Meeting the Easter Bunny for the First Time

I don`t know where Scotlin got this new smile of his, or from what time it began to emerge, but I absolutely love it. It cracks me up, makes me smile, and I think it is the best thing in the world. Prepare for more Dooey Smile ahead...

There has been lots of talk of the Easter Bunny in our house. I`ve mentioned it before, but again I`ll tell you, Easter is my favorite Holiday. We heard there was going to be a little story time with the Eater Bunny at our favorite mall, and so with dad home for the weekend, we decided to check it out.

We ended up being the first people there. Over eager. Really, it just got the times mixed up... but it the time we waited for the main event to arrive we were able to hype the kids up until they were over the moon about meeting the Easter Bunny for the first time.

Right from the get go Scotlin came alive. He was waving to us, so excited his arm was almost stiff like a soldier as he waved it through the air. His whole body almost trembling with anticipation. Story time lady was extra happy today too... but that`s because she hasn`t seen yet what my son is like when the Easter Bunny arrives...

All Bunny visitors that day were given a free scoop of ice cream afterwards. I am sure you can imagine My little girl was in heaven. She choose `pink` ice cream, as she always does, and she loved it. During story time she watched so intently. She was thrilled over the bunny ears she was given, and every so often she would find my face in the crowd, hold her mouth wide open with great big eyes in a look that can only say ` I can`t belive I`m here with the Easter Bunny!!` After the look comes a big thumbs up, and I flash her one right back with excitement to match hers.

What suprised me most was watching Scotlin though. He was beside himself. It`s a side of him we rarely see. if ever. He tried soooooo hard to sit down like he was told to do... We watched him as he waved to the Easter Bunny 100 times in that stiff muscle, excited way... He was intent on getting the Rabbit`s attention.
The little boy`s face next to Scotlin is so classic. The kids were adorably funny to watch. At one point I wished that poor bunny had a body gaurd- those kids were about to take him home! :)

Finally Socltin could bare sitting on his bottom no longer. So, he did the next best thing, went to his knees, and scooted his way right over to the bunny`s lap. And there he pertched, captivated. Enthralled. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen. It was almost as if the other kids wanted to listen to the story, and having theEaster Bunny there was just added fun... but for Scotlin, the sound of the story waas muted. He set his senses on one thing only. Getting to that bunny.

We all had to tell Scotlin more than a few times to sit down so the other kids could see. So He went back and forth many times between sitting and inching his way back up to front and center. I know he was probably driving the story teller just a little nuts, but I just had to admire his dedication! He would inch up, and then when he couldn`t take it anymore he would reach out and do all he could to keep contact with the bunny. I couldn`t help but laugh.

Paw shake-

He never did really let go... an I think he came back for 2 or 3 more...

Miley`s little eyes stayed fixed on the story. She was so adorable. She looked like a poised little princess sitting there so properly in her dress. Whenever the story teller would ask a question, Miley would answer it. We were so proud of our little girl.

At one point Scotlin thought he had had enough of the lady`s story, so he just grabbed from the pile of books and started reading on his own. She kept telling him `ta ta` (which is what adults say to children here instead of  `no, no`) I knew she didn`t want him touching them. Between the two of us we must had taken the books away from him 5 times. Eventually, I think the lady gave up, or maybe just realized that he wasn`t causing any trouble, or mauling the Easter Bunny... So she let him read.

Scotlin rebelled against the bunny ears, formed his own book club,

And in this massive croud full of people and kids, I couldn`t help but smile at my little guy reading his book, and making his own rules.

Towards the end of story time he made it back in for Easter Bunny Attention. This time sneaking in a few kisses here and there.

The kids were able to tell him what they would like in their easter baskets this year.

Can you guess...

Treats! Big suprise!

We assure them with confidence that the Easter Bunny always brings treats.

The Easter Bunny made out day today.

There is nothing quite like watching your their enthusiasm when your trying to make them happy.

I`m so glad it was a hit.

The New Moto

We kind of have a little tradition of giving Justin a  `finals gift`  as he makes his way into that portion at he end of the year known as his final exams. Its meant to give encouragement, show our support, and maybe even provide a little BOOST.
When Preident Monson spoke the words at this past YW Geneal Broadcast, I knew we had found our new moto. As always, He always knows exactly what we need to hear.

