Friday, September 30, 2011

Brief hint of fall… Day 1049 30SEP11


Joshua spent his morning like most days hard at work on school stuff. He has managed to do amazingly well this week in spite of the steroids. We haven't had any major meltdowns but the needle has definitely gotten close to the red a couple of times. 

Later in the afternoon Jarrod and I ran up to Sam's Club and then Ace hardware to get a storage bin for his LEGO pieces he had been saving up for. 

After dinner we all went out to enjoy just the briefest hint of fall in the air. The humidity was down quite a bit and there was a pleasant breeze sweeping through the neighborhood. Renee took a bike ride, Jarrod rode his scooter thing, and Joshua and I skated and passed the puck around for a while. We are all hoping that the weather will finally start to cool down a bit and we can enjoy being outside a lot more. It has been a long hot summer this year.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Family field trip… Day 1048 29SEP11


Joshua got up and did school this morning although I could tell that he was really tired and run down from the chemo and the steroids. He has never been able to sleep well while he is on a steroids pulse. After he got his school work done he spent the rest of the afternoon resting on the couch, he didn't even want to come out and skate.
Joshua's afternoon

We had an early dinner and got ready to leave for our family field trip. It was really Joshua's field trip but he got to invite us all to go along. We loaded up into the car and drove across the skyway to the St. Pete Times printing facility where we met up with Joshua's teacher and a bunch of his classmates from virtual school. We were escorted on a great tour of the facility by the two press supervisors. They showed us the entire printing operation from where the paper is taken from the rail cars into their huge warehouse to the three story tall printing presses that they operate. It was a really cool tour and we all enjoyed it a bunch.


Each roll weighs 1800 pounds!


The bottom of the three story presses.

They even had robots!

Big place

 It was rather late by the time we got home so after a little tele the boys headed off to bed to get some rest.

Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Trip to the zoo… Day 1047 28SEP11


Joshua and Jarrod spent the morning working on school work at home. After lunch they got a chance to go the Lowry Park Zoo for a filed trip specifically to research baby animals for Jarrod's current science project. I was told it was hot but that they had a great time and saw lots of neat animals. It was a nice break for the afternoon for all of them. Joshua was doing much better today and the fog is starting to lift. SO far the steroids monster has stayed dormant and with any luck it will continue to do so until the end of the week.

Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Foggy but clearing later… Day 1046 27SEP11


Joshua woke up in the fog this morning from all of the chemo yesterday. He did manage to get through school although it was a struggle. He rested through the afternoon until Trent came over to hang out and play. The giggle twins had a fun afternoon and got to spend time over at grandma and pa's , eat hamburger helper (their request) and generally play and have a fun evening together. I took Trent home when I got in from work and Joshua rode along with me. So even though his day started out a little rough he finished strong and with a smile.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Clinic day… Day 1045 26SEP11


Joshua got up early and got his port ready to be accessed and then headed off to clinic with Renee and Jarrod. He got accessed without any problems and then waited for respiratory and his labs. His ANC is good at 1762 and after he got his pentam and vincristine he got cut loose until next time. The rest of the afternoon was school work and resting to keep his energy up after all the chemo. Our first day of this steroids cycle was uneventful which I hope is a good omen for the rest of the week. It is really impossible to predict how he will react to the steroids, each time we just resign ourselves to sit back and deal with whatever comes down the road. 

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Ice and water… Day 1044 25SEP11


Joshua had another pretty busy day. I sense a pattern developing here :) 

We got up and lazed around the house for a bit until lunch time when we ate and headed out to the rink for the afternoon skate. Renee went along as our official observer. We had a good skate, Joshua got tired after a while and decided to take it easy for the second half. He has been going at it pretty hard lately. Jarrod and I stayed out on the ice and finished out the session. 

We got cleaned up and out of our gear and then jumped in the car to head off to Scott and Avery's Birthday party. It had been raining profusely most for the day and they had an outdoor swim thing planned but it all worked out great. The rain slacked off to a steady drizzle and the kids were already wet so they didn't even notice. They had a giant inflatable water slide and all of Avery's girlfriends in attendance. The boys were out numbered quite badly but they took it in stride. We had lots of food to eat and some yummy cake and ice cream later on.

I am guessing that the boys went down the water slide somewhere in the neighborhood of a million times over the next couple of hours. The only thing that stopped them was the suns hasty retreat to the horizon. I swear they were trying to see if the vinyl of the slide would wear out. The party was great and we all had fun spending the afternoon and evening with all the family.

