Shelton's in Sunny California

Coming from a family of 8 kids and all of us living so far away from each other, my family has to have yearly reunions in order to guarantee we will see each other. Unfortunately last year we had plans to vacation together in California but because of Marcus's cancer treatments we postponed it by a year. With each reunion, my siblings rotate taking turns to plan all family arrangements. This California trip was originally Marcus's request and turn to plan. Unfortunately when Marcus passed away, my family nominated me to take over for him. I had a hard time doing this and getting excited about this trip without Marcus but the trip was exactly what our family needed after this hard year.

Anyone knows that coordinating 16 adults and 13 kids can be very difficult; finding ways to make everyone happy, getting a large group moving together, and trying to spend as much time all together. Unfortunately besides missing Marcus, we were sad that his wife Colleen wasn't able to come at the last minute either because of medical problems. The family wasn't complete without them but we managed to have fun at all of the hot spots of Southern California; Disneyland, the beach, Seaworld, and San Diego Old Town. And even found time for some girl time for a baby shower for Nikki and pedicures and attending a session at the beautiful San Diego temple

This is probably one of the few times we were all together at Disneyland!!!

Doesn't Matthew look so happy at the "Happiest Place on Earth"?

This is before Matthew got a TERRIBLE sunburn, he has learned his lesson now.

Matthew was the favorite uncle after he let them all the neices/ nephews bury him.

My favorite part of Sea World was the shows espcecially the dolphin show.

How many people can you fit in a Mormon Battallion pioneer wagon?

The babies were loving the water on this hot Cali day.

Can you guess which foot is mine? (My fav color right now is lime green)

Cinderella's castle has nothing on this castle.

PG Strawberry Days

PG is a town known for their rural atmosphere and STRAWBERRIES. So what do you get when you put those together???? Strawberry Day's Rodeo. When I moved to my condo 2 years ago, I remember one of the first night here and hearing the load roar of the fairgrounds nearby. I learned then that PG was good at putting together a rodeo. This year we convinced our friends, Rob and Abby, to come with us for the true PG experience. We had a great time with the cowboys, horses, and to make it complete.............strawberries and cream. (Thanks Rob again for the loan!!!)

July Craft

For the month of July I needed a fun patriotic decoration for our entry table. Here is the results. I was very proud of the end creation. Thank you Matthew for all your help on them and my neighbor Erika for putting up with me for an evening and letting me use your cricket and talent.

A Little Piece of Earth

We live in an area of mostly condos, townhouses, and apartments. Our stake realizes that because of our living situations, we don't have any land to enjoy as our own for a garden. They have resolved this by providing anyone in the stake that is interested with a 10' x 15' garden plot located next to the church. When Matthew and I heard about this opportunity, we knew we would be the first to sign up. Neither of us had planted a garden of our own but were very excited about trying it together.With all the crazy weather this year, it took us a while to get our plants into the ground and decided to start things off right with starter plants. We planted 2 Roma Tomatoes, 1 Whopper Tomato, 1 Grape Tomato, Cucumbers, Carrots, 2 Bell Peppers, 4 Red Peppers, Peas, Watermelon, and Zucchini. We are loving taking care of our plants, watching them grow, and seeing the results.

Matthew's Business Trip

The week of Memorial Day Matthew was hired by my brother Richard to do some handyman work for him on his house in Indianapolis, Indiana. And the best part, my brother flew me, my mom, and dad out with Matthew to come "help." During our 5 day stay, the guys worked on repairing broken tiles, restoring drywall from water damage, replacing light fixtures, and installing a floor in their attic.

But of course, Richard and Becca showed us a good time while we were visiting. And lucky for us it was the weekend of the Indy 500. We were able to visit the famous racetrack, see the past winning cars, and even drive around the track!!!

Besides the Indy track, there is a lot more to Indiapolis. Becca and Richard showed us around the fun downtown complete with a 4 person bike and canal paths. We had a great time on our vacation...............I mean business trip!! Thanks Rich, Becca, and Nike for showing us Indiana.

We started a business....Fix It Handyman, LLC

It has always been Matthew's dream to have his own business and we decided to take the plunge early. Matthew started a handyman business with his friend Ben before I met him but Matthew and I decided to give our marriage the real test and see if we could make it work together. We had to make some purchases before we could really get started. Starting with a new reliable laptop and cell phones. We retired my old college laptop, I took his old laptop, and the new laptop was dedicated to the company.

Then we decided to get rid of my sporty Pontiac G6 GTP that I have only owned for a year. But with the way gas has been, it is much more economical to keep Matthew's Toyota Corrolla. Now I am driving the Corolla and we bought Matthew a new truck!!!!

Well new for us.........................we bought a GMC Canyon 2006. It is big enough to haul Matthew's supplies and tools but not big enough that I have to jump to get into. It has been a great investment. Not only did we make money on the sale but the insurance is actually less than my Pontiac too and the gas mileage is about the same. All in all.................the trade has been good.

The business is in full swing now. Matthew is only doing it part time during weeknights and weekends. But he is staying busy with 2-3 jobs a week. Check out his blog and tell your friends. Fix It Handyman LLC

Festival of Colors

Festival of Colors has become a traditon for me since I moved to Utah county. It is a Indian festival that celebrates the beginning of spring. The festival was March 26th at the Spanish Fork Kristna Temple. For a small fee you purchase powdered paint and "decorate" friends and strangers. This was Matthew's first year to go and we invited our friends Heidi, Sean, Lisa, and Jon. We had a fun time in all the colorful chaos. 

This picture is before the festival.....although during the long walk from the car some people decided to shair their paint with Matthew.