c.h.m.c.

2011-09-04T06:24:00.000-07:00

First day of 1st Grade

August 10, 2011

Favorite Subject- Math

Favorite Color- Blue & Pink

Favorite Song- Safety Song at Crestwood Elementary

Favorite Friends- 2 Allie's, Hannah, Emily, Maya, Carrie, Alexa, Alissa, Kara, & Maddy

Favorite TV Show- Good Luck Charlie

Favorite Movie- Beauty and the Beast

Favorite thing to do- Ride her bike

Madalyn is loving school, the only thing she doesn't like about it is getting up so dang early! I pretty much get her dressed while she's still sleeping :) She has lost 7 teeth already, 2 have grown in but she's got 5 empty spaces, 3 on top and 2 on the bottom! She is reading so well, I'm always impressed listening to her read big words!

2011-09-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

I'll be headed to AZ in November for mini-sessions!

For details head on over to my blog!

2011-08-21T18:19:00.000-07:00

I have been so mad at myself for my lack of keeping up with my blog.

Life is just passing me by, my goal of printing this out as our family journal is becoming less of a reality which makes me super sad so I'm going to try and catch up. So much has gone on this past year and I don't want to forget it.

One thing that has been on my mind a lot lately is my grandfather's passing. He passed away in January of this year. He was a good man, and an amazing grandpa. He's come into my mind during times that I wouldn't expect him to. During one of my long runs this past week a song came on and just triggered something inside of me, I instantly thought of him and I just started crying...and couldn't stop. It was a good cry though. Also, in church every Sunday something is said that makes me think of him instantly.

The day of his passing is a day I will never forget. I had some extremely special experiences that I will cherish forever. He meant so much to me and I hope he knew that. I still feel him in my life even though he's gone. When I went back to AZ for a few weeks this summer I stayed with my grandma. It was nice to be there and constantly be reminded of him. Everything was still in it's place.

His funeral was so neat. He served in the Air Force for 27 years and retired as a Master Sergeant. I can't even really put into words what it was like to witness those men carry my grandpa's casket with the flag over it. So incredible, touching, and emotional. I feel so lucky to have been there and be with my family on that day. Love you Grandpa.

2011-06-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

My new photo blog is finally up and running!!!

30

2011-04-19T06:06:00.000-07:00

Chris turned the big 30 on april 9th.

The night before his big day we surprised him with his first gift, a 1 hour flight lesson with Louisville Aviation.

He was pumped.

When he got in the plane he sat in the pilot's seat. Um...excuse me? I was about to throw up with nervousness. Did I really buy my husband a gift that included him being 10,000 feet in the air in a tiny plane?!? From that point I calmed my nerves with donuts.

Pics from inside the hanger. Can you see in this image on the right where someone had written "going down" in green marker on the wall. Seriously? Must be some sort of "pilot humor." I don't think it's funny.

Eating donuts while daddy was flying. We ate A LOT.

We also spent our time walking around and collecting flowers. I noticed two security cars pull up and watch us for the entire hour chris was in the air. Apparently a mom with 2 kids, a camera, and donuts in her hand is a security threat. Who knew.

Chris took off, landed, and flew almost the entire time. I guess they made a stop in Indiana too. Can't believe he did that!

Look at that smile. He was a happy birthday boy!

The Website is DONE!

2011-03-16T05:52:00.001-07:00

I'm doing a giveaway!

To enter head on over to my new site.

Click on the Facebook link and follow the instructions.

Contest ends March 20th! Good Luck!

The Birthday Party.

2011-03-03T11:16:00.000-08:00

Thank you Shutterfly for making birthday invites so easy. A simple click and drag of a photo, some typing and I'm done. Seriously, so easy and absolutely darling.

Madi's birthday party was Jan. 29th and I'm just now posting about it. Shame on me.

He kills me...the boy that cannot stand to have dirty hands...so he eats like a puppy. Perfect.

Love that I caught him sitting his bum down on a ball.

And I Love that Madi has her arm on her best friends back. That's Emily, she lives just down the street. Her and Madi have become the best of friends...they play pretty much everyday. So thankful for friends!

The group...and Cash.

We also had a little family party(which is just the four of us now, weird) the night before her friend party. So thankful for family back in Az that sent little gifts her way, it just made her day.

Can't believe the girl is 6. Seriously not right!

2011-02-04T10:52:00.000-08:00

How is it that he went from tiny newborn to full on toddler in a blink of an eye.

Cash is 2 today!

Not sure how I feel about that.

We love our little Cash man to pieces. He is quite the interesting little boy! Always making us laugh and melting my heart with his "luv u mama!" He has just come out of his shell within the last few months...speech therapy has helped that happen and I'm forever grateful! I can finally meet his needs and his is so much happier.
He is all boy. He loves his cars/trucks, choo choo's, and dogs. He also loves loves loves mac n cheese. He usually jumps up and down screaming "nummy nummy nummy!" when he gets to have it. He is also a big juice lover. The first thing out of his mouth in the morning is, "mama lout juice, mama lout juice," over and over again till someone gets him. We just love and adore him. Happy Birthday little dude!

2011-01-28T05:14:00.000-08:00

How is she 6 already? I feel like yesterday she was Cash's size. Life is cruising by...and I don't like it.

Madi is such an amazing little girl. She is the perfect combo of sweet and dramatic. She is such a happy light in our family. She is always concerned for others and wants everyone to be happy. I love that about her. She has so much to give in this world and I can't wait to see what she does and the girl she'll become. Love you to pieces Madi!

Dressing up herself and Cash...not sure Cash was a happy customer.

2011-01-25T05:33:00.001-08:00

One day during Christmas break while Cash was sleeping we made homemade sugar cookies and the yummiest frosting. This was my first time making "homemade" sugar cookies...I know, slap my wrist. How can I call myself a mother?! Lol!

They were ridiculously delicious and I'm pretty sure I ate them for breakfast for a few days.

Madi took this picture of Cash and I sharing a cookie...love it.

2011-01-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

A beautiful white christmas

I wish I would have invented pillow pets...I would be a bajillionaire! I don't get the obsession, but it is soft and my children love all things soft.

He loved his "Tato ho ho"

Look at his mouth...took this picture when he was saying "choo choo!"

Madi and I were taking pictures of each other throughout the day. Below you can see her trying to get a picture of Cash...look at his face, typical 2 year old response!

How to chop

2010-10-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

love. him.

2010-10-02T07:46:00.000-07:00

Cheer Clinic

2010-09-24T07:08:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Madi went to a little cheer clinic through East Oldham Middle School. She partied it up with the little cheerleaders Friday night. She learned cheers, chants, stunts, tumbling, and even did a craft and ate cookies/lemonade. The next morning she got to perform with the cheerleaders at the football game.

It seriously is the cutest thing seeing mini cheerleaders. And I am such a boob I seriously was fighting back tears...it's such a tender thing seeing your kids do something that you enjoyed so much from your younger years. I know I know I'm a total boob and I need to stop, but I couldn't help myself!

What you can't see in this pic below is Cash lifting his leg just like Madi.

The past few weeks...

2010-09-24T06:50:00.000-07:00

We have created new traditions, FNFP(Friday night fire pit.) This girl becomes a little slap happy when she stays up past her bedtime. We have been eating way too many S'mores. I didn't realize I had a weird addiction to marshmallows till I didn't have access to good Mexican food.

Enjoying some bounce time.
Learning new insects and being so freaked out. My poor boy has become a wuss when it comes to bugs. Whenever I scream and run he does the same thing. Time for me to man up I guess.
Spending several hours mowing the lawn. The kids loving that they get to take turns on the choo choo.
Cash learned that real "cheez" smile that kids do. It's pretty cute, he normally cries when I try to take a picture of him so I'll take this!
Learning to ride a bike and spending lots of time riding bikes on the driveway.
Becoming one with nature...
Falling off the monkey bars at school, Madi knocked out her top front tooth.
Cash falling asleep in random places.
And catching Madi reading a story to Cash was probably the cutest thing I've ever seen...love these moments.

Project A to Z, the letter T

2010-09-16T07:48:00.000-07:00

About a month ago we purchased a great deal on Groupon to go ride a Train at the Kentucky Railway Museum. Cash is obsessed with Choo Choo's so it was a must do. He pretty much calls anything that moves a choo choo(he recently called a slow moving old lady at the grocery store a choo choo.)

The day we went it was extremely hot, and someone(me) decided it would be funner for the kids to ride in the train where the windows were down, um, not so much. When you're only going 25-30 mph in a train you don't get a nice breeze!We were dripping wet by the time the ride was over.

Even though we were dying we made the most of it by eating lots of junk food and making friends with really interesting people.

Love those rosy cheeks and his two random freckles on his forehead.

A possible contender for our Christmas card this year eh?! I am in love with this picture. Chris and Madi are one in the same, and the old man behind me practicing his runway walk is amazing.
The beautiful view...we learned a lot of history which was really cool. Part of the civil war was fought in these fields.
Notice the sweat on this poor baby's head. I was wearing jeans people, so you can only imagine the sweatiness happening on me.

They were both out within 5 minutes of leaving that place. It was a successful, but hot outing!

2010-08-26T06:41:00.000-07:00

To see more shots of this session head on over to my photo blog. Love my little model!

In other news I have decided to make my blog not private again. The reason I went private originally was because we had that whole break in experience while living in Phoenix. I don't think it was due to having an open blog, but I was scared back then so my blog went private. Now that I'm out of Az I'm not scared. Who knows, I might go back to private in a week, but for now it's open and I'm going to enjoy my new found freedom.

2010-08-22T08:40:00.000-07:00

If I could bottle up her freckles and keep them forever I would. I love them.
And if I could learn how to turn my bottom lip into this I just might get everything I want.
(I got a new lens for my b-day and I've had so much fun playing with it, it's so nice to be able to take pictures inside that actually turn out!)

First Day

2010-08-11T12:46:00.000-07:00

First day of school was today(Full day kindergarten this time!)