Needless to say all the kids are pretty tuckered out and should sleep soundly. In the morning Joshua has clinic and his vincristine and pentam breathing treatment. We also are taking the lock off of the steroids monster cage for the next five days. We have stocked up on grilled cheese sandwich makings and pancake batter in preparation.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Hockey, a swim, and a movie… Day 1043 24SEP11


Joshua had a pretty busy day. We started off going to our hockey class this morning and for the first time got to play a scrimmage game on the whole rink. It was a blast and we really had fun. It was also a lot of work and we were pretty beat when we got done :) But it was worth it. 

After we got changed we walked over to the other side and watched the Lighting practice a bit. We waited until they were finished so Joshua could say hello to Coach Raymond. We talked for a few minutes before he had to run so they could get on a plane and fly out to their game tonight.

We headed home and Joshua got a bite of lunch before heading over to his friend Carly's house for the afternoon. They played and got a nice swim in later in the day. He always enjoys her company.

Renee picked him up so he could come home and get ready to go to the drive in with Trent. They watched the new movie about the dolphin down here that was fitted with a prosthetic tail. He got some popcorn at the concession stand and had a good evening with Trent and his brothers. Unfortunately Emma is still stuck in the hospital but we hope she will get to come home really soon.

Meanwhile Jarrod and I did some quick grocery shopping, had a nice dinner with Renee, and then he jumped out back to get a bit of the yard mowed before it got dark. We even managed to work in a little skating time outside after he got done with the mower. We came in at dark and watched a few episodes of Top Gear while waiting for Joshua to come home.

So as you can tell we all had a full day, especially Joshua. I have no doubt that we will all sleep well tonight.

Friday, September 23, 2011

The Lightning return!… Day 1042 23SEP11


Joshua and Jarrod got up and jumped on their school work and managed to get finished before lunch time arrived. 

After lunch we skated a little outside and then came in to get cleaned up and relax for a while. 

Thanks to the Pediatric Cancer Foundation we got tickets to go see the first Lighting home game of the pre-season. We ate an early dinner and then headed into Tampa for the game. Our seats were right in with the Cavanaugh family and the Long family who are a lot of fun to hang out with. Madison looks fantastic and being off chemo is certainly agreeing with her :) The game was great and it was really nice to watch the guys skate again. They won 5-2 which made it even better.  Go Bolts!

It was rather late by the time we got home but it was a lot of fun for the family. In the morning we will be off to shave a little of our own ice :)

Thursday, September 22, 2011

Little Chefs… Day 1041 22SEP11


Joshua spent the morning doing his school work like normal. After a break in the afternoon the boys and Renee headed off to do a little cooking with Avery. Her mom had arranged for the kids to go to the Little Chefs Academy and do some cooking to celebrate Avery's birthday. They made ham and cheese lasagna, baked tomatoes with crusty bread, and toffee poke cake for dessert. After it was all prepared they sat down and enjoyed the fruits of all their hard work. Both of the boys really enjoyed the experience. 

This evening Renee headed over to spend some time with her mom so we had a boys night. We played a bit and then sat down to watch a cool sci-fi movie from the 70's with a flying turtle. The boys thought is was pretty funny :) After the movie was finished it was time to get teeth brushed and head off to bed.

Wednesday, September 21, 2011

Phonics… Day 1040 21SEP11

Joshua was working on phonics today which is one of the areas he really missed while he was in the hospital after he got diagnosed. He is doing pretty well but he can get frustrated and it makes it hard to keep him on task sometime. Renee managed to keep him focused through most of the school day and he got his work finished early this afternoon. The rest of the day was pretty standard and the boys did their usual recreational activities to wile away the rest of the day. 

On a side note I just found out that our friend Emma got admitted tonight with a fever. We are all hoping that it is a minor thing and she gets to go home soon. Being in the hospital is no fun.

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Back to normal stuff… Day 1039 20SEP11


Joshua and Jarrod whom you might remember had a fantastic and very fun filled, if not exhausting day yesterday got back to normal stuff this morning. A day filled with school and playtime afterwards. 

Joshua did pretty good today although Renee said he was tired and struggled a bit during the afternoon. He was running a slight fever for a bit and he is still fighting off a cough. Luckily the fever abated come evening time and his cough isn't getting any worse. Of course it's not getting any better either. He has clinic this coming Monday so the Doctors can take a look at him then and see what they recommend. 

Their evening, from what I heard, was quiet and they were all in bed when I arrived home later. 

