The Maddo's

BROKEN!

2012-01-26T14:03:00.000-08:00

This were NOT the word I was thinking would happen to MY child before any of my siblings children, but it was!

On Sunday I was getting lunch ready, while Alan shoveled, Zachary & Kye played with blocks, & Emma was reading. It was a lovely Sunday morning where everything was going SMOOTHLY ...

Until the SCREAMS of pain started from Kye.

The screaming wasn't shocking, but it DIDN'T STOP --- that was the SHOCKING part.

Our TV speaker had fallen right on top of his little foot --- OWIE!

Kye's foot was IMMEDIATELY bruised & swolled when Daddy brought him upstairs.

I KNEW something just wasn't right.

He screamed for a good 45 minutes until his Daddy distracted him with a Peek-a-boo game ... good ol' Daddy to the RESCUE!

We made an appt. with the x-ray people at Wee Care Pediatrics & proceeded onto church.

{I had to be there to do sharing time & Al had to be there to give the closing prayer}

Alan left church early to take Kye to his appt, while I did sharing time & gathered up our other 2 once church was over.

--- YEP, the x-ray showed a nice, clean break right on the GROWTH PLATE OF THE BIG TOE!He was in this temporary boot Sunday to Monday & was ABSOLUTELY miserable!!! He wouldn't walk on it, put pressure on it, or allow ANYTHING to touch it.

{Sunday night was WORSE than your first night home with a NEWBORN ... he was just so miserable. No pain medicine even touched the pain he was in, & he was just restless, sleepless, & couldn't get comfy.}

Monday morning we got up, had a bath, got the call for our next appt with the Pediatric Surgeon, & waited around until NAP time to go to it ... UGH!

Oh well, at least they were FAST, EFFICIENT, & good to Kye.

They explained that what we do NOW is not necessarily the ONLY thing we'll have to do or the sure fix. Since his break is on his growth plate of the ONLY toe that matters, we would cast it, decide after the cast came off if it helped, & then wait & see if the toe really still does grow ... Instead of pin it immediately.

Now that sounds like FUN! :)

He did really well having his foot wrapped in a cast.

He only wimpered a little having it done.

Immediately after they did it, he would put pressure on it, but couldn't REALLY walk since it was so bulky & slippery.

By Tuesday he was cruising on it & climbing like normal. I'm glad he caught onto life FAST cause let's just say a miserable 2 year old make a MISERABLE household!

He'll wear his cast for 3 weeks & then we'll see what the next step will be ...

He still gets tired by the end of the day hauling his leg around, but he gets better & better by the day.

He get frustrated when his cast gets stuck or caught on things --- which happens often enough to cause ANYONE a headache!

But all-in-all I'm glad it's "HEALING"!!!

We're glad that this little "incident" is able to HEAL & not really have detremental consequences!

It is kinda cute to see him "PEG-LEG" around the house!

It brings a smile to my face.

I'm so grateful kids are so adaptable to life ---

I strive to be more child-like in SOOOO many ways!

SNOW!!!

2012-01-24T10:06:00.000-08:00

At the first of January it had been a really long time since we had seen snow. My kids had been BEGGING me to go sledding, but with no snow that wasn't going to happen. Finally one Saturday we woke-up to SNOW!! {& lots of it!!!}

It was HEAVY, WET, EXHAUSTING to shovel snow, but my kids were STOKED!!! That's ALL I heard about was going sledding. So I threw all my "Saturday Plans" out the window & headed to the store to buy sleds. The only problem was: Daddy was outta town & I wasn't taking 3 kids to a crowded sledding hill by myself. {there's really only 1 hill anywhere near us, we live in a pretty FLAT area!} SOOOO ... I improvised & built a HILL in our front yard with all the snow I had shoveled off the driveway.

PERFECT for them ... PERFECT for ME!

My kids & I had a good 3 hours of F-U-N together!!!!

While we were buying sleds I also happened upon this LOVELY machine & just couldn't pass it up:It was muchly enjoyed THAT day & for MANY, MANY, MANY days after!

I LOVE me some HOT COCOA!!!!

* Adult Game Night *

2012-01-15T07:46:00.000-08:00

The night before Ashely & Luis left to go back to California we got together as couples at Dave's new house. We ate pizza, talked/socialized, played games, had snacks, & laughed A LOT!!

It was fun to have one last HOOOO-RAH with them before they left!

I didn't get many pictures, but I did want to remember the night so here's the POST:{We were lucky enough to have Santa eat with us!!!}

Although I didn't get pics of EVERYONE we were all there except Daddy-o. :(

Thank y'all for coming & enjoying the night with us & thanks Dave for hosting it for us!!!

{I BAWLED all the way home knowing that I wouldn't get to see Ash & Lu at Mom's the next time I went :(}

Good Luck having your baby Sista!!! Can't wait to see Little Miss Moreno!

{isn't she TEENEY TINY for being due the end of January!! I'm glad I'm not pregnant next to her!!!}

December 26th

2012-01-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

I quite liked that Alfie got the day AFTER Christmas off!

It was like the holiday just kept going & it was LOVELY!

We both got a nice run in that morning, & then we got to enjoy reading ALL the Christmas books before they got put on the book shelf! :)Then it was off the return some items & then to FIVE GUYS ... YUMM-O!

I LOVE this place!

My kids LOVE the peanuts, & the grilled cheese!& the SODA, of course!

{soda is a RARE commidity as our house}

& I LOVE IT ALL!!!Alan was probably SICK of eating at the place since thats what he has been outta town building is a Five Guys in Washington. He gets to eat at either of the other stores in Washington ANYTIME he wants ... FOR FREE! So needless to say, he does eat there at least twice a week --- LUCKY!!!!! But he KNOWS how much I like to eat here too, so he suprised me & drove us there for lunch --- THANKS BABE!After lunch we came home & waited for Grandpa & Grandma Fergy, Dave, Ashley & Luis to come over to visit us. We had a WONDERFUL visit & got spoiled from them TOO!!We relaxed, talked, ate some more, ---& enjoyed some DANCING!!!Grandma was convinced to color with Emma instead of dancing & I think Grandmas couldn't of been HAPPIER!!
It was FABULOUS to be able to stretch out the holiday for 2 days!
{At least it felt that way to me!}

Christmas 2011

2012-01-12T18:02:00.000-08:00

We woke up Christmas Morning at about 8:00am, ahh it's wonderful to have GOOD sleeping kids!!! Emma was the first awake & because we put the kiddy gate at the top of the stairs she couldn't go anywhere, but into our room. We FINALLY woke up Zachary & Kye about 8:15.

And guess what ... ... SANTA had come!!!So we got all lined up ready to roll, said a family prayer, & unleashed the F-U-N!{yes, that is WHITE printer paper that Emma is so EXSTATIC about in the picture above ... MOST USED PRESENT from Christmas!!!}

---

After we opened Santa presents/stockings & a few more we ate our yummy crepe breakfast & got ready for church.

{I was too busy trying to get breakfast put together/cleaned-up & be on time to church that I didn't get a picture of our gourmet crepe bar ... BUMMER}The kids got new church clothes from Santa.It was fun to go to church.

It prolonged the opening of presents & it was such an amazing meeting with wonderful messages, & musical numbers.

I'm always a little sad once it's ALL over! But it was really fun to have all 3 kids REALLY into the opening of presents & all their toys they got!

After a quick clean-up we had Grammy & Grandpa Madsen & Nate over for lunch & a visit. It's always fun to visit with family during the holidays!

Then it was off for NAP TIME!! {HALLELUJAH!}

After naps & a light dinner we headed off the see the lights at Temple Square as a FAMILY.{We went last year on Christmas Day & have decided that's the day to go as LONG as we go early. It isn't as crowded as usual & I love bringing Christmas full swing!}

After warming up with Hot Chocolate & Toast, we headed downstairs to play our new Wii.

Just Dance was a HUGE Hit!The Cars 2 game is a little advanced for our kids, but they'll "grow" into it!

It's still a fun one to watch them play as they think they are driving really well!!

It was a MERRY MERRY Christmas!

I'm so blessed to have a WONDERFUL husband & kids!!!This holiday season was different not having Al home a lot of it, but it made us all value the time we did spend together!

We were lucky enough to have Daddy stay in town the whole week after Christmas so we got to enjoy LOTS of family time before Emma went back on track.

{Daddy still worked in town, but was HOME for dinner if not before then!}

It was a fun holiday season where ALL of our kids were excited to open presents & reactions to different things were PRICLESS!!!

There were also many FHE lessons where I felt like my kids "got" the true meaing of Christmas & that was an awesome spirit in our home all month long.

It was awesome to be able to spend all month with ALL of my kids doing fun RANDOM things whenever we wanted! Emma was off school, so we had no schedule & nap time was non-exsistent, or we had it while driving to our adventure for the day. {which was actually not that bad considering night time was then a BREEZE!} It was fun to have my Twinster & her hubby around for part of December as well!!

I'm so grateful for my Savior! I'm grateful to know that he did live on this earth. That he died for us all. That he LOVES & knows me & my family. He KNOWS ME! He knows what I can handle & is there to help me every step of the way. I'm grateful to have had this time of year to re-focus my life on him. What a blessing it is to have such a LOVING Savior in my life!!

I hope you all had a VERY MERRY Christmas!!

Christmas Eve

2012-01-07T09:22:00.000-08:00

This was such a LOW-KEY wonderful day!

We got to spend the WHOLE day together as a FAMILY & that was the BEST part!

----

In the morning we started off with Santa Pancakes!They were truely ENJOYED by ALL!

{I got this WONDERFUL idea off of pinterest & my whole family was impressed by my cooking skills. My kids ask for these EVERY morning. "Too bad it can't be Christmas EVERY day," is what Emma hints at breakfast.}

----

Then we did MANY chirstmas-y crafts with the kids while I made dinner.{I only got a picture of this coloring page cause my hands were dirty.}

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Then we ENJOYED the feast that I made ... YUMM-O!----

After dinner we all decided about what "PARTS" we were going to play for the nativity.

It was fun to hear Emma & Zachary's discussion about Zach wanting to be an ANGEL.Alas he got to be the belevoed angel & everyone was HAPPY as could be!

It was awesome to read the story together & realize that my kids are understanding the REAL meaning of Christmas ... at least on Christmas Eve. :)

----

Then it was time for DESSERT!

This was an EXPERIMENT:But for making Red Velvet Cake for the 1st time from scratch I'd say it turned out EXCELLENT!

Yes, there are a few things I'd do differently, but it was DIVINE!

----

Then we opened NEW CHRISTMAS PJ'S!That was FUN!

We haven't done them other years, but ALL my kids needed new jammies this year so we did it.

I think it's a NEW tradition for EVERY year!

----

Then we read a few stories, left our milk & cookies, hung Santa's Key on the doory, & it was off to BED!The most GLORIOUS part is we had NO WRAPPING to do!

So we snuggled in our bed & "watched", aka fell asleep, a movie together.

{don't worry we did wake up once the show was over, 2-hours later, so we could put up Christmas, shower, & make crepes for the morning}

It was such an ENJOYABLE, EASY-GOING Christmas Eve!!

Progressive Dinner: Italian Style

2012-01-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

This is a traditon my Family has where we go from house to house eating a different course of the meal.

We started off at Mom's & Dad's where MOST of us enjoyed a Pasta Bar ... Mmmmm But SOME of us chose to fight over SHARING Grandma's time!

Then it was off to Dave's new house where Dave & Megie/Blake provided us with a LOVELY salad with the REAL Olive Garden Dressing ... MmmmmThen we got to have DESSERT at Dennis/Julies house with Italian Cookies ... Mmmmm

{I'm not sure the PROPER name for them ... SORRY}Off to Char/Jason's we went for garlic bread & dipping sauce ... Mmmmm& some Monkey-ing around!

Then we dropped Daddy of at the airport & headed for Home Sweet Home

Where we had Italian Sodas {provided by Cory/Jennie who were home sick}

& Little Ceaser breadsticks & dip ... Mmmmm

It was a FABULOUS night!

But it wore us right OUT!!!!

Kye LOVED saying Goodbye to everyone & SLAMMING the door behind them.

I hope our guests will come again & not think that we were RUDE!

Thinking of all the deliciousness we had that night makes me MIGHTY hungry!!!

Thanks for all the FUN, FOOD, & PREPARATION everyone put into this!

Adult Dinner 2011

2012-01-06T20:35:00.000-08:00

This is the 2nd year that we have gotten together at Christmas Time & gone out to eat as ADULTS. It's a fun tradition that I hope lasts for many more years to come!

Here's Mommy & Daddy:Davey & Michelle:Charisse & Jason:Ashley & Luis:Dennis & Julie:Megan & Blake:& US:Now you have met my FAMILY!!

... minus my other older brother & his wife, they were home sick for the weekend :(

We went to California Pizza Kitchen & enjoyed yummy pizza & free dessert for me!

{they burned my pizza, but free red velvet cake was worth the burned pizza!!}

Then those of us who were brave enough to endure the BITTER COLD went to see the LIGHTS @ Temple Square. Such a FUN thing to do as adults ... I think!

{no stress of kids & if they are by you or NOT!}

It was a fun night & I always ENJOY a night out with my Baba!!!

His company was so good to us: even though he was working outta town the whole month of December, they flew him back n' forth for EVERY holiday thing we had that month. It truely made me realize that we were so BLESSED to be able to find & work for such an AMAZING company!!! Such a blessing to be employed by such a caring company!

On a side note:

We had a lot of fashion Statements for the night ---

#1 We obviously ALL must have GOOD taste in BOOTS!!!

#2 Alan learned how to STAY warm!

#3 Mom ALL taught us a NEW way to wear our boots!

Sometimes you just can't decide weather to TUCK or NOT, so once of each works well!!!!

Christmas Happenings ---

2012-01-06T07:37:00.000-08:00

--- That really don't need thier OWN post ---

We did A LOT during the month of Decmeber.

We had to keep busy cause Emma was off-track & Daddy was outta TOWN!

So here's what we did ---

-Drank Hot Co-co

-Visited 3 Santas

{the picture on here is the REAL Santa & Emma was so Happy that we were able to find him at Grandma & Grandpa Fergy's Ward Christmas Party!}-We had LATE nights at G&G Fergy's house before several trips to the airport to pick-up Daddy for the weekend.

