Kids in School Update :-) Please, please correct me if I'm wrong or miss someone!

• Samuel--Kindergarten
• Kaela--3rd grade
• Andrew--Kindergarten
• Tyler--Kindergarten
  
• Caitlin--sophomore in college
• Natalie--freshman in high school
• Alec--sophomore in high school
• Erik--7th grade

I was struck by insanity while house-sitting for Mitch and Kim and signed up for 13 categories at the State Fair, but I got 7 ribbons out of it! Dad thinks I'll have gotten it out of my system now--ha, ha! I couldn't have done it w/o Mom and Jo Ann helping me carry things in. Like a typical Klein, I barely got things in under the wire both days! I sewed the last button on the sweater at 4:30 and they quit taking entries at 5:00!

• 1st place--petit fours
• 2nd place--semi-professional decorated cake with a horse theme
• 3rd place--Aunt Mary's sugar cookies
• 3rd place--buttermilk biscuits
• 3rd place--Aran sweater
• 4th place--white cake made with yogurt with caramel frosting
• 4th place--formal dress

Jason's beautiful drawing of Fritz and Robin's horse was displayed oddly enough right above a self-portrait by Terri Hans (Bill Hans' wife).

John Thomas' cheesecake won a blue ribbon this year--I think he enters it every year!

Dad got a new computer and I put it upstairs--much to his chagrin. There were some problems but it's all straightened out and they now have internet access. Now if only we can get Mom on there--she's having trouble with the mouse. I told she just needs practice. I think Dad might be thinking about giving the computer to one of the kids who might need it. We'd have to make sure it was, ahem, clean first. Of course, he has always sworn that it doesn't work... I was joking with Mitch that he ought to raffle it off to help pay for the new one!

Here's a note from Amy about Kaela's latest check-up:

The appointment did not go good. She weighs 39 pounds and is 3 ft 10 inches tall. She is back down to the 1% for her age. She is the average weight of a 5 year old and the average height of a 6 year old (she is 8). They took another x-ray to see what her bone age is and she is 2 years behind. She did grow during the winter months last year, so we are going to see if she does the same this year. We go back in February - if she does not make up any lost ground she will have to start growth hormones. She will never be a big girl, look at me and Jason, we are both short.

• The allergy specialist that Mom went to did a few tests and found that she's quite allergic to dust mites, which he said was interesting considering her age. Apparently, the older you get, the less allergic you become. He told her to quit taking her current allergy medicine since it wasn't helping and told her to take Prednisone for a few days and Prilosec indefinitely. She's supposed to call him back Friday to let him know how she's doing. He said he wants her to come in once a week for allergy shots. He also mentioned that one of the blood pressure medications she taking (Lexapro, I think) has been known to cause coughing after two years, so they're going to see about taking her off of it.
• Dad's doctor is sending him back to the neurologist (I think that's right) that he's seen before (been a while) about his Parkinson's. His medicine may be making him sleep all day. Also, they want to check out the pain in his legs and to try to pressure him to take physical therapy, which he thinks is useless. Mom has told me how crazy he is about his nurse practitioner and I can understand. She's quite a buxom lady! Aside from that, she knows exactly how to handle Dad!
• I had my Ovarian Cancer Screening today and they said my cyst has gotten larger, so I'm gong to see what a gynecologist recommends, as it could be endometriosis.
• Amy's been suffering from pleurisy.
• I think Jill and Jeremy's air conditioner is out--that's go to be nasty with this humidity!
• Janelle and Joe bought their wedding rings and, as she says, had their boring 8-hour marriage class :-)
• Tentatively Mom, Dad (ha, ha), Jo, April, Lee, kids, August, Gus, Pat and I are all planning on going to the fair on Sunday. Anybody else going to be there?? I entered 13 things (yes, I know, I went overboard), so I'm bound and determined to get another ribbon. I couldn't have done it w/o Mom and Jo's help!
• Also, aka the fair: Robin entered that gorgeous drawing that Jason did of their horse--which they'd have to be crazy not to give a ribbon to!

