THE HOPPERS

Kids

2012-01-15T15:18:00.001-08:00

What a year hu? We had a great year. Casey graduated from school. We had our sweet little boy, Caden. Maddy turned 4 and started preschool. And we bought a house. WOW what a year!

Caden is growing so fast. He is a big boy weighing 20 lbs . He is a happy boy just wish he would sleep but I guess that is life hu? Maddy is also growing and is so smart. She loves her little brother and loves preschool. Casey has a new job and so far likes it. I have a new house and LOVE it:) It is just what I have always dreamed of. SO life is here great. Wanted to share some fun pictures I took of the kids.

Introducing Caden Casey Hopper

2011-08-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little baby boy was born August 17th. He weighed 7lbs 11 0z and was 19 inches long. He is the sweetest little boy I have ever seen. He is such a good baby. I am so blessed to now have 2 amazing healthy kids. I will post more pictures and write more about our little prince when I get more energy. But for now here are some of the pictures I took today.

Where has the summer gone?

2011-08-08T10:01:00.000-07:00

Wow! can't believe it is August. Summer has been nice and relaxing. I am so lucky that the weather has not been that bad at all.
Wow! I really don't have that much to say I guess the pictures will tell you more about our summer. They consist of sparklers, cousins, swimming, Catching frogs. lov'n Grandma and getting ready for the new baby. Only a week and 1/2 we are so excited. Also Heath and Heidi and the kids are comming down this week and I think Lance and Jenn and their girls are comming also so that will be a ton of fun. I hope you all have had a great summer.

Baby Bump

2011-05-22T15:44:00.000-07:00

So being a photographer, I have always wanted some cute prego pictures. I was never able to get them done with Maddy so I really wanted some with this little one. But a big problem... it is kind of hard to take pictures of yourself :) Now that I have family with me, I thought it was a great time to have a little mini session.

I love these pictures. Being pregnant is so amazing to me. Having a special baby growing inside me is such a miracle. I am so blessed to be able to be a Mom. It is the best thing in the world.

Casey was able to come up last weekend and it was great. We miss him so much and can't wait to be together in a month. We love you Dad.

Maddy and her lovely green fingernail polish. Such a funny little girl.

Easter

2011-04-25T11:53:00.001-07:00

What a wonderful Easter once again. It all started on Sat. morning with a little Easter Egg hunt. Maddy had a blast until the end and then we had a little break down. But that is to be expected with a 3 year old. We spent the rest of the day chill'n with Tysha, so fun.
Sunday we went to church and than came home and had a mini egg hunt for Maddy. We than had Easter dinner with Nic and his family. It was a great. The only thing that would have made it better is if Casey was with us.....only one month left.
Here are some pictures of Maddy and her Easter dress. She did not want any pictures taken all she wanted to do was dance... so that is what we got, a couple mean faces and a couple dance pictures. Silly Maddy.

It is a BOY!!!

2011-04-05T08:53:00.000-07:00

Last Wed. we found out that we are having a little boy. We are super excited and a little nervous, a boy is uncharted territory for us but could not be happier.

Most important though the doctor said that as far as she can see our little boy looks healthily.

Maddy was not too happy about the news. She wanted a little sister. When I told her he was a boy she said, "nope Mommy, try again, I want a girl not a boy" After I explained all the fun stuff we can do with a little boy she hesitantly said "ok we don't have to take him back to the store and get our money back, we can keep him." Apparently I return to much stuff, so sad that my little 3 year old knows what a refund is, he he.

Other exciting news ...... Maddy and I are now in UT with Mom and Tysha until Casey graduates. June 17 he is counting down the days. Our lease came up on our apartment and there was no since of signing a new one because they only do 12 month contracts. So I am in UT and Casey is staying with his friend in AZ. We hate being separated but this time it is only 2 months.

Sweet Tysha flew out and drove us back to UT. We spent a couple days in Vegas and had such a great time. I will post pictures later.

CATCH'N UP!

2011-02-16T09:04:00.000-08:00

Wow! where does time go? I can't believe it is already February. Crazy Crazy !!!

In perfect Eilisa fashion I am now just getting around to posting our Christmas Pictures.

So here is a quick recap of the last 2 months....

We had an amazing Christmas, one we will never forget and made a ton of wonderful memories.
Love, Love being with family. Maddy wasn't into Christmas morning at all! She is such her mom's little girl and is not a morning person at all. It was fun watching my Niece's open their gifts and seeing their faces. Maybe next year Maddy will be a little more into it. (We can always hope :)

Maddy has been so cute lately and such a good little poser for me when I take her pictures. I wanted to share some fun ones we took at the park a couple weeks ago.

Maddy and I made some cake balls for her friends they were so fun. She was such a good little helper.

We are going to be moving into a house in a couple weeks. Our Apartment contract is up so we needed to find a place that would work with us while we are still in school. We were so blessed to find this amazing house and wonderful owners that were so sweet and understood what we were going through. They just happened to be Members and also the Husband was from Alabama and the wife was from Utah. It gets even more crazy the Husband served the same mission as Casey in Utah and they actually knew of each other. Wow what a small world hu?

So that is my unorganized recap.. Hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day

Maddy's bathtub Masterpiece.

Maddy Christmas Morning

The Wii, So much fun.

Dreams do Come True

2010-12-20T21:55:00.000-08:00

Last week was such a great week. To start off the amazing week my wonderful husband bought me the best Christmas gift ever... tickets to the a NFL football game. Now those of you who know me know that I am a freak about football. I LOVE IT! I have never been to a pro game but always knew one day it would happen and it did. To top it off not only did I get to go the game but it was my favorite team in the world the Denver Broncos. I was in heaven, I honestly had to choke back the tears when we walked in the stadium. I know I am a weird one. So if that wasn't enough we were on the 9th row. 9th row. Can you believe it. I swearer I felt like I could reach out and touch the players. SO AMAZING. I have the best husband in the world and was so happy that we got to go together. Oh and another on top of that Casey also bought me an authentic John Elway jersy to wear to the game. I know I am such a lucky women. Now the one bad part was that in all my excitement I forgot to take my camera. Yeah I know. IDIOT! But we did have our trusty phones so we took a ton of pictures with them. Now if we can just figure how to get them off the phones and on to the computer he he. As soon as we do I will load them, don't you worry :)
That was the first half of the amazing week the second half was also great. I was finally able to buy my new camera YIPEE! with all my bows that I had sold I had enough money to pay for it. I was so so happy. I wasn't quit able to get the camera I had my heart set on but. And before I got the camera I bought I started to have doubts but once that baby arrived and I held it for the first time I knew it was meant to be :) No seriously I am so so so happy with this camera. It is the Canon 7d. I was aiming for the 5d mark ii but just couldn't see myself paying and extra grand for it when there wasn't that many differences that I saw. So to break it in I had 3 photo shoots last week. They were all great and I was extremely happy to be shooting again. I love being a photographer it truly is a part of me.
The rest of the amazing week was just great because I was able to spend a ton of time with Maddy and not worry about bows just spending a ton of time with her.
Wonderful Wonderful week!
Happy Holidays to everyone!
Daddy was taking a nap...... Maddy had other plans.

My new love! The Canon 7d

Aren't these kids adorable! To see them more clearly just click on the picture.

Such a fun family and so photogenic.

Some extras

Santa and Photo Shoot

2010-12-05T17:19:00.000-08:00

My sister-in-law had her work Christmas party and was so sweet to invite us. It was so fun. We had a huge breakfast of coarse Jolly old Santa was there and than they had cookie decorating. Uunfortunately I don't have a picture of the cookie Maddy decorated because I was a bad Mommy and accidentally dropped it, whoops.

Friday I had a photo shoot with my niece and nephew. It haven't had one in about 7 months and it felt so good to shoot again. My Camera acted up only a few times, not bad for old Betsy (my Camera). Hopefully soon we will be able to afford my dream camera. Fingers Crossed

Maddy and her Cute Christmas T-shirt.

My cute niece and nephew

Phoenix children museum

2010-12-01T20:31:00.000-08:00

Maddy and I finally got out He He. I know we are kind of home-bodies. Anyway we went to the children's museum with our friends and had a blast. There was so so much to do. There was a huge room that was set up to be a store where the kids could go shopping with their little carts and fill them up.
A room full of kitchen stuff, hundreds of pots and pans and play stoves and play microwaves. A room to ride around on bikes.
A craft room for painting and crafting.
A noodle forrest where the kids get to run through hundreds of these noodle (water floats) things.
Sandboxes and a ton more.
I think for sure we are going to have to get a year pass, I don't know who liked it more Me or Maddy :)

Our little Cat

2010-11-02T16:23:00.001-07:00

Just wanted to share some Halloween pictures with you all. Maddy was a Katrina the cat. We went trunk or treating for the first time and she loved it. Hope you all had a Happy Halloween!

Trials and Blessings

2010-10-13T16:13:00.000-07:00

So this past month has been a tough one full of trials and heartache. Everyday gets easier and easier. With this trail (and most all trails) it has made me even more grateful for all the wonderful blessings that I have in my life. Thank you to my Family and friends who are always there for me, with thoughtful e-mails, sweet phone calls, uplifting text and all your prayers. We Love you!

