The Madden Family

2010-04-08T17:53:00.004-06:00

This is the book that I made after our wedding. I decided to start scanning books in and printing them so they're lighter and so people will actually be able to look at them. This is the first one I did, for Matt's birthday. I think it turned out pretty well. :)
~Steph

2010-04-08T17:49:00.001-06:00

Wedding & Honeymoon by Stephanie Madden | BOOK INFO

Better weather

2009-05-25T23:42:00.000-06:00

On the way to the islands it was windy and choppy. Mark got a bit seasick, and Steph did too (though she had some other illness the whole time that didn't help). It was smooth sailing on the way back though.

Back on the ship, headed home

2009-05-25T23:39:00.000-06:00

Sailing Away

2009-05-25T23:37:00.000-06:00

Orient Beach on St Martin (French side)

2009-05-25T23:36:00.000-06:00

St Maarten was incredible

2009-05-25T23:34:00.000-06:00

We had a blast. The weather was great, the island was nicer than the others, and we packed in a full day of ATVs, beaches and swimming, a catamaran sail-away, sand volleyball and snorkeling.

Oddly, St Thomas looked better at night

2009-05-25T23:30:00.000-06:00

End the day shopping in St Thomas

2009-05-25T23:29:00.000-06:00

Coral Reef Snuba Diving

2009-05-25T23:27:00.000-06:00

Interesting dive...we'll get the underwater pics up here once we develop them. It was an interesting experience, a bit claustrophobic, but fun to be under water for 45 minutes.

Approaching St Thomas

2009-05-25T23:23:00.000-06:00

On the Carnival Glory

2009-05-25T23:21:00.000-06:00

Bahamas

2009-05-25T23:12:00.000-06:00

The miracle of the trip: Matt forgot the camera in the taxi!!! As you can see, we have all the photos because we incredibly found our cabbie who had held on to the camera. Hooray, and a huge sigh of relief).

Off to the cruise ship

2009-05-25T23:09:00.000-06:00

More Hollywood

2009-05-25T23:08:00.000-06:00

Matt's favorite...the Rock'n'Roller Coaster. Crazy fast. Made up for Space Mountain being offline.

Hollywood Studios

2009-05-25T23:06:00.000-06:00

The most fun for adults (according to Matt at least). And since it was actually our anniversary that day, we got matching pins to show off, and the park employees are well trained to throw out "Happy Anniversary!" all day long.

Magic Kingdom

2009-05-25T23:04:00.000-06:00

Without kids (and with Space Mountain closed) this one was REALLY quick. A couple of fast passes and we cranked out Splash Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain twice, along with a ride on Pirates of the Caribbean. Alas, we got stuck for a while at the parade, but we got to the shuttle in time (barely).

More Epcot (lots of culture here!)

2009-05-25T23:00:00.000-06:00

Epcot

2009-05-25T22:58:00.000-06:00

That middle picture is Stephanie excited for finally finding a collection book for all those pressed pennies she has.

Animal Kingdom

2009-05-25T22:55:00.000-06:00

A few good rides, Expedition Everest was the best. We only spent a few hours here, then ran over to Epcot. Disney is a lot faster without kids!

Insane Lego Creations

2009-05-25T22:50:00.000-06:00

10th Anniversary

2009-05-25T22:47:00.001-06:00

For our 10th anniversary we took a week and a half trip to Florida (for Disney World) and the Caribbean (cruising for the first time, along with our best friends Mark and Molly). Here we are kicking off the trip at Downtown Disney.

Karate-girl Laura

2009-05-25T22:45:00.000-06:00

Steph's b-day party (and other stuff too)

2009-05-25T22:43:00.000-06:00

Tulip festival

2009-05-25T22:41:00.000-06:00

Grandmas watching our kids (thank you!!!)

2009-05-25T22:38:00.000-06:00

Crazy hair day

2009-05-25T22:35:00.000-06:00

Baptism (Spencer and Aaron) get together

2009-05-25T22:34:00.000-06:00

Easter egg hunt

2009-05-25T22:32:00.000-06:00

Family game time

2009-05-25T22:30:00.000-06:00

Food or sleep...debate settled

2009-05-25T22:28:00.000-06:00

Katie's Princess B-day

2009-05-25T22:27:00.000-06:00

Playground time! (a break in the winter weather)

2009-05-25T22:25:00.000-06:00

Drew, about 7 months old

2009-05-25T22:23:00.000-06:00

Merry Christmas

2009-01-06T19:31:00.000-07:00

Couch Napping

2008-11-16T10:01:00.000-07:00

First Snow of the Year

2008-11-16T09:59:00.000-07:00

At least we made it past October this time.

Halloween Time Again

2008-11-16T09:46:00.000-07:00

Time for th Fall Festival at the church and trick-or-treating.

