Something New

I'm wonder how long I can post stuff here before Amanda notices. Being offensive might get her attention sooner. Hrm....

Cupcake Birthday Party!

Better late than never! Emma and Sophia turned 7 in November and we had a cupcake birthday party for them and 16 of their closest friends.  I love cupcakes so I went a little crazy but it was great fun planning it. The execution, however, hit a few snags along the way....Emma got the flu the day before her birthday and we had to postpone the birthday party until the following week...when I caught the flu from Emma. It was the sickest we have ever been but we seemed to have pulled it all off anyways. Here are some pictures from the big day:

The girls all decorated their very own chef's apron
with stamps and marker.

They all created wonderful masterpieces to wear!

Then we played "Pin the Candle on the Cupcake".
Everyone took a turn...and yes...
it went a little long but they all laughed a lot

watching others try to get their candle the closest.
I think a few peeked.

We played a couple more games...
cupcake and spoon balance relay and lets not forget....

"Cupcake, Cupcake, Cherry" instead of duck, duck, goose!

Then, of course, we decorated cupcakes.
They all turned out beautiful...

maybe a few too many sprinkles...

but hey, that's what kids like right?

We also read one of the girls favorite books "Pinkalicious" ,

which is all about yummy pink cupcakes!

Overall I think it was a pretty successful party,

considering all that happened that week!
I just hope all the girls had fun

and that my girls will remember when
their Mom went crazy with the cupcakes!

The gift bags that included:

Cupcake Candy Cups

A Cupcake Hair Clip

 

A Cupcake Scented Necklace

And a Yummy Marshmallow

White Chocolate Cupcake Pop

My Birthday Girl Emma

So sorry you were sick on your birthday.

Love you Emma Lou!

My Birthday Girl Sophia

My silly girl--always clowning around!
Love you Stinkerbell!

Halloween!

So I know it's been a while....I know I should have posted about a lot of stuff...like... our summer trip to the Tetons
...or Emma and Sophia starting 1st Grade and Ian starting Preschool...
...or the girls playing Soccer...
...or Ian learning to ride his bike without training wheels...
...or that our yard is finally done! The front yard and back yard have new sprinklers, beautiful grass and new plants...best of all...no more ROCKS!

But what finally motivated me to blog again is my favorite holiday...HALLOWEEN!

We had a busy month with a trip to Gardner Village to see the witches...
...Emma and Sophia's Halloween dance concert...

...Ian's preschool Halloween parade...
...and of course Halloween night...Emma and Sophia were witches and Ian was a pirate...

...Outdoor Decorations...
...Indoor Decor......and Michael's birthday! We love October! We love Halloween!

We Survived June!

I can't believe it but we survived June! What a busy but fun month! With dance rehearsals, the recital, the temple open house, the big quarterly Enrichment meeting, never ending yard work, Ian's birthday, kindergarten testing, kindergarten field trip, the teddy bear picnic, and of course, the last days of school for Emma and Sophia, we've been a little busy. But I'm happy to report, we survived! And now on to summer!

The first week in June, Emma and Sophia had their dance recital, "The Games People Play". It was held at the Rose Wagner Theater, in downtown Salt Lake. Emma and Sophia's class danced the Chess Dance, where they got to be chess pieces. We survived several late night rehearsals, and it was all worth the stress. They were fantastic!

Emma as a black pawn

Sophia as a white pawn

They were so excited to be on "the big stage". Emma couldn't stop smiling! Sophia was as confident as ever! They did an amazing job. We were so proud of them getting up there, in front of all of those people, and performing. It was so fun to see them shine!

Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House

The first Saturday in June, we attended the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. We were able to get tickets for our entire family and it was a neat experience to be there with everyone. I think the kids were amazed that they were able to go inside a "real" temple and had many questions throughout the tour. They loved the celestial room, with it's enormous chandelier. But the best moment was in the sealing room, when they were able to look in the two mirrors and "see" the meaning of eternity. Sophia's big eyes were priceless! It was a wonderful day to share with the people we love!

Addictions...Part 2

So when I'm not indulging in these (Yes! Michael got me the entire saga in hard back--he really loves me!), I have another addiction I've been working on....QUILTING!

