Excursions, walking and more!

After the benefit my parents, grandma, and my Aunt Kathy all went to another rental house in Austin. We downsized to something smaller since it was just the 5 of us! It was a cute little house in South Austin. It was nice not to have to rush off anywhere. One night a big group of us got together and went to Shady Grove. It was a lovely night out with a fresh cool breeze in the air. We all sat outside and had a great evening together. We also ventured out and went to Barton Springs. It is a lovely place with big beautiful oak trees lots of grass to sit and a fabulous all natural spring fed pool. The water stays at 60 degrees all year long. Many people really like it that cold like my dad and Andy but it was way too cold for me! Us girls hung under the Oak’s. By Wednesday it was time to say goodbye to Kathy and Grandma. They were headed back to Boston and Canada. I was so happy they came and we were able to share some quality time together! 🙂

After we packed up the house and said our goodbyes my parents and I headed South to my grandparents. We are going to stay with me Papa and Gammy. I love going out to their ranch. It is beautiful filled with gorgeous oaks, a lake, cows, and plenty peacefulness. We always stay in the bunk house which I love. It is super cozy and quiet. I have been doing really well since the benefit and feeling good! 🙂 My parents bought me the Upsee Walker. You may not know what that is as it is quite new. A mom in Ireland invented it as her son had Cerebral Palsy and could not walk. So she invented a special walker. We tried it out for the first time at my grandparents. It was simply amazing. I was up and walking. There is a harness and a special type of shoe that connects to my mom’s shoe or whoever is walking with me like dad or Maria. It was the coolest thing ever! It is so different up here! I was holding my head up hihg and looking around at everything. I really liked it. It gave me such a feeling of empowerment and freedom. The dogs came right up to me! Am so grateful to this woman. How could I ever repay her for allowing me to feel like this, I am happy kid today and I cant wait to keep on walking!!!! I was pretty proud of myself for not being afraid and not once crying!!!

On Saturday, we went for a day trip and headed to San Antonio to go to Morgan’s Wonderland. We met Maria Jose and my other grandparents at my great great grandma’s place. MJ had been visiting family in South Carolina and had just arrived back to Texas the night before. She stayed with Granny and Paw Paw Brown and they took her to my grandma’s. It was great to see grandma as well! We make a special effort every to go and visit her. She is 96 years old and loves me to pieces. 🙂

We finally got on the road by 11. We were meeting Daphni and my friend Connor at the park at 1pm. We would have made it on time minus my poop explosion that made us pull over and get changed in the back of the car! I like to keep everyone on their toes! ha ha! You may recall I went to Morgan’s park last year. This year I am stronger, more aware and ready for the rides! The first ride we went on was the merry go around! This year I was able to sit on the zebra all by myself. Well I did have a little bit of help!! What a great feeling! I had the wind in my hair, the music in my ears, and the sensation of going up and down and round and round all by myself!! I am really doing this and you know what I am smiling! I am a kid just like any other. I have no boundaries today. Our next ride was the Off Road adventure 4×4 jeep trip!! MJ let me sit in her lap and drive the car!! I had my hands on the wheel and we were off on our adventure!! It was much fun!

The fun did not stop there! Oh no, MJ was determined to go down the slide with me! My mom was a wee bit nervous about this but she trusts Maria Jose. My dad pushed me up to the top of the slide while MJ got settled then she put me on her lap and held on tight to me and down we slid. Mom was videoing you can hear her squeal when we came down!! After that the swings, first time ever I was swinging by myself. I so much enjoyed swinging… My parents are talking about getting one for my backyard in Costa Rica! It would be awesome! Nothing like swinging through the air! We then took a break and went for a train ride. Connor is doing really well. We had fun together in the sensory room. We were sitting next to each other watching the butterflies and he reacehd out for me! He is really sweet. We then went to the fishing pond and just hung out there for awhile. It was really nice, a beautiful day and fun was had by all!!! The afternoon was ending and so it was time to head back to my grandparents. I love the man who built Morgan’s. He had a special daughter too..His park allows me to be a kid just like all the other boys and girls and I am grateful to him for that.

We headed back to my grandparents and had a lovely dinner with them and the enjoyed the weekend riding around in the cart and checking out the scenery at the ranch…. It was super windy but it was fun.

On Monday we went to my other set of grandparents, Granny and Paw Paw and hung out with them for the week. I went walking again this time with my dad and Maria. I am really liking this walking around!!! It was a great week. Only a few more days till the big wedding. I am getting excited. What a great trip this has been so far.
Love to all
malia

Leave a Reply