-We hung-up Christmas lights

-Went to see Arthur's Chrismtas as a FAMILY in the movie-ator

{good MOVIE!!}

-Went to Squire's Christmas Party where there was YUMMY food & a BONUS for me!! {& Alan of course, but I have NEVER received my OWN bonus!}

-We got to go to the Madsen's Christmas Party where cousins acted out the nativity-& we got PRESENTS!-We even got to make SNOW angels despite the LACK of Snow we have gotten!-We made many Chrismtas crafts & colored many Chrismtas pictures for Santa

{our tree had a pile of paper under it for the whole month ... I didn't take a picture UGH!!!}

-We visited the magical Elves at Gardner Village-We went & looked at the DARLING windows at the Grand America Hotel {where silly Mommy forgot her camera, so maybe sometime I'll get those pictures on here}

-We got to spend LOTS of PRECIOUS time with Aunt Ashley{yes, Ash is the best Twinster EVA & made Emma & I matching headbands! She also did Emma's hair the night we slept-over at Mom's & Emma has since deemed Ash as a much better hair doer than me ... I'm perfectly ok with that!}-& Uncle Luis!And Lastly:

-we made cookies with Daddy!
It was a GLORIOUS December with LATE nights, lots of Redbox movies, no schedule, no Daddy for a lot of the month, but LOTS of Fabulous F-U-N!
{Here's just the beginning to my CATCH-UP posts!!! :) }

Birthday Boy!

2012-01-04T21:18:00.000-08:00

I can't believe my Baby is TWO!!!

{kinda crazy to have my baby that old & not have another one on the way or in tow, but OH SO NICE!!}

{take note: he is holding up 2 fingers to show he's 2 ... what a cutie!}

We got visitors, Dave & Grandma Fergy, first thing so the present opening began early!

& boy did Kye know how to open presents!!!!

We had a WONDERFUL day celebrating with him!

He sure LOVED all his presents!

& He was quite the PRO at blowing out candles on the cake too!

It was sad to not have Daddy there to celebrate with, but we still had an OUTSTANDING day celebrating our Little Man!

{I STILL CAN'T BELIEVE HE IS TWO!!!!}

We love this little active Boy!

With two little boy running around sometimes life is CRAZY, but we wouldn't change it for ANYTHING!

Kye is very active!

He talks, but not in full sentences like his cousin Afton, but we still can understand him ... well at least Mommy can!

He has been switched to a big boy bed ... within the last week ... & loves it at NIGHT {naptime not so much LOVE}

He likes to eat, but only on the GO!

He is actually BARELY on the charts for his 2 year old stats ... too bad I don't have his exact stats for ya!

He loves to do whatever Emma & Zachary are doing!

He's a PUSHER of things {meaning he likes to push things like big cars, outdoor lawnmower, & the popper toy thingy --- my other two definetly didn't get the use outta those things like he has!}

He LOVES trucks/tractors {& points out all the tractors as we are driving around}

He could throw a ball back & forth for HOURS!!!!

He has a tender little spirit that doesn't like to be told NO.

He is my little snuggle bugger & I love it!

He hasn't sucked his thumb in MONTHS!!!

{WAHOO!!!! -- the tape trick worked for us!}

He loves to read his OWN book while I read books to Emma & Zachary ... He doesn't want to read the book with me ... Goofball!

He's growing up WA----AY TOO fast!!!

We love ya Kye Guy!

ANNOYED

2011-12-14T20:12:00.000-08:00

I really do have WONDERFUL/EXCITING things to blog about like a 2-year old birthday bash, seeing the REAL Santa, doing the Natvity with cousins, wonderful FAMILY pictures, & spending a weekend with Daddy, but alas I CANNOT because my pics won't download ... Can anyone say OBNOXIOUS??!!??

But as long as I can't download the pics from my camera I will go back in time & share with you some photos that you haven't seen ... Can you BELIEVE there are such things??

Well, WAAA-AAY back in October I did have a WONDERFUL birthday!

The weekend before my birthday my Terrific Husband took me out to CELEBRATE!

We went to THE GARDEN resturaunt on the top of the Joseph Smith Bldg. & had a LOVELY dinner just the 2 of us! I got to release a "birthday wish" out of their sky window so that ALL my wishes may come true.

(this resturaunt is where we went right AFTER Alan propsed to me & we have NEVER been back since, so it brought WONDERFUL memories for both of us.)

After eating out we spent the night shopping/looking at Gateway & then we headed to my next favorite store ... TARGET!!! Where I got this beauty for my birthday:

I think I might've shared these WONDERFULNESSES with you before, but in case I haven't let me introduce you to Pink Lemonade Doughnuts made from yours truly:Yummmmmmm-O!!!!

Then I got a wonderful suprise from my TWINSTER ... A marvelous belt-y thing that has her FASHION written all over it!!!(I think I've pulled it off pretty well a few times now, & I really do LOVE it!!!)

I did get some LOVELY brown boots for my birthday, but I don't think I have a specific picture taken of them ... I DO LOVE THEM THOUGH!!!

And last but not least I got 2 new pairs of glasses:

I have only taken a picture of me in one pair, but I just don't think I'm a glasses GAL, but with both pairs only costing me a whopping $30 it was ALL worth it! At least they are the right percription so I can see correctly out of them!

Now enough about ME ... Let's move-on to the CUTIES in my life!

This TRIO loves to color their hearts out!!!!(especially my little princess!!!)

It was getting so outta hand a few months ago with STACKS of papers hoarded EVERYWHERE that I had a little talk with her & we decided that we'd take pictures of ANY picture she wanted to treasure & someday we'd make a special book with them all in, so we DON'T need to keep all the papers ... ahhhhh, so much less MESS!!!

So without further a-do I'm going to share just a FEW of her beauties:& last but not least she drew a picture of ME:Belly Button & ALL!!!

Do ya think their are similarities to me???

(I promise I don't dress like that, but my hair could look like that MOST days!)

I love it!!!

She delivered it right to my bedside one day & proudly exclaimed, "Mom, this is you!!! I just LOVE you!!!!"

WOWSIE!!!!

2011-12-13T10:38:00.000-08:00

HELP ME!!!! Blogger has CHANGED on me AND I can't get my pics to upload to my computer cause it says that drive is full ... I KNOW NOTHING about computers & my hubby isn't home until the weekend!!!! I am so SOOOOO, SOOOO ANNOYED at life right now!! & what is with this new blogger stuff ... DOUBLE UGH for sure!!!!! PLEASE ... if you know anything to help me PLEASE HELP!!! :(

Sincerly,

UNHAPPY BLOGGER!!!!

Hello from my phone

2011-12-08T13:18:00.001-08:00

Life is crazy & I always have my phone so sometimes I capture the "moment" on my phone. Here's some fun random moments from the past month: ENJOY!

Hmmmmm ...

2011-12-05T19:14:00.000-08:00

*****Consider yourself WARNED that this post is LONG & WORDY ... but I'm not gonna change it cause it's for me ... JUST WARNING YOU!!!*********

I don't quite know what to title this post ...

I have wanted to blog for a while, but have not wanted to sit downstairs in the cold to do it.

And now that I look through my pictures I REALLY don't have much to blog about ... BOARING!

I had moments in the last month that as a Mommy, or grown adult, I don't think I have EVER had!!!

These last 3 weeks have been hard & lonely with a husband outta town & 3 kids around.

Emma's off-track until after Chrismtas so our schedule has gone out the window ... which isn't a bad thing at ALL!!!

{I think I am REALLY liking this TRACK thing!!}

But with no Hubby home is makes NIGHTS the hardest!

I'm burned out ... my kids are tired ... & there's no HELP in sight!!!

I can handle the days, but when it gets close to dinner time I tend not to be the most LOVING...FAIL!!!

But that's ok ... a new day comes & I get to try again.

I'm grateful for tender moments when my children SHARE ... I have to capture them, so that I CAN REMEMBER THEM!!!! :)I also really do LOVE the helping hands that I receive from ALL 3 of them!!But my biggest Ah-HA moment came last week in an outing. I wanted to go, but apart of me was dreading the whole event. I didn't know why? {... Was it because the 1st year I was married I went with my Hubby & it was so CROWDED, people were literally BREATHING down my neck the ENTIRE time, & I vowed never to return ... ESPECIALLY with KIDS ... YES, I think that's why!!!}

But we went ... BECAUSE MOMMY NEEDED TO GET OUT!!! :)

Once we got into the event I was a little frustrated because I had a child who didn't want to be by me ... they wanted to be by cousins ... which is understandable, but it's a crowded place & I worry about being able to keep an eye on 3 kids, so I just wanted them by ME.

Needless to say, I LOST that battle & everytime I asked this child to come by me & got the upset/grumpy look ... oh well!

I at least got to have 2 other children by me the whole time & THAT did make it EASIER!As the "looking at the trees" progressed my attitude began to change as I realized that as long as I didn't tell that child to come by me, she listened to EVERY word I said ... like slow down, stay BEHIND so-&-so, come in front of me, hold that persons hand, etc. So it was OK! :)

{don't ya LOVE the HOT PINK of this tree!!!}It was a crowded event, but nothing like I remembered it!

The only time I felt like I had people BREATHING DOWN MY BACK was when we'd stop, so I didn't get many pictures which I am kind of regretting now, but I think my kids enjoyed themselves. As I got to watch them, I realized that I DO have good kids ... I HAVE done something right ... & I felt an over-whelming sense of gratitude for them & the way they responded to my wishes.

I'm grateful that even though we all miss Daddy SOOOOOOO, SOOOOOO, SOOOOOO much, I at least have these little MONKEYS to keep me company!

That day was one for the record books!
I'm grateful that I was able to stay a little longer at the Festival of Trees & spend some one-on-one time with just my kids in a public setting. That is something that usually overwhelms me, but on that day, after the events that went on, I wasn't overwhelmed AT ALL!
I KNEW my kids were manageable by MYSELF & I KNEW that they LISTENED to me!
Once we left we came home & had Breakfast for Dinner & got to spend the evening together watching Smurph's & eating Popcorn ... It was a PERFECT day to hold my kids close to me on the couch!
& you know what ... I think I wanna go back again next year!!!!! :)
{a new tradition!}
Speaking of traditions:
This year I FINALLY finished my muffin tin advent calendar ... I finished because I HAD to do it as a craft for a Super Saturday ---YES, great MOTIVATION!!!
Soooo, it's been fun to start a "NEW" thing around here!
If my kids are GOOD during the day ... NOT PERFECT, but GOOD ... then the magical ELVES come & put 3 little TREATS in the muffin tin for them to have then next morning.

My kids love to rattle it on the door in the morning to see if anything is in there ...
on 1 day there were 3 candies in there, but 2 of them were bitten/broken in half {Emma insists that the elves broke them, becuase they didn't want to spread their germs} Emma & Zachary KNEW that the broken ones were for them becuase they KNEW they hadn't acted very good the day before, but they were grateful to at least get something. It's been fun to watch them assess themselves throughout the day to see if they will recieve any candy from the elves ... hopefully we can make it to Christmas with all 3 of them getting candies EVERY day!!!!

Gobble Gobble until you WOBBLE!!!

2011-11-28T14:50:00.000-08:00

Our Thanksgiving weekend started EARLY with Daddy arriving home on TUESDAY from Washington to CELEBRATE with us!!!

We were all so THANKFUL to have DADDY home!!!!Our Thanksgiving Day went like this:

Got up at 7am to play in the Neighborhood Turkey Bowl {Alan}

Got up at 8:00am to go running {Amber}

Got home around 10am & got ready to go to the Madsen's for some YUMM-O food!!!

Yep, I ate ALL of that & MORE!!!!! :)Then we cleaned up & us GIRLS planned out our Black Friday Madness!!!While the boys pecked away at their laptops!

{yep, Al has a laptop that he got to buy all for himself on the companies DIME ... AWESOME!!!}Then we were hungry enought to DIVE into our delicious dessert!

Dad sampled them all & gave us 2 thumbs ... WAAAY-up!Grammy got to feed Kye since he was going on a NO-NAP day & was so finicky with me, but loved it when Grammy fed him ... STINKER!

{take note of Grammy's hair ... the next picture is the result of her knotted up-do she did to keep hair outta all the food}We even had a visitor ... Grammy the CLOWN!!!

{she's probably going to shutter when she's sees this picture on here ... LOVE YA MOM!!!!Kye was a pretty happy kid, even with no-nap.

{he just stuck BY ME the whole day ... while my other 2 ran about with cousins}

He LOVED played with the feathers out of one of Grammy's decorations.We hope you all had a WONDERFUL Thanksgiving!!!

We DID!!!!!I left about 7pm to go stand in-line at Wal-mart for a big ticket item that Santa MIGHT be bringing our kids for Christmas ...

It's ALWAYS such a blast to Black Friday Shop with my Sisters & my Mom!!!After Target's opening at midnight Char & Megie chose to head home for the night while Mom & I trekked on to the other stores.

We hit up Khol's for some items ... that were worth it although the line took us over 1 1/2 hours to get to check-out ... it was a MAD-HOUSE!!!I got EVERYTHING I wanted on Black Friday thanks to my Mom-in-law who didn't want her extra pair of sheets ... SCORE!!!

We went to Alan's Cousin's Party with all of his cousins on Friday afternoon.

{it was fun to catch-up with those who came}

Saturday was spent enjoying just US!

We hung-up Christmas lights, put up the tree, & just hung around.

After spending LOTS of time with Daddy we had to SADLY say goodbye to him Sunday morning ... :(

But to take away some of the GLOOM we decided to decorate the TREE, that Daddy put up, that night.

My kids were EXSTATIC!!!Look how well Kye "hung"-up the ornaments he was given. {hehehe}It was a wonderful weekend!!!

**SIDE NOTE**

ALL 5 of our chickens are now laying eggs!!!!

We finally get enough eggs EVERYDAY that we don't have to buy ANY!!!

{we also have enough to share with others ... SCORE!!!!}We LOVE having chickens!!!!!

Low-maintenance & they produce useful things!!!

Thankful ...

2011-11-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

I am TRUELY thankful for so much!

As I have gotten older I realize more & more the LOVE of this holiday!

I LOVE to reflect on the things I'm thankful for & desire to have the same attitude of gratitude all year long!!! ---maybe this year I'll be better at it!

Anyways ---

{i won't list them ALL ... just a few with pics!}

I am THANKFUL for my FAMILY!!!

I couldn't of asked for a better husband in the whole world!

He is TRUELY meant for ME!

I have 3 marvelous kids!

I love all of them to PIECES!

I'm thankful for the gospel!

It brings me such joy & peace!

I'm thankful to know that my family, my WHOLE family, will be together FOREVER!

That is so POWERFUL to me!

I'm grateful to know that I WILL see my loved ones someday that I have & have never met & who have FOREVER influenced me for the better!

What a blessing to know that there IS a life hereafter!

---

I'm grateful for the simple things like snuggling with each one of my children! {& my hubby!}

They may have not all been snugglers as a baby like Kye, but they ALL enjoy snuggling with me every now & again & I LOVE IT!!!

I'm always up for a GOOD 'ol fashion SNUGGLE!!!

----

I'm grateful for a sense of HUMOR! We have some GOOD laughs at this house between all 5 of us!
--

I'm so grateful for the WONDERFUL job that my Sweetie has!

