Michigan Leflers

State Competition

2010-02-24T07:40:00.000-08:00

Avey and Kyle's team went to State and did AMAZING! It was a little crazy in the back room trying to get all the makeup done and warm up. They ran out there got in their spots and did their thing. They thought they didn't do very good because one stunt fell, but when you look at the video they did really good. Their team took 2nd place! It was a happy day, Way to go!

Christmas Day!

2010-02-24T07:10:00.001-08:00

Its Christmas Morning! It finally came. How exciting. We all shockingly slept in. We woke up a little before 8am. Tony and Sherri were so happy! The kids crawled behind the couch and into the master bedroom and jumped on the bed to wake up their parents. They sat in the bedroom until it was time to come out. The kids were so shocked at what they got. They were speechless. Avey, Adri and Kyle were so excited to see they had new laptops for school. Ariel got the new iPod nano in orange. And Kurt got Legos! He loves Legos. Each of the kids gave each other a present and Sherri got Tony a statue of a robot playing the drums. It was really cool looking though. And Tony Got Sherri an iPod nano as well but in red. She didn't have it that day but she got the recite. If you get it in red you have to specially order it. And he also put an inscription on there as well. It says "Your bright and beautiful, and that's why I love you". It was such a fun day. Then Tony burned all the paper and that night Grandma and Grandpa Apple came over to visit and helped with the puzzle we were doing. Boy Grandpa mad us all laugh so hard! All in all, It was a good day!

Christmas Time

2010-02-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas is alway such a fun time. We love it. Everything about it. The snow, the lights, the music. A couple days before Christmas we went to Downtown Kalamazoo and saw Santa Clause at the mall! We talked with Santa for a few minutes and then went and Kurt wrote a letter to Santa and told him what he wanted. After that we went on the Holly-Jolly-Trolly! It took us to Candy Cane Lane. How cute! We walked and talked and took pictures and then we were going to take the Trolly back to our car but we decided to walk instead. Then on Christmas Eve we had all the family over to our house and had a Christmas party. We had a bunch of food and exchanged gifts and talked. We all couldn't wait till the next day.

Decorating the Tree

2010-02-24T06:42:00.001-08:00

When we got home from getting the tree we had to put a bunch of towels underneath it so we could let it defrost. We had to wait to decorate it. Sunday night we were finally able to decorate. It was a blast. That year was Avey's year to put up the star. It was very sticky. It didn't take us long to finish the tree with as many hands as we had! Our tree looked beautiful after that.

Tony's Birthday

2010-02-24T05:42:00.001-08:00

Tony's Birthday is always fun. Every year we go get a Christmas tree on his birthday. The last couple of years we haven't been able to go on his birthday. And it happened again. He birthday fell on a bad day. And Sherri and Ariel both had school and Kurt was at a winter camp for school. Instead we went that Saturday. But on Tony's Birthday the family bought him a stocking. He was the only person in the family without a stocking. Even the animals had stocking. Then we filled the stocking with some of his favorite candy and popcorn. It was so funny to see him look at everything. We also got him a really nice silver bracelet. He said he had been wanting one for a long time. That night we went to a restaurant called "Old Country Buffet". Then after Kurt got home Saturday morning we went Christmas tree hunting. We took our friend, Caroline, who practically lives here sometimes. She is Sherri's assistant coach for cheerleading. We got all dressed up in our snow gear because it was freezing out. Coldest in a long time. When we got there we picked the kind of tree we wanted, got on the tractor and then went to find the perfect tree. This year we all agreed on it, it was fat enough for everybody and there wasn't a bald spot! The only down fall was that it was frozen. It was so cold outside. When we got back we were frozen too. We went inside the barn and got hot chocolate and looked at decorations! It was a blast.

Fall Regional Cheer Competition!

2010-02-24T05:14:00.000-08:00

Cheerleading! (Picture 1 Above Division 5, picture 2 Kyle and another coach talking) Division 5 is the division Adri is in! She loves it. Their song was a mix of "Take my Breath Away" by Queen and "Let the Bodies Hit the Floor" by Drowning Pool and "Pain Killer" by Freestyle. It was an awesome mix. Sherri mixed all of the music herself and did a good job and still does. Unfortunately they didn't place either. But that OK because next time they perform they are going to give it all they got! But we don't care about the ribbon it just a nice feature! Avey and Kyle didn't compete that day because there aren't enough Division 6 teams in their Region to compete against. So their team just shows off for all the younger Divisions! What a fun day!