`` By the YARD it`s HARD, but by the INCH, it`s a CINCH.``

I am always trying to remind myself to take things one thing at a time, one day at a time. When I heard the Prophet quote this simple and wise counsel, it just stuck.

We wrote encouraging words on each `inch` of the rulers, and the quote now stays on our fridge. It`s been a plain and simple reminder daily that we can do this! Little by little it all comes together.
A little reminder of that daily sure helps (me) a lot! 



Captured Childhood

This was Scotlin`s face meeting the Easter Bunny for the first tme. Capturing these moments of innocent childhood, when the thought of the Easter Bunny being real lights up in his eyes, are some of the most precious moments of my life as I watch him grow. Today ws for Socltin to meet the Easter Bunny, and it is one of the best days I can remember.

THIS MARCH

This March the weather played tricks on us like crazy.

There were days in blizzards, and days with temps like July.

We ate our fair share of green treats, and tried to repent of our ways with healthy greens instead. That plan went over well until our pan of FHE brownies...

Our traditions of girls nights and weekly treats are going strong.

We are getting anxious and excited for spring, and everything it brings,

And talk of the Easter Bunny coming to town happens daily.

Daily. Daily.

This Month I am reminded of the most important things.

I am soaking up, and cherishing every minute I have with my kids - 

realizing how much they have grown.

I am grateful for every minute Justin can be home,

and glad to see every minute my three have together.

Scotlin`s new smile makes me so happy-

And listening to Miley sing along to her `Jesus Movies` warms my heart. :)

We`ve had the priviledge of having many missionaries come through our home this month.

We have a new, and fantastic group, that has been fun to get to know, and easy to love.

With help from dad, the Elders presented Scotlin with his first copy of the Book of Mormon.

It`s been fun for Scotlin to have his own scriptures to study along with each day, and especially with the Elders when they come to visit.

My favorite moments this month have been the simple and quite times when the kids are happy and learning. It is still so common to find them amidst their books, reading silently to themselves, or aloud to each other. They can both tell great stories! 

When I go throughout my day; come around the corner, and find Scotlin with a book in the middle of the floor, my heart leaps across the room to him. To me, this is one of the most precious gems about him.

*

Justin had his prayers answered this week.

He has many requirements to meet before the end of the year. He has been working as hard as he can to get everything squared away before graduation.

Just had been praying for help to meet the requirements,

and all that is asked of him during this stressful time.

This week, out of the blue, a patient came in needing work done,

 most of which will fullfill Justin`s requirements.

Justin has worked hard, stressed, worried, and prayed all year to have enough work, and in just one day, a patient comes in, needs and wants the work done right away, and meets the need.

*

You know those times when you are humbled to realize how much personal work you need to do and improvement you need to make...

That is me this month.

*

We are looking forward to General Conference weekend, and having that beautiful sunshine from Salt Lake in our home for a few days.

Hope all is well back home.

Love Always,

The Madsens

FAMILY PICTURE

We are nearing Graduation.

Which means Traditions are going down.

Each year saying goodbye gets a little harder, beacuse we`ve grown closer over the years.

4th years are leaving. And we are next. It`s hard to believe.



All of the Utah Dalhouseie Dental Student Families

Farland, Thompson, Griffin, Maden, White, Murray, Dickson, Millet, and Argyle Families

These are the faces we have turned to for help, encouragement, laughter and understanding through out these dental school years. We`ve become a family because we have supported one another, and cheered eachother on, especially when it got tough.

It is a special setting, and group of people. Unique to this stage in life.



Where is Miley, you might be wondering... she is the one found under the table enjoying her 4th, not 2nd, or even 3rd... but 4th (forbidden) cupcake. That`s my daughter.
She even called in some help. They soon called it cupcake club.
She makes me smile.

It`s been a year I will never forget. More on this later, as sentimental moments will come with goodbyes...

Cheers to 3rd year-

VACATION

Towards the end of February, Justin had a break from school. A lot of our friends were either going to Utah, or making plans to go to Maine. We knew those two options would not be happening for us, so we decided to make family plans of our own.

We talked with people in the community, and tried to get a feel for what there is to do up here in the winter. We haven`t left the city since last August, and we wanted to see the country side, but didn`t know where to go. Justin mentioned to one of his patients that we were looking for a spot to visit, and they suggested a place in Moncton, New Brunswick called Crystal Palace.
Just came home that night and we looked up pictures online. The hotel offered all that Miley and Scotlin could ever dream of with their indoor pool and amusement park. They took one look at the carosel, and they were sold!

