Jimmy John's

So, I tried a new place a few weeks ago, but I am just now getting the time to review it.

(You all know I love food).

I went there with a friend from work. Neither of us had ever been their prior. I ordered the beach club, she ordered the BLT. I had a hogie bun, she had the fresh bread. Both of us were quite impressed with the service, atmosphere, and food. I am not down that way much, but you can bet the next time Nic is requesting we eat out healthy & wants a sandwich, that is where I will recommend.

Stockton Story- Touch, Touch.

Stockton is at such a fun age & is such a cute kids that I could do a blog of "Stocktonisms" all day long. I can't believe it's taken me this long to write up the story, but it's so funny to me.

Back when we were at our Uintah's trip... the drive down.

The 2 older kids had Nintendo DS's to play to make the ride a little easier. Stockton was a little miffed that Trent wouldn't share his. He was watching intently as Trent played. No personal space involved. Trent got tired of having Stockton in his face & telling him how to play.. Please a 4 year old, telling the electronics king of the 12 year old's how to play- Trent wasn't having any of it. Nic & I had both took turns telling Stockton to sit back & not place his arms outside of his car seat area. (Only we told on on a 4 year old level) Ü. Still upset at Trent for not sharing, Nic & I keep hearing him squeal. Not typical 4 year old boy squeal, but banshee squeal. With out even turning around, Nic & I take turns popping off at Trent to be nice to his brother, quick making him squawk. It's not my favorite sound, when traveling in the car, or shopping at the grocery store, or in the waiting room at the doctor's office, or ever, actually. I finally flipped my mirror so I could watch what was going on. We had already threatened Trent with everything but the kitchen sink-- and maybe that as well, it needed a good cleaning. So, with my mirror, I couldn't believe it. Trent was trying his hardest to ignore this demon child and his torture. After a few seconds of watching, I lightly tapped Nic & said, you've got to see this. So when he could catch a glimpse through his mirror he saw, at first we laugh about it. which as you all know, would egg on any 4 year old bored & in need of attention. Then we had to threaten him with everything. However, this child know all, -please, are you really going to stop the car, Uh-huh. & you think you are going to make me take a nap in the tent, sure. No treats, really, well I'd like to see that. No treats camping, would really be a first. He knew we were bluffing and called us on it.

What was going on? Trent had told him not to touch him. Stockton's reply was, but I love you & I just want to touch you. Then proceeded to point his index finger & touch Trent somewhere on his face & each time he made contact he'd say. Touch, Touch.. He was poking Trent in the ear, on the nose, in the eye, on the cheek. Touch, Touch, Touch.

~Sorry, I had to pause and laugh while remembering the sound of his voice & the look of pure annoyance on Trent's face.~

A few things have happened since then that make think to see what is happening, before I flat out blame Trent. Look out Trent, Stockton has begun to hold his own.

At times when Trent is frustrated with me or mad at the world (as teenagers are, about once a week or so) I try to diffuse him by poking at his face & saying touch touch touch. So far so good.