Madi was so excited to start school. This year I let her pick everything out...clothes, shoes, backpack, lunchbox, hair stuff. Very hard for me, since I can sometimes be called a control freak.

She loved it.

Well...I might have had some input on the jeggings. If I can't pull 'em off then she will fulfill that dream for me. She was so cute this morning when she put them on saying, "oh my gosh these are like jeans but leggings!" I hear they're the best of both worlds, someday I'll partake.

Project A to Z, Henry's Ark

2010-08-05T07:19:00.000-07:00

The letter H! So I realize I just did the letter A(and we all know the next letter in the alphabet is B) but I'm going to have to go a little out of order with this whole project. As much as my slight ocd self is telling me this is a bad idea, I'm letting go and just doing whatever letter I want! Letting go feels good, haha.

So, with carrots in hand we headed out to a great FREE petting zoo!

The zebra's were up first and I was in love. I couldn't help but replay scene's of Marty(Chris Rock) in Madagascar. Amazing. I like to move it move it.
Madi was in love with the zebra's...her face is priceless.
Check out those chompers!

Another favorite, the goats. Cash aimed for the nostrils at first, but caught on quickly where to put the food. The goats in this picture crack me up...and when we were there I actually considered having a goat as a pet. But later on in the day I was flooded with the memory of a goat chasing me in Oregon when I was little and I no longer want a goat.

Having a moment with the goat. I think she told him he was a good boy.

Can you say Thanksgiving dinner?! Gobble gobble.

Chris's favorite animal below...
Some of these large birds were contained and some were just walking around the same path we were. I liked the ones behind the fence better.

There they are again, just standing inches away from my baby. Goo

spy kids

2010-08-04T09:44:00.000-07:00

i walked into the room the other day to find this wonderful sight. they were playing a game called spy kids. they were so happy, cute, and loving towards each other...moments like these make the other moments of screaming and fighting more bearable!

love them.

project A to Z

2010-07-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

A long time ago I noticed on someone's blog(while blog hopping) that when they moved to a new city she started this "project A to Z." The purpose of it was to become familiar with your new city by finding activities to do that corresponded with letters in the alphabet. I think it's a fantastic idea so I'm going to copy her.

We had big plans for our letter A. I dreamed of going to an Apple orchard, picking our own Apple's(while wearing matching overalls of course) then coming home and making a homemade apple pie! Well, someone(me) forgot to do the proper planning and when we looked everything up Saturday morning we learned the closest orchard that was open was a couple hours away and the ones near us don't open till fall. boo.

So... we randomly decided to go to New Albany, Indiana. My only concern was finding an activity there that involved the letter A, we did end up finding a little cafe that served Apple cake with ice cream. It was delicious! It ended up being a fun day, but I did feel bad for the kids...we did a lot of just driving around looking at random things so I think we might have to do the letter A over again and go to the Art museum or the Abraham Lincoln museum. I'll keep you posted.
This old building was across from the cafe we found. I was amazed at all the old run down buildings in this town. I am a lover of old buildings so I was in heaven.

Not wanting to hold hands, priceless.
The menu inside the cafe.

Below is our delicious apple cake. It was gone in 10 seconds.

Cash with a full tummy(see apple cake crumbs around mouth) mesmerized with surroundings outside the window.
Showin' off the two teeth she recently lost!
Can you see the bridge on the right side of this picture? It's hard to see...but that's the bridge we drove across to get to Indiana.

Random railroad track that we found...another thing I'm obsessed with.

And I may or may not have borrowed some of these railroad nails for a future decor project.

Kentucky

2010-07-13T08:07:00.001-07:00

we made it!

we have been here for 10 days now, there is a lot to catch up on, but until then i'll leave you with a couple of pictures and 10 random things.

10- upon landing in kentucky(we arrived 10:30 on july 3rd) we saw firework shows going on all around the city. madi said, "oh look what daddy did for us, that was nice!"

9- also upon landing madi peed her pants and i almost peed mine. once i made it to the bathroom in the airport i was greeted by a "tornado shelter" sign. not the type of greeting i was hoping for.

8- july 4th i had kentucky's version of chipotle, called q-doba(i'm still partial to chipotle) and we partied by the ohio river most of the day. it was beautiful.

7- chris had last monday off so we went to a fabulous little water park(cannot remember name!) and madi went down a big slide finally!!! she then went down it over and over and over again.

6- one of the times i joined her and at the bottom i was greeted by an old man looking for his ,"black haired woman!" (picture a strong accent) he told me i was the wrong "black haired woman" i laughed, do i really have black hair?!

5- my parents arriving with my car was a glorious moment. it was so nice to spend a couple days with them here. love them

4- chris loves white castle, but i will tell you it is not good. actually quite disgusting

3- discovered a fabulous pizza place called Hometown Pizza. A buffet where the kids eat free, amazing.

2-we have driven around a lot here, there is so much beauty here it's ridiculous. don't get me wrong, az is beautiful too, but this is green beauty!

1- we are curently camping in an apt. for 2 months till we find a rental house. for real, like literally camping, it's hilarious. we finally went to target the other day and bought 2 chairs and 2 floor pillows so we had something to sit on.

such random info. and if you are still reading i love you. it is starting to hit me we are without family here and it's going to be difficult, but chris and i just feel so strongly we're supposed to be here. so good to be back with my husband and be together as our little family again.

2010-06-05T12:43:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago Chris got the opportunity to fly out to Kentucky for a job interview. We were super excited about it, but were trying not to get too excited about it in case he didn't get it.

Well...we found out this week he got the job!!!

We are beyond excited for this opportunity! If anyone deserves this it's Chris, he works so hard for his family. I know it's going to be extremely difficult to leave our families, but I think we will grow and progress in ways that we never thought we could. Here's to an adventure in Kentucky!

the graduate

2010-06-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

This year has been so great for Madi. We are so proud of what she's learned and accomplished in school. Being the youngest in her class I was nervous she wouldn't be able to keep up, but she did, and even excelled in some areas.

Her graduation was darling, they sang a few songs and presented the diplomas one at a time...so cute!

singing john jacob jingle heimer schmidt...

she's so into it, i love it.

Cali trip- part 2

2010-05-19T18:34:00.001-07:00

As I was looking through these pictures today I found myself picturing myself back on the beach. It really was such a beautiful beach day. Why can't Arizona have a beach?!

I'm just dying for the sound, smell, and peacefulness the beach brings!
Are you dying over the sail boats in the background? I have to ride on a sail boat someday, it just looks so fancy.

Building a massive sand castle with dad, a beach must.

And getting buried in sand by dad, another beach must.

Such a fun day...we didn't want to leave, but we had a crabby child awaiting our arrival back home that needed some lovin' from his family. I was happy to fulfill his need.

cali trip- part 1

2010-05-03T21:01:00.000-07:00

oh california.

how i miss thee. it is my new goal to live there someday and partake in the ocean every saturday.

last week we took madi to disneyland and the beach while cash stayed at home being loved on by multiple grandma's and 1 lovely auntie. i'm so glad we took her, she absolutely loved it.
this is the view from the giant ferris wheel in california adventure.

high right?

our first ride of the day was tower of terror...we don't mess around.

while waiting in line to meet the princesses(which by the way was the longest we had to wait!) we got a little camera happy.

admiring our matching chucks

girls learn at a young age it takes serious concentration when applying makeup.

look at her, so focused.

us waiting in line for space mountain.

she was so excited to go on that ride since her little carpool friends talk about it non-stop.

well... she cried and shook the entire ride, but was fine after she realized her makeup was smearing.

we randomly stumbled upon princess tiana entertaining a crowd and madi snuck right in and joined the party.

oh the parade!

one of my favorite parts of the day!

I secretly wish I was a disneyland parade dancer.

2010-03-31T21:14:00.000-07:00

conversation with madi today...

(i'm doing her hair as she's sitting on top of the counter top staring at herself in the mirror, like staring intently, like she's thinking she is just so good looking it's ridiculous.)

me- do you like to look at yourself in the mirror?

madi- oh ya

me-that's cute

madi- ya just like Tawny from Sunny with a Chance does.

me- lol! that's the funniest show huh?

madi- oh ya...(then she starts talking about the skinny pants episode and I'm instantly brought back to that moment when she was so excited to watch that episode with me, and the funny thing is I was equally excited! It's freakin hilarious! Have you seen that episode?) I know I'm 12.

Madi now will fall to the floor at random moments of the day 'cause her pants are too tight.

I know the feeling madi...I know.

(random pics of her when she was almost 3 that I found today.) I miss that little age.

Valentine's Hair & Birthday Overload

2010-02-17T06:42:00.000-08:00

I really wanted to do the whole heart thing to Madi's hair for school this year and I was really happy with how it turned out. I found a picture online and copied it, it's REALLY EASY!

When we took it out the next day it was an instant Afro. This girl's hair makes me smile when it's perfect or in a large fro.

Since M and C's birthdays are only a week apart we had a combined family party for them at the park.

Can I just say how much I love Paul Frank.
Protecting the flames, it was a windy afternoon.

Yummy, nothin' like snot and chocolate!

The morning of her b day she helped me decorate cupcakes for school.
Then I picked her up early and headed over to Jumpstreet with a friend. Have you guys been there? So fun! And cheaper than Bounce-U
When we got home from Jumpstreet the girl was pooped. We had plans to go out to dinner, but she wanted to order little caesars, open her presents, and watch a movie.

Madi also got to have a b day party with all her little girlfriends! It was a lot of fun, 13 little girls all acting like Hannah Montana was quite the scene!

Madi and Brekyn, such cute little friends.
The first stop at the party was getting your makeup done!
Second stop, learn the ho down throw down.

Third stop, Karaoke

Attention fellow bloggers...

2010-02-03T14:37:00.000-08:00

To see the rest of this birthday shoot and to enter my very first photo session giveaway head on over to my photo blog! Good luck!

