MADSEN FAMILY BLOG

Swing, Cha-Cha, and Foxtrot it.

2012-02-04T10:32:00.003-07:00

The girls had a Ballroom Competition a few weeks ago, and I finally got the pictures. Grace competed in the Swing and the Cha-Cha, while Sophie did the Foxtrot.

They both did really well. Sophie was in the beginning group and won a Gold Ribbon and Grace danced in the advanced group and won the Silver Ribbon. And the best news was that Grace's scores allowed her to move on to the UVU competion next week and compete in the "All Around" category. This means she has to know the Cha-Cha, the Tango, the Foxtrot, and the Swing because she she won't know which dance she has to perform until she steps out on stage. No pressure, right? I must admit, her Cha-Cha is killer, so I hope she gets that one!

I'm so proud of both my dancers. Wish I could move like they do!

I'm FINALLY 10!

2012-01-27T20:06:00.006-07:00

At our house when you turn 10 you can get your ears pierced.

She was SO EXCITED to get them done.

She said that it didn't hurt a bit.

Anna loves chocolate with peppermint and so from her request

we made her cake how she likes it - lots of peppermint crushed up

on the cake and in the filling, too. mmm!

We love you Anna, Happy Birthday, sweetie!

Maria turns 4!

2012-01-12T16:57:00.010-07:00

Maria had a wonderful day turning FOUR yesterday!

She was very enthusiastic about her birthday this year - it was awesome.

We love that little Maria.

Happy birthday our sweet heart Maria!

If you want to see other pics from her day,

click on the link to the Tew Family.

Grace's Big Adventure

2011-12-04T22:18:00.004-07:00

We're back from a great trip to Orlando, Florida. Adam and I spent time with just Grace on a trip designed just for her! We went to Universal Studios to Harry Potter World.

Had fun at The Magic Kingdom at Disney World...

And basically enjoyed some serious one on one time with our favorite oldest daughter. To see more pictures, check out our family blog.

Sarah turns 12.

2011-11-27T23:41:00.002-07:00

Since Sarah reached 12 years old, she can now go to the temple. She couldn't wait for us to take her inside the temple for her first time the day after her birthday. She had a nice meeting with our Bishop, whom we love, and she received her temple recommend. We got a babysitter for my other girls and baby Henry. It was the first time I had left Henry. Henry did great and so did our babysitter. Sarah was so excited to go. On the way down she said she felt like the song, "I Love to see the Temple" was coming true. We first went inside and ate dinner at the cafeteria together. It was neat to sit in a reverent place and enjoy the spirit in the House of the Lord while eating. Many temple workers wanted to talk to her and congratulate her on her first time. The people there where so nice. Sarah mentioned that she felt like all the cares of the world were far away and she loved the feeling inside the temple. Mark baptized and confirmed us. Sarah and I each did baptisms and did confirmations for 10 people. It was neat to talk about doing the Lords work inside the temple and the service we can give. Just as we were leaving Sarah gave me a huge hug with a huge smile to go along with it. She said her temple recommend was the best birthday gift she got this year. As soon as we sat in the car to go home, she wanted to know how soon we could take her back. I am grateful for this neat experience. Sarah is such a good girl and I sure love her. As unbelievable as it is for me to see her growing up, experiences like this make it all so wonderful and rewarding!

It's a...

2011-11-26T22:10:00.001-07:00

Also, as an aside....IT'S A GIRL!!!
For those of you who didn't know we were expecting, we are. March 31st and we are so excited! Spencer it thrilled to be the only boy. Go figure!

Can I post some Halloween pictures after I post Thanksgiving?

2011-11-26T21:40:00.008-07:00

Well, I am. Sorry I've got my holidays all out of sorts! Here we are at Hee Haw Farms. The corn pictures crack me up. That was Sophie's favorite activity by far.

Then Adam and I had a halloween party to attend. I was...Cruella Deville and Adam was my dalmation puppy. I got to lead him around by a dog leash...now that's my kind of costume. (I know, I know...I look terribly pregnant! Argh.)

And Kim had a fun party at her house for the family. Mom was Little Red Riding Hood and Dad was The Big Bag Wolf, and he stayed in character almost the entire night!

And finally we went trick or treating...

Utah Thanksgiving

2011-11-26T21:37:00.003-07:00

So, we hosted our first Thanksgiving at our house. And I had to cook the turkey!! Oh sister. What a stresser that turned out to be.

But my mom has this fabulous recipe that she got from The Foodnetwork, and it turned out delicious! So delicious that I wish I would've taken a picture. But alas, I didn't. But here's a pic of some of the wonderful people who came to dinner. Here's the recipe from Alton Brown.

I think Uncle Mark said something extremely funny...but what did he say?

We also had so much fun meeting Uncle Dennis, his family, and some of the O'Bryants at a local church for dessert. Unfortunatly these were the only photos I took...with my cell phone. But I expect better ones to come because Uncle Dennis took a ton with his nice camera.

Henry Turns Nine Months Old Tomorrow

2011-11-10T22:06:00.001-07:00

I can't believe how time is flying by.

Henry is such a joy!

Happy Halloween!

2011-11-03T20:01:00.002-06:00

Well, Jack is gone for another holiday, so we did Halloween by ourselves. :o( We miss him, but we tried to have a good time still. :o)

We've got more pics at our blog. CLICK HERE

Happy Halloween

2011-11-02T11:19:00.003-06:00

Check out our family blog site for more pictures!

It's Late and we are sleepy,

The air is cold and still.

Our jack-o'-lantern grins at us

Upon the windowsill.

We're stuffed with cake and candy

And we've had a lot of fun,

But now it's time to go to bed

And Dream of all we've done.

We'll dream of ghosts and goblins

And of witches that we've seen,

And we'll dream of trick-or-treating

On this happy Halloween.

Jack Prelutsky

Happy Halloween

2011-10-23T22:12:00.002-06:00

I finally posted a smattering of family pics on our family blog

2011-09-07T15:22:00.006-06:00

Here's a taste to wet your appetite. Check out our family blog for more. Love you guys!

