Madsen Madness

Which Movie Mom Are You?

My Result: My Big Fat Greek Wedding's Maria Portokalos

Maria Portokalos may not have been the focus of the movie, but that's the only way she would have had it. You, like Maria, are the backbone of your family, but you do it without ever wanting to be the center of attention. You know what we're talking about — your kids always seek out your well-thought-out and sincere advice, and your husband knows who really wears the pants in your house.


You consider motherhood a delicate balancing act — you're strong and tough when necessary, but it's tempered with love and respect. Fiercely loyal, you always act with your family's best interest at heart. And that's just the way you want it.

What are you?
http://web.tickle.com/jumpto?test=moviemomogt&c=50652

The 52 Blessings Project: Week 18

My sister Jessica.

I love all my sisters - they are beautiful, talented, smart and VERY funny. We always have a good time together. We are fiercely loyal to one another, and heaven help you if you hurt one of us...the other 6 will come after you with a vengeance.

BUT, I have been thinking about Jess lately. Jess is the sister closest to my age, 5 years younger. I am told that I was such a rotten baby that my parents thought that perhaps I was the last one (and then for some reason later decided not to have just one or two more, but SEVEN more). Most of my childhood memories include her.

MEMORIES: I remember the year we dressed up as Princess Leah and R2D2 for Halloween. When mom put her hair in a ponytail on top of her head and then and cut it OFF and I laughed at her and chased her around the house. When she rode her bike straight into a brick building because dad forgot to tell her how to use the brakes. Running down the halls in our condo building in Colorado, terrorizing the residents. Playing catch with Jess and dad outside. Watching her play basketball like a maniac - she was awesome and SO natural.

Jess is a terrific mother, an amazing mom, a great friend and sister, and just an all around cool chick. It's been fun to watch her grow from a kid to a wife to a mom...I love her and she is a blessing in my life.

My new favorite quote...

"If we live by the principles of the gospel, we must be good people, for we will be generous and kind, thoughtful and tolerant, helpful and outreaching to those in distress. We can either subdue the divine nature and hide it so that it finds no expression in our lives, or we can bring it to the front and let it shine through all that we do."

--Gordon B. Hinckley, "Each a Better Person", Ensign, Nov. 2002, 99

Tuesday Tell-All: Hometown Favorites

My favorite place to...

grab lunch: Strings (a little Italian restaurant) or Max's (best sweet potato fries evah)

go for date night: Tahoe Joe's

pick up some creative goodies: Love to hit good old Michaels once in a while.

keep the kids busy: the Bogle's (our friends) back yard!

get wet: Grami Snow's pool in Fresno and the Veyo pool when visiting southern Utah

buy a treat: Cold Stone Creamery

shop for fun: all the little shops in Fig Garden. Isn't shopping just about anywhere fun??

get some fresh air: Even though I am not close to southern Utah anymore, I still have to say Zion National Park. Anyone know some good places for fresh air around here?? I asked Zack and his reply was "ummm, outside?"

splurge: anyplace for a pedicure! (I need one BADLY right now...)

drive for a weekend away: Avila Beach

Welcome Home, Elder and Sister Madsen!

We had a little welcome home family get-together for Mom and Dad Madsen on Saturday at Grami Snow's house. It was a lovely evening, complete with a great dinner and fun entertainment. We are SO happy that Poppi and Gigi served a mission in Nauvoo, but we are equally as happy to have them back home. Welcome home!

Kids playing in the beautiful back yard -
Kade playing a pioneer ring toss/catch game with Talynn



Dylan the ever-posing child


Zack was taking refuge in the house once the mosquitoes started to appear - they like him! He tastes really GOOD!


Rick and Marci ( and the unborn one) are just too darn cute for words!


Aunt Tish with Blaker and Dyl


Mom and Dad Madsen enjoying the day


Grami enjoying the nice weather and her beautiful back yard


Gr-uncle Dan with Blake - entertaining each other

Rodeo Daze

We had a cowboy-tastic weekend! The rodeo was in full swing and a good time was had by all (yes, even me...I enjoyed it!) Matt took some great photos of all the goings-on.

Here are two cute cowboys - buddies and cousins Dylan and Dallin


Cowboy Kade


Poppi Madsen - the original cowboy - watching all the action

Some of the action going on - this is a great shot! (taken by Matt -
I can't take the credit for this one...)

Kade - the muttin' buster heads out of the gate! He did really well! Ended up placing 3rd. Go, Kade!!

