Big Apple

dan left for nyc with his dad and brothers yesterday morning. we will miss him so much while he is gone! normally madison and i are the ones off having adventures while he stays home for work, but this time is his chance for a well deserved vacation. the boys are all going to yankee stadium to see the yankees play since this is their last season in that stadium. plus they will hit up broadway, central park, the stock exchange, statue of liberty, the 9/11 memorial and a bunch of other stuff. this will be a long 5 days, especially since madison has become quite a daddy's girl! but we hope he has fun!

Puerto Penasco (Rocky Point), Mexico

we got to spend a week in mexico with my family before chris left on his mission. it was the last week of may so i am late in getting this posted. my grandparents and uncle rob were able to go too. it is by far my favorite place to vacation and my parents own part of a beautiful beachfront house which makes it even better. there is a huge deck with a BBQ, hot tub, and fire pit and the view is priceless, especially at sunset. the water is warmer than any california beach and it is WAY less crowded! rocky point has one of the most drastic tide changes in the world which is so much fun because during low tide you can walk out forever. the only bummer is the sting rays. i saw a couple but only my uncle rob got stung!

our favorite things are:
ocean kayaking
snorkling
frisbee/volleyball/soccer
fresh rolls and tortillas from a local panaderia
downtown fish market (i hate sea food but my parents always do a shrimp night with shishkabobs, shrimp scampi, and shrimp cocktails)
shopping at the dirt mall - this is where i have gotten all my favorite jewelry
waking up to the sound of waves
exploring tide pools during low tide
skim boarding
reading and relaxing
games, games, and more games
un-interrupted time with family
eating at la curva, our favorite restaurant, and being serenaded by the mariachis
mexican vanilla - i promise it tastes better then anything in the usa

we had so much fun! thanks again mom and dad for making it happen! this is only a 'few' of my pictures from the trip, sorry there are so many! and check out the sunset!

Photo Shoot

look at these adorable pics of madison! i love them!




this is a very belated post! i have a friend up in cedar who has started her own photography business and she is taking the most amazing pictures! a link to her website, complexions photography, is on the right. she took pictures of madison about a month ago when we were up in utah. i have been meaning to post these for SO long. sorry jaelyn!

i had a cute little sundress picked out but it was freezing that morning and i had to improvise. plus madison was a bit of a grouch so i feel lucky that we even got some good pics. hopefully next time we do this madicon will be her happy little self and we can get a good snap shot of her actually smiling. jaelyn was VERY patient with us and willing to drive all around town trying different spots to see if madison would warm up to the camera. thank you for your willingness!

something funky is going on with the text of this post, i will try to fix asap!

Tagged

i am so loved! i was tagged by two different people for this same tag. thanks jen h and ashley d.

How To Play This Game of Tag: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. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog!

3 joys:
1. family hugs - dan or i hold madison and say, "family hug!" madison stretches her arms as far as she can reach around both of us, pats our backs, and sighs. it's so much fun; i love my little family!
2. rocky point, mexico - beach, foriegn country, kayaking, tide pools, sunsets, gorgeous. it's definatly my fav place to vacation.
3. food - i love to eat it, think about it, and cook it. i could look through cook books for hours!

3 fears:
1. epidurals - but there is NO WAY i could give birth without them, so thank goodness I overcame that one!
2. raising a family - i feel so much responsibility in being a mom and sometimes i feel intimidated and overwhelmed with everything i need to teach my kids
3. MIA husband - this isn't dan's fault, but he will be gone this fall, from August through mid-December doing rotations at other medical schools. i am afraid of being super prego and having a toddler and being husbandless. thankfully he will get to come home for 3 weeks when we have the baby!

3 goals:
1. half marathon - i want to run a half marathon within a year of having this next baby. i'd like to eventually do a full marathon but a half will have to do for now.
2. not gain more than 25 lbs! - i pretty much gained double that with madison's pregnancy and it wasn't very much fun afterwards, so i am being MUCH more careful this time
3. grocery budget - i love to grocery shop and spend way too much money doing it, therefore, following a grocery budget is a goal of mine. we'll see if i can do it.

