How can it be March already?? We are doing the usual, Kevin working at the club when the parking lot is not an ice rink. Kolby playing basketball, and Kyle and McKenna living the life of school, friends, eat, and sleep. Pretty rough and how I long for those days!! Kyle did lose his 1st tooth on Wednesday, March 3rd. It was kind of a sad occassion as Kevin and I realized it was the last of our firsts with the first teeth falling out. I know it sounds weird, but they are growing up way to fast. As for me it was a rough start to the month. I got a call on Thursday, February 25th, in the morning from my mom telling me that they were taking my grandma to the hospital by ambulance. She said she was dehydrated from vomiting and having diarrhea the previous two days. They found out she was in renal failure, but thought it was from being so dehydrated. Doctors said she would be in for sure until Monday. Didn't really think much of it and was going to visit over the weekend. Friday morning I got another call from my mom saying that my grandma had ovarian cancer that spread to her lungs and that was causing the renal failure. They were taking her off of all medications but morphine and moving her to hospice. She was not expected to make it through the night. I went home and waited for the kids and quick did a paper that was due for my masters class that night. We packed bags and headed home. We got to my hometown to drop the kids off at my dads when I got the call that she had passed. I didn't get to say goodbye, but I believe my grandma would not want me to see her that way. I didn't look at her in the casket either because I wanted to remember her with the loving smile she ALWAYS had on her face. She was an Amazing woman and here is a video that shows her with her husband, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and friends. She will forever be remembered!
Friday, March 5, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Where did January go??
Back in the middle of the month, the 15th to be exact, I met some friends that I have had since birth in Marshalltown for supper. They are amazing people and I am very lucky to have them in my life. Kevin usually works on Friday and Saturday nights, but he was able to stay with the kids. I am not sure why this doesn't happen when I am home alone with the kids, but Kyle and Kenna got asked to stay at a friends/neighbors house and Kolby got asked to stay at another neighbors/friends house. Kevin got to enjoy some quiet time and we got to sleep in the next morning. The twins ended up going to the YMCA in Waukee. They had a blast!! Kolby played Rock Band and shared the songs that he was singing and playing, while Chantz, Trenton, and Matthew rocked out on the keyboard, or guitar. I can just picture the sight. Later that week I was able to go out again with some amazing and fun neighbors! Out 2times in 1 week!!! WOW!! That doesn't happen very often so I enjoy them when they occur. We have continued to have several snow days and I am going until June 9th and the kids are going until June 4th right now. Still a lot of winter, so we will see what happens. Really hoping for an early spring.
I have started my last 2 classes for my masters and turned in my comp exams and research report this past week. A little bit of a relief when I handed the postal worker my envelope. Now I just need the end of April to get here so that I can be done with another chapter in my life.
Kevin had to close the Country Club down last weekend because the driveway and parking lot was a sheet of ice. Despite the one weekend of being closed, things continue to go well. He is waiting to see an orthopedic surgeaon and does not get in until February 22nd. He fell in the middle of December running after Trish and Jeremy's garbage can lid. Doctor said it would be better in about 4 to 6 weeks, but he is still in pain and does not sleep well. We are really hoping to not have to deal with surgery again as we do not want a repeat of last April. Gives me nightmares just thinking about it.
Kolby is playing basketball and is playing games in Waukee. It is a lot of fun and he has wonderful coaches that work hard and patiently with him. He sometimes does not have his head in the game and I get on him. I do not sit quietly when I am at games so I am sure I already embarass him. I have already got the "shut up, mom" look.
Kyle and McKenna have been good sports during Kolby's games. If they are not watching they are usually playing their DS. We just got their diebels reading scores yesterday and I am so proud of them. Kyle made great growth and McKenna was off the charts. Hard to believe we are half done with kindergarten.
During these 2 weeks we went to a swimming birthday party at the YMCA in Waukee where Kolby jumped off the high board. Watched the Superbowl playoff game at Jason and Debbie's which was very heartbreaking. Will Favre come back??? We also managed to go sledding on a day that was warmer. Other than that life remains crazy at the Dirks house.
