The Hoiberg Family Blog

MUMC Pumpkin Patch 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Sun, 18 Oct 2009 04:30:00 +0000

It's that time of year again, time to head over to the MUMC Pumpkin Patch. It was just me and the girls this afternoon, Sarah was busy working with her mother at the annual MUMC Craft Fair (in the church annex buildings behind the pumpkin patch). Unlike last year, the weather was great. It was actually cool outside and felt like Fall. Still warm enough for shorts... ;)

The girls picked out some great pumpkins and I will have my work cut out for me next weekend when it comes time to carve them all out.

You can can view the pictures from the MUMC Pumpkin Patch by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Laura & Caitlyn at the MUMC Pumpkin Patch)

HEAL First Coast Zoo Walk for Autism

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:27:00 +0000

This past Sunday we went to the Jacksonville Zoo to participate in the HEAL First Coast Zoo Walk for Autism. If you weren't not aware, April is Autism Awareness month. We met up with the group from Caitlyn's school "Little Star Walkers" and spent the morning supporting a great cause. The HEAL! Foundation (Healing Every Autistic Life!) is a local foundation serving the Greater Jacksonville Area and is also a supporter of Little Star Center of Jacksonville. It was an early start to a Sunday morning, but the weather was great and everyone had a great time walking the zoo.

You can view pictures from Sarah's Birthday Bash by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(The "Little Star Walkers")

If you are interested in more information about HEAL!, follow the link below:

Alan Pickert chosen for Florida Super Lawyers & Florida Legal Elite

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Alan Pickert of Terrell Hogan has been chosen for the 3rd year in a row as one of "Florida's Super Lawyers" for 2009 and has also been chosen for the 4th year in a row as one of "Florida's Legal Elite" for 2009. This places Alan among the top 2% of all attorneys in the state of Florida.

Alan is known for his outstanding work in Asbestos, Auto and Vaccine Injury. If you recall, Alan Pickert won Caitlyn's case in Vaccine Court back in 2007.

Alan,You remain a blessing and we appreciate everything you continue to do for our family. Congratulations once again on these 2 awards Alan, you definitely deserve them.

-The Hoiberg Family

(from left to right: Linda, Alan, Sarah, & Chris)

Glenn Beck: Last Line of Defense

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 15:13:00 +0000

Glenn Beck: Last Line of Defense
March 19, 2009 - 22:01 ET

"The Fed announced it will pump a $1 trillion into the system by buying debt from our treasury."

http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/198/22954/

Sarah's Birthday Bash '09

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:34:00 +0000

We celebrated another wonderful year of my lovely wife & mother of my beautiful children. Every year I am more and more amazed with how blessed I am to have Sarah by my side.

To celebrate the occassion, we had friends over for a cookout while we all relaxed and enjoyed the time together. A great time was had by all and we a thankful for all who attended.

Happy Birthday Sarah!

You can view pictures from Sarah's Birthday Bash by clicking on the picture below or by clicking.

(Sarah having her cake and getting to eat it...)

Walt Disney World - 03/02/08

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 17:33:00 +0000

Back in March we packed up the family and headed south to Orlando for a Disney weekend with the family. This turned out to be an interesting trip to say the least. We ended up making the best of the situation and enjoyed 2 nice days at the parks.

You can view pictures from the Magic Kingdom by clicking on the picture below or by clicking.

(Caitlyn with Sleeping Beauty, Princess Aurora, at Walt Disney World)

You can view pictures from Hollywood Studios by clicking on the picture below or by clicking.

(The High School Musical show at Hollywood Studios)

Chris' Birthday Dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:32:00 +0000

Recently I celebrated yet another Birthday and the sad realization I am getting older. To celebrate the occasion we invited the group "The Gang" out to one of our favorite places, Maggiano's Little Italy, for a nice family style dinner. We had a great time and ate way too much food.

I look back over this past year of my life and I am amazed at what has taken place and the progression of everything. I can look back and smile, I am grateful for my family and my friends. Thank you all for a great year.

