2013 Kiddie Tractor Pulls

What a nice, cool night for this year's Pioneer Days kick-off!  We spent the afternoon playing at the inflatables at the park near our house, then this evening, we watched my nephew, Eli in the kiddie parade, and then our boys participated in the kiddie tractor pulls.  Both boys did an excellent job, with a little help from their (very) competitive coach (Jeff)!  Landon got 2nd place in his age group, and Logan got 1st in his!!!  Now that they aren't so shy about it, the boys look forward to doing this each summer during our town celebration!  We are very proud of them!

Landon - Working hard for a "full pull" but couldn't quite get there!

Landon was happy for his friend Blaise, who got 1st place, and Landon got 2nd!  Good work, Boys!

Go, Logan!!  Pedal, Pedal, Pedal!

Logan - proud of his first place finish!

Proud coach with his tractor-pullers!

Logan - Parathyroid Surgery - July 9, 2013

After quite a year of medical issues for Logan, related to high calcium levels in his body, he finally had the surgery that should correct it all!  Parathyroid glands pull calcium from your bones for your body when it needs it, but Logan had a parathyroid gland with a benign tumor on it causing it to pull way too much calcium for his body.  The result was a kidney stone last October, and had we not had the surgery, he could have had several more kidney stones, as well as bones being destroyed in his body.  Other common symptoms of primary hyperparathyroidism (which is what Logan has that was corrected by surgery) are learning difficulties due to calcium build up on the brain, headaches and other body aches, and possible damage to organs if not corrected.  We do not know at this time if the surgery will help Logan get rid of his headaches...it is just a wait and see time right now.  Logan has also struggled in reading for the past years, but there is also no real way of knowing if that struggle is related to the disease or something Logan would have struggled with regardless of having hyperparathyroidism.  Logan has come SO FAR with his reading skills, and we are not real concerned with that, but we HOPE that maybe he won't have his horrible headaches anymore!!

Anyhow, so the surgery was an incision through the front of Logan's neck (only about 4 cm wide) through with the doctor removed a swollen lymph node and the parathyroid gland that was enlarged.  You have 4 parathyroid glands and the doctor thought he would need to take 3 of Logan's, but it was GREAT news to find out he only had to take one of them out!!  Only taking one out made recovery from surgery that much easier, as well as possible complications in the future much less!!  Here are a few pictures of our brave, healthy boy!

Logan before surgery - SO BRAVE!               After surgery - not feeling too hot.

Day after surgery - feeling GREAT and ready to go HOME!

Family Pictures - July 2013

My cousin, Sarah, from near St. Louis, is a professional photographer that does some amazing work!  While home this weekend for our Umscheid Family Reunion, she took some precious pictures for our family.  We have had snapshots taken of our whole family before, but never anything remotely professional-looking, and certainly none of JUST my mom and dad, or of Mom, Dad, Ben and I.  I am SO PLEASED at the awesome pictures Sarah took for us!  Definitely something for us to cherish always!

That's a Wrap: Baseball Season 2013

Another baseball season has come to an end, and once again, both boys enjoyed their time spent on the baseball field!  Jeff coached both boys' teams again this year, and we both enjoyed watching the boys get better and better every week!

Landon's favorite position to play is first base, and he was quite the little slugger when it came to hitting the ball this year!  He hit it to the grass SEVERAL times, which is not real usual for kindergartners and first graders!  He was so proud and so were we!!

Logan's favorite position this year was as catcher!  Taking after his momma (and I think his Grandpa Mick, too)!  He found out how much being catcher hurts the legs, but still did a good job!  It took him most of the season to get used to kids his age pitching wildly at him, but he had a couple of great hits in his last few games!  

Well, it won't be long and we'll be on to the next sports season!  Logan is going to give tackle football a try this year!  We'll see how it goes, but we are proud of him for giving it a try!

Fish Tales

Yesterday, Jeff took the boys out fishing, which they all love to do together!  It's so fun to see Jeff share his hobbies with his boys, and then in turn to see his boys enjoying those same hobbies!  Of course when they come home, I almost always here about this huge fish that got away, this fishing trip included!  Glad they can have so much fun together, plus it gives me a chance to enjoy some time to myself!  :)