A New Year Begins

In our family, the "new year" begins at the end of August.  Jim and I head back to school, girls go back to daycare, and Ashlyn prepares for her new adventures, this year is 2nd grade.  The little girls are adjusting to daycare, it helps that they have been going a couple days a week throughout the summer.  Aubrie is looking forward to meeting her preschool teacher on September 6.  She bought her backpack and is ready to go off into "big girl" world.  Ashlyn meets her teacher on Wednesday...she is beyond excited.  Ashlyn realizes that school is fun because you can learn things, but also because you get to be with all your friends :)  JIm and I are settling into our new schools...4 of them between the two of us.  Our schedules will be really hectic, but hopefully next year things will settle down and fall into place.

Before school begins, Jim and I were able to make it to the State Fair.  Ashlyn went to the Fair with Nana...what a fun day they had.  Their goal is to make it on as many TV shows (the News mainly) as possible.  This weekend Uncle Jeff and Heather will be in town for a quick visit, we will celebrate Grandma's birthday, and hopefully we can spend some quality family time together before life gets busy.

Eyes, Thighs and Obama...oh, my!

First, I was able to meet and listen to President Obama when he came to Cannon Falls on Monday.   I didn't know what to expect, but what a fantastic experience.  He was about 9 feet away from me the whole time and at the end I was able to shake his hand and share 3 seconds of words.  It may be the only time in my life I get to hear a President speak in person especially in such a small group.

Now on to "eyes".  Sabrina had a follow up eye appointment this week.   She has been monitored since last November for intermittent exotropia..."lazy eye".  Her eyes tend to float to the outsides of her face...her right eye a little more.  Between January and April her eyes had gotten worse.  She started going in monthly and after 3-4 more appointments with no improvement (after patching) the decision has been made to undergo surgery.  Her ophthalmologist will move one of her muscles from the front of the eye to the back...this will help her eye remain straight.  He is positive this will help and that she is a great candidate for this procedure.  Right now it is scheduled for Oct. 19.  Jim and I have school off for 4 days following her procedure so it is great timing for us.

Last is "thighs".  Ashlyn was born with a small black growth on her knee.  We were told it was a hemangioma and at 8 weeks old a biopsy was performed.  It came back completely normal and it was some growth dealing with her arteries and veins.  As she has gotten older, a spot has appeared on her left thigh.  We also assumed this was a hemangioma, except it would come and go for no reason.  This summer it came and never went away.  It seems to grow with her and this year it bubbled up and started turning black.  We were referred to a specialist at Gillette Children's Hospital and he said it was not a hemangioma, but another vascular malformation.  There are a large number of veins under her skin (visible) and he said as she grows, those veins will rise to the surface...possibly covering her whole upper leg by adulthood.  Our best bet was to do a laser procedure which would reduce the amount of veins coming up to the skin.  Ashlyn had her first procedure this week and it went great.  They gave her oral anesthetic to make her sleep during the 2 minute procedure.  They needed her to remain still.  She made all the nurses laugh and handled it like a pro.  For now, we put cream on it to keep it clean and healthy.  We already notice a difference and have been told that one procedure should be enough for now.  If it begins to grow again, then we will have her in again.  This will more than likely follow her for life and the laser is not a cure, but something to help diminish the growth.

 Ashlyn before the procedure...with a blanket made by volunteers.  Each child gets to keep the blanket in their room.  Ashlyn got one when she had her foot surgery at Age 3...she liked this one way more.

 This was her vascular malformation before surgery...not too bad at this time.  The doctor came and marked the purple dots so they knew where to laser.

 Ashlyn's leg after the procedure...a little red and swollen, but that has since gone down.  You can still see it, but more subdued.

Two thumbs up from Ashlyn after her procedure.  She was very cute waking up from her sleepy gas :)  She kept saying "I'm dizzy".

Next for our family is school.  Jim and I both start on Monday and then we have 2 weeks of workshops. Ashlyn will start second grade and Aubrie will begin preschool.  I can't believe we will have two kids in school.  Sabrina and Kadence will go back to daycare full time, which I think they are excited for.

Where to begin??

So much has happened in our lives since the last post.  We had a great visit with Great Grandma Cox, Great Aunt Corey and Connie.  The girls really showed them their personalities.  It was sad to see them leave, but the girls had a great time.

Sabrina was able to participate in another Relay for Life event in Farmington.  Ashlyn and Mommy took her and watched her be recognized as a 2 year survivor and once again she walked the survivor lap.  We hope to be more involved in the future.

