La Dolce Vita

2010-02-20T12:30:00.000-08:00

Santa Classic 1/2 Marathon

Christmas Eve

Christmas party at Judy and Tim's

Little Star

2009-12-10T22:12:00.000-08:00

We had our annual community Christmas dinner on Wednesday. Grayson and some other kids in the community had a little singing performance that they've been rehearsing for a couple weeks. Grayson did great and he actually sung pretty loud...especially when the sung into the microphone. When he sang Rudolph into the microphone, I got a little choked up and almost teared up! I totally felt like my mom!

Tonight, Grayson had his school Christmas program...and he did really well again! The 3 year old class did a cute song about wrapping themselves up and mailing themselves. They also did another song about Jesus where Grayson was jumping up and down and dancing during the rockin' out parts...and then would go back to singing and doing the hand motions at just the right parts. So cute!

Little stars - Isabella and Grayson

*ps...make sure you check the other posts I just added as well!

Decorating the tree

2009-12-10T22:03:00.000-08:00

Grayson and I finally got the tree decorated the other day. Its a highland Noble from the mountain area near Packwood. Its kind of a Charlie Brown Christmas tree...but its still pretty and I love it! It was nice that I didn't have to put as many lights on it this year...and couldn't use all the ball ornaments.

Clinic Party 2009: Ugly Christmas Sweaters

2009-12-09T23:31:00.000-08:00

Our annual vet clinic party was this past Saturday. The theme was 'Ugly Christmas Sweaters'. Of course, I went over-the-top with it all and did the whole outfit. When I was looking for these sweaters, I saw on eBay that some of them were going for $200! So, I scoured every Goodwill in Thurston County and Spanaway along with several other thrift stores in the area. I'll be selling some of these and hope to make bank on them!

I took some of the sweaters and embellished them with more tacky items. I ended up making Heath's reindeer sweater from scratch. My sweater (costume more or less) won 1st prize! Apparently, they are getting something made for the winner that has to be worn at work. Hmmm....

(click on the collages to enlarge)

R.I.P. Cedar

2009-12-06T23:07:00.000-08:00

I just got some really, really sad news about my dear dog 'cousin', Cedar. I just found out tonight by dad that he had just been diagnosed with a pretty aggressive form of cancer that had spread to his lungs. Shortly after I found this out, I learned that they had to put him to sleep because the cancer had gotten worse and he was having trouble breathing despite chemotherapy efforts. Its very shocking because he is pretty young.

Cedar had the privilege of joining the Boyle family when he was a wee pup. He turned into a ginormous, goofy Golden Retriever that had quite a personality. He was very mellow mannered and reminded me a lot of the Golden I grew up with. He really just wanted to love you and be loved back. Such a sweet guy!

As I write this I get flooded with tears because its so very sad and sudden. We will miss that guy!

A few random photos

2009-12-04T10:29:00.001-08:00

This is Rune (Debbie and Gary's dog) sleeping in Grayson's little tent in his room. She went in here on her own the first time she stayed with us. Grayson wanted her to sleep in his room...so this is where she ended up. Its so darn cute. I tell her, "Rune, go get in your tent"...and in she goes. She stayed with us for a week over Thanksgiving...and she kinda gets spoiled! She pretty much goes wherever we go...including the coffeeshop, Liquid Soul (where dogs are welcome). I saw these great Christmas dog sweaters that I wanted to get her the other day, but they didn't have her size. I don't take my dogs all over the place because they just get crazy and think I'm taking them for a run or a swim. They just get way too excited. Rune is a little more mellow.

This kind of shows my "new" hair a bit...but this makes it look like its red all over. Its kind of striped like a candy cane...with red and copper. I told my hairdresser, Jen that its very festive. Anyway, I think it looks better in person.

Grayson cracked me up the other day when he came out in these. I told him to go get some new undies...he came out from his room and was looking at me with a sneaky little smile (I couldn't see these at first)...so, I asked him what he was doing...and he runs in with these. Whats funny about this is these are the shorts from his "build-a-bear"! I couldn't believe they fit him. Grayson and I both just died laughing...especially when I pointed out to him that there is a hole in the back for his tail!

Veteran's Day photo shoot

2009-11-15T11:45:00.000-08:00

We had another beautiful (but cold) sunny day on Veteran's Day...so, we decided to head over to dad's field and barn for a little family photo shoot. The pictures didn't turn out as well as I had hoped, but they are still pretty good. Rune (Gary and Debbie's dog) has been staying with us while they are in Wyoming, so she got her picture taken also.

2009-11-15T11:26:00.000-08:00

Grayson and I took advantage of a beautiful sunny day a couple weeks ago and took a walk to the park. He has been really loving the swing and wants to be pushed all day long..."higher Mama, higher!"

Happy Fall!

Halloween: Rockstar Style

2009-11-15T10:56:00.000-08:00

Grayson decided this year that he wanted to be a "rocking-out-guy" for Halloween. I was pretty surprised that he wore the wig as much as he did. He dressed up for school also and everyone loved his costume. Heath and I decided to go with Wayne's World. I thought it would be an easy costume, but I had a tough time getting some of the key costume elements. I ended up having to make my own hat which was quite a chore...but it turned out pretty cool. I had a tough time finding Garth's glasses as well and finally found them (last pair) at Michelle's costume shop. This costume shop is totally out of the way and in a neighborhood, but its a great store...they have tons of costumes, wigs, accessories and also rent costumes as well.

We did some studying for our roles by watching 'School of Rock' and 'Wayne's World'. Grayson was really good at playing the Rockstar role and would rock out on his guitar and sing "I wanna rock and roll all night, and party every day!"

Rocking out with God-papa Tony

Gotta love this!

Wayne's World...Wayne's World...party time...excellent!

Posing with Kim's kids: Fallon, Riley and Morgan

I love that kid!

Dressed up and ready for Harvest party at school

We stopped by The Hadleys for a bit and rocked out for them

Gnome, Rockstar and Witch

Schilter's pumpkin patch

2009-10-19T00:10:00.000-07:00

The kids went on their first official preschool field trip this past thursday to Schilter's pumpkin farm. We lucked out with decent weather...no rain!

Hay maze

Cute little calf...he was so still (I was wondering if they sedated all these animals)

Sleeping piggies

Two little cuties

It looked like he was squeezing the life out of this little bunny!

Tractor hay ride to the pumpkin patch

Grayson and his good buddies, Isabella and Quillan

Grayson and Miss Bella (this is what he calls her)

Best buddies! Isabella leaned in on this picture all by herself...it was so cute!

Time for pumpkins

2009-10-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

So proud of his pumpkin!

Looks like he is trying not to smile, but this is what he does when I tell him to smile and not just do 'cheese'. Cheese ends up looking like he is disgusted. I like this smile better!

Ghosts!

2009-10-18T22:55:00.000-07:00

Grayson and I made some cheescloth ghosts the other day. My mom and I used to make these when I was really young...but it seems like they turned out better than mine did. Grayson loved putting the cheesecloth in the liquid starch and then squeezing it out. He made a 'grossed out' face every time...it was so cute. Our ghosts turned out pretty cool. I still need to get pictures of the final product.

2009-10-18T22:51:00.000-07:00

I just love hops, so I had to get a picture of their leaves changing colors.

Green tomato canning

2009-10-18T22:49:00.000-07:00

This year I just couldn't let all those green tomatoes go to waste. So I picked all of them...and I mean, all of them! We're talking about 50 pounds worth! So, I invited Missy Jo and Kristen over to help me with some new canning recipes. We made southern chow-chow...which is a type of relish that you can put on meats, beans or black eyed-peas. I had this stuff when I was in Mississippi once and I just loved it. Ours turned out great! We also made a green tomato chutney. This turned out pretty good, but we will see how it is after a month of doing its thing in the jar. The preparation of all these things took quite a while, but it was still fun. The girls ended up going a little crazy with the chopping of tomatoes...and we ended up with way more than needed for the recipes. We ended up freezing the extra.

Portland Marathon

2009-10-18T22:44:00.000-07:00

Every year (the first weekend in Oct) we head down to Portland to meet up with the Boyles for the Portland marathon and 5 miler. We love Portland and always look forward to this event. Portland always puts on a great race and they are really well organized. This year, Virinda ran her first 5 mile race...she joined the cross-country team this year, so she has become quite the runner. I told her that now she is no longer the black sheep of her family! This was Lee's first marathon...and he did great! It was fun to have the whole Boyle family here together! The night before the race we ate a fabulous Italian restaurant called Il Piatto. I searched for an Italian restaurant online before we went down there and narrowed it down to this one. This place had such a great atmosphere and decor! The food took quite a bit to arrive, but it really was well worth it. Every dish was freshly prepared from fresh ingredients (tomatoes and other veggies). It was fabulous! I highly recommend it...but you definitely need to be prepared to hang out for awhile (which is typical in Italy anyway).

Happy campers got their pre-race spaghetti

Cheers!

Great food, great wine, great company!

Me and my 'stand in' mama!

Mi familia

I love this race!

Virinda running with her friend, Lindsey.

That was fun! I'm so proud of Virinda!

3 blondes

Here they come! These guys look way too good for just running 26.2 miles!

Hanging with one of my biggest fans (and his soccer ball of course!)

Hands On Children's Museum

2009-10-18T22:40:00.000-07:00

The kids were supposed to go to Lattin's Apple Farm for their first preschool field trip. That morning (about an hour before we were to arrive) there was a fatal shooting. Obviously we didn't go...and instead the Hadleys and I took the kids to the Hands On Children's Museum. They were looking forward to going to the apple farm, but were equally excited to go to the museum. As you can see, they had loads of fun!

Older photos I forgot to post

2009-10-05T23:04:00.001-07:00

I guess I've been kind of a slacker at posting pictures on here. I post them on Facebook and then forget to put them on here. So, just to keep my blog somewhat up to date....here are some pictures from the past couple of months.

BBQ on Sept 12, 2009

My awesome neighbor, Leona...Brandi and Amy

Kim and Tony

Mike and Colter sporting their awesome shirts!

Heath and Mike all smiles

3 outtakes of this picture...this one is the best of me. Sorry girls, but you guys got the good one on Facebook! :)

Me with Cailen and Missy Jo

Leona, Christina (Leona's daughter), me, Alicia and Missy Jo

Alicia, Missy Jo, Brandi, Christina and Leona

Pop doing the BBQing

I missed this girl! I was so glad that Marjean ventured out of her family compound to visit!

Missy Jo and Cailen

Heath, Scott and Marjean

Black Hills Triathlon, Olympia: September 12, 2009

I'm asking Heath here..."Is that it?" For some reason I missed the announcement that the run was going to be cut short a full mile. Even though I was tired, I was kind of bummed because I was saving a little bit for the end.

Finished the swim...now time to run a quarter mile to the next transition zone.

Sporting the lovely conehead look....Grayson looks embarrased!

Grayson's First Day of Preschool: September 8, 2009

Showing off his "Grayson" backpack

Excited for his first day at school!

Ready for school

End of summer in the garden: August 2009

Not really wanting his picture taken. I was hoping for a photo shoot by the barn like I did last year. Not gonna happen this day!

Sunflowers!

Child of the Corn

Port Townsend day trip: August 12,2009

Grayson and I drove up to Pt. Townsend to meet up with Heath. He had done a little solo hiking/camping excursion up on the peninsula the day prior...so decided to join up and enjoy the town. I had been there before, but it was when I was really young. What a great town! We really enjoyed the day and as you can see we had fabulous weather!

Making sandcastles at Fort Worden

The best tomato soup ever

2009-10-02T11:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a simple recipe for Roasted Tomato Soup. It so good and gets raved about all the time. With our surplus of tomatoes...this is a great way to use them up. I don't really do any measurements, its all about how it looks and tastes.

*Cut up several tomatoes (can be a variety of tomatoes...heirloom, roma, cherry, etc) and put them in a roasting pan or casserole dish.

*Thinly slice a whole onion and spread on top of tomatoes.

*Drizzle extra-virgin olive oil over the top.

*Sprinkle sea salt, black pepper and variety of herbs (basil, rosemary, thyme, lavender...can be fresh herbs also). Be generous with the herbs and salt (you may have to add more salt after roasting).

*Roast at 425 degrees until tomatoes are very soft and have broken down...stirring periodically.

*After roasting use an immersion blender, regular blender or food processor to puree the mixture. An immersion blender will provide a soup that is a little bit chunkier, while a regular blender makes it very smooth.

*Add extra salt to taste.