I have started my last 2 classes for my masters and turned in my comp exams and research report this past week. A little bit of a relief when I handed the postal worker my envelope. Now I just need the end of April to get here so that I can be done with another chapter in my life.
Kevin had to close the Country Club down last weekend because the driveway and parking lot was a sheet of ice. Despite the one weekend of being closed, things continue to go well. He is waiting to see an orthopedic surgeaon and does not get in until February 22nd. He fell in the middle of December running after Trish and Jeremy's garbage can lid. Doctor said it would be better in about 4 to 6 weeks, but he is still in pain and does not sleep well. We are really hoping to not have to deal with surgery again as we do not want a repeat of last April. Gives me nightmares just thinking about it.
Kolby is playing basketball and is playing games in Waukee. It is a lot of fun and he has wonderful coaches that work hard and patiently with him. He sometimes does not have his head in the game and I get on him. I do not sit quietly when I am at games so I am sure I already embarass him. I have already got the "shut up, mom" look.
Kyle and McKenna have been good sports during Kolby's games. If they are not watching they are usually playing their DS. We just got their diebels reading scores yesterday and I am so proud of them. Kyle made great growth and McKenna was off the charts. Hard to believe we are half done with kindergarten.
During these 2 weeks we went to a swimming birthday party at the YMCA in Waukee where Kolby jumped off the high board. Watched the Superbowl playoff game at Jason and Debbie's which was very heartbreaking. Will Favre come back??? We also managed to go sledding on a day that was warmer. Other than that life remains crazy at the Dirks house.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Birthday Parties!!!
The first weekend started off with Christmas at Grandma Murphy's and then to my dad's for Christmas as well. It was a good weekend even though it was only the kids and I since Kevin had to work. Tuesday, January 5th, was Kenna and Kyle's birthday. They are now 6 years old. We went to Boston's for supper and then went home to watch the Iowa Hawkeyes win the Orange Bowl. Very exciting! all of us ended up not having school on the 7th and 8th due to snow and coldness. I ended up going and getting my passport on that Friday.(Mexico can not come soon enough) =) On that Friday evening I helped a friend at her open house for her new photo studio. She is amazing and if you every need pictures I will give you her name. She does a great job in a short amount of time and is very reasonable. Then came the crazy weekend!! Saturday we had McKenna's birthday party. She had six of her friends join her at Teddy Bear Connection at Merle Hay Mall. The girls had a lot of fun and they were fun to watch and listen to. Sunday we had church and when we were getting ready to go I discovered that Kevin took the keys with him to Winterset. Yikes!!! Thank god for wonderful neighbors!! Heather and Mike got us to Sunday school and church and then Liebe's got Kolby to basketball practice. We had Kyle's birthday party at 3:00 and we were late. Kevin was running behind from the club and well, he still had my keys so we had to wait for him. The party was a success despite being a few minutes late and all of the boys had fun. They all got DC-G T-shirts so that they could be on teams for flag football. It was a good weekend, but I was ready for bed on Sunday night.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Year, New Goals!!!
So, I haven't been so hot at keeping this updated. With the new year I have set new goals and I am going to try to get on once a month to update on the family happenings. 2009 was a rough year for the Dirks and we were very happy to see it go. We are excited for 2010 and the possibilities and opportunities it may bring. Kevin took over the Winterset Country Club October 1st. He Loves the new job and has met some wonderful people. I am still teaching in the same position and same school. I still love my job and the families I work with. I just signed up for my last 2 classes and WILL graduate in May with my masters. Never thought I could do it, but the end is in sight. Kolby is in 2nd grade and involved in basketball at the moment. Kyle and McKenna are in Kindergarten and just turned 6. They are having their birthday parties this weekend, so if I am really on the ball maybe I will post again next week. Until then, happy new year to everyone.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Back......due to peer pressure!!!!
