August 13th, 2013-Madelyn's Birthday

So earlier this year, while we were attending David's BYU graduation, we heard Elder L. Tom Perry speak.  He said, Sharing a family tradition told of how his parents would put four objects-a baby bottle, a bank, a toy and a Bible-in front of their child on the baby's first birthday.  "Each item represented the different values each of us might have, our four basic needs in mortality.  Family tradition held that whichever item the baby chose, that would become their focus in life."  For the rest of the talk, see http://www.lds.org/church/news/elder-perry-tells-byu-graduates-to-keep-priorities-balanced?lang=eng 

So I thought it would be fun to do this tradition as well to see if it really works.  We put out a bottle, a Book of Mormon, a toy, and a bowl full of money and waited to see what Maddie would choose.

  

 The baby bottle it is! Elder Perry taught that the bottle symbolized good physical health and emotional strength.   (Maybe we won't have an emotional teenage daughter, that would be nice!)  Second place was the Book of Mormon, which represented spiritual strength, so we felt pretty good about her selections.  

 During her special day, we played a lot together, she took a great nap, as well as took great care of her baby dolls.

 For dinner, I made sure to have all food that she could eat.  So we feasted on sweet potatoes, steamed zucchini and then watermelon for dessert.

 Todd helped her blow out her candle in the piece of watermelon.

 Then she dove in!  It was quite the messy, juicy treat for her. Then for one of Madelyn's favorite times of the day-bath time.  I gave her an extra long bath.  

 During bath time, the doorbell rang and a friend from the ward dropped off a birthday present.  Once we dried off, it was time to open more presents! Madelyn gave cute pairs of socks, a snuggy soft blanket, and flower hair clips.

It was a wonderful day to cherish our sweet Maddie Jane.

Madelyn's Birthday Party at South Fork

For Madelyn's First Birthday Party with the Fishers, we met them at South Fork Park up in Provo Canyon.  We had a tasty chicken dinner and fresh homemade salsa that Hailey and Christopher helped me make earlier that day.  

 Then, Papa helped Madelyn open her presents.  She received some cute books from Grandpa and Gramie Shurtz as well as an adorable dress, rubber duckie, and toys from Papa and Grandma Fisher.

 We were glad that Roger, Jill, Susan, Hailey, Christopher, and Carson could make it.

 We played several outdoor games and made smores on a fire.

 We are so blessed to have this sweet child in our family!

Weekend with Hailey and Christopher

In August, we spent a weekend up in Clinton.  Saturday afternoon, we took Hailey and Christopher with us.  We love all our nieces and nephews, and we were excited to spend the weekend with them.  On our way home, we stopped at Scheels to ride the indoor Ferris wheel.  

Maddie and I waited in line with them anxiously but were a little too short to ride on it.  

It was worth the wait to see them up up so high and with their big grins!  They did say that Todd thoroughly enjoyed rocking them back and forth making the ride that much more scarier. 

 Afterwards, we wondered the store and enjoyed the photo ops.

 On Monday, we took them to see the Provo City Center Temple construction

 as well as my favorite tree in Provo.

 Then we took a tour of UVU's athletic faculties.  Christopher showed off his posing skills.

We stopped to see Todd's office.

Also, we showed them the baseball, softball, and soccer field. 

 Todd even gave them a tour on the golf cart, which was probably their favorite part of the weekend.

Family Reunions

We started the Fuller Reunion at lunch time. 

We shared stories about Grandpa and Grandma's lives and had tables with artifacts from their lives.

Glen, Barbara, Grandma, Gordon, Gene, and Gerald Fuller

Fuller Reunion 2013

We forgot our camera at the Shurtz reunion, but had a wonderful time with the blow dart guns and visiting with the family.

Shurtz Reunion 2013

Grandpa and Gramie come for a Visit

My parents came for a week to visit.  We enjoyed having special time while they were here.

Madelyn enjoyed the special toys that they brought for her.  My mom painted a tea set for her.  We frequently have tea parties now.  Also, as my parents brought my old Cabbage Patch baby doll and another one they found, Maddie became a mother of twins.  She LOVES to walk them in the stroller and feed them their bottle.

 We took several walks along the Provo River Trail and saw a lovely view of Mt Timp.

 While we were outside swinging, Todd said that this tree would probably crack.  Within a few minutes, the wind blew, and it sure did crack!

 We visited Grams and Gordon.

 Mom did several projects for us, like cleaning the blinds and windows.

Dad and Todd built the patio table together.

They did a great job! 

 We also prepared for the two reunions that was within the week they were here.  In this picture, we were preparing the boxes so the Fullers could have a junking experience.