Falling Waters State Park!!!

Today, we decided to have a family day and go do something outside since it has been such nice weather the past few days. We looked up a few different parks that we could go to that would be good to go to in the colder weather. We chose Falling Waters State Park. It was a two hour journey there, but it had really good reviews and the pictures we saw were really pretty. So we packed up all of our stuff and made sure that we had enough supplies to last a week( JK, but I do like to be prepared). We got in the car and arrived around lunch time. We stopped and got lunch really quick and made our way to the park which was so nice to see. It was a change of scenery for us and who doesn't like seeing trees everywhere they look. Katy was so impatient getting out. Maddie was ready to go, so we hurried along to get our adventure going.
We first took the trail to the sink holes. It was a wooden path the whole way, so we took the stroller. Little did I know, there are a lot of stairs once you get a certain distance. Jeff had to help lift up the front of the stroller. It was really pretty. The holes were pretty deep. It was shorter than we thought. Next, we decided that we would head over to see the waterfall. We caught a glimpse of the pathway and it was mostly stairs. We headed back to the car to exchange the stroller for the carry on backpack. Once we were ready to go again, we headed back on the trails. It didn't take long to get to the waterfall. It was beautiful to see. Unfortunately for me, I am terrified of heights and of falling. In order for me to get a close up view of the waterfall, I had to go down these stairs which I could see through. Jeff, Maddie, and Katy were already down there and I was debating if it was really worth my life to see this waterfall. I finally crept my way down there. You should have seen me. You all would have laughed at me. Only if Jeff had the camera instead of me. Anyway, I took one step at a time with both hands on the rail. I held on so tight. Jeff was actually making fun of me for how slow I was going, but I gladly explained to him that I can see through the stairs and that scares me (tremendously). He mentioned that I just look straight ahead and walk down. Doesn't he know I am terrified of missing a step and falling down the stairs only to die??? I finally made it down all of the stairs and got some great pictures. Once we were done, I quickly made my way up to the top of the stairs again.

We stopped to take a family photo.. or a few.. you know if you only take one and it doesn't turn out then you have no back ups. So, we took a few. Thank Goodness too because the first one didn't turn out so great ! We continued on our path to the lake. We figured this would be a good place to let Maddie get out of her back pack carrier and walk around. There weren't any wooden bridges to walk on. She had so much fun walking/running around. She was a little ball of energy that we couldn't catch. We decided it was time to go after a water break and playtime, so we started to walk back to the entrance. It was so cute to see Maddie trip over a ground branch and just get right back up to brush off the sand/dirt. It didn't even phase her one bit. She did need daddy's help on the way down a couple of times to get over some thick roots. Maddie wanted to walk Katy, so we let her (with daddy's help of course). She really enjoyed it.When we came back to the wooden bridges, we, unfortunately, had to place her back in the carrier. She did not like this one bit!!

We made it back to the car and put everything away. Overall, the day was amazing. I couldn't have asked for a better day to go and better people to go with. Time is never more important than it is with family. Everyone had such a good time. It was amazing to see how much Madison enjoys the outdoors just like daddy and how Katy enjoyed being part of our family trip. The girls were worn out after the trip. I will admit that I was worn out, too. Katy slept the entire way home and we didn't hear or see her once we got home until it was time to eat dinner. Maddie slept for an hour and a half before I woke her up to eat dinner.

I love having family days like this. All of us getting to do something we love and to be together. I look forward to many more of these trips together. I thank God everyday for blessing me with such an amazing family. I can honestly say that I have never been more happy.

Well, That is all I have to say about the State Park. I'll get on a little later just to post some pictures. Until then, have fun and be safe!

Attempting to be a better blogger!!

So, this is my attempt to be a better blogger. Two days in a row! We will see how far this goes. Last night, after I finished the blog and was attempting to sleep, I realized that I had more stories to share. But, as usual, I don't remember what they are now. Haha. So, while I try and remember what it was about, I will talk about this weeks happenings.