Yes, I know I am way behind. Actually that is an understatement I know, but what can I say it has been way crazy at the Dirks household. So what has been happening. Kolby completed 1st grade and the twins finished preschool. Kolby is now playing machine pitch baseball and just finished the season last week. Kyle and McKenna are on the same t-ball team and they have one game left. The biggest thing to happen that through the household into a whirlwind was when Kevin got his knee surgery on Monday, April 6th. Everything went well. He was up and moving the next day on crutches and even went into work a couple days later. That Friday, April 10th I got home from work and volunteering in the twins room and Kevin was complaining of calf pain. It continued and when he would stand up his lower leg would turn bright red. Finally around 5:15 he called the surgeon to ask if this was normal. He got the on call surgeon and he told Kevin that if he was his buddy he would tell him to get to the emergency room and that it was probably just fluid that was causing pressure and soreness in the calf. The kids were spread out all over the neighborhood so Kev said he would just drive himself figuring it was nothing and would return home shortly. He got to the hospital at 6:00, finally got taken back at 7:15, and at 9:00 I got the call that they were keeping him because he had blood clots in his leg. I called the neighbor and she came over immediately. I headed to the hospital and when I got there they were going to take him back to have a CAT scan to make sure none of the clot broke off and made it to his chest. They were sure that it probably didn't since he just had the surgery on Monday and it was only Friday. Of course they were wrong. He did have a blood clot in his lung. Long story short he spent Easter weekend in the hospital and got out late Monday afternoon. Our adventures of course did not stop there. Thursday we headed back to the ER because Kev was in a lot of pain. They would not do anything there but manage the pain so we finally got into the surgeon in the afternoon and he had to drain Kevin's knee. It was quite disgusting. While we were at the ER we were placed in the trauma room because they were full. Now, the trauma room is one big room that can be divided into three rooms by curtains. THey are managing the pain and we are waiting when all these doctors and nurses come rushing in. They move us over to the middle of the trauma room and ask us if we will be ok because we are going to hear some strange noises and screaming. We hear Life Flight land and they bring in a 40 year old male that was in a motorcyle accident going 30 some mile per hour and his helmet came off. Yes, there were some interesting sounds and the poor man had to have a rectal exam. The adventures did not stop there though. That following Monday I was taking Kevin to his bloodwork appointment and we were exiting to the hospital when all of the sudden we looked up and there was a man hanging from the 9th street bridge. If he would have let go he would have landed in front of the car or on it. Kevin called 911 and it was busy. When we looked around everyone was on their phones. Once he got through they said emergency personnel was on its way. We didn't see anything after the appointment so they must have rescued the man.
On the lighter side you will see Kyle's rear end in the pictures. This is what I saw when I came up the stairs one Saturday morning. I asked him what in the world was all over his butt and he said it was Kolby's signature. I talked with Kolby and he said that he was just signing Kyles butt like McKenna's cabbage patch doll. So innocent!! You will also see some pictures from Christmas, our Valentine's Day pizza we made, our friend Bailee's birthday party, sledding, dance, a couple plays, ball pictures, neighborhood kids helping the college boy push a truck, and probably many others that I am forgeting.
On the lighter side you will see Kyle's rear end in the pictures. This is what I saw when I came up the stairs one Saturday morning. I asked him what in the world was all over his butt and he said it was Kolby's signature. I talked with Kolby and he said that he was just signing Kyles butt like McKenna's cabbage patch doll. So innocent!! You will also see some pictures from Christmas, our Valentine's Day pizza we made, our friend Bailee's birthday party, sledding, dance, a couple plays, ball pictures, neighborhood kids helping the college boy push a truck, and probably many others that I am forgeting.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
August & September.......... A little late!!!
