Our First Hunting Experience!!

Well it has been a while since we last update our blog and quite a bit has happened!!! I turned 24 on the 16th and had a wonderful birthday!! I got the movie P.S. I Love You and lots of spoiling from Matt!! It is funny as you get older, at least for me, I lose interest in getting things for my birthdays! Really all I wanted was a day of relaxing and hanging out with Matt! Plus the movie............which I absolutely love!!

Next, Matt and I were able to go down to Utah a couple of weeks ago to celebrate my grandparents 60th anniversary as well as my grandma's 80th birthday!! It was a lot of fun to see family that I haven't seen for a long time! We really enjoyed ourselves and the little break from real life!
This is us at Cedar Breaks!
It was definately a beautiful ride home from Utah!
As many of you may not know, I had to become a resident of Idaho because I had to change my name from Allen to Cahoon. This was really hard for me because they make you give them your old license. So I had to say farewell to my Oregon license, that had a very nice picture which rarely happens on drivers licenses. Anywho, Matt took advantage of this because he is not a resident here so to get a hunting license and deer tag would cost him close to $600! So I was the one who got the hunting license and deer tag!! I must say I am pretty excited about this, I grew up with a dad who was way into hunting and I really like venison(deer meat). So Matt had spent all of this time planning our first hunting trip for this past weekend and we both were pretty excited!! I was able to get half of the day off so we could leave earlier, we checked the weather a million times and packed up and headed off!

Basically long story short, we got up to the mountains and set up camp and got to bed early. It rained that first night but not too bad and it made for a great morning!! It wasn't cold or anything, just really nice so we began our hunt! We were camped so high that really the only thing up that high were elk so we decided to hike down further into the woods to get to a lower point. We ended up hiking about 4 miles in, and I now know it is possible to be going up hill both ways...because we were!! Mind you this is the largest wilderness area in the lower 48 states...true blue wild wilderness! After we had reached a fairly low point we heard this low rumbling noise, something I had never heard but Matt had once!! He immediately told me to get my rain gear on and within 15 seconds of putting on my rain gear we were standing in a huge monsoon type storm!! Rain and hail were falling so hard it felt like we were being pushed into the ground!! Now remember, we were 4 miles deep in forest in the top of the mountains, let me tell you that is not somewhere you want to be with thunder and lightening surrounding you!! Obviously we started to hurry back the way we came but every tiny little trail or path had now turned into a rushing river of water!! Within 2 minutes of the storm coming Matt and I were absolutely soaked, through our rain gear and everything!! It took us a good 2 hours or so to make it back, raining the whole way too! When we finally got back to camp we realized that we were actually blessed by not getting a deer while down there because it would have taken us a lot longer to get back if we had to hall a 100+ pound deer!! So we cleaned up camp and moved to a different area, set up camp, only to finish just in time for another storm!! This time we woke up to a few inches of snow......it was quite the experience!! We really did enjoy ourselves though if you would have asked us in the moment we probably would have said something different!!! Although we had no success we had a fun adventure and the general seasons have yet to open so we haven't lost hope yet!
Here we are on the first night...happy and dry!!
I wish I had a bunch of pictures to post but the only pictures we have are from the very first night before anything had happened...as you can imagine we weren't too thrilled about pulling the camera out anythime after that!!

These are the few pictures we got of where we were!!

I LOVE My Husband!

So this week Matt is out of town for work and I am having a little bit of a hard time not having him around. This is the first time we have been apart since we've been married and it's funny because I would be totally fine being alone before we were married, now I hate it!! Although it has been tough being without him I am grateful for this because it has really helped me see how much Matt does for me, both in material things and in spirit. That may seem silly but Matt really makes me feel like I am someone special and not having him here has made me realize how much I really love and rely on him. How lucky I am to have found the greatest man so early and have been lucky enough to call him mine for so long!! I am so proud of his hard work as well as his ability to have fun through it all! I love you so much Matt!

One Year Down and Ready For Another!!!

Happy Anniversary Us!!! Matt and I celebrated our 1st anniversary on Friday the 22nd!! Holy Canoly I cannot believe how the time flies!! Although its not weird to have been married for a year since Matt and I have been together for almost 7 years, it is weird how fast it has gone by!! I can still remember the first time Matt and I hung out, our first date, all of our firsts like they all happened last week. But I can tell you that I am so happy to have had all of those firsts now including our first marriage anniversary with Matt!!! What an exciting life I have because of his fun, outgoing, and adventurous personality!!! It really has been a magnificent ride so far!! As awesome as it would be to tell you of our fabulous first anniversary and all the exciting activities we did....it didn't quite work out that way!! At three o'clock in the morning on Friday, I woke up and headed to work to board a bus down to Salt Lake for the Melaleuca Covention. This was the only day I was able to go to convention and Matt had to work all day anyways so we just decided we would do something when I got home around 7 o'clock!! Well I got home at about 7:30 PM only to find that Matt was not home!! I thought he might have gone fishing while he waited for me to get home but instead he had to stay late at work to finish a project! I thought I would take advantage of this time so I made chocolate covered strawberries and deviled eggs and bought some bubbly! I tried to make it as nice as possible for him when he got home! So finally at 9:30 PM Matt made it home!! Neither of us realized that the night would start so late but we thought we should make the most of it!!! So at 10:00 at night we headed out to Wingers for a late dinner and it was a good idea let me tell you!! I had the best steak I think I have ever had at a restaurant!! Then we rented a movie...at midnight or so and enjoyed our treats at home!!
So we didn't have some amazing grande anniversary but we both had a good time just hanging out and being together!! That is one thing I love about our relationship, we are okay with just hanging out and talking!!! We are happy to be together and have loved this first year of marriage and look forward to the billions after!!!