We also had the chance to spend some time with some college friends and their families.  The Potvin, O'Connor and Cox families have 7 kids, 1 on the way (not our family) and 4 of those kids are 2.  It was a lot of fun to see everyone and all the kids had a great time together.  We are still trying to hook Sabrina up with Cole (the O'Connor's son).

Jim and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary on July 27.  We were able to go out on an actual date...with NO kids.  We thought that was only in our dreams.  That weekend we went down to Decorah, IA for Nordic Fest.  The kids did great with the car ride and had a blast.  We watched the parade...in the extreme heat (thank you shade), ate at the Pizza Ranch, visited the Whippy Dip, went to Dunning Springs, and walked around town eating lots of Scandinavian foods.  The kids did amazing considering how warm it was.  We can't wait for next year.

Jim and I went down to St. Olaf the next week for a few days of Music teacher fun.  We attended Dialogue, which is a time for vocal music teachers from across the state to gather and discuss anything relevant to our subject.  We also got to hear the All State choirs rehearse...what a sound they all make.  Jim and I were lucky enough to stay downtown Northfield one night at a fabulous little historical hotel...thanks to a babysitting grandparent.

The following week we took our first "official" family vacation.  We left for Wisconsin on Tuesday morning.  We stopped in Wisconsin Dells for one night.  We stayed at a hotel with a fabulous water park.  Ashlyn was a dare devil and went on most of the water slides...she was excited to be tall enough for ALL of them.  Daddy was the brave parent to play on the slides with her.  Mommy stayed with the little girls in the kiddie areas.  The girls all enjoyed the wave pool and the shooting water...they even laughed when Mommy got water dumped on her head...it would have been nice to have a sign poster saying "beware of falling water".  This hotel had family story time at 8 pm...a great way to begin winding down for the evening.  We then left the next morning for Germantown, WI to visit our good friends, the Ouimette family.  They were very nice and let us spend the night for a couple nights.  The kids (all 7 of them) enjoyed jumping on the trampoline, playing on the playset, and of course, spending time together.  We went to Port Washington on Thursday and the kids were able to swim in Lake Michigan...their first time to a "real" beach.  We all enjoyed the sun, water and sand.  Ashlyn loved playing in the small waves and the little girls loved playing in the sand.  We went back to Germantown and enjoyed some s'mores and then baths.  On Friday, we made a quick visit to the Milwaukee Zoo.  Our girls were so excited to see so many monkeys/apes, elephants, giraffe, hippo, penguins and plenty more.  We then headed south for a quick lunch at Culvers with Aunt Sarah and cousins, Mackenzie and Billy.  It was great to see them and it was super nice that they were willing to come up and meet with us from Illinois.  We started home after lunch and stopped in the Dells again...this time for shopping :)  After that we made it as far as LaCrosse before stopping for the night.  That gave us another night in a hotel and then a shorter 2 hour drive in the morning.  We all had a great time and we think we can attempt another vacation in the future.

The Ouimette/Cox kids...Sabrina, Ashlyn, Anya, Olivia, Soren, Aubrie and Kadence

This week will be busy, but it will also be the last week of summer...everyone is back at daycare starting the 22nd.  Jim and I begin teacher workshops that week...here we go again.  Tomorrow I get to hear President Obama speak in Cannon Falls.  Scott had a ticket (since he is a cop in that town) and he asked if I would want to go.  Jim could have gone instead, but he loves me enough to let me have this opportunity.  I look forward to hearing what he has to say and to see this moment in history.

Relay for Life

 We had the amazing opportunity to be a part of this year's Relay for Life event in Lakeville.  We were asked to speak at the event and we were excited, but also a little nervous.  Sabrina was named the Honorary Chair and sported a purple Survivor shirt, as well as a purple crown and princess wand given to her from the committee.  

Doves were released during the opening ceremonies and people were able to donate money for each dove released.  It was very moving and Sabrina was in awe with all the doves flying.  As the Honorary Chair, Sabrina (with help from Mommy and Daddy) had the honor of releasing the first dove.  Jim held it and Sabrina pet it then they let it go.  Here is a video of the dove release...

After the dove release came our speech.  Jim and I had notecards, but we tried hard not to use them...I flubbed a few times and got a little emotional (a little embarrassing), Jim did well at sticking to our "script" and even added in a few things.  Here is a video of our speech (about 6 minutes)...we are missing the first 15 seconds or so.

OKAY...so no video yet...I am having a problem uploading it.  Once I figure it out I will add it :)  SORRY.

