Anniversary Weekend

Well Tad and I just celebrated our second anniversary. We both cannot believe that it has been two great years. My mom watched Madelyne, and Tad and I went up to Mt Rainer and stayed the night in a beautiful cabin. The cabin was out in the middle of no where just nature to surround us. When we walked in it took our breath away it was a absolutely beautiful place. The cabin had a hot tub, fire pit, the floors were all wooden and heated in the bathroom. I could not believe this place. We did not want to leave, it was so great being in the mountains. After we sat in the hot tub for a while Tad built a fire to roast marshmallows. A little bit into it some deer walked right up to us and started eating graham crackers out of our hands, it was so awesome. The next morning when we woke up we decided to do some hiking around Mt Raineer. I really take advantage of the beauty that my heavenly father has created for me. Just breathing in the fresh mountain air and looking at all the gorgeous scenery it really helped me appreciate nature more. Living in California in the middle of the desert where there really is no beauty and then going home to Washington it seems like a tropical paradise. It was such a fun trip and we spent some great time together since we don't get to do that enough. I am grateful for such a wonderful husband, and the family we created, and blessed with.

The 4th of July

So we were at home for 4th of July and had a great, great day. My family had a big bbq and everyone came out, we then let off fireworks at my mom's house. Fireworks are illegal in my hometown unless you live on the reservation. It was a lot of fun watching Tad light them off and doing sparklers with Trent, and Maddie. Maddie did not like the noise though. Trent could not get enough of it. As soon as we got done lighting off the fireworks the cops showed up haha. Some crazy person in my mom's neighborhood actually called the cops. I mean come on it is a day to be patriotic and celebrate our freedom. My husband is a soldier for Pete's sake who has been deployed to Iraq twice, I personally believe that he can do whatever he wants since he fought for the freedom and the people of this great country. It was so great watching the fireworks and really thinking about how blessed I am to live in this free country and to look at my husband and be so proud for the work that he does. Being a army wife defiantly has its challenges but that day all I could do was look and smile. (oh yes and don't forget your safety gear w hen lighting off fireworks lol as you can see Tad)

Cherries

So I LOVE LOVE cherries that are picked right off the tree. When Tad and I were at home we went to a local orchard and picked, picked, picked, or we ate, ate, ate. It was so fun though. One of the things I really took advantage off growing up in Yakima was the Orchards and the fresh produce we have there. Living in Ca everythign just tastes aweful when you are used to "fresh" produce. It really makes you think of your blessings and other things that you are taking advatage of as well. I think we all went a little overboard though. We all didn't want any cherries after eating all those. Maddie loved them too!

Mariners Game

While we were at home Tad and I had the opportunity to go to a Mariners game one of Tad's favorite things to do. Tad is a fanatic he is the guy who everyone thinks is really obnoxious because of all his yelling and screaming. I just sit way down in my seat and pretend that I do not know him haha. Tad's dad went with is and his step mom, who are very nice people. We had a really great time. It was great having some family time together, and doing what we love watching baseball.

My baby is one

How time fly's I cannot believe that my precious little girl has turned one. It almost seems unfair how long it takes for them to get here and then they just grow up so fast. We had a great little Princess party in Yakima that was a lot of fun. Friends and family came to celebrate the event the wheather was not so great that day and we planned it outside. We has a bbq and cake that I made (it did not turn out so pretty since I ran out of time). Overall the day went really good I thought I could of changed a few things but there is always next year right? I really need to focus on my daughter more and spend more time with her, because she is going to be 18 and moving out of the house before I know it.

Bad Bad

So I am a bad bad blogger I will update soon. Lots going on and so little time. I promise it will be soon!

