Our wonderful neighborhood association holds an Easter egg hunt each year. This year Annie and the girls even got to help clean up the park and hide the treats beforehand. There were many wonderful goodies to be found. Kerstin even found a numbered egg that meant she won a HUGE Easter basket. McKinsey won a cute butterfly. There were only a few raindrops before the hunt began, otherwise it was a beautiful morning! 
We were able to spend the day in Omaha today as a family. We ate lunch with some great friends at our favorite Omaha pizza place, Zios! Then we headed over to Children's Hospital with a wagon full of gifts for the 6th floor playroom. Kerstin and McKinsey asked their friends to donate a gift to the hospital at their recent birthday party. Stacy, the child life specialist, was thrilled with all the goodies for the patients.
Kerstin had her 6 month dental check up this morning, and she remains a part of the "no cavity club".
Saturday morning Kerstin got to meet about 30 of the Team In Training athletes before one of their training rides. The Omaha team (pictured) presented Kerstin with a teddy bear and a t-shirt. Kerstin brought some granola bars to pass out to the athletes. It was a great opportunity for the athletes and Kerstin to meet each other. For more pictures, click on the title "Team In Training."
Kerstin and her sister got to strap on ice skates for the first time today. Both of the girls have been roller skating before, but they soon found out it's a lot different on the ice. We only lasted for about 45 minutes (which was long enough). The rest of the day was spent napping, going to the IKEA store, eating, and swimming. Tomorrow it's back to Nebraska.
We visited the aquarium that is under the Mall of America. We even got to see them release a new sand tiger shark in to the shark tank with the rest of the fish. (Click on the title "Aquarium" for more pictures.)
Tuesday we met Rose and Alex Bouvier for lunch at the Rain Forest Cafe in the Mall of America. It was a fun lunch and we were all glad not to be back in Nebraska scooping snow.
We wanted to let you know about a wonderful opportunity our friend, Abby, is offering. For a donation of $5 or more, you can get your very own hand-made fairy. Abby, who is being treated for Leukemia at Children's Hospital, is making the fairies as a fundraiser for In the Arms of Friends. This brave 8-year-old is using her time stuck indoors with very low counts to benefit a wonderful organization. In the Arms of Friends provides all families of children with cancer a wonderful bag of items immediately upon diagnosis. The items include a treatment journal to keep track of all the mountains of paperwork you receive, gift cards, a disposable camera, a stuffed pet, and much more. This group also provided snacks for families at the Oncology clinic and much, much more. You can visit their website at www.inthearmsoffriends.org to find out more.
ble to join us at the theater. However, we were able to meet up with her and her mom for a quick present exchange while they were on their way back to Omaha.
The youth at our church are doing a fundraiser this weekend called "Uncle Phil's Diner". Annie and 3 other gals get to sing a song as a part of the dinner theater. Kerstin, McKinsey and Annie had a blast dressing up in 50's costumes for the event. What a wonderful opportunity to wear those Halloween costumes from 2 years ago. Kerstin and McKinsey are quite the dancers! They even did the Hokey Pokey! It was a fun evening, and the girls are looking forward to bringing their uncle and cousin to the show tomorrow night. They are trying to talk Mom into bringing them every night. Is it the dancing, the sloppy joes, or the root beer floats??
Kerstin's hair is really starting to come back in. Not quite enough to use any hair accessories, but it's getting there.
It was a fun and busy day for the Leaf family! Kerstin turned 6 today! Actually, she isn't officially 6 until 11:58 tonight. She was 2 minutes away from being a Leap Year baby.
special when you are a kindergartener. Her friends made her a birthday book and she got to wear a birthday hat and sticker all day.
We have had lots of company lately, and we are loving it! Annie's cousin, Todd, got married at Sheridan this weekend. Uncle Brian, Brenna, Grandma Clarice and Grandpa Gene were able to come and stay at our house. We also got to chat with many other aunts, uncles, and cousins at the wedding. It was so nice to see everyone. Best wishes to the happy couple.
