BIG GIRL!

Today our little Miss Madison is 18 months old! Time sure flies when you're having fun!

Meg or Megan….hmmm?

I've noticed lately that I have been going more and more by Meg, rather than Megan. I'm not sure why and honestly I'm not sure which one I like better. Opinions? I think this will be my first poll EVER on my blog. Be responsible with your voting, yall, you could change my life forever! (Well, maybe not, but I'm trying to make this sound as important as "decision 2008").

WooHoo Utes!

This past Saturday we took Madison to her first (and last for quite a while) Utah football game. In all fairness, Madie did quite well, it was just that the seats were really small, and she wasn't feeling the "lap time" she had to do. After half time we went over to the student section and met up with our friends and watched the third quarter before leaving to hike all the way across campus to our parking spot. It was an awesome game- Utah killed Weber, and it was so awesome to see everyone in red. Hopefully we can get a couple more games in this season, although we have already decided to not even try to get tickets to the BYU game. Both teams are just playing too well this season, and I don't think Cody could honestly handle the stress of that game because it is going to be a tough one for Utah to win (they will win, I'm sure, but it will be well won battle)!

Madie in her little Utah hoodie. What you can't see is the layer of sticky melted cotton candy on her hands because she made friends with the couple sitting next to us, and they let her just help herself to their cotton candy- I've to to say they were nicer than I would have been- nobody, not even Madison, would come between me and my cotton candy!!! (j/k)

Our friends Douglas and Sarah came to the game with us- they have an awesome babysitter! We ended up with 2 extra tickets just a couple hours before the game, so we called them at 4pm on a Saturday evening and they met us up at the stadium with minutes to spare!

Halloween Costume Hint #2

So, I am trying to think of a second hint for all of yall playing along (thanks so much, I am loving the participation!) and am having trouble thinking of another hint without giving too much away. The costume arrived today in the mail, and it will be in full working order by the end of the week. For now the only hint I can think of is that it is an ANIMAL but I will give an extra hint on top of that since this week the hint is kinda lame.

Sorry- unscheduled maintenance!

So, for those of you who checked out my blog today- and I know there were at least 4 of you, because I got 4 new comments today (YAY!) you might have noticed it looked like a bucket of poop with things everywhere. Well, I am slowly learning how to make backgrounds and post them on my blog, but keyword being SLOWLY, so it took me all day to finally get this background to fit on the page just how I wanted it. Hope you enjoy!

Halloween Costume Update

I am loving the comments- it makes me feel so cool to have more than one comment on a post (yes, I am lame like that, I need others to make me feel good about myself! j/k). But.... none are correct so far- but they are some great ideas- I might actually have to keep them in mind for future years. One thing I will tell you (and hopefully I don't give it away by doing so) is that those of you who know Cody will be at more of an advantage. This years costume is a shout out to him. But those of you who don't know him as well, don't worry, more hints will be coming your way!

Countdown to Halloween!

So, last year my mom set the bar pretty high for Madison's Halloween costume

and since I am a.) not half as talented as my mom and b.) barely keeping up with school and our house as it is, Grandma Smith has been contracted to produce Madison's Halloween costume, Part II. Right now we have enough trust in UPS to be transporting it up to Utah, and its ETA is Monday. But……… no, no, no! You don't get to find out what it is- I am actually going to attempt to keep it a secret (although I will let you know, I give into bribes very easily, and I'm not that good of a surprise keeper). Instead, I have decided to play a little game- each week hints will be given, and comments with your guesses are EXPECTED! (since right now the only people that post are Sue and Niki, but I hear more people saying they read our blog!) I will just assume your posted comment is confirming our relation or friendship (excluding my mom, because she already knows).

Week 1 Hint:


(and no, I will not abandon our friendship or disown you as a family member, but PLEASE comment, just to make me feel good!)

Too funny!

Check this out! It is priceless!

Go Utes!

We are going to Madie's first football game this Saturday! She's got her Utah gear ready (she has both a tee and sweatshirt to cover both weather possibilities) and I am super excited. We haven't been to a football game since my first shot at being a University of Utah graduate back in Fall '05, so 3 years later, I am ready for the student bleachers again (this time with a baby and husband in tow instead of on a date)!

Vegas winnings!

Well, not quite so. I actually LOST all of the high roller money I put into the slot machines at 11pm while deciding to where to get something to eat--- I will miss you Mr. $4.00 now having a wonderful life in the penny slot machine (what can I say, I am CHEAP). But, Cody and I did venture deep into the desert this weekend, and found ourselves in good ole' Las Vegas with 95 degree weather. We went down there with our friend Douglas to go to a wedding, and we made a fun little weekend trip out of it. Unfortunately, I have realized that without Madison, I don't have the maternal instinct to take pictures of everything. So while Mommy and Daddy were in Vegas not taking pictures of anything, Madie was at Grandma and Grandpa Burns' house, and Uncle K.C. was taking tons of pictures for our blog............... Unfortunately (that word is never good) again, those pictures got deleted. So, the good news is we all had a blast this weekend--- but you will just have to trust us on this since we have no documented evidence. We did have a moment where we busted out the camera at the Silverton Casino while we were playing trailer bowling (yes, we bowled in a trailer) but we only got a couple of pictures because you aren't supposed to take pictures in a casino so we had to put the camera up before security got all secure on us! Enjoy exhibit A and exhibit B of our case claiming we had a blast this weekend!