My mom was able to come down and spend a short couple days with us. Maddy was stuck to her and cried when she had to leave. We are so grateful she was able to come down.

Last month was also Maddy's 3rd birthday. Her birthday was on a Thursday so we had a tiny little celebration with just us and than on Saturday we had her Birthday party at chuck E cheese. She loved it and had a great time with her cousins and her new friends. Also for her birthday, she had a special surprise. Her favorite show is sprout it is a kids tv program and everyday they give birthday shout-outs. You have to send in a homemade card and than they will choose 2 or 3 to show on T.V. Well Maddy is always asking me "Mom when is it my turn to be on TV?" So for her birthday I made a card and sent it in hoping they would choose it so I wouldn't let my little girl down. Well fingers crossed... they did. Maddy was on TV, well her card was. She screamed so loud. It was the cutest thing ever to see her so happy. We tivo'd it and have to watch it everyday.
Maddy's birthday outfit.

Her gift "pillow pet"

Dancing at chuck E cheese

fun with Dad.

Blowing out her candle.

Her cake. She loves Winnie the pooh. So her dad and I made her one. I think it turned out pretty good.

Her card that was on T.V

Dads playing with their girls.

Grandma!!!

New Store!

2010-08-20T16:29:00.000-07:00

So I am starting a new venture. We all knew my plan right? It was to buy a new camera so I could start up my photo business again right?
Well that just didn't workout. Money is a little tight. So I thought what else can I do to help out with finances and hopefully in couple months save a bit to help buy my camera.
BOWS. Yep I know I am a weird. But you all know I have an obsession with making Girls Hiar Bows. So I might as well put my crazy hobby to work for me hu?
So here I go. My new store opened up today. It is an ebay store. http://stores.ebay.com/hoppershoppinhaircreations. I will also put a link on the side. I already had one set up from a long time ago so that was the easiest place to sell. I might eventually move on to etsy but for now just ebay. I also have a blog where I have been posting all my bows. It is www.hopperhoppinhaircreations.blogspot.com
The name of my store Is...... You guessed it Hopper's Hoppin Hair Creations. So please please go check it out. I am also having a FREE GIVEAWAY on my hopperhoppin blog so go sign up for that and tell all your friends too. Nothing is better than free hu? Thank you all for your support you guys are the best. Please let me know what you think.

Wanted to share some randome picture of Maddy. Saved the best for last

She had a rough night so daddy slept with her. So Sweet.

new favorite song

2010-08-14T14:10:00.000-07:00

So usually I would not share my favorite song with ya all but the first time I heard it, it brought me to tears. You might have already heard of it. I am a little slow sometimes he he. It is called "In my arms" by Plumb. The first thing I thought of when I heard it was of Maddy and than of our Heavenly Father's love. It is not a church song but it is just what I though of. I added it to my playlist and here are the words. Just wanted to share.

Your baby blues
so full of wonder
your curly cues
your contagious smile
and as I watch
you start to grow up
all I can do is hold you tight

Knowing clouds will rage
and storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms
rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe in my arms

Story books full of fairy tales
of kings and queens and bluest skies
My heart is torn just in knowing
You'll someday see the truth from lies

When the clouds will rage
and storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms
rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe in my arms

Castles they might crumble
dreams may not come true
but you are never all alone
because I will always
always love you

Hey I
Hey I

When the clouds will rage
and storms will race in
but you will be safe in my arms
rains will pour down
waves will crash all around
but you will be safe in my arms

New Ring

2010-08-04T16:33:00.000-07:00

About six months ago my poor ring was mistakenly put to rest, down the drain. Luckily we had it insured so I was able to get a new one. I was sad to lose it because I loved it but this one is also gorgeous.
The new ring is only the real exciting thing that has happened. We are not able to get out much because it is just too hot. We do go swimming quit a bit but that is about all. Maddy has learned a couple new things. She has learned to open the fridge so i am constantly finding random food items all over the house. She has also mastered the art of dressing herself and redressing she goes through atleast 4 outfits a day. My little Maddy, we lover her.

Tub

2010-07-19T18:19:00.000-07:00

It is so hot in Arizona. People from here say that it is not even that bad yet. AHHHHH. I am going to melt. Last week I think it got up to around 117. Our apartment has a swimming pool but when it is that hot swimming still does not cool you down cause the water is warm and the sun is so intense. Maddy is constantly asking to go swimming so instead of the pool we use our tub. So far it seems to keep her just as content as the pool would. I think is just the water, she loves water!I think all kids love water. So here are just some cute shoots I caught of her in her pool/tub.

fun father's day cupcakes!

2010-06-27T17:34:00.000-07:00

Wanted to share with you these cute hamburger cupcakes Maddy and I made for Casey on Father's day. Aren't they so fun. I can't take credit for the idea, I found it on one of my favorite sites www.bakerella.com . She has such crafty fun ideas for treats and we all know I love me some treats :).

And Again....

2010-06-11T19:06:00.001-07:00

Thank you so much for all your opinions on the branding logo. The tree is winning so far! Thank you! So now we move on to business cards, you know me I love to have options so I made 4 of them but know I don't know what one I like best. Could you please help me again with your input. What one jumps out to you?

INPUT PLEASE

2010-06-10T16:57:00.000-07:00

I am starting my photography up once again.... This moving stuff has put a little damper on my hobby/business, oh well such is life, Hu? I am going at it full force again. I have made a couple branding logos and would like your opinion. What one do you like best? what one is your least fav? Or do you think they all look like crap. It's ok I can take it.. he he.
I have my new website up and running and will give you the address in just a couple days. A couple more little tweaks and that also will be ready for some opinions. But first thing is first the logos. Here are my top three (not in any particular order). I also loaded them on a picture so you can see what they would look like in action. THANK YOU! fancy

flower

fun tree

spontaneous trip

2010-06-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

Those of you who know me know I am not by any means a spontaneous person. I am a huge planner, big to do list kind of person. So when we finally decided we were going to spend our weekend in Las Vegas and St. George I only had 3 hours to pack and plan. For some that might be plenty of time but let me just tell you I was running around like crazy!
No regrets at all I would do it again in a heartbeat. We had such a great time. It was so so good to see Nic and his family again. Las Vegas was fun too.

We left friday night around 9 and got to Las Vegas at 1:30 am. Spent all day in Vegas. Nic and his family came down for a couple hours. Than on Sunday we drove up to St. George where Nic was staying and spent Sunday and part of Monday with them. We went to Zion's and toured a bit. Monday we went to snow Canyon and let the kids play in the sand for a tiny bit (it was extremely hot).

One of the funniest parts of the trip was on our second day when we had to brake down and buy us a new GPS because ours broke on the way down . So we got it all set up and strarted driving. We set it so the directions would be in a girl voice. From the back seat Maddy shouts out "ok Grandma you are right." She thought the our GPS was grandma talking to us.
We almost died laughing when Maddy was telling us one her famous made-up stories and Grandma(the GPS) kept interupting her. She got so mad and started Yelling at her "Grandma wait I'm talking" she would scream. It was so funny to hear her talk to Grandma the whole trip.

I had such a blast! you never know I might try to be a more spontaneous person (probably not he he)

Snow Canyon

Maddy and liah have a special bond. They were attached to each other the moment we arrived. So cute!!

Zions

In the MGM

Flamingo's at the Flamingo Casino .. Mingo's as Maddy would say it
.

Eating her meal at the Hard Rock Cafe
Casey at the Hard Rock Cafe.
Maddy was so scared of the cute Coca Cola bear.

Casey getting a water massage.

craziness

2010-05-21T16:09:00.000-07:00

A couple Saturdays ago I woke up in a happy mood loving life. That same day we decided that we needed to go to the store. We hopped in the Explorer and started to back out when we heard a loud BANG! My happy mood quickly turned into a not happy mood. Casey got out of the car and I heard him mummer under his breath " you got to be kidding me, a BMW." Yep that is right we backed into a brand new sports BMW car. That same day after we got back from the store I decided I needed to take a nap and thought maybe I could wake up happy again. So we all took a nap. When I woke my happiness was again turned into complete terror when I realized I could not open my right eye. I have had some kind of rash on it for a couple weeks but never this bad. It had swollen up and hurt so bad. Later that day after things started to settle down I was relaxing on the couch when my sweet little girl came up to me, grabbed both cheeks and said 'Mommy I love you with all my heart'! Kids are so amazing. She and Casey are what make me happy and somewhere in the middle of that day I was too involved in my boo hoo's that I bypassed my wonderful life.

Everything turned out fine. Like it always does. Casey said we should be use to stuff like this. The owner of the car got it fixed and luckily our insurance paid for everything. I had an infection of my eyelash, weird hu? That was the cause of the eye problem but got on an antibiotic so that should clear it up. Life is crazy and I love mine.

We had the chance to go see the Phoenix temple last week it is beautiful. We also went to the zoo and had a fun time. Here are some pictures of our trips.
Maddy is not a fan of our music in the car.

Maddy making a mess, once again.

Always kissing her dad!

