Tyler's 6th birthday party - September 5, 2009

We had Tyler's birthday party several weeks early this year so it would still be hot enough to have a swim party. His actual birthday is on September 25th but we celebrated it with his friends on September 5th. Tyler picked out an "Army" theme and aside from swimming we had a pinata, squirt guns, water balloons, and a slip n' slide. About 10 kids showed up which is more than I expected for it being a holiday weekend.

Deke spent quite a bit of time filling up water balloons and the kids went through them in minutes.

Here are the kids enjoying the slip n' slide

I don't know why Tyler tries to look evil in pictures...he does a good job at it though lol..

I had other plans for this cake however, cake mixes now come with pudding in them so it was really hard to decorate a cake that was SO moist. It was very frustrating.

Tyler opening his presents...he got some good stuff, Tyler and Deke were both excited.

Deke had hot dog duty. Here he is "watching" the hot dogs...yep, they burned.

The kids attacking the water balloon bowl

The food table

Tyler's First Day of the 1st Grade!

Tyler's teacher is Mrs. Fritts and he's enjoying it so far. He's not used to the early schedule just yet (kindergarten was in the afternoon) but he's transitioning nicely.

I woke Tyler up early so I could get him ready for his first day before I went to work. As you can see he's total zombie status right here. lol
Zombieee...

Honeymoon in Lake Tahoe

We decided to take our honeymoon in Tahoe for 2 reasons. One, because we spent the honeymoon budget on our rings..hehe, and two because my parents have a timeshare so it was the economical way to travel. Plus we figured we could always travel somewhere more exotic for an anniversary...especially since we spent most of the week in the room ;D I do regret not taking more pictures because we did do some really cool things there. One day (Saturday) we hiked down to Emerald Bay and also to the lower level of Eagle Falls. It rained on us a little during the hike and on the beach but it was still beautiful and fun. 

The next day (Sunday) we drove to Virginia City which made for a nice day trip. We road the train, took a tour of Collar Mine and saw most of the sites there. The day after that (Monday) we drove around the lake to Kings Beach. It's the beach my family always visited when I was a kid and I wanted Deke to see it. We hung out there for most of the day swimming, picnicking, and just laying out. On the way back we drove through Camp Richardson where we got ENORMOUS ice cream cones. I asked for a single scoop and Deke asked for a double...we had NO idea that his alone was over a pound of ice cream. 
On Tuesday we took it easy and hung around the resort for the day. We played racquetball, swam, played pool, and went hot tubbin. In the evening we went to the Forest Buffet on top of Harrah's.
 Wednesday we planned on going parasailing but our appointment was cancelled due to high winds :( we were really sad. So instead we went to breakfast and hit the casino. Later that day my parents came up with Tyler so we could spend some time with him before heading home. We had to get back early because my work was under staffed and my boss needed me there. So my parents kept Tyler and finished out the week there. Before we left we all went to dinner and went miniature golfing. Tyler had just finished a golf summer camp the week before so it was time to show us his skills.....I want my money back lol

In the end it ended up being a really wonderful trip and I'm truly blessed to have such a wonderful husband. I'm excited for our future together :)

Dinner at the Forest Buffet


Ginormous ice cream cones in Camp Richardson
Deke got the double scoop
The Silver Queen in Virginia City

The Suicide Table in Virginia City

A train ride in Virginia City

Lower level Eagle Falls

Vikingsholm in Emerald Bay

The hike down to Emerald Bay

Introducing....

THE MADSEN'S!

East Coast Trip

I have been putting this post off for far too long. At the beginning of June we went to Boston to see my brother Alan graduate from M.I.T. with his PhD in organic chemistry. We visited in Massachusetts for a few days, drove to New York for a few days, went to Connecticut for a day, Rhode Island for an afternoon, and then went back to Boston to fly out. Phew. It was a week long trip and we packed tons into it. I have over 200 pictures but I posted a few to give you a feel for our adventure. Enjoy! :)

Boston Temple

Graduation dinner
We walked part of the Freedom Trail
Boston's Children Museum, best museum EVER!
We climbed Bunker Hill...it kicked our butt
Alan getting "hooded"
Check out how much Tyler looks like Alan! I wonder how many people thought he was my husband and Tyler our son. haha

Samuel Adams

The U.S.S Constitution

I just thought this was the cutest picture of Tyler :)

First time touching the Atlantic Ocean, it was really cold. This was in Rhode Island.

Submarine Museum in Connecticut

Time Square

Central Park

The Bull!

Statue of Liberty

Flying in my uncles plane around New York...Tyler and I both threw up :-/

View from the plane.

THE END

Fun with photoshop...

MY ALL AMERICAN HERO