3 obsessions:
1. blogging - not really my own blog, although i am doing better at posting more often, but i spend WAY too much time reading other peoples. i check multiple times a day to see if anyone has adding anything new and i am even starting to go to random blogs. obviously i do not have enough other things to keep me busy!
2. reality TV - i am a reality tv junkie from american idol and amazing race to survivor and the bachelor. right now i am devoted to the bachelorette - i love the drama, romantic dates, and corny professions of love when they hardly even know each other. i am secretly rooting for jason to win deanna's heart this season.
3. color coded closet - i mentioned this in a previous tag, but here it is again. i have all the clothes in my closet color coded and it drives me crazy when they get out or order. it doesn't matter if they are inside out or not, just that the hangers all face the same direction, and the colors are in order. dan thinks i have some OCD tendencies :)

3 random surprising facts:
1. clean sheets - i have to sleep in clean sheets! i wash our sheets AT LEAST once a week and i am always nervous to go on trips because it grosses me out to use sheets that have been slept in by other people. sometimes i pack a blanket or sheet just in case, and use it to sleep on top of the bed. i can't even share pillows with dan, i have to have my own, and he's my husband! ocd, i know.
2. called to serve - you might not believe i am going to say this, but i actually ENJOY teaching Relief Society. before i got called i had only ever taught in primary, and mostly sunbeams. so of coarse i was shocked when asked to teach in our ward in mesa. but i like it! i still get stressed, and every month it's a challenge, but one that i have grown to love. who would have thought?
3. i am not creative in the slightest bit. i can't scrapbook, do crafts, anything. its stresses me out to try and be creative. give me a pattern and i will follow it, other then that forget it.

tag 5 people:
some people like tags, some don't. so which ever five of you want to so this - go for it!

And He's Off..

my 'little' brother is officially a missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. he has been in the MTC for almost 3 weeks (proof i am behind on posts) and is doing great. he is going to Hiroshima, Japan and is enduring the challenge to learn as much Japanese as possible in 10 weeks before shipping out. i am so proud of him - his preparation, willingness, excitement, and his sacrifice. he is in the process of becoming a great missionary.

to back track a little, we got to spend time with chris up in utah and down in mexico before he left. it was so fun to see him! we got to hear chris give his 'farwell address' at church. after a couple weeks of fun, we finally had to part ways.

it is so hard to say good bye to a missionary! i don't know how moms do it! i could hardly look at chris that last 24 hours without wanting to cry. the only comfort is that i have a testimony of this Gospel. i know that he has been commanded, by the prophet, to serve a mission and he is exactly where he should be, doing exactly what he should be doing. knowing that, even though it's hard to say good bye and i get sad thinking of him, i can feel peace. i love praying for him, thinking about what i want to write him, reading his letters, and seeing him grow right in front of me. there is a special spirit in a family when there is a missionary in the field - i felt it when my brother dallin was in argentina and i can feel it again now.

i am so grateful for this church and that we are asked to help serve in ways that stretch our abilities and push us out of our comfort zones so that we can learn and grow so much more. i am grateful for my dan and his willingness and worthiness to serve a mission. he was prepared to be a righteous husband and father by serving a mission and learned things and created habits that help him lead our family today. thinking about all of this makes me so excited to be a member of the church and have all the opportunities and blessings that we do! what more could i ever ask for?


i love these pics of chris - he is such a stud. he'll be home and available in two years girls so start lining up!

Pig Tails!!

i have decided that i love having a blog - what better way to keep in touch with friends and fam that are far away? but what i hate is the actual blogging! i want to post all my pictures, tell about our fun adventures, and keep everything updated, but i just keep putting it off until i am way behind and then i dread it! so i will start with a couple pictures of this week and catch up later. sorry all!

we experimented this week with madison's hair and managed pig tails! it was not easy getting them in or keeping madison from pulling them out. but i took a couple pictures VERY quickly. i promise she was not as miserable as the pictures look, i just caught her in a serious moment. i can't believe how old she seemed having her "hair done" like a big girl!

ps- madison LOVES her Bumbo chair!! she barely fits into it as you can see in the pic, her legs fill up the whole thing and she has to tip over sideways to even get out of it, but boy does she love it. she will get books and carry them to her chair and sit down and read, she carries the Bumbo to the couch and uses it as a step stool to climb up, and she puts her dolls in it so they can be 'big girls' too!

Blogging Drought!

sorry for the long break in posts! we have had a busy few weeks - we went to Utah, Mexico, back to AZ, my little brother went into the MTC, madison had some adorable pictures taken, and we found out what our new little baby will be! more updates and pictures to follow soon...

and we are expecting another little GIRL!! sorry - i forgot to add that!