Temple

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T20:15:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter everyone, I hope you all had a great Easter. Ours was perfect, nice and relaxing. We watched some conference, went for a stroll in the park and had a yummy Easter dinner. What more could you want.
I love doing crafts with Maddy, it keeps her entertained and she enjoys but lately I've been having a hard time finding crafts or activities that she can actually do and it not end up as a Mommy craft instead of a Maddy craft. I did for Easter find a couple things that were huge success. The first one was birds nest... so easy just chocolate, coconut and jelly beans. Maddy loved getting messy and than also putting the eggs in the nest. The other craft was a lamb also nice and easy. Just glue and cotton balls.
While my Camera was somewhat working the other day I also had a chance to go out and take some good pictures of Maddy in her Easter outfit. And thought I would share.
Once again hope you all had a great Easter!

Our Easter birds nest, the finish product.

Cotton the Lamb.

Grandmas package, She loved it! Thank you Grandma!

sneak'n kisses

Little Easter Egg hunting.

Maddy's Easter pictures.

My favorite picture!

So far so good.

2010-04-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Life in Arizona so far is great. It is so good to be back with Casey. We missed him so much. The first 2 weeks were hard. I am so lucky to have a husband who works so hard to provide for us. We never saw him. He would go to school from 2 pm to 8pm than work form 10pm to 6am and than once a month he would have guard duty on Saturday and Sunday so he wouldn't even get to sleep. I knew he had been doing this for the past 6 months but to see it first hand was so hard. As of last week he has now pulled back on work and has gone to part time. He so needed a break and I so glad he was able to do that. I am trying to get a job so he can stop work completely and just concentrate on School.
As far as Arizona goes, I love it. The weather right now is great, I was so ready to get out of the cold and it is the perfect time of year here, mid to high 70's. It is also great to have family by us again. Jody and Lena have been wonderful and having Micheal and Lalya close has helped Maddy adjust a little easier. She still misses her family back in UT like crazy and talks about them all the time.
Our Apartment is great. It is a HUGE complex. It has a security gate around the entire complex which makes me feel a little safer especially when Casey is working nights. The apartment itself is small but homey, I like it. It is in a perfect location for all our little wants and needs.

In other news I have started the Potty training madness and boy am I in for it. Maddy has been so so good with everything else I just thought this was going to be a walk in the park, boy was I wrong. We have been trying for 3 weeks now and are 2 for 29 not good. Some fun stories have came out of it though.. The first week I tried to train her cold turkey and it was not working someone suggested to get a some type of surprise or goody and put it in the bathroom and when she goes potty she gets a treat. A little bribery never hurt hu?.. So as usual every time I go to the bathroom I take her with me and see if she has to go, well like always she didn't. I finished up, flushed my toilet and washed my hands and headed out the the bathroom, she with all her might said "TOP mommy! Don't fordet your tweet for going potty, you a good girl mommy, I proud"... She is constantly praising Casey and I now for going potty. All I can do is laugh.
Another Maddy story that at the time was not as funny but now quit entertaining happened when she was suppose to be sleeping. The night before she had a bad rash so I had but some cream on her and my bad, forgot to take it out of her room, well she of course found it and had to put it all over her body. Not only her body but also all over her entire stuffed animal collection. When we went to see what she was up too it was too late, all she said was "I feel better now" It took almost a week to get here hair back to normal but on a plus she was so so soft and all rashes are gone.
HAPPY EASTER TO ALL this weekend.
Maddy and her cream incident.our Apartment.The view from our patio

I AM ALIVE!

2010-02-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

No worries I am still kick'n, ha ha! All is good, well as good as it can get. Maddy and I are still away from Casey but are with a Grandma and Aunt who love little Maddy to death and treat me so good. So the Holidays flew buy Hu? It was so wonderful being with family for the Holidays. Casey was able to come out for Christmas so that was a huge bonus. We miss him so much. Maddy was stuck to him like glue! She loves her Daddy so much! Also my best friend Karen came down for New Years and I had a blast!!! Friends and family what more can you want?
It is good to be home. I forgot how cold it gets here, a couple weeks ago the high was 12 degrees. I was complaining to Casey about it and the next day I was talking to my sister-in-law who lives in Alaska and she was saying that it was -38 degrees in the middle of the day can you believe that? Wow, no more complaining for me. Like always here are some pictures to help you get caught up on our little lives ... Christmas pictures of Maddy

Little Liah

Santa came to visit at Grandma's house a couple days before Christmas. The kids loved the surprise.

Maddy was stuck to her Daddy for the 3 days he was here.

Liah not quit sure what to think.

Sara, so cute.

Bryson always thinking.

Ellie not quit sure either so she had to have her mom help her.

Saydee was so good, she even gave him a hug.

Tyson, "let me think"

Thanksgiving was so fun. Lance, Jenn and the kids came down. They loved playing outside. The girls singing with Grandma, I am sure they will all have her talent.

Uncle Nic is so good with the kids he is constantly taking all the kids out snowmobiling or just out to play.

Maddy loves to help Grandma cook. She is just like her mom, nice and Messy!

I Have had a couple photo shoots and was going to continue doing so until my camera broke, the luck I tell ya. Anyway here are some of the my favorite shoots I was able to get.

quick post

2009-11-16T15:10:00.000-08:00

Wanted to post some fun pictures, real quick like.
These are pictures of Halloween and Brinklee's Baptism. We had such a great time in Vernal. Thank you Lance and Jen. Enjoy the pictures

Maddy at the pumpkin walk.

She was upset that she got a pencil at on house instead of candy. So funny!

Brinklee and Lance.

Brinklee in her beautiful white dress on her special day. We were glad we could share it with her.

Maddy was so not Happy at the begining but boy once she realized she was colleting candy she brightened right up.

Logan Pumpkin walk

Logan pumpkin walk

Logan pumkin walk

Logan pumpkin walk. Micheal Jackson

Craft night with the kids.

Great Deal!

2009-10-28T19:14:00.000-07:00

So I just found a great deal and thought I would share.

It is on the Leap Frog Tag Reading System. Right now at toysRus it is on sale for $29.99 regular $49.99 and than I found a manufacture coupon for an additional $10 off making it a total of $19.99, a steal! Here is the link for the coupon http://www.leapfrog.com/etc/medialib/leapfrog/coupons/additional_coupons.Par.63631.File.tmp/10+off+Print+Coupon+For+Tag.pdf?siteID=.7WaaTN6umc-NddTp8A179V3IdLcPLj0pg

The $29.99 sale ends October 31st so just a couple more days. Again it is at toysRus.

Just thought I would share, I know everyone is looking for a good deal especially around Christmas and what a great educational gift.

Maddy is 2

2009-10-02T14:15:00.000-07:00

Our sweet little girl turned 2 last Wednesday! I can't believe it. For those of you who haven't had a chance to get to know her very well I thought I would share some 10 fun facts about her.
1. Her favorite word is Come one (with an Alabama accent)
2. Her favorite food is Ketchup and yogurt. She calls Ketchup-kepech
3. Her favorite song is Twinkle Twinkle or Kalija (the wooden indian song)
4. Her favorite place to be is Outside.
5. She knows her ABC's
6. She can count up to 10
7. She loves giving hugs. Is such a sweet little girl
8. She is a Daddy's girl
9. Her favorite color is pink. She thinks everything is pink
10. Her favorite show is Cinderella.
We are so blessed to have such a wonderful little girl in our lives. We love her so much.
We had such a fun birthday for her. Thanks to my wonderful sister and Mom. Her party Theme was Butterflies. We had ton of butterfly activities. We hung foam butterflies on our tree and had them catch the butterflies with a butterfly net we also played pin the dots on the butterfly. Maddy had so much fun she loves playing with her cousins. We are so glade Nic and Cyndi and their family came and shared this fun day with us we wish you all could have came.
So enough chat on with the pictures.... Maddy 1 day oldMaddy now 2 years old

Her Aunt Tysha has such fun socks. Maddy loves them and has to ware them all the time.

Maddy is so spoiled by her Aunt Tysha, She doesn't complain at all.

We Made it!

2009-09-12T12:08:00.000-07:00

We made it!

We (Maddy and I) are now in UT. The trip was so long!! Maddy was an angel of coarse she had her moments but for the most part she was great, being in a car for 2 days 12 hours a day who wouldn't get fussy. We arrived at Jody's and Lena's first in Arizona. I had such a great time with them. Mikael and Layla are so cute, I wish I would have taken pictures of them but I will have plenty of opportunities in a couple months. Lena is so sweet and we are so grateful for their hospitality. Casey had his interview the next day and he was hired on the spot so than 2 days later we left for another long 12 hour trip to UT.

Casey was able to spend a couple days with us but now is back in Arizona, working and he will start school this Monday. I am so proud of him... my boy is growing up he he!

Heath and Heidi were here also so last weekend we went to Willow park and had a picnic. It was fun, Maddy loves playing with her cousins. On Monday we also had aonther picnic this time at the portage park with Nic's family and Heath's family. We can't wait the See Lance's family!

We are having a good time but miss Casey. We also Miss Casey's Parent's. Maddy especially.Ellie and Heidi

Bryson
Ellie at willow park

Sarah at Portage park

Cyndi and Lia

Maddy playing dress up with Grandmas ear rings

Maddy and Ellie at Willow Park

Saydee and Maddy

Heath and Saydee

Saydee and Ellie

Tysha and Tyson

Mom with Saydee and Maddy

Sarah

Lia look at those eyes

Ellie

Bryson

More Maddy

2009-08-19T17:58:00.000-07:00

Thank you all for commenting on my last post, that was so much fun.
Drum roll please as I announce the winner..............................
It is a tie breaker, you all get to take me out! How is that. Just kidding. Thank you again everyone.

