Cancun / Hurricane Rina

For our anniversary trip we had planned to go to the Bahamas but they were hit by Hurricane Irene and our hotel was damaged so that trip was canceled. So we booked our trip to Cancun, little did we know that a hurricane would hit there too.

Thursday was our anniversary and also the day of the hurricane. It rain most of the day and the ocean was getting crazy. Damian got food poisoning so we just spent the day in our room watching tv. By the end of the day things really got crazy outside. The wind and rain were insane and the thunder and lighting were so loud and bright it seemed like it was in our room.

The next morning was still a bit cloudy but the ocean was calm and left lots of treasures and trash on the beach. We walked the beach and were able to find some amazing shells.

A little later we went swimming and finally got a little sun.

By the end of the day the sky was mostly clear.

Us bright and early (4am) Saturday morning waiting for our ride to the airport. Time to go home and see my babies!

Oh and just for fun I saw this sign and it made me laugh, thought I would share.

Cancun 2011

The day before the storm we went to Xcaret. It would have been super cool if we got to stay the whole day and if they had all the shows running, but they were getting ready for the storm so we were unable to see and do a lot if the activities.

We went to the Aquarium and saw all the different animals they had. We walked through an old mexico city that had a grave yard and rock fountain.

We did get to go swimming in the under ground rivers and snorkeling on the coast.

We also got a free all you can eat lunch. It was fun but wish we would have had more time and that the shows were going.

Cancun/ 10 year Anniversary

In October Damian and I celebrated out 10 year anniversary. Wow, 10 years! That time really flew, it is odd to think that just 10 years ago we were saying "I do" and now we have 3 beautiful children, a nice home and are living in Illinois.

So since this was such a huge achievement (try living with either of us for 10 years and see if you don't leave) we decided to treat ourselves to a relaxing trip in Cancun Mexico.

The trip didn't not turn out exactly the way we planned but it was nice to get away just the two of us. We were able to visit the Mayan ruins Chichen Itza. They were awesome, so much history.

This is the main temple it has a smaller one just like it inside. There was also the starts of another one to go over top of this one. It has many sign and symbols of the Mayan calender carved into it.

This is the Temple of the Warriors

Skull Platform where they would display the heads of those sacrificed

Damian next to some of the Thousand Columns

Next we went to Centro Artesanal were we saw a Cenote (sinkhole).

Fall & Halloween 2011

For a fun fall activity we spent the day at the pumpkin patch. They had so many fun things for the kids to do and each one was able to find some thing they love.

Areya's was the horses.

Aniela's was going through the maze and tunnels.

and like any true boy:

Taevin's was the tractors.

The corn box was a huge hit too.

Next we got ready for Halloween by painting and carving pumpkins. Which is always a fun tradition.

Mine and Matt's

? What am I suppose to do with this?

My red neck pumpkins.

The big day........

We got ready and went over to a friend's house for a little party and some tricker treating. The kids had so much fun running around with all their friends and of course loved all the candy they got while doing it.

Darth Vader

Fairy Princess

Witch

Aren't they so cute!!!! Happy Halloween!!!!

Taevin's medical procedures / surgery

Taevin has been having a lot of medical stuff going on in the last several months.

* In September he had a sleep study to find out if he has sleep apnea. He was hooked up to about 20 different tubes or wires. It was a very long night with very little sleep for either of us.

9/1/11

Test results show that he does have obstructive sleep apnea which causes him to stop breathing.

* The next test he had was to measure the severity of his reflux. They put a probe down his nose and monitored him for 23 hours. It was another very long day with very little sleep and lots of pushing him in the stroller to keep him happy.

Results showed an increased amount of non acid reflux. Next step will be to see if it is causing damage to his throat or vocal cords.

* The next procedure was a catheterization for his heart. His pulmonary arteries are not growing well and he needed two stents placed to expand them. It's amazing to me that they can do this procedure without opening him up.

10/3/11

By doing this procedure it increased his blood flow by 40%. This should help postpone open heart surgery for a while longer.

* The next thing was surgery to remove his tonsils and adenoids along with looking at his airway, vocal cords, throat and stomach. The tonsils and adenoids were removed to help/stop his sleep apnea. They also did a biopsy to check for damage from the reflux.

11/7/11

They did not find any damage from the reflux, thank goodness, but they did find that his airway has not grown much and is narrowed by 65%. They also found another problem that might require surgery in the next 6 months to 1 year. As for the sleep apnea we will have to wait and see if the surgery helped.

He did start to bleed a week later from his incision site and they needed to go back in to stop the bleeding so it might be a while before we know much.

I'm praying this is all for a while. It has been a very long and stressful 3 months and I think we are all due for a break, especially Taevin.

Areya's 8th Birthday!

September 23, 2003

Happy 8th Birthday Areya!!!

It's amazing how fast they grow. It feels like just a few years ago my sweet baby girl was placed in my arms. Now she is my crazy, non stop, sweet, helpful, loving little monster.

Here are a few things she loves:

* Her brother and sister

* School

* Playing with friends

* Pop corn

* Watching movies

* Make up

* Vanilla ice cream with sprinkles

* Waffels

1 day old

4 months old

Lake Michigan

Before the weather turned cold we took the girls to Lake Michigan for a little picnic. The girls loved playing in the water I and enjoyed spending some much needed down time reading on the beach.

Taevin's first hair cut and tooth

I finally took Taevin in for a hair cut. The poor kids hair was butchered, I tried to fix it but there wasn't much I could do. Thank goodness his hair grows fast.

He also finally, at 17 months, got his first tooth. He now has 6!

First day of school 2011

Areya started 2nd grade and Aniela started preschool at the community preschool. They both love school and look forward to going each day. Aniela goes Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9:00 to 11:00. She has a little boyfriend named Brennen who gives her hugs and kisses. She tells me that he is not her boyfriend but the teacher told me that they sit by each other and talk non stop.