Life in Vernal

Oh boy...well we've been Vernal residents for going on 4 months now and I guess we can't complain too much. I don't love it here at all but it could be worse. I love that I don't have to worry about a 45 min drive home anymore, or taking I-15 to get anywhere. I love that everything is less than 10 min away....but when I say "everything" that doesn't mean much...we have Walmart...Kmart...Smiths...and a few other things....so my weekends that I used to spend shopping no longer happen :( Although I have saved some money since moving here, it makes for boring weekends. So other than the lack of entertainment, shopping and restaurants....its good :) Spencer is loving his job so that makes it definitely worth it. Emaya loves school and her and Jaxyn have even made some really good friends next door so they definitely don't get bored and love the freedom of walking to their friends house. As for me, I am actually really liking my job. The girls I work with are great and the customers are awesome. Who knew I'd enjoy talking with new people each day considering I tend to get annoyed by others easily lol.
Let's see....we've booked another cruise but this time we're going to the Bahamas!! And we're going with a group of great friends! I can't wait. It is always nice to have a week without worries and endless sun! We are leaving in June and we'll stay a few days in Miami! I think this should be pretty cool since we're going with some good friends, we got lucky last time and made some awesome friends but this time we'll have a group to do all the excursions with. I'm counting down the days....it's coming fast....which means I have to lose weight...AGAIN! Yep...since we moved and I spent about 6 weeks in a hotel for work in SLC eating fast food every day for every meal I put on a lot more weight than I'm proud to say :( So time to do get back on my strict diet! I want to lose about 30 lbs in the next 3 months....totally do-able...as soon as I can get myself going. I am actually starting the diet tomorrow....wish me luck on that!
Also tomorrow is mine and Spencer's 5 year anniversary! We've been together for 9 years total! Time flies! He is a wonderful man, he does so much for us and works so hard to provide the best life for us, and the kids couldn't ask for a better daddy! Never would've thought I'd be living the life I am now as happy as I am...thanks to Spencer!
I feel really bad that all of my posts anymore are just catching up and recapping what's gone on the last few months, but I just totally forget I have a blog and days like today when I'm feeling like crap and not at work I get so bored sitting at home I finally find some time to catch up. One day I think I'll be able to write regularly.
So I'm posting some pics of what we've been up to lately, I haven't really taken as many as I'd like so I'll get better at that too lol.

I'm Alive!

/+So I seriously forgot about my blog. I haven't even looked at it in months. Pretty sure nobody noticed but it's all good. I just got a new laptop so I'm hoping this fun new toy will allow me to get better at this whole blogging thing.
Since June SO much has happened......where shall I start....
Well...Emaya turned 5 and is now in Kindergarten!! Can you believe that??? She is 5 going on 16, she has the attitude to prove it. I don't know what I'm going to do with that girl, she is just like her mommy :) Jaxyn turned 3 in September. Love that little boy. He's got a little bit of a lazy eye so he's got glasses now to see if that will help but we are having a hard time getting him to wear them.
In September we went to California to visit family. We got to see our new nephew Michael. He is adorable! Lofi makes the cutest mommy ever and all her sisers and brother are such good helpers. We also got to see some of my family. After years I finally caught up with my Uncle Ed and Aunt Lenore, it was soooo nice to spend some quality time with them. We also got to go to Disneyland!!!! It was a blast!! The kids were in awe the whole time. As they get older these things are just so much more fun. We left Lexy with grandma and Uncle Chris since she's too young to really enjoy it.
Soon after we got back from Cali we had a big change happen. Spencer got a promotion!! It is an awesome raise and opportunity for our family....but....we had to move...to VERNAL!! I thought I was out of the small town for good...but I was wrong lol. We have our house empty and on the market and are hoping to either rent it out or sell it soon. We are renting a big beautiful home here in Vernal and the kids are loving it. They love the freedom of running around outside, its so different for them because we are nowhere near a road and they are free to roam and play as they want. It's great. There's not a ton to do out here but I'm sure we'll adjust and find things....once we can get used to this FREEZING weather.
I didn't have a job out here when we moved so I was living in SLC during the week and working and coming home on the weekends. I have done that for the past month...it's rough. But luckily I got the job as the new Personal Banker at the Wells Fargo here and I actually start tomorrow. My fingers are crossed that I catch on quick and do well here since we get bonuses if we are good.
Thanksgiving was this week....it was so much fun. We had Mark and Tiff and the girls with us since Wednesday and we had Rob and Maida here for a few days as well. The kids had so much fun with their grandma and grandpa and their cousins. It was sad to see them go....now the weekend is over and time for normal life to resume. I am looking forward to working in Vernal and coming home every night and living a normal life. Now I can finally "live" here and start to make a life here....until the next promotion :)
Ok, the kids are getting antsy since I'm not paying attention to them...better go be mom for a while. I'll update soon and pics too!

