Weekend Guests.

Last weekend my cousin Heidi came to St. George with her husband Craig and their daughter Ashlyn. It was nice to have the visitors and we did alot of fun things. We went to lunches and dinners, went shopping, and took the little ones to the splash pad. Friday night we were able to go to Tuachan and see the play Annie while my Mom watched Maddie and Ashlyn. (Thanks, Mom!) Here are a few pictures of the kids at the splash pad. Brendon and Starlee were alot of help with the girls so the parents didn't have to get wet. However, in the end, we all ended up pretty soaked because of the wind. Make note of the dark black clouds.. Don't let them fool you. It was still over 105 degrees while we were there. Lovely St. George.

Starlee and Maddie.

Starlee and Ashlyn.

Maddie and Ashlyn on the swings.

Ashlyn.

Brendon.

Maddie.

Our Little Water Baby.

Sunday afternoon we took Maddie to the splash pad in Bloomington with my Mom, Brendon, Starlee and our cousin Cassie. Maddie loves it there. She chases the kids through the water and then runs to the playground to climb on all the toys. It gets a little nerve racking because she's soaking wet and sliding all over plastic but she always does just fine. She's getting so big now and trying to keep up with the big kids. It's so much fun to watch her. Getting ready to go down the slide.

Playing in the crawl through tube. This was by far her favorite place to be.

Playing with Uncle Brendon on the splash pad.

Here are a few random pictures of Maddie playing in her tutu on Sunday afternoon before we left for the splash pad.

Dancing on the couch.

Riding her horse from Nonni.

So cute!

Camping - Pine Valley, UT.

Saturday we decided that it'd be a fun idea to go camping. Maddie and I gave Matt a tent for Fathers Day and it seemed like a good weekend to try it out. We started packing, made a quick trip to Walmart for essential camping items (i.e. things to make Smores, bug spray and a flashlight) and headed off to Pine Valley. It was such a nice change from St. George. It's green, there is water and it wasn't 115 degrees. Things went pretty well until Maddie decided that she didn't want to go to sleep in the wilderness - she'd just rather scream until 11pm until she tired herself out. Besides that and a little rain, it was a good trip and a nice getaway for the three of us. Matt and Maddie on Sunday morning before we went home.

Our wild child.

Helping Daddy set up his new tent.

A Few New Faces Of Miss Maddie.

Matt and I both agree that our sweet little angel has definitely entered an interesting phase. Terrible Twos 10 months early? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, Maddie has found throwing fits at home to be a new fun thing. She's keeping busy - devouring books (literally-she eats them), pulling cords, figuring out ways to climb onto anything and everything, throwing things and running away. She's still as sweet as ever, she just now has her not so adorable moments. This too shall pass.

Getting ready to go to the splash pad with Mommy, Grandma, Uncle Brendon and Aunt Starlee.

She LOVES to brush her teeth.

We've had alot going on at our house. I felt pretty sick last Thursday and ended up at the Instacare on Friday morning. I left with the diagnosis of SWINE FLU! Who really gets that? I was very upset and couldn't stop crying thinking about the fact that I'd been snuggled up to my little one earlier that morning. Matt took very good care of me all day long. He even brought me home an early anniversary gift. A laptop! I was very excited. Saturday morning I went back with enormous tonsils and tested positive for Strep Throat. Lovely. Matt went Sunday morning and also tested positive for Strep. Needless to say it was a pretty boring 4th of July for the three of us. I think we were in bed and all asleep by 9:30. Maddie has shown no signs of being sick and Matt and I are no longer contagious so I hope that we got passed it without giving anything to her. We're all starting to feel better and we are hoping it stays that way.

Hope you all had a fantastic holiday weekend!

P.S. Eli, we miss you. COME HOME!

Maddie's One!

On May 27th our sweet little girl turned 1! We can hardly believe it. The past year has gone by so quickly and she has changed so much. Maddie is very tall. She has 4 teeth and 3 on their way in. She is always talking and smiling. She's walking and keeping us entertained and busy because she thinks the best thing is to wander around the house seeing who she can find. She's a very smart and fun little girl. We love her so much.

Happy Birthday, Madalynne!!

One Day Old

One Year Old

Family Trips.

Last week Matt's family came to town. His mom, sister and his sisters boyfriend flew in on Saturday night and stayed until the next Saturday morning. We did alot of fun things and it was really nice to have everyone together for a little vacation. Monday we headed to The Grand Canyon with my Mom and Brendon. It was a nice day and there were such pretty views! The Grand Canyon

My Mom and Matt's Mom.

Neil, Ericka, Kami, Matt, Maddie and Annemarie

On Tuesday we went to Zions National Park. We ate lunch at Jack's Sports Bar and Grill in Springdale and then went on the river walk in Zions.

Annemarie walking down by the river.

A rattlesnake we saw along the trail.

Ericka and Neil.

Maddie fell asleep towards the end and decided to use her Daddy as a pillow.

Poor uncomfortable thing!

Grafton, Utah

We ended the week by spending Friday in Las Vegas. We did some shopping with my Mom and Maddie and then my Mom took Maddie home with her so we could spend the night in Vegas. We went and had a great time at dinner, went to Fremont Street and then walked the strip for a little while so Matt's Mom could see what it was like.

We had a good time visiting and getting the families introduced to one another. Hopefully it won't be too long until it can happen again.

Family Hike - Snow Canyon

Last week Matt picked me up from work and had decided that we needed to go out and go hiking as a family. So we went home, changed clothes and went on our way. It turned out to be really nice and fun for us. The hike wasn't extremely hard, but just hard enough to be a challenge.
Matt and Madalynne hiking up rocks.

The view from where we stopped.

We saw this little guy on the way out. He just stayed right in the same spot long enough for Matt to take a few pictures of him. Yuck.