~ Taughannock Falls ~

 Oh....ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL WATER FALL!

If you look in the picture you can see a spot with people at the bottom of the Falls... well we didn't make it there, but maybe next time!

Taughannock Falls is located in Ulysses, NY, part of the popular Finger Lakes Region of central New York. The falls is part of Taughannock State Park located between the Village of Trumansburg (part of the Ulysses Township), and the city of Ithaca. The falls cataract has an incredible drop of 215 feet (66 meters), and is one of the highest east of the Rocky Mountains.

 

 

 The sweet Lady that took our family's picture missed the Water Fall but it is a cute one of our family! Ithaca is beautiful you kind of expect these beautiful sites to be around EVERY corner.

 There is amazing trails all around and along the Falls so you can admire and take pictures the whole way!!

 The family loves going on these hikes... we need to work on our HIKING ATTIRE everyone looked @ us funny when we were in flip flops and skirts. Next time we will be better prepared!

 Pictures don't do it justice......

 it was a straight drop to the bottom...

 The kids love following the trails, but the combo of FLIP FLOPS & EXCITEMENT led to many crashes!! We managed to find every rock and up lifted root there was, so next time will wear HELMETS, KNEE PADS AND LONG SLEEVES!

 The excitement level always returned after each spill!

 The picture of the kids and I had such a pretty view of how thick and pretty the forest is! AGAIN SHALEE PLENTY OF PHOTO OPPORTUNITIES!

 AND LAST BUT NOT LEAST!

KORY had the keen eyes and saw this little creature below... we took so many pictures and because he blended in so well we could barely find him in the pictures when we got home!

See the frog?

Didn't mean to build it up ... but way fun to see!

------Buttermilk Falls------

Our first Playgroup in Ithaca, was @ Buttermilk Falls. When we found out we would be attending Cornell Kory pulled up a few fun places to visit and Buttermilk  was at the top. Behind Maddilyn is a swimming hole you can swim in at the bottom of the falls, we didn't bring anything to swim in so we weren't planning on swimming!

All of the Parks around here have really cool toys.... this one Maddi sat on the seat and could NOT STOP spinning. It was funny till she started crying.

Super fun AIRPLANE!

Liam is going trough a stage that he doesn't want to look @ the camera or smile so we have been telling him to say " Cheese Grandma " " Cheese Grandpa" in this picture he is right in the middle of CHEESE.

SO again the pictures aren't in the order I had planned....AHHHH but when we left the water fall trickled down to this little area where the kids from Playgroup started to splash around. Look how many kids are just in our apartment area!

This Kael good buddy Emerie... same age!

And this is Brinlee, Maddilyns good buddy! She is going into Kindergarten so just a little younger.

So back to how many kids there are.... a ton. We love it!! So we are having a grand 'ol time, when all of a sudden a EMPLOYEE OF BUTTERMILK FALLS came over and informed us that NO ONE is allowed to swim because of the HIGH COUNT OF BACTERIA!!! WHAT???

I have never seen mothers move so fast... we got the kids out and RAN... really how hard would it be to put a SIGN!!

But hey the Falls were pretty!!!

This is also a good friend... Emma, she is 10, and SUPER NICE!!

- A little of Cornell & outside the Apartment -

 Everyone look close this is Kory's first day of school!!! He was not exactly thrilled when I pulled out the camera to take pictures but... in my defense I think there are some people (back home) that want to see these magical moments. If not sorry! It was actually the first day of Orientation so no one was around so I think he was OKAY with it cause he smiled in the first picture : )

 So the pictures loaded funny and maybe its because I have been out of the blogging way for awhile.. But the next picture is of this amazing covered hallway... I am sure there is a better way of describing it, the pictures don't even do it justice, it is so beautiful and unique it is a really fun place to walk around. Two pictures down shows the inside of the hallway its amazing to think how old these building are and the incredible details in all of campus.The kids loved climbing in the windows ! We think Aunt Shalee could find some fun place to take pictures here.

 The campus kindof sits at the top of a hill that over looks Downtown Ithaca.

 Still on the hill but if you look over the beautiful trees you can see the Lake (with no name cause I am not sure what it is) that we drive by every time we head to town that is filled with BOATS!! Liam loves that part of the drive!

 The brick work is astonishing, absolutely beautiful.

 Each one of the building were awesome to look at, it would be fun to see the inside, but with three kids we were lucky to cover the ground we did.

 There is an awesome clock in the center of campus that goes off every hour and it plays a array of chimes, like "kiss the girl" from Disney Ariel, and some other Disney songs. You can climb stairs to the top and be standing right under the bells when they are ringing and absorb the view but with kids it wasn't an option.  

 I can understand why everyone says the campus is prettiest in the Fall.

 Another cool building with neat details.

 A different Window in the MILR building.

 Something a little different.

 And the Picture we are MOST EXCITED ABOUT!!  Daddy and Klan in front of his Majors building. Congratulations Hun we are so proud of you.

