The Vidoni's

Disneyland 2011-Day Three & Four

2012-01-23T10:36:00.000-07:00

On our third day we took a day off from Disneyland and spent the day being a little more lazy. We took a trip up to LA and spent most of our day at the California Science Center. This place was pretty fun and very hands on. Unfortunately I only took 2 photos. We were really enjoying our day and letting the kids play. Ethan had a lot of fun exploring and learning.

They had this HUGE aquarium that was floor to ceiling. This was one of my favorite things. They also have a show were some divers get into the aquarium and teach you about the fish but we missed the show.

They had TONS of hands on exhibits. Every moms dream. If this place was close to me I'd be there all of the time with the kids. Here they had a couple of boats where the kids got to put on a life vest and then go fishing. Once they caught a fish the had to match it in the puzzle that was on deck.

On day four (our last day of the trip) we spent it first in Disneyland. Jared's parents wanted to go on a ride with the kids so they took them on Alice in Wonderland. This ride is as crazy as the movie. But I think the kids enjoyed it and I know they love spending time with Grandma and Grandpa.

Then we went on small world again and storybook land canal boats (which that boat is a little scary to get into) and then on to dumbo.

I love rides like this were we can ride as a family.

Next was the carrousel

Of course Madelyn was much more interested in the ride then me taking her picture.

Then Jared took Ethan on one of his favorite rides. The Big Thunder Mountain.

You can't see Jared and Ethan cuz I think they are behind the brown box. I tried so hard to get a good photo of them but holding Madelyn and taking a picture at the same time is not so easy. But they are on there somewhere.

Ethan really wanted to ride the Astro Orbitor so we rode that and then headed over to California Adventure.

We rode toy story :)

Silly Ethan in the toy story box showing me he is four years old.

Then we rode the ferris wheel

Then spent the rest our time in the redwood creek challenge trail. Ethan and Jared had a lot of fun here. I was so surprised at how brave Ethan was walking across the ropes.

And on our way out of the park we got to meet our last character. DUG!

Then we took a few pictures in front of the new Disneyland Resort sign before we left.

We had a wonderful time on our trip and really enjoyed being with family. Next time we come will be so fun and magical. Madelyn will be at such a fun age. I'm guessing that she will be crazy about princesses and I can't wait for her excitement as we get to meet them :)

Disneyland 2011-Day Two

2012-01-12T16:15:00.000-07:00

On day two of our trip we had plans to get up early and do our early morning in Disneyland but we were way behind and didn't make it. So instead we took our time getting ready and enjoyed the morning. When we got to Disneyland as soon as we walked in we were lucky enough to be surrounded by all of the characters. Ethan was so excited to meet them and have them sign his book. Madelyn on the other hand was a little afraid of them.

After meeting all of these guys we hiked over to Fantasyland so we could ride Small World. The last time we came we never had a chance to ride this so we wanted to make sure and do it this year. I'm so glad we did because it's for sure one of my favorite rides and I'd say it's Madelyn's too. She would sit so still on my lap and just look around her in awe.

For the rest of the day we spent it in California Adventure. First up was A Bug's Land. This picture is from a little train that is very slow and somewhat boring but the kids always love it.

Next Jared, Ethan, Rachael, Fisher and Macie rode the bumper cars.

And then it was onto the flyers.

After that we had a lunch break and then decided to watch it's tough to be a bug movie. BAD IDEA! Ethan and Madelyn were scared to death by that movie. I guess it is a little too really for such little kids. We quickly left the theater and were lucky enough to see and meet these two.

Next we headed over to Hollywood Picture Backlot and ran into another friend

And Got to see the very end of this show

Then we rode Monsters a few times

Ran into a few more friends

(as you can tell Madelyn was not interested in meeting these guys)

Then we headed over to the pier to have some fun. First up was the carousel.

Then we went to ride the little mermaid where Madelyn fell asleep before we even made it on the ride. Poor baby was so tired.

After that we ran into woody and Jesse. And played a few games on the board walk. Ethan and Jared won a cute little bullseye.

I had heard that the Disney Jr. show that they have in the Hollywood Picture Backlot was a great show for kids Ethan's age. So I wanted to make sure we took him to see that. So we walked back to the backlot and stood in line for the show. We were one of the first few to get inside and got a great seat. Ethan's cousin and best buddy Fisher came along with us. These pictures are from my phone and not very good but the boys are standing up and dancing with Mickey. The absolutely LOVED the show and I'm so glad we took them.

After that we kind of just hung out at the pier. We had tickets to see the color of wonder show that didn't start for a while. We took Ethan over to ride the jelly fish and he loved it. I think we rode it 3 times or so.

For dinner we ate in the park and had the biggest most yummiest corn dogs I've ever had.

After dinner we waited for what seemed like forever in the cold and sometimes windy park. The kids were quickly fading but finally the show started and it was awesome! I thought it was totally worth the wait. Sadly I did not get any pictures of it but as we were walking out of the park both our kids fell asleep in a matter of minutes. It was just too cute and too funny to not take a picture.

Disneyland 2011-Day One

2012-01-09T14:47:00.000-07:00

{Note: There are A LOT of photos in our Disnyland 2011 posts. So I've tried to group them together make them smaller. But if you click on the photos you should be able to enlarge them and see them better}

In early December we took another trip to Dinseyland with Jared's family. We split up the drive by driving to St. George and staying one night at Jared's parents house and then driving the rest of the way the next day. These pictures are us leaving from Orem to St. George. We weren't even out of town and Madelyn fell fast a sleep.

These are from St. George to Disneyland. I love these pictures because you can see just how excited the kids are. Even Madelyn.

We stopped along the way to grab a bite to eat and let the kids run around. Here's Madelyn enjoying her fries.

We finally made it to our hotel room. This year we decided to share a room with Jared's parents and it worked out great. The kids loved spending time with Grandma & Grandpa and every morning we woke up to Madelyn standing in her pack & play saying "hi" or "hello". It was quite adorable.

That night we walked to IHOP and had a yummy dinner. The dining room was so small that our family took up half of it. Here's Ethan and Lucy smiling so sweetly while they wait for their dinner.

The next day we woke up bright and early and headed to Disneyland. Here we are all loaded up and waiting for our shuttle to come pick us up.

The kids had fun running around outside the gates waiting for our turn to go in. This is one of my favorite photos.

Once we got in the park we headed to buzz and rode that two or three times. Yeah for no lines! At first Madelyn was not a fan of this ride. It's pretty loud and a bit crazy but by the end she seemed to enjoy it. Ethan of course had a blast. Next we rode Nemo. I really enjoy this ride. I think it's very relaxing.

Next Jared and Ethan went on autopia. Jared said that Ethan had fun and really liked driving the car.

Then we headed over to the Jedi Training Academy. My sister-in-law was saving us some seats and we got there just in time. I was really hoping that Ethan would get picked and when the Jedi Master passed by him I was so sad. But I told him to keep his hand up and then as the last minute he was picked. He absolutly LOVED it.

Here's a video of Ethan fighting Darth Vedor. My favorite part is when he jumps and ducks.

After that we took turns riding star tours. Ethan and I got to ride together. I was really nervous about him riding this because it's in 3D and kind of a jerky ride. It throws you all over the place. But he did great and loved it. Of course as soon as we came out of the ride the first thing he saw was a light saber and really wanted that. How could we say no. That was his suvinour for this year. He loves it.

Next we went to the other side of the park and rode pirates. Another great family ride. By this point Madelyn was so tired. She actually feel asleep on this ride. So I put her down in the stroller and walked around with her while everyone else rode the riverboat.

Sadly her nap did not last long. The park was just too noise for her to sleep. After the riverboat it was time to ride haunted mansion. Ethan did not like this ride. He would often tell me how much he did not like this ride and that he did not want to ride it again.

