Ross and I have really been enjoying our free time lately. It has been so nice to have Ross home to help with projects and hang out with. Madison has loved it. This evening Ross went to grab something from the car and Madison started crying. Then she crawled over to the door and waited for him to come back inside. A few minutes after coming back in, he went up stairs. She started crying again and crawled over to the baby gate waiting for him to come down. I think that it will be a sad reality at the end of June for both of us. 

Ross grilled for us this weekend. He made a good rub for the chicken and then grilled some pineapple as well. We both really enjoyed it. 

We tried to grill some strawberries too just to see how it would taste. It wasn't bad, but I wouldn't say that they turned out great either. But I think they have potential.

 Madison just wasn't sure about our grilling experience. 

 Madison loves raspberries. If she sees them on the table she will just squeal until we give her some. She is so funny when she eats them. She will stick them on her finger like kids do with olives and then suck the juice out of them. I was glad I caught this on camera. 

 On Sunday, Ross decided that he needed to take a picture of me. Here it is. He always enjoys doing that but I feel a little awkward. 

 Madison enjoying French Toast. 

 Madison likes playing with her Nintendo controller. I think that her and Uncle John will be great friends when they come out to visit this summer! 

 My dad found this picture of me this weekend. It was taken when I was 2 years old and we lived in Woodstock, New York. When I saw this picture I thought that I looked a lot like Madison. Same chubby cheeks for sure! 

My mom also sent me this picture. I think it looks kind of like Madison too. It is fun to see these pictures and compare the looks to Madison. I am enjoying that a lot. 

Madison is so ready for summer. I love this picture of her so much. Words can't even describe it. My beautiful sunglasses loving girl. Another proud mother moment for me. Today it actually felt like summer too! I couldn't believe how hot it was. We went to the park and played soccer and I was able to ride my new bike a lot. We had an awesome day. 

Burlington

We were able to head out of Laramie and go to Burlington this weekend. We were excited to see our family and Ross was excited to work on some projects outside. He was able to get work done in the back orchard and I was able to him plant the garden. It was fun to be there and think about what we were doing last year around the same time. The weather was wonderful in Burlington. It was so warm so we were able to be outside a lot. 

 Well this picture is from before we left, but Madison has turned into a snuggler. She'll crawl over to us and just rest her head on us. It is a proud parent moment. 

 This was the only picture I caught of Todd. #singleandsexy 

 We decided that Madison needed to start wearing her hats for our trip. She wasn't sure about it at first, but now she loves them. I think they look adorable on her. 

 Madison and Aunt Diana. They had fun playing together while we were in town. 

 Madison and Grandma. Madison has been getting better about letting people hold her more. I was amazed at how well she did. 

I took Madison's hat off and she decided to put it back on. She crawled around like this for awhile. 

 It was stake conference the weekend that we were in town. It was fun to see a lot of people. I was glad that we could be there for it. 

 Diana and Madison after stake conference.

 Enjoying the weather. I love this picture of us. 

 Love the grin with her hat. 

 Madison found the pringles can. Luckily she couldn't open it. 

Diana and I on the way to stake conference.

Diana and Madison 

Ross decided to name Madison's big teddy bear Diana. As soon as we got home, Madison crawled over to Diana and started giving her kisses. I think that she was sad to leave Burlington. We had a great time and are already looking forward to living there in August. 

Mother's Day

I had a wonderful Mother's day today! Ross really spoiled me this weekend! It was fun to be able to have some time with Ross since he just finished his finals. We were able to get a lot of things done around the house. It has been nice to have him home the past few days. I think that was the best gift. We also had a fun time talking to Janet (Ross' sister) on Skype. She is on her mission in Chile. Janet was so happy and seemed to be doing really well. Every time I talk to her I miss her so much. 