Thanksgiving

2010-02-22T09:04:00.000-08:00

This was a super fun Thanksgiving! We had our family from Tennessee Shane, Maura-Lee, Maurgea (GiGi), Evangelia (Eva), and Isadora (Sadie) come up and see us for they Holidays! Every body had so much fun. Late nights, sleepovers, 4 s trying to sleep in 1 bed! It was all fun. We had themed days. Thanksgiving (Thursday) was princess day. We played games and had a BIG Thanksgiving dinner!. Aunt Maura-Lee did everyones make up that morning and it was so much fun! Who doesn't like getting their make-up done? That night Avey, Adri, Eva and GiGi all slept in Avey's bed! Then Black Friday was rock day. Aunt Maura-Lee and Sherri got up super early and got to the mall at about 4:30 am to go Christmas shopping. When everyone got up we saw that there was snow outside! We all got dressed and went outside to play with what little snow we had out there. Then we came inside and make Christmas cookies. They were gone that night. With 12 people in the house it was easy to clean out about 5 or 6 plates of cookies! Friday night the s went out to dinner and a movie and all the kids stayed home and played and ate pizza! GiGi and Eva both groaned when they saw that the parents came home. It was a sad day when our family left Saturday morning. When they left we didn't know what to do. The house was so quiet and boring. It was very sad. We had a very fun Thanksgiving!

Family Fun

2010-02-22T08:56:00.001-08:00

Our favorite thing that we love about Fall is the smell of burning leafs, climbing trees, racking leafs together as a family and fighting over who gets to drive the lawnmower. Our lawnmower has a leaf picker upper. So if you connect the basket and brush to the back of the lawnmower it picks up the leafs! Its a blast!

Kurt's 11!

2010-02-22T08:48:00.001-08:00

Kurt's finally 11! How exciting. We had a ton of people over but Kurt loved the attention! We had the Missionaries over both the Sisters and the Elders. We also had Kurt's scout leader and his wife, the Westle family, and of course the Grandparents! Kurt got a Wii game "Bolt", a Lego set
and money! Sherri made his Firetruck cake and it was GOOD!

Halloween

2010-02-22T08:17:00.001-08:00

Halloween! What a fun time. Every year our church has a Trunk-or-Treat. For the Trunk-or-Treat everybody dressed up excepted for Tony. Sherri, Avey, and Ariel were all zebras. It was pretty hilarious. They definitely got some looks that night! Adri and her friend Larisa were Babies and Kurt was a robot. And he even helped make his custom. Kurt was pretty proud of himself. And of course Kyle was a Vampire. We were a site to see. Then on October 31st we went to Grandpa Apples house and went Trick-or-Treating in his neighborhood. This time Nobody dressed up except for Adri and Kurt. Kurt was still a robot but sense Adri was a baby last year she wanted to be something different for the actual Halloween. So she was a Zebra. Adri was the cutest Zebra on the plant. When we were finished in the neighborhood we went back to Grandma and Grandpa Apples house and hung out. We talked, watch a movie on TV, watched TV, and ate candy! It was a fun night!

The Pumkin Patch

2010-02-22T07:41:00.000-08:00

The Pumpkin Patch! We always go to the same place every year and we love it! Jene the Pumpkin Man is where we get them. He thinks its so cool that we have a deaf son/brother and is way into sign language thinks its so cool. He always has on an orange hat and drive an orange car! After we visited Jene we went home and carved pumpkins! Ariel made a scientist and a pot of potions. Kyle carved a black cat and a moon. Avey made Frankenstein. Adri made her own design of an alien with 3 eyes and one mouth in a smile and another mouth on top of it in a frown. And Kurt made a pumpkin. Mom took pictures and Dad went around and helped everyone! It was so much fun.

