Misc

Hey everyone,

I figured I'd send an update since it's been a while. I can't say I have any significant news (like a surprise wedding), I don't have a picture of me in a cool cowboy hat, and, although I do have a lot of stories of things my sisters did to me as a kid, I'd be opening a can of worms going there cuz they've surely got some stories of stuff I did to them....

I've been back from leave for about a month now. I was originally scheduled to go in July, but through an unexpected sequence of events, I was able to swap with a guy for a date that would get me home during our 13th wedding anniversary. I know it's not a significant one, like 10, 25, or 50. Those even have precious metals associated with them, if I'm not mistaken. What is associated with 13 years anyway, paper, plastic...who knows? (I bet Mom knows...) It's significant nonetheless. In any event, I surprised Ashley and the boys by coming home on May 28th. I got a lot of help from Julianne and Meredith. I had to keep it on the DL so I told as few people as possible. Julianne convinced Ashley to get dolled up and go to SLC for a girl's shopping trip. I knew that she wanted to look her best when I came home, and we had to give her a reason to dress up. While there, they had lunch at a restaurant where Julianne had informed the workers about what we were planning. They agreed to let me in through the service entrance so I could get to the kitchen without being seen. Anyway, I was carted directly from the airport to the restaurant where I brought out her dessert in my ACU's. She was totally shocked. It was great! I'm glad it all came together.

We stayed in the Anniversary Inn that night and surprised the kids the next day (thanks Meredith!).
Ashley told them she had a surprise for them and when I first walked in the room, Ryan thought "so Matt shaved his head and gained some weight, big deal...". Then he realized it was me. (For the record, I don't think we look that much alike...)


Our friend Julianne took some family pics of us while I was there (Dixie's part of the family too....). I was rockin' the fumanchu since I didn't have to wear a uniform for 18 days. Charlie's hair is a little long for my tastes, but we had to compromise. I'm sure he thinks his parents cramp his style. (I think he wants to look like one of the Jonas brothers).

This is Cody and a couple members of his kickball team (the guy on the left is his coach, not a really big 5 year old). Cody's so tiny compared to the other kids his age. He'll probably hit a growth spurt in his teenage years and end up being as big as his coach.

I got sent home from school one day with a shiner on my eye......
Fightin' was against the rules and it didn't matter why......
Actually, this isn't the result of a fight. I caught an elbow playing basketball on Friday. The swelling has gone down significantly but I still have some "purple eye shadow" on my eye. I get tons of looks from folks everywhere I go. I guess they think I got beat up or something. I just tell them they should see the other guy.

I'd like to post more pictures but it takes forever to upload them and, frankly, I don't have that many. I do apologize to those of you who have seen some of these pics before; I had to post them here for the benefit of those who have not yet embraced Facebook. I thought about getting a shot of me and all the guys in the shop laying on our backs with our heads together (inspired by Meredith, of course) but it's just not very manly.

I hope everyone is doing well. I love you all!