BIG BUCK DOWN!!

To many, Friday the 13th is a dreaded day; a day guaranteed to be filled with bad karma, bad luck, and bad juju! Well…....NOT FOR US CAHOONS!!!! WAAAAHHOOOOO!

This year Friday the 13th brought Matt, not only his first buck ever but a large one at that!! I received a phone call today at about 5:45 PM from an ECSTATIC Matt announcing the harvest of ONE HUGE 7 x 8 (or 15 point) BUCK!


Here he is!!!
Close up on the antlers!
Haulin' him across the river! Tough men!
Another close up!
This gives you a little idea of the size of this guy!
Matt and Dane, 2 proud hunters!
You might be a redneck if......

This is just a preview, more pictures and a better update to come!

Man Does Time Fly By!

So I thought that I was really on top of things but as I reflect on all of my "things", I realize I'm not that on top of it!! The biggest example is our blog! I didn't realize how long it had been since I last updated! So just like my last blog, this is going to big a sum of everything we have been up to the last 2 months!!

Well I'll start off with the most important thing......Matt got his deer! His first ever doe and she was quite the doe! It was fun to see all of his time and hard work reaping a reward! He made a perfect shot, double lunging her!! She only went about 20 yards before she expired! You would think that would calm his craving but it has indeed only fueled the fire! He has continued to be diligent in his efforts in hopes to get his buck as well! He has had a lot of opportunities but has passed, he knows the "Big Daddy" is out there....it's only a matter of time!

Matt and Dane with Matt's first doe! This is how the boys hauled her out...what rough and rugged men!
Here he is, as you can tell from Matt's face, this is probably pretty close to the best day of his life!
What a great feeling to know you won't starve and all because of a loving husband's dedication!

Unfortunately I have not had such luck with my hunting ventures. The first day of the season I was given the perfect opportunity.....only to blow it, twice! I had a deer within 20 yards but shot right over her back! I couldn't believe I missed...that is pretty embarrassing, but Matt was quick to lift me up and encouraged me to try again. So far I haven't been successful but the temperature has dropped and the deer are moving!! I have a few days left and I feel good!

Just call me Hunter Woman!
Just hangin' out in the tree stand!

I also had the opportunity to surprise Cass and visit Texas!! I got a phone call from Brad and he said he was going to his high school reunion and wanted to make it up to Cass by surprising her with me!! I was ecstatic and quickly agreed! He was so great, he made all of the arrangements: he told Cass that his old roommate was coming to visit and asked if she could drive the 2 hours to the airport to pick him up! Cass was very good and said she could do that!!

The day finally came and I couldn't wait. When I arrived I called Brad, who then called Cass to tell her where to pick up "Ryan", the old roommate. It was funny because Brad had found out what I was wearing and told Cass to look for the blonde girl in the black shirt because Ryan was right by her. Cass responded, "Well I can see that blonde girl but not Ryan". I had to really wave her down, she probably would have kept driving. When she finally realized what was happening all she could say was, "What is this?". It was such a fun weekend! We went to the outlet stores, th fair and rodeo, the pumpkin patch, and ended with a girl's night out, just Cass and me! It was so fun to see Cass, Brad, and those little kids! I was happy to have been received well by Brylie and Brody! We definately had a lot of fun together!! I loved seeing Cass and just spending time with her!!

Brody with the pumpkins!
Brad, Cass, the kids, and I at the Heart of Texas Rodeo!
Ahhh I love these little babies!
Us at the Pumpkin Patch!
Curious much?

Matt is half way done with this semester and all is going well! He hasn't been nearly as stressed as some of his other semesters......thank goodness! He will be totally done with all of his classes in December, with only an internship in the Winter to go!! We are excited and look forward to graduation! Work has been just fantastic! My team ended #1 for the month of September with a score of 398.4 out of 400! This was pretty awesome, especially being my first official month as a supervisor! This month has been a little crazier but my team continues to perform really well! It is tradition at the call center to decorate for Halloween and this year the theme was 'Movies'. My team chose the movie "Hocus Pocus" and if you were to see our area you would be very impressed. We have recreated the Sanderson Sister's Cottage, complete with the black flame candle and the spell book! I was given the task of making the spell book and have been very pleased with the final product! Friday is the big Halloween day at Melaleuca so I will keep you posted with contest results!!!

