Easter Blessing

We had a wonderful Easter filled with loving family and tender moments! At the ripe ol' age of 3 1/2 months, Madison was finally blessed on Easter Sunday! We were waiting for my dad to be in town so that we could have all of our family present (except for the missionary uncles of course). It was a pretty busy, but wonderful day. We started the morning in Carlsbad with Skye's blessing, then raced back to Murrieta to get ready for Madison's blessing. Bryce offered a beautiful and tender blessing, while Maddy stayed quiet and content. We enjoyed all our family back at our house with some delicious food and an Easter egg hunt. We feel so fortunate to be able to have all of our family close by, and always enjoy the times that we can spend together.

Now for a million pictures...


The two blessed girls and their mommys!Grandpa Freeman and Grammy with the kidsToo bad they are cousins! They make a pretty cute couple!

I found the goods!My favorite Easter present! "Baooll"

Easter is exhausting! Good thing Grandpa was there to rest on!

Let it snow, Let it snow, Let it snow!!!

We just got back from an annual Bishop trip to Mammoth. This was actually the first time I have been able to go, and it was a blast! We had such a great time and there was tons of snow! It snowed on and off every day we were there except Monday, the day we left. I loved being in a nice warm cabin with a fire going and watching the snow dance through the air. Of course we did go outside and play in the snow! I attempted snowboarding for the first time and lets just say it didn't go as smoothly as I expected. I'm looking forward to the next time so that maybe I could stay out for more than an hour and a half! I retreated back to the cabin to ice my fanny, well tail bone to be exact, meanwhile, Bryce, his brothers and sister, sister-in-law, and cousin enjoyed the slopes. Kaden absolutely LOVED the snow. We could not tear him away!! Every time the door opened he would try to escape into the winter wonderland! I didn't know how he would react, but even though his cheeks were bright red and freezing, he still would run as fast as he could, in his snow suit, through the soft snow that covered the ground. Maddy enjoyed herself with her grandparents, great-grandparents, and aunts in the warm cabin. We were sad to leave, but fortunately we had our 75 degree weather to retreat to!
This is the best picture I could capture while snow bunny was on the run!

We finally got some family pictures!
Andrea and I

Cabin Fun...

Madison and Great GrandmaMommy and Maddy

We LOVE Sunshine!

After a week of rain, the beautiful sunshine has returned, and this means exploring for Kaden! I have to admit he loves watching TV, but gladly what he likes most is playing outside. The minute the door opens he makes a run for it and hopes that he won't be discovered! It was nice to be able to go outside and play with him while Maddy took a long nap. It was some good quality time with my little guy, and hilarious to watch him so focused on finding the perfect rock! Whenever we play outside he has to have a rock in each hand. Lately, I discovered that he replaces the rocks with bigger and better ones as he goes! It's great to watch his little mind work as he picks up a rock thinking it's bigger, but then returns to the original larger rock! He explores everything he can in our yard like a true blue boy! Surprisingly, he got his first knee and elbow scrape today, and didn't even think twice about it. For as much as he runs around and falls, he has never scrapped his elbows or knees until today! I guess he's officially a toddler!

Don't mess with my ball!!
For those of you who know me well will recognize the beat red face! He truly is my child!
Dandelion anyone?

Farewell Murdocks!!

That darn Utah has stolen another friend!! The Murdocks are our good friends and were even our neighbors for a year in Newport Beach. We are sad to see them leave, but are so excited for them to move on to bigger and better things even if it's in Utah! We drove up to Newport on Monday evening for a final farewell. It was great to see not only them but also many of our other friends we love and miss. We wish the best for you Dave, Stacie and Cooper!!

Dave, Stacie and Cooper!

Kaden and his buddy Cooper enthralled by a cartoon!

I'll miss you Stac!!

Felicity's Designs

I just wanted to let all of you that browse my blog know about Felicity's Designs. Felicity, my sister, is extremely talented and has decided to share her talents with all of you. I know many of my friends have babies or will be having babies soon and I just wanted to show you a little personal touch you can add to their nursery. Felicity paints these beautiful personalized signs that you can either design yourself or you can tell her ideas and leave the creativity to her. She made Madison one that matches so perfectly with her bedding and her room, well closet!! :) So I included some pictures of the ones she has done so far. Ironically, most of them are for girls, but she does them for both girls and boys. If you want to get in contact with her you can access her design blog or her personal blog from my "Favorite Blogs". They also make great gifts that can be shipped to you if necessary. Anyways, I thought I would let you all know about them. They really are beautiful, and I'm not just bias because she is my sister!!! :)


Aren't they beautiful! She is so talented!! So spread the word!

