Madi's Baptism Day

Congratulations Madi!

Today was Madison's Baptism

It was a beautiful day and a lot of family

and friends came to show support

for Madi.  We really appreciate

everyone who came, both near and far.

We thought it would be a good idea to
get a picture of everyone while
they were dressed up.

Kyle baptized and confirmed Madi.  There were lots

of Uncles and one of our Grandpa's there to stand in

the confirmation circle.  Gabe gave an opening prayer

and Connor gave a talk on baptism.  They both did a really

good job.  Thanks for being so willing to be part of

Madi's special day!

We miss you Grandpa & Grandma Snow and

know you wish you could be here.

We met at Kyle's office for a lunch.  Soup, breadsticks,

salad, and dessert! 

Thank you for everyone's help!

More Progress . . .

It is amazing how many different steps there are

in building a house or even just adding on to a house.

This last week we saw more progress on our addition.  The lumber was delivered and the floor joists, plywood flooring and a couple of walls were added.  A couple of guys came yesterday and took off siding and brick.  It was really loud and I was pretty sure they were going to break clear through to the inside!

It is going to a beautiful week.  Lots of sunshine and nice cool temperature.  Hopefully we will see lots of progress this week.  I'll keep you posted!

We're glad they got a floor down because there was a great big hole knocked in the foundation,

but they moved pretty fast and got things sealed up.

Halloween Cousin Party

Gabe was a doctor.  He insisted that he had the scariest costume

because there is nothing more frightening than a doctor.

Madison was a witch and Camrie was a fairy princess with wings! 

Actually, I refused to buy costumes this year, so the kids

had to resort to sorting through the costume tote and

choosing from what we already had.

Mean Mom!  They don't seem too upset . . . do they. :)

"The Whole Gang"

Some were a little more willing than others to have their picture

taken, but you get a general idea of everyone's costume.

When I say the whole gang, I actually mean just our

 immediate cousins.  There was about 60 people for

dinner and probably about 35 kids that trick

or treated.  It was a lot of fun! 

Its nice to live close to family!

Where's a Jedi Master when I need him?

The storm troopers have landed . . . where's that Jedi?

The Halloween costume box has been out all week.  It has provided a ton of entertainment value for the extra company we've had this week.  The kids have enjoyed having cousins visit for a few days.

Bekkah and Camrie have found lots of ways to entertain themselves. 

It's always good to have someone else to play with.

Dustin and Kaden have been really good sports

considering they havn't felt great and really like their momma!

Molly dog

Molly is just like one of my kids.  That's not true . . . I would not give her one of my kidneys or even administer CPR, but she has this pink blanket she drags with her everywhere.
 Just like one of my kids. 
I can't get her to leave it in the kennel.  At least my kids believe me when I tell them their blankets better stay on their beds or I'm not going to go looking for it at bedtime.  I occasionally have to go looking for my kids blankets too.

We see progress . . .

We are adding on to our home . . . we have footings and foundation walls.

The kids think it looks like a great swimming pool if they could just

figure out how to fill it with water.  This is looking west, just off the north

side of the house.  This is where our bedroom and bath will be located.

This is the back view of the addition looking north. 

This will be a bonus room.

Happy Birthday Madi

This is how it all began, 8 short years ago...

She has such a funny personality . . . full of laughs . . .

We consider ourselves so very blesses to have Madison

part of our family . . .

She is compassionate, creative, loving

and a very important part of our home.

We love you so very much Madi

and hope you have a Happy Birthday!

Madi's birthday began with chocolate . . .

isn't that how all good morning should start?

That's not true.  We each had a taste of the frosting,

but the cupcakes were for her school class!

Dad delivered them for her mid-morning

and she passed them out after lunch.

I think they were a hit!

Lots of nice wishes from everyone.  Thank you. 

"Fear Factor"

Madi is going to be 8 years old this week. 

How did that happen?

When our beautiful little red head turns eight there are several

rights of passage that cannot be overlooked.  Throughout the

next week or two you will get to see several events that

are really important to us!  The first thing she has been looking

forward too, it activity days.  She got to take her Dad to

her first activity last night.  Bless those leaders hearts - they went

to a ton of work.  She had so many details to share when she got home.

But words are just half of it . . .

I'm really grateful we sent a camera to get some of the faces!

The first challenge was to reach into an icy cold tub

and find the right key unlock Bro. Bolton and Bishop.

Their legs are chained together.  There's got to be a "ball & chain"

joke in there somewhere . . .

I think she almost has it . . .

These are a sampling of the refreshment . . .

eyeball rootbeer, crunchy bugs, monster toes and finally wormy dirt cups.

Yummy!

I think it is worth noting that these were NOT the "fear factor" foods.

These are the "Fear Factor" foods.  This tasty little plate consisted of

Cat Food (sticky rice and ramen noodles)

Cockroach (prune stuffed with rice)

Cupcake (her dog helped her frost it?)

There was another item on the plate Madi has simply

blocked out because it was just too icky!

The way the story went was . . .

whatever Kyle could get Madi to eat . . . he didn't have too!

I'm pretty sure he ended up eating most of it!

The last challenge was accomplished by distinguishing what

was "left" in the diaper by one of th leader's baby!

I'm pretty sure it went straight from the baby food bottle to the diaper. 

It makes me feel better to at least assume that . . .

It looks like the evening was smashing success!

Landform: Butte

Gabe has been learning about landforms in 5th grade

 for the past couple of weeks.

He was gone the day they got to choose what they wanted to do projects on.  So by default he was given the landform: Butte.  It was actually pretty interesting.  He had to do research and then create a poster with examples and interesting facts about buttes.  The second part of the assignment involved created a model of assigned landform.  The model could be made out of any material.  He decided scotcheroos would be an effective medium.  Turned out pretty good!

Do you see a resemblence?  Good job Gabe!

Saturday was the last day soccer. 

It was a beautiful sun shiney day with a really cold wind!

California '09 - Corona Del Mar and Balboa Beach

Camrie was a little unsure about the waves. 

She did make it into the water a little farther, but not much!

Madi and Aunt Carrie did find alot of really

neat sea shells down by the sea shore!

We built sand castles, rented a couple of boogie boards,

and just relaxed on the beach for a few hours.