This is the final spell book! Pretty fun!

Matt and I are just dandy, as I've said before, we are probably having too much fun! But you won't hear us complain, we are loving it!

The CRAZY month of August!!

Matt and I have been so lucky this month!! It has definately been our month of travel!! We started our adventures on July 17th, when my parents, Abby, and Mac all came to our home!! We had a lot of fun that night and the next day at the Melaleuca picnic! We then headed down to Provo to attend the blessing of my new nephew, Cooper! Matt and I had to leave Sunday because finals were the next week, but after hearing of the exciting events that would be happening the next weekend in Panquitch, UT, we decided to head down for the 24th!! We had such a blast with my family!!! We got home only to prepare to leave 5 days later!!

July 31st, we set out to visit Matt's family in Seattle! After 2 quick flights and a 4 hour layover we finally made it to Seattle! Matt's entire immediate family were able to all get together for this mini Cahoon reunion!! We were able to stay busy in Seattle, hiking to Lake 22, seeing Harry Potter at the IMAX, visiting the Animal Grossology Exhibit at the Science Center, Fondue Night, flying kites downtown, and having a Flip Flops and Lemon Drops tea party with the girls while the boys went shooting!! It was such a blast to be all together for a few days!! We wish we could have stayed longer but we had yet another adventure to get to!!

Here we are hiking to Lake 22!
Matt and I on a bridge during the hike!
This is from the Animal Grossology Exhibit....hilarious exhibit!
Anyone for a treat?
Here we are in front of the Space Needle!
Don't I make quite a lovely insect?
How about Matt?
Here is the fabulous looking food at our Fondue Night!
Matt and I at Iron Works Park in front of Lake Union!!

August 7th, just 2 days after returning from Seattle, Matt and I were off to Boise for a river trip down Hell's Canyon with our good friends, Brannan and Brittany Hoover and his family!! This was the first time I had ever gone rafting and I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous!! I can report, though, that all went well and I might be a little bit addicted to the sport!! We cannot thank the Hoovers enough for inviting us and sharing their family tradition with us!! Not only that but they made us right at home while we were staying there!! How lucky we are to have such wonderful friends and family!! We have probably had too much fun in the last few weeks but are happy to be home and back to normal life!

Here is the whole gang right before we put into the river!
Matt and a small mouth bass he caught!
Brittany and I looking oh so fabulous!
Matt preferred to be out of the boat during the rapids!
Matt in fishing action!!
Brittany and Brannan looking for crawdads!
Here is Matt and Brannan with the huge catfish Matt snagged!!
Here we are on day 3!
This is when we were picking blackberries after we got off the river!
We scored a ton of oranges, soda, and chocolate milk!!
Here are the boys packing up all the soda and milk!!
A little Nacho Libre for ya!!
Matt's geared up and ready for war!
A big thanks to Wayne and Sandy Hoover for hosting and running the river trip!!

While we were on one of our many trips, Matt celebrated his 25th birthday!! It was actually a well celebrated birthday! We made Matt Hello Dollies, also known as Magic Bars, one of his favorite treats! We then went miniature golfing, where I proudly placed 3rd and Matt won!! It was really a good day and I think Matt enjoyed himself! I got his a funny Redneck game for the Wii and I believe he has decided on a GPS for his actual present!!

Miniature golfing for Matt's birthday!
Another picture of us at the golf course!!

After we got home from the river we were excited to have Cass, Brad, Brylie and Brody come to stay with us for a short visit!! It was a lot of fun to see how grown up both of these little guys were and to learn of the new little one on the way!! Everyone went for a walk up to the temple while I was at work and then, after a few rounds of Wii golf and bowling, we headed to the park to feed the ducks and run around!! We ended the evening with a fabulous dinner at Applebees! It was a lot of fun to spend a little time with the Gunnells!! Thanks for coming guys!!

