Maddie

Here's some of Maddie's cuteness the past couple of months.

Smiles for Dad at the hospital

This smile didn't last too long--who likes being in a duck hamper, anyway.

One of our first few times experimenting with Maddie eating what we eat at dinner

Experimenting with pigtails

A sweet one of Craig and Maddie

Our little scavenger

She thought this pillow pile up was hilarious

Evidence of Maddie's first big bump on the forehead--but she's still too darn cute in her new Earth Child outfit--thanks Auntie Lycia

Maddie loves to be part of everything. This is our mode of viewing General Conference

Eating and watching "Backyardigans"

In a hamper again--I don't know my obsession with putting her in hampers?

Maddie and her frog, Arro. She loves this little guy.

Here she is playing peek-a-boo.

Visitors!!!

Craig's parents came to visit us a couple of weeks ago. We got to show them some of our favorite Omaha sites even though it rained the entire time. It's been in the 70's for about a week now, so I don't know why we always get rain and 40 degree temps when we have visitors. Anyway, we visited De Soto National Park. I guess a ship wrecked on the Missouri river in the 1800's, but then the river changed routes, so the ship was buried under silt in the middle of a corn field. They dug it up along with a lot of really fascinating articles from the 1800's. We also went to Nebraska City, which is the birthplace of Arbor Day. We had some amazing apple pie. We visited our cute little downtown Omaha as well as West Omaha where all the new Omaha is. To top it off we took them to our favorite steak place that's located about 45 minutes from Omaha in a beautiful little town called Hooper. We had a lot of fun, and we're glad they made us a stop along the way.

This is Halloween

Halloween is probably in a tie for my favorite holiday all year long. I love that we get to dress up as whatever we want. I used to love to dress all "risque" like. I don't know why--probably that "sweet mormon girl" had a little devil wanting to burst out--I don't know. Every once in a while I still love to crank up Blink 182's Buddha so loud that I can't think--that's of course, when Maddie's not in the car...which is never. Well OK. So, for Halloween this year we were able to go to a couple of fun parties. Some of our friends' parents have a fabulous home near Omaha with a cool backyard. We made dip from our way-too-spicy chili, and we had fun time. On Halloween we went to our Branch Halloween party which was amazing. We had a chili cook-off (for which we won "Best Name"), trunk-or-treating, and fun games. We also won Best Family Costumes. We went as Tinkerbell, Peter Pan (sans tights), and Wendy (with tights). There were a few other adorable Tinkerbells around (including one of Maddie's sweet friends and one of our friend's dogs), sot that has motivated us not to buy costumes at Hell-Mart again. The night was awesome, and although we got home around 9 o clock we realized that this Halloween was one of our favorites.

"The Summer" all-in-one

Utahntastic Summer

So, because we didn't blog almost all summer. The next few slideshows are a catch-up on all the fun stuff we did while we were in Utah. I can't believe I didn't have one picture of the dogs we got to hang out with all day.

Craig's Appendices

So, who knew--2 posts in 2 days. I guess I have a little extra alone time lately, and not having the pressure to have pictures to post has lessened my blog anxiety. I'm slowly warming up, so hopefully we'll have some pictures soon. So, yeah, Craig's in the hospital. He had his appendix out 2 weeks ago, and then last Monday, he started to feel a lot of pain. By Wednesday he had a fever, so we called the doctor, who brushed us off. He told Craig to wait it out, but he could go to the ER if he really wanted to. So, we waited because the doctor made it sound like not such a big deal. By Friday, Craig had unbearable pain and a spiking fever. He, of course, still went to hear Justice Alito of the Supreme Court speak at Creighton (okay okay, with a bit of my prodding, since I was so jealous that he got to go), and we took him to the ER around 11 that night. They immediately admitted him, scanned him, and stuck a drain in his side to drain the MASSIVE abscess that had set up house where his appendix was 2 weeks ago! He's still there today, but if all goes well tomorrow, the plan is to have him home by tomorrow night. He's still in a fair amount of pain, but thanks to loritab and vicodin, it's mostly controlled. K, well, there's the story.

We're Still Here

I know, I know...a lot has gone on since we last posted. Thank you, Craig, for that bit of a blurb a few weeks ago. I got really disillusioned there for a while after I read a spoof blog. I realized that I've been playing into all that cliche' blogging that I have so long made fun of. You know what? Who cares--all you wonderful bloggers, whether you're being cliche' or not, good for you. I give props to all of you who go out of your way to show family and friends what you're up to. Living 1000 miles from family is difficult, especially when grandmas and grandpas and aunts and uncles and cousins can't see the cute grandbabies growing up so fast. K, I still don't have too many pictures, because in the time I haven't blogged, we stripped the wire on our AC adaptor to the computer with all the pictures, but someday I will. At the rate I blog, look forward to seeing Maddie's year old pictures. As soon as we get that up and going again, I promise, I will set up some slideshows of our Utastic summer...sometime in the next year or so. Until then, fellow clichers!

