February 2012

February has been a busy month!

Trystan and Alyssa both participated in the first ever GHS Comet Dance Team Dance Camp on February 3rd. They had a great time. The girls then performed the dance they learned along with the dance team and other campers at the next home basketball game on February 10th.

February 11th Alyssa and I went to Powell Symphony Hall with the BRAVO 6th graders. We went and listened to them play different Disney music. It was FANTASTIC!! Tracy and Trystan spent the evening together while we were gone. Great father/daughter and mother/daughter bonding. :)

The girls also had dental appointments this month. I am happy to report that both girls are cavity free. Alyssa will need to be visiting an orthodontist very soon. She is losing her baby teeth and there isn't enough room for all of her permanat teeth to come in. We will probably go while we are off durning the summer.

Trystan was supposed to have her four month scans/appointment on February 20th. But, we got a call to cancel that appointment because the doctor would not be in that day. They were rescheduled for March 5th. Guess we'll have to hold off celebrating 2 years cancer free until then.

Alyssa participated in her first ever solo/ensamble contest on February 25th. We missed her first duet because they were running 40 minutes early! Ugh. :( We were not happy at all about that. She then performed again later that day in another duet and we were definately there for that one. She did fabulous! Alyssa walked away with two firsts!! Way to go Alyssa!! We are so super proud of you!! Later that evening, Trystan and I went with my mom to the Make-A-Wish Dance in Collinsville. Alyssa was too tired to go, so Tracy took her home and they spent an evening together. Another great father/daughter & mother/daughter evening.

January 2012

Happy New Year!!

New Year's Eve the girls and I went to Tim & Lori's for a small get together. Poor Tracy had to stay home as he was very ill. The girls had a blast playing with all the other kids that were there and I had a good time catching up with old friends.

Alyssa performed with other dancers from Fusion Dance Center at a Feet of Grace Dance Performance on January 20th. All donations that were received that night went to Konner, a little boy fighting brain cancer. He lives in Greenville as well. The weather that evening was aweful! Not as many people came out that we had hoped for but they did tape the performance and sold them to help raise a little more for Konner.

We are praying that this year is a good one filled with health and happiness for our family. :)

December 2011

December has been a busy month! Alyssa had her Jr. High Christmas Band and Choral Concert. It was great!!

We started off the Christmas Break by the girls and I baking cookies and a birthday cake for Jesus. We had the Rieke Christmas here at our house on Christmas Eve. Everyone visited, ate, and had a great time opening gifts. Christmas Day morning, we went to church(it was our month to teach Children's Church), came home and prepared our side dish for the Watson Christmas dinner. We all gathered at Grandma Watson's house for more visiting, eating, and gifts! Another great night. :)

The day after Christmas, I decided to take the girls shopping to let them spend their gift cards they got for Christmas. Grandma Rieke came along with us. We had a fabulous time! They had gift cards for Justice, Kohl's, Old Navy, and Wal-Mart. I love when they get gift cards. It teaches them to only spend what they have and to not over spend. I must say they really did well!

The rest of Christmas Break we tried to relax as much as possible. Christmas Eve we were invited over to Tim and Lori's house. All the kids played while the adults visited and fun was had by all!!

November 2011

We started off November with a bonfire and hayride. We had a lot of fun! Thanks to our neighbors for letting us use their hay wagon. :)

Trystan invited Uncle Buddy to participate in the Veteran's Day celebration in her classroom on November 10th. I went in to help serve punch and got to see what the kids did for the veterans and the presentations the veterans gave the class. It was all very moving!

Thanksgiving was great! We are so very thankful for healthy kids. :) We spent Thanksgiving Day with the Watson side family and had a great time. Black Friday, I went with Grandma Rieke and Aunt Carrie Christmas shopping while the girls spent the day with daddy. The girls had a good time with daddy and I got a little shopping done. Saturday after Thanksgiving we had the Rieke Thanksgiving at the Troy Library. After eating our dinner, we had a surprise 80th birthday party for Great-Grandma Huck. She was surprised and many family and friends came to help her celebrate her big day!

