Random Family Doings

Our family has been enjoying time together this summer.  This week it is finally beginning to feel like summer.  Tonight, Ashlyn finished up her soccer season.  She went from helping the other team score to being an aggressive player and a fabulous goalie.  She loves soccer and is very competitive...we can't wait for fall soccer.  Aubrie gets to begin her soccer career in July...although, she seems too dainty to play, but we can change that :)  Aubrie is still doing gymnastics and doing so well.  She can do cartwheels around the soccer field when she gets older and mix the two together.

                  Ashlyn and her teammate ready to kick off!

The girls have spent time together coloring...sometimes on one sheet of paper and other times their own. We have had to get multiple crayon boxes since sharing is not one of their fortes.  This photo is of the girls coloring Great Grandpa Ron some pictures for his hospital room.  We hope he recovers quickly and can get back to enjoying his golfing.

               Look how serious Kadence is about her coloring :)

The weather went from fall to summer here pretty quick.  Tomorrow we may even reach near 100.   The inflatable pools have been out and will be out many more times.  Ashlyn and Aubrie love to splash and they think it is funny when they get Mommy and Daddy...we think otherwise.  Kadence will get in the pool, but prefers to stand in one spot, she is worried the grass floating in the pool will hurt her.  Sabrina, she prefers to play on the outside of the pool.  She will throw toys in and laugh, but so far she prefers the bathtub.

             Ashlyn and Aubrie enjoying some time in the sun.

Sabrina had her eye doctor appointment this morning.  Her lazy eye had gotten worse between January and May so we went in for another recheck.  It hasn't improved like we were hoping, but it didn't get any worse.  It still drifts off pretty far, but she still shows some control.  The doctor does not want to jump into surgery yet (thank goodness)...as long as she shows signs of control, he would rather wait and see if it corrects itself.  We still patch daily for an hour, but as her doctor says, patching is not a lifelong solution.  It is to help her brain gain control.  If the patches don't help after a while, then we will discuss options.  She is too young for eye exercises and prism glasses could help, but they would prefer only to give glasses to kids who also need it for her eye sight (which her eye sight is great).  So, we continue to wait...she has another re-check in 7 weeks.  We hope for either increased control of her eye, or at least remaining the same.  As long as it doesn't get any worse we still have hope it will fix itself.

Jim officially signed his contract today in district 196, so he is an official employee!!  I am still waiting for my paperwork to go through and then I will be next.  With our insurance changing, we are in the process of figuring out if all of our doctors are still covered.  I can't figure out these online provider lists...they are not easy to read.  It is way easier to have a book in my hand that I can open up and find my doctor/clinic within seconds.  We will figure it out!

That is all for now...thanks for following our family!

First Haircuts!

It was the time for Sabrina and Kadence to experience their first haircuts.  I wasn't too worried about Kadence, but she turned out to be the harder of the two.  Both girls watched Ashlyn get her hair cut...Kadence was already mad at this point because the hair dryers and noises around her.  After Ashlyn, we thought we should try Kadence first.  Kadence sat on Jim's lap and the tears came.  Try #1 was not successful.

We decided to give Kadence a break and Sabrina sat down with Mommy.  Sabrina was a little nervous and started to cry, but stopped soon after Danielle started to comb her hair.  Sabrina loves having her hair played with.  She was eating a snack and I don't think she chewed or swallowed until her haircut was finished.  She was very serious the whole time, but did great.

When Sabrina was finished, we tried #2 with Kadence.  This time Kadence sat on Mommy's lap.  She laid her head down, but didn't cry as hard.  Danielle went for the bangs first and Kadence did well...she stuck her lower lip out, but never cried.  Once she discovered she could see through her hair, she became brave and did great for the rest of the haircut.

Ashlyn was a great cheerleader for her sisters and in the end, both girls had adorable haircuts.  Kadence no longer sports a mullet and she has bangs so she can see now :)  Sabrina got her baby curls cut off, but still has enough curls to make us happy.  Her hair will grow and the curls will stay...we think.  The best part for girls came at the end...they each got a sucker (Kadence's first).

Welcome Summer!

Even though the weather hasn't been the best, we are enjoying summer.  It is nice to have this time together as a family.  The school year seems to fly by since we live day to day on a schedule.