Baby # 3

2011-09-04T13:34:00.000-06:00

Hello family!

So, as I'm sure most of you know, we are expecting baby #3 in April. I found out while Nick was gone on his first long trip since Lilly's birth, a year ago next Sunday. Very unexpected, but we're very grateful. I should have known though...Amber has been saying for 2 months or so, "My Mommy is gonna have another baby. It's a brother named Ethan." We kept trying to tell her that I wasn't pregnant and that she can't tell people I am when I'm not. Should have listened to her...she knew. :D I had my first ultrasound the other day. They measured the baby and I was able to see the heartbeat. I love that part. Makes it so much more real. The babies due date is April 21st. Right now, I'm a little over 7 weeks and doing well. We love you all and hope everyone is doing well. Hope everyone has a great start to the new school year!

Love, Crys

Cousins - Moonlight Beach 2011

2011-08-07T23:32:00.007-06:00

Jen White with Henry Tew

Putting your best foot forward

Adam White, Mailee Madsen, Lucy White

Anticipation - lighting the first candle

Grace White, Ashley Pocock, Anna Tew, Sophie White, Princess Abby Pocock, Sarah Tew, Jon Pocock

Clair Tew, Sarah Tew, Ashley Pocock

Clair Tew and Ashley Pocock

2011-08-07T23:26:00.007-06:00

Fine Art of Nap Protection - High Tide - Moonlight Beach 2011

2011-08-07T23:17:00.003-06:00

Sam Pocock has not idea of the impending tsunami

he just keeps sawing logs.

Abby Pocock's 1st Birday - Encinitas Beach House

2011-08-07T23:02:00.002-06:00

Princess Abby Pocock - year one and liking it!

San Elijo July-Aug 2011

2011-08-07T21:06:00.004-06:00

The Family, only Jack IV and Nick's Family missing.

The Grandkids, only Amber and Lilly missing

But they live in Hawaii so their not missing the

beach just the cousins.

Family PIctures

2011-08-02T00:44:00.000-06:00

Hello family!
We are hoping you are having a wonderful time there at San Elijo. Wish we could be there with you all. Hopefully another year. We recently took some family pictures, and were really thrilled with how they came out. My friend owns her own photography business and was kind enough to take them for us. Hope everyone is doing well. Love you all!

Love, Crys

2011-06-25T20:56:00.004-06:00

So the last few weeks in our house have been eventful with school coming to an end and enjoying a few visitors from Utah. Take a peak at just a few things we have been up to:

Sarah's 5th grade promotion and now off to middle school.

Claire reciting a poem just as 1st grade was ending.

Claire had a great birthday party turning 7 yrs. old

Anna was selected as an alternate for the school track team to compete in the district. Anna also had a great end to 3rd grade. Her peers in her class voted her to receive the student standout out and responsible student award. As her class was studying civic government they also voted her President in her class and she got to set up her class cabinet. She had a lot of fun participating in that.

Sarah was selected to represent Carrillo in the district wide track meet and took 3rd place in the 400 race.

Did you know that Maria LOVES to schuck the corn and not to mention EAT it, too?!

Now it's off to summer and up to Utah in a few days... yipee!!

Henry is growing fast!!

2011-06-25T20:00:00.002-06:00

Cutie Pie Pictures

2011-06-11T20:13:00.001-06:00

We had a great time celebrating Easter with our Utah family. Wished we could have spent time with everyone!

Easter 2011

2011-05-08T20:16:00.004-06:00

Here's our family Easter pic...sadly without Jack. He was gone at Lomalinda during the month of April for his externship. We are soooooo glad he is back, even though he is still super busy. He is working so hard and we are so proud of him. We've got more fun pics of our Easter happenings on our blog HERE.

More Cancun por favor!

2011-04-12T22:03:00.002-06:00

And after all the beautiful sand and sun, we came back to Utah and SNOW. Tell me again why we live here? :)

Henry's Baby Blessing Weekend

2011-03-29T23:42:00.004-06:00

Over this past weekend Mark's parents and my Dad came into town for Henry's baby blessing. My mom couldn't make it because I had to choose for her to be with us for the delivery and recovery OR the blessing. Well I'm no dummy! I chose my mom to take care of me and my family when I gave birth to Henry and recovered. Few, aren't I glad I chose that! There is something so wonderful about having parents around. I wish we lived closer to both of them. I am grateful we could build memories and have the fun feelling in our home that only grandparents bring. And they also make it so easy when there is always someone to hold the baby or help out!

Nana and Papa were here for 5 days and we managed to fit all sorts of things into our baby blessing weekend. Things like, getting ice cream, back to school night, seeing a movie, visiting the Mormon Batallion Center, going out to dinner, playing at the park and playing lots and lots of games while eating lots of delicious foods at home.

My dad was so fun to have in town. My girls probably would say they liked "tickle monster" with him the best. Walking to the park, reading stories and playing games with Grandpa were up there on the fun list, too.

Henry's blessing day was perfect. Mark gave a nice and special blessing. I love going to church and sitting in sacrament meeting with our parents.

Henry's Dad and Grandfathers who participated in the blessing.

This is Henry in his blessing outfit. These are two typical looks of Henry. He is such a relaxed and happy baby. He is alert and really pays attention to what is going on around him. He loves to smile and talk to people. He constantly smiles and coos at me when I finish nursing him. He melts my heart!! We all just love this little guy to pieces!

sorry, i don't know how to fix the above text. i know i also sound a bit cheesy in my writing and like all is so rosey, but it really was a great weekend! You can see the writing in full on my own family blog.

What's going on at The White House: The words I type won't show up on the blog with the pictures. Sorry. If you want more info check our blog!

2011-03-27T16:35:00.003-06:00

Grace's American play: She was a Scottish dancer and had a violin solo.

Spence at BYU Regional Science Fair: With 900 students in attendance, he won 4th place in the Life Science Division.

And here he is at BYU ballroom dance competition with his cute dance partner. They danced the Cha-Cha and the Tango and won 2nd place for their elementary school.

