Fun on a Saturday afternoon

Today was such a beautiful day! It was atleast 45 degrees and the sun was shining. Patrick and I went up to Kelly's Grove up Hobble Creek Canyon. The snow was pretty deep and was going in the tops of our boots so we went under one of the pavilions to put on our snow pants. It was so warm laying on the tables in the sun that we stayed there for a while.

Then Patrick flopped into the snow and left a really neat print. He didn't sink in as far as he thought because the snow was really wet and sticky.Then we dug a little tunnel in the deep snow on this big log and decided to crawl through it. Patrick's shoulders are a little wider than mine, thankfully, so he had a bit more trouble than I did.

We found a big mound of what was probably dirt but the snow made it a perfect launch pad for what we dubbed "snow diving". This was my second flip and I tried to do a twist and ended up just flopping. It's funny, though.

Then we found some icicles that were huge.

There was a swing set which you had to dig out to swing on.

Patrick did a great 360 dismount.

And then I perfected the backward dismount.

The best was when Patrick decided to try to a back flip off the swing.

It's so great being married to someone that you have so much fun with.

Our little house in Nyack

It's getting closer to the time that Patrick and I are going to be back out in New York and I began to think about the dump we lived in when we were there over the summer. Then I thought you might want to see it as well. It was the basement of a house that was vacant for most of the time we were there. Then the last month or so this Mexican family moved in upstairs with I don't know how many family members. They clomped around and they had kids that you could hear running and falling all over the house. One day before they moved in I came back from a run and decided to break in to see what the upstairs was like. I climbed in a second story window that was open a crack and looked around. It was very devious. Now, in this picture, our door is not the one off it's hinges, thankfully. It's the one just to the left of it. The off-hinge door is just to a little scary storage area. The lights by the sidewalk we already half broken even before the kids started riding their bikes on the sidewalk and breaking them the rest of the way.

This is our kitchen. Above the window you see is where Patrick woke up one morning to find there was a leak in the ceiling that had been captured by the paint that had stretched into a huge bubble holding about half a gallon of water. He moved all the appliances beneath and popped it with a knife and all the water came gushing out. I think they go this flooring from the 1970s for sure.

What you need to realize is that it seems this had just recently been made into a separate apartment and they had put in some new flooring to make it seem a little nicer. The problem was the person who put it in wasn't just unskilled, they didn't care. There were terrible mis-cuts in the carpet, parts that had just been jammed in causing big bulges. The bathroom was the worst. The vinyl was totally short cut around the toilet and there was a big piece under the vinyl. Then the strip along the tub to keep the vinyl from curling up hadn't been trimmed against the wall. I can't believe we didn't get a picture of it. It just kept going up the wall about 8 inches. It was absurd. Then we had this tiny television that only got about 5 channels. I watched a lot of cooking shows and Ellen DeGeneres.

These chairs were super uncomfortable and we didn't even have any kitchen chairs so our table was pretty much just a huge shelf because the living room chairs were too low to use at the table.

I guess we also didn't get a picture of our super bed. We started with an aerobed which apparently is not meant to be blown up for a month straight because it popped. We had quite an adventure attempting to patch it before giving it up as a lost cause. After that we put the box frame of the twin bed on the floor next to the twin mattress and put some blankets on it and Patrick slept on that side. It was pretty interesting. I actually think it was a great summer experience because it sure made us appreciate our condo in Provo. Also, it really can't get much worse than that so wherever we live in New York this coming summer will seem great.

Hot Pots

Patrick and I went to the hot pots with Shanna, Chad and Spencer. I included a ton of pictures because they are just so hilareous. This sign says you aren't allowed to go naked so of course we all had to pretend we were. The rest are us jumping into the water. The best ones are when the person has a very serene look on their face so it just looks like they are levetating. Enjoy.









Shanna shows us the proper yoga technique. Her mantra is, "My body is at peace with gravity."





Chad's mantra is, "Yeah, Dude!"

Ah... boys with big muscles.

Shanna is slowly spelling out a boy's name.

"Please can I have another cookie, Mother?"

Spencer is lecturing on the intricacies of English walking stories.

"You see the first step in the perfect butterfly kick is to wind up properly"

This was supposed to be the S.

"Power Up, Rangers!"

Patrick is at some sort of hoe down.