5

2010-01-28T07:22:00.000-08:00

Today my little Moo Moo turns 5.

She is such a doll and so important to me and our family.

We love her!

(a bigger post will be coming, but for now I've got to get back to serving the princess!)

sneaky peaky

2010-01-19T13:50:00.000-08:00

We ventured out this past weekend to do a photo shoot of the kids because they both have big birthdays coming up! Cash obviously is turning 1 and Madi is turning the big 5! It was a lot of fun/a lot of work taking pictures of the kids, but we got some AH-MAZING shots and I can't wait to share them, but I had to just share this one because I fell over with laughter when I saw it. This is just so Cash, he's such a serious little soul.

ho ho ho

2009-12-22T15:51:00.001-08:00

Madi has been dying to see Santa. We finally did it last night...and she was in love! Cash, not so much.

Is it bad that I was kinda secretly hoping he would cry just so the pictures would be funny?! I know, I'm an evil mom.

Christmas Tree

2009-12-07T12:38:00.000-08:00

Yay! We finally cut down our own Christmas tree. We have been wanting to do this for years, but somehow wait to actually buy the tag till they are all sold out. This year, we went the week they started selling them.

Can I just say that was such a fun family experience and I am recommending it to everyone! I am normally a grouch about being cold, but I just wanted to enjoy it and have fun so I did! It was so beautiful up there that I didn't mind not being able to feel my fingers and toes!

Poor Chris ended up doing all the work while I held the babe in one hand and my camera in the other.

Madi standing in the "I have to go pee pee leg crossed pose." She didn't really have to go pee pee though.

I know what I want for Christmas...a freaking tripod so we can get a picture with all of us! Chris...

It makes me laugh that all you can see are his feet. Tree man.

The Wedding

2009-11-11T15:49:00.000-08:00

My mother in law got married this past weekend, It was a beautiful night filled with family, friends, and food! Kath...Fletch's face kills me in this picture. I had to post it.
Madi almost dropping Cash...and Chris stepping in.

All the Nuttall's

I'm not quite sure what was happening during this moment...I think Tracie was leading them in some weird chant. Tracie, can you explain yourself?

The bride and my baby.

The bride and her baby sister

The Newlyweds

Halloween 09

2009-11-03T12:20:00.000-08:00

We started our Halloween celebration on Friday morning by attending the play Strega Nona. I've always wanted to take Madi to a play and when a bunch of girls in my ward/neighborhood arranged a group ticket deal I was in. It was a fun story and Madi absolutely loved it. She danced/sang like the witch all day long. After that it was off to school. She wore a princess costume to school and I heard they had a fabulous Halloween celebration! Notice the cute little spider hat?!

Cash's face in this pic below is the face he makes the split second before he makes what we call the "stink face." I can't seem to catch it on camera yet, but when I do it's going to be a glorious day. His eyes squint and his nose wrinkles up, it's hilarious. In stead of smiling at strangers he give them the stink face.

As you can see they were not cooperating for pictures that day. Photo time turned into quite the entertaining experience.

My little Jasmine(yes, I know her costume is technically a Genie, but don't tell her that) and her monkey Abu.

We went and visited Madi's friend(Logan) in our neighborhood and when I started to take a pic of them she did this awkward squatting thing. It was hilarious. I love that her knees are together.

Finishing what I started

2009-10-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Today marks the beginning of a journey for me.

One that has been talked about for months, possibly years.

One that I have been excited for, yet so scared for as well.

Today is my first day back at school!
(online school that is)

When I ordered my books last week things started to feel really official. I'll be honest...I definitely feel like I'm going to poop my pants at the moment.

It's going to be a challenge, but one that I'm excited for. I will finish what I started so long ago. I will be a Nurse one day.

Oh, and I wanted to show you the subject for two essays I have due this week. It's like a whole new language...wish me good luck.

Question 1: How is the theory of evolution used to explain the tremendous diversity of life on Earth? Describe how variation within a population arises and how natural selection differs from artificial selection. Finally, describe how bacteria that become resistant to modern antibiotics is a clear example of evolution in action.

Question 5: What are the major characteristics of each of the three domains of life? Why do some researchers believe that the Kingdom Protista should be split into more than one kingdom?

bath time

2009-10-20T16:27:00.000-07:00

This picture makes me laugh for 2 reasons:

1-the way mad and cash are looking at each other is priceless

2-the naked barbi dolls in the background

(yes, I know I have the humor of a 10 year old)

Purple Playdough

2009-10-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

Baking playdough the other day for Madi's class turned into quite the performance.

The girl loves to sing and dance.

ps-when making playdough be a smart one and put the food coloring in while it's cooking. I did not and had purple hands for a couple days.

2009-09-25T12:34:00.000-07:00

Just some cute pics of the kids swinging in Prescott. Madi loves to swing(she used to hate it!) I think that's why these pictures make me so happy 'cause obviously she has gotten over her fear of swinging. Cash not so much. Although, we didn't even push him...just wanted a few pics of him in the swing. He's hilarious.

2009-09-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Screamer

2009-09-03T09:42:00.000-07:00

Cash is quite the screamer, he screams all the time. And Madi tells him everytime he screams that he, "sqweams like a girl, and he needs to start sqweaming like a boy!"

Once again, he kills me, and he literally almost killed me last night...he was up from 10:45 to 4:30 screaming! No fever, nothin! we could not figure it out, it was horrible!

Hallway of dreams

2009-09-02T15:47:00.000-07:00

This might be a weird dream to have, but I have always dreamed of having a home full of huge pictures of my children in beautiful frames. In June Aaron Brothers decided to have their penny sale again(which they usually only have in January) and I got the most amazing deals on big frames that were already marked down and with the penny sale it just made them ridiculously cheap. I was so happy. Who knew large frames could cause such happiness?! kinda embarrassing. Anyway, I finally got around to taking some pics for these frames and received my prints in the mail today! Oh and you bet it was like Christmas opening them! And they are up in my hallway just waiting to greet me every morning! I love the top picture of Cash(I placed that one first because it instantly puts a smile on my face when I walk in the hallway) I feel like he's saying,"hey mom, what's up?!" oh and everytime I try to show him the picture of himself he looks at it with the same facial expression displayed in the pic. love it.

First Day of Kindergarten & Ft. Tuthill

2009-08-10T16:12:00.000-07:00

Saying goodbye to daddy.

Madi woke up at 5:30 a.m. for her first day of school which made for a long morning since her class doesn't start till 11:40 a.m.

I made her a yummy breakfast(I know it doesn't look appetizing in the pictures and the tiny piece of sausage that became a mole on her face is probably gross to some people, but she loved it and that's all that matters!) A full tummy on the first day of school is a must!

Here she is in all her uniform glory. I think it's fabulous...I always secretly wanted to wear uniforms growing up. Notice her hair is up in a pony tail, we had a sponge roller disaster! Disaster I tell you! I wasn't left with much time to fix it so it was sprayed down and thrown into a pony tail. For some reason I always imagined Madi's "first day of school hair" to be something stupendous, so I was kinda let down. I know she's 4 and I'll have several more times to do the "first day of school hair" over so I'm okay.

And yes her bookbag is half the size of her...I let her pick it out.

When I picked Madi up from school she was SO HAPPY! She seriously talked non stop for like an hour straight. She loved it and everyday she is so excited to go back to school. She has made some good friends(Paige, Camryn, Palmer, and Jake) And I guess Jake is her husband. She can say her classrooms mission statement which is, "I am a lifelong learner and I am respectful, responsible, and ready!" I think it's pretty cute how excited she is about everything. Her teacher has told me she is quite the social butterfly(not surprising) and that she'll talk to anyone...I guess she's already been moved!haha.

We traveled to Ft. Tuthill in Flagstaff with some of my family the weekend before school started. The weather was amazing and we ventured out to hike the lava river cave.

This my friends is where we stayed for 2 nights/3 days. What is it you ask? Well it's a Yurt. Many people asked me, "what is a yurt Heather?" Well defined in the dictionary it's, "a tentlike dwelling of the Mongol and Turkic peoples of central Asia, consisting of a cylindrical wall of poles in a lattice arrangement with a conical roof of poles, both covered by felt or skins." Well I can tell you it was not covered by felt or skins and it was quite interesting, but for only $25 a night it certainly beats a tent!

Cash's nature inspired swing sure blended well with the surroundings.

This is Herman. Rusty and Heather's new addition. Pretty cute and quite entertaining.

2009-07-26T14:55:00.000-07:00

And just because I can't seem to do a post with out mentioning Cash here are a couple pics of his deliciousness. Yes we're a little WT(shirtless baby) and no mom he's not cold, back off yo.

Seriously, I want to bite his face!

I didn't know Jesus lived in Sedona...

2009-06-27T08:47:00.000-07:00

That's what Madi said when we saw this lovely man. Let me tell you that comment made my day! We saw this man several times in downtown Sedona, and each time we laid eyes on him Madi would ask that question. We explained to her each time that it wasn't really Jesus, but she didn't believe us until we saw him smoking!I also REALLY love the random people's faces that are staring at "Sedona Jesus." Priceless. Last Saturday we decided to head up to Sedona to celebrate Father's Day. We left bright and early at 6 am and didn't get home till after 8. It was quite the day filled with lovely weather, beautiful views, good company, and freaky sedona people.

Madi by some outdoor art in the artsy part of Sedona.

We made a stop at the local UFO museum, and when I say "we" I mean Chris and Madi. I stayed in the car with a sleeping Cash. They were in there for about 1 minute and when Madi got back in the car she said, "There was lot's of fweaky gween things!"

We also visited Chapel of the Holy Cross

Inside the chapel, it was a little creepy...hope that's not a mean statement.

We had a nice view of Bell Rock from the chapel.

And we saw the largest house I have ever seen from the chapel. We saw about 30 women(in very plain dresses that covered everything) walking in a straight line in downtown Sedona and I think they might live here.

