Must you go Melissa?

I was so happy that my beautiful sister Michelle came to spend the afternoon with Madison and I on Wednesday. We went to the aquarium and had a blast, then ate to our hearts content at California Pizza Kitchen (so yummy!)!!! Bonus for me? Auntie Michelle took Madison home to Nana and Papa for a few days. That meant some quiet naps for me!

Melissa and I!

Melissa and Veronica!

I spent Wednesday evening with my excellent friends Melissa and Veronica...we went and had one last girls night out. Then Thursday and Friday morning I kept Melissa company while the movers packed up their house. You see...I had to say good-bye to a great friend this week. Melissa and family have packed up and moved on! I suppose I must learn to say farewell to friends I meet while living on base, but it is still hard. Melissa, thank you so much for your friendship! I have had the best time hanging out with you and Veronica and I love your kids! I will continue to follow your family blog, I hope to meet again in the future!

Melissa's house being packed up...sniff sniff!

Blain and I got to go on a couple dates...during the week! We went to the movies both Thursday and Friday night and just spent some quality time together! I met with my mom and pop Saturday morning to pick up Madison and the rest of the weekend was filled with naps and silly games with Daddy.

Good-bye to Luke...

This week, we said good-bye to Luke. There were many reasons why we decided to find him a new home, but in short...Arabic, a toddler, a soon to be newborn and a dog all put together was not a good mix for our family. We knew he wasn't getting the attention he deserved from us and his digging was a mood buster! But we found him a great home with a young couple and an Alaskan Husky and they tell me that he is doing very well and they love having him! We wish Luke the best! Because Luke is gone...we have our backyard back! Had no idea how much we missed having it! Madison is out there everyday riding her bike and having snack and blowing bubbles! We have laid down the seed to grow the grass back and are planning on planting a new flower bed! It's all very exciting for us!

I went to the doctor on Thursday and again, everything is looking good! Heartbeat was 143 and I even lost a pound since my last appointment! I go again next week and then every week until it's time! I can't believe we are 6 weeks away from meeting our new baby! Blain is enjoying both his teachers and classmates in his new class. This week is full of testing so please keep him in your prayers. On Friday, Madison and I went to the aquarium with some friends and had a great time. We've been going there alot lately, but it's a great way to get out of the house and let Madison run around and play. She even made a new friend...Preston! We hope to see more of him! On Saturday, I went to a baby shower for my dear friend Kim. She is due the second week of September and she is looking great! We had some yummy food, played some fun games and just enjoyed being with friends. The rest of the weekend was low-key, we just hung out in the backyard and enjoyed the weather!

Done babysitting!

This past Wednesday was my last day of babysitting! It feels so good to be done and I am already so much more relaxed! Not only did I finish babysitting this week...Blain was on class break and was home ALL WEEK! What a treat! I enjoyed having him home and Madison was thrilled. She woke up every morning saying "Daddy home, Daddy sleeping" and when he came downstairs, she was right there giving him a hug and kiss! On Tuesday afternoon, Blain took her on an outting to Home Depot. They were gone for an hour and 1/2! I got to sleep and when she got home, she told me she saw balloons, vaccuums and boys. Thursday morning she got to go with Daddy to work and Blain said she was on her best behavior! They also went to the store together that afternoon and I of course enjoyed the quiet each time they left!
The pond where we had lunch and fed the geese! (above)

Our excellent lunch! (below)

Friday afternoon was alot of fun. We decided to go to the pond in Monterey, so we packed a picnic lunch, found a perfect spot and had lunch together. Then we went to the other side and fed the geese. Afterward we walked over to McDonalds and had a sundae! When we got back, Madison and I both took a long nap! Saturday morning we were up and out of the house early. We stopped by Blain's work, then went over to the aquarium for an hour or so and let Madison play in the Splash Zone. Today is Father's Day and Madison and I made Blain breakfast in bed! Pancakes and eggs! She gave him a gift and card and left him with a kiss. Our plan today is to just relax and hang out! Madison enjoying her lunch! (above)

Blain and Madison right before we went to feed the geese! (below)

We are going to miss Blain when he goes back to school, this week has been so wonderful!

