Happy Birthday....Madison

In about six hours...Madison will officially be seven years old. Yes, she was born at 3:30 in the morning. I remember being so tired by the time she was finally born, that I fell asleep rather quickly after the whole ordeal. I was kind of out of it when I awoke early the next morning and it took me a minute...or two, to realize that I was in the hospital and that I'd had a baby the night before. And then, all of a sudden, I remembered that I had a baby girl. I quickly buzzed the nurse to tell her I needed my baby girl.....right now. From that moment on, Madison has filled my life with so much joy. As she puts it, she is My Angel. If only she knew how true those words were.

Right now, she is tucked in her bed, trying to fall asleep. I know she will soon be dreaming of presents, candles and a Hannah Montana birthday cake. And pretty soon, she'll be blowing out seven candles. How on earth did she get to be seven already? Before I know it, it will be 17 candles. I took her to the promenade tonight. We went to see my little sister, Chelsey, dance in it. Maddie was fascinated with the big fancy dresses and pretty decorations and I could just see the wheels in her head turning....and I just wanted to stop those wheels and tell her to stay little. But it's as she puts it, "Mom, I don't know how to stop growing." So bring on #7.

Soccer Games

The above pictures are from Madison and Spencer's first soccer games. Maddie is on an all-girl team and Spencer is on an all-boy team, which I love. Madison's game happened to be last Wednesday evening when it was horribly cold...and she couldn't wait for the whole thing to be over. Spencer's game was last Saturday and he was all smiles. Having the kids on sports teams has kept us very busy lately, but I love what it does for their self-confidence....and it's a great way to get out all that energy they've been building all winter long.

Easter Pictures

We had a super-duper fun Easter, despite the loss of Grandpa McKee. We went to Remember the Maine for a picnic with all our Brinkerhoff family. Brett came from Logan, Amanda came from Ft. Collins and Dynelle and Kirk came from Provo. We had a lot of fun with the eggs. My dad some of those eggs so hard....I'm sure half of them are still up there. But Brayden sure enjoyed the challenge.

Then Sunday we had an Easter dinner at my Mom's house. It was such a good weekend. The kids got spoiled and played hard. It has been a good Spring Break. And notice Brayden's tie in the first picture. I ordered that tie online and when it came....it was a real tie, not a clippie! So with a little help from his dad and a lot of help from the wolf scout book, he learned how to tie it by himself. Doesn't it look good!

Grandpa McKee's Funeral

Saturday was my Grandpa's funeral. It was a beautiful service, lots of flowers and wonderful people. All nine of his children spoke, it was nice to hear all their good memories of him. The day was rainy and the burial looked like it came out of a movie with all the dreary clouds and umbrellas. Thank you to all of you who called or sent cards....you are so sweet and thoughtful. It really meant a lot to me.

Our Trip to Glenwood

Tyler and his brother Devin traveled to Houston in February on some business. On their way there, Tyler took notice of Glenwood Springs in Colorado. Ever since then, he has been wanting to take a trip there and soak in the hot springs. So this past weekend we loaded up the family and our bathing suits for a two day trip there. We knew there was a 60% chance of snow but thought 'hey...it's April...it can't be too bad.' So we took the car instead of the truck. Bad choice! If the weather says it's going to snow in Colorado, then you better take something with four-wheel drive. We only saw one snow plow all the way down there, and he was going in the opposite direction. Needless to say, the trip down was long and sometimes down right scarry.

But once we got to Glenwood and saw the hot springs and hotel, we got very excited. The air was cold, but the water was so warm....it made cool steamy affects. They had miniature golf and water slides...but of course those don't open until summer, so the kids were dissapointed. But we bought them snorkels and a water-proof disposable camera and had a blast. We are now professional snorklers and I told Tyler that now he has to take us to the ocean to snorkel where the tropical fish are.

This was such a fun trip...I recommend it to anybody, young or old. There is a ton of fun stuff to do in Glenwood. We only did the hot springs because our kids think they're fish. But we promised ourselves we would return and discover the rest of this cute town.

My Grandpa McKee passed away yesterday morning. He was a tremendous man who will be greatly missed by so many people. But he and my grandma have been separated for 10 years now because of her death, and I know they are so happy to be together again. He lived such a good, long life...one that he should be very proud of.