Matt went as Steve Nash, Stephanie went appropriately as Nash's #1 fan. Drew kept it simple as Superman. Katelyn was the Barbie Island Princess. Nikki had the best home-made costume ever ("thanks mom and Aunt Emily") as Link from the Legend of Zelda video games. Laura was a ghost bride.

Happy 8th Birthday Laura!

2008-09-05T23:32:00.000-06:00

The Many Moods of Drew

2008-09-05T23:21:00.000-06:00

We have plenty of Andrew in a bad mood, but lately he's becoming more fond of smiles and laughs too.

First Day of School 2008

2008-09-03T23:13:00.000-06:00

Old hat for Laura (2nd grade), but the real "first day" for Nikki who started Kindergarten.

You Wouldn't Like Me When I'm Angry

2008-09-03T23:10:00.002-06:00

Where have I seen this face before?

???

Days of '47 Youth Parade

2008-07-19T19:40:00.000-06:00

Our Herriman South stake was invited to make a float and march in the parade (about a half-mile route). Afterwards there was a carnival with lots of booths, games and blow up slides/jump houses. Some odd characters were around for photo ops too!

Andrew, awake and happy

2008-07-01T17:55:00.003-06:00

Here is a shot of the kid awake and happy. You can't quite make out his wrinkly toes and fingers, but that's OK, we're sure he'll grow into them soon enough.

Sleepy Kid

2008-06-29T23:03:00.000-06:00

At least some of us liked the carnival

2008-06-29T23:02:00.000-06:00

Fort Herriman Days Carnival

2008-06-29T23:00:00.000-06:00

Andrew William Madden

2008-06-24T23:52:00.000-06:00

Born on the 23rd at 2:25 here in Utah, 8 lbs 1 oz and 19 inches.

Baby Boy Is Born

2008-06-24T23:50:00.000-06:00

The Final Countdown

2008-06-21T16:46:00.003-06:00

Well, I am back from relentless business trips and Grandma Christie and the girls get here tonight. Unless Stephanie's water breaks this weekend, well be heading to the hospital Monday morning for her to be induced. It's going to be quite the exciting week, finally adding a boy to the family. We'll get pictures out to everyone as soon as we can after the baby comes. And just so you know, still no name.

Indoor Camping

2008-05-30T21:11:00.003-06:00

While Stephanie was on an overnight for a temple trip, the rest of us decided to have a campout...indoors since it still isn't warming up enough here. And we don't have our yard fully fenced. And I didn't feel like driving to the mountains with three kids.

Grandma Sue

2008-05-25T10:17:00.003-06:00

My grandma (Susan Caldwell Madden) passed away last week. I flew to Tempe to attend the funeral services and spend time with family and it was great to see everyone. While no funeral is ever a happy time, I have to say that this was a good time to remember a sweet lady. She lived a full life and is remembered lovingly by everyone who knew her. The world would be a better place if more of us lived with her kind of goodness in our hearts.

I got to say a few words at the services. In the next couple of days I'll try to get some of those thoughts recorded here in our Madden family blog. There is also a guest book that the local newspaper keeps. If anyone else wants to leave some words of remembrance you can post it there to share for at least 30 days, or e-mail me and I'll post it here.

Congress Campaigning

2008-05-16T13:50:00.002-06:00

After being a delegate at the Republican convention, I've decided to join the Jason Chaffetz campaign. He holds a lot of the same views I have and it is definitely time to change things up. The primary is at the end of June so we only have a few weeks to get word out.

I've met Jason and he is a really nice guy, and I have gotten to know some of the other volunteers and it is a great group. Anyway, I'll be doing some blogging for the campaign, if you want to see my reasons on why to vote for Jason Chaffetz just click over.

Soccer Season

2008-05-12T19:58:00.000-06:00

First Teeth Gone So Soon

2008-05-12T19:56:00.000-06:00

Baby Boy Ultrasounds

2008-05-12T19:55:00.000-06:00

Playing at the park

2008-04-13T18:43:00.000-06:00

Phoenix Zoo

2008-04-13T18:32:00.000-06:00

In case you can't tell, these are not real elephants.

Katie pretends to drive a tractor at the children's exhibit.

In a new exhibit you actually get to be in the same "cage" with the squirrel monkeys.
The zookeepers had to tell Laura and the kids to keep still so they wouldn't try to grab the monkeys.

This baboon looked like he wanted company.

Grand Canyon

2008-04-13T18:21:00.000-06:00

Road Trip

2008-04-13T18:19:00.000-06:00

We decided to break up the drive to Arizona by stopping in Page.
We stayed the night and saw the Glen Canyon Dam (which creates Lake Powell) the next morning.

Easter Sunday

2008-04-13T18:17:00.000-06:00

Spring Yardwork

2008-04-13T18:15:00.000-06:00

We finished the play set and started the garden.
Blueberries are in along with the apricot and nectarine tree.
Zucchini and tomatoes are on the way soon.