ONE MORE YEAR

So Chelsea, lil Maddie, and myself returned from Utah for our final year in Omaha. It is crazy to think that I am almost done with school for ever.

Makin' Like Pioneers

On our trek across the plains, we took the long way through Denver to see our friends, the Simmons. We had a lot of fun. The Simmons live in a beautiful neighborhood right outside of Denver. We left Omaha right after Craig took his last final with our car packed so tight there was not one more inch of empty space. We got to Denver late that night, and Maddie decided to surprise Emily and Mark with a big ole toot as soon as they opened the door. All we said was "well hello".

Emily and Andrew were great little tour guides. The next day we went to Red Rock,

saw dinosaur tracks, had free ice cream at Ben and Jerry's, and ate at Casa Bonita the. Casa Bonita is the restaurant that the Mayan was patterned after. Thanks to Craig, we got the sweetest table in the restaurant.

The diver climbed right up to our table to take a dive into the water far below. Maddie got a good stare at his fabulous abs. That's the actual diver diving in the background!

The next day we went to a really neat butterfly place where Craig even got to see if he could jump as far as a grasshopper

and visited downtown Denver.

Denver definitely has some fabulous architecture downtown--very modern, as well as some awesome older homes, like Molly Brown's (as in "the unsinkable Molly Brown"). We're excited to visit again. Sweet little Andrew was such a fun friend for Maddie while we were in Denver. He helped feed her, helped push the stroller, and he also shared his toys.

We had planned on leaving early the next day for the last leg of our trek to Utah, but we were surprised by a May Day snow storm that shut down the pass out of Denver. We took off once the pass was open, but we still were in for quite the white knuckle drive. We actually stopped just past Veil to wait out the storm a bit. We finally got out of the big mountains and enjoyed a fantastic drive through Glenwood Canyon. We hit some more crazy snow down Spanish Fork Canyon, but we finally got to Provo where we decided to stop for the night. We finally got to Tooele the next morning. Maddie was more than excited to finally be out of her car seat. So after almost a week, we were finally in Tooele where we're staying with my sweet sis and bro in law and their 2 dogs.

Birthdays, Anniversary and Mothers' Day

We celebrated both Craig's birthday and mine since I posted last. On my birthday, Maddie and I went shopping, we came home and took a nap, and later we all went out to dinner and on a ride around beautiful springy Omaha. Even though that doesn't sound too exciting, I have to mark it up as one of my favorite birthdays because it was so relaxing and I was hanging out with the people I love the most. I got some beautiful flowers from my fam, one of my favorite statue things and Juno soundtrack from Craig and Maddie... and an ice cream cake--thank you Office! Here we are the day before my birthday at one of our favorite pizza places in Omaha. I'm not showing the place we went on my birthday because it was gross and overpriced--thank you for reaffirming my distaste, Carraba's--you're gross in Nebraska as well as Utah.

We celebrated Craig's birthday here in Utah. While Craig was working, Maddie and I went to check out Hogle Zoo in SLC. Maddie passed out about half way through, and I got called Valerie by a lady who wouldn't quit following us telling me how much I looked like her friend, Valerie. I later saw her taking a picture with her cell phone of a confused guy who she told looked like her brother's boyfriend. Maddie super loved the train ride. She kept trying to suck the nasty handle bar in front of our little train car. When Craig got done, we did one of our favorite drives from SLC to Provo through Park City where Craig got some new fancy shoes. We had dinner at one of Craig's favorite place to eat, Settebellas, and we had some tasty shakes at Train Burger in Heber. One of Craig and my first dates was up to Heber to get a shake. We got to drive on the much improved road down Provo Canyon--wow, so pretty!!! Here's Maddie just waking up and us at Settebellas.

The next day we had a fun picnic for the Chambers birthday celebration. Craig and Kevin are on the 16th and Cory and Kevin's wife, Amy, are on the 18th. Maddie was mesmerized by the bubbles.

We celebrated our anniversary in Omaha. We went all out and took advantage of our zoo pass. The aquarium seems to still be a favorite for Maddie. I made Craig some fancy Italian stuff for dinner. Once again, it was pretty laid back, and that's really how we like to do things lately. This is a pic inside one of the cool penguin bubbles. Here's Craig with a big sea turtle behind him in the aquarium tunnel.

Mothers' Day was fun. We spent it here in Tooele at my mom's house. Nat and Joe made a tasty grilled tenderloin. Maddie and Craig gave me some pots and herb seeds to grow myself a little herb garden this summer--so thoughtful. It was a wonderful first Mothers' Day.

da tag

A: The rules of the game are posted at the beginning.
B: Each player answers the questions about themselves.
C: At the end of the post, the player then tags 3 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog

10 years ago:
I just turned 16—loving my Pathfinder, figuring out the whole dating thing, bleaching my hair, and trying out short shorts

5 things on my to-do list today: (well, tomorrow, because today is over)
1. shower
2. get out of the house
3. exercise
4. go feed my sister’s cat (lucky brats—they’re in South Africa)
5. take Rach and Billy to the airport (lucky bugs—they’re going to Cali)
*Hey, I should be going somewhere cool!!!