Shoulda, coulda, woulda

The Cabin

So, I am totally aware that I need to update my blog. I had plans to do it tonight/tomorrow. I've got pictures from first day of school, a zoo trip, soccer games, football games, the wedding cake, my garden over haul, ... But for now I would only be able to do the stories, for you see a tragedy occurred today. Trent had a football game in Smithfield. After the game we went to Nic's moms' cabin. It is about 20 mins from Smithfield. Much closer than the 1 hour drive home. Knowing this would probably be the last trip we were taking up there this year, I wanted to get a few shots. Nic & the kids were down at the river catching baby fish-- & when I say catching, I mean inside a paper cup, just for the kids to get a closer look & maybe hold the cup for a few minutes. I was in the river on a rock. I had taken a few picts. & lost my balance. Really, do I need to say more? I am sure most of you are saying yes & that you want detail. Especially those of you who know I have a fear of water, and what the extent of it is. (Deep breaths-- oh the memories). It starts on a rock. A mossy wet rock. I move to get a different angle. Not only is the rock wet & slippery, it is loose. I slipped. I tried grabbing the post to regain my balance. However, the post was rotted & was no help. I didn't really have room to turn my slip into a jump, because of the kids trying to catch fish. SPLASH, down I go, camera and all. I held my arm up to try and save my camera (after it was submersed). My head & 1/2 of my torso was above water. I had nothing to grab onto to get myself up. & had Nic grab the camera so I could use my arm to get up. The water was cold and most of Nic's family was there & heard me making these gorilla noises. whooo haaaa, between the cold water, the laughter & a little hidden phobia, I am sure the sight & sound was hilarious. Had my camera not been dripping I would have asked Nic to take a picture of me. Once he had my camera & had set it on a rock, he helped me up. I almost pulled him in , being that the rocks he was standing on were also slimy & unstable. (Pretty sure my weight had nothing to do with the fact that he was having a hard time- those of you reading, feel free to insert nose giggle here [ ] ). I climbed back on the the cabin lawn laughing in disbelief, with a few family members wondering-- do I laugh, or is she going to make a scene because she touched water. They are all aware of my water phobia. After Jon- my brother in law asked if I was okay, they sensed that I wasn't going to go into shock & hypothermia. Nick described the whole incident as a turtle who was stock on their back. Arms and legs flailing, bot not able to move. I can laugh about it now, so go ahead and join in. about 10 minutes later, after a change of clothes, I wanted to try & catch fish myself-- not this isn't going where you think it is. about 2 minutes after I was down at the river, the kids were all headed up (can't remember why) & I started back up. I had 2 rocks give way & start rolling. I had both hands free & steadied myself on a step. When the kids went back down to let the fishes go. I decided I had better stay up on the lawn. My camera is currently drying. I decided not to try turning it on for a few days. I am sure the pictures I had on the memory card will be fine, but not sure the camera will recover. I accidentally left it up at the cabin, but will be seeing my mother in law on Tuesday, which will be a great time to turn it on and see if it still works.

This would be the post that no longer serves a purpose.

The rocks have been moved, bit the general area of where I fell in, is the obvious one, only I'd say there was more water involved. These pictures were taken when the water was lower.

Treatment # 11

One more left-praise God!

We got there, he was doing fine. The doctor said his counts should be fine, especially after being on prednisone. Then they took blood to determine if the counts were high enough that he wouldn't need the shot. His counts came back at .8. They ran it again to make sure. The nurse told us that .8 was so low that they couldn't administer chemo. Sure there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but the last 30 days, I think they have been doing construction & we've had to take a detour. She said she'd have to get the doctor to approve it. We went from sitting there, being happy, making jokes, to sinking down in our chairs thinking negatively. The nurse said his levels had to be at a 1.5 in order to receive chemo. He was able to get the treatment. I think the Doctor secretly knew I would give his house a god toilet papering if he denied it. Or that maybe we'd never come back. So yea, we had the treatment, & Nic had to have the shot- hopefully the last one ever for the rest of his life. His nausea has been terrible, so this treatment and the last one he was given a sample medication. He takes one pill right before treatment, then one the following day & again the following day. This has been a miracle pill for him. It doesn't really take care of all of the nausea, but it keeps him from throwing up. For the last treatment I have a prescription for these pills. The nurse warned me, not to pass out when it comes to paying for this prescription... I have yet to take it in. I've got a week and a 1/2 to try and brace myself. I have good insurance, but still, I am wondering it will be anything like the $6000.00 shot, or will it be more like $150.00 for 3 pills. Either way, does it really cost that much for the ingredients, or am I paying for all of the research that went into it, & for all the research that went into pills that didn't work out.
Oh well. 1 more left, 1 more left.

I have posted a sticky note on my mirror,

1 more left!

Wedding cake

The fresh flowers really add to the cake.

What a fun cake to make.

Phone

Anyone trying to get a hold of me will have to E-mail, for the next few days. I have surpassed both the amount of minutes & text's in my plan. I have turned my phone off, & will turn it back on Thursday Morning.

Cake Site

Hi everyone,
Kim has put together a blog of cakes she & I have done together.
Feel free to take a look!

http://www.mycakebook.blogspot.com/

Treatment # 10

Well, they pulled one of the chemicals from Nic's usual treatment. He won't have to have it ever again. Remember AVBD - you may have to scroll down to find that post- back in March or April. Now it is just AVD. He also didn't have to have the shot that helps out his blood cell count. Being that he took an extra week before treatment, his counts were fine. So this treatment has been a little better. Not so much chest pain. He did throw up during the treatment though.. bummer.

