Liam @ work.... & the Apartment!

 So not ONLY is he working his boots (which he loves) but he decided to jump in on Korys workout too!!

 1st- Stretch

 2nd- Pose

 3rd- WORK IT OUT!

 4th- Pose AGAIN!!

He learned to work out from his DAD :)

~ THE APARTMENT ~

I so wish I would have taken before pictures, it was a lot of work to try to make the small spaces organized and HOMEY! I have been very blessed to live in very NICE PLACES ALL my life, and this apartment (like a lot of Ithaca) is VERY old, so it took some imagination to see exactly how to turn it into our new home. But it is OUR HOME (for now), and I have loved the challenge of the decorating but even more the closeness and Spirit we have HERE!

-Dining Area-

 

 -Kitchen-

 -  My Room -

 -Liam's Room-

along the other wall is his hoop and kitchen!

His room is the keeper of ALL TOYS

 -Living Room-

The much needed couch... we fought over the glider for 3 Months... and finding a couch in Ithaca was tricky! But not as TRICKY AS GETTING IT IN THE APARTMENT! The reason we liked it was because it was TALL & DEEP which makes it hard to fit through a standard door @ the top of a flight of stairs... we are just glad it is here! (and it came with super cute pillows, I kept asking Kory to make sure they got our PILLOWS:) I think he was annoyed, but it makes a huge difference)

Also found the coffee table, the white bowl and a shelf for our shoes outside our door ALL @ a Garage Sale for.........$5 DOLLARS!

 -Kory's Desk-

He's going to need some where to STUDY!!

 -Girl's Room-

This was a CHALLENGE... Maddilyn's bed is on cinder blocks to store the toys underneath in totes! My mom got the girls these SUPER CUTE bed spreads when we were in Ohio, so we have been excited to see them on the beds, and they add lots of color and excitement! The girls LOVE THEM!!

 Took off the closet door and still working out the closet organizing! Kory hung up the super cute collage of picture frames now I am going to fill them with pictures of all their favorite people!!

 -Living Room wall I tried to decorate-

 Just thought I would put these pictures up so when I talking on the phone and dodging the shoes and running down our HALL WAY you all might know what I am talking about!

This is our home for now & we are enjoying it!

We love the memories we are making and the people we are meeting, but we miss the Family & Friends we are not with, hugs and kisses!

Stewart Park

We love Stewart Park!! And so does Kael... if you couldn't tell!! This Park shares a walk way with the Lake I drive by every time I go to town... and that lake is called Cayuga Lake. 

  NEW TOYS always = FUN! These horses could really get going fast!

 When little brother was on we went slower and made HORSEY NOISES!

 Maddi and Kael wanted to go fast... but I was sure they were going to fall off!

 Here is the lake and up that hill is the Interstate 13 we take to get EVERYWHERE! So Maddilyn is always ready (and willing) to take pictures but she is getting a little impatient waiting the others to look @ the camera!! 

 The lake streams into a few small ponds.

 It always makes for a fun outing to find something NEW and out doors!Look careful and you can see Kory and the kids on one of the bridges!

 This bridge was wide and huge... The railing was taller than Maddi and super wide, the kids loved running on it!

 A nice dinosaur that let us pose for a picture!

 Liam is getting so big, talking more and getting braver than ever

 

 ** WE GOT A PACKAGE **

 I already sent out a thank you letter but thought you would want to see these pictures they are priceless! I know that those who have lived away from family know what I am talking about, there is nothing better than receiving MAIL... 

THANK YOU FOR BRIGHTENING THAT DAY,

THANK YOU FOR THINKING OF US,

WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!

 

 The girls have had a hard time sleeping in their own beds @ night so that means MOM & DAD get NO SLEEP, ask Maddi when mom is happier, she knows I need my sleep! So these little angels sent us solution to our problem! THANK YOU!

 Liam has no problem sleeping.... he just wakes up EARLY... so if I get LITTLE sleep and he wakes up early I am not at the top of my game when it comes to patients so its a work under construction, and its heading in the right direction!

So the apartment isn't done but IS IT EVER REALLY DONE?  It just keeps getting dirty so I will post some Pictures so you can all see!! 

MADDILYN STARTS SCHOOL ON WEDNESDAY! 

(so excited)

~ 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!!