Kelsey's Routine

Here is one of the routines the kids did during/after the parade.

Pet Parade

We were involved in the 72nd annual pet parade last night. Keaton drove his tractor decked out with a scrabble board and his stuffed pets along with a few additional games. He took 3rd place in the battery operated vehicle division. Kelsey participated in Spirit Team again this year and walked with that group. Kayleigh decided she was going to ride on the float she and Kelsey helped decorate for Fun Center. They did Candyland. The girls had several activities they could have walked with this year. Here are a few pictures of the wet night. NOTE you will have to pause the music on the sidebar to hear the music for the slideshow.

Congratulations AJ

Congratulations AJ, we are proud of you!!

Amy and Jamie's big day

Well, we had quite the weekend. We left around 9 am on Friday morning on our trek to Fargo for the wedding. Good thing we decided to leave at that time. It rained hard most of the way to Fargo and the temps were getting colder as we went. When we hit Fergus Falls, the rain turned to sleet, although it was only a little bit. Then it cleared up for the rest of the way to Fargo.

Once in Fargo we stopped to pick up Keaton's tux. The jacket was a little tight so they were going to order a bigger size. Good thing the rest of Jamie's family was at Knights because they realized we had the wrong color of tie/vest. But, they were able to fix it all by Saturday morning.

Friday night the rehearsal was in Hillsboro and everyone did great. Amy and Jamie showered our family with wonderful gifts that we all love (thank you, again for letting us be a part of your special day). When we left the dinner, it was starting to snow...yes people it is the end of APRIL. The 40 mile trip back to Fargo took longer than anticipated due to the snow drifts and icy roads. We were going about 40 mph for a while as we got closer to Fargo...the electronic sign at that time said that I-29 at the SD border was closed. Good grief. No, I did not pack winter jackets or clothes. *sigh*

Saturday morning the girls went to have their hair done. Kelsey ended up with 20 bobby pins in her curled hair, which turned out so cute. Kayleigh had french braids put in her hair and with all of the faces she made during that procedure I was sure she would never want to have her hair done again.

Saturday was just beautiful. We are happy to have Jamie join our family and the ceremony was beautiful. A bonus was that the kids did what they were supposed to do. Although Keaton did do something rather embarrassing once he was up in front. Umm...you just went potty you can't possibly have to go again. Yes, he said "I have to pee". Again *sigh*. But he stayed up there for most of the ceremony. Dan did a great job singing and the service was beautiful. Amy was a lovely bride and we are so happy for her.

Kelsey was in her element all day. Whenever I would go and look for her, she was either in front of the mirror posing or chatting with the bridesmaids. They did say she slept a little bit in the fun bus on the way back to Fargo. She loves to dress up and I know she will never forget this day. Thank you Amy and Jamie for letting her be there with you.

The dance was a blast. We were some of the last to leave at midnight. Keaton and Kelsey made it to the very end. Keaton refused to take off any piece of his tux and we had to bribe him when we got back to the hotel room because he wanted to sleep in it. The kids had fun and Kayleigh decided to go and stay with Connie after being there for part of the dance.

Well, I think that is enough detail for now.

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Duck, Duck, Grey Duck

HONK!!

The kids are so excited, okay Mom is too, we have 2 ducks frequenting our yard. Mallards to be exact. A male and female have been parading around the yard for the last week.



It all started last week when the girls decided to spread bird seed all over the yard to feed the birds. This was before I knew what they were doing...so hopefully we don't have stuff growing everywhere later on. Well, that night the ducks appeared and the girls were so proud because they attracted them to the yard.




Now I have been obsessed with keeping watch of the ducks and kind of hoping that they will actually place their nest nearby so we can see the ducklings. But, we really don't have any water around so I am not sure if they will nest here or not. They are enjoying a diet of bird seed from our house and from the neighbors.




Today they were drinking the water at the edge of the driveway (which is usually there all summer unless it is blistering hot), that slimy water now has a purpose.

Easter Eggs! Always a joy!!

The annual rite of Easter Egg coloring was eagerly anticipated at the Walock household. Note to self: More than 36 eggs next year!!!

Keaton is busy demonstrating the proper technique to mom. I was worried about having the dye all over the floor in one fell swoop.

The kids celebrate part of their haul. Fun, fun, fun!

Kayleigh and Kelsey are enjoying coloring some eggs!

YES, it's Minnesota, you can still make snowforts in late March and April.

