Summer Vacation in Utah

It was a blast! We did so much while we were out there and took so many pictures. I will probably have to do this in two posts so I can get it all on there. I will try and make it as short as I can but it is still going to be long. We flew into Salt Lake on the 18th. Madi was a jewel on the plane. He ears didn't bother her one bit and she either played or slept most of the time. It was a huge blessing for her and for us. One of the first things we did was spend a few days with Rick's sister Kathy and her family. Her boys wanted us to play baseball with them because there baseball season had just ended. And let me tell ya, those boys are hardcore. Tyler and Luke both struck their uncle Rick out. Good Job! Here is a picture of Rick being struck out. You can see the ball right behind him as he tried for a grand slam. Better luck next time Rick.

The boys had so much fun playing with their uncle Rick. I even ran a few races with them but with all the energy those kids have it was hard to keep up after a while.

Madi loved being with her cousins. Her favorite part was being outside watching them run around.

The next morning we went to Deer Creek. We didn't have tons of success but Rick was able to pull in a bass before we left.

After fishing we stopped into Macey's for their famous Kong cones. The kid's eyes were so big when they saw the size of their ice cream cone.

That night Rick and I had dinner with some of our friends. It was so good to see them after two years.

The next morning Kathy took us to the Payson Pool. It was Madi's first time at the pool so she was a little nervous at first, but it didn't take long before she didn't want to leave the water. She splashed every kid that went by and when she got splashed she would just start doing raspberries and then start laughing.

It was so much fun to go swimming. We were all worn out by the time we were done, but it was worth it. Madi fell asleep pretty fast after all the fun in the sun. She made it to the towels for a bottle and didn't even get very many sips in before she was out.

After the pool and a little nap, Rick wanted to take the boys to Redmond Lake for some pike fishing. We didn't catch any pike, but he did catch this pretty big cat fish. We weren't able to stay as long as we had hoped because there was a pretty crazy lightening storm.

The next morning the boys showed us their skills on their dirt bikes. I am scared of motorcycles and dirt bikes but these boys showed no fear. We didn't get a chance to see them ride on the track but they do all the crazy jumps and turns and stuff. They are very good with those bikes so it was a treat to be able to see them ride.

Then we headed up to Thanksgiving Point to the Dinosaur Museum. Uncle Rick bought the boys a fossil to carve out of the rock and here they are proudly displaying their newly carved fish fossil.

Ready for a Break

This next week Rick and I are headed out to Utah to visit family. It has been two years since we have been back there so we are definately looking forward to it. It will be the first time Madi has met any of her Aunts from the Gudmundson side. We are excited to show her off and I know there will be lots of competition for the position of the favorite aunt. But I am sure she will love them all. We are in desperate need of a break from life so this is a very welcomed opportunity. The only part we are concerned about it Madi on the airplane since it is a 4 and a half hour flight. And of course the past two weeks she has refused to sleep in our arms. She wants to be sprawled out on the floor with her blanket. I just hope everyone on the plane will be patient with her if she can't sleep during the flight. We are looking forward to our trip and we will have lots to post when we get back. Happy Summer Break!

Milestones

This past week Madi has reach two milestones. She can sit up on her own and she started crawling. The crawling isn't her favorite method of transportation yet because rolling around is much faster for her. But she is getting the hang of it. We have had to make several adjustments as far as babyproofing some things. We still have a long ways to go, but hopefully we can keep up with her.

I love this picture of Madi! She is already trying to fill daddy's shoes.

Madi showing off her crawling skills! She is concentrating so hard.

Rick is getting her all ready to be his fishing buddy. He found her a pink lucky fishing hat and he has already started eyeing up the pink fishing poles.

Madi always is so excited when daddy comes home from work. They are best buddies!

Rick and I enjoy going to the baseball diamond at the park to drive RCs. It is fun to see how much dirt we can kick up. Sometimes we can't even see to the other side of the field because of all the dirt. Here I am displying my new decal for my car. It's an Iron Cross with 'Kaiser' written across the middle. I found someone online that did custom decals because Rick had been looking everywhere for them without much success. I got one for my truck and one for Rick's truck.

