Adventures in Skabe-land

Logan at 2 months

2010-09-15T11:35:00.005-06:00

Logan is definitely a Skabelund boy! By the time he had his first doctor's appointment three days after he was born, he had already passed his birth weight by 3 pounds. Now, at his 2 month checkup, he is 15.5 lbs and in the 110th percentile for his height and weight! He's a porker and we love it!

He loves his sisters! Even if they are always tickling his face with their long hair!

He looks just like Grandpa Skabelund in this picture!

"Haven't we had enough of this yet, Mom?"

Madison's First Day of 1st Grade

2010-09-15T11:29:00.003-06:00

For Madison's first day of First Grade, Grandma Skabelund took her back-to-school shopping and this is the dress she chose to wear. She still wears it at least once a week. She was so excited to go and wanted to walk to school all by herself, but I wanted to go and see her classroom and meet her new teacher. She has a really great teacher this year and is already reading so well. I don't remember learning to read quite so soon, but I'm very proud of her.

Cousin Malia and Cheer Camp

2010-09-15T11:16:00.006-06:00

When cousin Malia comes to visit, the girls always have the best time with her. This year they played a lot in the backyard. Malia was having a blast driving the girls' Barbie Jeep around and even when it would go uphill, she just pushed it.

Emma and Madison love cousin Malia. Emma can't quite say her name (even though it is very similar to her name) so she called her cousin "palia."

The local high school was doing a cheer camp, so I signed up Madison and Malia to go together. They both had a blast. Malia is a natural (she dances everywhere she goes anyway) and Madison enjoyed it, too, when she wasn't off doing sommersaults on the tumbling mats instead.

They also enjoyed watching a lot of movies, being silly and having "sleepovers."

Logan's Blessing

2010-09-15T10:15:00.005-06:00

Grandma and Grandpa Allen and cousin Malia came up to visit from Oregon and my dad helped bless Logan. He is 4 weeks old in these pictures.

Nick was very nervous, but gave Logan a very sweet blessing. He slept through all of sacrament meeting and didn't cry once during his blessing.

Grandpa Skabelund also helped bless Logan.

I always thought Logan looked like Grandpa Skabelund, but he really looks like Grandpa Allen in this picture, too.

Logan's Birthday July 12, 2010

2010-09-15T09:16:00.003-06:00

I have to say that this labor and delivery was the easiest one, by far. I didn't even know I was in labor. I got up Monday morning, July 12, and went about my day as normal. I got dressed, cleaned the entire house, including all three floors, which usually knocks me flat, and then went to my regular Ob/Gyn appointment at 3pm. I was feeling small contractions all day, but they weren't regular, and they didn't hurt at all, so I thought they were the same one's I had been having for the last month or so. My doctor checked me and I was already dilated to a 6, so she checked me into the hospital immediately.

I had both of the girls with me, so I called Nick and had him take them over to the neighbors house. Three hours and three pushes later, Logan Dean Skabelund was born. He ended up being born 8 days early, 8lbs. 8oz., 21 in. long. It's a good thing, too, because he would have been a massive baby had he been born any later.

Nick went and picked up the girls and they got to meet their baby brother for the first time. They were both so excited.

Of course, so was Nick. He is always the proud daddy.

Since Logan was born so quickly, he was extremely bruised in the face and head. He looks like a purple grape, poor little man.

I think that he looks just like his Grandpa Skabelund. Grandma and Grandpa Skabelund came to see him in the hospital that same night. We are lucky enough to have them live so close that they were able to watch the girls for a few days afterwards so Logan and I could recuperate at home together for a while.

He looks like an Oompa-Loompa in this picture with his purple head.

Logan and I checked out of the hospital the next day and went home to spend time with daddy before the girls came back from Grandma and Grandpa's house. The recovery from this birth was so easy, too. I must have done something right this time around, because I never missed a beat. Sleep wasn't a problem and I jumped right back into my regular routine. Nursing is always a whole other story, though. I always hate the first month of that, but we are doing much better and enjoying life with our new baby brother. I've decided that this labor, delivery and recovery was so easy because I had been reading my scriptures every day for last 6 months or so and was extremely blessed for doing it.

Nick's 30th Birthday

2010-09-14T17:29:00.000-06:00

We went to Park City for the day for Nick's 30th Birthday. We got ice cream and walked around downtown for a while. Then we took him to ride on the zip-line at the ski resort. We couldn't stray too far since I was massively pregnant and ended up going into labor two days later. It was really hot, but tons of fun to spend the day together.

Swimming Lessons 2010

2010-09-14T17:25:00.003-06:00

The girls took swimming lessons this year at the Pratt Aquatic Center. They really did well this year, but they weren't able to go a lot because I went into labor a few weeks early and that put an end to it.

Trip to Oregon & Gretchen's Wedding

2010-09-14T17:11:00.005-06:00

I got to go home to Oregon this June and here are a few of the pictures I took. My sister, Alaina, being weird and her daughter, Malia, too. It runs in the family, I guess!

I flew home for my friend Gretchen's wedding and I got to hang out with some of my very best friends growing up. It was so much fun seeing them and Gretchen's wedding was so beautiful, too. Even if I was 36 weeks pregnant.

Here we are eating lunch together at one of our high school hangouts, Sheri's. Good times! We also got together with some of our favorite Young Women's leaders and friends from Philomath ward. I am so grateful that we had such good role models and leaders when we were young.

Funny Story

2010-09-14T17:09:00.002-06:00

I have pictures, but I'll spare you...Nick has a problem with keeping his pants over his butt. I'm always telling him to pull up his pants. He was working in the yard one day and Emma comes running over to him and at the top of her lungs yells "Pull up your pants, dad! I see you buttcrack!" I nearly fell over laughing!

Sprinkler's in the backyard

2010-09-14T16:59:00.004-06:00

The girls really love having a backyard with grass to play in. We have always had rocks and dirt, so sprinklers and swimming pools were a definite NO! It was really hot in June, so this is what they did most afternoons together.

The girls really love having a backyard with grass to play in. We have always had rocks and dirt, so sprinklers and swimming pools were a definite NO! It was really hot in June, so this is what they did most afternoons together.

Fairies invade the backyard!

2010-09-14T16:56:00.003-06:00

The girl's love to play dress-up. They were playing with their friend Leah and decided to play in the backyard. I'm not sure what the McDonald's bag and the orange plastic bowl have to do with fairies, but they seemed to enjoy themselves.

