Just the two of us!

Just the two of us!
At the World of Coca-Cola!

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Monday, December 20, 2010

In the Mitten!!

We left Saturday morning around 6:30 am and made it to Vikki's grandfather's at 2:00 pm.  Just in time for the Crump family Christmas party. 
We were surrounded by the warmth and happiness of the family for 6 memorable hours.  There are so many fond memories that will be cherished and remembered from this party.

Crump family (minus Glenn Sr., Ken and Katlyn) 2010
Sunday was church and lunch with Adam's parents, sister, brother-in-law and nephew.  We did a little Christmas shopping with Adam's parents and then headed home for cookie baking.  Vikki slept do to her lack of energy from the new chemo and Adam hung out and watched football with his brother-in-law and nephew.  Later that night we went to dinner for Adam's cousin's 12th birthday party. 
Wedding planning has taken a few twists and turns this weekend. Vikki's aunts were able to help her finalize her family and friends list.  After calling the church this afternoon we are still penciled in at the church.  We were suppose to meet with the priest this week, but he is no longer with the church and there is just a sub there now.  We left a message with the coordinator in hopes to meet with someone so that we can get the day inked in.
We think that we will try to look at halls tomorrow and Wednesday.  We are hoping to have something picked out before we go back to Tennessee on the 27th.
The cousin's and there significant others (Katlyn is missing)

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays and Happy New Years!!!!!

Merry Christmas from our "family" to yours!
 


Thanksgiving has come and gone.....we traveled back to Michigan and stayed with Adam's parents.  Oliver stayed home and was watched by our friend Ryan. 
We had an amazing time back home and loved the visits with friends that we were able to see.  When we returned home, we were greeted by one happy kitten.
Now with Christmas on the brink we are starting to plan another visit back to Michigan.  We will be able to see Vikki's family during their family Christmas party and a few family members here and there.  Oliver will be watched by his favorite "kitty-sitter" Carina.
We will be returning home to celebrate the new year, the year of our wedding.  Hard to believe that in 366 days we will be Mr. & Mrs. Kline!!!!  Wedding planning has been moving along and has been very quickly.



Oliver enjoyed meeting Santa, but did not want Santa to hold him.  Plus Vikki was worried because there were 30-40 greyhounds in the PetsMart.

Wednesday, November 17, 2010

Its all good in our hood!!!!

Chemo is done for Vikki and Oliver has his pins out!

Vikki has just purchased her lease and is very excited about it.  Her hair is starting to grow back and she has been out of chemo for 4 weeks now.  She has been tired, but is happy again.  She has started a new job and one that looks like she will love.  She will be taking preschool at a local daycare center and still work part time at Lowe's.

Adam is still 9-5ing it for the Smokies and on a HUGE positive note - he was published in the Cub's Vineline with multiple photos!!!!

Oliver had emergency surgery on October 21st to have the pins in his arm removed.  We had to keep him kenneled for the two weeks after surgery.  Keeping him kenneled was horrible, but we pulled through.  At the check-up we were told that he was fine and could resume his normal activity besides jumping.  That was hard and after a quick discussion we agreed to lock him up during the times that we were gone.  After Andrea and uncle Paul's visit we let Oliver free to do everything!!!!  He is loving it and mostly is enjoying his evening cuddle time with Adam.

The first weekend in November we got a visit from Andrea and uncle Paul.  Andrea went for the Knoxville's Andrea vs. food weekend marathon.  She did not get the chance to eat the 4 pound of burrito, but she did get a 1 pound and t-shirt from Sweet-P's!  We went to the stadium and Adam let Andrea pick out her birthday gift.

We are trying to make the trip up for Thanksgiving, but I know for sure that we will be home for Christmas!!!

One tired kitty!

Vikki with her pumpkin, Halloween 2010.