October 2011

Trystan is continuing to do well in school. She gets a little discouraged when she isn't able to do what all of the other kids do. But, she is continuing to do more and more things she's been unable to do for so long. We are so proud of her!
On October 10th she had her appointments with both the oncologist and her bone doctor. It was a very long day! We started off in radiology for her chest x-ray and then headed up to oncology. The doctor was happy with Trystan and her x-ray was clear! He told us she is to come back in February for her two year check up. But this time she will be seeing the late effects team. It was then off for a lunch accross the street at Applebee's. After lunch we headed to the bone doctor appointment. She had to get her leg x-rayed before her appointment. Trystan always does extremely well with these x-rays. We then headed back to the doctor's office. We waited there for a LONG time!!! When she finally got to see the doctor, he said her bone is continuing to grow. However, the bottom screw in her leg is cracked at the head of the screw. He isn't concerned at this time but will continue to watch it. He also said that if ANYTHING starts to hurt she is to stop doing it immediately!
Halloween went great! We started by taking the girls to Grandma Watson's and then headed to Grandpa and Grandma Rieke's. We parked at Gpa & Gma Rieke's and met up with the Adolph's and company. The girls had so much fun with the group going from house to house. I got to thinking about last Halloween and how Trystan was still in her wheelchair going from house to house. This year she was walking from house to house on her on power! God is AWESOME and continues to bless us!

September 2011

School started a couple of weeks ago. So glad the girls are back on schedule. On September 2nd Trystan had a food challenge on her allergy to peanut butter. When they finally got the test started, she lasted through about the fourth dose. She then began to react. Started by a itchy runny nose and a little sneezing. The sneezing then was continuous and her eyes began to swell. They gave her Zyertek, Benedryl, and hydrocortozone. She kept crying and asking to just go home. But we were unable to leave until all the effects subsided. Upon leaving, they gave us paperwork to call on a later date for a two month follow up.
Once we got home we began packing to go camping for Labor Day weekend. We all needed that after the long day we had. The weekend was great and we had a fabulous time!

July 31 - August 6, 2011

Sunday-Went to church this morning. We then came home

Wednesday-Today the girls each received two free passes to the Magic House in St. Louis for winning the Leaps of Love frog contest for the month of July! They were so excited and cannot wait to use them. :)

Thursday-Quickly ran to Edwardsville this afternoon with the girls and Grandma Rieke to pick up birthday gifts for Kortnie and Derrick.

Friday-This evening was Derrick and Kortnie's birthday party at their house. We all had such a good time visiting.

Saturday-This evening Alyssa performed in the Bond County Talent Show with Chloe and Hannah which Lucy had choreographed. They did an AWESOME job! We were so proud of Alyssa. Unfortunately they didn't place and the girls were a little disappointed. :( After the Talent Show Tracy, Trystan, Grandma Rieke, and myself ate supper at the fair while Alyssa went out for ice cream with Lucy and Chloe at Dairy Queen.

July 24-30, 2011

Sunday-Went to church this morning and came home for lunch. We stayed inside for the bulk of the day because we finally got some rain today! PTL!!! So glad to see some precipitation. :) This evening we decided to take the girls to the theater in town to see Zookeeper. It was a pretty good movie. The girls cracked up through a lot of it.

Monday-Today I took the girls to the Madison County Fair. It was so hot out, we didn't stay long. We went and saw the rabbits, chickens, cows, hogs, and sheep. It was a lot of fun! Just before we left we stopped at the Tropical Snow stand and got some snow cones. Those were great and helped to cool us off for a short while. When we got home we did swim for a little bit.

Tuesday-Ran to Vandalia today to go to the pool store to have the water tested and to Wal-Mart for school supplies. Alyssa had to get a lot of stuff for Jr. High! I couldn't believe all the things they had to have.

July 17-23, 2011

Sunday-This morning we went to church and came straight home. We quickly changed clothes and the girls and I left for a birthday party for a friend's little girl. It was sooo hot outside! We didn't stay too long, just long enough to eat lunch with them and see her open her gifts. This evening was Isaac's birthday party. His was in Highland at the public pool. It was lots of fun but also very hot, even to swim! I cannot believe how hot they say it's going to be this week! Stay cool and safe in this heat this upcoming week everyone.

