Cousin Miles Turns 3!

On May 5th, Lily and Avery's cousin Miles turned 3 years old!  We made a day trip to Des Moines and celebrated with him at his house.  He had a big party with lots of friends and family.  The girls had a blast seeing all of their Kneifl side cousins. 

 Little Buddies...Miles and Avery

 Grandma Romaine chillin in the hammock!

 Miles and his Mickey Mouse Cake

 Miles and his mommy and daddy

 Pinata time!

Relay For Life 2012

Lights, Camera, Cure!  That is this year's Relay theme!  I have participated in The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life event for the past 5 years.  It is a great time and for a great cause.  All monies earned go towards patient aid, cancer research and resources for family members who have loved ones going through cancer treatment.  This year's Relay is on Saturday June 9th at Elkhorn South High School.  Even if you aren't able to donate I encourage you to come out and see what it is all about.  It is a family friendly event and anyone and everyone is welcome!  There are tons of kid activities (face painting, games, treats, dress up, etc.)  There is live music and some very touching ceremonies.  The night begins with a SURVIVOR lap.  The survivors wear a different colored shirt from everyone else so they can be easily recognized and honored.  All of the survivors tell what cancer they have beat or are currently fighting, how long in remission, etc.  They walk the first lap around the track...pretty impressive.  Later on in the night is the HOPE (or remembrance ceremony).  This is very touching and very emotional.  All of the luminary bags are lit in honor of or in memory of those who fought the battle and for those who lost the battle.  The word HOPE is lit up across the stadium bleachers, and then the track and stadium become quiet as this is a time to REMEMBER those we have lost. 

I have never lost a family member to cancer, but I have seen many families lose their loved ones over the past 7 years.  While working as a nurse in Oncology, I have seen parents lose their children, children lose their parents, husbands lose their wives, wives lose their husbands, grandchildren lose their grandparents, grandparents lose their grandchildren, kids lose their best friends...it goes on and on. 

 I have witnessed too many final goodbyes...click on the link below if you are able to help out.  Any amount goes a long way. 

http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/RelayForLife/RFLFY12PL?px=26456245&pg=personal&fr_id=40266

Thank you.

 

Just Because...

....I love them so much and they are so cute (I'm their mom, I can say that...over and over again!)

My Little Gymnast

Lily started gymnastics lessons last week at the YMCA.  She finished up swimming and asked to take dance or gymnastics.  I decided on gymnastics because it was a shorter time frame.  It is only 8 weeks and I think the dance session was twice as long?  I figured if she doesn't like it at least it is only once a week for a couple of months.  It is a class of about 10 3-5 year olds and they really don't do much.  They learn how to do somersaults (front and backwards), stretch, splits and walk on the balance beam.  I don't think it is even called "gymnastics" ...it is called "Little Tumblers".  She liked swimming so much and she moved on to the next level, so I think at the end of summer (when they can't be outside in the pool) I will sign her up for the next session.  I enjoy watching her interact with the other kids and staff and having fun.  She can be shy at times (do you believe that?!) and she sits back sometimes and doesn't hop up in line for her turn.  She lets the other kids keep going ahead of her, but I'm sure she will get more brave in time!  Last week I heard her telling the teacher that "I'm 3 1/2 and I have a baby sister named Avery!"  That is my Silly Lily!

Bryan and Brenda's Wedding Celebration!

(Grandma Romaine, Rachel and Lily)

Last Saturday we celebrated the marriage of Bryan and Brenda Promes (Bryan is a cousin of Jason).  It was a rainy, rainy day, but that didn't take away from the beautiful ceremony at Mahoney State Park.  There were weather threats all day long, and although the rain came down, the thunder roared, and the lightning struck everyone was still able to enjoy the day and we all had a great time!  It had been a while since the girls had seen their Kneifl family.  Grandma Romaine hasn't seen Avery since she has started walking!  Lily is always up for dancing and she did just that!  Little Avery was so tired and half asleep on me at times, but once a song started she popped right up with bunny in one hand and thumb in her mouth and danced right along to the music. 

On Sunday morning we celebrated Uncle Neal's birthday with a small breakfast at our house.  He was in town from Las Vegas for the wedding and he stayed at our house on Saturday night.  He and Jason stayed up past 1:00am to watch the brunt of the storm roll in...and roll out.  The sirens never did sound as they had thought they might, but the winds were strong and the rain came down in sheets.  I got up and made a couple of breakfast casseroles and stopped at Panera for some bagels and we enjoyed a nice Sunday breakfast with Uncle Neal, Uncle Matt's family and Aunt Trina's family.  The girls had a ball playing with their cousins!  All week long Lily kept saying she was so excited to see her cousin Rachel!

Congratulations to the newly married couple!

 Before the wedding (a 2nd chance to wear their Easter dresses!)

 Miles and Avery at the reception

 Avery sitting with Grandma and Grandpa

 Lily out on the dance floor

 Rachel and Avery

 Cousin Jensen sound asleep

 Doing each other's hair???

 Dancing with Daddy

 Dancing with Rachel

 Miles and his mommy...Sabina

 Grandma and Grandpa on the dance floor

 Lily with her Aunt Trina

Miles and Lily

The Newest Kneifl...

......is a FISH!  Yes, Lily got her very first pet today.  It is a Betta fish.  It is a male and she named him Boots.  She was going to get a female and name her Dora, but the male was a prettier color so she chose him instead.  She has wanted a fish for a long time, so I took her to the pet store today and got her one.  Going to the pet store is a big deal for me.  Pet stores give me anxiety.  I am NOT an animal person and I get all panicked and nervous with animals staring at me in every aisle.  We didn't tell dad ahead of time, but he didn't say much about it when we did tell him.  We got him a little tank with some gravel and a plant.  He is up high on Lily's dresser so little sis can't mess with him.  Avery does think he is pretty neat too, but I just don't trust her with him.  Who am I kidding...I don't really trust EITHER of them with a fish, but at least he came with a 30 day guarantee.  Dead or alive, I can take him back and replace him with a brand new fish within the first 30 days.  I wonder how long this one will last?  We have talked about taking really good care of him, and feeding him, and cleaning his water.