Madisen Moments

{She LOVES to wear her dress ups, especially the shoes. She'd wear them EVERYWHERE if I'd let her. The blanket is held on her head by her headband. She calls it her hair, like Barbie Apunzel (Rapunzel).}

Here are a few funny things that Madisen has been saying lately:

*She calls toilet paper, paper toilet.
*She says 'gotfor', instead of forgot.
*She loves to ask people what their name is, & by this she wants to know their last name. For instance, "Mommy what's your name?". I say, "It's Mommy Carruth". Then she says "I'm Madisen UhCarruth, that's Caitlyn UhCarruth, you're Mommy UhCarruth, and he's Daddy UhCarruth." Yes, 'Uh' is now a part of our last name. She likes to ask her friends to tell them their last names, too. Then she walks around repeating them. It's too cute!
*She's also picked up on the phrase "I can't believe it." Tonight when her dinner was gone she looked down at her plate and said, "It's all gone. I can't believe it."

Great Harvest

Today we went on a tour of our local Great Harvest Bread store. It was so fun! The owner who conducted the tour was great, she was animated & related well to the children. We were literally walking around their right in the back where they make the bread & they worked right around us.{The kids were each given a clump of dough to roll into a breadstick or flatten like a pancake. Most of them just squished it a little & they had a funny looking roll.}

{Here they are showing off their ovens, they can bake 500 loaves of bread at one time.}

{While the rolls were baking, the kids got to eat a cookie outside while they listened to the story of "The Little Red Hen".}

Camping

{First time campers}

{The group}

{Caitlyn & Gavin hanging out in the play pen while we made breakfast}

{Madisen's first marshmallow roasting experience}

Monsoon season has arrived in Southern Nevada. Who would've thought that it would come at the same time as our camping trip? We planned a camping trip for this past weekend with 4 other families, mostly from our ward. Mt. Charleston is the secret oasis in this desert. There were trees, it was cool, & the dirt wasn't red. We had such a great time! Our kids haven't ever been tent camping, & we learned that we need to find some more sleeping bags before our next adventure, but it was still fun. We showed up on Friday night, just after a big rainstorm had finished- the others in our group were soaked to the bone (I guess working does have some perks). And we managed to leave on Saturday afternoon just as the first drops of rain fell from the sky. We tried to wait it out for an hour so we could hike, but the down pour got the best of us!

Junk Food Day

One of my good friends, Laura, who lives in New York gave me some great ideas for summer. Among them was the idea to celebrate 'special days'- any excuse to break from the norms of life. She found a place online that lists specials days to celebrate. (Here are the special days for August.) The first one that we got to celebrate was 'Junk Food Day' on July 21. It was while Bill's mom was here, so she & Bill chose the above treats- we went all out! We popped the popcorn & munched on the candy while we watched a movie that night. What a great holiday!

Ode to Caitlyn

Caitlyn was 8 months old on the 22, but I'm just getting around to posting some pictures of her. She is such a happy & sweet baby. Except that lately she's really discovered her voice! And whoa does she ever have a voice! When she wants attention, she doesn't hesitate to let you know. It's not a whine or a cry- it's just a scream. It usually comes when Madisen does something that frustrates her, or if she's sitting in her high chair waiting to be fed.

*Her bottom 2 teeth broke through her gums this weekend. Notice the drool on her yellow shirt. (Maybe this has been the reason for the squeeling, b/c she hasn't been fussy.)

*She has been getting around by army crawling. She follows me or Bill around if she wants to be picked up. But today she crawled! I can't believe it, she seems too young to be mobile. She's still a bit unsteady & resorts to army crawling after about 4 or 5 crawls.

*Today we went to story time at the library & she enjoyed the songs. It's fun to see her so aware & interested in her surroundings. I love this girl!

