McFarland Family

Playing with Easter Presents

2009-04-13T16:15:00.000-04:00

Madeline spent the day playing with all of her easter presents. Here is her OCD coming out again. She lined up all the the bears in two straight lines.

Easter Brunch!

2009-04-12T23:00:00.005-04:00

We celebrated Easter morning at my sister-in-law's house. Heather and Chuck just recently got a house and we were able to have an Easter brunch there. The food was very yummy. There is always a big variety of food when we get together with Andrew's side of the family because we have some vegetarians in the family. It's always fun to try new food. Cody got sick so Brenda stayed home with him. Scott was able to bring Samantha. Poor Cody! We hid tons of Easter eggs outside for the kids to find. The weather was very pleasant. Madeline ended up with soooo much candy! It was fun watching the kids find the eggs; they are so cute.

The girls are waiting to go find eggs! They are doing princess poses.

My nephew Nathan is so thrilled about his Easter basket!Our little family.
Cute cousins!

Family Pictures:

Happy Easter!!

2009-04-12T22:53:00.002-04:00

Madeline had a great easter. She got a dress, princess shirt, movies and fun activites, and a new bike. She got to look for eggs around the house which she loves to do. We also read a story about why we celebrate easter.

Oldham Family Easter Tradition

2009-04-11T23:39:00.000-04:00

My aunt started a tradition last year of having a big easter egg hunt for the kids. She splits it up into three different age groups and everyone brings some eggs for each age group. She usually does it in her yard but it was totally raining today so we had it at a church. Scott, Brenda and their kids were able to come. It was fun seeing them. Maddy had so much fun seeing Samantha and Cody. The kids had great fun!

The kids are waiting to go hunt for eggs.

Maddy with cousins:

Such a cutie!

Easter Treats!

2009-04-10T19:07:00.000-04:00

Madeline and I made Easter treats today. We made Easter basket cupcakes with green shredded coconut for the grass, robbin eggs for the eggs, and twizzler strips for the handle. Madeline helped put the robbin eggs in the baskets. We have a lot of fun making treats together and she is such a great helper. Here are some pictures of how the Easter baskets turned out:

Treehouse Children's Museum

2009-04-08T20:44:00.000-04:00

Today I took Madeline and her friend, Joya, to the Treehouse Children's Museum in Ogden. This was our first visit to the Museum. There are so many fun things to do at the museum. We had a great time!

Madeline and Joya

Since it's close to easter, they had an easter story time--"Peter Rabbit." Then the children got to do a craft--make bunny ears. This is Joya and Madeline making bunny ears with Peter Rabbit.

Cute little bunnies.

Taking care of babies.

Future doctors.

Maddy the fire fighter.

Queen Madeline.

The castle was Madeline's favorite thing in the whole museum.

They did another craft--a window card.

Silly little bunny.

Madeline is planting a garden.

Fun with Play-Doh

2009-04-06T18:22:00.001-04:00

Madeline likes to play with Play-Doh. Today we used googly eyes while we played with Play-Doh. It makes it more fun that way. Here are some pictures of Madeline's creations:

Long Weekend

2009-04-05T21:17:00.000-04:00

Madeline had a long weekend with cousins. She stayed with my sister and her family while we were in Moab. It must have really worn her out because she fell asleep eating her dinner! I couldn't resist taking a picture of her sleeping. We had to let her sleep for awhile because she would not wake up.

Moab Trip

2009-04-04T23:46:00.000-04:00

Andrew, Logan and Bryce (Andrew's two friends from childhood), and I went to Moab for three days. Our first full day, we had great weather and did a lot. The next couple of days, it rained and even snowed a little so we weren't able to do as much. We had such a fun trip.
Day 1: Biked the Slick Rock trail (the beginner trail). Went to Arches National Park, hiked in the Fiery Furnace, and hiked to Delicate Arch. The Fiery Furnace is super fun to hike because there is no trail to follow. It's just a maze of canyons and you have to find your way through it. It is like an adult playground. We had to get a hiker's permit to hike the Fiery Furnace. We hiked Delicate Arch as the sun was setting and it was so pretty.

Andrew, Logan, and Bryce standing in front of one of the 'windows' in Arches. The South WindowThe Fiery Furnace

Delicate Arch. It is so beautiful with the mountains in the background.

Bryce, Andrew, and Logan in front of Delicate Arch. I chose this picture because of Andrew's shorts. He ripped them hiking today.

I'm picking up the arch.
All of us in front of the arch.
Day 2: Spent most of the day hiking in the Fiery Furnace. It starting raining and hailing in the late afternoon. Luckily, we were just about finished with our hike. We went on a drive through Arches National Park for the rest of the afternoon.

Hiking in the Fiery Furnace:

Notice the arches.

Logan thinking about jumping across. This is the view near the end of our hike. It started raining and hailing.
Day 3: Woke up to SNOW in Moab. We took a drive on Pot Ash road to see Leap of Faith. Luckily, we were in Bryce's truck because we needed 4-wheel drive to get up the dirt road. It was amazing standing at the top of the cliff and looking out at the canyons. Today is the start of the Jeep Safari, so we went to Potato Salad to watch the Jeeps crawl up it. Then we traveled home.

The drive up the canyon--you can see why we needed 4-wheel drive (especially with the snow).
This rock fell several years ago and luckily didn't block the road.
Leap of Faith. Would you have enough faith to jump across? Some people have jumped across!
It's so beautiful at the top of the cliff.
Logan, Bryce, and Andrew at Potato Salad.

Moab Trip Slideshow

2009-04-04T23:10:00.000-04:00

Jazz v Suns game

2009-03-28T23:48:00.001-04:00

Andrew took my brother to the Jazz v Suns basketball game tonight. My brother is a HUGE Suns fan. Andrew took the camera and this is the only picture he took!

Madeline at My Gym

2009-03-24T22:42:00.001-04:00

Here are some pictures of Madeline at the Gym she attends. Every week the gym is set up different. It's always fun to see how it's set up and the fun things she gets to do each week.

BOB '09

2009-03-21T23:35:00.002-04:00

COBET:

From left to right: Christopher (Manager), Chase (Vocals), Paul (Lead Guitar), Chris (Bass), and Spencer (Drums)

Tonight was the State Battle of the Bands competition. We met my family at Texas Roadhouse to eat dinner. Then we went to Jordan High School to watch the competition. The State BOB is a big deal. It's sponsored by several different companies like Little Caesars, U.S. Army, Coco-Cola, X-96 Radio station, etc. There were 14 bands that made it to the competition. Two of the bands dropped out because they decided to go to their school dance (what were they thinking?). So that left 12 bands that competed. They had to do an original song and a cover song and only had 10 minutes to do so. Cobet took fourth place in the State competition (which is what they took last year also). They missed third place by one point! They did great and I am so proud of my brother. He is very talented. My brother recently got a Theremin which he used in both songs, so I posted a video. If any of you want to see what a Theremin is, you can watch the video. This may be the last time we see COBET because two of the members will be serving missions soon. It was so fun to see their band grow over these last couple of years. We will miss seeing COBET perform!

Maddy (on the saddle) with Grandpa at Texas Roadhouse.

Cobet

COBET's FANS:

Andrew and I with my bro.

Andrew and I with Cobet.

HAPPY ST.PATRICK'S DAY!!