After that we spent the last part of our day in Toon Town. One of Ethan's favorite places. He really enjoyed driving the boat and the cars.

Halloween

2011-12-26T17:01:00.002-07:00

With Ethan having a super hero birthday party it was very easy for him to choose his Halloween costume, a superhero. So I made him Super E and Madelyn was Super M. After his party our ward had a trunk and treat so we quickly changed the kids into their costumes and headed over to collect lots of candy.

The kids walked around the field to show off their costumes. Madelyn was not interest in walking so we just hung out and watched Ethan.

Next the kids and I walked from car to car getting lots of yummy treats while dad stood by our car to hand treats to all the kids.

The kids had fun and got lots of compliments on their costumes. Most people asked Ethan who he was and then I had to explain to them that he was himself as a superhero. As you can see I ran out of time and didn't get Madelyn's shirt finished before the trunk and treat. Oh well. This was only the beginning of our Halloween weekend.

The next day we went to Jared's work and walked from desk to desk collecting even more candy and then it was on to on to visit my dad, mom and grandma.

Here the kids are trick or treating at my grandma's house.

My mom and kids. My mom was at my grandma's house to help hand out candy.

Miss Madelyn jumping on my grandma's bedding give my grandma lots of laughs.

The next day we went to Jared's brother's house for a fun Halloween party. It was a long but fun and crazy Halloween weekend.

My little superheros. I sure love these kids and love making their costumes every year. It's so fun!

Superhero Birthday Party!

2011-11-13T16:15:00.001-07:00

For Ethan's 4th birthday party he chose to have a superhero party. Here's the invite I made. {by the way you can click on any of these photos to see them larger}

As the kids got to the party they each got to color their own wrist bands and then open a present.

Inside the present was a cape with their initial on it and mask for each kids.

Once all of our superheros where dressed we went outside to vaporize all of the bad guys. I put pictures of villains on our fence and kids used silly string to vaporize them.

Next we used our super strengthen to lift super heavy weights. Then we practiced our flying skills and flew over tall city buildings.

We then played a few games of flying around the house

Used our super powers to play red rover

And used our super smart brains to find the clues that lead us to the cake....but there was a villain standing in our way so the kids used their super powers to get past him.

We sang happy birthday

Opened presents

And then each kid got a little super sucker as a thank you for coming to our superhero party.

I think the kids all had fun and I know that Ethan did. Thanks to everyone who helped me with this party and happy birthday to my little buddy!

Carving pumpkins

2011-11-12T17:50:00.000-07:00

This year we were on ball and actually carved our pumpkins before Halloween :) Chad and Ang came over to join in the fun.

(click on the picture to see it larger)

Pumpkin Patch

2011-11-12T17:40:00.000-07:00

For my birthday we took the kids to a pumpkin patch with our friends Chad and Ang. It was small, free, and lots of fun. They had a few animals out for the kids to feed. Ethan loved trying to get the animals to eat and Madelyn was not to sure about all of it.

They had a maze through some hay barrels that were taller then me. Here you can see just how tall they are Ethan wanted to climb on top.

They had a hay ride which the kids loved.

A pile of corn for the kids to play in

And a pyramid of hay bales to climb on

I love the fall and I love doing fun things like this with my family and friends.

After the pumpkin patch we headed home for some super yummy fancy brownies that Ethan and Jared made for my birthday.

Happy birthday day to me!

Happy Birthday Ethan!

2011-11-12T17:25:00.001-07:00

Our little man is now 4 years old! I can hardly believe that my little buddy is 4 years old. On his birthday we had one of his favorite meals which is corn dogs, Uncle Brandon took him to the store to pick out his birthday present and then we came home for a small treat and a big present from mom, dad, and sister.

His first set of LEGOS! He's been asking for Legos for months now. He loves them and loves to sit and build or have mom and dad build something for him. We are so blessed to have this sweet little boy in our home. We love him so much and are so proud to be his parents. Happy birthday Ethan!

Good bye Grandpa Withers

2011-11-11T21:06:00.001-07:00

So a very sad point during the month of October was the passing of my Grandpa Withers. The day after Jamason and Angle's wedding was my Grandpa's viewing and the next day was his funeral. So it was a week full of emotions.

I thought the funeral was beautiful. The speakers did a great job, my cousins and I had to sing, share a favorite memory of my grandpa and my sister and I gave the opening and closing prayers. It was great to remember so many memories of grandpa. I shared the following memory....

As I have been remembering the many memories of Grandpathere is one that has stuck with me all week long and it is a memory I sharewith my 4 year old son.

As long as I can remember we have always had some kind ofanimal in the back pasture. For the last few years it has been cows. My sonloves to walk to the pasture and visit the cows and loves even more to helpfeed them. It seems that every time we come to visit great-grandpa and grandpaI’d find the three of them out back feeding the cows. My dad would get a pileof hay while Grandpa would get a scoop of feed. Together with my son’s helpthey’d fill the trough and then call for the cows. I can remember Grandpapicking up my son so that he could see the cows over the fence and telling himall about cows and how to feed them. This is just a small simple thing but amemory I will cherish forever. I know that Grandpa loved sharing moments likethis with my kids and I am grateful for the kindness he showed them.

Now thanks to this great memory my son has imaginary bluecows that lives in our front yard. He often asks to go outside to check on hiscows and to feed them.

The following pictures are from the grave site.

The picture below is of my dad and his brother and sisters.

(from left to right) Guy, Trudy, Wendy, Zane-my dad

I thought this was a very special moment. This is my dad's uncle handing the flag from my grandpa's casket to my Uncle Guy. I thought it was so sweet to have a family member doing something so special.

These are snap shots of my brothers, and some of my cousins placing their boutineer on the casket. They were the pall-barriers.

My favorite part of this whole day was spending time with my family. I realized just how much I love and miss them. Some of my cousins live far away and others are close by but I don't see them much. I realized that with both of my grandparents gone it will be twice as hard to see them. But I hope that we can find time to be together. Below is a picture of all of almost all of the Withers grand kids. Two are on missions and a few others were not able to make it.

This past May we had our family pictures take and Grandpa came along too. At the time we didn't realize these would be the last pictures take with Grandpa and I think they all turned out great.

I am so thankful for my knowledge of the gospel and eternal families. Experiences like these make me thankful for my temple blessing. I appreciate all of the support and prayers that were offered for me during this time. I truly felt the lords hand and the many prayers that were said for me and my family.

Jamason & Angel

2011-11-10T17:02:00.001-07:00

So the month of October was super busy and emotions of highs and lows. On a high note was Jamason and Angel's wedding. They were married on Nov. 12th in the Mount. Timpanogos temple. The ceremony was beautiful and so was the bride.

Jamason and Angel coming out of the temple

The whole Withers family

My cute parents

The Withers grand kids

My adorable kids

I love this picture of us

My sister took these snap shots of my dad and kids at the luncheon. They are so cute and you can just see how much my kids love their grandpa.

Silly Madelyn trying on Grandpa's glasses

Red Rock Relay

2011-11-10T16:24:00.001-07:00

In Sept. Jared, his sister Rachael, her husband Chad and our friend Chad ran in the Zion Red Rock Relay. They ran as a team of 12 different runners and ran from Brian Head ski resort to Zions national park for a total of 185 miles. We spent the weekend with Jared's parents and then got up really early Saturday morning to cheer everyone on as they ran through St. George.

Chad's girlfriend Ang and I took Ethan and Fisher to meet up with everyone. Here we are in the dark waiting for Fisher's dad to come running by. Ang and I had the kids make some fun posters.

Here Jared is ready to take that baton from Chad and start is last leg of the race.

Jared's parents met up with us at the begining of Jared's leg and brought the two babies Madelyn and Jenner. Here's Miss Madelyn and Grandma.

We stop part way through Jared's leg of the race to give him a drink and cheer him on.