And we went to Slide Rock! I LOVED Slide Rock when I was little, and Madi was no different! Obsessed I tell you! I'm not sure what was more entertaining, watching Chris and Madi go down the slide or just watching the people that go to slide rock.

I was going for a "Where's Waldo" look in this picture. Can you spot Chris and Madi?!

This little guy sat right next to me the whole time, he was such a good boy that day! He slept the whole way up and the whole way down!

And here are the boys in their Sunday best. I got Chris and Cash matching ties for Father's Day, it was dang Cute!

Bumbo Lovin & Rice Cereal

2009-06-14T19:03:00.001-07:00

Seriously, I cannot believe Cash is over 4 months old now! It goes by way too fast! I finally bought him a bumbo this week and I'm so glad I did. He loved it! I think he felt like a big boy! These pics are from his first few moments sitting in there, he started out straight but slowly started to lean forward, still cute though!

I believe he's giving me a thumbs up with his big toe in this pic!

We have some really cute pictures of Madi eating her first meal so I wanted to do the same with Cash. He was so funny and just kept drooling all over the place. He only lasted a few minutes the first feeding, but by the second he was actually eating it. Good job son.

2009-06-09T16:43:00.000-07:00

At this very moment the little man in this picture is suffering from a double ear infection...sad mommy. And also at this very same moment this little girl asked me why I make things so complicated...mad mommy. Not really mad though, I actually think her little comment is quite amusing. She does ask me this question a lot though.

One more thing...

2009-05-09T18:29:00.000-07:00

I had a fabulous time this week shooting a little mother's day session with Lyn and Brekyn! Seriously everytime I see this pic i'm so tempted to get a little doggy for Mad. And Lyn, Madi reminds me everyday that you told her we needed to get a dog...good job...I still love you. See more of these pics at the photo blog!

taco tuesday

2009-05-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

My girlfriends and I have talked about getting together for taco's on a Tuesday for a long time! We finally did it and I think it was a success! We had such a good time and plan to make it a monthly occurrence...who's house next girls?! (sorry Angelene you're not in this pic, but I got some cute one's of your kiddo's!)

Madi gave Rachelle the stink eye when she noticed she was ruining her and Brekyn's picture

This little boy is Krew...seriously I'm in love with his hair!

And this little girl just might be Cash's future wife...her name is Kashlynn...wouldn't that be funny!

Blessing Day

2009-05-09T18:10:00.000-07:00

Cash was blessed on April 26th. I'm not someone who likes to talk about having cheesy feelings, but truly my heart was full that whole meeting. I could not stop crying...it was a little embarassing! Cash was given such a sweet blessing by Chris, all in all it was an amazing day filled with family, friends, love, and good food!
You would think having some photography experience I would have placed us in some shade...those dark shadows under our eyes are just so attractive!

Madi's room was a party the whole time!

My mom with Cash and cousin kylie

New work schedule

2009-05-06T09:45:00.000-07:00

Chris recently started a new job with a new work schedule, he gets home at 8 which is Madi's bed time. It has been quite the adjustment. She's been staying up till around 9 so she get's to spend some time with her dad, but she has been pooped during certain times of the day. She hasn't taken naps in a long time, but the other day she fell asleep like this. I thought it was hilarious!

Safari Cash

2009-04-29T14:08:00.001-07:00

Chris said he wouldn't be too happy wearing this outfit either. I feel the sudden urge to take him to the zoo in this outfit.

Rolla's

2009-04-29T13:37:00.000-07:00

Madi was beyond excited to put sponge roller's in her hair last week for school. Seriously, you would have thought she was going to disneyland with all the excitement she had. When we took them out she was like a new Madi...with a bounce in her step and a whole new confidence I couldn't help but enjoy the moment. I told her she looked gorgeous, and her response was, "I know!" at least she's not conceeded...haha

This is her "scary" face. Chris taught it to her...lovely

R.I.P little Roxie

2009-04-22T16:45:00.000-07:00

According to everyone else it was only a matter of time before one of our chickens died. I didn't really believe that would happen, but it did. Roxie died on Sunday, exactly one week after she arrived. She had been acting a little strange for a few days(maybe because she was dropped a few times by a few children who will remain nameless to protect their identities. For all I know an animal rights activist reads my blog.)

My animal loving husband saved her life a couple nights before she died. I'll spare you all the details, but I will share that it involved what was left of Cash's bottle being dripped into the chickie's beak. I only wish I was awake to witness it! This pic was the day before she died, Madi was trying to stick all the animals in that little turtle thing, but Roxie was the only one that was havin' it(probably 'cause she was on her way out at that point!) Was that mean?! Anyway, believe it or not I was sad, and when Chris told Madi she just kept saying, "why, why, why." She was sad for a moment, but then decided we just need to get another Roxie...here we go again!

This past week...

2009-04-12T21:32:00.000-07:00

Easter was fantastic this year...we got 2 chicks and one baby duck from the Easter Bunny! Madi has been ecstatic all day about her new pets! And I think these little babes love her, they're already following her around when we let them loose. If you know me you know I am NOT A PET PERSON, but somehow I got talked into this and so far so good!

She named the baby duck Millie

Here they are running loose in the backyard...following their new mama

From left to right: Millie, Jennie, and Roxy

I wanted to get an updated picture with the kids before church this morning since the last one was taken at the hospital. I really need to get a tripod so all four of us can be in the picture!

Chris turned 28 on April 9th! Yay for birthdays, but we are getting OLD!

Now remember my last post that featured Cash's 95 year old knees, well here's his 95 year old hair do. He lost most of the hair on top of his head(due to me thinking I could rub off the dryness, but instead rubbed off his hair...whoops!) So we did a little trim, I think it looks a little better! This pic below was during the hair cut, he was so chill it was cute

It looks better right?!

I took Madi and Cash to the doctor this past week. Cash-for his 2 month check up, and Madi-for her 4 year well check. I don't think I'll ever schedule 2 kids to get shots at the same time ever again. It was quite the experience, and if Chris wouldn't have been there I don't know what I would have done. Poor Madi flipped out, I mean super red face, screaming, the works! She kept saying Please don't let them do this to me over and over again. It was horrible. She ended up getting 5 shots in her thighs, poor girl! Cash got 3 shots in his thighs and he cried for a second, but he fell right asleep. And his 2 month stats...9 lbs. 14 oz and 23.2 in. long!

And last but not least my brother Matt came home today from serving a year in Afghanistan! We are so happy he's home and that he's safe! We love you Matt and appreciate all the work you did over there!

ANTM

2009-03-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a little ashamed to admit this, but Madi has watched America's Next Top Model with me for as long as I can remember(this year not so much since she picks up on the language/immodest clothing) But the little bit she has watched sure has had an affect on her. She's quite the poser and has mastered smiling with her eyes!

We were all getting ready to go and she actually asked me if I could take some pictures of her. Of course I was excited 'cause the picture taking is usually against her will, and boy was I excited. She did not disappoint. Here are just a few...

And these next few pics has taught me that I CANNOT ask Madi to dress herself. Again, just a total poser.

*Tricia- I bet this wasn't the kind of debut you were hoping for with your bows!

And last but not least I have to share Cash's 95 year old knees. I swear I'm getting a glimpse into his future with these knees. I do love them and bite them throughout everyday!

mini mommy

2009-03-19T20:36:00.001-07:00

Madi pretty much copies every single thing I do when it comes to taking care of Cash. Everything I say to him she copies, it's a constant echo and I love it. This past week as I started to supplement with formula she really got into bottlefeeding her babies. I love how she's feeding her babe, 'cause that's how I look...I'm always multitasking while feeding Cash!

Thanks for all the advice!

2009-03-19T20:27:00.001-07:00

I took Cash back to the doctor today to see if he had gained the weight he needed to in one week, and he did! He gained 8 oz in one week, which puts him at a whopping 8 lbs. 5 oz! He is on his way to being healthy and hopefully chubby! Thanks for all the advice ladies...it obviously worked!

Advice Needed...

2009-03-15T21:57:00.000-07:00

I'm going to make this post short and sweet, I could go into details but it would take too long. Cash isn't gaining the weight that he should and I was told by the doctor this week that I need to give him 1-2 oz of formula after each feeding. It's extremely frustrating for me because I feel like I'm doing everything I can to provide for him and it's just not enough. So I guess I'm just wondering if there's anyone that looks at my blog that has had this same problem and if they did something different than just resorted to formula. Obviously I'm going to follow what my doctor says to do, but I just wonder if there are other options. I've tried pumping and nursing, but I really just don't have enough to do that. Advice anyone?

I'm Back...

2009-03-13T14:13:00.001-07:00

And it feels SO GOOD! Here is a pic from my first photoshoot after havin' the babe. It felt so good to actually move and be able to squat during a shoot. The last photo shoot I did(I think around 7 months) was really difficult, I could barely get back up everytime I got down to the ground! And I've finally updated my photoblog with some old photo shoots and this new one! Oh how I love photography!

One Month Today

2009-03-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

Seriously...has it already been one month since Cash entered the world! I can't believe how fast it's gone. I'm really trying to soak up this newborn stage because before I know it he will be all grown up.

At one month I've noticed...

He makes "man" noises all the time

He loves to have one leg straight, and usually one arm straight in the air

He loves to be held/cuddled

He loves to pee on various items while changing his diaper

He loves the classical music his swing plays...it always puts him to sleep

He has become known as little bud, little guy, little dude, and little man

He loves his bath, seriously he looks so relaxed it always cracks me up

He'll manuever himself onto his side when I lay him on his back

I'm sure there are many other things to add to the list, but he's about to start cryin' so I must stop typing!

Soon I will give an update on Madi...I feel bad she's been a little neglected from the blog posts, but I have lots of updates on her...stay tuned!

Brother-Sister

2009-02-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

I love watching the relationship between Madi and Cash. She absolutely loves him. She's our little echo, she repeats everything we say to the baby. The first thing she asks in the morning is where's the baby? She's very helpful, she's like a little mommy.

