Christmas 2009

On Wednesday, December 23rd, I headed to my company lunch in WI Dells with the First Technologies crew and we had a very nice lunch. On my way home, I got a text from Mariah that Kaylee was puking. Great. She was sick for about 24 hours, she couldn't even keep water down. So, Mariah and I headed to Church on Christmas Eve and Justin and Kaylee stayed home. We visited for a couple hours with Grandma Nagel and then headed home. At 2am, the flu bug got to Mariah and she and Justin stayed home while Kaylee and I headed to the lake. Mariah was pretty sad to miss the big Christmas get-together. She was able to go to Grandma Nagel's on Saturday for our Christmas celebration and Sunday to my Mom's, for Christmas there. So, it was a tough couple of days here, but we were lucky that Justin and I didn't catch this bug!

Happy Holidays!

I have been working on finishing up wrapping gifts and getting organized for a busy weekend. Kaylee has come down with a flu bug- almost 24 hours of puking! She has been a trooper, but I hope she will feel better in time to celebrate Christmas tomorrow. She is sleeping now and I hope she feels much better when she wakes up.

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and health and happiness in 2010.

Almost Christmas...

We are in the midst of the "hustle and bustle" of the holiday season! I am scurrying around to find just the right gifts and have yet to wrap a single thing... I can't believe Christmas is in a week! Where has the time gone? Wasn't it just Thanksgiving?

I can't wait to spend time with our family and friends over the holidays... what a special time of year.

Update...

Mariah went to the ENT doctor today. He said that she does not need her tonsils out, but can if she wants to. He suggested that if she gets another infection, she should have them out. She thought that was a good plan. So, we will see how she does. Hopefully she won't have another infection!

Volleyball practice starts on Sunday night! The season begins... we will send out a schedule when we have it! Tournaments should start in January.

We are getting ready for Christmas- the tree is up and the house is decorated (inside). Mariah decided to put up her own tree in her room. She has our old tree in her room and it looks really nice! It is bigger than the one we have in the living room! She is really in the Christmas spirit this year... she had her Santa hat on and her red and white striped socks while she decorated her tree. She even got up at 4am on the day after Thanksgiving and shopped with me! It was fun... we got a lot accomplished... she picked out too many gifts for herself, though.

I haven't taken too many pics lately, but hope to get some new ones up soon...

Happy Thanksgiving!

We hope you all have a great Thanksgiving holiday...

Volleyball, Driver's Ed, & Report Cards

Mariah made it on the volleyball team! She will be playing for Southwest 16-2's. I can't believe she is that old!! I look forward to watching another fun season of volleyball...

Oh, and Mariah starts Driver's Ed on Monday- I really can't believe she is going to be driving!! She will be able to get her temps after Christmas...

The first quarter of the school year is officially over and the girls did AWESOME! Mariah is taking 3 Accelerated classes and an AP class and had a 4.1667 grade point average. We are so proud of her! Kaylee's report card was great, too! Her reading has advanced by leaps and bounds since 2nd grade...

Philadelphia

I took a trip to Philadelphia for a Breast Cancer Conference. It was great to see the sights and to learn about the advances in breast cancer research and treatment.

I went with a friend from my Young Survivor Group and we had a blast! We saw the Liberty Bell and Independance Hall. We treated ourselves to a really nice steak dinner, too!

What A Week!

Well, we just finished up a very busy week...

Mariah had a sore throat and earache on Monday, so I took her to Urgent Care. They prescribed ibuprophen and popsicles! 2 days later, she was still not feeling better, so I took her to her regular doctor who said that her left tonsil was infected again... she had this same type of infection last December. Her doctor prescribed an antibiotic and we will be going back to see him again on the 16th to see if the antibiotic worked. She is feeling better, so it should be fine. He is probably going to recommend that she see an Ear, Nose, and Throat doctor and possibly have that tonsil(s) removed. She is more than willing to do that so she doesn't get these sore throats anymore!

We finished up the week with Kaylee having a tooth pulled on Thursday. She was very brave- the dentist used Magic and the tooth appeared in the little pink treasure chest! The tooth was a baby tooth and had a cavity. The dentist felt it was better to pull it because it was probably going to be the next one she was going to lose anyway. She is doing great...

This week Justin will be leaving on Wednesday night to go up north for hunting...I have Kaylee's Parent/Teacher Conferences on Thursday night and I leave Friday morning for a Breast Cancer Conference in Philadelphia. It should be fun. I am excited to see Philadelphia! The girls will be staying with Grandma "with Lex" and I am sure they will have a fun weekend, too. I will be back on Sunday afternoon and Mariah has her volleyball tryouts Sunday night! I am already saying my prayers for tryouts... I think I get more stressed out than she does- at least she doesn't show that she is nervous!

We have enjoyed the great fall weather this weekend and hope it wasn't the last of the season!

Halloween 2009

We spent the Thursday and Friday before Halloween
nursing Kaylee's fever. I am thinking it probably was
Swine Flu, though I didn't take her in to get tested.
She seemed to recover pretty easily, so maybe it was

a different bug. We kept ourselves in the house to
avoid spreading it to others. I was glad she was well
enough to get out and trick or treat for a little while.

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It was a typical October day... 50 degrees and windy!
Kaylee was a purple fairy- so cute...

Next year we are going to go for a polar bear
costume- something furry!

We started out with just a sweatshirt,

but it was just too cold so we headed back home

to get some warmer gear!