South Haven pics

2010-02-22T07:28:00.000-08:00

When we went up to South Haven one time to visit Great Grandma Appleyard we wanted to take some family pictures. Then we went to the beach on Lake Michigan and took more fun pictures! It was fun to watch the boys play around with anything they could get their hands on! If they found Sticks they would have a sword fight. At the beach they liked to walk on the railing and scare everybody! We had a very fun filled day. And to think we were going to do more after this!

Kurt's First Day of School

2010-02-22T07:16:00.000-08:00

Kurt's first day of School! Boy he couldn't wait, he was counting down the days on his calender. Kurt loves riding on the bus and his bus driver. Sometimes on holidays his bus driver will give him cars or modeling cars! He loves that. He also loved getting out of the house but now the only thing to keep him going to school are his friends.

Family Pictures!

2010-01-19T08:28:00.001-08:00

2009 pictures! These are just some fun pictures that we took in Down Town Kalamazoo! We needed to get our pictures done for the year and decided that after church we would go. It was a lot of fun going around the park and taking pictures with and of each other and finding creative ways to take them and where!

Ariel's Senior Pictures

2010-01-19T07:58:00.000-08:00

Ariel is a Senior. Can you Believe it? Neither can we. She wants to go to BYU (Brigham Young University) Idaho. She is so excited. She is also a little bit sad knowing this might be her last year with us. We kept realizing that when we would go apple picking or Trick-or-Treating that this might be her last time with us. But at the same time she can't wait to go!

Fun, Friends, and Summer!

2010-01-19T07:17:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun summer! In late spring, early summer we had a birds nest in our back yard. In it were three little eggs. We saw the mom sitting there almost all the time except to get food for herself and babies. We tried to stay away from that spot as much as possible to give the mother some room. It was very neat to see the mother feeding her babies and the little ones looking for food!
A couple of years ago for Kurt's birthday we got him a guinea pig. Kurt named him C.C. for Chocolate Capuchino. It was Tony's favorite words because it was fun to say. And CC was a good name for Kurt. It was something he could remember and sign. We didn't have CC for long because we found out Sherri was horribly allergic to him. We decided to him away. Kurt was very upset but Kurt didn't take care of CC like he should have.
We tried to go to the beach in South Haven as much as we could. We saw Great Grandma Appleyard almost every time we went. One time when we went to the beach We got to see the Christopher Columbus boats. They weren't the real boats but they were perfect replicas of the real boats. And i believe they were built the same way too. It was very cool.
After we went to see the boats we went to the beach and went swimming. The water is always VERY cold but Kurt is always the first one in. Kurt loves the water and is like a fish in it, he loves his Legos as your can see in his picture above. He also loves playing in the sand and making sand castles. Kyle, Avey, Ariel, and Adri loved trying to jump the waves or go underneath them. Sherri only went in the water a couple of times but we couldn't blame her the water was freezing. We brought snacks and a blanket and we like o sit and lay down on the blanket under the sun to keep warm. We ate our snacks some heathy others not so much! And we always had a blast!

Apple Picking

2010-01-18T11:21:00.000-08:00

Every Fall as a family we LOVE to go apple picking! We pick At least 2 bushels of apples if not more. a half a bushel we save to eat but the rest we make home made apple sauce! This year we picked about 3 bushels of apples. They were so good and with all the people in this family it only took 15 to 20 minutes for 2 bushels of apples to fill up. We also took some VERY fun pictures wile we were there. And individual pictures as well. We found some creative ways to get to the top of the tree for the very best apples. There was also a meddle ladder there and we had so much fun on that. Expecally the boys. We had a very fun time and Kyle was in heaven. One of his favorite foods is apples. That night he had about 8 apples. He was pretty fun but some how he still had room for donuts and apple cider. IT WAS A BLAST!

Grandparents Gift part 2

2010-01-18T11:03:00.000-08:00

The 2nd part of our Christmas present from our Grandparents was we finally got a Wii. We haven't had a video game in about 7 years. So our parents finally bought a Wii for us with our Grandparents money from Christmas! In picture 1 Its Kyle and Avey playing Baseball. Picture 2 is Adri and Sherri playing Tennis. The 3rd picture is Tony and Kurt playing Baseball. Picture 5 Ariel and Avey playing Bowling. We also got Mario Cart and it a blast as well!