You can view all the pictures from Chris' Birthday Dinner by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

("The Gang" at Maggiano's Little Italy)

Autism & Vaccines in the News

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 06:14:00 +0000

On Friday Leslie Weed & Sarah Hoiberg were asked by First Coast News to discuss the recent court ruling regarding the link between Autism & Vaccines and to talk about the need for safer vaccines.

Parents of Autistic Children Dealt Legal Setback

U.S. Special Court: MMR \ Thimerosal Omnibus Decision

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 19:52:00 +0000

U.S. Special Court: Measles Vaccine Not to Blame for Autism
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Associated Press

U.S. Special Court: Measles Vaccine Not to Blame for Autism, A special U.S. court has ruled against parents with autistic children, saying that vaccines are not to blame for their children's neurological disorder.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,491526,00.html

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/02/12/autism.vaccines/index.html

This is not good news... This is a very sad day for these families. Our heart & prayers go out to them...

New York City 2009 Visit

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 15:21:00 +0000

This past January Laura & I traveled up to New Jersey for my Dad's Birthday and to visit with family. We had a great time and it was a nice to spend some one on one time together.

On Saturday we made a trip into the City. My Dad, Laura, & I grabbed the train in New Brunswick and made our way to New York Penn Station. We arrived in the City and made our way up through Times Square and then over to the FOX News Studio.

You can view all the pictures from of our afternoon in New York City by clicking on the pictures below or by clicking here.

(Laura & Chris in Times Square)

Next stop was Rockefeller Center to see the Christmas Tree. The Tree was beauiful, this one actually came from Hamilton New Jersey.

(Laura & Chris at Rockefeller Center, Laura is feeling the chill of being in the shade)

Afterwards we made our way further uptown to the World of Disney Store. Shortly upon arriving, we found out Cinderella was going to be visiting. We quickly made our way upstairs and Laura was able to say hello and take some pictures.

(Laura with Cinderella at the World of Disney)

At this point we were ready for some food before heading back downtown. The next stop was the M&M World store in Times Square where Laura picked out various crazy colors of M&M's (pink, purple, lavender, & turquiose).

(Laura in the M&M World store)

We proceeded to make our way back to Penn Station, grabbing a pretzel for Laura along the way, and hopped the train back to Jersey.

On Sunday we made a trip out to see my sister's & brother-in-law's and Laura's cousins for some ice skating and dinner. The kids had a great time and it was nice having a chance to catch up with my sister's.

You can view pictures of Laura Ice Skating by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Laura showing off her ice skating skills)

New Years Eve 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 01:38:00 +0000

Better late than never, right?

Happy New Years everyone!!!

With everything that was going on over the holidays and getting this year off to a start, we have been pretty busy and it seems like there is never enough time to do what would be the simplest of things, like post a Blog entry...

We celebrated New Years Eve with some of our closest friends once again at P.F. Chang's. It's starting to become a staple for us. This was the second year in a row at one of our favorite places to eat.

You can view pictures from of our evening at P.F. Chang's by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Stacey, Bonnie, Andrew, Shippee, Jessie, Sarah, Chris, & Barry at P.F. Chang's in St. Johns Town Center on New Years Eve.)

Walt Disney World - Hollywood Studios 11/23/08

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:11:00 +0000

On Sunday Sarah & I loaded up the kids and took them to Disney's Hollywood Studios. We spent the entire day in the park taking the kids around to all the rides and the shows. Both Caitlyn and Laura had a blast. We were able to see Playhouse Disney as well as a couple characters. We ended up staying longer than we planned, but we were having such a good time walking the park and enjoying the evening.

You can view pictures from of our afternoon in the Animal Kingdom by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Laura, Caitlyn, & Sarah in front of the Christmas Tree at Hollywood Studios)

(The HSM 3 Show at Hollywood Studios)

(Mickey's hat in Hollywood Studios)

Walt Disney World - Animal Kingdom 11/22/08

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:11:00 +0000

On Saturday we decided to take the kids w/ Grandma & Grandpa T, and Uncle Timmy to Disney's Animal Kingdom. We had a great time enjoying the park and the weather was great once again. We spent much of the afternoon in Africa as many of the animals were located there on the Sahara. We eventually made our way around the park and managed to ride Everest. Amazing, that's all I have... At the end of the day, we managed to get front seats for the Christmas Jungle Parade.