THIS IS A LONG ONE SO HOLD ON TIGHT!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MATT!!


FIRST, and foremost I have to say Happy Birthday this 14th day of August to the most handsome and fantastic man on the planet!! Matt turned 24 today!!! Gettin' old! It has been the best first year of marriage and I know it's because of the man I married!! Matt is such a fun and outgoing person who always makes life exciting and interesting!! We have had soo many good times and on his day today I want him to know how much I love him and how proud I am of him!! Happy Birthday Matt, I love you!!!

We have been sooo horrible with our updates and I am soo sorry!! A lot has been happening around the Cahoon household and we have just been crazy busy!! I have recently undertaken the responsibility of Team Lead at work..therefore I am a little bit busier than normal. And Matt got a full time job with a painting company that takes a lot of his time as well. Although we have a lot going on we still manage to have a good time!!

To start out where we left off....a couple of weeks ago we took a little vacation to Yellowstone with our good friends, Emily and Trevor!! I was super excited because I hadn't been to Yellowstone since I was little and so I didn't remember a whole lot!! We started out the weekend going horseback riding and I LOVED IT!!!! This was Matt's very first time on a horse and I think he was a little bit nervous!! Once we got all settled and were off he definately picked it up!! It was so much fun! Matt has decided that it would be okay if one day we had some horses...I like the idea!! We got to hang out with the horses afterwards...they had a little baby that was soo cute!! We had such a blast!!

This is Matt on Amigo!
Here we all are on our horses in the forest!
This is Matt and I with all of the horses afterwards!
Isn't she so pretty?!?! The horse!!
Here are the Perkes! Trevor and Emily!!
This was such an awesome waterfall!!
Cute Trevor and Emily!
On our way to Yellowstone!!
One of the many buffalo we saw while we were there!
The wives catchin' some rays while the husbands fish!
Look at these cute boys!
Good Morning!
Nothin' like s'mores for breakfast!!
All of these elk just hang out during the day here. And let me tell ya, there are tons of people that are walking around and it doesn't even phase the elk! It was cool!

After that we were off to Yellowstone!! We had a super fun time, looking at animals and enjoying the beautiful scenery!! The geysers were super cool!! We also got be around a ton of Elk that just happen to hang out in the town!! It was such an awesome experience for us! It was fun to camp out and play for a weekend!! We stayed even for church on Sunday..it was neat to be able to attend church while we were there!!

When we got back...Rexburg was hosting the International Dance Festival, a festival where dancers from all over the world came to share and celebrate their different cultures. I was totally sucked in, I looked like a tourist as I snapped all my pictures. They had a big dance after the parade so my friend Emily and I stuck around to dance a little!! The boys went off and did boy things while we rocked out and had a great time!

This is Emily's booth at the parade.


It was a fun night and as I got into the car there on the floor in a plastic bag was a rabbit that my sweet husband ILLEGALLY shot. He wanted to skin it...of course!! I laughed, knowing Matt so well, and allowed him to skin it!! We then had the great idea to give it a little try. So off to the store we went to buy some marinade!! It actually turned out really well! We cooked it probably a little long but it was good, tasted like chicken!! Another adventure I probably would have never experienced if I hadn't found my dear Matt!
Here Matt is with his illegal prey.
The boys in the skinning process!
The final result!
And the final final result! It looks pretty fancy doesn't it!!

We are still having a blast here in ole Rexburg! Tonight we are going out to celebrate Matt's birthday and I am sure we will have more pictures and fun stories to add!!!

Melaleuca Picnic!!

So this last weekend turned out to be really really fun!! On Saturday Matt and I went to a work picnic, the Melaleuca Picnic, and it was amazing how big it was!! Each day I learn more about the company that I work for and the big wig behind it and I am so impressed by how well he treats his employees. At the picnic they gave away 25 Wii's, trampolines, bikes, tents, a Carribean cruise, a trip to Disneyland...ya know just a few small prizes!!!!

This is me with 1 of I think 10 fully roasted pigs...they were amazing!!
This is Matt and I with our good friends Trevor and Emily Perkes!! I look kinda stinky, I wasn't ready for the pic!!