Baseball

2010-09-14T16:43:00.003-06:00

Most of the games were in the evenings on Thursdays, so Nick would come home from work and go straight to the games. The games were a little slow and a little boring, but he was also very tired. This is what he did most of the time when Madison wasn't up to bat. Sweet Pea always snuggles up into our coats when we are outside, so she watched the game while Nick took a nap.

When we could actually get her to pay attention to what was going on (she thought it was a little slow and boring, too, when she wasn't up to bat) she did pretty good. She was the only girl on the Orioles team. It was kind of funny to watch the kids stand out in the field and throw their mits up in the air and sit down 'cause they were bored.

Daddy and the Girl's on a Sunday afternoon

2010-09-14T16:20:00.003-06:00

If there are two pillows stacked up anywhere in the house, that is where you will find Sweet Pea. If there is a blanket anywhere on the floor or the couch that she can jump up to, we have to be careful not to sit on her. She is always snuggling under one somewhere.

This is how Nick and the girl's spend most Sunday afternoons. Daddy and all three of his girls! I couldn't resist taking a picture.

Easter 2010

2010-09-14T14:58:00.003-06:00

Just a random picture of Emma, Sweet Pea and I lounging on the couch.

The girls and I dyed easter eggs this year. Not much to say, we dyed eggs, woohoo!

This year we took the girls to the Deseret Peak Complex Easter Egg Hunt. It was very busy but we had a ton of fun.

I let the girls paint some foam easter eggs, too. They were very proud of how they turned out. They let them dry and scattered them all over the house...and then didn't pick them up. Fun for me!

Earth Day facepainting

2010-09-14T14:47:00.002-06:00

On Earth Day, there was a free children's fair in town and I took the girls to it. They had the most amazing face painting there. I even got one done. That's mine at the top. Madison got a sparkly butterfly and was so excited she even got sparkly lips. (Hence the funny look on her face. She wanted to make sure I could see the lipstick on her lips. Emma got a frog with googly eyes. We even brought home some free trees to plant in the backyard. Never actually got done, though, but the girls and I had fun.

Can you see the lovely cut in this picture? Haircuts by Madison for anyone who wants one!

Emma's Growing Up...and Haircuts by Madison

2010-09-14T14:34:00.002-06:00

Emma is growing up so fast. She hasn't been taking naps since Daddy decided to put toys in her room (you can imagine why.) So the only way I can get her to take a nap is to put Dora on tv and tell her to watch it.

And, as you can see, she has gotten a haircut...or two lately. Madison decided she needed a haircut and took it upon herself to do it for her. Then, Emma decided it wasn't quite right and fixed it. But that's not all...Madison decided to do it again! Needless to say they were both grounded for a very...long...time!

Way too long since I posted! An update:

2010-03-18T10:59:00.020-06:00

Okay, so it's been like 6 months since I updated this and I feel bad...and lazy. We've done sooooo much that I don't know where to begin. First off, we are loving our new house and are almost completely settled in. Madison plays with all the kids on our street everyday. Everyday during winter, all of the neighborhood kids would flock to our backyard to slide down the "hill." I think it must be the only such "hill" in the whole neighborhood, otherwise they wouldn't be so excited about it. It's not much of a hill, more like a bump, but they love sledding on it. Now that it's spring, Madison and Emma have been playing in the backyard for hours on end. Wow! Some actual peace and quiet in the house from time-to-time. It is so nice to have a fenced in yard that I don't have to worry about them wandering too far and it is so great that it has grass. No more dirt and boulders anymore.

Also, we are expecting another child at the end of July and are soooo excited about it. It's a boy! His name is going to be Logan Dean Skabelund. I had to work really hard to convince Nick to let me name him Logan, which has always been my favorite boy name. He thought it was weird because he grew up in Logan, to name his son that. I told him to get over it. I told everyone two years ago who asked (and didn't) that our next child would be a boy. I was totally right! Hah! When we bought our new house, it had three kids bedrooms upstairs already painted pink, purple and blue. Of course, Madison got the purple room, Emma got the pink room and we conveniently had a blue room that was all ready for a boy. Am I good or what? Don't answer that! I feel great right now, at 22 weeks. But the first trimester was so not fun. I was sick a lot! I was never sick with either of the girls, but this one was way different. I crave the usual things that I crave when pregnant. Oranges, green apples, and any other fresh fruit. This time I had a while where all I wanted was cottage cheese and pineapples. Not so much anymore, though.

Madison is now 6 and has had a great first year of school. We love her school and teachers and it has been so great for her to learn new things and meet new kids. She loves kindergarten and is upset that Spring Break is coming up because she will miss school. They recently had a school science fair and allowed kindergartner's to participate. So, I meant to start it a lot sooner because she was so excited about it, but it ended up being the night before and scrambling to get all the odds and ends together. It turned out great and we just thought she would enjoy the experience. To our surprise she won 2nd place for kindergartner's! She was telling everyone about for weeks and I'm glad she enjoyed it so much. She kept showing people her ribbon and telling them that she was the only one to get 2nd place. Cute girl!

Madison hasn't had a real birthday party in a few years. So, this year since we are actually settled into a house, I told her she could invite as many friends over as she wanted. WOW! That's what I have to say about that. Total, including Madison and Emma, there were 15 or 16 kids. Pure insanity is what it was, but they had a great time and it was worth the extra effort. But I won't do that many again.

I took the girls to the local library one afternoon and I'm sitting in the kids area reading a book while the girls play, when Madison starts screaming her head off! I couldn't get her to calm down enough to tell where it hurt. She had been punched, yes PUNCHED, in the face by some little girl! I couldn't believe it. Next time, she should deck her back, little punk. By the time we got home, this beautiful bruise had appeared and she looked like she had make-up on one eye for a couple of weeks.

