October 2010

Madi has discovered how fun it is to draw! She's still figuring out that it should be limited to paper and coloring books only. I've already had to wash the walls a couple of times of her happy wall scribbles!

Every October Aaron and I try to take some kind of vacation. It's our most favorite time of year. The leaves are changing, the air seems cleaner, it's not deathly hot or bone chilling cold and its the month we were married in=) We celebrated our 6th anniversary by going to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. Looking back a 15 hour car drive with a toddler might not be the best idea but thankfully Madi traveled like a pro!

Our first pit-stop was Durango, CO. We had to switch hotels when the A/C wasn't working in our room and the desk clerk told us our best solution would be to find a new hotel! After getting re-situated somewhere else we found a park for Madi to play at.

The next day we went to Carlsbad, NM. We spent 2 nights there, exploring Carlsbad Caverns and watching the bats come out at night! I was kinda afraid of getting hit by bat guano. Aaron probably wouldn't admit it but he was too! We are thinking about going back in 6 or 7 years so Madi can really enjoy it. She was a little too confined for her to really like the caverns. We didn't take any family type pics there (at least not ones where everyone looks ok), but Aaron took a lot of the cave itself. Maybe (no promises) I'll get around to doing a Aaron scenic picture post!

The morning we left Carlsbad we stopped at a the Living Desert State Park. It's like a small zoo for rehabilitated/injured animals. The entire exhibit was very neat and set up on a loop trail of 1.3 miles with animals (of course properly secured) spread throughout. Madi's favorite was the mountain lion exhibit where one of the lions was pacing the parameters of his cage. It's a good thing we went in the late morning. If we had got there any later it would have been too hot!!

Madi and I smelling the flowers.

Madi was still smelling them in this pic!

Aaron and Madi posing for the camera. Madi was holding onto Aaron for dear life!!

After that we made our way to White Sands, NM. We all had fun playing in the sand!

Made especially liked sliding down the dunes!

We were going to go camping that night but we missed the check in time at the campsite by about half an hour. Instead we made our way to Las Cruses, NM and stayed there for the night.

The next morning we stopped at Saguaro National Park in Arizona. We didn't stay very long because Madi (and I) couldn't handle the heat!! It was a pretty park but kinda expensive for just doing a quick drive. There are plenty of saguaros outside the park that you could see for free!

That night we stayed at Mingus Campground in between Preston, AZ and Sedona, AZ. It was an awesome place to camp and we both wished that we could have stayed longer. The next morning we made our way to Cedar City, UT.

We stopped at Marble Canyon Bridge on our way back to Utah. Madi had fun running over the bridge.

This picture was taken at a park in Cedar City. We stayed for a couple days and then went back home.

September 2010

Over Labor Day weekend we went camping up Navajo Lake in Cedar City Canyon. The next night we had a bbq at a friends. These next few pictures are from the bbq.

Alicia and Madi waiting for food at the bbq. The grill wasn't working so we ended up ordering pizza. The pizza took almost 2 hours to get delivered.....and we still had to pay for it!

Madi kissing the wired peacock structure thing-a-ma-bob.

Madi playing on the grass.

Later that month Aaron photographed a friends' wedding in Hanna, UT. Madi and I, before the wedding just hangin' out.

Aaron and Madi having fun before the dinner they had after the wedding ceremony.

Summer 2010 Update 2

August was a pretty mellow month. We didn't do too much but we did have fun.

Madi learned that the best way to fight off the August heat was Slurpees and Swimming pools!

She also found simple ways to entertain herself when she was finished eating lunch.

Madi had tons of fun playing with "Goop". A simple mixture of cornstarch and water. She especially liked pouring it on her legs!

And of course there are always fun lightning storms during the summer.

And rain storms. Aaron and Madi had fun playing in the rain together!

We went on our yearly drive up the Uinta Mountains and wandered around for a little while. Aaron's sister Esther came with us.

Aaron did the Twin Peaks hike in the Wasatch Mountains....another "death hike" or so he said. He still looks alive to me! He went with his sister's Jessica and Esther and one of Jessica's friends.

Aaron was experiencing hiking hallucinations and thought that he was really punching out a grizzly!

These last two pictures were taken at the peak.

Summer 2010 Update 1

Here is a long time coming pic update of the random things we did this last summer. This will probably have to be done in a few posts so I'll just start out with where my last post left off.

Over the fourth of July weekend Aaron and I took Madi camping at Great Basin National Park in Nevada. Its only a hour and a half drive from my parents house in Delta. You might also know it as Lehman's Cave.