Light the Night walk, October 21, 2010, Knoxville, TN.
XOXOXO
Adam, Vikki and Oliver

Monday, October 11, 2010

Chemo and Wedding update

Today was the third week of chemotherapy for Vikki.  There are just 5 more weeks remaining and it looks very promising.  With the hair loss has occurred, we have shaved her head.

The wedding list keeps on growing!  We are looking forward to sending out our first Christmas card together!  We have an idea that is going to be amazing! 

The season has ended and Adam has been working 9-5.  Vikki is back to working 20-30 hours with having Sundays - Tuesday off.  Sundays have been a relaxing day with church and watching football with friends.  Vikki has become a sponsor for the RCIA program at church and as been enjoying her time growing in church.

In just two weeks we will be taking Oliver in for his two month check-up and possible pin removal.  When we let him out of the kennel, he runs like a crazy kitty and won't sit still.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Vikki's start to chemo, wedding and Oliver

Vikki has started a new round of chemotherapy for Lymphoma.  Today is day 3 of 56 and she seems to have some energy.

We have gone from 10 possible reception sites to 7.  We are in big hopes to have it at 3-5 before our trip home for Christmas.

Vikki found some energy today to give Oliver a bath and he seemed to enjoy it very much.  She was able to clean his pins and make him look like the handsome kitty that he is.

In efforts to help Vikki with her diet restrictions, we have been cooking a ton and we even made our first from home-made muffins!

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Wedding and Oliver update!

Wedding plans are coming along.  They are moving slowly, but hey, we have a date and we have 14 months to go! 
Our wedding date is.....December 17, 2011!


In one month we will be taking Oliver back to the vet to have x-rays performed and possible pin removal.  So happy to see that things are moving very well with him.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Play-off Fever!!!

The Tennessee Smokies are in the play-offs, so Adam has been very busy at work. www.smokiesbaseball.com
This year has been many of first for Adam and for us as a couple.
Adam has had photos that he had taken published by the local newspapers and on the Chicago Cubs websites.  He had the chance to sit down with the new owner of the Chicago Cubs and carried out an interview.  Adam has also played a huge role in the high school showcase at Smokies Park and made some more friends.
We moved in together (and we are getting close to the one year mark), got engaged and started to talk about wedding plans.  We have become animal owners to our kitten Oliver!  We have dealt with the pains of having him have major surgery. 
I have had the chance to work two jobs, go to school and meet some amazing friends.  I currently take two dance classes on Tuesdays and spend more time with friends than at the stadium this year.

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Doctor/Vet visits

Since Vikki's birthday things have been crazy with her and Oliver.
Thursday, August 19th, Vikki stepped on Oliver while they were making the bed.  This was at 11:30 p.m. and when Adam got home, it was off to urgent care for Oliver.  No long bones were broke on Oliver, so he got two shots and we all headed home.  After calling Oliver's vet Friday morning, he went in for some x-rays.  At 1:00 p.m., Vikki got the call that Oliver had a fractured elbow and he needed surgery.  At 2:00 p.m., Oliver went in for surgery to have 6 pins inserted in his elbow to realign the two bones that were fractured.  After an hour and a half surgery Oliver was out and doing good.  Saturday, we picked Oliver up and got the report that he is doing great, but will need to be give medication for the next two weeks.  Oliver will need to be in for check-ups every two weeks for the next three months.
Vikki has been having some health issues once again and it looks like we will be visiting the doctors more frequently.  Vikki's white blood cell count and hemoglobin have been low, so yesterday they gave her a booster shot, Neulasta.
Today, Vikki had a CT & MRI and they found a golf-ball size mass in her liver.  There will be a biopsy some time this week to determine if it is cancerous.  If it is, she will start chemo and radiation on Monday.  If it is not, then we will be doing bi-monthly visits to the doctor. 


Sunday, August 22, 2010

Our visit home & Vikki's birthday

Taylor and Vikki during birthday dinner!