Recently, I took Emma to get her first real haircut at a salon and she was sooooo good, she loved it. She sat still the whole time and watched everything the lady did. It turned out great! That is until a few weeks later, she found some of Madison's craft scissors on the floor of her bedroom (where else would they be?) and decided to cut her hair. Luckily, her hair was in pigtails and she only cut a tiny chunk from the side. Disaster averted, you couldn't even tell....until a few days ago, so found the scissors again! This time she cut her bangs as short as possible, then she proceeded to cut both sides of her hair to ear length and then a little bit from the back on top. I proceeded to yell and try to explain to her how "naughty" it was to cut her own hair and even put her in time-out for the first time. Since Madison was upstairs already, I put Emma on the couch. She proceeded to sit there for 45 minutes until "daddy got home." She thought it was great. She actually enjoyed it! The twirp! I kept trying to tell her that she made mommy very sad and her hair wasn't pretty anymore, but she didn't seem to care or maybe she just didn't understand, I don't know. It was just starting to grow out long, too! I can't do anything about the bangs, but she will be wearing pigtails for quite a while. I knew this would happen eventually. Madison did it too at her age.

We took the girls to Grandma and Grandpa Skabelund's house this Halloween. Emma was a flower and Madison was a bumble bee. I swear I didn't even plan that. Flower and Bee, haha. Aunt Alaina had sent us some stuff from Hawaii, so I used the girls' grass skirt for my costume at the last minute. Yes, it was super tiny, and yes my butt was hanging out the back. Who cares? We had fun. Grandma Skabelund had pumpkins for us to carve and Nick spent about 1 1/2 on his ONE pumpkin and I helped the girls with three others in the same amount of time. Slow Poke!

We finally got our ping-pong table set up in the basement! It only took us three years and three houses later before we had the room or the time to set it up. It's been really fun to have friends over to play.

We have finally started to get around to hanging most of the pictures up on the wall. They have been unpacked and sitting in the front room for months. That's right, I'm lazy! What are you gonna do about it? I still don't know where to put them, but Nick was sick of them on the floor, so I just hung them up. Hope they look alright.

I've been working in Young Women's for the past few months and I love it! I was sooo relieved that I didn't get put in primary (Nick did, though!) and I'm happy with it. I'm in charge of Personal Progress and sports. We had sooo much fun doing basketball and we'll start softball soon. It's been great to be able to go to the temple with the youth, even if it is at 5:30 AM!

Madison did Jr. Jazz basketball this winter and it was so much fun to watch kindergartner's dribbling and shooting and attempting to pass the ball. Pretty funny. She did good and really enjoyed it. She also is doing soccer and has been having a good time with it, too. She scores a lot of goals, although some for the other team! I love watching her team play, it's so comical.

Madison definitely has my running form, with the low arms. She could be a good distance runner if she wanted to be.

Emma has been growing up so fast. She is now 2 1/2 years old. She is talking so much more lately. She sleeps in her own room every night and has sleepover's with Madison on the weekends. They love to play together, too. When she wakes up in the middle of the night and needs a drink of water or something, I'll help her and then she'll tell me to "get out, I sleeping." She woke up crying a few months back and I finally got her to tell me why. She said the sun was gone. I explained to her that the sun sleeps at night when the moon comes out. She thought about it for a minute and decided that the sun must be "getting gas." It was hilarious. Then she told me she was sleeping and I had to leave. Every time we say family prayers, she says it's her turn. I crack up every time she prays because when she says "Heavenly Father..." it sounds just like "Harry Potter..."

Since I'm so far behind, I might as well throw in Christmas 2008. We went to Grandma and Grandpa Skabelund's house. We always try to take pictures and it is always hard to get a good one with more than one person in it. These two of Nick and Madison were so comical I just had to show them.

We always try to make a gingerbread house on most holidays and the Christmas house was quite the experience. I think Emma was sleeping through this one, but Madison, Nick and I put our best effort at making it look, well, decent. This one didnt' turn out as planned, but it was sure fun making it.

This year, we got some pretty good family pictures taken at home. Besides the fact that I hadn't yet showered after a long drive and the girls hadn't napped or eaten dinner yet, we did pretty good.

Here are some pictures of Christmas 2009 which we spent at home in our new house. The gingerbread house was really fun this year and turned out pretty good. The best one we've decorated yet. No family pictures this year, we forgot, but we got some cute shots of the girls in their Christmas pajamas.

During the fall of 2009, our three year old Malamute/Lab Big Daddy died of lymphoma. We were devastated. It was especially hard on Nick and Madison. Madison still starts to cry every once in a while and say's that she is thinking about how much she misses him. He was a great dog. Every picture I ever took of one of the girls, Big Daddy was always close by. He protected the girls better than anyone could. He was the most adorable puppy and acted a lot like Sweet Pea does as a tiny dog. He always loved to snuggle and would climb up on our laps even though he was huge. We'll miss him for a long time to come.

Nick was pretty proud of his "dogs" on the side of the house made out of icing. They did turn out pretty good. They were our dogs Big Daddy and Sweet Pea.

(Yes...this is my "Bzinc" shirt from high school for those of you who would recognize it.)

Halloween Fun

2009-11-01T15:20:00.004-07:00

This year we went back to our in-laws house to trunk-or-treat. Emma dressed up as a flower, the same costume that Madison wore when she was her age. Madison was a Bumble Bee. I dressed up in Madison's hula costume that her aunt brought back from Hawaii. We got more than enough candy and had so much fun that we were too tired to do any extra trick-or-treating. Nick, Madison, Grandma Skabelund and I carved some pumpkins earlier in the day to decorate our trunk for the trunk-or-treat. I ended up carving three while Nick worked laboriously on one. Madison and Grandma helped by de-gunking the innards of the pumpkins. It was a fun family activity. The pumpkins weren't world-class, but we had fun anyway.

Cornbelly's Pumpkin Fest 2009

2009-10-25T18:09:00.010-06:00

We took the girls to the Thanksgiving Point Cornbelly's Pumpkinfest this last Saturday. It was so much fun. The girls had a blast and Emma squealed with delight at every new thing.

I can't believe I live here

2009-10-25T18:04:00.002-06:00

I got up this morning and looked out the window to this view. I've lived in Utah for close to 10 years now and I still can't help but be taken aback constantly at how beautiful the view is. The mountains are just amazing to me. I feel so blessed to live in such a beautiful place.

2009-10-25T17:53:00.005-06:00

Madison and I made this gumdrop ball wreath after we saw the one Martha Stewart made on her website. It was super easy and cost less than $8.oo total to make. We just hot glued the gumdrops to a styrofoam ball. It was fun for Madison that she was finally old enough to help with crafts like this.