• Mom went to see Dr Kapur, a GI specialist, for a follow-up to her endoscopy. The procedure didn't show any abnormalities in the esophagus or stomach and she tested negative for H. Pylori. The doc agreed with us that her acid reflux may be from allergies, so he scheduled her to see an allergy specialist on Friday.
• My CA125 test (for ovarian cancer) came back negative--yeah! I am having another ultrasound done on Aug. 19 and am very curious to see what they say about this cyst on my right ovary b/c it's rather uncomfortable. I really would like to urge all of you women in the family to get involved in this study at UK. Just call 1-800-766-8279. Check out their website at http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Sauna/1913/.
• Jaden was bitten by a mosquito and must have been allergic b/c his face swelled up rather badly.
• Mom and Dad's basement flooded in Dad's computer room. It really stinks down there and I'm wondering if the carpet doesn't need to come up. Fred went out and got Mom a dehumidifier and hooked it up so it's draining through a tube, so Mom doesn't have to empty it. The computer really needs to be moved upstairs b/c one of these days Dad's going to fall down those stairs to the basement, but Dad refuses to have the computer moved. He wants a laptop and Mom promised him that when a certain CD comes due, she'll let him have the money to get a laptop.
  

August Birthdays & Anniversaries

Birthdays

• Jim--Tues, Aug. 11--49
• Sarah--Sat, Aug. 15--2
• Kevin--Thurs, Aug. 20--57
• Simone--Tues, Aug. 25--39
• Fred--Wed, Aug. 26--49
• Jo Ann--Wed, Aug. 26--54
• Bridget--Sat, Aug. 29--42
• Amy--Sat, Aug. 29--31

Anniversaries

• Fritz & Robin--Mon, Aug 3, 1974--35
  
• Phil & Serena--Fri, Aug. 21, 1947--62
• Chris & Cyndi--Mon, Aug. 24, 1985--24

Dad

• Mom said Dad fell again and got another wound on his forehead. This was also in the bedroom b/c he was coming in when the light was out. Apparently, he grabbed the door b/c she said he pulled the hinges out! Dad said he'd tripped on the rug, but Mom took the rug up, so I don't know why he fell this second time.

• The doctor said his wounds weren't very deep. She was concerned b/c Dad has lost 8 lb in the last month. His next appointment is in a month, so she said to keep an eye on his weight then. She also talked to him about going for physical therapy for his Parkinson's but he is not open to the idea. He thinks they just throw a ball around. It's also difficult for Mom b/c she has to take him downtown where they specialize in PT for Parkinson's patients.

My Law Suit Update

• Please do not share this information with anyone outside of the immediate family!
  
• Anna's deposition was taken today, so my lawyer grilled her (very nicely) for 1 1/2 hours. Luckily they agreed to not have Mike present.
  
• Anna contradicted herself quit a bit, and I think she got frustrated when my lawyer seemed to be asking the same question again, for clarification.
• Interestingly enough, Anna said she had never seen the deed to the house which supposedly had her signature on it. She said it didn't look like her signature and she didn't remember signing it.
• My lawyer was pleased that she agreed that I had taken wonderful care of Mary and done everything for her.
• Anna agreed that Mary thought of me as a daughter.
• Anna said that she had known that Mary was leaving her the house in her will of 2002 and had not known anything about the will of 2005 and that in her opinion, Mary was not of sound mind enough to change her will in 2005, that I had coerced her and that in her opinion the will was invalid. She said that both I and Mom knew that Mary was not of sound mind in 2005. That will be very interesting if they have to prove that in court!
• My lawyer said that he'd be in contact with me in about 2 months, unless Anna's lawyer asks to deposition me before then. He said that he felt better about the case after Anna's deposition but that a lawsuit is always a crap-shoot. He told me to consider whether I'd be willing to give the matter over to a mediator and settle out of court so as to maintain some control instead of completely being at the mercy of the jury's decision and to consider how much I'd be willing to pay Anna to drop her claim on the house. Personally, I'm not inclined to settle. Perhaps I'm just being stubborn, but I'd rather not give Anna the satisfaction of my appearing to say that she was right. I never asked Mary for her house or her money or tried to influence her in any way to leave anything to me, I didn't bring a lawyer in to have her make a new will, and Mary knew exactly what she was doing when she made her last will. I was not even in the house when she signed it.
  

I'm just writing to let you all know that Dad fell in the bedroom around 11:30 PM tonight and but his head in two places. Mom called 911 and they sent an ambulance, but the EMTs said they didn't think he'd need stitches. He had bled profusely but the bleeding had stopped. They wrapped his head up in gauze. Mom said she's going to take him in tomorrow to the doctor who checks his blood every week.

July Birthdays & Anniversaries

Birthdays

• Gus--Wed, July 1--58
• Jeremy--Mon, July 6--31
• Sam (Roberts)--Wed, July 15--??
• Hannah--Fri, July 17--3
• Serena--Wed, July 22--81
• August--Tues, July 28--34
  
• Cyndi--Wed, July 29--48

Anniversaries

• Gina and Jim--July 21, 1990
• Gus and Pat--July 28, 1973--37