Jared running towards the end of his leg and getting ready to hand off to Rachael

I tired to get Jared handing the baton off to Rachael but I missed it. Here Rachael is getting started on her last leg.

Jared and Chad, race running buddies :)

Rachael running in at the end of her leg and getting ready to hand the baton over.

So the way this race works is that you have 12 runners that are split into two different vans. Each van takes 6 legs at a time and then the next van takes the next 6. So when Rachael finished her leg it was time for the other van of racers to run. Here is a picture of the van of runners that Jared, Chad, Rachael and Chad were in.

We meet up with the other van at the finish line. Here is the whole group of racers.

Team Kickin' A to Zion.

Chad and Jared

Jared and Rachael

Part of Red Rock Relay tradition is put a mark on your leg for each leg of the race that you have finished. I wanted to get a picture of everyone's leg but I forgot. But I did get one of Jared's

They all did such a great job and far better then anything I could do. I'm always proud of Jared for all of his hard work and great accomplishments like this.

Pre-School

2011-09-07T16:45:00.000-06:00

Well we've entered into a new stage in our life. Ethan is now in school! This picture below is from his teach meet & greet. We meet his teacher, saw his class room and learned all about the things he'll be doing while in class. I LOVE his teacher. She is absolutely wonderful, caring and fun! I think Ethan will have a great experience in class.

Yesterday was his first day. He was so excited to go to school. He's been wanting to go to school for a long time.

Walking with dad to his class room

Once we were inside he got to pick his own seat. I thought for sure he'd have a hard time saying good-bye but he didn't. He gave me a kiss and said bye. I think I was the one having the hard time saying good-bye. But I was strong and didn't cry. Got chocked up realizing just how big my little boy is and that I'd be leaving him in the hands of someone else for the next few hours. But I knew he'd love it and that she'd take good care of him.

When I picked him up he was so excited to see me and had a smile from ear to ear.

Our big little boy!

2011-09-07T16:29:00.001-06:00

Mr. Ethan is growing up so quickly I can hardly stand it! Here are some pictures from his 2nd dentist appointment. I was so worried about him freaking out or getting up set at his 1st appointment that I didn't even think to bring my camera. But he was cool as a cucumber and acted like it was no big deal to have his teeth checked. And he was the same way the 2nd time. He is such a big boy! This picture makes me laugh cuz he's sitting there with a smile on his face like yup I'm cool and I'm not scared!

Watching a movie while getting his teeth cleaned.

All done! Teeth looked great and he got a little goodie bag

She's walking!

2011-09-07T16:20:00.000-06:00

Madelyn has taken a few steps here and there but nothing too exciting. So one day I told Jared to get across the room and then stood Madelyn up and told her to go see her dad. And she did! These videos are from that day just a few minutes after she started walking. The first video is funny to me cuz it totally shows her personality. She can sometimes be a little stinker.

Since then she'll walk every once in a while but she mostly likes to hold on to things as she goes. Just this last weekend she has finally started walking all on her own. She's a mover and our life is about to get crazy!

Some fun videos

2011-08-31T15:59:00.000-06:00

My little brother spent the afternoon with us one day and decided that he wanted to play with Ethan in the water. These two videos are of Ethan and Brandon on the slipin' slide

Here is miss smarty pants showing off her sign language skills. She can now say more, please, thank you, all done and sometime eat or drink.

So when Madelyn first got her little baby stroller she refused to walk behind it. Then one day out of the blue she stood up and started pushing it around.

Carnival Birthday Party

2011-08-31T15:44:00.000-06:00

We had a huge celebration for Madelyn and Jenner's (my nephew) 1st birthday AND to celebrate Jenner's older brother Race's baptism.

To get the party started we sent out these invites

I have so many photos that I've grouped them all together. Click on the photos to see them larger.

Below you can see the party from a far. Doesn't it look great! Thanks to my awesome friends for hanging up all of those balloons! We had fresh cotton candy for our thank yous and some fun games for the kids. Including our cute clown bean bag toss that we made.

I had a banner with pictures of Madelyn, one from each month of her life hung up. A face painting station. Freshly popped popcorn and lots of yummy food. We served hot dogs and asked our guest to bring a side dish. Then we finished things off with funnel cakes and cupcakes!

My sister and I made this cupcakes to look like little cups of popcorn. It took some time and love but they turned out great!

Here are few pictures from the kids eating their birthday cupcake. Jenner was loving it and dove right in. But Madelyn was not interested at all. She poked at it a little bit but other then that she wanted nothing to do with it. Silly girl.

One of my favorite parts of the party was the photo booth. It was fun to get people to dress up and pose for a fun photo. I think these turned out so cute!

Madelyn has spoiled with all of the present she got. Below are some snap shots of her opening her presents.

The party was a lot of work but totally worth it. I love to celebrate my kids birthdays and sometimes it fun to get a little crazy and carried away. A HUGE thank you to everyone who came to celebrate such a fun time in our little girls life.

Amazing!

2011-08-25T13:23:00.007-06:00

This won my amazing husband $500 for his department at work, lunch with the CEO and $500 for him to bring home.14 other people tried to make a basket from half court but no one could do it. Jared blew everyone out of the water. He is amazing!

Madelyn's Birthday

2011-08-24T22:56:00.000-06:00

On Madelyn's actually birthday we had a little celebration with just our little family.

First she opened some presents. Ethan was very excited and eager to help her. He picked out a play phone as his present to her.

Jared and I gave her some new clothes and her very first cabbage patch doll. She was so excited for that doll and couldn't wait for Jared to open it. As soon as she got it she gave her a hug and a kiss. She loves her dolly.

Next we had milk and cookies and sang happy birthday to her. This was one of her first times having milk and as you can see she loved her cookie. What a fun birthday for a 1 year old.

This last year has gone by so quickly. I can hardly believe we are celebrating her 1st birthday. She is a great baby, full of life and personality. Her older brother is her buddy and she is as sweet as can be. We love her so much and feel so blessed to have her in our family.

Here is a short slide of pictures I used for her birthday party. It is one photo from every month of her life. It's fun to see our little princess grow.

Going to the Zoo

2011-08-17T22:17:00.000-06:00

Before Jared left on a weekend trip with his buddy we went to the zoo for some fun family time. Sadly I did a terrible job at taking pictures. It seems like every time we go to the zoo I'm too busy looking at everything instead of taking pictures. But here are the few that I took. I should have done a much better job because this was Madelyn's first time going.

The kids loved watching this big guy move around.

The giraffes were so fun to watch. They were out and about and right up close. We got to see just how long his tongue was. Ethan thought it was pretty neat.

Having a little lunch break :)

This picture isn't that great but we got to see the elephant show. It wasn't as great as we hoped it would be but it was fun to see the elephants out and moving around. The baby elephant is adorable though!

This was the highlight of our trip. The new bird show they have is awesome! Totally worth your time. The birds fly right above your head and do some fun tricks. Ethan loved every minute of it.

Fourth of July

2011-08-09T17:28:00.000-06:00

This year for the Fourth of July we spent some time with Jared's family. We went to his sisters house had some yummy food and the went over to a church parking lot to watch some fireworks. Here the kids are lighting their sparklers and have some fun.

Unfortunately that all ended when Ethan got burnt by a sparkler. One of the sparklers touched his head, burning it and his hair. You can see where he got burnt in this picture.

Poor kid cried through most of the fireworks but eventually he calmed down and fell as sleep.

In the end it was a fun night. We ended it with our own fireworks back at Jared's sister's house.

Vernon Reservoir

2011-08-09T16:19:00.000-06:00

The week after our trip to Moab we went to Vernon Reservoir with my family. It's this small reservoir in the middle of no where but a dusty and fun place to camp. Defiantly Wither's style of camping. No cabins for us :)

Here are a few pictures from our trip. I kept Madelyn in pack & play cuz I knew she'd be a huge dirty dusty mess if I didn't. And for the most part she was pretty happy in there.