Fall Pumpkin Patch Adventure

2009-10-18T20:11:00.008-06:00

We went to the local pumpkin patch this last Saturday. It was fun to take the girls and our dog, Sweet Pea, to pick out some pumpkins. It was just a fun afternoon activity.

This pumpkin reminded me of the Cinderella pumpkin.

Slowly getting settled in

2009-10-18T19:27:00.008-06:00

I put this vinyl letter saying in Maddie and Emma's bathroom on their mirror. It says "Splish Splas I Was Taking a Bath." Now if only they could use the bathtub. The cold water still doesn't work and so there are no scalding hot baths going on in this bathroom. But at least it looks cute.

I'm slowly adding decorations to my built-in shelf's. There are amazing shelf's in our house, but I've never been good at knowing what to do with them.

This is our guest bath on the main floor. I hate that it is plain white but I doubt Nick will let me paint it anytime soon, so it's gonna have to stay. In case you were wondering, the "s" stands for soap. I haven't gotten to that yet.

We finally moved things around to where they were supposed to be. The right couch is upstairs and the other one is downstairs with the armoire. So, this is the couch that I got at the DI for $20 and covered it with a couch cover. It looks pretty good for now, I think. The room is pretty empty, but I'm planning on making wooden shutters for all the windows in the house. It will probably take me the next five years to complete. We have a ton of oversized windows and they are ridiculously priced if we were to just buy them. I'm excited to make them, though.

This is what the entryway looks like by the front door. I switched things around a little bit and took the black bench upstairs to our master bedroom where I had planned it to go anyway. Plus, this half table wouldn't fit anywhere else in the house.

This is the bathroom in the basement.

Our New House, Finally!

2009-10-14T18:34:00.013-06:00

Finally, a place that I can decorate for Halloween! We are actually going to get trick-or-treaters this year, so I'll have to buy some candy.

My HUGE Master Bathtub!!!

Stairway leading down from the top floor/bedrooms.

Only half of the backyard that I mowed for the first time. The lawnmower was really old and heavy that I borrowed, so I was sore for days after. I love it, though!

The basement is slowly getting decluttered and unpacked. It looks even better than when I took the picture.

Nick's "rock room" in the basement. That's right, nothing but rocks/fossils in there.

My kitchen is slowly but surely becoming functional. We finally had a refridgerator delivered, but as you can see from the photo, if you look closely, the pantry door will not shut now. The builder is supposed to come back and fix that little miscalculation, but hasn't shown up yet. We'll see.

The living room on the main floor. This is what I get to look at when I'm in the kitchen. Notice the flat screen tv box that has yet to be hung above the fireplace. I'll never miss the news while cooking dinner again!

The formal living room on the main floor, just as you walk in the front door. It will change a lot, like the armoire is headed downstairs to hold a tv, but for know at least it looks good when people come to visit. Which is pretty much every night here. This neighborhood is ridiculously friendly.

The master bedroom's closet. It's still a work-in-progress. I can't figure out the right way to put stuff in so it fits and is actually functional.

Madison's walk-in closet in her bedroom. I know, she is definitely spoiled. Okay, so am I, but who cares. Not me!

Madison's room is still a work-in-progress, too, but at least her bed is in the right spot and her clothes are in the closet.

I put this awesome vinyl art chandelier on her wall a couple nights ago. So, at least I'm decorating a little bit. It was the best deal from Tai Pan Trading for $11.94 this summer. Love it!

As for Emma's room. It is not even close to being done. I really can't find the majority of her clothes.

This is the girls bathroom, so far. We haven't actually used it yet, even though it is right next to their bedrooms. The hot water is permanently turned on. That's one more thing that Bob, our builder, we call him "bob the builder," needs to come and fix for us soon. Please!!!!

Either way, I love my new house!!!

Backpacking in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness

2009-09-07T21:56:00.016-06:00

Nick and I went backpacking in August in Montana's Bob Marshall Wilderness. It is something that he has been wanting to do for 6 years and he finally decided that he couldn't get anyone to go along with him, except me. We dropped the girls off at Grandma and Grandpa Skabelund's house on Wednesday night and left Thursday morning for the 12 hour drive to Montana.

These are some of the gorgeous photos I took just on the dirt road on the way there.

Of course, Nick had to stop on the side of the road and check for some fossils.

This is our first day on the hike, Friday morning. This day is the day we hiked 20 miles. Very long, hilly and muddy.

We passed a ton of beautiful places. Lakes, rivers, little cabins, etc. I kept taking pictures of everything. Especially all the footprints I kept stepping over. I was terrified we would run into a bear.

There was this section of forest that had been burned out and it was really sad and beautiful at the same time.

We had to hike about 5.5 miles just to get to the Great Bear National Forest, which led to the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

We hiked nearly the entire way on the Spotted Bear River Trail.

We had to cross several rivers to get there, but we finally made it to the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

We made it to this forest service cabin where we stopped for lunch and a rest break. It was about 11.5 miles in on the first day.

We had to take our shoes off to make it past this river.

This is the last part of the ascent up the mountain. Switchback Pass = Pure Evil. It was really steep and aweful. The trail wasn't very good, but it was the steepness that really killed us. 5.5 miles of straight uphill.

Funny story, Nick tried to make our packs lighter right before we left the truck. He decided that we didn't need two bottles of water purification tablets. He didn't actually read the label on the bottle until we ran our of water and then realized that the actual bottle of water purification tablets was in the truck and he had only brought the second bottle which was supposed to make the water taste better. So, we wasted a lot of time trying to find the best places for water. This creek was running pretty fast so we filled up here.

This is the view from halfway up Switchback Pass. We wanted to go to the other side of this mountain. We stopped for a break and I looked up and this is what I saw. Even out in the middle of the wilderness there was a tree with Nick's name carved into it. Kind of sad. I didn't do it, I swear. I thought it was a little random.

This is the top of Switchback Pass. It was mostly downhill from here, but still another five miles. It took us until about 9:30pm to get to the lake we wanted to camp at and I'm not going to lie, I was freaking out because we were hiking around in the dark. I hate hiking in the dark, even with headlamps.

This is the view of the lake that we woke up to that next morning. It was really pretty. This side of the mountain is the entire reason we hiked 20 miles. We started hiking uphill again, in the morning. There was actually some snow there, that's how high up we were.