*Enjoy with crusty bread!

Yum, I think I'll go make some more right now!

Grayson update

2009-09-05T17:04:00.001-07:00

I guess I haven't posted any updates on Grayson lately, so here is an attempt at some things I can remember him doing/saying right now.

*He is still very interested in music...and is quite fond of mom's music! Muah ha ha...my plan worked! No Barney, Raffi, Wiggles or whatever kids listen to these days. :) Oh no, its Kings of Leon, The White Stripes, Michael Franti, Dave Matthews Band, Brett Dennen, Flogging Molly and others. He has some favorite songs that I had to create a playlist for because we would be in the car and he would demand certain songs. His favorite song right now is "Sex on Fire" by Kings of Leon. He just thinks its called "Fire". We'll settle with that.

*Grayson will be attending preschool next week at New Life Child Development (about 5 mins from our house) and will be going Tues and Thurs for 2.5 hours. Definitely not enough time there for me, but I guess I'll go with it! He will be in class with his good friend, Isabella (or what Grayson calls her....Miss Bella). He is looking forward to going, but gets kind of bugged when I tell him that I will be dropping him off at school. "No, Mom...you don't drop me off, I ride the bus!" I end up just having to drop that conversation, because what I say is wrong!

*A few weeks ago he was playing with a friend at their house and he ended up falling on a truck he was holding...and hurt his mouth and front tooth. Heath examined it and noticed it was a little loose and blood was coming out from around it. I was just sick! Thankfully, we had a dentist appointment scheduled for the next day for teeth cleaning, etc. The dentist said that the tooth looked fine...but that it may turn gray and to watch for abscesses. A week went by with the tooth still white...I thought we were in the clear...and then gradually it got more and more discolored. Now it is a lovely shade of grayish-purple. I'm trying not to stress too much about it....but I was for awhile. So much so, that I had a nightmare about my own tooth falling out and we couldn't save it, etc. It bums me out because he has such a great smile. Oh well, at least its just a baby tooth....only 4-5 years more with it! :(

*A couple weeks ago, Grayson was at my aunt's house for the day...and I guess that some friends came by and wanted to take him down to the lake with them. So, he went down with his regular clothes and ended up getting in the water. Debbie came down a bit later and saw him in the water and couldn't believe he was in there with his normal clothes. She says he is always pretty fussy about getting his clothes all wet when they are working outside. So she says to him, "Grayson, what's your mom going to say about this?" Grayson says, "My mom's gonna say, Holy Shit!" Everyone stopped what they were doing and just started laughing so hard. Oops....mom is in trouble again!

*Disclaimer: Certain words in this paragraph may be offensive to some...and I apologize ahead of time...but, I've got a bit of a potty mouth.

Speaking of bad language...I'm totally scared that Grayson will say some bad words at school....a church school for that matter. My language isn't the best...and sometimes things just slip out during certain situations...like idiots on the road, stubbing my toe, seeing a snake, etc. At least I don't usually drop any F-bombs when he is around...but, he has said "Jesus Christ" and "Holy Shit" in appropriate situations. Its funny how he knows the time and place. We're trying to retrain him and tell him that mom was naughty and shouldn't be saying those things. But, then it doesn't help when your husband decides that hiding a rubber snake in your sock drawer would be fun! I just spout off with absolutely no thinking. I'm trying to do better....really!

*Back to music....Grayson loves to rock out! Maybe thats because I do it quite regularly. We turn up our music and play the air drums, air guitar and sing. Yeah, he knows most of the lyrics to most of my songs. It kind of blows me away! I'm thrilled that he has such a love of music as I do! I really need to get a video of him rocking out and post it. Its quite hilarious!

*We are very pleased at how good of an eater he is. However, he really doesn't have much choice in the matter. He eats what we eat...end of story. Since I'm such a health nut, we really weren't going to have him eating a bunch of processed junk food. I have pretty strong feelings about food that kids eat, childhood obesity and learning problems. He does really like pasta and cheese, so we do allow macaroni and cheese sometimes (but the ones that don't have all the chemicals in them). He eats pretty much every vegetable except fresh tomatoes and zucchini. Other than that, he likes salads and cooked veggies. We definitely don't eat perfect all the time, but the majority of our diet is pretty healthy. No fast food (except Subway), minimal processed foods, no soda, no artificial flavors/colors/sweeteners and low sugar. Anyway...sorry to carry on with this, but I had to be on my soap box about food for a moment! :) Friends of ours (I won't name any names :) ) were watching Grayson for the day while I worked at the clinic and they ended up going to lunch at McDonalds. When I picked him up they mentioned that to me and said that they hoped that was ok. I said it was fine...it was the first time he'd ever been there. They felt so bad and kept apologizing and said "we totally wouldn't have gone there if we knew he was a McDonalds virgin". Funny! I totally wasn't not bugged at all by it...so don't worry you guys! I'm not that big of a nazi...really, I'm not. ;)

*Things he likes to play with are: cars and trucks, Legos, puzzles (and he is getting pretty good at them), balls and friends, friends, friends. He loves playing with other kids! He is kind of starting to do a little more drawing/coloring, but it doesn't last for maybe a few minutes. I'm trying not to force the issue, but you know...art is kind of a big deal around here! I think once I get my studio redone, up and running (at dad's)...then there will be a place where he can do art and crafts. I'm hoping that a nice studio will be condusive to all sorts of art from not just him but myself as well.

Ok, well...that's all I can remember for right now. I will add to it as I remember!

Cool bikes

2009-08-30T23:45:00.000-07:00

Check out these really cool bikes! They are giving a free one away every week!

A few thoughts...

2009-08-27T00:06:00.000-07:00

I thought I would write about something that has been on my mind here and there the past several months or so....something that I ponder regularly.

I've just been quite amazed at how people come and go into our lives once or several times in our lifetimes. Its something that I've been more aware of and have come to accept as a part of our life's journeys. I used to think that when someone quit talking to me or just kind of faded into nowhere, that it was something I did. It would haunt for a long time and I would feel like I needed to make this gigantic step of getting back in touch with them. Sometimes that is required, but if the effort is really forced then it obviously wasn't meant to be. It is always kind of hard to see someone disappear out of your life, but maybe that is why it makes it all the more amazing when they reappear. Maybe the friendship was meant to go another direction and when the timing was right, the friendship would resume (sometimes as though no time has passed). I believe that our relationships with people throughout our lives are meant for us to learn and grow and transform. Some people come into our lives at a certain point just to provide a gift we needed then, and for us to provide them with a gift as well...and then, poof...they are gone. Some people have really left a lasting impression and have touched my heart and soul. Obviously, not all gifts are ones that I've treasured at the time and wonder, "what the hell?"..."why was this person in my life?". Well, to teach you some sort of lesson, dummy. I usually don't see it at the time (but am becoming more aware of it), but later down the road it all makes sense. Its actually quite amusing if you think about it. It sometimes even makes me laugh inside. Sometimes I've found myself just totally attracting the same types of people in my life all at the same time. This is when it amuses me most. Well, apparently I'm supposed to learn something in this journey of mine right now!

I still beat myself up sometimes when I'm unable to find the time to call someone back or just really don't feel like talking at that particular time. I kind of think this is ok though. If it seems more effort than it should, maybe it wasn't meant to be at that moment. Eventually, we make the time (that is sometimes needed) and reconnect up for the time being...and then go our own ways for a few days or months...and the reconnect, etc, etc. Other times, there are friends that you can share a lot with during a particular time and it is effortless. Quite bizarre. I've been able to reconnect back up with some old friends...some through the wonderful world of Facebook :) and some just naturally. I'm quite grateful for friends in my life because they make my world so much brighter. For those friends who I'm not in constant contact with...I'm still thinking of you always.

We are all so connected in so many ways....more than our tiny, little human minds can fathom. Its those instances where you can recognize the connection that is pretty awesome. When you can be in the moment and really be aware that every one you come in contact with every day plays some role in your life...that is quite enlightening.

So, thank you to everyone who is in my life...or who was in my life...I'm grateful...for you have made me who I am. And, who I am, is... who I am.

Montana trip (via Omak)

2009-08-16T23:31:00.001-07:00

These pictures are better late than never!

Grayson and I drove over to Alicia's house in Omak, WA on a Sunday morning (August 3rd). Alicia just moved into a new house, so dad was there helping get her set up and paint, etc. Dad travelled over on Thursday with Alicia's 2 nieces (Abbey and Lilly) and nephew (Joe). On Monday, Grayson and I ( along with Abbey) drove over to the Montana cabin. We asked Abbey to go with since she is the oldest, is a good baby-sitter and was getting kind of left out. She was thrilled! We got to the cabin later than I wanted, but we still had a couple hours of daylight left.

On Tuesday, I taught Abbey how to drive the quad. At first it was a little scary...I rode behind her and Grayson rode in front of her. She really was only going about 5 mph on the easy trails. After she did that with me for awhile, she asked if she could practice in the field down by the creek. I figured she would do better without me breathing down her neck. Sure enough...she caught on and did really well. All 3 of us went to the Bull River for a little swim that day as well. We didn't do any venturing off around the cabin since there had been a couple cougar and bear sightings. Tuesday evening, dad and Alicia and the 4 other kids arrived.

Wednesday we spent quite a bit of time at Triangle Pond. When I was thinking pond, I was thinking murky, weedy, leech-infested water. However, it was the exact opposite. It was crystal clear, beautiful, weed-less water! When we got back we did a clay hunting excursion in the creek. Dad wanted to get some clay for the kids to make things out of. I decided that we needed to take advantage of the healing properties of clay and slather it all over our bodies. That was fun! In the evening, dad and I ventured up on quads to the "lookout".

Thursday was the day that Grayson and I had to leave. It was a long drive, but we did quite well together!

Very cold creek in Omak! Grayson was sooo brave! I can't believe he got into this water (must have been peer pressure)...he is kind of wimpy like his mom when it comes to cold water.

Triangle Pond, Pilgrim Creek, Abbey riding the quad and Grayson getting his quad ride from Pop.

Clay warriors. Unfortunately, once you got the clay on...it had to come off at some point...and that meant in the freezing cold creek. Once I got used to it, then I had a little fun "floating" down the creek.

There is no way I'm waiting another 4 years to get back to the cabin! I must visit it more often!

2009-07-21T00:39:00.000-07:00

On this past Saturday, July 18th, Greg and I did our 2nd Ft. Lewis triathlon of the year. Greg PR'd and ended up getting first in his age group...which is a tough thing to do because its a competitive age group. I did fine and PR'd by over a minute on my overall time. I didn't know how it would go once I finished the swim because I felt SO tired coming out of the water. I felt so wiped out and wasn't able to give it my all on the bike until a few precious minutes into it. Overall it was a decent race...but no medals for me this time. However, I did win a $100 gift certificate to South Sound Running during the raffle drawing! I was thinking about winning it throughout the race....and then my thoughts became reality! Yay, new shoes!

Getting ready for the water

Feeling squashed...time to get in the water so I can breathe!

Greg coming out of the water...a fast swim!

Trying to get my legs back...boy, I'm tired just starting out.

Finished!

Go 722

Greg's first 1st! By the way, Greg beat me by a measley 21 seconds on the run part of the race. He just keeps slipping by me by seconds....game on!

2009-07-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

Grayson snuggled up with his bears ready to watch Oswald

Miss Lily on a hot day....oh, life is tough!

Chemo is over!

2009-07-21T00:26:00.000-07:00

Ok...Heath has been done with chemo for about a week and a half now...but I'm just getting to this update. We are so glad that its finally over (even though it kind of seems like it went pretty quickly...for me anyway). He had a pretty rough time this last cycle and got the sickest he's been. He never did vomit, but he came pretty close. He quite irritable following treatment also! Yikes! Anyway, he had a Neulasta injection last week to boost his white count...had bloodwork last Friday and will see the doctor next week. He is showing some anemia (which is to be expected), but we aren't sure what they will do about that. He is looking forward to getting back into a normal routine....eating normally and exercising.

During the week of treatment, Heath's step-mom Tammy came to help us. It was really great having her here! Her and Grayson spent a lot of time together...which was really helpful for mom! Last Tuesday, Heath's mom Sue and her husband Aaron came again to help us as well. Once again, Aaron worked like crazy and did all sorts of projects around the yard...including my favorite...a fence around my raspberries! Sue helped a lot with Grayson and did a lot of cleaning around here. My house hasn't been this clean since.............hmmm.......a long time!! We really appreciate all of their help and can't even begin to thank them enough! Heath has some great family!

