Really?

So, I couldn't force myself out of bed at 2am to watch the Royal Wedding LIVE, but I am watching now at 7am which is earllyy enough!

I woke up to this...I'm thoroughly convinced Spring just isn't going to happen for Idaho this year.

Didn't the groundhog see its shadow this year?!

Craigs List

CL's is amazing first and foremost.

If you didn't know, we recently moved into Matt's parent's old house in Rigby (15 minutes away from BYU-I). When we moved in we quickly realized we had nothing to fill an actual house. These were the essentials that needed purchasing ASAP:

-Washer & dryer
-Bed
-Couches
-Kitchen table/Chairs

Being the bargain hunter my mama taught me to be, I looked to Craigs List. My goal was to spend less than $1,000 on everything. Call my Ty Pennington, because I beat my goal by $190!

Here's a few pictures of the gems we scored via Craig's List.

Only the mattress is from CL's. I was a little sketched out by buying a mattress used, but they used a protective covering and it looked very clean.

Those chairs are ghettooo. Probably my only shopping regret.

Couch

Love seat

I know Matt is going to hate me for putting another sleeping picture on here, but isn't this hilarious??

Be a Doll

I just added a Facebook gadget thingy for my photography page on the sidebar. if you could "Like" my photography page, that would be awesome!

Did you see Lady Gaga, J. Timberlake, and Mila Kunis on Ellen today? Such a fun episode. LOVE Ellen!

Matt just mighttt make fun of me for watching the Royal Wedding at 2:00 am tonight.

Easter 2011

Easter Sunday was the most beautiful day we've had so far. It was actually warm! It's FINALLY starting to turn green.

After church, we ate THEE yummiest Easter Sunday meal at my in-laws house. We had: steak and chicken shishkabobs, fresh fruit (bananas, oranges, apples, pineapple, and watermelon), cheesy mashed potatoes, cornbread, and sparkling lemonade. It was nice to have the entire Taylor family together (Mikey has been gone on his mission for the past 2 years). After we ate, we had a little family photo shoot. Tami wanted pictures of the boys, and they turned out really well! Cree came over later and we played Pinochle.

Mikey, James, and Matt

Idahooo

Never in my life would I have thought I'd live/go to college in Idaho. Honestly, I'm not quite sure how I ended up here. Well maybe it's the fact that it was the only college I applied to. Not because BYUI was the only school I wanted to go to...but somehow I ended up here :)

Living in Idaho for the past 4 years (I can't believe it's been that long!) I've discovered major pros and cons of life in potato country.

Here's my list:

Pros:

GORGEOUS scenery

Yellowstone is only a few miles away

No city pollution

The yummiest potatoes eva

Summer days aren't too hot, and summer nights are sooo nice

Snowboarding

Low crime rate

Super nice people

Cons:

It's freezing from October well into Spring. I had to wear my winter jacket today to run errands

Crappy snowy roads

No legit Mexican food places

I miss my black folks! Seeing a black person here is like finding a piece of pepper in a glass of milk. I need diversity

No public outdoor swimming pools

The fruit is not as good as Texas fruit

The closest GOOD mall is 4 hours away in Salt Lake. But not having a mall close by has helped with my shopping addiction

Being soo far away from my family. No bueno

Matt's ABC's

Age: 24

Bed size: However big the bed, I will sleep on the edge due to Rachel's sprawling sleeping habits.

Chore you hate: Homework is a chore and I hate it.

Dogs: Murphie's good for now but I want a dog I can lay on as a pillow.

Essentials to start your day: Chocolate Marshmallow Maties

Favorite color: Red

Gold or Silver: Gold

Height: 6'2" but I walk about at 6'1".

Instruments: I can play the Xbox pretty well.

Job title: Baller. Or welder. Or student. Mostly baller though.

Kids: No.

Live: 1J

Mom's name: Tami.

Nicknames: Tay, Tay Tay, Taylor, Tay Money, Young Money, Fresh Money, also Babe.

Overnight hospital stays: No.

Pet peeve: Murphie peeing on my clothes.

Quote from movie: "You should see your faces." "His helmet was stifling."

Righty of lefty: southpaw

Siblings: 2 Bro's 1 Sis

Time you wake up: Alarm goes off at 5:30, get up around 6:15

Underwear: White.

Veggies you dislike: Yes.

What makes you run late: comfy bed or too big of a bowl of cereal.

X-rays you have had done: None.

Yummy food you make: Haha. Besides cereal, I have made some great wingers wings.

Zoo animal: Panda; rare, strong, handsome.

Jealous

I am super jealous of Matt when it comes to one thing. SLEEPING. Matt falls instantly to sleep every night. I on the other hand average about 30-45 minutes to fall asleep. I wish I had that talent! The other night, Matt was cuddling with Murphie on this hassock. I specifically asked him, "Could you fall asleep like that?" I obviously planted this idea into his mind (insert "Inception" joke here) and when I got out of the shower, this is what I found. Matt dead asleep on the hassock. So presh lol!

Moose!

Moose are more dangerous than bears. Remember this fun fact as you read this story.

My inlaws just moved to this gorgeous house out in the middle of nooowhere.