Monday, September 19, 2011

Superhero… Day 1038 19SEP11



 Joshua received a very special present a few days ago. Our wonderful Friend Laura sponsored Joshua with an organization called Kiss the Toad Creations who specialize in making capes for superheros. With Joshua being a superhero, the definition being: a hero…possessing extraordinary, often magical powers, Laura wanted to make sure he had an authentic cape to wear while doing superhero functions. She asked that it included the Lightning colors since Joshua is such a big fan. We think it turned out marvelously!


Speaking of the Lighting we all headed out this morning to watch their last day of camp before the pre-season starts. They were skating at the same rink we skate at and the practice was really exciting to witness.

After it was all done I headed off to work and Renee and the boys headed for MOSI for their field trip. While at MOSI the boys did, according to reports I received, everything that could possibly be done including: the high ropes course (scary!); a roller coaster simulator (they liked that one a lot); Jarrod rode a bike on a cable; both boys got into a hurricane machine… Needless to say they had a fantastic afternoon.





Next stop was the park to play with Joshua's good friend Carly who came up so they could skate and Joshua could show off a few of his hockey moves. They finished up over at her house with a nice evening swim before we all reconvened at the house for dinner.

One heck of a day if you ask me!

Sunday, September 18, 2011

Rest day… Day 1037 18SEP11

Joshua spent most of the day just hanging out around the house. We got a pretty good rain shower in the afternoon but the sun came back afterwards. Joshua wanted to go back up to the park so we put our skates on, grabbed a few sticks, and headed up there. We had fun skating and making up fun games to practice our puck skills including "knock the flip flop out of the circle." I guess you had to be there :) We headed for home after a while and spent the rest of the evening not doing much of anything. Tomorrow it is back to work for me and a field trip for the boy's.

Saturday, September 17, 2011

School on Saturday?… Day 1036 17SEP11

Both the boys got up this morning and started on their school work. But wait, it's Saturday and their isn't any school on Saturday right? Well normally not but the boys are putting a school day in the bank so they can do another field trip on Monday. Pretty sneaky huh? Virtual school gives us some really neat flexibility to do stuff just like that and we love it.

Jarrod and I managed to get some yard work done after the sun got around to the other side of the house. As long as the breeze kept up it wasn't terribly hot. He is a good helper and we got it all done rather quickly. We came in for a bite of dinner and then we got Joshua and went out to play. We ended up skating up to the park and having a bit of fun on the roller hockey court they have. Joshua did great and is really coming along in his skating skills. As the sun slid down behind the trees we headed for home to get cleaned up and relax for a bit. A fun evening for sure.

Friday, September 16, 2011

School and fish… Day 1035 16SEP11

I got to be Joshua's teacher today because Renee had to go attend his IEP meeting in Brandon. We had a lot of fun doing his school work and got it all finished by lunchtime. He focused really well and I was really impressed by the quality of his materials.

As a reward or the boys working hard this week on their school work we took them on a field trip to the Florida Aquarium to learn about sea creatures. It was a really neat afternoon and we all learned quite a bit about our aquatic friends. We got to touch sea anemones and sea stars and pet a few rays. Joshua really liked the penguins and I have always loved the leafy sea dragons. Their were even a coupe of sea turtles for Renee.


We thought it was stuffed until it blinked.

Poor thing had both front fins amputated :(


Afterwards we headed for home to relax and enjoy the rest of our evening. We boys went out after dinner and skated outside for a bit before it got dark. For our evenings entertainment we watched a fun movie together before sending the boys off to bed.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

Visit from a friend… Day 1034 15SEP11

Joshua had a full morning of school work and did pretty well. I got to do his reading with him and that was a lot of fun. We curled up on his bed so he could read his story to me and then I asked him the reading comprehension questions at the end. How many schools have a setup like that! Pretty cool.

After lunch Renee called the vets office up the street to find out if we could bring our little stray cat up and have them see if he had a chip that they could read to find his owners. Lo and behold his owner had called the vet and they gave us her info so Renee could call her. She called and after giving the lady a description we were formally introduced to Whiskers. He had gone missing a week ago and his owner was of course thrilled that we had found him and quickly made arrangements to come by later and pick him up. A few hours later they were reunited and headed off together. A happy ending :) We love happy endings.

