This was one of the top 2 pictures we picked for our Christmas card this year. Need I say more.

Alissa is having so much fun, she really works hard and tries her best. She is just the hardest working girl and she never complains when it's hot or she's been running all game because the team is short players. :)

My little boy looking so cute! We're having fun going to practices and games on Saturday mornings. David likes visiting with everyone on the field more than he likes chasing the ball :)

My new niece less than an hour old. She really is perfect! Long fingers and toes, quiet, so far. Love her and glad I could be there when Steve, Jackie, and the baby came out of surgery in her mother's arms :) Life is precious.

Happy Days Are Here Again!

After writing the last post I kept thinking we need a more cheerful and positive update!

Greg and Kris see some light at the end of the tunnel and enjoyed a bottle of sparkling apple cider, candle, and cheesecake this afternoon while Alissa was at preschool and David was with Grandma! Life is good. We celebrated a happy day, just because.

Greg is at Father Daughter Campout with Alissa and Katie tonight for some bonding. Kristina is home spending some quality time with her little buddy David. Kevin is doing well and now down to only a finger splint, we look forward to the time we will get to spend with him tomorrow. Kristina is four weeks post surgery and getting around very well! It's nice to have clean floors and vacuumed rugs again! I thought I hated to do it, now I am appreciative at the chance.

Alissa started preshool on Monday and now goes five days a week from 11:30-3pm. She is really loving it and comes home singing the songs and shares them with the family. Alissa also started soccer and has her first game tomorrow. Go Wildcats!!

David is enjoying the time home with mom and dad alone and went out on a lunch date with them both yesterday. David will be starting 1st grade Sept. 8. David also started soccer and has his first game tomorrow too. Go Galaxy!!!!

Katie is a busy girl with lots of friends and enjoys school! We just celebrated her 15th birthday among the events of the last few weeks. Everyone loves having her around. Where does the time go?

Kevin is starting his Senior year of High School and will be 17 on Sept. 13th. Wow, it will be interesting to see how he decides to spend this last year of school and where he goes from there. Where does the time go?

We are enjoying some peace and relaxing and look forward to the bright future ahead! It's all downhill from here. :)

Love to you all!

What a month!

Hi Everyone,

We have had an eventful summer. Enjoyed going to Utah for the Bradley Family Reunion in June and Newport Beach at the Marriott Timeshare with Grandma Vicki and Grandpa Harvey in July.

The end of July was a bit tragic as Kevin (our oldest son) was hit by a car on July 20 while crossing a busy street. Kevin was in ICU sedated for two days and had two surgeries. He was taken to our local hospital Henry Mayo in Santa Clarita. Thank God he came out very lucky and only had face lacerations with some nerve damage to his cheek and a steele plate put in his upper arm, maybe some tendon and nerve damage to his middle finger. All in all he is recovering amazing and was released from the hospital the following Friday July 24! Wow!

If that wasn't enough, Kristina was taken into the ER on July 21 by Grandpa Harvey while Grandma Vicki watched the kids, and Greg was visiting Kevin after coming out of his second surgery. Only one day after Kevin's accident! Greg had to go from the ICU with Kevin coming out of his second surgery straight to ER to see Kristina a half hour away in Panorama City.

Tuesday night Kristina had severe abdominal pain, after several doses of morphine, a CT scan, and Ultra Sound in the ER we found out she had an ovarian cyst. She was released the next morning (no sleep for Greg), and put on bed rest with pain meds. Wednesday morning Greg went from the ER in Panorama City and brought Kristina home, took David and Alissa to Summer Camp, and immediately went to see Kevin after they took out the breathing tube and was able to talk to him for the first time since the accident. What an awesome feeling! The rest of Wednesday was Greg finally getting some sleep, several visits to see Kevin, Kristina on bed rest, Katie chillin, and Grandma watching David and Alissa.

Not for long! Thursday morning Greg took Kristina back to the ER and she was taken in for Emergency Surgery! Good thing, the cyst had wrapped around her ovary twice and was making it twist up, major pain! Needless to say an eventful week! Greg stayed with Kristina until she went in for surgery, rushed to see Kevin transfered in his new room at Panorama City (Same Hospital as Kristina, Yeah!) and then back to the recovery room to be there when Kristina came out of surgery.

Greg stayed with Kristina for the next two nights while she recovered from surgery, Kevin was released the next day on Friday and Kristina was released on Saturday. Greg went back and forth to visit Kevin on floor 5 and Kristina on floor 3.