Kerstin's grandparents from Colorado will not be able to come back for Kerstin's "birth day", so they held an early party for her complete with presents and an ice cream cake.
Dance fever that is. Grandma and Grandpa from the mountains showed up Sunday evening to stay for a few days. The girls were very excited to have a new audience for their dance routines. The grandparents got quite a show.
Things kind of slowed down after Valentine's Day. The weather got really cold (single digits and below zero), so we basically just hibernated when the girls weren't in school.
Kerstin had a great time at her Kindergarten Valentine's Day party. Her dad was also able to be at the party to help with the kids and read a story. See more pictures by clicking on the title "Valentines Day".
Kerstin received a Spinoza Bear over the weekend. This is a great addition to her collection because this bear actually has a tape player built in and comes with several Spinoza audio tapes. She can also play regular music tapes in it as well. Thanks again Faye. If you would like more information on the Spinoza Bear, go to www.spinozabear.com .
Kerstin was thrilled to go back to gymnastics on Monday. It's great to see her getting back to a lot of her old activities. See more pictures of gymnastics by clicking on the title "Back to Gymnastics".
We had visitors from the west today (Aurora, NE). Jeff's Aunt Shirley and Cousin Crystal made Kerstin and her sister each a blanket. Also pictured is Crysta's son Brian. Not pictured is Jeff's Uncle Max and Crystal's husband Jason. It was a very nice visit with some relatives that we haven't seen for quite a while.
12:44 P.M. couldn't come soon enough today! After more than 3 months, Kerstin is thrilled to be back to school! Mrs. Swiatek brought special celebration treats for the whole class. The kids also made her a beautiful card. Annie got to spend a little while at school with Kerstin and her friends. They are such a caring group of kids! Kerstin felt a little bit like a celebrity today! She had a great day, and we are sure she will sleep well tonight! God has taken especially good care of our little girl!
The Cavett Elementary PTO put on a "Waffle Man" fund raiser for Kerstin tonight. It was a great time, and there was a huge turn out. It was really nice for Annie to see some of her students and fellow faculty members. Kerstin was only able to eat half her waffle, but she said the half she ate was pretty tasty. I think it was almost completely covered in whipped cream and strawberry syrup! We would like to say a big "Thank You" to all of the teachers, staff members, parents and students who helped with this event. The fourth graders did a fabulous job of keeping the tables cleaned and ready for the next dinner guests. Kerstin and McKinsey had an especially great time watching the many students perform during the talent show. Thanks also to everyone who came out to enjoy a delicious meal and premier entertainment. We feel richly blessed to have such wonderful support from our family, friends, and school community.
hairs trimmed up.
It was absolutely gorgeous out this afternoon. McKinsey and Kerstin and friends played at the park for a while after school today. They claimed that almost everyone pushed faster on the Merry-Go-Round than I (Annie) could. I just didn't want them to get sick! They also created a new sport by going "Slide surfing" down the little slides.
We took Kerstin to Omaha this morning to the Oncology clinic. After some lab work, we got to go to the Pediatric surgery wing where the doctor removed her central line. Kerstin has been so excited to get rid of it, but was a bit worried about how it was going to get done. She did not realize that she was going to get a shot (she says 3 shots) to numb the area. The anticipation of the shot was much worse than the actual shot. It wasn't a very fun procedure for her, but she hung in there like a trooper! We are very proud of how tough she has been. We also met with Dr. G who outlined the plan for her Maintenance Therapy which began this evening. She will be taking a total of four different medications, all but one are in pill form. She will really be a pro at swallowing pills after this! We are hoping that the side effects of these drugs won't be as bad as the labels sound! She will get her blood checked every two weeks (at St. E's in Lincoln) and a check up by her doctor every 4 weeks (in Lincoln, too). This maintenance therapy will last for one year from today. We still will have to be careful and keep try to keep her from catching any major bugs, but we won't have to be as cautious as we were at first.
