Did I say spring?

I guess I jinxed our early spring weather by writing about it last time...because winter has returned to the northwoods! Last week we had temperatures in the 50s, it was so wonderful. Friday night we were supposed to get a snow storm, but when we woke up Saturday  morning, there was only a dusting on the ground. We thought we'd escaped the return of winter...but we thought wrong! Sunday morning we woke up with about 6 inches of snow on the ground, and it hasn't stopped since. DJ came to plow our driveway yesterday morning, and he had to come back and plow again this morning. We have probably gotten around a foot at this point, but it's still coming down! It looks more like winter right now than it has all winter. I'm sure most people in town are rejoicing right now, hauling out their skis and snow mobiles. Personally, I am counting down the days until we leave for South Carolina!

We had a pretty uneventful weekend. Saturday afternoon we went to a benefit for a little boy named Lance. He is 7 1/2 and in the first grade here in Rhinelander. He was on Anna's flag football team, and he has cancer. He's been fighting it for a year now, and in December his parents were told the cancer had spread to his brain and he only had 2 weeks to live. Well, it's almost February and he's still going strong! When they did a second MRI to look at the progression of the tumor, it was gone!!! There is a lot of talk about miracles in Rhinelander lately, and also talk that it was never a brain tumor at all...but an infection. Apparently the two look the same on an MRI. Anyway, Lance is currently in Houston with his mother, receiving treatment at a children's hospital there from a doctor who specializes in this rare cancer. He now has to undergo 7 more months of chemo, at a cost of $2000 every 3 weeks...which insurance will not pay. They said the drug being used isn't FDA approved for a recurrence of the type of cancer Lance has. The ironic thing is that NO drug is approved for a recurrence of this cancer, it is such a rare thing that they haven't tested drugs for it. But his family is so strong, they are feeling so blessed to have this opportunity to "tame the beast" and have their little boy alive and with them...you can't put a price on that. So, we went to the benefit, which was a huge success and a lot of fun. Lots of kids games, clowns, silent auction, raffle prizes, bake sale, spaghetti dinner, etc.

On Sunday Anna went with a friend of hers to an ice skating show in Minocqua. Her friend Lauryn is an only child, so her parents often let her pick a friend to go with her special places. Last summer Anna went to the Wisconsin Dells with Lauryn and her family. They live just down the road from us....Anna and Lauryn used to attend school together before Anna moved to Nativity. I'm happy they have maintained their friendship.

Noah is feeling better, still coughing a little bit at night but not running a fever anymore. Unfortunately, I think I caught whatever he had, but it's not so bad to have it as an adult. Give me some Dayquil and Nightquil and I'm good to go!

I've found a couple of really great things to do while we are in South Carolina. One is a boat tour out of Georgetown, SC...very close to where we are staying. It's a 3 hour ride, takes you to a barrier island where you can do some shelling, bird watching, and there is a historic lighthouse on the island too. The other is a day trip to Charleston, about an hour south of where we are staying. Spend some time in the historic city, and go to a place called Boone Plantation. There are original slave houses there that were shown in the TV show North and South.

One more thing before I go. My dad is in the hospital in Liberty, MO. He was having trouble breathing on Saturday night, so he went to the ER. So far nothing has shown up on any of the tests, but he is supposed to see a cardiologist today and have some more testing done. He has a history of a heart attack, almost 9 years ago I believe....so this was pretty scary.Please remember him in your thoughts and prayers.

Better get going. Trying to catch up on laundry, as always! Wish me luck, the new session at the YMCA starts today. I've signed myself up for 2 classes, and one of them starts tonight. It's a basic step class, from 4:15 until 5PM. I also signed up for a Women on Weights class on Thursday evenings. Pavan is taking a cycling class on Wednesday afternoons. Gotta get in shape forour time at the beach!

More later,

Rebecca

Pictures

Here goes my second attempt to add pictures, hope it works this time!

Anna had a good time at gymnastics last night, and I was able to stay and watch her the entire time. Pavan stayed home with Noah and Amaya because Noah was running a fever and had a nasty cough. I went ahead and kept him home from school today too, although he seems to be feeling better today. Anna is doing great, and is very excited to start her private lessons next Friday. While we were there, I noticed the coach of the Rhinelander High School Gymnastics team standing there....he's hard to notice, he's got to be the most unconventional looking gymnastics coach I've ever seen. He's about 6 ft, and about 350 pounds! I'm not even kidding, he's huge. He's the new coach this year, and I've heard mixed reviews of him. There were four girls from the high school team there working on some routines for an upcoming gymnastics meet. It was fun to watch them, and fun to watch Anna's class too. Unfortunately,  it was raining when I left Rhinelander, and we had to deal with the rain all the way to Weston, so it was slow going on the way to class. The rain had stopped by the time we headed home, thank goodness! I was worried about the temperature dropping and dealing with ice, but it was actually still around 40 when we headed home. Today it is colder, around 24, and very very windy! At least if it stays below freezing, we won't have to worry about any more drips today!