It was a little cold but otherwise an amazing place to camp. We're thinking of making another trip there next year, but we'll probably go in August when its a little warmer!

Madi was so excited to eat outside!

Aaron went ghost hunting with his friend Devin at the Union Station in Ogden. He said that the place was very interesting and kinda creepy at night.

Aaron and his sister Jessica also did the Pfeifferhorn hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon. He called it a death hike, but really that is what he calls most of the Wasatch Mountain hikes! These next pictures were taken at Red Pine Lake which is about half way up the peak (I think).

We also visited random parks and went on a few picnics in July. Madi loves swinging and she eventually learned to love slides too.

Madi.....walking??

Wow! I am such a slacker when it comes to updating our blog! Truth be told there isn't much to blog about!

Of course I can always go on and on about Madi! She's now walking....kind of! About 4 weeks ago she took her first real steps. About 4 or 5 in a row, several times! Both Aaron and I thought "This is it. Madi's walking!" We were so proud!

Boy did she surprise us when she promptly refused to walk anymore. The next few weeks whenever we would try to get her to do it again she would just go limp! Talk about stubborn! We tried everything. "Walk to (insert Mom, Dad, the cat, cheerios, sippy cup, some random toy, whatever else we could think to bribe her with)". Bribery just doesn't work well with her. She would just crawl to whatever it was that we were inticing her with instead!

So we sorta backed off and let her do what she wanted! And once again tonight she's taking her own steps! She was walking on and off for about 30 minutes! I didn't count but I'd say its somewhere around 10 steps in a row was the max. She even stood up by herself, with no help from us or furniture, twice! So maybe she's walking now, maybe not. We'll see what happens!

I went searching for a recent picture of Madi to post with my ramblings. But sadly I've forgotten what a camera is and haven't taken any in a while! Tsk Tsk Shame on me!!

Memorial Day Weekend

We went to Montpelier, ID over Memorial Day weekend for Aaron's family reunion. We were able to hang out with Aaron's Grandma and his sister, Jessica and her crew for a couple days before the reunion on Monday. We picnicked at the elementary school playground. CJ (Jessica's oldest boy) fed seagulls. The birds had to dodge tons of oncoming vehicles! Later we fed a neighborhood horse some left over apples. Madi was kind of nervous at first but enjoyed watching the horse eat. We also went to a BBQ Sunday evening at Uncle Sherm's house. It was fun getting together with all of Aaron's cousins, Aunt and Uncle.

Monday we got together at the stake house in Paris (YES, we went to Paris.....Idaho!) where a bunch of extended Grandy's gathered together. Aaron hadn't been to one of these things for about 15 years or so. I didn't know more than half of the people there...and I don't think Aaron did either! We had a pot luck lunch and then there was a talent show. We watched CJ break dance to Paramore. After that we headed back home. We detoured to my sister, Sara's house for my nieces' 3rd birthday party. It was fun playing in her backyard for a couple hours and a nice break from the car for Madi. I can't believe that Kennedy and Kassidy are already 3!! Over all it was a fun trip but its good to be home!

CJ and Jayden hitching a wagon ride to feed the horse.

Madi posing for the camera next to a old wooden fence.
Madi "walking".

Yum....cake!

This is the Paris Tabernacle. It was right across the street from the state center we had the reunion at.

Madi's Birthday Bash!

Madilyn had her first birthday last week! We had a little get together with family to celebrate! By little I mean BIG!! We had 14 adults and 9 kids packed into our house. It was so much fun visiting with everyone and watching the kids run wild! Luckily the weather was nice so they played in the backyard for most of it! Madi had fun being the center of attention! Thanks to everyone who was able to come celebrate Madi's birthday. We love you!!

Madi being silly! This pic was actually taken the day before the party. It was just too cute not to post!
Aaron and Madi laughing!

This was when we were singing 'Happy Birthday' to Madi! She was so excited when she saw her cake!

When she was finished eating her cake she pushed it onto the floor. She was so happy when everyone laughed at it!

Part of the crowd. Standing behind the couch is Aaron's Mom and Dad. Sitting in the back is Jessica. Sitting in front is my Mom, Sara, and Chase. The kids are Jayden (in the red), Kassidy (in the purple), and Kennedy (in the white). I think the head in the pic is Amber and the arm might be my Dad.

All of the kids were so excited to help Madi open her presents!

This was Madi's "smash cake". If you can't tell its a kitty, Madi's absolute favorite thing in the whole world!!

These were supposed to be kitty cupcakes but they looked a little more like mice! But hey, kitties and mice go together....don't they??