Summer Daze

It was time for everyone in our family to get haircuts.

Here's a good before of Maggie and Lilly. 

 A day or two later, we went to the Wenatchee Farmer's Market at Pybus Public Market. 

We love getting fruits and veggies there each Saturday or Wednesday.

I got Anthony out of his carseat, into his stroller, and I closed the sliding van door.

He put his finger in the door in that last millisecond before the door closed securely.

Andy was at work, so the kids and I ran into Pybus and asked the guys at Mike's Meat for some ice.

Then we headed to the doctor's office.

Anthony has a high pain tolerance normally.

He screamed for 2 straight hours, while we waited to get an x-ray at the doctor's office.

Right before the x-ray, the nurse and I realized that, of course!, Anthony could have some Tylenol for the pain.

He was fine within 10 minutes, even if still a bit sore.

The finger was not broken, thank heavens!

It was so sad.

Left pointer finger

 After the x-ray, the technician let him pick out some treasure from the treasure chest.

Usually, someone picks Anthony's goodies out for him.

He was so excited to pick them out himself.  :)

I guess we'll have him choose from now on.

 Kelly decided she wanted to earn some money, so she started doing the lawn.

 Anthony wanted to find just the right DVD...for the 2nd or 3rd day in a row.

 Anthony's new orthotics came finally.

See Superman?

These babies are gonna last for a year.

They better.

He was fitted for custom orthotics, which are 800 MORE than the plain, regular ones.

I'm still waiting to see how much the insurance is going to cover.

 Old Chucks (with old orthotics inside) in front.

New shoes in back.

Converse shoes are kinda flimsy, but they fit the orthotics inside, AND when double-tied, Anthony can't kick them off.  Win win

 Kelly got a job last week, pushing carts at a local store.

Here she is before her interview.

 Someone made cookies again.

 We tried a recipe for raspberry buttermilk honey popcicles.

I substituted cherries instead though.

Not real great, but edible and very cooling on a hot day.

 Anthony bouncing on Josh's legs.

That's hard work, keeping him on without hurting your legs!

 Maggie watched Pride and Prejudice last week.

I know so many people love the movie, especially the 5-hour version, but it was a bit too snivelly for me.

(WAY too snivelly and whiny)

 This summer is kind of odd. 

With Anthony being done with monthly trips to Seattle and being done with chemo, I've been in a fog, not really focusing and taking each day as it comes.

We swim on hot days, bowl on others, try to get out of the air-conditioned house at least once a day, and rest or watch movies otherwise.

I did not feel like making dinner at all earlier this summer (and still!), so we were eating a lot of dinners out of leftovers that weren't great, or sandwiches.

So, I had each person over the age of 5 tell me their 2 favorite dinners, and 2 favorite snacks.

I wrote their names on a calendar on the fridge, and they each are responsible for making dinner one day a week, and a snack one day a week.

I'm included.

It has worked so far, and we haven't gone hungry!

This has helped with our finances too.  

With all the debt we have incurred the past 3 1/2 years, relating to medical travel and lifestyle, Andy and I are working on paying it off.

It will be completely paid off in 3 1/2 years (ironic, isn't it).

In the meantime, we will have to stick to a budget (ick!).

My plan is to purchase gift cards each month for groceries and gas.

When they're out, they're out.

So, with the calendar menu planning, we used far, far less than I thought we would for groceries!

Maggie's ants on a log snack.

 We got some corn at Pybus.

When we shucked it, one of the kids said they looked like pearls.

So pretty and yummy!

 We knew that when we returned from Seattle this week, that Josh and Andy wouldn't have time to pack for their 3-day hike.

So, they packed before we went to Seattle.

I wasn't expecting them to do it all on the front lawn, but they did and we all had a good, relaxing time out there.

Lilly

 Maggie showing off buff skillz

 Penny loves being outside with us.

 Josh and Andy working on their list.

 Anthony kept attacking Maggie and Lilly.

 Lilly doing backflips

 All ready!

 Lilly seeing how long she could keep the pack on.

 Kelly made this maxi skirt from an online tutorial.

She's always finding ideas on pinterest, then making them.

 We visited my mother-in-law, and the children always love to deplete her chocolate and cookie supply.

This is what Josh's Dove candy said.

 He was wearing red.

 While at Nana's, we went to the movies.

Not a great picture, but I couldn't use a flash during the movie!

So, we went to Seattle for Anthony's first post-chemo Seattle check up and for several other specialist check ups.

Ears--Anthony will need to return in a month or two for a sedated hearing test.
He wouldn't (or couldn't) cooperate with the awake testing.
Eyes--Stable, and he should wear his glasses more often, but since he functions ok without them, we don't need to stress out too much.
Dental--Return in a month or two for a sedated dental exam and treatment.

Blood counts look just right!

Heart--stable for now, and the chemo didn't hurt it too badly.  We only need to do annual visits!

On the way home from Seattle today, we had to go to our local pediatrician before even getting home.

Anthony was trying to get a fever during his appointments this morning, in Seattle.

Then, he cried for nearly the entire 3 hour trip home.

This is not normal for him.

Of course, he was fine at the doctor's office.

But tonight, he's had a low fever and other yucky symptoms.

The cool things about this is, the Seattle nurse told me on the phone that we don't need to bring Anthony in to the hospital to get blood work done.

We can treat him like any other "normal" child!!!

The reality of having a child with cancer is that it feels completely foreign for your child to have a fever and you don't have to rush to the emergency room to make sure it isn't a life-threatening infection.

So grateful for our blessings tonight.