Cash is doing so well! He had his 2 week check-up yesterday and everything went great. He's now 7 lbs. 3 oz which puts him in the 13th percentile for his weight, but his length at 21.7 in. puts him in the 86th percentile! The doctor tells me he will be one tall skinny kid! He has been a little yellow so the doctor sent me to a lab, but he passed the test, no jaundice! I've also been trying really hard to follow the "babywise" rules of eat-wake-sleep and last night he slept for a solid 4 and a 1/2 hours which was heavenly for me! So far he's been a pretty chill baby that poops like a maniac and loves to eat!!!

Show Me The Money!

2009-02-07T08:07:00.000-08:00

We are so happy to introduce the newest member of our family...Cash Hudson Nuttall I really can't even explain the feelings of happiness and joy I have been feeling since he was born. We feel so lucky and blessed to have this little guy in our family. I absolutely love seeing Chris with a new baby and watching Madi with him just melts my heart! We love you Cash!

I know this picture is a little graphic, but Chris got some amazing shots of him and I just had to share at least one of them.

I loved that they placed him on me before they put the goop in his eyes, his eyes were wide open checkin' things out. I even got to feed him right away and he ate like a champ.

Madi had this same pouty bottom lip. I love it!

Seriously?! They're so cute and definitely meant to be siblings!

We waited about 15 hours in the hospital before Cash was born. Grandma Bev and Madi stopped by about an hour before he was born and she drew this little pic on the board for him.

Madi meeting Cash for the first time. She came in all alone and I'm so grateful for those first few moments together as a family. We will never forget what Madi said as soon as she saw him. She said, "Hey baby Cash, did you know that you have a big sister, look I'm right here."

I'm a little teary eyed just typing that up, So precious.

Papa Mo and Gma Paula- Thanks for all the help this past week! Going grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, and entertaining Madi has helped so much. My mom even ran to Matta's right after I delivered to get my favorite meal 'cause I hadn't eaten for almost 24 hours and I was STARVING! She knows me so well.

Grandma Bev- You're a lifesaver! Bev came over on Tuesday night when we left to go to the hospital and she stayed over a couple nights making sure Madi was taken care of. I know Madi was extremely spoiled and loved every minute of it. Bev made sure she was happy which meant the world to me.

And a big thanks to everyone else that has visited us and sent well wishes our way. It means so much to us to have such supportive family and friends. We love everyone one of you!

She's 4!!!

2009-01-30T14:42:00.000-08:00

I still cannot believe she's 4! She is growing way too fast!

Madi's birthday was on Wednesday and we had such a fun day. We made waffles and cupcakes in the morning and I even let her do most of it on her own(I even let her crack eggs!) She was very proud of herself. For lunch we met Chris at McDonald's. She loves that place and even made some friends that bought her an ice cream cone for her birthday. After lunch we went and saw Bedtime Stories then it was off to Walmart to buy nail polish and nail stickers for a manicure. She had been asking all day to get purple birthday nail polish. After the manicure dad came home and it was off to Peter Piper for dinner. When we got home she blew out her candles and opened gifts from mom and dad! Whew, that was a busy day!!! I'll post more pictures later when I get my computer set up, I'm using Chris's laptop and I can't put all my pictures on it!
Also, I had my 36 week appointment this past Tuesday where they did an ultrasound and measured the baby at 6 lbs. 15 oz.

I'm also measuring at 37 weeks and they set up an induction date of February 17th!!! I can't wait!!! I'm getting extremely anxious!

Oh and I had the cutest shower this past weekend(I'll post pics later) We're doing a rock and roll theme in the babies room and my sis in law Cami did a rock and roll themed shower. It was seriously so much fun and I got the cutest baby stuff!

2009-01-15T15:33:00.000-08:00

We are going to be extremely busy the next couple of weeks so I feel the need to update now since I'm not quite sure when I'll be able to next.

I'm going to back track for a minute. This past year and a half has been an interesting one for our little family. I certainly don't like to blog about trials or hard things that happen in our lives, but let's face it, we all experience hardship. I'm not going to go into any details, but I will say the challenges we faced in that short time let me experience some of the lowest lows I have ever felt, but also gave me some of the most peaceful feelings I have ever felt. Through all of this, I finally understand the importance of trials. I welcome them now.

We recently found out some very exciting news! We are moving into a home that will be a permanent place of residence for us, no more moving(this will be our 4th move in a year and a half)!!! We have been so blessed! My parents decided to take advantage of this market and buy an investment property. We will be able to live in it for as long as we want and eventually buy it! I really can't even express to them how grateful I am. We have visited the house several times in the past few weeks and everytime I go there I just have the best feelings. They closed on the house today and we're hoping to start moving in next weekend! It's obviously going to be a challenging move being this far along in a pregnancy, but I am so beyond excited I don't even care. The hardest part for me is not doing much, I so badly want to get in there and get the whole house painted and looking perfect before the baby comes, but I just know I won't be able to do much so I'll have to just get over that and know it will get done eventually!

So this weekend the carpet will be ripped up and we'll treat the concrete because the previous owners had a dog that peed all over it so the smell is pretty bad. We'll also do a little painting and possibly a little moving. The carpet should be here next week and as soon as that gets installed we'll be making the big move! So much to do in so little time, but again I won't be doing much because this baby needs to be safe and I don't want to stir up any trouble!

Besides the craziness of moving my wonderful sisters in laws are throwing me a shower next Saturday which I am beyond excited for AND...

This little beauty will be turning 4 on the 28th! She seems to think she's getting a trampoline for her birthday, not quite sure how that's going to happen. Anyone selling a trampoline for next to nothing?

Miss Madi has been such a joy and I can't wait for her to have a sibling. I know she will be such a great big sister and a huge help to me! She is just one amazing little person(she's actually rubbing my shoulders right now) Her little personality, or should I say big personality has blossomed sooooooo much this past year. She's definitely sweet, but also very SASSY! Love you Madi Moo!

December Wrap Up

2009-01-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

We had a very busy week leading up to Christmas filled with lots of fun activities...here is the breakdown! December 18th, 2008

We had an early get together on the Williams side since my brother Mike and his wife were going to be out of town for Christmas. We made individual homemade pizza's...so yummy and such a fun idea!

Alli certainly enjoyed herself!
My bro Mike and his wife Amy displaying proper technique/focus for chime time

Cole showing me how it's done. I don't think this boy could get any cuter, check the eyes!

December 19th, 2008

We headed up to Flagstaff to visit Chris's long time friend, Jacob Hyatt and his wife Sunny. We had such a fun time with them, they were so nice to entertain us for the weekend! Madi was beside herself with the SNOW and they had the sweetest dog named Soldier that Madi instantly fell in love with. Madi had a list of things she wanted to accomplish while at the snow. She told us she wanted to find an icicle, go sledding, have a snowball fight, make a snow angel, build a snowman, and eat some snow. I'm happy to report we were able to accomplish her goals.

December 21st, 2008

(Sorry no pics) Chris's sister Tracie invited all the Nuttalls to dinner, and to our surprise after everyone was there Ted, my father in law, walked out of a bedroom and surprised everyone! This was a Huge surprise because we weren't going to see him this Christmas, he flew in just for the night! Everyone's reactions were classic, I wish I would have had my camera! It was such a fun night, we had lots of yummy food and watched Scrooge on the projector outside! Thanks Ted and Tracie for pulling off such a wonderful surprise!

Christmas Day!!!

Madi was extremely excited for her Cinderella bike and Barbi island princess! It was pretty funny watching her open gifts that she didn't ask for, she was totally confused that Santa would bring her something she didn't ask for. So much for surprises...I'm sticking to a list next year!

We also headed over to the Huffaker's for our annual Prime Rib dinner, it was absolutely fabulous as always! We also played rock band...again I did not take any pics!

December 27th, 2008

We had the Nuttall get together(it was postponed due to the flu being passed around)

It was certainly worth the wait, we had a yummy Mexican Fiesta, played games, and the kiddo's exchanged gifts. I do have to mention that Aunt Tracie gave Madi a Hannah Montana guitar! It was hilarious, when she was opening the present she kept saying, "on no, oh no, oh no!" and jumped up and down when she finally got it opened. Again, I wish I would have had my camera! Thank goodness for sister in laws that take pics... you can see pictures from this night at http://thenuttallclan.blogspot.com

New Year's Eve!

Chris and I made our second stop at Labor and Delivery that night! Everything was fine, just had to stop labor again! While we were there Madi partied it up at Rusty and Heather's house. Thanks guys for letting her play and enjoy the night with your family!

Moved up!

2008-12-23T15:50:00.000-08:00

I am so excited, my doctor moved my due date up! I have been measuring bigger for quite some time and the last couple ultrasounds they did his measurements gave a due date of February 24th or 22nd. Madi's original due date was February 22nd, and she came on January 28th so it'll be interesting to see when this kiddo decides to make his arrival!

I have lots of December activities to post, but it'll have to wait until Christmas is over!

The Tree

2008-12-15T07:29:00.000-08:00

We bought our tree last Saturday with the intention to decorate it on Sunday, and we all know what happened last Sunday so the decorating was delayed for several days. Madi was so excited to finally decorate it. Her and Chris went to town while I sat on the couch, handed them ornaments, and took some pics. It's always fun to sit back and watch Madi and Chris do their thing, they're so much a like and just crack each other up. They are twins.

My little poser.

Bear had to get in on the action as well. This girl loves her animals, she currently has them all laid out on the floor covered in a blanket that has not moved for over a week. She kisses each of them every night and gives them hugs.

Again here they are as twins.

1st stop at Labor & Delivery

2008-12-08T15:44:00.000-08:00

Yesterday morning started out like any other Sunday, except we were going to a friend's ward for their baby blessing so we got to sleep in for an hour! While we were there I started feeling extremely hot and nauseated. All of a sudden I had to throw up so I rush to the bathroom(not realizing Madi was following me) get in a stall and lose my breakfast oh so quickly. Poor Madi was in there dry heaving when she saw me throw up, but she was able to keep her breakfast down, thank goodness!