You can view pictures from of our afternoon in the Animal Kingdom by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Sarah, Caitlyn, Laura, & Chris w/ Everest in the background)

After the Animal Kingdom Park closed, Sarah & I took the kids back to the Magic Kingdom to see the parade and the fireworks. This was the first time we were able to see the fireworks and it was well worth it.

You can view pictures from of our evening in the Magic Kingdom by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Laura possing in front of Cinderella's castle in the Magic Kingdom)

Walt Disney World - Magic Kingdom 11/21/08

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 22:10:00 +0000

A couple weeks ago we took the kids along with the Grandparents & Uncle Timmy down to Orlando for a weekend vacation. We arrived late Thursday night and made our way to the magic Kingdom just before noon on Friday. We spent most of the day taking the kids on the rides and enjoying the beautiful weather in Orlando. All the parks were decorated for Christmas which was a great treat for the kids and helped to get us all in the Christmas spirit.

You can view pictures from of our afternoon in the Magic Kingdom by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Chris, Sarah, Caitlyn, & Laura on Main Street USA)

After the Magic Kingdom closed the gates for the day, we made our way over to Epcot for a short visit to try and find a place to eat. Apparently we weren't the only ones with that idea. We made a quick walk around The World Showcase, stopped in Italy and then made our way out of the park. Dinner was another disaster I'd rather not bring up...

You can view pictures from of our evening in Epcot by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Chris, Sarah, Caitlyn, Laura, Grandma, & Grandpa T in Epcot)

New addition to the Hoiberg Family ...Caitlyn's new puppy Molly.

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 20:58:00 +0000

We have a new addition to the family, her name is Molly and she is a Shih Tzu. We picked her up a couple weeks ago. She is already 4 months old and is doing very well getting house broken. As you can expect, Caitlyn & Laura are very excited about having a puppy. Caitlyn is doing very well with Molly and Laura is helping out daily responsibilities. Molly follows Caitlyn throughout the house and is getting attached to both girls. She's still needs some work with the chewing, she has a thing for running into Caitlyn's room and grabbing her toys.

You can view pictures from of Molly by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Caitlyn & her new puppy Molly)

Burning Down The House: What Caused Our Economic Crisis?

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 12:53:00 +0000

I'm not a political Blogger by any means, but this whole mortgage crisis just infuriates me & I felt I needed to do my part and share this with others. Here’s what happens when Democrats attempt Social Engineering with the Community Reinvestment Act. This video is probably the best 10 minute explanation as to how we arrived here and who is responsible. I've been saying it for years that this bubble was going to pop... reality... wake up, we're here...

The Shippee Wedding

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 18:29:00 +0000

This past weekend our friends Brian & Jessie were married at The Jacksonville Zoo. Both Sarah & I were in the wedding party and were happy to be a part of their special day. They are both great friends and very dear to both of us and they make a wonderful couple. We are happy for them and can't wait for them to return from their honeymoon.

The Rehearsal dinner was at Maggiano's on Friday night and the wedding was Saturday evening. After the ceremony the reception was held at The Range of the Jaguar at The Jacksonville Zoo. My sister-in-law, Bonnie, helped out with photos during the ceremony. Thanks you Bonnie!

You can view pictures from the Rehearsal Dinner by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Jessie & Brian)

You can view pictures from the Wedding Ceremony & Reception by clicking on the pictures below or by clicking here.

(Barry, Brian, Chris & Andrew)

(Brian & Jessie)

Back to School for the girls...

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:39:00 +0000

It' that time of year again, Back to School!!!

Both girls went back to school this past Monday. We took our beginning of school year pictures in the foyer like we do every year. Both girls are very excited, Laura has been counting down the days to the start of the school year. It's amazing at how fast they grow up.

You may have noticed Laura lost some length in her hair. Last week we took both girls in for haircuts and Laura wanted to have her hair cut short like mommy...

You can view Back to School pictures by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Laura & Caitlyn heading Back to School.)

