End of Summer

I know... I know...
Long time since I blogged! But I still am grieving the last days of summer. :) So since July we have had numerous house guests (which I LOVE) my family, Joes Family, friends from Cali... We tried to take the jet skiis to the lake quite a bit... which was great when they were both running at the same time. :) Unfortunately, they have been at Pro Caliber a lot this summer. Guess that's what happens when you have water craft. Anyhow, had a blast during the painfully short summer. The weather didn't turn really warm till well into July and then ended abruptly at the end of August. Bummer~ But on to fall festivities.

For Joe's big 3-0 we took a trip down to the bay area where his mom and sisters had an awesome BBQ for him and then Joe and I went to the 49er game. Monday night vs. the Super bowl Champs... New Orleans Saints. IT was a fun game to be at... Jerry Rice's jersey was retired and all the greats joe montana, steve young, coach mariucci, among others. It was a real nail bitter. Poor joe and his 49ers aren't doing so hot... but hey the KC Chiefs are 3-1. Who would have thunk it?

We also took Maddie to the ranch again... for her second time. It was hilarious because Harry said... "we need to keep the door shut to keep the snakes out" and Maddie all weekend kept saying the snakes are coming... the snakes are coming! But she kept the door shut! :) She had a blast... loved the horses and especially LOVED the ATV's... couldn't keep her off of them.

Now that it's officially fall... the weather has gotten colder which is sad... but Football Sundays have started which is FANTASTIC... Love snuggling up with my family eating all day and staying in our PJ's. :)

Fair Fun!

Mmmmmm...

Pig Ear!

Maddie has no fear

Love these two!

Family Fun at the Fair!

I have to admit that I have been the worst mom lately. I haven't brought the camera out in many of outings... I guess we are just so busy I forget to take pics. :) Doing a lot of pool days, lake trips with the jet skiis, family visiting, and birthday parties~ Gotta love Bend Summer!

Luckily Meghan had taken some pictures of us at the fair this year. It was a lot of fun... well except for the part where my child ran away from me and I had to spank her in front of lots of people. But other than that... We had a good time and even got to hear STYX do their sound-check before the concert... pretty cool.

SUMMER!

I'm so happy to report that summer is FINALLY here... With several days in a row well into the 80's and 90's it's official. I heard a funny quote the other day... Bend has 10 months of winter and 2 months of house-guests. Thought that was funny. On that note my mom and younger siblings will be here for a week starting this monday- very excited to have everyone here. :)

We also took our first professional family photos... thanks Meghan for let me borrow your friend when she was here to visit.

Enjoy your summer!

2nd Birthday, Cali Trip, grad parties, and big girl beds!

Wow as I'm sitting down to write this I think that a lot has happened in the last month. :)

Starting with Maddies 2nd birthday bash! We had 10 kids come to a local gymnastic center with cupcakes and balloons. Maddie really was bell of the ball... she had a blast being the center of attention... not sure where she gets that from. :) Thank you to everyone of our friends and family that came to celebrate with us. (thank you cards will eventually make it in the mail)

Then we headed down to Southern California to visit family and go to graduation parties for my brother Brent (my new roommate/manny) who graduated from Providence College with his masters degree and my little sister Cortney who graduated from High School. I'm very proud of both of you and I know that you will be very successful in all of your future endeavors!

All in all it was a blast... It was a very busy trip...with little to no down time and the 16 hour drive was really not fun with a 2 year old.

Now we are home and have headed into a new phase... for the last 3 days Maddie has refused to sleep in her own bed. Joe has been in Portland so I have given in and allowed her to sleep with me... But come Friday night it's going to be a fight that I'm sure will last all night long with the strong willed Madelyn Sue. I have even changed her bed from the crib to a toddler bed- thought that would make her excited... Not quite. She is in my bed watching toons as I type. Yes I know it's 10:30 for all you moms judging me!

Maddie in her Mrs. Potato head glasses and pretty jewelry

Maddie and Hunter (Jeremy friend from High Schools son)

Me and Kim... Brents girlfriend... Some day sister-in-law

Maddie and My Dad sharing Cake. Do you see my dads 70's porn star hair!

Maddie holding Joe's bud... Pretty sure I have the same photo from my childhood

Brent and Maddie playing. She loves her "B"

Fascinated with the fountain... So cute

The princess at her birthday party

Bell of the Ball

New pics coming soon!

Things have been very hectic lately... between Maddie's 2nd birthday to vacation/graduation parties and work... I haven't had a chance to do much of anything....

But I will be updating with photos really soon.... I promise.

Mother's Day weekend

Terrwilleger falls

Hike to the hot springs... Gorgeous!

Family Picture

I Pout...

Cammo and Mads

This weekend we went out to a cabin on the McKenzie river... It was a blast.
Well, except for Friday night when Maddie was throwing up every half hour from 11:30 pm to 7am. That meant no sleep for either of us. :) Happy Mom's day... I earned a badge i'm sure of it!

Anyhow, she was totally fine the rest of the weekend. Angela and her son Cameron joined us for some fun in the sun too! :) Maddie loves CAMMO!

On Saturday afternoon we decided to check out Cougar Hot Springs.... clothing optional. And most everyone opted not to. It was very interesting. I saw lots of naked hippies. But overall, had a nice hike up to the springs and can now say that I have been to hot springs. :)

On Sunday we had a nice relaxing day... Joe cooked breakfast, then we went on a nice little walk and took our time getting home. It was the best mother's day so far! (it was only my second though)

I am very lucky to have such a wonderful husband and a healthy spirited almost 2 year old. Not to mention the best doggie in the entire world- Love you all!!!
Thanks for a great weekend. :)

Time to get ready for Uncle Brent to move to Bend and be my "manny"!!! So excited. :)

Almost 2!

Saying "Cheese" for the camera

Maddie and her Baby in her new panties!

Spending some time with our pal Geno!

Rockin our new Cinderella shades!

The countdown begins... exactly one month from today my baby turns 2! who would have thought it would go this darn fast. I still call her my baby... but she's really my bratty toddler! The other day at a friends house. I wasn't paying attention and she smacked me across the face and said, "Shut-up MOMMY!" I was totally mortified. She is soooo mean to me! Her new favirote word is shut-up. We have tried everything... time-out, spankings, flicks in the mouth and now we are just ignoring it. She must say it atleast 50 times a day. She totally uses it in the right context too! I know this is just the beginning too. She is so smart, manipulative, tough, strong, stubborn, and loving all at the same time. Sounds kind of like someone I know. :)

Anyhow, besides the new favirote word we are also trying to start potty training. She has been using the potty (and I say that loosely) for the past 6 months. But I have some training underpants and we are trying to keep them on. Wish us luck.. I have a feeling their is LOTS of loads of laundry in my future!