Father's Day

Rick got a nice gift for Father's Day, he was the only one who wasn't sick. But unfotunately that meant he was the only one that went to church for Father's Day too. But even though Madi and I were sick we still surprised him Sunday morning. Here is Madi sporting her Father's Day attire. We woke daddy up so that's why he still has bed head. And that's before I cut his hair too.

For Father's Day we went to the park to play with Rick's RC plane. It was really neat to watch him do barrel rolls and loops. He is getting really good at flying it. He was even attacked a few times by a bird but still managed to keep it flying. Doesn't he looks so handsome in this picture?!?! We have worked really hard the past several months to get back into shape after we both gained the baby weight. Rick has lost about 32 pounds and I have lost 21. We feel so good!

I had to throw in this picture. I think it is so funny! Anytime one of the cats walks by, Madi gets all excited and starts laughing. They will normally come right up to her but last night Tink was having a stare down with Madi because Madi had pulled out some of her fur. Tink loves Madi but wasn't too excited about getting close enought to be touched again. At least not until her skin healed where the fur was pulled out.

The Many Faces of a Baby

Madi has been trying out lots of new faces the past several weeks. Her favorite is the nose wrinkle. She will either wrinkle her nose and laugh or she will wrinkle her nose and breath in and out really fast. She has even snorted a few times when she has done this. She also inhales really deeply making herself squeek. It is hilarious and sometimes she gets her squeek so high that the cats run out of the room. I think it hurts their ears.

Here she is giving me the "I didn't do anything mom. I'm innocent" look. She is already practicing for when she is a teenager. She is also starting to look away and "ignore" us when we try and talk to her. But even though she is looking away she is sitting there smiling trying not to seem interested in us. But then she gives in a gives us a big hug. She is so sweet.

I love this picture! It reminds me of the line from the Wizard of Oz "I'll get you my pretty!!" We love our baby girl. She is so entertaining.

Memorial Day Weekend

We took a much needed trip up to Pennsylvania to celebrate Memorial Day. While we were up there Madi was given some dolls that Rick's pappy wanted her to have that belonged to grandma. Madi loved the dolls! Raggedie Ann and Andy became her crib buddies and she plays with them everyday. Yesterday I found her asleep on the living room floor with her arm around Andy's neck. She loves to just sit and talk to them. It is so sweet!

We went to a hunting/fishing club that we are members of to do a little fishing. We decided to take Madi and break her in for fishing as early as possible. Even with an umbrella and shade we still managed to get sunburned, even Madi. But she was a trooper and stayed out with us for quite a while. It was a lot of fun. We even had some success. We caught sunfish, bass, and perch.

I took this right before Rick hooked a fish, but he lost it because he was trying to smile for the camera. But not soon after he caught another one.

This is my catch of the day. It is little but I finally caught it. I was losing worms right, left, and center all day. The fish would snatch it off and I would miss them. But I finally got one.

Madi had a good day but was a little unsure about the whole fish thing. She couldn't quite figure out what it was and what the point of it was. She wanted to touch it but in the end decided she didn't want it any closer then arm's length. Maybe in a little while she will be pulling in fish of her own. It was a great weekend and very relaxing. Rick's dad even reached a goal. He shot his very first turkey. Congrates to everyone and their successful hunting/fishing weekend. We look forward to some more fishing this summer.

5 Months Already!?!?!

Madi is five months this week and we can't believe how fast time as flown. We have enjoyed having a little girl around the house and it just keeps getting better and better. This week Madi learned how to hug. She has been hugging me and Rick non-stop. And anytime we are out and someone it saying hi to her she will turn like she is all embarrassed and hug us. Rick came home from work the other night and Madi kept hugging him over and over and over. She sure loves her daddy.

Madi knows that she is the center of attention and she loves every minute of it. It will be interesting when a brother or sister comes along (in the very distant future) and she has to share mommy and daddy. But for now, she is loving every minunte of being an only child. She has been practicing her sitting skills and she is getting really good at it. Anytime we put her in her car seat or bouncer she will do crunches to pull herself into a sitting position. I wish my abs were as good as hers.

I love this picture! This is Madi welcoming daddy home from work. Look at that smile. She is a daddy's girl through and through.