Tis the season!!!

Unfortunately we have embarked on the cold season and it has crept into our home! Our poor kiddos have been sick all week! Madison has had RSV, which is a respiratory infection. Poor little girl! For as serious as the sickness is supposed to be, she has not really acted like it at all! What a trooper! She is still as sweet as ever and smiling and cooing at the drop of a hat. RSV is supposed to be contagious so unfortunately it put the tabosh on any play dates for the week! Bummer!! Fortunately, Bryce was able to stay home an extra day this week to help me out when Maddy was the sickest . We have had many different treatments to do and it was quite overwhelming. Then, Grammy came to the rescue! She dropped everything at home and hopped in the car the minute she found out our kids were sick. What a lifesaver! Along with Maddy's RSV, Kaden also got a cold! I vowed never to be a mom to a snot-nosed kid, but I now understand that it is hard to keep the waterfall wiped! Needless to say the bulb syringe has become our best friend (aka the snot-sucker)! I am happy to report that they are both doing ten times better! Now Bryce and I have to battle it! I'm ready for a germ-free, sick-free home! Hopefully soon!
No sickness can stop me from smiling and cooing 'till my heart's content!
It was such a beautiful day on Saturday we decided to go outside and finally enjoy some fresh air and play in our wagon! We love SoCal, 75 degrees in February!

Super-Grammy!! To the rescue!

Hide and Seek!

One afternoon last week I was changing Madison's diaper and Kaden was roaming around the house like he usually does. As I finished I was heading towards my designated "nursing" spot and I called for him to see where he was. I didn't hear any answer or noise at all, which is quite uncommon for Kaden (he is rarely silent)! So I called for him again, still no answer. At this point I started looking around the house for him. Not in the living room, not in the kitchen, not in the bedrooms, and all bathroom doors were already shut off to him. The front and back door were also closed and locked. Where the heck did he go?? I started to get a little panicky at this point because I could NOT find him. Finally, I looked in my bedroom again and as I turned around to walk out the door this is what I saw...
He was hiding from me!!! Can you believe it!! He started to giggle and popped out of the closet door. I always seem to underestimate what he can comprehend! It was the cutest thing I've ever seen! Knowing where he was, I headed into the living room. I called for him to follow and of course he stayed in my room. When I didn't go to get him again he started to make noises. Low and behold he was hiding yet again. Kaden has figured out all on his own how to play "Hide and Seek", and he loves it! I have since found him hiding in the same spot waiting for me to discover him and letting me know if I'm taking too long! It never gets old and is just as funny as the first time he did it. Kaden is so much fun to play with!! That was my cute story for you!! Now for some fun pics!

CHEESE!!!!!! (Modeling his snow attire from Justin and Andrea, minus the pj's of course!)
Never too early right!?!


Kaden loves to play in the yard, and equally loves playing with his aunt Jamie. She is always willing to come over and play to relieve me for a bit!! We LOVE Jamie!!

I LOVE dirt! It is so yummy!

Now for the Pretty Princess...
Maddy is growing so fast. She is awake and alert a lot more now. She is really able to see you now and loves to coo and kick her little legs around. Also, the most gratifying thing is that she smiles at you. You can actually make her smile and giggle a bit. She has the sweetest temperament and LOVES to be snuggled and held, which makes it hard as I chase Kaden around. Thank goodness for the Baby Bjorn, it is a life saver. She almost lives in that thing during the day! What ever works I guess! All I know is that she is going to be the toughest chick around, so watch out!! She has a very loving big brother that unfortunately is still learning. For example the other day she was peacefully chillin' in her swing and "Brutis" (Kaden's nickname these days) comes up and full on smacks her, his whole hand covering her sweet little face!! Poor Maddy!! Like I said, tough as nails that girl will be!! We are really enjoying the two of them and all of the joyous moments and challenges that they bring to our lives. Had you told us a couple of years ago that we would have two kids in thirteen months I would have called you crazy. Some days it is crazy! However, I know that there is no where I would rather be in life than a mother to the most beautiful children. Heavenly Father sure does work in mysterious ways sometimes. I feel so blessed nonetheless, and try to remember that when times seem tough. Motherhood, or parenthood, for that matter is definitely a divine calling! Ok ok, I'll let you enjoy some pics now!


Hello world!!
Mommy and her baby girl!

Now that is deep sleep!! Sorry daddy, puddle of drool guaranteed!!






Grandma and Maddy














Maddy and RyRy