And thank you Grandma and Grandpa Burns and Uncle K.C. and Aunt Amber for taking great care of our little Miss Madison so we could have a little vacation. We really appreciate you all making it possible for us to sneak away for the weekend. And also a special thanks to Uncle K.C. for being such a good body guard for our little Princess at Chick-Fil-A--- those playground bullies are such little........BULLIES!

The last of our TX adventure

Well, I have tried to post everything about our Texas trip, but since it has been more than a month overdue, I have to admit that I have forgotten about what I have posted, and also what we actually did it TX-- time flies when you're having fun! Before we post the pictures of our trip to the Fort Worth Zoo and the fun play lounge we went to at DFW airport, I guess a little family update is overdue as well. Madie has been sick this weekend- Cody and I went to the demolition derby last night and left Miss Madison with a babysitter for the first time in such a long time, and of course go figure last night is the night Madie gets sick. Cody picked her up at about 10pm and she was sacked out, and then she woke up SCREAMING at about 1am, and it was on from there (if you want details about what she had, feel free to email me, but just imagine two things you do NOT want to wake up to at 1am, and she had both). The rest of the night, and most of the day today things have been rough, but this evening she is starting to really do better, so I think we are on the mend. I have a practicum at an elementary school tomorrow morning, but I think I am going to keep her with me just in case, and reschedule for a time when Madie is feeling a little better for daycare.

My family down in Houston made it through Ike alright- both my Aunt's house in Houston and my Uncle's house in Conroe are without electricity, so hopefully all of that will get fixed soon, but neither suffered any serious damage or flooding. I appreciate all of your thoughts and prayers.

Every Thursday at the U they have a little farmers market that get bigger each week with better looking peaches each week, but I always forget to bring cash. So this last Thursday I was finally prepared! I put cash in my wallet that Saturday in preparation for the yummy fruits and veggies. Madie and I stopped by and mingled on our way to class this past Thursday and came back with peaches, raspberries, corn, a few grape tomatoes for lunch that day, pears and nectarines. It has been fabulous having such fresh juicy fruit. Our family has gotten addicted to peaches & cream- yummy!

(sorry Cody, I had to post it! Cody told me when I took this picture that I could NOT post it on our blog because every time I post a picture of Madie eating on here she is super messy. Madie is actually 99% of the time a very clean eater, and I am not trying to embarrass her, but this picture is just too cute! Heck, the peaches & cream were so yummy that I would have dug in like this as well if it weren't for the fact that this is totally socially unacceptable for a 24 year old!)

And now for the Texas pictures.........

Madie and Grandma at the petting zoo in the Fort Worth Zoo

Madie had fun playing with the kids in the play area of the zoo. She booked it up to this little loft area that was only accessible to little kids- it was not as fun getting her down when it was time to leave!

And pushing around her shovel- she is practicing for shoveling the snow this winter!

Jazz hands on the alligator!

We got to the airport super early (I know airlines are NOT flexible if you miss your flight, so we did not want to take a single chance!) and luckily there was a fun play area for Madison.

y(IKE)s

I was born in Texas, and lived most of my life in Texas. No matter how long I live in Utah, I will always be a Texan- it is something you are born with. My beloved Texas is about to take a little bit of a beating this weekend (no, not the Texas Longhorns!). Houston was where I was born, and I have family and friends still in Houston and the surrounding area in the projected path. This weekend I ask you to keep everyone that is in the path of Mr. Ike in your prayers as I will. Ideally this whole thing would just end up in that huge particle collider in Switzerland and just disappear into the black hole it is supposed to create, but it won't. Ike is going to hit, and the only thing we can pray for is everyone's safety and the least amount of damage possible.

Seven Years Later

I can't believe it has been seven years since our country united as one to stand together and nurse a deep wound.  On September 11, 2001 I was sitting in Dr. Staley's Government class when our vice principal came into the room and pulled our teacher out of the class.  Then our teacher came back in, and without saying anything she turned the TV on and tuned it to CNN and we watched as the World Trade Center Towers gushed smoke.  And then as soon as it happened it was over- the first tower had fallen, LIVE on TV.  The rest of the day was very somber, as everyone realized what actually was happening.  

