Christmas was so Awesome

Hey it's Andrew again. Mom was going to do this blog, but I just had to do it because I wanted to tell you about the coolest present ever!

We went to Grandpa and Grandma King's for Christmas this year. It was such a long drive - it took us 2 days to get there, and I don't mean to short days, but 2 very long days stuck in the truck. It was fun staying at a hotel one night though. Anyway, we got to their house on Christmas Eve and I wanted to open presents so bad because I was just sure that Santa was going to bring me a bow and arrow. I've been asking for one since October! I even called Santa up and asked him if I could have one!

Christmas morning finally came and we kept opening presents. Everybody had presents to open, that was kind of cool. I got some fun stuff, but I have to show you a video so you can see the best part.

Isn't that just the coolest thing?! I was so excited and I spent the rest of the week shooting my bow and arrow!

So, highlights of Christmas (in no particular order):

• My bow and arrow
• Grandpa's zipper knee (he had knee surgery just a few days before we got there
• My bow and arrow
• Turkey hunting with dad
• My bow and arrow
• Playing with Grandpa and Grandma
• My bow and arrow
• Dad shooting a turkey
• My bow and arrow

Hey everyone, Andrew here. It looks like I'm going to have to take over the blogging since mom is so bad about getting around to it. Since I have like 3 months to catch up on it's going to be short and quick. And, actually, December gets it's own blog since Christmas was soooo awesome!

Here's October for you:
Obviously, Halloween was the highlight for me. I decided to be a scarecrow again. Mom tried to make me be Mickey Mouse, but I wouldn't let her put the costume on me. She said it would be a warmer costume for trick or treating, but I didn't care. So, here I am as a scarecrow. Dad took me trick or treating around our neighborhood and I got lots of candy. Mom wouldn't let Caleb go because it was to cold and windy for him. He was sooooo mad, but he had fun helping mom hand out candy to all the other trick or treaters.

Here's dad carving our pumpkin. We did the weeks before Halloween, so by the time Halloween came our pumpkin was looking pretty sad.

Dad made mom clean all the guts out of the pumpkin before he carved it. He said that stuff felt gross, and I wasn't to sure about it either. But mom and Caleb seemed to think it was fun to play in. I don't know about those two some times!

And the finished product! Mom drew the face on and dad carved it out. Later we turned out all the lights and put a candle in the pumpkin. I thought that was sooooo cooool, but Caleb didn't like the dark.

November was the best month for dad and us boys. November means hunting! We spent a week in Idaho elk hunting. Mom and dad both had tags, but the elk were pretty sneaky this year. We saw a few, but they ran off before mom or dad could make a shot. Personally, I don't think mom really wanted to shoot one. But, we went out every day for a week. Caleb and I sat in the back helping them look for elk, napping and watching movies. Once in a while we would get out and run around. I don't know how they thought they would see any elk with us out side making noise, and guess what! They didn't see anything! Guess the jokes on them!

When we got back home dad got a deer tag for Wyoming. He and I went out one day and dad shot this deer. I went with him to drag the deer back to the truck. It was a long walk, and I tried my best to keep up with dad. He was nice and carried me once in a while. Then when we got to the deer, dad got out his hunting knife and put on some latex glove. I thought only doctors wore those kinds of gloves so I asked "Are you going to be doctor?" Dad said "Yep, but I don't think this patient is going to survive." I thought it was really gross when dad started gutting the deer. But we brought it home and then Grandpa King came a couple days later to help us cut it up.

OK, so Grandpa didn't come just to help us cut up the deer. He and Grandma came for Thanksgiving. Aunt Rachel, uncle Cory, Isaac, Taylor and Brooklyn all came to. It was so much fun to have them all here and to play with my cousins! But I think Caleb was glad to see Brooklyn leave. They weren't being very nice to each other. Mom says they were just playing by the toddler rules (what ever those are).

Just to Sweet

It's a nightly routine that one of us gets the pleasure of laying down with Andrew at night. The other night it was my turn. He was having a difficult time settling down and I threatened to leave when he says the cutest thing.

Andrew: "Mom, you are my best friend. Let's be friends forever."

He's been watching a lot of The Fox And The Hound lately, but it was still to cute!

Grettings from Andrew

Hello Everyone! Mom doesn't let me on the computer much because Caleb always wants on too and he just pushes to many buttons. But, today is your lucky day because I get to tell you about the most awesome day I had while mom, Caleb, and I were visiting aunt Teri a couple of weeks ago. I know, I'm late, but I blame mom so you can too!

