Bears v. Huskies

Okay, with the third football post in a row, I guess it's time to admit...We are the Maldens, and we LOVE football.

We joined my dad and Kim at the Cal/Washington game in November. It was fun to take the girls to their first "real" game. Kim cheered on the {victorious} Huskies, but we rooted for Cal because it is our man Aaron Rodger's alma mater. Although he's been gone for a number of years now, we could still be heard shouting "Go Rodgers!" all night.

Go Cougars!

BYU came out our way to play San Jose in November. It felt good to be in a stadium filled with cougar fans (I think there were at least as many BYU fans as SJSU fans).

While tailgating before the game, Cody stepped in an enormous hole filled with muddy water. His soaking wet shoe and sock would have kept his foot colder than going bare foot, so he opted for a glove and a flip flop. It was really too bad, and I felt sad for him, but I still can't help but laugh when I see this picture:

 Code and me, and the gloved foot

 Dawnie, Knox, and Cody

 Us

 Justin and Mark

Thanksgiving

I did not pull my camera out once during the Thanksgiving season. Sad. Luckily, my mom captured some shots from our favorite holiday activity: FOOTBALL!

The following 4 shots capture the Maldens' game faces:  

 The gang. We hadn't chosen teams yet, so we were all still friendly.

 Huddle.

 Bryn scores!

 Victory lap!

(K&C--that looks like a little more than two-hand-touch over there!)

 Sometimes you just gotta take a break to love on the baby.

 Coach Audrey, "Look guys, if you're gonna win this, you've gotta step-up your game. Here's what I propose..."

Service Day

In October we participated in our community's annual service day. This makes two years in a row for us. It falls on General Conference weekend and feels like the perfect thing for us to do together as a family knowing that our littles can't possibly do 8 hours of conference in one weekend. Our project this year was so fun! We helped a local garden harvest their pumpkins and prepare for a fall festival they were having. I'm grateful our community provides projects that even little ones can help with. It is an excellent opportunity to teach our children to serve others and be involved in the community. 

Halloween

I've been meaning to blog. I really have. There are a million reasons why I should. But the ultimate motivator who has me sitting in front of my computer this afternoon is my blog's biggest fan. I just know a new post will put a smile on her face, and I look forward to reading the positive, uplifting comment she will undoubtedly leave, signed with her clever alias "GS". Grandma, this post is for you.  

 Audrey enjoyed her first pumpkin carving.

 She loved eating it! EW!

 Bryn described what the Jack o'Lantern face should look like to our expert carver.

 Bryn was asked many times what Audrey was going to be for Halloween. She always responded, "a cute little ladybug."

 Bryn was Princess Tiana for our church's Trunk-or-Treat, but on Halloween night she dressed up in her Cinderella costume from last year. I guess you can take the girl out of the princess [costume], but you can't take the princess out of the girl. 

Ooooh, spooky vampires!

Audrey Podrey Puddin' 'n Pie

Our little Audrey turned ONE!! Oh, what to say about this girl?? Everything she does is cute, even when it's not. She is fun-loving and feisty. She is adorably mischievious, incredibly intelligent, and heart-meltingly sweet. She loves babies (real and doll), books, being outside, water, blueberries, eating in general, music, dancing, climbing, and laughing. She is super busy and keeps us on our toes (as do all one-year-olds I suppose). At some point in each day I exclaim, "Audrey, you are crazy!" But each night when I peek in at her sleeping before I go to bed I secretly hope she will stay this age forever. 'Cause life is just more fun with one-year-old Audrey around. 

 She climbs on everything!

 She loves to read, just like big sis.

Birthday Celebration:

We had a pinata while we were camping with the Maldens which was super fun, but my camera was dead so I didn't get any pics.  On our way home from camping we stopped at my mom's and had another little party for the girl.

I wanted to have 12 pictures of her displayed, one from each month of life thus far, but I just couldn't narrow it down. 

 The cupcakes were decorated with characters from one of her favorite books, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What do you See?

Bryn 1st birthday cupcake was her very first taste of sugar...Audrey, not so much. She is familiar with the good stuff and she loves it.

Some of the party guests:

 Sophie and Bryn

 Uncle Cody and Daddy (who both like each other and really enjoyed celebrating with Audrey despite what you may be inclined to infer from this picture) 

Opening Presents:

 Stackable cups...whoo-hoo!

Army men from Uncle Casey

 A bubble gun!

 And a little red wagon

We love you, Audrey!!

Camping at Juniper

Camping in days past: Read, relax, enjoy peace, calm, and beauty of nature.
Camping in days present: Keep 1-year-old from fire pit as she attempts to make her way there every. single. second.
Really, manning Audrey made it so our camping trip was far from relaxing, but thankfully we were camping with Monty and Denise (aka the best campers EVER) and didn't have to worry about much more than Audrey.
Lake Juniper...so pretty! Jena and Bryn braved the freezing water.

 Grandparent spoilage:

Oma treating Audrey to her first taste of cheese balls

 Papa treating Audrey to her first taste of licorice
Daddy and Audrey having fun

 Bryn helping Jalene with the cooking

 Ready to head out on the canoe. We have yet to find a comfortable baby life jacket...poor Audrey.

 Hiking, Day 1

We should have shown muscle arms in this picture to show how tough we are. This hike was not easy. Bryn was a trooper, but had to be carried for some of it. There were times when Justin was carrying both girls--one on his shoulders, one in the baby carrier. Thank goodness for Uncle John and Aunt Sheris who also took turns carrying Bryn.

 We made it to the top of Mt. Harkness!

 Hiking with Alvies cousins and Uncle John

 Bryn was a super easy camper. She loved playing with her cousins and spent a lot of time "planting a garden" at the campsite

 The girls were exhausted by the end of each day

 Hiking: Day 2

What?! There's another day of hiking on the itinerary? There was a bit of a misunderstanding on this day. Justin and I thought we were headed to a hot springs swim hole. The perfect consolation to our aching muscles from hiking: day 1. Alas, no swim hole, lots more hiking. Luckily this hike wasn't as difficult as the first, and everyone pitched in to help us with the girls again. And, we saw a bear. Like, up close. It was a bit terrifying in the moment, but really awesome after the moment.

 Bryn and Oma

 Dirt or oreos? Who knows? She ate unbelievable amounts of both.

Thanks for a fun camping trip, Malden fam!