Monday-Took Trystan to see Dr. Wilson today so he can take a look at her toe. He said that it didn't look like anything to worry about, but to watch it. If anything is to change we are to bring her in and he'll have a dermatologist to look at it. This evening Trystan started her dance camp. She was so excited and nervous about it at the same time. All that changed to pure excitement when we pulled up and she saw her friend Molly was taking the same dance camp as her. After camp she couldn't stop talking about how great it was! While I had Trystan at dance camp, Alyssa and Tracy went to eat with the rest of the family for his mom's birthday. Happy Birthday Grandma Watson!!!


Tuesday-Alyssa had some Border's gift cards to use before the stores closed. So we ran to Edwardsville in the morning. Then took the girls to see the eye doctor this afternoon. He said their eyes were exactly the same! He couldn't believe it either. :) They will both eventually be needing glasses, but their eyes aren't bad enough right now for them. He did also say they need to be coming every year now for eye exams. Trystan had her second night of dance camp this evening. She is still loving it! Miss Heather asked Alyssa if she would like to help with the class for the rest of the week. Alyssa was totally excited about that!


Wednesday-Spent the day at home today until it was time to take Trystan to dance camp. Trystan still had fun and Alyssa loved being the helper for Miss Heather!


Thursday-Today we had to run to Edwardsville because I had a doctor's appointment. The girls were so patient while they waited with my mom for me to finish. So, I took them for Coldstone ice cream and everyone was happy! This evening was Trystan's fourth day of dance camp. Not sure she's ready for it to end.


Friday-Last day of dance camp was this evening and we got to sit in and watch. Trystan did a fabulous job and Alyssa did a great job helping out!


Saturday-Had another day with a lot of running. I had a Dollar General coupon along with others to use so we met my mom at Highland DG and while we were there we ran into Tracy's mom. So once we were finished there we walked on down to Subway and all five of us ate together. We had a very nice time together. After lunch Grandma Watson went ahead on home while the rest of us went to Wal-Mart. My mom only had a few things to get so once she had those she went ahead and left. The girls and I finished our grocery shopping and came home. I unloaded and put everything away and then headed into Greenville to pick up a few other things. Once I got back we went swimming for a bit. The girls stayed out and swam while I came in and fixed dinner. It was a GREAT day!

July 10-16, 2011

Sunday-We woke up this morning and had breakfast at the hotel before leaving St. Louis. The girls went to Sunday School and Church with Grandma. We then met them at Teri and Brad's house for Trent's 14th birthday. We ate lunch, had cake and ice cream, and Trent opened his gifts. We all had a good time until Trystan started to have an allergy attack. I gave her a benadryl before leaving Teri's. By the time we were almost home, I had to give her another benadryl. She kept saying her head, eyes, nose, mouth, and throat hurt. She ended up falling asleep for a while after laying with ice on her head. While she slept, Tracy stayed with the girls and I went to pick up some things at CVS. I came home we ate supper and then headed out to the pool.

Monday-Alyssa started practicing with a couple of other girls for the Talent Show Competition at the Bond County Fair. Later in the afternoon, I took her to her first day of ballet camp. She loved it. She was very tired tonight, but decided to take a dip in the pool this evening. It was just too hot outside to do anything today, even swim!


Tuesday-Today was a busy day of running! Started off by going to Highland for a couple of errands and then back to Greenville for Alyssa's school physical at the doctor's office. While we were there, I had the doctor look at a spot on Trystan's right foot. She wasn't sure exactly what it was but thought that it looked like an irregular mole. She told us that we should take her to see her oncologist and have him take a look at it. So Tracy called there today and we are to see Dr. Wilson Monday morning at 10 a.m. Not news we were hoping for. :( After the doctor's office I took the girls for some lunch and then headed to our next appointment at the Bond County Health Department for Alyssa's immunization shots. Ran home for about an hour and then back into town for Alyssa to practice for the Fair from 2-4. While she was at practice, Trystan and I went to Vandalia to the Camper Store(they wrote us a check and forgot to sign it), the pool store(to check the pool chemical levels), back to Greenville to pick up Alyssa from practice and take her to dance camp from 4-5:15, and home for supper. Whew! I would love to say our day was over, but that wouldn't be true. :0) After dinner, the girls decided to go for a bike ride. This was Trystan's first official ride on her new bike she got from Leaps of Love(LOL) and she loved it! Thank you so much LOL for making Trystan feel that much more normal again!!! Both girls were exhausted tonight, but had a great day!