At the family reunion!
On August 13th, we got in the car and headed up to Michigan. The trip was an amazing ride for the two of us. We were heading up for Adam's family reunion and Vikki's birthday celebration with her family and friends.
Friday night we enjoyed dinner with Coach and Mrs. Campbell. It was nice to catch up with them.
Saturday morning we headed out to Camp Dearborn for the Kaczmarczyk Family Reunion. Everyone was surprised to see us seeing as no one knew that we were coming. We came in second place to Adam's sister and cousin in the Ladder Ball tournament.
Saturday evening we went to Vikki's birthday dinner at Texas Roadhouse and bowling at Vision Lanes. It was a great time with family and friends.
Sunday we spent the day with Adam's family and had a great time relaxing.
On August 16th, we headed back home. We made it home with 15 minutes to spare before we had to head off to softball. We did win the softball game 14-12.

Vikki spent her birthday with our friends Kim and Thomas. Birthday dinner was pizza from Papa Murphy's and Kim made a cake for dessert. The Smokies were at home, so Adam was at work all day.
Vikki's birthday party was celebrated at Smokies Park on August 20th. There were a lot of good friends there to help celebrate with her.
Overall, Vikki had an amazing birthday celebration!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Vacation: Day 4 & 5


Uncle Paul and Homer (the Huntsville Star's mascot)

Uncle Paul and Adam enjoying the 2010 AA MiLB All-Star game

Day 4 -
Spent a nice morning just relaxing around Uncle Paul's house. In the afternoon we took a drive on Uncle Paul's new golf cart and came back to enjoy a nice late lunch of burgers from Uncle Paul's new grill. Then we got ready and headed to Huntsville, Alabama, for the Double-A All-Star game. The Smokies were blessed with having six players elected the team with nine being nominated. Adam spent a few short minutes "working" by taking pictures. After the game, we headed off to the "after-party" and enjoyed a nice meal with some of the other front office staff and their families. With returning back to Uncle Paul's at two in the morning, we uploaded a few pictures and then headed to bed.

Day 5 -
Nothing too special about today, except for the fact that we are home for the first time in 5 days. Oliver did not destroy the house and was extremely happy to see us both. We enjoyed a pizza from Papa Murphy's and now we are enjoying the MLB All-Star game!

Tomorrow is back to the normal life of work and Smokies!

Monday, July 12, 2010

Our engagement!

On Saturday, July 10th, 2010, we became an engaged couple!
The day was so beautiful and the proposal is something that we will remember forever.
We started our day with breakfast and a nap. Around 11:30 a.m., we headed downtown to go visit the World of Coca-Cola. After visiting the World of Coca-Cola, we walked through the Olympic Park, by the CNN tower and to the Underground (which is a giant mall under the road). On the way back to the car, we walked through Olympic Park one more time to look at a few things that we missed.
Right before we left, Adam pulled me towards this beautiful garden under the shade and asked to put the water bottle in the backpack. After putting the water bottle in the backpack, he turned me around and hugged me. Then he asked me to marry him, where I kindly asked him if he was serious. Then I said, "YES!"

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Vacation: Day 3

Today was a long day of driving! But we had a wonderful time being together. We drove from Atlanta to Chattanooga and did some great sight seeing there. We drove up to Point Park at Lookout Mountain. See the beautiful pictures below.



From Chattanooga we drove to Mount Pleasant, Tennessee to visit with Uncle Paul. It is so nice to spend some time with family for a while. We enjoyed a wonderful meal and then some nice pool time.
Tomorrow has some wonderful events in store for us!

Saturday, July 10, 2010

Vacation: Day 2


Today was another amazing day. We went into downtown Atlanta and did some tourist things. First on our stops was The World of Coca-Cola. It gave us insight on how Coke is marketed and viewed all over the world. First, on the tour was a look at some of Coke's world-wide marketing campaigns from years past. Featured was a syrup bowl from 1857. Next we went into a "movie theater" and saw a 6-minute commercial featuring some of Coke's new characters. As we were exiting the theater, we saw a 7-foot polar bear (which was very awesome to see). We both got our pictures with the polar bear (See below). His facial expressions not only amused the kids there, but Adam was in awe too.