This week went by so quickly. It's already Thursday night and it still seems like it's early in the week. Monday had an ENT doctors appt. She passed all of her tests with flying colors, so now she is going to speech therapy. Jeff thinks that this could possibly be a big mistake. lol. To have a child who babbles all day long to soon having a child who actually talks all day long. LOL I think it'll be good. I will actually be able to understand what she is trying to tell me and not get upset with me because I am not helping her with whatever she wants. Tuesday - I don't remember what happened actually. Yesterday, Maddie and I ran some errands and then came home from Target and took a nap. Jeff got home and went to PT. Then he came home, ate dinner, and then ran to the commissary to get a few items. Maddie had her firt peanut butter and raspberry preserve sandwich yesterday. She finished all of the bread and it seems that as soon as we are low on bread or out is when everyone in the house wants bread for something. Going through the first three-quarters of the bread takes forever though. She loved the sandwich... I have a few pictures on my phone. I'll have to upload them one day. Today was a pretty relaxing day. It was a pretty nice day outside today, so I opened the back door to let some fresh air in. That, in turn, made Maddie want to go outside all that much more. So, we got her ready to go outside and try out her new tricycle that grandma and grandpa kallal got her. She loved it. It was a little too big for her. She couldn't reach the pedals when they were all of the way down. Daddy had to push her around. :) It was a fun time. Daddy had to leave shortly after for duty. That was so much fun to deal with. Maddie didn't want him to leave . She would hug him and hold on tight. She would not let go of him. She even gave me hugs and a kiss and went right back to him. I had to distract her so he could slip away without her seeing.

Tomorrow starts the beginning of the weekend. I don't know what's in store for us this weekend. I think because today was such a nice and Maddie had so much fun, we will try to go for a walk or a little trail hike somewhere. Maddie really enjoys being outside. She ran around outside and screamed the entire time. Of course that meant that Katy joined in and ran around. I know that Katy would love to get outside and use some of her energy. It has been hard to get out and go for walks since it has been cold.... Hopefully my friend has her baby, so we should get to see the new little baby sometime.

Well, I still don't remember what stories I wanted to tell you all so I am going to go. Until then (hopefully tomorrow), have fun and be safe.

WOW! It's been too long

I can't believe it's been so long since I last posted on the blog. I guess I have a lot to catch up for those who are still reading this.

Um... let's see.. where should I start? I got my surgery in October and spent a couple of weeks up at my parent's house to recover, be with Maddie, and get a surprise visit from Phillip. Maddie dressed up as a bumble bee for Halloween this past year. I had a one month check post op check up. Things looked great. I did feel extremely tired and was pretty sure that I was anemic though. When I got back home, I had my doctor run a few tests and sure enough I had it. It was low enough that I needed a blood transplant. I was still feeling pretty week even though I had the transfusion and was taking iron pills daily. My doctor referred me to a specialist. I had an appt with him and found out that my body no longer processes Vitamin B or iron. So, I am on a high dose of both and going back in a month to see where stand and if I need, yet, another transfusion.

Anyway, on a happier note, Maddie is doing great and is growing way too fast!! She can get herself onto our couches now, can open doors on occasion and is in the works of being potty trained. She is so tall now and so smart. She picks up things so quickly. We have to watch what we do around her because she repeats everything we do right after. For example, our entire family has had sinus problems for a while now. Jeff went to spit before he got Maddie in the car to run some errands. I walk outside after gathering the rest of our things and Jeff turns to me and says, "I've done something very very bad." I asked him what he did and he informed me. I get in the car and Maddie is in the back seat trying to spit. I give him a dirty look. The entire ride to the store, we could hear her trying to spit. What happened tonight while she was playing? She actually spit. Thankfully, it was on the dish rag that is designated to clean her face and hands after she is done eating. Maddie is getting so big. She tries to clean whatever we are cleaning. She closes the dishwasher for me. Immediately after a diaper change, she wants to put her diaper in the diaper genie and either wash her hands or use hand sanitizer. As soon as I am done changing her, she wants to put her dirty clothes in the hamper RIGHT AWAY! I can't make her wait for a second( both are in the closet that she can't quite get open just yet). She always puts her shoes away when they are taken off. She knows where her jacket is and waits for me to get there when she is dressed and has her shoes on. Maddie, also, attempts to carry her diaper bag when we are heading out the door. LOL. She is one smart cookie. She isn't speaking very many words, so she has to see a speech therapist. She will go for the first time next week. She babbles all day long though. She even responds to questions... I just have no clue what she is trying to tell me.