Cute little Brody!
Brylie and her sunglasses!
Gunnells in front of the Rexburg Temple!
Here we are with the Gunnells!

We also celebrated our 2 year anniversary yesterday, the 22nd! As we reflected on the time that we have been married we both felt like it had been a lot longer, not in a negative way though! I think it probably had to do with how long we have known and dated each other! But we both were overwhelmed by how lucky we were to have found someone that fills the gaps in our lives. We were also overwhelmed by how blessed we were to have been married in the temple! Although we are still new to the whole marriage thing, we feel like we have a greater understanding of what marriage is really about because of the covenants we have made to each other and the Lord! I am so happy to have found Matt, he is such a wonderful man and I love him more and more everyday!!

Happy are we!

We are so blessed and grateful for this little life we have started together!

4th of July and Summer Festivities!

Boy has time flown by for us here is Rexburg!! It is definatley because we are having so much fun!! The 4th of July was so much fun! We started the day off with the Rexburg Parade and it was there that we realized how much we like living in a smaller town!! The feeling of patriotism and excitement was literally felt the second you stepped out of the car!! I love parades, no matter how big or small, there is just something about them! After that we went home and got our picnic all put together!! We had an arrangement of fruit, veggies, pasta and treats!! We got together with Adam, Stephanie, Brannan and Brittany and headed down to Idaho Falls to the Festival and Freedom Celebration put on by Melaleuca!! This fireworks show was said the be 1 of the 3 best shows west of the Mississippi so I was super excited to check it out!! Lucky for us one of the girls I work with was working the Celebration and had an extra Family Pass to the reserved seating area!! We got some of the best seats there!!

Here are Matt and I!
Stephanie and Adam!
Brannan and Brittany!

After waiting in line for a good hour or so we headed in!! We had such a blast, eating junk food and playing cards with our friends!! And then the fireworks started!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE fireworks and they definately went to great lengths this year to make this show awesome!! I really enjoyed the commentary and music that went with it!! Normally you just watch the fireworks but the program they had going along with it made it so much more!!

FIREWORKS!

I love this time of year, especially here in little Rexburg! It was a lot of fun, a long day for sure but definately not anything to complain about!!

Matt and I also had the opportunity to go to an Elk farm the other day!! Holy Cow!! Actually Holy Bulls because there were no cows...it was so awesome! We went back with friend of Matt's who feeds and cares for them! They were feeding them and we tagged along!! As lame as this may sound, I saw my first bull Elk in the wild, in person, this last Memorial day weekend and they were far away!! But this experience was amazing because you actually were right next to them!! You could touch them and everything! I didn't get any pictures and only 1 short video because I was so fascinated with them!! I stayed in the truck the whole time but Matt actually got to be out on the tractor! Of course Matt was in his little heaven, which was really fun to watch!!

Life has been really busy with work and school but I don't think we can complain at all! Matt is almost done with his 2nd to last semester, which he is VERY happy about!! I continue to love work! Melaleuca definately takes care of me! In a matter of 2 days last week I "won" a Playstation 3, an iPod Nano, and $50 to Target!! I have the greatest boss' who make sure that we feel appreciated for the work we do! Although I love my job and that is enough for me, I am really grateful for those that go the extra mile anyways!!

Ooooo Aaaaah!!
My fun prizes!

So if you think life for the Cahoons is crazy and exciting enough....my family will be here this week!!!!! I cannot wait!! Matt and I have been so excited to finally get to see family! Plus they get to see our little home, which is something that I have been waiting for!! We also get to go to the Melaleuca Picnic on Saturday...all of us!! And right after that we are heading to Utah to see Shay, Chelsea, Jonas, and little Cooper!! Boy are we excited!!

Oh that Dam Marathon!!

The Teton Dam Maraton to be exact! Every year in Rexburg they have the Teton Dam Marathon around the anniversary of the Teton Dam breaking! So a few months ago a friend of mine, Brittany, asked if I would sign up to run in the Teton Dam Marathon with her and a few months ago it sounded really fun!! So we signed up to do the 10K, 6.2 miles, and set up a training schedule!