New Brunswick is about 2 and a half hours away, so we decided to make the most of our getaway by staying for 2 nights. A vacation! The real deal! We scheduled our time there a few weeks in advance... the hardest part was telling the kids day after day that it was time to go yet, and we have to wait! :) They asked 100 times a day, everyday, until that much anticipated time arrived!

We packed our things the night before we left. Miley packed herself... she was so happy to finally be going she could hardly stand it. She flew from her room to ours throwing her favorite things in the suit case, along with a few things she thought she might need. :) We could have bottled her energy! She was floating on a cloud - out of this world - excited!

The morning we left it was raining, and about 25 minutes out of town we were caught in a huge snow storm, inching along. Luckily the kids fell asleep for most of the ride, but the trip that should have taken about 2 and a half hours ended up taking closer to 4.

Canadian countryside is thick forest for as far as your eyes can see.

We passed the exact point where we stand half way between the North Pole and the Equater, payed the toll roads with our Loonies and Toonies, ( Canadian 1 and 2 dollar coins ) and white knuckled it all the way to the next Canadian Province over.

Moncton was a nice town. The first thing we noticed was how much stronger the French influence was  in New Brunswick. Miley and Scotlin had been on broken record asking, `are we there yet...` from the backseat, so when we pulled up to the hotel they were over joyed! Dad pulled up to the front and went inside to check in. When he came back out Miley was exploding with questions about the inside of the hotel. She wanted to know everything about the pool, rides, and fish tank... but most importantly:  `is it quiet in there... or are there other  kids pushing their way through...`

She wanted to make sure she was free to stay and play without any trouble, and had this amazing place all to herself! :)

Miley would prefer to play where it is quiet than in a crowd of kids any day, and as it turned out, Crystal Palace was the PERFECT spot to make that happen. Since our stay landed in the middle of the week, we nearly had the hotel, pool, and amusement park all to ourselves. There were no crowds, no lines, and no noise. It was the perfect quiet retreat!

As soon as we were settled in our room the kids were headed for the pool. The last time we took the kids swimming Miley slipped under the water without anyone watching. I think my heart is still at the bottom of that pool, where it sunk the instant I saw her helpless little body. Needless to say, this time we came prepared with life jackets!

I think the added safety measure made everyone feel a little more confident.

(Although, I still had my moments when Scotlin would jump off the edge--- even though Justin was right there!)

The day was spent chasing the two of them back and forth a thousand times from the hot tub to the pool over and over. They were having a blast.

I mainly looked after Miley while Justin held onto Scotlin ( who was completely fearless).

Little Scotlin showed us a whole new side to himself that day at the pool. He was a fish! he was jumping in like crazy, tearing around, and having a blast!

Miley liked to stay close to the stairs, and her `jumping` to me, looked more like I never let go. ;)

My favorite part about swimming with her was taking her hand, lifting her off the steps, and pulling her through the water like a mermaid, and hearing her sing soflty to herslef:

`I can show you the world...` From Disney`s Aladdin... :)

The rest of our evening, and into the next day were spent dinning out, dinning in, relaxing, playing, and enjoying being together.

On our second day at Crystal Palace we spent our time at the amusement park!

Where rides were ridden over and over and over again.

Justin and I weren`t sure how the kids were going to respond the all the action, noise, high rides, and rollercoasters, but we were the ones who were suprised.

 Miley and Scotlin found their paradise!

Once again we seemed to have the place all to ourselevs. The only waiting we had to do, was for someone to come opperate our rides! :) The plan was to wear the kids out, but they wore us out instead! As soon as one ride came to a stop, they ran to another, and so it went all day long. We were so pleased to see how much they were enjoying thereselves, and our vacation location! ;)
Just and I had to start taking turns going on rides with the kids, (with us as the only passangers, the workers didn`t ignore Miley and Scotlin`s requests for More! Longer! Higher! Faster!) and before we knew it, us oldies were getting a bit sick to our stomachs. At one point we went on the rollercoaster 9 times in a row! it would have been more if we would have allowed it...

The kids favorites were:

The rollarcoaster! The Submarine! The Choo-ChooTrain! The Airplanes! The Carosel! The Monster Trucks! Mini golf, and the Pirate Ship!