Everyone tired to go swimming but it was windy and cold. Here are the men trying to talk themselves into diving into the water.

Eventually they do and the girls got in too.

Once everyone had their fill of the water we headed back to camp and the kids found a great way to entertain themselves. They turned this trailer into dirt bikes and went for lots of rides. I love it when kids use their imagination.

By the end of the day all of the kids were dirty head to toe and exhausted.

Here are a few pictures of me and Jen trying to feed Madelyn.

Isn't that dirty face adorable!

Well the next morning there was big news, my little brother Jamason proposed to his girlfriend of 2 1/2 years. Yeah! They will be getting married this October in the Mount Timpanogos Temple. We are so happy for them.

After that we packed up and headed home.

Moab

2011-08-09T13:47:00.000-06:00

This year for our Vidoni camping trip we went to Moab. It was hot, full of misquotes and TONS of fun. This year we stayed in a campground where each family had a little cabin with A/C. Totally worth all of our money.

Our buddy Chad came down with us and brought our bike and bike trailer. The kids loved going on bike rides.

Our first hike was to the delicate arch. Thanks to my awesome brother we had this handy dandy backpack for Madelyn. At first she seemed so happy and excited to be in it. But as the hike went on she HATED it. She pretty much cried the entire hike. Here are a few picture of us getting ready to go.

Here you can see most of our group hiking.

These two little guys were best buddies all weekend.

Along the trail were piles of rocks to show you were to hike. Of course these two had to find rocks to add the pile.

Here were at the top

On the way back Jared went as fast as he could cuz Madelyn would not stop crying. So our buddy Chad stay behind with me and Ethan. Often being my helper and carrying him a long the way.

Back at camp we went to the pool to cool off but Madelyn hated it. Ethan didn't have too much fun either but I'm guess it's because the pool was over crowded with a bunch of rude teenagers. But my nieces and nephew didn't mind.

That night we played some minute to win it games. Here's Rachael trying to hit bottles of water with a ball and nylon on her head.

The kids tired to drop clothes pins into a jar

Jared and Rachael trying to move m&ms from one jar to another with a straw.

Chad and Chad trying to move the golf ball to the center of the racket using only their knees.

Later that night we had a fun story of how Grandma & Grandpa got some magical beans.

We each got to help tell the story and then we planted our beans in our cup & set the cup outside our door. In the morning we found this...

A group of crazy hikers got up early the next day and went to do the devils garden hike (Jimmy if you are reading this send me some pictures) so the rest of us went to do few easy hikes. Here we are at the balancing rock.

Aren't these babies cute?!

Next we went to double arch

Once everyone was back from all of the hikes we had some lunch and drove out to dead horse point.

Then it was back to camp for some dinner. Here's Miss Madelyn enjoying her first taste of watermelon. We just enjoyed hanging out at camp the rest of the day and then it was back home the next day.

I love camping and making memories. There is so much to do in Moab that I'm sure we'll be back again. Especially when the kids get older and we can do more.

Our Thomas Adventure

2011-06-07T19:14:00.000-06:00

My friend Kristy invited me and the kids to go up to Heber to meet Thomas the train with her and her boys. We meet at the mouth of the canyon, loaded my kids into her car and started our adventure. As we were chatting and traveling we heard this bang then a thud, thud, thud. Kristy quickly pulled over and we got out of the car so figure out what happened. Sure enough we had a flat tire. So there were are with a car full of kids on the side of a very busy road with a flat tire. Now some may think that we'd just wait until someone came to our rescue but not these girls. We got down and dirty. Pulled out the jack, got the spare tire out and went to work...

Well I should say that Kristy went to work. I played more of the support role. Ha! We got the car jacked up but could not get the lug nuts off. Which Kristy knew that would happen so as soon as we pulled over she called her hubby to come help us. As we waited for her husband a few fishermen came up from fishing so we kindly asked them to help us. As Kristy and the fishermen worked on the car I went to check on the kids. By this point all of them were crying and terrified that we were going to fall over the edge and into the water. (we were parked near the river and they could see it from the car). After lots of tears and telling them that this is our fun adventure I finally got them to calm down.

So Kristy's hubby came and between everyone we got the tire changed and were back on the road. We now were very behind schedule and barley made it in time to catch our ride on Thomas the train.

I think the kids had lots of fun and Ethan talked about getting a flat tire for a few days. Hopefully that's not the only part he remembers. Thanks for the memorable times Kristy!

Madelyn's 1st haircut

2011-06-01T23:08:00.000-06:00

Beware this is a long story but a good one. I have never been so sad and so angry in one day until this day...

Every morning the kids and I get up, eat breakfast and then I let Ethan watch a show while Madelyn plays on the floor. This day was the same as any other day. I was back on the computer checking my email and could hear the kids playing. I could hear Madelyn playing with her toys and babbling as she always does. Then she let out this horrible scream and started crying. I bolted down the hall and was meet half way my Ethan who had my sewing scissors in his hands. At first I thought he had hit Madelyn on the head with them and then to my horror I realized that her hair was all over the floor. I picked her up and saw this...

Ethan had cut her hair! I was so angry that I sent Ethan to time out and went to the back room in shock. What! Why and how did this happen? At first I was so angry with Ethan but as I sat on the floor and thought about what had just happened I realized that I could only be angry with myself. I was not watching the kids like a hawk and had left the scissor on the kitchen table where Ethan found them. I then sent a picture to Jared and called my best friend to come to my rescue. Jared had the car at work and I was stuck at home with the kids. I knew that her hair cut was pretty bad and that most likely the only way to fix it was to buzz her. But I was hoping that my friend would be able to do something other then that.

After collecting myself I looked at Madelyn and saw why she screamed the way she did. Ethan had cut her neck. Along with all of her hair. I went to Ethan and we had a long talk about cutting hair. I told him that the only people who cut hair are mom, dad, and my friend Kristy. I asked him why he cut her hair and he said that it was long and she need a hair cut. I laughed a little inside cuz I guess to a 3 year old her hair did look long. So he sat in the corner longer and I took away all shows for the day.

My friend came over and looked at how short he cut her hair and said that really the only way to fix it is to buzz it. I knew that she was right but I just couldn't do it. So she just trimmed her up and tried to make the best of it.

While she was cutting her hair I started to feel like the worst mom ever. Why did I let this happen. My sweet baby girl now looks like a boy all because I wasn't watching them close enough. I actually got so sad and upset that I had to take a little break from it all. I went to my bedroom and cried for a few minutes. Then came back to see the final hair cut. She look terrible but there was nothing I could do about it now.

Life has gone on and Madelyn is fine. Her hair has actually start growing in pretty well. This was just a small moment in time and I'm sure it won't be the last time I feel this way but for that moment it was a big deal and a day full of ups & downs.

Easter Sunday

2011-06-01T22:37:00.001-06:00

Easter morning started out with the kids finding their baskets.

And looking at all of the fun stuff inside. The Easter bunny brought plenty of goodies, books, a movie, new outfits and toys.

Next we headed to church (in their new outfits but I forgot to get their picture) and then up to my grandma's for some yummy food and good family time. One thing I love about my family is their willingness to play with the kids. The kids wanted to play red- rover and duck, duck goose. And so my siblings did. What fun Aunts and Uncles my kids have.

Next it was time for the egg hunt. We had so many eggs that I think each kid got 50 or more eggs.

Look at all this eggs! I think the egg hut was very successful. It was a great holiday and fun to spend time with family.

The day before Easter

2011-06-01T22:23:00.000-06:00

Our Easter weekend started out with Ethan coloring eggs. He was very excited about this and even more excited that he got to color on them with a crayon.