When we got home I threw up again and decided to fill my prescription for Zofran, which I stopped taking earlier in the week 'cause I thought I was finally over the throwing up point. Took the Zofran and tried to eat some soup. It wasn't but a few minutes after I ate some soup that it came back up. At that point I figured it must be some type of stomach bug so I tried to just lay low and eat crackers/sprite every once in a while.

While all of this throwing up was going on I was also having contractions. Now I've been having contractions for several weeks now and last time I was at the doctor(2 weeks ago) they did an exam and the test to see if you're going to go into labor in 2 weeks. Well it was negative and he just said to take it easy and if I had more than 6 contractions in an hour go to labor and delivery. Well I've certainly had more than 6 contractions in an hour on several days, but the ones I had yesterday were progressively getting stronger and coming every 2 to 3 minutes.

At about 4:30 I decided it was time to go to the hospital. At that point I was barely making it to the toilet to throw up(I had thrown up 10 times by this point), seeing stars while I was throwing up, feeling oh so dehydrated, and having serious contractions pushed me over the edge and I was ready! Grandma Bev came over to watch Madi and we headed to the hospital, thank goodness for Grandma's!

When we got there and got settled in they wanted to start an iv of fluids. Well being extremely dehydrated all my veins were flat so I knew at that point the iv part was going to be painful. After trying to stick the needle in my right and left hand and being unsuccessful she called in a more experienced nurse. This nurse was smart and brought in the smallest needle they had and got it in my upper arm. Along with the fluids they gave me some zofran, muscle relaxers, and a shot to stop the contractions. She also did an exam and my cervix was closed so that was really good news. At that point it was just a waiting game. After a couple hours of steady strong contractions(which the nurse said if I was only 10 weeks further in my pregnancy I would be having my baby) they gave me more medicine to stop them and did another exam. This time my cervix was open and I was apparently dilated to a 1. That kinda freaked the nurse out so she called my doctor. He wanted to just keep pumpin' in the medicine to slow the contractions, but because my heart rate was too low she couldn't give it to me so she gave me more muscle relaxers and continued to pump lots of fluid into my iv. After a couple more hours my heart rate was okay so she was able to give me another shot to stop the contractions. By that point things were starting to get better, I was feeling much better with all the fluids in me and was only having a big contraction every 10 to 15 minutes. They still continued to watch me for quite some time and after things didn't get worse they FINALLY released me! I was so excited to be heading home instead of being transferred to another hospital(I was told if things progressed I would have to ride by ambulance/or helicopter to another hospital that would deliver a 27 week babe. Thank goodness my talk with the baby calmed him down.

After an okay nights sleep I headed to my doctor this morning for my 28 week appointment. There they did an internal/external ultrasound. My cervix is now closed again(is that normal?) and the baby is doing good. He's already over 3 pounds which puts him in the 91st percentile! I was so glad my appointment went well and I wasn't put on bedrest. He just told me to take it real easy and stay off my feet as much as possible. I am so lucky things went well, I knew in my heart everything would be fine. I had preterm labor with Madi at 32 weeks(which I had to stay in the hospital for a week and be pumped with magnesium) so I felt a lot calmer about the whole experience this time around. Whatever happens will happen, I can't control it so there's no sense in worrying and getting stressed out. I know everything will be okay.

Lots to update!

2008-12-04T13:15:00.000-08:00

My little Rainbow Brite! Madi has been so into rainbows and anything that is multi colored like a rainbow. I think it fits her personality perfectly, she is always so bright and happy(don't get me wrong she has her sassy moments as well) We saw these pj's at Costco and I tried to talk her into another pair(because rainbows kinda freak me out) but she had to have the rainbow ones. I kinda want some for myself now, anyone know where I can get some adult rainbow pj's?! And please no suggestions with the word Lesbian in it.

Enjoying a "rainbow cookie" in her rainbow pj's!

Her "rainbow fish" she made at school

A "rainbow bookmark" she made for me.

We have had lots of fun getting ready for Christmas, I love having Christmas decorations up and I can't wait to get the smell of a real tree in our home. We made a little chain with Madi the other night while we watched Miracle on 34th Street. Oh I can't wait! Christmas is so fun with Kiddos!

And here is my belly at 27 weeks! My goal is to wear the same outfit for every belly picture, but the shirt might be ripping at the seams pretty soon! This pregnancy has been so different, this kid is huge! I was looking at pictures of my last pregnancy and I was not much bigger than this just a few weeks before I had Madi. Chris even said last night that this kid is going to be born a man with all of his muscles fully formed! I'm starting to get really nervous...remember my husband was 11 lbs. THREE weeks early! Please pray for me, I really can't last for 3 more months!

Here are 2 pictures from Thanksgiving Day, sorry this is all you get! I was too busy eating that I forgot to focus on pictures. We had our meal with my side of the family, which was amazing! My mom makes the best rolls, I think I had a loaf of bread in my stomach by the time I was done. My sister in law even attempted to hide the remaining rolls in her bedroom for fear of me eating them all gone. mean. After that we headed over to the Nuttall side for a "Wii" good time! I have never played the Wii and was quite excited when I killed Kath at Tennis, but the next morning I woke up with an extremely sore right arm...that's what I get for being cocky. This is Madi's cousin Evrett, they always play really well together and she REALLY enjoys his company! Apparently so does Ev 'cause he told us that he wanted to marry Madi! Can you say incest?!

Doesn't she look so happy?! She was really annoyed with me that I made her put that hat on that hurt her head! And yes I know it's on backwards and yes I took a picture of her surrounded by 55 outlets! She made this cute little piece of art at school the week of Thanksgiving, and was so proud and excited about it. I love her little hand print!

Madi had her first dental experience a few weeks ago, and lucky for us aunt Tracie is a hygienist so it makes the experience a lot more fun! Overall I think she did pretty good, and no CAVITIES! I also got my teeth cleaned after Madi and sweet aunt Tracie let Madi assist with "Mr. Thirsty" which she kept putting in her mouth, then mine and repeated it over and over again! Despite that nastiness it was probably the funnest time I've had at the dentist!

Busy, Busy, Busy

2008-11-20T15:59:00.000-08:00

I feel like my days and weeks are going by at lightning speed! I have been so busy working on things and never completely finishing any of them! So Frustrating! So that is why I have ignored my blog, and not responded to comments(I'm sorry!) I did manage to get this gem of a picture the other day... oh how I love little butt cracks! I wish mine looked that cute!

Twick or Tweating!

2008-11-01T10:42:00.000-07:00

My little red head! She could not stop talking about turning her hair red all week and when we finally started the process and she realized how long it was going to take she was over it. It took a long time, but the result was absolutely worth it! We had such a fun night, we started off at Trev and Kat's house to trick or treat, then we headed over to Chad and Nic's house to do another round. She had a blast running from house to house and hugging all the freaky characters.

I think Madi was a little confused with all the characters running around. She went up to this random "bear in tutu" dying to give him a hug and wanted everyone else to give him a hug. I had to keep telling myself it wasn't a random freaky/perverted man inside that costume.

All the Nuttall kids!

The two princesses of the night, Ariel & Belle

The day before Halloween Madi's preschool class had a party. Her teacher, Mrs. Amee set up a bunch of different activity booths in her backyard. I happen to be at the cookie decorating booth so I wasn't able to take a ton of pictures, but here is her class(and some random siblings)

Get in my Belly...

2008-10-31T08:46:00.000-07:00

I like to say that phrase to myself before I eat every meal! In my first trimester I ate ramen noodles everyday for lunch 'cause that's all my stomach could handle, and now I'm back to my lovely sandwich that I adore so much and I can't even explain the happiness it brings me everyday at lunch(wow I've obviously got a problem with food!)

Question- For the moms out there that carried boys did you feel like the male hormones were affecting you, is that even possible? I've always been a hairy person, but I feel like my face has turned into an exact replica of Elvis's sideburns-in blond hair of course. I couldn't take it anymore and full on shaved my face, I know I'm a man now! I had to do something drastic though and that's what I did. Hopefully in a few months I won't have black hair all over my face- ahhhh! 22 weeks in this picture!

Baby Love

2008-10-23T15:27:00.000-07:00

Our good friends had their second son a couple weeks ago and I got to take his newborn shots yesterday. I am absolutely in love with this baby and can't wait to have my own little man to love! He is so sweet! I posted a few of my favorites at http://www.plainlytaken.blogspot.com

The Many Faces of Madi

2008-10-21T22:14:00.001-07:00

Sometimes I think madi is over being my model when she gives me faces like these first three pictures. This first one makes me think she's saying something extremely naughty in her head about me.

This one is obvious, she's definitely over me and my camera.

I'm actually quite sad there was no smile in this picture, because I like the looks of it. Doesn't she just look so sad! Like her favorite snack or toy was ripped out of her hands! I swear I'm not an evil mom.

Now here's the cheesy Madi we know and love. This is the face I get these days when I ask for a smile!

I thought this one was just sweet, I love the little bit of light shining on the left side of her head.

And last but not least catalog Madi. She posed herself all by herself in this one.

Schnepf Farms!

2008-10-20T14:08:00.000-07:00

We went to Schnepf farms on Saturday night with some friends from work. Can I just say the chili/cornbread is worth the $12 admission, so YUMMY! It was a fun perfect night to be outside, not too cold and not too hot. We watched the pig races, played on some toys, rode rides, and Chris and Madi attempted the corn maze. It was a successful night out and Madi made new friends which she held hands with for the night so that was cute! Oh and we also got a kick butt pumpkin, but I'll post pics of that later when we carve it. And yes I know that's not the best picture, but I didn't bring my camera and I took only one pic with my cell phone so I didn't have many choices.

Cali!