"Mama"

She said it! My little precious child who is such a blessing in Tad and my life has said those magical words every mommy likes to hear "momma" well it sounded more like ummma, but she said it. To make it perfect on mothers day I was sitting in the chair in the living room and Tad was across the room. Maddie got upset about something and started whining and crawling toward me with all her might. As I was watching her crawl toward me and our eyes met she looked up at me with those beautiful blue eyes she gets from her daddy and says ummammma (it meant mama) Tad's head whipped around and all I heard was that is soooo not fair! Ever since then all he has been saying is da da da da. He will call from work and tell me to put the phone to her just to say this to her. All she does it smile because she knows it is him and starts to babble. It actually amuses me. He is away for some training in Kentucky until the 22ND of June and every chance he gets he calls to try and get her to say it. He informed me that I need to work on her and teach her how to say it like I taught her to say mama. I then told him that was not a good idea that he needed to do it because then she might start calling me daddy. I am happy that she said it and it made it even better that she said it on mothers day. It also saddened me. It seems like only yesterday that I gave birth to her or even pregnant. It is so true how time flys when you have kids. Am I wrong to just want her to stay little forever so I never have to let her go? She is already going to be one in two months. I am going to be one of those mom's who bawls her eyes out when she goes to her first day of preschool. I know I am pathetic.

Trip home

So Tad left for the field AGAIN, so I was like bye bye Maddie and I are headed home. So Maddie and I went to the airport and flew to Yakima. We were there for just shy of two weeks. I could not believe how cold it was (at least to us) Our bodies are now adjusted to California weather and the day before we left it had already reached a scorching 101 degress. It has now already gotten up to 111. I love going home. I love my family. How I wish Tad and I lived back in yakima. I remember the days when I could not WAIT to leave there. I hated Yakima I now want nothing more that to live there. While we were there we decided to go to the Oregon Coast it was also freezing there as well. We had so much fun just visiting the little shops in Seaside and Cannon Beach. I love the beach. It is such a peacfull place. I wish Tad had the opportunity to be there with me. We also did some climbing on rocks and just explored the beach area. While climbing on rocks we kinda lost track of time and when we started to come back we realized that the tide was coming in and quite close to us on the rocks. It had already covered some of them. So we hurried as fast as we could down. I got quite freaked out the Sea was going to swallow me up and I was going to be eaten by sharks. I am glad my dad was packing Madelyne in the back pack, because when we were coming down I was in such a hurry I slipped on a rock and fell pretty hard. The pain didnt set in until late though I was just focused on survivng when I reached land and felt a sigh of relief I also felt a lot of pain lol.
We went back to Yakima after a fun couple of days. I also had the opportunity to spend some quality time with my grandma who is battling cancer at this time. She is such a strong person. I have never seen anyone go to chemo and keep on the move like she does. She loves Maddie. It is so funny watching those two together. While home we also celebrated mothers day. I had my grandma over and cooked her and my mom a really nice dinner with a really yummy desert. I had a really good time. I am so thanfull for such a wonderful family. Oh the day when I am no longer a army wife and we can just settle down.

Bath time

So Maddie LOVES bath time. The other night when I was getting her in the tub I was in a hurry because we were leaving for Yakima the next day. I just put her in the bath room and sent Tad in there to give her a bath. I hear some laughter and he came around the corner whispering Lindsay come look at her. Maddie is a water girl for sure. She can spend hours in the water. So as you can she she was more than ready to take a bath. I am just thank full she can't get in there by herself yet.

Swimming

This past Saturday we decided to take Madelyne swimming for the first time. She loves bath time and splashing around in the tub FOREVER, that we thought she would love to go to a bigger bathtub. It was a lot of fun. We were kinda nervous about it at first because she just got her ears pierced and did not know if they would sting or not. We went to the covered pool here on post being that it has already got to triple digits living in the wonderful sunny southern California. When we got there it was quite loud there was probably fifty rotational soldiers there on down time. The pool is huge though so it did not stop us. Madelyne at first was a little frightened by all the noise. Tad took her in the pool and she was clinging to him with all her might. About after five minutes she was in heaven. She was splashing and smiling. She was having the time of her life. We were probably there for a hour and a half. So I have recently ordered a little floaty with a sun ray uv protector over the top of it so we can take her to the outdoors pool. Right now it is just to hot to take her. Tad and I are both blond hair blue eyed and it is obvious that Maddie has the same sensitive skin. So we have a little fish on our hands I am so glad that she loves to swim because Tad and I love to go swimming.

