Use the force

This little video was taken when we were camping. Since it's Father's Day today & you hear Maddy's Daddy in the background laughing & prompting her on what to say, I thought it seemed an appropriate day to share it........

Maddy's first camping trip

We began a couple of months ago getting Maddy ready to go camping by reading this:

This past weekend we took Maddy on her first camp trip and she was so excited to be able to sleep in a tent & roast marshmallows like Curious George. She was so exhausted from being outdoors all day & staying up late each night she didn't even wake up when we were hit with a thunderstorm the last night. Thankfully we stayed warm & mostly dry although it was a little touch & go the 2nd night.

We were also blessed to be able to take our Godson, George, who will be moving out of state soon. Maddy had a good time having someone else to be around and George confirmed his relief at being the youngest in his family & the fact that he doesn't have a little sister at home : ).

Going for a hike

Making Omlettes in a bag

Omlettes are yummy!!

Lovin' these Foil dinners

First time roasting marshmallows

Ummm, s'mores

Catch up photos

Pictured above is: Haylee, Hannah, Chris, Joe, Isaac, Maddy, Tori & Caleb

We celebrated our nephew (Isaac)'s birthday a couple of weeks ago at Como Park. It was really special because all of Maddy's cousins on that side of the family were there. We were able to get the coveted group photo of all of them (which makes Grandma Pickle very happy: ). I give major props to the bigger kids as they were good with the little ones & very willing to take them on rides (numerous times in some cases).

Here are photos from the afternoon-

Maddy & Hannah

Isaac, Haylee & Joe

Cruisin' Caleb

And now for the cupcakes:
The Birthday Boy

Singing Happy Birthday

Tori loves her cupcake

Ummm, chocolate!

We have an LID!!!!

I got an e-mail today letting us know our Log in Date for adoption #2 is (drum roll please)....... 04/17/09. For those of you who aren't avid China adoption followers, that means we have gotten our place in line and now settle in for the long wait. The current log in date China is on stands at 3/14/06 so that puts the current wait time at 38 months, but this is likely to continue to climb. We are thinking at least 4-5 years, but again anything can happen.

Milwaukee visit

We spent the weekend with our friends Lawrence & Joyce and their family in Milwaukee. One of the highlights of the trip was going to what Maddy called the 'Waukee Zoo.' They have a beautiful zoo there, probably better than either zoo that we have in the Twin Cities. Here are a few pictures from the zoo:

The girls stop for a pose

Finger painting fun

We've been doing a lot of work outside to get a garden planted, flower beds weeded & also put a patio in. I have had to be a little creative with different activities to keep Maddy in my site & out of trouble as she loves to wander off into the garage or out into our alley. Today, I brought the finger paints out & shed loved them. Here are a few pictures plus a couple of plant photos of things I've planted so far.

Weekend Craft Projects

I just returned from a weekend scrapbook/craft retreat. I was able to get a lot done & wanted to share some of my finished projects. I am on the home stretch of finishing our China book & can't wait to put it all together.

A few cards I made.........