Grandparents Girft part 1

2010-01-18T06:28:00.000-08:00

We all had so much fun for Kyle's Sweet 16. We just kept talking about it and then the whole family wanted to go together to Michigans Adventures. About 2 weeks after Kyle's birthday celebration we went to Michigans Adventures together as a family. We went straight to the back of the park to the roller coaster called the "Thunder Hawk". And you actually do 3 back flips. Its a blast. We went on th "Thunder Hawk" about 4 or 5 times that day. There is a picture of us on the "Thunder Hawk" that Tony took. In the 2nd row is Adri (left) and Kyle (right). In the 3rd row right behind Adri and Kyle is Ariel (left) and Avey (right). In the 4th row is Kurt (left) and Sherri (right). We are just about ready to go into a back flip!
Then right at noon the water park opened and we had already changed so we go right in. One of the water parks roller coasters wasn't in the actual water park and we went in a boat, then went down hill into a pool of water. The water splashed up onto us and soaked us from head to toe. There are a couple pictures above that show that incident. One of the kids acting cold and wet (which they were), a bridge being splashed with water and mom and dad drenched with water as well. When the water park got to busy we left and changed into dry clothes. Then it was time for lunch and then the roller coasters! Kurt loved every ride except the 2 that went upside down. That really freaked him out.
The families favorite ride though is called "Shivering Timbers". We went on that roller coaster 7 times i think. It was made out of wood and had hills after hills. Then you go on a shape turn and have little hills that go under some wood and it feels like your going to hit your head. The front and back are the best places to be. In the back you come out of your seat and are only being kept in because of the seatbelt and it feels like your a sling shot. And its fun in front because on all the hills you hang there for a few seconds before you go down hill! Its a blast. The first picture of all the kids is them standing in front of "Shivering Timbers"

Kyles Sweet 16 at Michigans Adventures

2010-01-05T08:50:00.000-08:00

For Kyle's Sweet 16 he wanted to go to Michigans Adventures. Kyle was allowed to take three people. He wanted to take some people from the cheer team so he took his sister Avey who was happy that he took her. Then Sierra also from cheer. And then he took a friend from EFY named Dilan but he liked being called Pooh Bear. It was a nick name given to him by some friends from church. And he is proud of it. We spent they whole day there in the morning we went on a few roller coasters while we waited for the water park to open up. We got some lunch and then right as the water park opened we changed and went right in. There was hardly any line. It was awesome. When the lines started to get to long we left and we also just wanted to ride some roller coasters. We changed again and then got on our way. A few minutes before the park closed for the day a storm rolled in and they had to close everything down. We wanted to ride one more ride but couldn't. When we finally got in our car and there was a HUGE traffic jam. When we finally got out we stopped and got dinner! We had so much fun that day. And at the restaurant we were so tired we were laughing at anything and everything. It was hilarious.

Kurt's Camp Chris

2010-01-05T08:39:00.000-08:00

Kurt has gone to a Deaf camp for a couple of years now and its just for kids. Kurt loves it. But he never sleeps. During the summer he keeps looking at the calender to see how much longer he has to wait till camp. Sherri went to pick him up and he was so tired, and happy to see mom. He came home and was like a zombie. Once he sat down on the couch he was out like a light. He slept for about two hours or more. But he had a blast.

Kyle's Sweet 16!

2010-01-05T08:06:00.000-08:00

IT'S KYLE'S SWEET 16! While Kyle was sleeping we all decorated the hallway with balloons and toys from the dollar store, we stuck all the toys on the wall. It was a nice surprise for him. Then we had scones for breakfast YUMMY! Mom unfortunately had to work that day so dad stayed home and we went out and about all day for his birthday. We gave him clues and scrambled up letters. He had to figure out what it said. The first was we were going to see a movie. The new Harry Potter movie. After the movie was another clue and that was, we were going to Burger King for lunch. After that we were suppose to go bowling but there weren't any bowling allies open. WE drove around for about 2 hours trying to find another bowling ally or lazer tag place. Some where fun! That night was cheer practice and the s couldn't believe he was 16 year old. they could still remember little Kyle.

