Port Removal

So I lied about posting our Zions trip.  I totally forgot. In the meantime we've had some stuff happening! Last week we found out Danny got accepted to UC Irvine's Urban Design and Planning masters program. We were really excited.  Our lives are still very different then they used to be and I guess I have felt like we would simply go on doing this forever. It is incredibly refreshing to imagine our lives away from cancer and actually DOING something. Don't get me wrong, I love not doing anything. I love that Danny stays home with me and the most stressful thing we do is make sure we get his walk in. It is awesome, however, we may feel more fulfilled in the future. We are still waiting to hear back from UC Berkeley,  Cal Poly and the U of U. I'm excited to hear back so we can start making some decisions.

Last weekend we went on fun beach trip with Steve and Marilyn. We drove up the Marin headlands and walked to Black Sands beach. "Black Sands" sounds so exotic-but it was more like "Brown Rocks". It was a gorgeous walk down though and the beach was very beautiful. Lucy LOVES the beach and had a wonderful time.

Tomorrow we go to a surgeon to have Danny's port removed.  Most cancer patients keep their ports in for awhile in case their cancer recurs.  Our Dr. told us we could take it out whenever we felt like it-which made us feel great. The procedure is much easier then getting it in. It is only local anesthsia and I guess they just open up the wound and pop it right out. Done in 30 min. He can't swim for several weeks, which he is bumbed about, but other then that it is just a good excuse to have some vicodin again! More then the actual procedure, we are relieved to get it out just so that reminder is gone. Danny said this in a family email:

"Getting the port out will definitely mark an important moment in this shedding of the cancer process.  I'm really looking forward to getting it out.  It does feel a little symbolic in the sense of it all kind of began with the port - it all happened through the port - and it will all kind of come to an end with the taking out of the port. I never thought about keeping it as a keepsake!  Good idea, maybe I'll ask.
It's funny to think about the beginning at Tahoe when I had just gotten it in.  I remember the night before we left for Tahoe (I believe I got it in that day) and I had just loaded up on some vicadin and Christy wanted to go to Staples to get some calendars and stuff.  It was 9 at night and it was the first day on vicadin so my system was really sensitive to the stuff still, so I was super loopy when we went.  I went into staples with my sweats, socks (no shoes:), and a sweater.  I was kind of swaying as I walked, with a big grin on my face as I walked around following Christy.  It was all so funny right then.  We were completely overwhelmed after our meeting with the nurse practitioner that day, but I was able to kinda forget with the drugs and poor Christy was trying to put it all down on a calendar just to try to make sense of it all.  Oh man, I'm certainly glad that we aren't there anymore:)"


Me too.  I'll post some before and afters of the big event.
And now just because-here is Lucy throwing rocks in the gutter behind our house. What a beautiful time of year!

Disneyland!

I can hardly think about our Disneyland trip without getting giddy with happiness.  We had SO MUCH FUN.  Last Wednesday we drove down to Irvine and spent the night with my Uncle David and his wonderful family.  Lucy went to sleep talking about all the Princesses she was excited to meet and what she would say to them ("I'm Lucy. I'm two. I love you.") We woke up and Lucy wore her Aurora dress,  Princess bows I made her, princess shoes, Aurora socks and a princess jacket.  We left for the happiest place on earth and I was as excited as Lucy.

A little background: I have always loved Dinseyland-even more so because we didn't go that often ( I've been probably four times). We almost went a year ago when Lucy was one and I selfishly thought she would just hold me back. How could I go on Space Mountain a hundred times with a baby?  Well, Lucy is at the perfect age for Dinseyland now and this experience was all about her.  Since Danny got cancer I have been pretty protective of Lucy-I just wanted life to seem more normal for her-even though it was far from it. I did this by showering her with the attention I could spare and as many princess gifts as I could afford (and then some). I just think she deserves something extra for the hard months we've had.  This trip was soothing for me because it made me feel like I'd done okay. Lucy was so happy, she was in heaven and thats all I really want. It felt great to be there as a family (even if Danny was wheeling along beside us:) Anyway, that is why I couldn't stop crying as we walked down Main Street and got out first glimpse of Sleeping Beauty's castle.

We saw Mickey as soon as we got in.  Lucy was very excited and gave him a big hug. Then we went straight to Dumbo.  Lucy is usually very adventurous, but lately she gets worried she'll "fall and get a big owie" so she won't ride her bike or run too fast etc. She yells at everyone to "be careful". Anyway I was worried she wouldn't like the rides but she loved them.