July 4th fun run: 'Four on the Fourth'

2009-07-10T00:20:00.000-07:00

"Four on the Fourth" race in Steilacoom. Grayson did the kids 1 mile race...his longest one. He ran with daddy (ran, walked, ran, walked)....but then wanted to keep running with the kids afterwards. This was Amy's first 4 mile race and her 2nd race she has ever done (last one was about 5 years ago). She did really well and is now planning more to do! I tried to beat Greg on this one...but he decided to catch up to me at mile 2.5 and then go ahead of me at mile 3. I tried to maintain the same distance in between us, but the last part of the race is uphill...I just couldn't sprint hard enough up it. So...he beat me by 20 seconds! My time was 31:33 and Greg's was 31:13. The competition is on!

Sunriver 2009

2009-07-09T23:15:00.000-07:00

Well, I was finally able to upload our pictures from Sunriver (June 25th-30th). We all had a great time...and had a little more relaxation time as well. We extended our normal stay by a day and it was well worth it! I never want to leave this place. Since we took so many pictures, I've created several collages instead of individuals (just click to enlarge).

Saturday, June 27th: Lee and Jim ran the 1/2 marathon again this year....making pretty good time as well! Marilyn (Erin Edwards' mom) found us down here...she has a vacation house in Sunriver...so we spent a little time visiting with her. Ruthy is way too relaxed in the village. Grayson and Pop play in the sprinklers. We had the best house this year...and had our first lawn too. Hopefully we can get this house all the time!

Sunday, June 28th 8:15am: Grayson runs his first 1/2 mile race with daddy. (Remember, last year didn't count because mom carried a crying boy the whole time.) He was very proud of his medal and wanted to keep "running fast"! I think it was those fast running shoes that he had this year. Virinda ran the 5k race and did her best time ever....under 30 minutes. Which meant that she won a bet with her dad....and he had to buy her a shirt!

Sunday, June 28th late morning: I did my first Olympic distance triathlon...and finished...and didn't crash or die! The Olympic distance consists of 1.5k swim, 28 mile bike and 10k run. Overall it was a decent race for me...getting me 3:19:35 total time (39:35 swim time, 1:33 bike time, 58:52 run time). I placed 24th out of 57 in my age group. I was hoping for a little better of a time, especially in the swim...but considering this was my first Olympic tri and we were at a decent elevation...I feel pretty good about it. I did get terrible stomach cramps starting toward the end of the swim. It lingered throughout the whole rest of the race, but I just had to suck it up and deal with it. It wasn't so bad all the time...just right after the race was when I didn't think I'd make it. Once I got some food on my stomach, I was good to go. I think it was because I had breakfast so early (around 6am) and the race didn't get started till 9:30...so I had a fairly empty stomach. With all the energy chews, bars, drinks etc my stomach was just not going for it.

Greg did really well this year and took over 20 minutes off his time from last year. (By the way, I beat his time from last year too.) I was really hoping to beat his run time...and I probably would have if I wouldn't have stopped at every water station during the run. He only beat me by 40 seconds in the run! He placed 22nd out of 57 guys in his age group. (Overall time was 2:57:17).

Ruthy, dad and Jim (Team Jerryatrics) did the relay again. Ruthy had a personal best in her swim and knocked off about 4 minutes from her normal swim time! It was funny because her wave actually started 5 minutes after mine...but we ended up going through the swim finish line together. Towards the end of the swim I ended up right next to this gal who swam awfully close to how Ruthy swims. I kept my eye on her and didn't let her pass me. Sure enough, it was Ruthy. Out of over 550 people in the whole race...we meet up! Ruthy's time was 35:35.

I did end up passing dad on the bike early on, but he made up quite a bit of time and wasn't too far behind me. He had a really good race as well....his time was 1:47:57. Jim...well, what can ya say about Jim. He's just darn fast! That bugger passed me too! Jeez, the guy just ran a 1/2 marathon the day before too. He's an animal! His time was 46:33.

Monday, June 29th and Tuesday, June 30th: On Monday we all decided to go for a sort of leisure bike ride around Sunriver...all along the wonderful trail system that they have. It was really nice! We had lunch in the village and then biked back to the house. After Grayson's nap, we played a little tennis and then swam in the pool. Tuesday was time to say goodbye, but not until after we got our "racer photos" taken!

What a great trip! Can't wait till next year!

grrrr...

2009-07-09T00:43:00.004-07:00

I'm having a tough time loading my photos on here....I just wanted you all to know that I'm still here though! I've tried it 2 different days on several occassions. I'll try again tomorrow.

On another note....Heath is on his 4th and final (hopefully) round of chemo this week. He has only 2 days to go! It is definitely hitting him a lot harder and faster this time around and he is scared about how the next couple of days will go. I told him that its only 2 days and that he has conquered 18 days of it already....'this too shall pass'. Next week he will get a long-lasting Neulasta injection to boost his white count (which is very painful)....then will have bloodwork done. I'm not sure when they will check his tumor markers, but could possibly be next week as well. Thank you again to all the well wishes, prayers, positive thoughts, and help!

Perspective from a toddler....

2009-06-24T16:37:00.000-07:00

As we were driving around today, my cousin Virinda and I were talking about the mountain and how it looked big today, blah blah blah. Grayson says, "Oh, the mountain got a haircut!" It took Virinda and I a second to realize that it could seem that way to a little kid since the top of the mountain was hidden under the clouds. We just cracked up!

Ft. Lewis Triple Threat Triathlon #1

2009-06-21T23:22:00.000-07:00

Saturday was the first triathlon of the year at Ft. Lewis. Its a sprint triathlon consisting of a 1/2 mile swim, 15 mile bike ride and a 5K run. I did fine and may have PR'd (I have to check back on my old times)....but, I definitely went to slow on my swim. I think I may have shaved some time off the bike...which would make sense since that is where the majority of training has been. I did end up getting 3rd in my age group though....so a little hardward is always nice! My times were: 19:21 swim; 1 min 12 sec transition; 49:48 bike; 1 min transition; 24:20...which equals to be around 1:35:48 or so.

**I just checked back on my old times and I've pretty much plateaued with my times from last year. That sucks! Well, I guess I've been training for a longer triathlon (which is next week)...so maybe thats the problem. Boo.

Wow, isn't this a great picture of me!

Greg sprinting the last bit of the race. He has greatly improved since last year and took about 20 minutes off his best time from last year! That is crazy! I guess living in San Diego and training all the time really paid off. I'm only a little bitter!! :)

Our "fans" really paying attention to our race!

Blake and Ashley's visit

2009-06-21T23:05:00.000-07:00

Here are a few photos from our week long visit with Heath's brother, Blake and his wife Ashley. We ventured up to Seattle the afternoon/evening before they left. Blake has been up to visit us several times before, but this was the first time that we did the whole Seattle thing with him. Even though we got up there kind of late...and most businesses were closed, they still got a bit of the Seattle flavor.

Grayson really wanted to ride the airplane, but once it started going up....he had a bit of a panic. After a some encouragement he got used to it and enjoyed himself.

He loved driving the cars!

Aunt Ashley taking a little ride on the trike

Pleasantly surprised

2009-06-16T10:30:00.000-07:00

Heath's white count was 2.9 today....so, that means chemo starts today! Yay! Its funny we are saying yay to chemo. But I guess if we know its inevitable, lets get it done already.

A slight change of plans

2009-06-16T01:21:00.000-07:00

Today was supposed to be Heath's first day of Round 3 chemo treatment....but that didn't happen. Last week (on Monday) they did his bloodwork and his white blood count was too low...however, they didn't give him any Neupogen injections because I guess they assumed it would bounce back up. Well....it didn't. I kept having a bad feeling about it too....I wasn't trying to be negative about it, it just didn't seem right that they weren't at least rechecking his bloodwork later in the week. So, when they did the bloodwork today....big surprise, it was too low at .6 (minimum is 1.5). The whole reason we scheduled the chemo when we did was because we knew that we had our annual Sunriver trip next week and wanted to make sure that chemo didn't coincide with that. It still shouldn't, but he will have less days to recover before we need to leave next Thursday. Today he got a Neupogen injection....blood draw tomorrow morning...and probably another injection. We will be pleasantly surprised if he gets to have chemo tomorrow...but we are hoping for at least for a Wednesday start. His doctor did apologize (after Heath told him that I would be mad)....so, I forgive him. I'm over it....fingers crossed for a quick WBC recovery!

On another note....I am getting excited for my triathlon on Saturday (at Ft. Lewis) and for my triathlon in Sunriver next week. The Sunriver one will be longest one to date. I'm feeling pretty good about it too. I'm going to try to treat the Ft. Lewis Sprint triathlon as a training one...but I know it will be hard not to get just a wee bit competitive.

Heath's brother, Blake and his wife Ashley stayed with us for a week (last Monday thru today)....and did a lot of work out in the yard and cleaned both of our vehicles. We had a really good visit...and I will post a few pictures later!

Check out Heath's blog....he finally did some posts!

A little funny...

2009-06-08T22:51:00.000-07:00

I forgot about this cute little thing Grayson said the other day when Aunt She-She (Sheila) was visiting us. I was trying to explain to him that Aunt She-She has a baby in her belly, kind of like when Rune (Debbie and Gary's dog) had puppies in her belly...and then they came out to see us. So, he says later, "Aunt She-She's got she's puppy in she's belly?" Anyway, it made us laugh! Since then he has mentioned it a few other times even when I've told him that its a baby not a puppy. But...thats what he has got in his mind. Pretty funny!

Chemo: 2 down, 2 to go

2009-06-01T23:43:00.000-07:00

Since Heath hasn't felt up to blogging lately, I'll update everyone on his health status:

Heath completed his 2nd chemo cycle this past Saturday. He has kind of had a rough go the since about Friday also. He hasn't had any vomiting, but I'm sure he has come close to that, but has had to work through it mentally so he doesn't. He pretty much can't do a whole lot but just recline on the couch and watch movies. I think he doesn't want to move too much because the nausea and "off" feeling comes in waves and he is super fatigued. He started his heavier-duty anti-nausea meds yesterday, but decided not to take that one this evening because it gave him quite a headache. The other ones only make him dizzy and light headed. Fun stuff. I ask him how he is feeling and he says "I don't know"....he can't really make words of how he feels...or he just feels to crappy too talk. Maybe both. He has also had the heavy quilt on him at times even when it has been in the high 70's in the house. Today he did go down to the lake with Grayson and I for a couple hours and was able to hang out. I think he feels a bit better today, but definitely isn't anywhere near normal. Eating is another thing...he doesn't have much of an appetite, but seems to do ok with certain foods and will still eat. I have to run through a list of different foods with him before he says "ok, I'll try that". I guess its like having the flu really bad. Or...like being pregnant! He has also been having issues with his stomach too....feeling too full and uncomfortable.

I feel like I have gotten a better handle on everything this time around. It was very helpful that we had some frozen meals that Heath's mom made us while she was here. We also had another person make us a chicken/broccoli casserole that we've (Grayson and I...since Heath doesn't have the stomach for it) been eating on for a couple days. The lady that made it is a vet (who we don't know) that is a business partner with a guy that is in Heath's men's group. Wow...talk about kindness! We've had a little other help this time...probably need more, but we should be pretty good the next two cycles. My aunt Ruthy will be with us for the next one and Heath's step-mom, Tammy will be here for the July one. We've got tons of guests coming before the next cycle also. Heath's bro Blake and wife Ashley will be here next week (for a week), then Ruthy comes, then Heath's dad will be here the weekend of Father's day, then my cousin Riley will stay with us a night....then we leave for Sunriver...then when we get back...Tammy comes! Jeez...we hardly ever get guests...and I almost took down the guest bed this winter also!

Anyway, we appreciate everyone's help! It really means a lot to us! We have a calendar thing that people can sign up to help...so I'll post the link here sometime in case anyone wants to join our "community".

A lovely evening on the lake

2009-05-30T23:24:00.000-07:00

Our good friends Missy Jo and Josh brought out their boat Friday evening for a ride and some fishing. It was a beautiful evening and was perfect on the lake. It was so nice to get on the water...this is one my all time favorite things to do! It really feeds my spirit!

We weren't sure how Heath would do and if he would even feel like getting on the boat since he had just received his 4th chemo treatment. He seemed to be kind of crummy at home, but as soon as we got outside and on the lake, he was a whole new person. Its great what a little fresh air, good friends, and being on the water will do for a person. The kids had a pretty good time even though we didn't catch anything.

