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!

Ani leaves at 5 am tomorrow

Ani is really really excited to go to college tomorrow!  Tim is pretty happy to be getting Ani's car.  Laura and I just going to have to see what it is like without our baby girl under our roof anymore...

New deck

I have built a new small 8 by 6 foot deck overlooking Big Creek at our knappa property!  Several years ago Tim and I salvaged 2 by 12 lumber when the city of Astoria was putting down a new bridge on the river walk in front of our house and I used that decking for the top!  Then our wonderful neighbors gave use a fire pit to put on the deck!  Way cool

Here is a pic of Laura running yesterday with a bald eagle just taking off from it's piling pearch!

The eagle has landed:

 Oh and Laura is feeling pretty good right now!  Still low energy in the afternoons but feeling good!  Except that Ani leaves for college on Monday.   That will be a shock to us all!  She can't wait!

Swimming

I know it has bee forever since I updated the blog...   We have been so happy about the good news about Laura's scans!  We also have been inundated by guests!  Laura had chemo on Monday and we had guests tues to Friday!  Don't get me wrong it was wonderful but excuss ring for Laura. 

First AnnLee and Arria came down from lummi island in wa and Lars and Inga came in from fishing.   We are amazing tuna and AnnaLee traiders places and left with Lars Friday evening for fishing.  Also my childhood friend Caryn and her husband Jan came from London.  We all had a huge feast wed night at our house and then Caryn and Jan gave use a night in the Cannary Peir Hotel where they were staying.  It sure was nice having a dog free bed for a night!  Amazing place out over the Cumbria river!   

Mia Laura and I just walked down to alderbrook lagoon below our house and Laura is swimming.  Mia is sitting on my lap nervous about her mom disappearing in the water!!!  All is good. Laura has no energy and is a bit icky but there you have it.  

Scans

Good news!  Cancer is much smaller.   Not detectable at all in the lungs, lymph nodes in chest, lymph nodes in neck and much smaller in liver.  Before there were spots through out the liver and a 2.9cm cancer on the right side of the liver but now nothing on the left and the cancer on the right is now 0.6cm in size with only a couple small spots.  So basically the only detectable cancer is in the liver and much smaller! Very good news.

Ok one piece of not so good news.  Laura still has fractured ribs from radiation a year and a half ago.  Rib five still has not healed and  continues to cause Laura a lot of pain.  Dr thinks it should heal someday but can take years....

So we continue on for three more doses of chemo over the next nine weeks and then a year plus of herceptin and projeta...  

Now we wait for chemo to start!

Dinner photo

For those not on FB here is our garden veggie nori rolls.  Notice the squash flower in one of them!  Tim with. Have a hamburger. 

Pic of the day of Louis!!!

Louis had a hard day of puking and going to the vets and getting fluids but is starting to feel himself again today!  He has taught Mia the beauty of chewing raw hide bones which she never did before.

I canned pickles with our friends Sheila and Denice this morning.  Laura and Ani are off to goodwill now and I'm going to pick blackberries.

Yesterday Ani drove to Portland and back for a solo shopping mission.  First solo trip to Portland for her!  

Laura and I leave for Portland in the morning for scan results and then some sort of chemo...  More tomorrow!

Laura's scans

Laura had contrast ct scans today.  It took a couple hours for her to drink the iodine contrast drink and then get the ct scan. 

She finds out about the scans on Monday when we go see her dr.   If the stupid cancer is smaller she will continue the current chemo and if not she will get a new chemo on Monday.  So really not matter what she will get chemo on Monday.  I will post on her mid day Monday to talk about her scan results.  

Mia and Louis continue to play more and more.   Mia has broken out of her funk and now actively likes the little guy!