First we went to an aquarium where we got to see some pretty cool ocean life. I saw an octopus, star fish, sea horses, sting rays, sharks, eels and lots of other cool things. We even got to touch a star fish! Mom tried to touch a sting ray that was in a big pool (don't worry, it was safe to touch) but then it came up along the side and mom freaked out. My cousin said she felt the sting ray and said it was slimy. Mom says that's why she didn't touch it. The water there was to deep for me to reach in. But, I did get to touch a star fish. I didn't want to at first, but mom finally talked me into it. It felt bumpy and hard like a rock.


After the aquarium and lunch with aunt Cyndi and uncle Mike, we went to the Child Discovery Museum. My favorite thing there was the helicopter. It was a real life flight helicopter. It was so cool! Then we went to the fountains at Gateway to play. I didn't like that as much. I went out to play in the fountains, then ran to the side and fell and hit my head. I didn't want to play in the fountains any more.














My very favorite part of the day was the trip back to aunt Teri's house. Mom, my cousin Emily and I all road the train back to the station by aunt Teri's house. I LOVED it!! The train went so fast and then it would stop to let people off and then go so fast again. I wish I could ride a train every day!


Well, that's all for now. But before I go, I want to tell my cousin Garrett thanks for the bike. He's the best cousin, because he gave me his bike with training wheels that was to small for him. I ride it every day now! Sometimes, mom and dad go on walks and let me ride my bike. Now I don't mind if Caleb wants to ride my Batman bike.

Family Reunion

Finally, I'm updating a little more of the happenings in the Madsen family. The truth of it is, not a whole lot happens, so it's a while between posts. At the end of July we had a family reunion with Erika's family. The cousins got to get together and play while we camped in the Tetons. What a gorgeous place!!! On the way there we stopped to gas up and had to get pictures of the kids on a Jackelope. Yep, you read it right!

















Then while we were at the reunion, Andrew and Taylor took no time to become great friends. They played in the dirt together, hung out with grandpa together, went on a hike with Ryan and just had a good time. It is so much fun watching the cousins become friends!




Caleb, on the other hand, was pretty intent on figuring out how the camper hooked up to the truck If he wasn't doing that, then he was turning on the water faucet in the campsite and getting himself all wet.

After the reunion, we decided to go into Rigby/Idaho Falls to visit Ryan's family and some friends for a couple of days. The return trip home was a little longer than we expected. We left Don's house (Ryan's dad) in Rigby early Tuesday morning only to make it as far as Ririe before we had trouble. Three bolts on one of the wheels on the camper had sheered off. We had to take the tire off, pull the trailer back to Rigby to see if we could get it all fixed in a hurry. Of course it wasn't going to be that simple. We had to replace the drum, not only that, but we had to track down a drum to fit our trailer! We are of the lucky folks out there where there is no easy route with this one. The drum for our trailor isn't readily available and takes 2 weeks to come in. So, long story short, the place that was suppose to have the drum welded on new bolts for us, Les Schwab fixed the rest. We finally left Rigby at 1:00 Tuesday afternoon and pulled into our driveway at 8:45 that night.

Future Farmers of America...Maybe Not

Hi everyone! Andrew and Caleb here. Mom doesn't update this blog much, so we're filling you in on a visit to Grandpa Madsen's. The best part of the whole visit was the ride on the tractor! Daddy took both of us and drove down the field with us. It was AWESOME!!! It's just like the tractor we drive around the living room at home!

4th of July

4th of July weekend we finally made it out camping for the first time this year! Nothing like camping with a 1-year-old and a 3-year-old. It's all about dirt, bubbles and exploring. And what is camping without rain? We had rain a little bit each day and over night. Not enough to make it muddy, just enough to not want to sit in it. AAAHHH, the glory of camping with a camp trailer! It's so much nicer to sit out a rain when you are well protected from it. All was fun and great until the Klampits moved into the campsite next door. As Ryan says, "It was like having Roseanne Bar next door". The woman yelled the whole time at the kids and the dogs and didn't have a nice thing to say about anything. Alas, we went home a little earlier than planned, but we got two good nights out of it before they came along! The only other hitch was the morning we were leaving. Andrew took a drink of hot chocolate that was too hot for him, then dumped it down the front of him. The poor kid had a little bit of blistering, but it healed within the week. And I think it effected his love for hot chocolate, poor boy. He now tells me "Mom, I don't like hot chocolate. It burns me."