U4ia

That's kind of campy

2019-06-30T20:35:00.000-07:00

Bright & early, we took Morgan & Derek to EFY Monday morning. We stopped by DQ on the way... kind of a mistake. =)

When we dropped them off, Morgan offered to walk Derek to his dorm and install him. I love it.

D and his group:

Randomly, I'm going to include a "screenshot" made by the boys in class. They're from EFY classes for future reference.

Still Monday night, we went up the canyon for a cookout. Steak kabobs!!

And the pup got to come.

Tuesday:

And Toy Story 4!

Birthday Eve dinner with Dad,

Before they camped in the back yard together.

Derek was the Selfie King this week:

Wednesday, it's Connor's birthday!!! Here's a memory from 7 years ago when my baby was turning TWO!!

And Carlie & the girls took off for Beehive Camp!

Miranda spends her traditional time on the floor building Legos with the little birthday boy:

We go to Blue Lemon for a birthday dinner. =)

And Connor is done with the Green Dragon!!

The girls have their camp meetings - They're at Mutual Dell this year, right up American Fork Canyon:

Then I came up to Beehive Camp Thursday. 35th Ward's camp site:

In their ward time, the girls made metal bracelets:

Learned some water color technique from Sister Harding, the best:

And got pedicures from their leaders, including the Bishop, who scrubbed their feet until they were baby smooth,

rubbed their feet with lotion for at least 10 min,

Then PAINTED THEIR NAILS. Super Bishop points.

He did it for both Halle & Kierste; here's Kierste's finished product with her friend Lindsey:

The girls:

And with their leaders:

Connor got to sleep in my bed that night!

Friday I picked Connor up from his last day at art class, and here is some of their finished art!

Morgan's group doing their cheer/chant:

And Miranda & Carlie picking up their brothers from EFY, having stopped at someone's apartment... followed by a slew of EFY group pics for history's sake:

Oh how everyone is trying to love the rambunctious, overly energetic, naughty puppy. They're soldiering through!

And Miranda goes to the temple with Roomily!!

On Sunday, we give Connor his family presents that we were never all home to give him! He asked for some pretty specific things. Diglet Pokemon,

A stuffed moose,

Legos, and a Play Station!

Sunday, Scott & KelsiJo came over with baby Jane. Guess if I let go of her.

Maybe for a minute:

And then I just have to add this sunset in my home town for a minute... AZ sunsets really are hard to beat!!

And Solo pulls a Zeus... has to lick the dishes as they're being loaded:

Memes!!!!

And the camp week is over!!! Love, us

Frenchiladas

2019-06-23T17:10:00.000-07:00

So first of all, I was reminded of this memory from my class reunion... the party whereat my friends from HS were smirking at me when I ordered Sprite at the bar. When they got toasted, we left to hang with the Mormons at a restaurant. =)

While in CA, some heroes came to the rescue for a couple of people who were moving. Thank you thank you!

There they are:

My friend Dan shared this picture with us siblings, that he found while he was cleaning out his things to move to Switzerland. Thank you a million for sharing... this is amazing.

The kids are such good sports about going outside and sitting with and playing with Solo, the biter/chewer. I'm so proud of their persistence and body sacrifice.

Girls Time!!

Monday, we dyed Halle's hair blonde again.

And Halle started her cooking class this week! She goes every day for 3 hours and learns gourmet cooking with our friend, who is an award winning chef. =) This really is one of Halle's new passions. She made Frenchiladas; enchiladas made with a French woman, and also desserts, pasta from scratch, summer vegetables, breakfasts, and sauces. So yummy.

This is also the second and final week of swimming lessons for Connor. What a champ to do 2 weeks in a row. I just really want to make sure he's completely independent in the water.

The boys are having a hard time saying goodbye to Texas!!

But finally, on Tuesday, they come home. Yay!!!!

And Carlie & I run over to the theater to see Aladdin. IT WAS SO GOOD!!!

And meanwhile, some people are partying hard in CA!!

Thursday, the boys got to be extras in a JK! Studio sketch about Stranger Things. They hung around for a LONG TIME, and they are in the background, nice & blurry; you do see Derek walk by in the hall at one point for a sec. One episode out so far... we'll see if you can see them in the next one, too.

Derek with Jason, who fully ACCIDENTALLY hit his head on set.

Meanwhile, Connor & his friends decorated Nathan's mommy's door for her birthday. I'm so glad Walker's mom helped them do this!!! How sweet.

Tribute that means something to Nerd families like us. =)

Toward the end of the week, Halle had her dessert and "plating" days:

Carlie finished her Father's Day gift for Jeff. It's so great!!!

Halle & Kierste decided they wanted to host a Summer Party for their friends. They cleaned the house all shiny, put out snacks, turned on music, and played games, including making up and performing skits on teams.

More cuddles with the dog happening every day.

Then Miranda comes home to us... thank you for taking such good care of her!!

On Sunday, we finally got to celebrate Father's Day with Jeff. The kids all got him presents, and he got a new Apple Watch from his wife. =)

MEMES!!!

And my friend posted these this week:

Love, us

Build-a-Boy

2019-06-16T19:11:00.000-07:00

Monday, Miranda had a super fun appointment and she survived it, so we needed some fish & veg.

Morgan was a movie star for Mark's pilot show "Build-a-Boy." Bringing in experts to teach a robot boy to do all kinds of human things.

Going down a slide,

riding in a wagon,

On the way home, Jeff & Morgan saw this van door:

The 3 youngest children went for a sleepover at Grandma Madsen's house. They stopped by to see Carlie at work that night, and then stayed up and watched movies. =)

And that night, Talon, Dennis & Paul came over for a cousin sleepover so they could all go to the airport together in the morning. Taco night:

Tuesday morning, Jeff took them & checked them in safe & sound:

The formations of the farming land were so cool!

They were picked up by my sister Jana:

And safely ensconced in playing Smash Brothers all together:

Jeff took the kids to the swimming pool:

And then I took Halle with me to Matilda at HCT. It was SO CUTE!

Then we got word that the boys had all turned in their phones and were safely tucked in their beds. =)

Wednesday, H&K went for their horseback riding lesson!

Jana took the boys to Six Flags of Texas. I think they lived there for the week. =)

This memory came up on FB. Still funny:

These two have had their world rocked by the new kid on the block. It's like they've bonded because of it.

When your pack meeting's back drop looks like the Swiss Alps.

This time, there were super heroes awarding the boys:

And then we got the twins straight to Mutual, where they were doing a walk to the temple with all the youth in preparation for Trek, even though they're not going... guess if they were happy about it. But my friend caught this, surprised how much they hold onto each other, even though she's an identical twin herself.

And Chloe is slowly starting to accept that the pups is here to stay.

When this shirt became available, it took me 1.5 minutes to have mine & Jeff's ordered, in different colors. It's my cousin shooting his bow with his nickname, The Clutch & his signature. Super cool.

Thursday, we showed up for the service again. Part of the process is cutting the bags into "squares" so they can be used to tie & weave for the mats.

They also need cloth backsacks to be used at the border for legal refugees who don't have anything. They give them a pack with water & some essentials as they enter the US. So Halle & I sewed some bags together.

Jeff went out to lunch with his brother Mark:

And then we went on a date to help my cousin Jeff move from Springville to this quaint, hidden city, Woodland Hills. Here I am with his daughter Paris:

Friday morning, bright & early, the Teachers & MiaMaids were in charge of posting flags for Flag Day around the neighborhood. So even though the boys are in TX, we invited all our 20 teachers & 24 MiaMaids to come put up flags, and we got close: 4 girls and 5 boys. =)

MirCar were so proud of themselves for sweating it out at the gym:

And then the worst happened. Halle called me in a panic. She had just found Sterling, who was lying on Miranda's bed, a little stiff but still moving with bite marks all over him. Poor, poor kitty got attacked by an animal, then crawled back home and GOOD BOY stayed where we could find him. Back when we couldn't find Xena and always wondered what happened to her, I begged Sterling to come back home if he got hurt so we could say good-bye. And he did.

We made the heart-breaking decision to put him down. His poor neck was gashed open, and he couldn't swallow. I love this cat so much. He was my favorite pet.

Watching Carlie say goodbye to her sweet buddy was heart-wrenching. He jumped down and came to sit by her.

When we brought him home, Jeff dug a sweet grave for him behind the fence, in his favorite place in the world: his mice field.