We hope everyone is doing great! We miss you and love you and know you guys are just as crazy busy as we are. Can't wait for San Elijo this summer!
xo

District Science Fair Big Winner...Now on to BYU

2011-03-07T10:02:00.006-07:00

Guess What? Spencer won at The School District Science Fair! We couldn't believe it. (He always thought he would win :)) I think he gets that unadulterated confidence from his dad. :)

So now he's off to Regionals at BYU. He gets to miss school, run wild through numerous science fair projects, enjoy a climbing wall, a flight simulator, and some good food. (Which is extremely important to Spencer).

About the big win, Spence says, "So far, the best day of my life." Luckily there are a lot more best days ahead, but for now, we'll let him enjoy this.

Welcome Henry Joseph Tew!

2011-02-25T21:08:00.011-07:00

Here are some pictures that I've been promising to post about our newest family member, Henry Joseph Tew.

Our new family

The girls can't get enough of him!

The girls made a super cute sign for the front of our house and surprised us when we came home from the hospital.

Grandma is such a blessing to our lives. I couldn't have made it through the first week without her. Thank you, mom, for everything! Thanks, dad, for being all alone for that week and being so kind about her being with us.

Henry's first few days at home.

Maria and Henry are my buddies at home while the 3 older girls are in school.

Maria is adjusting to being a big sister really well but still needs lots of TLC from her mommy.

Henry's first bath.

10 days old

This is Henry today, exactly 2 weeks old!

We LOVE this little guy and are so glad that he is finally here! We can't wait for you all to meet him. I'm missing all of you guys and wish we all lived closer together...

Dad's Birthday

2011-02-21T16:52:00.001-07:00

Girls Day Out with the Rockettes

2010-11-27T23:25:00.001-07:00

We had a great Girl Day at the Rockettes! Thanks Mom and Kim for making it so fun. Check out my blog for more pictures.

Nicks ALS Graduation

2010-11-21T00:04:00.000-07:00

For the past 5 weeks, Nick was in ALS, Airman Leadership School. It basically is a mandatory class for Airman who are in supervising positions. Nick has been in the Air Force for 5 years now and has earned a Staff Sergeant position. He'll pin on at the end of this month. It was a very hard class but he graduated from it this past week. There was a special ceremony and dinner for his graduating class. I was lucky enough to be able to go and support him. Nick was the only one in our squadron to attend this class this cycle but his commanding officer Col. Bradford, Col. Beaver, SMSgt Hanks, MSgt Rix, their wives and two of our close friend couples all came to support him. We are all very proud of him! Here are a few pictures from that night:

Us at his graduation

Our best friends up here: the Swanna and Racchini's

Receiving his diploma (sorry the lighting was TERRIBLE!)

ALS graduating class 11 Bravo

SMSgt Hanks and Nick

Can't wait to see you all so soon! Stay warm...we love you!!!

Love, Crys

Amber's 3rd Birthday!!!

2010-11-20T23:21:00.000-07:00

So...after spending SOOO much time on my last post trying to figure out the new layout, hopefully I can get this one done much quicker! :P Amber turned 3 on November 12th. We had a fun little princess party for her with a few of our close friends. She LOVED the Woody doll Grandma and Grandpa gave her. We've watched the movie at least 10 times already! Thank you so much!!!

Her "princess hair" she asked for

Can't believe my baby girl is already 3!!!

Daddy and his girls!

FINALLY a family picture where I'm not in a hospital gown!

Her princess Tiana cake

A little grumpy

Sitting in her Bumbo

Talking with Daddy :D

So excited for her birthday cake

Our little princess


Daddy feeding Lilly

Patiently waiting to hope her presents

Fall activities in North Dakota

2010-11-20T22:28:00.000-07:00

Hi!
Our time in North Dakota is coming to an end very soon! Here are a few things that have been going on during our last fall season here. First, of course we had Halloween. We went to The Nelsons Pumpkin Patch a few times. It's right across the road from the base! We picked our family pumpkins and of course a few baking pumpkins PERFECT for pie and dinner in a pumpkin. Here are some pictures from the patch:

Amber and her best little friend Emma

Amber and Emma

We carved our pumpkins Halloween day and made a whole day of Halloween festivities. :)

Nick and Amber carving pumpkins

"This is gwoss Mommy!"

The finished product

For Halloween we decided to go with a Toy Story 3 theme for our family. Amber chose to be Jesse and a friend of ours let Nick borrow his Buzz costume. So I got a Woody costume. (They only had an extra large in mens left for the season. So I broke out my sewing machine a made it so it would at least stay on, kinda! :P) Lilly was a cute little bat because she was still too tiny for any costumes they had for Toy Story. Before Halloween day there was trick or treating at the medical center here in base. Here's a few pictures from that night:

My tiny little bat

Our cute little girls

My little Jesse

LOVE this one

Halloween night was fun...but cold. We went all of 2 blocks before Amber said she was done. :) But we had a good time and got some funny pictures.

Toy Story

Nick making us laugh as usual

Sleepy baby

With her little wings

There are so many pictures and events to add. I think I may have to make a second post. :)

A preview of our family pics...

2010-11-17T09:51:00.002-07:00

Hi everyone!
Thank you so much for your well wishes, we are doing better around our house. We just got back our family picutures...heres one I thought was pretty cute. Hope everyones doing great!
xo
jen

Fall Family Pics

2010-11-12T14:48:00.007-07:00

We are so lucky out here in Ohio to have so many friends with super nice cameras who all want to practice being photographers...so, here are a couple our friend Mattie took for us. She did a great job! :o)

Meet "The Haunting" Family and other stuff...

2010-11-08T21:39:00.003-07:00

Halloween at the Tews

Sarah: a mummy

Anna: a vampiress

Claire: a ghost

Maria: a cat (mommy's witch pet)

Sarah ran for student government as Secretary this year, and won. She had fun making a poster and giving a speech to the school. Her sisters were super cute in helping campaign by recruiting friends at recess and soccer practices to vote for Sarah.