2008-10-12T20:46:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I got to tag along on my brothers family vacation. My parents were going along to help with the kids and had a couple empty seats in their car so Madi and I hitched a ride last minute. We were able to go to Disneyland, and experience "Halloween Time!" It was a rather warm day, but being at the Happiest place on earth you kinda forget about the weather and enjoy the moment. I'm so glad my dad was there to ride rides with Madi. I was able to do the dumbo ride and a few others, but he took her on all the bumpy/roller coaster type rides. It was a fun vacation and nice break for us to getaway. The parade of dreams is my most favorite part! There's this random cheezy song that plays and I totally start crying, I can't help myself, the magic really gets to me. The kids loved the parade! Madi was screaming the characters names over and over and over again trying to get them to come over and hug her. It was pretty funny 'cause she called all the girl characters Cinderella and all the other random ones Goofy/Pluto. This below picture is by far my favorite one of the day. I come from a long line of road rage and she's already displaying the signs of it, poor girl!

Cole, Kylie, and Madi just before we entered the park!

We also hit up the beach while we were in Cali, it was a beautiful day! There was a freaky fog so it doesn't look like it was a beautiful day, but it was! We had a wonderful picnic lunch, courtesy of Pacific Coast Sandwiches and just frolicked in the sand. Madi spent most of her time running in and out of the water and I spent most of my time running right next to her for fear of the waves sweeping her away, I'm a worry wart. And Papa Mo insisted on teaching Madi the art of the sand castle, but she kept smashing it, I kinda laughed.

And I'm going private this week so if you haven't done so already please leave your email

PICTURES!!!

2008-10-05T20:21:00.000-07:00

I did this session a couple weeks before my beloved camera was stolen, but good news everyone...I'm getting my NEW camera this week and because I'm celebrating I'm going to give a spectacular deal to those who book a session with me! This "celebration package," will be good until November 15th!

What's the cost?

$85.00 for a family of four! Any additional person after that up to a group of 8 will be an additional $5.00 per person. Groups larger than 8 please contact me for pricing!

What you get?

45-60 min session at the location of your choice
A CD of your Best images EDITED
You will also have the rights to those photo's for Christmas cards, printing, etc...

Please email me at plainlytaken@gmail.com to book a session!

2008-10-05T20:20:00.000-07:00

2008-10-05T20:18:00.000-07:00

2008-10-05T20:16:00.000-07:00

The Results are in...

2008-09-30T22:52:00.000-07:00

And we're having a BOY!!!

We are so excited to have a little man in the family! I think we were both expecting another girl, so we were stunned when she showed us his "junk," as she called it, and said we were having a boy! We couldn't be happier, and Madi took the news quite well. My whole pregnancy she has insisted that it must be a girl, and that she would not accept a little boy. When I picked her up from preschool and told her it was a boy she jumped for joy shouting Yay! Chris was also beside himself with excitement, I know it means a lot to him to have a little boy and it will definitely even things out in our household-too much drama with us girls!

After the ultrasound I packed my bags for a last minute trip to Cali with my parents/brother's fam so I will post pics later!

Going Private

2008-09-29T20:53:00.000-07:00

Please leave your email, Thanks!

Go Baseball!

2008-09-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

On Friday Chris got tickets from work(because he's such a hard worker!) to the Diamondbacks game. We had a much needed fun night all together. It's been a while since we've done something FUN as a family-too much moving! We headed out to Nello's and then to the game. Madi, of course was beside herself. I love how excited she gets at whatever we're doing. It was like Disneyland all over again! She loved that they had music constantly playing and people were dancing and clapping all around her, I'm sure it was like heaven to her! She stood on the bench most of the game chanting/clapping "Go Baseball, Go Baseball, Go Baseball!"

First Day!!!

2008-09-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Madi finally had her first day of preschool this week! She was suppossed to start a couple weeks ago in Phoenix, but with everything that happened it was delayed. We were lucky to find an opening since most preschools started a few weeks ago(thanks random child for dropping out of preschool so my child could attend)

Anyway, Madi absolutely loved it! She just went right in and waved goodbye like it was no big deal. I admire that about her, she is so brave! My mom told me that when I went to preschool for the first time I hooked myself onto her legs and would not let go, I was definitely a shy little girl but not Madi, I swear she's got more personality than her little body knows what to do with! When I asked her what she did she said she learned about rainbows, baseball, and met another Madi. She was beside herself that there was another girl like her named Madi, I think she talked about that for like 10 minutes. And ever since we left she has been asking about going back, I love that she loved it so much!

PS- curse the bad robber that stole our camera's! This picture was taken with my cell phone.

48 Hours

2008-09-07T21:28:00.000-07:00

I thought 48 Hours was an appropriate title for this post because our calm life was turned upside down in just 48 Hours.

Let's back up...Do you all remember that freaky storm that blew through Phoenix the Thursday before Labor Day weekend? If you don't your life probably remained the same and I am probably now a little bitter towards you.

So as this "end of the world storm" progressed through the evening we started to notice our tiny backyard filling up with water, and soon our doormat was floating around like it was a pool, and soon after that water started slowly seeping in through the glass sliding door. Since we're not from the south and trained in flash floods we had no idea what to do. We grabbed towels and blankets-DUMB. The water soaked through them in no time! I began taking pictures of everything for insurance purposes(and blog purposes) and before we knew it 75% of our little place was flooded. I mean like an inch of water flooded. Somehow we managed to get most of our stuff in our room where it remained water free and by 1 am we were in bed!

So let's continue...it only gets better from here! The next day was a horribly long day, cleaning up and moving everything into the kitchen so that the "water disaster" guy could come and suck up all the water. He was suppossed to come in the morning, but didn't show up until late afternoon. He vacummed up as much as he could, but told us fans needed to be brought in for a few days to dry everything up. Well surprise surprise, the "fan guys" never showed up on Friday and by the time we got a hold of them it was 7 pm on Friday night and they told us they could come out on Saturday afternoon. We weren't going to be able to stay there so we went and stayed at some relatives house for the night.

So Saturday comes and Chris heads out there to meet the guys with the fans. He gets there and discovers someone had BROKEN IN! Seriously, I think we have the worst luck?! He calls me, and of course I start bawling and head out there immediately. And let's clarify something, I wasn't crying because some of our precious things were stolen, I'm pretty sure I was just upset/scared at the thought of someone actually doing that. I seriously felt like I had been violated. Anyways, when I get there it was just the saddest thing. I've never seen Chris so sad/upset at the same time. ALL OF HIS MUSIC EQUIPMENT WAS STOLEN! And if you know Chris, music is a serious passion for him. Not a day goes by without him picking up his guitar. And every single one of his 8 guitars was stolen(and lots of other fancy music equipment stuff)! My lovely camera was also taken among many many other things, but I won't bore you with the list. It only depresses me. Now we begin the lovely process of an insurance claim.

That same day we also decided to move back to Mesa. Kind of a rash decision now that I look back on it, but at the moment I was so freaked out to continue living there. All of my family showed up to help us move and by the end of the weekend we had everything out of there. We stayed at some relatives house for a week while we searched for a new residence and now we're just waiting to move in there. Freaky right?

I do have something positive to add to this post though, I had another doctors appointment and everything is going great. I was a little worried with moving things and the stress of everything that happened, but our little fetus is just fine...and we even find out what we're having on the 30th!

We finally got a family pet!

2008-08-27T18:14:00.000-07:00

It's no Dog(which Chris and Madalyn desperately want), but it's a perfect NO MAINTENANCE pet. Chris discovered this lovely grasshopper in our own backyard. The first thing I could grab to put it in was a glass(which I later disposed of in fear of drinking from it and having invisible grasshopper babies inside my mouth) Anyway, Madi was totally freaked out. The picture below of her covering her face is when she saw it move for the first time. She kept calling it Ant, then after several name suggestions she decided on Grasshopper(love her originality).

Totally Freaked out!

Still skeptical.

Finally a smile with it safe in its cage.

My New Age

2008-08-17T19:50:00.000-07:00

This past week I celebrated a birthday and am now 25 years old! I was told by several people this was supposed to be a traumatizing birthday and that I would probably cry, but I guess because I haven't really matured since age 18 I don't really feel that old,ha ha...I did have a fantastic time and I thought I'd share a few of the highlights.

- Listening to Chris & Madi wrap my presents

-Opening my presents! Fun girl things from Chris and Madi got me a frisbee and bubbles

-Eating out with my parents, My sis in law Heather, All the Nuttall girls, and a night out with Chris

-Chris coming home from work early that day with a Tammie Coe Cake!

-Answering the door, 2 minutes after I got out of the shower(which I guess I looked a little freaky 'cause the lady delivering the flowers started to laugh, but stopped herself) These flowers, from Fresh Cut Romance were from my father in law, Ted, what a sweet surprise

-And the infamous Sprinkles cupcakes given to me by Tracie!

Notice anything new?

2008-08-09T20:53:00.001-07:00

Finally I am posting! If you notice my new addition to the blog maybe you'll understand why I haven't been blogging as much. With everything that goes along with the first few months of pregnancy I have just had absolutely no desire to sit at the computer, upload photo's, and update my blog. Sorry!

So yes, we're PREGNANT! Baby Nuttall #2 is due March 2, 2009! And we couldn't be happier!

I just have to give a shout out to my little family and parents for being so helpful. Some days I just have no desire to do anything and I appreciate their patience and willing to help out when I don't feel that great. You would think a 3 year old couldn't do much, but Madi is an amazing little helper. When I'm laying on the couch feeling like I'm going to die she'll hug me, bring me a blanket, and tell me I'll be okay! Seriously, I can't deal with it! Too Cute! And Chris willing to run errands, clean up little messes, and go get dinner after his 8 hour day at work just amazes me, he's awesome! Thanks my lovelies! I've also been up to Payson a couple times throughout the month, it's so nice up there. I think just being somewhere that's cooler automatically makes me feel better. And my mom is so amazingly helpful, she does anything she can to make me feel better. It's so nice to have a mom like that! I love being up there!