That afternoon, Carlie's choir buddies were getting together, and I'm so glad: Carlie needed something to take her mind off her grieving. They stopped by her favorite shave ice shack:

And then Kierste & Carlie came with me to collect flags around the neighborhood. Here they are in the back of Morgan's truck:

And then we had a Pity Party for ourselves. The kids chose all kinds of food, including but not limited to chocolate. RIP Sterling. Say hi to Zeus and have so much fun running around crazy with Pepper & Xena. We love you sooooo much and can't wait to see you again.

Meanwhile, Jeff & Miranda are at work. That bald man in the scrubs IS NOT Jeff. Jeff is much more handsome.

The next morning, Saturday, Carlie had the whole Chamber choir over for a waffle breaky, after they kidnapped the new recruits for next year and brought them along. A pretty good hazing, I say. There were literally 50 teenagers eating waffles at our house. Phew!!!

Then I dropped off my other gorgeous daughter at the SLC airport to visit someone. And that someone picked her up & met up with Carol, Winn, Tyler & Alex for some fish!

And squid! Don't worry. Even people who love fish & sushi don't ALL LOVE squid. I'm in that club.

Here at home, the pups was busy biting people, playing with toys, and generally trying not to be naughty. Let me rephrase: Solo was trying to get away with as much naughtiness as possible.

I took Connor to his little bestie's house to see his sister's reception. And he ran over with James and immediately started jumping on the tramp. =)

Morgan was asking people questions on his story, but I just thought this was a cute picture of him, so I kept it.

And that night, Jeff caught this Find my Phone shot of our boys in TX across the night-lit country from us. If Miranda were on our Apple ID, it would have shown her in CA, too. =(

Sunday morning, Jeff came home from a night shift before any of us woke up, and ate his bacon cups and chocolate milk we had made for him the night before. Happy Father's Day, Daddy of my children!!

And during the day while he slept, he got some tributes:

And he also got this present from our ministering family:

Meanwhile, all this was happening:

Including the Corless's (my sister Jana in TX) tree getting struck by lightning and dying while the boys were there!

And celebrating Father's Day with Dave... thank you and you're welcome. We missed our boys, but Jeff literally worked until he came home to sleep for the day, then jumped in the shower and left for work again. We'll have to celebrate later in the week!

And lastly, it was my family's first Father's Day without my dad. These tributes by my sisters really meant a lot to me.

And MEMES!!! Themed on training pups, cats =( and Dads.

Love, us

Speed Friending

2019-06-09T14:37:00.000-07:00

Subject title because of Wednesday. =)

The week started off with a piano recital for Carlie, Derek & Connor. They did amazing, of course.

This is what happens when Miranda leaves the house. First, if she's not sure, she searches and sniffs Miranda's trail of flowery scent. Then, when she's convinced that she's left, she simply waits here, in case her best person ever comes walking through the door any minute.

This pup is growing up!!! Tuesday, I had a child take one picture where you can't actually see his cast, but can see how much he's growing.

And then, let's be real. He even has the plastic wrapped on it; our attempt at keeping it dry and clean while he runs around the wet grass & sandbox.

Getting his bandages changed by Daddy.

Wednesday, Jeff took the motorcycle out for a spin for the first time of the season!

Some of the Madsens went shopping for clothes:

And finally, that night, the TeaMaids (Teachers & Miamaids for future ref) played some rounds of Speed Friending for Mutual. They had some cards of questions... everyone was smiling and enjoying themselves. I was so proud of everyone for being such good sports! Then they couldn't have a Creamie until they told me something they learned about someone.

Ok, Carlie got pulled over. She was turning left at a light, following a motorcycle, and to be kind and avoid the motorcycle, turned into - not the closest, left lane, but - the farther right lane... that motorcycle got behind her and pulled the little girl over. She put her hands on the wheel with the inside light turned on (who does that? Only trophy citizens!), and kept her cool. Then, when she pulled out to go home, this happened:

Thursday, this heartbreaking memory popped up online and my friend Kristen posted it to my timeline, saying that it made her shed some tears. ugh. He was so loved.

This is on the way home from getting him the first day. We didn't even make it home, before we stopped to introduce him to the Edwards' boxer Scout, his future girlfriend.

My husband bought me these gorgeous roses. SO BEAUTIFUL.

Friday, the boys and I went to my mom's to help her clear her garage for her car. She was parking outside her complex on the street and hiking in, every time she needed to go anywhere. That had to stop. =) Of course, my son had to take a snooze on the roof.

Saturday, we went to the Pleasant Grove rec center for a service kickoff for the summer. They're going to be set up every Thursday at 10 with humanitarian projects to work on. I'm really excited to have something to help with like this! Here, we're weaving grocery bags into sleeping mats for people in areas where they're sleeping in the dirt. The plastic keeps scorpions and spiders away from them while they sleep. They're also handed out to the homeless, right in SLC.

The little puppy with his pathetic leg, begging for something meaty.

Emily!

Saturday in the middle of the night for us, my cousin, Eric Bennett, took some awards home in the Netherlands, including GOLD for the USA men's recurve team.

Look at the scenery of their shoot!

Sunday, 2 of my MiaMaids taught the lesson, and I was SO PROUD of them. They totally own it every time, not needing the leaders to step in at all. We read over their lesson, ready to step in if they end super early, but so far, they haven't needed us. They're amazing.

And my handsome husband presented the medical team's plan for emergencies and medical needs for Trek. He was funny, confident, and totally hot.

MEMES!!!

Hope this blog method worked!!!! Love, Us

Getting old and moving on

2019-06-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

My childs are getting old. My second eldest is graduating herself from HS and from our house, and it's the worst!!!

First, when we drove home from CA, we followed a storm with the sun behind us, and got this aMAZing view of an incredible rainbow. And of course, the picture can't even try to come close to capturing the bright intensity of the colors. Here's a pano we stopped for. The colors were reflecting light back into the mist around them..

Oh, and it was Memorial Day. Here are the memes. Even if they're cheesy, just look past it.

Wednesday, we enthusiastically showed up at the Marriott Center.

This superstar daughter was in the choir... so proud of this girl. And the JumboTron had the best pictures of her singing, so JumboTron it is.

And then she walked...

And was too cute:

Outside, she was Knighted a Daughter of the Realm with symbols of glory... flowers, ribbon, and candy.

As the commoners looked on in awe:

We got a truckload of sushi from Tsunami - we know you're jealous you weren't there - we'll save some for you next time. NO PIC!! And then Carlie went out partying.

Thursday morning:

We went and helped my mom move, while Miranda went to work and Carlie went out again to a Girls' Night:

And out of nowhere...

Sorry. Back to Square One.

Morgan got together with his friends to mourn the moving of one of their besties to Mapleton. Even though it's only 50 min away, you know how that can actually be a death sentence for your friendship unless you make a concerted effort to get together. Nickname: Dip

Then church happened, and Jeff was sleeping in the closet with every single pair of shoes I owned. Like every single one. SO... Halle's birks it is. Thanks, Hal!!

Another fashion experience at church... the matching sibs.

Memes!!!

Shorter letter to make up for last time!! Hope to see you soon. =) Love, us

Solo Goes for Broke

2019-05-26T22:56:00.000-07:00

So almost every day, Miranda spends some time outside, just hanging out. Sometimes upside down.

Monday, we drove to ID to get THE PUPPY. All of us. We're so excited for Zues #2.

We traveled home with him:

-->

And played,

And cuddled,

And napped.

He is so loved and adored.

Meanwhile, this happened:

And life clipped along at its fast pace. The kitchen got taped off,

And sealed up for painting.

-->

While the contents of the kitchen hung out in the library.

That night, we divided & conquered. Miranda went to work, I took the twins to their piano recital at a sweet nursing home,

Morgan & Carlie went to their Choir Luau,

Jeff stayed home with the puppy, (more progress on the kitchen taping)

and I ran to Derek's choir recital.

Phew!

Wednesday, I got to go to Connor's little 3rd grade singing program. He was so cute!!!

They did a little dance section: a little square dancing to Solomon Levi... OH MY GOSH.

-->

Went home, cuddled the puppy,

Went back to the school for H&K's performance... Last one for elementary school!!!

For their extra performance enhancement, they played the handbells... it was such a cool effect with the song!!

