Eleven down.....

Kirk has hit his first milestone.  Notice the green dot on his badge...well, as you go through your treatments, you "progress" through the program and you get a different colored dot as you go along.  After 11 treatments, you get a new dot!  He is looking forward to adding his yellow dot tomorrow when he goes in for treatment.  His treatment time is permanently at 7:15 am.  We feel blessed that he has gotten a good time since we are morning people and now we have the whole day to do whatever we want.  We attended a gathering of proton patients this evening and had a speaker on health and lifestyle related diseases.  There is a huge support group here and it really feeds the needs of those in the program.  Since Kirk is on the "younger" side, we don't really have the need to join in on a lot of the programs.  While I have waited for Kirk to have his treatment, I have met a young man (34 yrs) who is doing proton therapy for brain cancer.  He had surgery last summer and is having proton treatment this summer so the cancer doesn't come back.  You can always find someone with something worse than you have.  Count your blessings each and every day!

Life in California

So, we are all in California now except for the older kids.  I drove in on Thursday afternoon with Star, Sky and Sage and Mari and Maya flew in on Saturday afternoon after completing their volleyball camp at BYU.  Can I just say how HOT it is here!  We are not used to such HOT weather, and it really takes a toll on you.  We've been checking out all sorts of things around us.  We've enjoyed several farmer's markets--can't get better fruits and vegies than in CA! We spent some time with Brooke/Denice and Reagan/Patience and their families in Huntington Beach out on the beach.  It was great.  We also went to the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach.  We've also been up to Lake Arrowhead and Kirk showed the girls the village and where he used to live.  Can't go all the way up there without visiting Cedar Glen and having a malt as well.  Yesterday we drove to Malibu for a BBQ with Mark and friends.  It was SO nice to get to some cooler weather!  We were in heaven and the food was terrific.  Thanks Mark and Francisco!

So, how is Kirk doing?  All I can say is I am glad that we are here with him.  I think the distraction of having us all around is good for him.  Treatment is still a bummer, and the prep is the worst of it.  He did have some early morning treatments last week, but he's still got a few evening treatments this week.  He'd like to get his treatment done early in the morning and get it over with!  When it's in the evening, it's just something to dread all day long.  As part of his treatment, he is asked to work out and exercise.  Loma Linda's motto is to make the Man Whole.  We were given free membership to the Dreyson Center, which is the gym for the campus.  

Pioneer Trek

The girls are off to Martin's Cove for trek.  Were they excited?  Well, just check out their faces.  Thanks to DI, we got them outfitted.  They made the bonnets in Young Women's and a local dentist gave us some used scrubs and I cut them off and applied some racy lace.  I also made the aprons and gave them some deep pockets to hold some essentials for along the trail.   Seven years ago, I made the trek with Ty, Lea and Kara.  We had a wonderful experience and I know these girls will too.

One down...

And many more to go!  Kirk had his first treatment today at Loma Linda.  Mark went with him today too.  Kirk said the actual "proton" beam was on him for 90 seconds.  Didn't feel a thing.  He said that coming out of the hospital, he saw a  young (maybe 4 years old), bald child sitting on a blanket on the grass in the sun with their Mom.  He said it was just so sad, poor little thing.  Count your blessings each and every day.  I told Kirk that he needed to get into a routine of some sort, so the days progress with purpose.  He'll be going to another type of orientation tomorrow and probably the Redlands Temple.  The kids and I will be heading down in a week or so to join him.

While in Cali...

We stopped by Grandma Jeane's grave in Montecito in Loma Linda.  We also went by our "new" temple in Redlands.  It's pretty small, but awfully pretty.  On our way to the airport, we stopped by Griffith Park and took in the scenery.  Thanks Mark for being a wonderful host.  We couldn't have gotten around Cali without you.  Thanks again!  We love you!!

"It's a date!"

It's official--July 15th at 11 am--Kirk's first proton treatment.  We just returned from CA after spending a few days at Loma Linda getting everything done.  It could easily have all been done in one day, but for insurance purposes, they make you come two days.  And since our insurance is paying 100% for treatment, we are not complaining.  The first day, we met with some pretty wonderful people, Dr. Rossi, Dr. Sila and Rossi's nurse Sharon.  Sharon was so kind and sweet and I wanted her for a relative once I met her.  Dr. Rossi is the radiation oncologist and Sila is an intern.  We had an orientation about the program and then Kirk had a short exam.  The next day they made Kirk's pod and he had a CT scan done in his own pod.  I was not allowed to watch the pod being made, but they assured me that I could go into the gantry and take a photo of him later on.  After our meetings at Loma Linda, we knew that we were in the right place at the right time for the right procedure.  

We're on our way...

Kirk and I are headed to California tomorrow for his appointment at Loma Linda on Tuesday.  We'll be there for a couple of days while he gets orientated to the program, gets his pod built and has a  CT scan done in his pod.  Not quite sure what else we'll be doing at the hospital, but we'll let you know when it happens.  We'll also be trying to figure out where we'll be staying once his treatment begins--and we'll let you know when it begins when we know!  I know it sounds like we know nothing...but I do know we'll be at Loma Linda on Tuesday morning at 8 am!  

4th of July

Our 4th of July started by going into town for the parade.  It's a very sweet, simple parade.  We always hang out with our friends and their adorable children.  Afterwards, we had a family BBQ complete with festive cupcakes that the girls decorated.  Then, we watched the fireworks from our house!  Yep, this is the first year they did fireworks in the village and at Snow King in town.

FAMILY !!!!

We've had family come for a visit and we've had such a great time.  First, Derek, Becky and their gang came up and we had a fun time.  The kids love just playing games and hanging out.  Just as they were about to leave, we spotted this HUGE moose in the backyard and we all ran for our cameras.  Then a few days later, my cousin, Galen and his family came for a visit after their trip to Yellowstone.  Their daughter, Allyssa also attended the SOAR camp with Mari at BYU.  I told Brian, Galen's son about the "three amigos" that hang out at my pond and of course, they couldn't show up while they were here, but they came the VERY next day!