Been awhile...I know

Okay, since the last update was right after Halloween, I need to post today. And actually, it is the first moment I have had any time to do so. Thank goodness for the impromptu attitude of the weather in South Texas! It was very nice to have a little break on Friday. Max was even asked not to go in to work that day, so we had so much fun hanging out as a family, with no place to go, and nothing to do. Unfortunately, Ella got a little sick that night, but felt much better on Saturday.

So here are the updates:
Thanksgiving was great. We spent it in Houston with Kyle and Christi, Christi's family, and Max's sister Chrissy. Chrissy accompanied us to the Museum of Natural Science for the Pirate exhibit, and to the Houston Children's Museum (which is AWESOME).

Christmas was spent here at our home with Joe and Adele. They flew in from Denver and were here almost a week. We have so much fun with them and miss them when they leave. Joe helped me get the Mac running quicker and updating it a little. Chichi and Grandpa Joe kept Ella while Max and I went to see "True Grit" for our 8th anniversary! It was a great time.

My 31st birthday was pretty great. We didn't really do anything special, but I did get out of the house to enjoy Girlie Night at the Alamo Drafthouse here in San Antonio. The movie was "Pretty in Pink!" It was so much fun.

That brings us to the snow day...I was not surprised when I got a call from the district early Friday morning. The lady on the other end had just finished making 3 dozen cupcakes for our scheduled potluck that day. She told me they were going to eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner all weekend! I had to laugh at that.

So, without further ado...here are the random pics from the last three months. Enjoy!

One of the better pictures from Christmas. Seriously, we didn't take many this year!

The Light Tree at Sights and Sounds of Christmas.

Me, on my Birthday. Photo by Ella Wimmer

Ella "trudging" through the snow.

Vintage Mom and Ella.

Halloween and Strep Throat

Halloween weekend was AWESOME! Saturday, Max and I participated in the Feast of the Heart 5K...my first ever! It was so great. Max ran the 5K in under thirty minutes and I walked it in about fifty-four minutes. When we done, we drove to Bastrop to have a Halloween Fun Fest with Mom and Dad and our friends Sarah and Darrell. Sarah is my best friend from college and their little boy, Reagan, is almost two years old. They came out to Mom and Dad's and stayed the night with us. The kids painted pumpkins, had a practice trick-or-treat, and ate hot dogs (Halloweenies!) We had a blast, but, Sunday afternoon while the boys were playing golf, we took the kids to the park. I noticed Ella looking a little tired and running a little slower. By the time we got back to the house, she was running fever. She and I stayed home together the next day because I started hacking up my lungs that day, and having some major problems with my asthma. Max took Ella to the doctor that afternoon, and she confirmed that Ella had strep throat...she stayed out of school until Thursday!! Anyway, we are all feeling better. In fact, we got out of the house this morning and did some fall/winter clothes shopping. All my winter clothes make me look like the StaPuft Marshmellow man from Ghostbusters! WAY TOO BIG! WOOHOO! Weight update: Down 40 pounds as of today! Enjoy this great fall everyone!
Here are some pics of Hahn Halloween Fun Fest and post Trick-or-Treating.

It's Fall Y'all!