& that he is SOOO willing to support our family & work his hardest for us all!

It was a long 2 years of unemployment, but it has been a change to have him go outta town for 2 weeks at a time every so often, BUT we are SOOOO, SOOOO GRATEFUL!!!

I'm grateful for our wonderful house!

This house has brought so many WONDERFUL memories for us & even though it's a PIG-STYE alot of the time ---

{like today while I was busy making 3 batches of rolls & my 1st homemade pie}It's nice to have a place to call HOME SWEET HOME!

Life is TRUELY wonderful once you REALLY start to look at it ... isn't it??!!??!!

I am so BLESSED!

Thank You to all the WONDERFUL people in my life that make it WONDERFUL!!!

Can I say I'm not grateful about 1 thing??

Well, I'm sad to say that my first pie making experience was a BOTCH!!!

ugh!

.... hopefully it won't taste too BURNED cause I'm too tired to make another one!!!

Happy Thanksgiving Y'all!

Hope it's a WONDERFUL day!!!

Snow is falling ALL-AROUND!

2011-11-18T19:47:00.000-08:00

It looks like tomorrow is gonna be ANOTHER good day for THIS:

It's so much fun to play in the snow with my kids!!!
BRING IT ON!!!

S - Day

2011-11-16T03:36:00.000-08:00

S-day is Surgery Day at our house.

It was a day that was bitter sweet for everyone!

Emma got upset about it EVERY time I brought it up to her & I, being the mature adult, just bawled about it behind her back!

What a GOOD COMBINATION we made!!!

Yes, I was the ONLY one to go with her to the hospital.

We chose to have Al stay at home with the boys cause it was going to be so early & it just seemed to make more sense for our situation.

Emma & I shed MANY of tears together!

Our check-in nurse probably thought why the heck did I come & not my husband!

I was so emotionally unstable which probably made it worse on Emma, but I WANTED to be there, so I CHOSE myself to be the one to go.

Emma was really ok until it came to getting out of her clothes & into "the gown".

This is how she felt about "the gown" ---Yep, she BAWLED!

But I explained to her that "Bradey-bug", her NEW surgery pillow pet, was going to go with her into surgery even though I couldn't. I had LOVED that pillow pet all-OVER so if she was scared or nervous to just hug "Bradey-bug" TIGHT & she'd be OK!!

That worked in her mind!!! She also new that since she could take her "Grandma's" Blanket with her too, she'd be ALRIGHT!!!

{that's what she told me after I explained about Bradey-Bug}I HATED the thought of her LEAVING me!

That's the part I dreaded & cried over the MOST!

Watching her being wheeled away from me was AWFUL!!!!

It did make it easier that she was ALL SMILES!!!

I love her sweet little spirit soooo much!

I'm glad she was converted at that time, cause I NEEDED IT!!!!!

-----

Her surgery lasted about 20 minutes & then Dr. Stock came out & told me it all went well.

He said that she had what they call Glue Ear.

{he said they pulled out over 2inches of sticky gloop in each ear ... no WONDER she couldn't hear!!!!}

But it looked good once they were done & she would be back there about 20 more minutes before I could see her.

{thank goodness it was a short n' sweet surgery cause 40 minutes away from my Princess was LONG enough!!!}

This is what she did in RECOVERY ---Just laid & watched "Super Why".

She took a couple SIPS of water & had no interest in eating ANYTHING!

She kept going in n' out of sleeping & was really quite GROGGY acting.

After about 30 minutes of recovery we got to HEAD HOME!!!!

-----

We arrived home where Daddy whisked her from the car to the couch, just like a prince charming would, & got to snuggle with her while Mommy ran to the store & fulfilled Emma's request for Breakfast ... {after her not being able to eat/drink anything after midnight I wanted her to EAT! i would've gotten her ANYTHING & EVERYTHING she wanted cause she had to go through such an AWFUL thing!!! :(}She wanted the cinnamon squares ... aka cinnamon life, so that is what she GOT!!!!!!& she ate about 1/2 of what she normally eats. :(

I also got her FAVORITE for lunch ... aka lunchables!!!

Her & I were pretty exhausted all day, so after Daddy went into work we layed around, read books, & snuggled A LOT!!!!

After naps in the afternoon, at least for her, she was back to NORMAL!

Her friends Adelle & Jet came by & brought her brownies & a card.

{she treasures that card & brings it for me to read everyday when we read books, along with Grandma Ferg's card}Then Grandma Fergy & Uncle Davey came that night bearing gifts ---{the Zebra pillow pet}

As you can see she was TOTALLY back to normal!!!!

She was EXSTATIC to have 2 NEW pillow pets!!!!!Emma's hearing improved IMMEDIATELY!!!!

It's been amazing to me!

When we got home she complained non-stop about how LOUD her brother's were & that it hurt her ears. {we tried to keep them as calm as possible as I'm sure her ears were sensitive.}

She commented to me while she was eating breakfast, "that she had NEVER heard her voice like this."

She hears my WHISPERS instantly!

She whispered for the 1st time in Sacrament Meeting on Sunday!

She covered her ears with her hands all through Primary!

She hears the T.V. at a normal volume level!

She immediately responds to EVERYONE who is talking to her!

She hears EVERYBODY when they say, "HI" to her!

I can't even begin to decribe how wonderful it is to have a HEARING 5 year old!!

It truely has been such a blessing to be able to have this fixed!

I'm grateful for such a sweet, good, little girl who isn't struggling because of this hearing loss!

What a BLESSING she is!

I LOVE YOU EMMA!!!!

We are so very GRATEFUL for everyone's thoughts & prayers in our behalf!

We were so blessed to have Daddy home to give her a blessing the night before, along with our WONDERFUL home teacher, & we know that helped in the whole process of things.

Thanks to EVERYONE who helped our family get through this!!!

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You for amazing doctors that could help my little girl HEAR again!!!!!!

Are you READY for some FOOTBALL????

2011-11-15T13:03:00.000-08:00

My mom IS the CUTEST!!!

She LOVES to think up fun activities that she can do with the grandkids & they always end up being such a BLAST!

As the grandkids sit now, there are more girls than boys, so we have had more GIRL-Y activities prevelent in our family functions. {Which has been perfect-ly FINE since my Zachary is the Oldest boy grandchild & any of you who know's my Zach knows that he doesn't mind the GIRL-Y aspects of life because he has an older sister ... NO I AM NOT WORRIED FOR HIS FUTURE!! He is ALL BOY in SOOOO many ways!!!}

ANYWAYS ...

A couple of months ago my cute Madre saw football oreos & decided she needed to have a "THEMED" party around them, so she threw a FOOTBALL party for all the Grandkids to ENJOY ... & ENJOY they did!!!!

We had all the WONDERFUL FOOTBALL food ---We got to watch Charly Brown's Thanksgiving, since it has a football scene in it ---We participated in a football training obstacle course ---

Made football themed sugar cookies ---

{they sure were GOOD & my boys LOVED smearing them all over my house sometime the next week ... yes, I should've taken a picture of their "art work" ... aka MESS ... but I was too upset by it. oh the JOYS of 2 boys working in action never seem to amaze me!!!}

We also got footballs for the boys ---& "pom-pilots" for the girls ---

{aka Pom-poms & mega phones ... funny Emma!}& had an ABSOLUTE BLAST with all of our cousins who were in town!

{yes, we missed you Afton!!!!}

It was honestly such a fun little get together.

Thanks Mumsie for putting it together for us ALL to enjoy!

2011-11-09T19:42:00.000-08:00

As I sit here & THINK of the events of the last 2 weeks ... I am grateful for what I DO HAVE! I'm grateful for a sweet 5 year old little girl who has a desire to succeed & please others in life. She is REMARKABLE & truely my LITTLE MIRACLE!!!!

I cry just thinking about it!

----

Ever since this little angle of mine was 3 I worried about her hearing.

I brought it up to her pediatrician at every well-child-check-up from 3 on ...

he was NEVER even concerned about it.

I talked to her pre-school teacher about it ... again NOT A WORRY IN SIGHT!

I talked to my Mom, my mom-in-law, friends, sisters, sis-in-laws & again everyone encouraged me that it was OK.

Not that I blame ANY of THEM ... well, I kinda do my pediatrician, but I do really like him so I'm trying to look past this ... they all gave me the BEST council they had.

------

This year in Kindergarten I got the news I was waiting for & the DIRECTION I have been longing for ... she didn't pass her hearing test & I now had someplace I could take her.

I have been anxiously awaiting my time slot to see the District Audiologist.

They tested her & recommended I go to a ENT dr ... aka ears, nose, & throat dr.

I took her & they tested her.

She has liquid blocking her hearing in both ears.

thick liquid!!!

that causes her to hear outta both ears as if your fingers are in your ears ALL THE TIME!

Try it ... it REALLY does make it difficult to HEAR very well.

My heart breaks for her!

I will never forget the test they did where they by-passes the ear drum & made the sound go directly to the coclia & she could HEAR, REALLY HEAR, for the first time.

Her face LITE-UP!!!!

She was baffeled by how LOUD the sound was ... it made me happy/sad for her!

I think of ALL the things she has been MISSING in life!

It makes me sad to think of the times that I have been short, frustrated, & onery at her because she didn't hear me, I had to repeat something for the 90th time, or I had to make special trips to her room to get her for meal time --- SHE REALLY DIDN'T HEAR ME!!! :(

------

Here I am CRYING ... again!!

But to look at the BRIGHT side ---

-It's something that CAN be fixed!

She will get tubes put in her ears on Friday ...

yep, THIS FRIDAY!

-The drs were AMAZED that she talks as well as she does!!!

she has a 75% hearing loss between BOTH ears having problems.

{30% in one ear & 35% in the other}

Most kids with that significant of a hearing loss for so long would have some sign of it in their speech --- SHE HAS NO SIGN IN HER SPEECH!!!

-They said that she SHOULD be struggling in school -- & she ISN'T!!!

Her teachers are AMAZED cause she really does stay on task & participates well!

She is such a SWEET little girl who has OVER-compensated her hearing loss by READING LIPS & expressions of others, so she IS successful & really shows NO sign of the hearing loss.

What a sweet, remarkable, amazing, shining star she is!!

I LOVE her, even more, for how she has already TRIUMPHED at the young age of 5!

-----

She is NERVOUS & very SCARED everytime we talk about the surgery.

But it'll be good to have done BEFORE Daddy leaves on Monday.

Her Daddy can give her a blessing tomorrow night & she'll be JUST FINE!

I can't WAIT to have this behind us & a BEAUTIFUL little girl that can hear me WHISPER to her!!!

Life is GOOD!!!

I'm grateful for the simple BLESSING/MIRACLES amongst the hard times!!

------

I'm gonna "steal" this saying from a friends blog ... {hope she doesn't mind!!}

If you LOVE life ...

It WILL love you back!!!

{That is Emma for ya!}

Halloween 2011

2011-11-04T05:50:00.000-07:00

On Halloween I had the priviledge to go to Emma's class & help at her class party.

It was fun to see her interact in school & I LOVE being around her!

Here's her DARLING lil' pumpin' that she decorated.Then for dinner I got a WONDERFUL idea from my lovely twin sister to make a "SPIDER WEB" pizza ... Thank sista!!!Then it was time for dressing up ...We had Baby Spidey,Super hero Princess,& Big "BLACK" Spider Man.& we also had the Black Scary Monster for the trick or treating escapade.Bye, Bye Trick or Treaters ... Have Fun!!!& F-U-N they had!!!

With LOADS of candy to prove it!!!!Hope everyone enjoyed their Halloween!!!

Happy Be-lated Halloween Everyone!

Fergy Halloween{ie} Party

2011-11-03T06:20:00.000-07:00

My Mummsie planned a WONDERFULLY {S}POOKY HALLOWEEN{IE} PARTY!The Super-heros came:So did Gru, the Minon, Vector, the "dead witch", Cinderalla, & Belle.We were cool enough for The Pirate & College student to join us.Then we had the Wizard of Oz Cast grace our presenceAlong with the World Class Athletes.It was such a BLAST of a party filled with homemade cream soda & root beer thanks to our WITCHY host.
The food was GOURMET with 5 different kinds of soup, along with breadsticks, rolls, chips, vegies, 7 layer dip, & cheese sauce --- YuMm-O!!!!

{don't miss the breadsticks placed like spiders ... i have such a cute Mumsie!!!}Uncle Davey is always fun to WRESTLE with!

Then it was off to Trunk-or-Treating

Oh for the LOVE of CANDY!!!

It was such a fun party & especially fun to see EVERYONE'S costumes ... hopefully all the other half of us who live around the world will post pics of THEIR Halloween{ie} costumes!

Tractor Ride ---

2011-11-02T05:27:00.000-07:00

Once I put up my Halloween stuff right after Labor Day this was the "EVENT" Zachary would not stop asking/talking about! He wanted to know everyday if TODAY was the day to go on the "Tractor Ride"

Well, Finally the day came where I could say YES, today WAS the day for the "tractor ride!"

Needless to say ... it was a GOOD day!We had fun as a family picking out the PERFECT PUMPKIN!

It was fun to have Aunt Megie & Uncle Blake come with us!!!

After the Pumpking Picking we were able to stick our faces in these funny things & enjoy a few laughs ... IT WAS A H-O-T, HOT day ... UGH!
We were delighted to have pumpkins sit on our porch & I am even more delighted that we didn't carve them so they can sit there for another month!!!
Oh Happy Pumpkins!!!!

I am thankful for ...

2011-11-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

For the fact that I stayed up an extra couple of minutes & TOOK DOWN my Halloween Decor & put up my Thanksgiving Decor!!!!

I know it's little, but after having it up for almost 2 months I was ready for a MORE simple feeling in my home!Yes, I still have OCTOBER posts to post about ... they will be coming!

But I'm excited for THANKSGIVING!!!

Bring on the FOOD!

* Witch's Day Out *

2011-10-27T20:27:00.000-07:00

I put up my Halloween Decorations REALLY early this year for 2 reasons:

#1. Because it was September & I still hadn't put away my 4th of July decor --- utter LAZINESS on my part!

#2. Because I UTTERLY LOVE Halloween & wanted to truely ENJOY the decorations I had!

So as my decorations went up the week AFTER Labor Day my kids were utterly EXSTATIC to do all the F-U-N Halloween 'things' we do every year. That meant for OVER a MONTH I got asked, whined, & cried to on a DAILY basis about when we were going to see the witches {from Emma} & when we were going to go ride on the tractor {from Zach}. Luckily Kye doesn't really remember last year so I didn't have to LOOSE my mind from the constant WHINNING!