Anna

Claire

Maria

Lillian Isabella Madsen

2010-10-12T21:44:00.000-06:00

Hello family!
Sorry it's taken me so long to write about our newest addition to our family. I'm still learning how to balance everything and still have time to blog. :) Lillian Isabella Madsen, "Lilly" was born on September 11, 2010 at 11:10pm. She weighed in at 7.15 lbs and 21 in. long. She has such a sweet personality and we love having her in our family. She is a little over 4 weeks old already. Hard to believe! Where did that time go?! She is sleeping longer stretches at night and is awake most of the day. She is VERY alert often and has the big bright eyes to prove it. She likes to be held...all the time. So it makes it hard to get things done around the house. But how could you not love holding such a cute baby?!
Amber LOVES being her big sister! Everything about Lilly amazes her. Of course she can't wait for her to play dress up with her but she is really enjoying this stage. Numerous times a day she'll say, "She's so tiny Mom. She's so cute! I think she likes me." She loves to comfort her and is a master at finding her pacifier when it falls. ;) The other day, Lilly was asleep in her bouncer which was downstairs. Amber and I were upstairs gathering our laundry. The moment Amber heard Lilly stir and start to cry she dropped all of her laundry and ran down the stairs yelling, "Don't worry Lilly! Big sister is coming! Don't cry. I'll get your pacifier." It was so cute!!! I love watching them together. Lilly just stares at her and follows her with her eyes when she moves away. I'm so grateful for my girls. What a blessing children are!!!
Nick hasn't gone on any trips since having her, just a few flights now and then. It's been wonderful having his help and watching him with our children. He's an amazing Dad! We truly are blessed to have him in our lives.
Here are a few pictures of Lilly and our family. Love you all! Hope everyone is doing well. Can't wait to see you during Christmas vacation!

Love, Crys

A New School Year With a New Member of the Family!

2010-09-04T21:48:00.001-06:00

The First Day of School is always SO much fun and memorable. Sarah, 5 th grade, Anna, 3rd grade, and Claire in 1st grade. The girls are off to a great start with teachers they each really like. It should be a great year. It's great to be back to a school schedule, too.

Mark had a connection through work with an older couple that was looking for a home for their golden doodle, 8 month old puppy. The couple felt they were over whelmed by caring for her so they were looking for a home that was a young family with children to go to that could care for and love her. Ta-da! We were just that family! The girls couldn't be happier. They have been thanking Mark and I over and over since. One of our girls said, "Don't worry about Christmas this year because it came early!" And another said when we brought her home,"This is the BEST day of my life!" They have been smothering her with attention.

Today was a soccer tournament in La Jolla for Sarah so we brought Molly (that's our new dog's name) with us. She couldn't have been more mellow and perfect with all the families and other dogs around. She is such a gentle sweet dog. She melts our hearts!!

Soccer has kicked in nice and strong for our family. It was a fun day with our family cheering Sarah's team on. I'll have to make another post of some of Claire and Anna's games another time...

Happy First Day of School (last week:))

2010-09-02T21:38:00.002-06:00

We had fun getting ready for the first day of school, and we have pictures to prove it. Check out our blog for more details!

It's a BOY!

2010-08-24T10:52:00.000-06:00

Since most of you are asking and wondering how I know the gender of our baby so early… here is the story.

At my 9 week doctor’s appt I was told that CA is starting to do these new special xdi ultrasound appointments around 10 – 13 weeks of pregnancy that I need to go to rule out any genetic or chromosomal disorders.

So I scheduled this appt and showed up when I was 13 weeks and 4 days pregnant. When I sat down for my ultrasound, the technician asked if I wanted to know the gender of the baby because of this new technology they have. He said he has never been wrong.

I didn’t have a single person there with me in my family, so I told him yes but asked if he could tell me to close my eyes when he looked at the sex of the baby and then print the picture up and seal it in an envelope. That is just what he did. As he gave me the envelope he reassured me that he was sure that he knew what we were having and he wasn’t wrong. I came home to my family with the sealed envelope. My girls were doing piano lessons and Mark had to go off to Mutual for Young Men’s so it wasn’t a good night to open it.

We couldn’t wait to open the envelope together and see if our baby was a boy or a girl! So we woke our girls up at 6:15 am the following morning to go out to breakfast before Mark went to work. There at the restaurant we opened the envelope one person at a time silently, and secretly passing it around the table to each person in the family. As each person looked at the picture, their eyes lit up with surprise. When Maria looked at it she said, “Oh, it’s a baby!” Mark was last to open the envelope and see that we were having a BOY! It was a fun and memorable morning!

I can’t believe how excited my girls are that they are going to have a little brother. They are constantly happily talking about it. Sarah has been going to bed each night faithfully with the baby name book to help us name him. Mark and I are excited but still a little in disbelief. I thought Mark and I only had girl babies! Well, at my next ultrasound appt. I think I will have them reconfirm the sex of the baby! But with the picture we have, it looks pretty certain that it is a BOY. My girls were giggling at the ultrasound picture and asked if I really had to put it on the refrigerator. Of course I do!

Staff Sergeant Nicholas W. Madsen

2010-08-19T22:06:00.002-06:00

Hello family,
We wanted to share the good news with all of you. Nick received the results for his Staff test this morning. HE PASSED!!! It's hard to really explain the odds of passing and how extremely difficult it is. Most people who take it their first time don't pass, let alone do it with out their air medals counting towards their score. He made Staff his very first time trying. A guy in our squadron found out he passed as well. It was his 5th time taking the test. No other Airman in our squadron passed on their first try. There was another Airman who passed but he had taken it at least two other times. Air Force wide the percentage was about 42% passing. Nearly 13,000 Airman out of 28,000, who were eligible and took the test, passed. I know how hard he worked for it. It is so wonderful to see him be rewarded for his efforts. He studied for months!!! He even studied when he was in Altus, while going to instructor school. Congratulations SSgt Madsen. We are so unbelievably proud of you!!! You earned it babe!!!