Jeff has been busy at work. There is always something going on it seems. He is, also, taking college courses, too, so he is always busy. He did lose one of his responsibilities at work, so he comes home earlier and doesn't always get a ton of phone calls or texts from other marines that were under him. He did pick up one more responsibility at home though... being Maddie's personal horse. She absolutely loves it when he plays horsey... or buckin' bronco. LoL .. she laughs the entire time she is on his back. If he tries to quit or take a break, she pushes him down to the ground and gets back on. There is apparently no rest for the horse in this house. I have a ton of cute videos of them playing.

I have been really into trying to save money and coupon blogs. It is almost like an obsession for me. I check out several blogs a day just to see what the latest deal is. I think I need to go to an addicts meeting. Although, I am actually enjoying it and saving us quite a bit of money. There is no denying that. I have gotten into sewing, too. I made a few baby shower gifts and a few outfits for Maddie. I am currently working on a valentine craft that seems to be turning out pretty good. Hopefully, it continues that way. Maybe I'll post a picture of it when I am done. I should really post some new pics up here anyway. That's going to have to wait though because the laptop doesn't have any pictures on it. I am taking a sewing basics class and a quilting basics class next month that I am pretty excited about. I know some of the basics, but it would be nice to know how to sew buttons on and such. My friend made a quilt and that seemed pretty cool. So, I signed up for a class in hopes that I learn how to do it and actually continue do it. I love doing different crafts and learning how to do different things. It'll be exciting to actually get out and do something I am interested in.

Jeff and I celebrated our second year anniversary in the time of me being MIA . We had a friend watch Maddie while Jeff and I went out to dinner and a movie. We went to Tokyo for dinner and we were upset with how the food turned out. Everything had too much salt and soy sauce on it. The Fried rice had such small pieces of onions in it that I couldn't even eat it (which I was very bummed about because that is one of my favorite parts of going out for a good dinner). Then we went to see Little Faukers. We were warned that it wasn't as funny as it looked. I didn't even care to see it, but Jeff wanted to see it and thought it would be funny. We went and ended up disappointed. Don't get me wrong. It had funny parts, but it definitely wasn't worth paying so much money for. We could have waited until it came out on redbox and paid a dollar. Oh well! After we went out, we went to a friends house where Maddie was hung out with friends. It was really nice to get out with just Jeff for a night.

OH OH OH!! I completely forgot to write about Thanksgiving and Christmas. MMMM ! Thanksgiving was good. We brought food to the single marines and hung out at home. For Christmas stand down, we went up to Illinois for a few days. It was a lot of fun. Maddie got to see snow for the first time. She had no clue what it was. LOL Jeff threw a few snow balls at her and she just stood there and looked at me. Jeff actually got some snow in her jacket and on her face. So, he quit and helped her out. We got to see all of my family and had a few Christmas' there. Maddie made out like a bandit there. It was good for her. Maddie helped Aunt Shirley sprinkle some sugar cookies. Which ended up a funny story because Aunt Shirley ended up cooking them a little too long since we were opening presents. Haha! It was a good memory. Maddie had a lot of fun playing with her cousins and aunts and uncles. The time went by way too quickly. Mom and Dad came down here for the weekend. We cooked lots of food and played and then Mom and I went shopping. I actually ended up getting sick on Christmas and slept a lot that day. It wasn't fun. Jeff did most of the cooking. We, also, did the single marines meal again. Well... Jeff did. I was asleep.. Maddie, once again, made out like a bandit. She had so many presents. It was hilarious to see her open her gifts. If it was clothing, she would throw it out and go get another gift. I think that pretty much covers the Holidays.

Well, I am going to cut it off for now.. Thanks for reading... if anyone is still reading... Goodnight. :)