Things are still crazy here. We have been living with Casey's parents for a month now, they have been so good to us and we are so grateful. We have decided that we are moving to Arizona so Casey can finish school. He has been accepted at UTI in Phoenix. It is a 17 month course, he will graduate as a diesel mechanic and also they will work with the University of Phoenix to combine his credits from the other college and he will receive his bachelor degree. On top of that this college has a 97% job placement so that is also us huge bonus.
We should be moving this week, Maddy and I will be staying with my mom until the GI bill kicks in and than we can move to Arizona to be with Casey. Casey's Brother (Jody)and his wife (Lena) are amazing and are helping us get ready for the move, they live there and are letting Casey stay with them until the GI bill kicks in. We are so greatful for them. We are just waiting to get everything done with the guard. Not realy looking forward to the long trip but that is ok, it will be worth it.
So things are looking up. Thank you everyone for all your prays and sweet thoughts these past couple months you guys will never know how much we appreciate it.
Today was such a beautiful day and Maddy was in such a fun mood I thought I needed to take advantage of it. So here is our latest photo shoot. My baby is growing up.
Hope you enjoy...

PICTURE GAME!

2009-07-27T17:14:00.000-07:00

Having fun with pictures. Let's have a game with these pictures. They say "a pictures says a thousand words." What words would you use to describe these pictures. (5o word or less please J/k) . Here is the criteria, write what you think is happening in these pictures or what Maddy or whomever is in the picture is thinking. The winner gets to take me out to dinner when I come home. He He He. I will get back with you soon. THE CHALLENGE IS ON!
1

6 7

Another Unexpected Turn

2009-07-06T19:45:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone, I have been such a big slacker and quit busy with life that I just haven't made it quit down far enough on my to do list where -update my blog is at.

Wow were to start. ...

These past 2 months I have been able to spend time with my family. First in May, Mom and Tysha came down to visit also the same time Heath, Heidi and the girls came too. I had such a good time. I love family get together's. We went to Nacalulla falls but other than that we didn't do much, I am such a bad hostess. We basically just sat and talked. I hope they had fun. I know I did.

3 weeks later, I drove to see Heath, Heidi and the girls. The drive was so long and than on top of that the next day I had to drive Casey another 14 hours. Yep I was burnt out! I spent 2 weeks with Heath and Heidi. I thought for sure they would get sick of me. I had so so much fun with Heidi and the girls. I got to know Heidi more and can I tell you not only do I have the best sister in the world but I have the best sister-in-laws too. Heidi is so amazing, fun and so so sweet. We could talk for hours... and did. She made me feel so welcome and has such a wonderful calming presence about her. We did so much stuff. We went to the zoo twice, had a Harry Potter party, went to the library, went to play group, went to a birthday party, and of course went shopping it was so fun! Thank you Heath and Heidi, I love you guys. Mom and Tyson came out later and that was also great. I hadn't seen Tyson since Nov. so it was great to see him and Mom was wonderful as always! She made such yummy food and spent tons of time kissing and playing with the grandkids.
So that is a way short version of the last 2 months. Now for the last 2 weeks.

It always seems to happen, Right when everything seems to be going smoothly, right when you have just found a grove that you are happy with and everything starts becoming life's sweet self again. than BAMB! it happens the unexpected turn. I am never quit ready for them and sadly to say lately am mostly numb to them but not this one.

We are not going to be able to get our house. Can you believe it! Yep unexpected turn. We had been dealing with a particular lender this whole entire time. From the very beginning he told us that all we needed to have was 1 months worth of pay stubs and could get the house no questions asked no problem. So Casey started driving truck in the hopes we could get the house in a couple months (it has almost been 7) than use his GI bill and my photography to support us while he finishes education which would have been fine. Now we are being told that we can not get the house because Truck driving is considered a commission job and such a job requires 2 year experience before you can be approved for a loan. ARE YOU KIDDING! I almost died when they told me this. Our lender was so dishonest with us and the sad thing is we put everything in his hands. He was so qualified, he owned his own business for pete's sake. He actually up and quit, many speculate it was because he has been leading people down the wrong path (hmmm...) others say it was health reasons. Either way he just killed us. We were told this by a completely different mortgage person who just looked at our stuff briefly where are past lender had had our stuff for more than 9 months. Not only did he but a huge kink in our life but also in our landlords life, he has bought another house and was just waiting for this house to close so he can start getting financially back on track. Things are not looking good for him. And it kills us that this has happened to him. We just pray that someone will buy this house quickly for his sake. That is all we can really do.

So we are packing up and moving. Where too? Who knows. We are hoping something comes up in UT but know we have to look other places too. For the time being I am moving in with the in-laws and than probably go home for awhile until we find something.

We are still in this other stupid lawsuit which is going no where. It is just irritating to talk about so I will give an update on that later.
Other than that not much. Our 4th of July was Fun. Casey Had a 3 day weekend which was so great. So we had a BBQ at his parents house and saw a tiny bit of fireworks it was a holiday just to have Casey home.
Sorry no pictures this time. But Check out Heidi's blog http://hnhtreehouse.blogspot.com/ she has tons of pictures posted of all the fun we had. The past 2 months. Her and Jenn are such great bloggers, sorry mom you and I struggle. He He....

Same old Same old....

2009-05-04T08:31:00.000-07:00

So life is just the same old thing lately. Not much exciting going on.

Casey has been over the road now for almost 3 weeks, and I hate it! but when I get really discouraged I just have to keep telling myself ... at least he has a job. We get to talk all the time though so that helps. He misses us so much especially Maddy, He said last night he was looking at old pictures of her and he wanted to come home and hold her. He said that he feels like he is missing her grow up and he hates that. But as for the driving part he does not mind that at all. He has always liked to drive so he likes the job. That is a good plus.

Maddy is going through her terrible 2's I think? Random insane tantrums. She is also getting her 2 year mollers so she is not sleeping very well at night. but other than that she is still so fun and everyday is something new. I love it.

I am still working on getting my studio open. Hopefully in a couple weeks I will be good to go.

Oh and now crazy exciting news. ....My Mom and Tysha are coming out to see us this week I can' not wait I have been counting down the days and also an extra bonus I think Heath Heidi and the kids are coming too. It is going to be so much fun. oh and a double bonus Casey should be home this weekend. It is going to be a great weekend. I love my family. I wish all of them could come visit.Casey's truck it is huge !

Maddy and the lawn mower. She loves to mow just like her dad!Finger painting time!

Storms Storms go away!

2009-04-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

Alabama storms are so not for me. I just wanted to make sure you all know that. Last week we had a tornado touch down not far from my house. Huge hail balls, wind close to 100 miles per hour. Just crazy. Last night the wind picked up again and smashed my dogs cage and up rooted a tree across the street. On the news they said that the worst is still yet to come. I am so excited NOT!!!

So enough about the storms. Happy Easter to you all!

We had a great one. Maddy and I went to church and than went to Ryan and Amanda's House (Sandra's son and daughter in-law's). There were lots of kids and tons of toys so maddy was in heaven. We ate lunch and than let the kids hunt eggs. Maddy had so much fun. Her and Grandpa found lots of eggs. She was a Grandpa's girl all day yesterday. Didn't want anything to do with anyone but him. It is cute! I had a great time. Thank you so much Ryan and Amanda and Sandra and Clarence. I didn't even get homesick.

Time for pictures!!!Here is Maddy's Easter pictures. She is getting so much harder to take pictures of she will not smile for me for anything. But she did a good job.this is right across the street.Ryan and AnnaBear! Bear! This was so funny. Maddy thought this big dog was a bear. Amanda, Anna and Sandra cousins

fun with dad

2009-03-26T14:14:00.000-07:00

Wanted to post this cute video of Maddy Playing with her Dad. She is so energetic. We love her bunches.

Sickness, Growing and Waiting

2009-03-19T12:57:00.000-07:00

Sneaky little Maddy always getting into something.

Her first potato head.
Her finished product. Good job Maddy!

She LOVES her care bears

ok she loves her dad more. She misses him so much.

So the tittle pretty much sums up our lives the past week I've been sick, Maddy is growing like a weed and Casey can't wait to get out of training.

Last week I became extremely sick I had a fever of 106. I went to the doc and he said I had serve since infection he told me that I needed to go to the ER because of my fever but I said I am ok and he let me go home. By the end of the day it was down. I had so many drugs in my system that I actually didn't feel bad.

Maddy is growing like a weed and does fun stuff everyday. The other day I was in the garage cleaning it up so I can start my photo business back up and maddy was helping :). She had some of my stuffed bear that I use for props. I hear her chatting away at them and hear a lot of gou gewl, meaning good girl in maddy talk. I didn't think much of it and went back to cleaning.
The next thing I know she was shouting so I looked over and she had all 7 bears lined up in a row, had one hand on her hip and pointing her finger at them gou gewl, gou gew!! she kept saying along with other jiber. I laughed my head off. Than I though oh my where is she getting that!