Sledding in Elko

2008-04-13T18:13:00.000-06:00

Nikki Chops Her Hair

2008-04-13T16:59:00.000-06:00

This beautiful braid was donated to Locks of Love.

Ice Skating with Gma & Gpa Madden

2008-01-20T09:40:00.000-07:00

Christmas Morning

2008-01-20T09:36:00.000-07:00

Whoa Christmas!

2008-01-20T09:33:00.000-07:00

Christmas Party at Kenyon and Nicole's

2008-01-20T09:24:00.000-07:00

Family Photos

2007-12-25T22:21:00.000-07:00

Here are some recent (and decent!) pictures of the girls, the girls with their cousins, and Stephanie and me.

Notre Dame de Paris

2007-12-25T22:12:00.000-07:00

Last time we didn't get to ascend Notre Dame. It was a lot of steps, but worth it. A great piece of history and architecture, plus superb views of Paris.

Paris

2007-12-25T22:08:00.000-07:00

We got a great treat this fall in the form of a trip to Paris for about a week. It happened to be the Rugby World Cup, so there were plenty of tourists in town (then again, when is that not true in Paris).

2007-09-02T23:30:00.001-06:00

Tinkerbell room and (messy) office

2007-09-02T23:26:00.001-06:00

Master Bedroom, Cute pic of Nikki, Master Bath

2007-09-02T23:14:00.000-06:00

Buzz Lightyear room, Kitchen, Dining Room, and Living Room

Pajama party

2007-04-22T19:12:00.000-06:00

Katie's first birthday

2007-04-22T19:08:00.001-06:00

Sweaters

2007-04-22T19:08:00.000-06:00

Cute new sweaters. And the girls are pretty cute too!

That Fateful Day

2007-04-22T19:06:00.000-06:00

My 28th birthday, most miserable week of my life. We all came down with some terrible virus which caused all sorts of bodily malfunctions. Worst of all, I still cannot eat pot roast or the delicious Costco chocolate cake without feeling tinges of illness.

Girls Camp Director

2007-04-22T18:22:00.000-06:00

Stephanie was in charge of our ward's Girls Camp, they got to break in a brand new campground.

2007-04-22T18:15:00.000-06:00

Laura's had better days. She just needed some alone time in a crowded house, and the top of her closet was the only available space.

2007-04-22T18:11:00.000-06:00

Laura's first day of kindergarten.

Carpet Rolls

2007-04-22T18:07:00.000-06:00

Who knew that empty carpet rolls could be so much fun?

Laura's Birthday

2007-04-22T18:05:00.000-06:00

A fun time at the park in our new neighborhood.

Demolitions

2007-04-22T17:57:00.000-06:00

The new covered deck being built. But really the fun part here is seeing the whole Wasatch mountain range from our back yard, and seeing how many rocks "grew up" on our property. One reason it took so long to build the new house was the blasting. Our quarter acre just happened to be nestled into solid rock, so they got a demolitions crew up here to help excavate. Most of the rocks they blew out of the ground stayed around as retaining walls.

Fantastic Builders

2007-04-22T17:52:00.000-06:00

Future engineers and architects.

2007-04-22T17:45:00.000-06:00

After a long hiatus, we're back. The past year has seen us finish the basement to our old house, prep and sell that house, and then build and move into our new place (a whole mile away, I know, how adventurous). The new house got its basement done as an apartment where the Ellefsons now live. It has been a busy year and a half, and it finally seems to be calming down a little, so we'll start getting pictures up regularly. Pictured here, the kids check out the unfinished basement in the new house.

2006-01-06T13:24:00.000-07:00

Four generations. Not many Y chromosomes.

2006-01-01T21:56:00.000-07:00

Hi family! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

2006-01-01T21:50:00.000-07:00

Gradma Julie, Grandpa Dave and Great-Grandma Lil all came to see us (but mostly Katelyn) for the holidays.

2006-01-01T21:48:00.000-07:00

Let the dressing-up begin!

2006-01-01T21:47:00.001-07:00

Here's lookin' at you Katie.

2006-01-01T21:47:00.000-07:00

Laura's dream come true...Sleeping Beauty on DVD.

2006-01-01T21:44:00.000-07:00

Nikki checking out her Winnie the Pooh Barbie.

2006-01-01T21:43:00.000-07:00

Laura got loads of dress up outfits for Christmas, and it wasn't all pretty-princess dresses either.

2005-12-03T16:21:00.000-07:00

Matt & Steph up in Park City (won a weekend at a gorgeous condo through work). The Robins came along too, but they are on the wrong side of the camera.

2005-12-03T16:17:00.000-07:00

Snow day!

2005-12-03T16:15:00.000-07:00

Katie having fun in the bath with her toy shark.

2005-12-03T15:56:00.000-07:00

Our first big snow day, Nikki loves it.

2005-11-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

My beautiful wife and mom and baby #3.

2005-10-11T00:36:00.001-06:00

The two princesses.