2009-05-30T23:18:00.000-07:00

When we got home from our fishing trip, dad called us and wanted to bring us out a fresh bag of organic mixed greens and herbs from Farmer Bob. When he walked in he had a hat on...but I knew what he was up to! Sure enought he had shaved his head to support Heath! Its kind of hard to see in this picture, but it actually isn't half bad.

Chemo: Round two

2009-05-27T01:36:00.001-07:00

Heath started his 2nd round of chemo today. His sis, Sheila took him to his Dr. appt and then to treatment. Its only the first day, so its hard to tell how things will go. Last week he went in on Monday to get bloodwork done and it turned out that his white count (neutrophil count) was too low. So...they started him on Neupogen injections to boost his count. Its usually an exception if someone DOESN'T have to get these injections. The minimum count that they want him at is 1.5...and he was at 0.5 on Monday. By Tuesday he was at 1.0, but he still had to get an injection. That afternoon and evening his back started to really be painful. At first we just thought it was his "normal" back pain that he gets occassionally, but it wasn't. It was pretty excruciating for him and he was having a really tough time moving around and finding a comfortable position. He took some Tylenol because he is allergic to Ibuprofen, but this hardly did anything at all. He ended up "sleeping" in the guest bed, but was only able to get a couple hours of sleep. He then came out on the couch and got a few more hours of sleep. When he went to bed I looked up side effects of Neupogen online and found that back pain is very common. This is because it causes your bone marrow to expand which puts a LOT of pressure on your bones. On Wednesday he had another blood count...which had only gone up to 1.1. He was pretty disappointed because he figured that with all that pain it should be at a 3.0. So, another injection....but also a prescription for narcotics. We forgot that he had some leftover from his surgery, so when we got home he took some of those. These seemed to help his pain significantly and he was able to move around a lot better and also get sleep. Thursday....more bloodwork and good news...his count was 1.9...which meant it was above the minimum, so no injections! His pain kept subsiding and he was able to quit taking any pain meds by the end of Friday. Saturday morning, Heath, Greg and I all went for a 26 mile bike ride...so Heath was feeling much better. He also (I forgot to mention) did a 56 mile bike ride about a week after his first treatment cycle. Yeah, I was a little peeved at first....but it really lifted his spirits and he said it felt awesome!

Anyway, today he had more bloodwork done and his count was up to 3.5! We are prepared for him to have to get injections regularly following his treatment weeks....but we will also be prepared with good pain meds too!

Grayson's birthday party

2009-05-27T01:20:00.000-07:00

Wow....we have a ton of photos from Grayson's birthday party. We kept the party pretty simple and just mainly had family over to Papa's house on Sunday. The weather was fabulous....in fact, my Grandma said that there is only 5 times in history that we've had a sunny Memorial Day weekend (I wonder how far back that "history" goes though). Some of us dressed in our Hawaiian outfits...but everyone got "lei-d". I wore my Grandma's vintage (1960's or 70's) Hawaiian dress....I think Grandma enjoyed seeing me in it also. Heath's sister, Sheila came up for a visit on Saturday...it was great to be able to celebrate Grayson's birthday with her. Overall, Grayson had a great time...and really enjoyed spraying everyone with the water hose! Missy Jo got a little wet from Grayson, but she got really soaked when her own daughter, Isabella sprayed her!

2009-05-27T01:19:00.002-07:00

2009-05-27T01:19:00.001-07:00

The kids were having a blast running through the sprinkler! Missy Jo's daughter, Isabella got so wet in her clothes and she loved it! Greg was in charge of the grilling....and he did a fabulous job as usual....except for his smart-assing me about mixing the red meat with my turkey burger! Paybacks....

2009-05-27T01:19:00.000-07:00

2009-05-27T01:18:00.002-07:00

Godmama Krissy got Grayson his "dream" cake! It was perfect for him since he loves trucks and tractors (and chocolate!)

2009-05-27T01:18:00.001-07:00

2009-05-27T01:18:00.000-07:00

Grayson likes to say "cheese" for pictures...which sometimes makes an awkward face...so we decided to tickle him to get a "natural" smile!

My annual half marathon

2009-05-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was the Capital City 1/2 marathon (and marathon, 5 miler) in Olympia. We had the best weather....sun, but not too hot. Normally I don't wear my headphones, but I saw many people with them on this year...so I wore them as well. Usually there is some sort of rule about headphones, but I didn't see it anywhere in any of the rules and they didn't make an announcement either. I run with headphones when I train, so I knew it would be really nice to have them for a race as well. Anyway, it was great to have them. I was in my own little world this year and didn't pay too much attention to other people....I could run my own race! This was the best 1/2 marathon I've ever run (I think I've done at least 10)...I felt awesome! I didn't set any records, but it was the best I'd ever felt. I kept at a steady pace of 9 minute miles, until I had one mile at 9:30. I knew I would have to make that time up somehow. It wasn't too difficult because I ended up making that up and was also averaging under 9 minute miles. Even at the finish line I was still feeling good where I normally am totally wiped out usually feel like falling over at the end. This year I just ran through and didn't even have to take a breather. I really think that spin class has helped tremendously because it has helped with recovery time. Anyway, I loved it and its been awhile since I've actually liked running a 1/2 marathon. I'm looking forward to my triathlon in June!

My time was about 1:55:27 with a pace of 8:48/mile; 19 out of 91 in my age group. Last year I did 1:55:50...but this year I felt a ton better!

Birthday Boy

2009-05-18T23:27:00.000-07:00

We all decided to take advantage of the last of our beautiful weather (for a few days), so we ventured down to the "Point" to have a picnic birthday lunch and do a little fishing. Grammie Sue and Pawpaw Aaron came last Wednesday to help us out and be here for Grayson's birthday. They have been working very hard and today was nice to get a little relaxation. We didn't catch any fish, but we had a nice time regardless!

Sue has been cooking and cleaning like crazy and has made us some meals that we were able to freeze for upcoming chemo treatment weeks. Aaron fixed our gates that have been broken for quite some time...this was a pretty big project too! He also mowed and weed-eated; fixed our fire-hazard light switch; moved some pieces of lumber that had been sitting on our driveway pad for years; worked hard at trying to figure out why our dryer doesn't seem to dry (the dryer works---the vent hose not so much); and did many other clean up chores. We are so grateful for all their help and really appreciate all that they've done! Grayson has really enjoyed having them around also and will surely miss them when they leave tomorrow.

Just a little birthday yummies...more to come next weekend.

Happy Birthday Grayson!

2009-05-18T10:58:00.000-07:00

Its hard to believe that three years ago today (at 2:18pm) we were blessed with our little baby boy! We were so happy to finally have him join us...and our lives have been changed ever since!

Here are some pictures from the first days of his life:

And....here's our little 3 year old!

Happy Birthday Grayson!

We love you!!

Gotta watch my language!

2009-05-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

Ok....so, sometimes I don't have the most impeccable language and things just slip out. I definitely have a hard time pretending that I have perfect language when I'm around Grayson...I'm definitely "myself". Anyway, about a week ago (Friday before last) we were over at dad's to visit and do a couple things in the yard. Dad was on the riding lawnmower getting his "mowing therapy" in while Heath decided he would get the blow torch and fry some weeds around the place. I mentioned to Heath that he should make sure that he doesn't start the Pampas grass on fire (this grass was about 6-8 ft tall). Dad laughed and said, "yeah, I did that one year". So, I go inside to get Grayson and as I'm coming outside I notice that Heath is running to the house because the Pampas grass is on fire! So of course I say "Holy Sh*t!" because the thing was totally torched and was getting the other bush next to it on fire. And, of course my kid is now going to start saying what I just said. He just kept yelling it randomly and it was really quite funny. Its not like he hasn't heard it before, but it really stuck this time. Anyway, in the meantime Heath finds a bowl and fills it up with water...which barely did any good at all. I'm running around trying to find a dang hose. I find one, hook it up, turn it on and run it out there. Yank! Too short....oops sprayed Heath instead! (Dad is laughing about now and wishes he had a video camera...he was quite amused by the whole thing and just sat there on his lawnmower watching us act like chickens with our heads cut off). So, now I go find another hose and switch it with the short one. By now some of the fire is out because Heath probably made about 20 trips with the water in the bowl. It was quite a funny time!

The point of my story was that Grayson is still saying "holy sh*t" at quite appropriate times I might add. Last week when the rain was pouring down I said "holy moly"....to which he says "holy moly sh*t!" He also talked about the time when daddy started the fire at pop's house...."holy sh*t". I try really really hard not to laugh when he says all this because it is quite funny hearing it from an almost-3 year old. Anyway....today he did say "holy moly" with out the other part....maybe its out of his system. By the way, he does know it in German too...but, for some reason this doesn't bother me.

Chemo: Round one, day 2 completed

2009-05-05T17:33:00.000-07:00

Just a quick update to let everyone know how Heath is doing so far with his chemo treatment. Yesterday, we met with a new doctor, Dr. Sui to go over his blood markers and ultrasound results and answer any questions we had. We still have Dr. Wang, but because she is only in that office on Thursdays and Fridays, we were given Dr. Sui as well so we could have someone to go over things with at any time. We both were pleased with him....he was very nice and intelligent at the same time and answered all our questions. So...it turned out that Heath does have a small tumor in his right testicle (2x2x1 cm approx). This explains where the cancer came from. Now we can officially call it metastatic testicular cancer. Sure makes it a lot easier to explain it to people now. Since it hasn't spread to any of his organs then he is still in a 'good risk' category.

Heath will be checked periodically to see how the chemotherapy is working. This is done by checking tumor markers in the blood. Many testicular cancers secrete high levels of certain proteins, such as alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) and human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG). These proteins (called tumor markers) are important because when they are present in the blood, it suggests that there is a testicular tumor. A tumor may also increase the levels of an enzyme called lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). In Heath's case his HCG was 80 where normal is 0-4; LDH was 785 where normal is 550 (not too extremely high in his case) and is AFP was normal at 1.9 (normal is 0-9).

He will also be monitored daily during his week(s) of treatment with bloodwork to check his platelet count, RBC count and WBC count. If these numbers are not in the reasonable range then it can delay his treatment.

We were at the treatment center for most of the day yesterday between bloodwork, doctor visit, chemo treatment and chemo class. Today was a much shorter visit with just bloodwork and chemo. Things seem to be going well and he really hasn't had any nausea yet....just fatigue and a slight headache. This morning he looked pretty good and it wasn't till after today's treatment when he seemed a bit more off. As I write this he is out for a little walk in the sun (with a hat on....since he is more susceptible to sunburn). He receives anti-nausea meds through IV during treatment with oral meds at home. Because chemo has a cumulative effect he may not experience any nausea for several treatments or even until the next cycle.

Tomorrow we meet the natropathic oncologist at the office before his chemo and then he also will start accupuncture on thursday.

Heath's Blog

2009-04-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

Heath just started a blog today after taking a much needed 'personal day' to reflect on things, chill and do some research. His blog will be focused on his journey in life and journey through cancer treatment. I'll still blog about what's going on with him and our life, but for a more in-depth look into the life of Heath....check it out! :)

http://lifetimeofopportunity.blogspot.com/

We just found out today that instead of what we originally thought was going to be a 3 day chemo treatment every 3 weeks is going to be 5 days of it! Yowza!

I've decided that I need to accept help that is offered during this time (with help from my counselor). So....for those of you that have asked what you can do to help, I'm sure that I will definitely need it at some point. I think the biggest things that will be helpful are meals and help with watching Grayson. Since I don't quite know how things will go yet....I may need more help with other things as well. Thank you all so much for supporting us throughout this process! We really appreciate the love, positive thoughts and prayers that are being offered. We are truly blessed with awesome people in our lives...and we just want you all to know that!

Tricyle riding and puppy visiting

2009-04-27T22:58:00.000-07:00

Grayson rode his tricycle all the way up to 'Grandma' Debbie's this morning. This is the first time that we have gone out on the road since he first got his trike a year ago for his birthday. He plays with it all the time on the deck, but I just noticed the other day that we was pushing the pedals. So....we ventured out and decided to head up to the ol' Homestead (Gary and Debbie's)...just up the street. We arrived just at feeding time for the pups! Rune had 10 gorgeous pups about 5 wks ago...so they are just now at that stage where they are playing and getting their personalities. So darn cute!!

'Uncle' Tone-tone and little male pup

Mama and lambs

Could they get any cuter?!

2009-04-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

Here I go!