Casey is good, he has been gone for almost 2 weeks now. Last time he was home for a couple days Maddy would not let him go she had to go everywhere with daddy it was so cute. He misses her tons. He only has one week left of training and than he will get his own truck and be home more often. We all can't wait

Moved in

2009-02-18T22:20:00.000-08:00

Wow! Where does the time go? So happy Late Valentines day to you all. I hope your day was filled with a ton of love. Thank you for sending Maddy valentines she loved them all and also thank you for all your phone calls, e-mails and cards for my birthday it meant a lot.

So update for this past couple weeks. We are officially moved into our new house. We love it. It was tons of work. We had so much help by Ward members and expecially Casey's family. You never realize how much stuff you have until you move. It was crazy. I never thought I would get to the last box. Maddy was such a big help, every time I would unpack something she would pick it up and try to put in the garbage can, believe me I was tempted to let her keep doing it would have made things go a lot faster.

Now that we have a house and a yard, Casey thought it was time to get a puppy for Maddy so we got Maddy an early valentines gift, little Ginger. She is so cute and loves!!!! Maddy. Maddy is not afraid of her at all and would play with her all day if I would let her.

I am so jealous of all you guys getting so much snow. I was going to change my blog background today but thought nope. If there is no snow outside at least I can have my snow on the Internet. All we are getting here are tornado's. It is crazy I am not use to them at all. It gets so warm humid and sunny and you think it is going to be a good day than all the sudden bam!! Tornado.

Oh on a side not I got a ward calling last week. I have been called as a primary teacher, CTR 6. Some how they made a little mistake so I will be subbing for a month until everything is straightened out. I taught sunbeams Sunday, Wow that was a challenge, I so admire you Heidi, doing that every week that is not easy. Congrats again Jen on your Calling. I know you will do great.

Ok so I think that is the end of my novel for today. Taataa!

our new home.

Daddy's girl.

Sometimes I wonder,, what is she thinking?

Blue eyes

Ginger

Casey is in heaven on his lawn mower. He always said when we were in the military that he couldn't wait to come home buy a house and mow his own lawn. He is such an outdoors guy.

OUR NEW HOUSE

2009-01-29T15:05:00.000-08:00

So mom called me today to cuss me out for not posting pictures of Maddy. She is such a good Grandma. Sorry I haven't posted for awhile things have been crazy but are finally looking up. Thank you for all your prayers. We got our house, well in a way, we are renting it for a couple months until we can buy it. We were approved for the loan but they want evidence that Casey has a steady income so we must wait for a couple weeks until Casey get his first 2 pay stubs and than we can buy it but until than the nice owner is letting us rent it. This owner is seriously one of the nicest men I have ever met. He is honestly an answer to our prays. We are so so greatful to him. I can not say enough about him. Great Great guy!!
So we get to move in on Saturday I am so excited.
Casey has been gone for 2 weeks for training. He will be back on Saturday night than has to go to active duty guard for a week than on the road again with a trainer for 3 weeks. Poor guy. He is so amazing though, love him tons.
Maddy is still growing so so fast she just turned 16 months on Sunday. She is learning new words everyday. I love how she is putting the words together and realizing everything. it is such a fun stage. I will have to take a video of her and all of her new words.

So the law suit is still going. We went to court on the 16th it was a preliminary injunction to keep us from buying any other house other than the stupid one we are getting sued for luckily the judge declined it and said that there is noway he could do that so we were free to buy a house. Now they are seeking for money they haven't said how much yet but we will see hopefully someone will just buy their stupid house, there is someone that is looking so keep your fingers crossed.
Well I think that is all. Hugs Eilisa

POOR MADDY

2009-01-04T13:19:00.000-08:00

Sweet little Maddy tripped over her feet and hit the edge of the door way and the door henge. Check out those knots. Just another day in our crazy lives.

2009-01-03T14:38:00.000-08:00

Merry late Christmas and Happy Late New Years!!!! I hope you all had a great one. We did Maddy got spoiled but of course loved it. She got 4 babies. She is one busy mommy. She loves them all and is constantly feeding them kissing them pushing them in her new stroller or telling them to shhhh.
We didn't do anything exciting for New Years. Casey got to come home from school so that was good but other than that not much.
We have had a rough rough past couple weeks. We are in the middle of a law suit. The lady that owns the house we were going to buy before we found our dream house is suing us. At first we thought it was all a bluff but on Tuesday when we got served with the papers we realized she was serious. We had to go get a lawyer and all. Talk about sleepless night and stressful days. Our house we are trying to get is now pushed back until the end of January. So who knows if we will get it. Sad to say but I have become immune to it all I have cried all I can cry and stressed until I make myself sick that I am finally at the point of blaaa, can't believe this is all happening. To top it all off Maddy is sick and Casey has been sent home from trucking school. AHHHHHHHH!! We just keep praying that is all we can do. The last thing our lawyer said to us was don't worry let me do the worrying for you easier said than done hu.
So that is our life in a nut shell. on a Brighter not Check out these cute pictures.

Christmas Day

Maddy and Daddy laying on her new Pillow from Grandma and Tysha.

Feeding babies

Kissing babies

Blowing kisses

Even though Alabama lost last night Maddy is still a proud fan of her Daddy's team.

Roll Tide!!!!

Santa Clause

2008-12-19T19:38:00.000-08:00

Wow I haven't posted forever!! It has been crazy here. We finally found a house that we both could agree on. The first one we were going to get was just ok I wasn't in love with it but now we have found an amazing house that we both love. If everything goes as planed (keep your fingers crossed) we could have it by sometime next week. Casey joined the Guard this week so that was kind of happy/sad moment all in one. He, so far thinks it will be ok, he met most of his squadron and they seem great so that is a bonus.

Maddy is still growing like a weed. She is starting to copy every word I say or at least tries. Today she was eating Cheerios and I had to run in the back room, I left the box on a place she could reach, when it clicked in my head I ran back to the kitchen as fast as I could and guess what sweet little Maddy had done.... Nope you are wrong, she didn't dump it all on the floor she had put the box back in the cupboard and said ahh..dun (meaning all done). i couldn't believe it I thought for sure she would have dumped it . She usually has a notty moment when left alone, like putting all her toys in the toilet or shoving things in the DVD player or ..... you know how it goes but today she was so good. It was a good day.

We went to a ward Christmas party tonight and Santa was there so these are some pictures I took. Maddy did so good.

This is my fav. picture I used a wide angle lens so it doesn't fit on this blogger template. so I cropped the top and the bottom one I left as is. You will just have to tilt your head sorry. but it is worth it he he.

OK I am done. UP UP UP! is what she is saying.

Thansgiving

2008-12-04T12:19:00.000-08:00

I can't believe Thanksgiving/reunion is over! All the excitement and anticipation is over, it is kind of sad. It was great though!! It was so good to see everyone, it was just like old times except with a lot more people. The food like always was amazing!!! Mom and Aunt Gail worked so hard in the kitchen and the final product was so so good. We had fun crafts, black Friday talk, football games, story time and much much more. Nic even suprised us with Tickets to Forgoten Carols Thanks Nic!! we loved it.

Casey surprised everyone and came out 2 days before thanksgiving. So everyone (the entire) family was there.

I had a great time taking pictures of everyone. I was in heaven.

Sweet Tysha got Casey and I room at her Hotel it was so good to get away for a night. Except little Maddy had other planes. She got sick on Thanksgiving morning.Mom and Tysha took care of her until I got there. She was up all night this was her first time being sick so it was so hard for her but she finally fell asleep around 3. So here are just a couple of the buzzilion pictures I too

Tiny Tim

2008-11-13T19:27:00.000-08:00

Here is just a cute video of Maddy singing with her Grandma and Aunt Tysha. Aren't her p.j.'s cute Grandma made those today.

"There is no place like Home"

2008-11-12T07:53:00.000-08:00

Honestly, There is no place like home. No matter where you go there is nothing like coming home. I don't know if it is Mom's cooking or the cheerpings of the Ginny pigs or seeing all the old people in Portage or what but Portage will always be home and always have special place in my heart. So far Maddy loves UT too. She LOVES playing with her cousins and being spoiled by her Grandma and aunt Tysha. We are having a blast! But we do miss Casey so so much and will be so happy to see him when we go back to Alabama. Every time the phone rings Maddy says Dada! Dada! she Loves her dad so much.

A little update on... Halloween was so much fun. Maddy was a Monkey. We went with Nic and Cyndi and the kids. She was so good and sneaky while I wasn't looking she got in her basket and ate a whole bag of M&N's before I caught her. She loved it. Everyone loved her costume and took a ton of pictures of her.

Isn't this the funniest picture? Maddy was trying to eat some of Bryson's candy and Bryson of course wouldn't let her. I love the face she was pulling.

A couple days ago I thought it would be fun to make something for Casey so he wouldn't be so homesick for Maddy. So this is what I came up with a Magazine all about Maddy. Here is the front cover and just one page of the Magazine. I hope he likes it I had a ton of fun making it for him.

Here are some more pictures of Maddy enjoying UT and the Tree family.

pictures

2008-10-25T08:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures. Liked promied.

Casey's new truck

Maddy loves mowing the Lawn.