Hoiberg Weekend happening's

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 14:52:00 +0000

This past weekend was one of celebrations, fun, and preparation. Friday night we went to Kan-Ki to celebrate Mom's (Sarah's mother) birthday with the family. It was nice getting to spend some time, adults only, with the parents. Needless to say we all had a wonderful time and the food was great. Happy Birthday Mom!

You can view the pictures from dinner by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Mom (Birthday girl) & Dad at Kan-Ki)

On Saturday morning Andrew, Barry, & I went out to Paintball Adventures to get a couple hours of paintball in. We ended up playing about 5 games and had an exhausting morning there. We all faired pretty well. There was one match that we played in which I was the "Terminator" (I had a 4" area on my leg that the other team had to hit t0 get me out, pretty much invincible) and the other team flanked us, I got up and ran them all down and took about 8 of them out, but in the process I took some serious body shots. Probably not the smartest move I have made on the paintball field, but it did prevent them from pinning us down. It was a great morning, and yes, I am still sore and feeling some of the shots I took, especially the one on my neck...

You can view the pictures from paintball by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Chris in his Paintball Gear)

Laura & Daddy's night out

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 22:49:00 +0000

Recently I took Laura out for Dinner, Dessert and some one on one Daddy time. With everything that is going on with our family it seems that the opportunity for Laura to have my attention & time all to herself does not happen as often as it needs to. Laura understands the situation we are in but she still needs her Daddy time too...

We started off the evening at one of our favorite places, Moe's... "Welcome to Moe's!" Afterwards we headed downtown to Friendship Fountain on the St. Johns River. We walked around and enjoyed the evening turning to night and I was able to take some great pictures. We then proceeded to head into San Marco for some Ice Cream at Marble Slab. It was an evening to remember; Laura keeps talking about it and of course is asking when the next Daddy night out is going to be...

I've posted some of my favorite pictures from that evening below, to see all the pictures we took at Friendship Fountain, click here.

(Laura on the bank fo the St. Johns River with downtown Jacksonville in the backdrop.)

(This is my favorite picture from that evening.)

(Daddy & Laura in front of Friendship Fountain.)

Hippotherapy Session

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 21:48:00 +0000

A couple weekends ago I was able to capture some great shots from Caitlyn's Hippotherapy Session at PhysioPower. Caitlyn is doing wonderful with this therapy, it helps that she absolutely loves horses. Enjoy the slideshow or click here to view the pictures individually.

(Hippotherapy at PhysioPower)

CBS: Follow the Money Investigation "How Independent Are Vaccine Defenders?"

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Sat, 26 Jul 2008 14:30:00 +0000

Friday night CBS ran a story "How Independent Are Vaccine Defenders?"; seeing as we are the parents of a Vaccine Injured child, we are well aware of the ties as it is evident in their behavior. It sickens me that all this money is being given to push the agenda of vaccinating and making sure the medical community is behind the Big Pharma train as it comes barreling down the tracks on our children with these unsafe vaccines. It is obvious to me, a parent of a child that was standing on the tracks when the train came by, the reason they are doing it...

If the vaccine manufactures and the medical community that stands behind these manufactures (with their thick wallets) are 100% positive that vaccines do not cause injuries, why won't they release the data and allow testing by independent, non-bias, no tie to Big Pharma researchers?

I will say this, in Big Pharma's defense, if they did allow the truth about vaccines and their role in the injury of Tens of Thousands of children, there will be backlash, retribution will be demanded, and the public will demand action.

Until then, the best action for them is to continue the cover up.

And for now, the parents of children that have been injured by childhood vaccines will be the only ones realizing there is going to be backlash, that are looking for retribution, and trying to let the public know what is really going on.

The truth in the matter is this, until you have a child (or know a child or family) that has been injured by a vaccine, your eyes will not be open to what is really going on. Until our daughter was injured, we were clueless... just letting our children stand on the train tracks.