I have to explain that I hate to run....hate it!!! You hear that you don't like it until you get into it and then you love it, nope...not me!! I have been where I can run for miles but not once have I ever really liked it! I love how I feel after but not during! So the whole time I was preparing for this I kept asking myself why I signed up!! Well last week it dawned on me that I only had one more week until the actual race and I got a little bit nervous. So this past week I worked really hard to get as much running in as possible! On Wednesday I decided I wanted to give the course a try before the actual race on Saturday!! My goal was to do it in 1 hour and 30 minutes. Now I know that sounds like a weeny of a goal but I felt it was a good goal for me without over doing it! Well I finished on Wednesday in 1 hour and 26 minutes.....totally inside my goal!! So after that run I started to feel more excited than nervous for the race!! The big day came and I had prepared myself every possible way!! I followed all the instructions given to me, made sure I had a good carb filled dinner the night before and a good breakfast about an hour and 1/2 before the actual race!

I met up with Brittany and got all warmed up!! And then we were off!! It is amazing how different it is when you are actually racing, energy was amazing!! I was glad that I had run the course a few days before...I didn't have any surprises! I finished 16 minutes faster than I had run it the Wednesday before, finishing in 1 hour and 10 minutes!! What a cool experience this was!! I was so glad to have been able to accomplish something that I had actually worked hard at!! It was fun to be part of something that big and exciting!

Finishing strong!! WAHOO!

This is me, Brittany, and her mom Cindy!

And this is what I was left with....two big ole blisters!

As silly as this sounds, I think I may just shoot for the half marathon next year! Granted I still don't like to run and who knows what state I may be in a year from now but I definately am considering it!

So a quick update on Matt and I since it has been so long since I last posted! Over Memorial Day Weekend we went up to Henry's Lake and Yellowstone with our friends Brannan and Brittany! The weather wasn't the best but we were able to enjoy some fishing! Yellowstone was amazing as ever! I love it there! We saw a cinnamon black bear eating a fresh kill while we were there! It was probably 25 yds from the road and of course we all had to get out and see! While we were watching it Brannan decided to do a little elk cow call, just to see what the bear would do. The first call the bear looked up, he had definately heard it...the second call he totally stood up and stared right at us! As cool as it was to see him respond, we realized how big he was and decided it was a good time to go!

The fish were spawning and I got a picture of some eggs, I thought it was pretty cool!

This is the cinnamon bear we saw....pretty sweet!

This is almost the whole group in Yellowstone!

Matt fishing away....of course!!

No other big trips or events have happened....we do have an exciting summer planned, if we ever get there!! We have had constant rain for the last 2 weeks or so! I feel like I am back home in Seattle! I won't complain though, we did have some sun peek out quite a bit today!

Work is just fabulous! I love my job, I am having so much fun working with the management! Matt is plugging along in school, bless his heart! He has a pretty decent load this semester but after this it should be an easy ride to graduation! I am pretty sure he only has 2 more classes to graduate but he will be taking 2 additional classes to become GIS certified! Not a tough fall semester for sure! Other than that life is pretty normal! We are continuously having way too much fun!

Our Camping Adventures!

So we had yet another adventure...this time it was a camping adventure!! Two weekends ago Matt and I, along with our friends Brittany and Brannan, headed up towards Mesa Falls to do a little camping! When we got there we hiked a little ways in only to end up in one of the best camping spots ever! It was this little piece of land that jutted just a little...right on the river!



The guys thought it was perfect because fishing was just a skip away and the girls loved it because of how beautiful it was! It was so much fun setting up camp and cooking up an amazing dinner! Brittany was the fabulous cook and we definately did not eat like we were on a camping trip! We had chicken, mushrooms, onions, green peppers...and some other yummy things all marinaded in italian dressing. Then it was cooked over the fire, I don't know about you but food totally tastes better cooked over a fire!



Matt and Brannan had fun hunting and fishing while Brittany and I treated ourselves to a little girl talk! The weekend was so much fun and to top if off we stopped and ate at Big Jud's! Nothing like a huge burger, fries, and a milkshake to complete a camping weekend! We totally ate more than we needed but I don't think any one of would say that we regretted it!! It was awesome food and we were satisfied! It was such a blast and we really enjoyed ourselves!





