Finger sticks and hockey sticks.… Day 535 03MAY10

We all headed in for clinic this morning so Joshua could get his finger stick for counts. His ANC came back at 1400 and everything else is cruising along just fine. We got to hang out with several of our good friends while we waited for his labs to come back. Tiffany was there with Preston and Hannah and Ania was there with Wojtek who was getting an LP today. The kids ran around and general had a great although rather loud play session. As soon as we had his counts we left to go to the LLS offices because Miss Julie had received a special present for Joshua, an autographed hockey stick from his favorite Lightning player #91 Steven Stamkos. Joshua was very excited and refused to let go of the stick until we got to the car. He has wanted a stick for quite a while and Julie made it happen. Joshua would like to say thanks to Steven for sending him a stick, we are going to hang it up along with some of the other things he has gotten from Steven.

Next stop was my dad's house for a quick bite of lunch and a little visit with him. After that we trundled on back home for an afternoon filled with school work. The boys got to take last week off so it was time to get back into the swing of things. Joshua and I worked on his spelling words and eventually he got 20 out of 20 right. Hopefully he will be able to repeat that performance tomorrow when he actually takes the spelling test.

Cannon balls.… Day 534 02MAY10

Joshua got a chance to sleep in a little this morning. Renee and Jarrod left for church early and I stayed very quiet around the house so Joshua could get a little extra sleep in. He has been going at it pretty hard the last week or so and I know he needs the extra rest. Later on after lunch we attended Carly's birthday party. She is one of Joshua's oldest and best friends and they are always glad to see each other. The party was a lot of fun with lots of food and the kids having fun in the pool. Joshua had a cannon ball contest with one of the other boys and after several jumps Carly ultimately declared him the winner.

The boys were pretty tuckered out when we got back so they took it easy of the rest of the evening. My dad came out to have dinner with us and spend some time with the boys. He is doing pretty good all things considered and it was nice to have him at the house. He even brought us a great home made key lime pie! We are going to go over to his house tomorrow for lunch after clinic.

Back home from the beach.… Day 533 01MAY10

We came home from the beach this morning :( After getting up early we cleaned up and packed before loading up the cars. Thank goodness we took both cars over or we would have never managed to get Joshua's new bike or the new TV home. As it was they were both pretty well packed to seams bursting. The boys took one last dip in the pool before we hit the road for home. The trip was pretty short, we only live about 40 minutes from the beach we were staying at. The rest of the day was pretty slow and easy. We unpacked all of our stuff and got everything put away or in the washer. After a few minor adjustments to his new bike Joshua was off and rolling. He really likes his new bike a lot! I know it will provide him with many hours of fun this summer and finally allow him to keep up with his older brother.
I must admit we were sad to leave the beach, it was a wonderful place to be for the last few days. We all had a chance to relax and get some much needed rest and work on our tans. The timing was nothing short of remarkably perfect considering the events of the previous weeks. Our thanks go out to the wonderful lady who donated her condo to us, it was a magnificent gift! Wish we could have stayed forever...

BEACH Day 4... Day 532 30APR10

Today was our fourth and final day at the beach! We had an amazing day! In the morning we took a walk on the beach and looked for shells, I could totally get used to being a beachcomber. Next was some fun time in the pool before lunch time. Joshua was swimming the pool end to end all by himself! His is turning into quite the little fish. Lunch and the early part of the afternoon were lazy time. The boys relaxed and Renee and I sat on the balcony looking out at the ocean. Although rain was forecast we never saw a drop and the weather continued to be very nice. After our little siesta we headed north to Westchase Golf and Country club to support the LLS during the SanPar Golf Tournament. We had a lot of fun! Joshua and I took a golf cart and drove around the course with him wearing his Boy of the Year sash. He said hi to all the golfers and stopped to thank the volunteers including a brother and sister who set up a lemonade stand in the side of the cart path and raised $245 for the LLS. He even got to drive the cart for a while and did really well, I think he is going to be a natural driver. Madison and her family were also there and together Joshua and her represented the LLS very well. Joshua and Madison both drew pictures that all the golfers signed and then they presented them to the two organizers of the tournament. The rest of the evening was really amazing, almost fairy-tale like. Joshua was given a brand new bike, I thought he was going to faint when they rolled it out and gave it to him. Madison got a Nintendo DSI which she had put on her wish list. As the evening progressed the people bid on different items and raised a ton of money for the LLS. Two gentleman in particular each gave $2000 dollars  in Joshua and Madison's honor and then gave both of the kids brand new HDTV's. We were all speechless!  We were awed by the generosity and caring that we saw from so many great folks. A huge thanks to all the  people who organized and participated in the golf tournament and raised a bunch of funds to help the LLS keep looking for a cure for the cancers that no child should ever have. 

BEACH Day 3... Day 531 29APR10

Today was our third day at the beach! We were all pretty tuckered out after all the swimming and playing yesterday so we slept in for a bit and then took it easy most of the morning. At lunchtime we were joined by Jamie, Christian, and Miss Allie. This was the first time Allie has been to the beach and Renee got to take her out into the ocean for the first time. So far she likes the pool better but I am sure that will change, our family has the ocean in its veins and none of us can resist the call of the sea. She was adorable in the pool and we had a great afternoon with the kids. After they left we relaxed for a bit and just hung out in the comfort of our great little condo. The weather has been exceptional every day, we could not ask for better conditions. At dinner time we were joined by the Cavanaugh clan: Glenn, Lisa, Trevor, Paxton, Madison, and Liam. We had a nice spaghetti dinner with bread, salad, and cupcakes. Oh and an old favorite, rice krispie treats! No matter how old you get rice krispie treats are still awesome. We all went down to the beach afterwards to play in the water and watch the beautiful sunset. We followed that up with a dip in the pool and a little soak in the hot tub. Another perfect day at the beach. Man it is going to be hard to leave...

BEACH Day 2... Day 530 28APR10

Today was our second day at the beach! Our family was meant to live at the beach, by this morning we were all relaxed and in the rythym of the beach. We spent the day in the pool, in the ocean, and on the beach. The boys learned to play shuffle board and we managed to get several games in. This evening Renee and I took a walk on the beach and found a ton of really wonderful shells while the boys played in the sand. After we got back part of our cancer family came down for dinner and a swim. Joshua was happy that Wojtek could come with his mom and dad and spend some time enjoying our little beach retreat. We had a great meal with brats on the grill, hot dogs for the kids and a delicious polish dish called bigos which is a sweet cabbage stew with beef and raisins in it. It was delicious. We all had a nice swim followed by a soak in the hot tub before we all took a nice sunset walk on the beach. It is great that we can share the gift we received with part of our extended family. We have already forgotten what day it is which is a great feeling and are looking forward to the rest of our lost days at the beach.

BEACH Day 1... Day 529 27APR10

Today was our first day at the beach! We started off the day with school work and Joshua did pretty good. After we were done we started getting everything ready to head out to the beach. We arrived right after 4 and the boys were n the pool within a few minutes of us getting the car unloaded. The place we are staying is really nice, they have a pool with a hot tub (YEAH!!) and a sauna. They also have shuffleboard, ping pong, and gas grills to cook on. I am going to have to try and get some grilling time in for dinner one night. After a nice dinner we all headed for the beach to take a walk and let the boys get in the water to check things out. The water was pretty nice and the waves are not terribly huge. Joshua can't wait to get a little boogie board action in tomorrow. The rest of the evenig time we filled with a pretty sunset, a little playoff hockey and just being together.