Shanna and I standing on the rope. It broke while we were there and this drunk girl was very serious about finding out how to fix it.

This is me coming out of a double back flip...pretty good, huh?

The infamous punch-kick. It's unstoppable.








Its raining girls

More Skiing, hope you're not sick of it

Today there was not so much powder but the snow was pretty good and it was fast. Patrick and I both tried harder tricks. The problem is that my backscratcher which was actually quite good was followed not just by any fall but by the worlds most retarded fall. It's hilarious and embarrassing. If you can, watch it in slow motion. It's even funnier. To make matters worse I somehow managed to knee myself in the face and my left cheek is puffy. Patricks 360s were really cool though.

Fun at Cabellas

This last Saturday we went with Alyssa and Edy to Cabellas. That store is enormous. We tried to stick together but right at the front of the store when we were walking past the fishing rods Edy said "too fast, too fast" and turned around to look at the rods. Patrick and I continued to the back where the shoes are and we found these boots that were gargantuan. I picked it up and discovered that it wasn't a huge size, it was size 10, Patrick's size. We thought it was so funny how big the boot was that we had to take some pictures. I think there was about a 3 inch sole. It was rated to -100 degrees F so if we ever go to Antarctica we are going to remember these boots. I felt just like Master Chief from Halo wearing this boot.

After that Alyssa left for the bathroom and when she came back she was wearing on of these jackets but acting perfectly normal. It was hysterical. She let me where it around and I tried to be serious but it was so hard not to laugh when people are all giving you funny looks. Then when we were taking these pictures this lady said that she saw me before and thought it was actually my jacket that I was wearing as a fashion statement. Apparently I pulled off the serious face well. Alyssa is a genius for finding these.


I asked Patrick if he wanted to say anything about the boots and he said, "You know, we should be careful to not be one of those couples that assumes everyone wants to know about everything in our life." I was shocked. I later talked him out of it but it's too late, it's out-he doesn't approve of some of my posts.

Amazing Powder

Patrick found this great jump that he went off a bunch of times and Steve Wood got some great pictures of it.

It was really cold and windy this day and we were really bundled up. But the sun came out for a little while and the mountains up there looked amazing.
I wanted to put in this picture because I think I look exactly like a sasquatch caught skiing on tape. I told you I wasn't very good. Unfortunatley this isn't a fluke. I look like this when I ski all the time. It wouldn't be so bad if Patrick weren't so good at skiing. At least his superiority pushes me to try harder to be better and he really does have some great tips to help me.
And since I can't fit the last video on the other post, I didn't want to leave out Patrick's back scratcher off of Wildflower run. My glove is in the way at the beginning but I move it shortly.

Videos of the Best Powder I've ever skiied in

This day was so amazing that I simply couldnt narrow myself down to just 5 videos/pictures. So I've decided to do one of each. This is obviously the videos post. This first on is the only video that I am going to include of me. I am more than a little inept in comparison to Patrick. The best part of this one of me is the very beginning where I go off this little drop. Patrick timed it badly and barely even got it on the video at all, so be ready.

This jump was really great and Patrick went off it a number of times. If you look carefully, you can see that when he lands this time he uncovers a bush that wasn't showing before. That bush gets him the next time he tries the jump.

This is the jump where the bush gets Patrick back. You can hear the bush cracking as he lands on it.

I guess I am including one more of me because I think its funny how I tumble at the end. Once again, this is not meant to show my prowess but my ineptitude.

This is Patrick skiing down the ridge line. I really can't describe how amazing the powder was, even if I can't ski in it very well.

Christmas with the Maddens

It was really sad that Kaitlyn couldn't come out to Utah with the rest of the family because she had to stay for her dumb job. Well I thought we should include her in the post since we thought about her alot even though she couldn't be with us. This is her opening presents in Missouri before everyone left her alone. We love you Kait!
The rest of us opened presents in front of our tiny little Christmas tree. It may have been small but it was a real tree and also the first Christmas tree Patrick and I have ever had. It was really cute.
Some of the presents were even for unborn members of the family. Alyssa told Hubert to try on his new outfit and declared that it was too big.
Dinners were fun because there were 7 of us and only 6 chairs high enough for the table. The 7th person had to either sit on a regular sized chair with the table up to their armpits or stand. It was fun having everyone crammed into our little condo. The last night my parents were here we slept 8 people here. Alyssa and Edy slept over in addition to Jared, Joel, my parents, Patrick and me. There were people strewn all over the floor.
We went to see National Treasure, Book of Secrets and on the way back to the car we achieved the elusive triple piggy back ride. Joel was apparently so excited he couldn't open his eyes.
I'm so glad my family could come out for Christmas. I love them so much.

