July 4th Weekend

We had a pretty busy weekend.  On Saturday I went with my mom to pick out her new kitchen appliances!  After almost twenty years she is getting new stainless steel appliances, although my dad ONLY liked black (I think he would have loved these). She has been on the roll lately-new tires, new roof, and now new appliances (dishwasher, oven, microwave, range, AND refrigerator!)  I’m excited to be able to use them, too! 

On 4th of July, Gabe, Maddie, and I went up to Table Rock for the day.  We tried to think of somewhere that had a swim area that was close enough to Greenville.  We have been up to Table Rock several times since we have been together and it was the perfect little place to go for a few hours.  They have a small swimming area and lots of sand for Maddie to play in.  She loves the sand and water.  While we were there the lifeguards out of nowhere yelled for everyone to get out of the water.  After a few minutes of everyone trying to figure out what was going on, we realized that a little six year old boy was missing and they needed to make sure that he was not in the water.  It was a scary situation and my heart was pounding so fast thinking that a little boy could have drowned.  After about thirty minutes of everyone being confined to the beach (they wouldn’t let anyone leave) the little boy was found safe and sound…he had wandered off up on a trail.  It made me realize how fast things can happen.  It is pretty easy to keep a hold of Maddie at this age, but when she gets older we really have to be careful, especially around water. 

After the lake we walked up the trail a little ways to a small waterfall.  There is a decent little swimming area, so we got into the water and let Maddie get close to the falls. It was freezing, but she seemed to enjoy it!  I was so exhausted on the way home that I fell asleep almost instantly, but our little hyper child decided to be awake the whole way home after only sleeping about thirty minutes in her stroller.  I kept waking up to her randomly pointing to her knee and yelling “knee” and other random things.  Yes, she is out of control.  We got home about 4:00 and quickly changed and got back into the car and went over to Natalie’s in-laws for a cook out.  We enjoyed some awesome food and good company.  By the time we got home, I was completely exhausted.  We got Maddie to bed, I took a shower,  and then collapsed in bed just in time to see fireworks outside of our bedroom window.  We had a great show from our neighbors.  Who needs to go somewhere to see fireworks when your neighbors spends hundreds and hundreds of dollars to entertain you?! 

Happy Independence Day!!     

 

  

Alabama Vacation

We met up with some friends who we met while living in Pikeville for a few days of fun at Weiss Lake in Leesburg, Alabama. Our husbands all attended the same medical school and one graduated in May and is officially a doctor! It was the closest to meeting up half-way for us since we all live in different parts of the country...we came from South Carolina, Arkansas, and south Alabama. Our kids are all so close in age (11 months and 17 months)-the girls are only 15 days apart (they haven’t seen each other since they were five months old). We had a great time catching up with one another…the boys of course stayed up way too late drinking beer, smoking cigars, and playing poker. We stayed at a Lake resort and it was so incredibly nice. We rented a three bedroom house which was only steps away from two salt water pools and the beach where the kids could play in the sand. I highly recommend Chestnut Bay resort. It was so hard to say good-bye, but I have a feeling we will make this trip an annual one!

Our house "The Squirrel's Nest"

Weiss Lake

The girls enjoying their breakfast together

Connor and Maddie playing in the water

Together again with our very grown girls!

Daddies and their girls

Having lots of fun

All the babies together

Attempting to get a good picture of all of us was almost impossible!

The boys

The girls (minus Aleah who was already sleeping in the car)

big girl walking with her daddy

Ear infection…again!

We had to take Maddie to the doctor on Saturday morning (another weekend visit). She had a fever of almost 103, on Saturday morning so Gabe looked in her ears and sure enough...another ear infection. She just finished her last antibiotic about a week and a half ago for her previous ear infection. We don't know if the ear infection just never went away or she has a new one. Regardless, our baby is sick again and cutting her canines on top of it. This makes for a not so happy toddler and a grumpy mommy!!
On Sunday after Maddie woke up from a three hour nap, we took her a neighbor's pool for a little bit. Gabe said it would be good for her to get out of the house and take her mind off any pain she might be in. He was right. Maddie had a fun time wading around with us and it was the happiest I have seen her in almost two days. Maddie was cheezin’ big time when we would ask her to SMILE! She is so stinkin’ funny.

Hopefully she is on the road to recovery, because we are headed to Omi and Pop-Pop’s house here in a couple of days!

Mini-Vacation…to Omi and Pop-Pop’s house!

My mom had her spring break last week and I was able to ask off too (Maddie said it was OK if I took it easy for a few days) so we headed to Omi and Pop-Pop’s house! We haven’t been down to Georgetown since Thanksgiving so we were excited to go! Unfortunately, I have come to the conclusion that my child is a horrible traveler (UGH!) We had the DVD player that she got for Christmas hooked up and everything, but her attention didn’t last too long on it. She only slept about an hour and the rest she just whined off and on. She rarely has to be in the car for long periods, so I guess the older she gets the better it will be…or at least that is what I am hoping for. Also, she is so used to sleeping in her big crib at home that when she has to sleep in a pack-in-play she doesn’t do too good. It worked out great for me, though, because my mom slept in the room with her and took care of her if she woke up (Yes I am spoiled and have the greatest MOM ever)

I love being at my grandparent’s house for so many reasons, but now since I have a child it means a break from motherly duties. My entire family takes over and I love it. Omi steps right in and feeds Maddie, changes diapers, and entertains her for hours on end! My aunts and cousins loved having her there and Maddie just loved all the attention. She really had a great time getting into everything and exploring the new place. Omi and Pop-Pop have an incredible garden this year. I want to learn how to have a garden and one day I hope to have one half as good as theirs! It was so much fun eating right out of the garden every day. Maddie even helped pick strawberries…mostly the the ones that were NOT ready to be picked!

We spent a couple of afternoons just soaking in some rays by the pool. It was so nice to finally have some color on my skin! A few of us were even brave enough to jump in the swimming pool! It was freezing, but refreshing after being in the sun. Maddie splashed around in a sand box that we turned into a baby pool. There is no doubt that this child loves the water—we have known this since she was born. She had a great time playing with her cousins and as long as she is outside she is one happy girl!

The last full day we were there we headed to Pawleys to have lunch and spend time with my Aunt Neesie and Aunt Teresa. After lunch, while my mom was getting her hair done, my cousin Summer and I headed to the beach with Maddie for a few beach pictures. Maddie was wearing the most adorable outfit and I could not resist snapping some pictures! She loves the sand, but she has never been in THIS much sand! She had a ball and the first chance she got she ran right into the water and plopped down. Sometimes it scares me that she has no fear whatsoever. She is not timid when it comes to anything. I guess she is her father’s child! I am looking forward to taking her to the beach “for real” this summer.

Lots of beach pictures…

While we were there, Daniel even taught Maddie how to play basketball. She is a natural, of course!

and Daniel is an all-star…

We had such a great time with our family. It was hard to leave and I know Maddie misses everyone, too!