Field Trip

Mount Timpanogos Temple

Happy kids...(they haven't figured out they are freezing yet!)

Okay, now they have all figured out they are freezing and especially done taking pictures!

Alayna and Jacob...we didn't know the temple was under construction...hence, the men working in the back ground.

A group of ladies from the ward went to the Mount Timpanogos Temple. It was a great idea from Britta, to take her kids to all the temples in Utah. So today we went to one. The weather didn't turn out to be the best...it was freezing. So we made the trip a short one at the temple and then ate lunch. Except we ate lunch at the most random place, in the Harmon's grocery store on the second floor. It worked out great. We then went to Boondocks, to let the kids play in the kiddy land. It made for a fun day!

The icing on the cake!

Have you ever had a product that you thought was so cool? Well I have found one. I was watching a television show years ago. I heard them talking about internet filters. At the time Jared and I didn't have the internet in our home, so it didn't apply to me. I remember thinking, "When I have the internet I want to have that filter!" I remembered it had something to do with a dog, k9 and policemen. Random I know. But a few months ago we got the internet in our home and Jared and I both feel we should have one. So I had this moment..."about a dog,k9 and policemen." So I googled it and I found the exact filter I was looking for. It is a free filter that is amazing. Here is the website for all of you who need one. The icing on the cake for me was two things. One...you have the ability to block Web Advertisments...I don't know about you but I hate having to hold up one hand and sheild the unsightly ads on the sides and top of the web pages while your trying to read your email. The second was when I had to tell my good friend Emily about this filter, because I thought it was so cool. Come to find out she had the exact same one! Go figure we are friends. So with that in mind, go check it out! It is truly the very best. It has many great features...you can deny times of use, you can track all activity on the internet, you can block certain words, themes, etc. It really is great and it is FREE!http://www1.k9webprotection.com/

Mr. Trouble...

If this isn't the look of Mr. Trouble, I don't know what is. I had that "Mom" feeling..."Where is my little guy...he's too quiet for his own good!"

I apparently didn't shut the bathroom door all the way, because he found his favorite place to hang out! I decided I had to take a picture this time for a couple reasons.(Yes, he has done it plenty of times before! Gross I know!) One, I had actually cleaned my toilets just a few minutes before, so I new he wouldn't catch some deadly disease...well at least I hope not! Two, because he LOVES to find the toilet so I figured I better document this toddler behavior. So there ya have it, the inevitable baby boy toilet pictures.

I figured I should post a picture of him taking a bath...I promise I did throw him right in to the bath tub! What a cute little guy, huh?

Mr. Olympia...

This was Jake's favorite activity yesterday. He thought he was so strong...he'd squat down...(grunt a little)...grasp the ball just right and stand up. It honestly was hilarious. Then he'd walk it over to Jared and I and just giggle. He did this over and over!

A Special Weekend

This weekend was a special one. Kierra Madsen, the oldest of the grandkids was baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was a wonderful experience, to watch her be so excited and feel so special. Alayna thought she looked like a princess. She truly did. We had a huge family support and we were so happy to help celebrate with her. It was a beautiful hot day.

First Camping Trip of the year!

The Madsen clan and the Suker clan decided to go camping for the first time this summer! We went to Granite Flats camp ground up in American Fork Canyon. It was fun and freezing! It was a little bit colder than we had expected! But over all we had a great time, if you can ignore the fact that we didn't have flushing toilets or any soap! We forgot any type of soap! It was lovely to come home and shower!! Jacob enjoying camping!

Alayna found a "little door" in Uncle Toddy's tent. She thought she was so funny.Jacob attempting to eat treats!
Roasting marshmallows. This is everyone's favorite part of camping.
Jared and Conner doing what all the boys love...roasting hot dogs! Here we are setting up camp.

Little Jacob was walking all over the camp ground. Ignore the purple hoodie! I under packed warm clothes, so Alayna got to share her hoodie with him! I tried to hide it under his manly flannel shirt!

The Suker tent....the Madsen tent!

Olivia and Alayna loving their camp chairs and the fire!

Jared was throwing Jacob up in the air. He loved it. He was giggling so much.

Oh...and sweet baby Kennady. Krista, Kennady and my dad came up for the day. Krista dressed her in her camo overalls, so we had to prop her up to take some darling outdoors pictures! She is such a sweet smily baby!

Happy Be-lated Birthday...Jacob!

This is a late post simply because my little Jakey is my second child. Unfortunately, he gets things a little behind schedule. But I must admit as a mother of two, my love for him is no less just because it comes a few days later. (Really, it's because my computer has been out of commission for the past few weeks!)

Our little Jake has turned ONE! I really can’t believe that my little cuddly guy has grown up and actually as of tonight started walking! He turned one on May 11th, 2008. So yes, I am giving him his first belated birthday, many more to come I'm sure.

(He really didn't get into the present thing...he just cried and cried...it was funny!)

