Flower surprise

So i keep forgetting but my mom sent me FLOWERS!! it was such a surprise. I came into the living room and the mail man must of put them inside our apartment. Travis says "depending on who these are from someone might be dead" but they weren't from any past stalkers just my loving mother. She and my dad were so proud of me for passing my test!

Surprise

The first 3 people to leave me a comment on this entry gets a free gift from me this year. I am in the mood to serve and give. So if you read this and post i will be giving you a gift this year out of no where so ready set GO

Hooray VICTORY

I passed the proficiency test finally. I am so glad. i honestly felt the lift off my shoulders. If you don't know what the proficiency exam i have been struggling with i will explain if you do know what it is you can skip the following paragraph
: I am taking this class called Assessments and Evaluation. It is the hardest class in the ECSE major and the ECSE major is the hardest major on campus thus making it the hardest class at BYUI (i swear there was a study through advising) so this class all about testing students and diagnosing them with disabilities. It includes all sorts of statistics and norms that are incredibly difficult to understand because there are a thousand different things that effect the outcome. So if you know my deep anxiety when it comes to testing you can only imagine an entire class on it. Also to add even more to the situation i really don't approve of assessments and labels so i really hate the subject. Oh it is life.
Anyways so i had to get 90% and i got a 77%,80%,81%,86.5%,83%,88%, then finally a 90!%!!!! yay 7th times a charm.

I was so glad my teacher worked with me one on one to help me. I made him this candy poster. If you can't read it good enough it says "Brother Cloward, don't "SNICKER" but i wanted to Thank you "MOUNDS" for all your help. you helped me "SKCOR" my best, i wanted to "ROLO"ver and die but you we happy to "TAKE 5" and help me out. My heart and soul rand out in a SYMPHONY" thanks again Courtney Mattoon" I was, am and will always be a brown noser thanks to my mother. ha ha and its something i will pass down to my own children i am sure. but now i can finally concentrate on much more than the percentiles represented by standard deviation.
This week has been a great one full of sunshine and treats. Me and Travis went out to Applebees to celebrate, i made chicken squares for dinner and we ate cheesecake and tapioca pudding (on separate nights) All the snow is melting and its hopefully warming up. I can see that spring is here! yay

Happy Valentines day

I made these valentines for my friend Jennifer's kids for valentines day. I wanted to do a service for her and her family so i decided to make the kids' class valentines. They turned out really cute i had a lot of fun making them and then made matching boxes for each kid.



I made this for her little girl going to preschool. I made the box all pink and girly. I made little butterflys that fluttered when you shook the sucker stick



This one was my favorite i made little airplanes out of a stick of gum to mints and a pixy stick then for the box i made a little airport run way.



Last i made aliens and a space ship box. I used my sewing machine to make the mouth and it was fun to sew paper. i will have to post what i am have been sewing love it

Hope you have a wonderful Valentines day!
PS i still haven't past my test and i am dying i just want to get a 90% for crying out loud!!

Oh the things i have seen in the past 2 weeks

Man it has been a long time since i posted!! this is unlike me!! but it has seemed that nothing in my life has really transpired besides STUDYing!! wow this weekend holds some sort of fate for me. I have to pass a proficiency exam to be able to complete this class called assessments!! duh duh dun!! if you know me at all you know i struggle with test taking so enough said about that one.
Another thing that is note worthy. We now have a child!! Its name is Spooner:

This is Travis baby. I now come Third. Sports, spooner, courtney!! just kidding
Also i have thought i was prego my eggo but i saw this

negative
But it sure has made me think about what if i was and how me and trav would make room for a little one in our busy lives. I am still on birth control but this would have been one of those miracle one percenters!!



finally i have started working out. I still don't have a clue what i am doing but i am trying my best. I called the elliptical the oblictical and described it as not the running thing and not the stair thing but the thing you do both at the same time. I put a picture of this old lady on here because i probably act a lot more like her than you think. I think my heart rate was like 209!! man i am pathetic!!

We hope everything is going wonderful with everyone else!! have a great presidents weekend!!

99 things

Here are the rules: Bold the things you’ve done and post on your blog!

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band - at the EMP!!
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris- 1/2 way
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been a passenger on a motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Kissed a stranger at midnight on New Year’s Eve
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Got a tattoo
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

Happy Birthday

Today is my wonderful husband's 23 birthday. I am so glad he was born. I am even more happy of the choices he has made in those 23 years. I am lucky to have him as my husband, my best friend and some day the father of our children. Here are a couple pictures of travis growing up!