Some of my favorite quilt ideas

I've been wanting to learn how to quilt for years now. I thought I could teach myself and went online but found everything overwhelming and intimidating. Shawnia, an awesome lady in our ward, offered to teach a quilting class for me for Enrichment. The class is quilt blocks from around the world. She is an amazing quilter and an amazing person! I can't believe she is teaching this for free. I have so much to learn from her. We started out basic and every month we learn a new quilt block from a different country. So far we have done blocks from
Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Spain, Switzerland and Germany (I'm a little behind and don't have them all done yet). I decided to do all the blocks in black and white fabrics. I plan on making a throw for my sofa. I look forward to this class every month and love the friendships I have gained, too! We laugh, talk, sew, and laugh some more!

I have loved learning this new skill--so much so that one block a month just wasn't enough for me. No...as with any true addiction, I needed more. So I decided to make quilts for Emma and Sophia. I know, I'm crazy. But I love quilting! I'm not an expert in any way but I find it very rewarding. So I researched out many patterns, took what I liked and made my own pattern. These are my favorite sites for ideas:
www.ohfransson.com
crazymomquilts.blogspot.com
www.modabakeshop.com



So this is what I've come up with: all pink! I found a lot of cute pink fabrics at my favorite shop Material Girls.
I'm making 2 twin size quilts so that is 160 squares total. It may take me a while to get them completed but I love the way they are turning out so far! I was so addicted that I even took my sewing machine as my carry on when Michael and I flew to Las Vegas. Michael had a work conference from 9-5 everyday and I just stayed in the hotel room and quilted. The housekeepers would come in and stare at me, trying to figure out what I was doing. I'm sure they all thought I was crazy. But I was in heaven. I think this is one addiction that I will be able to keep up with for the rest of my life.

Madsen Sibling Reunion

My brother Nathan, his wife Alissa, and their son, Spencer, came all the way from New York for a visit this weekend. We haven't seen them since Seth's wedding last May and we had never met little Spencer. It was such a great visit! Spencer is the cutest baby I've ever met--I know I'm a biased Aunt but just look at that face and those eyes! Too precious!


They flew in Thursday night and we had dinner with Stephen and Eiko. We introduced Nate and Alissa to Rock Band and rocked out all night! They caught on quickly and were instant experts on guitar--guess that's what you get from professional musicians!

Friday, the brothers (Stephen, Nathan and Seth) had a "man lunch" and some male bonding time. Melinda came up and the ladies and kids just hung out and had a yummy lunch. Friday night, Hilary came for dinner and we watched the season finale of the Office together. Many laughs.

Saturday, we headed up to Midway to see Dad. It was a beautiful day and very peaceful in the Midway Cemetery. Later, we got scones (no chicken fried steak this time) at Chick's Cafe in Heber. It's a family tradition--we can't go to Midway without a trip to Chick's--my Dad would have been proud! Saturday night, we had pizza from the Pie and played more Rock Band. Nathan's rendition of Beastie Boys "Whatcha Want" had us all laughing 'til it hurt!



Sunday was great. Stephen and Eiko, Seth and Melinda, and Hilary all came and it's the first time all the siblings had been together in over a year. We just sat around and talked, ate lots of yummy food and laughed a lot. I forgot how loud the Madsen's can be! Reminiscing was fun!I haven't laughed this much in a long time! It was so wonderful to have everyone here! Thanks to you all for a great weekend!

Addictions...Part 1

ad·dic·tion [uh-dik-shuhn] The condition of being habitually or compulsively occupied with or involved in something.

So I have been struggling with some addictions lately. The first one is a bit embarrassing for me and I have struggled posting about it for a while now. But many have requested pictures so here it goes!

My name is Amanda and I'm addicted to Twilight.

I can hear all of your gasps!

I know what you are saying: "Amanda vowed to never read these books and futhermore used to make fun of everyone who was so obsessed with Twilight!"

So you are asking yourself: "How could this happen?"

I blame it all on two people. (Isn't that what you do--blame someone else for your problems?)