2009-03-17T22:09:00.001-04:00

I just wanted to post some recipes that we had for our St. Patrick's Murder Mystery dinner party. I wish I would have gotten pictures of all the food we had because it looked cool with all the green colors.

Corned Beef and Cabbage
2 pounds small red potatoes
2 cups baby carrots
1 onion, cut in large wedges
1 3-pound corned beef brisket with seasoning packet
Water
½ head of cabbage, cut into wedges
¼ cup butter, melted
Salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes, carrots, and onions in a 5- to 61/2-quart Crock-Pot. Top with corned beef brisket ( I actually used 5 pounds of brisket); sprinkle with seasoning packet. Add enough water just to cover brisket (I just added water to cover some of the vegetables). Cover with lid. Cook on high setting for about 8 hours or until meat is tender. Add cabbage wedges to Crock-Pot and continue cooking for about 15 minutes or until cabbage is tender. To serve, remove corned beef from Crock-Pot; place on a platter and cut beef across grain into thin slices. Remove vegetables from Crock-Pot with a slotted spoon; place around the beef. Pour butter over vegetables (I did not use any butter), and salt and pepper to taste. Makes 6 servings.

Irish Soda Bread
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap in foil for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor.

Mint Brownies
1 cup margarine
½ cup cocoa
2 Tbsp honey
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 ¾ cup flour
½ Tbsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
12 oz. Chocolate icing (use your own recipe or purchased one)

Melt margarine and mix in cocoa. Allow to cool. Add honey, eggs, sugar, flour, b. powder and salt. Mix well. Fold in nuts. Pour batter into greased 9x13 inch glass pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Cool.
MINT ICING
5 Tbsp margarine
Dash of salt
3 Tbsp milk
1 Tbsp light corn syrup
2 1/3 cup powdered sugar
½ tsp mint extract
1-2 drops green food coloring
Soften margarine. Add salt, corn syrup, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add mint extract and food coloring. Mix well. Add milk gradually until the consistency is a little thinner than cake frosting. Spread mint icing over brownies. Place brownies in the freezer for a short time to stiffen the icing. Remove from the freezer and carefully add a layer of chocolate icing.

Monster Maddy

2009-03-15T22:42:00.002-04:00

Were were eating dinner and Madeline shoved almost a whole clementine (orange) in her mouth. I took a picture because her face looked so funny. She looks like a little monster.

I wanted to post a video clip of Madeline reading Andrew and I the book, "The Very Hungry Caterpillar." We were reading books right before bedtime and Madeline likes to try and read us the story. She has been doing this for the last couple of months and I love it!

St. Patrick's Murder Mystery Party

2009-03-14T23:29:00.002-04:00

Andrew and I hosted a dinner Murder Mystery party. I had been to a murder mystery party before but had never hosted one. We had so much fun. We fit 24 people in our house; I don't know how we all fit. Everyone was assigned a character (except for me because I was the host) and came to the party dressed like their character. The mystery was separated into three rounds (appetizers/drinks, main course, and desserts) and at the beginning of each round, each player got an envelope that contained the clues necessary for their character. The clues for the characters provided everything they would need to solve the mystery. Only 4 people guessed who was the murderer. We also played a game each round and gave out prizes. The best costume also got a prize.

The dinner turned out great. Pretty much everything was green. For appetizers/drinks, we had green chips/salsa, spinach dip with mostly green veggies, green fruit dip with fruit, green salad, irish bread, green apple juice, and green slush. For dinner, we had corned beef and cabbage with potatoes and carrots, and lasagnas. For dessert, we had mint brownies, mint chocolate chip ice cream dessert, and green ricekrispie treats. I'll post some recipes later.

Thanks so much for all of you who came to the party and for all your help with food, clean-up, etc. We had such a fun time!

The murder mystery crew.

The victim.

My brother-in-law, Scott (far right), and Andrew (middle), tied for best costume.

My sister, Tiffany, was the murderer.

St. Patrick's Murder Mystery Slide Show

2009-03-14T23:20:00.000-04:00

Our newest nephew

2009-02-21T22:09:00.001-05:00

My sister, Theresa, just had a baby boy. Her husband, Mike, is a doctor and got to deliver their baby. I think that is awesome when a father is able to deliver their own child. They named him Kasen and he is a cutie. He's a big boy; I think he weighed 8 lbs 10 oz. This is a picture of me with baby Kasen.

Regional Battle of the Bands competition

2009-02-20T23:31:00.000-05:00

Tonight I went to see my brother's band, Cobet, play in the Regional Battle of the Bands competition at Jordan High School. Three teams got to move on to the State competition next month. Each band has to play an original song and a cover song. Cobet made it to the State competition. They tied for first place. Way to go COBET!!

My brother, Paul, is on the right with his sweet Gibson-Les Paul guitar.

Clip of Cobet playing 'Johnny B. Good' by Chuck Berry.

My Valentine Surprise

2009-02-18T18:15:00.000-05:00

Andrew surprised me and took me on an overnight getaway. We went to the Homestead in Heber. There was so much snow! This is a picture of Andrew in front of the cabin we stayed in. Notice all the snow? We had such a relaxing trip; it was great. I feel so blessed to have Andrew in my life. He is such a great husband and father. Thanks for all you do for me, babe. I love you so much!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

2009-02-14T23:41:00.000-05:00

Andrew and I actually celebrated Valentine's Day last night. It gets too crazy trying to go out on Valentine's Day. We went out to dinner and went to see the movie, "He's just not that into you." I liked the movie better that I thought I would.

We had a fun Valentine's Day. Andrew had to work half day. Maddy and I made heart sugar cookies while Andrew was at work. We got Maddy the movie, "The Diamond Castle" and a Barbie to go with it. Andrew was super spoiled and got a PS3. Andrew gave me a silver Fossil watch (I lost my other watch at a volleyball game a couple months ago and I was sad because I loved that watch). Thanks for my watch Andrew. You are so thoughtful and you are such a great husband. I love you so much!

We went over to our friend's house (the Chudleighs) to play games and hang out for the night. What a great Valentine's day!

Maddy with her movie and Barbie.

Andrew with his PS3.

I am sporting my Fossil watch.

Valentine Recipe

2009-02-14T23:05:00.002-05:00

I just wanted to post one of my favorite Valentine's Day recipe.

Chocolate Éclair Cake
1 box graham crackers
2 small pkgs instant vanilla pudding
3 cups milk
8 oz. container of cool whip, thawed
Butter bottom of 9x13 pan. Line with graham crackers. Mix pudding on medium speed until blended. Fold in Cool Whip. Pour half over graham crackers. Cover with another layer of crackers. Repeat with remaining pudding and cover with more crackers.
Icing:
3 T. cocoa
2 T. butter
1 T. vanilla
2 T. light corn syrup
1 ½ cups powdered sugar
Prepare icing by mixing cocoa, vanilla, butter, corn syrup, and powdered sugar in small saucepan. Bring to a boil and cook on med-high heat for one minute. Add milk if too thick. Spread over cake. Refrigerate for 24 hours.

Jazz v. Lakers

2009-02-11T23:28:00.000-05:00

Andrew's boss gets season tickets to the Jazz. We were able to to to the Jazz v. Lakers basketball game and sit on the 15th row. It was so awesome. My sister and her husband were also at the game but they sat in the nose-bleed section. My sister is a huge Lakers fan so I had to get some pictures of Kobe for her. The Jazz won 113-109. It was such an intense game it felt like the play-offs. Go Jazz!!

