Talent Show

Madison participated in the school talent show. She is so brave to get up in front of all her peers and perform. It must not even faze her, I was so nervous for her. She did a great job. I did not do such a great job of recording but I had my camcorder in one hand and this camera in the other so sorry it is moving so much!!

A Chip off the Ole Block :)

I say that with A LOT of sarcasm!!! Madison is so much better than I ever dreamed of being and let me explain why I say that.

A couple of weeks ago she mentioned she was staying after school to shoot some hoops. Now mind you she does not have the proper equipment since this is something she has never shown an interest in before. So for the last couple of weeks she has stayed after a few days here and there and even found our basketball and pumped it up to play with. She had decided to try out for the basketball team at the Junior High this week. She made the first cut yesterday and then made the team today. We are a little shocked and VERY proud of her!! She has so many things on her plate right now I am not sure how she can fit it all in.

So WHY is she a chip off the ole block? NOT! Well let me tell you. When I was in the 7th grade I tried out for the basketball team and surprisingly all 4 ft 11 in of me made it. Apparently I was exceptional at layups and the team needed me. Needless to say I was shocked at making the team since I really didn't want to play so I never followed through with the team! Maybe I could have been good but I will never know I just wasn't as dedicated as Madison is. She is my HERO, she never needs to be pushed along she is a very independent person and is so outgoing, something I have never been able to be!

Congratulations Madison! You go girl :)

The Exchange of Power

January 7, 2009 in the Oval Office

I saw this picture on the Internet and thought it was cool. In the article is states, past presidents are never all together at the White House. "Considering the bond they hold in history, U.S. presidents get together infrequently, particularly at the White House. And when they are in the same room, it is usually for a milestone or somber moment — a funeral of a world leader, an opening of a presidential library, a commemoration of history"

Inaugural Day January 20, 2009
I was unable to watch the inauguration today but was able to glance up at the T.V. from time to time and catch some of the goings on. My patient was watching it and would comment about different things which made it interesting. The kids both said at school they were able to watch it during class. Madison said "it was cool", Cole said "it was alright".

Mr. President Our Utah Utes in the Inaugural parade!!!

God Bless America!! May the Lord watch over and protect the leaders of our nation and the citizens of the United States of America!!

Chadders VS. Five Guys

We now have both of these eating establishments close by us and have heard great things about both. We felt it necessary for our family to experience both and be able to make an educated decision as to which one we would like to frequent.

Our first stop was at Chadder's back in December and ehh . . . I have had better! Last night we meet up with some friends and headed over to Five Guys. It was not hard to make a decision after the first bite last night. Five Guys is a much better hamburger HANDS DOWN! The size in the burgers was also a major difference between the two stops. At both establishments there were more than plenty of fries but there again Five Guys were much better!
So as for our family we have found a burger joint we will enjoy eating at!!

Makeup 101

Madison was looking forward to this birthday the most since Brett and I had told her she could not wear makeup until she was 13. Well unfortunately for us it came. Brett tried to tell Madison he had changed his mind and now he had moved it to 14 but she wouldn't even listen to him! She WAS going to make sure it happened no matter what!!

I wanted someone who knows what they are doing with makeup to show her so we choose our friend Kasey to help her. Lesson #1
Kasey showed her how to apply and also let her know too much is not good! We do not want to look like a clown!
Thank you Kasey for the lesson!

Madison will listen to her advice before she would every listen to me so I am grateful she is a professional!

On her own . . . hopefully she remembers what she has been taught. Remember Maddy, you do not want to look like a clown :) We gave her a makeup bag on her birthday (which Kasey helped me pick out) but after seeing the container Kasey had Madison had to purchase the exact same. She really looks up to Kasey!
I think she looks older now, she colored her hair and now the makeup . . .She is just growing up so fast!