Good Friends

Last night we had our friends, The Castle's, over for dinner. Angie & I were roommates or neighbors for at least 3 years of our college lives, & then we both ended up here in Vegas with our families. Next week they will be moving to Kirksville, MO where Brent will start DO (medical school) in the fall. We'll sure miss our friends... but good friendships like this last a lifetime. :)

Silly Girls

Today I was babysitting a friends' daughter. She & Madisen are the same age, so they had fun together. While Madisen was taking her afternoon nap, Gabby decided to hook up an exercise band to Caitlyn's walker and wheel her around the kitchen. Caitlyn was laughing SO HARD- the picture doesn't do this sweet moment justice, but if you look REALLY close you'll see that Caitlyn is laughting.

I'm Behind

Well, as you can tell it's been a while since I last posted, this equals a busy week for us. Bill's mom came to visit for a few days, I finished reading "New Moon"(the sequel to Twilight), we went camping, Caitlyn learned to crawl, Madisen had swimming lessons, & we had some old friends over for dinner last night. So much to share... it's all coming soon. Right now I'm using my self control to pay the bills before I sit down & do something 'fun'.

Rocks

As mentioned in my last post, our backyard is ALMOST done! We are sooo close. It was a team effort- 99% Bill, 1% me. He found time to work out back while I was bathing kids, or doing dinner dishes, or mopping the floor- most of the work was done late at nigth when it was cool. That is, except the rock. We ordered River Rock (for those of you not familiar with the beauty of 'desert landscaping', we can choose btwn. river rock & desert rock) from the local nursery to be delivered last Saturday morning. The truck showed up 5 hours late, and then we learned that we'd ordered 3-12 inch rock instead of the 4-6 inch rock that we had in mind. So, as you can see, some of the rocks are VERY big. Consequently we had about 1 ton of rock extra. What you see is the extra rock, I'm unsuccessfully trying to sell it on Craig's list- any takers?

The best part of the story is how the rock made it from the front to the back. We borrowed a wheel barrow from our wonderful neighbors, the Leathers. On the 3rd trip to the back, the axel of the wheel broke in half. It was 2:30 p.m., 110 degrees, and was I down town with my family. Bill called to ask if I'd pick up a new wheelbarrow on my way home. When I got home around 4, he had carried about 2 tons of rock to the back yard using buckets. What a man! He didn't want to leave the whole pile in the road overnight & was anxious to see how it looked in the back. It's not quite what we had in mind, but we still like it. Stay tuned for some pictures of our completed yard....

Girls Night

Tonight Bill is gone with his mom to California, but they'll be back tomorrow (long story), so the girls and I were alone. After dinner we got to play in the backyard & it was so fun! I'm extremely grateful for a husband who worked VERY HARD to get most of our backyard done. It was a great way to relax & play together. Caitlyn discovered that she doesn't like to sit on the grass, but she does like to ride on her little 'bike'. Madisen tried to reach the sky, but she couldn't quite jump high enough. However, she loved burying her feet in the sandbox, using the sand that she'd accumulated in her bucket.

Then we came in for bath time. They had a great time splashing together- until Madisen tried to wash Caitlyn's hair. It's evenings like this that make being a mom so wonderful! I truly enjoyed just relaxing and spending time with my girls! {My brown eyed beauties!}

A visit from Aunt Kellie

Last week my sister, Kellie, got to come for a visit. We had such a GREAT TIME! She was here for 5 days and it was a real party every day! It was lucky timing b/c my grandpa & aunts & cousins were here for a convention for my grandpa. That gave us a reason to spend a little time down on the
strip. On Wednesday we treated Kellie to the free movies, we saw "Clifford The Movie". Then we met up with dad at In-N-Out for lunch. On Thursday our big event was touring the Shark Reef at the Mandalay Bay with our cousins. Friday we attempted to swim at the Paris (where my family was staying), but after we were there for only 10 minutes the pool had to be closed b/c of undisclosed floating objects. So we showered and headed to the M&M and Coke factories. Sadly, these 'factories' are more just huge tourist traps. They sell EVERYTHING imaginable with the Coke or M&M logo on them. Caitlyn managed to break a bowl while sitting in her stroller at the M&M store. Not too bad if that was our only mis-hap on Friday, the 13th. We also got to meet the green M&M, Madisen was a little unsure of that large green thing. Aunt Kellie bought her some M&M's, which she thought was great. You'll notice that she was so tired she fell asleep sitting up, like only a child can do. After a delicious buffet dinner, we toured the beautiful flower gardens in the Bellagio and then got to see the world's largest chocolate fountain. My favorite part of our visit to the strip was watching the dancing waters at the Bellagio. It is so peaceful!! Madisen really liked that part, too. I loved watching her face light up with excitement- it was totally new and exciting to her. (Please excuse the picture jumble- I have no idea what happened & have no time to fix it now.)