Can you tell that school has started again!!! It has been extremely busy at the Dirks household. I am going to back track and start by sharing some adventures from August. Kyle and Kolby were both sick and it continued off and on for quite a few days. I originally made a doctors appointment for Kyle on Wednesday then changed it to Kolby since he threw up the night before the appointment. They did a strep test and it cane back negative so we assumed they both had a bug. That Saturday we were to get up and head to Minnesota for a Twins game since the boys got 50 cent tickets from the summer reading program at our library. Kyle again did not feel well so we went to the doctor again. Come to find out, he had mono. Not sure who he had been kissing but as odd as we thought it was for a young kids to have mono I guess it is not uncommon. The doctor told us that he could not ride bike or scooter and should just sleep when he was tired. We debated on what to do and decided to head to Minnesota and go to the game on Sunday instead of trying to rush to get to the Saturday night game. The kids had a good time and if I remember correctly I believe the twins won. You will see in the picture that Kyle got pretty sleepy and worn out at the game. We finished up the last days of our summer by going to Lost Island Waterpark in Waterloo. The kids and I had a great time with some of our Ackley gang. KcKenna and I went back to Ackley for Nick Boelman's wife's shower. We got to spend time with the Abbas gang and Mckenna and Bailee had a blast playing all day. They are so cute and they kind of look like little versions of Andie and I when we were little. Check out the pictures of the two of them in the montage! I started school on Thursday the 14th and Kolby, Kyle, and McKenna started on the 18th. Kolby is in 1st grade and the twins are in their 2nd year of preschool. Everyone is doing well! We also started soccer. Yes, all 3 kids are playing soccer. I requested that Kyle and McKenna be on the same team and I am so thankful I did or it would be even more crazy than it is. McKenna also started dance. She has practice once a week, so between that and soccer we have been doing a lot of running. The kids and I also took the opportunity to see Shawn Johnson the West Des Moines Gymnast who brought back 4 medals from the Olympics. She and her parents are absolutely amazing and inspirational individuals.
Now for September, we started the month off by going to the Prairie Meadows horse races with our neighbors. We came out pretty even. I guess that is a good thing! The day after Kevin and some other neighbors helped another neighbor hall rock to their backyard. It was the coolest thing to watch. It went fairly quickly and it was like watching a time lapse. It honestly gave me goosebumps watching it and reminded me once again of why I love my neighborhood. The kids also had Cole's, the neighbor's, birthday party were they were entertained by the balloon man. They got some cool balloons. Other than getting kids to practice and games the other excitement for the month is Kolby's 7th birthday. It is so hard to believe that Kolby is that old already. Where has time gone. He enjoyed a baseball birthday party at PS Sports Zone where he and his friends could to hit balls in a tunnel. McKenna continues to have dance and is kicking up her heels every Monday night to prepare for recital once again in May. Kyle discovered new vocabulary. One day McKenna shut the car door on him. He wasn't hurt at all, but he came in and said "McKenna shut the damn it door on me!" Serious as could be. I asked him to reeat what he said and he said the same thing. I told him to not use that kind of language and that damn it was a naughty word. So...... a little while later he says "I want a damn it snack." Notice he is saying damn it and not just damn. So, somewhere he has heard it and thinks it is pretty cool. Needless to say we quickly put a stop to it and he hasn't said it since. Kevin was busy with work as always with a couple trips to Canada again. I continue with teaching, working on my masters class, and hauling kids everywhere. Enjoy the pictures from the last couple months.
Now for September, we started the month off by going to the Prairie Meadows horse races with our neighbors. We came out pretty even. I guess that is a good thing! The day after Kevin and some other neighbors helped another neighbor hall rock to their backyard. It was the coolest thing to watch. It went fairly quickly and it was like watching a time lapse. It honestly gave me goosebumps watching it and reminded me once again of why I love my neighborhood. The kids also had Cole's, the neighbor's, birthday party were they were entertained by the balloon man. They got some cool balloons. Other than getting kids to practice and games the other excitement for the month is Kolby's 7th birthday. It is so hard to believe that Kolby is that old already. Where has time gone. He enjoyed a baseball birthday party at PS Sports Zone where he and his friends could to hit balls in a tunnel. McKenna continues to have dance and is kicking up her heels every Monday night to prepare for recital once again in May. Kyle discovered new vocabulary. One day McKenna shut the car door on him. He wasn't hurt at all, but he came in and said "McKenna shut the damn it door on me!" Serious as could be. I asked him to reeat what he said and he said the same thing. I told him to not use that kind of language and that damn it was a naughty word. So...... a little while later he says "I want a damn it snack." Notice he is saying damn it and not just damn. So, somewhere he has heard it and thinks it is pretty cool. Needless to say we quickly put a stop to it and he hasn't said it since. Kevin was busy with work as always with a couple trips to Canada again. I continue with teaching, working on my masters class, and hauling kids everywhere. Enjoy the pictures from the last couple months.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Dog Days of Summer
What a crazy month! It all started with a wild and crazy 4th of July party at the neighbors. We had a wonderful time eating, drinking, and watching fireworks. The kids had a lot of fun playing and then when it got dark they got to watch a movie outside on the back of the neighbors house. I have to say I honestly believe we have the best neighborhood in the world.
