt!
We have been so spoiled with visitors this last week! Deanna and James are the kids' aunt and uncle in town from Wisconsin (Deanna is Kara's sister) whose wedding the kids were actually in last August! We had so much fun with them in town - snowboarding, snowmobiling and a special dinner to honor Kara's birthday on last Saturday night. Please come again soon!
Sarah may kill me for posting this but how could I not??? Aren't they a beautiful couple...
We love it when Jill comes to town! So much fun. I was stuck at work a little late so she hung out with Matt and Kayla for a few until I pulled in, and I've been hearing about her High School Musical songs that she entertained Kayla with ever since. Miss you, Jill!
So excited to meet Holly's baby very soon! We had a very fun shower for her earlier this month and are so happy for the Jacobsen's!!!
Scott and Erika came over last night and treated us all to hand-rolled/home made sushi! Scott and Glen (Goodsell... who is in town with his son, Noah) met years ago when Scott was Glen's fly-fishing guide. Matt was then introduced, and we've had fun double-dating with them and getting to know them better. Scott is an amazing sushi chef! Take a look at what he did (he even tempura-fried some for me! I love anything tempura fried...!).
This is Scott and Erika Shubin with Scott's impressive display! Thank you, Scott and Erika!
Kenny and Pam Moser go up to an area near Jackson Hole each year (called Moose, Wyoming), and they've invited us for a couple of years in a row, now. Obviously we were honeymooning last year, but this year we were totally in and had a blast! There are these individual little cabins that each couple stays in (there were 7-8 couples) and then a center lodge where a chef prepared the most amazing meals throughout the day for us. At night we watch movies and play cards (or in our case, backgammon) and then get up in the morning to breakfast and the most intense snowmobiling. Guides take you back into these mountains, as there aren't groomed trails! The cool thing about having multiple guides, and staying at an all-inclusive dude ranch, is that every time your sled gets buried (often in my case!), the guide digs you out! Matt LOVED this!
There were so many moose wandering around each day - we saw hundreds of them. Thanks for inviting us Kenny and Pam!
What a great way to kick off the new year - and get away from the cold Utah winter! Matt and I, (and 14 other friends/coworkers) squeezed in a quick (4-day) trip to Cancun last week. It was so nice! Weather in the mid-80's, beautiful beaches and Mayan ruins. This was a work trip so it wasn't just for fun, but it's a good thing that I adore my coworkers, and it's not too difficult to work in such a setting.