Crystal Hot Springs with Aunt Kathy

2009-09-04T09:49:00.002-06:00

After we went to the Hill Aerospace Museum, we went to Crystal Hot Springs. Of course, I forgot to actually take pictures until we were done and eating popsicles outside. They had the funnest slide and I went on it a lot. I took Madison once and that was about all she could do. It dunks you at the end, and she hates that. Emma had fun playing with Aunt Kathy and Uncle Mark who she calls either "Kaphee" or "Kitty" depending on her mood and "Mowk."

Emma's 2nd Birthday

2009-09-04T09:42:00.004-06:00

I made Emma a very simple birthday cake and all I had to decorate it was mini Marshmallows.

We didn't do a lot for Emma's 2nd birthday, but she really enjoyed it. We took her camping the night before and she loooooooved that. She giggled all night long inside the tent. She did not want to leave in the morning. She is still walking around saying "hiking" and "camping."

She loved her cake and all the little presents we got for her from the dollar store.

She did not want to wait for the cake or for daddy to come in to sing happy birthday. She just wanted to EAT IT!

Madison's First Day of Kindergarten & Back to School Haircut

2009-09-04T09:28:00.004-06:00

Madison just had to have a back-to-school haircut. So, the night before school started Daddy took her to get it cut. I sent very specific instructions for the hairdresser. Can't trust daddy or Madison to tell them right.

It was getting way too long to deal with. She has a much easier time with shorter hair, but we both like her with long hair. She really likes this hair cut, though.

Madison posing for pictures on her first day of school. She had to wear the Tinkerbell shirt on the first day. She has this huge backpack that she loves because it has Hannah Montana on the front. She still hasn't quite figured out how to carry it over one shoulder and usually just ends up with it hanging from her neck.

I got to go with her the first day and help her find her table and name in her new classroom. Her teacher's name is Ms. Seiter and she has tons of friends in her class. Most of her soccer team is also in her class.

Emma couldn't wait to go pick her up after school. She waited for them to line up in the hallway and then make sure that they could see us waiting. Emma was very excited when she came out to meet us that first day.

Hill Aerospace Museum with Aunt Kathy

2009-09-04T09:24:00.003-06:00

They have this cute little ride-on airplane that is only for the little ones. Emma thought it was pretty cool, but wasn't very happy that I stopped pushing her around to take a picture.

We went to the Ogden Hill Aerospace Museum with my sister and her Cub Scouts this summer. It was our second trip this summer, but the girls just love it. They have the coolest airplanes. We can't drive anywhere without Emma pointing out an "air-pane" at the top of her lungs and saying it over and over until we acknowledge her.

Jacob City Trail on a Sunday Afternoon

2009-09-04T09:09:00.006-06:00

Just north of Tooele is a canyon that we wanted to explore on a sunday afternoon. Jacob City Trail gave us some gorgeous views of Tooele valley and also of where Nick works, at the Army Chemical Depot.

First, we hiked up to the top of this little hill and posed for pictures, of course. We can't go anywhere without posing for pictures, thanks to me. I insisted that I be in at least one of them.

This is a far off shot of the Army Chemical Depot. Nick works in the farthest set of buildings.

Don't ask. I have no idea what Emma is doing. Madison and her are always sticking that silly flower on their heads and then refusing to take it off. Oh, well. It makes for some comical shots.

And of course, we can't go anywhere (and I really mean it) without looking for some fossils. Madison made sure to grab Daddy's rock hammer before we hiked up the road.

Madison is at the funniest stage right now. She has these poses that she does for pictures. She can't just stand there and smile, she has to "pose." Silly girl.

Another picture of the valley around Nick's work. It is sooooo pretty.

Stake Children's Parade & Pioneer Picnic

2009-09-03T20:44:00.013-06:00

Here's Emma patiently waiting for the parade to begin.

This is our wards float. Madison is on the back playing with the bubble machine, about to fall out.

After the parade, the kids from our ward got flavored ice and Madison and her friend Jamie are hamming-it-up for the camera.

Madison kept begging Emma to let her ride on the stroller so she didn't have to walk. Here is one brief moment that Emma wasn't screaming at her to get off and leave her alone. It's cute, though.

Our wards booth was face painting, so both girls got in line. Emma refused to stop touching it until it dried, so it was a little messy.

Both girls did the obstacle course and loved it. They had a separate course for the little ones and Emma went with a couple kids from her nursery class.

Madison took her turn at Gunny-sack races while Emma colored on the sidewalk with chalk. We had fun and, again, it was all FREE! Love it.

Stake Pioneer Day Celebration & Fireworks

2009-09-03T20:33:00.012-06:00

On the 24th of July we actually did fireworks. We haven't done them in a few years, because the kids are still so young and they don't seem to mind. So, we did them anyway this year. Madison had fun, but Emma couldn't care less. She was so annoyed with us for keeping her up late. She just sat down in the garage and kept saying "nigh, nigh?" She just wanted to go to bed and refused to have anything to do with sparklers.

Our stake had a pioneer day picnic on the 24th and we took the girls to it. Free food is always the best way to guarantee that I'm there. We had fun. The girls played all types of pioneer games. Emma wouldn't allow me to show her the actual way to play horseshoes. Instead, she enjoyed it as a necklace. Madison had tons of fun doing the rope pull. We played at the park on the side and then went swimming at the city pool. Free food and free swimming, we couldn't pass it up.

Thanksgiving Point Farm Country

2009-09-03T20:12:00.010-06:00

In August, we went with some friends to Thanksgiving Point's Farm Country. They have a ton of animals that you can pet and feed, etc. We went on horse rides, a wagon ride and saw a lot of baby animals, goats, pigs, chickens, horses, and much more. We had fun with all the pretend animals that you could climb on to take pictures with.

We took pictures at the little play village. The territorial "jail" was the funnest, though. We had lunch there with all our friends and then wandered around. It was a very busy, warm day.

Emma was playing with my glasses and I thought she looked like she was about to do something mischievous.

I always consider it a fun, successful day when the girls look like this at the end of the day. Priceless.

"Mom, Boy's Like This."

2009-07-22T21:13:00.006-06:00

Seriously, this whole boys thing started when Madison was, like, 3 years old. A little boy in her preschool wanted to be her boyfriend. I couldn't believe it when I had to tell my little girl that she couldn't have a boyfriend until she was 16. She came home one day and said that he had hugged her and said he loved her. I thought, "Oh, Boy! She's only 3!!!" I'm glad that she isn't too embarrassed to tell me these things, but come on, she's not even a pre-teen yet!