You can hear the rapids from the Snake River from their front door, so Matt, Mikey, Tami, and I decided to go look at the river. Mikey, camera in hand, wanted to practice taking some nature shots while on our trek. As we were headed out to the woods, we saw at least 5 piles of moose poop. I'm thinking, "Oh crap, we are entering their territory." I seemed to be the only one actually worried about coming upon a moose, so I just held in my fears and kept walking.

Then, I hear this growling sound. I freeze and ask if any one else heard it. Then it came again, but it was just the sound of a dirt bike. So now even more scared, we come to this fence...

Tami asks, "Should we keep going?" We did. Matt and Mikey were about 10 feet in front of Tami and I walking down the trail. I kept me eyes peeled because there were a lot of places moose could hide around us! Then I see it! To the left! Oh crappp. All of the episodes of "When Animals Attack III" and "I Shouldn't Be Alive" flash before my eyes! I yell at Matt and Mikey, "There's a FREAKING moose right there turn around!" I think they thought I was joking and kept walking. I, on the other hand, had turned around to walk away and still yelling at them. They see the moose, Mikey, takes a picture, and we run away. If I wouldn't have seen it, we would have walked probably 15 feet right next to it. And probably all died. Well, that's what would've happened on Animal Planet. :)

This is the moose. This picture makes me mad because it looks like the moose was a mile away!

It was taken with a wide angle lens which makes it look so far away. I promise it was close haha!

Rachel's ABC's

I stole this from you, Alex!

Here's some facts I'm sure you're dying to know...

Age: 21

Bed Size: King. HOLLAAA! I think after sleeping on a full sized bed for the first year of our marriage and then the past 8 months of sleeping on an air mattress, we deserved the king.

Chore you hate: Laundry. Gosh darnit, it's just a never ending cycle! No pun intended.

Dogs: We own a Chi-Weenie named Murphie Lee. Our dream dog is a blue great dane.

Essentials to start your day: A bowl of cereal with 2 ice cubes in it. I love me some cold milk.

Favorite color: Lime green is pretty rad.

Gold or silver: Both.

Height: This is a sensitive subject. I am technically 5'9 and 3/4". I wish I was 5' 7" so I could wear heels and not look like an Amazon woMAN. But I should just be grateful that I have legs.

Instruments: Played the piano for like 5 years. Then I picked up the cello in 6th grade, which made me forget how to play piano. Then, mom ran over my cello backing up out of the driveway. With that disaster all my music abilities were crushed. The recorder was my most recent musical endeavor. That is literally the hardest instrument to play.

Job title: Student. Photographer. Wife. Soon to be teacher.

Kids: Maybe later? Maybe sooner?

Live: Rigby, ID

Mom's name: Julee Christene Tate

Nickname: Rae and Bahoi (Pronounced like "Boy" but with more of a quick "ah sound)\Please do not ask. Edy, Dave, Matt, and Mom are the only ones who get this. It's embarrassing. My mom always calls me this. I have no idea why. In the middle of the mall I will hear, "Hey, Bahoi, do you like these shoes?" I try not to make eye contact.

Overnight hospital stays: One time where I almost died from food poisoning. I puked so many times, it made my heart murmur come back from 7th grade extinction.

Pet peeve: The sound of people smacking their gum.

Quote from TV show:

Howard: Who is Josh Groban?!

Sandy: Who is Josh Groban?! Kill yourself! He is an angel sent from heaven to deliver platinum records unto us. And if he were here right now, I would club you to death with his Critic's Choice Award. -Glee Season 1

Right or left handed? Right

Siblings: One half sis, Taelor.

Time you wake up: Well now since I'm off for the summer...around 11:30 or 12. You know how old people wake up early? Ya. I will be the only old person who doesn't do that.

Underwear: Yes I wear them?

Vegetables you dislike: Carrots. It has the same texture as coconut when chewed and I hatee coconut. But I love coconut snowcones.

What makes you run late: CraigsList and Blog stalking.

X-rays you've had done: Almost all my fingers, ankle, back, brain MRI, and wrist.

Yummy food you make: cajun chicken alfredo and orange chicken

Zoo animal: Dolphin.

That is all ladies and gents. If you read my blog, DO THIS! I love to read your facts!

RACHEL IS THE SMARTEST WOMAN IN ALL THE LAND!

Today was a pretty big day in the life of my wife and I. We found out that….. She passed her praxis! and her literacy test! And not just passed, she was above the national average! That’s cause for celebration. Rachel has always asked me, “Matt, how smart am I?” I would generally respond with, “girl, if intelligence were measured in weight, you would probably have to go on the biggest loser because you are…” and she would usually stop me right there and tell me, “Matt, I am damn smart.” She would say that right to my face, and I would agree, of course, because she is. If we were to compare GPA’s, hers would be someone like Robert Pattinson and mine would be someone like Danny DeVito. Or even Vern Troyer. All I really wanted to say is this: Rachel will be my suga mama in seriously no-time-flat! So cheers to you girl and your continued success in life and your endeavors. You are the best (if not the smartest) wife there is. (And you’re better than me at COD but I’m catching up.)