Jazz fans.

Kobe Bryant

The Jazz are the winners--yea!!Andrew is happy because the Jazz won.

Battle of the Bands at OHS

2009-01-29T23:56:00.003-05:00

Tonight was the high school Battle of the Bands competition. It was held at my old high school. I haven't been back to my old high school for years. There were 6 competing bands and one non-competing band. My brother's band, Cobet, won the competition and they get to move on to the Regional competition in one month. I am so excited for them!

My brother and all his fans.

Our little Bat Girl.

2009-01-29T23:29:00.000-05:00

I just really like this picture of Madeline. We were at my parent's house and she put on this bat mask and was acting silly with it on.

Are you a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

2009-01-28T22:43:00.000-05:00

This is a new shirt that I recently got and a lot of people have commented on. So, I thought I would post a picture of it. It says "Are you a Good Witch? or a Bad Witch?" I love this shirt; it's so cute. I would say i'm a good witch...at least today.

Goofy Maddy

2009-01-26T22:44:00.000-05:00

Madeline was playing with one of her friends today and they were being goofy. They were carrying babies around under their shirts. I just thought I would get a picture of my daughter being goofy.

Artwork

2009-01-22T23:37:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of some of the drawings that Madeline has been doing lately. She loves to draw faces and is getting more detailed with her drawings. Now she adds arms, legs, and necks. I love her drawings; they look like aliens. She sure is proud of her artwork (and I am too, of course).

Chucky Cheese

2009-01-17T23:21:00.000-05:00

We took Madeline to Chucky Cheese. It's been a while since we've been to Chucky Cheese. When it's winter, you have to find indoor things to do. Madeline had so much fun playing the games and going on the rides. For some reason, she loved to hug the animals when she went on the rides (see the pics). She mostly spent her time in the play area going in the tunnels and on the slides. Madeline got to pick out some fun toys with all the tickets we got (mostly from Andrew and I playing Ski Ball). We had a fun family night!

Our new puppy.

2009-01-15T17:13:00.000-05:00

Here is our new puppy named Maddy. We took Madeline out to eat and she got this kids meal box. So we made it into a puppy. Isn't she such a cute puppy?

Madeline reading

2009-01-08T23:53:00.000-05:00

This is a video clip of Madeline reading me a book before bedtime. She has recently starting reading some books to us; she can't read the words but she looks at the pictures and tells us what's going on. She does a good job.

Battle of the Bands

2009-01-07T23:50:00.001-05:00

My brother's band, Cobet, entered a Battle of the Bands competition. They play every two weeks and it is double elimination. I really enjoy watching his band play. They have gotten really good over the last couple of years. GO COBET!

Cobet

COBET'S FANS:

Andrew and I

Mom

Tiffany, Skylar, Andrew, Maddy, and Mom.

Daddy and Maddy.

Andrew and Dad.

Our new CTR girl

2009-01-04T22:23:00.001-05:00

Madeline moved from Sunbeams to CTR5. She loves her new teachers. The first day of class they got a nametag and CTR logo to color and they all got CTR rings. Madeline loves her ring. She is so excited about her new class; it is so cute.

Happy New Year

2009-01-01T15:22:00.000-05:00

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Wow, I can't believe it is 2009. We celebrated New Years Eve at our house. Most of my siblings and their families came to stay overnight. We had a steak and coconut shrimp dinner that was wonderful and we played games and watched movies all night. I can't think of a better way to ring in the new year. I realized that I didn't take any pictures of our fun night. Oh well. I hope that everyone has a great 2009!

Traditions

2008-12-30T18:08:00.000-05:00

Here is the final product of the tradition that we started this year for Christmas. We read a scripture about Christ each day and Madeline got to color a book on the chart. Madeline really looked forward each day to a new story and coloring a book on the chart. We will do this every year.

Christmas Update

2008-12-28T19:01:00.000-05:00

Here is our Christmas update that we sent out this year. Some letters got sent back to me and I didn't have everyone's addresses, so if I missed anyone, here is our Christmas update:

Happy Holidays!
We hope this letter finds you all well and happy. Our family has had a very busy year. Andrew graduated Dental School from Nova Southeastern University in May. We moved from Florida to Utah in August. We spent a couple of months traveling and having fun before our move. We were able go to Disney World several times. Madeline was barely tall enough to go on Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad, and Tower of Terror for the first time. Her absolute favorite though, was to meet all of the princesses. We are happy to be in Utah and closer to family but we will really miss Florida (especially the beautiful beaches).

Andrew is thrilled to be done with school so he can have extra time to do the things he hasn’t had time for these last eight years of school. He got a job working with a dentist in Roy and really enjoys the office and the people he works with. He will however, miss his job at Delta and all those free flights! He just got called to be the secretary in Young Men’s. Andrew has been able to participate in flag football, volleyball, and basketball.

Staci spent most of this year packing and unpacking (or so it seems). She and Andrew spent 5 days traveling across the country in a Penske truck while Madeline stayed with her Grandparents. We spent a couple of days at Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure and stopped in St. Louis to visit the Gateway Arch. We crossed 10 states and in one day traveled more than 1000 miles. It was quite the road trip. Staci got called to be second counselor in the Primary and loves it. She enjoys reading, cooking, and doing craft projects.

Madeline turned four this year. She has been taking gym classes and really enjoys it. Madeline’s favorite thing about our new house is that we have a private entrance to a park in our backyard. Madeline loves to dress up, read books, and play games (especially hide-and-seek). Madeline got 4 goldfish for her birthday and named them “all Freds”. She really enjoys feeding them and helping change their water (although, we fear for their life every time she “helps”). Madeline is such a sweetheart and such a great help to her parents. We are so grateful that she is a part of our family.

We really appreciate the love and support from each of you. We are especially grateful for this wonderful time of year we have to reflect upon our Savior, Jesus Christ, and celebrate His birth. We wish you lots of happiness this holiday season and throughout the coming year!

Love,
Andrew, Staci, and Madeline

Ugly Sweater Party

2008-12-26T23:51:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went to my sister's house for an Ugly Sweater Party. We had a pot luck dinner with cafe rio tacos (my favorite). We played lots of games and voted on who had the ugliest sweater. There were some pretty ugly sweaters. We got a babysitter for all of the cousins so it was really nice to have an evening of fun without kids running around. We had a great time!

All of us in our ugly sweaters.

The Winners: Katie and Mike (tiny Tim).

Andrew and I in our ugly sweaters.

Covered car.

2008-12-26T15:04:00.000-05:00

My brother-in-law left his car at my parent's house for a couple of days. So my brothers decided to cover his car with snow. They are lucky a snow plow or a car didn't run into it. Here is a picture of Andrew in front of the snow covered car.

Eye Exams

2008-12-26T14:45:00.000-05:00

I am so grateful that my Dad is an Optometrist. Andrew and I got eye exams today. It's been 2 years since my last eye exam; that's a long time. I need to get new reading glasses because I lost mine when we moved from Florida. I do a lot of reading and reading glasses make a world of difference. Here are some pictures of our check-ups:

Christmas Day!

2008-12-25T23:28:00.001-05:00

MERRY, MERRY CHRISTMAS!!

We spent Christmas Day with Andrew's side of the family. The weather was horrible, it was snowing like crazy. All of Andrew's sisters that live in SLC were not able to come visit because of the weather. Eric and his family were able to come down after the storm passed. Andrew's grandparents were able to come visit also. So we had a small crowd. It was actually a really relaxing day!

