On our way to Grandma's house we were driving in standing water, and getting pushed by the strong winds. It was crazy the way the rain was coming down in waves. You could see the rain getting pushed by the wind. By the time we made it to Hwy 7 I was glad I wasn't driving, and I'm guessing Jason had white knuckles. We had to dodge a humongous tree that had fallen over the road, and cross over a downed electric wire (I thought this was very dangerous, but that's where the traffic was routed). We made it to James Street safely, our next decision was to figure out whether to park under a tree if it hailed, or to completely stay clear of the trees in case one would fall. We didn't have a choice of where we could park so under a tree we went!
We woke up to many downed trees and lots of cars buried by trees that had fallen on top of them or branches that had broken off, but thank goodness our car was spared any damage! While driving to Father Hennepin Bluffs Park for the walk we were able to really see the damage that was caused by this storm. Our hearts go out to the residence of South Minneapolis, they have a lot of work ahead of them!
The Heartbeat 5000 is a walk to raise money for the Heart Clinic at Children's. We thought it would be a perfect way to give something back to the clinic that has already done so much for our family. We wanted to walk to show our appreciation for the wonderful doctors, nurses, and unbelievable technology that has allowed Tovin's heart to be the best it can currently be!
We signed up under the team name of Tovin's Superheroes. I meant to have created a unique t-shirt with a cleaver slogan on it, but that never happened! I ended up making these capes instead. Hopefully next year we will be wearing team t-shirts, and our team will consist of more than four members! Note to self...I think I need a longer cape next year!
While we waited for the race/walk to begin they had many activities for the children to do. Tovin and Addison were enjoying the pool full of bubbles when Dr. Rios noticed Tovin. He immediately bent down and started to talk and blow bubbles with Tovin and Addison. We have wrote it a millions times, but I will write it again. Dr. Rios has completely surpassed our wildest dreams and expectations of what a doctor stands for! Out of all the people and children that were in the park on Saturday morning (there were a lot - in the thousands!), he stopped and genuinely took his time to check out Tovin say hello to Addison and chat with us. I can't say enough good things about him. We have a wonderful team of doctors and nurses in Tracy as well, we are so lucky to be blessed with medical staff that cares so much for Tovin's heart health!
Our team that only consisted of two parents, two children, two strollers, four drinks, one banana, and one roll of Ritz crackers crossed over the starting line. Next year our team will have more team mates (hint hint!) and consist of two rolls of Ritz crackers, and yes Addison we will grab a banana for you as well even though you'll say you don't want one!
During the walk there were many times that we saw some of Tovin's nurses and doctors. They would call out his name and wave at him, or stop to talk with him. These are just a few of the doctors that saw him daily while he was in for surgery, we met up with them while looking at the waterfall.
This is super dad! He's a fearless leader, driver, husband, and father to two wonderful children!
The 5K path took us past the Academy of Neurology. They were handing out very nice free bike helmets. We were able to get two helmets for Addison and Tovin. There were many different stops along the walk for us to pick up something for the kids.
Let's just say our 5K time was not a world record! We had so many stops along the way! We finally made it to the finish line one hour and eleven minutes later...I know that is a great time!
We made it back to the car and safely into their car seats. Tovin thought he was still hungry even after he ate a sleeve of crackers. Notice what Tovin has in his hands and the smile that is on his face! Yep, that is a black licorice stick! I'm happy as a clam that we share this love of "goodness" together!
We went back to Grandma Doris' house to check to see if the house had power. No such luck! We ended up going down to the Calhoun Square to eat dinner at our favorite Thai restaurant, Chiang Mai Thai. This restaurant has quickly become a necessity when we go to the Cities!
Jason wasn't too pleased to be poising for a picture in front of the restaurant...but I can never remember the name of the restaurant and now I can just look back at the blog to remember it! The cashew stir fry and sweet and sour stir fry are both amazingly delicious! Addison and Tovin love the mango juice, fried rice and pad thai.
I love this picture of my three darlings walking together! Tovin started out walking two weeks ago with very stiff legs, he didn't like to bend his knees. Now, Tovin is over keeping his knees straight. It's now become like he is taking an aerobics class and he is doing high knee lifts. Tovin was able to walk on his own and even run with assistance from Calhoun Square to Grandma's house...what a difference two weeks make!
It was good to see this street sign.
Saturday afternoon we went to Joe's house for his 50th birthday. Most of Jason's family was there to celebrate with Joe. Addison and Tovin were able to try White Castle"sliders" (Addison consumed two!), learn how to play badminton from Craig, bug Joe constantly about when the cake was going to come out of the house, and play with some of their cousins. Thanks Joe for a great party!
Addison asked Great Uncle Frank to hold and protect her baby Carol (Baby Carol is wrapped up in the blue sweatshirt) while she played in the backyard.
We didn't know if we were going to leave for home on Saturday night from Joe's party, or go back to Grandma's house for the night, but we left the party a little late and we still had to pick up some necessities from Targ*t before we left so we decided to stay.
Grandma's house still didn't have electricity so we decided to go to the Winter's house for the night. Thank you for the wonderful hospitality and delicious breakfast in the morning! While we were going to bed Addison brought up that she missed Great Grandma Doris, and wanted to see her again. Addison and Grandma had a great connection, and enjoyed being together. We talked about Grandma being in heaven, and that she's always in her heart and that someday she will see her again. Addison understands that Grandma passed away this past fall, but still wanted to be close to her again. Jason and I decided since we were in the Cities that we would take her to her grave site located in the Fort Snelling Cemetery.
Grandpa Joe was very proud to be part of the Merchant Marines, and felt it was an honor to be buried amongst his friend that share a common bond. This meant that Grandma could be buried here as well right next to or I should say behind Grandpa. Grandma's name is on the backside of Grandpa's marker.
Grandma knew about Tovin, and met him in pictures, but wasn't able to personally meet him. I know that Grandma would have loved him just as much as she loved Addison! I think that Tovin would have reminded her of her Stevie - a little bit of feisty mischief that's always on the go or pushing some type of button on a gadget to get a reaction or a noise! Notice Addison is sitting on the ground for this picture! This is huge...she really dislikes the feel of grass on her legs (the poky feeling)...she said she would do it for Grandma!
We were about to leave, but Addison was just milling around not knowing what to do (I don't think she knew how to leave, if that makes sense). She ended up giving Grandma a kiss goodbye. I totally missed it, so she gave her another kiss for me!
Some of the other markers had something by them. We didn't bring anything because we didn't know that we were going to make this impromptu stop. We wanted to leave something by her side, but what...there were many twigs on the ground, but I remembered how Grandma disliked twigs in her yard so that wouldn't do. As we were walking to the car we spotted a little bird's nest on the ground under a beautiful tree. We decided that the bird's nest would be perfect for her! She loved watching the birds out her window when she lived with mom and dad! Addison carefully placed the nest on top of the marker, but it was slightly windy out, and we thought it might blow away so she placed it...
on the ground. It was a perfect spot! I know that Grandma would have been pleased with the nest!
"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young... a place near your altar, LORD Almighty, my King and my God. Psalm 84:3
It was a perfect way to end an amazing weekend!
