I'm a Proud Wife!

I am so proud of Jim!  He was named one of the top 40 Under Forty Honorees out of 500 applicants in MN.  We attended his award ceremony last night and I was proud to be his wife.  He never ceases to amaze me!

http://www2.bizjournals.com/twincities/events/2011/40_under_forty/james-collins.html

Los Cabos

Jim & I just returned home from a great vacation in Los Cabos, Mexico.  We went with some friends to celebrate another 40th birthday.  We had a great time.  It's hard to come home to this snow & weather! 

Los Cabos 2011

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Sean is 8

Hard for me to believe, but my baby is 8 years old now!  When Lauryn & Zach turned 8, I thought they were so grown up.  But for some reason, I still think Sean is little - when he's NOT!  He is now old enough to not use a car seat (he informed us!), read chapter books on his own, shower on his own, text on the cell phone, help with chores around the house, do his own homework (with little help), play video games & beat them all, develop more in sports, hold his own with his bigger brother, witty as can be, quite a story teller, kind to others, and so much fun to be around!  We love this little man & enjoyed celebrating his big day.

We started by inviting just a couple friends to join us at the Mall of America Water Park.  The kids had a long weekend (Thurs-Monday) off over Presidents Day weekend, so we headed for an over night stay.  The boys swam all afternoon & evening & then were right back at it as soon as the water park opened up again the next day.  Here I thought they would all be exhausted after all that swimming, but they had plenty of energy & were fired up.  It was fun to enjoy the slides and watch the boys have such a great time.

On Sean's actual day, Lauryn had a basketball game.  Sean wasn't too thrilled about having to spend it that way, but after a victory we headed to DQ (Sean's choice) for dinner & treats. 

Last weekend we celebrated by one of his cousin's staying over night.  Their birthday's are only 11 days apart, & they always want to invite each other to their birthday parties.  But it's hard when they don't know each other's friends very well & we have the hour drive to get them together.  So the boys have started a tradition of a sleep over, where we celebrate both their birthday's & they get to spend time with just each other.  Then the following day (Sunday) we had as much of the family that could make it come & help celebrate.  It had been a full week of partying for Sean.

Here are some pictures of my Little Man:

Poor Zach!

Well, things have been crazy here lately with Zach.  He has had quite the medical issues.  It started 2 weeks ago when I had him in and he had strep throat.  They prescribed him Amoxicillin.  Well, about a week later, he finally mentioned to Jim & I that he had a bad rash & it had been really itchy.  At first I dismissed it for his eczema but took one look & knew it was something else.  So I brought him in & sure enough, he was having an allergic reaction to his medication.  At this point the doctors were pretty concerned for him because he had waited to tell us until he was absolutely miserable.  They had to do an EpiPen while we were in the office & then they prescribed him Prednisone for 9 days.  That night we saw a huge improvement & I thought he was good to go.  Well, little did I realize it would still have to run its course.  So, as the week went on, he got worse & worse.  His hands & feet were so swollen he couldn't even walk or hold something in his hands.  I had to feed him because his hands were so swollen he couldn't pick up a fork!  He was so uncomfortable & in quite a bit of pain.  So after 5 days of this we thought things were finally looking up.  Then, about 2-3 nights later, Zach started complaining that his left wrist hurt.  I should remember that for Zach to complain to me about something, it has really got to hurt!  But we kind of dismissed it until he came home from school on Monday & said he thought for sure it was broken because he couldn't move it.  I brought him in & they did x-rays and all looked normal.  So they gave him a wrist brace to wear while he played basketball & told him to not over do it.  Well, all of a sudden that same night he started sobbing that now his RIGHT wrist hurt.  At this point I had had it & told him there was no way he broke both wrists & he should just try to stretch them out well.  I dreaded taking him back in because we had been in that office so many times in the last few days.  But after 2 days of listening to him complain about his wrists & really struggling to move them & crying after basketball practice, (& getting some great advice from Jim's sister who is a nurse) we brought him in again.  They did x-rays again (that were all clear) & ran some blood work.  Well, we got a call on Thursday that Zach tested positive for Lyme's Disease.  Turns out he is in stage 2 (joint pain) & it can be dormant in the body for 6 months to a year.  We are actually very lucky he was diagnosed right away because many people suffer from it for years before they finally get a correct diagnosis of Lyme's.  So needless to say, he is now on a 28 day prescription and his wrists are finally on the mend.  We are hoping this is it & Zach will be healthy again.  He's sure ready to feel good!

Curly Girl

So...  For all your girls out there with curly hair...  I found the solution!!!  As I was just browsing in Barnes & Noble, I stumbled upon a book called Curly Girl Handbook by Lorraine Massey.  First I picked it up & started reading because I am ALWAYS looking for ways to manage Lauryn's hair.  I think we have tried every single hair style, stylist, permanent straighteners, non-frizz or for-curly-hair shampoo & conditioner on the market.  We have spent a lot of money to always find the same result - frizz.  So I found the book to be very interesting, but thought, "Why would I ever buy a book on managing hair?"  So, I put it down & kept walking around.  But, there I was 5 minutes later... back to reading more in the book.  Now I'm to the point where I am carrying the book around (but still not going to buy it) while I check other books out.  So at the last minute I decide to buy the book.  Well, it has turned out to be the BEST self-help book I have ever invested in!  Lauryn & I both spent time reading the book & talking about ways to manage her hair.  So, I searched the web to find where I could buy the type of products she talked about in her book & went out & bought them the next day.  Here we are a week later & THRILLED with the results!  For the past 2 years I have straightened Lauryn's hair pretty much every day.  It takes us a half hour to straighten!  Let me tell you, that's not always fun to do every day before school!  But now with the new results that we are getting, Lauryn is embracing her curls & wearing it curly.  It is a.d.o.r.a.b.l.e!  I would kill to have her curls!  But now that she has learned how to manage it & get rid of the frizz, she is loving the curls too.  I had to post before & after pictures.  Keep in mind that the before picture is from over a year ago (while on vacation without a straightener) because that is probably the last time she would go without it straightened.