Meanwhile, the cabinets got painted white and unmasked:

After school, Connor had a Cub Scout field trip to the Temple for one of his achievements:

-->

And that night, we had a special guest speaker come and talk to all the YW about rising above our challenges. When she was young, she lost her leg and has gone on to do all the things she's wanted to. It's amazing.

Thursday! Sorry for all the kitchen pics, but it made such a difference in here!! We'll get doors later.

That afternoon, Miranda worked with Jeff and I actually got a picture!! Everyone loves her there.

Carlie did a self portrait for class:

And everyone took turns holding the puppy when he got tired:

BUT THEN... HE BROKE HIS LEG. He was SO SAD and screaming and crying.

We left on our trip to CA, but Jeff felt like he should stay here and find out what was wrong with the puppy; if his leg was really broken, and what we should do about it.

Friday, Jeff took Solo to the vet,

-->

Who confirmed that it was broken in a V shape.

The vet wrapped the pup's leg up for us.

And we felt SUPER SORRY for him!! But all of this was going down:

We kept getting pictures of the stuff happening at home - Cabinet doors,

Very last soccer games,

While we waited for valets to bring us our car. Poor us.

While Miranda hung out with you, Carlie & I went to see Detective Pikachu in your luxury theater. We are not used to recliners for our movies. =)

Then we went You Know Where with you guys with your cousins:

And besties:

The city was breathtaking from up on the temple wall:

This is while all the Madsen children went to Aladdin with Jeff. EXCELLENT MOVIE.

The next day, we went to church to hear someone speak. He did amazing. His testimony is so bright and strong. It was awesome. =)

-->

For a little diversion, we went on a drive around neighborhoods, and had to get a picture of this driveway... the picture just doesn't capture it. It is so steep, and all I could think was that it would never make it in UT. The snow... You would never get into your driveway, but you could definitely zoom DOWN.

Then we went to the institute building with you, and played pool,

blowpong, at which Miranda was extremely proficient!

And I'm so glad Tyler & Bethany could come by and hang out, too!

Last thing for this night: FB decided to tell me what my most commented upon post was in 2016. (???) I'll take it.

Memes!!

SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU!!! That was awesome. =) xoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoox, us

Buckle Up, Buttercup

2019-05-19T18:30:00.000-07:00

May is sprinting, and we're bouncing slong for the ride!!! Next week is even faster!

Ok, first of all, this post came along Monday:

And this one:

No pictures from Morgan's after-school trip to Los Hermanos, where they had to order their meal in Spanish as a class. I love it when they do this.

But Tuesday, one fo the people who brought the most laughs to the Levie family died. Tim Conway was in so many of our favorite old movies... we had quite the family tribute group text about him. RIP

Miranda & Emily had their traditional annual Sun Day together... laying out, swimming, eating nachos.

I posted some things online for my mom, and got 3 conversations that were along these lines... People fishing for your gullibility and bank account number. Any time you're selling something locally, and someone starts talking about money orders & checks and they'll contact you once you have the money, it's a scam.

Then that night, our family divided into groups. Jeff went to his new side hustle at the West Valley ER,

Carlie went next door to her side hustle, too... taking a pic with Donna wasn't an option that night. Miranda & I went to Steel Magnolias at HCT. So happy for Jeff that he didn't have to sit through it, but we liked it because we're girls and can handle looking at & listening to women talk in a beauty shop for 2.5 hours. Hahahhaha... you men would have poked your eyes out.

Morgan took the boys to Pikachu, and since HK had already seen it, they stayed home and watched their favorite anime together. =)

Then Wednesday, the prophets got put through the baby filter:

Connor had a pack meeting again. We have so many cub scouts, that we have an Arrow of Light every week, so it's a big deal and long meeting. But somehow, the boys really like it!

The Miamaids had a picnic int he park behind our houses and played games, and it was just so gorgeous!!

The Teachers went paintballing together, and shot each other:

Derek's proof that he was there: a welt on the leg and his duct tape arm badge. And a brother:

After mutual, when the sun was almost down, Morgan worked some photography magic:

And later, while Carlie was drawing her classmates as Spidey, she was modeling some moves to get them drawn right... I think.

Thursday, Jeff found a twin at heart. Sitting in traffic, he saw someone else's Solo mirror dice. Them is good people.

I got to go to Morgan & Carlie's choir concert. First, my son sang... They're getting so good!

Then Carlie sang with the Ladies' Chorus:

Costume change and sang with Chamber choir:

And costume change again and sang with A Cappella choir. She's been busy this year!!!

And their fight song caught my eye... All 3 schools have songs that sound suspiciously like Primary songs, and I love it so much I can't tell you.

Friday, my little kid just took off with his friends riding their bikes, and headed down the street on his hoverboard. Just such a little independent kid with tons of friends.

'Twas also Minecraft's bday.

Carlie got persecuted, as usual.

That night, Carlie went to her Senior Sunset...

But had so much fun anywayzz.

The Sunset was followed by a Black Light dance for the whole school, including Morgan:

Saturday, I attended my last soccer games for the school year. Next week, on their REAL last games, I'll be in CA for something.

The picture represents how Connor feels about soccer. He likes playing hard, but mostly likes playing with other cool kids. Farewell, Green Vipers.

Here's right after Halle scored HER TEAM'S ONLY GOAL for the game. And it was a strong goal. You all would have been so proud!

Here's Kierste, helping the Orange Strikers out.

And the Dark Knights struck again. Morgan played so hard again! We have plasn to sign up on his old team that had a few more strong players... I hope it works. But this team has been good exercise and something to learn from. Gotta have some of those.

And was persecuted again... I think Carlie needs to drop some "fans."

Just riding around in pj's...

Today, Carlie spoke in church on having a home filled with the spirit. She practiced her talk on us during Family Study twice, and then we all anticipated with her. And she pulled it off great!

Tonight, she graduated from Seminary. When they called each graduate's name, they put up a baby and current picture of them. Her's the one we DIDN'T USE, even though it's awesome:

And here are the ones we used:

Then we came home, had ice cream, played Bingo, and I wrote the letter!

MEMES!! Themed around Carlie, school, and random:

See you in 5 days!! Love, us

iBienvenue chez vous!

2019-05-12T22:23:00.000-07:00

So the subject line has to do with the surprise on Thursday night... no looking ahead.

Monday, Carlie got her photo taken. A couple times. In an orchard,

And in a Provo back alley. There was literally a drug deal going on next to that dumpster straight ahead. When we came nearer, they backed up to hide behind the dumpster, then sometime while Carlie was twirling and posting, they finished up and walked around, where we were shooting on the actual street. Cultural experiences when you least expect them!

Tuesday, my mom & sister & SILS met for lunch to celebrate some of their bdays. We post pictures, even if we hate how we look in them.

I love this picture. My kids drive around town in different cars. I love it so much.

Some pics need no explaining

And STIL TUESDAY, Halle & Kierste did makeovers for each other. Someday, when they get the makeup down, they are going to be drop-dead.

That night at 10pm to midnight, Jeff & Miranda went to clean the temple!! I stayed home with homework do-ers because I couldn't find my recommend at the last minute... I missed out!

Wednesday, Connor went to the police station for cubs. Officer Bullock showed them around the station and the jail,

And a courtroom. This is the same courtroom I went to a year ago to contest Chloe's infractions.

Sometime during the day, I came into the kitchen to these Mother's Day flowers. WOW.

Later that night, Miranda helped Morgan with Spanish... there was enough laughing and giggling that I was compelled to come in and take a pic.

Then Miranda the angel also stayed up to help Carlie with her comic drawing until about 12:30am. We are all so glad she's home!!!

The next day, while we all waited and watched the time go by as someone we know was in the AIR flying home, Carlie's pictures were released for consumption!!! A preview of our total MODEL daughter.

And a couple that she won't choose for anything. Every single one is so cool.

Like we said:

Ok, Thursday kept DRAGGING US ALONG.

Jeff met his brothers & Dad for an overdue lunch out.

He walked in the door just in time for us to host the MISSIONARIES for dinner. It's so rare to get to feed them; we felt so lucky. Elder Henry fro West Point, NY and Elder Zufelt from Dallas, TX.

I saw this that evening and oh my gosh. The outfit. I hope someone I'm related to buys one of these soon. Haha!