 And now a few pictures of the OUTSIDE of the apartment. Had the apartment clean and should have taken pictures because now it is LIVED IN! But I know there are still some people who are curious (mom) so I will put some up!

 This is the Spider and they love to climb all over it, hang down, and swing from one bar to the next!

 Had a picture of the teeter tauter and thought the picture of my kids on it was cuter!!

 They have loved these RANDOM toys that are located on the front pad of grass and the back pad of grass all along the apartments. Another fun tid-bit about the apartments is any toys left outside is community property which is cool for the purpose of playing but you need to make sure to put your stuff up if you don't want people playing with it/with out your permission. But rumor has it the toys that are out have been here for ever and they have a random broken wheel or rusted like crazy so "they" are probably just glad to be played with still. 

And the GRAND FINALE is another great picture of what has brought us to Ithaca, New York. A hard working husband studying @ an amazing school! Wish us Luck!!

WE MISS OUR FAMILIES AND HOPE WITH ALL THIS FUN STUFF TO SEE & DO, WE WILL COAX SOME OF YOU TO COME VISIT! 

we just need to find some one who owns there own plane!

(and will let us use it)

LOVE YOU ALL!!

* THE LAST NIGHT & THE HOTEL ROOM *

 So at this point we had loaded our mattresses and pretty much everything else this is how Maddi and Kael slept.... and Kael is always accused of being the SUPER CUDDLER!!! The kids were such troopers through the whole moving process, they were just as excited as we were to get to the next place to see it, to meet all the new people. They did amazing driving, even though our DVD players didn't work and they are BRAND NEW! We drove to Pennsylvania (6 hours away) taking 8hrs due to a awesome flat tire on the trailer :( we were so glad it happened on the exit and not the Highway, then we stopped for a room...  @ Erie and little did we know that everyone who was stopping stopped in Erie, @ our first Hotel choice and he informed me that ALL Hotel rooms at this Exit were BOOKED, so he told us of a Days Inn @ the next exit that had 19 rooms available. When we got there they had ONE.... anyways tons of drama, 1 o'clock in the morning, and the end of this story is we got a room... that stunk, not sure it had been clean, and paid full price. But my family slept and we woke up with GREAT ATTITUDES that we were moving to NY!

This is the sweet pull out bed that KORY slept on with Maddilyn and Kael, Liam and I slept in what they called a Queen but I think it could be NEGOTIATED!! But like I said we were headed to our new temporary home.

Liam is huge into playing  DOGS  and is always on all fours eating stuff from the floor... shortly after this picture I scooped him right up! Not the place to play dogs. sorry son :(

She was so excited she was smiling while brushing her teeth... Maddilyn has been such an amazing sport these last 3 months and sometimes I forget that she has a major part to do with how POSITIVE it all has been. That if she wanted to be miserable or even pout and make it no fun, she would have 2 small ones that would follow her example. And instead she always (most the time) sees the positive of situations.

And New York had to have more kids her age to play with then Ohio..

So thank you Maddilyn, for setting that wonderful example for your siblings and parents.

In the hurry of packing MOM forgot Kaels pajamas and one thing about Kael is she's persistent, good or bad, she will hold out until she falls asleep or gets her way. In this case Liams batman P.J's , he didn't mind sleeping in soft pants and it wasn't a battle I needed to win. But when morning came and she was still in love with them .... again I didn't need to win.

Leaving the AWESOME hotel room and heading to N.Y.

This is as close to a family picture as we are going to get, making these journeys and all the details it intels as a family and a partnership have made us grow so closer together. I am extremely grateful for this amazing opportunity. Now I get to stay at home and play (with the kids and raise them some where along the way) why Kory attends the Ivy League Courses .... good luck hun!

OFF TO:    The Winston Ct. Apartments...

" THE LAST DAYS IN OHIO...."

 * WE ARE IN NEW YORK JUST WANTED TO POST THESE FEW PICTURES FIRST THEN ALL ABOUT NY *

 With one week left we went to lunch with Daddy, we missed him so much so we were excited to see him for just a minute!! Maddilyn loves her Daddy so much, she even looks more and more like him all the time!

 Kael does not know how to just SMILE she has to add alittle "Kael" to her pictures!! good for her!! That is what makes her so much fun to be around.

 The GIRLS!

 Just proving Liam was there! He wouldn't hold still long enough for a picture. (sounds about right)

 Last shopping trip for school clothes... Thank goooooodnessss we did cause Ithaca has got NOTHING..(no offense) but Cincinnati had amazing shopping for AMAZING prices. Loved that part for sure.

 Playing in the rain.....  USING THE UMBRELLA WE BOUGHT !! YES YES YES!

 The pictures aren't great but it was so so fun to watch them running through the water and having fun.This was Liams first time running through puddles and not being told to -STAY OUT- so he had the most fun!

 

So this is some of our last week in Ohio, our Journey to our NEW HOME .... TO COME!