All Bundled up!

This is the costume, without the coat, jacket, and gloves

Could he be any sweeter?? Our little bumble bee...


Check out the stinger!! So cute!

Fall Has Arrived!

I really wanted to get a family picture while the fall colors were still evident, so we ran out to Whitnall Park and found the perfect spot! I would have loved to take a few more, but my subjects were not quite as willing.

Komen Walk 2009

Family Picture...

Memorial Garden by the pink fountains

Check out Simon's shirt- so cute!


Our 2009 team...
Thank you all for your support!


What a beautiful morning for the Komen Walk!!
The sun was shining and the temperature was pretty

much perfect! The walk got started a little late,

but we had a great time!

Kaylee's First Concert - Sugarland

Kaylee and Sam sporting their Sugarland T's

***

I was very excited to take Kaylee to her first concert. She LOVES Sugarland so, I though they would be the perfect group for her to see for her first concert. The show was AWESOME!!! Wow! We were pretty high up, so our pictures aren't the greatest, but it was great to hear them in person. At the end of the concert, they climbed into a couple of big "bubbles" and rolled out on top of the audience. That was a fun way to end the night!

Lucy's Birthday -Apple Farm

Kaylee and I went to Lucy's Birthday party... it was our first trip to the Apple Farm! We rode on a school bus to Barthel Farms and the kids had a great time. It was a first for a lot of the little ones.

Simon Turns One!

Where has the time gone? I can't believe Simon is one already! He is such a great little guy... I LOVE spending my Thursdays with him... he definitely keeps me smiling! He is so sweet...

Labor Day Brewer Game

Kaylee is a member of the Brewers Kids Club this year and she was able to walk around the warning track at Miller Park on Labor Day. So, we tailgated and Justin and Kaylee walked around the track before the game. It was pretty cool! Kaylee and Justin even got to be up on the big screen!

The Prince & The Princess

Kaylee and I enjoying the game!

Prince Fielder- signing Kaylee's picture...

Yeah- we got it!!

"Princey" is Kaylee's favorite Brewer and we were lucky enough to get his autograph before the Brewer game! It was a lot of waiting and a lot of running to get a spot in line. He only signed for about 20 minutes, so everyone didn't get their autographs. Thanks to my friend Laura for giving me all the tips and tricks to be able to get this for Kaylee. Thanks to Uncle Bob, too, for letting me leave work early to get to Miller Park before the crowds!

Our Trip to Ohio with Amanda and Sam

Fun and Sun at Lake Erie!

Jumping the big waves!

This picture is so cool- one of my favorites!

Mariah's quote of the day, "I fed sticks to a duck"

Kaylee and Sam at the restaurant on Friday night

We left at 1:30am on Friday morning and made it to Ohio by 10am or so. Amanda's Grandma was very happy to see us! We had some dinner and stopped to play in the water at Lake Erie. The girls had fun in the water and Kaylee was soaked! We headed to Geneva On The Lake on Saturday and had burgers and hot dogs at Eddie's Grill. They have foot long hot dogs there, but we didn't get that adventurous! The girls found really cute necklaces at one of the gift shops there. There were so many cute ones, it was hard to pick! Then we were off to Lake Erie (a different beach this time) and spent most of the afternoon there. It was pretty breezy, but Sam and Kaylee had fun in the water. Then we headed back to the house to get packed up. We left at 9am and headed home. It was sad to say good-bye, but hopefully we can head back there again next year.

All Clear...

I had my 6 month follow-up with my Oncologist last Monday. My liver enzymes were a little high (only one above normal) and I went in for a PET scan and CT last Friday. Those came back normal. Yeah! No evidence of cancer...

The liver enzymes are stable, still hanging out at the same levels. Dr says not to worry, especially since the scans are normal... we will see when she wants me back for a re-check.

We are heading out...

The girls and I are heading to Ohio with Amanda and Sam tonight. Girl's Weekend! I hope to post some pictures from the trip when we get back... we will be back on Sunday evening.

July is Over...

I can't believe we are into August already... where has the summer gone?

We have had a busy couple of weeks... we had the Kuecker Family Reunion and enjoyed visiting with Grandpa Kuecker. We did some camping up at Tracy and Dave's camper again last weekend, too. It is very nice and relaxing up there!

We have had 2 new babies born in out family in the last week. Welcome Audrey Mae Heideman and Daniel Joseph Holmes! We can't wait to meet them!

We will be spending the next week or so getting ready for school. School supplies, some new clothes... all the fun stuff!

School starts on September 1st and it will be here before we know it!

Family Zoo Day 07-21-09

It was time for our 4th Annual Zoo Trip!
We had a great day- the weather couldn't have been better

and there were lots of smiling kids in our group...

So Cute!

Kaylee and Ella on the Camel Ride

Simon really loved the flamingos-
he was so excited- he was yelling!!

Ending the day with a train ride!

Camping at Tracy & Dave's...

We were very excited to take a trip up to Tracy and Dave's
camper in Rome, WI. They have a GREAT new camper!
We even got to bring Marley for her first camping trip- she

really seemed to enjoy the outdoors.

The weather was kind of cool that weekend, but
we enjoyed some time around the campfire and
took a couple nice walks... it was a great couple of days!

Thanks Tracy and Dave!

Me and my girls around the fire...

Mariah having fun on the boat...

Kaylee loving the boat ride!