I was a little surprised to see a winter storm warning for Laramie this weekend. I was hoping it would blow over, but it didn't. It has been snowing all night and all day. I don't think that it will stop until the morning. Ross picked me out a new bike for Mother's day, but I wasn't able to try it. Hopefully I'll be able to try it next week. 

Madison and I playing with some of her birthday toys. 

 Ross picked out some Air Jordan onsies for Madison's birthday. I tried to get a picture of this one, but you can't see it very well. They are all very cute. She is very stylish. 

 Ross surprised with some red velvet cupcakes for Mother's day. They are my favorite. I saw some at the store and I wanted them so bad. I told Ross this and he got the stuff to make them. I was glad he did that. It was delicious. 

He did an awesome job decorating them. I was so impressed. He is very talented. 

 Ross took this picture last week before I went to Burlington. I tried curling my hair and it turned out really good. He was sure to take a picture. 

This was from our trip to Burlington. Madison really liked to climb on this chair. She didn't really understand it, but it was fun for her. I think it is funny how skinny her legs are. 

Madison's Mexican Fiesta!

It is crazy to think that one year ago I was writing this blog post. Madison's birthday was today. I can't even believe it. I am in shock. Seriously. I have a one-year-old. 

Well in honor of the big event we had a big Mexican fiesta to celebrate seis de mayo. 

 Madison and I did a few practice presents in the morning. She did pretty good with them. She would rip a piece of wrapping paper off of it, then put it back on. She did that a few times. 

 She enjoyed that a lot. 

 Ross and I decorated her high chair. I thought it turned out pretty cute.  

  We had some cake pops and I made a cupcake for Madison. I found a cool recipe on pinterest that only makes two cupcakes. I ate the second one and it was really good.

 I made this birthday banner and decided to hang pictures around it. I liked the way that it turned out. I loved looking at the pictures of Madison. We have had a lot of fun times this year. 

I made some sweet pork for our nacho bar. Then we had some fruit and chips and dip. I made the little flowers for the background. I liked the way they turned out too. 

The drink station. 

 Jacob, Josiah and Stella. Stella looks very serious eating. 

 Madison was so excited to eat her cupcake. I think she was a little shocked that we were just giving her a cupcake to eat by herself.

 I love this picture. 

 "Are you looking at my cupcake?"

 Josiah is adorable. I love how chubby he is and I love his glasses. He looks so good in them! 

 Madison liked opening presents, but she got a little overwhelmed. It was fun to watch her open them. 

Family picture with Sami. Haha I love that she wanted to be in our family picture. 

This is a fun video of Madison opening a present.

Madison had a great birthday! We were so glad to be able to have a fun time with friends and family. 

I almost forgot this gem. Our neighbor brought over this big teddy bear over for Madison for her birthday. Madison was afraid of it. Can you blame her? This thing is huge. Hopefully it will grow on her. All the kids at the party loved it. 

Burlington Prom!

This weekend, Madison and I went to Burlington to help Diana decorate for her prom. She is one of three girls in her class so their wasn't much support. I was so glad that we were able to take off and help her decorate. It turned out very well. She did a great job planning everything and putting everything together. It was fun to help her and see everyone. It has been a wonderful trip. We got some great pictures of Diana and her date, Jess. Summer did Diana's hair and make-up. She looked beautiful. I can't believe how fast Diana has grown up. It seems like it was yesterday that I was just meeting her.

 Diana and Todd before Jess came to pick her up. I love these pictures. They are so cute.

 Great picture of both of them.

 Diana, Jess and Dwight. Seriously, Dwight? He made it in all of the pictures. It was funny, but kind of annoying.

 Diana and Jess.

 Diana was Prom Princess. Bridger was the Prom Prince. I like Bridger because we have the same birthday.

 All of the prom royalty.

 A few of Anne's kindergarteners presented the crowns. They looked so cute. 

 Diana, Madison and I. If only I could open my eyes.

 Diana and I took some pictures while we were setting up.

 Every big event deserves a selfie.

Or two. Or five. No big deal.