Primping for the big Day

With her Cousin and Godmother Amy's wedding quickly approaching, it was time to get her dress fitted so it's just right for her debut as a Jr. Bridesmaid. Kelsey was fearful of getting stuck by a needle, so she stood pretty still.

OH GOSH, aren't we done yet??

Yes, the end is near, I am finished!! Thank you Kayleigh for the moral support!!!

Easter at the Walocks

This Easter we spent at Daniel's brothers house in Lakeville. The weather was cold, so the Easter Egg hunt was held inside.

Cousin Andrew looks very thrilled to be spending some quality time with Keaton and the Walock girls!!
Do I care about my hair, or 3 large eggs? Easy question! EGGGSSSSSSS!!!!

Kelsey was tickled to see the Easter bunny puts his little paw on the card she made for her. When Easter morning hit, the state of her hair was not a pressing issue.

The kids also were able to take in the big Easter Egg hunt at the Shattuck St. Mary's campus in Faribault. It's a prestigious prepartory school built in the 1800's that is reminiscent of Dead Poet's Society. That one, too, was held inside. But, the lack of nice weather didn't deter the kids from having fun!

Quality time with the Easter Bunny!

You so silly.

Keaton isn't sure what to do in his EGG-travaganza!!

Daniel and Kelsey await the start of the action. Looks like everyone would get plenty of eggs.

Spring? Not yet!

The weather has been playing tricks on us the last 4-6 weeks. One day in the 50's, a day later 6 inches of snow. It melts in 2 days, more snow. We got rid of the last bout of snow, now Northern Minnesota will get up to 18 inches in the next couple days.

With some nicer weather, the kids are outside a lot. Kelsey loves to swing the bat and Dad held the "hit-n-stick" for her. Good form!

Birthday Parties!

It's was Birthday Row again as Kayleigh (2/19), Kari (2/20), Daniel (2/27) and Kelsey (3/15) all celebrated birthdays. For her 8th birthday, Kayleigh had a bowling party and had a select group of her friends venture with us on an overnight stay at the Holiday Inn in Owatonna, complete with a waterpark. That, as you might expect, was a big hit for all.

Kelsey was excited for her 6th birthday and treated her friends to a party at our house, games, and a trip to "Horton Hears a Who" on it's opening weekend at the local theatre. The kids had a blast and it went pretty smoothly with some help from Daniel's brother Dave and his wife Tina.

Kids

I need to add some information and pictures from this past weekend. Kayleigh and her friends had a blast at the waterpark on Friday night and then more friends went bowling on Saturday for her birthday party.

But, before I forget I wanted to write a little bit of Keaton humor.

Tonight after supper he was talking to me and I could smell licorice on his breath. I asked him if he had a piece of licorice. He pondered for a minute and moved his mouth around and then with the Keaton smirk responded "yes" and laughed and ran away.

Later the little guy came back with Kelsey's lunch box and he was so proud of himself. He said he had packed his lunch box. So I looked inside only to find a 6pk of raisins, a sleeve of unopened saltine crackers and a sucker (of course). He had to tell Auntie Connie about it and rattled on for about a minute on the phone. So adorable.

8 is Great!

2-19-08

Feb 07


Kayleigh is 8 today and so excited!! I can hardly believe it has already been eight years since Dan and I first became parents.

Happy Birthday Sweet Pea!

Stationary and CD's

I have added a new caringbridge website to my list of sites. Please visit and pray for Aiden and Mason. They are an amazing family. Aiden's mom is making personalized stationary to help with the medical and every day costs. If you need anything along those lines, please visit the website and if the information isn't on the front page you can find it in the journal. I have followed Aiden and Mason's journey since a prayer request was made on Natalie's site.

Since I am at it, might as well put in a plug for Haley's music as well. Haley shares the same birthday as Keaton. :) Haley, Aiden and Natalie are all friends brought together through an awful illness. Natalie's mommy is a fellow banker and we have had the pleasure of meeting the family last summer. Haley passed away a few years ago, but she made some beautiful music and there is a CD available of that music. Her parents started the Haley Vincent Foundation and the CD's can be purchased on that website. We often play Haley's music on the computer, it is beautiful.

http://www.caringbridge.org/fl/aiden/
http://www.caringbridge.org/ga/haley/
http://hvf.wikidot.com/

I can't get the links to work :(

Give your kids a hug today!!