Jacob has grown into such a chubby little guy. He started out a miniature baby. He was 17 1/2” long and 6 lbs 2 oz. Yes, he was a tiny peanut baby. I think I just “cook” tiny little babies. Whenever it is time for me to have a third I’m going to wait till it tells me its time to come! Anyways, Jacob has been called our “little Dinosaur” all year. He squawks and squeaks just like a dinosaur. So early in the year, we knew we would do a dinosaur cake for his birthday.
Funny things about our Jake. He is the poopiest baby I have ever met, very noisy; he shakes his head, “no, no, no” for many things, and has ever since he was tiny! He has been so fast and speed at moving, crawling, twirling in my arms, no matter what he’s doing he is doing it quickly. He has had the most adorable giggle. He smiles and giggles so quickly and easily. It is impossible to resist his chubby little arms. He has been our “squishy” baby, because once he started gaining weight, he hasn’t stopped. He is chubby and adorable. It reminds us of marshmallows stacked on top of each other. He adores his sister. So often he leaps out of my arms to be closer to her. She gets the award for getting him to giggle, smile and be silly first. He loves his sister. He holds the record for the saddest baby cry. He has a whiny face that makes you want to bend over backwards to please him. But then it is so cute, that you tease him to just see him whine again! (it’s hard to be a cute kid!)

Jacob has been my crush since the day he was born. I have adored him and smothered him with so many kisses. He truly is a delight and we love having him in our family. When I had another surprise delivery just one year ago with Jacob, I was shocked. It was hard for me to think about having a little and loving him the same as a little girl, but today I can’t see my life with out him. He is so pleasant, happy and easy going that it is impossible to not adore him! I love you, our little buddy.
Jacob really enjoyed his birthday cake, so much that he drooled all over!
(Isaac Madsen...Jake's cousin who was born just 4 days before him! They will always be celebrating their birthdays together! Isaac makes sounds like a piggy, so yes, he gets a piggy cupcake..they were so cute! Isaac is my sister Shandra's little baby. Jake and Isaac live together right now, and they really are aware of each other. Several times Jake will crawl to the bottom of the stairs and scream up, "Eeh" and you will hear Isaac upstairs also trying to talk with Jake. It is so cute. They will be good buddies! Shandra and I shared the same exact due date! Crazy huh.)

Jacob says, "Yeah, finally I have some boy toys to play with...No more princess stuff!!"

The two mommies with our two darling one year olds!

Wednesday, May 21st, 2008...

Yeah, so this date has been on my husbands calendar for too long. For those who live in Herriman and Riverton, they have also been counting down the days until "our" new Wal-Mart opens. Yes, we went on opening day. It really was hilarious to see so many people that we knew shopping there and yes, working there. Okay, so you might be wondering why I took a picture. I must admit to you that I did not. Jared thought it would be hilarious if he brought the camera and took pictures of this huge event! He felt that this picture captured the "All American" picture...hot dogs, a flag and yes, Wal-Mart. If only he had angled the picture right, you would have seen the arches for McDonalds on the building too! (I personally love how he left my little baby Jake in the cart all alone across the parking lot in front of the hot dog mobile!)

For those of you who don't know Jared, he is a lover of Wal-Mart. He worked there as a young teenager and he was hooked. When I met him he even slept with a pillowcase that had several yellow smiley faces on them that said, I LOVE WAL-MART. So here is a tribute to I think my husbands favorite store. As for me I hate it because I spend so much of our money there on things I say, "What did I just spend $100 on?

The only thing I am excited for is the price matching policy on food. This will be nice. No more going to several different stores! Anyways...enjoy my husbands excitement about the Grand Opening of Wal-Mart! Silly, Jared!

A little boy who LOVES his blankie!

This is the excitement Jacob has every time it is bed time! He loves his little blanket!

Taking Elder Ballards advice...

"...give your wife a “day away” now and then. Just take over the household and give your wife a break from her daily responsibilities. Taking over for a while will greatly enhance your appreciation of what your wife does. You may do a lot of lifting, twisting, and bending!" ~ Elder M. Russell Ballard

Now, with that being said, my sisters and I were especially lucky to make this happen. With my parents interest in making a "dream" vacation for us all and with our husbands at home taking over household and children responsibilities we were off!

We flew out on May 2nd...(Yes, that was the very next day after my husband graduated from college...I know, it really doesn't seem fair...now do you see why I bought him his dream television? I had to bribe him a little bit!) We flew into Seattle, Washington. We toured around the city and enjoyed learning and experiencing so many things. We then took a ferry at night over to another island, to Discovery Bay. Which is where we called home for SEVEN blissful nights! I was shocked at how GREEN Washington was. I loved looking out our window at all the tree's, water, and a bald eagle. It was truly amazing. We experienced so many things it’s hard to highlight all of them, so I'll let the pictures do the explaining.