We had a great weekend and it was fun to have Rick, Marci and the boys here for a visit. Yeee-haw!!

The Truth Comes Out. I am Really Jessica Alba.

MyHeritage: Celebrity Morph - Family history software - Family heritage

Zack's Honor Roll Mishap and Cowboy Dylan

Yesterday was the quarterly awards assembly for all the honor roll kids at the elementary. Just like every other quarter this year, Zack made the honor roll (yahoo!). I went to the assembly at the designated time. In roll the 4th graders. All the honor roll kids are announced...waiting, waiting...no Zack's name. I am thinking, maybe he made the HIGH honor roll? Hmmm...so they announce all the HIGH honor roll kids...waiting, waiting, no Zack. Zack keeps turning around, looking at me like "huh? What's going on?"

Then they get to the Principal awards...ok, I KNOW he didn't have straight A's, so there is no way he could have gotten this one. Zack keeps looking at me, so I tell him it's not a big deal and motion to him to go and tell his teacher that they forgot him. Zack told his teacher, who immediately goes up to the principal and whispers in her ear. By then, all the kids are OFF the stage and the assembly is almost over. The principal then says "Oh!! We forgot someone! I feel so bad when someone gets left off the list. We forgot to mention Zachary Smith, for the PRINCIPALS HONOR ROLL." (Ha! It should have only been honor roll.) So Zack went up on the stage all alone, and sort of galloped across, waving at everyone and all the kids are laughing...the vice principal got down on one knee and "knighted" him.

Zack told me that ALL the rest of the day, people kept congratulating him for getting straight A's. He had to keep correcting them. All in good fun! Maybe it will motivate him to actually GET straight A's!

And then we have cowboy Dylan. The rodeo is in town this weekend. Cowboy cousins (Rick and Marci's kiddos) are in town this weekend. Cowboy stuff as far as they eye can see. I never thought I would find myself in a western wear place (ok family, try not to laugh...) looking at cowboy hats for my son. Dylan LOVES this hat...he wears it as much as possible, and looks pretty darn cute.

Rodeo tonight - 6-year old cousin Kade will be muttin' bustin. You KNOW I'll be taking pictures of that! Good times for all.

Life with Z and D

I thought it might be a good idea to post a few things that each of the boys are interested in these days at their respective ages. Time really flies and it is amazing how quickly we forget...

ZACHARY (age 10)

• Likes anything and everything to do with Pokemon. All his friends consider him the resident pro.
• Stands over my shoulder a LOT when I am on the computer.
• Is great at setting the table.
• LOVES making up jokes - and a lot of them are pretty good ones, too!
• is very excited to see the upcoming Iron Man movie.
• Really likes playing a Mario game on the Wii
• Is more into "hanging out" in his room than he has ever been. I feel the teenage years creeping up behind me...
• Loves spending time with his cousin Ivy.
• Thinks he is a lot like his friend Ryan G, and likes spending time with him.
  
• Is interested in learning more about everything...very into interesting fact type books.
• Likes game shows a lot- especially Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader and Wheel of Fortune.
• Still prefers that I comb his hair in the morning in stead of doing it himself. (Fine by me!)
• Is still a good cuddler, even at 10 years old (thank goodness).
• Likes the SAME song sung to him every night at bedtime. (Sleep, My Dear One. It's Welsh lullaby.)
• Is definitely a schedule-keeping kind of guy. He likes structure.
• Won't let me anywhere NEAR his mouth because he is afraid I am going to ambush him and pull his two dangling loose teeth.
  

DYLAN (age 6)

• LOVES loves loves his Aunt Savannah (my 16 year old sis).
• Admires and loves Poppi Madsen greatly - wants to be a cowboy just like him.
• Likes the tv show Word World on PBS because he says he it makes him smarter than all the kids.
• In still a Star Wars fan, four years running.
• He is AMAZING with a light saber. No kidding! He really can whip the thing around. We should have him take up fencing or something.
  
• Is a great puddle-splasher.
• Is Daddy's best buddy.
• Loves to press the gate code when coming in and out of our gated neighborhood.
• Is very tall for his age - off the charts tall.
• Says he wants to be a basketball player when he gets bigger. No other sport, just basketball.
• Is totally pleased with himself when he finishes reading a book without any help from mom or dad. (mom and dad are pleased, too!)
• Has taken up spitting on the ground whenever he is outside. Not my favorite thing, but at least he is outside.
• Calls his heel his "chin-foot."
• Tells me he loves me several times a day.
  
