A Lego Party!

Remember Legos? We did too, so we decided to have a Lego Party...

We made lots of fun things and invented a few new buildings. By using the trees we even made what looked like a Christmas tree. I was amazed at how much attention to the "details" Kaylie insisted on having. The windows needed shutters, the yard needed plants and trees, the house needed windows and doors with frames. Makenzie made a car with tires, not just wheels, a driver (of course) and even made it work with the crank! These girls are so creative!

Makenzie still loves playing on our laps. She sure loves her Auntie Tricia!

What do you think? I love the flag and the antenna in the yard. We should have shown you the whole thing! Legos are so much fun!

Watching the Last Night Launch...

Talk about bringing back memories! I can remember being at Edwards AFB, CA right after Kristy was born, and watching the first shuttle landing in the desert. We were all mesmerised by the event, knowing we had just witnessed history being made. After the landing we took Kristy, a little baby at the time, and went to see a display of an actual shuttle. It was amazing to me to see the famous "tiles" that cover the out side of the shuttle. They looked like they were about a foot thick! Dan and I stood there with Kristy and talked about how we wished she was old enough to remember that moment. We never realised she would be living so near the Space Center when she got older.

FLASH FORWARD ALMOST 30 YEARS! Tricia, Kristy, Makenzie and I decided to go watch what may be the final night Space Shuttle launch ever. It's one of those things you can't imagine, you just have to see. We wanted Makenzie to have a memory of this special night, so off we all went.

It was a short drive to the beach to find a good viewing spot. That's funny actually, because anywhere you are you can see a night launch. When the shuttle blasts off, it literally turns the night sky to day. It's so amazing! I can remember taking sisters, brothers, in-laws, nieces, nephews, and parents to see launches when they were here. I wonder who remembers them?

When we arrived, Makenzie and I decided to go exploring until launch time.

We found a "secret sidewalk" that no one else was on, and decided that was the perfect spot to start our exploration. As we walked along, Makenzie stopped to touch beach grass. I said close your eyes and touch it, it tickles!

The moon was hiding in the grass.


When we got back to the car, Makenzie had a Star Wars moment and showed us all how Yoda looked. (Even his funny eyes.)

Tricia had a birds eye view out the car window.

It was time for the launch to start. Makenzie was so excited!

Blast off! (We are about 20 miles from the actual launch site.)

Heading up!

Entering the clouds...

Good luck Space Shuttle. Stay safe!

Space shuttle on the left, moon on the right!

I try to imagine what Makenzie will remember of the launch. Even more wondrous is what she may be showing her children 30 years from now. I hope she tells them the story of her first night launch, even if it may be the last night launch ever...

It Hurts

I came home that day, from another numbing doctors visit. This time my cancer had moved to my colon. Now all I had to do was tell my family and fight like mad, just to live longer.

Telling Dan was so hard. He'd been through so much with the first cancer. He had been doing everything for me during that cancer. I was going to do more this time. I already made up my mind that he'd been through enough. We decided we had to tell the girls...

My daughters will tell you, if you need to talk to them about anything serious, don't ask them to sit on the couch to talk. They associate the couch with where they were sitting every time we had to tell them about cancer in our family. Couch off limits!

I can't begin to tell you how much harder it was to tell them the second time. Their lives had been turned upside down before and they were just beginning to regain some sense of normalcy.
But, like the strong women and husband they are, we all hugged, cried and decided this would be different. It was.

First cancer: 5 chemo treatments, 14 radiation treatments. Second cancer: 48 chemo treatments, 12 radiation treatments. I was determined to beat it, just because of the hell it was putting my family through...

That was 5 years ago today. I beat it again. You may be thinking, man she's strong. But the one cancer I couldn't beat is the one that will haunt me forever. I prayed for God to give me Dan's cancer. I dared Him to. I swore I'd beat it in the past and I could beat it if he gave it to me, not Dan. He had other plans.

So today I celebrate beating the second cancer. My heart breaks that I couldn't beat Dan's for him.