But enjoying my DECOR for an extra MONTH was WELL-WORTH it & I want to put them up that early next year too!!! :)

So to suffice one of the Daily Whining Episodes we finally found a time to "GO SEE THE WITCHES" & we did enjoy ourselves with Grandma Fergy & Aunt Megie!

We started out with a lovely picnic ...& then it was onto the WITCHES!!!We had to take a picture by THIS witch to show Daddy since he is the BICYCLE WITCH at our house ... {my kids call him that every once in a while & I can't say that I don't crack up laughing EVERY time I hear it out of their mouths!! hehehe}Oh, we had so much fun with this CUTE gange!Now, let me take a little trip down MEMORY Lane ... just for a mintue!

This was Zachary's first year coming to see the witches.Oh I just love that little bundle of fatness that he was!

Now you will notice a few things different from then & NOW ... it was obviously COLDER since he had a sweater & a beanie for his fat little bald head, he wasn't able to quite sit up because of his ROUNDNESS shape {being only 5mo. old}, & he was CHUBBY! {YES, I sort of miss that ball of CHUB!}

Now what look what he has become!!!A handsome little 3 year old BOY!

Gosh, he's a STUD!!!!

Yes, we have to have a "sister's" shot of THIS every year!

{someday we'll all make it back into this picture!!}& Emma my little poser LOVED to POSE by EVERY SINGLE WITCH!!

{all by herself!!!!!}I kissed a frog to find my prince, but no luck here!!Here's my 2 little witches posing as witches since the witches were ABSENT!It was such a FUN day!

H-O-T, but oh so fun!!!Thanks KIDS for letting me hang-out with you & enjoy the WTICHEY-ness!!!

& here are the 2 FASHIONISTAS & their STYLIN' shoes...
Yes, Emma loves her sparkle shoes even more now that she know STYLISH Aunt Megie has a pair!
{Cackle, Cackle!}

Busy, Busy ... L-A-Z-Y!

2011-10-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

So life has seemed BUSY, & I haven't wanted to sit downstairs on the computer when I can do it all on my phone in my BED! Oh I LOVE my bed!!!!

So I haven't been blogging lately, but I do have STUFF to blog about!

---------------------

We had our Medico cousin's sleepover for a night the beginning of October.

It was a BUSY, BLASTFULLY, FUN weekend!

I felt like I spent the whole weekend cooking, cleaning-up, & taking care of kids ... I have NO IDEA how my Mom did 7 kids & got ANYTHING done!!!I FINALLY after 6 years of having kids convinced Alan to CLIP my kids nails!!!

Ahhhhh ... that is something I HATE doing once a week!

It was nice to not have to do it ... at least for 1 week!!!!We made Pumpkin Spice Rice Krispy Treats ... YUMM-O!We also made Halloween Confetti Cupcakes & decorated them to our hearts content!I finished up my canning by making some yumm-o jamm-o with my Mumsy Wumsy!Yep, we went a little over-board, but it was so much FUN!We made muffin tim omlettes that were absolutely D-I-V-I-N-E!

My kids LOVED putting their own toppings in!

& they CHOWED them down like nothing else!!!& we have been reading A LOT!

Emma is learning to read really well & it's so much fun to have her so excited about all her progress!I love that all my kids like to read at some point in the day!

------------------------

I have much more to BLOG about & I WILL commit myself to blog at LEAST one other time this week!!!

Ahhhhh --- I HAVE to get caught up before Halloween!

Hubby is outta town for the week, so I think there will plenty of late night time to blog, now that Halloween Costumes are COMPLETE!!!!
Turst me: I WILL BLOG SOON!

Oh the JOYS of HAIR!

2011-10-15T09:47:00.000-07:00

Do ya'll remember the last time I got my hair done??? It wasn't exactly what I wanted, but I ended up LOVING it! This is how it looked just a few weeks ago ...

It faded SUPER fast & ended up being pretty much BLONDE.
I was ready for some more red & blonde highlights to be put in again.
I decided to try some place "new" ... mainly cause where I DO go is FAR away ... like a 45min drive. I really like my hairdresser just sometimes wish is wasn't so far away!
Well, here's how the red & blonde highlights turned out with the "new" hair dresser ...

YEP, P-I-N-K!!!
She felt HORRIBLE!
She immediately told me the NEW plan for my hair.
She'd dye it dark with blondish highlights.
After dying it that way the blondish highlights were still PINK, so the WHOLE hair needed to go DARK!

I wouldn't of EVER done this on my own, but I am LOVING it!
It's been a good change & luckily it's that time of year that EVERYONE goes darker, so I don't feel outta place.
I still get a little thrown off when I look in the mirror & when people stare at me as I walk by, but I truely do LOVE IT!
---------
The other stressful part about this night is I had to get a babysitter cause Alan had to work at a side job & I was DESPERATE to look good again. Well, 5 hours of dying my hair was NOT what I expected & I felt TERRIBLE for the little Beehive, aka 12 year-old girl, I had watching my kids who got home at 11pm on a SCHOOL NIGHT!!!!!
ugh, ugh!
---------
Now, the problem-o is not hurting anyones feelings ... I really don't wanna go back to the new hair dresser NOT just because of the color issue, but I just really LOVE my other one & realize I like how she knows EXACTLY what I want without much explanation ... BUT the "new" hair dresser is a really good friend! --- ugh --- Lesson learned: Don't go to FRIENDS that you have to see EVERYDAY! :)
{p.s. since this picture I cut my OWN bangs shorter cause she just didn't do them short enough for me.}

St. George Marathon ---

2011-10-09T20:18:00.000-07:00

---#2 --- for BOTH of us!

Now this marathon is not represented very well in pictures because ... well ...

WE WERE BOTH RUNNING IT!!!!

We dropped of our kids at the in-laws Friday afternoon & headed down to St. George.

It was a LOVELY drive just chattin' it up!

{no kids to take care of or listen to ... once in a while that is SOOOOO, SOOOO NICE!}

We drove straight to the EXPO to get our packets.

Then we headed to the good 'ol OLIVE GARDEN to eat us some PAAAA-STA!

{all you can eat paaaa-sta for only $8.95 good timing Olive Garden, GOOD timing!}Then we headed to our lovely house that we got to stay in ...
{it was a house of someone Alan's little brother knows ... SWEET!}
This house was N-I-C-E!
Like don't touch ANYTHING nice!!
It was SOOOO, SOOOO nice of the Nielson's to let us stay here!
THANK YOU!!
We slept the measley 5hours we had until about 3:15am ... YEP, you read that right!!!
We got up, ate, got dressed & ready to go.
We borded the EARLY BIRD bus & got up to the start nice an EARLY!
Then we could be prepared for ANYTHING ... RIGHT BABE? ... RIGHT!!!
They handed us cheap gloves & an emergency blanket upon exiting the buses ... HEAVEN!!!
{it was a chilly morning & those blankets/gloves were nice to have ... I guess there was ONE perk to getting up so blasted EARLY! ... LOVE YA BABE!}
Alrighty onto the R-A-C-E ...
Alan agreed to run it with me ... WAHOO!!
It was a fun to have him right next to me cheering me on the WHOLE way!
It was a ROUGH RACE for me ... I had stomach issues & got to stop EVERY blasted 24 miles to use the port-a-potties ... UGH!
Luckily they had them EVERY mile!!!
I wanted to quit before mile 13!!!
Luckily my Hubby wouldn't let me! He kept me going!
YES I CRIED, but he still wouldn't give in.
Once MY goal time passed me up ... about mile 18 I wanted to STOP ... AGAIN!
Tears in-sued, but,
Once again my Sweetie Pie kept me GOING!
At mile 24-26.2 I refused to STOP at the JOHNS ... maybe it made me SLOWER, but I was SICK of stopping!
We FINISHED!!!
All 26.2 MILES ... YIPPITY-SKIPPITY!
It was AWESOME to run through the finish line TOGETHER!
Yes, I cried AGAIN!
I love running with him!
{we did end up seeing a spectator we knew who took a PHOTO of our finish ... hopefully we get that SOMEDAY! I will post it ... if it's not HORRID ... well, I'll probably post it ANYWAY because this is MY journal. :)}
We hung-out in the finish area for about an hour.
My stomach still had MAJOR issues so I got to watch Hubby pig out on all the goodies ... BUMMER!
We headed back to the MANSION, SHOWERED, & rested for the next couple of hours.
Ahhhhhh ... it was OVER ... yaaaaa!
Then we packed up & said our farwells to St. George ... it was a N-I-C-E weekend!
Unseasonally HOT, but I liked the last little HORRAH of SUMMER!
On our way outta town we stopped by FIVE GUYS ... nothin' like a BURGER & FRIES to make-up all the calories we just burned ... MMMMMMMM!
{luckily my stomach was a little more settled so I could ENJOY the GOODNESS!}
We drove from St. George to the in-laws in South Jordan & spent the night there!
It was NICE to sleep that night ... we were sore & didn't sleep wonderfully, but at least we didn't have to get up at 3AM!
SOMEDAY I WILL DO ANOTHER MARATHON ...
even though I hate them during the running part of it.
It's accomplishing to FINISH!
I KNOW I CAN FINISH!
So, when you see me in my sleek little car with my PINK 26.2 sticker on the back, know that YES, I am PROUD to say ...
"I am a MARATHONER!"
{nothin' wrong with THAT!}

Oh Kidd-o's!!!

2011-10-07T08:48:00.000-07:00

My Kidd-o's are so unpredictable ... just like most kids are!!!

We have had MANY funny moments lately & just a few I have caught on camera.

This first one is HARD for me to show you ... But here we go!

If I happen to NOT sweep the floor after snack time SOMEONE seems to help me out:{PLEASE don't judge me by my dirty floor ... YES, it's even MESSIER right now cause I haven't swept after lunch! ... UGH!!!!!! I hate the never ending FLOOR MESS!}

Let's move on ...

One day I asked my kids to clean up their room ... I didn't want ONE thing on the floor!

SOOOO, they got CREATIVE & I had a GOOD laugh!

{this was EMMA'S invention!}

Zachary tries to convince me he is sleeping the morning away.

I'll sometimes realize that I haven't heard him in a while & out of habit I start calling for him

He ends up replying, "I'm in here SLEEPING!"

It's always so commical to have these 3 around!

I love the suprises MOST of the time! :)

Life is GOOD!!!

Hope you had at least ONE good chuckle!

SISTERS!!!!

2011-10-06T07:13:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I had the PLEASURE of having 2 GNO in 1 WEEK!!! Lucky Girl ... I'd say so!!!! The other LUCKY part was that both GNO were with my SISTERS!!!!

Needless to say it was a WONDERFUL week!!!

The first GNO was with The MADSEN SISTERS!!! ...

We had a CRAFT night!!

I cut vinyl out of my CRICUT & the girlies had fun making wooden signs.

I'm SOOOOO glad that I finally made the plunge into cutting vinyl on my cricut. It's been SOOOO much fun to do & now I know that I can do it & know where I can get CHEAP vinyl CLOSE-BY!!!

Here are the finished products:

Yes, Shelli finished 2!!!!Laureen was there too, but didn't do her project since I had waaa-aay over shot what she was thinking ... SORRY!!!

I didn't do anything that night, but I did do my PANTRY door that I blogged about before

& I also had my kids help me make "FRANKY" for our front door!!!

We love our "FRANKY"!!!!!!

The next GNO was with the FERGY SISTERS! ...

We got together for the General Women's Conference.

First we went to Kneader's ... a place I had NEVER been, but I am IN LOVE with!!!

I can't wait to go back!!!Then we headed to Megan's "Home" & WATCHED the Women's Conference on T.V.

YES, we did watch it while we enjoyed lounging on couches in COMFY clothes ... NOT DRESSES!!!

{it's the BEST tradition we have!}Then we exchanged some of our favorite things that were only a $1!!!Jennie gave us the lil' cutting boards

I gave the HALLOWEEN hand sanitizer

Charisses gave the LOVELY wash clothes

Mom gave the Lotion

Megan gave the finger nail polish

{just for your info: Megan gave out the KY ... yes it was funny!!!}

It was such a FUN, FUN idea!!!!!!

I LOVE EVERYTHING I GOT!

Thanks Sistas!!!

Then we headed off for DESSERT ... YUMM-O!!!

Mom & Megie got Coldstone

We ate our cupcakes & ice cream together outside Coldstone & visited

---------

Both the GNO were simple, but BLASTS!!!

I love BOTH of my FAMILIES!!

I'm such a LUCKY girl to have such AMAZING people to hang-out with!

{we missed you Ash & Julie!!!!! I have gifts for BOTH OF YOU!!!}

To Grandmother's House we go ... Part 3

2011-10-05T05:39:00.000-07:00

Saturday morning we woke-up to a stormy day, but that didn't damper our plans! We still headed up the muddy, washed out trail up to Mirror Lake. The drive up the road was a little crazy & although we were told by someone coming down the our car wouldn't make it ... by golly miss molly WE DID!!!

{my husband is one amazing car driver!}

It was a BEAUTIFUL lake!!!{side note: when my Grandparents were younger the town would put glass over this lake & they would have dances over the lake ... how much F-U-N would that be??!!! I wanna DANCE with my sweetie over the lake!!!!}

We had fun exploring & kiking around the lake!!Zachary's favorite part was THROWING rocks!Emma's favorite part was collecting a bouquet of flowers!Alan's favorite part was finding this rope swing & goofing around on it!Emma brought her lovely bouquet back & gave it to Great Grandma ... sOOOOO SWEET!The rest of the day was full of a nice run with my hubby, naps, & picutres taken by my All-Star brother!!!!

That night we broke out the fire again & roasted hot dogs ...& Mishell-o's!LIFE IS GOOD on the FARM!

The next morning we made HOT CHOCOLATE with Mishell-o's, & BIG DUTCH BABIES.We visited some more with Great Grandma.Explored the outdoors!Picked more FLOWERS ... I bet you can guess who picked these!!??!!Sang Primary Songs for Great Grandma.GOOFED around!Spent some good 'ol fashion bonding time with EVERYONE!Did some service for Great Grandma ...

With such B-I-G helpers!Ate YUMM-O Burger King ---And said our GOODBYES!It was such a fun weekend!!!

I'm so glad we were able to make it up there as a family!

I'm glad my kids have gotten to know my GRANDMA so well!!!

I'm so thankful to have gotten to do so many things while we were there!!!

I LOVE STAR VALLEY & can't wait to visit again!

{did ya hear that they are building a temple in Star Valley, Wyoming??? Yep, it'll be right by my Grandparents!!!! YIPPEE SKIPPITY!!!!}

FHE --- Syracuse Bird Sanctuary

2011-10-04T19:01:00.000-07:00

We had a LOVELY FHE lesson about nature & the beauties of the earth.

Then we headed off for our activity ...

It was a BEAUTIFUL night!

It was WONDERFUL to spend it as a FAMILY!