Wednesday-Friday - Alyssa really enjoyed dance camp this week! She really didn't want it to end.

Saturday-Spent this very warm Saturday at home and in the pool. Today was a day that I was really happy we have a pool! This upcoming week is going to be a scorcher!!!!

July 3-9, 2011

Sunday-HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY ALYSSA!!! Started off the morning by going to breakfast at Huddle House for Alyssa's birthday breakfast and then off to church. Came home and swam for a bit. Swimming had to be cut a little short because of a storm coming in. Grilled up some hot dogs and ate what we are calling lupper, lunch-supper together. Alyssa got a kick out of that! This evening we had both the Rieke and Watson sides over for Alyssa's birthday. All went well. She decided on having brownie sundaes instead of cake and ice cream. It went over GREAT! Everybody loved them. :)


Monday-HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!! Kirby came over this morning to help Tracy put in a new window unit upstairs. They got the entire thing put together and in the window only to find out the plug was a 220! Tracy then had to take it back to the store and get another one. Kirby had plans so he had to leave. When Tracy returned home with a new window unit, he and I put it together. Which took the rest of the afternoon. The girls swam for a short while, we ate dinner, and then left for Patriot's Park for the fireworks. The fireworks show was fabulous!


Tuesday-Today we spent the day at home. It was nice not to have to be anywhere! This afternoon the girls swam in the pool for a bit.


Wednesday-Trystan had her three month appointment with Dr. McDonald today. Before we went to see him, she had an EKG to check the chest pains she's been having. We arrived at the Heart Station a little before 8:00 a.m. Trystan's appointment was scheduled for 8:00, but there wasn't anyone there yet. The receptionist didn't show up until almost ten after! I guess everyone was running late for work becuase there wasn't anyone in yet to do the EKG at that time either! We didn't get called back until 8:30 a.m. We didn't get finished until 8:50 and still had to walk all the way over to the Center for Advanced Medicine for her appointment with Dr. McDonald at 9:00. Ugh! One person being late has now put us behind for the rest of the appointments. When we arrived at the CAM building we had to go over for x-rays on Trystan's leg before seeing the doctor. That thankfully went pretty quick and we finally arrived in Dr. McDonald's office at around 9:20 a.m. for our 9:00 appointment. When we got in to see the doctor, he was very happy with Trystan's x-rays. The first thing he talked about was the fracture from last summer. It has completely heald! Trystan's bone is also continuing to grow and thicken. He also said that she should be able to begin p.e. at school again. Praise the Lord for this wonderful news! One last thing we had to get done before leaving was go up to the nineth floor to sign some papers for Trystan to be in a study. Got home from Highland and took a dip in the pool for a bit.


Thursday-Today we had to get some last minute things for Alyssa's friend party that we are having tomorrow afternoon. We ran to Highland Wal-Mart first and then to Patty Cakes to pick up cupcakes. Came home and swam for a little bit.


Friday-Woke up this morning and made Trystan, Alyssa, & her friend muffins for breakfast. The three of them then played the entire day together. Trystan and I went out and swam for a while and Alyssa and her friend stayed inside together for a bit. They joined us later outside. We then came back in and waited for the others to arrive so her party could begin. All of the girls were here right on time. They ate Patty Cake Cupcakes and Alyssa opened her gifts. Then the party moved outside to the pool. The girls swam and played in the pool for a little over two hours. While they were in the pool, Tracy and Trystan ran to Highland to pick up pizzas from Little Ceasers. When they got back from picking up the pizzas, Trystan ate quickly then was picked up by Tim, Lori, and Cade and they took her to the movies in town. I then called the girls in for pizza. They ate and then ended the party playing Just Dance 2 on the Wii until they were picked up by their parents. All in all, I think everyone had a great time. Trystan came home after the movies having a good time there too!

