T-shirt crafting

The boys helped me make 4th of July shirts for them today. I got to paint their hands and they got to help paint the stripes. It was a fun, crafty afternoon. 

Swim Wednesdays

Today the kids had swim lessons. They worked some more on backstroke and really worked on perfecting their dives. They both look great! I'm so impressed with the amount of progress they both have made in such a short time. Only 2 more lessons left. Can't wait to see what's next!

Splashway!

Today we went to Splashway Water Park. The kids got free tickets from school that expire in a couple of days so we had to fit it in this week. 

We got there and they rode all the slides within the first hour and a half. I only rode 3 slides this summer, but that was enough for me. 

We went around the lazy river a few times, played in some splash areas, and jumped waves in the wave pool. We also had a picnic lunch.

It was a fun day!

Backstroke

We've been watching the Olympic trials every night. Today the boys asked Tripp to teach them how to do the backstroke since it was part of the relay race last night. He worked with them and they look good for beginners.
Poor Timothy looked like he was drowning, but he managed to get from here to there. And it improved from the beginning of the lesson to the end.
Thomas got it pretty quickly, but he needs to refine his technique.
After Tripp left, they taught themselves how to turn (flip underwater) and keep on swimming. It was cute!

Sorry!

Tonight we played Sorry! together as a family. We played while we were watching the Olympic trials. Timothy really got in to cheering for his favorite swimmers. (Which just happens to be whoever is out in front in each race and can change during the race depending on if they keep the lead or not.) 

Thomas is getting really good with his strategy in the board game department. It's getting harder to beat him.  

House/dog/yard Sitting

Today we went to MiMi and Boonpa's house to be there while a yard crew dug up all the random jungle of plants that the people before them had in their flower beds. Front and back. We had to be there to keep the dogs from attacking the yard guys and to make sure the yard crew was taking out the right plants.

Watching those poor guys work for hours in the heat made me glad for an inside job. 

Swim Party

We had our friends over to MiMi and Boonpa's house today to have lunch and swim. They all had a great time and were in the pool for 4 hours!

Teacher day

Brian got to be the chauffeur today while I was at a teacher training all day. I wrote out detailed instructions for him and he was able to get the kids everywhere they needed to be ON TIME. Which was awesome!

He's a good dad, and he's good at following instructions! 

-leave the house at 8:35. Drive to church. Go in and go to the tables to get a ticket for the kids. Walk them into the sanctuary and drop them off at their groups. 

-leave the house at 11:35. Drive to church. Go in and go to the tables to get a ticket to pick up the kids. Go into the sanctuary and get them from their groups. Give your tickets to the people at the door on your way out. 

-feed them lunch

-leave the house at 1:00 and drop Timothy and the check off at MiMi's house for swim lessons. Take Thomas to the orthodontist. Appointment at 1:30. 

-leave Thomas' appointment and take him to MiMi's house for swim lessons. 

Clue/Astros/Nap

Timothy got to go swim at a friend's house this afternoon. Thomas and I played a game of Clue (which doesn't really work if it's only 2 players). Then we turned on the Astros game. Thomas read a little of his Harry Potter book and I ended up dozing off on the couch.

Just goes to show how much excitement Timothy brings into our lives. :-)

Poker

Thomas caught part of a poker tournament on TV at Buffalo Wild Wings last night. When he got home he asked Brian to get our poker set out of the game closet. It was too late to play last night, so I spent our time around swim lessons this afternoon teaching Thomas how to play Texas Hold Em. 

It's a slow process but he's getting the hang of it. 

VBS Day 1

The boys were so excited for VBS this year. It is a play on Star Wars with the theme of "Soul Wars". Their buddies were all there and they learned some great bible stories. They also enjoyed the pink lemonade at snack station. :-) Of course...

Happy Father's Day 2016

We had a nice Father's Day today. We had lunch and swam in between the rain and thunder claps this afternoon.

(Boonpa practicing for his retirement hobby of swimming with the orcas)

Snowballs

On vacation we went to a little snowball shack and had snowballs for dessert. Timothy loved them and snowballs were one of his top things from vacation. Today we went to Bahama Bucks for shaved ice after dinner. Timothy still says he prefers the snowballs, but he certainly didn't leave any shaved ice in his cup. :-)

Diving

Our swim teacher, Tripp, started working with the kids on learning how to dive today. It's tricky. They're slowly getting the hang of it, but it will take a little more time to get it down.

