One Last Day....

Today was the last day that our pool will be open for the year. It had actually been closed Monday- Friday because school started, but they were opening it up for one last swim this weekend. All week I'd been planning on spending a nice, lazy Saturday afternoon with Spencer and Madi at the pool. Then the rain arrived- welcome remnants of Tropical Storm Hanna! What a BUMMER!! All week long it's been hot and sunny, then the one day we get crazy weather is Saturday.



At least Madi and I were able to enjoy a week of playing at the pool before it's closure! We seriously went everyday the week we got back (except for Sunday of course)! I just don't understand the whole concept of closing a pool when it's still in the high 80's and 90's! These past few days the heat has been a killer and taking a dip into our nice, cool pool would have made everything better! Instead, around here, once school starts the pools close. It makes me so mad! Who needs a lifeguard anyway!?! It's not like Madi and I need someone watching us swim! I'd even be ok if they just opened up the pool at 3pm after school's out! There were a couple of days this past week that I seriously contemplated jumping the fence. I just couldn't figure how to get Madi and I both over!

Madi's become so much braver in the water now. She'll actually stick her head down into the water, try to blow bubbles, and not cry when water gets splashed into her face (which is a big improvement for Madi!). When I'd take her into the "big pool" she'd actually swim using her hands and jump off the side into my arms.





Even though we couldn't go swimming, at least we ended the day on a good note. We celebrated the Cougars' win over the University of Washington, and the storm finally gave way to a beautiful sunset!

Labor Day Fun!

This afternoon Spencer, Madi, and I took off to spend our Labor Day at Cunningham Falls. It's a beautiful state park located about 45 minutes north of Rockville. We were more than prepared for an afternoon of fun- bringing along everything we could possibly need including our BBQ, volleyball, football, beach toys, floaty, beach chairs, towels, food to grill, and lots of other snacks! With a packed car, we set off! Our friends, Travis, Krista, and their 2 girls caravaned up with us. Leading the group, Spencer made sure to check directions with Google maps before leaving. The park was 49 miles from our home, so we became a little concerned when 49 miles into our trip we had no clue where we were- except in some hick town of Maryland- Funkstown to be exact (and not only that, we were only a few miles from the Pennsylvania border)! It had definitely been a beautiful drive, but we were no where near our destination! Even though it was Google maps who had failed us, Spencer humbled himself and pulled over, admitting that we were lost! To Spencer's credit, he's quite the accomplished navigator, even when we are "lost". However, without a good map, Spencer was stumped on this one! Luckily Krista had a detailed map of Maryland and with a little help from a nice old man from Funkstown, we successfully found our way to Cunningham Falls!

Thanks Krista for being such an awesome navigator!


The only downfall of our gorgeous detour was that our 45 minute trip had ended up turning into a 2 hour adventure! Our afternoon of fun was now cut down to a few hours of fun! Oh, but FUN we had! With good food, good weather, and good friends, it's hard not to have a GREAT time!

14 Months!

Madi is 14 months old today! Since we were away this summer over her birthday, Madi missed her one year check-up and shots. So yesterday I took her in. Madilyn now weighs 21 lbs (40th percentile), is 30 1/2 in. long (80th percentile) and has a good sized head (62nd percentile). While it's always good to hear that she's growing just as she should, this check-up was the worst one yet! Madi was completely hysterical about her shots- she was crying even before the shots were given! To Madi's credit though, the nurse did warn me that these shots are pretty painful ones! But then she was also naughty when the doctor did his routine examination. I just wonder how long this afraid of everyone but mom act is supposed to last!?! Things have gotten much better since we've come home, but some of the things I'm guessing just come with this age include:

1) Being clinging and preferring one parent over everyone else (Yes, unfortunately I'm the lucky parent who Madi's decided to be clingy with)!
2) CRAZY active- always wanting to explore!
3) Super vocal about everything!

It's been fun coming home this month and watching Madi explore- getting to know her home, toys, and bedroom again. It's also been good seeing her get excited about the bath again. I'm SO glad that phase is over!

Some of the new things Madi's done this past month include:

* Saying "hi" and "bye" to everyone she meets. You'd think she doesn't suffer from stranger anxiety with the way she gets excited and waves at strangers- greeting them with a big friendly smile and saying "hi!" Saying "bye" started last week.
* Growing a new bottom tooth, giving her a grand total of 5 teeth now!
* Shaking her head and saying "no" when not interested in something.
* Mimicking words and letters that she hears and that Spencer and I tell her to say.
* WALKING! She took her first steps while we were in Boise and has been taking it very slow and carefully since then. She's walked across the room a couple of times, but since crawling is still faster she prefers the alternative!



