Trip to Cleveland....

This past weekend we went for a drive down to Cleveland, UT to visit our friends Hayden and Kelly. Kelly worked with me until they bought their hay farm and moved away. We have missed them so much since they moved. We loaded up the car and made the long drive. Madi was so good for the whole drive. I was really worried that she would get bored and drive us crazy. She sad back in the back and "read" her books and sang songs. She was so adorable!

Madi loved to see baby Danzer and she kept trying to say his name.... so cute!

She also loved their dog Lola "Lalo" is what she called her. Lola didn't like Madi too much though and she had to be locked up most of the time. Sorry Lola! We spend most of the day at Kelly's parents cute house! They were so welcoming to us! After cooking us up some delicious burgers we went out and Kelly's dad hooked up the big tree swing.

I wish I could say that Madi LOVED the swing, but unfortunately she didn't. She can be such a chicken with somethings and apparently swinging from a giant tree are one of the activities she isn't too fond of. She tried it a couple of times and didn't cry but she just kept saying "Down, down, down". So we let her out and we walked across the street to look at the cows which she counted "one, two, three, four cows". To our amazement there really were 4 cows out in the corral. I wish I could say that I have the smartest child in the world and say "my kids smarter than your kid". But to be perfectly honest. She lucked out. She always counts to 4 but come on! That is still pretty impressive! After all of our activity we headed out to the porch for a little R & R. Madi stole my seat and chillaxed like a pro!

Here she is plotting to steal my chair. Little devious monster! Such a cute pose however!

After a quick stop to the Grub Box for oreo shakes where we had a few laughs about a certain "rockin' bod" it was time to head home. Madi was completely worn out and slept almost the whole way home.

What a fun trip! We'll definitely have to do that again! Thanks for having us you guys! It was a blast!

My First Hair Cut

On March 16th we decided that it was finally time to cut Madi's hair. Her natural curls were growning at different lengths and it was starting to strongly resemble a mullet. With as redneck as we are you might assume that we would be ok with a mulleted child. Well, we all have to draw a line somewhere. To say Madi freaked out at the salon would be a huge understatement! She was mortified! She didn't want to sit in the chair and she wasn NOT going to have anything to do with the cape! After they had me sit in the chair with a cape on did she sort of mellow out. They had to bribe her with a sucker! Although I really don't like the thought of rewarding her with food, this was one battle I needed to win! So with sucker in hand, she sat quietly for her hair cut. It is still really cute and it still curls. It just looks more like a little girl than a redneck. I forgot to take the all important "after" shot so I'll have to get pictures of her soon with her hair done. Anyway, here are some pics we got to remember the moment. Enjoy.....

Happy Birthday Ashley and Barb!

Two weeks ago we celebrated Ashley and Barbara's birthdays. Ashley wanted to make it a princess theme party and all of the little kids were supposed to dress up. Ashley came prepared with dress up clothes and jewels! The kids had a lot of fun. Ashley was Snow White of course!

Madi was too little for the princess dresses but there was a little red riding hood costume that just about fit! (a little short, nothing wrong with showin' a little leg....)

She loved the jewelry and crowns....

Madi was obsessed with her new cousin Christopher. He was born on February 4 and is such a doll! Madi just wanted to be where he was. She couldn't get enough of him!

She even got to hold him! Precious!!!!

She even snuck in a kiss here and there....

But she shared him too. She let Papa hold him by himself for about 1 whole minute. She's such a giver.....

All in all, it was a great day! The kids loved being princesses, well.... all but Dustin and Tyler. They pretty much played football the whole time and didn't want to play too much, but they were good sports. It was a great idea though! We hope you guys had a great birthday!

Letters from Mom...

Dear Sweet Madisyn,

You have definitely been a handful this past month. You are getting VERY independent in your old age. All the same, your personality is coming out more and more. You are proving to be a little horsey girl which makes my heart sing! I couldn't be happier to see you develope a love for something I have a true passion for. It makes me so excited for the day when you are big enough to accompany me to the horse shows and we can bathe and clip our horses together. I anxiously await the day I get to stand out side the arena and cheer you on and rejoice in your wins and help bring you back up when someone edges you out for the victory. You love to go outside and "see Dancer". It was so cute when I took you outside and all you wanted was to "ride Dancer". I lifted you on her and immediately you said"I wanna get down". I think her size was a little bit intimidating, but that is ok, sometimes I get scared too.

To this day, I still laugh when I think about you and Papa getting your exercise on a couple of weeks ago. Papa was showing you how to do push ups and try as you might, you copied him move for move... sort of..... You were just too adorable. I hope this never changes about you!

A couple of weeks ago, Daddy was working weekends and you were so concerned that he wasn't at home. You kept calling for him, so finally I asked you where Daddy was and without skipping a beat you said, "at work.....in the truck". You precious little voice made me want to load you up and go visit Daddy. I asked you for a kiss though and you grabbed my cheeks and moved right on it for the smooch of the century! Absolutely adorable!

Probably one of your funnier moments this past month was when I caught wind of something ripe. I asked you if you pooped and you told me "I just tooted". Talk about rolling on the floor laughing!! It made my sides hurt!

You have an adorable motherly instinct. You think that your Doggy needs to be buckled in your highchair at all times. I didn't think you'd be able to buckle him in all by yourself, but there you went and proved me wrong. You are amazingly smart! I hope we can find things to challenge your intellect and keep this trend going!

I think the most precious moment I have seen come from you yet though was just the other night when Daddy was in bed after a long day tending you and having gotten off of a graveyard earlier in the morning. He was exhausted and as soon as his head hit the pillow he was out. You had been unwinding in our bed and I told you it was time to go to bed. You got up and went over to give Daddy his good night kiss. When he didn't respond to you, you bent over ever so gently and kissed his cheek. I don't know what we are doing, but we must be doing something right! You are the best kid! Love you!

Love,

Mom

Jesus wants me for a Sunbeam....

Last Sunday Papa wanted to take Madi to church. Isn't she adorable in her new dress?

Confessions of a Stylaholic

Last Saturday my dad, mom, Tenille, Madi and I headed out on a 3+ mile walk. It was rather early and I thought Madi would stay warmer in her jammies all bundled up in blankets. It worked well until we got home and we were all stretching on the front yard and Madi wanted to get out. Rather than listen to her scream I went and got her boots and a jacket and let her help Papa sweep up the drive way. I can't say that her outfit was exactly fashionable but maybe we'll start our own trend. You never know. Stranger things have happend. Anyway, I couldn't miss the opportunities to snap some pictures of my little monkey playing in her most extravagant outfit to date. Enjoy.....

Ride 'em Cowgirl!

In case you can't tell what is going on in this picture.... Madi saddled her stuffed horse with a dish towel and was riding him. The apple definitely doesn't fall too far from the tree......