Then, last week, we were driving in the car and she kept asking me to look at her in the back seat. I was a little preoccupied driving on the freeway and when I finally did, I nearly peed my pants! I was trying not to laugh, but it was hilarious. She tilted her head and then proceeded to bat her eyelashes and say, "Mom, boy's like this." I think she must have gotten it from Hannah Montana or something like that, but I couldn't stop laughing all day.

Build-A-Bear Workshop, School Shopping, & Gateway Mall Fountains

2009-07-22T21:06:00.008-06:00

While my niece, Malia, was visiting us from Oregon we went to the Gateway Mall in SLC and did a little bit of school shopping. I can't believe how big Malia is now. I remember when I learned to change a diaper when she was born. Now she's 10 years old. It makes me feel a little old. Okay, a lot old.

I tried really hard to discourage Madison from wearing this flower headband, which is actually Emma's. Malia laughed at her that morning and then told her it was cute, so she insisted on wearing it just like that.

Plus, Madison is starting kindergarten this fall, so it was her very first time school shopping. So, we went to a few places and passed by this Build-A-Bear Workshop. I knew Malia loved it and Madison and I had never been to one, so we decided to do it.

They both ended up getting a dog. Malia's is a girl named Lydia, because when she first got here Madison kept calling her that, for some reason, until she learned her name. Silly girl. Malia thought it was funny. Madison's dog was a boy that she named "Big Daddy" because our big dog named Big Daddy just died of cancer a few weeks ago and she wanted something to snuggle at night. I find her talking to it all the time and taking it with us to the store. We had the opportunity to teach her about heaven and she was happy to learn that Big Daddy is waiting in heaven for us to live with him again.

By the end of the day, it was really hot again, so we went to the Gateway Fountains again to cool off. Emma was exhausted and decided to sit this one out and just watch Malia and Madison get soaked.

Nice "spirit fingers" Malia!

Madison's First Sleepover Party

2009-07-22T21:01:00.005-06:00

When Malia came to stay with us, we got to test out the trundle bed I made for Madison's room. We got it all set up and the girl's ready for bed and I realized it was Madison's very first sleepover. So...I had to take a couple pictures. It was around 10:30pm when we got them into bed, but of course, they didn't go to sleep just yet.

They stayed up playing barbie's together and giggling and who know's what else, because I was tired and went to bed myself. They sure had fun, though. They were playing barbie's again first thing in the morning. Thanks Malia, for making Madison's first sleepover party so much fun!

Church History Museum & Gateway Mall Fountains

2009-07-22T20:26:00.006-06:00

My niese, Malia, came to visit us for a few days from Oregon. We had so much fun with her. We packed in as much fun as we could possibly fit into each day. We still had swimming lessons in the morning, so we started out with that and then came home and got ready for that days activities.

We went to SLC to the LDS Church History Museum with some of our friends from church. I would have taken more pictures, but my camera battery went dead.

Here's Madison posing next to an artist's rendition of the liahona. She insisted that I take her picture in front of this one.

There were a lot of pioneer stuff for the kids to look at and learn about how they came across the plains in wagons and how they came across the ocean by ship. There was a replica of a ship's sleeping quarter's that the kids could climb into. Wish I had a picture of that.

After the museum, we went down the street to Gateway Mall and cooled off in their outdoor water feature. The girls had so much fun running back and forth into the jet spray and out of the water bursts. It was a good way to finish off the day. Or so we thought...when we got to the car...it wouldn't start. So we had to call Nick to come and jump start the car. Since we were all in SLC, what else was there to do? IKEA!!! We went there and by the time we had finished and driven back towards home, the freeway was closed and...suprise, suprise...I'm terrible at driving around detours in SLC. It took me six different tries and an extra hour to get home. I was so mad...until I realized that Nick had the same problems and got home even later than me!!! We both had to laugh.

So, during all of those stupid wrong turns and wrong exits onto wrong freeways, I turned around to see this and had to take several pictures. It was hilarious. They were so worn out that they just collapsed in the back seat! Now that's what I call a successfully fun day!

Thanksgiving Point Children's Garden

2009-07-22T20:05:00.008-06:00

As part of our summer traveling playgroup, we went with some friends to the Thanksgiving Point Children's Gardens in Lehi. I've never been to this part of Thanksgiving Point before, but it was really fun for the kids. We invited our friends Dinah and Lydia to come with us. We used to live by each other in Cove before we both moved. Madison and Lydia have known each other since they were born and have been best friends ever since. They have so much fun together when we actually get them together. Lydia and I have been friends for about 5 years and it is always nice to get together again.

It's funny that they aren't around each other very much anymore, but since they are the same age, they are still exactly alike. They even have the same silly poses they do for pictures.

There is a water feature surrounding a Noah's Ark that the kids played in together. They had so much fun and we even got to sit a little bit and talk. We brought snacks that Emma was feeding to the ants when she wasn't swimming or eating all the cookies.

Emma loves to pose for pictures. She has the cutest smile. I'm not sure what she was saying in this picture, but she was trying to tell me to look at something.

Here is one of the "signature poses" that the girls have in almost all of their pictures. Lydia is doing the hands-by-the-face pose.

Here is another "signature pose." Madison is doing the hands-on-the-hips pose.

I'm not really sure what this sculpture was suppose to be. Noah or his wife or something. I was trying to figure that out all day. I kept trying to get the girls to stop with all the silly poses and this is the result.

They also had these fountains that would squirt water out randomly and the girls had a ball trying to sit on them and run over them without getting squirted.

We took a break from swimming and wandered down the path into the gardens. They had a maze to run through, a little light house that the kids could climb up into the tower and all sorts of fun stations for them to play at along the trail. They even had some caves with bear statues to climb on and slides connecting them. All along the path was gorgeous.

Here's Emma playing in the dirt. She loves to find dirt to play in. She even stops to play with the dirt in the cracks of the sidewalk if she can't find any.

Here are the girls playing next to the little lighthouse that I couldn't get a picture of them playing in because they were more interested in, what else, the dirt!

This is one of my favorite pictures of the day, sans the kiddos, because I've been playing around with our new camera and love these nature shots. I'm working on some to hang up in my new house.