Granie and Papa.

Playing with Papa !

Alabama

2008-10-25T06:54:00.001-07:00

Wow! Long time no post. Things have been crazy. We are finally back in America. Yippee!!!!!!!!!!!!!The last 2 weeks in Germany were crazy. We had to stay in a Hotel for 7 days. Not fun! Maddy did not sleep well at all. The plane ride was crazy, 11 hours and than another 2 hours on the second flight. Sweet Maddy was so good. She only sleep 1 hour can you believe that. It took her about 3 days to get adjusted to everything but now she is back to her sweet normal self.
She is so good with her Papa and Grannie she loves them to death. I took tons of pictures and will post them soon.
Casey got a new truck this week. It was an amazing deal. And since our truck won't be here for another month we thought we might as well get it. It will make things a lot easier. I will post pictures of that later too. Right now he is working with Clarence but is also applying for other jobs.
Maddy and I leave for UT on Wed. I am so so so excited to go home but will miss Casey and the Grandparents and I am sure Maddy will too.
hugs and kisses until next time.

Our Baby is 1

2008-09-23T08:16:00.000-07:00

Maddy turned one today. I can not believe it. It seems like yesterday I was holding my newborn baby. Wow! how time flies.

These are a couple pictures with her birthday hat Karen got us isn't it so cute. We love our little Maddy.

Now for a bit of bad news, We still have not got our orders. Casey is getting quit nervous and anxious. They keep telling him you should have it in a couple days that was 3 weeks ago. So we are still waiting.

Maddy's Birthday Party

2008-09-21T10:36:00.000-07:00

Saturday was Maddy's first birthday party. It went great! Everyone we invited showed. So we had a full house. Maddy was a little overwhelmed at first but once things got going she had a blast. Thank you to all who came.

Casey was in charge of taking pictures but forgot. Our sweet friend Karla took these pictures and gave us copies. Thank you Karla! We played a couple family games "How well do you know Maddy" and "Guess how much I weigh" and the kids played pin the tail on the huge blow up donkey.

The Cake turned out well. I was a little nervous but everyone seemed to enjoy it and most important, Maddy. She loved it !

Everythig was great the only thing that would have made it better is if all you were there.

Happy Day!

2008-09-16T14:27:00.000-07:00

So Casey is done with work. Yipee!!!!!!!!! He is so happy. I can only imagine how he is feeling. He is such a amazing and strong Man. Serving 6 years in the military, it was not easy but he did it. We are now still waiting on our orders to get everything going. We can't do ANYTHING without them it is so frustrating. But at least he will be home to help me once we get things moving. Another of my good friends is leaving tomorrow. It is so hard saying goodbye to everyone but I guess that is all apart of the military life.

I took Maddy's 1 year pictures a couple weeks ago. She is getting a little harder to take pictures of. She moves so fast and I practically have to stand on my head to get her to smile. But she is so photogenic that even if she isn't smiling it still turns out cute! I also made her ivnites for her birthday party this Saturday, we are having her party a couple days early. I am pretty excited we are doing abc block theme and I am making her cake. I am sure she could care less but I still want to try to make it special.
Hope you all have a peachy day.

Maddy's birthday card

Here is a picture of my new hair cut. What do you think? Mom said I had to post it, so there ya go mom :)

Counting Down

2008-09-04T01:42:00.000-07:00

We are now counting down the days until we are able to come home we have exactly one month 30 days! We can not wait. I have already bought my ticket home to UT. So we will stay with Daddy and Sandra for a month and than fly home and stay with Mom for a month, Casey will probably end up staying in Alabama and will not be able to make the trip out to UT because of his new job. Things around here are getting so crazy. We are trying to get things ready to be packed and we have a ton of Doctor appointments this month, trying to squeeze them all in before we get out of the military.

On a side note it was my sweet husbands 30th birthday a week ago so once again happy birthday honey. I love you !!!!!

Madison's birthday is comming up. We are planning on having a little party for her. I can't believe how much she is learning. This week she learned where her ear and nose are and what a dog says. I am sure she knows so much more but that is all she wanted to share with us this week.

Well I think that is all for now
.
So happy!

She is finally able to wear the cute little bows Aunt Heidi made for her. Thanks Heidi we love them!!

Maddy has to have her leg out of the crib when she sleeps. I am afraid she is going to get it caught but so far she just hangs it out there with no problems.

different angle of my little Monkey!

Playing Outside

2008-08-16T09:54:00.000-07:00

Congratulations Cyndi and Nic. I am once again another proud Aunt. I have the cutest Neices and Nephews ever. Love you and glade everything went well.

Wow! our life right now quit boring. I honestly have been waiting for something to happen so I could post but honestly nothing. Other than little Maddy growing like a weed everything is the same. We are just getting ready and so excited to come home we most likely will leave here on Oct. 1st. As of now we plan on going to Alabama. I have had a couple more photo shoots but decided that I will take a little break before we leave so I can get things done around the house and help Casey as much as possiable.

Maddy being Maddy

2008-08-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

Here is just a little clip of Maddy. It is a week or so old, I am behind.

She loves to clap and dance!!! Sometimes she gets so into her dance she falls over it is so funny.

Thank You Jenn

2008-07-31T13:46:00.000-07:00

Look! Look! I was nominated by one of my sweet sister in-laws, Jenn, for this cool award.
Thank you so much. It made my day. You are such a sweetheart.
You guys are the best I love blogging it makes me feel so close to you all even though we are thousands of miles away. Since everyone started bloging my homesickness has decressed bunches. Thank you all for your wonderfull blogs and you sweet and loveing messages.

Macaroni and Cheese

2008-07-28T05:29:00.000-07:00

Monday, Monday....
You all know me and I am no means a chief but a couple months ago my friend gave me this easy and so so so yummy recipie so I thought I would share it with you all. It is macaroni and cheese caserole ( what did you think it would be filet meon :) No serously this is a good one. It is Casey's favorite and it is different than most Some of you might have but for those who don't you'll have to try it.
8 oz elbow macaroni
1 cup mayo
1 can cream of chicken soup
8 oz shredded cheese (I use colby jack or cheddar)
4 oz crackers (crumbled) club, ritz...
Ok so boil the macaroni until it is just tender (about8 minutes) Drain.
mix mayo, can of soup, and cheese in a bowl - add macaroni to mixture - mix it all up together Pour macaroni into a baking dish (9X9in)
sprinkle cracker crumbs on topBake at 400F for 25 minutes!

Talking about food, today I decided to start my 100th diet he he. I am serious about this one. I need to get this extra baby loveing off. I diecided to try the "crack the fat-losss code" diet. It seems like something I can do. The first week is way hard but after that it seem to be pretty forgiving. Have any of you heard about it.

hugs.

Paris

2008-07-24T12:23:00.000-07:00

We are back ... Oh before I forget happy 24th to all you in Utah and all who celebrate it.

This is going to be a short blog tonight. we just got back from our trip and I am exhausted but I wanted to post some pictures.
Paris is gorgeous. Unlike any place I have been too. I didn't take a ton of pictures like I usally do and there is a reason but I will tell you all about it in the next post.
I love you all so much and hope you are having a wonderful day.
Set back and enjoy the pictures.

Eiffle Tower

Just like in the movies. Beautiful!

THE LOUVRE (it is huge!!!)

Madison in the Louvre. Thought she would try to help out by looking at the map and since we weren't having any luck we let her have a go at it.

Mona Lisa

French Kisses :)

NORTE DAME

Good news and Bad news

2008-07-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

Hello all! How has everyone's week Been? Mine was a little crazy. My close close friend Karen left this week so that has been extremly hard. They PCS'd (military word for got assigned to a new base). I have seen her and talked to her almost everyday for 3 years and now she is gone. It is tough. She would always say to me "My day just dosen't feel complete unless I talk to you or see you." I will miss her so much.

Casey started his leave on Wed. a day later than we thought but at least he is on leave. It has been great! He has helped a lot with maddy giving me a little break just to chill. He is the best.

Now on a negative note my sweet baby got a hold of my external hard drive where I keep all, I say all my pictures and scrapbooking stuff (it is basically my life when it comes to my computer) and she droped it. It is not working at all. I am so scared it has all my professional pictures on it all Maddy's pictures since she was a day old, all my traveling pictures. everything. We took it into the computer guy and Casey keeps reasureing me that nothing will be lost so that is the only reason I am abole to stay some what calm about the situation. Pray for my hard drive will ya? he he he.

Well I must end with some good news. Last night I booked our hotel for Paris. I am so exctied. We leave on Wed and are coming back on Thursday. I know short hu? I am happy though, because Casey realy dosen't care to go at all so I will take the 2 days and run with it. He is not much of a traveler but I keep telling him this is a once in a lifetime oppertunity so I am making him take me.

Daddy is my Favorite toy...........

Faces of Maddy

Last pictures of Ireland

2008-07-13T06:17:00.000-07:00

Ok guys I am sure you are sick of all these Ireland pictures so I promise these will be the last. These were not taken by me we actually met another photographer and he so kindly said he would love to take our pictures. So these are the ones he took of all of us. I did post all my 170 pictures on my pro site if you want to see more.
Well not much is happening. On Tuesday Casey starts his 15 day vacation so that will be good. I think we are going to try to go to Paris.
Well I hope you all had a great weekend.

