Another BIX Bites the Dust...

The last year Lee and I lived in Davenport we ran in a race called The Bix. It is a 7 mile run winding through the very hilly streets of Davenport. This year we were invited to run in the race again by my brother and sister-in-law, Heath and Amy. (This is Heath's last year of chiropractic school and he will be joining Lee at DeKalb Chiropractic next spring. Amy will also be working in the office as a chiropractic technician. We can't wait!) Anyway... Heath, Amy, Lee and I ran in the race. Lee's parent's, Sam & Beth, and Amy's sister, Liz,... who is almost 8 month pregnant and pushed her 2 year old in a stroller...you go girl!... walked the Quick Bix, and Amy's parent's walked the 7 mile Bix.

We had a blast doing this race. It is such a cool atmosphere because there are close to 15,000 people running, bands lining the streets, people cheering you on and spraying you down with hoses, and runners dressed up in costumes!

Early morning... getting ready for the race.

The opening ceremony... a huge helicopter flew directly over the street we were to run down for the start.

The runners taking off.

Sam was taking pictures on the side and was only able to catch a running shot of Heath.

He is in the white shorts.

Lee and I after completing the race. We were both happy with our times.

The entire gang went to IHOP for a celebratory meal.

We headed down to The Bix Festival downtown later that day.

Our good friend, AJ, just started going to chiropractic school this summer. He cheered us on during the race and then joined us down at the festival.

A Visit from Schlaura & Co.

A couple of weeks ago the boys and I went down to visit my mom and dad for the day. I called my best friend, Schlaura, on the way down to chat. She mentioned that she was going to be in town having lunch with her mom, so we made arrangements to meet up at my parent's house for a visit. It was so good to see her... and Annika and Griffin were adorable (and very well behaved, I must say!) The kids had fun playing together and we spent a good 2 1/2 hours catching up. My mom and sister, Amy, enjoyed her visit as well. Can't wait to do it again!

Souvenirs from Italy!

My parents took my sister, Amy, to Italy for a college graduation gift. They brought us all back some neat souvenirs. The boys got these really cute gondolier shirts that look like the actual shirts the gondola drivers/operators wear. My dad also picked up this really cool toy for Krue that spins way up into the air like a helicopter. Krue thinks it is the best thing ever because it is a wheel.

They also brought back a wooden Pinocchio whistle for Kiefer, which is really cool, and a Leaning Tower of Pisa statue for Krue, which he sets beside his bed. Krue loves The Little Einsteins, and if you are familiar with them you know that in one episode they travel all around Italy. They go to The Leaning Tower of Pisa... so Krue knows a lot about it and was very excited to get the statue. Now, every morning he wakes up and says, "Mom, I slept a LONG time with The Leaning Tower of Pisa!" It is cute.

Krue's New Hat

"Uh....wait a second? I don't think this makes a very good hat."

(Krue was excited to show me his creative new hat... Ugh! Didn't he try fashioning this type of hat for me last year? He must think this look could work somehow.)

Casey's Wedding

My cousin, Casey, got married last weekend in Ohio. Lee had a seminar, so my sister, Ali, rode with the boys and I to help out. The rest of my family met us over there.

The wedding was beautiful and Casey looked so pretty. She married a great guy. Casey and I are only 1 month apart in age. Growing up we stayed with each other 2 times a year (this was a lot considering she lived in Ohio and I lived in Indiana) and saw each other on several holidays. Now that we are adults we don't get to see each other as often... but I still feel close to her. I wish her much happiness.

Congratulations Casey and Rusty!

Krue was so excited to see (and eat) the wedding cake.

Cute pics of Kiefer and my mom.

My cousin John and his daughter, Ashley. John went to Chiropractic school with Lee.

Adam's girlfriend, Natalia, playing with Kiefer.

Casey and Rusty cutting the cake, and a pretty picture of Casey.

My siblings and I.

A self portrait with the bride.

Playing Outside

Just a couple of cute pictures from a few of weeks ago. Our grass looks much better than this now. It's pathetic here... we were going through a drought!

These boys can't get enough of the outdoors.

No More Nuts!

We have noticed the past couple of months that Kiefer has had some reactions to different foods we have given him. It first happened when we gave Kiefer a bite of a granola bar... he started coughing and his saliva started getting thick. Luckily, we had a breathing treatment with albuterol and it cleared him right up. We had given him other food at this sitting so we weren't sure if it was the granola bite that did it.

The next time he had the same reaction when he had a bite of another granola bar... and we figured out that it had almond slivers in it. We said, "No Almonds".

Then yesterday I gave him a couple of bites of a Lara Bar... I knew it didn't have almonds... and he had an even worse reaction to it! Guess what, it had crushed up cashews! With this reaction, he broke out in hundreds of little hives on his forhead and started getting that thick mucus again and coughing. I gave him a breathing treatment and took him to Walmart to get some benedryl. I talked to a pharmacist and she said that I should get an epi-shot on hand in case Kiefer has a really bad reaction. He has reactive airway disease so any little thing, like a cold or allergic reaction, could cause his airways to over react. Talk about scary. I brought him home and gave him the benedryl... he broke out in even bigger hives on his neck and chest! He must be allergic to benedryl, too! Like his mommy!

Today, Krue was eating cashews out of a can... and little Kiefer somehow managed to get a handful and shove it in his mouth. I quickly scooped out his mouth. I gave him a teaspoon of benedryl, because that is all we had on hand. He broke out in the larger hives...but no breathing troubles.

This little boy... He keeps us hopping! We need to get him to the doctor so we can have an epi-shot on hand ASAP.

No more nuts for Kiefer!

A Stay With Papa Sam and Grandma Beth

While Lee and I were on our houseboat trip, the boys stayed with Lee's parents, Papa Sam and Grandma Beth. They had a ball! Krue had so much fun spinning the "Big Wheel", playing basketball, and going to the park. Kiefer loved swinging, climbing the slide, climbing the stairs, and throwing stuff :) Thanks, Sam and Beth, for keeping the boys for 4 days! We really appreciated the nice break.

Houseboat Trip on Lake Cumberland - 2007

If you have never been on a houseboat vacation... you must do it! Lee and I went with 5 other couples this past week and had such a great time! I think I took over 200 pictures... but chose some of my favorites to post. The pictures describe the trip the best...

Abby and I on our 6 hour trip down to Cumberland... Half of the houseboat crew on the first day.

A cute picture of Erin and Zach in the hot tub... The boys relaxing on the lake.

A self portrait of Myah and I... Myah and Erin laying out on the upper deck of the houseboat.

Each couple had to prepare a meal. The St. John's made coney dogs... yum!... Our own private cove.

A side view of the boat... and back view. The slides were used a ton!

Front view of the boat... I like this picture of Lee wakeskating. You can see our houseboat in the background. Sam and Beth were kind enough to let us take their wakeboard boat on the trip so we could do some water sports.

We had a raft race one day. Lee and I were the champions!... just a clever little shot of the feet.

Having some stogies in the hot tub... A cute picture of Josh and Myah. They matched!

Abby and I had the same cover ups. Twins!... Dan and Abby...such a cute pair.

The girls on the upper deck doing their "senior portrait poses"... I like this picture of Dan taking it all in.

More floating on the lake.

We did some tubing... Lee was a little wild. Poor Abby and Erin!

The final night. Lee, Me, Abby, and Dan.

This group was a blast! Thanks guys for such a fun time. We hope to do it again.