We enjoyed all the fun Crystal Palace had to offer, and feel our money was well spent! Miley has already planned her next birthday party here this summer, and has told me so everyday since we left that we (according to her) will be heading back! :)

True to what they say, time travels too fast when your having fun!

-Until next time Crystal Palace...  

The day we traveled home was crystal clear. The ride was half as long but just a beautiful!

This time we stopped a few times along the way to remember the scenery of New Brunswick.

For my girl who loves windmills.

We always talk about stopping as we enter Nova Scotia for a family picture. And today, even though it was fridgid outside we thought, `well, here`s our chance!...` So we went for it. We didn`t have a photographer, or even a plan. It looks simple right... until we had to navigate our way to the front through the snow (which was knee deep) trying to jump from boulder to boulder (Which were HUGE), with the kids in our arms, and the freezing wind in our faces.

So worth the photos we captured.

The kids were not happy with us. :-)

This is how happy Miley was to be home. :-)

She was seriously mad that we were home. We pulled into the driveway and she bawled.

I`d say that`s a sign that she had a really great time while we were away.

Since we`ve been home talk of Crystal Palace happens on a daily basis.

If Miley has any part of it, we will be back.

It was so nice to `get away from it all` for a short time. Our responsibilities are rarely on hold for more than a minute at a time, so this time it was nice to put all our cares aside other than that of having a great time, and enjoying our children.

Now we know we have a place to go when it`s cold outside, that will always leave us smiling.

BEST MOMENT OF MY DAY



FEBRUARY

- February was a cold, icy, and busy month in Nova Scotia. We made a couple new traditions in our family this month. Miley and I started `girl club.` Saturday nights after the bath tub, I blow dry her hair, paint her finger nails, and we talk about everything girly!! :) Miley likes to make sure the boys know.. `no boys allowed in our club!` The boys don`t seem to mind since they have a club of their own. They play football and wrestle, and watch basketball all they want. ( With no girls allowed!)
After we are finished getting her ready, she likes to play Miss America while she walks her cat walk, holding her flowers, and waving to us. She especially likes it when we sing: `Here she comes, Miss America!` She is a crack up! And I love my special girl time with her.
Dad and the kids also started a new tradition of looking through the cookbook each week, and picking out a favorite treat for mom to make each week for the family. Something they have all looked forward to each week!

- At the beginning of the month we had a special valentine Family Home Evening. We wrote on colorful hearts our favorite things we love about each other, and then put them up on the wall, giving out home its own little `heart attack.` The kids loved being involved, and it was so sweet to hear the things they would come up with. `Dooey is the best little brother, and my best friend.`Daddy is Precious...` It was also very fun to be surrounded by love all month long.

- Justin fullfilled one of his North American Dental Student Requirements called Table Clinic. This was a in depth project that consumed a large amount of his time. The Dental Community in Nova Scotia came to take part in the reasearch as a Continual Education Credit. We were able to go to the dental school to support him the night he presented. He is glad to have the project behind him! As are we. :)

- I traveled on many stake assignments this month, grateful to have a GPS. And wondering how we ever lived a day in NS without one.

- Valentine`s day was anticipated around our place. Especially with the hearts up all month long. Every morning the kids would wake up, run down stairs, and ask if it was Valentine`s Day today! So, you can imagine the excitement when the morning finally came, and they were able to run downstairs to a table full of surprises! The kids both got life jackets, and candy. Justin and went out to dinner with hired and paid babysitters for the first time! :) We felt pretty darn official on this date... and a little old! ;) All girls 12 and older in NS are required to take a child minding course and certify before they are able to babysit. There was a YW in our ward who had just taken the course and was excited about her certification, so we hired her, and she brought her sister along for a little support since it was her first time. The kids had a blast! When we got home they asked the girls if they would sleep over at our house. And ever since our date, Miley keeps asking me to go out with daddy again so she can have a babysitter. :)

-Justin had spring break this week. Why it is in February, I might never understand, but we love the break none the less. During his time off we were able to spend a little one on one time with the kids. I took Scotlin for the afternoon while Miley spent some time with her dad. When I was out with Scotlin he saw a little girl about his sisters age, and yelled out to her `NO GIRLS ALLOWED IN OUR CLUB!` Poor girl didn`t have a clue what this little man was saying, but I thought it was pretty classic.

More to come...

The Dude Man

I`d say these picutes illustrate pretty well what Scoltin has been like lately.
A little naughty, and a little nice.