(Kyle just getting up) (Dad making Scones) ( this is the clue Kyle had to figure out)

Kyle is now a Priest!

Nationals Competition

2010-01-05T07:52:00.001-08:00

Avey, Adri and Kyle all made it to Nationals! Unfortunately Adri's team (Three Rivers) didn't place. But they looked REALLY good! On a better note Avey and Kyle's team took 2nd place out of 3 places! They looked really good and felt good too! We were all very proud of and happy for each other.
Pictures (1 Avey and Kyle's team) (2 Adri and her friend Tatum) (3 the kids with the mascot Panda)

State Competition

2010-01-05T06:39:00.000-08:00

Avey and Kyle's Team Preforming At their State Competition. You can always find Kyle but Avey not so much! Everybody blends in with each other. Their team is from the city Otsego. The s on the team are from different places but all practices are located in Otsego. They have s on their team who drive an hour both way to get to practice. Avey and Kyle's team are like a family, they all stick together. Sherri is an assistant Coach on the team and the kids love it! Sherri has known almost all these s ever sense they were little.

Home Improvments

2009-12-18T06:47:00.003-08:00

Over the summer we have been working on our house. We got a new hard wood floor and its called Rustic Oak. We are putting the hard wood floor all though the house. We aren't quite finished with it yet. We have most of the house done but still have to do Tony and Sherri's bedroom. If there is enough wood we will do Avey's room as well. We stared this project in the beginning of June. We started in the Living room and have made our way into the dinning room down the hallway and into the Kitchen! We put in the floor ourselves and its very rewarding! Then we realized that our cabinets were falling off the wall and thought it would be a good time to replace our cabinets as well. Our cabinets are now hickory and are VERY beautiful. Our Kitchen was a little discombobulated for a little while until we got counters back. The after picture of the kitchen is a little old. We got new grant counter tops a couple months ago and they look beautiful. We love our new floors and Kitchen!
(Picture 1 Living room) (Picture 2 Before) (Picture 3 After)

EFY

2009-12-18T06:06:00.002-08:00

EFY (Expecally For Youth)! This EFY was Ariel's last year. And Avey's first. Ariel is super sad that she cant go any more but would like to be a counselor one year. This EFY was held in Eastern Michigan University. Everybody stayed in the dorms. There are different age groups and in those age groups are more groups. Kyle and Avey found out that they were in the same group! They were so happy when they found out. Their group was call "This is Foolishness". And they had wonderful counselors. Ariel was in a different group and her group was called "Choose Liberty". The camp was from Monday-Saturday. They had 2 dances and a game night. Thursday night was the Talent show. Ariel, Kyle, and Avey tried out for the show but most of the stuff they did wasn't allowed. Because they were doing cheer stunts and tumbling. Nothing was allowed to leave the ground. They did say that it was the best choreography that they have
seen. And Friday was our ser ves project. We colored rugs for kids to play with.

Ariels Deaf Camp

2009-12-18T05:46:00.000-08:00

Ariel had a busy summer. But she had so much fun. She had the opportunity to be a camp counselor for a family deaf camp. Our whole family used to go every year but this year we were to busy and wanted a week to relax and be at home. Luckily Ariel was still able to go! She got to work with the younger kids. It taught her to have a lot of patience. But she loved it! She went up there Saturday afternoon and came home the following Saturday afternoon. When she got home we were all excited to hear about all her stories and she couldn't wait to go to sleep!

Youth Conference

2009-12-17T08:31:00.000-08:00

This was Avey's first Youth Conference. Everybody met at a church and were split up into groups and then made flags together. Then we were told to get in our cars and leave. We followed a car to a camp site and that was where everybody stayed, at a camp site for the nest 3 days. Ariel and Avey barely saw Kyle at all. He was always hanging out with his friends. We knew right away he would have fun. The last night we had a special activity. We got in our groups and we were taken to an unknown spot and then blindfolded. We had to hold onto a rope and not let go. Eventually it turned into a rod. Then we were led to a white tree and by the tree was white chocolate covered strawberries. This was like the tree of life. It was very cool.
The green flag is Ariel's and the yellow one is Avey's. We didn't know which was Kyle's so no picture. The other picture is of everybody leaning how to dance.