2 more treatments to go, never thought I'd see the day, but it's finally getting closer. Yahoo!

Update

Many of you have asked how Nic is doing.He is doing much better & went into work today.Things were scary for a while, but are much better now. He has a treatment on Wednesday, minus the chemical that seemed to have been the cause of his condition.

3 to go.. So close!

Cassidy's Birthday

Cassidy dressing up the neighbor.
Ava decided to cool off in a tub of water.

Nothing like hanging with family.

It was pretty windy, we had a hard time keeping the candles lit.

Kids doing the tie-dye Hope every ones turned out cute!.

Cassidy's cake- Step by Step

Why we had to hand carve it--

the molded bear cake didn't work out.

Ta Da, thanks for your help Kim!

Uintas

This lake, so smooth it is a mirror.

I had a picture like this from the last Uinta trip, I made it into a puzzle for my mother in law. BIG mistake. Can you imagine trying to put a puzzle together when you can't tell if you are working on the lake, or the mountain image itself?

Nice cast... I had to capture the sparkling lake.

We bought a new tent- Much easier to pack this one one than our usual one. What, no marshmallows? Nothing like fishy crackers!
Check out his mallow.

Gotta fit it all in one bite!

Yummy!This was a nice and toasty fire!

Cuddling up before bed time.

The Troops

Don't mess with these ladies, they are tough.

Treatment # 10- or not

So, some of you have heard that Nic is pretty sick.

He is not breathing well, has no energy, he is weak and achy. For him to go up or down the stairs takes more energy than he has. The blood work looks good- no infections. Chest X-ray doesn't show any negative spots. Still has a fever here and there. His oxygen level was 90, so not too good, but not bad enough to need an oxygen tank, or hospitalization. He isn't eating much, he has lost 4 lbs in 2 weeks. We were told to stop the antibiotics, they weren't treating anything. We are going to start him on prednisone- a pretty high dose to see if that will help out the breathing. If he is not showing any signs of getting better by Friday he will go in for a CAT scan to see if he has a blood clot. The other possible options are West Nile & Mono. Both of which just take time to get over.

For all those asking, what can I do to help, well my house is really messy & my walls need washing...

JUST KIDDING!

I am taking some time off work to tend to Nic, and I will be working on cleaning up when he doesn't need me.

He was too sick to have a treatment today.

He will go in for a treatment next week.

Cassidy Birthday Lunch

So Kim & I decided last minute to take Cassidy out for a birthday lunch. We went to Chili's, where the service was terrible-- By the time we got Cassidy her birthday cake and ice cream the kids were ready to go & I was ready for a nap!

When a door closes,

another one opens,

But often we stand there

so long looking

at the closed door,

That we do not see

the one thats opened.

Cancer gets in one last kick

So Friday we went to the Uintah's, just as beautiful as I remember. We hiked in, &on Saturday morning, Nic felt a lack of energy & that something (some sort of sickness) was going to invade him. So we got home & he was in bed for the rest of the day. Feeling achy X 5. Sunday as I was getting ready for Cassidy's party I could tell he just wasn't right. It took more energy than he had, just to make it to her party. Last night I finally got a clue & took his temp. Yup, something did invade & was conquering. So this morning I took him to the Doctor & they ordered some tests & did an X-ray. We should hear back this afternoon. He has no appetite, he is still very achy, still feverish, and instead of breathing normally, it's more of a pant. He isn't breathing well. I will update once I hear back from the Doctor.

UPDATE:

We got a call from the Nurse at the cancer center. They can't find a reason for the symptoms. Lungs are clear, culture negative. She didn't say anything about the blood count. Just to stay on the antibiotic & go to his treatment as scheduled on Wednesday.

~ And a HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO CASSIDY!

Breathing Test

Thursday Morning Nic had a breathing Test. This was to see if the chemo has caused any damage to his lungs. The Doctor who administered the tests, said that 1 out of 3 different types of tests showed loss. He did fine on 2 tests, but the third showed that the oxygen isn't getting into the blood stream as fast as it used to. He didn't expand much on that. We will find out more at Nic's appt this week. At his last appt. Dr. Stinnett mentioned pulling 1 of the 4 chemicals Nic is being treated with if the damage was significant enough.