Twas the Night Before 30...

So tomorrow Matt turns the BIG 3-0!! He says "it's just another birthday", but I say "its a really big deal"! You only turn 30 one time (well I guess you turn every age only one time), but still it seems like crossing over into your 30s is just a big one...he's leaving his 20s and is off to bigger and better things! Here's to his 20s and hoping that this is a GREAT year for him!!

The Last Supper (in his 20s) :) Homemade chilli, cornbread, and beer.

Surprising him with a "Pre-birthday cake"...one of his favorites...a delicious carrot and cream cheese cake from the Huckleberry

I wonder how Matt's feeling about all of this...?? Seems happy here :)

Blowing out the candles...okay...I admit, I staged this picture because I missed the actual blowing out...just pretend you see flames!

I'm married to an old man!

A last picture in his 20s with his in-laws! See how much they all loved the hats?? Matt even asked if he could sleep in his...just kidding!

The cake...I think we have enough for all of our street to have a piece...any takers??

Fall Filled Weekend!

We had nice weekend and did some fun fall activities including playing in the leaves and visiting Sunflower Farms. It was good to have a calm weekend, since this upcoming week and weekend are busy with Matt's big day (he's turning 30)!!!

Looking through all the new fun things in her Halloween bag from Nana and Papa

What a face!!


A real bruiser! Madison hit the corner of the coffee table and got a real shiner!


Playing in the fall leaves

Matt raked up a huge pile, and we put Madison right in the middle :)

On Sunday we went to Sunflower Farms with Nana and Papa. Madison loved feeding the goats corn with Daddy.

Madison would not look up for anything :) I think she gets too many pictures and she's boycotting them!

At first Madison was terrified of the swing because I think it went too high, but then she loved it!

Baby ponies!!

Probably wasn't the cleanest idea, but Madison liked playing with the hay

"Come here little black sheep"

Looking at more ponies with Papa

Checking out one of the farm's old tractors

"Our little pumpkin"

It was so much fun to go to Sunflower Farms with Nana and Papa (Mel's mom and dad)

A family picture on the John Deer :)

Daddy kept trying to teach Madison all the gears :)

A Great Time in Durango

This weekend we went to Durango to visit the Fargos (Matt's parents, Tim and Cindy) at their home in Durango, Colorado. We left on Friday morning and were able to see the start of the leaves changing...we even saw some snow! Although the drive is long, we always have a great time and Madison loves visiting with Grandma Cindy and Grandpa Tim. We also met their friends Paul and Sherry, who were such a nice couple and fun to visit with. Going to Durango is nice because we spend a lot of time visiting while enjoying the beautiful views on the back deck and front patio. We also went into town on Saturday night for a fun dinner and listened to music (unfortunately CU did not play so well, so we ditched the game)! Overall, we had a great time and loved our visit!

Packing the night before...

At the top of Wolf Creek Pass (a little more than an hour from Durango) it was snowing! We let Ellie out to play because she loves the snow so much.

The start of the Fall colors. Not much change on our drive down Friday morning, but lots happened by our drive back on Sunday...it was beautiful!

Such a tall girl!

Playing the piano with Grandma Cindy...Madison loves music.

Madison loves to pet Buck (Tim and Cindy's lab) and he actually lets her! She is not so fortunate with Ellie.

Happy girl playing on the front deck

Having fun with Grandma, Daddy, and Grandpa. Madison looks like she is in pain, but she was being silly (it was just the timing of the photo)!

With close supervision, Madison enjoyed looking over the balcony at everyone below :)

My little fall bunny :) On our way out to dinner...it was a little chilly.

At dinner, there was another little boy at the nearby table that Madison loved smiling at. They had fun "talking" and holding hands.

A group picture at Steamworks (Madison, Matt, Mel, Paul, Tim, Cindy, and Shelly)

Playing music (shaking her music egg) with Grandpa and Grandma

Dancing on the table (she really was having fun...again, the timing of the picture).

After dinner, we went to the Strater Hotel to listen to one of the Fargos favorite singers (Greg Ryder)

Yummy...blueberry pancakes!!

Madison eating her own blueberries

Enjoying the outside front porch. The group (right) was chatting around the fire pit and Tim was playing with the dogs (Buck and Ellie).

Tug-of-war with a stick

Saying goodbye is never fun, but we all had a great time! Until next time Durango...

A Great Weekend and The Pumpkin Patch

Wow! We had a busy, but great weekend! We visited Daddy's new office in Boulder, went to dinner with the Kurtzs on Pearl Street, visited with Papa, watched the CU Buffalos game with "Uncle" Justin, went to the Pumpkin Patch, and celebrated Quinn's 1st birthday party! **Warning: There are a lot of photos and yes, I love the bows...Madison has one in almost every color (thanks to mommy and Nana).

See the tooth! #2 is halfway in :)

So happy! She loves to pull herself up on the gate.

"I'm going to get you mommy"

Smiley girl :)

Visiting Daddy at his new office in Boulder

"What did I do?"- Madison loved playing with this cold water bottle

Matt and his business partner Chester

We went to pizza with the Kurtz family, and Madison loves Colby

She loves Sophie too!

After dinner we cheered on the CU band and watched the Stampeed on Pearl Street

Go Buffalos! Great game!

We had breakfast downtown on Saturday morning and it was a little chilly, so mommy wraped Madison up real tight!

"Mom, I'm busy...Please leave me alone"

Papa went to the Pumpkin Patch with us...we had a great time

A family photo with the pumpkins

Madison loved playing with the leaves more than the pumpkins

"This is the one...the baby pumpkin"

This was such a funny idea! Daddy even went along with it :)

Madison liked watching the pigs, but boy they were smelly!

"I like the mommy pumpkin"

"CHEESE!!"

Looking at all the other animals with Daddy and Papa

Tonight (Sunday) we went to celebrate Quinn's (our neigbor friend) 1st birthday. Madison discovered the ice and loved how cold it was..we were wondering how long it would take her to eat it :)

Finding the best pieces

Tired already??

Madison and Quinn playing in the grass

1st taste of watermelon- she loved it! (This picture is for you Aunt Jessi!)

The girls have fun playing together

Quinn loved her cake. She went right for it. Good girl!