So far this summer, the big girls attended Vacation Bible School at church.  They enjoyed "Pandamania" a ton.  Aubrie loved her first experience with the "big" kids, but every morning said she didn't want to go back.  We asked why not and she would say, "I had fun the other day."  I guess one day is good enough, but she made it through all four days like a pro.  The girls sang for church on Sunday and knew every song.  Lucky us, we have a CD to play in our car so we can hear their favorite songs over, and over, and over again.

With the little girls in daycare, we tried to spend fun time with just the big girls.  After a day of VBS, we surprised the big girls and took them bowling.  It was a ton of fun and Aubrie only dropped one ball.  Ashlyn needs help with her form, but it is her first summer bowling without the use of the ramp.  Our scores were not the best, but spending quality time with our girls is more important.

The weather has had its ups and downs, but we have had a day or two for the kids to spend outside.  It was fun to have time where the kids could play in the sprinkler, play with the water table, and play on the swing set all at once.  The big girls were excited to get their suits on and the little girls just wanted outside with their sisters.  I was excited to find out that there were swimsuits with SPF....with parents like us, our kids need all the help they can get.  The little girls will be sporting SPF swimsuits this year :)

  Sabrina decided to eat a little dirt while she was playing in the water.

                      Aubrie and Kadence in the sprinkler

                               Sabrina loving the slide

                    Everyone is having fun...even Daddy!

We have made a visit to the zoo...one of our favorite things to do in the summer.  The girls were able to see some animals up close and some were hiding.  Sabrina had to face her fear of monkeys since the rest of us enjoy the monkeys.  The girls were very well behaved!!  We even let the little girls out of the stroller...which is huge for us.  We like have 50% of our children contained in a stroller.  The girls stayed close and I think they liked the freedom...imagine that.

                                  Visiting the leopard

                I can't believe our girls weren't scared of the bear.

                                           The four girls!

                              They loved the coral reef tank!

Ashlyn is finishing up soccer next week and continuing with her piano lessons through the summer.  Ashlyn has two music camps this summer to also keep her busy.  Aubrie just started gymnastics again...she loves it and loves having us watch her.  Aubrie will also be beginning soccer in July...she is excited, although not really coordinated, should be fun to watch.  Sabrina and Kadence are two...enough said.  They are talking, even a sentence here and there.  They love getting in trouble and then blame their sister.  It is really hard to tell who is lying, so for now, they both get in trouble.  They are lucky they are cute.  They will both be getting their first haircuts tomorrow...we will see how that goes.

This is what happens at bed time...they take their pajamas off and empty their stuffed animal...then they hide...too bad their giggles give it away.

Alex's Lemonade Stand

Alex Scott was a young girl who lost her battle with Neuroblastoma in 2004 at the age of 8.  When her cancer started regrowing in 2000, she started holding a lemonade stand to help raise money for local hospitals.  Her legacy continues with the help of her parents the whole nation.  This weekend was the 7th Annual Alex's Lemonade Stand at the Mall of America.  We were lucky enough to be a part of it last year and this year was just as amazing.  Sabrina gets to hang out with Mommy and Daddy all day and watch dancing and singing.  We know the stand raised about $10,000 for childhood cancer research in hopes that one day children will not need to suffer.  Jim and I think it is important for Sabrina to grow up knowing about her cancer and how she can make a difference.  Who knows...maybe she will grow up and help find a cure, if it is not yet known.

It was amazing to see how many people stopped by to see what Alex's Lemonade Stand is all about.  There were amazing dancers from a local dance company and that drew quite a crowd as well.  My own students raised $1506.00 throughout the year to donate at this event.  It was a great feeling to hand over that check...thank you CMS choir students.

                           The crowd at Mall of America!!

Sabrina on the big screen...this photo was taken minutes after we were told she had cancer.

Lakeville South students in attendance...some were musical performers.

    Sabrina was even able to sneak a little nap in during the day.

A Summer for Changes!

Normally when summer begins, we look forward to spending time as a family and resting before a new school year begins.  We will continue on with this normal plan, but we know in the fall things will be different.  

First, Aubrie will be beginning preschool...hard to believe, but she is ready.  Her speech/language therapy has helped so much in the past year.  She is almost caught up to most kids her age.  It is amazing how much she has grown in the past year.  A year ago at the age of 3, she would only say 2...maybe 3 words in a row, now we can't get her to be quiet.  We could only understand 40% of what she was saying and now we understand 95%.