Love to all,
Crys

Utah Lake

2010-08-05T10:24:00.002-06:00

We just had a great day at Utah Lake and were reminded of all the fun we used to have at "the river". Come on Dad, heal up so we can take Blue Mist for a spin! :)

Our Final Addition- Abigail Elizabeth Pocock, Part 1

2010-07-28T21:07:00.002-06:00

Our Final Addition- Abigail Elizabeth Pocock

2010-07-28T18:36:00.004-06:00

She is here and so fun. So far she has just slept and ate (ouch!!). Thank you mom for taking Ashley, Lincoln and Sam so I can get to know her so well! It has been delightful, though I do miss those crazy kids! It's a little too quiet! I better enjoy it!! Thank you, again. I love you!

Family Night Announcement!

2010-07-26T21:15:00.000-06:00

Yes, it's true! We will be adding one more to our family -

expected date of arrival: February 21st

Mark & Terresa's Family Vacation to Sequoia National Park

2010-07-14T14:38:00.002-06:00

This was a fun and memorable family vacation. We are so glad we went! I couldn't help but think of the family trip mom and dad took us here when I was little. It was fun to revisit this beautiful place with my little family.

The giant sequoias trees are the largest living thing on earth.

Crescent Meadow is a beautiful place in the giant forrest. This was Mark's favorite place.

too many bears

Hume Lake. We could have stayed ALL week here. The water was warm and it was so fun to swim here.

Summer Fun...we miss you already Jaxon, Mailee, and Bernice

2010-07-11T21:12:00.003-06:00

Fourth of July at Grandma and Grandpa

2010-07-04T23:07:00.000-06:00

Claire's Kindergarten Graduation Day.

2010-06-25T10:59:00.001-06:00

Claire's class put on quite a show for graduation day. They recited poems, spoke their own small lines, danced and sang songs with actions. The show lasted for a while, too. It was so entertaining that even little Maria was captivated the whole time!

Above, Claire is reciting her lines.

Happy Graduation!

I have mixed feeling about sending Claire off to full day 1st grade next year. She is ready and prepared for 1st grade but I will miss her as my fun little buddy during the day.

San Diego Family Fun

2010-06-09T22:48:00.002-06:00

For the last month, I thought I'd actually try to use my own family blog that I created a few years back. This might be a good way to make a family memory book. Have any of you tried this before? If so, what did you think of it? I'm finding that this blogging stuff in detail takes a lot of my time and I don't know how extensive my posts on my blog will be in the future. If I like the book, then maybe I'll keep it up. If not, I'll stick to my past methods of family scrapbooking ... Here is my blog address if any of you are interested to see more pictures of these trips!http://markandterresatewfamily.blogspot.com/

Joshua Tree National Park

Sarah wins 1st place in her 440 track relay.

A wonderful day at Disneyland.

Air Show 2010

2010-05-31T11:08:00.012-06:00

Hi family!

Last weekend we had the awesome opportunity to be in and watch the Grand Forks Air Show. We had planes from all around the country here on base for display and for us to tour. It was such an amazing experience to actually go on Nick's plane and see first hand what he does. Nick had the chance to actually be in the air show as well. He was the one controlling the boom as his KC-135 flew by. Here's a picture.

Amber and I got the chance to lay/ sit in his boom pod the day before and see what it was like.

After Nick was done flying he met up with us and watched the rest of the Air Show.

The day after the air show I had the opportunity to go on a Spouses Incentive flight. Meaning I was able to go up in Nick's plane and watch them refuel the USAF Thunderbirds. I was able to lay in the boom pod and move the boom around. I also was able to sit in the cockpit when we landed. It was awesome! I learned so much about Nicks job and how hard he really works when he is gone. Gave me so much more appreciation for him and his service for our country. We couldn't be more proud!!! We love you Nick! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Memorial Day weekend. Be safe! We love and miss you all.

Love, Crys

Here's a few more pictures from our weekend.

Amber standing in front of Nick's plane

Amber and her friend Emma getting ready to give each other a hug

Amber and Emma

Amber in the C-17

Refueling the Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds flying in formation overhead

In the cockpit while we were landing

Happy, Happy Birthday, Claire!

2010-05-19T10:00:00.005-06:00

Claire turned SIX years old last Friday! We had such a fun day. We opened presents, ate cake & ice cream, went to the park, smashed open a donkey pinata (she had been saving from her teacher for months), and went to boomers with the family. Whew, what a great day celebrating our little Claire that brightens our family every day!

Boomers is a fun place where our family went minature golfing, played at the bumper boats,

on the go-carts, played lazer tag and climbed on this HUGE playland.

The girls had a great time! We stayed out very late and as soon as we got in the car to go home, each of the girls fell fast asleep.

Claire got a new razor and helmet for her birthday, and LOVES it! We enjoyed watching Claire soak up all the birthday fun. We sure love her.

Lone Peak Choir.wmv

2010-05-08T22:42:00.000-06:00

Ashley practicing with her school choir. She had fun singing at Abravanal Hall last Tuesday.

Whirlwind Weekend with Dads

2010-04-27T21:53:00.002-06:00

We were sooooo lucky to have Jack and my dad come out to spend the weekend with us so they could be a part of Mailee's blessing. Thank you, thank you, thank you dads for making the trip out and making Mailee's blessing so special...of course her being blessed twice helped make the day extra special too. :o) You'll have to ask Jack about the double blessing. :o)
But here's some pictures from the weekend and there are more on our blog.
Here's us at Jack's school.
Kirtland
Mailee's Blessing Day

The fun never stops!

2010-04-23T14:50:00.003-06:00

This month has been a blur and it's not even quite over!

We had a great time when Mark's brother (Michael) and their family came to visit for General Conference and Easter during Spring Break.

Then 3 days later, Adam, Jen and their family came to stay with us at the end of Spring break.

Jen's family went to Disneyland first and then came to stay with us.

Here are some of the many things we were up to when they came:

We went to La Jolla Beach to see the seals and explore in the tide pools and rocks.

We went to Ponto Beach:

Maria and Lucy playing together.

Spencer and Sarah had fun playing smash ball.

We went to our neighborhood park and played some more.

Above: Anna, Claire & Sophie

Grace

Jen & Terresa.

