Sweet Mother of Vinegar!!!

Baby Blessing

This weekend, the kids, my mom, and I went to Ogden to the blessing of my brother Davids new baby girl Jessica. We decided to make a weekend out of it and got a hotel, and shopped, and swam and relaxed. It was a much needed mini-vacation. My mom and I are both in school full time, (her for her Masters) and we promised we wouldn't worry about school for those few days. I don't know how well we were able to keep that promise, but we sure tried

The funniest part was when my mom realized she forgot to bring a dress, and we had to go to a million places to find her something that wasn't to expensive, because afterall, she doesn't even need a new dress. Actually it really wasn't funny at the time, but now it is! She loves to shop more than any person I know! Her and Madison could probably go shopping everyday! I'm kind of learning about myself that I really hate shopping. I think it must be because it's so much easier to find things online, with a click of a button I can see who has what, and for the best price!

All in all it was a great memory!

Ethan, by popular request.

10 things you might not know about Ethan

1. He doesn't believe in dressing up for Halloween
2. He loves to read
3. He could listen to music all day, and usually it's his "favorite song of the week"over and over and over...He also knows all the songs from the Music Man and various other musicals. It wasn't till this year that he found out that wasn't exactly a cool thing to know. So he probably won't admit it if you ask him.
4. He never gives up, stubborn and determined, (this especially applies when he's asking for a new video game.)
5. He won't eat around people he doesn't know, when he was younger he would hide under the table whenever we would go to a church function, or gatherings with family or friends, now he just won't sit down at all.
6. He already knows who he's going to marry, Sadie Gale Rosenberg. (a family friend) He was 3 when she was born, and pretty much since then, he's said that's who he'll marry. Now she's 4 and she already bosses him around, they're off to a great start!
7. He wakes up before anyone (except Raul) gets in the shower gets dressed and ready, then comes and wakes me up. Then he goes downstairs and sets the table for breakfast, and waits for Maddy and me to get our lazy butts ready. He's done this since he was 5. I call him our little alarm clock. Without him we'd never wake up or eat breakfast!
8. He's a great artist! He loves to draw, and how he comes up with some of these ideas I'll never know! He wants to be a video game designer when he grows up.
9. He has a great big heart! Don't get me wrong, he's got his macho side too, but he has an innate sense of goodness, and right and wrong. He doesn't like when others get made fun of, he won't even watch the tryouts for American Idol with me, because he feels so bad for the people that Simon is mean to.
10. The Boy Can Dance!! One thing you all do know about Ethan is that he's painfully shy around people. So I dare say none of you will ever witness these moves he has...but trust me, you want to!

As you all have probably noticed, Madison never stops smiling, shes always happy and looking on the bright side of things, she is so genuinely happy when good things happen for other people, she is not afraid to be herself, and jumping...always jumping.

I often wonder how different life, and the world would be if more people were like her. I'm sure you see it in your children too. Pure happiness, laughter, giving, faith, caring. Our house would be so empty without her laughter.

And for those who think I'm partial, Ethan has refused to let me make a mushy video about him, let alone post it for the world to see! Let him know how much you would love to see one, and maybe he'll change his mind!

This is a video we made for the Smiths when they moved. We were so sad to see them go because of all the memories we shared. I've always planned to keep it updated, maybe this blog will be my motivator. Although we originally made it for the Smiths, when we watch it, there are so many other families in it that we miss, like the Petersons and the Spears, the McMillans. I think there might even be some Linkes in the 4th of July pictures. We miss seeing you guys everyday!! "Those were the best days of our lives"!!

I also chose this song because, ever since the boys were just tiny-little, they've wanted to start a band together, and that is the main reason Ethan takes guitar lessons. Hopefully someday they can make it happen!!

Valentine Box

Madison was determined not to wait ‘till the last minute this year to get her valentine box ready...I on the other hand felt it could wait. So she took matters into her own hands and created it right on the kitchen floor! It turned out great. When did she get big enough to do these things herself?

Harry Potter??

Well, he may look like his dad, but he inherited my eyes. Ethan got glasses this week, and he's actually pretty excited about them! The doctor said he only needs them for school to see the board a little better, but for everything else he should be fine. But he won't take them off. I predict this excitement will fade quickly. And any of you who know him, know exactly what I mean. But for now he's our little Harry Potter.