Little walker

2008-07-10T10:33:00.000-07:00

First Steps!!

2008-07-10T05:28:00.000-07:00

Maddy took her first steps yesterday. I almost cried. She was so proud of herself. I can't believe it, it seemed like yesterday she just learned to crawl. My baby is growing up.

Here are some pictures I took of Maddy today. She is wearing the cutest little shirt I bought her in Ireland. She is so adorable.

I was telling her no in this picture. She thinks I am funny. Got to work on that.
Coming to get you!!!
Can you read it?

Ireland again

2008-07-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

More pictures!!!!!!Dublin.

Our 4 leaf clover.

Giants Callsway so so amazing!!

This is the rope bride we went across it was so scary but so beautiful. I wasn't sure if I was going to laugh or cry.
This is me shooting a bow and arrow in a castle. I totally stunk! My first 3 shots I hit the wall by the 4 shoot I finally got it on the board

Thank you all for your sweet comments of my photos!! Isn't Ireland beautiful. I had such a blast. We did so much in just three days. My favorite part had to be the live Celtic dancing not only was it amazing but my friend Karen was chose to get up and dance with them. It once in a lifetime opportunity. So was amazing. They first day we stayed in Dublin and toured the city. They second day we went to the Giants Callsway. It is right on the coast. It has thousands of these huge rocks. I never thought rocks were that interesting until I went here. wow! it was amazing. The third day we went to a rope bridge, the road of trees and the bellfast Castle.
This is just a random picture I took a couple days ago. I wanted to get a pro picture of Madison's blessing dress. But Maddy wanted to help and insisted she needed to wear it. She would go up to the dress, pull it down and hold it to her chest. It was so cute.

Amazing Ireland!!

2008-07-08T03:39:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone, and happy late 4th of July. I hope you all had a good one.
Well as you all know I went to Ireland this past weekend. It was amazing. At first it was extremely hard to leave my baby. It was the first time I have left her for more than a couple hours. I cried the whole way to the airport but once we got going I was a lot better. I did miss her a ton though.
We saw everything I ever wanted to see and more. We saw live Celtic dancing, Scottish band, shot a bow and arrow. We saw amazing scenery, such as the giants callsway, the coast, castles and much much more. To top it all off we even got mooned by a drunk'n Irish man. It was so great. I could go on and on but I am kind of in a hurry I have a couple photo shoots so maybe more stories tomorrow. I wanted to at least load a couple breath-taking pictures so you can all get the idea of what I saw.

Stupid Cold

2008-07-01T05:01:00.000-07:00

I think that the most evil thing is a summer cold. They are seriously over-rated. I know I should just be quit, all of you that have allergies think I am a wimp.
Well I really haven't done much this past week been stuck home. Maddy and I are getting a little bored poor baby. But I only have 2 more days until I leave for Ireland. I am so excited!!!
Lets see what else............ not much. Oh the website went over well. All my clients commented on it so that was good. Thank you all for your sweet comments. You guys seriously make me feel so good about my business.

Ok so this pictures is so funny. I seriously just ran to the bathroom to blow my nose. 5 seconds at the most and look what I came back too. She is so fast!!! and look at her expression. Who me?? I love her to death.

finally finished!!!

2008-06-25T13:00:00.001-07:00

I am finally done with my new photo website. http://www.eilisaphotography.com/ Please go check it out and let me know what you think. Play around, sign the Guest Book. I even have a family gallery the password is my b-day. I am taking the old one down so make sure to update the new address. Your guys are the best.
Sorry so short I haven't been feeling so well. I better get my sleep while Maddy is sleeping.

Cute Little Maddy

2008-06-23T09:30:00.000-07:00

Here is a little clip of Maddy. I am so not a camcorder pro. She is getting so big. She can wave stand and dance such a cutie.

FEELS LIKE FOREVER

2008-06-21T02:07:00.000-07:00

Holly cow! it feels like forever since I have posted something . I am such a slacker.

First of all I have said this a million times I love all your blogs. Jen I am so sorry I haven't commented on yours for awhile I am such a dork and can't figure it out. I will get it though.I copied you and added some music. I look at your blogs daily and love them all so much you guys are so creative and such good picture takers I get jealous of your pictures.

I love you Tysha!! I am so proud of her. She got the new job. I knew she would get it..

Ok so lets do a little updating. Fathers Day ... It sounds like all the fathers had a good one. I tried to make Casey's good too since it is his first and all. I have been saving up for awhile to get him an xbox 360 and finally had enough money to get it for him. but I think he kind of had an idea I was going to get it so I had to think of something to surprise him. So I tried to make the ugliest thing I could think of and wrap it in the xbox box and see his reaction. I made this ugly ugly stone and painted it hideous colors, I also put Maddy's foot prints on it. Well he opened it and actually loved it, it so backfired on me, if I wouldn't have put Maddy's foot prints on it I think my plan would have worked . After he calmed down I said sorry it is not an xbox he said that is ok this is just as good. Are you kidding me!!!!!!! I than brought out the game and he freaked. My plans never work. I wanted him to be disappointed but not my hubby.

So our washer has been leaking for a bout a month finally we had the maintenance come fix it. First they put a huge hole in my wall and made the leak worse than he told me he didn't have the part to fix it he will have it by the morning. He told me to make sure I moped the floor every hour our it could flood the house. So much fun. I tell you wakeing up every hour in the middle of the night. So Tuesday they came and spent all day fixing it. They were so loud poor Madison and Casey could not sleep at all. Crazy! Crazy!

I am still working on my photography web site. I will give you all the new link when I am done. It has been very hard. I have had to teach myself html all over again. I guess I should have dropped out of that class in collage hu? oh well. I am pretty proud of myself even though it has taken me forever. I look at her sometimes and try to figure out who she looks like. Sometimes, like in the picture I have no clue. Just a cute little baby

Here are pictures of our play group a couple weeks ago all the kid love the water so we let them play in it .
Again another picture of our play group at the zoo. Last week we went to the Dinosar park. Stupid me forgot my camera so when I get the pictures from Karen I will post them. I know you would never know I was a photographer.Look at my sexy pro printer, isn't it huge!!

Ok so here is a picture of us. I hardly ever let anyone take pictures of me but I thought I should take one for Maddy so she can know that I did hold her when she was little not just her dad. All the pictures we have are of her and her dad I am hardly in any.

Hello

2008-06-13T04:49:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,
well first of all I have exciting news. Guess where I am going over the 4th of July.... Are you guessing..... Ireland. I am so excited. A couple friends and I are going. Casey is going to take care of Maddy for the 3 days. I am sure he will do a good job I am not worried at all. We have booked our tickets and everything.
Casey goes to 12 hour shifts of Monday. So not excited for that he will still be working nights so he will be gone from 6 pm to 6 am
My business is going ok . It has slowed way way down since the sale but that is ok it has given be time to get things organized and I am working on a new website that will allow the customers to buy there photos from the convenience of their home right over the Internet. I have also received a lot of new props and background so am having fun testing them out. Well Madison is having fun testing them out he he.
Madison is doing good she has a couple bruise s on her head from falling on chairs and toys and stuff it is so hard for me to watch her fall but I guess that is how she will learn.These are Maddy's 8 month pictures. I used the new background and new props.

Isn't she getting so big.

My sweetie.
She loves her sweet potatoes.

CONGRATULATIONS HEATH and HEIDI!!!!

2008-06-03T07:13:00.000-07:00

Yippee!! Heath and Heidi had their little baby. congratulations!!!!! I am now a proud aunt of another beautiful baby girl. You guys must send pictures ASAP.. How exciting.
Well life over here is not 1/2 as eventful. I have been keeping pretty busy with my business which now has slowed down for a bit. I can't believe how people jump on sales. I guess I must have another sale.
Casey just bought all the parts for a new computer and is so excited for it to work. He was trying to get it functioning yesterday but with no luck, poor guy. He finally took it into the shop. Madison is letting her cute little personality show more and more each day. She is such a sweet little baby. Today we went up to Karen's house and let the 2 girls finger paint Madison loved it Hailey didn't have that much fun at first but warmed up after awhile. I don't know what I am going to do when karen leaves I will be so bored!!!!!!!!!!
Well Congrats again Heath and Heidi. I am off bye!!

Wash up time!!!!!!!!

Crazy, Crazy!!!!

2008-05-26T03:26:00.000-07:00

Wow what a busy week. I guess the saying is true "when you are busy time flies." This week has gone by so fast. It was a crazy one though. I had 6 photo shoots this week. I swear I had some the cutest kids. They were so photogenic. Make sure you go check them out on my photo blog.

Wed. our play group went to the Zoo. Maddy's first Zoo. She wasn't into it very much. Her favorite part were the ducks. It was fun, good to get out of the house and who knew the zoo was only 5 min from our house. he he.
Maddy had her first french fry. While I was not looking our cute little 2 year old neighbor decided to share her french fry. Maddy loved it!! This is what she did most of the time.
This was the funniest thing ever. Again our cute little 2 yr old neighbor went to pet this baby goat that was just wondering around. Well the goat seemed all nice until it backed up and charged at her. The little girl loved it she laughed and laughed and so she would keep chasing it and the goat would keep charging at her. So funny.