Then, No more than 3 days later from my sister Jen's departure, just in time to change the sheets, Mark's mom (Nana) came in to care for our girls while Mark and I went to San Francisco for a company retreat.

We felt like honeymooners again.

We saw the broadway show, "Wicked"! It is a brilliant, creative, and fun story.

I'll never think of "The Wizard the Oz" the same. What a fantastic broadway show.

While in San Francisco we rented a scooter and learned our way around the city really well. We went everywhere on that thing and had such a blast. Places like- Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, Fisherman's Warf, Union Square,

we rode the Bart (the subway), went to Golden Gate Park, Sausalito, China Town, Lombard Street...

This is one of the many beautiful views of San Francisco

and this photo happens to be a view from our hotel.

We are already looking forward to another one of Mark's brother and their family coming in a week.

2010-04-18T21:03:00.002-06:00

Hawaii!!

It was so relaxing and fun to go to Hawaii! Nick and Crys, you guys are in for some fun. I'm a little jealous... We did a bit of snorkeling, surfing, exploring deserted islands, more snorkeling (I can't get over how amazing it was. Turtles, seals, the cast of Nemo and the crystal clear H2O...), eating at yummy restaurants, and just relaxing. Maybe we won't have to wait another 10 years to do it again!! (Yes, this was our 10th anniversary trip). To see more pictures, go to our blog.

Adam's Back

2010-04-03T14:19:00.002-06:00

Dad, thought you would appreciate these pictures. When Adam came home and started pulling things out of his luggage I was transported back to when you worked in Saudi Arabia and brought home things for us. Now you and Spence are almost twins!

2010-03-28T12:34:00.000-06:00

Easter pictures! Check out our blog for more pictures.

Mom, the red-heads you've always wanted!

2010-03-17T21:34:00.005-06:00

Knock, knock!

Who's there?

Irish.

Irish who?

Irish you a happy St. Patrick's Day!

How did the Irish Jig get started?

Too much to drink and not enough restrooms!

Mailee and Jaxon pics

2010-03-17T14:42:00.002-06:00

A friend of mine took some cute pictures of Mailee and even some with Jaxon. Don't have a ton of them up yet...still need to edit them and then take some more too...hard to take pictures without husbands around to help. But this is what us crazy stay at home moms do with our kids during test weeks to keep ourselves entertained. :o)

2010-03-14T12:19:00.002-06:00

Sam pooped on the potty today!! I can't believe it! I bought him a potty chair and put it in the bathroom 3-4 days ago. Yesterday he brought it out to sit on and play with his toys. Last night he took off his clothes and sat on it for 15 minutes or so while we cheered for him. Today, he did the same thing, except he started clapping once and told us to come and look. Having done this many times, I just said good job, Sam. Ashley went and looked and he had pooped in it!! Whoa. It was quite amazing compared to trying to get Ashley and Lincoln to do that for the first time. Now I don't know what to do! I didn't really want to start training him until we got back from Hawaii... Maybe this no pressure potty training is a good thing. :)

Loosing Teeth and Valentine's Day

2010-02-28T21:00:00.004-07:00

Claire lost her FIRST tooth! Yipee! Claire's zany teacher wanted to "yank"out her wiggly first tooth. Claire begged me to say yes. So that is just what happened. Claire was so excited to have her teacher pull it out and then get a little tooth treasure box for it to stick under the pillow for the tooth fairy.

Then the next couple of weeks later while Claire was reading a Tooth Fairy book from the library, her tooth just "fell" out by itself. She was again so excited! This morning while combing her hair she was checking for another loose tooth and she said, "Awe, I wish I had more wiggly teeth!"

We just loved having Valentine's Day on Sunday this year coupled with a four day weekend from school (President's Day). It was a fun and a relaxing weekend to celebrate! We went hiking on our hills behind our neighborhood, went to the beach & pier, got frozen yogurt, the park... After this great weekend, I'm looking forward to summer and more holidays with free time.

Anna turns 8 and gets baptized!

2010-02-17T22:16:00.004-07:00

Celebrating Anna over the past few weeks have been a real joy. Martin Luther Kings day fell on her birthday so we got the day off to celebrate her!

When asking her about what she was looking forward to most about getting baptized she responded that she was going to be so glad to get the gift of the Holy Ghost to help her be even kinder to others.

We are so grateful that Grandma Char & Grandpa Jack, Mark's parents, and sister, Rachel were able to come out for Anna's baptism. It was a wonderful weekend having their support.

Our new Stake has challenged all of the children during their baptism year to read the Book of Mormon. She has been very dedicated. I find her in her room on her bed reading the Book of Mormon to work towards her goal without me reminding her. Sarah has also decided to take on the challenge since this was not something she was part of in our old Stake. Sarah and Anna will sit at times and read out loud in the Book of Mormon together. I am grateful for this challenge.

Hello family!

2010-01-15T08:37:00.001-07:00

Hello family,

It has been so long since we've posted anything. But we have some exciting news that we want to share with everyone. We are expecting baby #2 in August. We just found out a few days ago but are very excited! I have my first doctor appointment in about 6 weeks. But as of now, everything is great and baby is healthy. We love you all and miss you very much. Hope to see you all soon!

Love, Crys

Maria, Happy 2nd Birthday!

2010-01-12T20:52:00.001-07:00

It was a treat to celebrate Maria of 2 years. She is a real sweety and understood it was HER birthday. She sang the birthday song all day. We soaked up all the happy energy she gave off.

Celebrating Christmas Break in Utah

2010-01-12T20:37:00.004-07:00

Road trip!

Utah in the winter can be beautiful!

The drive up to Hardward Ranch for the "sleigh ride" was my favorite part. The snowy mountains and river was breathtaking!

It was a cold day (something like 17 degrees) out on the farm visiting the Elk.

But we know how make anything a great time!

Jen and Lucy

Sarh, Grace, Sophie, & Anna

Mom, Maria & Anna

Lincoln, Sam, & Kim

Claire & Ashley

Jack, Jaxon & Bernice

Mark & Claire

Thanks for a great Utah visit! For somereason I didn't have my camera for other fun Utah stuff. (Like going to a movie, fun times at familie's homes, Sophie's baptism, Lucy's 2nd b-day & Kangaroo Zoo) Other family members will have to make a post to complete Christmas break fun!

