Thanks, Bro!

Junior Year Prom

Sophmore Year Prom

Senior Year Prom


My brother's latest project (while he is killing time until he graduates med school next week) is scanning in old pictures of ours for a digital picture frame for my grandma. He emailed me these today and I thought it was hilarious. Ahhh, those were the days---that red dress cracks me up! I LOVED that thing and now it looks so hidious! I wonder where that dress is?!

Preschool Program

Tonight, Troy had his first Preschool Program! It was so cute! They sang the cutiest songs and did a little dance. Troy had the best teacher this year, Mrs. Lori. Troy and I will both miss the 4 hours a week that he spends there!

Boys will be boys!

So this is a total sign that I live in a house of boys! Troy was so excited to show me what his Ninja Turtles were doing....apparently going bungey jumping from my bra! I better get used to things like this!

Girls Night!

Last Thursday, a bunch of the girls from the neighborhood headed up north for a night away! My face hurt so bad by the time I got home from laughing so much! We had a yummy dinner at the Pizza Factory and did a little shopping too! I can't share anything that happened on that trip because what happens in the Honda Odyssey, stays in the Odyssey! Thanks for a fun night, girls! Can't wait to do it again!

Yeah! Spring!

We have had the CRAZIEST weather here this spring! We have gone from 80 degree weather to snow the next day. I didn't know if my bulbs would come up this year because of how crazy it's been but they made it! I just love how vibrant the colors are of these bulbs. I took my mom's advice and bought them all from brecks.com and they were shipped straight from Denmark! They are so beautiful and I can't wait to use my green thumb a little more this spring!

Tagged...again!

Troy has been tagged by Isaac Hughes so here are:

8 Things about Troy

1. He is such a "touchy-feely" kind of kid! He will sit next to you and stroke the back of your arm. If you are not sitting close enough to him, he yells "I want to touch you!" Kev and I are hoping he grows out of this a little bit so we don't have an out of control teenage boy in 10 years!

2. He hates to eat breakfast. I think most kids wake up hungry and ready to eat but Troy will not even think about eating for at least an hour after he wakes up and then, he won't touch any normal breakfast foods. Lately, he the only thing he will eat for breakfast is cold hot dogs. (gag) I guess any food is better than no food....well at least I hope so!

3. He says the sweetest prayers. This week some of the highlights have been praying that "Daniel won't be put in the lions den by the bad guys and the king" or praying that "Jesus won't have to die for us again." He is such a doll!

4. He can now write his name all by himself. We were at Kelby and Tracy's house and he wrote his name on the floor out of Lincoln Logs and said, "Look Mom! My name!" I'm sure his preschool teach taught him because I sure as heck didn't!

5. He is a very friendly kid just like his parents! He walks down the halls of church and everyone tells him hi, young and old! Our bishop brings Troy special eggs from his chickens to eat for breakfast. Kids rush to our seat after sacrament meeting to ask if they can take Troy to primary with him. He is very popular with the older kids and he loves every minute of it!

6. He is our little pack rat. He hauls crap around with him all day. I can not get him to break this habit. I have spent many, many hour searching for his favorite "pet" that he has somehow lost somewhere. Right now, we can't find Underdog, his beany baby wiener dog pet so life is temporarily over.

7. He loves butter and sour cream. We could put it on anything and he would eat it. I have finally gotten him to eat the spray butter which he thinks is pretty cool and it will hopefully prevent him from having a clogged artery at the age of 5!

8. Troy is a very special boy. That is the only word to describe him and he lives up to that word in every way. We love him so much and our family would not be the same without his sweet little spirit!

Now, Troy would like to tag Sabrina, Tag, Caden & Bronco!

Tagged!

I've been tagged by Cass so here it goes!

All you ever needed to know about my Husband

What is his name? Kevin Chesley Madsen

How long have you been together? 6 years & 2 months! We met on Valentines Day 2002.
How long did you date? Engaged after knowing each other 4 months!
How old is he? 27---we are the youngins' in my group of friends here :)
Who eats more? Sadly, we probably eat the same amount!
Who said I love you first? Renee, Kevin's mom!!! We were spending the weekend with his family and his mom told me she loved me---on the drive home, I remember saying how sad it was that his mom said it before he did! That's how he told me he loved me for the first time! Pressure!
Who is taller? Kev - 5'10
Who can sing better? Me, but Kev is pretty good singing on Rock Band.
Who is smarter? He is...I am a blonde down to the core!
Who does the laundry? Both- but since my surgery it's been all Kevin!
Who pays the bills? Kev does--anything with money management stresses me out since I am so bad at it!
Who sleeps on the right side? me - but that just changed a few months ago since my surgery.
Who mows the lawn? Kevin all the way...that is one thing I refuse to do! Even when I was little and my parents tried to pay me VERY WELL, I wouldn't do it!
Who cooks dinner? Me-not Kevin's strong point!
Who drives? Kev--I have always thought it was strange to see a woman driving with the man in the passenger seat...driving is the man's job!
Who is more stubborn? Me. Enough said :)
Who kissed who first? Well we had been hanging out for a few weeks (in college student terms, that means watching movies on the couch and hanging out at the apartment) and I told him I wouldn't make out with him until he took me out on a "real" date. After that first date, I totally planted one on him at my front door!
Who asked who out first? Like I said, he did only after I pressured him telling him I wouldn't kiss him until he did! He took me to the Olive Garden & to see the movie, John Q.
Who proposed? Kevin did---up Provo Canyon while we were fishing. He tied my ring to the fishing line and asked me to untangle his line. Ahhhhh :)
Who has more friends? Probably equal---Kev is a very "likeable" guy who gets along with alomst anyone.
Who is more sensitive? Probably me.
Who has more siblings? Kevin does-5

Who puts the kids to bed? I put Colt to bed & Kev puts Troy to bed on a normal night. Troy always requests Dad to do the night-time duties.

