Double Gapper

After a few weeks of 2 front wiggly teeth, Austin finally pulled them out! He needed to though because his permanent teeth were coming in, causing him to have buck teeth. So, Eric and I told Austin that he needed to pull them out before spring break ended or we were going to do it (love that tactic). I even showed him this youtube video of a boy who pulled out his tooth that was tied by dental toss to a rocketship! Austin did NOT like that idea at all! In fact, it was that day after showing him that video that he determined to pull them out. HA!

This makes a total of FIVE teeth that Austin has lost and he's not even 7 yet. Now him and Carson are both gappers!

He's 4 now!

I can't believe that my baby is now 4. It's such a bittersweet time! He is so grown up though and with such a distinct personality. So silly, fun, friendly, easy-going, cuddly, and goofy. What I love most about Carson is how sweet he is. He has always been a very sweet boy from Day 1. I will be sad when the day comes and he doesn't want to cuddle anymore--I always welcome his "cuddles with Mom"!


This year was a little different for his birthday. We decided to do a friend party every other year for our kids--it's just too expensive and time consuming to plan something like that. (Now I know why moms of more than 2 kids "out source" their kids' birthday parties!). So, this year Austin gets the friend party and Carson gets the family party.


Originaly we were supposed to head to SF on Carson's birthday for spring break too. I was scheduled to do radiation that week, but then a couple of days before, I got the phone call that my insurance had denied the treatment and so we needed to hold that off. So, we ended up celebrating Carson's birthday twice. Once mid-week before his birthday and then on the actual day. He was probably a little confused by that, but oh well! We had a nice, mellow birthday party for him at home complete with 2 cakes (on each day) that he picked out (Mom was too lazy to make an elaborate cake this year), and a few gifts.


Carson is such a blessing to our family. He brings a special spirit to our home and I love that he looks up to his brother so much. 90% of the time (ok, maybe 80%) those two are best buds. And it warms my heart to see them play together so nicely. Carson is quite smart like his brother too--with a vocabulary better than most four year olds (and very articulate), and a memory like no other. He is doing well in preschool-- can write most of his letters now, knows all the letters and sounds, and recognizes all the numbers too. He also loves to color (cars mostly), build things with his brothers (usually lego cars), and watch his favorite movies (Cars and Cars 2, big shocker!). His fascination with moving vehicles has NOT died down. He also recognizes and can name many cars out on the road while we're driving and gets most excited by "Bumblebee" cars or Cameros. Carson loves to help Mom cook and juice, is my little buddy everywhere we go, and eats practically anything and everything. His faves? FISH, homeade juice, pizza, salad, and fruit. Oh, and brownies. What a little stud.

We love you up to the moon and back buddy!!

Sol Survivors Melanoma Foundation

Our official logo!!!

Idaho 'Sol' Survivors (minus one--the late Amy Dunn)

Well, we are getting closer to getting our website up and running for our foundation. We are also starting to work on all the paperwork required by the IRS to become an official 501c non-profit organization. Our name? Sol Survivors Melanoma Foundation. It took quite a few names before we landed on that one, but this is the one that we feel best about and what sums up our mission. We came up with the name 'Sol Survivors' last Fall when we were starting our support group, and that name has stuck with us. We call each other 'Solmates', I love that! We have also decided to dedicate our foundation to our fellow warrior who lost her life to melanoma, Amy Dunn. Our hope is to not only help prevent this disease from taking another life, but to bring other melanoma survivors together to help increase our odds of survival.

Right now we are in the process of writing the content for our website, which will be designed by the fabulous and talented Brooke Hall. She also came up with the logo design too. I think it is perfect. I am just so happy that everything is starting to come together. With our support group, the Idaho tanning legislation, and some community education classes that we have taught here in Boise, we are starting to really gain some momentum and get our name out there in the community.

Next up once we get our non-profit status and website live? To get it out there! We have plans to teach in junior high and high school health classes about sun protection and melanoma awareness. By the end of this year, we are hoping to have our first fundraising event. It will probably be a walk.

