Happy Halloween!

Have a fun and safe day!

Why, oh why can't I keep up on this blog........

Well, I would like to start out by saying BLOGGER KILLS ME WHEN UPLOADING PICTURES!!! If you know an easier way to get these dang things on here, please clue me in! Any who, I will once again make my vow to blog like I've never blogged before.

A lot has happened since my last post, so here are a few painfully loaded pictures to catch you up.

Ahhhh, let's start at Christmas

An early spring trip to OMSI showed us Maddox's future as an astronaut

or a chef?

Meeting baby Jack Riley Hellner for the first time

Trying out Maebel's (Jesse and Lacey's newest addition) kennel. I am pretty sure he has way more fun in there than she does.

Anybody seen my blocks?

Easter! Maddox loved his new hoop, and turned out to be a pretty amazing shot!

2011 Woodburn Tulip Festival

Dang you Blogger, sticking this Easter pic in the wrong spot

Memorial Day weekend on the Oregon Coast

First summer trip to the zoo

On tip-toes trying to catch a glimpse of the monkey

Apparently, the petting zoo doesn't smell the best

Cousin snack time

Summer 2011 trip to Montana - first stop Great Grandma and Grandpa's

Little Brooklyn

The second half of our MT trip took us north.

Kootenai Falls swinging bridge

Testing out the local fare

A day in Glacier National Park. Maddox found his new favorite activity - throwing rocks, he is a boy for sure!

Avalanche Falls - a view worth the four mile hike

Cow patties?

Jesse and Lacey relaxing in our new favorite spot, the Buhman slice of paradise in Troy, MT

Maddox loves his best friend Maebel and wonders why his brother Koda won't play like this

A rare moment of rest for our little explorer

Well, here they are, the pictures that sum up our fun for the past few months. It only took me the whole length of the movie Lincoln Lawyer to get them loaded!

Watching Maddox grow has been incredible over the last several months. He makes everyday an adventure, and teaches us endless lessons in love, patience and living life to the fullest. Today is filled with head stands, flips and constant dancing and we can't wait to see what tomorrow holds!

Thanksgiving!!

Klug Thanksgiving Family Photo
Courtesy of Aunt Lola

Thanksgiving has come and gone! We spent the day eating two, yes two, Thanksgiving dinners with our wonderful families. I think at the end of the day the three of us could have rolled home! Maddox loves to eat, so Thanksgiving was right up his alley. He loved eating turkey and feeding himself mashed potatoes like a big boy. I think his favorite part was dessert, he cried when he finished the last bite of Great Grandma Klug's Foo-Foo cake (I can't lie, I might have wanted to cry a little too).

Thanksgiving night at 12am my friend Jessica, my mom, sister and I braved the crazies (and drunks) and went shopping at WalMart. We got home at 2am, slept till 5am (thank you Maddox for the early wake-up call) and then hit the stores again by 6:30am. Yes, we are that crazy, and yes it was strangely our idea of fun for the day :)

With Thanksgiving behind us, we stepped up into party mode and got ready for Maddox's big 1st birthday party on Saturday. The party turned out so great, and my birthday post complete with all the cake smashing pictures is coming soon..........

Meet The Pickens

Our friends Jessica and Jeff were married the first weekend of October. The wedding was beautiful and Trey and I were honored to be a part of it. Congratulations and best wishes to the happy couple!

PS. At the wedding Maddox had his first kiss with a little lady. It was surely a memorable moment!

Family Vacation Part 2 - Yellowstone!!

For the second part of our vacation Trey, Kaelen, Maddox and I headed south to the town of West Yellowstone. We only had two days in the park so we tried to hit all the major attractions. The weather was awesome and we had a ton of fun exploring during the day and then swimming at the hotel at night. I haven't been to Yellowstone since I was a little explorer so it was really fun to experience everything again with the fam. Old Faithful was still exploding, the mud volcanoes were still stinking, and there were a ton of animals to cause traffic jams along the way. Especially animals like this huge guy.........

and this guy that passed RIGHT by our car window.........

He was so close to the car we could hear his breathing, and despite the cries of Kaelen and I, Trey didn't feel it was necessary to roll up the car window.

Unfortunately, (or fortunate for us I guess) Maddox slept while we drove through most of the park. I can't wait to bring him back when he gets a little older. I have visions of him in his young park ranger vest holding maps and pointing out his favorite animals. While I couldn't convince Kaelen to wear a young explorer outfit, it was really fun to see her experience the park for the first time.

Yellowstone Falls

Maddox and Dad taking in the falls

Exploring one of the many geyser basins

Old Faithful (I think she was more excited to get back to the gift shop and pick out her souvenirs)

The town of West Yellowstone

Yep, they are dorks

The world's largest Teddy Bear, or at least that is what the sign claimed

A Grizzly at the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center