Karen 4 A Kause

On Saturday, we participated in the annual Karen 4 A Kause run/walk. It is a cancer fundraiser for St. Charles County that we have been a part of since Sue, my mother-in-law, was diagnosed with breast cancer. This year we missed Jim and GrandMary who weren't able to make it, but were joined by Grandma Schneider. It is always inspiring to see the survivors in their pink bandanas, the kids love to do the fun run, and it is just great to support this event.

A Family First

Geocaching. Have you heard of it? We had not until recently, but now we are hooked. Yesterday, after church and lunch at the park we had our first experience with geocaching. It is like going on a scavenger/treasure hunt. You find places to go and search by looking at http://www.geocaching.com/ and you need a GPS system to help you find them. There are "treasures" all over the world. We found out there were four hidden treasures in Fort Zumwalt Park, which is very close to our house and we love going there. So we set out on our first geocaching adventure! We were successful in finding three out of four treasures and realized that we all enjoyed ourselves and will do it again. Now, when you find a treasure (which is a plastic container filled with little trinkets and a log book), you are to log that you were there and then take a treasure and replace that treasure with one that you brought. The kids had fun picking and choosing and then leaving something special of theirs behind. The picture shows what they took home at the end of the adventure. We have already looked on the website and found two locations in Owensville that we will have to check out the next time we are there. We might even have to see if there are some treasures located on our way to SC in June. We also see the purchase of a handheld GPS device in our future! So, if you are looking for a fun activity to do as a family, we highly recommend this geocaching thing!

Girl Time

When I started blogging, I wanted to do it to record events, big or small, that happen in our lives. This blog is one that I wanted to remember because it is just about some special girl time with my Anna. The last few days have been so nice, actually on the warm side for this time of year. While Brandon is at school, Anna and I have been taking a walk to the lake that is in our subdivision. It is not too far from our house, so Anna rides Brandon's scooter (cause she can go faster) and I jog or walk to keep up with her. We take a break on the bench at the lake and talk and then we are off again. Anna wants to do this at least a couple times before she is ready to head home and rest. It is special times like this that I am thankful that I can stay home with the kids and just enjoy them without worrying about what I should do next.

Bad Plumbing

Anna has been struggling with ear infections off and on since she turned 3. This most recent one has been hanging around since Christmas. Yes Christmas! She has been on five different antibiotics to try and get rid of it. She has some "bad plumbing" and large adenoids according to her ENT, so any time she gets congested it leads to an ear infection because the congestion can't drain. So, on April 8th, Anna had her adenoids taken out and tubes put in her ears. She was such a brave girl and looking forward to eating some popsicles and watching cartoons after the procedure, cause that is what Dr. Hanson told her she should do. She was given some versaid to help her relax and make the separation from Mommy and Daddy a whole lot easier (which it did, no tears). Matt and I got some good laughs from her extra silliness due to the meds. They took her in a red wagon and off she went (tears from Mommy at this point). Twenty-five minutes later Dr. Hanson came to tell us she was done and did great. He took care of her "juicy" ears and removed her adenoids. It took her a little bit to come out of the anesthesia, but once she did she was ready for popsicle #1. She went on to have popsicle #2 and #3 later in the day. She got to pick out two new movies, got some new outfits from Pop and Grandy, flowers from Daddy and took it easy the rest of the day. She said at one point in the day, "Mom, I like these tubes in my ears." I don't know if she can tell a difference with the tubes, or if she just likes the extra special treatment that went along with it!

Easter (part 2)

The White Family spent the day together on Easter Sunday. We started the day with church and then went to GrandMary's for a most excellent meal (as always) and then the kids had their egg hunt. Sarah was also able to get some family pics. It was a great end to the weekend.

Easter (part 1)

I have gotten behind on blogging lately, so I am going to try and get caught up soon. The latest big event was Easter and we had a wonderful weekend with family and celebrating our risen Savior! Kim came into town from South Carolina and stayed at our house for a couple nights before we headed to Owensville. We went to a Casting Crowns concert and had a great time. The Linhardt Family got together on Saturday and of course had some BBQ. The kids continued their tradition of making cupcakes with Nana and they had an egg hunt and all came out of it pretty good with some money and candy. It was a fabulous day!!

Awana Grand Prix

It is that time of year...starting with a block of wood, cutting your design, sanding, painting, more sanding, polishing your axles, putting graphite on your wheels, and doing all you can to make your car fast! Yes, it is Awana Grand Prix time!! Matt and Brandon have experience doing this, but Anna was able to get in on the action this year, being a first year Cubbie. She wanted her car to look like a princess slipper, Brandon designed his to be like Racer X, and Matt chose to do a Mizzou car. A lot of time goes into getting these cars ready, and I don't know who has more fun, Daddy or the kids. The results of all their hard work paid off. They all had a great looking car and they were all pretty fast too. Anna's Silver Slipper won first place in Cubbies and 2nd place overall. Brandon's Silver Racer X took 2nd place in Sparks and Matt's Tiger 1 won 2nd in the open division. A fun night was had by all!! I think Brandon has already thought about what he will do next year. Until then....