Saturday-Today we left after lunch and took the girls to Grandma Watson's house to have a sleepover. Tracy, Tim, Lori, and I then headed to St. Louis for the Cardinal Baseball Game. Before going to the game we checked into our hotel and then caught a cab to go to the game. We got our tickets at the Make-A-Wish dance in Collinsville a few months back. The tickets were in the Champions Club. The tickets included food, drink, and your seats. We had a great time at the game and the girls had a great time at Grandma's!!

June 26-July 2, 2011

Sunday-Went to church this morning. Once we got home the phone rang, it was the Cole's Creek Campgrounds, letting us know that our reservations for this upcoming weekend have had to be cancelled due to all of the flooding from the rains. We are all really bummed about not being able to go camping. Guess we'll have to come up with some other activities for this weekend.

Monday-We are all so tired of all the rain and the storms! Praying and feeling so sorry for all of the farmers.

Tuesday-Took a trip to the zoo today. Alyssa, Trystan, Kortnie, and myself had a wonderful time at the St. Louis Zoo! No matter how many times we go, we none ever get sick of the zoo!

Wednesday-Nothing too much to report today. The girls and I did swim this afternoon in the pool. :)

Thursday-Today I took Alyssa to get her ears double pierced for her birthday. That was one thing she's asked for. She did so well. When we arrived at the mall, she could hardly contain how nervous and scared she was. The lady had her sit in the chair and she held my hand, once the first one was done, she looked at me and said, "That's it?! That wasn't so bad." She's getting so grown up. For getting her ears pierced, I got a 20% off coupon so she picked out a pair of earings and a couple of headbands to finish off her birthday gifts from mom and dad. Then this evening, Tracy and I took the girls to the movies to see Mr. Popper's Penguins. Very cute movie and the girls loved it too!

Friday-Today I took the girls and Grandma Rieke to the Peanut Butter & Jam Festival on the Highland Square. The food was good and we had a good time. Walked over to Patty Cakes to try her cupcakes. They were delicious! Right before we were going to leave out walked Miss Patty herself. The girls were so excited! You see, she's quite the celebrity in our house from the girls watching her win twice on the Ultimate Cake Off. The girls got thier picture taken with another "famous" person. This afternoon, the four of us swam in the pool today together. The girls had a blast! They love it when we are all in the pool together. This evening we took the girls to Bretz Wildlife for dinner and put put golf. Again the girls had a great time!

Saturday-I took Trystan to shop for Alyssa's birthday and to pick up a few other things for her party tomorrow evening. Trystan loves her sissy so much, it took her almost 45 minutes to pick out just the right birthday card! I then took her to Wal-Mart to pick out her birthday gifts. Trystan was so excited about what she had gotten for her big sister!

June 19-25, 2011

Sunday-HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!! Began the day by getting up a little late for church, stopped by McDonald's for breakfast only to get up in the drive thru to order and they were only accepting cash because their machine was down. We ran to the gas station to get cash from the ATM and back to pick up something to eat. Arrived a little late for church, but before the message. Tracy had a nice relaxing afternoon watching the ballgame and napping. I ran to pick up a few things from CVS while he relaxed at home with the girls. Tomorrow is Trystan's four month checkup with the oncologist. Nerves are beginning this evening. The worry of cancer returning is always on our mind with every ache, pain, and appointment. God will carry us through no matter what.


Monday-We took Trystan to have a chest x-ray and her appointment with Dr. Wilson. We arrived at Children's Radiology at about 8:20 a.m. and were called back for the x-ray at about 9:00 a.m. We were in and out of there pretty quick. We all then headed up to the nineth floor for her doctor's appointment. They seem to think that she's doing really well and her chest x-rays looked good. NED! NED! NED! Back in four months. :) The only thing we have to take her back before then for an EKG when we take her to see Dr. McDonald. We were really wanting them to check her heart because she sometimes has chest pains when she go for walks. We were very happy with the results for today! Thank you God for continued answered prayers.


Tuesday-VBS started yesterday, but since we were at her appointments we were unable to make it. We were sure to go today and are planning on going the rest of the week. :) Late this afternoon there was a pretty severe thunderstorm that knocked out the power. It went out about 4:30 p.m. just as we were talking about what I was going to make for dinner. It was still out when we ended up leaving to go into town for supper. We came home to find that the electricity was still out and didn't come back on til about 7:30 p.m. Relaxed the rest of the evening.