We came home & had Hot Chocolate & Cinnamon Toast for dessert!

I LOVE THE SMALL & SIMPLE MOMENTS WE GET TO SPEND TOGETHER!

Thanks Family for loving being together!

I hope they always do!!!

To Grandmother's House we go ... Part 2

2011-10-04T18:40:00.000-07:00

Friday was a day to just Hang-Out & enjoy ourselves!

It started out a COLD day, which I was sort of prepared for ...

I remebered LONG pants for Emma & Zachary, but I guess I never made it to Kye's room to retrieve his long pants ... BUMMER!

But we made it through the day until Daddy came to the rescue & brought up the forgotten pants for us!!! :)

We spent a lot of the morning inside reading, playing, & coloring

{i'm not kidding when I say that Emma spent the WHOLE weekend coloring away! any chnce she got she was coloring her heart out!!!}We were ALL so excited when Daddy got there!!

{we were also excited to see Uncle Davey & Grandpa!}That night it was fun to 'chill-ax as a FAMILY!But I did feel a little guilty as Grandma & Mom plowed away bottleling peaches ...... they REFUSED to let me help & told me there was "no room for me!!" :(We bundled up & spent the night outdoors ...Dad made a magnificent fire & we cooked our tin foil dinners ... yummmmm!& then we got to have s'mores & starbursts --- YUMM-O!It was such a WONDERFUL time!

Night-Night ya'll!!!

My Grandma

2011-09-28T11:05:00.000-07:00

I LOVE going to Grandma's House!

I have LOVED it my whole life!

It was always so magical to go & explore around the farm.

We had "the willows" to play in, countless tree houses to perch ourselves in, our beloved playhouse to play in, the ditch to wade in, TONS of feilds to tromp around, a bunkhouse to sleep-in, Grandpa's OUTDOOR kitchen to eat all our meals in, a HUGE yard to play in, & 2 LOVING grandparents to care for us!

What's NOT to love!!!!!!!!

After my Grandpa passed away when I was in high school the mood in the house changed, slightly. It was different to not hear his cowboy boots tromping around, & the outdoor kitchen hasn't been used nearly as much as when he was around, but many things have stayed the same!

My Grandma is still there pouring out LOVE for the both of them!!! & that is the MOST important part.

My Grandma doesn't go out of her house these days, but she is still vibrant & full of energy & insists on doing the dishes "to earn her keep" after EVERY meal!

I LOVE HER!!!

One of the many wonderful things she does is sit in her chair & tie blankents for all her great-grandchildren & great great-grandchildren!What a TREASURE it is to receive these blankets from her!

I'm always so amazed that she can finish SOOOO many of them to have enough to give to my children!

{each of my children have at least 3!!! obviously Emma has more as she's been around longer, but Kye is not yet 2 & has 3 sweet blankets!!! what LOVE!!!}

I have many blankets that she's done for me over the years, but I think the ones she does for my children have greater meaning to me!

As we were visiting her this last time I got to witness her sweet hands hard at work!

It is a memory I will treasure FOREVER!

There is so much LOVE in each stitch she does!

{As she hands stitch even around the edges}

To watch her hands continue to serve made me realize that I have a LOT to live up to!

My Grandma has NEVER stopped serving!

Her hard-working hands prove that to me!

I know my Grandma HATES getting her picture taken & would HATE to know that I posted them for the whole world to see, so DON'T tell her!!!!

I had to document my Grandma making her FAMOUS BLANKETS!!!!

I love you GRANDMA!!!!!!

Thanks for all your hard work!!!

Thanks for your sweet hands that show me I have a WHOLE life ahead of me to serve!!!!

Thank You for all your WONDERFUL "Grandma Blankies"!!!!

My kids won't go to bed without at least ONE of these blankets wrapped around them!

I'm so glad they LOVE them as much as I do!!!!

To Grandmother's House we go ... Part 1

2011-09-27T08:29:00.000-07:00

We had the chance to go to my Grandma's house a couple weekends ago. It was a FABULOUS time had by all!!! The day we were leaving, Alan found out that he was needed to work at least part of the next day, SOOOOOO since we were already planning on leaving I loaded up my kids, drove down & got my Mom & off we went. Dave, my oldest brother, agreed to stay & wait for Al the next day & bring Dad with him too. It was fun to be able to spend as much time up in Afton, Wyoming as POSSIBLE!!! All 3 of my kids LOVED exploring around the farm --- this was Kye's first time really being able to EXPLORE. Last fall when we went he was just a little tyke & pretty much just stayed inside.This playhouse is such a magical place for me!

When we were little my Grandpa, who has since passed away, built this for all the Grandkids to play in. I remember ENDLESS hours spend in this little house playing, cooking, fighting, & creating ... oh it was SOOOOO much fun!It was fun to watch my kids EXPLORE this house & do similar things that we used to do.That first day was pretty low-key ---

we visited with Great Grandmawent on "RIDES" around her houseGot out the toys to play with& colored our HEARTS out!Then it was time for bed!

I got to stay up late & visit with Mom, Grandma, & Aunt Carolyn which was a treat for me to hear them reminise & just have girl time with such FABULOUS, & inspiring women!!!!

We spent from Thursday night to Sunday afternoon there & it was such a nice time together!

I will document our other days ... SOON!

Bee STING ... #2

2011-09-26T15:55:00.000-07:00

About a year ago we had a little incident with a bee sting but it involved Zachary & his little middle finger. It was such a sad day for me & him!!! :(

Now a year later we have another bee/wasp incident on our hands involving my daughter & her eye ...Yep, right on her eyelid she got stung ... reminiscent of when I was in first grade & got STUNG right on my eye!!! It happened yesterday as she was playing outside. I was nervous putting her to bed last night because I knew what happened to my eye that LONG time ago ---
Yep, The same thing happened to her, but at least she could still see out of her eye!
{mine was swollen SHUT!}
She didn't seem to mind too much & when she came outta school it did look better. :(
Poor Girlie!
I hope this bee stinging doesn't happen YEARLY for us!
It's so miserable to watch your kids go through things like this!

PLEASE BEES/WASPS STAY AWAY FROM MY KIDS!!!!!

You gotta jump right in!

2011-09-26T14:28:00.000-07:00

So after LOTOJA we came home for 3 1/2 days before we left for my Grandma's house for the weekend. I got this CRAZE one morning to RIP apart my pantry & paint it ... yah, COMPLETELY nuts-o!!! I tore into my pantry Tuesday morning, not really thinking about how much time I DIDN'T have!! Good thing I didn't think, or else I woudn't have done it, & I LOVE IT!!!!

So I cleaned it ALL out ---{yep, there was CRAP all over my kitchen! I did do a ton of de-junking my pantry too, which was nice to get rid of old food & useless appliances we don't use!}

Then my sweet Husband came home from work & sanded down the shelves for me.

The shelves had some kind of liner on them that was ripped out by the previous owners, which left sticky-yicky stuff all over the shelves for us. My husband asked me upon moving in if I wanted the shelves sanded before I put stuff on them, but at the time I just wanted to be able to unpack my kitchen, so I declined that offer. Now 5 years later I LOATHE that sticky-icky junk on the shelves, so OFF IT WENT!

THANKS BABE!Then onto the painting I went!

I could tell Alfie had NO DESIRE to paint that night, so I dived right into the project myself. Now we both know why I don't paint the house myself ... I STINK at painting, but hey --- it's ok --- it's only in the PANTRY!!!I left Thursday afternoon with my pantry in dis-array, so that paint could get a good drying after all the touch-ups. Sunday I came home to put it all back together with my sweet HUBBY'S help!!! {Gosh, I love that man!!!}It is ALL put back together with some added features such as this nifty-little-ditty that organizes STUFF so well FOR ME!& these sweet knobs that make my DAY everytime I go to grab an apron to start cooking!

I'm still looking for the PERFECT-O glass {well fake glass, but glass looking} door knob for the pantry door ... it's gonna be AWESOME once I find the right one!!!!

I also added my FAVORITE saying to the door, which I'm sure you will recognize if you read this blog often:

HAPPINESS is brought to me everytime I enter my kitchen!!! :)

I still plan to do vinyl on the walls of my pantry, but I need to talk to my vinyl lady & then have her to a cutsie little design for me so that I can add even more PIZZAZZ to my lovely cooking quarters!

This little pantry update was little expense, as I already had the paint from my bedroom, & white from some other project, for the shelves. I just spent a little money on the glass knobs --- yep, $3 whole dollars for the knobs --- SWEET, they were on SALE!!!! oh I love updates that make a difference to ME & don't cost my life savings!!!

Here's to happy FALL cooking to y'all!!!! I know I'm going to enjoy it!!!! :)

Lagan Zoo & other Shenanagians

2011-09-23T08:12:00.000-07:00

About a week & a half ago my friend, Anna, & I took our kids up to Logan to the "free" zoo up there. {It's practically free, they just ask for donations at the front ... $2 for adults & $1 for kids ... yep, FREE compared to the HOGLE ZOO!!!} It was a cute, little zoo & NOT crowded at all!!! With lots of SHADE!!!

ahhhh ... it was ENJOYABLE for sure!We even let our kids feed the ducks/fish cause the food was only 10 cents for a HUGE handful

... yep, pretty much used EVERY dime in my purse, but it was SOOO worth it!After the zoo we walked right next door to a park that was full of CHARM & let the kids play to their hearts content!

It was a wonderfully, relaxing PERFECT time!Then we meandored over to Firehouse Pizza in Logan & enjoyed ourselves some Yumm-o PIZZA!! Mmmm ... the kids enjoyed a Peanut Butter & Honey pizza while Anna & I got our specialty personal pizzas.

This wasn't as RELAXING as it was NAP time, but it was still a fun experience!Thanks Anna for the FUN ADVENTURE!

-----

SIDE NOTE:

I had MANY, MANY, MANY promptings to STOP & get gas, but kept ignoring them for one reason or another ... kids sleeping, not one on MY side of the road etc, etc. I figured I had PLENTY of gas cause my gas light never came on ...WRONG-O!!!

Yep, we were stranded on the Left side of the freeway in Ogden.

Blessing for the day:

Daddy was working in Layton for the day instead of down in South Jordan like normal!!!

He came & rescued us!

I felt DUMB for running outta gas!

I felt even DUMBER when a cop pulled behind me like I was a criminal!

Yep, it's ILLEGAL to run outta gas ... I COULDV'E been ticketed ... LUCKILY I wasn't!!!!

Was so HAPPY once Hubby finally arrived!!!

We made it home safe & sound ... ahh!!

Guess I've learned my lesson ... gas lights are NOT reliable gidgets in cars!!!!

7 YEARS & LOTOJA

2011-09-22T12:57:00.000-07:00

7 YEARS!!!!

Wowsie, in many ways I cannot believe that it's been that long!

We have been through A LOT together, but I really wouldn't trade ANY of it!

I love my Alfie & I'm so thankful that 7 Years ago we were sealed together for ETERNITY!

I love you, Bexy!

Now onto how we spent our ROMANTIC anniversary weekend ...

oh wait, it wasn't romantic at all!!!

We spent it with 4 other people, in the car, driving from here to Jackson Hole, Wyoming ALL DAY LONG!

It was fun!

I was kinda a brat cause I was TIRED!

Yep, he STILL loves me!!!! :)

Looking back it was a really fun weekend together!

Here's how it went:

Blake decided to have Dave cut his hair ... not sure THAT was a good idea!Here's the 2-man relay team that competed in LOTOJA:

{my brother-in-law Blake & of course Alfie}

Here's the LOVE-BIRDS celebrating at o' dark-thirty in the morning!& let's GOOOOOOO!!!

{7:05am was TAKE-off}We ALL got a little looney spending that much time in the car!{we don't REALLY clame this one!} Here's the LOVE-BIRDS waiting in Afton, Wyoming for the next EXCHANGE!We got to see Alfie ride this leg ... well at least PART of it!Then it was the LAST leg of the race ... Blake did this one.They FINISHED before the cut-off!!!
{About 7:35pm}

Then we stopped off at this LOVELY place in Jackson Hole before heading back to Afton to sleep ...

BIG MISTAKE!!!!!

It took WAA-AAAY too long to get seated, order, get our WATERS, get our 2 SIMPLE pizzas {that ended up being doughey}, & get our ticket to go ... LAME-O & very disappointing!

{at least we got it all 1/2 off!!!}

The next morning we got up without the alarm of KIDS, enjoyed a nice walk with my siblings, enjoyed talking to Grandma & Carolyn, packed up, & drove home.It WAS fun to spend the WHOLE weekend with my ONE TRUE LOVE!

He puts up with a lot from me & I'm so thankful EVERYDAY to have him!!

It was fun to watch him do something he's never done before!

It's always fun to be with family!

Thanks to my WONDERFUL sister & her family for watching our KIDD-O's for the weekend!

Here's to MANY, MANY, MANY more YEARS together!!!

Love you, HONEY!!!!

I NEED TO BLOG!!!!

2011-09-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

B-U-T

I've been SOOOO BUSY!

Here's what we've been up to in a 'Nutshell"

-- Had FHE with the Madsen's

{we do this monthly, but most of the time I'm too lame to document it

here I did for once}--We made it the $2 Tuesday at Thanksgiving Pointe despite the fact that Emma's in school.

{& boy did we have a good time in the children's garden!}--We had a GNO where we were CRAFTY & enjoyed YUMMY chocolate fondue with ALL the fixins'!--We said FARWELL to the Ferguson's for 3 months

{aka Afton, Juilie, & Dennis --- Yes, my kids remind me all the time that Afton lives in IRELAND ... what a LUCKY GIRL!!!--We broke this thumb sucking habit ... ALTHOUGH I wish MANY of times that he still did this!

{he SCREAMS ... A LOT!!! I have a constant headache since this habit was broken ... not sure it was worth it!!!!! :( }{don't know WHY?? this picture loaded upside down??!!??}

We have gotten to spend many LATE night out again since Emma's been off track!

{we've also had MANY l-a-z-y mornings ... ahhhhh}We had a lABOR dAY campout at the Fergy's house where we slept out in our tent.

It was a glorious time with Yumm-o food to enjoy!
We had a lABOR dAY bbq with the Madsen's complete with ALL the works for our burgers ... YUMM-o once again!We've done Lotoja, celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary, delved into the panrty to revamp my kitchen, gone to the zoo in Logan, played at Grandma Wilkes', had adventures to the park, practiced riding bikes, ran many training miles {less than 2 weeks until St. George Marathon ... eeeeeeek!!!} & much more!
I will document LOTOJA in depth later ... if I ever have time, but until then
Know that we are ALIVE & well!!!
:)

Hangin' with my BOYS!

2011-08-30T10:46:00.000-07:00

It's been really fun to just "hang with the boys" while Emma has been at school!