Who wears the pants? Hard to say, he usually lets me make the decisions on day to day stuff but when it's something big or something he cares a lot about, he always has the final say.

Love ya, babe!

~Now I get to tag: Amberly, Erin, Jen R. & Kathi~

Amber's Big Day!

Yesterday was such a wonderful day for the Madsen family! Kevin's only sister, Amberlie, got married! She and Anthony have been together over 2 years so it was a big day for them! The wedding was over looking a beautiful golf course and everything was just perfect! Amberlie looked beautiful & her dress was breathtaking! It was a very emotional day for me because Amber and I are very close and she is not my sister-in-law, she is my sister. And to see her so happy, makes me so happy. All of the sister in laws stayed together in a hotel the night before the wedding and went to dinner and got all of our nails & toes done. Then in the morning, we helped her get ready. I got to help her get her wedding dress on and that was a very special moment for me that I will never forget. She is such a special girl and Anthony is such a lucky guy to have snagged her! I know they will be happy together and we will miss them as they move away today for the summer!

The beautiful bride

Troy, the handsome ring barrier


Heather & Kayla-Amberlie's adorable best friends

Troy giving Anthony the ring

Such an adorable moment! Amber kissed his little cheek & it made me cry!

Done with his "job". He earned his new dinosaurs :) Do all parents bribe their kids like this?!

The beautiful cake

My sweet little family!

I love my Grandpa!

We got the chance to have a fun dinner with a lot of my cousins while my Grandpa was in town. My Grandpa Argyle lives in Spokane, Washington so we are lucky if we get to see him once a year. He is the funniest guy ever and I always LOVE it when I get to see him. We met everyone for dinner at a nice Italian restaurant in American Fork and got some fun pictures afterwards. He wasn't too excited for the photo shoot but we forced him :) Troy was sooo cute with him at dinner and kept calling his name and telling him all kinds of him. He and Troy enjoyed some calamari and Troy had fun eating all of the squid legs one at a time! Grandpa got a kick out of it!

Crazy Kid!

I swear, Colt is such a curious little boy! I always find him in the middle of getting into things! But he is just too cute, I usually just grab the camera instead of getting after him! Here he is in Jack's crate in the laundry room. I has a facination with anything that involves Jack!

Which Princess are You?

Thanks for the quiz, Pocahontas ;) I'm not too suprised that I am Cinderella, I guess I am a little too high maitenance :) You can do the quiz here: http://www.greatestjournal.com/quiz.bml?Q=16354

May Stamp Camp

This update is for all of my stamping & scrapbooking friends! This is the upcoming project we will be doing for May's Stamp Camp! All of the people in town will be getting their invitations today and tomorrow but I wanted you to be able to see the project ahead of time. This is the cutiest "Favorite Recipes Book" that would be perfect for yourself or for a Mother's Day gift. We will make the book that night and then you can add your favorite recipes on your own. Also, how cute would this be for a wedding gift along with some cookie sheets or another kitchen item. Anyway, just wanted to show everyone! We always have a BLAST when we get together at Stamp Camp! Look for your invitations with all of the details or email me if you need info before then! Thanks everyone!

Into Everything!

I swear, my boys are into everything! I came into the kitchen from the bedroom and this is what I saw...Troy must have gotten into the fridge and freezer looking for a snack and left the doors open and guess who went looking for a snack of his own!

Weekend at the Bartholomews!

We had a fun sleepover at the Bartholomews house last weekend! Kevin and Mark had to go on a Young Mens campout so Cass and I had all the kids by ourselves. She was such a big help with me with the boys. Kasen had his birthday party Friday afternoon...check out the adorable train conductor hats! We took the kids to the city's big egg hunt and then we dyed Easter eggs. While the boys played and the babies slept, we had a blast eating leftover birthday cake, pizza, McDonalds and easter candy. We better not do this too often or I will gain back all my weight! Thanks, Cass, for the fun overnighter!

Easter!

Well all of my friends are showing me up since they already have their Easter pictures posted! We had a fun, relaxing day at home. The boys enjoyed an egg hunt in the front yard and getting the fun things in their Easter basket. We went to church (my first time in 6 weeks and it was sooo nice!) It was great to see everyone there again. (Thank you, Cookie, for the darling Easter outfits!) Then we went to Grandma Nae and Grandpa Pauls house for dinner and another egg hunt. It was a fun day!

Fun in the Tub!

So my mom should get the "Cookie Of the Year Award" in our opinion! Not only did she come for 2 weeks to take care of my family, but she went above and beyond in so many ways! She cooked amazing meals (and filled my freezer with them), she cleaned, took Colt to the doctor two times to deal with two ear infections, and played a ton with her little grandsons. She did the most creative forms of play with them that just blew me away! She brought a can of shaving cream to play with the in bathtub in it was a huge hit! Thank you, Mom/Cookie, for being the best grandma in the world! We love you more than you'll ever know!

Cookie & Papa's Room

My cute little daddy took the picture of the flower from his garden and framed it for us!

Just wanted to post some pictures of our newly finished guest bedroom and bathroom in the basement. Kevin did the bedroom and it took him about 2 months to finish....we paid to have the bathroom done and it took 1 1/2 weeks! So we will probably hire out the rest of the basement when it is time! We got it all ready for my parents to come and take care of us after my surgery. It was so nice for them to have their own space!