13 going on 30

My baby is no longer a baby anymore, she is a TEEN!! She celebrated her 13th birthday last week. I can so vividly remember her delivery and love every minute of it. I will never forget as we are coming out of surgery with Madison in her dad's arm's there was my dad standing, waiting in the hall for us full of concern with tears of joy, relief and happiness running down his face. I love the fact my dad was the first family member to see her. They shared such a special bond with each other! We are so blessed to have memories like those.Moments after being delivered . . . she was a screamer!the first time Cole saw his little sister "medcine" (he could not pronounce her name)

the most important people in my life!My dad and Madison on her blessing day

So many things have changed since then! She was such a good baby I couldn't have asked for a more perfect child! Then she turned 18 months and whew- Look out. She is a very determined little soul as my mother puts it. Madison is not going to let the grass grow under her feet. Those of you who remember what a treat she was to put in a car seat know exactly what I mean. I literally had to put my knee in her chest to get her to stay in long enough to get her buckled up. Believe me . . . I felt totally abused by her, it was like parent abuse. I'm not sure where all her strength came from but, she was not an easy one to control. She had stitches when she was around 1 and it took several doctors to hold her down to repair the wound. Needless to say that was not the only wound the little princess has had. We use to tease we needed a helmet on her at all times to prevent ALL of the bonks she incurred, she has to have a head made of steel to survive all of her antics! She was always into mischief!! However, I could not ask for a better daughter. We have been truly blessed with such a strong spirit in our home! She is always on the go learning new things and loving it. She is so beautiful on the inside and out! What lucky parents we are! We LOVE who Madison is and we are very proud of her.

Madison invited a few girls over for dinner and a movie. We went to see Bride Wars which was alright as far as I was concerned but the girls loved it! ( I could not stand Kate Hudson's hair) After the movie we came back home and ate pizza and watched more movies and played the Wii. A few of them slept over, had an early breakfast and then they all headed out to dance. Busy, busy, busy! I think they had a great time just hanging out together and giggling!!

We always let the kids pick where they want to go for their birthday dinner (with Brett's family) and this year Madison had chosen Texas Road house until we got there and there was a 2 hour wait. So we made a quick call to the local Lonestar and headed up there, they got all 10 of us in within 15 minutes which was awesome. Then we discovered something very sad. . . Lonestar no longer serves . . . PRIME RIB. What? How could this be. . . Hello, why else do you go there? But NO sad but true they have taken it off the menu so I will now be removing them from my speed dial :( We did enjoy a nice dinner and had a great time with family.
Happy Birthday little lady!! We Love you!!

Marley & Me

There have been so many movies we would liked to have seen over the Christmas break but with Cole having to be cautious of catching something we did not see any. Last night we ventured out to see one as a family and I choose "Marley and Me". Now we had heard it was a little bit of a tear jerker and we were fine with that. It's alright to shed a few tears, any good movie should do that for you! We enjoyed many laughs throughout the show apparently we could relate A LOT with the happenings of the dog in the movie. I know at different times throughout the movie I would think of one of our dogs the situation related to and know we had been through very similar situations. For instance, Marley ate a necklace and they had to wait a few days to get it back. . . Regis (our first dog/child) ate one of his leashes and Brett's mom had the pleasure of helping him get it out. It's funny how it brings memories back like it was only yesterday. Our big dog Jake is a lot like Marley in that his is out of control, we don't really walk him it is more like a really fast sprint so we related a lot to the movie. Now like I said at the beginning, we expected to shed a few tears which we did. However, it was not just a few. . . in Madison's words "we were like blubbering babies". It was very close to all of our hearts and touched each one of us. Cole was a complete mess and just wanted to get home to see his little dog. Needless to say great movie, great humor and a lot like real life!!

News Years Day 2009

Let's just say that New Years Eve we are not partying at our house (although that does not mean we get to bed to much before midnight). . . the boys always go hunting on New Years day so it's always early to bed! The kids both went to parties and Cole came home early so he could get to bed and not be late for the hunt.

I decided for New Years I would attempt to cook a prime-rib. My father-in-law cooks them wonderfully and has talked me through it before and I have never done it but I was brave this time and just did it. I have to say it turned out really yummy! I went all out on the menu but the only thing we all wanted was the meat and the shrimp so now we have lots of left overs. Yeah!! Prime-rib just isn't complete without horseradish! I bought some that said "Extra Hot" and I thought yeah no big deal I like it hot. . . holy cow they were not kidding but not matter we all still ate it. (I have made my own horseradish sauce before which is way better than the store but more expensive than a little bottle which is why I bought it)My First Prime-Rib Madison's first plate. . . I feel for the boys who want to date her she is NOT a cheap date. When we take her out, her meal is always more than ours. The little lady can put it away!!!

This happened to be Cole's "first" real meal he would try and was successful at swallowing chunkier food. No more pudding and Jell-o for this kid! :)

Looking forward to a great New Year with many new things to enjoy!!