Carlie also posted her comic board she had worked on for so many hours. It ended up looking so good. =)

When it was getting so late in the day - THIS IS STILL THURSDAY, and tensions were high, I dragged Miranda to her own friend's reception. Her's how happy Miranda was to be driving somewhere that wouldn't accept a FaceTime call. I mean she wanted to go, it's just...

We DIDN'T TAKE A PICTURE. It was a gorgeous venue at Thanksgiving Point, named Hidden Falls; And it was completely hidden. We couldn't find it for SO LONG. Then it was amazing. Here they are in the entrance: Lindsey & Matt.

AND THEN. After a few ore hours hanging out and pretending to care about homework and studying, SOMEONE CALLED.

Thank you. =) WELCOME HOME!!!!

The next day, I came home and I had X-ray vision! All the cupboard doors were gone... they've started working on my Mother's Day present. White kitchen cabinets. Our house is about to get way lighter.

I left again to go out to lunch with my friends. These ladies are the mommies of Connor's besties. The boys are all the babies of the family, so we hung out a lot with our tiny guys. Now we still go out because we love each other. You gotta like that Kristen is kind of covering her giant SHINER she got when she tried skateboarding with Walker.

Saturday morning, Carlie got up super early and went to a State Choir copetition again.

Then Miradna woke up second early and went to her training all day. she saw JB, your roomie from the mission!! Craziest coinkidink.

Then Morgan & I got up third early and went to this dude's game. He scored in the first 30 seconds. And they won!!!

We went straight to H&K"s game, where they almost won, too. H:

K:

We cleaned the garage, sorted through all the kitchen cabinets, and meanwhile, Connor entertained Nathan the WHOLE DAY. He hung out while his parents were out of town for the day. He always gets along with his friends so well.

Halle & Kierste got to go with Jeff and get separate phone numbers, and new flip phones! They were beyond excited.

I drove home from errands, and Jeff had put this up in our garage. It's the sign that hung on my dad's gunsmithing shop. I have the best garage of all.

Carlie kept having fun at Choir fest.

Finally, we went to Connor's soccer game. They worked so hard, and came home with treats. =)

On the way home, we picked up James, and they palled around for the rest of the day.

I was just thinking about this quote and how much I like it, and I came across ti this week! Ignore the person's bad grammar in typing it up, It's still her quote and I love it.

Sunday, I could barely get my phone out fast enough to get Jeff & Derek folding this together. It's not the ordinance, and I'm sure I'm not actually still supposed to take a pic, but here we are. I love hat Jeff has helped with the Teachers and the sacrament these years.

For YM, the priests had their lesson outside and prepared lal the Mother's Day flowers for the women of the ward. Heart heart.

For RS/YW, we combined and honored the graduating seniors, had food, and a talk for the Bishop for Mother's Day. We gave the seniors the quilts we had made for them... remember the quilt tying activity and H&K and I went to for Mutual? It was these cute quilts for Carlie and her classmates.

I have to say that they couldn't have chosen more appropriate fabric for Carlie, because Mermaid is her life theme. Let me take you back a few years. See that pink scale fabric up there? We may have a picture of a bathing suit that had pink scales on it... let me see if we can find it...

Ah. There it is. They didn't know how personal the fabric was that they chose. Congratulations, Carlie. =)

My kids waiting for their parentals to come to the car after church...

And then we went to my moms for MOther's Day. While we were there, some disturbing things happened to Jeff:

Me:

Miranda:

Carlie:

And Morgan, who is a Babe:

I love when all the older kids play together. They get along so well as cousins.

I got a MDay shout out from Morgan, with the pic of me holding Scott, who is pictured above, for comparison.

Mothering Memes::::

Left over from Cinco de Mayo, our anniversary:

Me with MDay flowers. For real:

You're home!!! Can't wait to see you. =) Us

May the Force be With You

2019-05-05T17:31:00.000-07:00

So Miranda came home from her mission a couple weeks early to have some surgery, but I have this great excuse to still write our family history down, since her novio is still on his mission in Paris, France for the next year. So until May 9, 2019, I'll still write a missionary letter for our blog posts. =)

LAST LETTER!!! And spiritually speaking, you know what we're saying when we say the subject line, right? We've been praying for you, especially for this week that your last days, travel & transition will be smooth.

Monday, a group of people stopped at the fence and cheered for Spidey while he jumped.

That night, my mom & I went to Derek's last performance of You Know What. He was amazing as ever.

I was so proud of my newsie/Bunsen.

Tuesday, Carlie filmed a project for Creative Filmmaking class. She was a Producer's Assistant, fancy title for errand boy/ pizza bringer.

That night was Taco Tuesday, and as Morgan fried up his burrito, I needed this pic. This is a family classic - a velvet cape that we use for everything... except I've never seen it used as a chef's cape.

So Wednesday morning, we woke up on this Spring morning to THIS. This is not too outlandish for Utah Springs, except for the information in the next picture.

Jeff went on Connor's field trip to the Tulip Festival, a few hours later. But look how it cleared up!!!

Only in Utah County, can you go on a school-sanctioned field trip to a place that openly depicts statues of Christ,

AND THE FIRST VISION:

After school... !!!

And another !!!! moment was Morgan showing us how to CHANGE OUR GOSPEL LIBRARY ICON TO A LEGO ANGEL MORONI. The update available the next day fixed this fun little glitch!!! Dang. It. I wonder how that boss/employee discussion went, and if the employee is fired, reprimanded, put on probation? That was a beautiful day for a little while.

That night, the TeaMaids (we're starting to combine age groups instead of as many activities with ALL the Mutual, because we have 150 youth. So TeaMaids, Beacons, Plaurels) had a pool party. Connor would have been home alone, so this was his obvious choice of activities. Connor:

And Derek:

Carlie & Morgan had an etiquette dinner together. Don't know if you can see our superstars, but they had a good time, learning the manners & eating good food. =)

The Beacons went to Phat Axe, and threw axes. This is not generally a good idea with 12 year old boys & girls. But the leaders said it went pretty smooth, and that Halle & Kierste got it faster than the other girls, sinking their axes into the back drop better than anyone else. Here's Kierste throwing hers, perfectly framing Halle's face in the "beard" of the axe.

During the week sometime, Miranda & I finished our year-long quest of watching the Gilmore Girls series. Wow, those were quite the days... a lot of things happened in between all those episodes. And now it's over.

Since Carlie got her braces off, she decided she needed to whiten those pearlies. And we happen to have a teeth-whitening machine. What good is having one of those, if you can't get the epic pics of the mouth spreaders.

That night, Carlie was a TV star.

And guess what. We've been praying as a family for an opportunity to help the family we minister to. In our ward, our bishopric decided we would minister "family to family." So the sisters & men of one family minister to the sister & members of another family. We have the Robertsons. It seems like there is never anything to do except bring treats to them. And then Alex, the mom, graduated from UVU, and needed someone to watch the 4 year old during the ceremony.

So Friday, I kept HK&C home from school to help entertain him for 5 hours, and they did so great! He was so happy. I was so proud of my kids for how they ministered to their family.

Ok. I go to Orange Theory to workout. It's a really hard workout every time, and I resent the fact that apparently, my phone thinks that every day about 9:30, I go to Burger King, because as I drive down the driveway, this is the prompt is has started giving me.

That night, Miranda & I went to Taylor (& Kelly) Barton's reception in Bountiful. Taylor has been such a good wardie friend to Miranda, and I'm especially grateful for him this last school year. He treated Miranda like she was a normal person going through something really hard. He showed her that she has friends. He went to football games, invited her to play cards, and took her to Homecoming with him. They wore the same dress/bowtie that they did for Homecoming his senior/ Miranda's junior year. I love the Barton family, and I'm so thankful for Taylor's goodness and friendship to our family. So happy for him & Kelly. Plus, he's working for XOnano, so Jeff & I might get to see more of him than the rest of our ward. =)

Saturday,

Or even cuter,

And a cute picture of Morgan's hairy legs.

And Kate, my niece who was in a terrible car accident last December, was baptized! We went down to Mapleton to be with them, pretty much all day. We had all the talks and confirmation on the stage, which was interesting and fun.

We went back to their house and had a waffle extravaganza

With some basketball,

And volleyball.

