Last January, papa Gerk and Darren finished our basement and made it into a toddler's paradise. The entire downstairs is all hers. From slides, to kitchens, to castles (princess and bouncy house) and ball pits galore. It's all down there and all hers. Little girls heaven! It's a win-win if you think about it though. She has an entire 1/4 of the house designed just for her to play and mommy doesn't have to sign up to do an episode of hoarders. I just close the door and guests don't even know what tornado lays behind that pink, glittered door. See. Brynlee wins and mommy wins.
In February we all traveled to Bakersfield, California to watch Darren race in the SRL Winter Showdown. The girls were able to shop and road trip while the guys worked their butts off getting the car set up just perfect for the big race. Darren had an awesome car and was definitely one of the top guys that day but unfortunately we weren't able to finish the race. He's great at looking ahead and avoiding crashes but sometimes you just can't miss them all. So a little before the half way mark we had to end our Cali trip. A huge bummer for all the guys who worked so hard but it was just a fun experience in itself.
In May, we did our first Muckfest which is a mud run that brings awareness and raises money for MS. When else do you have a legit excuse to jump in the mud and get dirty without being stared at like you're crazy? This year it's July 16th and we would love to have you join our team or consider making a donation! Email me if your interested in either! Stephanie.Bucklen@gmail.com
Brynlee turned 2 in June and had a Mickey Mouse Club House birthday party (another thing that I totally procrastinated on and didn't do was thank you notes. So thank you to all who came and to all who just continue to love on our family and our little girl. You guys really are amazing). Since someone decided to show up early, I think she's starting to understand the whole stampede routine by now. She'll be a pro here before you know it!
In July we had good and bad news coming from the Bucklen household. I had a routine MRI done and got wonderful news that I had no new or enhancing lesions on my brain or spine and that in fact some old lesions were healing themselves or gone. When I received the news I just cried and thanked God. I felt like I had won the lottery. Then, during the annual 4th of Julyrace at CNS, Darren hit the wall during the first main event. He brought the car in for evaluation to see if it was still driveable. Little did we know that was the last time he would race. Long story short, he got his 3rd concussion in just 4 years. Except this time, he didn't hit his head. It was just from rattling around in the car that did the damage and the side effects lasted longer than they have in the past. It was a hard decision, but as a family we had to decide that Darren's health was more important than racing and we couldn't chance anymore concussions. Luckily, him, Randy, Dave and Ben (our racing crew) share similar hobbies and picked up golfing in its place. Safer and cheaper. Haha. So if you know anyone looking to buy a couple race cars or a hauling rig, send them our way!
In August we took a mini vacay down to Colorado Springs where we went to the garden of the gods, cave of the winds, Royal gorge, did an escape room (haven't heard of them? Google it. They're a blast) and the Cheyenne mountain zoo where we fed giraffes. By hand. It. Was. AMAZING! I would have sat and fed them all day if I could have. Brynlee also started music class this fall and is having a blast. She loves getting to interact with other kids and play and learn new instruments. I also joined a kickball team and started playing soccer again. Not really sure why I ever quit but it's good to be playing again!
Since Brynlee's been born, in December we get together with a couple other families who had preemies at the same NICU Brynlee was in and we put together Christmas care packages to take to all the families who are in the hospital over Christmas time. This year we were able to assemble over 75 bags and thankfully that was too many! The NICU can hold 84 babies and this was the first year we took packages that the NICU wasn't full! It's such a treat to be able to see how how grateful all the parents are. You get to see the look of relief in their eyes when they ask you questions about your babies and then they realize there really is a life outside the NICU. Especially from being in their shoes at one point and never knowing if and when you would get to take your baby home.
In January we went to Disneyworld (the real reason our cards are late is because I totally had to wait to brag about this to all of you). Have you ever heard the saying "I used to think being a kid on Christmas morning was the best thing ever. it turns out having a kid on Christmas is!"? This is so true with going to Disneyworld too! Oh my goodness this little girl still has not stopped talking about it. My heart was so happy just seeing the excitement and magic in her eyes! I mean when you have breakfast with the princesses, dinner with Mickey and the the gang, get to hug rafiki, and ride rides, how are you suppose to compete with all that when you get home? "Hey kid, want to play with blocks" doesn't really sounds as cool as "want to go see Minnie and goofy today?" We were able to do the parks for 5 different days with one break day in the middle of the week while the boys golfed every chance we weren't at the parks. Including at 9 o'clock at night on their lighted course. It wasn't the best Florida weather but I have to thank the family for planning such an amazing trip around me and my MS and not overheating us in the dead of summer.
And of course... THE BRONCOS WON THE SUPERBOWL!!!!!
We hope you had an awesome year with many more blessings in the year to come!
The Bucklens
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