We have had such a busy, but fun time together the past few days or so....
On Saturday we were able to go to Big Surf for my father-in-laws work party. Maddie kept asking me if it was Saturday for almost all of last week. Jesse played in a sand volleyball tournament at the party, and my father-in-law took Robby the whole time and played with him. We have decided that Robby is his little buddy! Our good friends, the Albrights, were there as well with their two cute kids. Maddie followed Lexi around like a little puppy dog and they had so much fun playing in the kiddie pool together. They would hold hands while we walked from place to place. Maddie also really liked the slides; she kept insisting on going down "one more time" even though she was shivering from being so cold. I came all prepared with my camera in tow, only to realize that I forgot to put our SD card back into the camera :(
Mother's day is always a special time for me to take a stroll down memory lane and remember some of the special times with my own sweet mother. She is such a great friend to me and never gets tired of my endless phone calls for advice, pep talks, cooking tips, decorating advice, you name it. It is rare for me not to talk to her at least once a day! I have so many fond memories of my mom always willing to try new things with us. When I was a kid we would flip through the summer recreation program booklet and she was game to try anything that we thought looked like fun.
This year we had our own sort of excitement at our house, that I am sure we will never forget. Robby has hit a VERY active stage of life and always seems to be getting into everything. While Jesse was cooking breakfast, he managed to pull the electric skillet down off the counter onto his poor little hand. Three hours later we were bandaged up and back home from the hospital, finally ready to enjoy that delicious breakfast, compliments of my sweetie!
We also enjoyed visiting both of our families on Sunday. Maddie is always game for going to Grandma and Grandpa's house when she knows her sweet cousin, Kaylin, will be there to play. And she also loves to visit Nona and Papa's house to feed the horses, pick and eat apples and of course be spoiled by her Aunt Abby!
Monday I was able to go to lunch with Ralae and Julie, two friends from high school, that I haven't seen in a long time. It was so fun to catch up on old times and to meet their sweet little boys. Maddie joined me on this lunch date and she especially enjoyed stealing my soda whenever I wasn't looking and running circles around our table :) Thanks for the fun times girls...we need to get together again soon!
After we got home, Maddie kept telling me that it was time to go to the park. So after dinner, we decided to load up the wagon and walk down to our park at the end of our street. From the grins on their faces they obviously enjoyed our time in the sand. It was such a beautiful late afternoon that I have to admit I kicked my feet up on the park bench and just relaxed for awhile. To top it all off...we had an icecream truck pull onto our street right before baths and of course we couldn't resist. What could be more perfect at the end of the day, then to eat popsicles and ice cream bars on the front porch of your house?!
Robby is obsessed with going down the slide at the moment. He will do it over and over without seeming to tire!
Maddie sure loves to decorate herself with about anything....bandaids, markers, and today stickers! She was so proud of herself for arranging them all the way down her leg and then insisted that I take a picture of her "beautiful flowers," even though she is a stinker and WOULD NOT smile. Too bad those "beautiful flowers" ended up permanently attached to my kitchen floor!
My dad and brother, BEN
Maddie giving the sweetest ever hug to her Uncle. Of course she added a "Happy Birthday Uncle Ben" to go along with her hug....she always thinks that every celebration must be someone's birthday!!
This was taken the summer we were dating. Jesse is wearing an ice pack after dislocating his shoulder in my parents swimming pool. He even managed a tiny smile for the camera, despite the pain he was in.
One of my favorites taken with Maddie the summer before her first birthday.
Taken when Jesse and I went to Nauvoo, Illinois. 
I hope you had a great birthday.....
Robby is obsessed with going down the slide at the moment. He will do it over and over without seeming to tire!
Maddie loves to dig in the sand at the park and make "cakes" for mommy. She also really enjoys making sand angels with her body (similar to a snow angel)--only I am not sure I enjoy it so much when I am trying to get all the sand out of her hair afterwards :)
My handsome little dude with his poor burned hand in a bandage. 
Just a cute picture of my little girl. This is her goofy little smile when I am trying to get her attention and she is trying to ignore me (such as when she wants to watch tv and mom wants to get a cute picture of her)
Maddie plays so uniquely. Instead of actually playing with toys in the normal sense, she will spend hours arranging her toys in all different ways. Today she pulled out our container of fake food and sat and arranged them in a semi-circle in front of her. She does the same thing with CD cases, books, her small princess figurines, you name it. My older sister, Loriann, used to also play this way. I remember her making long lists of students when we would "play" school, and she always seemed to be organizing something. Unfortunately Robby doesn't understand this sort of play. He is always right there destroying her perfect little arrangements. 
