I'm writing a new post, but it doesn't excuse you readers from ignoring my last post...[hint hint]...

So when I'm up in the wee hours of the morning nursing Madelyn, I sometimes, if I am awake enough, flip through one of the bazillion magazines handed down to me by my mom who doesn't have time to read all the ones she has subscriptions to.  And if I can wake myself up even more, I will read the short sidebar articles and last night I happened upon this one about wedding ring...COFFINS.  Say whuuuut???  I know!  (Now keep in mind this magazine was a Nov 2007 issue, so maybe you've heard of this before.)  That's right...wedding ring coffins.  How sad and depressing is that??  Not to mention bizarre and disturbing.  Here's a picture of what I'm talking about. 

And if you are more curious, here is a link to the website, but PLEASE don't pay money for one, even as a joke.  They have suggested messages for the plaque that include:
-Bury the past and move on to a new tomorrow
-Rest In Peace
-R.I.P.
-Gone and Forgotten
-I do....NOT!
-Six feet isn't deep enough

At first it seemed like it was supposed to be humorous, and that was the tone of the blurb about it in the magazine.  But after seeing the website and seeing some of those suggested messages, it seems more pathetic than humorous.  One, to make light of a marriage gone bad, and two, that this is somehow a form of closure, and three...well I'm sure it speaks for itself.

Anyway, maybe this was more off putting to me at 4am than it will be to anyone else...

I first saw this idea on my sister's blog, and have seen it in others now as well and decided it could be fun!  Instructions are as follows:

1. As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you know me a little or a lot, or not even in real life...(if there are any webpage stalkers out there, time to reveal yourselves!)  Just anything you remember, from first memories to more recent ones.  (If you know Dan too, you can include a memory about him as well if you like!)

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you.

3. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you. If you don't want to play on your blog, or if you don't have a blog, I'll leave my memory of you in my comments or even randomly on one of your posts.

I'm excited to see your responses!  Thanks for playing!

We had a GREAT weekend!  The festivities for the 4th included a BBQ with our friends Brittney and Aaron and their cutie pie Brynlie.  We ate over at their house and Brynlie couldn't get enough of Maddy.  Brittney instructed her to only touch feet but the temptation was so great to touch her all over that she obeyed by holding her hand near Maddy while scrunching her fingers like she was going to grab her.  It was pretty funny. Here's a picture of them together.

The "booms" were louder than I thought they would be sitting maybe 1/2 mile away from the action, so the paranoid first time mom that I am, I covered Maddy's ears during the show.  I don't think she liked that too much.  She did watch some of the firework action, but mostly just watched Brynlie or the traffic whizzing by on the street in front of us.  The wind had picked up so it was much cooler than we anticipated at a balmy 91 degrees, so it wasn't bad at all. 

See...windy...

After the show we drove to my parent's house in Scottsdale to stay the weekend.  We had a lot of fun there and it was great for Grandma and Grandpa to spend time with Madelyn, and Dan and I got to get out and do some things by ourselves.  We went to a movie, Hancock, went swimming, hit the volleyball around, and took a nap! It was nice to have a change of scenery as well.  Madelyn seems to like seeing new faces and surroundings from time to time.  Hopefully that holds true for our trip to Colorado!

We also took Madelyn swimming, but it was in the evening, her typical cranky time, and she was due for a nap, so she ended up falling asleep in my arms so we're still not sure how much she likes the pool.  She seems to enjoy baths more though.

We also went to my parent's ward on Sunday.  With the ward boundaries including numerous apartment complexes, there is a high turnover rate so whenever I go I recognize maybe 10% of the people there (plus half of the ward was on vacation so that decreased attendance.)  Madelyn behaved pretty well and gave her cute smiles to anyone who would coax it out of her.   We had a fun time and hope to do it again!  (FYI- You can see more pictures in the web album.)