Saying Goodbye to Cache Valley

I don't know exactly when it happened, but sometime during the past 3 1/2 years Justin and I lived here, Cache Valley became home.

The kind of place where the sights, sounds, and smells become so familiar, and comfortable it's where you long to be.

Perhaps it's because this is where we fell in love all over again,

Spent our engagement, and first 3 years of marriage. Maybe we love it here so much because it's where we brought home our first child, and introduced a second, Or because it's were Justin has this really sweet job.

It could be because it's were he received his Undergrad.

It might have something to do with the best two Dr's on Earth, Or because we lived in 3 awesome apartments on the same street. I'm positive it's because of the friends we have made, the memories we have made with them, and the way each one of them have helped make us better people. But, now it's time to leave the place and the people we love so much. We have to say goodbye, and thank you for being an awesome friend, neighbor, community, school, ward, help, support, and experience.

We will miss you.

Miley Moments

Miley will be turning 1 year old during our move to Canada, so we have started celebrating a little early. She got to go out on a Daddy-Daughter Date the other night to the store with Dad and pick out a bran new toy for her birthday. I made sure to comb her hair back with a little bow, and she even got to wear a little sweet smelling' perfume for her special outing.

We went to Salt Lake over the 24th to be with family. Miley's Grandma and Grandpa Madsen threw her a surprise early birthday party where she got to go swimming in the backyard kiddy pool with her cute cousin Sadie. Justin and I went out to Kid-to-Kid and found Miley this walker. She usually wants to walk EVERYWHERE holding on to mom or dad's hands. So far this walker has been a huge hit, and freed up our hands for a minute or two. After swimming and getting her new gifts it was time for her first birthday cake. Here she is waiting patiently for the show to begin.

If you have never seen a one year old devour their own birthday cake, it is a must! It is so hilarious. At least it is to her parents.

She was not quite sure what to do at first, but after a little taste,

then a little more...

it did not take long for her to dive in. "Mmm, this is yummy!"

Can't talk...Eating... Apparently birthday cake taste best when it's rubbed all over your chest and up your nose. Want some?;) Yum!

Baby Jo Jo

I may not post about it much, but being pregnant with our second child, and everything that it involves, is a constant on my mind. The first week I found out I was expecting I was watching the movie 'Horton Hears a Who' and I ended up nicknaming our baby on the way after 'Jo Jo' the one boy in Whoville with 99 sisters. At the time I didn't know if we were having a boy or a girl, but the nickname 'Baby Jo Jo' stuck, and even though it has nothing to do with what we will be naming our baby boy it is what we have called him ever since. So here is a quick update on baby Jo Jo , and what my life is like carrying him... Well, the fact of the matter is I am 6 1/2 months pregnant and I have a 1 yr old. So, if I were to say I am exhausted it might describe the feeling of wanting to take a 10 hour nap everyday. It's mid July, and 100 degrees-so, I'm hot. very, very hot. I feel like it's getting harder to breath, to get comfortable, to sleep, to walk...the list could go on. The trick is to stay positive, because the truth is pregnancy is not easy. For me, being pregnant is a real physical trial, but I have not experienced anything in this world that could come close to the reward at the end. That's what makes all the sacrifice and pain worth it. Jo Jo's movements are much stronger these days. If I put my hands on my tummy I can always tell where he has positioned his little body. He seems to prefer the right side of my uterus. He will wiggle and squirm and travel over to the left side, and then he goes back to his little balled up spot on the right. I think it's kind of cute. I always know where to find him. Some say each pregnancy is different. In my case, this has proven to be true. With Miley J I was sick for a long a miserable 42 weeks. With Jo Jo I was blessed to pass through the nausea after 14 weeks. This time around if I can just get enough to eat, get enough sleep, and lay down every once and a while, then I feel pretty good. With Miley I just thought if I could die things might be better:)! I am entering into the third trimester which means everything is going to start getting a lot BIGGER and more challenging. It can be done! I pray each day for courage and strength to get through the next few months. What a journey!

11 Month Old Miley

I am happy to say my sweet little Miley J is back. When she turned 9 months old it seemed as though someone had taken her and left me with a foreign object. I could not figure out what changed my baby girl so dramatically?? And then, about a month later, she just snapped out of it. Suddenly things were back to normal around our house, and Miley has been her happy self once again. She still likes to have mom in sight at all times, and her world seems to flip upside down if she gets thrown off of her routine, but for the most part she is getting better at going with the flow.

Miley is always curious about what is going on around her. If she hears any kind of new sound she wants to know what it is, where it is, see it up close, and hear it again. she will get a shocked or surprised look on her face and say "What that?" it comes out sounding more like "wsthat" but it works. We went out to eat one night with our family after playing in the pool and hot sun all day long. We put this blanket over Miley's car seat to try to get her to fall asleep at the restaurant, but she kept lifting up to see everyone "wsthat? wsthat? wsthat?"