Feeding time

I wuv you Gwayson!

Funny little boy

2009-04-27T22:29:00.000-07:00

Here a few pictures from the other day when Grayson ventured outside in his jammies....a fairly common thing for him...however, he decided to take off his shirt even though it was quite chilly out.

Practicing the javelin

Kind of chilly, mom!

Grayson loves his dogs (and loves to torment them as well!)

He was actually sitting in this, but by the time Heath got the camera...he was on his way out.

More details and game plan

2009-04-26T11:14:00.000-07:00

Heath had his appointment with his oncologist, Dr. Hui Wang on Friday. I thought she was pretty nice and is looking out for his well-being as well. She went over CT results and we discussed the treatment plan and many other topics. The CT results showed bulky lymphadenopathy ('lymph node disease') involving the cervical, left axillary, mediastinal (sternum region), retrocrural (lower chest closer towards spine), retroperitoneal (abdominal) and proximal left iliac regions. The pathology report final diagnosis is metastatic seminoma. What we've learned about seminoma is that this type of cancer involves germ cells that originate from the testicles. During embryonic development, these certain cells are left throughout the body. This is why Heath can have this cancer and not have any involvement with the testicles. However, he will still get an ultrasound of the testicles to make sure there isn't something small that the CT didn't pick up. Dr. Wang had him do some more bloodwork to check the markers to determine staging.

Game plan: First thing is for Heath to bank sperm next week. Dr. Wang was really anxious for that to happen first and foremost. He will also be getting a heart work-up (called a MUGA) and the ultrasound of the testicles on Tuesday (April 28th). Once these things are completed, Dr. Wang will go over all the numbers and decide the exact course of treatment. If he is in the 'good risk' category then he will have chemo with 2 drugs....if it is further along, then he will have to have 3 drugs. She is hoping that he won't have to have the 3rd drug because this can be damaging to the lungs. I really need to do more research on this drug and we need to find out if it is totally necessary to have this exact one if he "needs it".

He is tentatively scheduled to start chemo on May 4th assuming all the other 'tasks' are completed. He will have 3 days in a row of chemo...then will have 3 weeks until the next cycle....completing 4 cycles. The drugs he will be receiving are Cisplatin and Etoposide....and hopefully NOT Bleomycin. Dr. Wang would like him to be an inpatient at the hospital for the first treatment to monitor him and have him on fluids. Cisplatin can cause kidney problems so he will be closely monitored with frequent kidney value checks. After the 4 cycle treatment, he will have another CT scan to see how things are going. If all goes well (and it will) then he will be done....if it is still persisting, then I believe he may get radiation at that time.

This type of cancer is slow-growing and very treatable. Dr. Wang wasn't in a huge rush to get him started on chemo, but we wanted to get it going and start the inevitable. Plus, the way the cycles work out we wanted to make sure his treatment was not during the same week as our Sunriver vacation.

Heath has a friend who used to be in his men's counseling group (Dave) who is a radiation oncologist. He has been talking to him quite a bit...and Dave will act as a liaison between Dr. Wang and Heath. We will also keep our natropath on board and if need be we will use the natropath oncologist at the office...having both natropaths communicate on stuff.

We are all doing well and are just ready to get the ball rolling!

And, the results are in....

2009-04-20T22:58:00.001-07:00

Seminoma. A type of testicular cancer that is slow-growing and very responsive to treatment. Its the same type of cancer that Lance Armstrong had.

Apparently the pathologist was very certain that this is the type of cancer Heath is dealing with. Funny thing is....nothing showed up on the CT scan in the testicles. So, we will get more information on Friday when he has another appointment with the oncologist. We don't have a whole lot of details except that he'll have to have chemo, but less than what Hodgkin's lymphoma would require.

So....since this testicular cancer is only presenting in the neck lymph nodes....maybe its his twin! *insert humor*

Lymph node biopsy

2009-04-14T21:29:00.001-07:00

Heath's lymph node biopsy went well today. They ended up putting him totally under...which we all agreed was the best thing. The doctor said it would be difficult to totally numb the area well enough so it would be best to have general anesthetic. Yeah...who wants to see a scalpel nearing their jugular! He would have had a pretty good "mickey", but still the full anesthetic is best. Everything seemed to go well...and the surgeon removed the whole lymph node that was the most enlarged (and visibly so by looking at his neck). Heath is still a bit numbed up on the left side of his neck where it was removed so he hasn't really had any real pain yet. He is trying to stay ahead of the pain anyway with meds. After the surgery we went out to eat because he was famished since he had nothing to eat past 11 pm last night. We were wondering what the waitress was thinking about him being all drugged up and bandaged on his neck and where the IV was. All in all, we had a great experience with all the nurses and doctors at the surgery center. We were very appreciative of their excellent care and great sense of humor!

Results to come soon....

Heath's medical update

2009-04-14T00:38:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago, Heath saw an oncologist for a consultation on his enlarged lymph nodes. She did some more bloodwork and then scheduled several other appointments to figure out what is going on. Because this issue has been ongoing for several months (since Oct), we have both prepared ourselves for worst-case scenario. The oncologist has a tentative diagnosis of possible Hodgkin's lymphoma. Of the two types of lymphoma, this is the more " treatable and curable" type. We aren't sure how she is able to determine which he may have....but again, this is tentative until biopsy results. If it does come back as lymphoma, then we will procede with treatment of chemo.

So, this past Friday he went and had a neck to pelvis CT scan to look for any other abnormal lymph nodes. Today he had a surgical consult to determine where they may take the biopsy. The surgeon told us that they like to take the lymph nodes from the neck because they are considered to be the "cleanest". Since Heath has a very enlarged one in his neck...this is the one they will take....the whole thing too. This is a somewhat "minor" surgery that has been scheduled for tomorrow (ok...I guess today since it is already tuesday). They will do it under a local anesthetic...and I'm sure give him some pretty good drugs (fentanyl and midazolam). His surgeon will be the same one that took out my benign boob tumor a few years back. We should know results of the biopsy by the end of the week.

If it does come back as lymphoma...we will be kicking the crap out of it! Thank God that we are both in a really good place spiritually and emotionally these days...so, we will be able to maintain positive attitudes for the whole thing. This is just part of our journey in life...and it will surely be another one of our many "teachers".

I will keep you all posted on anything new!

Photos from February

2009-04-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

I found a couple cute photos that were still on my camera...so here they are!

Please make sure that you scroll down for more recent photos...and check out all of April's postings since I just did a bazillion of them.

Reading a little literature.

Singing like a rockstar!

Older pictures from our Vale trip

2009-04-13T21:30:00.000-07:00

These pictures were on my camera from our Vale trip in February....tea time, music time and chillin' with Jim time.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T21:24:00.000-07:00

This year I wanted to host Easter brunch...so I got to pull out the stuff I never get to use! We had fun preparing for it too! We had quite the feast. Everyone brought something, so our menu was: Mini frittatas, Herb-roasted red potatoes, Croissant sandwiches with smoked salmon and dill cream cheese, Carrot-apple flax muffins, Hawaiian fruit salad, Creamy fruit salad and mimosas! It was a really nice time!

2009-04-13T21:19:00.000-07:00

Looking for the Easter basket

2009-04-13T21:13:00.000-07:00

There it is!

Look at all my goodies that the Easter bunny brought!

I even got some cool shades!

Trying to shake the chocolate out of him....way too much has been eaten!

Dyeing eggs

2009-04-13T21:05:00.000-07:00

2009-04-13T21:02:00.000-07:00

Heath took these next photos...and they turned out pretty cool!

Lake Lawrence community egg hunt

2009-04-13T20:55:00.000-07:00

This year for the little kids, the eggs were "hidden" on the tennis court and around it. I think that was definitely more fun for the kids...plus no scratchy straw. Grayson got quite a few eggs this year. Even though he didn't win a special prize, he didn't care because he got plenty of chocolate!

I was (and still am) never a big fan of people in mascots or costumes like this. Apparently neither is Grayson.

Egg hunt continued

2009-04-13T20:50:00.000-07:00

A tennis pro in the making?

2009-04-13T16:40:00.000-07:00

Grayson has been totally enthused with "playing" tennis in our yard. He calls it soccer though until we tell him tennis. During one of our beautiful (and rare) sunny days, I decided it was time to take him down to the court for some serious tennis! Ha! Yeah, ever teach a very independent almost-3 year old how to play tennis? His rules were 1) We each have our own racquet AND our own ball. 2) Mom gets the old crappy ball. 3.) We don't care if we hit the ball OVER the net....hitting it towards the fence is just as good. 4) The pickleball court and basketball court are more fun to play tennis on. 5.) I know what I'm doing...I don't need your help mom!

Anyway, it was still fun because of how much he was loving just running around on the court and hitting the ball at random. I'm hoping for tennis lessons at the gym when he is 4! By the way...he is really good though...cuz he CAN hit the ball! :)

More tennis shots

2009-04-13T16:06:00.000-07:00

A wee lil' update

2009-04-01T23:46:00.000-07:00

Hmm....no pictures again. I guess I'll have to "steal" some from my facebook account from my birthday....even though probably everyone that reads this has Facebook (oh, except for Sheila!). I'll give you all a bit of an update on what's going on in our lives (I'll be stealing Tiffany's update layout as well.)

Jess: My week usually consists of hanging out with Grayson at home these days because of our crappy weather. No exciting trips to the park, hikes or wildlife refuge walks. I LONG for some sun...and more than just a day of it. Despite the lack of sun, we do manage to stay pretty darn busy.
I've been staying pretty consistent with my exercise routine because mama put on too many winter pounds....and because I've unofficially decided to do an Olympic length triathlon at Sunriver this year. Every year several of my family members head down to Sunriver in June for their annual Pacific Crest Endurance weekend. Its a 3 day extravaganza of a multitude of races: kids triathlon, marathon, 1/2 marathon, half-ironman tri, olympic tri, olympic du, 10k, 5k, kids 1 mile and 1/2 mile. We've been going for the past 6 years I believe...and I normally do the 1/2 marathon, minus the time I did the 5k post-pregnancy. Even though the running races are great and I've enjoyed them (or at least afterwards), I'm a bit tired of the 1/2 marathon here. So...I've decided that I may (again...haven't fully committed yet) do the Olympic triathlon. This race consists of a 1.5k swim (about a mile), 28 mile bike ride, and a 10k run. Every year I tell myself that I would really like to try this race...so I figured that now is the time! The reason I feel that now is good is because I started doing Spin classes in February and they are rocking my world (and arse)! I can't believe that I had never tried this class before now. I guess I was too intimidated and I can finally now get out of comfort zone with a lot of things in my life. My main issue about doing an Olympic distance tri was that I wasn't getting enough time on the bike. Its just kind of a pain in the boo-tay to put the bike rack on the car, pump up my tires, gather all neccessary bike gear and Grayson's stuff, load the bike cart and the bike and then drive out to Rainier to unload it all and then FINALLY get a ride on the trail. This didn't happen everytime because I did get rides in by myself...but I still would drive to the trail because I don't feel comfortable riding on the road with no shoulder. Anyway, now that I'm doing Spin classes, I feel like the missing piece is in place....and beyond! Now, my running is what is lagging behind. However, I do know that I have enough experience in that part not to worry too much. I've been getting in at least one swim...so I've got to step that up a bit too. I'm looking forward to being able to get into my wetsuit and swim the lake. Anyway, all of that long winded talk about this triathlon stuff was to illustrate my busy-ness with driving to the gym (40 mins away) and working out, or fitting in a solo run(s).

Besides the working out, I've almost finished my indoor home projects. These include a massive decluttering, painting of our bedroom and re-decorating, re-arrangement of the office and painting of the master bath. I've gotten pretty hard core about decluttering and getting rid of a lot of stuff. I'm looking forward to the community garage sale in May! It has been such a great feeling freeing up space, organizing stuff and rearranging. It really changes the energy in the house! I now walk by my office and think "Oh I really like my office now!" That one was a huge undertaking...but the rewards are great! Now I leave the door open! Our bedroom is also a nice and welcomed change. I love the color I've painted and I'm excited for the other things I've got planned. I'm going to attempt my first "mural" behind our bed and also on another wall. Its going to be quite a simple one...using only 2 colors, but if it turns out like it has in my head then I think it will look pretty cool. I'll post pictures when I'm done.

I'm also trying to get in one day a week of work for my friend Carol who does PR stuff...and also do stuff at dad's house (cleaning, decluttering and organizing). I still work 1 day a month at the clinic and have a little bit of my Arbonne on the side.