The rest of the afternoon was pretty normal and after it cooled down a bit the boys and I went out to play a little street hockey while we waited for our friend to arrive for dinner. Our friend was none other than Coach Raymond whom we had invited to come over for dinner a while back. He finally had a little break in his busy schedule and headed over. It was great to see him and Joshua was thrilled that he came to visit. We had a nice dinner and spent several hours visiting while Joshua taught him how to play a couple of his favorite board games. All to soon it was time for him to leave. We really enjoyed having him over and hopefully he will stop by again the next time he wants a good home cooked meal, the kitchen is always open at our house :)

Getting better… Day 1033 14SEP11

Joshua did better at school today and got several lessons finished up. The methotrexate thankfully has less of an effect on his brain as the week wears on.

After lunch it was time to take Jarrod to the dentist for a check up. He did really well and had no cavities at all :) They also took out a spacer that he has had in his mouth since he was much smaller. He got it from the dentist and is going to put it in with his fossil collection :)

After they got back it was business as usual for the rest of the evening until I received an interesting call from Renee at work. She called to tell me that there was a cat in our house. A cat that wasn't ours. It showed up on the doorstep and when she was trying to give it some food and water it walked into the house and made itself at home. Hobie didn't even acknowledge that their was any competition around. When I arrived home he was on the front porch having a drink of water. If he is still here in the morning we are going to try and locate his owners so we can get him back to his house.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Brinner… Day 1032 13SEP11

Joshua started off his day with school work. Unfortunately he finished his day yesterday with methotrexate so his brain was a bit fogy today. He did ok for a bit but struggled to stay focused as the day wore on. He usually only has one really bad day after the methotrexate so with luck he will be much improved tomorrow.

Tonight we all met up at a big hall for Brinner.

Breakfast + Dinner = Brinner.

It was a fund raising event for the Sunshine Research Project which is supported by the Pediatric Cancer Foundation. Their goal is to fund pediatric cancer research and find a cure for ALL and all other childhood killers. The food was delicious and it was fun to have breakfast for dinner, nothing like bacon and eggs along with french toast. Both the boys got up on stage with a lot of our other little friends during the presentation to present some very sobering statistics about childhood cancer. (Look how big Jarrod has gotten :)

We also got a chance to visit with a bunch of our cancer family and see several people who we have not seen in quite a while. It is always uplifting to see kids we have known who are now a year and a half out of treatment and doing great. It helps remind us that someday our lives will be like theirs and we can put cancer behind us instead of in front.

After dinner I had to head back to work and Renee took the kids home to put them to bed. It was a fun evening and we are glad that we can do a small part in supporting more dollars for research and a cure.

We need to eradicate childhood cancers from our planet! They are simply unacceptable.

Monday, September 12, 2011

A little low… Day 1031 12SEP11

Joshua popped off to clinic this morning to get his labs done and the results were a little low. His ANC is down to 750 which is about half of what it should be. We are all fighting against some kind of cold and he is definitely hard at work trying to fend it off. Luckily no fever has accompanied this particular malady so things are business as usual at home.

The boys spent the afternoon over at their grandma's house because I had to work and Renee had a meeting to attend. Like always they had a great time and enjoyed the visit.

Tomorrow Jarrod is going back to help grandam out in the yard and Joshua will jump back into his lessons. With luck we will all feel a little better tomorrow and his counts will climb back up to where they belong.

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Busy social calendar… Day 1030 11SEP11

Joshua had a packed calendar today. He left early this morning to go to church with Trent and stayed afterwards to play. Jarrod and I picked him up at lunchtime on the way to the rink for our Sunday afternoon skate. We have fun skating although Joshua started to get really tired and said he was hungry, I asked him what he had for lunch and he said "nothing". Apparently there wasn't anything to eat that he liked so like always he just didn't eat. Well a quick trip to the snack bar and a grilled cheese and chips and he was right as rain again. I asked him to let me now ahead of time if he hadn't eaten in the future so we can avoid him getting all worn out. I am looking forward to the days after chemo ends when he will not be such a picky eater anymore.

As we left the rink he had instructions to call Carly since she had called earlier in the day to see if Joshua could come over and play so he gave her a call and we headed over to her house to drop him off. Those two have so much fun together, he didn't even say goodbye to me and Jarrod, they just wandered off to play.

Jarrod and I headed home to hang out together since Renee was in Lakeland attending a music recital for Yan's big sister. We had a nice time and grilled some pork chops along with making a nice salad for dinner. Tummies full we relaxed and waited for everyone else to get home. Renee came home a short while later but we didn't see Joshua again until after dark. He had a marvelous time swimming and playing with his friend. A busy day for sure but one filled with the important things in life.