This i my all time favorite baby picture. Look at those big brown eyes


what a goof!! i sure hope our kids are this adorable


Such a stud!



And last a picture of him and Tom on his mission to Phoenix, Arizona

Happy Birthday Travis I love you so much!!

you know you are from the Pacific Northwest if...

I got this in an e-mail but since my great love of Seattle i had to post it!!

The Pacific Northwest According To Jeff Foxworthy

1. You know the state flower (Mildew)

2. You feel guilty throwing aluminum cans or paper in the trash.

3. Use the statement 'sun break' and know what it means.

4. You know more than 10 ways to order coffee.

5. You know more people who own boats than air conditioners.

6. You feel overdressed wearing a suit to a nice restaurant. (or to the symphony!)

7. You stand on a deserted corner in the rain waiting for the 'WALK' signal.

8. You consider that if it has no snow or has not recently erupted, it's not a real mountain.

9. You can taste the difference between Starbucks, Seattle 's Best, and Tully¢s.

10. You know the difference between Chinook, Coho and Sockeye salmon.

11. You know how to pronounce Sequim, Puyallup , Issaquah , Oregon , Yakima and Willamette .

12. You consider swimming an indoor sport.

13. You can tell the difference between Japanese, Chinese and Thai food.

14. In winter, you go to work in the dark and come home in the dark while only working eight-hour days.

15. You never go camping without waterproof matches and a poncho.

16. You are not fazed by 'Today's forecast: showers followed by rain,' and 'Tomorrow's forecast: rain followed by showers.'

17. You have no concept of humidity without precipitation.

18. You know that Boring is a town in Oregon & Washington and not just a state of mind.

19. You can point to at least two volcanoes, even if you cannot see through the cloud cover.

20. You notice, 'The mountain is out' when it is a pretty day and you can actually see it.

21. You put on your shorts when the temperature gets above 50, but still wear your hiking boots and a parka.

22. You switch to your sandals when it gets about 60, but keep the socks on.

23. You have actually used your mountain bike on a mountain.

24. You think people who use umbrellas are either wimps or tourists.

25. You buy new sunglasses every year, because you cannot find the old ones after such a long time.

26. You measure distance in hours.

27. You often switch from 'heat' to 'a/c' in the same day.

28. You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit under a raincoat.

29. You know all the important seasons: Almost Winter, Winter, Still Raining, and Road Construction

30. You actually understood these jokes

CONGRATULATIONS

i have a belly button.

New hair

I dyed my hair back to its original color yesterday and i love it. It's been a little weird going from blonde back to brunette but i really like it. Yay for a new change and a good experience at Evan's beauty college.

PLEASE give me something to blog about...

Wow has my life been uneventful the last 2 weeks. I have a feeling it will spark up again soon but as for now i am just wishing and waiting for something to blog about.



One thing that has been one my mind is monday i went to the doctor for my one yearly appointment (fun fun NOT sheer torture) anyways... just my luck when they were poking around at my stomach they found what they are calling "an intestinal hernia" Wow like they ever find anything at those stupid appointments. So she ran out another doc came in and then again with another doctor. The last one nods and says "oh definitely" i am like oh please you are so dramatic in here. So they go on to tell me that these thing burst and then i would be out for like 6 weeks so i should meet with a surgeon. So on monday i am going to go see him pay 200 dollars to say "congratulations you have a belly button just like that other 6.2 billion people on this planet." In the mean time i am trying not to get so worked up. These are the same doctors that said i had colon cancer only one year ago!!
So keep me in your prayers and i will let you know when i know what a real doctors opinion is. Man i wish i had better health insurance. Travis has the best insurance with his parents but he never gets hurt... figures.



On a better note one of my best friends Heather is down at BYU-idaho now!! she is so much fun and we've been having a blast. I am so glad she is here and we can be close once again.
Travis and i are in school. I am finishing up my last year, travis his first. We are taking a math class together. Its been fun. We are working on a budget assignment right now. He is taking Football Theory again and my cousin Gordon is in his class. so thats neat. I am working 20 hours at the Advising center. I have worked there for a year now!! wow. oh and i am all signed up for student teaching!! so pray that i will stay local. I am brown nosing like crazy you better believe!! ha ha



And my sister got in to BYUI!! yay so she hopefully accept and we will be together again too.
And right now my family is in disneyland... wow i sure wish we were there. That would give me something to blog about.

