September

WOW!! Where have the last few weeks gone?

Life at our house has been very busy. George and I have just finished another cruise season with Holland America/Princess Alaska. The last ship was the Diamond Princess in port at Whittier on Sept 18th. So for now we are both only working 1 job each! We are going to be Winter drivers for HAP Alaska, but rumor is there will not be that much driving....but it keeps us in the random drug testing pool, and we don't have to mess with taking back our uniform parts.

Mark has started his part time job at WalMart. He is working about 16 hours a week. He is doing a great job of balancing school, work, girlfriend, and family. Not such an easy thing to do, but he seems to have it under control at this point! Mark is taking an Astronomy class this semester, and really likes it.

Jeff is loving High School. Hopefully he will get his class work and homework in line. He is really liking JROTC. This weekend he participated in the "Raiders Cup". It is a friendly competition between all of the JROTC's in the Anchorage area on base at Elmendorff AFB. They started on Friday evening with tug-of-war, and other team related competitions. Then spent the night in tents and sleeping bags. It was about 33 degrees yesterday morning!! BBRRRRRR. Jeff is also taking Seminary. He has discovered that his Mom does know something.....Seminary is fun. He was very concerned that it would be boring, kinda like having Sunday School everyday.....But he is excited about going. It also probably helps that 2 of his best friends are also in the class.

Emily is getting very busy with 6th grade. She is doing choir again this year, helping in the library a couple lunch periods a week, and is learning to play the clarinet in band. She is really starting to become a teenager, even tho she is about 1 1/2 years away from official teenage age.
I'm not sure I like that too much....but on the other hand, she is getting to be more and more fun to talk with.

Busy Summer!!

It has been a while!! We have had a busy summer at our house. Mark and Jeff both did summer school and were done with that by mid July. Emily spent some time in Homer having "Grandma" time.

Mark went to ROTC Summer Leadership School again. He had a great time. He was surprised that it was not exactly the same as last year.......the weather was MUCH wetter, different dynamics with the cadets that were there, he did the Rambo hike. Mark also turned 17 at the begining of August.......WOW........He is also starting his job at WalMart on Aug 30. He is going to be a cashier. I am very happy about that! At school registration, the kids can purchase their yearbook at a discounted price. Mark did not want me to pay for his. He said, "I'll pay for it when I start my job." Gotta love that kind of indepence!

Jeff went to Boy Scout camp this summer. It was in Valdez. Much fun was had by all scouts according to Jeff. Maybe it was because most of the kids he hangs out with were there....maybe it was the canoing out to the middle of the a glacier lake and climbing up on the iceberg, or the swimming, or not having to shower and be clean everyday.....who knows, he just had a great time! On the Sunday that they were in Valdez, they went to the local church. Our ward deacons and teachers passed the Sacrament. Very wonderful experience for the young men. Jeff had Beginning Guitar for one of his electives this year. I had been trying to talk him into taking Seminary without much luck. After 1 day in beginning guitar, he has decided that Seminary would be a good thing!! Luckily there is release time Seminary in our area. So we are hoping that he can start on Monday.

Emily has been busy with friends, and travel this summer. Homer for a couple of weeks, a few days in Ketchican to do some salmon fishing, lots of hanging out with her buddies! She is now in 6th grade. Top Dog at school. I think she is going to learn to play the clarinet this year. At her Elementary school the 6th grade has a band and an orchestra, so the kids can choose what instrument they want to learn. I have encouraged Emily to try the clarinet since I could help her with that! She will even be able to use MY clarinet from my school days!

George has been working hard this summer. He is still working at Alaska Airlines instructing, but he has been able to do some ground schools here in Anchorage, a few in Seattle, and recently in LA. He has also been driving motorcoaches for Holland America/Princess again this summer. He is only driving on ship days, but that is more than enough!!

I have been supervising at Holland America/Princess this summer. I really miss driving, and will probably do that next summer. I appreciate the transportation management for letting be a supevisor this summer since I would not have been able to drive at the beginning of the cruise season, and I still can't lift luggage. I will be done with my Chemo treatments at the beginning of October!! Only 3 more to go! School has started, and I am back to driving school bus. I am so glad that I have the same route as I have had for the last couple of years. The kids are great, they already know what I expect, I know what to expect from them, so there is minimal retraining! All is good with that!

We are hoping to go on a cruise this fall. We will see how that plays out!

MAUI!!!!!

George and I took some time to get away!! We have had a stressful few months, and needed time for R & R. So, when you need time to relax, where do you go? We go to Hawai'i! Specifically Maui, near Lahaina, just north of Ka'anapali beach area. We had the most awesome condo. Right on the water, waves crashing, wildlife abundant! We had only 3 full days on Maui, not nearly enough, but then, what would be enough? On the second day we decided to head to Haleakala. As we were driving, I was checking out the map and saw the Iao Valley. Did some quick reading and discovered it has some history to it. So, since we were so close, we drove up the valley and this is what we saw! The pinnacle thing to the left of George is called Iao Needle. It was used as a lookout by the local Hawaiians in the early 1800's, and this is the location of the final battle between the locals and King Kamehameha. The king won, and was able to unify all of the islands under 1 ruling King.