Wednesday-After VBS the girls and I went to eat with Grandma Watson, Tyler, and Toby to eat at Madge's. When we finished lunch the girls and I headed to Edwardsville. Trystan wanted to go to Old Navy to use her gift cards she got for her birthday and Alyssa had one as well she wanted to use. They each picked out some clothes. Then it was off to Border's. The girls didn't find anything so it was then off to Wal-Mart. Trystan wanted to find a particular toy and ds game. We also had to purchase a birthday gift for Cade's birthday party this weekend. Once we finished there it was off to pick up a gift card for my dad at Home Depot. We weren't finished yet! I still had to do grocery shopping. We decided to try to shop at Shop n Save. Some things were cheaper than Wal-Mart but others were about the same. It was deffinately cheaper than IGA! We then came straight home to unload the car. Spent the rest of the evening at home. :) We were all exhausted!


Thursday-VBS again this morning. The girls are really enjoying it! I believe they are going to be a little upset tomorrow when it ends. After VBS today Trystan asked if I would take her to the cemetary so she could place her wood cross craft she made today on Grandpa Watson's grave. Impossible to say no to that! We stopped there and then came home. It was too cool out today to swim. Trystan was unhappy about that but Alyssa didn't seem to mind much. Maybe tomorrow!


Friday-Last day of VBS today. They had a carnival for the kids today! The girls had a blast as well as all of the other kids that attended!

Saturday-Starting to use coupons a little more all of the time. Today I had a GREAT deal! Went to CVS and picked up four American Greenting Cards after ExtraCare Bucks and 25% off coupon I paid just paid $0.74! That's right 74 cents!!!

June 12-18, 2011

Sunday-We slept in this morning and missed church. But it was a much needed sleep for all of us. I used the day to do the laundry, clean the house, and . Much needed!


Monday-Today we hung out at the house and Mia came over to play today! It wasn't quite warm enough to go swimming though. But we were still able to have a great day. :) This evening I went out to start putting things in the camper only to see that the refrigerator wasn't on. I opened the door to the refrigerator only to smell the spoiled food, YUCK!!! Now the list has grown for the grocery store tomorrow. I came in and told Tracy that the frige wasn't on and he went into the garage and found that somehow the plug-in had fallen out of the wall. He came to the conclustion that one of the dogs had gotten in there while he was mowing yesterday and must have knocked it out.


Tuesday-It was an extremely busy day for all of us! Tracy ran to Vandalia for an oil change in his car and to the pool store with a water sample. While the girls and I ran to Highland to Wal-Mart for items for the next camping trip. We are going on a trip with the Rieke side to Santa Clause, IN leaving wednesday and coming home Saturday.


Wednesday-Left this morning for Holiday World with the Rieke side. We met up with Kirby in Nashville,Illinois and followed each other to Lake Rudolph. We set up the camper when we got there only to have to take everything outside down and put it away because of a storm. The storm wasn't too bad and thankfully didn't last very long. Tomorrow we all go to Holiday World!


Thursday-Today we all went to Holiday World and had a great time. Our family and Carrie's family are the only ones who have been to Holiday World. So it was great to see everyone's faces when we walked into the park. We did some amusement park rides in the morning, went back to the camper for lunch, and returned to the water park for the afternoon.


Friday-This morning we went straight over to the water park. We rode a few of the water rides then went back to the camper for lunch and returned to the water park. We had just finised in the water park and were heading to ride rides in the amusement there was a storm that entered the area and the rides were temporarily closed. Once the storm moved out of the area, the rides were back open. We rode the rides in the rain. The girls LOVED it!!!


Saturday-All through the night there were storms that came through. We none got much sleep because it was so loud and Tracy & I were watching the radar to be sure there was nothing too severe coming. The weather broke long enough for us to pack up the camper and hook it up to the truck to head home. The wind and rain made it a little difficult driving home. We left the campgrounds about 10:30 a.m. stopped for lunch, again for gas, and last for stretch. We arrived home about 2:45 p.m. unpacked the camper, sorted, and started the laundry. Father's day tomorrow!