New Fashionable Cast

Today I had my first appointment since the surgery. Overall they thought it looked good. The plate may need to be removed because it does not appear that it is on evenly and therefore may rub against the skin due to the size of my ankles. If that is the case, they will wait at least 9 months after it is fully healed before they remove it. I am also still stationed to the recliner with my foot propped due to the possibility of blood clots. I am still not to put any weight on the foot and limit stairs along with carrying no weight. Very interesting. So needless to say, I am still stuck in the basement.

I had to have the stitches removed today. I told Dan and the nurse that it was worse than having my c-section stitches/staples removed. I have a constant pain in my ankle now where some of them were removed, not fun. I have also lost some feeling in the top of my foot. The doctor said the feeling may come back, but the nerves had to be moved around during surgery and sometimes this will happen. It feels like it is asleep and tingling all of the time.

The fun part of the day is picking a color for the cast. Lime green, bright yellow, hunter orange, royal blue, hot pink, purple, black or burgundy. We decided burgundy would probably be best. It sure is much smaller than the last cast. Also, I don't have to cover it for baths!! I had gotten the previous cast wet twice the past few days so I was excited about this feature.

Here is the new fashion accessory in the Walock house.

Another long day

Congrats to Dan who won 1st place in the circulation promotion category for MN newspapers. The Faribault Daily News also won the general excellence award for newspapers of similar size, which is the top award. Dan received his award/plaque at the MN newspaper convention yesterday.

Well, another long day at home. Thankfully I have the internet handing on the trusty laptop.

Update on the leg: I have been off the pain meds for a few days, for which my stomach thanks me. The swelling is down and so my toes don't look like the pillsbury dough boy any more. There is a lot of itching and the inability to scratch drives me batty from time to time. My next appointment is next Tuesday. Hopefully they will change the cast at that point so it is not so huge. I have not ventured to the top floor of the house yet, but have been able to go to the main level. Dan and the kids are doing a wonderful job taking care of Mom, for which I am grateful.

The girls are doing great in school. Kelsey told us today that she didn't want to ride the bus because she likes to be first in her classroom and the bus goes too slow and therefore she is not the first one there. Kayleigh has been reading to Kels and Keaton, which is so special. She is such a great big sis.

Keaton is quite the character. He is kind of hooked on wrestling. Dan took him to a meet in Fargo during Christmas and we watched some matches on TV the other night. Now he wants the girls to wrestle with him. He puts up his dukes and says 'wrestle with me'. Kelsey is his favorite target and she usually goes along with it. Once Keaton gets Kelsey on the floor he jumps up with his hands in the air and declares 'I am a winner'. When he isn't wrestling with his sisters, he is running down the hallway and sliding into home base. Such a boy. Last night he got out Dan's ear muffs and put them on his head. At first I didn't get it, but then when he asked Kelsey to wrestle it dawned on me. He had on his head gear and was ready to go. He was so proud. You will notice from the pictures below that Keaton is really into wearing Bob the Builder clothes. If anyone finds an outfit like the one in the picture, let me know. I got it at a garage sale this summer and since he is so tall the bibs don't fit the best, but he won't wear anything else right now. Not sure if I have mentioned this before, but Keaton is fully potty trained YEAH!!

The Big Day

Surgery was on Monday at about 2pm. I was in recovery until around 6pm. Surgery went well. There are 7 to 9 screws now in place and I actually broke 3 bones during my expedition. Here are a few pictures taken today by Janelle.

My BIG foot/leg

Me in my "element" according to Janelle (actually checking BOL) ...ps don't look too close, I look rough.

One of my x-ray pictures to show all of the screws/plate

Enjoy!!! We are heading back to Faribault tomorrow.

OUCH!

I guess if you are going to fall and hurt yourself, you might as well do it right the first time. I fell last Monday at the apartment parking lot, trying to keep Keaton from falling. My foot was pointing at about a 90 degree angle to the left of my leg. It wasn't pretty. After some versed they were able to put my dislocated foot back where it belongs and I have been sitting in Janelle's apartment all week (taking over her recliner) awaiting surgery. Surgery is scheduled for this Monday at 1pm. They are going to put pins/screws in to put the bones back together again...kind of like Humpty Dumpty.



Here is a picture of me with the flowers from the kids along with a beautiful picture of my foot.


A huge thanks to Connie, Janelle, Denise and Peggy for all of their help this week with everything, including keeping Keaton occupied.

If none of this makes sense...I am going to blame it on the pain drugs. :)