My mom's sister Jana was with her this week, attending Women's Conference at BYU, and I'm so glad she came to the baptism. =)

While we stayed and played, MIranda & Carlie went to the You know What,

And the mall. Carlie needs clothes for her Senior Pictures on Monday! Ironman themed vehicle in the mall. Miranda may or may not want/covet it. I think she thinks this picture will make it happen for maybe a birthday present or something. We'll work on it. She's hopeful. Ha!

That night, Jeff & I went out with our friends, Kristen & Cory, for Jeff's birthday, our anniversary (tomorrow) and Cory's bday. The food was pretty much to die for. =)

And from Carlie, her happenings for the night:

Today, el Cinco de Mayo, Jeff & I have been married for TWENTY FOUR YEARS. That's a lot. But wow, I wouldn't rather take this life roller coaster with anyone else. We're a united team that can conquer anything {knock on wood}.

We were BABIES.

My daddy

And now we're not babies.

But look what we've created together.

These are our life's treasures. Nothing is more important to us.

Tonight, we celebrated Jack's (Alex & Natalie's) 7th bday at Carol & Winn's.

The Lego set Connor picked out, and immediately started putting together with Jack after this picture. They have plans to finish it at Jack's house on Tuesday.

And I'm not sure the MEMES are going to fit on here, but we'll see.

This will NOT spoil Endgame. It's just cute.

For future reference. =)

Last letter!!! It's really hard to believe!! Love you so much! The Madsen Crazies

"We could use an exciting headline"

2019-04-28T17:31:00.000-07:00

Monday, Morgan registered for Junior year! Luckily, he had the registration guru to help him. She is Speedy Gonzalez at this. Phew!!

Connor asked me to take a picture of him with this formation of Jeff's new magnetic toy he got for his bday.

We had to document our cool eggs... we bought a new contraption that spins the egg while you write with markers... it was so fun.

That night, we went to see Halle & Kierste as Rosencrantz & Guildenstern in Hamlet.

They did SO GOOD! Their teacher really played off their strengths. They used physical comedy in their tumbling & fumbling all over each other. It was so great!

Shakes afterward. =)

Tuesday, Miranda took her last finals!!

We made waffles for dinner. Since Derek was at rehearsals for Newsies, I sent this picture of his dinner... serving up BB8's.

Carlie was asking questions on IG stories.

Our friends decorated their daughter's room in Paris. WOW.

Wednesday night, Derek had his final dress rehearsal. He's Splashy, the newsie:

and Bunsen, one of Pulitzer's advisors.

Meanwhile, we were at Mutual. Rockclimbing for Miamaids (you don't know anyone in this picture):

Cake decorating for Beehives:

And car maintenance for Laurels:

Thursday, we waited for Derek to finish his first performance night,

And then at EIGHT THIRTY PM we all took naps.

Then Jeff got off work at 11pm and met us at the theater.

Here's the only other picture I took that's not a spoiler. YOU'RE GOING TO LIKE IT. At least a little.

Friday, we PTA executive members put on a luncheon for all the volunteers for the year. Taco truck, side stuff. It was a hit.

Straight afterward, I went with my mom to look at houses again, and she found one! Right there, she decided to put in an offer, and it was accepted a few hours later! It's a cute townhouse in Pleasant Grove, right by us. Now it will take 17 min. to get to her, rather than 24. =)

Solo is growing up! We have 2 more weeks until we get our pup!!

That night, while Connor was with his besties again at Nathan's house playing BlowPong,

Miranda & Morgan went to see Derek's Friday night performance:

Saturday, the Orange Strikers struck again. Halle:

Directly afterward, the Green Vipers viped again with the cutest goalie ever:

And the Dark Knights knighted:

Jeff's dad came over to help him fix our sprinkler system. Thank you!!!

And then we went to Derek's performance. He was aMAZing. I can't get pictures of the full on front flips he did... I was so proud of the whole thing.

Jeff drove everyone through an icecream cone place to celebrate:

And the girls celebrated at home. H&K had seen a special screening at school on Wed.

Sunday, we had my brother Allen's family over for dinner. Halle & Eve decided to go out to the park with blankets to talk in the wind.

And this is what the group did when I said we're taking a picture for David.

After they went home, Chloe was so cute sitting next to Miranda by the fireplace:

Memes!!!

Leftover from Easter:

This is the Second to Last letter we're going to write to you! We're only writing one more!!!! EAT IT UP. Love you. =) xoxoxooxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox, Us.

Ha! I automatically thought, hey, we should attach a picture of us to this letter... I think there are a couple on here.

Tragedy and Hope

2019-04-21T17:30:00.000-07:00

So Miranda came home from her mission a couple weeks early to have some surgery, but I have this great excuse to still write our family history down, since her novio is still on his mission in Paris, France for the next year. So until May 9, 2019, I'll still write a missionary letter for our blog posts. =)

This is definitely the week of tragedy around the world, and also the Week of Hope... the week Christ rode triumphant into Jerusalem, then finished his preparations and ministry. He gave us His ultimate gift this week, 2 millennia ago.

The week started off with my cousin Ryan & his friend Dayton finishing 4th in the duo category in the Boston Marathon. So many tears were shed reading Dayton's account of the event and how he feels about Ryan.

That night, Notre Dame burned. We mourned with all the world.

Some of our church leaders talked about the countless times people received witnesses from God and felt closer to him by worshiping in that cathedral. And they're right. No matter what religion people belong to, when they show faith in Jesus Christ, and come to Him, He blesses them.

Tuesday, Chloe got a haircut - she looks so cute again! Let's be honest. We love her more when she looks cute.

Wednesday, Connor had a pack meeting. He's such a cute Wolf!

For Mutual, the Beehives & MiaMaids participated in a project with the RS... such a fun night of tying quilts.

That night, Miranda had Emily time. Slumber party, at which they probably didn't do much slumbering. =)

Thursday, we had Jared & Stephanie from Cochabamba over, as well as Hermana Gheertsen (aka Sage) and her new husband Mitch over for dinner. They are all so awesome!!

Haha - I guess you'll have to wait a few months to meet Mitch. He's not in these pics

Friday, we moms checked out our tinies that are besties: Connor, Nathan, Walker & Christian, from school, and took them to the park for lunch. I have to say, Kristen's brother Brigham from NYC, from whom I post many memes, was in town, too. We were so lucky.

That night, Connor had Nathan over, and they made themselves an impossible game of Poison Ball. How in the world would you ever be able to not let the balls touch you?!?!

Also that night, Connor showed Jeff his Minecraft Temple. He built a temple with an Angel Moroni on the top. It has really cool things inside, for people to congregate together and hang out. We'll have to expound in future letters. I want to see it for myself. Here it is on the theater downstairs. =)

Early in the morning, after the Easter Bunny had come, H&K had their soccer game. Halle:

And hard to see, but the ball is in this picture with Kierste:

When we got home, we woke everyone up to find Easter baskets & eggs. They were all so thrilled!!!

Then we had 2 more soccer games of 2 more sons. The Dark Knights are at it again.

And so are the Green Vipers. That's my little goalie.

This is the week that Washington's State Senator opposed a bill that would require rest breaks for nurses in hospitals, and was quoted saying nurses spend a lot of time playing cards at work. The nation is in uproar; some great memes have come from it.

In other news, for real, this happened this week. Talk about tragedy:

Meanwhile on Saturday, Miranda & Sage went ice-skating with Stephanie & Jared!! They're here for a month, and are trying to squeeze everything in, including a trip down to Disney & the beach.

Miranda went on a cookout with friends:

And Carlie asked Eli out, then after other friends bailed on her, let Jeff & me take them out to dinner & a movie. I cannot believe we forgot a picture; who does that. But here's a teaser poster for Shazam. We loved it!!!

Easter Sunday started. Miranda with her roomies. Rachel, Gizelle, Freya, the best one, Emily, Jackie - or JackWellen, she likes to be called, not kidding.

And with her entire RS. Last Sunday together!!!

At church, we had a pop-up choir performance. The choir got a few hours' notice, and then anyone was invited to come up and join, and we sang the last verse with them. It was kind of amazing. I was proud of Carlie for hopping up and joining.

At church, we heard about the deliberate bombing of Roman Catholic churches in Sri Lanka during their Easter services. Between the 3 cities bombed, at least 207 people have been killed. It is horrendous. There is so much tragedy, sin and evil in the world right now. But amidst all of that, is the message of ultimate hope that the Atonement gives us. We talked in our home study and at church about how the Atonement can help us with 1. our sins; 2. our weaknesses; 3. our illnesses; 4. our death. When we fully use the Atonement, we can be cleansed of sin, strengthened to overcome/bear our weaknesses, healed/comforted from illness, and risen from our death. All the things of this world, no matter how ugly and terrible, will be overcome and will be as a memory, when we leave this life and return to our Maker.