• Loves to have me sing the Hush Little Baby Song at bedtime, substituting his name in, instead of singing "baby."

My boys. I love 'em.

My sis Manda Panda

Happy b-day seesta!
Random cool things about Manda:

• She is REALLY REALLY funny
• She doesn't get mad easily (at least not at ME)
• She is an AWESOME mom to Sadie and wife to Jason
• She loves animals
• She has a totally hot bod and I am jealous
• She once cut her bangs all the way to her SKULL and had a really cool look for a while there
  
• Her hair is NOW fantastically long and gorgeous
  
• She is an incredible athlete
• She has big feet like me so I don't feel so bad
• She had a rockin' short curly "Annie" do when she was little (this was after the scissors incident)
  
• She was born on 4-24-84 and she is 24 today! What's with all the 4's??

LOVE YOU, Amanda Kay!!

The 52 Blessings Project: Week 17

Books, books, books, I love books. I love to read to my children, I love to listen to them read, I love to read in bed at night. Books are DEFINITELY a blessing!

Dylan's favorite book lately is the Cat in the Hat. I have read this every time I have put him to bed for the past week. The kid has a bookcase literally STUFFED with tons of books and this is the one he wants every night right now. He is also reading every sign he sees on the road lately. I love this stage in a child's life...when they figure out that every sign actually SAYS something. It's like a whole new world out there!

Zack's series of books he is enjoying right now is the Charlie Bone book series. It is a lot like Harry Potter - kids with special abilities away at a boarding school...he loves it. Occasionally he askes me if it is ok if he keeps reading after his obligatory 30 minutes a day is over. I tell him of COURSE he can keep reading! That is one thing he NEVER needs permission to do.


Matt is reading The Talisman by Stephen King right now. I noticed it on his nightstand. He actually has a few books on his nightstand - he is a bit of a surfer when it comes to reading - he reads whatever strikes him at the moment. Me? I am a get-the-entire-book-read-before-starting-another-one kind of gal. To each his own.

I am reading A Breath of Snow and Ashes. It's the last book of a series by Diana Gabaldon. I started the first book about 9 years ago after discovering it in the Kanab library. Historical fiction with a bit of time traveling (Scotland Highlanders! British monarchy!) thrown in for good measure. A fun read.

I am so happy that my boys have inherited mine and Matt's love of books. I know their love of reading will only do them good as they grow.

Quote of the Day: Be a Friend

"It takes courage to be a real friend... A friend is a person who will suggest and render the best for us regardless of the immediate consequences. Sir Winston Churchill became Great Britain’s greatest friend in his country’s darkest hour because he was courageous enough to call for “blood, toil, tears, and sweat” when some would have accepted him more readily as a friend had he advocated peaceful surrender. President Abraham Lincoln was once criticized for his attitude toward his enemies. “Why do you try to make friends of them?” asked an associate. “You should try to destroy them.” “Am I not destroying my enemies,” Lincoln gently replied, “when I make them my friends?"

--Marvin J. Ashton, Ensign, 1973

Photo of the Week: Brynley Sue

Such a pretty face, and a sweet girl too.

and I always thought I was chocolate with NUTS...

You are Milk Chocolate

A total dreamer, you spend most of your time with your head in the clouds. You often think of the future, and you are always working toward your ideal life. Also nostalgic, you rarely forget a meaningful moment... even those from long ago.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

Tuesday Tell-All: Laughing Out Loud

What makes me laugh?

• Zack makes me laugh - he is a total crack up, with a really quick wit. I love his sarcasm.
• 
• Dylan makes me laugh. I love how he runs around all day singing all the songs he knows.
• Matt makes me laugh. I especially like watching him play with the kids - he is just a big kid, too.
• Being with my brother and sisters makes me laugh. What a bunch of nerds. I love 'em!
• Kristen Wiig on SNL makes me laugh.
• THE SOUP on the E! channel makes me laugh - a lot! My guilty pleasure.
  
• Dancing with my boys at the mother/son dance was totally fun. They can BOOGIE, baby! That makes me laugh.
  
• The movie Juno.
• Watching Peggy Sue Got Married and listening to Nicolas Cage's ridiculous voice he uses in that movie makes me laugh.
• 
• One of our counselors in the bishopric cracks me up - he is totally funny when he conducts sacrament meeting. I love it!
• The little Cranney girls (friends in our ward) - they are so darn cute it makes me giggle!
• My Aunt Mace is the best - she is so funny she ALWAYS makes me laugh.
• THIS BLOG (click to see) makes me laugh - I love it!