Hawaiian Package

Last week we were pleasantly surprised to receive a package from 'Uncle Stew'. He had just returned home from a trip to Hawaii and he sent MANY exciting presents for the girls. Madisen had so much fun as she kept pulling things from the box. There were books, flower lais (?), shell necklakes, beautiful flower hair clips, and some adorable dresses! Here are some shots of the girls dressed in their matching Hawaiian attire. THANK YOU UNCLE STEW!!

Picture Help!

Could someone please tell me how to shrink this picture so it won't take up so much space? I'm feeling picture 'illiterate'. THANKS!

Changes

There have been many changes at our house this week! Some of them are major, and we're still adjusting to all of them.

*The first, & most obvious one, is the look of my blog. I'm tired of the plain colors and really want to have a 'cute' header. You know, the kind with a picture of my family, and a clever title. BUT, I don't have a digital scrapbooking program yet, so this isn't possible. I thought the lighthouse was a 'nice substitute' for now.

*Next is that Madisen has decided NOT to take naps anymore! We went 5 days in a row with no nap, yesterday she had one and was up until about 10. This is new lifestyle for us!

*And last, is that Caitlyn has decided to stop nursing. She's been weening herself for a month or so now and now it's final. I think I'm still in denial, b/c I keep trying to nurse her several times a day. The crazy thing with her is that she'll take a bottle of formula if I give her one, but she never cries just for a drink. I have to consciously give her drinks during the day. The doctor thinks this will help her sleep through the night. Yes, she's 7 1/2 months old and STILL getting up at night. I've been nervous about her fluid intake for about 2 weeks now, it IS hot here you know! (Side note: On Monday we tied a recod; 9 consecutive days of 110 degrees or higher.)

Hopefully we can figure out and adjust to all of these changes REAL SOON!!

Peanut Butter Popcorn

Last night Bill and I needed a treat to keep us going while we were working into the night on our talks. We tried a new recipe from a friend and I want to pass it on because it was DELICIOUS! Plus, I'm a sucker for almost anything if it's over popcorn.

1/3 c. sugar
1 c. karo Syrup
Bring to a boil. Remove from the stove and stir in:
1 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla

Pour over 4 qts. of popped popcorn and enjoy! We sure thought this was tasty, it wasn't too sweet and protein packed. (It's similar to PB Rice Krispie treats)

Panguitch Lake

Last weekend we went for a little 'family reunion' with my parents, sisters, and brother-in-law to Panguitch Lake. It was so WONDERFUL and green and the weather was perfect. When we arrived on Friday night around 9 p.m. and it was 58 degrees, that's 50 degrees colder than it was when when left Vegas! WOW what a change, we were freezing in our shorts and flip flops. We had such a great time riding 4 wheelers, hiking, boating- some fished, kite flying, playing on the swingset, relaxing, and visiting. Thanks mom and dad!

Poor Caitlyn had a fever on and off the whole time and she was real fussy, just not quite herself. The day we got back she broke out in spots, so I think she had Roseola. Thank goodness she feels better now!

{Madisen LOVED the 4 wheelers. She kept telling her driver to go 'spaster!}

Catching Up

You can probably tell that I'm catching up on pictures that I haven't posted while my computer was on break. I'm actually procrastinating. It's my turn on the computer, and I should be using it more wisely right now--- Bill and I are speaking on Sunday and my talk is still just thoughts in my head. But hey, what's the last minute for if you can't use it, right?!

