Introducing Maddox Lance

Well, he has finally arrived! Little Maddox (who isn't so little) was scheduled to be induced Friday morning at 7:00, and on Friday morning at about 2:30 am, he decided he wasn't going to wait any longer! So we got to go to the hospital in the middle of the night and he came at 7:43 that morning. He weighed 9 lbs. 7 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long. We are so excited! I've included some pictures from the weekend with the girls (who LOVE him...so far!) and we are all doing really well! A HUGE thanks to Nana Betty for coming and staying with the girls...they had so much fun! And Thanks to Aunt Ashley for making the darling T-shirts for the kids! They loved them!

Baby Name Poll

Okay, so we still cannot decide on a name for upcoming baby boy! If you'd like to help and give us your opinion, log on to our baby name poll and vote for one of our four choices (and be honest!) And if any of them are horrible, don't tell me...just kidding! Post a comment and let me know if you don't like any of them. Also, suggestions are always welcome! We like names that aren't common, but that people can spell and have heard before. Thanks!

http://www.babyzone.com/babynames/bnpoll.asp?pollid=105637

Dorothy and the Scarecrow

Well, we survived Halloween and being sick all in the same few days, but the girls sure had fun! McKinley was so excited to be Dorothy (anything for those shoes), and Kennedy was less than thrilled about her scarecrow hat....if you notice the pictures, she is much happier after we took the hat off. Oh well, at least I got a few pictures (that's what us Moms live for, right?) Happy Halloween!

New York City

Milt and I are back from New York, and we had so much fun! One week was the perfect amount of time, and although we missed the kids, we had a lot of fun with just each other! I don't know if I'd choose to go when I'm 34 weeks pregnant again (we walked around A LOT), but it was great exercise! And I can proudly say that I think I threw up more cheesecake in one week that I normally let myself eat in a year (my stomach had some bad moments). But everywhere had signs saying "New York's best cheesecake," so we felt it our duty to do our own research study. And we had a chance to do a session at the temple, which was really cool to do in the middle of such a bustling city. It sure kept our feet grounded! Anyway, here are some of our pictures!

We stayed in Times Square for the last 3 days of the trip, and it was so nice and close to everything (and perfect to stop back at the hotel for afternoon rest times for me!) Here is Milt during one of our MANY shopping excursions in Times Square! (Notice the enormous Disney Bag....we are SUCH parents!)

And yes, here I am at our favorite store, the World of Disney. Three whole stories of Christmas ideas for the kids (and us, I'm afraid). It was HUGE, and it has all of the stuff you can usually only get in the parks, so we got some great stuff!

Here is Milt in the lobby of Gershwin Theater after we saw Wicked. It was SOOO good! I already knew I'd like it from listening to the CD, but the plot was so great! We had so much fun, and I even beat about 40 women to the bathroom at intermission, which I was very proud of! I may waddle, but I'm still pretty fast!

For some reason, this is the only picture we got taken together, but at least we got one! We are on the top of Rockefeller Plaza tower with the Empire State Building behind us, and it was amazing! We were so glad we decided to pay to do this, because we really felt like we could see everything - it was totally worth the money!

And here I am again on the top of Rockefeller Center tower, and you can see some of the views a little bit better in this shot.

And here is the only (very far away) picture of my FAVORITE place in NYC, Central Park. I loved it! The first 2 days we stayed at the Essex House right across the street from the Park while Milt had work meetings, so I spent HOURS in the park (too many of them jogging, which may be why my back hurt the rest of the trip), but it was so much fun! I loved everything about it, and it is so huge! I was glad I had a lot of time to spend there, because it took a lot longer than I thought to see everything!

Here is Milt outside the Ed Sullivan theater. We really wanted to see a David Letterman show, but they weren't taping at all this week, so we made do with pictures out front. But we did go to the Hello Deli around the corner, and there was Rupert Jee, right behind the counter (we were very excited)! And the food was EXCELLENT (I admit, we weren't going just for the food). We didn't ask to get a picture with him, because we saw some other ladies ask for pictures, and Rupert just looked so uncomfortable, so we decided we'd leave him alone. But he is truly the nicest guy!

