Pictures for Melissa to See During Work

My sister Melissa told me to make a new post so she would have something to read/look at during her shift at the hospital. She's a totally awesome registered nurse in San Jose, and sometimes things are slow during the night shift. So, Melissa, here are some pictures to make you less bored.

Here is Josh playing with the last bit of the jello cake Mom made a few weeks ago. Stephanie put him on the counter and let him go wild. He didn't seem to like the taste very much, he sure enjoyed making an enormous mess for me to clean up.

Matt's old roommate James got married last Saturday. We were able to attend the sealing at the Mesa Temple that morning. James is still as goofy as ever, and his wife Patrice is super cute and nice. Here are the pics from their reception...

I like these pictures because you can see how Josh's hair has decided to stick straight up in the front like Jack-Jack on The Incredibles. That's our newest nickname for him, in fact.

"Yum! Eating Mom's face is the best!"

It is ridiculous how much Josh loves his Aunt Stephy. She wrestles with him and tickle-tortures him and throws him around every chance she gets! Just like she did with our little brother when she was four. She is so cute with little boys.

Steph is staying with us for a while this summer. She graduated from cosmetology school in March and is here to look for work and see if she likes the area. We like to call her our "Mexinanny" because she is always with the baby and she is way too dark to look like my sister.

"Put me down!!! I need to explore and find myself some hott lady friends!" (which he did)

This is Matt's sister -- Josh's other Aunt Stephanie. Hopefully he won't be confused about that for too long.

Here is Matt with his old girlfrie...I mean roommate, James.
And below is James with his woman. Just lovely!

So Mel, that's what you've missed. I'd say it's about time to plan your next trip out here, right?

Madsens in the Motherland! (Part 2)

After a fun weekend here in Tempe, a few members of our family had to head back home to rejoin the working world. Namely my dad, Melissa and Mike. It was sad to see them leave, but we were lucky to have my mom, Steven and Julia for a whole week longer.

Matt took our three visitors to the last Suns home game of the season. It was fan appreciation night, so everyone came home a winner. My family won two T-shirts, an autographed Matt Barnes jersey, and two tickets to a WNBA game. This made me even more jealous that I missed the game -- I had a stake girls camp meeting that night.

Here is Josh just chillin' on a stack of books at Costco. Watching people shop. That's how he rolls.

I couldn't let my family leave without showing them our amazing zoo. Josh and I have a membership this year and he loves it more every time we go.

Josh loves his Uncle Steven so much. They were buddies all day. Steven even let Josh wear his crazy expensive sunglasses.

Julia got to ride a camel! Can you believe she actually asked me if she could take Josh on her lap??!

Here is Josh snuggling with Grandma, pretending to be shy for the camera. What a pretty Grandma he has.

My mom rented this little buggy for an hour thinking it would give us a break from walking. Not so. There are lots of hills at this zoo and the pedaling was killer! Still, it was a lot of fun for the kids.

Here is my little brother...I mean sister... Julia "petting" an enormous tortoise. (Not to worry -- she doesn't always dress like a boy.)

My family is pretty good at making funny faces. It just comes naturally.

How did these two get to be such big boys?!

Tired from a long day of walking and ready for a nap. All of us!

The next day we went in to Phoenix to the federal courthouse where Matt's dad Murray works as a judge. He was so nice to give us the grand tour. We saw part of a naturalization ceremony, walked through the cell block where all the inmates were kept, and saw Murray's fancy chambers. I asked the marshall to lock Steven up so we could see how they treat the prisoners. It was really tempting to just leave him like that.

We also got to sit in and watch a short proceeding in Murray's courtroom. This is how Josh entertained himself while court was in session. "Seafood! Get it? See food!"

Steven and Julia loved the rock gym. They were dang good at climbing too.

And a couple of days later, they were gone. Family, thank you so much for spending your spring break with us! Ten days of awesomeness were exactly what I needed. Love you to pieces!