Legal Adult

How is it possible but that my younger sister is 21...I thought I was still 21. Crap. 

I didn't start blogging in time to give birthday tributes to everyone in my fam but the tradition  started with Chloe and it will now continue with THE Stacie Michelle Stauffer, 

born May 29 1987.

Stacie is the one who:

Came as my first little sister and first playmate.

Had a SUPER high pitched voice growing up.

Used to climb up doorways like a monkey and stay there to surprise you.

Could jump off the third stair and land in the splits. (not anymore I hope!)

Used to ask me to convince Mom and Dad to let us sleep downstairs.

I call if have a dirty joke I need to tell.

I go exploring with...even when trespassing.

I reminisce about Toppenish with.

I talk about *Magical childhood summers with.

I used to fight with over CURLING IRONS and MIRROR TIME :)

I exchange horrible dating stories with.

Understands how comforting the smell of mint and the sound of trains can be.

I miss very much since we are away for the summer BUT I hope she has a 

MERRY* BIRTHDAY!!!  I love you TONS Stace!!

Success!!

We made it! 36+ hours in the car, several 'tourist stops', and 4 days later we are in New Hampshire. There were stretches where it was absolutely dreadful BUT I have to say that overall it was not at all as bad as I thought. Probably because I talked Matt into making some tourist stops to break it up.
My dad said to me on the phone on Day 2, "If you can survive a cross-country roadtrip you can survive 50 years of marriage." Ha. Now I see what he meant. But we are here, we still love each other, and we love The Cooks for letting us invade them for the summer!!

My future vacation home in Le Claire Iowa, right on the Mississippi.
(Also, I have to say that Up-state New York was AMAZING. I had no idea.)


Touchdown Jesus!


Matt living the "Rudy" dream.


Me living my dream...the Rock &Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.


Progressive Field was right next to our hotel.


Niagara Falls. Simply amazing.


We got up early our last morning there and went for
a jog down to a couple different look out points.


How Matt felt about me by the end of our trip:)
The feeling was mutual! But ahhh, now we are back to normal.


And the best part is?? We have to make the same trip home in a few months. Oh boy.

Point A to Point B...

We are packed up and moved out of Provo. Destination? New Hampshire

After today I know I will NOT live in Wyoming and/or Nebraska (no offense).

We made it through to Omaha where we are staying tonight. 

Tomorrow we get up early and head to Cleveland.  

Things Left To See: Notre Dame, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Niagara Falls. 

Other excursions may occur but after already spending one 13 hr day in the car, we are kind of in the  "bomb through it" mode. Who Knows.

ol' blue eyes

I love little random things that have the ability to really brighten your day. I've been so stressed with packing up and getting ready to move that I've just felt on edge for a little too long.

Today I was walking through Smith's grocery store and Frank Sinatra was singing

"Call Me Irresponsible" over the loudspeaker. I'm a big BIG fan of Mr. Sinatra.

As I continued pushing, I found myself cart to cart with an older man dressed in his Sunday best singing along with Frank. I couldn't help but give him a grin.

As we passed he smiled and whispered to me, "I just love the good ones" and then kept on singing.

I love the good ones too.

Our little girl is all grown up...

Today is a day that has been dreaded for years by my Father. It is my youngest sister's 16th birthday. My brother CJ is the literal 'baby of the family' although he is most often referred to as the
Man-Child.(See Below to Understand) He is such a stud but be careful... he will re-con you if you aren't on your A-game.





It really is unfair that my family is this good looking.




However, today is Chloe's 16th Birthday!! She is the last of the Stauffer girls to enter the dating world and I just had to giver her a little shout out today. The picture below perfectly explains our individual personalities growing up. (Chloe---you have to know that I REALLY love you because I'm posting a picture from my FAT DAYS!!! :) )


I was always a tom-boy and in this oh-so-unfortunate picture you see what horrible fashion sense I had (have??). Honestly, a bandana and overalls????

Stacie, being all sly putting bunny ears on Megan, is perfect because she was always a little mischievous yet covered it with a smile.
Megan is the showboat. She was always front and center and was constantly cracking us up. Plus she could do military push ups before kindergarten.


