Kelly's Blog

Happy 2011

Thought I would give the blog another go this year.

My first post this year is about our ski/snow boarding trip. A lot happened during this trip, so much so, we came home wrote about in in a journal. We had a lot of laughs, a few tears, and a ton of fun. Here is a link to few photo's from the trip: http://s1131.photobucket.com/albums/m553/rkbjorn/ you may want to view the photo's in reverse.

Day one(Tue): Up at 5 am planning to leave by 6. Ricky lost his wallet, Kerri's new camera broke, but we got on the road and made it to Sunrise anyway (a bit later than we wanted). Weather was sunny and warm, only two lifts were open but we got in several hours of skiing and boarding. Kids did great! Rick's ski's cracked but managed to get him through the day. Brought an air mattress and sleeping bag to use as an extra bed (not easy getting six people into one room). Air mattress deflated during the night leaving me on the floor to sleep.

Day two(Wed): Windy and cold but no snow in morning. Made it to resort in 30 minutes and had fun skiing and taking turns watching Jason and Matthew work the bunny hill. Snow started mid-day. Took just over an hour to get back to hotel. Rick taught so I took kids to Wal-mart to buy a new air mattress and an ice scraper. We stopped at Subway where Jason's hand got slammed in the car door turning his palm black and blue (no broken fingers thank goodness). Rick got done teaching only to realize his session did not record, so he had to repeat the class. Ricky and Kerri swam in the hotel pool while I set up the new air mattress. We made it though the day and went to sleep. The new mattress deflated and again I was on the floor.

Day three (Thur): Blizzard hit. Got stuck leaving hotel. Took two and a half hours to drive 30 miles to the ski resort. Put chains on car as soon as we made it to Sunrise. Windshield wipers Broke, Rick rigged them so we could make it back to the hotel. Ski conditions were fine but difficult for the snow boarders as there was too much powder. Made it back to hotel in about an hour. Went to Walgreen's to buy another air mattress and then to Wal-mart to return the broken one bought the day before. Turns out you cannot return an air mattress to Wal-mart, you can only exchange. Now we have two, albeit working, air mattress's. Got new windshield wipers. Chose to stay another day and was told by hotel the charge was double due to the holiday. Decided to stay anyway knowing Saturday would be a nice day. Had a nice dinner and off to bed.

Day four(Fri): Well over a foot of snow on the ground and still snowing. Made it to resort in 50 minutes, roads looking better but glad we had chains. Ski/Board conditions OK but slopes still not groomed so it was a little frusterating for Matthew. Cold, cold, cold. The boys and I spent a lot of time in the lodge doing puzzles and playing games. Made it back to hotel in just over an hour. Had dinner at BK and then kids swam while Rick and I enjoyed the Jacuzzi. Kids met friends from school. We stayed up late, didn't make it till midnight, but the people in the room next to us did! At least I didn't sleep on the floor :).

Day five(Sat): Sunny day, roads better but not 100% clear. Broke a chain which chewed up the tire a bit, made it to the resort ok with one chain. Had a great time skiing until boys went to the lodge to rest and eat while Rick and Kerri hit the slopes again. On her way down Kerri hit a snow bank and the back of one of her ski hit the back of her head. She got up and continued down the hill complaining her head hurt. Thats when Rick noticed she was bleeding. He took her straight to the health office where they examined her, cleaned and dressed her wound. They told him to take her to urgent care for stiches. He got me and we gathered the boys, packed up the car and headed for Show Low. As soon as we got off the hill we took off the remaining chain. The first Urgent Care clinic was closed, luckily we found a second one who took her in right away and stapled her up. She had a cut 3" by 4 cm wide and received ten staples. As we were leaving town at sunset, roads still covered in packed snow/ice I proceeded through a yellow/red light rather than slam on the breaks, only to see the flash of a camera. My first red light photo. Now, I have that to look forward too. Hopefully they will take the road conditions into account - we'll see (I'm not holding my breath). Made it home just after 9pm only to open the garage and discover our water heater broke spilling gallons of water into the garage and soaking our master bedroom closet.

We made the following lists:

The Bad

rick had to rent boots as his did not come in time
spent hours in the car traveling short distances
tires damaged
chain broke
camera broke
ricky's wallets lost
windshield wipers broke
two air mattress broke
jason's hand slammed in door
class did not record
got stuck in snow
kerri got hurt and ended up with staples in her head
red light photo ticket
hot water tank broke, damage to drywall
paid double for last night in hotel
paid for two extra days rentals for matthew, rick and jason because we couldn't get back to the valley early enough to return equipment

The Good

kerri is going to be ok
jason is fine
we had a ton of fun
kids got better at skiing and boarding
we laughed a lot
the kids will never ski or board without helmets again
we made a lot of memories - we'll certainly never forget this trip!

No matter how long the lists got, the good still outweighs the bad!