Kindergarten Goes to the Zoo. Where's the Man with the Yellow Hat?

It's a big time of year in Kindergarten! Friday all the kids went to the zoo, and I went along as a chaperone and to be with Dylan. I was put in charge of Dylan and one other child, Dylan's friend and classmate Sean. (Thank goodness LOTS of parents went and I didn;t have to be in charge of 6 or 7 of them. It was hard enough to keep track of two enthusiastic boys.)

Here are Dylan and Sean waiting in line to get on the bus. NO, this picture is not upside down - they were laying this way while in line. Funny kids.

Here they are on the bus, being boys.

Friends looking at the elephants...Sean, Dylan, Daniel and Jacki.

Dylan checking out the turtles:

Everyones FAV part of the day - the stingrays! Very cool. The kids got to touch them. We stayed there for a LONG time. They didn't want to leave!

Dylan's had lots of excitement lately! And what does Zack get? This week he is stuck with state testing all week! Poor kid...

The Kindergarten Hat Parade

Every year, instead of a kindergarten graduation, the kindergarten at the boys' school has a HAT PARADE. They send home plain hats with nothing on them, and our job is to decorate the hats as we please, and then the kiddos have a little precession of sorts to show off their cute hats. It was lots of fun!

Naturally, Dylan chose a Star Wars theme. He was heavily involved and very opinionated about the design of the hat. Here are a couple of shots of the finished product:

Here is a picture of Dylan with his good friend Brynley, who was also his partner in the parade. Dylan was really hamming it up on stage. Following in mommy's footsteps!

A shot of some of the kids singing the Bicycle Song, very enthusiastically!

Cute friends of ours, Brynley and Jessie:

Much fun for all!

Recipe of the Week: Cheddar Baked Chicken

This is a family favorite. I have passed it along to my sisters and those who have tried it LOVE it!

Cheddar Baked Chicken

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 egg

1 tablespoon milk
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs
1 cup crispy rice cereal
2 T butter, melted
3 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut in half

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Coat a medium baking dish with 1/4 cup melted butter.

In a bowl, mix the flour, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg and milk. In a third bowl, mix the cheese, bread crumbs, cereal. Dredge chicken pieces in the flour mixture, dip in the egg mixture, then press in the breadcrumb mixture to coat. Arrange in the prepared baking dish. Drizzle 2 tablespoons butter evenly over chicken.

Bake 35 minutes in the preheated oven, or until coating is golden brown and chicken juices run clear.

It's Like Living with a Parrot

Dylan's question of the morning: "Mom, what is a smart ALECK and a smart A*S?"

I'll take the blame on this one. The secret is out...I am far from perfect.

The 52 Blessings Project: Week 16

My only brother DJ is a blessing. I have been thinking about him a lot lately. Can you just imaging being the ONLY boy in a family of VERY vocal girls?

He is SO smart, kind, gentle and extremely tolerant of his 7 sisters. He is a good dad. He is a sweet brother. I just love him.

You rock, Deej the Weej.

You've Had a Birthday, Shout Hooray!

It's my sister Ali's birthday today! Happy birthday, Ali Mace with the pretty face!

YES, I am old enough to be her mother. NO, I am not her mother. YES, this is my much younger sister. She was born after my first year of college. And YES, there is one more even younger than her. I know...I know.

Happy 19th Als!

Tuesday Tell-All: Professional Help

This week: For what activity would I want professional lessons?

Well, there are MANY activities for which I would love professional lessons, but for now I will choose SWIMMING LESSONS.

I have never been a strong swimmer. I am a good floater, and I am good at carrying little babies round the pool, but I am not a good lap swimmer, diver, or underwater swimmer. I can hold my breath forEVER when doing singing exercises, but when it comes to going under water, I panic a tiny bit and am up for air immediately. I vaguely remember riding my bike to swimming lessons in Moab, and I think I remember sitting in the bleachers when I was supposed to be swimming...could be part of the problem.

I have made sure that Z and D have had good lessons - they are already much better swimmers than I am!

I know, I know...it's never too late, I can still take lessons, blah blah blah...yeah, we'll see about that...

Welcome Home, Madsen Family...Welcome Home.

Out with the old...

In with the new! Say hola to our new abode...