Besides all that, I fit in time for friends and family, lectures/presentations/classes, book club and my own reading at home and of course...my Facebook addiction. :)

As far as my health is concerned....I'm still quite anemic and still have too low of thyroid and too low cholesterol. So, we have switched things up and I'm taking some stronger supplements for these things. I'm really gonna eat a ton of eggs for Easter too! Thank God we have fresh organic eggs just down the street at Gary and Debbies! Since I've switched to stronger stuff I feel better and can tell that I have a bit more stamina in my workouts. I'm excited to be able to push it at 100% now!

Heath: Heath has been working in his new position at the Department of Transportation for several months now (I forget when he started). He seems to really enjoy his job now...which is a huge plus! He does bridge inspections all over the state, so he gets to travel and get outside. He is even considering going back to school at some point to get his engineering degree. Shortly after he switched jobs he also switched to a 5 day a week work schedule instead of four 10 hour shifts. This has its advantages and disadvantages...but I think mostly that it works out the best for us. It gives him more time in the evening to go to the gym after work and/or get home earlier. He has also been doing Spin classes 2 nights a week and is really enjoying that as much as I am. Its hard work...but great payoffs!

Heath's allergy stuff has been doing ok for the most part. Its been difficult for him to stay away from yeast (bread, beer) and garlic...but he is doing pretty good at it. He can definitely tell when he is "naughty". He will be going in for a consultation/biopsy of his lymph nodes this week. He has had enlarged lymph nodes in his neck since at least October and recently had an ultrasound from recommendation from our natropath. The radiologist then recommended a biopsy. We aren't worrying too much about it...and Heath seems to be more ok with it than I am. But...like he says, "It is what it is". Yep. We are hopeful that everything will be just fine!

Grayson: This kiddo has gotten so big in the past few months...big as in physically and mentally! It has been really nice to actually carry on conversations with him. He is pretty darn funny too. Sometimes he asks me questions about mine or Heath's well-being or such and it is so sweet. Like, "You have a good run Mama?" I wish I could remember some of the other questions he asks, but mom brain has kicked in. When he says these things he seems like he is truly interested in your thoughts and feelings. He is really into singing right now and will usually sing throughout the day. He sings the song I sing to him for bedtime called "Roso-day"...which is the song my grandma always sang. Its got a lot of funny words in it like "fillacadoosha, shimanaroosha, balda ralda boom too dee, boom too dee, boom too dee-ay". He also sings Daddy's song too of Jesus Loves Me. Other songs he loves are "Hit the Road Jack", "Itsy bitsy Spider", "Wheels on the Bus", "Twinkle, Twinkle", "ABC's" and many others. A lot of time when we are driving he will make me go through my iPod until he likes the song. Thankfully he likes my music and I don't have to endure any silly Barney songs or anything. We rock out in the car and he really likes playing the drums to the White Stripes and the piano in Citizen Cope. Speaking of piano: the other day I had some jazz on the satellite station and a Vince Guaraldi song came on. He heard it and then says, "That Snoopy mama?" I had to think for a moment of what he meant and then it hit me that he recognized the same piano style as Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas. That blew me away! Then the other day he picked out the piano in one of Citizen Cope's songs. Hmmm.....maybe a piano prodigy ?? I really try to focus on having him notice different sounds and smells, so maybe that has paid off. I always mention the frogs, the robin's song and other bird sounds and then anything else that we usually tune out. As far as smells, he now says to me "I smell something". Then I ask him, "What do you smell?"...and then he will tell me what it is. The kid is spot on too!

Ok, another thing I have to brag about is his counting. He can count to 10 in English, Spanish, Italian, French, Japanese and part of German. Since I don't know the German one it makes it harder for him to learn. I guess I need to hurry up and learn that one and maybe some others. He is also picking up a little of the French alphabet too and sometimes combines it with the English version. Fine by me!

For several months he has been able to go right to sleep when we put him in bed at night. I'm soooo glad that this finally works! The thing that made it work was when we put a doorknob cover on the inside of his door awhile ago. It only took 2 times (in one night) of him not being able to get out for him to negotiate with us about staying in bed and us leaving the door cracked open. It totally worked! I do still lie down with him at nap time, but I think its been good for me because I never take naps normally....and lately I've been needing to and will usually fall asleep with him for awhile.

Grayson is turning 3 in less than 2 months! Its so hard to believe that he is that old already!

So much for a wee lil' update...this is a dang novel!

Portland trip

2009-03-22T23:46:00.000-07:00

This weekend we went down to Portland to stay with some friends of ours, Emily, Jacob and Fraser. We got there a bit later than we wanted to, but were able to jump right in to having fun. Grayson and Fraser had the BEST time ever! They are so funny together....they make each other laugh, scream, run, and do any kind of silly thing ever. Emily said that this was really the first time that Fraser has really played and interacted as much with another kid as with Grayson. Even though Grayson is about 10 months older....they were a perfect match.

We all went out to dinner at HUB, which is an organic brewery where you can take your kids. The place gets extremely packed....and its apparent why. I would say the majority of the people there had kids. Its a place where kids can play and the folks can have some beer! They have a little play area for the kids...so naturally this is where Grayson and Fraser wanted to be most of the time.

After dinner we drove to a gelato place and have ourselves a little treat! When we got back to the house, Grayson and Fraser took their bath...and again, had a ball! We then decided that we would try to see if Grayson would sleep in Fraser's old crib (and Fraser in his big boy bed). Well...that turned out to be quite humorous. We could hear them chatting and laughing just like kids do at slumber parties. After about the 3rd time of going in there to tell them to settle down, we decided it was time for Grayson to go to our room. The moment each of the boys were in their own rooms they conked out.

In the morning, the dads and the kids went to the zoo....while the moms went to brunch and a little shopping in the Village. Following that, we came back to prepare for Fraser's 2nd birthday party. There were quite a few adults and kiddos running around...with everyone having a fun time. Once everyone left, we helped clean up and then stuck around for soup. Then...it was time to pack up and head north. Fun drive :( Grayson ended up not having a nap, so after all the extreme playing with Fraser he was totally out within 10 minutes of being in the car.

We had a really great time and plan on going back within the next month or so to use a free train ticket we have. We love Portland!

*Sorry no pics....we forgot the camera! Emily took some, so I'll have her email them to me. Stay tuned.

"I'm cooking for you Mom!"

2009-03-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

Well, this is what happens when I leave the room for too long. Grayson thinks he is quite the little chef and will do just about anything in the kitchen. He is two going on twelve! I was cleaning in the other room at Pop's....and when I came back he says "I'm cooking for you Mom!" Well, I totally couldn't be mad about that! Oh my! He was SO proud of his work too. After I explained to him that he can only cook when he is with mama, daddy or papa....then I had to take a few pictures. I'm just waiting for the day that I wake up and he has cooked me eggs and toast with tea. I'm not kidding!! If I don't get up right away, he thinks that he can do all this!

He had a fabulous spice combination of cumin, pepper, cinnamon, parsley and a little balsamic. I would have salvaged the spices if it hadn't been for the balsamic. By the way....he knew that he had used cumin and pepper because he told me!!

So proud of himself!

Garden Helper

2009-03-05T18:38:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, Grayson went and helped Pop out in the garden. He had a great time and got plenty dirty.
By the way...this is his signature "smile"....he thinks all he has to do is say "cheese" and that is good enough!

Happy Birthday to my mom

2009-02-25T22:46:00.000-08:00

Today would have been my mom's 59th birthday....so, we celebrated her life! I made a chicken barley soup and Ruthy made a wondeful apple cake. Grayson blew out a candle on his cupcake while I blew out the candles on the big cake. Hopefully we haven't totally confused Grayson! :) At least we didn't open presents. People who don't know us may think we are bit strange (which we are!), but its good to have a little humor in life!

Trip to Vale, OR

2009-02-25T22:13:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Grayson and I flew to Boise for the week to visit with the Boyles in Vale, OR. I decided not to take the stroller this time since it was just ONE more thing and the only time I would use it would be in the airport. I figured Grayson was old enough to walk on his own and follow me. He was terrific!! I think he was just so excited to be there by the planes...so he was really attentive and following every instruction. He made it so easy! He even helped out by pulling his own suitcase and by taking off his shoes and coat at the security line.

That was probably the most relaxed I've been at the airport in a long time!

Happy Birthday Daddy!

2009-02-09T11:56:00.000-08:00

Happy 35th Birthday, Heath!

I believe this photo was from his 1st birthday.

Thank you for all that you are and all that you are becoming!

We love you and wish you a very Happy Birthday!

Love, Jess and Grayson

An update

2009-02-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

I've been quite the terrible blogger lately....I guess I go through phases of keeping up on it and then totally slacking off. Here's a little update as to what we've been up to...let's see....

*We refinanced our house a couple weeks ago and it has really helped us give out of a financial rut. We were able to go from 5.875% to 5.125% and rolled both credit cards, both school loans, and both mortgages into one. We will be paying about $250 more a month on mortgage, but will be saving about $800 a month because we won't have to pay the other stuff. What a relief! Our financial advisor is a gem...so if anyone needs one, let me know! They live in Texas, but they travel up to Washington usually every month and work out of an office up here as well.

*Along with the refinance we've also implemented a new budget plan that includes having 2 checking accounts. One will be for paying stuff that has to happen every month...the other is for discretionary things. We've broken them up into subaccounts as well. We have failed at budgets in the past, but we are excited that this may actually work....and are looking forward to getting on track.

*Because of the refinance and our new budgeting we were able to trade in The Beast. The Beast was our breaking-down Lincoln Navigator. It was running really rough and we really didn't want to put a bunch of money into hoping it would get fixed...and then it not be worth peanuts anyway. We (mostly Heath) did a lot of research on new vehicles and mainly Suburus. We narrowed it down to the Forester and had a few places to check out. One day while we were in Tacoma (last week) we decided to go check one out. Well, we ended up liking the car salesman, loved the car, they took the Beast off our hands and then it just worked out with a lease plan for our budget. They gave us $2000 for the Beast, but we weren't expecting anything over $3000. I was thankful that I didn't have to try to run around and get it fixed and that they took it as is....broken windshield included. It saved us a lot of time, money and stress getting rid of it. It was a great rig, but it was time to part our ways! We love our new car! I've never had a new car before and its really nice. It won SUV of the year, is super safe, gets pretty good gas mileage and is a partial zero emission vehicle. If anyone needs a Suburu....we recommend our guy!

*I've been working at a lot of de-cluttering around the house. I plan to tackle every inch of the house to simplify, organize and get rid of un-needed stuff. I read a fabulous book that really inspired me to get rid of a lot of stuff that isn't even being used or displayed. Its a way to change up the energy in our house as well. Its kind of exciting! I'm also helping dad out by doing some at his house as well. Hmmm.....maybe this is something to integrate into a career for me. Book recommended is: "Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui".

*Both Heath and I started going to the Natropath (me in November, Heath in December). I started going after thinking about it for years because of some crazy female stuff that happened in November. Our Natropath is a friend of mine (Andy Iverson) that I've known for years and known his family (his sister Sarah is my really good friend and Justin's girlfriend). Turns out that I was anemic (not a big surprise), had low thyroid, low cholesterol, wasn't eating enough protein, was too alkaline (which your body needs to be acidic in order to digest and assimilate nutrients properly) and have a stress dominant metabolism. So, we changed some things in my diet...by making sure I have protein at EVERY meal, cut out caffeine, cut out dairy (he suspected that I was also having a dairy allergy), and cut way back on sugars and flour. At first I thought it was really going to suck to have to quit drinking coffee, but now that I've done it I realize how my body totally couldn't handle it. I'm doing SO much better off caffeine....its amazing! I will still have an occasional decaf soy mocha, but now I don't get the crazy side effects that I did with caffeinated. Instead of my morning cup of joe, I now drink green tea and I'm cool with that. Its sometimes difficult to get protein all the time, but I think I feel better with it as well (I still don't eat red meat though even though he recommended venison, elk...but I just can't stomach it). Dairy is tough because I love yogurt, ice cream and cheese. Every once in awhile I will still have a little, but the majority of the time I'm sticking with the plan. I'm also taking Kelp for my thyroid, Liver capsules for my anemia, Vit D for lack of sun, and a digestive enzyme with hydrochloric acid for the alkalinity. I feel tons better since I've started!

