Maddie's Black Eye

Makenna and Maddie had their cousins Charley and Jensyn over for a sleepover on Friday night. On Saturday morning they had out the tumbling mat and some other blue sleep mats to play on. They had it all set up like a horse kennel kind of thing. Well Maddie was playing on one that was kind of leaned up against the couch. She got to the end of it and I guess she didn't realize that it was ending and she fell right off it smack on her face. She landed left side of her face down (and of course since she was wearing glasses) the glasses smashed into her face and broke. The pictures are of when it first happened Saturday morning, then Saturday evening and then Sunday morning. I must say that it is a beaut! She is a crazy gal. This was her last remaining pair of back up glasses and they broke! Lucky for me they didn't break on the hinge but on the plastic, so Lindsay super-glued them. I have a few pairs ordered for the other broken ones and these have to last until they come in. She is so cute even with a black eye.

Wagon Wheel

I love wagon wheels! I don't know why, but I have always loved them. I have been telling everyone that I know to keep a look out for a wagon wheel for me and to let me know. I guess that my MIL Helen wanted to have me quit talking about them, so she got me this awesome wagon wheel for Christmas! (Actually she just listens to me, unlike some husbands I know). Itsn't it awesome? Seth and I put it together the other day and had so much fun. It looks so nice out in front of my house. Can I just tell you how much I love my inlaws... they are the best. I have the best family and inlaws that anyone could ask for and the cutest wagon wheel too.

New Frame

So I have to tell you all about this beautiful frame... My sister in law Anna and I decided that we needed to attend the day after Thanksgiving sale at Joannes. We arrived shortly before noon (so we were still able to get the door buster extra 20% off) and then had to wait for

4 hours to even get our material cut. We are CRAZY!! We came across great frames that were 60% off and then the extra door buster 20% off of that. They ended up being about 32.00. Isn't it so pretty? Well I have to tell you the best part. I got this frame originally to give to my parents for Christmas but then decided that I couldn't part with it. I wasn't sure if they would ever even fill it up with pictures so I didn't think that I should give it away. I knew that I could never let that frame stay empty. After I bought it I didn't have enough room to haul it home so it had to wait at Anna's house until Christmas break. As I was getting ready to come home I realized that I hadn't gotten the frame back from Anna's. My in-laws were going to be coming over to bring me something so I had them bring it to me. When my parents saw how pretty the frame was they thought that they should keep it. I then told them that I was going to give it to them for Christmas and then changed my mind. I should never have said that. They didn't really care, but then I felt bad. Anyway... I finally got it home. I spent Sunday night arranging the pictures and putting it all together. I set it up against a chair in the front room and then went to bed. The next morning while I was getting out of the shower, I heard a huge crash. I rushed into the front room and found my beautiful new frame all broken apart. The back was off and the wood on one of the sides was completely broken apart. You know how there are 4 sides to a frame? Well one of those sides was missing. At least it was at a seam. As soon as I managed not to lose my temper completely, I stood the frame up and noticed that the glass was pushed too far into the wood. I was being so brilliant and thought that I needed to try and get it back to normal. Then the glass shattered. Here my beautiful NEW frame was broken. Ruined! I was so sad and I wished that I had left it at my parents house. At least it would have still been in one piece. I cleaned up all the glass and then proceeded to to put humpty dumpty back together again. I retrieved the gorilla glue for the frame and then got to work. Now my frame is but back together again (minus the glass) and even hanging on my wall. I decided that with prints that are on the computer I could have them get dusty and then just print them again when they were ruined. Its a good thing that I made a very short story so long isn't it? I do the same thing when I talk. I'm just like the energizer bunny....

Merry Christmas to All...

Christmas vacation was tons of fun this year up at Grandma and Grandpa's (a.k.a. Bill and Max) house. We arrived on Saturday evening and just hung out for the night. The next day (Sunday) we went to church with my sister Jill, and I got to sing a duet with her for her program. I can't remember the last time I sang with her, and I forgot how alike our voices sound. After that we went to Lehi and had dinner with Anna and her family and the rest of the inlaws. Anna made homemade turkey noodle soup and fresh bread. Holy cow that was a meal!! She is an amazing cook and woman. I am going to be like her in my next life. We watched the funniest stupid movie afterward. It was Wild Hogs. We laughed so hard and just about peed our pants. It was so silly. I love being able to spend the holidays with my kids and my family but most of all, it is so much fun to have Joe with us. The sad part of the whole deal, was that my MIL Helen got sick the night before Christmas Eve, and so she was sick all Christmas eve day. No one went to her house to spend any time with them that night since she was sick. Well then my mom was up throwing up all Christmas eve night and was sick on Christmas day. It was so strange. They both got better quickly, but Christmas morning all my mom could do was lay on the couch because she felt so crappy. For Christmas Eve, we had a big dinner at my parents house and then the kids all got unwrap a Christmas eve gift from Grandma. They all got a bathrobe and slippers. It was so much fun.
Maddie had her birthday on the 6th of December and had just been in the present mood. She decided that anything wrapped was fair game. She calls them all "my birthday." She thought that she needed to unwrap any gift that she found. We had to hide them but she helped grandma and grandpa unwrap their gifts on Christmas day. It was so cute.
The kids got way too many toys for Christmas and we ate way too much food. I think I may have gained a few pounds, but it sure was tasty. I even got to talk to my darling sister in law Cyndi (hat is on a mission) on Christmas. It was so great to talk to her. She is so sweet!! We had a party 2 days after Christmas with lots of my cousins at my Aunt Kim's church. It was so much fun to see everyone and their kids. Lots of them live far away so we don't see them very often. I'm so glad that mom and Kim put the party together. I can't tell you how much I love my family and Joe's family. I am so blessed to have them!!

Year of Firsts

This year for my Christmas gifts to my friends and neighbors I decided to make candy and treats to give out. My cousin Lindsay came over on Monday and we made caramels, fudge, the sweet chex mix with almonds and coconut and then the next day I made caramel popcorn. I wrapped up the chex or popcorn and then put the caramels and fudge on a plate. I love getting that kind of thing but I have never attempted to make it. Let me just tell you that the fudge recipe is so good. The best I have had, I think. It was a lot of fun to make. Ali and her kids came over (Ali is Joe's friend Mark's girlfriend) and then of course Lindsay and her kids. It was chaos and tons of fun. I was glad that we did it and it was great to hear the neighbors tell me how good the fudge and caramels were. Maybe I will attempt to do it again next year, maybe not.

New Family Pictures

My brother in law Cody took these pictures on Thanksgiving weekend. I thought that they turned out so cute so I thought I would share them with ya!

Maddie's 6th Birthday!

Today is Maddie's 6th birthday! I can't believe how fast time has flown by. It seems like only yesterday our little angel came to us and now look at how old she is!! She is such a joy. I cut her hair last week and wanted to show you all how cute it looks on her and how old she looks with it. This is an outfit that Grandma Max got for her for her birthday and she looked so darling this morning when she left for school. She really is such a joy to have in our home and I wanted to say how much I love my MADDIE!!