Ally's Week on the Farm....

My Aunt and Uncle were so gracious to keep Ally while we went to Chicago...Here are a few snapshots of Ally loving the life on the farm...I think we are going to have to make this a tradition.....Thank you Jack, Cindy, Brandon, and Nana for loving Ally

Things going on in our world....

watching the usm homecoming parade












We went to the kamper park and zoo in hattiesburg and loved our train ride

ally and I went to pick pumpkins with nana

Halloween at the mattern household - ally the lobster meets her friend the lion

Game Day at Mississippi State...Ally loves Jacob Beavers, but I am not sure if Jacob loves Ally

"The day after the Chicago Marathon"

So here are a few snapshots of what has been going on in our life....I may would update more often if it did not take me 2 hours to attempt to add a post....I need a few lessons, because I I can never do it....My pictures never do what I tell them to do and I have no idea how to make all this look cute...Anyway that is what i think about blog.com.....So we ran the chicago marathon....I am not sure what word I would I use to describe it....It was extremely hot.....Will dehydrated at 16 miles and had to walk the rest of the way....but his dehydrated walking pace was faster than my running pace....I am not even sure if my body knows I am running - I am so slow....But I got my medal and I have chosen to retire from running...Because the thing that I enjoyed the most was the friends I made along the way and I will just look for friends elsewhere....Will loved it and is not going into retirement yet....We went to a State game and USM game....I think Ally loved State more....She loved ringing the cowbell....Ally loved meeting Jacob Beavers....She is all about kissing on the first date....My nana is a trooper and went with us to pick pumpkins one day and then to the health department to get shots another day.....We LOVE my Nana....We went to the zoo and Ally loved the swing and the jaguar....We were a lobster for halloween - it was pretty humerus watching her attempt to walk with all her appendages...I am enjoying being part time....I just am having to remember that a one year old needs her naps....Sorry it got a little lengthy - I decided to include everything so I can just do it monthly...alicia

ALLY IS ONE

A few highlights

"Life at grandma's...I am not sure what we are doing in the dishwasher...."

"The 10 year reunuion"

"A 5 k amongst our training for the Chicago Marathon"

"Ally's new friend - Jack"

"ally at my nana's - all dressed up and nowhere to go"

"the beach"

"charleston"

Hello to all....We have been a little busy this summer...so here are few pictures to highlight our busyness...Will and I went to Charleston, South Carolina for our 5 year anniversary trip (Ally did not come)....We had so much fun....We actually could go to dinner starting at 8:00 and eat for as long as we wanted without having to put more cheerios on the high chair....We went to Navarre Beach with some friends from Park City, Utah....Last time we went to the Navarre - Ally was in the belly...She did make this trip...and loved the ocean, sand, and pool...I signed up to plan my 10 year high school reunion....so that has come and gone....and Will decided months ago that he wanted to run in the Chicago marathon and wanted me to go.....so I decided if I was going to go to Chicago - I was not just standing there that I would run too....I thought surely I can learn to love running....Months into it and MANY miles later - I do not love running or even like running....and Ally's first year of her life has almost come and gone....She is getting so big - actually I think she is pretty small for her age....She is almost a year old and she is weighing in at 18 lbs....I promise I feed her but she is all over the place....She will not sit still for 1 second.....Snuggling is not in her vocabulary....So life at the mattern household is good...and it does not slow down...Will's sister is getting married....My sister is having a baby....and somewhere in between all of it Will and I trying to find time for ourselves...It is hard to believe sometimes - there was once just two of us....And we thought we were busy then....I love keeping up with all of your lives through your blog - sorry I am not the best blogger....alicia

Somethings to "write home about"...

We have covered a few things since I last updated...The easter bunny has visited..Ally's friends have had birthday parties...we have been dedicated...we are eating, crawling, pulling up, and trying to catch a few cat naps in between....I must confess that I do not have good blogging skills...I am not going to make excuses for my frequency of blogging....but I do not know how to move pictures around and make them look cute....so until I can get someone to teach me a few things - my blog will remain an unorganized picture collage...