All the nurses thought Kristina had a c-section since she was in the OBGYN department. Funny, they kept coming in the do bloodpressure readings and would say "Congratulations!" on the way out. The nurse that wheeled Kristina to the car when she was released even asked "So where's the baby?" Greg said, Kristina should have wrapped up one of Alissa's dolls and then pretend to accidently drop it on the floor. Funny guy!

Greg's Sister's Family, Mother, and Father, came down the Sunday after all the drama for a planned visit. It was nice for Greg and the kids to hang out with the cousins, aunts, uncles, etc. It made for a busy but fun house! They were able to go to the Beach, Disneyland, and the Zoo. We celebrated Kevin's Return Home, Katie's Birthday, and a small Family Reunion all that week. Whew!

Kristina stayed a few blocks away with her parents and let her mother spoil her and rest. Greg would come visit daily and take her home for a few hours to visit and take a shower.

Needless to say it's been a slow recovery for Kristina with limited movement and lots of pain meds. Now 2 1/2 weeks later she's getting around and trying to take it slow for another few.

Kevin was up and having sleep overs with friends and off his pain meds within a week of the accident! No keeping him down. Now it's just follow up appointments.

We have been trying to lay low, keep quiet, and get some peace. David and Alissa are done with summer camp and Grandma Vicki is watching them a lot with sleep overs to help Kristina out while Greg goes back to work.

We soon will get back into our normal routines and get out and have some fun! Until then, we love you all!

Love,
The Strong Family

David's Kindergarten School Project

Uncle Steve helped David make this cool video for his end of the year school project. Check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH9Xnog2vC0

Spring Break

Even though I don't know how to access our pictures, I wanted to update our blog. We are all doing great and I'm glad to get back to a routine now that Spring Break is over. We had a wonderful Spring Break with Kevin, Katie, David, Alissa, Greg, and Kris all off work and school for 5 days. We had an early Easter with Easter Egg Hunt, Ham, and Family. Then we enjoyed relaxing, going to the La Brea Tar Pits, Honey Farm, Fish Hatchery, and Dinner with Steve and Jackie. Kris took off by herself for a night and went to Ventura to celebrate her cousins birthday while Greg stayed home and bonded with the kids. David, Alissa, and Kristina had fun having Dinner and Card games with Uncle Mike, Janet, and Misty. It was a busy but fun week.

Unfortunately Alissa fell out of the bed and broke her collar bone :( so we made a trip to the ER on Tuesday morning. Alissa was in pain for a few days, but with Motrin and Tylenol she kept up with the rest of us during Spring Break. She even ran after pigeons, fell, jumped off the coffee table onto the couch, and rode her pink and purple big wheel with one arm around the house. No keeping her down. We love our extended family and can't wait to see you all again, give us a call and we'll make plans to have you over or come spend some time with you. Love, Greg, Kris and Family.

Alissa's Spring BROKE

Alissa in ER and one day later

We are keeping busy!

We just celebrated David's 6th Birthday. It was supper fun. Greg and I spent the day with David after school took him to Foster Freeze for a sundae and Wal Mart to get some Pokeman cards. Then we picked up Kevin, Katie, and Alissa from school, and Tommy Tucker to go bowling. We had fun. Now were getting ready for a family party this Saturday. We are celebrating David and Alissa's Birthdays. Alissa will be 4 on March 14. They are growing up.

Vasquez Rocks Park

This is were they filmed this famous scene.

We went to Vasquez Rocks today. Alissa wanted to go all the way to the top with Greg, Kevin, and Katie. David and Kristina stayed away from the top. It is very nice there, but a little windy today.

Snow at Tammy's

We are staying at Greg's sister's house and it snowed last night! It was exciting to see it come down and cover our car. Alissa got some new snow pants and could not wait to make a snow man and go sledding with her cousins. David and Alissa are really having fun with Grandma and Grandpa Strong, Tammy, Chris, Christian, Landon, Gavin, and Lauren. It's nice to spend time with them.

Greg & Kristina 10 year Anniversary

We stayed in a cool Hotel!!! Greg planned the whole thing and surprised me with this Neptunes' Cave themed room at the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah. Yummy room service and an awesome jacuzzi tub. We will have to put one in our bathroom at home :) We went to the movies, out to dinner, and just spent time enjoying each other without the kids.

New Years!!

We celebrated New Years' with Greg's Parents and his sister's family. We stayed up playing Guitar Hero World Tour, Eating, Talking, and having fun.