It's fun to watch them interact together, & play like BOYS play!I have loved that I can go running with them EVERY morning, & that they enjoy it too!

We have just 4 more days of "the boy" routine & then Emma will be OFF-TRACK!
I am excited for her to be off-track!
It means LAZY mornings of snuggling in bed while watching cartoons can once again happen!!!
It will mean, that running in the mornings will have to stop for 3 weeks ... UNLESS I can convince Emma to ride her bike along with us ... hmmmm, maybe that'll work!

All-in-all it's been a wonderful time hanging out together, but I am also excited for the "new" schedule of having Emma home for a little while!
I think I'm LIKING this "track" thing!!!!!
:)

--- Hangin' Out ---

2011-08-19T10:21:00.000-07:00

We have been MISSIN' Daddy TONS!!!!

He has been workin' L-O-N-G hours at work {over 20 hrs of overtime ... JUST LAST WEEK!!!}, he's had week long scout camp, & he's been finishing side jobs that have been long overdue ... sorry Ferguson's!!!!

So one Friday when he had to work at the Ferguson's house we decided to venture up for dinner & some run-around time.

Sooooo ... While Daddy & Uncle Davey worked ...We PLAYED ...
And PLAYED ...
And PLAYED!!!!Until L-O-N-G after the sun went down!
It was a last minute plan so Den & Julie had gone up the mountains with some friends, so we left them a MESSAGE!

BUT since we stayed LATE, we ended up getting to see them too!!!!

WAHOO!!!

Thanks for the popsciles & the yard to play-in!!!

Also, thanks Mommy for coming & joining the fun!

Thanks to Dave for helping Alfie!

& Thanks to my father-in-law, brother-in-law, & Den for helping Alfie pour the concrete & finish it!!!

It was the biggest pour Alfie has done WITHOUT any people who really knew concrete.

{the guy he had lined up to help him, backed out at 4am THAT morning cause his wife went into labor!!! Good Excuse!! :) }

My Workin' BOYS!

2011-08-18T10:13:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago Daddy was leaving to go work at Dennis & Julie's for the morning before he had to be to work at noon, & Zachary was in TEARS cause he wanted his Daddy. Daddy was a good sport & we talked & decided that Zachary would be a "GOOD HELPER" for work that day. I would go get him right before naps at 2pm.

The "BOYS" got lunches packed, workin' clothes on, sunscreen in place, & there hats to protect there heads ... they were officially READY for a hard day at WORK!!!!
Zachary LOVED it!
I went & got him after picking up Emma from school & he was still ALL SMILES!
He was now at a "REAL" job site & was sitting in the shade playing with tools ... too bad I didn't snap a quick picture, it was DARLING!
I thought he's ZONK-OUT on the way home from being so exhausted, but I was WRONG!
He TALKED non-stop, the WHOLE way home, about the FUN/WORK he did with Daddy!!!
{That made for a WONDERFUL nap time when we all got home!}
He asks EVERYDAY if he can go to work with Dad ... Unfortuately most days don't work out so well!

Thanks Daddy for ALL the hard work you do ALL THE TIME!!!!

Clydie Adams

2011-08-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

This was Emma's first day of BALLET ... August 3rd 2011 ... it was such an exciting day for the both of us!!! I have dreamed of the day I could put her in dance as it was such a fun & positive thing for me & she has always pranced around the house wishing to dance her heart away.

As I live far away from where I grew-up I wasn't sure of where to put her, but as I looked around I found Clytie Adams Ballet School & though it sounded like a good place to start. I was just a little afraid of getting into a class because of her extended day kindergarten & I've heard it's a popular Ballet School. On the day of registration I got online first things & found a class that'd work with kindergarten & all.

YIPPITY-SKIPPITY!!!!I got a babysitter for my boys on the first day of dance so I could stay & watch it.

{I also wasn't sure about where to drop her off. It's down a CRAZY alley-way & if it was in someplace scary instead of Kaysville there's NO WAY I would really believe that it was a descent place. Emma calls it "the magical dance tunnel"}She LOVED her first day of dance & asks everyday going to school if today is BALLET CLASS ...

Unfortunately it's only once a week so most of the time I have to reply NO!

But the days I say YES, are happy days for ALL!!!

:)I'm so glad she enjoys it as much as I had hoped!!!!

Still ENJOYIN' Summer!

2011-08-15T10:41:00.000-07:00

Although we have started school in our neck of the woods we are still trying to enjoy the nice weather & the wonderful things about SUMMER ... Cause Summer doesn't last FOREVER!!!

We've had many Yumm-o Meals!!

{if you haven't ever grilled corn-on-the-cob RIGHT on the grill ... DO IT!!! Just drizzle with EVOO & place on grill until you start getting the grill lines. Rotate until "the lines" are all the way around the corn ... YUMM-O!!!}We eat Lunch & Dinner outside ... AT LEAST!!!!

{i LOVE the easy/no clean-up from meals outside!!!! Plus it's just nice to be OUTSIDE!!!}
We even were REALLY, EXTREMLY brave last week when we ALL went in for our well-child check-ups & we ALL ended up having to get shots, so we got to enjoy COTTON CANDY!
{what a WONDERFUL summer time treat!!!}

Speaking of summer time TREATS ...

How about sherbet ice cream cones ... I think they look pretty summer time to me!!!

{& they were DELICIOUS!!!}

{take note: this is the first time Kye actually smiled, looked at me, & said "CHEESE" with the other 2!!!!! (8/11/2011)}
See ... We CAN still have F-U-N with school in session!!!

Now if my back will STOP ACHIN' we can go on some adventures this week!!!!

PLEASE stop HURTIN'!!!!!

PLEASE!!!!

SPLASHING

2011-08-15T09:48:00.000-07:00

The summer rain storms we have been having have been FUN to watch! Yes, they have spoiled a few of my plans, but they have made some "other" fun plans for us too!!!

Sometimes you just gotta let go of lives cares & SPLASH away!!!

{everytime we go into a store, if it's been raining, we all end up DRENCHED cause the 2 oldest children LOVE to hit EVERY big puddle they can find.

Sometimes I get frustrated, but I try to remember ... LIFE SHOULD BE FUN!}

TODAY ...

2011-08-12T12:40:00.000-07:00

As I look through all my pictures to get to these from TODAY, I realize I have many things I would like to blog about, BUT TODAY is TODAY & I wanna blog about it TODAY!!!

So, on with the show ...

It started out a near perfect morning ... I was able to have my Honey home for breakfast, so we could ALL EAT AS A FAMILY!

That may seem like a simple task for some families, & to tell you the truth it used to happen as least every night with ours, but these past 6 months have been a ROLLERCOASTER for us, so family meal time MAYBE happens on SUNDAYS & SUNDAYS ONLY!!!

It was fun to sit around the table & chat it up, so NO --- I didn't photograph the moment! :(

Then as my Hubby left, & the boys & I dropped Emma off at school, we started off on a new ADVENTURE for us ...This will be something that will be fun for all of us 3!!!!

I have been SEARCHING far & wide for a double stroller on KSL for MANY months. Yesterday I happened upon this one that was right down the street from me & only $80 ... PERFECT-O!!!

I went ride over & SNAGGED it for myself. :)

After showering, getting ready, & picking up Emma ... BOY AM I GLAD THAT HER NORMAL KINDERGARTEN DAY IS EXTENDED! Fridays are SOOOOO SHORT!!!! ... we ventured onto making cookies!

With 3 kids HELPING away I didn't get many "HELPING" shots, but they sure enjoyed the treat that followed the "HELPING" phase! {& I sure enjoyed the break from ALL the "help" ... hehehe}Mmmm ... I loved freshly baked cookies & milk!

I haven't made cookies in such a long time I think my kids were in SHOCKED when I told them I was going to make them. Kye probably has only seen me make them when he was a BABY ... like 2-3 months old ... REALLY!!!!!!It was actually really fun ... especially when you have an AWESOME spatula to cook with --- thanks to a wonderful friend!!!! Seriously everytime I get a chance to use that spatuala I get so GIDDY!!!!! :) Oh Happy Days!I know I complain OFTEN to my husband about how HARD it is to deal with KIDS!

I do feel bad to complain & even worse to admit it on here, but it's H-A-R-D!!!!

LONG, ENDLESS, DAYS have been FREQUENT here!

Daddy is usually gone from sun-up to sun-down & it's been HARDER than I expected!

I have been FULL of complaints for EVERYONE ... ie: Husband, Mom, Sisters, etc

Life is GOOD!

I LOVE these kids to pieces!!BUT they are A-LOT of work!!!

It has been a good day today & I'm glad to have good days like this, to make the HORRIBLE, HORRID days alright!

There has been a few things that have TRIED to ruin today

- my ACHIN' back!!

{I don't know why, but it's in TERRIBLE pain & has been for days ... I won't let it RUIN today!}

- & my "WONDERFUL" toddler

{he LIKES to be held ALL THE TIME! if he's not being held he is usually crying at my feet ... oh the JOYS!}

Other than those 2 minor details, TODAY will be GOOD!

{espcially cause I'm going to go ice my back & eat cookies/milk --- MmmmMmmmm!!!}

Enjoy the weekend!

{I'll try even though my Hubby will be WORKING :( for part of it ... UGH!}

I'm thankful for this JOB, I'm thankful for this JOB, I'm thankful for the JOB, I'm thankful for this JOB, I'm thankful for this JOB, I'm thankful for this JOB!!!!

Bakcyard Camping

2011-08-12T07:58:00.000-07:00

This is something that has happened for quite a few summers in a row ... Although Emma asked for it ALL summer long I wasn't sure it was going to work out because Daddy's schedule has been so scouwampus & is usually not home at nights to set the tent up & I'm not motivated to do it all myself!

BUT, in the end it worked out. After cleaning up from Willard Daddy began setting up the tent while Mommy & Kye made a visit to the Dr.'s.
After finding out how miserable Kye really was we opted to NOT put him in the tent ... especially cause we didn't make it back home until after 10:30 from Walgreen's & he wasn't able to have any medicine at that point cause for some reason they couldn't figure out how to fill the perscription.

Emma, Zachary, & Daddy had a lovely sleep outside while Mommy & Kye slept inside.

I didn't get a picture of Daddy cause he left at midnight to go get Kye's meds cause they were finally filled in case Kye woke up in the night in misery.

Poor boy!

He slept right through the night probably out of pure exhaustion!!!

Needless to say, I HATE taking kids in LATE at night, we ALWAYS seem to get the run-around at Walgreen's cause they are the only ones open late around our neck of the woods.

I'm glad Kye is back to normal & we finished his last dose of all the meds TONIGHT!

I'm glad Emma got her summer wish to sleep in the tent!

I'm glad my TWIN is in a different time zone, so I can call & VENT even though it's SUPER late here!

It was WONDERFUL that the next day was Sunday & we were going to a baby blessing of my niece, Sophie, so we got to sleep-in & not have to be to church until 2pm!

The SLEEPING-IN was much needed by ALL after the HORRIBLE, VERY BAD night we had!!!

I LOVE my SWEET Husband who is willing to do EVERYTHING for me!!

& last but not least ... I want those LAZY SUMMER DAYS BACK!!!

One more TIME!!!

2011-08-12T07:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, I know you don't wanna see ONE MORE WILLARD BAY picture, so just SKIP this post! Here we go again ... ROUND 60...66??!!?? Anyways a couple of Saturdays ago we headed to that beloved "beach" once again. This time we invited the whole Fergy Clan - Ash & Lu, & had a rip-roarin' time together!! I'll let the pictures talk ...

{yes, this kids fell asleep in my arms ... we found out later that night that he had a double ear infection with puss behind both ears ... no wonder he was so OFF!!}

Yes, it was a colder day, but we had LOADS of fun!

Thanks Fergy Clan for joining us!! :)

{yes, it's been about 2 weeks since I was there & I still hope to make it back again THIS SUMMER!!! I MISS IT!!! :(}

Lunch at the Park

2011-08-10T19:26:00.000-07:00

So right before Emma started school we decided, aka Mom & I, that we needed to have lunch at Liberty Park. That is something that we have done every summer, so we didn't want to miss out this year just because school started mid-summer for us. Soo, off to the park we went ...{yes, he CAN go down the slide the correct way, but still prefers the backwards method}Picnics at the park are always so much fun, especially when you can get the kids FREE LUNCHES!!! :) SCORE!!!We had a great time playing even though the "splash pad" was not working! ... BUMMER!

It was still enjoyable, but it was HOT & I just had to chase around these 3 little munchkins, with Mom's help of course, cause I'm quite afraid of that park & what's around there ... SOOO it ended before my 2 oldest were DONE,

BUT ...We did get to go to G & G Fergy's house & build ...

TOWERS!!!
All-in-all it was SUCH a BLAST of a Summer Day!
----------
& just for KICKS I'm adding these wonderful photo moments of the youngest of our bunch ...

Life is so precious when kids are around! :)

Enjoy the rest of your SUMMER DAYS!!!!

{maybe with a picnic in a park!!!}

First day of ScHoOl!??!!

2011-08-04T07:30:00.000-07:00

How did this little princess turn from this:To THIS????I can't believe that my little Emma is all grown-up & starting KINDERGARTEN!!

& I can't believe I am old enough to have a KINDERGARTENER!!!!

{now that makes me feel OLD!!}

---

Her "first" day was really a Back-to-School shin-dig with parents.

Sometimes we were in the same room & sometimes we weren't.Alan & I tried to sit on the side & just watch from a distance.

It was fun to watch her interact & introduce herself to people.

She'd say, "Hi, I'm Emma. What's your name?"

They'd answer & then she'd say, "Now we can be friends since we know each others name!"

or she also said, "NOW WE'RE FRIENDS!"

It was CAAAA-UTE, but a little saddening to see how BIG she really is getting!

Bitter/SWEET fo-SURE!!!Her first "OFFICIAL" day of school was just YESTERDAY!

Boy, was she ready!

TOO GROWN-UP FOR ME!!!

By the time she made it into the classroom she was READY for me to leave, & I wasn't sure I was ready to leave! But I made it back down the hall & out the front doors with only one person asking me if I was OK! {hehehe ... EMBARASSING!!!!!}

Emma we/I LOVE you!

I'm so proud of the little Girlie you are becoming!

You are such a great example to your brothers!

You make our family so JOYFUL!

You are such a BIG-TIME helper!

It's fun to watch you succeed!

I know this year will be SOOO much fun for you!

You love LIFE & we LOVE you!

Have a FUN year in KINDERGARTEN!!!!!!!!!

& PLEASE don't grow-up TOO much!!! ... PRETTY PLEASE w/ sugar on top!!!!!

24th & 25th of July

2011-08-02T20:33:00.000-07:00

Because this lovely Pioneer Holiday fell on a Sunday this year, it meant that we got to CELEBRATE for 2 days ... YAHOO!!!