I also meant to mention to you all that we've postponed our Alaska trip until next summer. I was running into trouble making hotel reservations, and was having to change our itinerary every day in an attempt to be in the right place on a day when there was a room available. I never realized you had to book these things so far in advance, but I guess Alaska in July is very popular! So, this summer we will be heading to South Dakota, check out the Black Hills, Mt.Rushmore, etc. We had wanted to go to South Dakota last summer, but weren't able to go, so we're excited to go this year. That will give us one more year to figure out exactly what we want to do in Alaska, make the reservations far in advance. It will also give Noah and Amaya one more year, which should make it easier to tackle some of the day long boat and train rides we're hoping to take while in Alaska.

Better go, don't want to push my luck while AOL is cooperating...

More later,

Rebecca

spring drips

Well, I just spent the last 45 minutes updating the journal...and when I tried to save it, the whole thing was erased. That's the sort of week I've been having, haha.

So, real quick....

Our last two weeks have been busy, as usual! Pavan's parents came to visit from the 8th until the 15th. We had a great time, and they were able to see how our weeks go. They went to Noah's preschool, his Mini Mites Sports class, swim classes, and even went sledding with the kids one day when it got up to 20 degrees. Oh, did I mention they came up one of the coldest weeks of the year, brrrr!! They should have come up this week, it was 50 here today!

Yesterday I took Noah and Amaya to WalMart, it was 38 degrees and sunny. There were actually people driving around with their windows down, and their radios turned up! People were walking around with t-shirts on, and no coats! It was so amazing. I will have to come up with one of those daily calendars...you know you are in Northern Wisconsin when....

With the warmer weather comes our biggest nightmare, our leaky roof! The ice on the roof isn't a problem (as long as you look up before you step out from under the overhang!), but when it starts to melt it becomes a huge problem! Our roof, which wasn't installed appropriately, allows the water to track under the metal and into our house. Yesterday we set a record of 24 drips in our house at 4PM. There were 20 drips on the beam between the living room and kitchen, two drips in the vacuum closet...which trickled all the way down to the laundry room, and two drips in the bay window in the master bedroom...where there has never been a drip before. Today we have 9 drips going, as of right now. Six on the beam, and three in the bay window in the kitchen. What a mess. We have all our plastic containers, and some of our bowls...as well as about 15 towels...on the floor. Hey, welcome to our half million dollar home...don't mind the bowls!

One more thing....we found out today that a coach in Weston has agreed to give Anna private gymnastic lessons on Friday evenings from 5-6PM. I am so happy about this! Tonight will be the last time we get home after 10 PM from gymnastics class! Anna is really excited to have the coach all to herself for an hour, too. No word when gymnastics in Rhinelander will start up again, looks like at least April. Oh, another cool thing is that right after her lesson on Friday evening, they have an open gym time from 6-730PM. It only costs $5 and the kids can practice any of their skills, and have coaches there to help them out.

Gotta go. Kindra just got home, Amaya is napping, Noah and Pavan are downstairs watching TV, and I gotta run and get Anna from choir. Then at 530 we'll drop Kindra off at youth group and head to Weston for her last group class!

I'll add pictures later, it won't let me upload them right now for some reason. AOL drives me nuts sometimes!

More later,

Rebecca

An unwelcome surprise

Yesterday I went to WalMart, something I do every Tuesday when I drop Noah off at preschool. Of course, this time I took Noah with me since school was canceled. Kindra stayed home with Amaya and Anna. While I was at Walmart, I picked up two extra space heaters. I had big plans for those heaters! When I got home, I put three space heaters in the garage....hoping to get the temperature out there above freezing so we could turn the water on in the loft. About at hour later, I realized I'd blown the fuse in the garage. So, I brought one heater back inside and left it with two. All day, all night, all day today. This afternoon we turned on the water to the loft, I was in the garage watching in case we sprung any leaks. Thank God I was out there, as soon as Pavan turned on the water, this huge waterfall started coming down...in the storage closet in the garage. I was screaming at Pavan and running downstairs to turn off the water. What a mess!!! This is such a disappointment, on so  many different levels. First of all, once again we are left with guests coming tomorrow and no water in the bathroom for them to use. Also, we are left with having to fix the broken pipes in the garage. Only this time they are in an area that will be nearly impossible to access, which means they will have to take apart that closet and the ceiling, if not part of the loft, to fix the problem. And of course, it's yet another reminder of the problems we face with this house...and the fact that we still don't know what to do about them.

Better go, we are headed to Weston for gymnastics in a few minutes.

More later,

Rebecca

PS Anyone need an extra space heater?? HaHa

Brrrrrrrr!

Well the big news here for the past several days is the weather...the extreme cold! As I sit here writing this entry, it is -20 outside, with windchills -40. Unbelievable! The children are all home from school today, due to the extreme cold. From what I've heard, once it hits -15, but busses won't start. Besides, in weather this cold, it really is too dangerous for any child to be waiting at the bus stop, even for a few minutes. It looks like it will be down to -17 tonight, so they might have a 2 hour delay to school tomorrow. I think this is the first time they've actually canceled an entire day of school since we've lived here...