Madeline and her many facial expressions.

Andrew and Madeline with Spiky the dog.

Our little family with Grandpa and Grandma.

Maddy showing off her new Snow White barbie that she got from her grandparents.

Christmas Eve Night

2008-12-24T23:44:00.000-05:00

We visited family on Christmas eve night and spent most of the weekend with them. We had a fun Christmas eve eating, playing games, and opening presents. My parents made prime rib for dinner and it was so awesome (except for the fire in the oven that burned the outside of it, ha ha). Santa even came to visit. The kids really enjoyed that. Here are some pictures:

All the cousins making snowmen out of marshmallows.

Dan, Andrew, and Mark (getting a little too close).

Paul, Dad, and Mom relaxing with Roxy.

Princess Madeline with her new crown and shoes.

SANTA VISITS!!!

Maddy with Santa.

Andrew and I had to sit on Santa's lap too (I mean come on, you are never too old, right?)

Santa's helper and my sister, Katie, playing Christmas songs on accordians.

OPENING PRESENTS!!

Andrew got a new game for Christmas called Spy Alley; it is super fun.The grandkids opening their presents from Grandpa and Grandma.
It's pajamas!!
Madeline modeling her Tinkerbell pj's.
All of the cousins in their pj's from Grandpa and Grandma. They are so cute.
Time to get to bed so Santa can come!

Christmas Eve Morning

2008-12-24T23:24:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas!

Santa came to our house early this year. We woke up Christmas eve morning to a room full of presents. We had a great breakfast then read the Nativity and read some scriptures. Then we opened our presents. Maddy got toys, clothes, a sleeping bag, candy, castle, and table and chairs set. Andrew got a new tennis racket, shoes, clothes, ties, games, etc. I got jewelry, some kitchen stuff (like a griddle and kitchen aid shredder/slicer), etc. Our little family got some games and DVDs. We had a great Christmas. Here are some pictures:

Us on Christmas Eve morning.

Maddy's table and chair set.

Madeline and her new castle and Cinderella dress.

Playing with her castle.

Rasmussen Family Party

2008-12-20T23:05:00.000-05:00

Moving from one Christmas party to another. Maddy and I met Andrew in South Jordan for the Rasmussen Family Christmas party. This is Andrew's Mom's side of the family. For the last couple of years, we've had the party at Andrew's Uncle's work instead of his Grandparent's home. It's worked out really nice that way. We had dinner, talent show, white elephant gift exchange, and a visit from Santa Claus. It was really nice to see extended family that we haven't seen for a while.

TALENT SHOW

Trent and Madeline were quite the entertainers. VISITING WITH FAMILY

VISIT FROM SANTA
GIFT EXCHANGE

Maddy and Rachel exchanged gifts with each other. Maddy got a webkinz animal that she really was really excited about.

Edmunds Family Party

2008-12-20T23:00:00.000-05:00

It's always been a tradition in my family that we visit our Grandma on Christmas day. This year was a little different. We all went to visit her the Saturday before Christmas. That way Christmas day won't be so crazy for everyone. Andrew wasn't able to come because he had to work. I always enjoy visiting my Grandma. She is so sweet and cheerful. She is 94 years old and is doing great. Maddy and I had a great visit with our extended family and took some pictures.

Three Generations.

Four Generations.

Grandma Ed, Maddy, and I.

My sweet Grandma and I.

Gingerbread House

2008-12-19T17:20:00.001-05:00

Madeline and her cousin, Samantha, made gingerbread houses over Thanksgiving weekend. I finally got some pictures of the gingerbread house that Maddy, Grandma Long, and I worked on. We had a lot of fun making them. Madeline and Samantha especially liked the candy. Here are some pictures of the final product:

Traditions.

2008-12-18T15:55:00.000-05:00

This year we started some new traditions with Madeline. We wrapped up 25 different Christmas books (I got most of them from DI so they were very inexpensive; library books would work great too). Madeline opens one present each night before bed and we read her the story. She has really enjoyed getting to open one present each evening. Another tradition that we started this year is in this month's Friend magazine. There are 25 different stories about Jesus from the scriptures starting with his birth and going through his life, death, and resurrection. Each evening we read the story of Jesus and Madeline gets to color that set of scriptures for the day. We have had so much fun that I think we will do it each year.

Here is a picture I took of the books wrapped up.

Here is the activity from this month's Friend magazine. Madeline colors in the set of scriptures each day.

Four Year Old Pictures.

2008-12-16T21:45:00.001-05:00

I took Madeline to get some 4 year old pictures taken at Target Studios(even though I am a couple months off). The pictures turned out really cute and Target does a really good job (and they aren't too expensive). Here are some of the different poses they did.

Snow Day!

2008-12-13T19:41:00.000-05:00

I took this picture to show all the snow we got today. It sure looks pretty!

2008-12-13T19:23:00.000-05:00

Today was our Ward Christmas Party. It was a breakfast/pajama party. Andrew had to work so he was not able to attend. We had a great breakfast, a short program, activities for the children, and a special visitor. Madeline and I had a great time. When the party was over and we walked outside, our car was covered with snow. It snowed all day.

Madeline is making a snowman.

Here is the final product (looks kind of like an alien).

Madeline is proud of her snowman.

Madeline and her friends. Her friends were pretending to be Santa Claus and asking what Maddy wanted for Christmas. It was cute to watch them.

All the children waiting for the special visitor.

The special visitor was SANTA CLAUS. Madeline told Santa she wanted a snow white pollypocket and an angel for Christmas. Santa gave her a candy cane (which she ate the whole thing right away) and told her to be good for her parents. She is really good for her parents.

What a fun Party!

Cousins.

2008-12-04T22:17:00.000-05:00

Today, Madeline and I went to my mom's to visit. Here are some pictures of Madeline with her cousin Peyton. He is getting so big and he is so cute.

Happy Thanksgiving!!

2008-11-27T23:40:00.001-05:00

We spent Thanksgiving with Andrew's side of the family this year. We ate in my mother-in-law's garage which was great because there was a lot of room and she didn't have to worry about her house getting too messy. The weather was really nice but we had heaters in the garage to keep us warm (just in case). We have several vegans on Andrew's side of the family. So, half of our Thanksgiving dinner was vegan. We had so, so much food. We had fun eating, catching up with those we haven't seen lately, and playing games. I really enjoy Thanksgiving day mostly because I can reflect on all of my blessings. I have been blessed with so much in my life and I am very grateful for all I have especially my family. They are truly my greatest blessing.

Scott, Michael, and Amanda

Andrew's really excited about Thanksgiving.

Grandma and Grandpa Rasmussen.

Chuck and his homemade bread. Yumm!

Bonnie with baby Alex.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SAMANTHA!!!

Today we also celebrated Samantha's 5th birthday (which is on Dec.1st) because she will be in California for her birthday. Madeline and Samantha got to dress up like princesses and have a princess party. They are so cute.

All dressed up and excited for the party.

Samantha with her little mermaid cake.

Two princesses.

Yummy frosting.

Samantha and Maddy eating cake and ice cream.

OPENING PRESENTS.

PLAYING WITH PRESENTS.

We got Samantha a Beauty and the Beast talking tea set. As you pour tea out of Mrs. Potts, she makes bubble noises. The girls had so much fun playing with the tea set and they were so cute to watch.

Samantha pouring tea.