Saturday morning we had the crazy idea to go to the Provo city Easter egg hunt. HUGE mistake. It was so busy that Jared dropped Ethan and I off at the park while he looked for a parking spot. We walked around and found his age group. We had to wait for a little while and when they said go it was over in 30 sec. Jared didn't even get to see it. The kids and their parents in front of Ethan and I got all of the eggs. Parents were scooping up eggs by the arm full and poor Ethan only got TWO eggs. It was a horrible experience.

So Jared decided to take Ethan to Thanksgiving point in hopes that their egg hut was better. NOPE it was about the same. But Ethan was able to do two more hunts there and came away with about 14 eggs. Here he is waiting for the egg hunt to start.

Here you can see how ridiculous this is. Look at how many people there are!

And here's Ethan with his few eggs. Luckily I had an egg hunt planned for Sunday.

Thanksgiving point did have a few other activities going on so Ethan was able to ride the cow train and play on the blow up slide. He came home happy and excited about his eggs so I think it turned out okay but we're never doing a city egg hunt again.

My buddy & kid sister

2011-06-01T11:54:00.000-06:00

I have a feeling that these two will grow up being good friends. Ethan LOVES his sister so much and always wants her to play with him. Madelyn LOVES her brother and he's the one that can make her laugh best.

This little scene is a daily occurrence. Any time Ethan has a nap or goes to bed he wants Madelyn to come too. We sing a few songs together and then it's time to sleep. Ethan always ask if Madelyn can sleep in his bed. I'm pretty sure that if I let her stay in his bed there would be no sleeping for either child.

Thank you & She's on the move

2011-05-31T15:07:00.006-06:00

First of all I just wanted to tell you all thank you for all of your love and support to me and my sister. Our booth at the Battlecreek Boutique did pretty good. Especially considering it was our first time and this boutique is kind of a slow one. So thank you! We hope to do it again some time.

Okay now on to the good stuff. Miss Madelyn as been a busy little girl. First she learns how to push herself up with her hands....

Then she learns how to get up on her knees...

Then she figures out how to scoot on her belly but she only knows how to go in reverse.

And now she knows how do to this...

This is actually video of her very first time crawling. She's a pro now and all over the place. Just yesterday I realized how much she moves and how quickly. It seemed like all day I was closing doors and picking stuff up so she wouldn't put it in her mouth.

Battlecreek Boutique

2011-04-27T22:51:00.000-06:00

This weekend my sister and I have a booth at the Battlecreek Boutique in Pleasant Grove. Below are a few pictures of our booth as well as all of the info for the boutique. We'd love to have you come and see our booth.

Ethan's prayers

2011-04-07T14:26:00.000-06:00

Recently Ethan has started saying his own prayers. I actually think he does a pretty good job. Last night said "thank you for our toilets that we can go poop and pee in them." I looked up at Jared couldn't keep my laughter in. But he's right I'm very thankful to have a toilet :)

8 months old

2011-04-07T14:21:00.000-06:00

Yes it's true. My little peanut is not so little anymore. She's now 8 months old. Can you believe that in 4 months we'll be celebrating her 1st birthday!

Feeding the ducks with Grandma

2011-04-07T14:13:00.000-06:00

We took a quick trip to St. George to enjoy some sunshine and family time but sadly it rained most of the time we were there. Ethan loved being at Grandma & Grandpa Vidoni's house and was Grandma shadow the whole time we were there. We spent one afternoon feeding the duck and they were crazy ducks. Not afraid of anything and would practicly eat the bread right out of your hands.

Do you see what I see?

2011-04-07T13:59:00.001-06:00

Playing Dinos

2011-04-07T13:52:00.000-06:00

Just a few cute pictures of the kids playing dinos on their new table. Poor Madelyn looks so tired.

More movies

2011-02-23T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here's another cute video of Madelyn laughing at Ethan. Plus you can see her in the jump-a-roo. She loves it just as much as Ethan did. Only she seems to enjoy the toys more. Ethan would go crazy and jump more then play with the toys.

Madelyn eating

2011-02-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

We started Madelyn on rice cereal quite a while ago but these pictures are from the first time she ate it. I did nothing but laugh each time I feed her. She HATED it!

The good news is that now she loves it and I can't feed it to her fast enough.
(if you click on the picture it will enlarge so you can see her silly faces even better)

Super Bowl

2011-02-23T22:25:00.000-07:00

There was delicious food, good friends and family but a sad ending. Here's a scrap page I made about this years super bowl. Ethan has croup and is not a happy camper in this picture. Or maybe he was upset with how the game ended.

Just in case you didn't know...

2011-01-27T15:19:00.000-07:00

Laughing

2011-01-27T15:06:00.002-07:00

I love to hear my kids laugh. There is nothing sweeter then to hear the laughter of your own children. Ethan can really get Madelyn going. While we were decorating the Christmas tree Ethan had Madelyn laughing pretty hard. And of course when I get out the camera she stops. But I was able to get a little bit of her laugh in these videos.

Milestones

2011-01-27T14:59:00.000-07:00

January 2nd was a big day for me. It was Ethan's first day of Sunbeams and Madelyn turned 5 months! How on earth did this happen. My little boy is not so little, he's in PRIMARY!!! And my sweet little baby girl is 5 months old. When I took Ethan to his class he was very sad and a little scared. I kept telling him how much fun it will be and to be brave. As I sat him in his seat he had tears in his eyes and wanted me to hold him. I just about broke into tears myself. I knew that he'd be in good hands and really enjoy primary but it was hard to say good-bye. I had to do it quickly or I'd be crying right along with him. It's hard for me to believe that he'll be going to pre-school next year.

More on Christmas day

2011-01-27T14:54:00.000-07:00

After opening present at our house we went to my parents for our annual Christmas morning breakfast. Then it was on to MORE presents. This year my parents gave the kids a special present., one made by their grandpa. My dad made each family their own picnic table that is identical to the one that we had as kids. I love it when my kids get handmade gifts. I think it make the gift that much more special and valuable. Here's a good picture of the tables along with some of the fun stuff my mom got for the kids to do on their table.

This picture makes me laugh. What kid is excited for clothes? I guess mine.

Here's a cute picture of Ethan tell my mom thank you for his present.

So this year for my parents Christmas gift all of the kids when in together to get them a new computer. I'd been stressing over this present all month because I wanted to make sure we got them a good computer and I wanted it to be a big surprise.

When we were kids my dad would play a trick on us and only give us part of our gifts. For instance when I was about 12 or 13 I wanted my own CD player. So I got a CD in my stocking but no CD player. My dad asked me why would go get a CD when you don't have a CD player? I of course had no idea but was thankful for what I got. My dad then told me to start looking around and see if maybe I could find some other presents. So then it was a big hunt to find the rest of your presents. This kind of gift giving continued on for the rest of my life and continues on today. So why am I telling you all of this. Because as adults we play the same trick on our dad.

First we gave him and my mom 2 presents. The first one was a computer cable. When they opened it we asked them why would you need a new computer cable? Then they got the rest of their present which was the new computer. I think my parents really like their present and I know it was a big surprise.

After breakfast and opening presents we headed to my Grandma's for more yummy food and more presents. As you can tell Christmas in my family is all about good food and presents. Here is a picture of all of the grandkids on the Withers side at my Grandma's. The kids are all growing up so quickly. Even mine.

Christmas Morning

2011-01-27T14:12:00.001-07:00

I think Jared and I were more excited about Christmas morning then Ethan was. Ethan woke up and did his usually routine of coming into our room and climbing into our bed. After a few minutes we reminded him that it was Christmas and that we need to go out and see if Santa came. He got super excited and headed down the hall to the front room. Here you can see that Santa found our house and left the kids lots of presents.

Here are a few pictures of Ethan opening some of his presents. As he started going through everything he ask "Where is my big red truck?" with a concerned kind of look on his face. We told him to keep opening his presents and see if Santa brought it. After opening a few presents he found it and boy was he happy!

Then Madelyn and Ethan got to open their big present from Santa.