Christmas 2009 for Mark and Terresa's Family

2010-01-12T20:21:00.005-07:00

Each year when we go to pick out our Christmas Tree, the girls can't wait to play hide-and-go-seek among the trees. It's something I distinctly remember doing as a little girl!

Claire is counting

Anna is hiding

Marks cousin was in town over a weekend and helped us decorate our tree.

We went to candy card lane and christmas lane to see amazing neighborhoods decked out in Christmas lights and decorations.

We went Christmas Caroling in a Nursing home. This was a neat thing we did with our family and friends. This woman was so cute and super excited to talk with the kids.

We drank lots of homemade hot chocolate; a couple times each week during the month of December! The girls couldn't get enough.

Instead of running outside to play in the snow, we welcomed the rainstorms and jumped in puddles.

Mark and I went on a overnight work party at the Pala Resort. Each of our school girls had somesort of class holiday dance/choir performance. That was especially fun to watch!

Christmas, just wouldn't be Christmas without making our gingerbread houses.

The final result of the gingerbread houses. From left to right: Claire, Anna, Sarah & Maria.

We were so glad Mark's sister, Becki & her family, Jeff, Ava & Isaac came to stay with us over Christmas. Our friend, Cat, came and celebrated Christmas Eve with us, too. We are ready to enjoy our Bethlehem meal.

Here are our Nativity Play cast members: Jeff: narrator, Claire & Maria: Angels, Becki: Joseph, Anna: Mary, Mark & Cat: wisemen, Isaac: Baby Jesus, Sarah & Ava: Shepherds, Terresa: photographer and scene coordinator, and Sarah & Anna: Piano music.

The kiddos opened new pj's and read a Christmas story.

We ended Christmas Eve with decorating cookies, and making homemade hot cocoa for santa. (We had some, too!)

Christmas Morning and favorite gifts:

All the family would agree that their most favorite gift was a certificate wrapped under the tree telling the girls they would get to go to Utah to see many extended family members and play in the snow.

Sarah

Anna

Claire

Maria & Ava

The family loved their new wii.

Merry Christmas to you!

2009-11-15T17:59:00.001-07:00

Happy Halloween! I know, a little late, but we did have fun. Check out our blog for more pictures.

Jaxon's Halloween

2009-11-09T22:01:00.002-07:00

We had a fun halloween too and we've posted more pictures on our blog of course, but here are a couple.
Here we are at our ward Halloween party.
Jaxon before we went out trick or treating.
And us out and about on a coooold Halloween night.

Halloween at the Tews in San Diego

2009-11-06T01:47:00.008-07:00

For Halloween this year, we borrowed creativity and props from Paul and Stacie (my bro & sis-in-law). Our family loved the costumes Paul & Stacie made a few years back with the Candyman theme. They were kind enough to let us borrow them. We had a really great time dressing up with our family at the ward trunk or treat, a subsequent Halloween party, and then trick or treating. Maria loved Maija’s bubblegum costume that Claire was wearing, so much, so much that we had no choice but to make a matching gumball machine costume for Maria also. Halloween was a fantastic time.

We played the Candyman song from our car while handing out candy and I swear that song is still stuck in my head!

We went to an Annual 2nd cousin (on Mark's side) Halloween Carnival and my kids would all agree that eating donuts on a string is their favorite.

Anna, Sarah and Claire in their soccer uniforms this season. A couple of Saturday's ago we had our first Millinery! It’s a new phrase Mark coined when 3 of your children each score 3 goals (a hat trick) of their own on the same day at each of their individual games.

Halloween festivities in North Dakota

2009-11-01T21:29:00.006-07:00

Hello family!
Sorry it has been so long. I'm terrible about updating our blogs! Just wanted to let you know we're all alive and doing well. We have enjoyed all of our Halloween festivities this month. :D We had a few visits to the pumpkin patch, making Halloween sugar cookies, carving awesome pumpkins, dinner in a pumpkin ( Thanks Tree!) and of course Trick or Treating! We had Nick home all month so it was even better! Amber was a tiger this year. She was a pretty dang cute tiger in our opinion. While trick or treating she would knock on the door and ask, "Candy pease?!" instead of, " Trick or treat?" At first she would just stare at the people, but once she realized they were giving her candy, she got really into it. :D It was cold, so we didn't go to very many houses. But she still scored tons of candy. Here are a few pictures from this month. There are a few more on my Facebook page if you would like to see them. We love you all and hope you had a great Halloween!

Love, Crys

At the pumpkin patch

Making sugar cookies...covered in flour

painting her pumpkin

painting with Daddy

...and Mommy

Our little tiger...Grrr!!!

getting ready to trick or treat

Daddy and Amber (love this picture!)

Mommy and Amber being silly

A Spooky Night...for sure.

2009-11-01T09:46:00.002-07:00

So Halloween was a sucess...and I just had to post a few pics from our fun night...to see more, of course, check our blog! Love you Madsens!

2009-10-08T13:22:00.002-06:00

Introducing... Ginger Bread Pocock! Or, at least that's what Lincoln would say. Sam calls her "Puttee" and Ashley just calls her Ginger. But yes, we broke down and finally did it. I wish I could have counted the # of times they have asked for a puppy... Years and years multiple time a day. Anyway, she's here and actually pretty fun. She doesn't even shed!! My personal favorite part.

2009-10-08T13:19:00.001-06:00

2009-10-07T21:37:00.001-06:00

2009-10-07T21:33:00.002-06:00

So!! It's been awhile since we posted. We'll here we are on the farm. We went to CA for UEA weekend. We went to the fair, saw Tree and Mark's family, went to the beach, and to a USC Volleyball game. Ashley is convinced this is the sport for her, because she doesn't have to push or kick anyone. :) Anyway, we had a good time.