On Sunday we went to Mom & Dad Fergy's for Dutch oven potatoes & brats/hot dogs

Mmmmmm ... I'm LOVIN' the dutch oven-ess this SUMMER! Yes, about 3 minutes upon arriving at G & G Fergy's Emma bashed her head into Daddy's hammer ... it left a hole in her head, but she recovered quickly!We taught my family "the stick game" ... & yes, these are my OLD Brother's!

It's their Birthday on the 24th, so I guess their's is the ONLY birthday we get together & celebrate for ... maybe it's because we just like to make fun of how OLD they are getting!! heheheThe next day we went to ...

YEP, WILLARD!This kid LOVED being buried

#1#2#33 x in one day ... ya, I think he LOVES it!

It was such a fun weekend spent with family & reflecting on our wonderful PIONEERS!!!

Madsen Family Summer BAS*H

2011-07-30T04:16:00.000-07:00

***WARNING: SUPER LONG POST****
{don't say I didn't warn ya!!!}

We had the 3rd annual Summertime Bash at my in-laws this weekend & I think they might've out-done themselves!!!

My kids had so much fun it has taken us all weekend to recover!

First & formost ... there were TROPHIAS handed out which made EVERYTHING more fun

{at least for anyone under 12!}We got some toy time in before it was off to the backyard.Uncle Nate ALWAYS has some uniquely awesome shirts ... I had to share this one with y'all.The kitchen help got a little CRAZY because of the heat, & pure exhaustion.& a Summer Bash wouldn't be a SUMMER BASH without Watermelon!

{nothin' says SUMMER like a good, juicy, ripe, YUMMY, Watermelon ... right!!??!!}Then it was time to eat to our hearts content ...

{which is usually OVERLOAD for me, hehehe}Then it was time for the MAIN EVENT ---

**SLIP N' SLIDE**

{or Slipe n' slide if your Hailey ... Love ya Hailey!! hehehe}I even woke Kye up for the main event.

After only sleeping for 1 hour instead of 4, he was a little unsure his first slide down!But just a couple times down with Mommy & it lead to this:PURE JOY!!!!!! :)

For some reason when my kids are around ... ALL of them ... there always seems to be a water fight break out. I thought I was safe cause I was holding a camera ...But my husband assured me that even with a camera you can still get wet!

That green bucket was for ME!!!

My kids love water fights & I guess I was the one who brought the buckets & water guns, so I wanted it to happen too ... hehehe :)We had ENTERTAINING water games as well ... Then it was time for the JELLO SLIRPPING contest ...Now THAT'S entertaining!!!Kye doesn't need to eat JELLO to get red ...He just goes for the WATERMELON & eats the RIND & all.

No waste for him!

Hey, if he's happy & eating I just let him go ... after all he is my 3rd!!!

Three legged races were the next event ...Alan & I did one & kicked TRASH doing it!!!

{We only have a video to prove it & for some reason I can't get it to upload, so you'll just have to trust me!!}

You always need a picture with the HOTTEST guy at the PAAAAR--TY!Then is was a little dunking for the girl who just can't understand that the water fight it OVER ...... don't worry she loved the dunking & continues trying to SOAK her Dad!!!

A day filled with excitement can call for a little DOWN time ---Gunny Sack Racing was sure COMPETITIVE!But full of good laughs & lots of FUN!

These 2 find joy in the simple things ... forget about the games that are going on!!Duck, Duck, GOOSE was also played.Along with this wooden/stick game that I don't know the name of even though it's my game.

{hehehe, it's a fun game though!}Then to finish off the night we got to watch the neighbors lite off fireworks for our ENTERTAINMENT!
& play with our GLOW-necklaces, bracelets, swords, wands ... WHATEVER!

It was such a FUN-FILLED day!

Thanks Grammy & Grandpa Madsen for all the fun & YUMM-O food!!!

Until next year ...

{don't say I didn't warn you about the OVERLOAD!!!}

I AM a WILLARD addict!!!

2011-07-28T03:55:00.000-07:00

I will admit that I have a problem ... I LOVE Willard Bay problem!!!

I know I have already BLOGGED about this GLORIOUS place, but lucky for you I combined 3 trips for this post & still will have 2 more post about this place to come!!!

The minute I LEAVE, I try to figure out the next time I can go!!!

TOTALLY ADDCITED!!!! & HAPPY ABOUT IT!!!!!

I love that we get there ASAP in the morning, which is ALWAYS before lunch, & everytime we leave it's LATER than the time before!

The last AWESOME sunny day we spent there we were there for 7 HOURS & my kids were still begging me to stay LONGER! They love both the WATER & the SAND!& of course the snacks help life be a little happier too!!!!It always is a day without naps & lots of sun, so it leads to this ---

A quiet/peaceful drive home & EARLY-to-BED!!!

Ahhhhh ....

SWIMMING!!!!

2011-07-28T03:34:00.000-07:00

SWIMMING, SWIMMING, SWIMMING is always on our agenda for SUMMER!

We have done lots of it!

During Scout Camp week we enjoyed a FABULOUS Swimming Party with our cousins!

It was full of Pizza, Snacks, Popsicles, Ice Cream Sandwiches, Water Balloons, Water fighting, & lots of F-U-N!!!!

Here are ALL the RANDOM pictures in RANDOM order!!! :)

{i am a SUCKER for patriotic snacks!!! i love that they turn so much into red, white, & blue!!!}

SWIMMING + COUSINS = PURE ENJOYMENT!!!! :)

Perfect for this Mommy!!!

ADVENTURE Time!!!

2011-07-26T15:11:00.000-07:00

So a couple of weeks ago, while Alan was at Scout Camp, Mommy & I planned some CRAZY, but TOTALLY fun adventures!!! My Aunt Naomi lives up by Logan. Close by her home are some wonderful factories that you can buy 2nds from.

What are SECONDS you ask??

Well, they are products that are still edible, but not perfectly produced ... so they are

CHEAP, CHEAP, CHEAP!!!

Soooooo, we had our "DIRECTIONS",

Loaded up the kids,& headed off for our "ADVENTURES!!"

My kids were excited to have Grandma with us & were excited for ADVENTURES,

BUT I don't think they REALLY new what it meant ... hehehe :)

Oh well, we still had LOTS of fun!!!!

First it was the Fat Boy factory ... Where we bought ICE CREAM SANDWICHES ...YUMMMMM!

Then it was to the Pepperidge Farm Factory where we bought YUMM-O Goldfish, cookies, & frozen bread.

Yes, we bought sooooo much that we had a tricky time fitting it all!!

{hehehe, that's part of the FUN though!!}

My kids thought that Grandma & I were crazy cause we just LAUGHED our heads off & they didn't understand WHY??!!??!!! :)Then we went & visited Naomi, Brianna, & Lucy.

We went to lunch, visited, & then set-off for HOME!

{I'm BUGGED that I forgot to take pictures of that part of our excursions!! :(}

Once we got back to my house we realized that Mommy's Ice Cream Sandwiches were MELTING too fast to save them, so just as crazy as we are, she jumped in her car & drove the 40minutes home & then came straight back to my house cause she was SLEEPING OVER ... SILLY US!!!!

Then we headed to a "FAMOUS" joint in Roy called Burger Barn.

MMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmMMMMM!!!!
The FOOD was DIVINE!!
I have been back there twice since this time!!
Worth EVERY penny fo-sure!!!!!

Although it was quite the CRAZY day in the car these 3 did FABULOUS!!!!

Here's hoping there are MANY more CAR ADVENTURES!!!!!

While Parents are AWAY ...

2011-07-26T14:49:00.000-07:00

... Kids get to PLAY, PLAY, PLAY!

About a month ago, when Alfie & I ran Ragnar my WONDERFUL Parent's watched our kids ...

THANKS A BILLION ... AGAIN!

----

Once I saw how much FUN my kids had I didn't wonder at all why they didn't want to come back home with ME!!!

They went to Mickey-D's ...Got taken to Mr. Popper's Penguin's

{which I haven't stopped hearing about!!!}

It was Kye's 1st movie ... Yes, my parent's are BRAVE!!

{they said he did really well!! :) }They colored with CHALK ...

Ate MANY picnic meals!!!

Blew Bubbles together ...

& showed off their shapey legs while they swam & "vaccuumed" the outdoors!

Thanks again Grandma & Grandpa for taking such good care of our Kidd-o's!!!!!!

Dear Willard,

2011-07-16T09:55:00.000-07:00

You ARE so much fun!

Thank Goodness we can come to you & feel like we truely have a BEACH in UTAH!Summer just wouldn't feel like SUMMER if we couldn't spend some time at a beach.

We enjoy splashing in the warm water,Catching snakes --- ew I know ... it was just a garden/water snake, but Liz's boys LOVED that their Mommy was brave enough to catch it for them! Playing in the Sand is always a TREASURE!
Thank Goodness your only 45 minutes away, cause we are going to come back soon!

I PROMISE!!!

Love, The Madsen's

(Yes, we had 10 children & 4 Mom's ... These are the days I LIVE for as a Stay-at-home-mom!)

Silly Little Things ...

2011-07-14T09:38:00.000-07:00

Alan's shift at work has been changed for the time being ... to working a LATE shift. Late as in 5pm-3am. At first I thought it would be wonderful to have him home during the day to enjoy the rest of SUMMER with us ... not so! He usually goes into the office about 2pm because he need to order things or meet with the bosses who all don't work past 5pm ... UGH! Needless to say, last week, the first week of him working this shift was AWFUL! This week he is off to Scout Camp, so we'll see if working a "LATE" shift gets any better next week!

I did not write to complain, so now onto the GOOD STUFF!

I took my kids to the park the other night ...

My older 2 are just OFF & BOUNCING the minute we get there.

As for Kye, he spends the first little bit on my lap, then he gets brave enough to make it to the sand, & then he's off & running.
I don't just get to sit & watch him though ... I get too nervous cause he's so little, so I go around with him & help him get up on things. Most of the time he had no PROBLEM finding his way DOWN a slide!

It's fun to watch him EXPLORE new things!

I LOVE that he ALWAYS goes down EVERY slide BACKWARDS! It just makes my heart SMILE to watch him turn himself around & S-L-I-D-E right down!

BUT ... Don't EVER leave a 19-month old alone with a garbage can in sight ... They will fill it up with EVERYTHING in sight! Silly, Silly!

Also, I absolutely LOVE when this BIG 3-year-old insists he can DO IT HIMSELF!

As you can see ... he STILL needs help & MOST of the time will allow me to help him a little bit!

About 2 weeks ago my husband brought me home a DREAM COME TRUE ...

STORAGE!!!!

Can you ever get enough storage containers??!!??

I KNOW I can't!!! I'm thrilled, but I think my husband is a little confused. I was so excited when he brought it home, but he doesn't understand why I haven't put it to good use. I try to explain that I'm busy with 3 kids & SUMMER, but I think he's disappointed by the fact that I haven't wipped these 50-60 containers into shape ... someday Lovey, someday!!!

I'm just THRILLED to have them all! & even better is they were FREEEEEEEEE!!!!! :)

Ahhhh the LIFE!

2011-07-12T22:11:00.000-07:00

The GOOD, GOOD LIFE!!!
I think I'm gonna make it through week-long Scout Camp just FINE!
At least I have these 3 to keep me company!

4th ...

2011-07-12T20:39:00.000-07:00

(I always *think* "oh, I'll only post 4-5 picture for this post & make it quick" ... WELL, once I start looking through ALL my pics I realize I can't leave this one, or this one out & then things get WA---AY outta hand, so sorry. my blog posts are USUALLY picture OVERLOAD!!!)

ANYWAYS ---

Onto the 4th ---

It was a WEEKEND of fun!

Starting with SPARKLERS!

This was Kye's 1st experience!

Sorry Gavin, that you touched Emma's & got BURNED!On the 4th we ran races in Murray ---Yep, EVERYONE, but Kye!

Won't it be F-U-N when we can ALL do it together!Yes, Zachary just POSED like this, NO prepping/coaching involved!

(He just loves his sister!!)

I'm glad my kids enjoy running because Al & I do!Then it was off to G & G Fergy's for a YUMM-O breakfast of Sausage, Juice, Fruit & Blueberry Pancakes. We got little Barbies & Guys to play with in the pool ... Yes, my kids LOVED them!We got DELICIOUS treats to share with ALL!We got to hang-out with our CRAZY Aunts & Uncles who would do ANYTHING to stay dry!!We squeezed in a game of Ultimate Frisbee ---

I haven't played since, ummm ... , Maybe 9th grade, but I didn't show a bit --- hehehe!!Some us got some well deserved naps in ...Then it was off to "watch" for fireworks!Yes, Uncle Dennis got in some good wrestlingWe got to see SOME fireworks, but not neccessarily the ones we wanted ...

Oh well, it's fun to spend the 4th with FAMILY!

-- Dinosaur Park --

2011-07-09T08:10:00.000-07:00

Ever since I went on Emma's field trip to the Dinosaur Park in Ogden I have wanted to go back & take my boys. I KNEW Zachary would LoVe to see the Dino-s!

The other week, I had a neigbor offer me 4 free passes to the park ... SCORE!

We went the day after we got the passes!At first Zachary was a little nervous about the dinosaurs, but because Emma was ok with it, he was ok with it!

They loved having picture by EVERY single dino, which is RARE, but I loved it!WATCH OUT:

Dino-Bears are in the cave!We even got to meet the Flinstone's!We had a RIOT playing on all the park accesories, but I didn't get picture cause I was too busy PLAYING along with them!It was such a fun & simple day spent together!

I hope my kids always ENJOY doing things with their Mommy cause I LOVE having them around!!!

Wowsie!!!