Mo & Po

2008-07-02T13:36:00.000-07:00

Last week when Chris went out of town for business for a few days I headed up to Payson to visit my parents. Madi absolutely adores my parents and loves spending time with them. They have two swings on their front porch which she wanted to spend all day on. I swear that girl loves to swing, we would begin and end our day on those swings. Thanks Mo & Po for taking care of us and feeding us wonderful food(that's one of my favorite parts about being at my moms, the good food!)

The famous "sky chair" that Madi is obsessed with. I have some cute videos of her spinning/screaming like crazy in that thing.
Her favorite drawing place!
I love that my mom kept all of my Barbi things, I always hoped one day my little girl would enjoy them. She doesn't quite get the whole concept of the Barbi thing yet, but she still plays with them.
Feeding the ducks, Madi kept saying, "here little boyeeez."

And I even talked my parents into doing a little photoshoot, I swear Madi will soon hate the camera!

Now I know where Madi gets the swinging obsession from. Papa Mo REALLY got into it!

One of the amazing dinners I had at my parents. I'm not one to try something new, but for someone reason I was in the mood to be daring. This salad is absolutely amazing and a wonderful summer treat. And yes those are strawberries, not tomato's in case you can't tell.

Roe's Amazing Strawberry Salad

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup cider or red wine vinegar

1/4 tsp each salt & pepper

1/8 tsp pepper

6 cups town, mixed greens

2 1/2 cups sliced strawberries

1/2 cup sliced almonds

1 cup cheese(jack & cheddar mix)

*Add chicken to make it a main dish!

ArtSy FArtSy

2008-06-24T22:58:00.000-07:00

Madalyn and I have been going to a toddler art class once a week for the past few weeks and today was their art show(Madi's is the bottom left) I have really had a lot of fun going to this class with Madi. I'm so glad I signed up, and the best part is it is free entertainment. I love that the city offers so many free classes for kids! It has been fun to watch her creative juices start flowing, and I absolutely love how OCD she is with things...just like daddy!

I think Madi's favorite part was the refreshments, she downed not 1, but 2 sugar cookies and a glass full of lemonade! Definitely my child, always more interested in the food wherever she goes.

I'm it!

2008-06-24T13:08:00.000-07:00

Thanks Ro!

How to play this game. Post these rules on your blog; List 3 joys, 3 fears, 3 goals, 3 current obsessions/collections, 3 random surprising facts about yourself. Tag 5 people at the end of your post by leaving their names....

3 Joys

My Family
Reality TV
Steak Tacos with GAUCAMOLE from Chipotle

3 Fears

Not being able to get pregnant again
Madi being kidnapped(I don't know why I am so scared of this, but every night before I go to bed I'm worried someone is going to break in her bedroom window and take her!) I hate that feeling.
Not progressing

3 goals

Getting down to my prebaby weight(Chris and I started a diet recently and I've lost 6pounds so far, Yeah! I can't really tell a difference yet so that makes me wonder if it's just water weight, but hey it's still goin' down!
Sticking to my diet so I can actually reach my goal!
Be the best mom and wife I can be

3 current obsessions/collections

Looking at the websites/blogs of my favorite photographers
Swimming with Madi
The Bachelorette( I cried through the whole episode on Monday)

3 random/surprising facts

I'm obsessed with vacumming. If I could do it everyday I would, but I try to control my Obsessiveness with it and do it every other day!
I can shoot a penny out of my knee using the fat around my knee
I sold grave plots in hawaii with my husband right after we got married, romatic right?!

I tag...Kathy, Nichole, Tracie, Carrie, and Jade

Dance Dance!

2008-06-17T09:37:00.003-07:00

Madi receiving her flowers from dad, I think by that point she was pooped so there was NO reaction. I don't blame her, her mascara was running.

Giving Grandma Bev a big hug!

She said she was just too tired to walk to the car so dad carried her in the sweltering heat! Seriously it was so hot, Tracie almost threw up in our car.

Madi had her first dance performance on Saturday! It went really well, she did a great job! I was a little nervous because she didn't go on until about an hour and a half into the show so I kept thinking she's going to lose interest, wanna sleep, or have to go potty right before and miss the performance. The girls had to stay backstage the whole time, which I was a little torn about, but rules are rules. She told me they had fun, they watched a movie and ate snacks so she was entertained. Bev and Tracie made the long drive out here and went with us(my mom has been really sick so she wasn't able to go) It was fun to have family with us and I know Madi felt special having them there! I didn't really get any good pictures during the performance( no flash photography and man with lots of white hair sitting right in front of me!) So I'm glad I took several at the dress rehearsal.

Dress Rehearsal

2008-06-11T15:44:00.000-07:00

Madalyn had her dress rehearsal today! MAKEUP, BIG HAIR, AND PSYCHO STAGE MOMS! It was fun prepping for the rehearsal, Madi watched a movie while I curled her hair(which took FOREVER) and she even enjoyed putting on the makeup! I'll post more pictures after the actual performance.

Braiding Beauty

2008-06-04T15:50:00.000-07:00

When I was in elementary school, 5th grade to be exact, my mother would braid my hair in two french braids parted in the middle of my head. I think I started to be known as the girl with the braids who wore Limited Two(I'm getting a vision of my sunflower shorts right now) So, fast forward several years and now there's a new version of the braid that I have seen on some of my favorite celebs, friends, and little girls. Because I am wanting to continue the tradition of braiding in my family I have started braiding madi's hair....a little too much one might say.

Anyways, the obsession with the braid turned into a little photo shoot yesterday. Here are some of my fav's.

Can I just say how much I love having a little girl that allows me to braid and put a camera in her face at least once a day. I love you Madi Moo!

2008-06-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

Today was Madi's first swimming lesson! I'm a little embarrassed that she doesn't know how to swim already since I taught swimming lessons to little kiddos for a few years, but I keep telling myself it's just impossible to teach your own child how to swim(not really, but it makes me feel good) Anyways, the class was a success. She loved it and her teacher was great with the kids.

She couldn' wait to get in the water.

A little splashing never hurt anyone, well maybe the girl in the back(she looks like she's about to cry)

Mastering the back float!

Going over the rules before class.

BRRRRReunion

2008-05-28T15:21:00.000-07:00

Clever title right?! We had a Burk reunion this past weekend and it was FREEZING, but still a lot of fun to see everyone and spend time with the fam. My mother in laws brother, Robert Burk puts a lot of effort into the family reunion. He makes sure everyone is going to be comfortible, bringing a shower unit, a handwashing unit, and the all important port-o-potty! Seriously though, I don't know what we would all do without him and all his camping stuff!

The train was definitely a favorite among the kids. Madi loved sharing a seat with Fletch and Ev, she loves those boys! And you'll notice Ty REALLY got into his role as conductor!

There was a nice big wash full of sand right next to camp that the kids loved. At one point they dug a rather large hole that one of the littler kids ended up falling into, I tried to get a picture of it, but it didn't really work out so you'll just have imagine it.

JEALOUS- That's how I felt looking at Tracie's eyelashes the whole weekend(she got lash extensions) I was absolutely mesmerized by those things. I couldn't stop staring! The picture does not do them justice, if you're lucky enough to see them in real life you will be amazed!

Madi in several layers of clothing plus a horse = SEVERAL CUTE PICTURES! Sorry for the abundance of pics on a horse, but I can't help it. She kinda looked like the kid from a Christmas Story, she had a hard time putting her arms all the way down. It was HILARIOUS!

This is the only picture of Madi on the four wheeler where she's not making a SAD FACE. I don't think she liked it very much, she's not the dare devil type. On the other hand kath and Tracie had a good time, stuck on a hill and I heard peeing their pants a little, haha!

The Getaway

2008-05-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

Since we had a family wedding to go to on our anniversary we decided to start the party on Saturday morning. We dropped Madi off at Grandma Bev's at 10 am and then headed to Scottsdale to start our day. We started off with a massage, followed by lunch then a pedicure! Chris was a little weirded out by the whole pedicure thing, but a bunch of his friends at work got them done on Friday so he actually got pretty excited. At 3 we went to check into our hotel and we weren't even there for an hour when the most embarressing, horrifying, and just plain awkward thing happened to us. I wish I could share the details, but it might be a little explicit for our family friendly blog. So after out "experience" we were upgraded to the nicest suite possible at the hotel. A two story condo with two full bathrooms,a plasma tv,very pretty, and your own private entrance to the pool. I'm still debating on whether it was worth what we went through, but I think it was. They even had chocolate covered strawberries and champagne(which we gave away) waiting for us in the room.

After we recovered from our trauma we headed out to the Outback for dinner, I was craving the salad with ranch-crap why does their ranch have to be so amazing. Then after dinner we were going to see a movie, but just got some gelatto and headed back to the hotel for some fun!!!!

On Sunday we continued the party with some time by the pool, lunch, and a movie. It was a really great weekend and one I will certainly remember for the rest of my life! Thanks Grandma Bev for watching Madi so we could have some alone time!

Happy Anniversary

2008-05-16T09:06:00.000-07:00

Chris and I got married FIVE years ago TODAY! I love this day, my heart is immediately filled with the memories of that day. I know it's cheesy, but that day was seriously amazing and meant so much to us. I think this time five years I was getting ready to head over to the Temple. I remember feeling so excited, nervous, and sweaty all at the same time! I couldn't wait to get married!

Some of my favorite memories of that day are just being with Chris, and not thinking about anyone or anything else, having an amazing experience in the Temple with family, a yummy luncheon filled with random/funny remarks from family and friends, and an amazing reception with a little serenade from Chris. That was definitely my most favorite part of the reception! Chris sang a little medley of songs, just him and the guitar. The best part was when he added John Mayor's song -your body is a wonderland- into the mix. I heard later that my parents were quite confused and my dad leaned over to my mom and said, "What did he just say?!" Loved that!

PS- Happy Anniversary to my cousin Cody and Tracy who also got married on this day 2 years ago and Chris's cousin Kerri is getting married today,good luck guys!