I always heard people say they knew exactly what they were doing the very moment new broke that JFK had been assassinated, but didn't understand why.  There had been big events in my 17 years of life prior to 9-11 that I didn't remember what I was doing.  What was so poignant about JFK's assassination?  At about 7:45a.m. September 11, 2001 I understood.  I will never forget that I was looking through the newspaper trying to find a current event for our weekly papers, and I was thinking "there is NOTHING in the news!"  Michael Jordan was planning a comeback, and that was the big story.  Since then, nothing has ever been the same.

Following the attacks it was so heartwarming how Americans came together.  I remember it being not long after the controversial 2000 Bush vs. Gore election, and we were a torn nation. Once the terrorist attacks happened, however, we were UNITED! 

On this anniversary I hope we take look back at September 12, and remember the patriotism so many had.  We weren't a split nation as we are now.  

Granted everyone is entitled to the political opinions--- I couldn't be more happy about that!  We were a nation built on democracy, so to take that away would be a slap in the face to the nearly 3,000 people who lost their life that day, or the many more soldiers who have lost their life since.  One thing we do need to remember, though, is after election day the decision will have been made.  Either McCain or Obama will be president, and the other won't.  It isn't going to be a landslide election as it stands right now- it will be very close.  Nearly half the country will have voted for the other candidate, but 100% will still be Americans.

GOD BLESS YOU ALL as we are "one nation UNDER GOD, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all!"

Round and round we go!

While we were in Texas we went to a carnival in Keller, and the only things Madie could do were pick a rubber duckie from the river to win a prize and ride the carousel. Well, we did BOTH, and Madie won a penguin stuffed animal and found a passion for Merry Go Rounds.

At the end of our visit we went to Stonebriar, and they had a Merry Go Round there. At first I didn't think Madie was interested in it since we had sat by it the entire time we had lunch and she didn't really pay any attention to it. When we walked by it, though, she let us know she HAD to ride the carousel. She was laughing the entire time and waved at Grandma each time we passed.

Eye, nose, mouhh

We decided it would be good to start teaching Madie different body parts (getting her ready for the "Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" song!) So we started with the eyes, nose, and mouth because she is always pointing at our faces anyways. At first we would just ask her where is your mouth, your eyes, and nose? But she started mimicking us saying it as well, so now she runs around the house unprovoked just saying "eyeeee, noooooooooooooooose, mouhh!) pointing at her face. It is really cute (well, I AM a little biased, though) but I think it might be time to start with ears, chin, maybe some others. The other night she even got to come into bed with us (she wasn't sleeping well that night... entirely different story) and instead of sleeping she started telling Cody where his eyes, nose and mouth were. Needless to say, it is hard to not laugh at 3 a.m. when Madie keeps saying mouhh! mouhh! while we are trying to sleep. Sorry if this is a lame post for some, but I figure I'll make it a lame post sandwich, with two OK posts on either end! And I even throw in a cute picture of Madie going to town on a Cookie Monster cupcake while we were in Texas visiting Grandma.

Ready to go out!

So this morning after changing Madie's diaper, I was having her follow me into the kitchen for breakfast, and noticed she was no longer behind me. I went back to find her, and she came out like this. She had carefully put her shoes on by herself standing up (she watches me slip on my flip-flops too much) holding onto the wall. She did a good job, now we just need to teach her the right and left foot (I think it might be easier for her to walk in them if they were on the correct feet). I totally love that my little girl is such a shoe freak and gets excited when she gets new shoes. It is like she is becoming a little girl with her girlie ways.

Deer campin' we did go!

Since I am posting random pictures to catch up for the entire month of August, I can guarantee they will be out of order.

After we got home from Texas, Madie and I packed up and drove up to Red Creek for a day to visit the boys up at deer camp. It was such a gorgeous drive, and Madie did so good. We sang along to George Strait and took in all the gorgeous views on our way up. I even was able to pull over and snag a picture of a mommy cow moose and her calf, but they were too far apart to put them in the same picture, and now I can't remember which is which, but they were BIG!

Once we got to camp, we hung out for the afternoon, did some 4wheelin', and played some card games. All in all, it was a good afternoon, and the company wasn't too shabby either. We had a good time hanging out with Cody and K.C.

Sweet & Sassy and totally adorable!

Since I haven't had time to put up a big post of everything we did in Texas (we did a lot of fun things, and now I am really busy with school) I thought I would just start posting about specific things we did while down in there.
One of the first days we were there we went and got Miss Madison a haircut at Sweet & Sassy in Southlake Town Square. It was so cute to watch Madie be totally pampered. Her stylist gave her a sparkle pop that she sucked on the entire time she was getting her hair cut. And somehow this pampering thing just comes natural to her

And here is a picture of our final product, which also became somewhat of an unintentional self-portrait as well. I apologize for Mannie and me being in the picture as well, but the best picture was one I took from the mirror.

And the final result strutting her stuff on the catwalk!