2011-07-07T14:48:00.000-07:00

So this will be just a short little tid-bit, with no pictures ... sorry! I just was totally shocked today! It all started about a month ago when I took Emma's shot records into the school & found out that her 3rd hepatitis B shot was given 2 months too early. Thus, in order for her to start kindergarten she needed to have it re-given. Well, we qualify for insurance through Alan's company in the month of July, so I was trying to just wait until we had insurance again. All-in-all things just keep getting hung-up with getting insurance so I finally decided that I would just take her into the state clinic & have the shot re-given. I prepped her for the experience, but she was NOT happy about it. When she was 4 she got ALL her shots that she needed until she was in Jr. High. The dr. told her that & EVERY time I take the boys to get shots, she reminds me that she NO LONGER needs them. Well, that's what we thought at least. Needless to say I knew she would NOT be happy, but I can deal with kids getting shots ... I've done it OFTEN with 3 kids! So I woke her up early this morning to get the dreadful deed over with. We drove to the clinic & I told her if she was good we'd go get donuts together afterwards. We walked in, I gave them all the info, & we waited for them to call us back. Within just a few minutes they called us back. I could tell that Emma was REALLY nervous. The nurse got the shot all ready & asked Emma if she wanted to sit on my lap, or her own chair. She decided to sit on my lap. The minute the nurse got NEAR her Emma started to S-C-R-E-A-M!!! BLOODY MURDER SCREAMING to say the least. The nurse immediately turned & shut the door. I was trying to calm her down, but she just kept SCREAMING, "NO!!! I DON'T WANT ANYMORE SHOTS!!!" Holy Moly!! The nurse then got closeer & tried to just clean Emma's skin with the alcohol wipe & Emma pushed the lady across the room ... Ummmmmm --- MORTIFYING!!!! She was unconsoliable so I had to re-strain her while the nurse stuck her with the shot. Emma went BAZERKOID once they shot hit her arm. OMG --- even after the shot was over Emma was screaming so loud that I couldn't hear what the nurse was saying. She SCREAMED until the nurse opened the treasure box & asked her if she wanted something. WOW --- I knew it would be BAD, but had no idea it was going to be the WORST immunization I had EVER experienced!!!! Note to self: Don't take your kids to get immunization once they have been told they don't need anymore. It'll result in an embarassing situation! Needless to say we DID NOT go get donuts & that resulted in more crying, but nothing compared to what we had in the little clinic room!!!!!

UGH!!!!

Dutch Oven Cooking 2011

2011-07-07T11:43:00.000-07:00

I LOVE dutch oven cooking!! I mean LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!!

I have requested it from my Mom, MANY times!

Now I am full of GUILT for doing so!

Why?!??

Because it's so LABOR INTENSIVE!

You start the process 5 hrs. before you wanna eat

THEN, you have to stand over a BLAZING fire to be able to cook the potatoes & chicken.

OMG --- On a HOT day who wants to stand over a BLAZING fire???

I am FULL of guilt, but so aprreciative of Mommy for making this DIVINE food!Jennie, my Sis-in-law, made this fun drink that is layered ...

... Cool huh!!??!!Al & I made homemade vanilla ice cream ... Yumm-o!

Nothin' says summer like homemade ice cream churning ... at least to me!We had lots of fun with cousins, although Afton & Kye have a hard time SHARING their Grandma!Yes, there were water fights!

& yes, for some reason I was drug into the middle of it & SOAKED!Uncle Dennis was the soaker of ALL the CHILLIN'S!

Then it was time to clean-up ...Luckily I brought my "good helpers" to help with the clean-up process!
Otherwise it would've taken Grandma & Grandpa a LOT longer to get things back in order!

Love ya Babe!

Thanks for the extra clothing!

Otherwise I might've frozen to death!

Luckily he is always prepared in his work truck!!

Thanks for all the Yummy Food!!!

Syracuse Fireworks

2011-07-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

After Parading all Day we had a "relaxful" rest of the day.

Well, at least the KIDS did!

I waited for Al to get home & then ran to a bridal shower down by my Mom's.

Then I ran straight back home to fix dinner, clean-up, go grocery shopping with the fam, & watch fireworks.

We had a late night shopping trip with EVERYONE!

Yes, we were one of the irresponsible parents who had all 3 of their young children out at almost 9:00pm.

{I always look at those parents & think ... R U CrAzY?!?!?? & yes, that day I was!)
Then we hurried home, got tired Kye in bed & got set-up on the roof for some F-U-N!!!

It's so nice that we can watch them from our roof!

It makes it so we CAN put the tired ones to bed & just ENJOY the night!

It also makes it so their is no CHAOS with too many people in one place!

It also makes getting home & into bed quite easy!!!

----

My kids, especially Zachary, ask daily if we can watch fireworks on the roof tonight ... hehehe ...

I tell them Yes, in a year from now, we'll do that AGAIN!

I LOVE FIREWORKS!!

{just ask Alfie!!! :)}

Syracuse Days Parade

2011-07-02T07:43:00.000-07:00

Syracuse Days was last week.

Because of everything we had going on all week we didn't participate in the week activities,

but I knew I wanted to take my kids to the parade on Saturday.

Alan had a YM scout camp, so I prepared myself to do it ALL BY MYSELF!

It was FABULOUS!!!!

I got up early on Saturday & went & set our blankets out.

I then came home & got my kids fed, dressed, & ready for FUN!

We went a lil' early just so our blankets didn't get moved.

My kids were troopers & relaxed & enjoyed watching the cars ZOOM past us. Before we knew it, it was PARADE TIME!

& boy did they catch on F-A-S-T that if you wave they throw candy RIGHT at YOU!
We came home with 2 grocery sacks LOADED with candy!

& both Emma & Zachary were so willing to share with our Kye Guy.

What "SWEET" siblings!!! hehehe

I'm so glad I went!

My kids truely LOVED it, & it was such a fun time shared with them!

--- HAIR ---

2011-06-30T19:32:00.000-07:00

I really do LOVE getting my hair done!

It's relaxing to have someone play with my hair, plus it's away from kids which it always a nice break! I LOVE my hair dresser cause if I don't know exactly what I want, I totally trust her to do a good job & make me look good.

I totally trust her!

Yesterday I went & got my hair done ... this is how the conversation went:

Her: "So whatcha thinkin'?"

Me: "I want more red in my hair than blonde, but I still want blonde too. So red & blonde is what I'm gonig for."

Her: as she lookin' through her colors, "so do you want a brownish red?"

me: "No, I want it to be more of a true red."

her: "ok"

She colored my hair, put me under the dryer, washed it out, cut it, blowed it dry, & styled it.

She then turned me around to the mirror & I hope my face was too SHOCKING!

I totally wasn't what I had in mind!

I was thinking Strawberry-Blonde & to say the least ...

IT ISN'T!!!!

It bugs me cause I really had a totally different look in mind ... UGH!

Especially because I thought I explained myself really well ... did I not??!!??

Anyways, I don't need everyone to tell me how much they LOVE it, I just needed to VENT!

So here's to being a BRUNETTE for the next 8-12 weeks!

Hair does GROW, Hair does GROW!

That's what I've told myself every time I've looked in the mirror since yesterday!!!

{BTW --- This is the DARKEST I've EVER been in my whole life ... SHOCKING to say the least!}Just think ... it COULD be worse!I could have ORANGE or PINK hair, or she could've totally BOTCHED up the cut & I could have a MULLET.

Luckily, I DON'T have either of those 2 scenarios ... just not the STRAWBERRY-BLONDE I was going for.

--- Hmmmm ---

R-A-G-N-A-R

2011-06-28T06:46:00.000-07:00

WB --- 2011Noody Blipples & Chanal Affin

Was our team name ... if your a runner you'll understand!

Now to meet the jokster/prankster of OUR neighborhood.

He decided to run on our team this year & boy was he a riot!!!

Presenting: None other than

PHIL VAN DYJKHe was in the other vehicle from us, so we only got to see him at major exchanges.

But it was fun to see him!

Our vehicle started running around Noon on Friday for our first legs:We got done about 3:30pm & had time to "REST & SLEEP", along with being able to see our

AWESOME VOLUNTEERS!!!!Yes, Alan & I are the ones who saved our team from having to spend an extra $360.00 to pay for the volunteers ... WOOT WOOT!!

{yes, I just tooted my own horn!}

After a few hours it was up & adam to get ready for our NIGHT RUNS!BOY, running in the NIGHTIME FUN!!!!

I'm SERIOUS!!!!

Then we were able to crash about 3am until 7am ...

Ahhhh, so RESTFUL!

Now for the final LEG of the RACE ...Yes, we had ONE team member who was HILARIOUS!

Everytime it was HIS turn to run we had to rumage through the entire vehicle to find all his belongings ... most of the time he had to run without some "key" thing because we couldn't find it.

His nickname was "SCATTERED BELONGINGS" & we had a lot of good laughs at his expense ... heheheThis year we even got the unique experice of "PLAYING" in the snow!YAHOO!!!

We FINISHED!!!!This was such a FUN year!

I just LOVE running these Relay Races!

I think it's the reason I RUN!

Although you may feel like THIS:

For a few days after ... IT'S TOTALLY WORTH IT!!!!

Swimmimg Party ... Medico Style

2011-06-26T13:55:00.000-07:00

We had a LOVELY swimming party at the Medico's this past Thursday.

It was such a fun event & we're looking forward to MANY more!

We had lots of time to SWIM, SWIM, SWIM!We did a couple TRICKS ...

{including a fall by none else, but Moo-ah! No SUPRISE!}We had 2 water fights ...
One with Me & Charisse ...
{Charisse cheated & got the hose to defend & made me SLIP & FALL in a hole in the grass! hehehe}The other fight was with Uncle Jason, which ZACHARY loved!We got YUMM-O Pizza for Lunch!& most of us got TWO popsicles since it was STIFLING HOT!We chatted it up with our cousins ...

& tried to stay hydrated!
We even had time to do some coloring!It was such a BLAST to enjoy some of the nice SUNSHINE we've gotten lately!
Thanks Medico's for putting on such a FUN SUMMER PARTY!!!

A DAY ...

2011-06-25T06:22:00.000-07:00

To prove that MY life is not full of glamour & wonderful Mommy Moments here's the DAY I DON'T WANNA REPEAT!

It was the First Day of Summer & I thought it'd be fun to have a POOL PARTY in our backyard to CELEBRATE!

After much complaining from the 2 oldest about not inviting ANYONE over, heaven forbid, I deemed we would NOT swim that day!

Instead we ran errands & boy were my kids TERRIBLE!!!

I ended up walking outta a store without my shopping cart, that had stuff in it!

Once we got home, & after lecturing about how we act in stores we ate lunch ...

... in the middle of me making lunch I had to go get ants off of Emma cause she sat in a pile of them & they were attacking her. This is what I came back in to ...

2 boys SHOVELING bananas in their mouths!

After lunch I thought it might be fun to make rice krispy treats with my kids ... NOT TODAY!

They whined & complained about the steps they did & didn't get to do ... Needless to say after about 3 minutes of starting this endeavour I sent them away & I finished them ALL BY MYSELF! After the rice kripy treats were done, they whined their HEADS off until I finally put them down for NAPS, which there was much protest & complaint about from EVERYONE!

I thought it would at least be a peaceful afternoon, but just as I was all relaxed my 2 oldest emerged from their rooms to get drinks & use the bathroom.

This was an hour & a half after I had layed them down ... Did they really sleep?!???

I had no idea, but seeing it was 3:30, I let them stay up.

They ended up fighting with each other until they had wokin' up Kye ... AHHHHH!!!!

The rest of the day proceeded with much GRUMPINESS from all!

As I was trying to finish up dinner for the fam, this is what happened ...

I was so frustrated & running behind that I merely just SHUT the door on this mess!

I left at 6:45pm for RS & left strict instructions for Daddy that I had no desire for these kids to be up once I got home!!!!

It was a terrible day!

This whole week hasn't been very charming to tell you the truth.

I have tried to do some fun things, but they just seem to BACKFIRE on me!!!

We did have SOME success at the Medico Swimming Party on Thurs. but for the most part this week is a WEEK I DON'T WANNA REMEMBER!!!!

See, I do have bad DAYS/WEEKS!!!!

Hopefully next week will be BETTER!!!!!!!!!

Tie-Dying P.A.R.T.Y

2011-06-20T07:34:00.000-07:00

I was excited to throw a tie-dying party! I have never tie-dyed before until about 2 weeks ago when our Ragnar Team did shirts to run in. It was such a blast & I decided we needed to have a P.A.R.T.Y!!! It was such a BLAST!

Step 1. Tie rubberbands in ANYTHING white!Step 2. Mix up the dye in LARGE bucketsStep 3. Take the wads of white with rubberbands in them outside with the dyeStep 4. Put the wadded rubberband white things in the large buckets of dye & WAIT!Step 5. While waiting enjoy some water & the great outdoorsBUT don't get too wet or you might get TOO cold & end up sitting on a chair observing the rest of the day!

{yes, this kid LOVES water. Even if it's SPRAYED in his face, but he does get cold rather quickly & then he becomes a SNUGGLE BUG which I enjoy also!}Step 6. Be sure & add some food & treats into the mix, so EVERYONE is more enjoyable
Step 7. Movie watching is a must while we WAIT & rubberband up some more WHITE things

Step 8. Ta-DA! Take white things outta the dye, un-tie rubberbands & let the MASTERPIECES dry.

{it's always so much fun to see how they turn out depending on how they were wrapped with rubberbands}

Step 9. Enjoy playing in MORE water because you can!As you can see this P.A.R.T.Y was full of LOTS of fun! That is a MAJOR step to tie-dying.

SOOOO, go get some white things & have fun TIE-DYING!!!

The Maddo's

BROKEN!

SNOW!!!

*** Adult Game Night ***

December 26th

Christmas 2011

Christmas Eve

Progressive Dinner: Italian Style

Adult Dinner 2011

Christmas Happenings ---

Birthday Boy!

ANNOYED

WOWSIE!!!!

Hello from my phone

Hmmmmm ...

Gobble Gobble until you WOBBLE!!!

Thankful ...

Snow is falling ALL-AROUND!

S - Day

Are you READY for some FOOTBALL????

Halloween 2011

Fergy Halloween{ie} Party

Tractor Ride ---

I am thankful for ...

*** Witch's Day Out ***

Busy, Busy ... L-A-Z-Y!

Oh the JOYS of HAIR!

St. George Marathon ---

Oh Kidd-o's!!!

SISTERS!!!!

To Grandmother's House we go ... Part 3

FHE --- Syracuse Bird Sanctuary

To Grandmother's House we go ... Part 2

My Grandma

To Grandmother's House we go ... Part 1

Bee STING ... #2

You gotta jump right in!

Lagan Zoo & other Shenanagians

7 YEARS & LOTOJA

I NEED TO BLOG!!!!

Hangin' with my BOYS!

--- Hangin' Out ---

My Workin' BOYS!

Clydie Adams

Still ENJOYIN' Summer!

S*P*L*A*S*H*I*N*G

TODAY ...

Bakcyard Camping

One more TIME!!!

Lunch at the Park

First day of ScHoOl!??!!

24th & 25th of July

Madsen Family Summer B*A*S*H

I AM a WILLARD addict!!!

SWIMMING!!!!

ADVENTURE Time!!!

While Parents are AWAY ...

Dear Willard,

Silly Little Things ...

Ahhhh the LIFE!

4th ...

-- Dinosaur Park --

Wowsie!!!

Dutch Oven Cooking 2011

Syracuse Fireworks

Syracuse Days Parade

--- HAIR ---

R-A-G-N-A-R

Swimmimg Party ... Medico Style

A DAY ...

Tie-Dying P.A.R.T.Y

* Adult Game Night *

* Witch's Day Out *

SPLASHING

Madsen Family Summer BAS*H