Happy New Year Everyone!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

The past year has been a roller coaster ride for us. Some ups, some downs, and a lot of twists and turns. We started off the year having a lot of fun skiing. With good weather at the right times we were able to head to the slopes several times. We also got a little sledding in too. It is always fun playing in the snow... especially when you don't have to shovel it! Mom and Dad came for a visit and we got to spend time with family we just don't see enough. In spring we spent time camping with friends I have known since I was a little girl. Now, our kids are building friendships with their kids and creating their own memories. When summer came we took time off and traveled back east with the kids. We saw so many wonderful things and had a great time exploring together. While in upstate NY we had a mini family reunion with my mothers side of the family. The kids got to meet their second cousins for the first time. They all got along great and had fun together. They even spent a day at a local water park. Another highlight from that trip was spending time on the lake on Mom and Dad's boat, especially when Aunt Susan and Theresa brought out the jet skis. Up to this point our roller coaster ride was going along nicely. We enjoyed the fast pace and the rolling hills but when we returned from our summer vacation the ride quickly hit the summit and we had to buckle up and hold on because things were about to change. When we got home Rick found out his employer was moving him to an office on the other side of the valley. With that came a 100 mile commute in rush hour traffic daily. This meant no more coaching the kids sports teams, less teaching opportunities, and a lot less time with the rest of us. He was not happy and we both knew it was time for him to look at other options. Thankfully, he received several offers for employment in just days. The only problem, they were all out of town. This was a hard decision for us to make. We finally we came to the decision it was time for him to move on. We listed the house and prepared for a lot of big changes. While it hasn't been easy we can look back now and feel confident it was the right decision. In the midst of all this upheaval wonderful things were happening with the kids. Ricky was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society, he joined the drum line at school and he made the football team. His football team went on to be undefeated and became division champions. He also began volunteering at the environmental center. Kerri started fifth grade with a bang and is doing great. She joined the choir again this year and has added K-kids to her extra curricular activities. K-kids is an organization of kids helping the community. She is following in her brothers footsteps and playing percussion in band. Matthew is in first grade and is reading well above grade level. He is a perfectionist and seems to be liked by all. He has made several new friends this year and in the next few weeks he will begin playing another season of soccer. Jason completed his second semester of preschool and has grown by leaps and bounds. He is such fun to be around and keeps us on our toes. It amazes me how independent he is and it's hard to believe he will be 4 soon. Now, with the economy going downhill it has taken some pressure off of us to sell the house and move. It is not easy for Rick having to commute out of town, but his shorter work week and his ability to work here in town several days has made our situation easier to handle. Right now we are just happy that Rick has a job (both of them) and the kids are doing well. We are constantly reminded by watching the news, reading the paper and talking with others that we are very blessed. We are looking forward to the new year. To all our friends and loved ones: Have a wonderful holiday season and may 2009 bring you lots of happiness!

Happy Halloween!

Hope everyone had a great Halloween. Below are a few pictures of the kids before they went out.

Bank robber with style!

Scary Skeleton and Bloody Grim Reaper

Matt and Jason (Skeleton & Thomas) with friends getting ready to trick or treat.

Even Dad dressed up this year.

Ricky's Marching Band Debut

Photo's of our summer vacation

This summer we took a trip back east spending time in Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Washington DC, Delaware and New York. We got to spend time with lots of family as well as see some great sites. It was a fantastic vacation! Below are a few pictures from our travels.

Kids with Great Grandma Fischl from NJ

Kids with their cousins from NJ

Kids, Cousins and Aunt Doris

Atlantic City Shore

Make a wish

Who's bigger? In background is the hotel we stayed in while in Atlantic City, NJ

More fun with cousins at Point Pleasant, NJ

Ricky and Xavier

Capitol Building

Liberty Bell

Air and Space Museum

More Air and Space Museum

Rose Garden

White House

Resting by the Washington Monument

Another view of the White House

Base of the Washington Monument

War Memorial

Thanks to Kerri we got to meet Senator Bob Dole. What a nice guy!

Lincoln Memorial

Roosevelt

Grandpa & Grandma's boat

Fun with Aunt Susan & Aunt Theresa's toys

Maverick (Aunt Susan's Dog)

Kids with Grandma and Grandpa

First day of school!

Jason on his first day at 'school'.

He started preschool this past week.

He goes to school two hours a day, three

days a week and so far, so good. He

told me on Friday he really likes it.

I know I'm loving it!

Camping over spring break

We spent a little time up at Lake Pleasant camping over spring break. Rick had to work the first two days so the kids and I spent some time with my Mom, Cori, Rose and Aidan visiting the Wildlife Zoo. The kids all got to feed a giraffe and some very lucky birds. We stayed at the lake through Easter. Lucky for the kids the Easter Bunny found his way to our campsite. He left a bags of goodies and even hosted an egg hunt at the camp playground. He also spent time at the marina handing out cookies and eggs full of stickers. The weather was wonderful but a bit windy at night.

Happy Birthday Pop!

Pop and Ricky all dressed up with me and one year old Kerri.

Pop with Rick and Brian when they received their masters degree. You'll notice a little Ricky in many of photos with my Pop...they were best buddies. Wish he could see his lil Ricky now! He'd be very proud.

I have an entire list of pictures I wanted to share with everyone but these are the only two that I could open on this computer. The others are in an old format and I don't have the software installed on this computer yet. I'll get there eventually!
As many of you know, today is my fathers birthday. He was taken from us way too soon but he is still very much present in our hearts. Happy Birthday Pop!

One of my favorite memories of my father was when I was 38 weeks pregnant and went in to visit my OB. I went alone because Rick was working overnight for TRW at the time and my appointment was early in the morning. The doctor gave me some shocking news. He scheduled me for a c-section later that same morning. When I went out to the lobby to call Rick and give him the news I saw my father waiting for me. He always had a way of knowing when I needed him most and he was always there for me. When I gave him the news he got all out of sorts (it was both good and scary for him). He fumbled unsucessfully for his cell phone so he could call everyone. I started to laugh and pointed out that sitting right next to him was a courtesy phone. Between the two of us we managed to get in touch with everyone and a few hours later he was holding his first grandson.
I've got a thousand more great memories. Because of my Mom my Dad was around a lot longer than was expected. He was a lucky man! We were luckier! Feel free to share your favorite memories of my dad by leaving a post.