Look at Maddy stand up in her crib. Such a big girl.

Look at my baby go!!!!

2008-05-21T01:41:00.001-07:00

Madison is off and crawling. Holly cow it' s like she woke up and decided I am going to crawl today. She is so fast and loves to follow me around the house. I am sad because she is growing up but happy for her. Oh I love being a Mom.

Not much else has been happening around here. We are going to the zoo today so that will be fun.

I am going to be real busy the next two weeks with my business. It is the end of the sale, I have around 8 appointments. I have been a little stressed lately with my printing company. They have been messing up on my pictures. I had to stay up all night a couple nights ago and print out a whole order on my own computer because my professional company I went through messed up so bad on printing them. So I said that is it and my sweet husband let me buy a real professional printer so I can control everything I think in the long run it will save money. I found a printer that is amazing and the ink is not too expensive so I can't wait for it to come. Well enough of my ramblings. I hope you all have a good day.

kisses from Madison.

Happy Late Mothers Day!

2008-05-14T02:16:00.000-07:00

Happy late Mothers day all you mothers! I hope you had a good one you all deserve it. My very first mothers day was good. Casey surprised me with these beautiful flowers and took care of the baby most of the day so I could just chill it was great. Our Anniversary was that Friday before and that was fun too. Casey gets mad because he says we need to spread the Holidays out more. Our anniversary is 2 days before mothers day and my birthday is right after Valentines day he says that is way too hard on him boo hoo J/K.
Last Thursday I had another photo shoot of a cute family with their newborn son. You have to go check them out on my photo blog if you haven't.
Well that is about all oh and of coarse some more scrapbook pages of my beautiful baby.
Bye

New Look

2008-05-08T01:14:00.000-07:00

Woops!! loaded the pictures after I typed oh well scroll down to read the my little ramblings.

Hello everyone!! So how do you like my new header? I hope you all know how much I love reading all your blogs and seeing all the fun pictures, it makes my day.

Well today I have another photo shoot. It is of a family of 4 with a newborn baby. I am excited I haven't done newborns in such a long time.

Yesterday I had the chance to finish up a couple more scrapbook pages. I also entered one of my pages in a digital scrapbook contest awhile ago and won 2nd place, pretty cool. It is so addicting!!

Last night was Casey' first night on nights (tongue twister) LOL. I must say I am not too much of a fan. I hate sleeping by myself but he likes it a lot better than days. He says it is so much slower and gives him a chance to relax from the crazy day shift which he was on for almost 5 months.

Well, HI-HO-HI its of to housework I go.

Love, Eilisa

Madison almost crawling

2008-05-07T07:13:00.000-07:00

Spaghetti Day

2008-05-02T04:22:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago we decided to have spaghetti day. I just boiled a bowl of spaghetti noodles and let Maddy have her way with them. She had so much fun with it. She played with them close to an hour. I read in a magazine that it helps with her cognitive skills not only that but what a cute picture moment it created too! She is at such a fun age. She is getting more active and can now play with me. We read books and love to sing all day she will sing along I will have to record her once you can so tell she is trying to sing.

Look at these pants aren't they so cute. They are my favorite!!! I love babies in blue jeans I think it is the cutest. And check out that hiney, so so so cute!!!

Just Playing

2008-05-02T03:29:00.000-07:00

So today has been quit relaxing. I was able to do some scrapbooking. I love scrapbooking it is so fun for me, kind of weird I know but it's like a little vacation.
I also had time to take some pictures of my baby. I don't have many naked pictures (which I love) so I snapped a couple today. She was so tired as you can tell in that piano one but I still love it.
Casey has a three day weekend this week before he goes on nights so I am going to try to convince him to go travel. He is not much a traveler and I am a baby and hate traveling by myself. So we will see how my begging works.
Jenn I followed your example and cut my hand too. I swear it must be a family thing. Mine wasn't as bad as yours but I still fill a bit of your pain. I did it with a can lid. I know I am a weirdo.
So it won't be long until Madison is crawling she is now scooting but only scoots backwards. Today she got stuck under the couch it was so funny.
Well I guess I better go clean the house, this is so much more fun but I guess you got to do what you got to do.

Busy

2008-05-01T03:22:00.000-07:00

Hello, Every one!!! Long time not chat. Well life has been a little crazy here. I opened my business a couple weeks ago and have focusing on that. I never realized how much work it would be but once the people get their pictures and are happy with them it is all worth it.
Madison is getting so big she just turned 7 months, don't you worry I took pictures he he. I also got a new lens and I love it these pictures were taken with it and I didn't have to do any editing.

My wonderful husband surprised me with a new wedding ring for our anniversary (well early anniversary gift). He is the best. I love it so much. My first one was causing my finger to crack and bleed not good.

Well I think that is all for now. Have a wonderful day!!!

Play group

2008-04-07T03:56:00.000-07:00

Every Wed. Maddy and I go to play group. It is a bunch of my friends that all have kids almost exactly Madison's age. Most of us were in a Pregnancy class together. It is a lot of fun. Madison loves it and I am pretty found of it myself. It helps me get out and stay active. Here are just a coouple of her baby friends.

Our neighbor Karen, who is a great friend! comes down and hangs out with us too which also helps me from getting too homesick. Maddy loves her but the only problem is when she is holding Maddy her sweet girl, Hailey gets Jealous. Aren't they so cute. Hailey is a little over a year old. Need to go Maddy is not feeling well.

Karen, Hailey and Maddy

Such a slacker

2008-04-07T02:51:00.001-07:00

I am such a slacker and have not kept up on my postings.
Lets see... Easter. Our Easter was good. It is always hard being away from family on Holidays but other than that it was good. Casey's friend Scott spent Easter with us. He was injured down range and was sent to the Hospital right by our house. We were glade we were so close so we could help out. We had Easter dinner with our neighbors upstairs, they are so sweet!
Not only was it Easter it was also the day Madison turned 6 months old. I can't believe she is 1/2 of a year old. Time has flown by.
It snowed on Easter just like it is snowing right now. I though Utah had crazy weather but Germany is right up there. 2 days ago it was in the low 70's now it is snowing. Crazy, Crazy!!
Well that is all for now. Easter Morning!

Maddy with her duck she got for Easter.
Maddy's First Easter
Shocking!! Mom had to take an Easter picture of her baby.
Easter 6 months old
Easter, 6 months old

Our Trip

2008-02-20T11:26:00.001-08:00

Here are just a few pictures from our trip when my mom was here. Most of them are from Trier my mom really liked it there so we went twice. I liked it too, didn't think I would but I did.

My mom took her new camera and some of these are her pictures. I am so proud of her she had no clue how to even turn it on when she got in now she is taking pictures like a pro.
We miss her a lot!! We miss everyone! Maddy misses her grandma too. She is so lucky she has 3 great Grandma's who love her and 1 amazing grandpa all, except for my mom, who she can't wait to meet.

Not much else is happening. Casey gets to switch to day shift next week which will be great 6am to 2pm so much better than 6pm to 6am. I can't wait.

Well Maddy needs me, Bye.

Porta Nigra in Trier
My mom in Trier.

Amphitheater
house of majesties
Cathedral in Trier
Cathedral in Cologne

Hello

2008-02-18T09:31:00.000-08:00

I am back from my little vacation with my mom it was great.
We didn’t go too far because I am chicken when it comes to driving in Europe but I think she had fun. I will post pictures of our trips tomorrow.

Today is of little Maddy and her Grandma Tree. I did a page of the two of them I think it turned out cute. It seems like Maddy is doing something new everyday. In just the past couple weeks she is rolling over from her back to her belly and she got her first TOOTH!! I can’t believe it. It is one of her bottom ones and is so sharp. She also started eating cereal which I did a page of too ( he he).
Well I think that is all for today.

This is of a couple months ago I tried something a little different.

Excited

2008-01-28T04:33:00.000-08:00

So exciting news, Mom is coming out to visit us this Friday. I am so excited!! We found dirt cheap tickets and Casey has that week off so I thought it would be perfect. I wish the whole family could come out but she is the only one who has a passport and the ticket price was just to good to pass up. We also kind of owe it to her since she completely took care of me during my labor and didn't get to get out of the house for 2 weeks so now we get to go tour as much of Germany as we can fit in to her 13 day vacation.

Later this week I get to take pictures of my friends baby she is so cute. Hopefully with her permission I will be able to post some of the pictures.

Here are the latest layout of Maddy.

Our Beautiful baby

2008-01-20T04:20:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would start this up again so family and friends can see our beautiful baby grow up. It is so hard being away from you all. By doing this it makes me feel a little closer to you guys. I know kind of cheesy, but it does. Now for a little update on our family. Madison is now 4 months old and is cuter than ever. Casey is still working like a maniac but he always says "that's life". I am a stay at home mom and loving every second of it. So as most of you know I am a huge digital scrapbooker so you will be seeing a lot of my pages along with tons of pictures. Below are some pages I have don and also some pictures I have taken of Maddy with my new lighting kit. We set up my photo studio in Maddy's room so it is a little tight but it works. She is probably getting so sick of me taking pictures of her but I just can't help it she is so darn cute. Well that is about all for now.