As clingy and whiny as Madi is, she's still such a happy girl and loves to play! She laughs hysterically when something is funny, voluntarily gives hugs and kisses, feeds her baby bottles, and loves snuggling with her stuffed animals. Here's just a few more pictures of Madi this past month.

Rudd Family Reunion 2008

The week of August 13th through 20th the entire Rudd family (including Grandpa and Grandma) got together for our first official family reunion! It was held up at Bear Lake, at the Worldmark that my parents have a timeshare through. Even though Spencer, Madi, and I had had a super long summer, we were all looking forward to spending some quality time with my family. With all of us coming from different directions, my mom did most (or should I say ALL) of the organizing, planning, and shopping to make this reunion possible! She's truly one amazing lady! She did happen to mention that the next reunion will be organized a little differently though; I think with a little more help on our part! A schedule of the weeks meals and activities hung from the fridge in the kitchen of each condo. I LOVE schedules, and really did find myself checking it every morning to see what we'd be eating and doing for entertainment each evening. Then I made sure to take a picture to remember what a great week we had!

The first three days my parents had rented jet skis that we all had a fabulous time on!

Day 1: Tanna and the kids drove us to Bear Lake from Logan. Sydney and I had a great time playing in the water together. She was the only Jenkins' kid brave enough to go out on the jet ski, so we even let her drive!

Day 2: While everyone else played on the beach, we took turns doubling up on the jet skis. Here's Bobby and Karlee- the last two unmarried siblings.

Day 3: Spencer and I took the jet skis out early in the morning so that we could drive our own. Man can you get air when you're alone on one of those things!! Even though it was a pretty chilly morning, we still had an awesome time racing each other across the lake at over 40 mph!

Aside from jet skiing, we spent our days down at the lake, soaking in the warm rays, playing in the sand and in the water, up at condos, swimming in the indoor and outdoor pools, and having a whole LOT of fun!

I found it quite hilarious to watch the dads get into their sand sculpting. Way to go Curt and Spencer on your fabulous sand castles!

Dad even managed to get Madi to take a nap while out at the Lake. What a miracle!

Heading back from the lake was always crazy FUN- 7 people packed into a 5 person vehicle!

Going along with the Olympics this summer, Clark and Josue planned and organized the "Rudd Olympics" for one of our activities while up at Bear Lake. They created outdoor games that we played down on the beach as well as indoor trivia questions that we competed on during one of our evening events. The teams were divided "Team Mom" vs. "Team Dad". Spouses were on opposite teams and little kids were divided by age and ability. Madi and Ani served as alternates!

At the closing ceremonies of our Olympic games the points were totaled, giving Team Mom first place!

Nice job: Scott, Karlee, Mom, Tisha, Logan, Spencer Lucas, and Adley. Spencer was unable to make it to the closing cermonies due to his flight back to DC the day before. His gold medal is the one hanging from the torch!

Team Dad came in second place with the silver medals!

Here's to the BEST TEAM!!! Way to go Anie, Jen Bobby, Curteis, Dad, Grayson, and Ava! You're all #1 in my book!

A BIG thanks goes out to our Olympic organizers: Clark and JoSue! Thanks for the competitive events, well thought-out trivia questions, good times and LOTS of laughs!!

Some of the other activities of the week included:

Intense volleyball games! Notice me sitting out with a screaming baby who couldn't bear to leave my side. Yes, I was able to play later though, thanks to loving sisters who volunteered to stay with Madi while she napped!

Our own homemade slip-n-slide!

Talent Show- I think the Lucas family won first place with their Star Wars skit! Karlee and I came in pretty close with our singing and dancing though!

Karaoke, Wii, and Guitar Hero!

Ava's new dress up box kept the girl cousins (and Karlee) happy!!

What a GREAT week!! With all the fun we had, I think Madi was definitely ready to get home and back to her calmer life! She was quite the clingy baby all week! Sunday after church we got together to take a few pictures. Here's one of all 7 cousins. Sorry, there's not one in the whole bunch without Madi crying!

Here's a few other pictures of everyone that attended the reunion- taken by my sister Jen. Thanks again Jen for being the photographer and getting so many great shoots! Unfortunately Jen was so busy taking pictures that we didn't get one of her whole family, except from talent night.

And especially loved having Grandpa and Grandma with us!

And a BIG special thanks to Mom and Dad for making this whole reunion possible! We love you!

We're already looking forward to the next Rudd Reunion scheduled for 2010!!

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!