After we did a little bit of hiking thru the Iao Valley, we headed east across the valley to Haleakala. It is miles of switchbacks and many different changes in vegetation as we climbed the side of the big volcano. Below are a few pictures from the top! We could see the Big Island, Hawai'i in the distance.

This photo is looking down into the crater. It is HUGE!! We passed the cloud layer at about 5000 feet. The top elevation is 10,023 ft. Pretty amazing!

There were these plants all over at the highest elevations. It is called a Silver Sword. It is a very tender plant, it glitters in the sunlight. So George has renamed it Vegas Cactus.

On our last day we were treated with several sea turtles that decided to play in the surf by our condo.....for several hours! They were also HUGE!! Earlier in the week there were a few monk seals that were also playing in the surf below our condo.

We had a great time and were very sorry that the time went so quickly! But on the plane home, we were already planning our next visit! We are still trying to decide if it should be 1 or 2 months long!!

Only 9 more get-ups till summer break!!

So much has been going on in the last 6 weeks or so. Alot involving Mark and what he has been doing. Jeff has been making making good effort to get his grades up. We are hoping that he will continue the habit into High School! Emily has been getting taller, staying busy and trying to become a Young Lady. Of course, as her mother, I want her stay little......but when have children listened to their parents in that regard?

In mid-April Mark had a very busy weekend. On Apr 16 was an ROTC awards banquet. Only those cadets that were recieving awards were invited (along with guests). This banquet encompassed 4 different schools in the Anchorage area, so there were roughly 250 people attending. Mark received and award for Citizenship. Only about 25-28 awards are given from each corp. Quite the honor!

Then on Sat, Apr 17 Mark had his 1st date! It was to a church sponsered Prom. So he a couple of friends creatively asked some very nice looking girls to attend the Prom with them. Mark wore his ROTC dress unifrom, and his date wore a black dress with a yellow wrist coursage. Looking Good! The group went out for dinner, then headed to the church for the Prom, and had Coldstone Creamery afterwards. I think a good time was had by all. Pictures will be posted ASAP!

Now that we are into May, the count down for the number of days left to get up for school has begun. That would be NINE!! I know a few kids and adults that are ready for that!!

Spring Break in Alaska!

Spring Break.

When I think of Spring Break, I think of green, cool evenings, relatively warm days, kids playing outside, etc.

Not in Eagle River......Spring Break was Mar5-14. It snowed for the 1st 7 of those days. But, when the sun did shine, it was pretty!

We had a bull moose wander thru the green belt behind our house. Don't see that everywhere!

Cancer Update

Cancer is difficult.

The day after my post-op visit to my Dr., she calls me to let me know the results of the "conference" (review) of my case by peers. I am going to be taking Tamoxifen (hormone blocking therapy) for 5 years. She also said that the consensus of the conference, which included my Radiation Oncologist, is that she did not take enough tissue, did not get a big enough margin around the cancer. My Dr took less than a 1 mm margin. She felt she took enough, but the "conference" wanted more taken. She asked me, "How do you feel about that?" WOW. Do I want more surgery or take a chance with radiation only? At this stage of the game, I don't want to leave anything to chance. More surgery.

Surgery was scheduled for Monday Mar 8 at 3pm.

{UPDATE}

After posting the above, my surgeon called to let me know the lab results. During our conversation, she said as she was taking out the extra tissue on the lower side of the tumor site, she saw another lump, about 5mm in size. She took that out along with margins. The lab results show that the newest lump is also stage 0 cancer. My question, "How many more lumps are there?" My surgeon feels that with radiation and hormone therapy, everything should be fine. BUT if in 5 years or so another lump is found then I would have to have a mastectomy. Reconstruction would be difficult because of the radiation. (Makes the skin less stretchy)

What to do?

I am going to get a second opinion in Seattle.

Another birthday!!

Emily decided she needed to have another birthday. She liked being 10, but wanted really bad to be 11. So, on Mar 3rd she had a birthday. I am not sure how I feel about having an 11 year old in my house. Emily is growing up way too fast! As tradition goes in our family, Emily decided she wanted to go to Moose's Tooth Pizza for dinner. Great Food!!!!! The boys did not go, which made Emily happy! She had her parents all to herself....what better birthday present than that!

Jeff is 14

Feb 14, 1996. George and I got up early, packed a bag, and headed to the hospital. At about 1:10 that afternoon, Jeff arrived! We knew we would not be celebrating Valetines Day in the same way again!