We celebrated my sister Angela's 30th birthday while visiting in Victoria, Canada. We went to the Buchart Gardens. This place was truly heaven on earth. It was the most beautiful combination of deep green forest trees and laced with every possible flower. It was breathtaking. I truly took over 400 pictures just in a three hour time frame! I'm serious. I really have a problem. It was impossible to not take pictures, it was that amazing. I'll make sure to share the top two or so!

Over all, it was an absolute delight to be with my three sisters and my parents. A few funny things we experienced was that all the four girls reverted back to childhood. We all assumed our previous roles as children. It was amazing how I instantly felt like I couldn't start cooking lunch or dinner without my mom’s approval. She was the one to slave in the kitchen, to cook, do dishes, etc. Somehow all my maturity was out the window! Suddenly, there was the invisible but very apparent line between the “bigs” and the “littles” that meant that Ange and Shan were the “bigs” and Krista and I were the “littles”. Either way, we had a great time. I think my mom explained it perfectly, “There was laughter, tears, laughter, tears and more laughter…it was just like a girl’s sleepover!” We had a fantastic time. Thanks to all who helped me out especially. Not just Jared, but those fantastic friends who helped watched my little monkeys. (Of coarse, Jared’s job needed him to start the one week I was gone…sorry, it had been planned for 6 months!)


Here are several pictures in no particular order...



Here I am visiting with Matt and Lisa (Suker) Belanger. This is Jared's sister, my sister & bro-in-law. They live currently in Nanaimo, Canada. They drove 1 1/2 hours to meet up with my fam in Victoria. They gave us a great tour around the city. Here we are posing with the Parliment building in the background.
I had to have Lisa pose with me with something proving I was in Canada with her. I hope the flag proves enough!
Here we are still in Victoria at Tolmie mountain. It had this amazing 360 view all around the island. You could see water all the way around. It was spectacular.


Krista and I posing as Mrs. Rocky...we finished our morning run at the Parliament Building in Victoria, Canada. It was a beautiful morning. We were able to run from our condo all the way around the harbor. It was fun...if only I could keep up with her!

The Buchart Gardens, Victoria, Canada. These quickly became my favorite flower...the Camellia. I think that's right?
Yeah, here it is close up. I'm a lover for the pink flower. That turned out being a great picture!
The four girlies posing at the gardens. We had to get creative with all our pictures. After taking 400 picts within three hours we had to be a little silly! I think Krista and I were the only ones okay with this pose! ha
Lisa & Matt took us to a great harbor restaurant that had great fish and chips. We got one order and split it between the 8 of us. It was a great appetizer before dinner.
Victoria, Canada. We visited a real castle. Craigdarroch Castle, was completed in 1889. We arrived a few hours late...(everything closes at 4pm in Canada), but it was neat to just look inside. Yes, we all pretended it was haunted. Somehow we tricked a few of us that there were floating heads, and strange voices. Good old dad trying to give his little girls a scare!

Port Townsend, Washington. This was the only day we needed our rain jackets! We lucked out with such amazing weather. Were posing under the "Uptown Girls" picture.
Discovery Bay, Washington. Ah...a family photo. The backdrop was literally a DROP off. We didn't realize that we truly were standing on the edge of a cliff! It made for a beautiful view.
Discovery Bay, Washington. This was a 5:00AM sunrise...thanks Ange for rolling out of bed to take the picture. It was beautiful.
Here we are taking a ferry out of Port Angeles, Washington to Victoria, Canada. Yes, you heard me right...my sister and I have read the books about Vampires. I'm not the obsessed one...she is. I read it to balance out all you over obsessed readers! Either way, it seemed fitting to try and attempt to finish the third book. I still haven't yet. But it was fun to take a "Twilight" unofficial tour. Yes, we visited Port Angeles, Forks and La Push. La Push was the ONLY thing that deserved any visit! It was amazing.
Buchart Gardens. My dad and I posing showing our pride to the University of Utah, for my hubs.

Krista and I being the "little's" (the two young daughters!). We tried a local recommendation of fish and chips in Seattle, Washington. It was good.
Yes, another amazing picture of my FAVORITE flower!
This picture I promise was not prompted. I secretly took a picture of my parents at dinner the first night in Seattle. Krista and I wiped them out. The four of us flew in about 10 hours earlier than my other two sisters. So we filled the day with MANY activities in Seattle. Shortly before this dinner, we hiked about 3 miles or so. UP and DOWN hills. It was well worth the hike, but flip flops weren't the best shoes of choice. Great job, Mom and Dad!
Port Townsend, Washington. Angela and I, joking and quoting the famous comedian, Brian Reagan. "YOU...ME" Ange's jacket was the $50 rain jacket and mine was the $14.99 Wal-Mart special!
Here was my picture for my hubs. PT is the nickname for Physical Therapy. Here it stands for Port Townsend, WA. I thought it was appropriate to pose under the sign. I ended up buying him a sticker from the city.

For those of you who actually made it through all of those pictures, nice job. Now, feel pity for my husband who has to endure 1, 600 pictures from this one vacation alone! ha ha ha