Mammogram and ultrasound

Yesterday I had another mammogram and ultrasound to check progress. I was supposed to also have a PET scan but the insurance denied it. Apparently Aetna knows what I need better than my doctor does. :-(

The Mammogram was fine and quick- they only took three pictures. There's nothing to see on the mammogram anymore. They can only see the clips that were inserted into the tumor when I had the initial biopsy. 

Then I went for the ultrasound. The lady didn't take very many pictures and didn't measure anything and then she went and got the doctor. The doctor came in and did her own turn on the ultrasound machine. She also didn't take very many pictures and didn't measure anything. At one point I had three people in the room looking at the ultrasound machine at the same time. It was weird. I left not really knowing what they saw. 

I went to see my oncologist this morning and asked her about the mammogram and ultrasound. She looked up the report and the reason they didn't take very many pictures or measuring anything was because they had a very hard time finding where the tumor was. They said it was indistinct and hard to find. The lymph node under the arm that had been biopsied had gone back to normal size. And the other lymph nodes that they found on the other scans were also back to normal size. So size-wise, things have gotten smaller. I have to have a breast MRI next Friday because they had such a hard time finding the breast tumor on the ultrasound.

All of this is, of course, good news, but you kind of have to take it with a grain of salt. Scans don't show everything, and the scans can't tell you what's really in there. We will only know that after surgery. So it's good news that nothing grew and that everything seems to have responded to chemo by shrinking, just hopefully when they go for surgery there's no cancer cells there. It'll just be scar tissue. That is the hope and prayer that we have at this time. And we are also praying that it has not spread, that it will never spread or recur as well. That will be my prayer for a long, long time.

So good news for now. Hopefully the good news will just keep coming. My oncologist hugged me today and was so sweet and supportive. I don't have to see her for 5 weeks. What will I do with myself in the meantime?!? 

Swimming day

These boys spent over 3 hours in MiMi and Boonpa's pool today. They had A BLAST. I love how well they get along and play together. They have their moments where they irritate each other, of course, but for the most part, they really are best buddies. Melts my heart. 

(Timmy has some red cheeks from the sun. Yes, he had on sunscreen. Yes, we reapplied it twice. Still sun-kissed.)

(I totally got caught trying to sneak his picture like I did Timothy's.)

Vacation Wednesday

Today was our last day and the day we had to travel home. We had a wonderful time and the kids have already been talking about what they want to do and see again the next time we visit Pensacola. (Crab watching at night is NOT on that list.)

Thomas loved riding jet skis, eating shrimp, and playing on the beach. 

Timothy loved riding jet skis, playing mini golf, and eating snowballs. 

I was so happy to get away and spend time with my family, build sand castles on the beach, and ride jet skis. 

And Brian enjoyed torturing the kids on the beach at night, riding jet skis, and the dolphin tour. 

Vacation Tuesday

This morning we had a nice time at the beach. We built sand castles, played frisbee, and jumped waves. Brian tried catching some fish in his little net, but had no luck.

We had lunch at the condo and then rode down the road a little to a dock and rented a couple of jet skis to ride for a little while. It was so fun! 

We changed and went to the Naval Aviation Museum for a couple of hours, then we had a great dinner at The Fish House in downtown Pensacola. We sat outside and got to see catfish and crabs and little fish in the bay next to us. 

After dinner we went to see the minor league baseball team, the Pensacola Blue Wahoos play against the Montgomery Biscuits. (Best team names ever) At one point in between innings, they had a guy dress up like a roach and all the kids in the stadium were invited to chase him across the field. Of course, Thomas and Timothy chased him. Not something you get to see or do every day. 

Vacation Monday

Today we woke up to watch Dolphins from our condo balcony. What a fun sight before breakfast!

We spent the morning on the beach and then had some lunch in the condo.

This afternoon we went to Adventure Island to play mini golf (where MiMi won and Timothy got a hole-in-one), play some arcade games, ride go carts, and ride in bumper boats. 

Then we rode on a boat for a dolphin cruise, which is where you watch Dolphins swim beside you and all around you. 

We had a nice dinner, then went back to the beach at dark with flashlights. We found LOTS of sand crabs. And Timothy had his first (and hopefully last) full-fledged panic attack. He was NOT.A.FAN. of the sand crabs running around while he was standing barefoot on the sand. He literally climbed up me like I was a ladder to try to get away. Thomas wasn't too impressed with the sand crabs either. They both declared it "the most terrifying night" of their lives. Ahh...summer vacation. The time to unintentionally terrify your children and start saving for their future therapy. 

Vacation Sunday

We took the kids on their very first long road trip today. By long I mean over 2-3 hours. We drove all the way to Pensacola, FL today.

We left early this morning, stopped for breakfast and lunch and once more to go to the restroom and get gas. Then we arrived here at the beach. 

