The Buddy Walk 2010

Maggie in her pink tutu

Smile!

Taya, Chloe, Gavin & Maggie

5,000 people

Tracy and I (Love you friend!)

The hubs and I

You want us to walk how far?

Molly's team

Tracy orchestrating it all

Miss Molly

Tracy enjoying the walk with her friend and her sister

Me and my ladies

Corey and Molly on the home stretch

All decorated for the party!

Wow! Is this one for me?

Molly was so excited to get "Signing Time" videos

The girls enjoying their cupcakes

Today we had the privilege of walking at the Buddy Walk at Como Park in St. Paul to raise money for the MN Down Syndrome Association! We "Marched for Molly"--that little sweetheart. We met Tracy and Mike and many of their friends and family for the walk. The weather couldn't have been better! It was a sunny 66. Not too hot, not too cold. I am always in awe and a little humbled to be able to do something like this for Molly and to raise money for such a worthy cause.

The kids got to jump on inflatables. Taya and Chloe took turns inside a giant ball. We went on a beautiful walk around Como Lake and then went back to our "camp" for lunch and to celebrate Maggie and Molly's 4th birthday. There were cupcakes, balloons, and presents galore. Maggie was so excited over her Princess dolls and bell for her new bike and you should have seen Molly go gaga over her new "Signing Time" videos. It was the cutest thing I had ever seen! What a great day!

I had so many cute pictures from the day, I could hardly choose. So sorry, but I went a little overboard!

Golden Birthdays

Friday, Corey and I went to the Cities to celebrate Heather's birthday. We got together with a bunch of Corey's friends from work and painted the town red. We had dinner and played bean bags at this little place down by the Mississippi River. It was a little on the cool side, but we managed to get a few games in. (I think at one point I could see my breath! Eek!)

Although I won't mention her age, it was an extra special birthday because it will be Heather's Golden Birthday on Wednesday!! (Okay I might be a little slow, but I guess you can figure out how old she is by knowing what day her golden birthday is on! Oh well. Sorry Heather!) It was a blast you guys!! It will also be Tasha's Golden Birthday on Sunday! Happy Birthday Tasha! And thanks to Lisa and Jay for letting us crash at your house!

Thanks so much to Tracy for taking Taya and Chloe for the night!! I guess Gavin was referring to Chloe as his girlfriend to all his friends and neighbors and this made Chloe "all smiles". Tracy brought the girls to a family fun night at school and they jumped on inflatables, had their faces painted, and won all kinds of cool prizes. Tracy said neither Taya nor Chloe hardly said boo the whole time they were at her house. Sometimes I wish they were that quiet at home.

Sunday, September 12, 2010

Happy 10th Birthday Taya!!

My grown-up little girl!

Getting decorated for the party

Taya and I

My sister and I and all of our aunts.

My family at Taya's party.

Everyone getting ready to eat lunch.

Taya having fun opening her presents!


Taya excited about her new boots!

Look at this cake. How cool is that?!

Taya with her sister, two cousins, and one of her friends.

Blowing out her candles

Today is my baby girl's 10th birthday! It is hard to believe I'm old enough to have a kid in double digits. (Well, I guess I am old enough, but I don't feel like I should be!)

We celebrated her birthday with a party yesterday. We had about 20 people over. It was beautiful so Corey grilled hamburgers and brats. Taya wanted a Twilight themed pary so we had black and red balloons and paper plates with Edward, Bella & Jacob. The best part was her cake. It had black frosting, a picture of Edward and said: "Turning 10 Bites.. The Taya Saga". I LOVE IT!!! So cute! It was a really nice day of visiting with family and friends and Taya had a blast playing with her cousins.

Taya got clothes and boots, games for her Nintendo, a Littlest Pet Shop house, fingernail polish, an iTunes card, and money to go shopping with. Today, on her actual birthday, we went out to eat and went to the mall so she could spend her money.

Taya is really getting grown up and more and more independent every day. She is my girly girl. She enjoys getting clothes and earrings and makeup. She is kind and sweet and overly dramatic. She has beautiful eyes and freckles that I love! She is a sweetheart! Happy birthday Taya! We love you!!!

Friday, September 10, 2010

Words can never hurt me

Remember the old saying?

"Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never hurt me."

Well, what if those words are


Cancer

Stage 4 kidney disease

Transplant

Cryotherapy

Dialysis


I'm a nurse. I know what these words mean. By themselves, they're just words.
Now, imagine these words are used to describe your loved ones.

Words can hurt. Words are scary.

Even though I grew up as a pastor's daughter, I wouldn't describe myself as overly religious. However, I do believe in the power of positive thinking. So, please send some positive thoughts and prayers this way for my dad and my husband.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

The first day of school!!

I love to go school shopping.
(Maybe that's why I keep going back to school?)

It is so exciting to...

buy new pencils,
pick out cool new folders with cute little kittens on them,
decide which color tablets you want,
try on new clothes and
agonize over which new outfit to wear on the first day.

It is so scary to...

walk into your classroom on the first day and worry you won't have any friends,
wonder if the homework will be too hard,
be embarrassed by your mom on the first day,
see who your desk is next to and
have to get up at 6:30 am five days a week.

It was Taya's first day of 5th grade at Mississippi Heights Elementary School today. She was so excited to start! She has a great group of friends, so no matter which class she is in, she knows someone. Her teacher this year has been her piano teacher for the last four years so she knows and likes her very much. She knew what clothes she wanted to wear to school and how she wanted her hair. She is getting very independent.

It was Chloe's first day of 1st grade! This year will be the first time that Chloe goes to school all day, every day. That will be a big change for her. Chloe was a little more worried about knowing her classmates. She did know one girl in first grade that was in her kindergarten class so she felt a little better about that. Chloe's teacher was a newly hired teacher so she hadn't met her before. A little more nerve-wracking for both Chloe and I for her first day. However, Chloe's not too young to be a little embarrassed by her mom. I hung around to meet Chloe's teacher and talk to her about where Chloe needed to go after school and when I kissed Chloe on the forehead to tell her goodbye, I got the eye roll and a look that said, "Mom, please leave! You're embarrassing me!" I didn't think you were supposed to be embarrassed by your mom yet in 1st grade! Geez!

Grandpa got to go with and see the girls off on their first day too.

Have a great day girls!!!

Friday, September 3, 2010

Wish upon a star

So, we're driving back from Donnelly after picking Corey's mom up for the weekend. I'm sitting in between the girls in the back seat. Chloe looks out the window and says, "Mom, I see a star." So I tell her, Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight, I wish I may, I wish I might, have this wish I wish tonight.

"Chloe", I ask. "What do you wish for?"

Chloe responds, "I wish grandma was alive. I miss her."

I gave Chloe a hug and told her, "I do too, baby!"

The Great Minnesota Get Together!!

Wednesday, Tracy and I took the kiddos to the MN State Fair. It took a lot of effort to make the day happen (Tracy had to look high and low to find someone to watch Molly for the day because her daycare was closed and for me, it was in between a really bad stretch at work), but in the end it was SO worth it!

We ate, and we ate, and we ate. Pizza on a stick, mini donuts, footlong corndogs, gyros, grilled corn-on-the-cob, ice cream sandwiches, cheese curds, cotton candy, and SWEET MARTHA's cookies. It's amazing we could continue to walk around after all the food we consumed. DELICIOUS!!

We went to the pig barn and saw the largest boar in MN. 1,450 pounds. So, the next time you're feeling fat, think of that poor pig! We spent some time in the cow barn and the girls got to learn where milk comes from, see cows being milked and pet some calfs. We stopped by the Miracle of Birth building and the girls got to pet baby chicks and baby lambs. There was a cow there waiting to give birth, but, unfortunatly, we missed the main event. Imagine if you had to sit there and have hundreds of people watch you giving birth?!

We paid $3.00 to see an 8-foot alligator named "Al", several huge albino pythons, and an alligator-snapping turle named "Ed". Then, we went to a kids farmyard exhibit where the kids got to pretend to work on the farm. They put on aprons, gathered corn to feed the animals, planted seeds, gathered eggs, fed the chickens, brought their produce to the farmer's market, and used the money they earned to buy a treat in the General Store.

Then there was the giant slide and rides, rides, rides.

The weather was absolutely gorgeous! It was a long, but very fun day!!

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