October has been an interesting month, to say the least. It has been an emotional roller coaster and I am kind of glad that it is almost over! I always get a little emotional in October. My Papa James passed away 17 years ago this month (October 22). Even though I was only 13, I was pretty close to him. I miss his laugh more than anything. Also, Max's sister, Chrissy, had her double mastectomy on Friday, October 15th. Max and I spent the next day with her and her husband Jay, and I have to say this, the cancer didn't get in the way of some good laughing. Despite the circumstances, we actually had an okay time. It wasn't all rainbows and unicorns, but it wasn't all gloom and doom either.
Ella on the other hand, had an amazing time. She got to stay with Uncle Kyle and Aunt Christy while we were with Chrissy and Jay (yeah, Ella gets a little confused some times having two aunts with VERY similar names). Kyle and Christi took Ella to the Houston Zoo and spent ALL DAY there! They saw an orangutan, elephants (including a baby named Tupelo), and all kinds of monkeys. Ella even got to pet and brush some goats that apparently stunk it up big time. This weekend has been great. Yesterday, we took Ella to a great pumpkin patch at Bracken Methodist Church. This is a great little historical church a little off the beaten path, and by that I mean IH-35. We bought 6 pumpkins, 3 of which Ella picked out all by herself. Then, as if that wasn't enough, last night the three of us participated in Light the Night. We joined my surgical group's team and had a great time.
Speaking of the surgery, I am almost 2 months out. Since I started the whole process (I am counting the 2 weeks that I had to pre-op diet) I am down 35 pounds. I am noticing (so are others) my pants fitting loose, I have dropped a whole bra size, and I can really see a difference in my face. More importantly, I have more energy, my joints are hurting less, and I haven't had to use my inhaler near as much, which is a HUGE thing since I am so allergic to ragweed and mold and they have both been no lower than in the moderate category for the past month. I am actually anxious to get to a doctor's office so that I can get an accurate reading on my blood pressure, which I am sure is down as well. WOOHOO! Aside from marrying Max, best decision ever. So, to celebrate, here are some photos from the pumpkin patch. Happy Halloween and Fall Y'all!


Mommy and Ella at the Bracken Methodist Church Pumpkin Patch

Daddy and Ella in the pumpkins

She is very in to the Halloween thing, and she loves the pumpkins most of all.

I can't believe how big she is compared to last year.

Hugging the pumpkin

"I'm gonna get one?"

I promise to post pictures of the finished products after we butcher them by making them into Jack O' Lanterns later!

Some stuff...

Well, I am two and a half weeks into my lap-band life, and I am feeling pretty great. I have lost 27 pounds, so about 10 pounds since my last post. I am eating normal food again (except for most carbs-those I can add back in on the 21st), tonight I actually had some good ol' Texas BBQ from Cooper's in New Braunfels. It was yummy. I am amazed at how little food I am actually getting full on. Five weeks ago, I would have had a whole plate of food, and then ate dessert 20 minutes later. Now I am eating no more than a cup at one sitting, no snacks, no desserts. Although, tonight I did have some sugar free Jell-O, but that doesn't count (seriously, my nutritionist said so).
In other news, we lost some shingles off the roof during Tropical Storm Hermine. We had an insurance adjuster come over on Thursday, and we will be getting some money, we just aren't sure how much yet. We are really ready to get our house fixed up so we can put it on the market. To move where? Anyway, we are trying not to get too excited, but we do need a new roof.
Also, I have a little prayer request...actually it is a big one. My best friend is going through some tough things right now. Her dad has been having "spells" (dizzy, light-headed, etc.) He has some health problems, so he figured it was just complications, but last week took a trip to the ER, was admitted, tests were ran, and a malignant brain tumor was found. My friend is one of the strongest people I know, and I can always count on her and her crazy sense of humor to help me pull through my tough times. All good vibes, thoughts, and prayers sent her way will be much appreciated.
With that said, I will leave on a light note and post some pics.



Ella getting ready to go to a party


SLIDING!!


Ella and Daddy on the train at Breckinridge Park



One night, Ella was eating a PB&J, and looked like The Joker. This is the result of her having crazy parents.

We are still here!!

I know it has been 10 months since my last post, which was Halloween! I feel like such a slacker. Here are some updates. I am still teaching in Seguin, Max is still working for the seed company. Ella turned two in May, which I can't even believe. We found out that Max's sister, Chrissy, has breast cancer...which was a complete punch in the gut for all of us. She is so strong and is taking it all like a freaking champ! She has her last round of chemo soon and will undergo some surgery and radiation in Houston beginning next month. I made a huge decision in the path of my life and actually had Lap-Band surgery yesterday. Since I started the whole process (pre-op diet) I have lost about 18 pounds, which is both exhilarating and encouraging. I know I will do well with this because I have to. I have to be around and healthy for my family. So there you go...a Wimmer Family update. Here are some select pics of the last 10 months.


Max and Ella at the Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi



Ella and her pal Reagan feeding Gus.


That bow only lasted a few minutes, but it sure was cute.


