Happy new year

Laura is having an infusion on New Year's Eve.  I brought pancakes and tea for her!  We are having a fun long vacation. The kids and I are not driving Laura or eachother too crazy!  Hope you all are well. 

Happy thanksgiving!!

It's been forever since I posted.  We are doing well. Here is asynopses:

Laura:  it's been over four weeks since Laura's last and final taxotere chemo.  Just last weekend she said she actually felt ok at night!  She had her two biologicals a week ago today which made her sleepy but not too bad.  She has open cuts on four out of five finger tips from the chemo.  Her eyes are watering so much that there is some ick under her right eye.  Little mouse fuzz hair is starting to grow back more and it's so soft!  In general her spirits and how she is feeling is on the rise.

Tim:  thriving.  Just put new speakers in his/Ani's car which he loves.  Cross country went well and he is loving his welding class at Clatsop community college. 

Ani is home right now.  She just loves occidental college!   It's wonderful having her home

Jon:  I am lucky to love my job.  I am excited about how well Laura responded to the chemo but it is hard to get excited because I don't want to get my hopes up  too much.   Don't get me wrong it is amazing the rumors have shrunk so much.  I just sure hope they continue to stay small!!!

Laura's brother Richard, his man Fajar, daughter Rose and random friend are coming for thanksgivings!  

My cousins Tim and Kathryn visited from hailey Idaho last weekend which was great!  Here are some pics:

Chemo in Astoria.

Laura has just started her herceptin infusion in Astoria.  It took over 3 weeks but she finally is able to do infusions here in Astoria which is great!  She swam this morning and I worked until 1230 and. Will go back to the office later too!

Lauras scans

Good news!  Lauras scans today continue to be good news!  They cannot see any cancer in her ct scans.  While there is something in the left side of her liver, they think it is a cyst and not cancer.  Dr Raish, her medical oncologist, said she is very far to the good side of possible outcomes of her treatment.  He expected some results but he did not expect not to see any cancer so that is great!

Dr Raish would not say NED (no evidence of desiease) but he did say he is very happy with the results. So happy he has decided to do two more sessions of taxotere which is the chemo drug that Laura is taking along with the two other biological drugs that go after her exact type of cancer.  So Laura was just given 20 mg of steroids since she did not pre load her body with steroids yesterday and today to accept the taxotere.  Her nurse said she would not be sleeping tonight but at least they are being as aggressive as possible!

We are having our traditional Thai food lunch we have been having for chemo!

Jons knee

Just saw an orthopedic in longview today. I did tear my meniscus but it is healing well and no surgery for now!!!  Good news!  Quite a bit of bone on bone arthritis but that is a long term issue no something I need to worry about now!  So good mews 

Beautiful day at the beach today!!

My turn with the baby

This is stupid

Well in Portland Tuesday I was doing some errands and walking around quickly trying to do some productive things while Laura was having her chemo and I tore the miniscus in my right knee.  My right knee has always been my better knee but now I'm on the couch at home with Laura watching orange is the new black. I saw my primary dr and will get a referral to an orthopedist.  It is so painful and stupid.

More pics

Laura and her support group!

A huge pacific north west ground squirrel has driven away the family of cute red squirrels that we have had for a long time!  Bad squirrel do more chin ups!!!

Garden is still thriving

Some pics

We had a wonderful dinner at Pickled Fish on the Long Beach peninsula for our 20th wedding anniversary tomorrow Sept. 17!!

It's been forever...

I am finally making a post since summer ended and school started.  Laura: beyond tired but very well.  We are at her last chemo for a while in Portland right now.  I'm going to go through the family in absolutely no order of significance:

Mia- so so happy she has a play mate!  Mia and Louis spend a lot of time making noise and playing!  Their favorite game is chase.  Or as Louis thinks "run like hell."

Ani: Occidental College is amazing!  Lots of work; lots of fun; new people and really stepping out!  Loves the wicked hot weather!

Tim: cross country is amazing!  He did great in the first meet- the Ultimook Challenge and finished a couple of minutes faster than he did last year. Good classes including welding at our local community college.

Jon:  while I love my summer. I am suprised by how much I love my job!  Wonderful crop of seniors to work with and so good to see all my teacher friends.  Camped in Knappa and have had some great bike rides!  Oh and my garden is doing super as long as I water it!  No rain in Astoria in about for ever!

Louis: the shit eating puppy. He is evil and we love him so so much!  House broke you might ask? No!  Does he poop in the house and then eat some of it?  Yes. He is horrid. He humps anything. He bites and pees once let inside again. However the word soft is derived from him. He loves us and we love him!

Laura: see her blog!  She is good yet tired...  Doing yoga and walking most days. The pool is open again after 2 weeks  annual cleaning so she is swimming too.  She is also working on an article for
our local paper on metastatic breast cancer for October.  

Pics coming 

Tim's Cross Country Race

Tim ran a hard 5 K race in 22 min and 12 sec!  third on the AHS xcountry team!!!

It was a beautiful course in tillamook a couple hours south of use on the coast.

Laura's support group

Laura's blog

Laura is starting to use her blog again.  It is better than mine!!!  I will continue to muddle along but check out Laura's if you don't already!

Laurasnyderupdates.blogspot.com

All is well

Thing are moving along.  Laura had her 5th chemo last Monday.  Our friend Joey took her to Portland since I started back at work last week.  I worked half time to ease myself back!  We had Lars, his father from Sweden and his deck hand Matias for dinner on Tuesday night.  Tuna and salmon.  Lars also gave us a small blue fin tuna maybe 10 pounds.   I thawed it and we ate it Thursday and Friday nights out on our Knappa property and it was probably the best thing I have ever eaten in my life!!!!   I spent Thursday and Friday nights camped in Knappa and fished for salmon in the stream.  Good fun! Amazing food and friends came out too!

Tim finished up his summer job at Fort Clatsop National Park ( yes I know it has a much longer name) Friday with a camp out of his own with the people he worked with all summer Thursday night.  He is loving cross country and his first meet is next weekend down in Tillamook.  

Laura had a tiring and hard week with the effects of chemo.  She did come out to Kanppa with the dogs both nights though which was great.  She is spent but it seems to be helping so she moves on. 

Louis had his first hair cut and looks smaller and cuter!  

Sarah and huck

Big creek on our Knappa land

Bye bye Ani

We are in LAX waiting to fly back home...  Poor Tim and the dogs have been home this weekend!

We are so so impressed with Occidental! Ani will have an amazing time there.  Here are a few pics:

The roommates in their room!