Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Racing 4 Research

We all had a wonderful time in Daytona and at the 24 hour Rolex race.  The kids made it through 9 1/2 hours at the track on Saturday.  Matt and I actually had to drag Braden away.  We bribed him with go carting.  Kendall took an hour and a half nap at the track once the racing started.  Our tent area was right next to the pits.  Needless to say, we were VERY close to the action and the noise.  Leave it to her to fall asleep as soon as the cars start.
Before the race started, we were able to go back to the garage and see the car and the drivers.  We found Kendall's name on the car and Braden signed her name next to it.



Kendall also got a chance to sit in the car.  I knew she would cry but it will be cool to get a pic of her in it every year.  She did not enjoy a single second of being in the car.

Saturday night Kendall slept better than she had in awhile.  I think we wore her out so much that she didn't even have the ability to wake up.  Sunday we woke up to the disappointing news that our #4 car was out of the race and in the garage.  On Saturday, the #4 car suffered a little fender bender from another car that spun us out.  After a few minutes past, the driver was able to get the car back out on the track.  Unfortunately, the car's engine had a crack in it.  They drove it for a bit longer but then had to pull it off the track for safety reasons.  After breakfast on Sunday, we spent a few minutes on the beach then packed up and headed back out to the track to show our support for the #4 team.  We went to the garages to give the car our best wishes for a recovery and were lucky enough to run into Ryan Eversley.  He was nice enough to take a picture with us and our NF hero.
Sunday at the track, Kendall didn't last that long.  She was a little more sensitive to the noise and was burying her head in my shirt every time a car sped past.  We only spent a little over an hour on Sunday at the track and then headed back to Orlando to visit Downtown Disney.  As soon as we put Kendall in her car seat and took off, this is what she looked like.
Sunday for lunch we had to eat fresh seafood since we were at the beach.  We went to the closest marina and found the tastiest looking restaurant.  This is a video of Kendall eating her ice cream.  She is getting so independent that she didn't want me to feed it to her with a spoon.  This was so funny to watch.

Overall, it was a wonderful trip.  We will definitely be back next year.  The Children's Tumor Foundation was successful in raising over $600,000 for research over the weekend.  It was awesome to be a part of it.  The entire staff of CTF made us feel so welcome.  I had such a great time seeing everyone again and introducing them to my family.  Braden became best buds instantly with a few of the other NF kids that were there.  It was so great for me to be able to explain to him that the other kids have NF like Kendall.  I think it helped him see that other kids are living with NF and are doing great.

Thanks everyone for checking up on us.  Please continue to pray Kendall's sleeping improves.  She did so well during the trip but is now back to waking 3-4 times a night.  I think right now she may be cutting a tooth.  Our next trip to Cincinnati for her MRI is in a few weeks.  We will have made it 2 months without returning.  That is the longest she has gone in her life.  Amazing!!

FUEL THE CURE!!

Love,
Steph

9 comments:

  1. Lol she is so funny eating the ice cream, I love the attempt to use the spoon then the realization that it was more fun and easier to just use her fingers. Lisa Miller

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    1. Thanks Lisa! BTW...I keep forgetting to return your text. You can stop by whenever if you still want to.

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  2. Kendall looks so great. I have not had the opportunity to pop in to the site often but she looks great since the last time following surgery. The video is funny and she was enjoying it so much. Her little fingers probably got cold and that is why it went back and forth so fast (ha ha).
    Stephanie you have done so great with all of the difficulty of NF. God has blessed you and will help you through it all. Thanks for keeping us informed of what is happening. Praying for you all.

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    1. Thanks for the prayers. He has definitely blessed us. I think she was scared I was going to take the ice cream away too!

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  3. It was wonderful to see you again and to meet your beautiful family. Kendall was such a trooper and did an amazing job keeping it together all weekend. What a blessing she is! I hope to see you again at Chapter Council in June. XOX

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    1. Can't wait for Chapter Council! It can't come soon enough.

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  4. I love the video! She is so silly! I loved getting to meet her and Braden this weekend. Oh and Matt too. Lol I'm Glad Braden and Dakota hit it off and had so much fun at the beach. I will cherish those moments. Tell Braden we said Hi. Take care.

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    1. Loved our time on the beach together. Braden had so much fun. He still is talking about Dakota.

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  5. Love the video, that is so funny! She really was enjoying herself. I'm so happy you all had a great time, you definitely deserved the break. My prayers are with you all, I hope Kendall is doing well and is getting settled back into a routine at home. God Bless,

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