And then there's special Sweet Sixteen Chloe. Look at that smile and those braids :) This is the girl that coordinated her hairbrush color to her shirt and scrunchy color for her week at girls camp. My dad goes to HER to ask if his outfit is okay before he leaves the house.
Sometimes, she makes him change several times before he can leave.



HAPPY BIRTHDAY CHLOE! We are so proud of you and how awesome you are. Dating and Driving. Wow. Stay away from dumb boys! And if you want a reaction from the parents, just tell them that if you decide to follow in Mom's footsteps you'll be married in 3 YEARS! I love you Chloe.

Nine Months!!

I seriously can NOT believe we've been married for nine months. We've learned a lot about life, love, and the things that drive each other crazy :) 

 On May 25th it will be a year since we got engaged, time has really flown by and we've had some exciting adventures with hopefully many more to come! 

We move out of our place in less than a week and then we make the 36 HOUR drive back East!! Oh boy.  We went on a hike to celebrate Matt's last days of freedom before the big internship and it was gorgeous.

Happy Mother's Day

Matt and I agree that our Mom's are better than anyone else's.  So on this special day we just want to say Marcia and Janice YOU'RE THE BEST! We love you!!

Matt and Toni's Excellent Adventure

Here's the update of our trip to Vegas/Disneyland. It was way too much fun and I'm sure it will be a time that we'll look back on when we start having little "cookies" and start planning family vacations. We already posted about Vegas and the amazing Juanes so we start with the drive to Anaheim...

Just had to do In 'N' Out

THIS should not be legal. Ridiculous.

Newport Beach. This was happy Matt...before the 

Sunburn really developed. ouch.

We both found our favorite foods. Matt's was obvious...

Mine was the classic frozen banana. Can't pass it up.

Hugh Hefner's girlfriend Holly. Met her in the bathroom

at Space Mountain.

In the tiki tiki tiki tiki tiki room...

   Magical.

On to the next adventure...moving to New Hampshire! Matt has an internship in Boston this summer and we will be making the cross-country DRIVE in about 2 weeks. Recommendations for "tourist"  spots are welcome. So far we're planning Wrigley Field, Nauvoo, and Niagra falls. But there's got to be something from Wyoming to Iowa right?? who knows.

The Fabulous Ashley Marie Jensen Swapp!

happy birthday to ashley swapp!!! 

I just had to give a little tribute to my wonderful friend on her special day! 

especially after the amazing poem she wrote for me on mine*

"THUG LIFE" Ashley

"Married Couple Trips" Ashley

"MIDNIGHT RIDER" Ashley

"PRE-Wedding Night" Ashley

"CINCO DE MAYO" Ashley

"Snow Bunny" Ashley

This girl seriously changed my life.  I was so lucky to meet her and a few other amazing girls during my BYU coed days. We even celebrate our anniversary on the day we met. On this her special day, I feel the need to identify some of the many things Ashley brought to my life.

Because of Ashley Jensen Swapp:

*  I was introduced to ridiculously large purses and, obviously, ridiculously large sunglasses.

*  I tried my first (and last) taste of Garlic Ice Cream.

*  I started wearing earrings again freshman year.

*  I learned of the deliciousness of the vanilla bean frappuccino (coffee free!)

*  I was able to have the BEST time ever in Hawaii! (tribe induction & sharks included)

*  Two words...Lake Powell. Though I think our ears will never be the same. Gross.

*  I was introduced to the oh-so-charming Matthew Cook!

I remember teaching a Sunday School lesson once where it said to ask the class, "What brings happiness to your days?" My very first thought?  Ashley Jensen. Everyone who knows her would agree. She can truly brighten any day and that is only one reason why I am extremely grateful to have her as a friend.

I love ya Rev.

Blogging as we go...

I'm currently sitting in our hotel overlooking Anaheim. We just arrived from Las Vegas where we spent the night in an fabulous room at Mandalay Bay and we saw JUANES!!! Many of you probably don't know of him, he's  pretty famous in the latin world.  The entire concert was in Spanish and no one around us spoke english either! Felt like I was back in Toppenish and Matt had flashbacks of Peru.  It was AMAZING. His music is so passionate and inspiring.  Here are some photos from our exciting night!

Did I mention that Juanes is a sexy beast? Seriously...he really really is.

Next up....Disneyland, the Beach, and possibly an Angels vs. Orioles game. We are having a blast!