Don't you love...

trying to get family pictures.

No wonder we haven't taken one in 23 years.

Choosing Names

Since Maven is getting blessed on Saturday I figured it's a good time to explain why we chose the name Maven.

While I was pregnant we were doing the usual search for the perfect name. We knew what we wanted for a girl but we weren't so sure about a boy name. One night Brad came home late from studying at the library and announced to me that he had a perfect name. MAVEN...I thought about it for a minute and asked him where he came up with that name. He explained that there was an awesome pair of backcountry skis called THE MAVENS. I laughed about it and went back to bed.

Brad didn't just forget about the name he kept bringing it up and it started to grow on me. Of course we started doing our research and found the dictionary meaning.

A maven (also mavin) is a trusted expert in a particular field, who seeks to pass knowledge on to others. The word maven comes from the Hebrew, via Yiddish, and means one who understands, based on an accumulation of knowledge.

While I was impressed with the meaning I decided the meaning it had to Brad was far more important.

Being someone who was named after my dads dog I've always loved my name and the meaning it had to my dad. I couldn't think of a better name for our little man than something that has meaning to us.

Happy Halloween

LOVE MAVEN MONKEY

WEEKEND GETAWAY

Last weekend Brad was suppose to take a test but the proctor didn't show up. To make a long story short we decided we needed to get out and do something. We listed our options put them on little sticky notes and drew from a hat. We ended up driving 4 hours to see this.

It was off season but since the weather had been holding there were still plenty of places that stayed open and lots to see. It was a little cold so we had to turn Maven into the cookie monster.

We went up to Mount Rushmore monument and got pictures with our state flags.

Charlsie-IDAHO, Brad-UTAH and Maven-WYOMING

We walked the boardwalk in Keystone, South Dakota and got ourselves a lot of old fashioned taffy and fudge.

We enjoyed the beautiful sights. This includes accidentally taking the scenic loop through the black hills. There are some very interesting roads and tunnels.

We loved every second of it, but there is so much more we would like to see that we didn't have a chance and a few places that were closed since it was off season. So if anyone would like to join us next spring we are planning on returning. Maybe Maven will do more than just sleep next time.

MAVEN OVERLOAD

Being far away from home is hard on Maven's grandparents. So I've used the blog and facebook to keep everyone up to date. But let's face it Brad and I take way too many pictures and the blog isn't the easiest place to deal with lots of pictures and video. So I started a photo share site through shutterfly. I'll still update the blog but we wont overwhelm you with pictures of our little monkey.

If you are interested in a Maven Overload let me know and I'll give you the site and password since it's private. You can leave a comment with your email or email me at charlsielyn@gmail.com.

Split Rock Hike

Brad bought himself this belly pack for fathers day so he would be able to take Maven skiing. It took Maven a month to tolerate being in it and now he enjoys it quite a bit so we went for a little hike around Bridle Falls previous post have several pictures of the falls. It was a 4.5 mile hike to split rock and we couldn't have asked for a better afternoon. It was beautiful weather.

BRAD AND MAVEN AT THE START OF THE TRAIL

OVERLOOK

CHARLSIE AND MAVEN AT SPLIT ROCK

BRAD AND MAVEN AT SOME RANDOM HOLE IN A ROCK

We got our season passes for Hogadan Ski Resort here in Casper. BRING ON THE SNOW!!!

A Day in the Life of MAVEN

I woke up at 3:30 this morning for my midnight snack when my mom discovered I had wet the bed. I'm pretty good at soaking through everything. Mom got me fed and changed and I was back to sleep in no time at all. Then my lucky mom woke up to another surprise. Once again I had managed to make a mess of everything only this time while mom was cleaning me up I decided to pee on my face. She was nice enough to hurry and wipe off my face so I took this opportunity to send out an explosive pooh all over everything. (excuse my language and the graphic details)

I love taking baths so if this is what I have to do to get another bath in less than 12 hours it works for me. I didn't want to dirty my bath water so I snuck in a quick whizz all over the kitchen counter.

Mom punished me by making me take my vitamins.

I got all dressed up nice and cute and while mom changed me right before leaving the house I peed on my outfit. I'm pretty good at that.

After my long morning nap I decided it was time for more milk. I LOVE THAT STUFF!!! But for some reason I decided to spit it up right as I turned my head so it could go down the front of mom. I didn't want to get my bright green burp rag dirty.

You would think she would get mad at me but all I have to do is grin and she gives me lots of hugs and kisses.

Good thing the days still young.