Ariel and Kyle's Trip to Tenn

2009-12-17T08:19:00.001-08:00

(Uncle Shane, Ariel,Kyle, and Eva) At the beginning of this summer Kyle and Ariel wanted to go down to Tennessee and visit family. And they did. All by themselves. They felt like they were on top of the world. They were there for 5 days. They had fun hanging out with their Aunts, Uncles, and there 3 cousins. They got to stay up till whenever and sleep in till whatever time they wanted. Our Aunt Maure-Lee took Ariel shopping to get some really cute clothes. And cute clothes she got. Uncle Shane took Kyle to work 1 day. He is a music genius. Kyle enjoyed learning about music from the master! And of course they both had fun playing with the s!

Oh and 1 of Kyle's dream cars!

Ariel Graduates Seminary

2009-12-17T08:15:00.003-08:00

Ariel is finally done with seminary! She is so happy. Now she can sleep in till 7 am. She is so happy to be done.

Adri's First Temple Trip

2009-12-17T07:54:00.000-08:00

Adri was so excited when we were finally able to go to the temple because it would be her first time. It was very touching and a lot of fun to have another person in our family to join the group.

Adris Swim class

2009-12-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

Adri went to a session of swimming classes. And was the best in the class! She enjoyed it and she learned how to dive!

Avey's 14th Birthday

2009-12-17T07:13:00.000-08:00

Avey's Birthday was a lot of fun. The day of her birthday we skipped school and had Art class! We made pictures but we didn't use paint brushes. We all had so much fun.

Then on Saturday all the s and a couple of Avey's friends came and we made bags we all sewed them ourselves. Then came back for cake. Avey got a cheer bag, cheer magazines and shirts she was so excited!

Easter

2009-12-17T05:37:00.000-08:00

Today is Easter! We all got to sleep in and when everybody got up (or woke each other up) they got to see what the easter bunny gave them that morning. All the kids were super happy about all that chocolate. And so was Tony!

Adri's 12th Birthday!

2009-12-10T09:51:00.000-08:00

Adri is finally 12! She loves to rock climb. Thats what she wanted to do for her birthday was go rock climbing with her friend Larissa. Sherri and Ariel went with so they could hold the rope at the bottom and for the s and go climbing themselves! They had a blast. They went all day and brought a lunch with them. They had so much fun!

Utah Trip!

2009-12-10T09:05:00.001-08:00

On the way to Utah we saw LOTS of trains and LOTS of windmills and went through LOTS of tunnels. The kids got super bored they had a camera and started taking pictures of everything. They were long days and nothing to do except homework so they took LOTS of pictures!

While the kids were in Utah they went to an indoor water park. They had a BIG water slide and lily pads to walk on and pretend they were monkeys.

While the s got to go and play with Sophee and go on Motorcycle rides the boys got to make and lay some mud for Grandpa!

Adri and Avey went over to their cousin Neal's house and got to visit with him and his wife Makensey and their daughter Sophee. They were so excited to play with Sophee. Neal took them both on his motorcycle and had a blast!

When we left we weren't ready to leave but work schedule's were to tight to stay any longer. On the way home we went through Colorado. There happened to be a blizzard and we were only going about 35 mph on the freeway it felt like forever. Almost everybody was sleeping in the warm truck. When we finally got home we were so happy to have warm food and sleep on our own beds!

Daddy Daughter Dance

2009-12-10T08:23:00.000-08:00

Adri felt like a princess today. She went and got her hair done all cute and curly! Then came home and got all done up with make-up and glitter. She and Dad had a blast. This year was her last year. But her and Dad made up for it. After the dance they went out to go get ice cream.

Life

2009-08-28T17:39:00.000-07:00

Life is good when:
You get a new camera.
When you successfully survive cheer summer camp.
Kurt never wants to leave his camp but cant stop hugging mom!
The sunburn heals.
You eat blueberries off the bush until you might burst.
It seems there aren't enough days to squeeze in everything we want to do.
Ariel got a job!
The other kids have a farm hand helping job!
So many blessings .. so little time!

