Shutterfly Book

I just finished making a book of our Utah Trip in Shutterfly.  You can follow the link to view the book (just click on the words that follow!): Utah Trip 2012

Grandma and Grandpa Madsen

Rob's parents came into town last Friday.  We love when they come to visit.  The kids have such a fun time!  I don't have a lot of pictures because Rob and I left early Saturday morning for a wedding in Alabama and didn't get home until Sunday evening.  Today we went running at Two Rivers Bridge and Max insisted on running instead of riding.  We decided to see how long he would run for.  Can you believe this 3-year-old ran 1.5 miles?  His first mile was just over 11 minutes.  We kept askig him if he was okay, and he would answer, "YES!"  He is getting so big!


Max dressed up like Grandpa!

Kate playing soccer with Grandma.

Max playing soccer with Grandpa. 

The kids and grandparents playing in the beans.

 

Dan and Jane, we really are sad to see you leave already.  Come back and see us soon!

Alpine Part 1

While in Utah, I was able to help my sister, Mary, out by watching her two youngest kids.  Max and Kate had a lot of fun with their cousins, Tanner and Lexi.  We went to the playground to play.


We went to Hogle Zoo a few times.  Here we are with Sarah (my sis-in-law), Mason and Kai.

There was construction going on at Mary's house while I was there.  The kids loved seeing all of the construction vehicles.  Kate was a little intimidated by the machines.  Here they are on a forklift/loader.

We went to the splashpad at the neighborhood park a couple of times.  However, the first time we went the temperature did not cooperate.

 

I only grabbed one towel, so the kids all bundled together to warm up.

Max wrapped up and on the ground, trying to get warm.

Max watching the loader from the garage.

Enjoying ice cream cones.

Some of the neighbors came by on a Sunday and asked if the kids wanted to help feed their baby goats.  The boys were eager to play with the kids.

Max and Sheri bottling the little guy.

Tanner working his magic.

Lexi was very hesitant to touch the goat.  She was really cute to watch.  She would briefly touch it, then jump back and scream in delight!

Cement trucks at the house.

Kate watches the truck from a safe distance.

Backhoe in the yard.  The men are pouring the cement for the basketball court.

Kate loved having a trampoline to jump on.  We had to take ours down in Arkansas for insurance purposes.  

The sandbox is always a big hit.

 

We walked over to the elementary school to play on the playground.  I was surprised to see that construction was happening over there!  I pushed all 4 kids in the swings while they watched a loader dump rocks/dirt into a truck.  

Alpine Part 2 will be coming soon!

Utah: Salt Lake Area Part 2

I stayed at my parents house for about a week before they left for Europe.  While there, we celebrated Tiffany's (my youngest sister) birthday.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Utah: Salt Lake Area

My mom, Grandma Savage, Kate, Me, and Max.  It was good to talk with my Grandma for a few minutes.  Max was intrigued by all of her "old-fashioned" toys, while Kate was worried I was going to leave her.
 

I tried to get together with all my siblings while I was in Salt Lake.  I met up with a few of them at Thanksgiving Point.  We visited the barn.  Pictured below is Kate, Max, Kai, Mason, Lainee, Tanner, and Violet.  They had a grand time running around together.

 

Standing by the horse: Max, Kate, Lainee, Mason, Tanner, Violet.

 

This is actually a very deceptive picture.  Kate stayed on her horse for less than a minute.  The horse whinnied and scared her right after I took this pic, and she wouldn't get back on.

 

Max was a champ riding the horse around and around.

 

Max, Kate, Wyatt, Violet and Lainee posing on the wagon wheel chair.

 

Tara (sister-in-law) came over to my parents (where I was staying) one afternoon so we could walk to the neighborhood park and have a picnic lunch.  Max is pulling Violet at the park.

 

Have I mentioned how much my kids love to swing?  They could stay on the swings for hours if I let them (and pushed them!).

My Dad is awesome.  He arranged for Max to go to one of his construction sites to help dig with the backhoe.  Max was very excited.


Unfortunately, when Max realized I was not the backhoe operator, he wasn't so sure he wanted to help dig.  He was brave though, and helped flatten the dirt down and then get a big scoop in the bucket.

 

He really enjoyed watching the backhoe work from a short distance.  Max tells me every morning about how he dreamed about backhoes the night before.  "Mom, I drive a backhoe, and I scoop it and put it in a dump truck.  Scoop and dump."  I can ask him follow up questions, like, "What are you building with your backhoe."  Since this experience, he almost always tells me he is building a house.

 

It warmed up nicely while I was staying at my parents, so we turned on the sprinkler to cool off.  Max and my youngest sister, Tiffany (aka Tiny) are shown below.

 

We played Ring-around-the-Rosie on the trampoline with the kids.

 

Paige spinning Max for "Motorboat, Motorboat."

 

Tiny spinning with Max.


I typically only do Motorboat once with my kids as it makes me sick to spin around, but Kate lucked out because I gave her a whirl.

In Arkansas, we have gone cardboard sledding a number of times.  I decided to give it a try with my family.  I figured that real sleds or boogie boards would work just fine.  I was wrong.  We did not slide.  At all.

 

I wanted to get a few good pictures of my kids by a temple while we were in Utah.  I forgot the grounds are closed on Sundays, but I tried to snap a few at the Oquirrh Mountain temple anyways.  Kate was not cooperating, so I asked Max to hold her in his lap.  Kate ended up getting tackled.

Max hooking his thumbs in his pockets for the picture.