Big things in the future for our foundation. It just feels right. From the very beginning of my journey with melanoma, I have felt that I needed to do something in sharing my story and promoting awareness. I hope and pray that we can make a difference and help others.

Blue Marlins, here he comes!

Austin is doing so well in swimming. He just passed the level "Guppy" and has moved up to "Minnow". He can swim front and back crawl 50 yards without stopping and is learning elementary backstroke right now. Next will be breastroke. What's been cool to see is how his confidence has just taken off! He has always been a good swimmer, but once he knew he could swim the entire length of the pool and back without stopping, he definitely thought he was hot stuff!

This summer, Austin will join the YMCA's Blue Marlin swim team. This will be his first summer on swim team and he is so excited! I have purposely kept him in swim lessons most of this school year because I wanted him to have the confidence to do it, plus I didn't want him losing his skills! He will be more than ready! Way to make Grandpa proud, Austin!

VIDEO BELOW IN POST BELOW....

Austin swimming

Change of course

I am still in CA. What was originally planned as a one day trip to SF for my 3 month scans and maintenance treatment, turned into a FIVE day trip.

The scan results were good. No cancerous activity, and the one remaining nodule in my right lung was even a little bit smaller from my last scans. Whew. Now...the change of plans. When my doctor spoke to us about possibly considering radiation therapy to get rid of that last nodule, I at first thought the idea was totally out of left field. In the past, we had spoken very little about radiation with much more discussion around surgery. However, surgery was ruled out because of the location of the tumor--which is encircled around a bunch of blood vessels and arteries in a tricky spot--and deemed too risky of a procedure for little benefit.

The reason radiation is now just being brought to the table is this though: Recently an article was published in the New England Journal of Medicine (and headline news on MSNBC) about a patient with metastatic melanoma who underwent radiation to a tumor on her spinal column (which was causing her pain). This patient was also undergoing treatment of Yervoy, the same immunotherapy drug that I am still on. What happened was the radiation to this patient's tumor on her spine ended up having a "systemic"-like effect. It activated the immune system to recognize the cancerous cells and kill them (in combination with the Ipi). Consequently, the tumors elsewhere in the patient's body began to shrink also. The results were astounding.

This news is promising for many melanoma patients and interestingly enough, my own doctor has been doing this with some of his own patients for the last 6 months or so and has had some success. (He said that the other doctor just beat him to the punch at publishing it. ;) My doctor feels that I would benefit from the radiation because not only would it get rid of that last little nodule in my lung (to ensure that it doesn't become "active" again), but it would hopefully activate the immune system (in conjuction with the Yervoy) to reach any other possible cancerous cells in my body and destroy them. I liked this idea. A LOT.

I have to hand it to my doctor. He is always thinking ahead. Even though he has always been pleased with my progress and success, you could tell that the last nodule remaining made him uneasy. And probably because he believed that the nodule would most likely become active again in the future. So, why not, "zap" it now while it's still not active!?

We made arrangements to see the Radiation Oncologist the next day to have a consultation and then the assimmulation on Monday (to do more 3D imaging and fit me for a "body cast"). The actual radiation will take place in a couple of weeks (over Spring Break) and will consist of 3 different treatments.

I feel good about this plan. I am so grateful to have a doctor who knows melanoma and has a vision for each of this patients. A vision that is customized for me. I also feel that it is not concidence that this change of plans is happening all right now. Ultimately, I know that God has a plan for me and is leading me on this course and that knowledge gives me a lot of peace, comfort, and hope for the future.

Thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers!!! It means the world to us!

GO MCKENNA!!!

Brett, Heather and their family came up for the weekend to attend McKenna's gymnastics meet at Boise State. It was so fun to have them up here for the weekend! Watching McKenna perform at a meet (this was our first time at a meet) was quite astounding. She is such a talented athlete and what impresses me most is her drive and sheer will to do her best. She is such a determined, self-disciplined go-getter! We loved watching all of the gymnastics events and cheering her on.

Over the weekend visit, we also played games, watched movies, ate yummy food (especially Mickey Rays, a barbeque restauarant in town), and swam in a hotel pool (Heather's dad came up too). We love having visitors!