Heath has been dealing with allergies since he moved up here. Sometimes it can get pretty bad for him and he is quite miserable. In the past he has tried all sorts of "rememdies" with no real help....allergy shots, nasal sprays, albuterol for asthma, antibiotics and other allergy medications. Since going to Andy he is getting to root of his allergies and really taking care of them instead of trying to put a band-aid on them. He did an allergy test that is very thorough and turns out he is allergic to: dairy (no surprise there), whey, eggs, garlic, asparagus, pineapple, and molds (and in turn has to stay away from yeast which means no baked goods, beer, etc). We are really hopeful that he can finally get some relief! He also has an anabolic metabolism...which means that his body tends to build up easily. Because of this he is focusing on less protein (more of the amount I'm supposed to eat), lots of leafy greens and vegetables, whole grains, no fruit (except apples), no dairy, low sugar, etc. Its been fairly easy for him to adopt this because we ate pretty well to begin with....just some fine tuning. Its been nice because for the most part we are to eat about the same so we will just make a huge salad with all sorts of vegetables that we will eat on for a couple days. Its great because I'm not the only one making the salad too!

We will also both be starting a 14 day cleanse/detox next Monday!

We are very pleased with our experience with the Natropath and highly recommend him...and most insurances cover most of the expenses. For more information you can go to his website: http://www.triliumhealth.com/

*As most know, Heath and I have been going to counseling for about 7 months now. It was something that we had wanted to do for several years but again just talked about it and put it off. It has been the best thing we've ever done! We have both made some great changes which has in turn improved our relationship. Along with our couple's meetings, Heath is going to a men's group once a week (which he loves) and we both have individual sessions as well. I absolutely love to go to my sessions and it has been very therapeutic. We both have realized how unhealthy our relationship was and are hopeful about the new direction it has taken. We've learned so much about ourselves and about how relationships work and will continue to do so. Since going it has also spurred me into a great spiritual journey and I'm quite excited about all the things I'm learning. Heath has also gotten into it as well. We are so happy with our counselors and would highly recommend them to anyone! We really think everyone would benefit from counseling.

*Our cat Lily was recently diagnosed with chronic renal (kidney) problems. She started losing weight gradually (which she could stand to do) but it started bothering me, especially when others noticed it. Other than the weight loss she still acted the same. However, it just didn't sit right with me so I finally took her in and ran some bloodwork. Unfortunately, my ideas about what was going on were right. We hooked her up on fluids and flushed her thoroughly for about 24 hours and then rechecked her kidney values. They had gone down! So, with a diet change, fluid therapy and kidney support supplements, I'm hopeful that she will be fine. She is still her spunky little self and chases ZZ around all the time.

*Grayson: Well, he has started in with the terrible twos. He is very independent and wants to do everything himself and doesn't want to do what mom wants him to. I still don't have real temper tantrums to deal with....but he will put up a bit of a fight if he doesn't get what he wants. Despite this, I still think his "bad" times are better than that of some toddler's "good" times....and I have to remind myself of that often. He is such a happy guy and really loves to ham it up. He says please and thankyou most of the time and is just a sweet little boy. He is really into animals right now and still into trains, cars, tractors, etc. He also loves to watch movies...which we have to be mindful about because he would watch them all day long if he could. He is pretty good eater and has recently decided that he loves salad. Yay!! His vocabulary increases daily and he is pretty good about putting sentences together. He says some really funny stuff too. For instance he just said "I go to moon someday". I said "I'm sure you will!"

*I'm still involved with Arbonne, but because of other life priorities it got put on the back burner for awhile. Thats what is cool about it...I can do it at my own pace and it will always be there for me. We just had a new line come out that I'm really excited about and can't wait to try!

*I'm looking into different areas of the healing field and mind-body wellness right now and have been looking into classes and training to take. I'm still researching this area, so I'm not quite sure what it will be...but I really feel like I want to incorporate this into my life and help others.

Well, that turned into quite the novel...I guess thats what happens when you don't blog for a long time! It kind of turned into a list of recommendations too! I only do that because when I find something that I love...I want to share it with the world!

Taking advantage of some sunny days we had in January (which were far to come by).

Lovin' his shades

Grayson and I went and visited with my friend, Lindsey from college and her son who is Grayson's age. I lost touch with her for about 9 or 10 years...but thanks to Facebook we've reconnected. See...Facebook is good for something! :)

Happy New Year 2009!

2009-01-18T18:25:00.000-08:00

We kept pretty low key for New Years and spent most of the evening at our house with my cousins and aunt. The funny picture of me holding the champagne happened right at midnight. I forgot to open it beforehand and wasn't prepared...so I zoomed into the kitchen and popped the cork. Good thing I put a towel on the top of the bottle because the cork would have flown! Regardless....champagne went everywhere. I had seconds to spare! So I told my cousins that there would be no glasses because we had no time and that we'd have to share the bottle. I ran in to the living room...with 3...2...1...Happy New Year! At that moment I took a swig and...oops! Champagne exploded in my mouth...I couldn't hold it in so I spewed it everywhere! It was quite hilarious! Later while we were enjoying the champagne, I read the bottle and it said "Warning: contents under pressure. Chill before opening." Oh yeah...I guess I forgot to do that. Hence the exploding champagne.

We had a fun night!

Andrea's 60th Birthday Weekend

2009-01-18T18:20:00.000-08:00

My mom's first cousin, Andrea celebrated her 60th birthday....and a bunch of us gals got to celebrate with her in Cannon Beach for the weekend. We had such a fabulous time...with eating, drinking, impromptu singing, painting, laughing, walks on the beach, more eating, more drinking, more singing and more laughing. Andrea really enjoyed her weekend and kept saying that "she was the luckiest girl in the world." She deserved it!

We love you Andrea!!

Christmas 2008

2009-01-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

The sledding began about a week before Christmas. The kids loved being pulled behind the "Beast" in Pop's field. Big kids (Heath and Jess) loved it too!

Heath's dad, Mike, visited for Christmas and stayed a few days. It was great to have him up here to celebrate! We spent Christmas Eve at Pop's house: eating, drinking and opening gifts. Then Christmas morning we opened more gifts from the Texas family and Santa. Santa seemed to enjoy his milk and cookies that Grayson set ou the night before....and the reindeer loved their carrots!

Clinic Christmas Party 2008

2009-01-18T18:04:00.000-08:00

Annual clinic Christmas party: funky hats or crazy hair were mandatory!

Baby, its cold outside...

2008-12-20T11:27:00.000-08:00

Here are some pictures from our snowy days. We are loving this weather...

Pop's field after doing a quick sledding behind the "beast"

Frozen booties after sledding. This was a quick little jaunt before heading into Tacoma. We didn't have our snowsuits on, but we didn't care...it was fun and worth the cold booties!

Can't wait to be back for more!

Cool guy in the snow

Going about zero miles an hour in Tacoma on I-5. Both Heath and I had Dr's appointments with Dr. Andy in Tacoma. We should have left for home right afterwards but were starving. This is what we got to deal with for 3+ hours on the way to Yelm. I-5 was a skating rink because the slow moving cars melted the ice...and then it froze again because it was about 27 degrees. It wasn't so bad until we got to a spot where the road was banked....then cars just slid down all the lanes. We got through it ok, but we were sure that it was going to cause all sorts of problems. Once we got off the freeway, it was smooth sailing (at 30 mph) until we hit the casino. Traffic through Yelm was backed all the way up to there and was not moving a bit. So, we made an executive decision, turned around and went another way to Pop's house. Thankfully we weren't in any kind of hurry so we weren't too stressed about things.

Starry ladies: I kind of like how this photo turned out

Corbin and I went out for a midnight snow walk...one of my favorite things to do! It is so peaceful, quiet and light out.

The moon making its bold appearance over the lake. I did some funky stuff with these pictures.

Lights over the lake

Snow walk: in front of our house...experimenting with lights

Sledding while Daddy pulls Grayson and gets his exercise

Grayson called this "swimming"

Contorted fig at Judy and Tim's house...for their Christmas gathering

Me and Judy having a good time

Yum!

Singing Rudolph

Kellie, LeeAnne and Judy showing off their "tribal" necklaces that Heath and I put together. These lovely ladies are great friends and get together weekly to drink wine, eat food and chat. Its their wine-y therapy group!

"Opa!" Judy broke out the old Greek records

Heath sporting the flying-nun look

Amy, Judy and Jess

Looking like Christmas...

2008-12-10T09:45:00.000-08:00

Well, we finally got our tree all finished (I guess I finished it in the wee hours of the night last night). This year our tree came from Eastern Washington near Sun Mountain Lodge. Dad got it for us when he was over there this past weekend. We are totally spoiled because for most of my life we have always had Noble Firs for our Christmas tree. Gary was always able to go up past Weyerhauser in the "hills" and get them for all of us. However, this year marked the end of that tradition. So, dad got some forest service permits and went out looking with Alicia. I'm really liking our Noble...which is a different type than the Nobles we are used to. Its a little more lacy, full of little branches and more alpine-y. It smells like the alpine as well. Because the branches are more petite and plentiful....it was kind of pain to put the lights on. But...I think it looks really nice all lit up!

Grayson putting up an ornament from his first Christmas. I really like how the lights look here!

This photo doesn't do it justice...the lights are barely showing. But thats as good as it will get!

Watching the train go around the tree.

"Cheese"

The day we chose to put up the outdoor lights....brr! Typical.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2008-11-26T22:45:00.000-08:00

"I awoke this morning with devout thanksgiving for my friends, the old and the new." ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

We are truly grateful for all of the friends and family we have (or have had) in our lives. Each person has made an impression...whether it be great or small. We love you all and thank you for being a part of our journey on earth!
We are grateful for our health.
We are grateful for our home and vehicles (even if they are falling apart!)
We are grateful to live in a country where we don't have to worry about: having enough to eat, finding drinkable water, genocide, rampant disease, being able to speak our minds, not being able to vote, education for our children, being bombed or shot at on a daily basis, our child being taken from us and turned into a slave or brainwashed soldier, and wondering whether or not we will live to see tomorrow.
We are grateful for change and transformation, awareness and consciousness; because without it our minds would be closed minded and life would become stagnant.
We are grateful for the gift of Life every day.

"As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them." ~ John F. Kennedy

"Gratitude is the fairest blossom which springs from the soul." ~ Henry Ward Beecher

"Happiness cannot be travelled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude." ~ Denis Waitley

"Let us rise up and be thankful, for if we didn't learn a lot today, at least we learned a little, and if we didn't learn a little, at least we didn't get sick, and if we got sick, at least we didn't die; so, let us all be thankful." ~ Buddha

"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity.... It turns problems into gifts, failures into success, the unexpected into perfect timing, and mistakes into important events. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today and creates a vision for tomorrow." ~ Melodie Beattie

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Can you believe these were taken in November...in Washington??

2008-11-17T00:04:00.000-08:00

These pictures are from our Long Beach visit (see below post for more info). They uploaded with most current first. So...the top ones are from Saturday, the summer-like day.

"Papa, beach, beach, beach"

Stompin' the foam

A cute little toddler foot

Bubbles!

A nice little spot for reading or napping...too bad its time to go!

Hiding in the beach grass

Love this view! Nice beach grass, beautiful sky!

Gotcha....just in time!

Ahhh....don't fall now!

We are barefoot...in the middle of November...in Washington...at the ocean!

Just a little wet!

The kites were a flyin'

"Mama, beach, beach, beach"

Just two explorers at the beach

Lovin' this sun!!

Namaste!

Friday @ the Cape Disappointment lighthouse

A little time on the beach during Pop's lunch on Friday

We're wearing our boots...too cold this day for barefeet. Partialy sunny, but chilly too.

Waiting for the sunset...in a zone

Thursday sunset

Finally, an update!

2008-11-16T23:31:00.000-08:00

I know its been too long since I've last posted, but the past couple of weeks have been pretty intense. I was pretty pre-occupied on Election Day with the awesome historical event that we witnessed. Sorry to those who supported McCain...but I was elated! Anyway, the following day was the 5 year anniversary of mom and grandma's death....something that I have grown to accept and understand that through their passing, awesome gifts were given to us. Although I would definitely enjoy their human presence, I know they are with us in spirit...and we will continue to learn and grow in their love. The night of this anniversary we were informed of the passing of my mom's cousin, Gail (and a very close member of the family) from a long battle of cancer. Although we knew that the end of her time was nearing it was interesting that it happend on November 5th. I don't believe in coincidences and know this happened for a reason. Dad even had a vision a month prior about this exact timing.