We saw a 4-D movie called "In Search of the Secret Formula." It was a 3-D movie where the seats moved with the movie, we were hit with blasts of air and sprayed with water too.
After we tasted several different types of Coca-Cola from all over the world, we crossed the street to the Centennial Olympic Park. Throughout the park were statues and monuments dedicated to the athletes who competed in the 100th Summer Olympic Games in 1996. At the center of the park the city placed in the cement the 6 Olympic rings, and then they had jets of water coming out of the ground. There were so many children, and even adults, playing in the jets. Looked like fun, but we didn't go through the water.
We then took a drive over to Turner Field, which was also were they hosted the opening and closing ceremonies of the 1996 Olympic Games. We walked through the outside of the stadium, looking at the statues of Warren Span, Hank Aaron and Phil Niekro. We even stood in the place where "Hammerin' Hank" hit his 715th home run. It was hit in the former home of the Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Fulton County Stadium, that was right across the street from Turner Field. They commemorated the the former home with bricks placed where the actual baseball field was. And they still have the fence, and the wall where "Hammerin' Hank" hit that historic home run.

Friday, July 9, 2010

Vacation: Day 1



The drive down was very peaceful. We left around 8:30 and arrived down at 11:30. It was a very scenic drive with all of the mountains, minus lack of cell reception, we enjoyed ourselves.
We checked into our hotel and then headed off to Six Flags Over Georgia. It was hot, but it was nice enough to enjoy the sun! We rode all of the large roller coasters that they had to offer. We spent 5 hours there and enjoyed every minute!
We came home and cleaned up before heading out to dinner at Ruby Tuesday's and dessert at Sonic. There was a huge storm that came through, but it was nice.
Tomorrow is another day in Atlanta, Georgia....we plan on doing some tourist things in downtown.

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Visits!!!

During the past month we have had a great group of visitors!
The second weekend in May we had Kim down. While Adam had very little time to spend with her, I was able to take her to the Sunsphere and the World's Fair Park. She was even able to take in a few Smokies games with me. And a day at the zoo too!!
Kim by the waterfall at the World's Fair Park....

Me with Bamboo the Red Panda...

During the third weekend, Adam's parents came for a four day visit. They met us at the stadium and took in a beer with us at the DPC. We had the opportunity to have the in our home for dinner on Saturday. And Sunday we took them to Downtown Knoxville with some shopping on Gay Street and a tour of the World's Fair Park and the Sunsphere. Monday we met with them to have breakfast before they left.
Adam watching his dad swing.....

This past Monday, we were blessed to have Uncle Paul and cousins Zach and Luke visit us. They were able to take in a game that night and then dinner at Applebee's with us. The next morning we had breakfast with Uncle Paul and Luke, while Zack boarded a plane back up to Michigan.
Later that day, Anne and Jesse were able to visit Adam at work on their way down to Disney.
We love having family here, it is a reminder of home and makes this new home a bit nicer for us.

Monday, May 24, 2010

6 years together!!

This past Sunday we celebrated being together for 6 years. And tomorrow we will celebrate living together for 6 months. Things have been so wonderful being together.
Gifts:
Adam got me - a dozen roses, a picture frame and 2 wonderful cards.



I got Adam - the Ultima as an 8 x 10 and then enlarged it to a 18 x 24!


And to celebrate 6 months of living happy together I cooked Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and for desert we had cake!

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Oliver


Oliver shortly after bringing him home.

Happy to announce a new member in our little "family"...Oliver.
Oliver is our kitten that we adopted back in January. Oliver has grown not only in size but in our hearts as well.
Oliver was born to a stray cat in Clinton, TN, and was in a litter of 7 kittens. This litter was born just before the coldest and harshest winter that East Tennessee has seen. Unfortunately, Oliver was the only one to survive that winter. I drove up to Clinton on January 21st and brought Oliver home with me.


Our "family" photo.