Grandpa, The Master Fisherman

2009-09-12T15:56:00.004-06:00

Over Labor Day Weekend we spent time with Grandma and Grandpa...the girls enjoyed a day at Cherry Hill...and Spence opted to go fishing with Grandpa and Dad. And it was a good choice he made because he caught his FIRST RAINBOW TROUT!

And I think Spence was the only person in the trio to catch anything that day. Go Spence. And thanks Grandpa for teaching him your skills!

School Too

2009-09-05T12:40:00.001-06:00

School is Cool!

2009-09-03T23:40:00.008-06:00

1st day of school pictures!

We are all glad Carillo Elementary officially began last Monday. With school starting, we've finally been able to get back some normalcy and calm the anxious nerves associated with starting a new school. What's more, each of the new Tew students have given Carillo Elementary two thumbs up.

Claire goes to afternoon kindergarten. She is so excited to be in school!

Anna is now in 2nd grade. She even lost a tooth the night before school.

Sarah, who is in 4th grade, was interested in finding new school clothes that fit her style.

As part of school preparation, I gave the older girls a new haircut. When cleaning up, Maria insisted she put on the cape and sit on the chair for her own haircut just like her sisters. So I did. But I only combed it, and just pretended to cut her hair. She also made sure she got her picture taken (like her sisters) to show off her new dew. Someone is growing up!

This has nothing to do with school, but last week I walked into Anna and Claire's room late one night to check on them and this is what I found. Priceless...

How is the new school year going for all of you? Jack & Bernice and Nick & Crys what are you guys up to? We missed you at the beach trip!

2009-09-03T23:32:00.000-06:00

A Little of our Vacation

2009-08-15T14:43:00.001-06:00

Mother's Day BBQ

2009-05-25T12:45:00.030-06:00

The Gathering

Why is she cooking on mother's day?

Lucy discovers the dog!

Char enjoys the fruit salad!

Everybody enjoys the smores!

Ashley enjoys the fire!
(nice smile)

The "Gift"

Lincoln finds himself!

Lucy and Adam compare family heritage!
(Lucy thinking "my tongue CAN'T look like that...maybe i take after mom after all!)

Teaching the finer art of the "Ride"

Teaching the safer art of the "Ride"

Teaching to walk before the "Ride"

The "Ride"

The dismount from the "Ride"
10 points

Eating and "Riding"

Home for the "Gift"

The "Gift"

Thanks to all for a very fun Mother's Day...including all the calls to Mom.
ps
After fighting with the blog editing (as i always do - i can NEVER get any text to align with the photos) I just dumped the text in ... see if you can figure out what goes to what - treat i like a Mother's Day matching game - 'cuz I'M DONE

Latest Adventures

2009-05-25T08:31:00.014-06:00

Happy Memorial Day!
It is really great to see all of your posts and the lastest with each of you!

We wish we could pop into each of your homes for a quick visit.
We got back from Palomar Mtn. just Saturday evening enjoying a super fun time out doors camping.

Climbing tall, thick oak trees was one of the favorite pastimes of the three older girls.

We found a great spot for our hammock. Swaying back & forth in the open air was relaxing.

The girls could have hiked all day long looking for the neatest walking sticks and interesting nature things to collect.

The water fight sure was a hit!

We can't wait to go back to the mountains!

Happy 5th Birthday Claire!

Claire helped design her Bakugan cake.
We celebrated her birthday with her friends at Chuck-e-Cheese.

Maria is growing and becoming a sweet, adorable big girl. We love her so much!

At the beginning of the month Mark had a crazy last minute idea to head up to San Francisco with him on a business trip. We are so glad we went and explored a cool new place to us! Golden Gate Park was so beautiful and the thick fog was not just around the park but all over town. There is something truly cool about fog.
We found the Oakland temple and walked around the beautiful grounds.

Swimming in the hotel pool is always a highlight for our girls.

A view of San Francisco Bay.

Fisherman's Warf at Pier 39. This was a fun place to see seals, Alcatraz, ride a 2 story carousel, try famous foods to S.F. and much more! So many neat things to see in the city.

I enjoyed Mother's Day so much I had to include a couple of pics because my girls & Mark were so cute and excited to make me feel special. Each of the girls had a special presentation of some sort through school or church.

Mark and I went on his annual work retreat in April. This year it was held in the JW Marriot in Palm Springs. This was a blast! (mostly because I got to hang out with Mark by myself) Thanks Mom for taking such great care of the girls for us while we were there. The girls had such a fun time with you!

Jack is now a 2nd year student!

2009-05-22T07:56:00.003-06:00

Hello family,
Just wanted to let everyone know that Jack has officially finished his first year of Podiatry school!! He has worked so hard these past months and it has paid off. He says he has never been more stressed out in his life, but he knows what he needs to do better for next year, so there should only be more good things to come. :o)
In the meantime, we LOVE having him home and have been trying to cram as much into this break he has before summer term starts.
We've gone to the zoo...
And we also made it to Niagara Falls.
We still have a couple more days of break left, so hopefully there will be more fun activities and more fun pictures to come! :o) We have more pictures on our blog here.

The Pampered Chef

2009-05-03T12:24:00.002-06:00

Hello family! I hope you are all enjoying warm weather wherever you are. It is FINALLY getting warmer here and we are LOVING it! None of us want to come inside on such nice days. It's been awesome!!!

As you know I became a Pampered Chef consultant in March. Thank you Kim and Char for you orders to help get me off my feet in the business. I was finally able to earn my website with help from you guys. Thank you!!! Now that I have my website you can order directly through me and have it shipped to your address without the hassle of paperwork. If there is anything you need or are interested in let me know. Or you could check out the website for yourself and see. :) Thanks again for all you support and willingness to help me. I am extremely excited about it but nervous to take on such a big challenge. Love you all! Happy Mothers Day to everyone!

Love, Crys

http://www.pamperedchef.biz/crysmadsen

Grace and Reader of the Week

2009-05-01T14:34:00.002-06:00

Hey just posted some new pics to our blog, but wanted to let you know Grace is Reader of the Week on my friend, and local author's website. She is Reader of the Week #10. I promise you WILL be entertained. Check it out here www.anndeeellis.com.