Maddy and Samantha having a tea party.
They invited Grandpa to join them.
Grandpa is having so much fun!

After Thanksgiving dinner at my mother-in-law's, we went to visit my father-in-law. He and his wife are going back to Mexico on Sunday. We had a nice visit with them.

Scott and Andrew with their Dad.

Here are pictures of Madeline and Samantha with a new puppy. Rick (Andrew's stepdad) got a new puppy from his sister. She is house-training it and then will give it back to Rick (what a nice sister). If someone would house-train a dog for me, I think I would consider having a dog.

WHAT A LONG DAY!!

St. George DAY 3

2008-11-23T23:29:00.000-05:00

JUBILEE OF TREES!

We went to the Jubilee of trees at the St. George convention center. It was free admission today. The kids really enjoyed seeing all the decorated trees and gingerbread houses. There were some really creative decorated trees. You could vote on your favorite tree.

Maddy and Samantha's favorite tree was Cinderella.

This was my favorite tree. It's the Grinch carrying a christmas tree. So creative! I loved it.

Our little family.

Two sweethearts.

Scott, Brenda, and kids.

ZIONS NATIONAL PARK

We spent a couple of hours at Zions National Park. I haven't been to Zions National Park since before I was married. It's so beautiful. I wish we had more time to spend at the park and go to Angel's landing. But we only had a couple of hours and then we had to travel home.

Weeping Rock.

If you look close in the picture, you can see the water falling down the rock (that's why they call it weeping rock).

Maddy and Daddy (I love this picture).

We saw a lot of deer.

Daddy's and daughters.

We took the free shuttle to our various destinations.

Brenda and Cody.

Michael lost one the the lenses to his sunglasses and didn't realize it until we were on the shuttle.

St.George DAY 2

2008-11-22T23:44:00.002-05:00

BREAKFAST!

Madeline and Samantha excited for the day.

SWIMMING!

Madeline went swimming with Samantha. They had a lot of fun! It was too cold for me to swim. Luckily Andrew took Madeline swimming and I just supervised and read a book.

THE BIG RIVAL GAME!

Some of us went to a sports bar/restaurant to watch the BYU v. UTAH football game. Most of Andrew's family live in SLC and are Ute fans.

Bonnie and Andrew.

Kyla and Tyler.

Heather and Nathan.

Amanda and Michael.

THE DINOSAUR DISCOVERY SITE AT JOHNSON FARM.

Those of us who didn't want to wrestle kids while watching the football game went to a Dinosaur museum. The kids had a great time watching a little movie and running around the museum. It was really neat seeing all the dinosaur tracks.

Scott, Brenda, Samantha, and Cody. Mommy and Maddy.

Madeline: a junior paleontologist.
Cousins.

Samantha and Maddy making dinosaur pictures with stencils.

St.George DAY 1

2008-11-21T23:10:00.003-05:00

Today we traveled to St. George, UT for the weekend. All of Andrew's siblings came except for one brother and his family. Scott and Brenda have a time-share through Worldmart, so we got to stay in a really nice resort. We stayed in two rooms which each had three bedrooms. We carpooled with Scott, Brenda, and the kids. We were able to borrow my Mother-in-law's van which helped so we didn't have to take two cars. We stopped off in Cedar City to get dinner for the kids. We went to McDonald's and the kids got kids meals and played on the play structure. Inside the kids meals were little Madagascar 2 figures. We got to travel from Cedar City to St. George (about 45 minutes) with three toys singing, "I like to move it, move it." It got really annoying. I wanted to throw those toys out the window. We all made it to St. George safely; now it's time to party.

Primary Program.

2008-11-09T21:34:00.000-05:00

Our Little Star.

Today was our ward Primary program. It was really exciting because Madeline is in Primary and was able to participate. We have been practicing her part and the songs. Yesterday we had a program practice and pizza party. Madeline did a great job on her part during the practice. But she didn't do so great for the real thing. She was really upset because Andrew didn't take her up on stage. Sometimes Madeline can be really stubborn. Today was one of those days. She woke up really early this morning and just didn't have a great day. The program went really well. There are a lot of kids in the Primary. We had to have a lot of extra chairs set up. I'm used to the Davie Primary with fewer kids. But I really felt the spirit and was proud of all the Primary kids. We took a couple of picture before we went to church.

Madeline excited about the Primary Program.

Daddy and Maddy.

Mommy and Maddy.

New Callings

2008-11-02T22:28:00.000-05:00

Andrew and I just got new church callings. I just got called to be the 2nd counselor in Primary which is so funny because that has been my calling for the last year in Florida. Andrew got called to be the Secretary in Young Mens which is also funny because he was the 2nd counselor in Young Mens in Florida. We really like our new ward. They do a lot of fun things. Our favorite lately has been co-ed volleyball. Andrew and I have had a lot of fun playing volleyball and Madeline loves to go and run around the church with the other kids.

Happy Halloween!!

2008-10-31T23:17:00.002-04:00

Maddy and I went trick-or-treating in my sister's neighborhood. Madeline had so much fun with her cousins. It was great to watch all of them walk up to a house and say trick-or-treat then come and show us the candy or toy they got. They were all so excited. What a fun Halloween!!

Before trick-or-treating.

After trick-or-treating.

Notice the difference.

Ward Halloween Party.

2008-10-28T23:07:00.000-04:00

Today we went to our ward Halloween party. The youth did everything. We ate dinner and then the kids went around to different rooms for games, activities, and treats. They also had a pinata. Madeline won a jar of taffys for guessing correctly how many were in the jar. She was pretty excited about that. We had a fun time.

Princess Madeline

Maddy and I.

Birthday gift.

2008-10-21T17:08:00.000-04:00

These are some earrings I made for my niece, Madison. She just had a birthday and turned nine years old. They turned out really cute so I thought I would post them. I would like to make myself a pair, except in black.

Public speaking.

2008-10-19T22:15:00.001-04:00

Andrew and I had to speak in church today. We spoke on keeping the sabbath day holy. It's a tough subject to speak about without feeling like you are preaching. We only had one week to prepare (three hours for Andrew) and I think we did a good job on talking about a tough subject. I'm glad it's over though because public speaking is not one of my talents.

Creativity

2008-10-17T21:56:00.001-04:00

Here are a couple picture I took of Madeline's creativity. She comes up with the funniest displays.

I love where Madeline placed the Beauty and the Beast characters.

Madeline did this all by herself.

The Pumpkin Farm

2008-10-16T22:29:00.000-04:00

Madeline and I went with a play group to the pumpkin farm. We got to ride on a hay bale towed behind a tractor. The kids and adults got to pick out one pumpkin each. Madeline picked out a big round pumpkin. She was pretty proud of it. While we were looking for pumpkins, Madeline kept tripping on the pumpkin vines (she just got new tennis shoes and wore them for the first time; she has a hard time walking in them). After the pumpkin farm, we all went to Artic Circle for lunch. I haven't been to an Artic Circle for over 10 years. I forgot how much I liked Artic Circle when I was younger. I love how they give out free mini ice cream cones. The kids had fun playing on the play structure. Madeline got a witch flashlight in her kids meal and was really excited about that. What a fun day.

The play group

This is the hay bale we rode on to get to the pumpkin farm. Madeline is with her friends and the pumpkins we picked out.

Madeline really had fun picking out a pumpkin.

I love Madeline's facial expressions in these two pictures. She was so excited to be at the pumpkin farm.