Ethan loves this present and is always cooking something. And although Madelyn is too young to play with it right now I'm sure she'll love it to...and they'll be lots of fights over this kitchen.

More presents...

Madelyn even got in on the action.

And here are a few pictures of Madelyn open her presents

It was a great Christmas morning at home!

Christmas Eve

2011-01-12T22:17:00.000-07:00

On Christmas Eve we let the kids exchange presents, open a family present and then it was off to bed. Here Madelyn is opening her present from Ethan (which he picked out all on his own).

A super soft Dumbo! Which is funny to me cuz he's never seen this movie. But it sure is cute!

Here's Ethan opening his present from Madelyn. Dad helped her pick it out.

A zhu-zhu pet named Stinker

And here Ethan is opening our family present which was the movie Despicable Me. We put on jammies, watched the movie, and then put out cookies & milk for Santa and a carrot for the reindeer.

Ethan was very excited for Santa to come and didn't have too much of a hard time going to sleep. I let him skip his nap that day so I think that helped with him falling a sleep so quickly.

Snow!

2011-01-12T21:59:00.000-07:00

Just before Christmas we had a huge snow storm. Ethan has been looking forward to the snow all winter. Here are a few pictures of him playing in the snow.

These pictures are from Jared and Ethan going sledding. Jared said he had a lot of fun and was even brave enough to do down the hill by himself.

Letter to Santa

2011-01-12T21:50:00.000-07:00

This year Ethan seemed to really understand Christmas and who Santa was. So we had him write a letter to Santa. Here Ethan & Jared are filling out his letter and telling Santa that he wants a big truck.

The letter is in the envelope all sealed up and read to go to the mail box. Look how excited he is!

Here he is sending his letter to Santa. I loved this and think it will become a new Christmas tradition.

Making Candy

2010-12-26T17:40:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures from our Withers candy making tradition. When I was a little girl my Grandma Withers would make Christmas candy all month long. We keep this tradition going but instead of doing this all month long we do it all in one day. It's a ton of work but well worth the memories.

Here the kids are breaking up some candy canes to use as sprinkles

The rest of these are of the kids dipping marshmallows in chocolate

Meeting Santa

2010-12-26T17:16:00.000-07:00

At our ward's Christmas party this year the kids got to see Santa. Madelyn was great and didn't even cry when she sat on Santa's lap. Ethan was a little scared of Santa but when he asked him what he wanted for Christmas he told him a big truck. Something new to me and Jared. He came up with this all on his own.

Gingerbread house

2010-12-26T17:09:00.000-07:00

The day after Thanksgiving we got together again with Jared's family. Jared's mom had a gingerbread house for each family to decorate. Ethan had a great time putting candy on our house and once it was done wanted to do nothing but eat the candy. Our house is the one on the far right.

Thanksgiving

2010-12-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

This year we spent Thanksgiving with the Vidoni's. Before dinner we went to Monkey Island which is a place full of inflatable slides. The kids had tons of fun and I think the adults did too. Kids and parents played tag all throughout the building and have fun running up down the slides. Ethan loved playing with his dad and cousins and even went down the tallest slides all by himself. Don't mind the blurry pictures. Me and my camera couldn't keep up with everyone.

These first few pictures are of Ethan and Jared going down the slides.

Here is Uncle Jimmy going down. I'm pretty sure he's running from Jared during this shot.

Margy, Race and Rachael all playing tag too.

Macie sliding down.

They also had an area for the younger kids. Ethan, Fisher and Lucy loved playing on this slide.

Fisher, Ethan and Lucy...such good friends.

After a few hours of playing here we went to Jared's brother's house for a beautiful and delicious meal. It was a wonderful Thanksgiving full of happiness and memories. I'd have to say it was one of my favorite Thanksgivings.

Halloween

2010-12-26T15:45:00.003-07:00

This year for Halloween I made both kids costumes. Ethan was Woody and Madelyn was a witch. The kids went trick-or-treating at Grandma Burch's with their cousins Adysen and Paycee.

Next we went to Jared's work and went trick-or-treating to all of his co-workers. This is always fun for the kids because they get tons of candy and Jared's work has a decorating competition between each department. So the place is always looking great.

After that we went to our ward's trunk-or-treat.

To end our fun Halloween weekend we went to Ray and Amy's for their annual Halloween party. We have yummy food and fun Halloween games. Sadly I didn't take any pictures but Amy always does a great job and the kids always have fun.

Turning 3!!!

2010-12-25T20:33:00.000-07:00

Say what?! Three? Yes my little man is now three and it is so hard to believe. I'm sure I'll be saying that with each birthday that my kids have but it true. It's exactly how I feel with each year that passes. This year we decided to do a family party instead of a big family and friends party. I was super excited for his birthday and went with a cars theme. We decorated the front room for his birthday day with streamers and balloons.

He opened one of his presents from us which was a cars t-shirt and a new movie

Then in the late afternoon we took him to see Despicable Me which he loved.

After the movie we went home and opened his last present, a scooter. He loves scooters and has been asking for one of these for a long time. So he was very excited to get this present.

After presents we had cake and ice cream. I made the cake and was pretty happy with the way it turned out. I made my own fondant to create the checkered flag around the cake and colored some coconut for the grass on top. When Ethan first saw his cake he said "wow" which totally made it worth all of my hard work.

Happy birthday little man. We sure love you!

Carving pumpkins

2010-12-25T20:10:00.000-07:00

This year we actually got our pumpkins carved before Halloween so that we could enjoy them for more then a day. For the most part Ethan enjoyed carving pumpkins except when it came to sticking his hands in and pulling out the "guts" (just look at his face in the 2nd picture).

Helping dad carve the faces

Our pumpkins even had hair!

What a cute kid and awesome pumpkins!

Madelyn's namesake

2010-12-25T19:47:00.000-07:00

I love my grandma very much and feel very bless to have her here with me. This is who Madelyn is named after and I hope that she is able to grow-up loving her as much as I do. Ethan love his Great-Grandma Burch and often talks about going to visit her. What a blessing it is to grow up with your grandparents.

Madelyn's blessing

2010-12-25T19:40:00.000-07:00

Madelyn's blessing was a beautiful fall day and we could not ask for more perfect weather. Bright and early Sunday morning Jared blessed Madelyn and it was so special and touching. I love nothing more then to her Jared blessing our family. Below are a few picture take just after our church.

After Madelyn's blessing we went to PG to be apart of our nephew Jenner's blessing. Madelyn and Jenner were born just 8 days apart. He was a very handsome little guy and we are so glad to have Jared's family close by. Here are a few pictures of Madelyn and Jenner together.

Since Jared's parents would not be here for Ethan's birthday they had him open his present early so that they could watch him open it. They got him a new book (which we read all of the time) and a remote control car.

And here are a few more pictures of Madelyn in her pretty dress with her dad.

I made her headband and flower :)

Annual Witches Night

2010-10-16T10:23:00.000-06:00

This past weekend we had our annual Witches Night filled with little witches and wizards. Both boys and girls were invited this year. I got a little crazy and made Ethan a little wizard costume along with an outfit for Madelyn.

Our little witch crew

Jared's brother Jimmy and his fiance Shannon came down for the weekend and join us for our fun time at Gardner Village. Here they are with all of the kids.

Ethan really liked looking at the witches. Unfortunately it was really busy and really crowded so we didn't get to enjoy it as much as I'd hoped.

My mom and sister came along for all of the fun too.

All and all it was a fun time and the kids seem to have fun running around looking at the witches.

Our little talker

2010-10-15T20:35:00.000-06:00

Bath time

2010-10-01T17:35:00.000-06:00

I have been horrible about taking pictures of Madelyn! But here are a few of her at bath time. Usually she cries during her entire bath. She hates it! But on this night she was very calm and very happy. She even "talked" to me. I just love it when babies start to coo and smile and interact with you.