SO there we have it way over due but there is the uneventful life of the Mattoon's right now.

It's winter in Rexburg
And the gentle breezes blow
Seventy miles an hour
At forty-five below.

Oh, how I love Rexburg
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Rexburg
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

BRR it is SNOWING AGIAN please Summer please come soon

Looking back on 2008 looking ahead to 2009

We have had a great year. Here is a list of the highlights of 2008.

Travis and I moved to Rexburg to our hallway home
I got the 1/2 tuition academic scholarship
Travis turned 22!
I got all A's in Winter 2008
Travis got 25 sales one week in March at Progression
Anna chopped my hair into an A-line Bob
The doctors got rid of my stomach problems
We signed up for Summer sales
We moved to Indiana then to Virginia
We got a puppy
We played on the beach the EAST coast
We drove across the United States twice
We made a ton of new friends
We moved back to Rexburg
I became the Enrichment Leader for our ward
We spoke in church
Travis got a job at Lexington Law firm and switched to working nights
Travis started school
Travis was the number one draft pick for the school football team
Travis was the quarterback, kicker and defense for the Wolverines
I survived my hardest semester yet at BYUI
I worked 20 hours a week at the advising center aka the best place to work
We went to Seattle twice i went to Seattle 3 times
We went to our Friends wedding
I turned 21!! whoo hoo
I renewed my Lisense in Idaho
We bought and decorated our first Christmas tree
We had a happy anniversary i got flowers for the fist time
We spent Christmas here alone together
We had a very happy Year

What Courtney is looking forward too
finishing my last year of college
Paying off the blasted jetta
Redecorating the hallway home
finishing off more goals off my list
Playing the Wii
Seeing all my friend's new babies when they have them
Becoming a better person
Traveling to Seattle again and again
Sewing on my new sewing machine
Learning new talents
a trip to Minnesota

What Travis is looking forward too
Getting through another year of school
getting through another year of marriage
Taking Football theory 2 more times
Coaching or playing football again
buying a TV for the bedroom
Watching sports

We hope you all have a wonderful New Year!!
A note to my mother: I am glad that i will not be home so i will be missing that delicious sauerkraut i gag on every year. Travis is disappointed. We will be having pork so we can be prosperous though!!

Merry Christmas from the Mattoon's

We stayed in the little town of Rexburg for our little family Christmas!
I woke up super early only to find Travis still awake playing his Christmas present a Wii! He broke a couple of days ago and we have been playing it together. He was surprised so i guess that is what matters.

So we went back to sleep and woke up around ten and i made cinnamon rolls for our new Mattoon tradition.



I got a lot of clothes which is my favorite thing to get so i was very happy to get a wardrobe update. Travis also got me a curling iron that he picked out just for me.



Travis got the Wii the 4 seasons of the Office. a few games and some WSU clothes. I made him pose with everything or i was taking it back ha ha. new christmas rule.
We are getting a lot of snow here so we had to walk to over to our friend's house because we couldn't get out of our parking spot.


Oh and just a couple more holiday decorations. Travis bought me a Seahawks stocking so now we are very sportif. When we have some children they will probably get some Mariner stocking but never a UW one i am sure of that.
And we got a nice star and some more colorful ornaments for our cute little tree.


We are now going to relax the rest of the break playing the Wii and watch the seasons of the Office. Today we played the office on the laptop while playing the wii so if you want to party stop on by!! we will be here all year!
Merry Christmas

One Year ago...

I became Mrs. Mattoon.
Travis and i have been married for one year.



Later today (when the cake isn't frozen) we are going to eat out cake top and hopefully it will be tasty since all i got at my actual wedding was it up my nose and down my dress.
I just want travis to know how much fun i have had this year and how much i love him. He has made me such a stronger person. He has taught me to stand up for myself and to be selfless. I am so lucky to have him by my side. We joke all the time and are just so sarcastic with each other but we love each other more everyday.
We make a great team and have been able to make it one year so i think we must be set for eternity lol jk but really i am so set for the journey ahead. I love you Hun happy one year. OH our first milestone how CUTE