Tomorrow is a clinic day for labs and it will net the boys a day off from school, both of them were so disappointed :)

Saturday, September 10, 2011

Allie's Birthday… Day 1029 10SEP11

Today was our little Allie's number two birthday! Although she is not going to be with us for her special day we got to sing her Happy Birthday via Skype this morning when she woke up. Technology makes being a grandparent cool :)

The boys and I got ready and headed off for our hockey class a little while later. We had a good hard skate and the boys are doing better every time. The Lightning are beginining to practice starting today and we got a chance to watch the rookies practice after we got done. Man those kids are fast…

The rest of our afternoon was pretty routine, Jarrod had school work to finish up from last week so he worked on that while Joshua played in the living room. After dinner Jarrod mowed the backyard while Joshua and I skated and did a little practicing out front. The temperature has come down a bit but the humidity is way up. Makes for a rather sweaty experience :)

Friday, September 9, 2011

IVIG and a field trip… Day 1028 09SEP11

Joshua got up early and got ready for Caroline to arrive to get his IVIG started. She showed up a little after eight and like always got him accessed and started without any problems. Joshua really trusts her and we are lucky to have her as his home nurse. While he was getting his IVIG he spent most of the time watching the tele and getting his school work done. Everything went right along without any problems and by 2:15 he was done.

Several weeks back Renee managed to find a really incredible deal on annual passes for MOSI and they arrived in the mail today so we decided to head up and give the boys a little reward for working so hard this week. They have always loved going up to MOSI and our new membership even includes IMAX movies which they really like. We did manage to get a movie in about tornados and we all agreed that it was pretty neat. The rest of our time at the museum the boys divided between the high ropes course and the hands on exhibits. MOSI closed at five so we only had a short time before we were headed back for home. Traffic was pretty bad and we were glad to finally make it back after sitting in the rain in a traffic jam for quite a while.

The rest of the evening was pretty routine and Joshua was resting comfortably, his batteries were pretty depleted by dinner time. In the morning we get to take the ice for a while and then work on stuff around the house. We always look forward to ice time :)

Thursday, September 8, 2011

School continues… Day 1027 08SEP11

Joshua's second day in school went swimmingly. He did great working on all of his stuff and is really enjoying the diversity of his course materials. It is easy for kids to forget that learning is, in fact, quite a lot of fun and something that can be fun day in and day out. Renee and I are excited about the rest of the school year and our plan is to keep things rolling along.

After school work got taken care of for both boy's Jarrod headed over to grandma's house to mow their yard while Joshua and I stayed home. Joshua has picked up a cough and has been running a slight fever but so far it is not getting any worse. He felt pretty good today and even had enough energy to go out and skate with me for a bit after dinner.

In the morning Caroline will be joining us for another round of IVIG so that means a really early start for Joshua to get his pre-med and prepare his port to be accessed. As soon as Caroline gets him hooked up he can get to work on school while he waits for the transfusion to get finished up.

Wednesday, September 7, 2011

First day of school… Day 1026 07SEP11

Well Joshua finally got his school year going this morning and things got off to a great start. I was amazed at all the stuff the arrived in his box yesterday. There were lots of books, science supplies, guides for parents, flashcards, etc. He seemed like he was really enjoying what he was doing and managed to stay focused for quite a while.

The boys are spending the night with Grandma and Pa because Renee had a function to attend tonight and I was off at work. I am sure they are having a grand time and we will get all the details when we pick them up in the morning.

Tuesday, September 6, 2011

We have some books!… Day 1025 06SEP11

Yeah! Half of Joshua's school books showed up this afternoon. Yes I know we are in the third week of this school year but hey who's counting. I imagine Joshua was quite excited to received all of the materials, whether or not he stays excited when he actually begins to use them is yet to be seen.

 In the morning Renee and he will get to work and start heading toward getting him caught up and on schedule for the rest of the school year. Jarrod is going on a field trip so things will be quiet and I am sure they will get a lot done.

Monday, September 5, 2011

Labor Day… Day 1024 05SEP11

To be honest we really didn't do any labor today, in fact we didn't really do much of anything. Jarod did a bunch of school work so he would be caught up for the week and Joshua spent his day watching tele and playing about the house. I worked on stuff for school and Renee assisted Jarrod with his school stuff. We did manage to get out and play a bit before it got dark and it was lovely with a nice breeze blowing in. Looked like it might get a bit stormy later but so far the rains haven't arrived. Part of Joshua's books are due to arrive tomorrow so he may finally be able to get started on his lessons after all. We will believe it when the box hits the front steps :)

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Achy with a side of tired… Day 1023 04SEP11

Joshua and Trent got up early and got ready for Trent's mom to pick them up and take them to church.