Our Life in Pictures

Wow, I have NO idea where time went?  As we get busier & busier, I have more & more to blog & share, but less time to do it.  So, to wrap up the last few months, I am posting some of our favorite pictures & I'll give a quick update for each. 

The next 3 pictures are what have consumed us since October & will keep consuming us until March.  Both Lauryn & Zach made the traveling basketball teams, & Sean is still playing house league until he is old enough to try out for traveling.  Every single weekend consists of at least 7 basketball games.  We've had some fun traveling to further places & spending time with the other families.  All 3 kids are loving it & we've heard no complaints about it getting old! 

The next picture was a special night for Sean - when he made his First Reconciliation.  What a wonderful achievement.  We are so excited for this Spring, when he gets to make his First Communion too!  Sean was so cute & nervous before he actually made his confession to the priest.  He told me that he "couldn't wait to go & get rid of all the sins that were in his body!"  As a mother, I don't even want to know... :)  

And here the kids are frosting our Christmas cookies.  I had to post this picture because this tends to represent Lauryn well...  TEXTING!

Aw...  What a fun night with friends...  During the busy holiday season, we spent a night at the Marriott West & did the Murder Mystery Cafe hotel stay.  It was a hoot!  If you like impromptu shows, this is one to do at some point!  We saw the Holiday Murder show.

I feel like the next 3 pictures deserve a post of their own, but I have to wrap this up as best I can! :(

Zach celebrated his 11th birthday in December!  For Zach's birthday gift this year, we gave him tickets to a Vikings game & a Jared Allen jersey (his all time favorite player).  Well, we all know what happened to the roof at the Dome!  Before we knew where the game would be played & how they would handle tickets, Zach was VERY upset!  This was his dream gift & he did not want to miss it.  So, Jim & Zach braved the cold & snowy weather, bundled up, stood in line for 2 1/2 hours before getting in, & had the times of their lives at the TCF Stadium watching the Vikings play the Bears.  It actually turned out to be an experience of a life time, watching an out-door Vikings game! 

We also had a few boys over for a slumber party & movie night!

And again, the next 4 pictures really deserve their own post too... after all...  It was CHRISTMAS!  I posted each kid's excitement as they opened gifts...

 And the dogs got spoiled too!

And to wrap it up...  We had an amazing New Year's Eve and a great start to 2011.  We decided to spend the day & evening as a family & we had a blast.  First we started the day by going to Elm Creek.  Everyone decided to tube except for Zach.  He decided to try out snowboarding with a buddy.  He liked it but had a scraped up face to show for it!  After Elm Creek, we went to the Wild's Hockey game.  This was the first game the kids had ever been too.  So they were excited & had a great time.  After the hockey game, we went over to a friend's house & hung out as families.  It was very relaxing & an enjoyable welcome to 2011!

Hope all our friends & family had a blessed Christmas & a wonderful New Year! 

Halloween 2010

I was worried this year that the kids might not want to carve pumpkins anymore - since they think they are so grown up.  But all three were ready to go & had some fun ideas for how they wanted to carve their pumpkins.  When it came time to clean them out, they were all laughing & squishing the "guts" between their fingers.  Lauryn was the only one who was a little reserved about it!  But then we cleaned the seeds & made home made pumpkin seeds (that I can't keep my hands out of!).  

 We also enjoyed a few Halloween parties this year.  Jim & I had a couple adult parties we attended & the kids all had their parties at school.  Then they also made plans to hang out with friends while trick-or-treating.  I was surprised to still see Lauryn out there, collecting candy.  I had told her if she stayed home with me & helped me pass out candy, she could eat anything she wanted out of the bowl.  But she informed me it was not about the candy anymore, it's about running around the neighborhood with friends.  Here we are in our costumes...

At the end of the night, Zach took off his costume, put on fake blood, & went & sat out on the front porch to pass out candy to any of the kids who dared come up to our door.  He had been looking forward to doing this all night long.  That kid makes me laugh! 

Denver Marathon

I just had a wonderful time running the Denver Marathon with my sister-in-law, Kathi!  So down with marathon #9!  We had such a good time.  Jim & Lauryn came down early & cheered us on.  I also had one of my good friends (from back here in MN) that was out on the course to cheer us on.  Then around mile 15, the whole family came out.  There was nothing better than seeing the family, having them hand me a cup of beer, ringing the cow-bell, & running with us.  Along with the marathon, we spent some time in Breckenridge, where we were able to relax, shop, & enjoy Colorado!

Drinking our glass of beer at mile 15 

 My favorite picture, where the kids came out & ran part of the course with us:

Kathi, Jake, Susanne, Lauryn, Me, Zach, Sean, Jack

 At the finish with Kathi & James (our friend from MN who ran too)

Kathi, Jim, Lauryn, & I