Here is an image of the bodies covered at one of the churches. So so so so horrible and sad.

And then we came home and celebrated another great life: JEFF! His bday is rarely on Easter, but this year he's so lucky. =)

He got lots of doggy stuff, since he's getting a PUPPY in a few weeks!

He's going to train Solo to hunt and gather deer antlers, to give him something fun to do on hikes.

And, of course, he got Han Solo stuff, too.

And Spidey. Actually just wanted to get all the kids in here.

And look away if you can't handle a little PDA that might have happened.

At his mom & dad's house, he got a lot of touching Nice Talk, and a GC to the Harley Davidson Store, his favorite.

Since we were celebrating 3 bdays, we put all kinds of numbers on the cake to represent the 39 year old Alex (Higbee), Jeff's 41 year old sister Keri (Higbee), and Jeff, 46. Guess if it was yummy cake.

MEMES on last email!!!

He who takes note of a sparrow, knows what you're going through today.

HAPPY EASTER!!!

We love you! This is our 3rd to last letter to you. Can't believe it. xoxoxooxoxooxox, us

"All About Us"

2019-04-14T17:30:00.000-07:00

But before we get to the gorgeous and handsome pictures, I took this because, not only do I love spying on my kids while they're in the park and getting the telephoto lens out, I want them to recognize the incredible beauty they live by. Here's Morgan at Mutual, a few weeks ago.

Tuesday, the kids didn't care that it was a sleeting storm outside... they were desperate to make Spring come, so they went hottubbing in the storm.

While Carlie & Morgan went to get his haircut for his big date later this week.

Later that night, my nephew Adam opened his mission call in TX. He's going into the MTC on Pioneer Day to serve in the Oregon, Eugene mission. They're getting a good one!!

Wednesday, during an even bigger storm, during which we kept the fireplace going all day, the 2 lone pets "cuddled." It's as close as Sterling will do, but he curls up, allowing Chloe to curl up next to him. What a sweet little scene on a freezing cold day.

Thursday morning as the kids waited for carpool, a typical scene unfolded. Halle & Kierste are so deep in their series-es, that they can't stop devouring books night & day. We love it.

On the way up to the slopes, Aaron Brown - aka Bishop right now - texted Jeff & asked if he had time to go up to Snowbird. Yep, he did. They skied together all day. Haha - talk about being sore... men skiing together means, you don't take it easy!!

That night, Miranda & I went to a bridal shower for a girl who graduated with her... yikes, everyone is jumping out of the nest!

Nicole, Lindsey, Ashley, McKenzie, our girl. =)

Carlie & I went, still that night, at 11pm to pick up her dress from the cool dress shop. Had to show the inside of the place. I'm short. I can touch the ceiling without trying. There are dresses EVERYWHERE. You can barely swish through all the rows of ballgowns. It keeps going around the corner into the other room.

Saturday was huge. First games of the Spring season. I went to Connor's game,

Carlie went to H&K's simultaneous game,

Then Morgan drove himself to his game & I met him there. They did their run at the end... Morgan had worn himself all the way down, playing the whole field again, so he almost died on the run. That's him in the distance, holding his chest.

Then I went straight to KelsiJo's baby shower in Payson, only 1.5 hours late. Oh I'm so excited to see a little Scott & KelsiJo. That little "Fish" as they call her now, is going to be so spoiled by her Aunt Melanie. I can hardly wait.

Came back, Connor had Nathan over:

And then the Prom happened. Thank heavens Miranda came to help get sister ready!!

While Miranda worked magic on Carlie, Morgan headed out to pick up Claire. He looked so great!!! Here are the amazing pics we got back from his group.

And then Eli came to get Carlie. It was so cool to hear him say "Wow" to himself as she came down the stairs. =)

Miranda helped me pose them; gave them ideas.

Miranda & I chuckled at Carlie trying to get into her royal carriage with her hoop skirt. Backing into the vehicle was the only way!!

Remember the drawing Carlie did of herself as Vin? As she came down the stairs before the group got there, we grabbed the "atium" MirCarMor had given Jeff and had her pose as her alterego. Nailed it.

This was found that night... Uncle Alex in the hammock with baby twins!!! Circa July 2007:

Ok, as soon as I had both teenagers out the door for prom, I ran down to my mom's house for Girl's Night. Every single sister & SIL was in town at once! Emily had graduated from BYUI and come down for a friend's reception, Christi & Jana came to visit Mom, so we all got together and visited. So fun to catch up with everyone. =)

And just sisters:

Ok, so I got some date pictures of the revelers. Morgan failed me, so none from him.

Carlie apparently had the time of her life. Prom was up at the Capitol building, which is a gorgeous marble wonder. Fancy shmancy dinner in Salt Lake:

Then Miranda & I wait for Carlie to post-date-text Eli and she tells us about every minute of the night.

I think she had a marvelous time feeling like an absolute Princess the whole night. Regrets of the non-smooching. But the entire group dropped each person off... kind of awkward with your group watching the door scene. There was an extended hug. =)

Then, 1.5 hours past curfew, the other Prom goer came home. Regaled us. =) Regrets on the non-smooching. But she was a senior. She was using him as Arm Candy. They did look so good together!!!

Then, during the lesson on Sunday, I was so proud of my MiaMaids, that I took this picture to send to 2 of the moms who were out of town... They all did so good teaching & participating in the lesson. We have an awesome 24 girls. You heard me right. 24 MiaMaids.

That night, while everyone was still in town, we got together for Sunday dinner. ALL NINE SIBLINGS in the same place. Gotta document these events!!!

And hugging Aaron, who hates the pictures the most. Heart heart heart.

I'm so glad my mom still has a place that everyone can gather together to eat all at once. She's looking for something smaller/ more affordable; I hope it has gathering area for us. =)

The girls wanted me to get them climbing the tree... something we usually don't do on Sundays or in dresses. But since they were already up there. There are THREE girls in this tree in the dark:

And these posts came in about my cousin Ryan Melzer, who is running the Boston Marathon tomorrow morning, pushing his friend Dayton. Oh I admire him.

And MEMES!!!

We're only writing you 3 more letters! Love you so much! xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo, Us

First picture of a real Black Hole was published this week, IRL.

And Conference fallout:

We're only writing 3 more letters to you! xoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox, Love US

Spring Break for real

2019-04-07T17:29:00.000-07:00

So on this April Fool's Day, Derek got braces!!

The twins got shots!! I mean, it's turning out to be the best Spring Break ever. Then they used their birthday GC's to go to JCW's because they were CHAMPS at their checkup to go into SEVENTH GRADE next year.

Derek decided to get his aggression and anger out about braces by taking his 6th grade monster....

And destroying it. I mean, recycling back to the earth, which is very, very good.

And since our Spring Break plans fell through (we had a free night at the mini cabin Jeff & I had rented, so Jeff was going to take everyone for 3 days while I got projects done at the house, but it was so muddy they refunded our money and said don't come), we're doing a stay-cation as much as we can. Go out to eat still, do some activities around here that we usually don't do, and take a MUCH NEEDED BREAK from homework. So! Jeff took them all to Upchuck a Gramma.

And then when they got home, Jeff, Morgan & Carlie went shopping for Morgan's prom suit. Nailed it.

Found by the kids:

Tuesday, Jeff took Carlie, Derek & Connor skiing.

Meanwhile, Morgan took the twins to the movie theater to see the new Dumbo, and I took Miranda to her ultrasound and chest x-ray. She's all clear!!!!!!!!

That night, we went to Captain Marvel.

Then ran down to Payson to share these pineapple fajitas with Miranda... we are DEFINITELY taking you here and feeding you this.

When we got home, still Tuesday, Carlie had a visitor come and leave something on the doorstep.

Remember when I told you to remember Eli and Frick (museum)? This is the frame that came with it with a painting of Mr. Frick in it.

I wonder what her answer will be?

Wednesday, Carlie tried to take the twins to the temple, but when they got in, there was a 1.75 hour wait. I told them to just try another day.