5 Snacks I enjoy: (most of these are new found snacks since the peppermincy)
1. peanut butter and jelly toasted sandwiches
2. mint 3 muskateer
3. cherry snow cones
4. strawberries—just plain
5. cereal with cold milk late at night

What would do if I were suddenly made a billionaire:Oh good heavens—so many things. First of all I would buy a jet so Craig, Maddie and I could live wherever the heck we want to and still see the families and our friends. We would go on lots of trips to lots of amusement parks. I would buy Maddie all the coolest baby/kid stuff. I would buy a building for one of the Ivy League schools so they’d let me into one of their PhD programs.

5 Places I have lived
1. Tooele, UT
2. Provo, UT
3. Aspen Grove, UT
4. Omaha, NE
5. Behind Wal-mart, UT

Jobs that I have had:
1. Waitress at a chinese restaurant—they called me “tall white girl”
2. Care Worker at a group home for the cutest autistic girls in the whole world
3. One month in Satan’s lair aka Convergys
4. Graduate Assistant aka slave
5. Ice Cream scooper
6. Associate Professor
7. Executive Assistant/Office Manager/Regulatory Specialist at a clinical research office (craziest job I ever had)
8. Backup therapist at an autism and feeding clinic—the best job ever!!!
9. …and mmmmuh mmmmmmuh—as Maddie calls me (okay I know she probably doesn’t know that means me, but I like to think she knows)

5 things people don't know about me:
1. I’m not a people person—I usually have to force myself to be social. That’s why I married my Craig—he’s social enough for the both of us.
2. I love car rides—longer the better
3. I am a closet Harry Potter lover. I boycotted it forever, then I broke down one Christmas when the library was closed and read the only book on our shelf that I hadn’t read. Within 2 weeks, I had the first 6 read, and was impatiently anticipating the last.
4. Embarrassingly, I followed American Idol all season long this year. It all started when we noticed Maddie loved it, but I admit that in the end I was the one looking forward to it every week.
5. I must take a trip every so often or I go stir-crazy, even if it’s just a jaunt to KCMo.

I now tag Shellie, Hollie and Mollie (Hey that almost rhymes)

Gotta Love This Girl!

So, our sweet baby is growing and growing. She is now over 14 pounds and over 24 inches tall. She grows out of her clothes lengthwise before width wise--how funny. We can definitely tell she's her mommy's lil' girl--I vividly remember those jr. high days when all of my pants were capris (capris were definitely not in style back then) and my dad innovatively suggesting I sew lace on the bottoms to make them longer. Craig and I actually saw a very tall lady at Wal-Mart with some lace sewn onto her pants a couple of months ago--no joke!

Like Mommy Like Daughter!

Craig and I recently got a zoo pass. We've already gone several times. I especially like to take Maddie when I go walking with friends. We've had a few days when it's possible not to freeze outside--thank goodness. I wasn't sure if I could take anymore of this fabulous Omaha winter. We've discovered that Maddie loves the jungle and the sharks at the Omaha zoo. She could have stared at the waterfalls in the jungle for hours. The Omaha zoo also has a tunnel that goes through an aquarium, so it feels like you're walking on an ocean floor while sharks, sting rays, and puffer fish swim all around you. Maddie loves watching the sharks!

Yesterday was Easter, so all of the little girls at church had their sweet little Easter dresses on, including Maddie! I let Craig know that it's tradition to buy dresses for girls every Easter. He then told me that when she's older her prom dresses will count as her Easter dresses--uh, I don't think so. (Boys!!!) We took our dinner over to our good friends' house, and we had a potluck of sorts for Easter this year. We also had a Branch Brunch on Saturday. It's always an exciting time when we have parties "North O style". At one point, we had to check the name on the outside of the church to make sure we came to the right building. There were hallelujahs being thrown and upbeat scripture readings. Okay, I'm exaggerating, but it was still an interesting party.

We officially have 6 weeks until we move to Utah for the summer. My lil' sister is graciously letting us stay in her basement. They're actually finishing their basement so we'll have a place to stay! She's the sweetest--thanks, Rach! We're leaving at the end of April. We're going to take the "long" way so we can drop in on some friends in Denver. We can't wait to see you, Simmons!

Here's a sweet smile. Aunt Rach gave Maddie this adorable onesie for Valentine's Day! Look--she fits in it, Rach!

We got Maddie her own Creighton hat so that she'll fit in here in Omaha. She seemed to like the hat



We've almost gotten Maddie to sit on her own--just a few more weeks, I think. Other than the excitement of a sweet almost-4-month-old, Craig is working hard to join a trial team at school, and I'm exploring various ways to hoe myself out by peddling my crafts.

Some fun nakees and learning to stand/sit/fall/be just so darn cute!

Here's some blessing day cheater photos. The dress fits so well, and we finally have some smiles! ...and she's just so flippin' adorable--and I don't use flippin' lightly!