Nighttime

2008-10-14T23:18:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I always go in Madeline's bedroom and check on her before we go to bed. Lately she has fallen asleep in the funniest positions. She has fallen off the bed a couple of times. We had to take a picture of this position. How can she sleep like that? It's so funny. Someday we will get a real mattress that fits her bed (and not a crib mattress).

Birthday Celebration.

2008-10-12T23:30:00.001-04:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANDREW!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRINCESS MADELINE!!

Today is Andrew's birthday. I woke up around 8:00am to start getting ready for church and I looked outside the window and it was a winter wonderland. Everything was white and covered with snow! I woke up Andrew and told him to look outside the window and said, Happy Birthday Andrew! This is a birthday he will always remember because of all the snow. I think we got at least four inches.

We had a big party to celebrate Andrew and Madeline's birthday. There were 14 from Andrew's side of the family and 17 from my side of the family that came to our house to celebrate. We had a yummy dinner--cafe rio tacos (Andrew's favorite). Then Andrew and Madeline opened presents and we had cake and ice cream. Thanks so much for all of you who came to help celebrate Andrew and Maddy's birthday. We had so much fun!

THE CAKE!!!

Andrew's cake. It's an ice cream oreo cake.

Madeline's cake: a princess barbie cake.
I also make cupcakes to go with the barbie cake.
Maddy loves her cake!

THE FAMILY!!!

The studs.

THE PRESENTS!!!
Andrew got some clothes, money, a football, a dry erase board, and cologne for his birthday. Madeline got more polly pockets, a barbie with a movie, books, a bracelet, barbie cd player, four goldfish and dress-ups. As soon as the dress-up treasure box got opened, Madeline and her cousins dressed up. I have a hard time getting Madeline to not dress-up.
Maddy and her cousins helping open Andrew's presents.
Maddy opening her dress-up treasure box.

Maddy and her four goldfish. Her Grandpa and Nelly gave her the fish and she loves them. They also gave her some food to feed the goldfish.

THE SNOW!!!

Madeline's face when she saw all the snow this morning!

I put this picture up not only because it's of my beautiful sisters but you can see all the snow out of the window.
Maddy and the snowman that Scott (my brother-in-law) and Nathan (my nephew) created.
Madeline loves all the snow.

More presents.

2008-10-09T16:24:00.001-04:00

Madeline was really excited today because she got a birthday present in the mail from her cousins, Samantha and Cody. It was Beauty and the Beast polly pockets. She loves them. She played with them all day. Thanks so much for the present!

New Princess Scooter.

2008-10-08T18:16:00.000-04:00

Well I had to go exchange Madeline's scooter for a new one because of the missing piece. She and Andrew put it together today. Madeline had so much fun riding on her new princess scooter. She loves the basket attached to the scooter and puts one of her toys in the basket so it can go on a ride with her. I love watching Madeline ride her new scooter. It's so cute. She is really cautious. I'm sure she'll get faster as she rides it more.

Happy Birthday Madeline!

2008-10-07T22:25:00.001-04:00

Madeline turned 4 years old today! She is getting so big. She was so excited for her birthday. This morning, Maddy and I made her birthday cake. She was so excited to help make her cake. We made a princess castle cake. Later on that evening, some of our neighbors came over for cake and ice cream. One of our neighbors made Madeline some cute bows and gave her a little purse to keep the bows in. Madeline also got some barbies, winter clothes, shoes (she did not have any close-toed shoes besides Sunday shoes--that's what happens when you live in Florida!), polly pockets, Little Homes set, the new Little Mermaid movie, and a princess scooter. Andrew and Maddy tried to put the scooter together. After spending a lot of time trying to figure out what was wrong, Andrew finally realized that a piece was missing. So Madeline will have to wait to ride her scooter. Happy birthday Madeline!

Here is Maddy helping me. She is such a great helper.

She got her face messy by licking the cake batter.

And here is Madeline with her princess castle cake.

This is the front of the cake.

This is the back of the cake.

Maddy with her barbie.

Maddy was so excited about her new movie: "The Little Mermaid, Ariel's Beginning." She calls it Ariel's sisters movie. If you look to the right, you can see Madeline's new scooter.

Maddy and her friend, Katie, playing dress-ups.

New Camera.

2008-10-06T23:12:00.002-04:00

Yeah! We finally got a new camera. Now I can start posting more pictures. After alot of research, we decided on a Canon-digital elph. I think it will be a great point and shoot camera. We are really excited to start using it.

Guests.

2008-09-29T17:15:00.000-04:00

This last weekend, Tiffany (my sister), Brian, and their daughter, Skylar, and David (my brother), Amanda, and their new baby, Peyton, came to stay with us. We had a lot of fun having them stay at our house. On Saturday, Andrew did some dental work for my sister and the boys got to play flag football for our stake. They won their game. The girls and Peyton had fun cheering for them. Thanks for coming to stay with us, we had lots of fun!

Maddy-ism

2008-09-20T20:10:00.000-04:00

It has been raining a little lately. Madeline and I were eating lunch and she said, "Does it rain where Jesus lives?" I said I didn't know and that was such a great question she asked. She sure is a smart little girl.

OCD

2008-09-19T18:04:00.001-04:00

I don't have Madeline in preschool so sometimes we will do activities at home. Today I thought it would be fun if Madeline made a necklace out of fruit loops. My sister came to visit me this afternoon and I had her take a picture of the necklace Madeline made. Madeline would be in the picture wearing the necklace but she was taking a nap. She did this necklace all by herself. She is so OCD, I love it. I can't believe she grouped the colors together like this.

Baby Peyton

2008-09-17T22:29:00.000-04:00

I have a new nephew. He was born on September 10th and his name is Peyton. Isn't he just the cutest little boy! He is David (my brother) and Amanda's first child. Madeline loves her new cousin.

2008-09-09T17:51:00.001-04:00

Well, we are so happy to be in Utah. The leaves are changing and the mountains are so beautiful. It made me realize how much I missed them. Come winter and I will be missing Florida and especially the beach! But right now, I love how I can open the windows at night and feel the cool air. Andrew started working at a dental office in Roy the first of the month. It's so nice not being students anymore. We've been students for 8 years. I'm so glad that part of our life is over. Madeline loves her home. We love having more space. Madeline has her own room and a new bed (a white twin bed with drawers underneath). We go to the park a lot and she likes to ride her little tricycle on the trail that goes around the park. We are in such a great neighborhood with lots of kids for Madeline to play with. I am loving my new front loading washer and dryer. They make doing laundry fun believe it or not. I would post some pictures but our camera is broken. For the last month, our picture have been turning our really blurry and, of course, our camera is three months past the warranty. So, when we get a new camera, i'll post some pictures.

Pics from my sister

2008-09-03T17:01:00.000-04:00

Here are some pictures of Madeline that my sister, Katie, took while Madeline was in Utah and Andrew and I were traveling.

Maddy and the cousins.
my sister, Niccole, running a race
Kaitlyn and Madeline at the race.

We made it!

2008-08-28T23:54:00.001-04:00

We finally made it to Utah. We drove over 1000 miles in one day. How exhausting! We crossed four states today: Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and Utah. We finally pulled up to our house around 10:00pm. I am so glad we made it safe and that we didn't have any problems with the Penske truck. We missed Madeline so much! It was fun talking to her on the phone because we would tell her the states we crossed and my mom would show her on a map so she could see where we have been. She always asked, "Are you driving in the big, yellow truck?" I will sure be glad not to be driving in the big, yellow truck. What a long cross-country trip. I'm so glad it's over.

