JUST FYI

Just to let you all know, the reason there haven't been any posts in sometime is because our computer died and is now being fixed. We are waiting to have our hard drive to be restored and hoping that we get all of our pictures back. I have not uploaded any of my new pictures onto our laptop because I try not to bog it down with pictures.

Anyway, we hope to be up and running again soon! I miss blogging and sharing our stories with you all.

Sorry I've Been Away

I don't know where the time went but I have not posted in forever and I'm sorry about that! I will try to catch up up on what has been happening the last month or so...we had a lot of firsts.


This is a picture of Madison helping daddy open his presents on his birthday. I caught them watching a play on TV (the Angel's Game was on in the background).


My dear friend Erica told me about this place called Fo Fo Figgleys in Oak Park, so we took Madison there for the first time earlier in the month and she just loved it. It is a really neat place and I think when Madison is bigger she'll love it even more because she will be able to me more independent. I know we all had a lot of fun!


This is a picture of Madison during her first time bowling. We went with the Playgroup here on base to the bowling alley. The kids all had so much fun! We can't wait to go back!


Madison had her first trip to the beach. When we were home visiting my parents, we went to my favorite beach, Zuma Beach. For those of you who aren't familiar with this beach, I bet you've all seen it...it's the beach where Bay Watch was filmed. Anyway, Madison had a blast in the water and really loved being outdoors. She wasn't too hip on the sand being in between her toes just yet. Once she had her shoes on she was fine though. We stayed for a few hours and really enjoyed ourselves.


This is a picture from the Fourth of July, but it's mainly to show you my new hair cut. Yes, I chopped all my hair off and got bangs. I was able to cut about 11 inches of and donate it to an organization that makes wigs.


This is one of my favorite pictures from the Fourth of July. This is Alex and Madison watching the fireworks. This was Madison's first year getting to see the fireworks. She was too little to stay up last year. She tried, but didn't make it. She loved every second of the fireworks this year and always gets excited when we talk about them


Jaclyn was in town for a little bit so we had the chance to hang out a few times which was wonderful! Alex, Barry, Jaclyn and myself went to Claim Jumper on a double date while they were out and this picture was taken as we were walking into the restaurant. I love my sister and cherish any time we get to spend together.


While we were in town we stopped by a couple of times to see my Grandpa Bill. He loves Madison and can't get enough of her so we try to stop by when we can. Here is a sweet moment, when Madison was giving his leg a big hug!


Madison had her first trip to the library. We went to the Thousand Oaks Children's Library. It was amazing. They have redone it since I was a kid and it's HUGE!!!! Madison had so much fun looking at the books, the puppets, the videos and taking part in some of the summer contests they had going on. We will definitely be going back next time we are there.


Alex and I celebrated our 5 year wedding anniversary on July 25th. Since we were out at my parents house, we were given the opportunity to get away for a night. Madison stayed with my parents and Alex and I went down to Santa Barbara and had a blast. We went horseback riding. We stayed at my first Bed and Breakfast, the Cheshire Cat Inn (which I highly recommend). We went wine tasting. We ate at a beautiful restaurant called, Bouchan (which is where this picture was taken). And last, but not least we walked around and went shopping. We had a blast and it was a very fun relaxing getaway.


Other than that, not a whole lot going on at the moment. Alex is in Korea and should be back this weekend (hopefully with some fun pictures we can post).

Madison is TWO!!!!

Well, I can't believe another year has come and gone and now Madison is two years old. She is so much fun! I am loving every second of this stage of life. She is learning and growing so fast.

For Madison's birthday we had a little garden celebration in our backyard. We had a bunch of the neighbors over as well as both sets of grandparents, which was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures from the day!








At Madison's 2 year check up she came in at the 25%-50% for weight (26.0 pounds) and for height she came in at the 50%-75% (35.8 inches). Everything is looking good and we are very excited about this next year of life with our sweet daughter! It just keeps getting better!

