Back to School!

I love back to school pictures! I don't what it is, but I always love the start of a new school year. Makes me miss teaching a little bit. Spencer always took a picture of me at the beginning of each new school year so of course I made sure to do the same!

Logan, UT

After leaving Boise we headed to Logan where Spencer's brother and sister live. We rarely get to see either of their families, so this trip was a real treat! Since Corinne and Morgan were busy with work and school, we spent the majority of our time at Jeremy and Tanna's house. Spencer made sure to fit in some niece and nephew bonding time before going off with Jeremy. Here he is with 2 of their 4 kids. Austin is 4 months and Sydney will be going into 2nd grade.


Madi and I had a great time hanging out with Tanna and the kids. Even though Madi did get jealous when I held Austin, she loved having time to play with her cousins! She and Evan really hit it off!


Being there for 3 days we sure fit in a lot of activities! Tanna did a great job of showing us some of the highlights around Logan. We went to the Logan Zoo- which Madi absolutely loved!


She especially liked feeding the ducks!


If you've been to Logan and haven't gotten Aggie Ice Cream, you are really missing out! Thanks Jeremy for the yummy treat!


Madi had her first experience riding horses! She loved it! As soon as she saw the horses she yelled, "horsie!" YEAH- a new word to add to her vocabulary!! I guess she HAS been listening to the animal books we've read to her! Here she is riding "Red" with Uncle Jeremy and waving to her group of spectators.


Jeremy owns 1 horse and 2 mules, so naturally his kids are quite the little buckaroos!



While in Logan we got to enjoy Tanna's AMAZING homemade pizza!! She is an incredible chef! Thanks Tanna for all the yummy meals!


One night we took dinner up the canyon and enjoyed an outdoor meal complete with bonfire and roasting marshmallows!


Evan was quite the little pyro!


Jeremy and Morgan brought along their fishing gear. So while they fished, Spencer and Madi had a great time playing by the water.




Thanks Jeremy, Tanna, Corinne, and Morgan for the great visit!! We love you and look forward to seeing you all again- hopefully soon!

CHS Class Reunion Weekend

I know I'm really behind on my blogging, but I HAD to write about the completion of my 10 year HS reunion. Along with a group of 3 other gals, I'd been working on planning this reunion for quite some time. To be totally honest, I was actually dreading the whole thing! For months I had spent most of Madi's nap times and all my evenings dedicated to calling and contacting people as well as corresponding with the 3 other girls I was working with. Living across the country made planning a little difficult and very frustrating! However, being the senior president from my graduating class I felt a sense of duty to stay involved and make sure this reunion happened. Crazy how fast 10 years flew by! I remember running for Senior Class President with only getting into BYU on my mind. Surprisingly the reunion ended up being a hit and everything went very smoothly! My favorite part of the weekend was definitely hanging out with our close friends and getting reacquainted with those friends I'd lost touch with. For journaling purposes I'll give the highlights of each day we were in Boise.

THURSDAY 8/7:
Hanging out with the Oylers


This is Chad and Ryann's adorable little girl, Cole. She just turned 2 and they are actually expecting #2 in January!


Madi had such a great time playing with Cole that she totally forgot about being nervous about walking and took her FIRST STEPS while we were staying with the Oylers! Yeah Madi!


We met up with the Harper clan and Adam Eshenroder at Mongolian BBQ for lunch. Spencer, Adam, Chad, and Scott were roommates at BYU. It's been fun being able to keep in touch over the years, getting together for little reunions every so often. I lucked out with all the guys marrying such awesome gals. Now we're just working on finding someone good enough for Adam!


To add to the fun of the reunion weekend, Chad and Ryann hosted a BBQ Thursday evening, inviting several friends I have not seen since graduation! What a great time I add meeting husbands and kids and getting reacquainted. I didn't get a picture with everyone that was there so this will have to suffice. Here's Ben Tanner and Adam doing a great job of keeping an eye on the kids.


Friday 8/8:
A trip to Boise just isn't the same without going skiing on the Harper's boat. Luckily Scott and Heather were up for some wake boarding. I even got out there and did a little water-skiing myself! Here I am-yes, on 2 skis, but catching a little bit of air!

Adam and Scott gave us a good show! Videos of their cool tricks will be uploaded soon!

The little girls all enjoyed the boat ride as well! Madi broke into a screaming fit when I got out to ski. She had missed her morning nap and was suffering from mama separation!


Friday evening was the first official reunion event. It was a meet-n-greet at a Bar/lounge in downtown Boise. I was totally surprised at how much fun I actually had at this event. We served non-alcoholic drinks and appetizers as well as played the senior video. I was so busy greeting and visiting that I forgot to take pictures. Bummer!

Saturday 8/9:
The second reunion event was a family picnic at Municipal Park. This was Spencer's favorite event- probably because he got to have Madi with him the whole time! I sat at a check-in table most of the time, which I actually really enjoyed. It was fun being able to chat with people as they showed up, not to mention seeing how many kids everyone has now! Again, I was busy the entire time so this was the only picture I had taken at the picnic. Ashlee and I met when I moved to Boise in 8th grade and we were best friends freshman year. Then she got transferred to Eagle High and we ended up loosing touch. Thank goodness for blogging being able to get us back in touch again! It was super fun to see Ashlee and her gorgeous family. Love you Ash!