The following day I spent gathering all of Justin and dad's glass art up and took it to the Lodge to set up for the annual Holiday bazaar. Friday and Saturday I spent all day working the event. We had never done this before....and it was quite the learning experience. I think it was fairly slow for most of the vendors, but it was especially slow for me...and draining. Because dad had made prior plans before he knew bazaar was on the same weekend, I was left to repack all the glass afterwards by myself. I was wiped out! Anyway, if we do it again...I definitely know what to do different!

Last week seemed to fly by as well as the previous week. Tuesday (Veteran's Day) was the day of Gail's memorial service at the Lodge. Again....another timing thing...5 years prior, we buried my mom and grandma on the same day. I think by this point my emotions were all over the place because it was tough to keep dry eyes. I joined back up with the community choir along with my recruits of Cara and Amy...singing one of my favorite songs, An Irish Blessing. I got through about the first line before I choked up...then gathered myself up (with a little divine help) and finished the song. This song was sang by at our wedding by my cousin's...that included Gail. We also had this song sung by the choir at mom and grandma's service. Gail's service was beautiful and touching...and it was packed too. That evening some of us went over to the Ol' Homestead to visit with wine and snacks. I ended up singing at the piano with Gail's daughter, Cindy for much of the time (something I never dared to do before!)

So....on Thursday, I was due for a little break from the norm. Grayson and I went to Heath's work to have lunch with him for their annual "Thanksgiving" meal. Following that, Grayson and I traveled to Long Beach, WA to spend a couple days with dad. Dad was working for his buddy and vet school classmate while they were on vacation. We stayed at their lovely house on the bay...and made ourselves at home! It was very relaxing! We had some terrific food....stuff we found in their house (smoked oysters, smoked salmon, wild prawns, etc) and our meal at this fantastic restaraunt called The Depot (halibut w/parmessan mashed potatoes, veggies topped with a wild mushroom gravy; salad; beautiful clam chowder; pumpkin pie flan; apple cobbler w/ icecream and wine of course). Needless to say, we were stuffed...and happy as clams! We were blessed with some of the most incredible weather we've ever seen for the middle of November. Saturday was virtually a summer day! We were bummed that we had to leave that little piece of Heaven...but also glad to get home as well. We drove home just in time to meet up with Heath in Olympia....and then Heath and I took off for Seattle. We attended a "class" event by don Jose Ruiz called the Night of Transformation. Jose is the son of don Miguel Ruiz who is the author of the bestselling book, The Four Agreements. If you haven't read this book...its a must read. Everyone that we give it to or recommend it to...just loves it. Anyway, the event was very nice and relaxing with a small but highly energized group of people.

Ok...well, I think that pretty much sums up the past couple weeks. Now I will post some pictures!

This is the first spaghetti picture I've gotten. Hard to believe....but I guess I waited for the best one!

Hanging with Lily in his fort

Happy Halloween!

2008-10-31T22:28:00.000-07:00

Here's our little Fire Chief!

I made this costume with a rain jacket, black cargo pants, silver duct tape, yellow electrical tape, foam letter stickers and a flag decal. I totally lucked out at Fred Meyer 2 days before Halloween by finding the black and yellow rain boots and the black rain jacket. I was so excited! What's great about this costume is that all the clothing is stuff he will wear all the time! Thanks to Dan and Kristen for the fire helmet!

Justin is so funny with his crazy eyes! We got to hang out a little with uncle Justin and Sep (the conductor) before they headed off to Halloween parties. Justin flew in from Maui on Monday for a quick trip...he was going to leave Thursday, but extended his ticket until Sunday. Its been great to see him! Grayson has enjoyed his uncle Stustin!

I, of course had to throw on a wig and some other stuff from my Halloween bin. This shirt that I found (maybe was from my Grandma Ruby) is actually kind of cute. You may see me in this again....and not at Halloween.

Trick or Treating at Gram's!

Freaker's Ball: October 25, 2008

Fortune Teller and Wizard

These were last minute costumes that we decided on the day of the party. I was able to get all my stuff from my cousin Amy...besides the stuff I already had.

Fall Walk at the Delta

2008-10-22T20:55:00.000-07:00

We have been having some fantastic weather lately...even when it rains, it isn't for very long and then it will break up and be sunny again. Grayson and I decided to do something different today instead of going to the gym. We hadn't been to the Nisqually Delta since spring...so we packed a lunch and off we went. We had a good time and really enjoyed the sun and the changing leaves. I got pretty darn tired though because lugging this kid around in a backpack sure wears me out! But...it was well worth it!

Do you see the frog? There were quite a few on these lily pads. Sun=happy frogs!

Sun=Happy people!

Grayson's October Photo Shoot

2008-10-13T23:53:00.000-07:00

I finally got into Pop's garden for a photo shoot with Grayson. We ended up having a cloudy day and didn't have to deal with any rain (until later in the evening). I was pleased with how these photos turned out! (Make sure you click on the photos to make them big to get the full effect)

Pop's vineyard

Swinging under the oak trees

One of my favorite shots

Love this one too

The barn

This is my favorite!

Portland Marathon

2008-10-05T22:26:00.000-07:00

This weekend was our annual trip down to Portland for Portland Marathon and 5 miler. This year we stayed at our friends' house who just moved down there a month ago. Unfortunately, they had another engagement in Sunriver so we didn't get to spend time with them....but they were very gracious and let us stay in their house anyway. Heath, Mariah, Lindsey (Mariah's friend) and I ran the 5 miler...while Jim and his brother Joe ran the marathon. The 5 milers all did really well despite the fact that we all haven't been running as much as we should. No records, but we all felt good! The weather was just cloudy and cool until about mile 3 when we started to get a bit of drizzle...which wasn't bad at all. After our race we had a couple hours to kill so we went and warmed up with some coffee at Starbucks and then ventured outside again to wait for Jim and Joe to come in. The guys did great also!

Little Helper

2008-10-05T22:09:00.000-07:00

Helping Daddy with the firewood

Helping Mama make eggs...one of his favorite things to do!

Walking BBQ Tongs

2008-10-05T22:04:00.000-07:00

After I posted the last picture with Keilah and her BBQ tongs, I showed Grayson and next thing I knew he was at it again. He was pretty amused by himself!

Grayson-isms part 2

2008-10-02T10:29:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple other funny things Grayson says that I've remembered:

*Pop's spicy milk: One time when we ate over at dad's, Grayson had some of the milk there....he got this horrible look on his face and said "spicy". So...I smelled it, then tried it. Tasted fine to me. So, I had him try it again. "Spicy" again. Ok...well, I guess no milk then. A couple days later dad was mentioning that he had to throw some milk out that wasn't even close to the date...and that it was really bad. Oops...I guess Grayson could tell...for some reason my taste buds weren't working properly. Now he mentions "Pop's spicy milk" randomly in the car and wrinkles up his nose. I think its funny that he used the term "spicy"!

*Preshoo: Bless you. He is so cute when he says this after you sneeze. He also says "preshoo" when he is actually sneezing too. I just caught that the other day.

*Maggots truck: Yeah, weird...I know! We have no idea how he came up with this one but he says this for the UPS truck and for the garbage truck. Maybe he combined garbage and man somehow to come up with that. Even though we always say garbage truck...this is what he will say. Honestly, the kid's pretty darn smart...cuz I'm sure there are some maggots in there somewhere. (UPS man?...not so sure)

Grayson-isms

2008-09-27T00:03:00.000-07:00

I thought I should make a little list of some of the funny things Grayson is saying these days. Here are a few that I can remember right now...I will probably add more later!

*Jackshinsh: Jack Johnson....this is Grayson's favorite musician and he always asks me to put on "Jackshinsh, pwease Mama". Good thing he is one of my favs as well! Maybe I listened to him too much when he was in the womb!

*Show me Mama: means that he wants to show ME something...not for me to show him something.

*Yuver too Mama, Yuver too Dada: Love you too Mama. Love you too Dada. This is the best!

*Sit dere Mama's bed: I want to sleep in Mama's bed. This is a nightly request!

*Frog's booty warm down: Ok, yeah I know...what?! Well...Grayson has a frog stuffed animal that has a removable herbal pack that you warm up in the microwave. We call it Frog's booty because, well...that's where it goes! It just cracks me up Grayson says it all the time though. And...its warm down, not warm up!

*Stustin o-why: Justin's in Hawaii. He loves to talk about Justin quite a bit and mentions this frequently. He has also said Stustin sad or Stustin mad. Random.

*Thankyou welcome: He is just covering all the bases.

*Chocwet pwease Mama, pwease Mama, pwease Mama: Chocolate please Mama....this kid loves dark chocolate. Hmmm....wonder where he got that one!?

*Pwease chew Mama's gum (repeated over and over frantically): Another one of his favorites....still not sure where he got this! (wink wink)

Dog Tormenting

2008-09-18T16:21:00.000-07:00

Look closely at Keilah's back and you will notice the BBQ tongs! Lately we've been having quite a challenging time with Grayson and the dogs. He is completely obsessed with them and wants to play with them or torment them all the time. It pretty much drives me crazy because the dogs by themselves make my blood pressure go up....then add a toddler that won't listen and will continue to pull their tails, ride them, push them, and do the above. Timeouts are a joke, taking away "bunny tv" privledges and anything else is useless. He is for the most part pretty loving with them and he will say he is sorry, hug them and then give them a kiss on their lips (seriously). We wouldn't mind so much with the tormenting, but I don't completely trust Keilah...because she is little Miss Thang and gets her hackles up all the time...and will sometimes growl. We are trying to teach Grayson her warning signs....but he just thinks its funny.

So...the other morning he was outside with them on the deck while I was reading on the couch sipping my coffee. I heard Grayson laugh his deep belly laugh, glanced up and noticed a walking pair of BBQ tongs. I just cracked up! It was quite the sight to see. So...I got up and looked out the door and noticed not one but both pairs of BBQ tongs on each dog's back. Hilarious! I quickly ran and got the camera, but by the time I got back I was only able to get Keilah, since Corbin's accessory came off. I took this through the window so I didn't let Grayson know that I was amused. Creative kid, I tell ya!

*Update as of about 5 minutes after original post: I made the mistake of showing Grayson this photo....now, as I sit here I look over to see the dogs in the house...both with tongs on their backs. "Try again" he says after it falls off.

High Rock Lookout Hike

2008-09-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday we went for our first hike of the season! Yeah, I know....season is pretty much over. Its quite sad that we didn't do any others. As you can see, I'm not so fond of heights. Yeah, I'll jump out of a plane...but get me on the edge of something and I freeze. We had perfect weather and a great time getting out together!

Canoe ride

2008-09-18T16:02:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday morning, Grayson and I decided to go down to the Point and take the canoe out for a relaxing little ride around the lake. It was really peaceful and serene. We rowed over towards the island and then sat in the reeds and lillypads with the ducks, coots and red-wing blackbirds all around us...and ate a snack. It was a nice break from the usual morning routine!

Finally done!

2008-09-10T23:17:00.000-07:00

Our deck is finally completed after 2 years of starting the process. We are thrilled that we can now enjoy our wonderful deck...rain or shine! I have been taking full advantage of our deck by spending most of my free time outside...in the hammock reading, eating breakfast, lunch and dinner and soaking up the sun. Grayson loves to spend most of his time out there as well. We are excited that we can finally use our outdoor heater that we've had for nearly 3 years. On this past Sunday we broke in the deck and had family and a few friends over for a barbeque. I timed it right so we could also have Amy, Sam and Max join us. It was great for me to be able to sit outside till late and chat with Amy. I think this fall and winter may be a bit more bearable since we can get some outdoor air without getting soaked and cold. Thanks to all who helped us with our deck project! We truly appreciate it all!

Mowing the lawn

2008-09-10T23:07:00.000-07:00

Grayson has been a really good help with mowing the lawn. As you can see he is pretty serious about it too! Cracks me up!

More weekend photos

2008-08-19T16:08:00.000-07:00

Ok...so these got out of order somehow...I guess because I tried a new method of uploading the photos. So...scroll down to the title "Weekend Activities" and then go from there!

Mt. Rainier

On Sunday we travelled up to Mt. Rainier to take Heath's sister, Sheila and her boyfriend Clay. We ended up "hiking" a fair amount even though we weren't neccessarily prepared with Grayson's carrier. He did pretty well on Heath's shoulders and also did well with walking on his own. I was surprised he did as much as he did. This was actually our first "hiking" type trip this summer...which is hard to believe. It felt good to get the legs all good and fatigued and feel that nice burn in the lungs...thanks to altitude.