The really cold weather started on Friday, I dropped the kids off at school and then had to make a trip to Walmart. I sat in the car for awhile, in the WalMart parking lot, getting up the courage to grab Amaya and run into the store quickly. It was -7 at that time. Getting into the store wasn't a problem. It was coming back out and loading all the groceries into the car!!! I knew it was going to be too cold to get out again for several days, so I stocked up and had a lot to load. Brrrrr!!!

On Saturday, we had swim class in the morning. Pavan and I took Noah and Amaya to class, Kindra stayed home with Amaya. After class, Anna and Noah went to the child care area (free for members) while Pavan and I got an orientation to the wellness center (workout area). We are at the YMCA so often, just sitting on our butts and watching the kids....we figured maybe we could start working out for a little while instead of just sitting. About 20 minutes into the orientation I realized how overwhelmed I was by this room full of equipment...none of which I've ever used before. So I ask if they have personal trainers...it was partly a joke. But it turns out they have a program called Coach Approach. A coach meets with you and helps you develop a work out routine based on your personal fitness goals. They meet with you every two weeks for awhile and then every month. AND it's free for members! Very cool. So I signed up for my first meeting on the 16th. Hopefully Amaya won't have any trouble staying in the childcare area, if she completely freaks out, I'll have to rethink my plan. Oh, I also signed Pavan and me up for a cycling class that will be on Wednesday evenings starting the beginning of March. Anna's gymnastics class will be over by then, and he's off work on Wednesday afternoons, so hopefully it will work out ok.

On Saturday afternoon, Anna was singing during Mass with the Nativity Youth Choir. Kindra and I took her this time, we had to be there at 330, so they could practice for an hour before the 430 Mass. I am happy to report that time time I didn't stick out as much. I was careful to sit in the back row (haha) where nobody could stare at us except for the people in our row. In all honesty, I find Mass to be very beautiful, and deeply spiritual. Would I be satisfied as a Christian if that was the only type of service I ever attended?? Probably not. You basically do the same thing each Mass, with a change in the scripture that is read, and the message given by the priest. But, I enjoyed Mass and was moved by the devotion showed by this huge crowd reciting together and kneeling before the cross. By the way...when I told Anna's teacher (during parent teacher conferences a couple of weeks ago) about wishing I knew more about Mass so I could get through one a little easier...she recommended that I come to the children's Mass at the school on Thursdays. You see, Anna's school is basically a big church in the middle, with a hallway going all around the outside. This hallway is where the classrooms are located. So, last Thursday morning, Amaya and I went to Mass. Anna was so thrilled to see us there, we will probably go every Thursday when we are able.

I'd better get going. The kids are all awake (except for Kindra...I don't expect to see her anytime soon though). We are basically living out of our bedroom, since it's the only room in the house that's warm. As you probably know, our house has MAJOR problems with the roof. One of them being that the insulation is all wrong, so our warm air goes straight up and out the roof! With the temperatures being so low outside, our furnace just can't keep up. It's been running nonstop for more than two days now. It's set at 70, but the temperature in the living room/kitchen area is only 62. Brrr. I have a small space heater that I bought for the loft, and it's helping a little...but to spend much time in the living room you have to wear a couple of layers of clothes! However, our bedroom has 5 heat vents!! So it stays comfortable, thankfully! And the basement stays comfortable...for some reason the basement has too many air ducts and too few air return ducts. So the hot air gets blown into the basement, and then never gets sucked back up. We actually have to close the vents in the basement to keep from roasting! What a goofy house...some might say it fits out family perfectly, haha. I'll be happy when we can start building our new, properly insulated house!

The big news (other than the cold) this week is Pavan's parents coming to visit! They will be here on Thursday, and will stay for 10 days! WOW. I wish is was going to be warmer, coming from Texas it will be a real shock dealing with these temperatures! They might never come to visit us in winter again! And the strange thing is that we've had such a warm and wonderful winter so far, and the week they come we get this major arctic blast! Seems to be our luck...like two years ago when we had a house full of people show up for Christmas...and the water pipes to the loft froze and burst....on Christmas Eve!! Did I mention I can't wait to build our new house???

Oh, one more thing. I spend all day yesterday reading my brochures about Alaska, and read about half of the book Alaska for Dummies. I hope to finish that book today, and then nail down an itinerary so I can start booking hotel rooms and activities. For anyone traveling to Alaska, I HIGHLY recommend that book! It's just awesome, and the man who wrote it has lived in Alaska for 20 years...he has four children, ages 3 to 13, so throughout the book he recommends specific hotels, restaruants, activities that are good for children. The book is so specific too, lists specific hotels and restaurants, the price of the food, type of food offered, etc. But at the same time it's a very easy and quick read, with such valuable information!

By the way, Amaya is feeling much better. I said I was going to take her to the doctor on Monday if her diarrhea wasn't gone...a week is more than enough to convince me something is wrong! As of Sunday morning, the diarrhea is gone! Hooray! See the kind of stuff that gets you excited once you become a parent?

More later,

Rebecca