All warm and snug in her towel

This picture makes me laugh, Ethan is so silly. He insisted that I lay sister by him so he could be in the picture too.

Children's Musuem

2010-09-08T16:02:00.000-06:00

For Labor Day we took Ethan to the Discovery Gateway Children's Museum. I've heard good things about this place but was afraid that it would be too old for Ethan. Once we got there we loved it and so did Ethan. It was totally worth our time and money.

First there was the beehive. A fun place for kids to put balls in tubes and send them all around the room. Ethan's favorite part was where he put the ball in this tub and it sucked it up. It reminded me of those tubs they use at the bank drive up.

Next was a music table that Ethan loved to play on. Jared and I even got in on the action.

After that was the playroom. This was by far Ethan's favorite place. It had a construction zone where he used blocks to build things.

A house where Ethan pretended to cook

A grocery story were Ethan got to go shopping and check out the groceries.

A farm area where Ethan stacked up the barrels of hay and drove the truck.

We spent most of our time in the playroom and I'm pretty sure Ethan would have spent all day in there if we'd let him. After this we got some lunch and then came back to the Museum to see the other rooms.

Out on the roof was a helicopter for the kids to play on and of course Ethan loved it. But it was really busy and crowded so he didn't get to play on it too long.

Next we went into the science room where they had all kinds of thing to build with. Here Jared is helping Ethan build a car.

And we can't forget about Madelyn! She was a good baby and slept most of the time giving us the chance to spend some good one on one time with Ethan. It was a great day and a fun way to spend it together.

One Month Old & Potty Training

2010-09-08T15:26:00.000-06:00

Madelyn is now one month old! A few things we've learned in her short little life is that she had thrush and now has reflux. This is why my poor little baby was so fussy and always crying. It often seemed like when she was awake all she did was cry. But now she is taking some medicine and is a happy baby. She is just starting to make those precious little coos that I love.

In other big news Ethan is potty trained (well pretty much anyway). Last week we went to the store and let him pick out his new underwear. He of course picked the Disney pack that was full of Toy Story, Cars, Incredible's and Wally. All his favorite shows.

Then he got to pick out his own potty seat, Cars of course.

Here he is modeling his Cars underwear for me, such a silly boy!

We made a potty chart that he put a sticker on each time he went in the toilet. This was super exciting for him. Once he filled his chart with stickers we told him that he'll get a present.

He did pretty good the first day and seemed to be understanding what was going on. The second day was BAD and I almost gave up but decided to stick with it. We had a few more days of good and a few more days of bad. Then on Monday it seemed to just click. We've had very little accidents and he's doing great!

Photos

2010-08-22T15:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday we went to have family pictures taken. Unfortunately she was not a happy baby and didn't cooperate really well. But we did get a few good photos. At least enough to make me happy.

3 weeks already?

2010-08-22T14:51:00.000-06:00

Yup tomorrow Madelyn will be 3 weeks old. It has been an exciting 3 weeks as we've tried to adjust to life with a very active and stubborn 2 year old and beautiful but some what fussy newborn. Here are a few pictures from the last 3 weeks...

These pictures are from the day we left the hospital. Ethan had spent the night with us and was very excited to bring his sister home.

Here is Madelyn in her coming home out fit...

This is Madelyn's favorite place to sleep. And for the first week or so this is the only place we could get her to sleep. Jared and I would take turns holding her through out the night.

And after a few nights of holding her all night we bought this...

And Jared used the box and made this for Ethan, his very one playhouse.

Remember my post about the boppy pillow from when Ethan was a newborn? Well some things never change...

Look at my cute little family...

Ethan is a very big helper. He LOVES to hold his baby sister and loves to feed her. He'll usually sit on the couch and watch Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while he's being my helper.

Introducing...

2010-08-04T14:40:00.001-06:00

Madelyn Carol Vidoni

7 lbs. 13 oz

18 1/2 in. long

We started our day out bright and early by arriving at the hospital at 6:15 am. Here I am all ready to go and waiting to be taken to the operating room.

Once I was ready to go they invited Jared in and started the surgery. At 7:59 am we heard the first cries of our precious little girl. We think she looks a lot like Ethan when he was born.

The surgery went well and Madelyn is beautiful and perfect in every way. We feel so blessed to have this little angel in our family.

Ethan loves his little sister and brought her a bunny that he made at build-a-bear. He was very excited to give her the bunny.

My parents and little sister were at the hospital with us and helped us with Ethan. They kept him while I was in surgery and then they took him to the nursery so that he could see his little sister for the first time and watch her get a bath.

We are madly in love with this little princess and can't wait to take her home.

She's almost here!

2010-07-23T21:42:00.000-06:00

Mark your calenders! Baby girl Vidoni will be arriving bright and early on August 2nd. I'm scheduled to have a c-section on Aug. 2nd which means there are only about 10 days left to get ready. Wow! It will be here before I know it.

We are also still trying to decided what to name her so...if you have any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

A day with Jamo

2010-06-25T16:42:00.000-06:00

My little brother is leaving so soon! He'll only be here for about 4 more weeks. So when he invited me and Ethan to Thanksgiving point I said YES! (even though I was tired and not feeling very good) Jamason (aka Jamo) is working at Thanksgiving point this summer which means that we get into most of the events for free! We went to the farm land and then to the dino museum. The kids loved to see the animals and pet the cows and horses. Best of all they got to ride the horses. Ethan told me that he could do it all by himself and he did. He didn't need me to walk along with him and would often say "Yee Haw!" Oh how my little boy is growing up.

The Zoo

2010-06-25T16:26:00.001-06:00

Last week Jared took part of the day off and we went to Hogle Zoo with his sisters and their kids. It was a lot of fun and so exciting to watch Ethan get so excited about the animals. He seemed to really enjoy the zoo this year. Unfortunately I was not very prepared because I forgot to charge my camera battery so I only took a few pictures.

Ethan really loved the monkeys

Here the boys are looking at the elephants and watching them eat.

Here they are watching the baby elephant eat strawberries

Margy, Lucy, & Macie

My last photo of the day. We actually got to see the gorillas moving around and even pounding on their chests. After this we went to a little show that talked about animal homes and the kids got to pet a possum and a snake. Then it was on to the train ride and some fun on the playground. It was a fun family day :)

Water Park

2010-06-25T15:59:00.000-06:00

Highland has a hidden water park that we love to play at. Jared's sisters and I took the kids to play and boy did they love it. I thought for sure that Ethan would need to have me by his side playing in the water but I was wrong. As soon as we got there he took off and only came to see me when he wanted a snack. It was fun to just sit and relax and watch Ethan enjoy playing in the water with his cousins.

This picture was take at the very end of our day of fun. It was perfect weather for the moms to sit and visit but a little cold for the kids.

The boys loved to play in the water with their trucks. I'm sure we'll be back to this park many times before the summer is over.

More Marathon Pictures

2010-06-02T22:14:00.000-06:00

Here are the pictures that Jared's dad took while Jared was running his marathon.

This one was taken at the half way mark

Running through the finish line

Happy to be done with his 26.2 miles

No more Binks

2010-05-29T22:29:00.001-06:00

We've been talking about it for a long time but it finally happened...we took Ethan's binkies away. It was very sad and hard for Ethan but when he "gave" the binkies to the Binkie Fairy he got this in return...

FISH!!! Two tetras and one crab. He loves them all but likes the crab the best.

Dinos!

2010-05-27T09:20:00.001-06:00

Ogden has a dinosaur museum so after the race and some well needed rest time we headed over for some fun with Dinos.

The first thing we saw were these mechanical dinos that moved and made noise. Ethan LOVED them. He kept calling to the dinos and telling them to "come here". I thought for sure he'd be afraid of them but he wasn't, he wanted to pet them.

Then we walked through the rest of the museum and then outside to where the kids could run around.