Race for the Cure, San Antonio


Ella's birthday party (notice the photos are not in chronological order, they are backwards!)

Sk-ELLA-ton

I'm not going to lie, my neighborhood is a little scary. However, it seems that on Halloween the gangsters and drug dealers let go of their wild ways and take their kids out for free candy. We had so much fun passing out candy-Ella really had fun dropping candy into other trick-or-treaters' bags. In fact, she would drop a few pieces into a bag and then chase the princess or ghoul or monster down to give away a few more pieces! Sometimes she even got as far as the end of the driveway trying to give out more candy!
This was also our first foray into going house to house, begging for candy. I have not always been a huge trick-or-treat fan, until we lived in Pleasanton, that is. Apparently, when we lived in Pleasanton, we lived on the most trick-or-treated street in all of history-seriously 20 bags of candy. But even in our neighborhood now, we had a good time. Ella definitely had a great time and got so many compliments on her skelleton costume (lovingly made by hand by ChiChi-Adele Wimmer, and previously worn by Cousin Annie). By the end of the night, all the candy was gone and Ella was exhausted. We tried to keep her up for an extra hour for the time change, but we weren't able to do that. We had a great time and we can't wait for next Halloween. MUAHAHAHA! (that is my evil laugh!)

Beachy Keen

Mema and Papa's house is one of my favorite places of refuge. I even lived with them my first summer after graduating from high school, and worked in Port Aransas at Pat Magee's. While in college, I would drive the 2 1/2 hour drive in my sweet Cougar and hunker down for a weekend to rest and work on homework. Mema and Papa are my dad's parents and they have always provided me with comfort and love, despite their awesome craziness. Ella was born almost 18 months ago and had never visited my second home and I thought it was important to get her there soon. So, she and I had our first official mother/daughter road trip.
The drive down was difficult. In the 3 years since I last headed down to the coast, there have been some major highway "improvements." But, after some crying and cursing (under my breath, of course) we pulled in to that welcoming driveway and were greeted by some very excited octogenarians! Papa built Ella a giraffe that is also a coat holder that stands about 4 feet tall. It is special because he also built Kyle and I each one when we were young. For an eighty-something year-old man to do word work the way he still does is amazing to me. We spent the next couple of hours catching up and playing with Ella in the back yard. The memories I have of playing in that yard with Kyle are vast; climbing the monstrous oaks, catching lizards, and building treehouses. They all came flooding back in. Ella had a great time smelling flowers with Mema, although she never quite got her nose on her flowers-just leaves.


Running and playing!

Smelling the flowers.

First encounter with fragrant Rosemary.

We rode the ferry over to Port A at about 4:30 because, let's face it, old people eat early. I think Ella was even like, "Didn't we just have a snack?" After dinner, I talked them in to joining me on a trip down memory lane...aka..."the beach." Papa had actually had a couple of Shiners with dinner and did not feel like getting out of the CRV, so he stayed to make sure I didn't get a ticket for not having a beach permit. Mema loves to walk on the beach, and I could tell she was itching to do just that with her great-granddaughter. We three ladies had a grand ole time walking on the beach, and Ella made a mad dash for the water. I was afraid she would be scared, but she absolutely loved it! I am so excited because this gives us another reason to visit them more often.
We were all pretty tuckered out at that point and decided to call it a night, especially Ella, who fell asleep on the ferry.


Nice view of the beach.

Ella wading in the water.

Ella loved watching her feet sink in the sand after a wave passed over them.

The next morning was great as well. Papa made his signature pancakes and link sausage (a breakfast that he made for me every Sunday morning when I lived with them that summer). Ella enjoyed them so much she screamed a scream of joy! We didn't make it much longer, Ella's naptime came fast and I wanted that to happen in the car, so we said our goodbyes and hit the road. She fell asleep before we turned off their street and I didn't get lost on the way home. I can't wait for the next trip down...ready to hit the Corpus tourist traps!

Here are a couple of videos from the trip. The first one is Ella smelling the leaves in Mema's flower bed and the second one is Ella dipping her toes in the waves. I had to hold onto her and my phone to get that video, so it isn't the best quality.