Sickness

2008-12-17T12:33:00.000-08:00

The last couple of weeks a wicked strand of flu virus hit our house and has been traveling around despite all the Lysol and Bleach! *grin* The first bout coupled with previous abdominal pain landed Avey in the hospital, dehydrated and terribly sick. She stayed in the hospital Sunday Dec 7th and came home early evening on the 9th. It was the best Birthday present she could give her dad...just to be home. Yesterday, Dec 16th she had some nasty testing done. They got all the biopsies they wanted and now we wait for lab results! She didn't do well after the procedures. She had a hard time waking up from the sedatives and her stomach was worse than ever. The one hour recovery took about 3 and 1/2 hours. We stopped in the pediatric surgeons office to meet his partner, the only other pediatric surgeon in our area. The surgeon we were working with left on his first vacation in three years today. There have been many blessings along this road. How grateful we are that so far Avey doesn't have any life threatening illnesses, although the rest of us have been three shades of green we are all generally healthy, the doctors and staff working with Avey have been exemplary, the priesthood in our home to shower blessings as needed, wonderful friends and family to bring in food and support, and last but most important the faith that is carrying us in this time.
A big hug and kiss to all of you for your care and concern! We love you!

Our DC Trip was Perfect

2008-11-22T18:43:00.001-08:00

Our trip to Washington DC was spectacular! A huge thank you goes out to all the grandparents and Joanie for whom this trip would not have been possible! Their Christmas gifts from last year funded our family trip. Another thanks goes out to Doug and Barb for all the hotel arrangements. We saw all the sites, memorials, museums we could cram in! The subway was an experience all by itself! We went to the Temple and Ian and Kayla's wedding. It was a beautiful ending to a once in a life time trip!

Labor Day 2008

2008-09-01T16:55:00.000-07:00

Labor Day Weekend always brings great fun. We went put-put golfing and had a rousing time! Mom even fell over the pond wall and drenched her leg. If it wasn't for Kyle she would have really went for a swim. But on a positive note her dip in the pond won us all another round of put-put. We rounded out the day with ice cream. Monday brought a movie and the museum. A wonderful exhibit of Thomas Jefferson's science collection and a mid-evil interactive floor that was great fun! We are sad, farwell summer!

Kurt's First Camp ... Alone!

2008-09-01T16:48:00.001-07:00

Kurt couldn't wait to go! He sat waiting with his bags packed for over an hour. After running a cheer camp for 385 kids the week previous I was my own nightmare taking Kurt to his camp. Not organized, long lines, confusion, kids running around, and schedules missed all lead to Mom having massive tears as I waved good-bye to Kurt. He had a big smile on his face. Tony bet he wouldn't make it passed Wednesday...He did! We picked him up Saturday and he would have loved to just move in and stay there until he realized everyone was going home. His expressive signing increased tremendously! He has been a joy to chat with!

Ariel is Official and Driving!

2008-09-01T16:36:00.001-07:00

No braces, drivers license, and a car....it's all over now! She starts her next semester at KVCC Sept 2nd and I miss her already. She's still at home but I feel her age beginning to slip away from me. It is bittersweet to watch my baby independent!

Summer Fun

2008-07-30T05:45:00.000-07:00

We love Lake Michigan! Summers are grand on the Beach! We went to watch fireworks for July 4th. We also go for random fun and spend the day!

Family Deaf Camp 2008

2008-07-30T05:10:00.000-07:00

Bonfires, Swimming, Boating, Treasure Hunts, Pirates, New Friends, A Horrific Rain Storm, Beach Volleyball, Smores, Tubing, Knock Down Drag Out Four Square, Glitter Fest, and Can Man! Although we missed having Kyle and Tony with us, we had a great time as you can see.

Ariel State Champion Soccer Team!

2008-07-30T05:06:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to Ariel and all her teammates! They won their private school state soccer tournament. She is a first time player this year and has improved a lot. We look forward to seeing her next year again. Although the schedules were horrific, it was well worth it!
We love you, kid!

Cheerleading State Competition Spring 2008

2008-07-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

Avey's Division 5 took 5th place and is going to Nationals. Kyle's Division 6 team took 2nd and is going to Nationals! Congratulations! We love you!

