A great blog!

For those of you who know my family LOVES food. Surprise, I know. So I happened to stumble across this amazing website. This young girl (who lives in Provo I found out!), loves to cook and try new recipes. Anyways, the best part about it is she is a picture taker too! For me that is combining TWO of my loves...food and taking pictures! So I must warn you her pictures are so tempting that you will have to try cooking the recipes. I have tried several and they are amazing!!! Give it a try...http://www.workingwomanfood.blogspot.com/ - You really can spend hours there!

A year supply...One week at a time!

This is a shout out to getting our year supply of food! Just to update you all...we did it! It was official about one week ago! I have been waiting on two items. Salt and Oil! After a shopping trip to Wal-Mart it was official. It truly feels great to have it all. It has been a slow process. A few times a year I would go crazy and buy $300 at a time, but overall it was just an extra $10-$20 here and there. I must give ALL my success and passion for food storage to my sister. She has a special TALENT that is amazing! With her constant help, she has taught me several tricks of the trade and has helped me all along the way. But most importantly, I wanted to share with everyone a really great resource that has truly made my year supply happen! A few of you are aware that my sister Shandra has a HUGE passion for food storage. (HUGE is an understatement!) She has this amazing talent to know what GREAT prices are.

So about a year ago she gave an enrichment night in our ward on meal planning and food storage. From that she started emailing the ladies in our ward the good deals on groceries. Well anyways, that lasted as a free thing for about a year…until she was emailing over 1,000 people! She has become an entrepreneur. Way to go Shan! Now, living with her has its benefits. She has helped me EVERY step of the way to get my year supply.

I’m posting this so you can share this AMAZING resource with all your family and friends. She explains everything on her website about what she does..http://www.myfoodstoragedeals.com and so if you are interested, please take a look! Check out her BLOG too…www.myfoodstoragedeals.blogspot.com. If you read under 'About Us', it will help you understand exactly what she does. All I know is that this has saved me so much time, hundreds of dollars and has helped me know what I needed and when to buy it at the lowest possible price. (Yes, even LOWER than Costco!) So, if you have a minute--check it out! And if you have any questions, feel free to ask or just email her at Shandra@myfoodstoragedeals.com. The following are a few pictures from my food storage room to help you get excited and inspired!!! For those of you who know Shandra she is amazing and talented. Thank you for helping me follow the prophets counsel and be prepared!

Sweet little guy.

Oh...what a cute little guy. I'll have you know this was NOT prompted. I happened to walk into the kitchen at breakfast time, and Jared had just asked Alayna to say the prayer for breakfast. So I folded my arms and then I opened one of my eyes to see if Jake would too. He did. It was so sweet. After the prayer was over I hurried and grabbed my camera that was on the table to snap a photo. He was looking up at Jared. Our little Jake is such a sweet little guy! If you are noticing his very noticeable scrap on his nose your not just seeing things. Yes, he fell down and scraped his nose on my parents brick fireplace on Sunday. Sorry little buddy!

A day with friends!

The other day we decided to invite several neighbor kids to come and play. Since we live in a circle and it is perfect to have the kids ride bikes and play. It was much fun for all the kids. They especially LOVED the fact that it was hot enough for a Popsicle! I just had to take a picture of the kids waiting patiently to jump on the tramp. They each would take a turn jumping and then get at the back of the line. The best part about that was, I didn't even tell them one on the trampoline. What great kids they are! We love summer days!

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!