Great weekend!

We had a great week and an amazing weekend! Madison spent Wednesday afternoon with her best friend Julia while I went to the doctor and ran some errands. I needed a couple hours to myself and Madison hadn't seen Julia in a while. They had a tea party, read books, painted their nails and ate pancakes with sprinkles! The doctor said everything looked good, baby's heartbeat was 139 and it was completely stretched out! It is head down and moving constantly! I have another appointment next week and an ultrasound in about 3 weeks.

Madison went and spent the weekend with her Nana and Papa...I heard they had a super fun time. Friday night, Blain and I went out to dinner with our friends Megan and Chris. While there, we ran into another couple, Paul and Ashley, and so we got to visit with them too! Ashley is due with their first baby, a boy, a week before me! Then we rented a couple movies and had ice cream! Saturday was a beautiful day in Monterey. We got up and decided to catch a matinee at the movie theater. Afterwards we had lunch at California Pizza Kitchen...so good! When we got home, I went up to bed and took a nap while Blain played video games...I got almost 3 hours of sleep! We watched another movie, had some dinner and spent some much needed time cuddling! When Madison came home on Sunday, it was still so perfect out that after her nap Blain brought the big kite out and we went across the street to the soccer field and flew the kite for awhile. Madison had a blast and of course...I forgot my camera! It was a wonderful way to end such a fun week!

Madison figuring out she can crawl through the oven on her kitchen!

And she's through!

It's officially June!

I can't believe June is here. The months are just flying by! We had a typical week. We played, ate and slept! Madison and I had the mornings to ourselves because I didn't have to babysit until the afternoons. The weather was so perfect that we were able to go outside at 8:30 am and go on a walk. The highlight of our walks, we sat and observed gophers for a good 30 minutes! Madison was fascinated! They would pop out of the holes and eat some grass, stop and stare, then go back in. We even watched one dig out a bunch of dirt and cover up his hole! Very interesting!

Friday evening, we packed up our family and headed over to Patterson for the annual Apricot Fiesta! We have all been looking forward to it for months now! Friday night was the pageant and so we went down there and spent the evening talking with lots of old friends and enjoying the great weather. My mom took Madison home after about an hour, she was tired and needed to get to bed. Blain, his mom and I stayed and visited, then walked home. It was an early start the next morning...the hot air balloons made an appearance at 6 am! Then there was the float my dad was working on for the parade, complete with the need to test the sound system! It was an early morning!

10 am was the parade and it couldn't have gone better! Madison loved every SINGLE thing about it! She waved at all those who waved to her, she danced to all the different types of music playing, she was so excited to see the horses, dogs, cars, tanks, kids demonstrating cheerleading and karate, and of course her favorite part...seeing Papa walking in the parade playing his guitar! She was so well-behaved, we were very proud of her! After the parade, we went and had lunch, walked around a bit, met with more friends, tried the petting zoo (she wasn't too into that part!) and then went back for a nap!

Madison dancing to the music!

My daddy jammin' in the parade!

After her nap, Madison stayed home with my parents and Blain and I went to the fiesta with some good friends of ours, Jason and Nikki, and did some window shopping at the booths. We then went out to dinner at a Thai resturant. It was so wonderful to catch up with them, it's just a shame we don't get to see each other more often! When we got home, we also spent time visiting Margie (blain's mom) and two of her sisters. Then of course, Madison's second favorite part of the day...fireworks! Every boom that boomed she was clapping and shrieking and looking at Papa so excited! It was a great Saturday!

Madison, watching the fireworks.

Sunday was the Community church service. It went very well. The music was awesome and the message was pretty good. The school gym was filled with members of various churches, it is so great when everyone can get together and worship as one. After we had some lunch, it was back to Monterey for a quite evening complete with dinner, a movie and ice cream! It was such a great fiesta!