The final event on Saturday evening was held in the ballroom of the Owyhee Plaza hotel. The evening included dinner and dancing. I was nervous the first half of the evening because I knew I was going to have to get up in front of everyone. I hate speaking in large groups of people my own age. After I gave my little speech, I was able to relax and enjoy the evening!



Sunday 8/10:
We all got up early to attend sacrament meeting with the Harpers (my old ward) and then bid the Oylers farewell as we left with Adam for Logan.


Thanks everyone for a fabulous reunion weekend!!

Home SWEET Home!

We're BACK!!! Madilyn and I flew into Baltimore last night at 8pm and are THRILLED to be home! I stayed up until after midnight unpacking and putting things away. Unfortunately, we had to wake up bright and early this morning to take Spencer to the airport for a flight out to LA. He arrived home this past Sunday and has had some interviews during the week for law firms here in DC. Then tomorrow he has 3 interviews for Southern California law firms. It was sad to have Spencer leave as soon as Madi and I got back, but luckily this trip is only for 2 days. After being away for 3 months, having flown 4 different times, letting Madi meet 5 new cousins, and sleeping in 8 different cities, I think we're all looking forward to our own space, not living out of a suitcase, and getting back on a schedule!! I've got LOTS of blog catching up to do, so stay tuned for pictures and updates from our fun in Boise, Logan, and Bear Lake!

Goodbye California!

As our summer here in California comes to an end, I thought I'd post a few more pictures of some of the fun that we've had while we've been here! It's been super fun spending time with family- letting Madi develop closer relationships with her grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins, but we're definitely getting anxious to return home. We fly out of Burbank this afternoon- arriving in Boise this evening, where we'll be spending time with friends, celebrating our 10 year graduation from high school! From there we go on to Logan and then to Bear Lake. We've got 2 more weeks of adventure ahead of us before we fly back into DC. Wow- the fun never ends!!!

Welcome Home Elder Rudd!!

It's official, my brother Bobby is no longer an Elder. Yesterday evening he returned home from serving a 2 year mission in Mexico. We were bummed that we couldn't join the rest of the family at the Oakland Airport, but we're looking forward to seeing Bobby next week at our family reunion!! Love you Bob!!

Pictures from the airport will be coming once someone from the family emails me (hint hint to all you that were there)! For now, here's a picture of Bobby serving in action! He's the handsome missionary on the left!

Our Last Weekend!

Spencer, Madi, and I just returned home from Murrieta where we spent our last weekend here in Southern California. Madi and I drove down Friday morning with mom, dad, and Jocelyn while Spencer met us there after work. On our way down we stopped off in Pasadena to go to the Huntington library, art collections, and botanical gardens. I've only been there once before with my sister and nephew, but absolutely loved it! If we had ended up living in Southern California I had planned on getting a membership there. So naturally I was excited to go again, especially with Madi along. While the library and art collections weren't all that exciting for Madi or I, the gardens were breath taking. There are more than a dozen gardens that cover 120 acres of the 207-acre ground. My favorites were the Japanese, Chinese, Jungle, and especially the Children's Garden. The Teaching Greenhouse was incredible with hands-on discovery centers. Madi was in awe with all the things to see and touch. The tropical rainforest was in one of the greenhouses and helped give me a glimpse of what living in DC this summer would have felt like. I was dripping after about 20 minutes of being inside! But it sure was worth all the amazing plants we got to see.




Madi and Grandpa Al cooled off in the mist at the Children's Garden. We were soaked after 2 or 3 times of standing under the misters.


After Huntington Gardens, we headed on to Murrieta where Spencer's sister, brother-in-law, and kids live. Unfortunately they were in Utah for the weekend, so we didn't get to hang out with them. Saturday morning we were up early and after Madi's morning nap we headed off to San Diego to spend the day at Sea World! Spencer and I have both been before but it was a LONG time ago. We mostly just wanted Madi to have a great experience- and what an experience she had! Here's our front row, "soak zone" seats that we had at the Shamu show!





Madi loved seeing the whales and dolphins, but at times would get super nervous and snuggle up close. Yes, I got TONS of hugs throughout the day! No complaints here!!


We didn't go on any of the rides, but mom, dad, and Jocelyn were patient enough to wait over 2 hours to ride the Shipwrek Rapids! Luckily, they had less of a wait in the evening when the crowds weren't as bad.


Other favorites include touching the Bat Rays and the "Pet's Rule" show!



Of all the shows we went to see, the Sesame Street show was Madi's all time favorite! It even beat the "Pet's Rule" show which surprised me. Funny, because she has only watched Sesame Street a handful of times, but I think it's going to become a MUST watch when we return home. As the characters came out to perform, Madi kept squealing, jumping up and down in our arms, and kicking her legs. She was happy to have daddy give her a better view from his shoulders!


At the end of the day Madi was exhausted and ready to go home. Pendleton has a way of calming Madi down. We made sure to keep him on hand throughout the day!


Despite the crowds, long lines, and overpriced food (ya, amusement parks are not a favorite thing of mine) it was a great day! We mostly just enjoyed attending the shows and spending time with the family! Thanks mom, dad, and Jocelyn for the fun weekend!!