Here's Dinah and I relaxing while the kids played along the path. It's been a long time since we got together, but it was really nice to see her again.

Here's Emma playing in the dirt, again! Notice that in all of these shots that she doesn't actually get dirty. Smart kid, huh?

Mt. Timpanogas

2009-07-22T18:22:00.002-06:00

We moved back to Utah this past winter and we have had the best summer ever! We've done more this summer than every other summer combined since we've been married. It helps that we only live 30 miles away from SLC where there are a billion more things to do than any other place we've lived.

For Nick's birthday this year, we hiked to the very top of Mt. Timpanogas, and I got a half dozen blisters because I wore stupid hiking shoes instead of my running shoes. 11 miles later and I was ready to kill that stupid mountain. We left the girls at Grandma and Grandpa Skabelund's house for the weekend so we could hike it easier. Good thing we did, because I would not have like carrying them up on my back. That hike is pretty difficult.

This was just one of the really old, beautiful trees that we saw along the trail. I was determined to be in at least one of the days pictures, so I forced Nick to stop and take this picture.

This is where we stopped and ate our lunch. I was actually shivering by the time we got going again. It was a strange weather day. When we started out around 1pm it was pretty warm, but after about an hour it started to cloud over and rain. It stopped and we continued on in the sweltering heat. I was sweating to death, I swear. Then, we got up to the glacier crossings and I was cold and hot all at the same time. I kept taking my jacket on and off.

We had a new camera so I took a ton of photos just messing around. They turned out pretty good, if I do say so myself. There were tons of beautiful waterfalls and flowers. My favorite picture was just after it stopped raining and I came across these leaves that were picture perfect.

There were so many gorgeous colors all along the trail. I just had to capture some of them.

It doesn't matter where we go, Nick is always looking for fossils. We stopped a million times so he could find some. I kept yelling back at him, "are you coming?"

About 3/4 of the way to the top, if you turn around you can see all the way back to Duck Lake and Heber Valley. It was so pretty that day.

Yes, another picture of Nick looking for fossils. We even took a half hour break so he could look more closely while he climbed half-way up the opposite mountain.

This is what I did to pass the time while Nick looked for fossils. My feet hurt and I couldn't figure out why the snow was pink up near the top of the glacier.

When we got to the top, we could look up and see some crazy college kids sliding all the way down from the top of this glacier on blow-up mattresses, intertubes and plastic bags. I thought they were insane because it was so steep, but they seemed to enjoy themselves.

This is us at the top right before we started the 5.5 miles back down. This is right before my blister really started to kill me. The picture below is how I felt about halfway down. My feet hurt and I wanted to cry, but I can always laugh at myself, so I took a stupid picture.

All in all, we hiked just over 11 miles, over snow, cement (the first mile of the trail is paved...dumb if you ask me), boulders, mud, glacier, stream and dirt. It was really fun to spend the day with just Nick. We actually got to have an adult conversation without having Madison or Emma interrupt us. We got down to the car at about 9pm and got home around 11:30pm. We were exhausted and a little sunburned.

Swimming Lessons 2009

2009-07-02T09:14:00.001-06:00

We've been taking swimming lessons at Deseret Peak Complex this year. It has been so fun and I'm sooooo tan, which is a plus. While Madison is in her lessons, Emma and I are doing a Mom and Tot class which is way fun. Emma loves the water, but not so much when I dunk her under water, but she doesn't really get very cranky, either. She lets me know when she's had enough by hugging me and not letting go. After lessons each day, Madison brings some of her allowance money and buys a Popsicle and usually a gummy pizza or two. She always shares with Emma, which is super sweet because she keeps hugging and kissing Madison.

We did two sessions of swimming lessons and by the second session, Emma had everything down. She loved to just run into the water and start immediately by blowing bubbles, which for her usually means she kisses it. She loves for me to float on my stomach and she climbs on my back and tells me to be a horse. Her way of telling me is to point at me and say "bum, bum" and I know she wants to sit on my butt. She also likes to jump up and down as much as possible. It's hilarious because she falls over most of the time and ends up under water and she actually enjoys it. Her friend from nursery class and also our neighbor, Spencer, took the last session with us. They had fun jumping off of the walls and splashing around with the diving sticks and kick boards. I can't believe how grown-up Emma is. She will turn two next month!

There is a little snack stand that we get gummy pizzas and popsicles at if the girls do what their teachers ask them to (put there head under water, blow bubbles, bob's, etc.)
Madison and our neighbor Brendon. They are EXACTLY alike. It's funny to watch them play together.

Books

2009-06-27T08:50:00.002-06:00

Okay, so I've read another book from my 100 Greatest novels of all time: Catcher in the Rye. Let's just say, it was not my favorite book. I haven't read a lot lately, but I did take a break from the list and read the entire Twilight series in four days. Ya, I know, I read freakishly fast. I headed to the library today to see what else I can find, but in the mean-time I've been slowly reading Crime and Punishment, mostly to put me to sleep at night.

Funny Story

2009-05-29T19:41:00.001-06:00

We were eating lunch at a Greek Restaurant in SLC last weekend and my mother-in-law told us a true story that happened to her in the same place. I couldn't stop laughing all day long. Just wanted to share. She was eating with two of her brothers and they were sitting next to an old man. The old man let out a loud, boisterous fart. One of her brothers said at the top of his lungs, "I think he just S**T himself!" Even funnier is that the old man just sat there without caring. They didn't really finish their food before high-tailing-it out of the place.

Memorial Day Weekend & Preschool Graduation

2009-05-28T19:31:00.015-06:00

Madison graduated from preschool yesterday...I can't believe she is old enough for kindergarten. Now I really feel old. She posed for pictures in her red, white, and blue outfit, and was all over the place, I could only get this one picture that was not goofy. I was so proud of her. She sat in the front row and belted out the songs, every word. You should now that this is a major accomplishment when you compare it to the dance recital she had two years ago where she stood on stage and picked her nose/bothered the girl next to her. She really is growing up.

Memorial Day weekend was so much fun, but exhausting. First, we took the girls to Hogle Zoo. It wasn't as fun as last time we went, but it did start raining (a little bit) at the end. They had a very small MADAGASCAR exhibit. Not really worth seeing, since there were only two things in the exhibit. Emma wasn't very impressed with anything except for a little cotton-tail rabbit that she kept trying to hug and kiss and a squirrel that was on crack and running all over the place. Hogle Zoo has all sorts of statues and we always take pictures with them. Emma was terrified of this gorilla and she would go near it unless I held her.