New Ears

So this past weekend Tad had a three day weekend because he is getting ready to leave for the field (AGAIN). So we took advantage of getting away. Last week I was talking to my friend Brenda. (this is Brenda) She has a baby who is about three months younger then Madelyne and she just pierced her baby's ears. I was telling her I wanted to wait until Maddie was one, but she said that they recommend doing it before them because then they know that they are there and they tend to mess with them more and even possibly pull them out. So when we left post we decided to do it. Maddie actually did quite well as Tad told me. I could not be in the room with her while I knew somebody was inflicting pain on my child. So I handed her to Tad and ran out of the room hehe. They told him to hold on to her hands and head and pound they put the earrings in. Tad said she just looked up at him and gave him a look like " daddy what did you do to me" I then came running back into Claires and she had her arms out to me. " Mommy mommy get daddy away from me haha" For some reason I can not see her get shots or go through any kind of torture whatsoever. Needless to say she is so fashionable now and styling.
So we have been cleaning them three times a day like they tell you to, and twisting them ect. The last thing I need is for my daughter to get a infection in her precious little ears.
Obviously we did not get pictures of the actual piercing because I could not have stand to watch it let alone take a picture of it and Tad was a little busy holding her. From what I heard they did it so fast it would have been hard to get a picture anyway. on the bright side though, maybe people now will stop asking me if she is a boy or girl.

hotel company bbq

This past the hotel company got together for a company bbq. It was a lot of fun! Being in the army is not always the most enjoyable thing. I believe being a army wife is pro bally the hardest job (yes a job). Once you become a army wife you give up any agency you once had. The army owns you.I mean I love being a army wife. I love being married to a true American soldier, but it can be quite challenging sometimes with my husband constantly out in the field and staying home all alone with my daughter. Not to mention Ft Irwin is about a hour from any town. So getting everyone together was nice. It is always comforting knowing that there are other women who go through the same thing as me everyday. I am so blessed to have a amazing bunch of friends here on this post. They have all been so good to me and I love getting together with them and catching up. The bbq was a lot of fun. The guys all played basketball, the women sat there and chit chatted and they had this huge blow up bouncy thing that all the kiddos got to play in. It was a great evening and I am excited for future events to come.

Easter

We had a very good Easter. Tad and I went and got some books, stuffed animals. and filled little eggs with Gerber snacks for Maddie. While we were there Tad informed me he needed a basket to. I wondered why and he said it was for his Jo's. Not thinking I just said ok pick one out. So we went home to put maddies basket together I was very excited and Tad said ok I have to give you your present tonight (tad gets quite excited and cannot keep secrets). I had no idea he got me anything. So he went out in the garage and brought me in a Easter basket filled with candy and a cd that I wanted. I was shocked I never would have thought he would have gotten me anything. The next morning we got up to give maddie her presents. I think we were more excited than she was. She had a lot of fun tearing it apart and getting into everything. We then got ready for church. I got Maddie the cutest little Easter dress from Macy's and I was anxious to put her in it. We sat with our friends the Lacy's Our ward here at Ft Irwin is quite small being a Military family moving is quite often and so sometimes we go there and no no one so it was nice to go and see a familiar face. After church we took maddie to a post Easter function were they have a big Easter egg hunt she obviously did not participate, but it was sun watching our friends kids. From there we came home changed clothes and went over to our friends the Lacy's house for Easter dinner. It was really good. There were a few other people there as well and they put on a Easter egg hunt outside for the kids.