After her nap she will roll onto her tummy and play and talk until someone comes to get her up. As soon as she hears her bedroom door open she will pull down the bumper to see who's there. "peek a boo!" These days Miley is a talker, not a walker. She doesn't show much interest in crawling, but she has mastered her own language. She will hold complete conversations with herself. All the "Goowaddaa's and ticki ticki too, doy doy doy's" sound like they could be pretty legit if you only knew what she was saying. She will even throw in a laugh at the end to let you know it was a funny conversation. She has finally figured out how to scoot forward to get to her toys instead of backwards or in a circle. She loves to walk around holding onto our hands and can get running if we go fast enough. Her favorite toys are books and occasionally she will say a word or two after I read it on the page. She can say "Duck, Dog, Bye Bye, Bath Tub, Cup and 'Jo Jo' (which is a nickname for baby brother inside me)." She loves to see and be with other little kids. I know she is going to be a very sweet big sister. Miley continues to be the best part of our life together.

Happy Fourth of July!

The fourth of July is one of our favorite holidays! We jump at the opportunity to honor and celebrate our country. This year we spent the 4Th in Park City. We stayed at the Westgate resort, and had an absolute blast! We hope we can do it again.

Here we are with our little firecracker;)

We spent a lot of time in the swimming pool because Miley loved it so much! She would float around and just relax with her arms up in her little crab floaty. She'd get out and splash on the steps, and in the hot tub, and then throw a fit if we tried to get her out of the pool. I guess she is our little water baby. The rest of the weekend we shopped the outlets, went out to eat, played ping pong and card games, and enjoyed a concert and fireworks.

Pa Pa and Da Da.

Everybody wants kisses from their favorite girl:)

Primary Children's Hospital Visit #2

After a follow up appointment at Primary Children's Medical Center Justin and I are pleased to announce Miley J Madsen is now 100% Torticollis Free.

Manti Pagent and Madsen Cabin

The last weekend in June we traveled down to Manti, Ut to see the Mormon Miracle Pageant.

Our grandparents live just a couple blocks from the Manti temple so after the pageant we stayed at their place.

Justin and I enjoying the Mormon Miracle:) Scott, Kerri, Heidi, Jordan, Lauren, Josh, Ashley, Justin, Jessica

We spent the rest of the weekend at the Madsen family Cabin. It was our last trip to Sanpete County for a while so we had to live it up. I'm not sure who, probably sure it was one of our boy cousins -?- shimmied up this tree and tied on a rope swing. Everybody had a blast swinging high above the ground, and pushing one another to see how high they could get. Even our dare devil grandparents gave the swing a whirl. Here's Just...

There goes Grandma,

And here comes Gramps too!

They 'bout gave me a heart attack. I thought I was going to have to watch someone plunge to their death. But you have to give it to them for being so willing and adventurous to try new things. NOTHING will hold Grandma and Grandpa back.

Here's the two baby cousins washing up after a long day of playing in the sun.

Everyone had a good time shooting clay pigeons, playing mountain cricket, and endless games of cards. It is so beautiful up there! We will be looking forward to the time when we can come again.

Father's Day 2009

Justin, you are the most helpful, loving, supportive, and attentive Father. Miley is SO lucky to have been blessed with you as her Daddy. Her face lights up whenever she sees you. No one can make her more happy than you can, and no one is more deserving of a great Father's day.

We Love You!!

Miley loves Pa Pa Scott. He can always get a smile on her face no matter what mood she's in, and He's about the only one she will go to other than mom and dad. Grandpa Al's got a beard, and a cat, so he's cool. :) I love you Dad. I'm so glad you are a fun-loving, and supportive grandpa. You truly are great at it. Happy Father's day!

Back to Logan for a minute

In between our fabulous family getaways we manage to make it back to Logan for a minute or two to unpack, do laundry, work, clean, and then pack up again. We try to see our friends, and let Miley catch up the rest she didn't get while we were out of town. We are continuing to box up our house, and get ready for the move. We sold all the furniture we had for sale. We wish we could have kept it, but since we can't we are happy to see it sold, and out of the house. It's a bitter sweet feeling. Each week we try to enjoy being outside taking walks, and watching Justin play for his softball team. Dear Ward, we are not inactive. Just crazy busy, and never home. This is us if we are around...

Helping this little goose get around. Watching her do the 'Bend and Snap!' Taking her on walks, to the park, and the local Farmer's Market. Swinging at the park.

and entertaining this basket case...

Miley went through a stage where she would cry if I put her down. The only place she would play happily on the floor was in the laundry basket. So I would put toys in it, and moved it from room to room singing "chugga chugga, chugga chugga, Choo! Choo!" while I got a few things finished around the house.

This girl knows what she wants, and most of the time I don't mind that she usually wants mom.

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Heber Valley Girls Camp

Our family was able to reserve a campground at the Heber Valley Girls Camp last month. The accommodations the church has made are very impressive. There was definitely no latrine and trench digging like I had to do when I went to girls camp. We had a fun time being up in the mountains with our family and enjoyed participating in the ropes course the following day. each challenge had a Gospel message to think about and take with you at the end. Everyone had a good time working together as a team, and there were many laughs had by all.

Here's a picture of the whole gang

This is a rope challenge where you have to swing everyone over to the other side. We laughed so hard when our mom kept falling into the bark and dirt below over and over. She finally made it! What a good sport!

Here's Justin on an obstacle where he had to balance and walk between two high wires and then repel down.

And here are the boys cooking us up some delicious grub.