The kids had swimming lessons for 2 weeks in Dallas Center. All 3 of the kids passed their lessons and they LOVE the water. Kolby can go down the slide in the deep end and go all the way across to the other side of the pool without any help. McKenna thinks she can swim in the deep end, but she is not quite ready for that. She can do her facefloat, backfloat, and is just starting to get the crawl. Kyle is finally getting in the water and trying to do things. He is going under the water to get objects and with help he will do his backfloat and facefloat. Several days after lessons instead of driving home we would pack a lunch, have a picnic, and then go back to the pool for open swim. The kids and I are having a fun summer and I don't think any of us are ready for school.( to write the word is painful)
The kids have had birthday parties this month as well. McKenna helped Emma, a neighbor, celebrate her birthday. She got to wear her princess dress and at the party they had a balloon man that made all the girls a balloon princess. (Check out the pictures at the end of the montage) Where was this guy when I was young?? All 3 of the kids got to go to Backyard Adventures to help Trenton, another neighbor, celebrate his birthday. The kids had lots of fun playing on swing sets and shooting hoops. They had to wear their Twins baseball shirts and when they got there they got black stickers for under their eyes to look like real players. They also got to play at Recess in Ankeny for Jackson and Aiden's birthday party. They are twins that are neighbors as well. Yes, we have a lot of neighbor kids with summer birthdays!
We had a party at our house for our friends Dorann and Alex who will be moving in August. All of the Ackley girls and their families were there. It was so nice to get together with everyone. All of our schedules are extremely hectic and we don't get to get together like this very often. Check out the picture with all of our kids. They are getting so big and actually rounding all of them up for the picture was relatively easy.
The kids got to spend 3 nights with Grandpa and Grandma Dirks in Clear Lake. They had lots of fun swimming, golfing(Kolby), riding the golf cart, playing in the lake, and just plain old being spoiled. When we went to pick them up we all got to go jet skiing and enjoy a day at the lake. It was a beautiful day and everyone had lots of fun.
While the kids were at Grandma and Grandpas I was able to get my research proposal done and turned in. (Only 4 classes to go and I will have completed my masters) Kevin and I were able to go out for supper and play a round of miniature golf. I beat him on the first nine and he beat me on the back nine. I gave him a run for his money as I about beat him on the back as well, but I figured I better let him win or he would say I cheated. Our house was too quiet while the kids were gone, so we were glad to have them back.
We have been getting a lot of rain and we have been very fortunate to not have any water in the basement, but one night we got approximately an inch and a half in a half an hour and the neighbors drain was clogged so we had a lake in the back. The water was quickly flowing into our window well and the drain in there could not keep up so where did it go? Yes, in our basement. We had some friends over at the time and they helped vacuum and clean up the miss. We had to tear up the carpet and get rid of the padding. We had a dehumidifier, and 4 fans running to get everything dried out. Everything looks good and now we have to hire someone to put down the padding and relay the carpet. Thanks for everyones help!!! Seems like there is always something.
Kolby lost another tooth, this time on the top. This is number 3 and number 4 is close. (check out the picture). McKenna has learned how to ride the bike without training wheels. No more training wheels at the Dirks house. =( Kyle is going down the big water slide finally and discovered that he likes it even with the water on.
We had our family pictures and kids pictures taken this month by a neighbor. She made them into montages so I added those as well. If you have pictures coming up I highly recommend her. She also makes cards. Feel free to check out her website http://www.landryannadesigns.blogspot.com/ Enjoy the photos!!
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