Check out my Slide Show!

2008-06-02T13:05:00.001-07:00

Avey: A full fledged TEEN!

2008-05-29T07:05:00.001-07:00

Happy Birthday Avey! Another teenager in the house and we love it! She is like 13 going on 30. This kid has the best sense of humor and smart as a whip. She has gleaned all the best of Ariel and Kyle to make quite a kid! We went to the movies, hung out with friends and shopped until we dropped... well, Mom dropped anyway!

Cheer Spring Competition 2008

2008-05-29T06:59:00.000-07:00

Congratulations my Division 2 s: 3rd place!
Now we move on to State. All of my Three Rivers teams did a great job. Avey's team took 3rd place and moves on to State as well. Kyle's Division 6 team has an automatic bid to State! We are all excited to compete! Next to being a mom, being a cheer coach is the best!

Avey's Quilt

2008-05-29T06:17:00.000-07:00

Avey made a lap quilt for her great grandmother. This is one side and the other has pockets made by all the grand children and their families. Each pocket has a note with each persons favorite memory of grandma! Nice job Avey, it was a great way to pass off your Knowledge Value!

Missing: Kurt's Tonsils

2008-04-23T08:59:00.000-07:00

Kurt had his tonsils and prominent adnoids removed Monday, April 21st. I took Kurt to the hospital after having explained the procedure and all that would happen while we were there. Other than being nervous, he did great! After he had been awake for a while he was watching a movie and drinking his Slurpee when the nurse came in and asked, "Are you ready to go home?" Kurt looked at me puzzling, "What?" I reinterpreted the question, thinking he was still groggy. Again the reply, "What?" A third time I signed, "Do you wan to go home?" Kurt, looking even more confused said, "You said I had to have my tonsils out!" Today is day three, the expected worse day, and he is doing great! That high pain tolerance sure comes in handy about now!

Easter

2008-04-08T07:28:00.000-07:00

Incredible to see Easter met with loads of snow. All Easter egg hunts were canceled for the outdoors. We were hit with a snow storm the Friday before which covered the freshly melted ground. Saturday was spent digging out. Sunday we enjoyed a beautiful Michigan winter day, sunny and extra bright. My Grandmother always says that "Good Friday" should be called "Sad Friday" because it is the day the Earth mourns the of Christ. The snow had special meaning for us that day. What a glorious Easter celebration!

Adri is 11

2008-04-08T07:15:00.001-07:00

Adri has long awaited this day and is officially a self proclaimed "pre-teen"! We took her to the hair salon for a real lady hair cut! Check out those bangs! Her sisters bought her an outfit at the mall and we just had to have shamrock shakes at McDonald's! We hit the empty movie theater and headed home for dinner. The day ended with the traditional Daddy Daughter birthday outing to get Ben and Jerry's ice cream. The flavor? Peach Cobbler, Dad's personal favorite and now Adri's too!

Winter Just Won't Release Her Grip!

2008-02-26T07:37:00.001-08:00

It's winter here in Michigan
And the gentle breezes blow
Sixty miles an hour
At seventeen below
Oh, how I love Michigan
When the snow's up to your butt
You take a breath of winter
And your nose gets frozen shut.

Yes, the weather here is wonderful
So I guess I'll hang around
I could never leave Michigan
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground.

It is true that Winter has not released her grip. I have never heard of a winter with continual snow in our southwest corner of the state. We had four more inches last night. We have broken records for amounts of snow in February that date back before 1800! The good news? There are signs of spring. This morning I heard birds chirping and saw buds in a tree that will not bow to Winter! Spring will come! In the mean time we enjoy the beautiful white mirrored sunsets and sunrises. Ones that look as if there are clouds in the sky and on the ground. We put stock in the saying, "March in like a Lion and out like a lamb."

Our Blog is Open!

2008-02-19T07:27:00.000-08:00

A big thank you to Kyle for setting up this blog for friends and family to see some happenings in the Michigan Lefler's lives. Kyle originally made a blog and then I was fooling around with it and erased everything he had done. So. . . after a lot of heartache and headache, we're back up and running. Things are still being added so check periodically and see what's up here in winter wonderland!