The Madden Cousins

My Dad's older brother's family is really great. Their family is alot like ours which makes for some interesting experiences.

My Dad and his brother are really funny together and both of them laughing is a common sight.

This is all of us. Notice how everyone looks great except for little Joel. This was the same day as skiing and I think deep down he was dead tired. Most of the time he covered it well. All the other kids belong to my cousin Patrick (if you aren't familiar, Patrick is a family name in addition to my husbands name. There are 3 Patricks in this picture not counting my Dad's brother who is also Patrick). I'm not going to name everyone so if you're interested you'll have to ask me directly.

This is a much better picture of who we really are. Notice David, on the top left, with Adi's hair over his head.

Once David did it we all wanted to try. It's not very comfortable when you are the girl in an awkward position in behind. Jared and Matisse got the prize. Matisse's hair was actually styled and the curls made all the difference. Plus this look on Jareds face made it priceless. It's ok if you want to make it your desk top picture. It will make you happy everytime you see it.

Teaching Joel to Ski

Joel skiied for the first time on December 24th. He was a bit frustrated at times but he caught on really fast and I think he liked it. He said, "I think skiing is my new favorite sport. I learned to ski faster than any other sport." Here is a video of one of his last times down the hill that shows his amazing skill.

Patrick was there for most of the time to help me teach. I really didn't know what I was doing and I was glad to have some help.

Everyone came up to see how great Joel did and to cheer him on. We are so cute!

We shared some delicious sandwiches at the lodge to warm up. I included this picture because all three of us look so ridiculous. I hope my mom doesn't get too mad at me.

All in all, Joel did really great and I hope we have opened doors for his future as a skiier.

ATVs Are Super Fun

Also while in Moab we went ATVing. I told you it was a particularly fun time in Moab. We had two four-wheelers and one warthog that seats two. The snow made it extra interesting as things were steep AND slippery. If you can zoom in on this top picture, take a look at the waffle marks on Patricks forehead. They are stellar. We were all laughing at it. He wanted us all to take off our helmets but we refused. Matisse even learned to drive the ATV and she was really quite aggressive. She and Patrick looked so cute on the ATV together. It should have been in on of those "Family" commercials the church comes out with sometimes.

Here is a video that shows how it was snowing and really beautiful. It really seems to be a lot steeper and more difficult when you are on the hill rather than just watching the video. The last person to go up is me going really fast and bouncing all over. Don't miss Patrick falling at the end. We were lucky to get that on video.

On our way back we played on the frozen creek.

Hanging out with the Clydes is always so fun!

Moab for Christmas

This year was Christmas with the Clydes in Moab. Going to Moab is always a delight but this year was particularily so. Plus I got a new camera so you can reap the benefits of having great pictures and video on our blog. You might not think of there being much snow in Moab but there was this year. We went sledding up in the La Sal mountains south of Moab. It was only 7 degrees and therefore, we froze while having a wonderful time. This is Kevin sledding.

There was a jump on another hill that was quite large so we would only go from about halfway up the hill to hit it so we weren't going too fast. Then Daniel, out of nowhere, started at the top of the hill and went flying over it. This picture doesn't really show how out of control he was but you can tell how fast he was going because of the snow flying off the jump under him. He landed upside down.

One of our other activities was going for a hike to see petroglyphs and real dinosaur footprints. On the way there Jared and I showed off our develope skills. Next to him I look pretty good. Thanks Jared!

Melody made Matisse and I into little snow princesses this year with matching vests and fuzzy boots. Oh, I guess I'm not wearing my boots in this picture but I have the same ones as Matisse is wearing. We also got hats, scarves and gloves that aren't shown here. I love looking like Matisse.

The boys got something a little less practical, light sabers. They were really neat ones that light up from starting at the handle to mimic the light saber coming out. They even make sounds. They boys had a fight at night and the slow shutter on my night mode made the pictures turn out really neat.