We Walked a 5K for The Cycstic Fibrosis Foundation

A couple of weeks ago, we joined the "J" Walkers and walked to raise money for The CF Foundation.  "J" Walkers is the name of the team that walks and raises money in support of Tanner and Caleb, brothers that live with the day to day challenge of having CF.

We had a TREMENDOUS amount of fun at the walk!

I wrote about our experience as a GUEST blogger on 52 Brand New!  Go check it out!

I also asked Kiri, the boys' mom, to share a bit about her experience.  Her words are on Pennies of Time.

 

 



This month is CF Awareness month.  Please take the time to read the posts linked above and learn more about this life threatening disease.  If you would like to learn more about these boys or donate to The CF Foundation in their name, please visit:  www.cff.org/Great_Strides/JWalkers

Chills and Thrills

Such a fun week!  The boys and I are VERY busy with our "Pennies of Time" Adventures.  We ended the week with what I call an Odyssey.  Check out the blog to see what we did.

Evy lost his first tooth! And, he stayed healthy all week.  Went to school every day!

We made some great new friends.  One of them taught our boys how to paint house numbers.  (he does it in a totally cool way!)

Found out that our pediatric dentist is a scammer.  Now, trying to get my money back. 

Evy ended a baseball class.  We are looking forward to a new class and a change in coaches!  You should see him in action.  He is FANTASTIC.  I'll try and get a video up soon.

I am continuing with a new therapy for my arm.  So far, so good.  It is called Airrosti.  In just over a week, I am out of all braces, using weights, and have really established some strength in my arm.  And, I get to wear some cool racing stripe tape up and down my arm.  I'm sure hoping that it continues to help me regain strength and mobility.  I am ready to be back to normal after almost 8 months of incapacitation.

As a family, we had a chance to go to a Ranger baseball game.  We always love going to sporting events.  There is never a dull moment between the boys and the actual game being played.

 

Cotton Candy!

 

Merritt charming the Texas Ranger girls, with his backwards shirt, backwards pants, and backwards shoes...and his beautiful smile

 

So cute and tired!

Posts in facebook for September:

September 27
Grateful for our dentist who helped us avoid a scheming dentist with our little one! He went above and beyond! Thank you, Dr.Nelson!

September 25
HGSE all the way! HGSE is not a diaper company. HGSE does not need to claim "hugs" in a name to show that the school is committed to achieving excellence in education. Don't like either? Then talk about it like I do: The Ed School

September 19
We just saw T-Rex arrive at The Heard, amid hundreds of butterflies!

September 17
When the pediatrician gave the positive verdict of a strep culture, she brought a new toothbrush with her at the same time. Brilliant!

September 13
Me: Merritt, how was the hearing test at school?
 
Merritt: Wike dis--beep, beep, beeeeeeep, beeeeeeeeeeep, beep, beep, beeeeeeep, beeep, beep, beeeeeeeeeeeeee!
 
Me: So, I guess you hear okay.
 
Merritt: Yeah.

Austin, Our Beloved Austin

This summer we had a chance to visit Austin a couple of times.  These are pictures from our second visit where all of Erik's brothers and sister gathered to surprise his dad.  Awesome!

While Erik was working, I took the boys around town and visited some of my favorite spots.  The Nature Center, the Umlauf Sculpture Garden,

Can you see the lizard on the sculpture?  Evy could.  I couldn't.

 

 

There it is!

 

The boys completed a scavenger hunt along the way.

 

 

We gave Pa a big surprise when we were there!

 

Cousin TIME!

Later, the party moved to Dallas for more cousin time!

 

 

We also went to a great waterpark in Round Rock with our favorite guy group family.  Thanks, Morgans!  We went to the Austin Nature Center.  I made the boys take the trail to the Center and they made it all the way!  We also visited plenty of my favorite parks while we were there.  The only drawback:  no visit to EastSide Cafe.  That will *have* to happen next time!

Memorial Day Weekend

We had a *fabulous* time this Memorial Day Weekend.  We kicked it off with Evy's baseball game and Sonic with Grandma and Papa.  Saturday brought hours and hours at the pool.  And, no sunburns!

On Monday, we went and cleaned up my grandfather's burial plot.  Erik edged the stones and the boys added flowers and flags.  We then walked around the cemetery reading other headstones of soldiers that had served for our country.  Always an interesting conversation to have with the boys.

This weekend, I was able to go with my parents to the last walk through of our old high school.  I had a great time hearing stories from Mom and Dad about their times in high school, how they met, where Dad rode his motorcycle/popped wheelies with it/how it disrupted class, and how things were different or the same when they went there.

This is the stadium where Dad would practice his motorcycle stunts.  Of course, that was before the fancy football astroturf was put on the field.

They showed me where they lived in high school.  I didn't know this, but they lived right down the street from each other.  I found out where the fishing barge was where Mom worked . . . and where Dad went to see Mom.

Later in the weekend, I took the boys to the barge to show them.  The LOVED the fishing barge.  Evy just wanted to pull up a chair to each of the guys fishing there, sit a spell, and have a nice chat while waiting for a fish to bite.  We'll have to go back since the place is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

We ended Memorial Day Weekend with our own version of Sweet Dream Pie . . . laying out all the candy and "sweet" stuff that had accumulated in the cupboard since Christmas . . . anything we didn't eat by the end of the day got trashed.  YAY!

Pizza, swimming lessons, a DJ by the pool, dancing, lots of laughing . . . .

The last item of fun was rootbeer watching movie party with the family.  Those are classic times.

Memory Lane

This past weekend we toured my old high school and my hometown of Lewisville.  We were sneaky and found an open door to get into the school.  The boys LOVED touring my old high school, which was also the place where my parents met and graduated from school.  We saw my old locker, classrooms, the old choir room which is now the ISS room, the old smoker courtyard, the bathroom where someone started a fire my sophomore year, the first real stage (aside from the podium at church) where I performed, and several other spots.

They are tearing down the high school.  I didn't graduate from Lewisville High.  We moved halfway through my high school years.  No offense to the school I transferred to, but LHS rocked and the other school just didn't compare.  Had to get one last look before it is gone.

My Freshman Locker

This wall once had several vending machines.  I don't remember how many packages of Laffy Taffy I bought from them.

Nothing like a toothy ring pop!

Hockey Game with Dad

Evy earned the chance to get tickets to an Allen American hockey game.  He was so excited to go with his dad!

A trip worth all that work to earn!