It was all over a really good day and a day to ponder the Resurrection of our savior. It is something I need to work on focusing on this more than just one day. Everyday should be Easter.

Tad's REAL birthday

Well Tad's had two birthday's this year. His first one in Vegas and the second at our home. It was a really fun day. We decided to have a bbq and have some friends over. The overall day went really well people came over to our house at about 1 and left about 4:30 or 5. I think there were about 20-25 people there total. It was a lmost accident free but the guys decided to go out back to play horseshoes and one of our friends the Lacy's little girl decided she wanted to help pound in the stakes with a rock and she smashed and cut up her finger. She ended up having to get two stiches. We felt horrible. So then we decided to have some cake.

I am a big dumby and bought the wrong candles. They were sparklers instead of candles and when Tad blew them out they went all over me and burned me it was quite a experience, but not so fun! After a couple hours with close friends people went home and Tad opened his presents from me. I got him a 4-5 man tent from Rei, a camping stove, kitchen table thingy that the stove goes on, a lantern , and we are going together to get new sleeping bags. Madelyne had a lot of fun helping him open presents.

I guess she was just preparing for her own. When we go home in a couple of weeks he will be having a third birthday with my family. My husband is so spoiled

Tad's Birthday

Well it is official my husband is a OLD MAN! On April 12th (Easter) he turned 28. We had a lot of fun he kinda had two birthdays we started out going to Vegas for Mariner spring training. On our way there I noticed our camera was not working there was something wrong with the lens. I of course a very big picture freak started freaking out and not wanting to miss any pictures or memories was quite unhappy. So Tad just looked at me and shook his head and headed to a Best Buy. I lived in Las Vegas for a while before Tad and I were married and he remembered one being right by my old apartment. He got me quite a nice camera I did not expect such a nice one. I love it though. So from there we headed to the mariner game. It was fun but quite cold. We were both freezing. Who would have thought it would be so cold in Las Vegas in April.

We ended up leaving the game the 6th or 7th inning we got worried about Madelyne because she was already fighting a cold and a ear infection so we decided to leave early. They were loosing anyway and ended up in the end loosing the game. it was good that we ended up leaving anyways. We happened to be in Las Vegas the weekend of the Cma's. We got back to out hotel the same hotel that was sponsoring the Cma's and walked in the same time Jack Ingram walked in (the MGM). Tad casually looked over and then said to me "huh there is Jack Ingram" Me a really big dork WHAT???? WHERE???? "oh my goodness go get him we have to get a picture" So Tad went over to him and probably was like her my physco wife wants a pic with you lol. Anyway what a nice man he came over and chit chatted with us for a while and took a picture with me.

The next morning we got up to have breakfast. If you ever go to Las Vegas it is worth the visit just for the food. I am not a fan of buffets. I don't like people touching my food. These buffets are amazing. We just ate and ate. We were both in heaven. That day we pretty much just walked around we took Maddie to the aquarium and to see the lions. It was a lot of fun.

We wanted to take Maddie swimming that day the pools there at the hotels are awesome. Basically in the back of the mgm it is a water park, lazy river ect... It was still a little to cold and I freak out about my baby so we decided against it. The next morning we were in line for another buffet surprise surprise and Rory and Cory from overstock.com and now country singers got in line right behind us.

I am pretty sure Tad wants to divorce me after that weekend just because I couldn't stop staring he kept grabbing me and saying "Lindsay stop staring at them" So anyways we got a picture with them to. We just walked around Vegas that day it was warmer. On our way out of town we stopped at this place called Outdoor World. It is about 5acres of just outdoor stuff. So Tad was in heaven and I had to rip him from the store to get home but I wanted to get a early start home.Which ended up not being to quick. If anyone has traveled from Vegas to the LA area on a Sun know it is INSANE! Traffic is nuts the trip usually takes us about 2 hrs it took almost 6. We were exhausted when we got home and it was late. Also a late night since Maddie slept almost the whole way home she thought it was a party all night.