We got Danny an electric wheelchair for the day, knowing we would be there all day and running around the park and it was a great decision. Danny was tired by the end of the afternoon anyway and it got us on rides SO FAST!  We went in the exit on all the big rides and went straight to the front. You wait for a minute and you're on. Awesome.  It is one of the few ways we can cash in on cancer-I didn't feel bad passing those people at all (although we got a couple looks-what is that cute young man doing in a wheelchair? I'm sure they thought we were cheaters. ) My uncle, aunt and cousins joined us at Disneyland and everyone wanted to take Danny around on rides:) My favorite rides are Space Mountain (rode twice and it was so much fun) and Indiana Jones (rode twice, got stuck once right as the boulder was coming down on us-so scary sitting there in the dark with the truck bucking over and over). My parents are really fun to go on rides with. My dad pretends to be terrified and does a special yell I find hilarious and my mom often is terrified and does a yell that is equally funny.

The best part of the day was the Princess Fair. You stand in line forever to meet and take pics with three of the princesses. We were able to meet Tiana, Ariel and Belle. Lucy was star struck. She was totally shy with Tiana-I couldn't get her hands out of her mouth. She was slightly standoffish with Ariel but liked talking about Flounder.  She LOVED Belle. Those girls are so sweet and good at drawing kids out. Belle was kneeling on her level so she was easy to talk to. They talked about Lucy's Aurora dress, and all about Lucy-it was so sweet. When Belle asked for a hug Lucy just squeezed her. When we left Lucy was ecstatic. We still talk about it daily.


I was excited about the parade. As a kid we always skipped the parade and did the big rides with very little line while the suckers watched the parade. This year I spent an hour saving a spot and waiting for it! It was well worth it. We ended up right in front of a float. Lucy gave high-5s to every character and dancer that came our way. The highlight was Minnie blowing her a kiss and Lucy returning it. I could have died with happiness at that moment. There is nothing like watching your child when she is filled with happiness. We went home exhausted and happy.

(Stay tuned for our Zions trip. Short track speed skating is on. You understand.)

In one more sleep

Tomorrow we leave for-

To see-

We JUST CAN"T WAIT. It is like Christmas Eve around here! Lucy is beyond excited. She is currently running in circles around the room towing her rolling suitcase while we listen to Princess songs. Disneyland here we come!

Yosemite and Deep Thoughts

This week we had the opportunity to go to Yosemite overnight. We had never been during the winter, only with the crazy crowds in June, and we loved having the park to ourselves. There was quite a bit of snow on the ground, and along the paths, but it was beautiful. The forecast said rain so we were expecting to get wet but the weather turned out perfect.  We drove down Tuesday morning and spent the afternoon walking along the little Yosemite Falls path and visiting the museum. 

We stayed at Yosemite Lodge and the next morning walked around the meadow.  Lucy didn't stay in the stroller long, she loved running along the path and walking through the snow.  On every bridge we walked over she asked for her Ariel swimming suit and asked if she could jump in. Unfortunately most of the water was frozen over...so I said no. 

(sorry for so many pictures-I have very few pics of Lucy and I in general-so I included them all!)


Doesn't Danny look great?

This week I have seen a huge difference, although I think I say that every week.  I am a greedy creature.  During all those months of chemo I was LONGING for this point-just to be done with chemo and be normal again. Now that we are done and basically normal I still want more. We read a good article last night from last conference by Elder Watson on being temperate. He sighted some much read scriptures that included temperance I realized that I always skipped over that virtue. 

"Being temperate means to carefully examine our expectations and desires, to be diligent and patient in seeking righteous goals."

I am still being taught temperance.  It is maybe taking me a little longer than it should, but hopefully I'll get it soon.

On a lighter note...Danny's hair is turning gray (get my pun! lighter note! ).  Okay, he isn't actually gray yet, but his hair is growing in, well, much lighter looking. It is also super downy soft like a little babies.  I really need to google "post-chemo male hair growth" because I have no idea if it will stay like this or change.  He would look very distinguished if his hair went gray, kind of Cary Grant or Paul Newman-esque. At the same time, those guys were "mature" in age in the movies and poor Danny is only twenty-six.  I guess we'll see!