Summertime

I can't help but think about the song we sang in church as my summer draws to a close. "What do you do in the summertime?" My summer was so fast and very much needed after the past ten months. 

I played hard!

We vacationed with a great group of 25 friends to Lake Powell. I was careful to watch the sun after my radiation. Otherwise I felt like my old self! I loved enjoying my kids and watching them play Monopoly, wakeboard, wake surf, tube, fish, hike, and karaoke! And Greyden got to take his siblings and dad up in his plane.

We spent a lot of time in Yellowstone. We saw an old ghost town, swam in Firehole River, enjoyed the park, and took ATV rides. The girls rode horses and the kids enjoyed zip lines, more fishing and climbing. And a visit to The Playmill to watch Les Mis. We were able to take two long trips up there this summer. 

We spent time at the cabin in Heber and enjoyed our new puppy that was our blessing from the breeder after we lost the puppy in January. 

So we welcomed a new family member!

Coco went to hunting school:

And Bailey got to spend a good portion of the summer in Yellowstone with grandma!

The kids stayed busy.

Greyden and Gage are both living, working and playing in California. 

Cassidy is growing up too fast but we are grateful for every moment we get to share with her. 

Savy went to Beehive Camp, ran another Ragnar race with her mom and went on Pioneer Trek. 

Mikayla went to youth conference and is headed to EFY next week.

And Dallas went to Bear Lake for a whole week for scout camp.

We spent the 4th at Oakridge and loved the fireworks. And the 24th was spent up in the mountains away from the heat!

Joey and I spent a weekend in Park City and watched Kevin Bacon shake it on stage!! And spent some great times with the Berkshire Hathaway Group. 

I became a little bit vain again..... I got my first haircut to trim around my ears AND I got my eyelash extensions back on!  I had to put on acrylic toenails for the summer since chemo made five toenails fall off! And I spent a lot of time reading books and watching tv. I loved every second of these guilty pleasures!

Medically I still attend infusions every three weeks. I just get Herceptin and there and no bad side effects. I had another ECHO to check for damage to my heart and the had to do a contrast echo because of my expanders. And the best news of all is that I am post-menopause!! Tender mercy brought on by chemo at the age of 39. I'm so glad the hot flashes are over!! (And other things!!) Every day I get more energy and feel better. The only struggle that I face daily is the pain from the expanders and the lymphedema in my left arm. I did find a lump in my arm pit that we are watching, but we are hoping it is clogged lymph nodes and not anything else. I have surgery in 2 weeks and they will determine at that point what they are dealing with. 

Joey has been busy selling homes and helping buyers. He has even been to Ephraim helping buyers. I love watching him work hard. And thank you to those who have used his services. It has been a blessing for us to not only keep him busy and focused, but even with insurance cancer is expensive and Joey works hard so that I don't have to worry! Keep sending him your business!! He is the best!

In the past 2 weeks I have been nesting and preparing for this grueling surgery that is around the corner. I have clean every drawer and cupboard and closet in the house. I even organized the garage and the crawl space. Now I need to get my yard in shape before I am limited for six weeks. 

I am going to get my classroom ready the beginning of August so that I am prepared to go and have surgery on Aug 12th. It is a three day hospital stay and then hopefully a quick recovery since I start teaching August 25th. I am hoping they remove the port at the same time since I will only have four more infusions left. 

The reconstructive surgery is called a latissimus dorsi breast reconstruction method that uses tissue flaps in your upper back. 

"What is Latissimus Dorsi Tissue Flap Breast Reconstruction?

The latissimus dorsi is a tissue flap procedure that uses muscle and skin from your upper back to create a new breast mound after a mastectomy. An ellipse of skin and your latissimus dorsi muscle will be tunneled from your upper back to your mastectomy area to create your reconstructed breast. Your reconstructed breast will not look and feel exactly the same as your natural breast."  

I have been grateful for those tender wishes and moments that many of you share with me. you know who you are and I am grateful to you. So what did I do in the summertime when all the world was green? 

I vacationed a lot....

Saw doctors and thought....

How happy I am to be here and look at the blue, blue sky......

"Is that what you do? So do I."

Enjoy the rest of your summer and be grateful for every moment with your loved ones.