So, Jennilynn--this is all your fault. You made me go see the movie with you--even bought my ticket. You provided me with my first hit for free! And I loved it! Not enough to want to read the books yet but enough to desensitize me to the idea.

But Jennilynn is not the only one to blame here! Jaqui--this is your fault too! You just had to bring that whole stack of books over and leave them there to tempt me! You knew full well what would happen to me!

So I blame you both for me completely abandoning my family for 4 full days! I started Twilight on a Friday, finished it Friday night. Started New Moon on Saturday, finished it Saturday night. I did take a break on Sunday--well, sort of--I started Eclipse Sunday night and finished it on Monday. Breaking Dawn took me all day Tuesday and I finished it Wednesday morning. Four full days, people! I couldn't put it down. I had to find out how it all ended. I loved escaping into this world Stephanie Meyer created and I didn't want to leave! It was a journey I will never forget!

I know, I know! I'm lame! Stupid! Ridiculous! This went against my very nature of usually repelling whatever is "popular"! I don't know what is wrong with me! I've been trying to figure out why...why did I like it so much? Why was I drawn to these characters, the situations they were in, the outcomes...why? Maybe because it made me feel young again. Maybe it reminded me of falling in love, what those butterflies felt like. Maybe it reminded me of why I married Michael--what true love feels like. Maybe I just needed an escape! I honestly don't have all the answers for you! But I'm hooked...obsessed...and what do I do...throw a party, of course!

A Twilight DVD release party!

The Invitations





The Goodie Bags included a Twilight book mark, Shimmer Body Wash (so you can sparkle), Red Fingernail Polish (Alice would approve), and "Edward's Kiss" lip gloss, that we made that night!


I had way too much fun with the decorations...red, black and white everything...I even turned on my Christmas lights outside for the true "Alice" effect
Everyone helped with the food. Jennilynn made yummy bacon wrapped chestnuts, little smokies and veggies and dip. Heather brought "Bitten" red velvet cupcakes, red popcorn and she helped me make caramel apples with white chocolate and cinnamon sugar. Colleen made Bella and Edward sugar cookies with black frosting. Everyone brought red, black and white candy. I made Heidi's red slushy punch drink that I called "The Cold One". We had way too much food and ate all night long. We started the party at 9 pm with making the lip gloss and then moved on to a fabulous Jeopardy style Twilight trivia game that Jaqui put so much work into! It was so fun! Everyone was so loud and we were all surprised we didn't know as much as we thought about our favorite books! Not as much as Jaqui and Kelly anyways!

Pictured: Heather Shepherd, Kelly Purser, Emily Norman, Shannon Reese, Jenny Chadwick, Christy Hansen, Jennilynn Hawkins, Heidi Allred, Heather Carlile, Jen Fisher, Colleen Fluckiger, Beth Emmett

Then we all painted our nails red and headed to Walmart to get our hands on a copy of the DVD at midnight.


We waited in line for about an hour and had fun chatting and trying to stay awake. By the time we made it home and started the movie it was about 1:30 am. Can I just say, it was so fun to watch the movie with all of you! I LOVED all the comments...I don't think I have laughed that much in a very long time! Not everyone made it to the end of the movie. Wimps! Around 4 am, we finally called it quits, after watching all the deleted scenes, of course. But it didn't end for me there...oh no! I was crazy enough to get 3 hours of sleep and head to Target with Jaqui at 8 am for the 3 disc DVD version! I know...Obsessed!


This was so much fun for me! I hope everyone had a great time! I loved sharing my Twilight obsession with all of you and now feel a little better that I'm not alone in loving these books! If you weren't invited, don't be sad(or mad, please)! I just didn't know who all had read the books and wasn't sure who wouldn't look at me like I'm crazy when I mentioned Twilight (it's still kinda embarrassing for me!) So if you are into it at all, leave me a comment, let me know so I can talk Twilight with you. If you are not into it--just wait! I'll try and convince you to read it, so you can be as crazy as me!

Create

I'm posting this video, first, because Michael's cousin, Katie and her sweet baby Claire are in it! And second because I need the inspiration this brings!