Swimming in St. George

A couple of weeks ago some of our good college friends (Tim and Cindy Larsen) were in St. George visiting their parents- our friends live in Nebraska. Bill got home from work a little early one afternoon so we headed up for a birthday party for their daughter, Alli, who turned three. It was extra fun to see them b/c they just had another little girl, Lizzy, who was about 6 weeks old. We swam at the RV park and then visited until it was pretty late before we drove home. (Cindy, Jenny holding Caitlyn, Tim and Alli's in the back)

We love the water!

Caitlyn loves her daddy!

Personality Plus

When Madisen was about a year old, someone in my ward at the time described her a little Miss "Personality Plus". The other day she and Caitlyn were happily playing while I was doing the dishes or something when I heard her singing and this is what I found. She had perched herself up on the bucket and was singing "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star" and the "ABC" song at the top of her lungs to her 'audience'. I also have to add that this was the day that she was supposed to be napping when I heard her tip-toeing down the stairs. I went up to find that she'd dumped and ENTIRE bottle of tourquise blue fingernail polish in her bad and it was all over her outfit. We kept the sheets and mattress pad- a good lesson, but the outfit was history. (You may wonder why I had tourquise blue fingernail polish and that's a great question!)

Another Home Improvement

A few months ago I purchased a few items to decorate our entry way- it was an ecclectic area before and it just didn't look good. I wanted to compliment the mirror that we bought in Spain. About 2 weeks ago I finally got around to painting the wall- hooray! It's amazing what a little paint can do to change the look of an area. Our entry way is so much more invinting now.

A new car

Well, I mentioned that we sold the Camry and now we've purchased a new car! About a week and a half ago, our Jeep Cherokee arrived on a truck- we bought it from Bill's parents who live in Texas. It's so exciting and the timing of the sell was impeccible! We looked at mini-vans, but secretly I'm glad this worked out b/c I can get my SUV fix in before I start driving a mom-mobile... which I will gladly do when the time comes!
It arrived while it was our turn to have the babysitting group on a Friday night. So we walked over with all of the kids to watch it be lowered off the big rig. The kids were impressed with how the truck worked- the lever to lower the car, the guy climbing the ladder to the top and then driving it down. They also thought it was great that they got to ride in the car- the whole 10 houses back to our driveway. The driver had encountered a huge rainstorm in TX so the Jeep was covered with sticky oil, so a car wash was the perfect ending to our evening and a great way to entertain the kids for the last hour. :)

"Twilight"

This afternoon while my girls were napping I finished a book, "Twilight", by Stephanie Meyer. Oh my goodness, what a fabulous book- a must read!! It's been a great way to escape the afternoon heat, and it felt so good to read a book recreationally. I must admit that it took me a few chapters to get into it, but then I was hooked. Check it out if you get a chance, and let me know what you think!

Independence Day

Although we missed being with our families today, we celebrated with some All-American festivities: An early morning parade, swimming- b/c it was only 115 here today, a nap, a BBQ with some friends in the evening and the grand finale was the firework show in our neighborhood with about 7 other families. We had a fabulous 4th! Here are the photos of the day in reverse order: (Warning: picture overload!)

After the fireworks, the kids pulled out this fun car and were having a blast! Madisen thought it was GREAT!

She found the pops- and those were not scary to her. (Photo disclaimer: it was dark and I was holding Caitlyn!)

This was the only sparkler she tried, and the fireworks scared her at first. Her dad, however, was in heaven! He and the other guys were like 15 yr. old boys lighting fireworks.

I made this festive desert, created after a picture I'd seen on a magazine. In the photo, they had lit sparklers on top. I thought this would be fun for the kids to see, but it was actually a disaster. This is the only picture that I got, b/c as Bill was lighting the sparklers, they were burning his fingers. And, we put the wrong kind on the cake, so there was ash in the frosting. The look on the kids' faces was priceless, the didn't know if it was cool or scarry.

Yesterday we got a fun surprise pkg. from Grandma Dodds in the mail w/ 4th of July outfits for the girls- aren't they adorable!