Related CBS News Story: Debate Over Vaccines And Autism\ADD

Orlando trip to Aquatica & SeaWorld w/ the Hoiberg's

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Last weekend we packed up the kids, Grandma & Grandpa, & Kate; and we all headed down to Orlando for a weekend of fun at SeaWorld. We headed out Friday night after work and made our way south. We stopped for dinner in Palm Coast, and seeing as it was Friday, we found a pizza place. The pizza was great and the kids were in rare form. I took some funny pics of Laura there. Afterwards we made it back on the road and arrived in Orlando. The kids were awake and after we were checked in and settled, we went for a walk down International Drive to Friendly's for some well needed ice cream...

You can view the pictures from our trip down to Orlando by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Daddy & Laura acting goofy at Friendly's)

Saturday morning was an early rise seeing as we were heading to Aquatica, SeaWorld's new waterpark. We purchased tickets the night before which allowed us to enter the park an hour earlier at 8am. This turned out to be the best decision we made. By 9am, the park was filling up, and by that time, we already had a locker, had found some chairs to set our towels, & were already in the water. By 11am, they had closed the doors to the park...

We were able to take the girls on several different slides in addition to the ones in the kiddie sections. The park was amazing; they had several areas for the kids. One of everyone's favorite was Roa's Rapids which was a lazy river... that wasn't lazy. It was great, they kids strapped on their life vests and we all jumped in and went for a wild ride around the river several times. Everyone had a blast and the weather was great, we had an overcast day and the sun wasn't beating down until noon time, just before we left the park.

You can view the pictures from Aquatica by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Laura & Caitlyn in the Wave Pool at Aquatica)

We left Aquatica & headed back to the hotel for some much needed naps. Afterwards we rounded everyone up and headed out for a nice dinner before heading to SeaWorld for the evening. Once we arrived at SeaWorld we made our way to the Wild Arctic where we took a trip to the South Pole. We walked around the South Pole for a while before heading to Shamu Stadium to see Shamu Rocks. This is one of our favorite shows and they only do these shows during the summer when the park is open for extended hours. Then we made our way to the other side of the park to ride Kraken before heading home for the evening.

Kraken is SeaWorld's amazing Roller Coaster; it is probably one of the best coasters I have been on. I found this video on YouTube, if you've never experienced Kraken, this is worth watching: Experience Kraken

You can view the pictures from dinner and our evening at SeaWorld by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Caitlyn, Grandma & Laura at Bogard's for Dinner)

Sunday morning came along and we packed up from the hotel after breakfast and made our way back to SeaWorld. We spent the afternoon in the park taking in the Sea Lion & Sea Otter Show as well as the Whale & Dolphin Show. Later we took the girls over to the kids area where they rode the Shamu Express, the kids roller coaster, and some of the other rides. We headed out just after noon and grabbed a quick bite to eating before making the drive back to Jacksonville.

You can view the pictures from our afternoon at SeaWorld by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(Sarah & Kate all smiles at SeaWorld)

Happy 4th of July from the Hoiberg's!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 22:36:00 +0000

Happy 4th of July!

Ok, so the 4th of July has come and passed, but what would a 4th of July Blog entry be without pictures?

This past Friday we went to a 4th of July Bar-B-Que with friends and family from our church. Afterwards we all headed down to Mickler's Landing Beach Park to watch the fireworks. This was actually the first time we had Caitlyn up to watch the fireworks for the 4th of July. Previously she didn't care too much for the loud noise, but that is no longer the case. Caitlyn sat and watched them all and was having a great time. Laura of course had a blast and fell asleep as soon as we started heading home.

You can view the pictures from the 4th of July on the beach by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

(from left to right: Caitlyn & Sarah)

Little Star Center Annual Poker Tournament Announced!

noreply@blogger.com (Chris Hoiberg) — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 14:54:00 +0000

It's that time of year again and Little Star Center is hosting their Annual Poker Tournament at "The Poker Room" in Jacksonville, Fl which is located at the end of Race Track Rd. near US-1 (The old Greyhound Race Track). This event is put on by the school that Caitlyn attends and the funds raised go towards helping local children and their struggle with Autism and other developmental delays.

You can more clearly view the Flyer by clicking on the picture below or by clicking here.

If you are interested in coming or would like more information, you can contact the number on the flyer above: (904) 928-0112 or you can email me directly: choiberg@gmail.com