Next, Ashlyn...she finished 1st grade!!  It was a very successful year.  She learned how to read, tell time, count coins, and of course how to love Justin Bieber (blah!).  She has many friends to keep her busy over the summer.  Ashlyn was sad for school to end.  We asked her how her teacher liked her card and Ashlyn burst into tears, "Don't say her name (the teacher), I am going to miss her!"  She continued to cry for hours...she must be her mother's daughter.  Nana took her out to buy her some hanging earrings since she can now wear them, but we don't own any...that made her happy.  She will be happy about 2nd grade in a month or so :)

Sabrina and Kadence won't have too much to change.  They will continue on at their same daycare and play with their same friends.  They will just become more independent as the summer progresses.

Jim and I have new jobs that will begin next fall.  We both lost our jobs in Lakeville due to budget cuts and we were worried about the future.  Somehow life worked out and we both accepted new jobs in the past week...in the same district.  We are looking forward to beginning this new path of life.  We will be able to keep the same daycare, and most importantly, our home :)  Jim will be working at Eagan High School (with one of his good friends) and then he will travel to Dakota Hills Middle School for a class or  two.  He is excited to work with these new students.  I will be working between two buildings.  I will teach all the choirs at Black Hawk Middle School in Eagan and then travel to Eastview High School in Apple Valley.  I am excited to grow a middle school program and I get a chance to work with high school women...something I think I will really enjoy.  It is hard to be an Apple Valley grad and now working at the rival school...oooh.  I will continue to work for Weight Watchers through the summer and hopefully will be able to get some evening or weekend hours during the school year.

We are hoping the transitions go smooth, but for now, it is time to enjoy summer.  Vacation Bible School starts next week, soccer continues for Ashlyn and Aubrie begins gymnastics.  

ALEX'S LEMONADE STAND PLUG...this Sunday at Mall of America.  11-4, dance, music, silent auction, and of course lemonade with donation (1 penny or more).  The goal is to raise $20,000 so we need lots of people to attend.  Come for a minute, stay for an hour...whatever you have time for.  We will be there all day with Sabrina and the other girls will come for a visit around noon or so.

2 Year Cancer Free!!

June 4th marked 2 years since Sabrina's tumor was removed.  We knew the risks of surgery on our 3 1/2 month old, but knew if the tumor was totally removed, no treatments were going to needed.  I remember sitting in the PICU with her the morning of surgery.  We had one of the pastors from our church come and pray with us over Sabrina.  Surgery was then moved back an hour or two...we waited while Sabrina was sedated and resting.  Jim and I were able to go down the hall with her and then we kissed her and said our "see you laters".  We went to the PICU family area to wait for news...it was a 3 1/2 hour surgery.  I was able to nap in a chair, but was awaken when one of the oncologists came in to update us about half way through.  She said Sabrina was doing well, but they were being cautious.  Every time they touched her tumor, her blood pressure and heart rate would go nuts.  The tumor was a sponge and every time it was handled and squeeze, hormone were emitted making her body react.  She said she saw the tumor and it was the size of a women's fist...showing us her fist.   I remember seeing the surgeon walk into the room and we knew it was over...but was the whole tumor removed, we didn't know.  We went into the hallway and received the news that the tumor was out and he was sure he got it all...tests would confirm that later on.  She was still in the OR having her bone marrow taken for a biopsy, but would be back soon.  We were so excited, but couldn't wait to see her.  We waited anxiously until we saw the crew wheeling her bed in.  We let them get her situated and then sat beside her knowing she was cancer free.  Her blood pressure was great, her heart rate was stable and she had only a bandage on to cover her incision...plus a drainage tube and an epidural.  After that, she healed quickly and was home 5 days later.

On this 2 year anniversary, Jim, Sabrina and I were able to be a part of the 1st Annual Lemon Run in Edina.  We couldn't think of a better way...raising money to help those children still battling cancer...or yet to be diagnosed.  The Hollway family, along with a few Edina seniors, put on a fabulous event.  Molly Hollway is a senior at Edina High School and is also a Neuroblastoma survivor.  She is a great role model for all children.  We enjoyed running the 2.2 mile course and had Sabrina along for the ride.  It was a beautiful day...it couldn't have been better.  Jim had a couple students come and participate as well.  It is great to look around a park and see so much yellow...the color of Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.  We look forward to the lemonade stand next weekend.  Sabrina will grow up sharing this experience with everyone.

                              Molly, Sabrina and Megan

Crossing the finish line together...Sabrina wanted back in her stroller :)

Sabrina next to her sign....they were placed around the course in honor and memory of those children   who are fighting or have fought cancer.

What a fabulous day...we can't wait for next year's run!!!