Vacation Part I: Great Island, Maine

We started our vacation with a visit to our friend Amy's house - Janet and her family were there too...it was great, the kids got along so well...it was great seeing you all - thanks Amy! We then headed up to Great Island on Sunday. We stayed at my brother's cottage for the week, despite the middle of the week being overcast with some rain, we had an absolute blast and Colin loved every minute of it...he loved the "wa-wa house", thanks Michael, Kim, Maddy, and Casey!

Ahhh...now this is vacation!

Colin loved swimming!

On the deck at Michael's house when we arrived!

Colin's favorite part of the beach was digging holes and filling them with water...

Hmmm...will it stop raining???

His other favorite part was gathering rocks and throwing them into the water...he loves to do this with outside street drains too...we're not sure if he thought the ocean was just a big puddle!!!

We were amazed with Colin all week, he was so easy going and we had such a fun and relaxing time, and we think he grew both in size and in personality in just a short week...I just kept thinking how lucky we are! Vacation Part II: York Beach, Maine is coming to a blog near you soon!

Happy 40th Anniversary Grammy and Grampy!

We pulled it off! A complete surprise party for my parent's 40th wedding anniversary this past Friday night! They thought they were meeting at our house to go to dinner with all their kids, but first we needed to give them a gift that we didn't want to bring to the restaurant. On their trip up they were quite annoyed because it was pouring and my house was a bit out of the way...but they fell for it! We were able to get their longtime friends (some my dad has known since childhood) and all the family...it was so great! We had it at the clubhouse in our complex which worked out great...I snuck over to their house the week before while they were away in Maine and stole their wedding pictures to copy for a collage, it came out great! It was so much fun and to see the look on their faces was priceless, they had friends travel all the way from the Cape which was so special for them...Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad! We love you!

p.s. my computer will still not let me download photos! Uggh!!!! Anyone know anything about a HUB PORT POWER SURGE????????? HELP!!!!!

Tubes! Tubes!

Today was Colin's surgery...we were scheduled for 7:30 a.m., supposed to be there by 6:00 a.m according to the doctor's office, but luckily the hospital said to get there around 6:30, so we woke Colin up out of a dead sleep and just plopped him in the car for the trip. We were thinking that way he wouldn't be able to think about the fact that he couldn't eat or drink anything...we arrived and everyone was very prompt which was great. The doctor was awesome, he gave us the whole surgery speil and then said "most importantly we will take good care of him", which of course put me into tears again, but it was what we wanted to hear of course! Colin hated every bit of it from the beginning (wearing the ankle ID, and too large hospital johnny) to the end (half out of it, screaming with snots running down his nose, in some strangers arms)...it was rough, very rough and probably the worst thing knowing your child is so scared...Ryan did the anesthesia part and let's just say he came out of the operating area crying... he had to restrain Colin while the anesthesiologist placed the mask over his face and as he fell off to sleep he just stared at Ryan which was the worst part I guess. So in the end there was lots of tears from everyone, but it was a very short procedure (surgery started at 7:30 and we were on our way to Dunkin Donuts by 8:30)...by the car ride home it was like nothing even happened, no ill effects of the anesthesia, or what appeared to be any pain. It was as if nothing happened to him, it was amazing. So hopefully this will solve the ear infection problem, as long as we can get him used to wearing ear plugs...ha- that should be interesting!

Winding Down...

The past few weeks have been very busy, which explains why there haven't been any posts...school is coming to a close Monday and I have had a ton of work to do to wrap up. I will officially be at the clinic three days a week starting June 26th...I can't wait! I am burnt out working three 11-12 hour days (I should not be complaining, I do feel fortunate that I can do that and be home too). Anyways, it will be nice to take a break from the schools for a while...Tuesday is Colin's surgery. He had a horrendous cold for about a week, finally it's gone and he seems OK, although we had two very yucky, diarrhea like poops today (sorry for the graphics), so hopefully that doesn't turn into anything! We will be off to the hospital bright and early, he is the first surgery scheduled for 7:30, they said to be there by 6:00 a.m. - yeah right, that's way too early and way too much waiting around...something is going on with the computer and downloading pictures, so I won't have any for this post, but hopefully we'll get some good ones this weekend. We are heading up to Portland for Father's Day and we are going to take in a SeaDogs game and get some yummy Mexican food! Yippee! I surprised Daddy and he is quite excited! Colin will have a blast too! They aren't playing at home the week of our vacation, so this was the perfect chance to get to see a game this summer. Hopefully the weather will be nice and we can show Colin Portland again! Happy Father's Day to all those Dads out there, enjoy your day with those that you love! Especially your little ones! Lots of Love!

SURGERY CANCELLED!

Yes, they won't do surgery since he has a cold and has had an on and off low grade temperature since yesterday...according to the doctor "something's brewing" and better not to have him undergo anesthesia! So hopefully it will be rescheduled sometime in the next couple of weeks...thanks for thinking of us!!!!

Huge Success!

So the Relay for Life was a huge success...despite the uncertainty in the weather, it turned out great! I have attached some photos too...Unfortunately Colin has a bad cold and didn't attend the relay, but so far the surgery is still on, as long as he has no fever or cough. The bone marrow drive was successful too and both Ryan and I participated. The girl was at both the relay and the drive and appears very sick, so hopefully they will find her a match soon. Enjoy the photos!

More good news: Our good friends Gillian and Dave had their second baby on Friday...both mom and baby are healthy and happy...just one surprise - "she" turned out to be "he"! Let's just say there is a closet full of pink dresses at home and a 2 year old brother who thinks Clare is coming home! Isn't that crazy! Anyhow, no name as of last night...Congratulations Gill, Dave, and Nathan!

These are the luminaria bags (dedicated in memory or honor of someone affected by cancer) they are filled with sand and a candle and lit at 9:00 p.m. at which point everyone participates in a "silent" lap around the track (my Aunt Joan's and Uncle Rob's)

HOPE (luminaria bags)

The Family!

Hello June!

This picture is from the rainy weekend we had a few weeks ago, the rain finally stopped and there were lots of puddles!

Colin and I spent the last weekend in May alone together for four whole days...Daddy was in San Diego attending a work conference. All went well, Colin and I had some quality time together, it was nice...but I think we were both glad when tired Daddy arrived home after a long red eye flight! Colin and I got out and enjoyed the nice weather - we went to Newburyport with Grammy and Grampy and walked around and had dinner, we went to a cookout and saw one of my cousin's from Los Angeles which was great and we played a lot of baseball...the pool is a big hit this year too...Daddy had a great time in S.D. he even got to a Padres game, he says it's beautiful there and we should try to go someday! This weekend is the Relay for Life...it should be fantastic! Last night we had "bank night" where we count all the money for all the teams - lots of money! So far, just online donations are at $49,000 and that doesn't count the $$ we counted last night or what will come in tonight...and tomorrow there is a bone marrow drive for a young elementary aged girl in town who needs a donor desperately...it's from 11-3 at the Batchelder Elementary school in North Reading...hopefully it's a success. I guess it's just a cheek swab and you need to have your health insurance card...lastly the big day is Tuesday - the day of the ear tube surgery...I haven't really thought about it, I think subconsciously I have been in denial, but regardless it's happening Tuesday a.m. I talked with the nurse at the hospital for his pre-admission testing and I cried as she explained how the morning will go! I have to keep telling myself that it's easy and we should be grateful that it's only ear tubes and not something more serious...well, let's hope the Relay is a success and so is the surgery!