HAPPY BIRTHDAY MADISON!!!

Oh My.... I CANNOT believe my baby is 4!!!! I don't know where the time has gone... If I have learned one thing in the last 4 years it is definatly to SLOW DOWN! I love playing with Madison. I love that I was blessed to watch over and protect her! She is my Angel. She is my rock. If I am having a bad day this girl is right there sitting in my lap rubbing my back saying its ok mama. I have got through so many hard times just by simply looking at her and realizing what a HUGE blessing I have in my life. She will make friends with anyone. We are at the checkout line and she is stricking up conversation with the people behind us. When we go to the gym that has a playground by it she is running to the first kids she sees and asks them if they want to play. I LOVE how outgoing and friendly she is. I had an cute lil old lady come up to me in the store a few weeks ago and said your lil girl just waved and smiled at me and it just made my day. She is the sunshine in my life and i am SO grateful that I have been trusted with her! I love you Madi!

I love the look on her face here. Cracks me up!!

This is on my top 5 of my favorite pictures of her!! So much personality!

Fun times at the Zoo!

She misses her dexter dog so much. She even got a stuffed animal that looks like him for her birthday! She LOVES it!!!

This was the sunday before Christmas. I love her confidence! She knows she is cute. SHe looks in the mirror and says why am i so freakin cute! Oh I love her!!!

HAPPY 4TH BIRTHDAY MY LIL LADY!!!!

Christmas from Grandma and Papa Lyon

We got our box from Grandma and Papa Lyon. Madi was so excited to open it she didnt want to wait for daddy to get home from work.. But she waited so patiently! Here is what we got!

Madi got these books. They are so cute. This girl absolutely LOVES to read!! I love her love for books. We go to the library and she could stay there all day looking at all the books there!
She loves this ornament.. I love watching her face when she opens presents... Her reaction is priceless!

This ornament is so freakin cool!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE it!!!

They got us a nativity set... I am so excited about his because we don't have one yet.. I have been meaning to get one but this is the first year we have decorated completely for Christmas.. But we all think this angel looks like Madi!! I love it!

Here she is in action!!!

Thank you Mom and Dad/Grama and Papa Duck! We love it! Its absolutely PERFECT!!!!

Our Winter Fun

I LOVE ALASKA!!! Being in Anchorage is A MILLION times better than Fairbanks. We can actually be outside and do stuff and not freeze to death in negative 50 below weather. We went to the Downtown Tree lighting ceremony. The first time we have ever gone to one of these. We didnt realize how far away we parked so we were glad it was decently warm outside!


Here we are waiting for the ceremony to start!

It got a little chilly standing there! Good thing Madi has an awesome jacket!

We went for a drive up the mountain. Why we didnt do this in our truck I DONT KNOW. But we took the car and drove as high as we could. We finally got to a point where the car was just rolling backwards so we decided to turn around before we went off the edge!!

It was so beautiful up there though!

We finally took Madi Ice Skating. This is her first time doing it. And this is her saying look mama i can do it all by myself..

She finally got brave enough to let go of the wall...

And then she got brave enough to let go of me!

She would fall down and say Im ok and get right back up!! She is one tough cookie! One time she fell and just laid there for about 2 minutes and finally said um mom i am cold...

Here she is doing it all by herself... Next time we will see if she can actually skate instead of walk!!

The next morning we went and had breakfast with Santa. This is one girl that has NEVER been afraid of talking to Santa and sitting on his lap. Well actually with anyone. She will go up to anyone anywhere and strike up a conversation...

THey had little crafts for all the kids to do!



Madi and Jason getting the tree stand ready for the tree. This is our 4th christmas together and the first time we have went and bought a tree and put it up! The first Christmas I was in Arizona getting ready to have Madison while Jason was deployed. The 2nd Christmas Jason had just got home from Deployment and we were going to TN for 2 weeks so we didn't get a tree. The third Christmas we were in Arizona with Jason home on leave from deployment and this year is our first year with no family around but our own! I am so excited that we get to be together this year because once again next year Jason will be gone....

Sad that this girl is 3 and its her firs tree! She did a great job in helping us pick it out. Also my sister Mandy made our stockings and tree skirt for Christmas a few years ago and this is the first year we get to use them!!

Its always been tradition in our family to have the kids put the start up on the tree. Here we are passing on the tradition!!

So festive!!

Home Made Rolls

K so this does not happen often. But I am so stinkin proud of myself this was TOTALLY worth a blog!!!! I will post more tomorrow about what we have been up to in November but for now this is what you get!!!

I MADE MY FIRST BATCH OF HOME MADE ROLLS!!!!! Man o man. This is the first year that me and Jason will be cooking our Thanksgiving dinner. The first and second year he was deployed and the third year we spent it with my Family in Arizona. So this is our 4th and here we are in Alaska finding ourselves cooking our first Tday dinner! I am kinda excited. We went shopping today to get all the stuff and I decided that I would make a batch of rolls today just in case they dont turn out. Not that I was doubting myself, but rolls are important at Thanksgiving dinner. So of course I took pics!!!!

Here is the mix before it rose.

Getting ready to make it in circles for rolls.
I realized that I dont have a rolling pin or a round cookie cutters. Guess its a good thing I had glasses to use!! Madi loves helping in the kitchen. I cut the circles and she folded them and put them in the pan...

Then added the butter

She watched these rolls in the oven

SO happy to be in the kitchen!

And here they are!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

What we have been up to in October!!

Jason and I have started date nights every weekend. Its been nice to get out and do things together. Before a few weeks ago it had been WAAAAY too long since we had an actual date....

We made our pizzas. Madi has so much fun in the kitchen always!

I cannot remember a Halloween without having orange pumpkin shaped pancakes for breakfast! So tradition rolls on in this home!

I think this is why she likes to help in the kitchen! Makin cupcakes!

Madi being Madi. She loves this table we bought her. We have too much living room furniture that we dont have room for a table so we bought madi one instead!

Halloween! She is such a cute witch. I can say that Im the mom!!! She LOVES dressing up so halloween is a big friend of hers!

Yes she is a poser. On her own.

She is so silly. She cracks herself up which cracks me up!

I got real dressed up!!

We took her to a carnival they had on the Air Force Base here. She loved it.

Dont ask me what she is doing. I have no idea. She is playing! haha

She is such the lil artist when it comes to decorating. She did this on her own. I put the stuff down went and cooked in the kitchen and she said mom come look!

Pumpkin Carving

Everyone WATCH OUT!!! 2 Posts in ONE month!! WHOOT WHOOT!

K for real Madison was sooo funny with this dang pumpkin. She wouldnt touch it til I put my hand in there. So I dug in so she thought it would be ok. She pulls her hand out and was discusted. What kid doesnt like to get dirty?? UM MINE... Which is weird.. So I gave her the scooper and everytime she pulled her hand out she wanted me to wash it.


See the lil scared look on her face... I was seriously laughing!!

And this would be her fighting to get the stuff off the side without getting dirty... She failed... but I LOVE her face in this photo!!

Now she loved this part. We cheated this year and used a layout. We told her to poke all the dots and by golly she did. She is such a perfectionist like her father..... (notice the flowers Jason brought home for me the other day!! so pretty)

Our lil Halloween counter... Madi thinks its so funny that the pumpkin has "hands." She makes that face now all the time. I will have to get it on camera!

I love Holidays. I love decorating but what I LOVE this year is that we have a home that is OURS that we can decorate however we want!!!

I love this candle holder I found and it was already on sale and it was the last one! Good 5 dollar investment for many Halloweens to come!!!