After our speech it was time for the Survivor Lap.  It is amazing how many lives are affected by cancer.  Sabrina belongs to a group of amazing individuals who have all heard the words "you have cancer".  As Honorary Chair, Sabrina pulled the ribbon starting the lap.  She needed a little help, but thought it was fun to play with ribbon.  The video clip is very quick.

                                          

Sabrina made it the whole way around the track...walking/hopping...she had fun with it.  The last little bit, Jim and I let go of her hands and let her go.  She sprinted the last little bit.  We were worried that she would trip since her shoes were a little big.  She was adorable and waved at family members cheering her from the sidelines.

It was an amazing event and such a great honor for Sabrina.  We can't wait for next year...we hope to have a team that will walk all evening.  Such a great message too...HOPE!

Sabrina's Scans

Sabrina spent the morning at the hospital for her routine scans, blood and urine work.  You can read more specifics on her caring bridge site (the link is on the right side of this website). She did very well.  She did not care for the IV, but who really does.  It is hard to hear her cry, especially now that she can say "owie, owie, owie".  After a few tries we were able to get a urine sample...she likes to make us work for that one.  Here are a couple photos from todays journey.

 Showing off her "bracelet"..this is the first time she let them place it on her wrist.  We normally have to place it on her ankle and cover it with her sock.

 Right after she got her IV...she was not a happy camper.  She cried until they sedated her.

            Waiting for her to wake from her sedation...so peaceful.

 Enjoying the warm blankets, some juice, goldfish, and of course a little Elmo on the TV.

People make and donate hats for the cancer patients...Sabrina was allowed to pick one out today...here was her pick!

Landscaping Project

When we first moved into our home (October of 2005), the previous owners had spent money landscaping the whole yard, with help from Bachman's.  It looked very nice.  We had privacy bushes along the backyard and very nice bushes, plants and trees in the front.  With only one child (at the time) we were able to keep it up, but as time continued and three more children joined our family, our time spent outside decreased.  We first got rid of the privacy bushes and put up a fence.  The kids needed as much space to play as possible...our back yard is small enough.  This summer, we decided to redo the front yard to look clean and simple.  This is our journey...

 The first step was to cut the trees, bushes, and plants down and then pull them out from the roots.

 It was quite a job and made quite a mess.  I think our neighbors thought we were insane.  The girls were interested in helping, but we tried to give them jobs inside the house :)  We, of course, chose 90 degree days with high humidity...a lot of sweating went on.

 It started to look better as the last sticks were picked up and the liner and wood chips were ripped up and thrown away.

 Once we raked the dirt smooth, we could finally start thinking about making it our own.

 We were able to lay some bullet head brick down for edging and we got the black weed liner down as well....of course, we were 2 bricks short.

 The rock was delivered and we filled it in.  We have a bench from our backyard that we are using, but it still needs a face lift.  We got four ceramic pots to plant flowers in each year.  4 girls...4 pots...they each get their own and can choose what flowers they want.  Ashlyn helped pick out the pots, she is quite proud of that.

 All the girls picked at least one purple plant...then Kadence and Aubrie added pink, Ashlyn added pink and red, and Sabrina picked yellow.  They helped plant them and water them...now we wait for them to grow.

                  We did add a little personal touch :)

We are very happy with the outcome...it really was worth the sweat.  We still have some hostas to plant under the remaining tree and the bench needs to be repainted.  Those can be completed at any time...before schools starts is out goal.

4th of July

What a great 4th of July.  The weather was hot, but beautiful.  We went to the Apple Valley parade...the same parade I have gone to since I was a kid.  Thank goodness we had a canopy to sit under...the sun was very hot.  The girls were all in their red, white and blue and looked darn cute.  They ate McDonalds while waiting for the parade to start and loved when the planes flew overhead...time for the parade to start.  The older girls liked dancing to music in the parade, but neither of them cared for the fire truck horns and sirens.    The little girls liked seeing characters they knew like Snoopy, Ronald McDonald, and the puppet Nemo in the puppet wagon.  Sabrina just relaxed in her chair the whole time, totally content holding a water bottle in her hand.  Kadence liked to be up and moving, but did well.  The big girls wanted candy...and more candy.

After resting at home for a bit after the parade, we went to Nana and Grandpa's house for dinner and some water fun.  The girls had fun jumping in a sprinkler and sliding down the slip 'n slide.  Sabrina doesn't care much for the water toys, but likes to be around the fun.  Here are some photos of our fun day...

                                         A family photo!

                                   A crash about to happen...

                            Ready for some fun in the sun

                                      A little loud for Aubrie

                 Next year we need another tent...we don't all fit.