Matthew's Dirty 30 Weekend...

Now that Matthew's birthday has come and gone, I can finally relax! I started planning a surprise party for him last year and I am amazed he still had no clue when we walked in the door. 

It all started with the idea of a Mad Men themed party. After collecting ideas on Pinterest, plotting where it would all take place, and making invitations the theme started coming together!

Being the crafty person I am, I decided it was much cheaper to make my own invitations. I found an example I really liked and the put my graphic design skills to use recreating them. I also found adorable miniature Manila file folders at Hobby Lobby and began stocking up!

I sent out the invites about a month in advance because some people invited lived out of state so I wanted to make sure everyone had time to make travel arrangements. After those went out it was a waiting game until the party!

The week of the party, I told Matthew I'd be unavailable until 6 pm due to our office moving and that I was the point of contact. Not entirely true ;) but it bought me the time I needed to get ready! The day of the party, Matthew decided to take work off (ie: home all day). This threw a slight wrench in my plans but I was able to pull everything off. I had packed a suitcase a couple days prior just in case! I left him a card explaining that he would be picked up around 6pm and I would be there at his final location. Then I left for work and the madness began!

I worked for a few hours, went the the gym, got my nails done, and bought alcohol for the evening. After doing all of that it was almost 4 pm and I still had to check in to the hotel, shower, and get ready! I was running a bit behind schedule and my stress levels were pretty high. Not to mention I hadn't slept well for a couple of weeks leading up to it from all the stress! Haha! Luckily I have some pretty great friends and family that were there early to help me set up and get ready!

I sent an Uber to pick Matthew up at our house and tracked it all the way to the hotel. When he arrived, I told him to wait in the lobby and I'd be there in a minute. I quickly got dressed, finished my make up , and ran up to the elevator. When I saw him in the lobby he was still surprised and kept asking what the plan was! After dropping his bag in the suite (I made him stay outside the hotel entrance while I went to the room) we made our way up to have drinks and a fancy dinner.

During dinner, I was pretty sure he had figured out something else was afoot. I'd later find out he was still completely clueless. After our fancy dinner, we made our way down to the room where everyone was waiting to surprise him. When we opened the door, he was completely overwhelmed and shocked at the 50+ family and friends that were there! 

Group Picture

After mingling and thanking everyone for showing up, we made our way to the casino floor for a night of fun! I'm so grateful for all those who were able to make it and help me pull off the surprise of a lifetime! I don't think I'll ever plan another surprise party, too much stress!!! Haha!

Group Picture - Take #2

Group Picture - Take #3

The Hansen family drove all the way from Utah to celebrate Matthew's birthday!

He still has no idea what is about to happen in this picture :)

Late night lady selfie.....with those weirdos in the background

My parents also drove all the way from Utah to celebrate with us!

Matthew's family also dropped by a little while to celebrate!

xoxo,

Megs

Mid-Year Happenings...

Wow has the first half of the year just flown by or what?! I can't believe it is already the end of June! This year has been quite the whirlwind thus far and it doesn't appear to be slowing down anytime soon. Here's a quick update of what we've been up to lately:

Matthew: between podcasting two shows a week, working, and helping me out he has been pretty busy. Recently (2 weeks ago) he was able to sit on two different panels at Comicon in Phoenix. This was a pretty exciting deal and since they had a decent turn out, he is hopeful they'll get asked back next year. 

Embree: she has finally learned the value of sleeping in!!! We no longer have to take turns getting up with her on the weekends which is really nice! Other than that she is a happy and healthy pup!

Megan: between work, school, and the gym I feel like I'm always going a mile a minute these days! I'm almost done with my second grad school class and am excited for a week off before I start the next one. I've also been really concentrated on my fitness (update on that in a different post). 

Our year thus far in pictures (a lot of the reposted from Instagram):

In Januray we said farewell to Rojo and bought a new car! This one has AC which makes me a very happy lady!

We went to Greer AZ at the beginning of the year. It was a nice weekend getaway with friends.

Matthew went snowboarding for the first time while we were in Greer.

Of course we went to a Suns game :)

I got to see Miley Cyrus in concert which was actually a lot better than I thought it would be.

We spent a day at the horse track with the Jolkovski family. Isn't Ryann a cutie?!

We played in our first Sloshball tourney. #wegottheruns

I went to CA on a work trip and got to visit this cutie and her family!

We played in our second Sloshball tourney. #titsburgfeelers

We spent Memorial Day at the lake with Matthew's family.

Matthew learned how to paddle board and is pretty much a pro now!

We got to see some of Matthew's favorite comedians, Matt Mira and Jonah Ray. He also got $5 for telling an awesome joke and both of them signed it.

We have a lot to be thankful for this year and can't wait for the rest of the year. We'll be going to Georgia and South Carolina, Matthew's turning the big 3-0, Thanksgiving, My birthday, Christmas, and hopefully more trips in between!

xoxo,

Megs

The Big 2-5 and Concert Shenanigans...

I can't believe I'm 25!!! My birthday has come and gone for this year, but I was definitely spoiled. Matthew finally bought me my kitchen aid!!! I love it and I have been baking up a storm since I got it. This year for my birthday, we went to dinner with some friends and then to a comedy hypnotist show. It was a very good birthday....even though I'm another year older (boo!)

In November, we got the opportunity to see the lovely Kate Nash in concert (again). She did not disappoint. The venue was pretty small which is always really cool. We hung around after the show to get a photo op and have her sign a couple of things. Matthew was so excited to meet her.

In December, we FINALLY got to go to the Justin Timberlake concert. I had been looking forward to it ever since we purchased tickets back in June! If you have the chance to catch this show, it is SO worth it! He such a talented musician and performer. We enjoyed every minute of the show and are even considering going back in August when he comes through again.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall...

I can't believe it is already Fall again. Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating New Year's Eve with Matthew's Family. This summer seems like it was full of trips. I was fortunate enough to visit home several times this summer. Matthew and I also made our yearly trip to California. It was great spending time with loved ones and friends. As the holidays approach, I am looking forward to many more family gatherings. Fall truly is my favorite part of the year. Unfortunately for me, Arizona doesn't realize it is supposed to be Fall yet! haha! Guess that is what I get for moving here. I'm ready to break out my boots, jackets, and scarfs. 

Here are some pictures of things we did over the past few months...sorry for the overload. PS: if you follow me on Instagram, some of these are repeats :)

Ladies Night 

This summer we made our first trip to an amusement park together

Roadtripping to CA...

...making random stops to take pictures with Dinos

We were able to go to our first Pro Football game this summer

Lights of Vegas...taken on my way home from one of my many trips to UT this summer.

Sunset in UT

Family reunion trip to the rodeo

We went to a cult classic movie showing of Neverending Story

Sienna being a sunglasses model :)

Laura and Aria

Summer fun with these kiddos...water fight

Diamondbacks game

Jess and Laura playing the Michael Jackson dance game on Wii...I'm pretty sure Matthew still holds most of the records.

Ladies night ended at some crazy biker bar...this is one of the bands that played that night

Cute baby Aria...I helped pick her name...sort of :)

Jess and Sienna making Dixon's fathers day gift

Late night hangs with Parisa and Evan

Matthew and I in Vegas this summer

We witnessed a plane "crash"...more like a fender bender. It only crashed through a fence but we were stuck on scene for 2 hrs waiting to be told we could leave.

xoxo,

Megs