And of course, I HAD to see the library! Milt thought it was hilarious that this is the place I most wanted to go, but it was so beautiful! If I lived in New York, they would seriously have to kick me out of this place every night when they closed! It was so great!

Discovery Gateway

We finally took the kids to Discovery Gateway this week, and it was so much fun! We saw that they had a special "Robots" exhibit (which is McKinley's current favorite movie), so we figured we really had to take her, and she LOVED it! The Robots were by far her favorite part, and Kennedy had a great time running away from us. I realized why I never take them any where by myself, because I probably would have lost her! But we had TONS of fun, and can't wait to go back! And here are some pictures (because everywhere you turn there is a photo op!)

Alpine Loop

For Milt's Birthday this week, we took a drive up the Alpine Loop and we had so much fun! It was absolutely beautiful, and we always think, "why don't we do this more often?" Life is too crazy! But the kids loved the snow, and we still got to see a lot of color before the leaves all fall, so it was perfect! And Milt had a great day! Anyway, here are a few pics!

First Day of School

Well, today was McKinley's first day of kindergarten, and I survived! McKinley was so excited for school that she woke us all up at 6:45 this morning to remind us that today was the big day! She had so much fun, and after school she asked me, "how many more days do I get to go to school?" Boy, is she in for a rude awakening when she realizes she will be going to school FOREVER (at least that is how it feels)! But it went well, and luckily, no tears were shed by any of us, so I guess that is a success! And yes, I was one of the geeky moms who went with her to class to take pictures (she IS my first, after all!)

McKinley turns 5!

Well, McKinley is finally 5 like all of her friends (it has been a long year for her, apparently). She had a very fun birthday this last week, and she LOVED having a princess birthday party! My friend Melinda came as Cinderella, and it was definitely the highlight of the year for all of the girls! They loved it! (A huge Thanks Min!) It was the talk of the neighborhood, and I had no idea the girls would still be talking about it!

So McKinley is now five, and will start kindergarten next Tuesay.....now THAT will be the big day for Mommy! Here are some pictures:

Aunt Ashley brings out McKinley's birthday cupcake

All of the princesses!

And of course, ALL the girls had to get a picture

with Cinderella....me & Kennedy included!

Lake Tahoe

I'm finally getting around to posting these pictures from our trip to Lake Tahoe a few weeks ago. We had so much fun, and it was so nice of Milt's Aunt Karen and his cousin Gibson to take us up there for the day. We loved it, and McKinley especially loved the beach, since she's never been to a real one! We went out on a floaty boat for awhile too, which was especially fun! We had a great time, and the weather was perfect! Kennedy wasn't a huge fan of the water, but she liked the boat and sitting with Mommy or Daddy under the umbrella! It was such a relaxing day!

Another Wedding!

We just got back from our trip to Reno, and here are some of the fun pictures from Milt's cousin Nell's Wedding! Of course, the dancing was McKinley's favorite part, especially "dancing with Daddy." She knows how to stay on Milt's good side! We had a lot of fun, but I'm not sure it was worth the 10 hour drive with Kennedy. At least we know we'll have to wait awhile to drive there (or anywhere more than 30 minutes away) again!

Milt and McKinley spent most of the time dancing

The girls headed to the dance floor before anyone had even come in from the wedding!

Milt and the girls with Milt's grandparents, Momoe and Papa

Of course, Kennedy also got a turn dancing with Daddy

And Mommy even got in a picture with her favorite girls!

WEENIE ROAST!

Here are some of the fun pictures from the Weenie Roast, or "Camp-out dinner" as McKinley liked to call it! We sure wished Trevor could been there, but it was fun having Ashley and Todd in town for a little bit, and the kids loved seeing Rocky and Adrien! And the new fire pit was a lot of fun! Now I just have to try to talk Milt into letting us go out back every night to make S'mores! YUM! Here are some of the pics:

Rocky liked to taste the kiddos, and McLain is "protecting" Grant

The twins had no fear at all of Rocky, but Rocky did get bit a time or two from Aubrey....

Here are Milt and McLain looking over the fire in the brand new fire pit for the first time!

Aunt Adi is getting three times the love!

Rocky is enjoying being the center of attention from McLain and McKinley

We actually got a picture where all three of the babies were (somewhat) smiling!

Adrien teaching the littlest girls what a fun Aunt she is!