Jeff got a picture of the male puppies. He has second pick of the litter, so we're just waiting to see which one the first people choose. We're hoping for the best personality with as much of that ticking as possible. He's going to be so fun and cute! We'll still send you pics, even though you'll be in CA when we bring Solo home. =)

That afternoon, Carlie, HK & I went dress shopping for Prom. We went to that sketchy place we went to last year, where you can't believe it's a business because of the disarray and broken down-ness of all the junk in their yard, but then you go in her 7-foot ceiling basement and it's SO FULL of every ballgown you've ever wanted to rent. Here's a peek at Carlie's dress color, with her last year's prom dress, which happened to be hanging in the background! Funny.

At this One Stop Dress Shop, they also have peacocks, which the twins wanted to see on our way off the property. They are such a bright spot, on such a broken down property!

When we got home, Jeff took the kids swimming at the Lehi aquacenter.

And then Carlie & the gang went to get the candy to make this answer to Eli. BUT apparently, he went camping and will be home Saturday afternoon, so this "poster" on plastic from a large picture frame, sat out on the island for 3 more days!!

Apparently, we missed a gorgeous sunrise. I was checking our cameras, and one of the motion events was this bright magenta doorstep changing to normal morning colors. Holy cow.

Thursday, Jeff took the twins and Carlie skiing. They all reached milestones.

While the boys had a day of video games.

Friday morning, Jeff took all the kids on a short hike to check out the trail that Morgan wants to fix up for his Eagle project. This is the lone pic that came of it, showing something they can do to improve the trail. But it was super snowy, so they came home early.

Then he took Carlie & Morgan on a campus tour of the UofU, just to make sure it's not where Carlie wants to go. It's not. And no pics. When they got back, we ate at Blue Lemon,

Then went to my cousin Jeff's daughter Adrianne's wedding reception. Here's Jeff dancing with his daughter. =)

Then Miranda left early and went to her mission reunion, then came home so we could watch Bumblebee (Transformers) together.

This was posted later that night:

And we're so excited for Conference!!

Saturday, we woke up and listened, took notes, cried, marveled.

The boys went to Gpa Madsen's for priesthood session, stopping to get cold drinks on the way:

While we girls went to PDQ (thought it stood for Pretty Darn Quick. Turns out it's People Dedicated to Quality ?!?!?!? so boring!) and came home to watch Storks together and cry about how cute babies are.

Saturday morning, we woke up early enough to make BACON CUPS before Conference started.

WOW THAT WAS A GOOD CONF!!!!!!!

The end. Memes!!!

Love you! Soak up your last 4 weeks! NOT THAT WE'RE COUNTING!! Love, us

Reflecting Absence

2019-03-31T17:29:00.000-07:00

Monday morning, Carlie & I found ourselves at the 911 Memorial & Museum. It was sobering. You couldn't help but feel the sacredness of the ground you walked on. And experience that sense of utter astonishment at the wickedness of men, the influence of Satan, and the enormity of the devastation that happened. It's amazing. Right in the entrance is the double tridents, recovered after the towers fell.

They're 7 stories high, and made up the facade of the WTC towers as such:

Some of the original foundation is preserved. See the people down below? It makes you feel so small, and stand in awe at the destruction of these 2 giants. It's mind-blowing.

The fire engine working at the base of the tower that literally had a building fall on it and melt half of it off. The front of the truck is what melted/ crushed off.

I promise, cross-my-heart-and-hope-to-die that I did NOT KNOW that we weren't supposed to take pictures inside this part of the museum: the exhibit of artifacts & timeline. I wondered why no one around me was taking any. I saw the little placard on my way out, and retroactively felt sorry for all the blatant disobedience. But here, I'll still show you. The attacks started at 8:36am... THIS IS AROUND NOON.

Guess if there was a dry eye in this place. Guess if you could hear a pin drop. I can still feel it, just looking at these pictures. Can't see the screen.

The kids looking down into the memorial fountain. Super cool: there are engraved names on the metal plates surrounding the fountain of all the people who died in the tower. They're meant to be rubbed and touched and remembered as you look watch the water falling into the fountain named Reflecting Absence.

There are actually 2 matching fountains on the places where the 2 towers stood. Whoever thought of this is a profound genius. We are strong. We won't forget.

And see the fishbone building? Remember that one.

Across the street from it all

So here across the street is The Sphere, originally set on a fountain at the foot of the WTC towers. It miraculously survived, although melted and dented. The kids sang The Star-Spangled Banner here, too. So great!!

Original Sphere by artist Fritz Koenig:

Then we went into the "fishbone" mall, aka Westfield World Trade Center, a memorial to the original mall at the WTC. It's an architectural marvel.

And on to China Town:

Then out to see Phantom. No illegal pics this time!!!

And playing around at Times Square one more time on our way home, mostly in the Disney Store.

Tuesday morning, my roommate Emily & I took Carlie & her son Eli to The Frick Museum. Now, this is a name and a name to remember for the next letter. Eli and The Frick. So it is a private collection of Henry Clay Frick in his original mansion in Upper East Manhattan. The only pictures they let us take were of the giant atrium in the center of the mansion. And that's all I took! Can you believe it?

After walking all over Manhattan and eating lunch under the Plaza Hotel, and taking a subway again, Carlie & Eli were so tired, and didn't want to find another museum or sight to see. They just wanted to relax in the Grand Hyatt's lobby and wait for the buses to take us to the airport with everyone else. So we did. We got in SLC at about 11, home at midnight. I got to sleep at 2, and SLEPT UNTIL 1:20pm. That's how exhausting this trip was.

So Wednesday night, we Miamaids went to the color walls at the Outlet Mall, and took pictures. The girls were such good sports!! They loved it.

Meanwhile, the twins went rockclimbing at Momentum.

Another moment of Reflecting Absence: On Thursday, while I furiously tried to catch up from being gone for 5 days, my mom had a drawing for my dad's 2 AR-15's that he had assembled and finished with his original logo on them. Here's my brother Grant drawing the names. =) . Kimmy & Scott won the tungsten and burnt bronze colored guns. The rest of us got to have another lower receiver to build our own.

I wanted to share this story I saw on a FB page. It really touched me. We need to find active ways to minister to our assigned families, but also do this for all our neighbors and friends.

And then, Friday night was H&K's birthday party!!! They narrowed their friends down to 16 invites. 12 of them came... The stage is set.

They opened presents,

played Never Have I Ever & other games, blew out candles,

watched Big Hero 6 with tons of movie treats, and had their cousins stay for a sleepover.

Then, I took my nieces with me to my dad's shop, where we as siblings were helping my mom sweep out and clean Levie Precision for the last time. I had tears filling my eyes the whole time. Another experience of Reflecting Absence. This was a hard day. Right before we took all the signs off the outside, we snapped a picture. Me, Kimmy, Scott, Allen, Aaron, Mom.

Then, when we finally closed the "garage door" that had been open the whole time, we saw the last vinyl sign as everyone was driving away. I got out to get it off, and my brother Aaron decided it was worth a picture of me hanging on that vinyl. It did NOT want to come off. Haha!!

Then Miranda partied at the Holi Festival of Colors in Spanish Fork with Roomily and Freya.

Sunday, CarMorDer went with me to the Developmental Center. We took the special needs residents to church... what a sweet experience that was. The sounds of people yelling out, grunting, snorting, spontaneously sharing how they feel during sacrament mtg... it was so innocent and sweet. You should have heard the sacrament prayers by these angel men; the words don't have to be exact in that ward. They call people up to help hold up pictures, and the full adults race to the front of the room to be the first to help. They stand next to the speaker and offer their take on what he's saying. It's all worship and it's all important. I felt like I was in a room with more righteous souls than anywhere I had been on earth. Concentrated purity. We weren't allowed to take any pictures of the residents, so here are my sons in a group of youth on their way to pick up the residents to walk & wheel them back to the chapel.

That night, we went to Kimmy's house for dinner in Heber. We went out to see their new calf, and on the way, Sydney's 3 goats followed her faithfully.

The kids bonding with cousins in the basement.

And then Miranda had a phone call with Hna Pastillo & Elder Cimarron. Little mini mission reunion. =)

And Sunday was officially over.

MEMES!!!

Actual sign seen by Brigham (in NYC)

xoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxo!!!! Love, us

The Big Apple

2019-03-18T17:29:00.001-07:00

To David, From us

So before Carlie & I left for NYC for her Choir Tour, Connor had his amazing friends over to play on Monday. THIS is where my broom handles go...