Life is a Beach!

Alright, I know we went on our cruise almost a month ago, but it is not easy for me to find time to get on here to tell everyone how wonderful our trip was! I could seriously get addicted to beach vacations like that! The weather was PERFECT, the water was 80 degrees and the sand was white, soft and beautiful! It was paradise. I have TONS of pictures that I will post but I'll give you a recap of our wonderful trip, one post at a time :)!
Well our flight to Tampa was about 6 hours long...we left bright and early 6:30 AM and was in Tampa headed to our cool hotel by 4:20 PM. The second we walked out of the airport the humidity hit us like a ton of bricks! I couldn't believe that people could even live in those conditions LOL. I literally felt like I couldn't breathe. But after a few hours I was used to it. We waited for Rachel and Matt to get in from Louisiana but they ran into awful traffic and didn't get in until after midnight so Spencer and I spent the evening at the Tampa mall drooling over the expensive Prada, Gucci, Chanel...purses, jewelry, clothes and stuff at Saks....then we went to a movie to burn some time, we saw Date Night, that is a pretty cute movie after the movie we walked around Tampa a bit, went to the liquor store and then ordered some pizza and watched TV in our big comfy bed at the Intercontinental Hotel!
The next morning we finally got to see Rachel and Matt...it was the first time I'd seen her in 10 years! She is still as itty bitty as she was 10 years ago LOL. We talked a bit, ate breakfast then after we headed to the port to check in and hop aboard our fun ship! If you could've seen our faces when we all saw the ship you would've laughed, we were amazed! We had never seen a cruise ship before and had no idea how huge it would be. As we were walking to the check in I got anxiety all of the sudden...what if I forgot my birth certificate? What if I lost my paperwork or ID? What if we get turned away for some reason?? But we moved right on through the lines with no problem and was on the ship within 40 minutes of getting to the port. By noon we were sitting on the Lido deck enjoying a daiquiri! It was super hot and people were eating at the buffet, other's were smart and were already in their swim suits and laying on the deck gettin some sun. We just walked around and took a tour and was amazed at the fact that we were in Florida, on a ship, getting ready to head into the Carribbean!
We sat around for a while, and got everything moved into our rooms and was settled and grabbed some lunch by about 3 then we walked up to the top to get a good spot to watch as we departed Tampa and set sail. It was amazing to see the land get further and further away and slowly see nothing around us but pure blue ocean! Once we were out for a while, the music started, the drinks were flowing and the fun began....
so I don't have time to finish and the site is not letting me upload pics as fast as I'd like....so I promise I will get on ASAP and finish the story and post some more pics(as if there are even people reading this LOL)

Family Pics!!!

Well thanks to the talented Clique Photography and an awesome contest we won, we got some wonderful family pictures taken about a month ago! I know it's taking me forever to update and get things on here, but give a girl a break! I have 3 kids, a full time job and a house to run! :) So not much more to say than these guys were great to work with and they did a great job! We will definitely be getting more pictures done with them in the future and I strongly recommend anyone else who is wanting to get some done give these guys a call!!