The Gateway Arch

2008-08-27T22:35:00.000-04:00

We continued our cross country trip. Yesterday we crossed three states traveling from Orlando to Tennessee. Today we were in five states: Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Missouri, and Kansas. We stopped off in St. Louis, Missouri to visit the Gateway arch. It was so amazing and totally worth the effort trying to get there. St. Louis is a really neat city.

Andrew and I in front of the arch.

The amazing view from the top of the arch.

I am inside the top of the arch.

Universal Orlando

2008-08-25T23:04:00.000-04:00

On our trip across the country, Andrew and I stopped in Orlando for two days. We had some 2-day tickets to Universal Studios and Islands of Adventure that we have had since 2005. So, we finally decided to use them. We had such a fun time. We liked Islands of Adventure better because it had more rides where Universal Studios had more shows. We loved The Incredible Hulk and Dueling Dragons Roller Coasters. We also really liked the Simpsons and Spiderman rides. Andrew and I had never been to either park before, so it was a fun experience. I really want to go back in 2010 because there will be a new Harry Potter ride at Islands of Adventure. The ride was under construction and looks awesome.

Universal Orlando Slideshow

2008-08-25T23:00:00.000-04:00

Good-bye Florida. Hello Utah.

2008-08-23T23:03:00.000-04:00

This is a bitter sweet day. We packed everything in the big yellow truck and are headed across the country to Utah. I flew Madeline out to stay with my parents earlier this week. We had to tell her that there are only two seats in the truck and that she will have much more fun with her grandparents and cousins. We will really miss Florida. We've made a lot of friends and will really miss them. Good-bye Florida!

Disney World

2008-08-17T01:15:00.000-04:00

We took Madeline to Disneyworld one last time before we move to Utah. We went to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood studios. Madeline is so funny because she loves to go to the 3-D shows but when the show starts, she lays on Andrew's shoulder and closes her eyes. But as soon and the movie is over, she wants to go again. It was Madeline and Andrew's first time to Hollywood Studios and I hadn't been for 10 years, so we really enjoyed it. Madeline went on the Tower of Terror two times. She was barely tall enough to go on the ride (only because her hair was done in two ponytails with large bows sticking up). Madeline loved the Tower of Terror and wanted to go again and again, but there were too many other things to do. Andrew and I really liked the Rock-n-Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith. It's like Space Mountain where it's in the dark, but more intense of a ride. We went to most of the shows: Voyage of the Little Mermaid, Disney's Playhouse, Indiana Jones, Muppet's 3-D show, and Star Tours. We really enjoyed watching FANTASMIC which is a water, light, and firework show they do at dusk. It was awesome and Madeline loved it because most of the Disney characters were in it including the princesses. We will really miss Disneyworld.

MAGIC KINGDOM

HOLLYWOOD STUDIOS

Disneyworld Slideshow.

2008-08-17T01:00:00.000-04:00

Trip to Spokane, Washington

2008-08-10T19:09:00.001-04:00

We went to visit our good friends, the Fairhursts, in Spokane, Washington. Madeline was sooo excited to see Ashton and Chloe. They are like her brother and sister. When Madeline saw Ashton and Chloe at the airport, she hugged them. It was like they were never apart. We ended up staying longer than planned because we were having so much fun and didn't want to leave (actually it's because of not being able to fly out of such a small airport--it took us three days to get out of Spokane). But those extra days with the Fairhursts were great. Here are some pictures of our trip (I stole some of the pictures from the Fairhursts blog):

We took the kids to a waterpark one day. We were there maybe one hour when everyone had to get out of the pool because some kid pooed in the water. It was really disgusting. At least Madeline was able to go down the waterslide twice before that happened (she would have been really sad if she didn't get to go down the slide). Once she went by herself only because Andrew pushed her ahead of him and followed after her (the lifeguards weren't to happy about that one)!

Getting ready to swim.

Madeline in front of her favorite: the waterslide.
The Fairhurst family.
One evening we went to the riverwalk in downtown Spokane. The kids got to ride on an old-fashioned carousel and play at the park. Out of all the places to sit on the carousel, Madeline choose to sit on the bench next to a lady she does not know. She is so funny.

Madeline sitting by the lady.

Chloe and Kevin.
Ashton.
Pictures of the fun park where the kids played.

Playing on the train.

One of the days, we took the kids to an indoor bounce house. They had so much fun.

The three musketeers.

Ashton and Madeline racing each other.

Chloe and Maddy trying to hold hands.
The Fairhursts have a trampoline and the kids had a lot of fun playing on it.

Eating breakfast.
Playing guitar hero.

Maddy-isms

2008-08-03T23:20:00.000-04:00

My sister-in-law, Amanda, told me something funny that Madeline said to her while Madeline was staying in Utah. David (my brother) and Amanda were getting ready to go to a movie. Amanda is about 8 months pregnant. Madeline asked her what she was going to do with her baby while they were at the movies. Amanda said, "I'm going to take him with me."
Madeline said, "You can take him out of your tummy and leave him here and grandma can watch him."
Amanda said, "The doctors said that he has to stay in my tummy a little longer."
Madeline said, "Oh."
She is so funny.

Back together again.

2008-08-03T23:09:00.002-04:00

I flew back to Utah on July 29th and left Madeline with my family. They watched her so that Andrew and I could get some packing and other stuff done. We wouldn't have been able to do that without free flights. But there is a huge disadvantage to free flights and that is knowing that you may not make it to your destination on the day you want. Andrew and I tried to fly to Utah on August 2nd but the flights were totally booked that day (we were trying to make it before Sunday for a baby blessing). Well we barely made it to Utah on Sunday, August 3rd and ended up missing the baby blessing but were there in time to see family and eat lunch (if only their church started at 1:00pm, we would have made it). My sister picked Andrew and I up from the airport and brought Madeline with her. It's been almost a week since i've seen her and I missed her so much. Now our little family is back together again. We went down to visit my family later on that evening and these are some typical pictures of what my family does on a hot Sunday evening.

Cousins and second cousins eating popsicles.

Pictures of my extended family just hanging out.

Dad and Bill are deep in conversation.

My parents just got a new puppy and tonight we had a "naming" party. Everyone who wanted to participate put down on a piece of paper what they wanted to name the puppy. The puppy's name is Roxy. She is the cutest little thing and so fun to cuddle.

Maddy and Roxy.

Emily and Madison with Roxy.

The boys playing basketball.

More OCD.

2008-07-27T23:12:00.000-04:00

I just got some vintage little people off ebay for Madeline. I used to play with them as a child and love them. I like the vintage little people alot better than the newer ones. Madeline loves to line them up. I don't think she'll ever stop being OCD. I love the picture with the little people in their cars. The cars are actually my moms. I used to play with them when I was younger.

Madeline was so excited about her little people. When she opened the box, she said, "Thank you mama. These are the most peoples i've seen in my whole life." She's only seen the ones that my mom has, so she was excited to see a lot of little people.

Madeline posing.

Family Reunion

2008-07-26T22:50:00.000-04:00

Today was the annual Edmunds Spanish Fork Pool Party/Reunion. My Grandma rents the Spanish Fork swimming pool for one and 1/2 hours and then we head over to Mapleton to eat lunch and play. It was good to see some of my relatives that I haven't seen in a while. This year Madeline could go down the waterslide by herself (with a life jacket, of course). She was so proud of herself. I can't even count how many times she went down the waterslide in just one and 1/2 hours. Madeline is growing up so fast.