Since he had woken up really achy Joshua decided early to fan off on going skating this afternoon so Jarrod and I headed off without him. We got a really good skate in and headed home soon after to a house full of kids. Taylor and Avery had joined the group and they all had a fun afternoon playing and doing crafts and such. It is always nice to have a house full of kids laughing and enjoying being kids.

Trent was the first to have to leave followed a while later by Taylor and Avery. We enjoyed having them all over and hope to see them al again soon.

The rest of our evening was rather quiet with dinner from the grill and an evening of Top Gear with the family gathered around the tele. Joshua was pretty tired and still achy and spent his time on the couch laying on the heating pad. It is always hard to see him after his vincristine hits him, he is so tender he doesn't even like to be touched. We hug him like he is breakable and made of thin glass. Luckily it doesn't last too long and by tomorrow or at the latest the day after he should be as right as rain again.

Saturday, September 3, 2011

Garage sale… Day 1022 03SEP11

We all got up really early before sunrise to get all the stuff set up for the garage sale. We worked quickly and by the time the sun was up it was all taken care of. Renee's parent's and Alecia along with Taylor and Avery came over to help out.

The boys and I stayed for a bit until it was time to head off to our hockey class. We had a good skate and got in some great practice. Joshua did great and his energy level stayed where it needed to, looks like his plan to store up his energy worked.

Afterwards the boys wanted to stop at Game stop so they could pick up a new game that they had been saving up for so we got that taken care of and headed for home.

We made it home in time to help close down the garage sale and put the leftover stuff back in the garage. Renee did pretty god and sold quite a bit of the smaller stuff. The balance of the items are being picked up on Thursday by St. Vincent De Paul.

Needless to say we were all pretty tired at this point so it was showers and rest for the afternoon. Trent came over a little while later to spend the night and Joshua was pacing the floors waiting for him to arrive.

As usual the giggle twins had a blast playing tonight and I am sure they will sleep soundly, I know we will :)

Friday, September 2, 2011

Garage sale prep… Day 1021 02SEP11

Renee had to get up early this morning to go get a glucose test so we boys got to sleep in for a little bit before getting up and having breakfast.

Jarrod got started on his school and I got busy out in the garage. We spent most of the rest of day getting the garage re-arranged and getting everything ready for the garage sale in the morning. Joshua helped a little bit but he was feeling pretty tired and decided to save his energy. I think we have it all prepared and I guess we will find out early tomorrow when we get up to set it all out.

Joshua and I did get a chance to pay outside for a little bit after dinner while Jarrod finished up his history homework. We had fun playing but after a while Joshua decided he was going to call it quits and save the rest of his energy for hockey class tomorrow :) Not a bad idea.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Another busy day… Day 1020 01SEP11

We all had a busy day . We got started right after breakfast moving some furniture from Renee's dad's house to ours. The boys are going back to sharing a bedroom and we finished getting it set up today. After getting that done Jarrod did some school work while Joshua worked online as well with the limited access we have for him so far.

Jarrod and I got a little bit of exercise practicing out in the street before it was time to come in and get cleaned up so we could head into Tampa. First stop was at my dad's house to visit him and his temporary housemate Ruby who is a dog he is providing transition care for. She is a nice dog and we all had fun getting to know her. Before too long it was time to leave and head up to the Children's Cancer Center for our bi-weekly family night dinner. It was a full house and we got to see several families that we haven't seen in a while as well as welcome two new families to our fold. The kids as always had a fun time running around and playing with their friends. We headed home late and got everybody ready to go to bed. Tomorrow we are going to continue preparing for the garage sale that Renee is having Saturday morning and get as much school out of the way as we can.

Yard work and school… Day 1019 31AUG11

Joshua had a pretty good day after waking up a little achy. He said he felt better by later in the morning and he kept on feeling good for the rest of the day. Renee got us a little closer to getting all of Joshua's school stuff in place and we are hopeful that it will all be resolved by the end of the week.

Jarrod and Joshua got the yard taken care of together this afternoon with Jarrod running the mower and Joshua providing support services. I am loving the concept of getting some relief from being the yard guy for a bit :)

The boys also got some playtime in outside later in the evening after it cooled down a little bit. I understand that they had a fun day together. Nice to see them spending time together having fun.