As now for a quick Cahoon update: Matt just got his bear bait pile set up and is anxious to get his first bear ever with his bow. Most of his time is dedicated to his bow, hunting, and fishing! I love how much he enjoys himself and probable lets him play a little too much sometimes! But I love seeing how excited he gets and how much fun he has...how can you not let a little boy play with his toys? As for me, I am just happy! Work is really really good and I have loved being the supervisor! My team is #2 out of every single team! It has been such a good experience for me and I have loved working with my associates to help them accomplish the goals they have!



The Cahoons are just wonderful, happy as ever! We will hit our 1 year and 9 month wedding anniversary this month, which really isn't a huge amount of time but was just satisfying to think about! There really is nothing better than being able to live, play, and spend eternity with your best friend, and we are grateful for the opportunity!

Adventures of the Cahoons...Episode 1

So our lives are constantly full of crazy adventures, thanks to my oversized child of a husband. We have so much fun and Matt has so much energy we just never slow down, I was thinking our lives would make a pretty awesome movie!

Our latest adventure is a story about 2 little boys, 2 little bows, and a whole lot of fish! It takes place in the dry beds of Rigby, Idaho last Friday. It just happened to be a beautiful spring feelng day and we felt like having a little bit of fun! So we gave our good friends Brannan and Brittany Hoover a call! They were definately up for an exciting day so we gathered our necessary belongings, packed up the car, and headed out for some fun!

When we arrived the "2 little boys" grabbed their "2 little bows" and head down to the river bottoms to do themselves a little fishin'! Yes bowfishing is correct! It's amazing how you seemed to be drawn to the people that you absolutely 100% click with! Not only do Matt and Brannan share their child like love and excitement for the outdoors and extreme sports, Brittany and I have a blast laughing and talking about OTHER NON-HUNTING OR FISHING topics while the boys are busy!

Matt drawing back!
Matt's first snag!

We had so much fun watching these guys attempt and sometimes succeed in their game of bow fishing! I attempted to pull out the fly rod and cast a few out there but by the time I got there the boys had already made their presence known and there was no way that amateur me would ever have a chance. Brittany and I rooted on our husbands until it got a little too chilly for us, then it was off to the car for some non-fishing non-hunting girl talk! Matt and Brannan were in little boy heaven! They ended up snagging 6 fish, all of which were of very approving size!

Matt and Brannan, 2 little happy boys!

We ended the night cooking up some of the fish and hanging out at the Hoover's! Totally fun day and we are glad we have friends like Brittany and Brannan who are crazy enough to allow us to be our crazy selves.

Saturday was a very good day! No better way to start the day then to listen to our prophets and apostles! The first two sessions of conference were awesome!! During the Priesthood session, Brittany and I rented the movie "What Happens In Vegas", which I was honestly a little nervous about! Surprisingly, the movie was pretty clean, thanks to our Clearplay we were able to get rid of the bad language and just when you think bad stuff is going to happen...it doesn't!! Thank heavens! So I liked the movie, probably more so because there could have been a lot of crude stuff in it that wasn't! After Priesthood session, we met up with Adam and Stephanie and went to Applebees for a little date. Afterwards we all met up with Chris and JJ! We played the XBOX 360 and watched The Pacifier! It was a lot of fun to get together with these guys...we haven't all done stuff for a while so it was nice to see them!

Sunday was just as fabulous as Friday and Saturday! The third and fourth sessions of conference were just as amazing as the first two! We learned a lot and are definately grateful for the opportunity we had to watch! After conference it was so nice outside that us and the Hoovers went on a nice walk! We walked around beautiful Rexburg, Idaho and enjoyed good conversation. When we got back Brittany and I made an amazing homemade BBQ Chicken pizza, I guess I should give all the credit to Brittany, all I did was cut up the chicken and onions. It was her recipe and man was it good! After stuffing ourselves with deliciousness we played cards until the wee hours!! We had so much fun and literally laughed until we were told to be quiet!!