Miranda went to Classic Skating for FHE:

Tuesday, my cousin Angela posted this pic of my mom riding a bike with her sister on the back. SO CUTE!!!

BYU Spring Break

2019-03-17T15:07:00.000-07:00

K wait. I HAVE to show you an Inktober drawing that didn't make it in the letter in October. I think it got buried under a whole bunch of other uber important papers, and now here it is! This one is prompted by the word Star. I am so good. I especially love the nose of this person... or is it a bunny? hard to tell exactly what is driving this car.

And these pictures got completely missed from last Saturday. How?!?!? This sky had to be documented.

And my son drove himself to his friend's bday party. It was so cool to see him drive away in his manual truck. Independence! So happy for him.

And Daylight Savings time happened. This is the year that everyone is complaining so much about the loss of the hour of sleep. I can hardly believe how many conversations start with something about "catching up" and dragging and they can't stand it. Ha! So here's a meme:

Ok, finally we start this week! Monday, Sterling was so funny about a video we were watching of Boxers. He was intent the whole time... we know he misses Zeus; but he couldn't take his eyes off the screen, watching & listening to the dog do the same kinds of things Zeus did, especially the little bark/talk/whine he used to do to get small animals to trust him and accept him as a friend... kind of a little begging, talking conversation with them.

Also, so exciting that this all dropped. The First Presidency and Quorum of the 12 Apostles were all in Rome and have recorded tours and testimonies on the temple grounds. Such a historic moment in history!!!

On Tuesday, I went to my dad's shop to help my mom sort through some stuff and throw some obvious things away. When I drove up, I had to get a picture of his logo on the business park sign.

My dad kept everything useful. He still used my mom's trek bucket to keep things in; see the fabric & lace on the bucket? And I LOVE that he used the inside of the cabinet doors to test spray paint. I hope someone is keeping this cabinet in the family.

Miranda came home! She started out just coming for homework and a movie.

We went to How to Train Your Dragon 3. It was on par with the other ones, aka: epic. We love these movies.

Then Morgan & Derek & I went straight to a Trek Square Dance learning night at the Stake Center. Square dancing is fun once you start doing it!

And then the blizzard started. It started before midnight, keeping Miranda from leaving, and went through the next day... hard to tell from pictures how hard the wind was gusting and how low the visibility was... the cameras actually picking up a LOT more than it showed us in real life.

So Miranda looked ahead at her classes & labs and declared herself on Spring Break... not the usual sight out your window during spring break, but we weren't complaining!! Especially no complaints from the little dog, who was in permanent Happy Place.

Backing over the literally 3 foot high drift behind the garage door. Luckily all our vehicles (actually the van is the worst) handle the snow like virtual bosses.

Connor still went to Cub Scouts to the Hutchings Museum, exploring natural history.

And I went over to the HS for a choir tour parent meeting... it's getting real. Carlie & I will be in NYC in about a week! Here's her famous choir director Lois Johnson. Her resume and accomplishments are so vast. But she stays at Lone Peak because of her love of the children. The room is lines with plaques, awards & trophies from all over the world.

Thursday was my mom & my brother Grant's birthday. Scott & KelsiJo and Aaron & Kiri met us for dinner at Tokyo Steakhouse. The hibachi grill is so fun, and our chef was so entertaining and skilled. =)

He made Mom & Grant a "cake" for their bday... a rice cake.

Since it was Pi Day, we went back to our house for pie!

This is also the day that James came to live with us for 6 days, while his parents go out of town. Guess if they get to sleep really fast every night.

Friday morning I was SO PROUD of my LP kids. They got up early and went to the morningside that started at SIX FIFTEEN to see Jack Christianson speak.

On Friday, guess who came to play? Since he had such a good time with Zeus his last day, Hoss has been coming around more. We put water out for him, but poor guy. This is the evidence that Hoss is around. Sterling runs to the highest point in the house and sits with his fur on end and eyes wide. This is what keeps Sterling alive. =)

And then we had an adventurous night. Connor went with all his friends to Nathan's house to hang out,

While Miranda took this crew to the temple (Timp ended up actually being closed, so they were at Provo CC),

because Carlie had her Morp day date decorating their t-shirts before the dance.

Theme was Party in the USA, so they all quizzed & got their states and BAM:

Her friend Andrew Yazzie - best last name ever - was such a fungi. He said he was half mexican & half Navajo. Super cool.

After the uber fun dance (at which the other guy in the group did NOT DANCE. How do you even do that? Still on the dance floor and hands in pockets. Super awk.), they came back here and played games and had treats.

Saturday, my older kids came through for me. We went back to my dad's shop to clean it out. It has to be cleared out by April 1, so we're trying to sift through it, giving things away to family, trying to sell things with a lot of value. My kids went through with rags and cleaned the dust off everything they saw. Huge difference. Thank you so much. =)

Oh, and of course they worked on their album cover.

It's a thing.

Ah. My dad's shop. It holds so much nostalgia for us; not just because of the current shop, but all the tools and essence of it are the accumulation of our whole lives with him: a lot of the memorabilia (scroll saws, sanders, paint guns) are things my siblings have used with him for years back in Havasu.

Yes, a lot of our letters are taken up with news of the pets, but they are important to us. The pets are so funny together. They're missing their glue; we all miss him.

On Sunday, our family study included trying to lift something heavy by ourselves. Then lifting it with other people. The coffee table is NOT KIDDING AROUND. It is massively weighty. But with everyone doing their part, not too bad... just like life. Just like the gospel.

We went to Gma Madsens to celebrate H&K's bday (that is this next Saturday). They opened presents that they loved,

And had Black Forest cake that they loved.

And memes!!!

From Miranda:

And important to remember:

We are not counting down or anything. You're going to be on your mission forever. Don't think of us as having ants in our pants. Love, US!!!!

It's January 75th and we're Screenless

2019-03-10T15:07:00.000-07:00

So Miranda came home from her mission a couple weeks early to have some surgery, but I have this great excuse to still write our family history down, since her novio is still on his mission in Paris, France for the next year. So until May 9, 2019, I'll still write a missionary letter for our blog posts. =)

This winter is NEVER going to end. If we have a warm day (35 degrees), we go back to freezing cold soon after. It's ok. It makes the Spring that much sweeter. This is the week that we tried to have a relatively screen-free week... it didn't really work, but there were glimmers of people doing things besides staring at screens.

So Monday, Connor got a haircut on his way to play at James's house. =)

Tuesday, Jeff & I went to Hale to see A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder. It was a funny, irreverent toward murder play... so delightful.

While we were gone, the kids played Telestrations instead of hanging out on separate devices!!!

Wednesday, we had a combined activity (these involve 150 youth and 26 leaders) that the Teachers were in charge of. They gathered into 2 large groups, had a lecture/demonstratioin on finding ancestors & themselves & names to take to the temple, then played Signs, our ward's favorite group game. It was super fun.

Thursday, I picked up my mom and we went to lunch with my sister Kimmy in Heber for her birthday. Jeff went skiing. Do you see the significance of this picture?

FIRST ONE ON THE SLOPE. See all the ski tracks? Neither do we. =)

Then he came off the mountain, checked the girls out, and took them to the temple for their first ever baptisms there. They were SO EXCITED.

When they got home, I whisked them off to their 7th grade orientation at the middle school. They are going to love being Timberline Grizzlies!!

Friday, we woke up to this:

But later that evening, I had to hurry and hang up my phone call with Jeff to take this. Holy shmoly.

That night, we went to see all the little kids' friends in the elementary production of Aladdin. Our local schools do not put on your average play. We have so many talented & ambitious students (and parents), so the productions are always stunning. This one was no exceptions. Half our neighborhood was in the main cast, and they stole the show... especially Genie. =)

THEN WE HAD SCOTT, KELSIJO, AND MY MOM OVER FOR SUNDAY DINNER, PLAYED GAMES WITH THEM, LAUGHED SO HARD, AND ALL THOSE FUN THINGS... AND DIDN'T TAKE A PICTURE. It was a total fail. And still tons of fun.

That was our week! MEMES!!!

xoxooxoxoxxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxoxoxoxoxooxoxoxox, Us... That's about 35 from each of us. =) Have a great week!!!