Austin's Surgery

Right before school started, Austin got his 4th set of ear tubes.  We still can't believe he needed yet other set of ear tubes.  We had the surgery done at a local community hospital.  However his surgery time was not until 1pm.  We felt so bad that his surgery was so late.  He was able to have water and clear liquids until 10am but nothing after that.  And no food.  We allowed him to stay up late on Thursday night in hopes he would sleep in on Friday.  As expected, Austin did not sleep in.  He's always up early!

Austin didn't seem to mind that he was having surgery.  He was pretty okay with no food either.  He would let us know that he was hungry but that's about it.  Brian promised him whatever he wanted after surgery.  There was a chance they would take his adenoids out but the doctor said they weren't large so they weren't removed.

The surgery was quick as expected and he recovered quickly and we were discharged within an hour after surgery.  Once we got home, we got Sydney and all went to Denny's for all you can eat pancakes.  Austin was so excited.

We hope this helps his hearing and that it is his last set of tubes!

August Fun

Our favorite camp ground is Yogi Bear in Uniontown.  We usually go there once a year in August.  That is always Sydney's request due to her birthday month.  They have so many kids activities like gaga ball, slides, playground.  And they have a great pool and putt putt golfing.  We always have a great relaxing weekend there.

  This summer we only camped twice.  And we had so much fun at Yogi Bear, we decided to make reservations for the next weekend as well.  The bummer was I had to work so I came home Friday night and worked Saturday.  But then came back down Saturday evening.  The kids had a great time with chocolate weekend.  They played chocolate kick ball.  They had fun with candy bingo too.  It was a another great weekend to close out summer.

We also went to the drive in as much as possible.  The kids saw Angry Birds, Toy Story, Aladdin and Lion King all at the drive in this year.

We also made it to waterworks water park.  It's a fun water park for them.  They went with some friends so that worked out great!

August also means the start of fall sports.  Austin is playing flag football again this year.  Sydney is playing soccer.  They means the craziness begins with practice during the weeks and games on Saturdays.

A friend invited Sydney and I to goat yoga.  The morning of I could not believe I was doing this.  Having goats walk all over me and maybe go to the bathroom near or on me did not sound fun!  Luckily they mostly kept their distance from me and Sydney had a great time!

August is always sad because summer is coming to an end.  Sydney is always excited because it's her birthday month.  But Brian and I love summer and having the kids home with no school schedule.  But all good things must come to an end!

July Summer Fun

We love the 4th of July and going to see fireworks.  It was weird with the 4th being on a Thursday this year though.  We only went to Bainbridge to see fireworks this year with friends.  The kids did some bouncy houses and spent most of the time rolling down the hill.  They didn't even stand in line for a balloon this year.  That was always a big hit in year's past.

On the 4th of July, we went to the Stow parade.  We always enjoy that.  It's about an hour and half long.  It was hot but not as bad as last year.  We always bring donuts to the parade as well.  Plus the kids get a ton of candy.

Cleveland had MLB All - Star game this year.  There was a color run on Sunday for it.  Austin was always a big fan of wanting to do it.  The worst part was having to get up early to go but we decided we would do it as a family.  It was a beautiful day for it.   It's not a timed race so we stayed together and went though all the color stops getting sprayed with chalk color.  It was so much fun.  The best part was at the end of the race there was a color run party and the audience would throw color packets while listening to music.  Everyone had a great time!

Melissa and the boys came up from Myrtle Beach for a week.  They stayed with us since our house is all done (well except for the bathroom floor).  We had activities everyday planned.  It was a very fun busy week!  We went to waterworks.  We also went to Cedar Point.  Melissa and Austin rode top thrill dragster, sling shot, and Milliumum Force.  Austin was so happy.  We had a move night in our back yard.  And we went to the Asian Lantern festival at the Cleveland zoo.  It was a great time for everyone.

Austin and Sydney love water parks.  We went to Pioneer Waterland for a friends birthday.  They love the water slides and the jumping floating toys in the pool.  We spent an entire day there.

Since we have season tickets to the Cavs, we had an opportunity to tour Rocket Mortgage Field house while it's under construction.  We didn't think it was going to be too exciting but it ended up being very cool!   The field house is going to be amazing when it's completed.  I am excited for the Cavs season.  Hopefully they will do better this year too!

Austin also went to Cavs basketball camp for a week this summer.  It was a full week of all day basketball.  Luckily he had some friends that went too.  He had a lot of fun!  Basketball should be cool this year.

Austin back for another hearing test

When we were traveling, we noticed Austin had a difficult time hearing.  We had noticed before but because he passed a hearing test last October, we thought he was good.  Austin says what all the time and has difficulty with letter sound combinations.  We decided it was necessary to go to back to the ENT.  Luckily they saw us quickly.  Unfortunately, Austin didn't do well on the hearing test.  It was actually one of his worst hearing test.  We had no option but to schedule for ear tubes.  This was not ideal but he has to be able to hear.  The doctor is putting in a T-Tube this time (longer set of ear tubes).  Surgery was scheduled for August.

Sydney continued to have piano lessons and Austin started some tutoring to help with his English and reading.  We also went to Cedar Point a few times.  Austin and Sydney love Cedar Point!  June was a busy start to our summer.  And the fun has just begun.

Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, and Hershey

Our summer vacation this year we decided to go to Myrtle Beach, Virginia Beach, and Hershey.  Our first stop was Myrtle Beach.  We were planning on driving all day on Friday.  However my work scheduled changed and the kids didn’t have lacrosse so Thursday evening we decided drive all Thursday night.  We left our house around 8pm.  I drove until 10pm.  Then Brian drove until 2am.  While driving he listened to the NBA Finals game.  The Raptors won and Brian was very excited.  He definitely didn’t want Golden State to win.  Then I drove from 2am to 630am.  It was a very long drive.  However it was nice to be there in the morning. 

Once we arrived, I took a short nap.   The kids went to the store with Grandpa and went swimming.  Then Melissa and I took the kids to the park, McDonalds, and candy store.  Once we got back, the kids went swimming again and we hung out at that Nana and Grandpa’s house. 

On Saturday, we went to the water-park.  Austin and Sydney loved the big slide.  We were at the water-park for most of the day.  Austin and Sydney love water-parks and slides.  Then we went to LuLu's for dinner.  While we waited for our food, the kids played in the sand.  They didn't get as wet and messy as last year.  Then Austin and Sydney did the rope course.  It was so much fun for them.  At the end of it, they both even jumped off they they were supposed to.  They really have no fear!  

On Sunday, we went to the beach.  They kids played in the water and sand.  It was fun.  Then they went back to Nana's to swim.  They love their pool.  

On Monday, we went to Broadway at the Beach.  We started at the Wonder Works House.  We were in there for several hours.  Then we let the kids ride amusement park rides.  It was a super fun day for them.  We had a nice lunch on the water.  The kids got slushies and ice cream.  Everyone had a great time in Myrtle Beach.  

On Tuesday, we drove up to Virginia Beach and got a hotel on the beach.  We love Virginia Beach.  We can just park the car for the time there and walk everywhere.  While in Virginia Beach, we enjoyed ice cream ( a lot of ice cream).  Sweet Frogs is the kids favorite.  We loved the street performers in the evenings.  We rented a four person bike and biked the boardwalk.  Austin and Sydney tried out the hamster balls in water.  And they loved playing in the ocean with their boggie boards.  It was a fun two days in Virginia Beach.  

On Thursday, we drove up to Hershey Park.  We went to the park that evening and rode some roller coasters.  The whole family loves Lighting and Thunder.  I am not as into roller coasters but it's fun with all of us racing in the roller coasters.  We rode Comet and Super Dooper Looper.  Another favorite is Lafty Tafty.  

On Friday and Saturday, we spend both days (all day) in the park.  We did some of the water-park too.  The only bummer was the Hershey Towers were down for maintenance.  Sydney finally had enough courage to do it and they were closed.  She was really sad.  On Saturday, it was so crowded.  Brian and I handle crowds pretty well but it was ridiculous.  We even left a bit earlier than normal just because we could not take it.  

Over all, it was a great vacation.  It was a lot of driving but we got to do a lot of fun things.  And mostly importantly we got to hang out as a family! 

End of School, Beginning of Summer

The one thing I have learned with the school age years, is the enjoyment of summer.  I love summer more now than ever.  In the summer, we have relaxed bedtimes.  We have outside movie nights.  We do a lot of swimming.  We hang out with friends.  We go to the drive ins.  We do the summer reading program at the library.  We like to sleep in (except for Austin).  We enjoy going on vacations.  We enjoy Cedar Point.   We like to camp.  We enjoy just hanging out as a family and chillin.   Luckily I don't work every day so I am able to take the kids many places and let them do some fun things.

Sydney and her friend did a half week of basketball camp as soon as summer ended.  Sydney got to hang out with her friend a lot that week.  Brian and I got to send some quality time with Austin.  We even went out to dinner with just him.  We had a great time.

We went on our first camping trip of the season in early June.  We had a great time except for we found out the pool was closed due to construction when we arrived.  They have a lake but we don't like swimming in a lake.  We like pools.  But since the weather was nice, we did got out into the lake to play on the floats.  The kids also rented pedal bikes and played bingo.  We played some basketball and played on the playground.  Austin and Sydney love camping.  Brian and I enjoy it too.

Austin's First Communion

May is always the busiest month with school.  It's always crazy and trying to stay focus towards the end is hard.  Austin had his second grade field trip which I was lucky enough to go on with his class.  We first went down to the West Side Market.  This was our first time there.  Austin had $5 to spend.  He bought a cookie.  Then we went to the Cathedral Downtown which was cool.

Also in May Austin had his First Communion.  It was a special day for him.  He made it with his best friend too.  My mom came as well.  Then we went out to dinner afterwards.

Also in May, to keep life really interesting, Brian had to go to China.  We are getting used to his frequent China trips but they still suck for all of us.  With me working on Saturdays, that's was a challenge with Brian being gone and the kids having a track meet.  The kids missed Brian terribly and I get sick of doing everything on my own.  Luckily it was only for a week.  The kids and I had some meals out and pancakes for dinner since we enjoy that.

Sydney also had her first piano recital.  She played one song.  She did a good job.  She enjoys playing the piano.  She doesn't practice as much as she should.  But she says playing the piano makes her happy. 

May was also the end of track season.  It was nice to have the kids at the same place at track.  However track can be a little boring.  They only run for a few minutes and we are there for hours with meets and practices.  They had fun though.

May is crazy busy and many times I feel like I am going to lose my mind, but I know one day I am going to miss all of this craziness!