Here we are again!!

Matt and I won a $40 giftcard to both the Texas Roadhouse Grill and Jakers, a nice grill as well. Plus we won 2 tickets to the movies!!! They had unlimited food, cotton candy, snow cones, soda, basically anything you wanted they had. We played some volleyball and hung out with friends. It was super fun and I can honestly say that I really like my job! So since we were already in Idaho Falls and we don't go out there too often because of gas prices, we made Saturday our date night as well!! We went and saw the movie Iron Man, which we loved, and then we went to Jakers and were able to get $20 meals each....wahoo!!! We really had a fun time together!!

These are the cute girlies on my team at work! Meagan, Amanda, me, and Tina

Other than that, Matt finished his last final on Friday, passing every single one of his classes. I was so proud of him and his diligence with school!! This semester he managed 17.5 credits...which is a huge work load. But there were very few times he complained and even then it really wasn't that bad. I am glad that he as come so far and it will be a nice little break for him! Work is going great with me. I am now acting as Team Lead while our actually Team Lead is out on maturnity leave. This may not seem to be that big of a deal but I have only been there for a little over two months, so for me it was a HUGE deal!! But I like the responsibility, it reminds me of managing the beauty supply, before it went all corporate, back when it was fun!!

Me and my cute husband on our little date!!

We are going horse back riding this weekend and I can't wait. Matt has never been on a horse before and I can't wait for him to have that experience. I love it and I am sure he will. So stay tuned for those fun pictures!!

Our 4th of July Weekend!

So this past holiday weekend was super fun...the one thing we forgot to do was take very many pictures!!! We were so busy playing we just didn't think about it!!! Friday we got together with our good friends, Angel and Jessica, and we had a yummy breakfast!! Then it was off to the river to play!! When we got there Jessica and I were the tough chicks...jumping into the freezing cold water first!!! It took the guys WAY longer to finally make the jump!!


Here Jessica and I show the boys how it's done!


This is Matt and Angel FINALLY jumping into the river, I took 3 videos before they actually made the plunge!!

This is cute little Adrian (Angel and Jessica's little boy) in his giant swim diaper! This is Jess and I making the plunge! This is Matt jumping into the river!! Then we headed to Rigby Lake and played there until it was late!!! After Rigby Lake we to the Rexburg Temple grounds to watch all of the fireworks around the area!! It was a ton of fun just relaxing and hanging out!!! Saturday we had a huge water balloon capture the flag war where the girls KICKED BUTT!!! We did a girls vs. boys and they totally thought it was going to be a piece of cake.....they were wrong and ended up losing!!! We seriously are so exhausted because we have been playing constantly since then!!! Sunday we got together with Angel and Jessica again and had dinner!! Then us girls made an AMAZING dessert...our own version of Strawberry Shortcake!!! It was super delicious!! Here we are in the process of making our dessert and then the final product and no Jessica is not flipping us off, that just happened to be the finger she was licking at the time!! Pretty good for made up huh!! I also wanted to show this picture of Matt and Adrian!! Matt is so good with little kids and it was super cute because Adrian zonked on Matt's shoulder!! It was a really fun weekend and we are so glad to have such good friends to go and play with!!

Did we fall off the face of the Earth....Nope!

So I realized that it has been forever since I last updated our blog!!! I have been super busy and then when I get some down time I am so pooped I don't want to do anything!! Anywho!! So two weeks ago Matt and I went down to California to the Cahoon Family Reunion at Disneyland!! We were so excited that we were able to make the trip!! We got there Wednesday night and crashed...then on Thursday we swarmed the beach and had a blast!! There some pictures from the beach....we don't have pictures from Disneyland yet, we lost our camera the day of Disneyland so we had to use other peoples cameras and therefore we don't have those pictures at this point!! We need to just email people but then again I am lazy!! But we really had a blast! I went to California Adventure for the first time and I loved it!! We had a crazy experience on the Tower of Terror.....the ride stopped in the middle of the action and they escorted some girl off the ride.....we have no idea why......it was super crazy but we did get to ride it twice so that was a bonus!!! It was really fun spending time with the Cahoons!! I am so lucky to have married into such an awesome family.....I come from an awesome family and I married into an awesome family! What a spoiled little brat I am :P!!!

Jake, me, Matt, Jann, and Grandma Cahoon

This is me in front of California Adventure!

Things are going well for Matt and I here in Rexburg!! I won $250 buck a roos at work for selling a lot of specials and Matt was able to get his shotgun!!! So now he is as happy as a little boy in mud!!! I am glad that he has these little hobbies to keep us entertained!! I have yet to decide how to spend that $250, I am such a cheap I put it straight in the bank but I am determined to spoil myself just a little!! We'll see if that really happens!!! So this is our update.....tomorrow is the 4th of July and we have some pretty exciting plans!! My work puts on a huge fireworks show in Idaho Falls, it is said to be the biggest firework show west of the Mississippi so we'll take tons of pictures!!!!!