Then, we stayed at the Grand America Hotel for a night in SLC. We stayed there once before when I was pregnant with Madison. This place is AMAZING!!! 5-Star all the way. I've never seen so much marble in all my life. Although...I wasn't too happy that the air-conditioner didn't work!!! I was miserable all night. Stupid old hotel.

Anyway, next we went to the Thanksgiving Point Museum of Ancient Life (aka the world's largest dinosaur museum. We love it there. We've gone 6 times or so in the last few years. It has some amazing dino exhibits, plus they have a 3-D IMAX theatre, trilobite/boring rock stuff/nick's favorite hobby/rocks that inhabit every inch of my house exhibit. For all of you lucky folks who don't know what a trilobite is, I took a picture of a display they had. Imagine my house full of large slabs of rocks with these all over the place. Anyway, they also have this really cool exhibit where they let the kids play in the sand and water and create dams and islands, etc. Also, they have a fossil dig site that the kids can climb into and dig for fossils. It's pretty cool. Or maybe we're not so cool, but we like it.

We also went to temple square for a while and the girls were playing in the reflecting pond, so I had to take a few pictures. I know they aren't supposed to play in it, but it was so darn cute. There was this couple that just got married in the temple and were taking pictures outside. When they walked past us, Madison, out-of-the-blue asked them if they had gotten married in the temple. It was super cute and they were caught off guard. It was pretty cute.

Madison helped Grandpa Skabelund plant a garden on Monday, which thrilled her to no end because she has been asking to do that for months now. All we have currently is a large pile of rocks surrounding our rental. She did get to plant a small garden in Spring Creek. She was so proud of herself when she actually grew some mini watermelons and carrots. It did help a little bit that the garden just so happened to be over the septic tank. Oops! They also spent the day on the four-wheeler with Grandpa and playing on their bikes, and running with the dogs.

100 greatest novels of all time/of the century

2009-05-19T14:22:00.001-06:00

So, I love to read and my latest venture is pretty enthusiastic. I am going to work my way through two lists of books. The 1oo greatest novels of all time and the 100 greatest novels of the century. Some of them overlap, but not that many, so there are about 175 that I'm attempting to read. Very, very, slowly. I got the idea from my high school friend, Whitney Bushnell Smart's blog. She's doing the same thing. Here are the one's I've read so far and when I read them:

1. Emma by Jane Austen (high school)
2. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (2009)
3. The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas (college)
4. Wuthering Hieghts by Emily Bronte (high school)
5. Jane eyre by Charlotte Bronte (high school)
6. The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (2009)
7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy (college)
8. The Riddle of the Sands by Erskine Childers
9. The Call of the Wild by Jack London
10. Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
11. Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
12. Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
13. Lord of the Flies by William Golding
14. To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
15. Catch-22 by Joseph Heller
16. The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
17. Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank
18. Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
19. The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood
20. James and the Giant Peach by Roald Dahl
21. Down and Out in Paris and London by George Orwell

Genius way to sort socks

2009-05-19T10:24:00.000-06:00

Okay, so maybe I'm just really dull, but I hate sorting socks and I never do. As you can see from the picture, I just take them out of the dryer and put them all in a big basket. If you need socks at my house, you usually get your own. It's not very convenient. So, I came across Nancy Worth's blog at http://worthfamily.blogspot.com/2009/03/sock-problem.html and thought she was a genius!!! I can't believe I didn't think about something like this before. I decided to use bins, (since they were only $2.94 at Tai'Pan Trading) instead of baskets. I couldn't find any good baskets like hers anyway. I matched and folded all of the socks this morning and this is all that is left. I would have thought for sure that half of those socks in that big basket were long gone mates that I was too lazy to sort through the last six or so times we moved. Who knew??? She's a genius, I tell ya.

We found a house, finally!

2009-05-18T20:48:00.000-06:00

We finally found the house we wanted last week and so we bought it! It's perfect. We will finally have enough room to have another baby. This house is three stories, 6 bedrooms, 1/3 of an acre, and the best part of all...completely done. I don't have to paint, landscape, remove rocks or anything! So excited. Can't wait to move in. It's still under construction, but it's about 99% done. It just needs a few things and then it's ours. Here are a few pictures I took today; just ignore the construction materials and extra doors leaning up against everything. If you look really closely at the picture of the backyard, you can see Madison hamming-it-up for the camera.

My Birthday!!!

2009-05-18T20:40:00.000-06:00

Today was really fun; one of the best birthday's I've had in a while. My husband came home early from work and took the girls and I out to the dam to have a picnic. What impressed me the most was that he actually planned ahead of time and ordered us some food to pick up on the way. If you knew Nick, this would be a jaw-dropper moment. Then he took me to Tai'Pan Trading in SLC (double jaw-dropper) and told me I could get anything I wanted! Then on the way home we stopped and got a ColdStone Ice Cream Cake. It was all perfect! I really enjoyed myself. I even came home to a freshly installed air-conditioner. It was heaven. All in all, it was a wonderful day. Thanks, Nick. I love you.

House Hunting

2009-05-04T16:22:00.000-06:00

I spent the afternoon looking at houses with the girls and nothing really caught my eye. There is always something wrong with them, isn't there? I would rather build one, but I don't want to wait six months to move in. Sigh. I did notice something else, though. The smell of other people's houses makes me nauseous and I'm always ravenously hungry lately = Pregnant??? Yikes. I hate waiting. I really miss my house in Nevada, so here is a picture of it and my amazingly huge kitchen. Also, a few of our "golf-course" sized lawn at our home in Cache Valley where we lived in college. I'm missing the gorgeous weather! And really hating the rental home we are in in the mean time.

My first adventure in blogging.

2009-04-22T09:47:00.000-06:00

Okay, so this is my first attempt at blogging. I'm on the internet all the time, checking my e-mail, facebook, etc. but not very often do I actually get around to actually responding to those e-mails or friends on facebook. Sad, I know, but I'm basically lazy. There, I said it, now you know. So there quite possibly will be huge gaps in this blog, but then I'll go crazy and add all my pictures, thoughts, etc. all at once. So get ready for a schizophrenic ride, and welcome to Adventures in Skabe-land!!!