Eating
Playing

Visiting the sheep. They have grown a lot since I saw them last.
My Dad and brother rode their bikes from Orem to Spanish Fork, then to Mapleton and back to Orem. So, of course, I had to get a picture.

Happy Pioneer Day!

2008-07-24T23:56:00.000-04:00

We really did go back to Florida, but now Maddy and I came back to Utah for Pioneer Day and a family reunion. We celebrated Pioneer Day at Scera Park with extended family on my mom's side. We ate lunch, played games, and had lots of fun. The kids played water games with sponges and water balloons and had a blast. Paul's band, Cobet, rocked the house. A group next to ours asked if we wanted to participate with the CANDY CANNON. It's like a potato gun or cannon except you fill it with candy. The kids absolutely loved it and I enjoyed watching them run for the candy. What a fun idea!

Pioneer Day Slideshow.

2008-07-24T23:05:00.000-04:00

Visiting Grandma great.

2008-07-14T20:47:00.000-04:00

Everytime we visit Utah, we go see my grandmother. She is almost 94 years old and such an amazing person. It's so much fun visiting with her. I hope that Madeline will remember her. I barely remember my great-grandmother on my mother's side because she died when I was young.

Madeline giving her great-grandma hugs.

Skylar showing her sunglasses off.

Happy Birthday Brian!

2008-07-12T23:41:00.000-04:00

So guess where we celebrated Brian's birthday? That's right. Texas Roadhouse. What's not to love about that place. The food is great (I especially love their rolls and loaded sweet potato) and if it's your birthday, you get to ride a saddle. What more could you want for your birthday? Yee-haw!

Playing with the cousins.

2008-07-12T22:33:00.000-04:00

Today I went to my cousins house for Lisa's baby shower. Courtney is taking violin lessons and she is only five. Her violin is so LITTLE. This is a picture of Madeline with the violin. It's so cute.
Madeline and her cousins in the car going to play at the Webster's house. Madeline loves riding in my sister's van because they have a DVD player.

Barbeque

2008-07-11T21:24:00.000-04:00

Andrew and I stayed one night with Eric and Angie. They had a baby boy named Alexander on June 24th. This was our first time seeing him. He is so cute and such a good baby. Eric and Angie had a barbeque for us and Amanda came also. We had fun visiting with them. These are some silly picture of Eric joking around:

Lagoon Day 2008

2008-07-09T23:57:00.000-04:00

Every year since I was young, my family, extended family, and friends plan a day to go to Lagoon. We get a discount on tickets and get a pavillion reserved. At around six o'clock, we always meet at Pioneer Village for ice cream and a group picture. When we were younger, we had matching t-shirts. They were usually bright colors and now I can see why (so you always know where your children are). As teenagers, we didn't like the shirts so much (they cramped our style). But since having a child of my own, those t-shirts would be handy. My parents are so wonderful because they are willing to watch the grandkids so we can go on the adult rides. Madeline has been to Lagoon day ever since she was born. She went on Puff the Magic Dragon when she was nine months old! She was born to love rides like her parents. We always look forward to Lagoon Day!

Maddy's favorite ride: Dinosaur Drop and Ladybug Bop.

Madeline hugging her cousin.
Andrew and Mike braving The Rocket.
Maddy driving a boat.
Like Daddy...
like daughter.

Lagoon Day 2008 Slideshow

2008-07-09T23:09:00.000-04:00

Madeline made the cut!

2008-07-08T22:37:00.001-04:00

Our purpose of this visit to Utah is to look for a place to live close to where Andrew will be working. Madeline stayed with my family while we stayed overnight in Layton to look for a place to live. My parents let us borrow their car which was helpful. After our last appointment of the day, we got into the car and it wouldn't start. The battery was dead. Luckily we were staying overnight with our friends, the McGarrys. They came and helped jumpstart the car (because we had no jumper cables). Everytime we stopped and turned off the car, it died. We went to dinner and stayed overnight at the McGarrys. They let us borrow their car to continue our search for places to live. Thanks Cody and Brooke! We really appreciate your help. We are excited to live close to friends.

Anyways, we came home today so we could go to Mike's birthday party in Spanish Fork. We walked into their house and saw a cute little blonde girl with SHORT hair. Tiffany had chopped my daughter's hair off. But it sure was cute because she Maddy's hair done in a bob. Tiffany knew that I wanted to have Maddy's hair short but I kept it long for modeling. But now that we are moving and Maddy's modeling days are over, her hair can be short. It really looks cute. Thanks Tiffany for the surprise!

Happy Birthday Olivia!

2008-07-05T22:26:00.000-04:00

MAKE A WISH!

We flew into Utah just in time to celebrate Olivia's 3rd birthday. My sister did not know we were coming to Utah and when we showed up at her house, she was very surprised. Madeline was so excited to see her cousins. Olivia got a three princesses birthday cake. We had a fun evening eating, mingling, and playing games.

Trying to keep the candles from blowing out.

The girls all wanted a princess and were fighting over which one they got (eventually the princesses had to be put away).

Whoa! Slow down Dan.

Happy Fourth of July!

2008-07-04T21:21:00.001-04:00

We took Madeline to Pine Island Park for the Fourth of July. They had booths set up, a bounce house, a petting zoo, and other fun activities. Madeline was able to get an ID card made for her with her thumbprint. It was so hot and humid that we didn't stay very long. That was pretty much all we did for the Fourth of July because Andrew had to work and we were leaving for Utah early the next morning.

The petting zoo had the cutest animals. There was a cow, sheep, goats, ducks, etc. Madeline had fun playing with all the animals.

Maddy having fun sliding on the bounce house.

Disney's Magic Kingdom

2008-06-29T01:14:00.001-04:00

WHERE DREAMS COME TRUE!

We went to Magic Kingdom today. It was Samantha's first time to Disney World (she gets to go to Disneyland a lot). We still got to use the "Princess pass" which made Magic Mountain so enjoyable because there we a lot of people at the park today. Madeline and Samantha had Princess books and were able to get signatures from a lot of Disney characters. Madeline was BARELY tall enough to go on Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Railroad for the first time. She was so funny on Big Thunder Railroad because she would put her hands up in the air and scream (pretty much the whole ride). It was so cute. We had a little rain in the evening which was good timing because we ended up getting some dinner and were right in front to see the SpectroMagic Parade. The adults were able to go on Space Mountain while the kids crashed out for the evening.

So Goofy.

Maddy's first time on Splash Mountain. What a big girl!

Maddy's first time on Big Thunder Mountain. She is so brave!

Samantha and Madeline talked about this ride all day. When we finally got over to Adventure Land, the ride was closed because it was raining a little. So they were not able to ride it until after dark. Also because of the rain, the girls were not able to see Aladdin and Jasmine.

This is what Disney World does to children (and adults too)!

Story Time with Belle.

2008-06-29T01:13:00.000-04:00

I don't know why but everytime we have been to Magic Kingdom, Andrew ends up playing the Beast for Story Time with Belle. Here are some pics of Andrew's performance:

Getting the Beast dressed.

Sooo scarry.
The Beast becomes a Prince.

Story Time with Belle Videos

2008-06-29T01:12:00.000-04:00