My Little Dancer

A cheesy grin and a fluffy leotard makes for a silly day of dancing!
(my aunt got this leotard for her this past Valentine's Day)

Splish Splash

Madison loves her little backyard pool and we've had a chance to share it with Levi a few times. They are such great buddies. It's always fun to see them playing and discovering together!

Levi and Madison

Diana and I walk every morning and our kiddos always play when we're done. Here is a picture that was snapped during one of our morning play sessions!

VEGAS!!!

Our best friends, the Caro's have been planning a Vegas trip with us since I can remember. Well, we finally went and had that BEST time! Whenever the four of us hang out it's always a good time, but this was an unforgettable weekend! Emma and Jordan drove to our house the Friday of Memorial Day weekend and then we headed out to Las Vegas later that evening (after my parents arrived to watch Madison for the weekend).



We originally had planned to leave Saturday morning, but changed our plans last minute so that we could drive in to the lights of Vegas, since our friends had never been there before. Because of this last minute change, we didn't have a room for Friday night and we all just said, "it's Vegas, we'll just stay up" (much harder than we remembered from the all nighters in college). We arrived in Vegas around 11:30ish and the first thing we did was go to In-N-Out. We were starving. Once our bellies were full we headed to the New York, New York (which is where we were going to be staying) to park our car and head out for the evening.

We started out the evening walking the strip and just seeing the sights. We stopped to take pictures in front of the beautiful Bellagio Hotel.



We ended up in Caesar's Palace for a little bit and played a little video blackjack, which was fun.


We made it until about 4:30am, but we were getting tired, so we went back to the car for a couple hours and just chilled. At around 7:30 in the morning Emma and I went back into New York, New York and check with the front desk and they said our rooms would be ready. So, we got the boys, had breakfast and then went to our rooms. Unfortunately, there had been a mistake with Emma and Jordan's room, so instead of taking naps, we all went to lounge by the pool, which ended up being a lot of fun.





As I've mentioned before, Emma is one of my best friends and I just love her to death. While our husbands fell asleep on their lounge chairs we went in the spa and had a great conversation. I cherish all of my conversations with Emma. The Lord blessed me greatly when putting her in my life. We just "get" each other, in a way that is rare among friends. Thank you Emma for a wonderful day by the pool.

While we were at the pool we learned that Emma and Jordan's new room became available, so we all went back to our rooms for a little bit and then met up a little later to eat a yummy lunch at ESPN Zone. After lunch we headed in the opposite direction on strip than the night before. We spent some time in Mandalay Bay and ended up eating dinner there at the House of Blues.






The next day Emma and I were so excited because we were going to see The Lion King. We were both really looking forward to seeing this play and it was definitely worth all of the anticipation. The Lion King was probably one of the best plays I've ever seen. It was breathtaking.




After the play, we knew we wanted to go to a nicer dinner. We went to a few places but they didn't end up working out for one reason or another, so we ended up back at the Bellagio and at PRIME Steak House. It was amazing! It was so nice to just sit and dine with Emma and Jordan. We always enjoy their company, but it was especially nice because we have never gone to this caliber of a restaurant with them, so it was fun new experience.




After dinner we went into the gardens at the Bellagio. They were very pretty and a great spot to take pictures :)





The next morning we got up, checked out, ate breakfast and headed to the Venetian...our last stop for the trip.



Emma and Jordan, thank you for an amazing weekend! We had a blast and can't wait until our next adventure!

Living Desert

Alex was able to take a few days of leave before the Memorial Day weekend so we took advantage of that and went down to Palm Desert and visited the Living Desert. It was pretty hot (mid 90's all day), but we had a lot of fun and Madison did great! We had so much fun spending time together as a family looking at the animals and playing in the kid's discovery center room. Madison really enjoyed seeing all of the animals too. We can't wait to take her to the San Diego Zoo and back to Sea World (now that she's a little older).

Here are just a few of the pictures we took that day.

Water Bug

Pool season has officially begun here on base and we took Madison for the first time this year and she LOVED it! Here's one picture (and I'm sure there will be many more) of her in the pool with Alex...this was taken right after she dunked herself in the water!