This afternoon we got out on the beach for a little bit, then shopped to stock up the condo for the next couple of days.

Relaxation time. :-)

Lazy, busy day

Today we tried to be lazy but needed to get a few things done as well. So we were a little busy and a little lazy. Good for a summer Saturday. 

Thomas did a lot of reading today and I did some too. Timothy did a lot of playing and was just his little angel self. 

Chemo 16 - 0 left!

Today was chemo 16. Finally. It's been a long almost 6 months. I started on January 15. 

I wore my Team Moon shirt that my class made today. It is so cute!

MiMi and the boys picked me up so Brian could go to work this afternoon and they had made signs and brought me balloons and flowers. And Timothy brought me a Rice Krispie treat too. But he had to try it first, then I could eat the rest he said. :-)

No cookie boy on Fridays, but they do have these ladies that bring around therapy dogs to visit with the patients. I was offered the chance to visit with a big, fat, old beagle. I said No Thank You. My parents have a big, fat, old beagle that I see often enough. No extra dog visits needed. 

Today was my favorite nurse's last day. She's a travel nurse and is moving on to L.A. She caught an attitude from another patient when she tried to stop her from filling her purse with snacks that are provided for all the patients. Poor thing. She went out with a bang though!

In a completely appropriate turn of events for me, I slammed the back of my hand in the bathroom while I was here. So they brought me a giant biohazard bag filled with ice. Embarrassing. At least I didn't fall though. 

Next Thursday I have a mammogram, ultrasound, and PET scan. I'm praying that they are all clear. Then on Friday I meet with my oncologist again. On Monday I see my surgeon. As of now, surgery is scheduled for July 11. 

Thank for all of your prayers and support trough this part of treatment. Please continue to pray for my family as we move into the part. 

Mini Field Day

Some of Thomas' friends moms had the brilliant idea to host a mini field day at the park by their house today. It was such a great idea! The kids had an absolute blast! They had tons of relay races, got wet, and got to be with their friends. It was awesome. 

Wednesday Swim Lesson

The boys had their second swim lesson today. They both are doing so much better! Their breathing and strokes look good. Timothy wanted to be just like their swim teacher and wear his sunglasses in the pool but it bothered him that they got WET. In the pool. Imagine that?! Crazy guy.

Thomas can make it across the pool without having to stop to take a breath now. He can just breathe under his arm and keep on going. So that is a major improvement. 

Cleaning day/moving day

Today I worked on cleaning this house. The kids played while I worked. They will have to clean their rooms later this week.

MiMi and Boonpa moved into their new house today so we went over there tonight to have a pizza dinner and swim. And toast to their new house and try out the hot tub. 
We love the slow-mo feature for pool jumping videos.

Swim lessons start

Today was the first day of swim lessons for the boys. They made improvements today in just one lesson. I can't wait to see how far they come in the next month or so. 

Tonight we had dinner at Alicia's and Timothy was so excited to order for himself. "I want the taco-al-carbono please?" It was so cute!

Birthday parties

Timothy had 2 birthday parties to attend today. We all went to the first one together to see the Angry Birds movie. It was super cute! Brian took the boys to the second one while I did some cooking. Then we went to visit and eat with MiMi and Boonpa. 

Tonight Thomas wanted to take a bath to soak his knee. He read a book while he was in there for a good 40 minutes. He may look like Brian, but he gets that from me. There have been many times the bath water has gone cold on me because I was too caught up in my book to get out. :-)

Summer Day 1

This blog has been used for the past few years to give a quick recap of what we do each day in the summer. I don't have time to blog during the school year-so it's summer only. It's fun to look back through the years with the kids and remember all the fun we have had.

Today was summer day 1 for 2016. We were not too busy. Thomas and Brian went to help MiMi and Boonpa start moving. Me and Timothy did some shopping for a couple of upcoming birthday parties. Then we met at MiMi and Boonpa's new house and the kids swam. In the cold, cold water. 

Chemo 15 - 1 more

My platelets went from 66 on Monday to 170 today, so I am getting chemo as I type this. My next (and last) one should be next Friday. This pushes my surgery back to the first week of July, but that's what we have to do to get all the chemo in. 

I was given the go-ahead to take Biotin for hair and nail growth, so I'm anxious to start that and get some hair back. 

I have another mammogram and ultrasound on June 16 along with another PET scan, then I can really focus on surgery next. 

This was the last week of school and it was so fun to be back with my class after being out all last week. 

I'm excited to start summer with the boys this weekend. We'll keep it nice and relaxing with lots of time in the pool. 

Thanks for all of your prayers!