The Countdown is over!!!

Woot Woot!!! The countdown is over, the day is finally here..well pretty much! We are leaving in the morning for Florida so we can hop aboard the Carnival Inspiration on Saturday!! I am sooooo excited! Seems like time has gone by so fast, I can't believe it's already here....so I guess I can update everyone on life the past month or so since I've slacked big time in the blogging department....
Ummm...ok, #1: Weight Loss: Since my last post about my weight loss I have dropped another 16 lbs! A grand total of 36 lbs since January and about 75 lbs in about a year . Exciting right?! I'm pretty happy. I had a goal weight in mind, and I did not make it though :( I am about 5 lbs away from it, not too far, so I am still stoked and proud of myself. How did I drop the last 16 lbs? No, it was not exercise and sensible diet...I felt a time crunch and resorted in a drastic diet. I did the HCG diet, for those of you who are familiar...WOW, it is rough. Not sure I would do it again. I know it works, i dropped not only 16 lbs but about 11 inches off of my body. It really works, but it is the most mentally challenging diet I have ever done. I thought 500 calories a day would be the hard part, but I almost NEVER ate the full 500 calories...was it because I wasn't hungry?? NO, it was because I was SOOOO tired of dry chicken and gross veggies...ugh, the thought of cucumbers makes me dry heave! BLAH! LOL. I'm glad I did it, it made swim suit shopping much more fun and I actually bought shorts! Yes, I said it, SHORTS...I haven't worn shorts in 6 years!!! I wear them now and don't think twice about it. I'm not skinny by any means, but I'm more comfortable in my own skin and that's what matters. I'm crossing my fingers I don't gain much back while on the cruise with all the food I can eat 24 hours a day...guess we'll see.
ok...ummm #2: the rest of my life :) Not much extremely exciting has been going on. Life has been busy with work, soccer and just having 3 small kids. In March I had the opportunity to travel to San Francisco for work. It was awesome. I've never been flown somewhere for work before. I felt like such a grown up LOL. I only got to catch a glimpse of all that San Fran has to offer and it has definitely made me want to go back with Spencer and the family. I may be travelling to North Carolina for work in the near future since the position I hold at work has me working with teams in that location and my boss is there also, I'll finally get to meet my boss.
We(me, Spencer and my mom) all just had our birthdays in the past week and a half...nothing too exciting there....not near as exciting as it was when I was a kid :) But that's ok, Lexy will be turning 1 in 2 weeks!!! Can you believe that? Where has the past year gone? I have her birthday party all planned out, just a BBQ at our house and she has the cutest lil outfit she'll be wearing....I will have plenty of pics!Everything else that has gone on the past few months kind of blends in, nothing too exciting sticks out....
So we will be back from paradise in a week, I will be sure to post PLENTY of pics! And Lexy's birthday party is in 2 weeks and I will also have TONS of pics of her cute lil outfit :)

Check out this website!!

Hey everyone! So a new friend of mine began doing my nails and showed me her wedding pics and I fell in LOVE with them! They are amazing and I am dying to have these people take my family pictures! So I thought I'd share with everyone the name of the studio and direct you to their site to check it out for yourself! I'm also attempting to win a free mini session...so not only am I helpin you out by showing you who to call the next time you want some wonderful pics taken...but I'm tryin to help myself out a little :)
So...it's Clique Photography and here is their site: http://www.clique-photography.com/ their blog is also on my friend list...check em out!!!

I'll be back soon with some more posts...I broke my camera a while back so I really don't have any pics to post and I know that's all anyone cares to see anyways! :) But as soon as I get some time I'll update everyone on life and Easter and everything else going on at the Mataele household!!!

Update...continued

***UPDATE***
Ok, so due to your requests, I have taken a pic of my current self. It's not the greatest since it's in my bathroom with my telephone LOL. And also..I HATE taking pics of myself...I feel like an idiot..none the less...here is a current pic.