They loved playing in the sand and finding the bones.

Jared even got down and dirty with the kids. Afterwards we said good bye to Jared's family who were driving back to Utah county. It was a nice end to a very busy day.

He did it!

2010-05-26T15:09:00.003-06:00

On May 15th Jared ran in his first full marathon! We spent the weekend in Ogden and my awesome sister and her hubby came along for the weekend too. Friday we spent getting checked into our hotel, finding out all of the last minute details about the race, eating out and then trying to get to bed early. Jared and I both got very little sleep. He was very anxious about his race and I was just as anxious if not more. He woke up around 3am to get ready and had to be on a bus by 5am. The bus then took the runners to the starting point where Jared had to hang out for about an hour until the race actually started. Jared's good buddy Chad ran in the marathon as well so he was there bright and early too.

I met up with my Jen & Beau around 7am and we headed to the half way point. This would be our first chance to see Jared. We got there early enough to see the very first runner pass by. It was so exciting watching all of the runners pass by and as more and more came we got more and more excited to see Jared. Sadly I did not get a picture of Jared running. He sort of just popped out behind a crowd of runners and I was too busy cheering him on to remember to get a picture. BUT Jared's parents were there with us and his dad got a couple of pictures for me. As soon as I get those I'll post them.

Here we are waiting for Jared to run by at the half way point.

We got Ethan a bike horn for him to honk while the runners were passing by. He loved it!

After seeing Jared at the half way point we headed down to the finish line. I really wanted to see him at least one more time before the end of the race but we were afraid that if we did that we wouldn't see him at the finish line. So we decided to just go straight to the finish line.

At the finish line there was a HUGE crowd of people. I was really worried that we wouldn't be able to see Jared but as time went on and more runners finished we found a good spot to stand and wait. Jared had some trouble along the way and didn't finish in the time he had hoped, so as time went on I started to get more and more worried about him. I was also trying to entertain a very tired 2 year old and standing in the hot sun I too was getting very tired. But then I saw him, running down that crowded street of runners and spectators. I was so proud of him and even got a little teary! We were standing about half way down the block and Jared's parents & sister were at the finish line. So as soon as Jared passed us. I hurried and called his sister letting them know he was on his way. It was so exciting and all I wanted to do was find him and give him a big huge. After fighting the crowds at the finish line we finally found Jared.

Jenny had these awesome clappers that were a crowd favorite. Ethan loved playing with them too.

This weird bird was walking around entertaining the kids. Ethan really wanted to say hi to him.

Here a few pictures of Jared finishing the race. Some of them are out of focus due to the fact that we are jumping and cheering him on. (Jared's dad has a great picture of him at the finish line...I'll post that one soon)

His official race time was 4 hrs. 50 min which I think is great! Here are a few pictures of us just after he had finished the race.

{Jared's family}

{Jared, Jen & Beau}

{Proud wife and son}

Once Jared felt up to moving again we headed over to Gandolfo's for some lunch. Luckily this store was at the finish line and as we were waiting for our food Jared noticed Chad's family waiting. So we ran out and were able to catch Chad finishing his marathon.

Now that it's over and Jared has had a few weeks off he's decided that he'd like to run a few more marathons. He'll be running in the Bryce Canyon half marathon in July and maybe more this year. But he'd like to try again at another full marathon next year. We'll keep you posted!

I also wanted to say THANK YOU to Jared's family and my family for coming to Ogden with us. I know that it meant a lot to Jared and it meant a lot to me too! It was great to have others there with me to help cheer him on this amazing journey.

And if you'd like to see some more pictures of Jared durning the race click HERE!

I hope they call me on a mission!

2010-05-26T13:49:00.000-06:00

Can you believe that my youngest brother Jamason is old enough to serve a mission?!? I can't! He will be serving in the Billings Montana Mission and enters the MTC on July 28th. I am so proud of him and the many great choices he has made in his life. Jared and I both said that this is the perfect mission for Jamason. We are excited to see him grow, learn and come closer to our Father in Heaven!

It's official...

2010-04-23T12:13:00.001-06:00

No boy parts were found. Baby Vidoni #2 is going to be a GIRL!!! The only photos I got from our ultrasound were of her arms and legs. But in the beginning of this video you can see her profile and she has her arms are up by her mouth. Isn't she adorable? I sure think so! Can't wait to meet this little princess!

A new blog

2010-04-22T21:21:00.000-06:00

I've started a new blog! This blog is all about my digital scrapbooking. I'll be posting my layouts here as well as new product from the great ladies that I create for. So if I've ever taken your picture you'll want to watch this blog cuz I just might make it into a layout!

Ethan Singing

2010-04-15T15:16:00.002-06:00

Ethan loves music and loves to sing. One night I got him to perform for me so that I could video tape it. Moments like these melt my heart. Oh how I love this little man and I love being a mom.

(he's singing the nursery rhyme 1, 2 buckle my shoe)

(this one is Twinkle twinkle little star)

(Row, row, row your boat part 1)

(Row, row, row your boat part 2)

(counting from 1 to 10, but he skips a few numbers)

Ray & Amy's Wedding

2010-04-15T15:14:00.000-06:00

Saturday was a very special day for everyone. Ray (Jared’s brother) and Amy got married and it was BEAUTIUFL!!! In the morning we helped them get everything set up and then had an Easter egg hunt for the kids. It was pretty cold but the kids didn’t seem to care too much.

Ethan got plenty of candy and Amy even had a present for each kid too. She's amazing! Even on her wedding day she's thinking about her nieces and nephews.

After the egg hunt we went home for a few hours then got ready for the wedding.

Cute Amy and Ray kissing for their photos. I snuck in and grabbed this shot while their photographer was shooting too.

Ethan looks so big in these photos.

Ray & Amy with all of their nieces and nephews

Jared & his mom

Jared & his brother Jimmy

The Vidoni boys

I didn’t get a very good picture of the ceremony but it was beautiful and very tender. Congratulations Ray & Amy!

Grandpa Vidoni's Birthday Party

2010-04-15T14:26:00.000-06:00

Easter weekend was so busy for us but so exciting! Thursday night we had a 50s themed birthday party for Jared’s dad. We had dinner at the Art City Trolley in Springville and dressed up in our best 1950s costumes.

My handsome boys!

Everyone went in together and bought Jared’s dad a gift card to rent a Harley for a day. Many years ago he used to have a motorcycle so we thought he’d enjoy a drive down memory lane.

Jared’s adorable parents

Here is a group shot of the kids all dressed up.

Silly boys!

It was a fun night and great memories!

It's too quiet

2010-04-15T14:04:00.001-06:00

Like I’ve said before, when things are a little too quiet it usually means Ethan’s into trouble. And here are two perfect examples.

This is a HUGE reason why I don’t paper scrap anymore. I’ll be selling all of my stamps soon.

While spending last weekend at Jared’s parent’s house I was visiting with Greta in the kitchen and all of a sudden realized that I hadn’t seen or heard Ethan in a while. I found him in with my make-up bag and looking like this.

Good thing I can laugh about his mischief but sometimes in the moment I get so mad!

Mickey and Minnie

2010-04-15T13:55:00.000-06:00

Remember my recent post about Ethan's doggie going nigh night? Well not long after that post I found this in my bed...

Still waiting...

2010-03-31T17:47:00.001-06:00

Well I had my appointment today and we have to wait 3 more weeks! 3 more weeks until we find out if this little one is really a girl or not!

It's not for sure...

2010-03-24T15:04:00.001-06:00

But it might be a GIRL! When the ultrasound tech started she said she got a quick look and thought it was a girl but when she went back to double check my little stinker wouldn't uncross his/her legs and the umbilical cord was in the way too. So when the doctor came in she tried to look too but had no luck. We have another appointment on Wednesday the 30th so we are hoping the baby will be more cooperative. So check back in a week :)