Now, 14 years later, we have a very nice young man! Jeff was so excited to turn 14. That means that he moves up in the Priesthood from the office of Deacon to Teacher. He can now go to Stake dances, he is getting closer to high school......

For his birthday, Jeff got a fly rod, flies, dvd how-to about fly fishing, some "Deadliest Catch" wear, a fishing vest, cash. All good stuff! He wanted to go to Golden Corral for dinner. I asked what kind of cake he wanted, but he said he didn't want one because there is dessert at Golden Corral!

Happy Birthday Jeff!

Cancer

This has been a month.....

About a month ago I found a lump in my right breast. So, naturally I went to the DR to have it checked out. She found the lump also, and sent me in for a mammogram and ultrasound the next day. The day after that, I made an appointment to have an ultrasound-assisted biopsy the following week. Then came the waiting.......almost a week after the biospy the DR's office called and asked me to come in for the results of my biospy. The results must be bad since the DR could not share that with me over the phone. Lucky for me, diving the school bus, I have mornings off, so I hopped in the car. The DR told the lab results came back with 'ductal carcinoma in situ' ( mayoclinic.com/health/dcis/ds00983 ) also known as DCIS. I was in shock. This is not the news I was hoping for. CANCER. I have had a couple of other lumps removed in the last 12 years. Both of those were benign lumps and the DR's were not worried about them. I guess my luck had run out.

So, my DR made an appointment with a surgeon. Another long week of waiting. I did alot of reading and internet searching for info about DCIS. This is a Stage 0 cancer. If you are going to get cancer, this is the one to have. It has not spread, treatment is usually radiation after the lump is removed and sometimes Hormone blocking therapy. NO CHEMO.

The surgeon is great! My appointment was on Thursday Feb 4, she had already reserved a dat surgery time for me before the appointment. Friday Feb 5. WOW!! So I took most of Thursday with the Dr, Radiation Oncologist, pre-op admittance, blood work, x-rays.....etc. It was a long day.

The next morning George took me to the hospital by 730am, surgery was scheduled for 1130am. I had to have a mapping of my 'sentinel' lymph nodes, so that the DR would know where the incision would be and could easily find them. It is an amazing thing to go into the OR move from the gurney to the operating table, and within 30 seconds be asleep and "wake up" 2 hours later in the recovery room. And I'm not sure you can call it waking up! I felt so disoriented and groggy.

I ended up with 2 incisions, 1 near the site of the lump and 1 in my underarm for the lymph nodes. I have a total of about 6-7 inches of incisions and stitches.

The results from the lab about the lump and lymph nodes was very good! The cancer has not spread, the nodes are clear. The DR took out a 2.8 cm size lump.....that seems pretty big to me, but the DR said it was smaller than what it felt like.

In about a month, I will be starting radiation. Next week I have a followup with the surgeon and at that time will probably find out more about when I will start hormone blocking therapy.

My family has been great! George is taking great care of me. The kids are being very helpful and are actually getting along with each other (for the most part!!) Thanks!

Sunshine!

Since we live relatively near the Arctic Circle, (it is only 500 miles or so to the north of us! )we get a big fluctuation in sunlight between summer and winter! During the summer, I normally don't see DARK. We have about 19 1/2 hours of daylight at the summer solstice. When the sun goes down in the north/northwest, it doesn't go very far below the horizon, and comes up in the north/northeast. On the flip side of that, at the winter solstice we have about 5 1/2 hours of daylight. We also have some tall mountains around us. They do a great job of blocking the sun during the winter! Because of this, we don't get sun shinning in the house from the end of Nov until mid-Jan.

This picture is from Jan 20 at about 11am. The sun has finally risen high enough to peek thru the valley!!

This is so very exciting when it happens! I love winter! The snow, the Christmas lights on trees with snow all around, even driving in the snow! The cold, not so much! The bone-chilling cold that is! I love that the sun shines in-doors. So when that happens, it is worthy of photos!

So, when it does shine in the house again, it may only be for about 5 minutes, but it gains a minute or so each day.

Eagle River High School JROTC drill Competition

Yesterday Eagle River High School hosted its 1st drill competition! This is a tremendous undertaking. Lots of behind the scenes work to be done. Mark's job was to help with setup of the different class rooms for each of the participating teams to use thru out the day. Then during the day he was doing lots of other jobs! I caught up with him at about 10:45 doing one of his assignments!!

This is the Eagle River 1st year Color Guard Team. Mark was taping them.

Holidays 2009

This year Jeff, Emily, George and I went to see Santa at his house at the North Pole. It was just a little cold there.......Of course, his sleigh was out front, so we had to try it out!

It is really great that Santa and Mrs Claus open their house to the public during the Christmas season. They have all kinds of great Christmas decorations and tree ornaments, and of course Santa was busy with the kids that came by. He was really great listening to what they wanted under the tree. I even got a glimpse of the Naughty-Nice list!

Jeff was very excited to be at Santa's house!

Emily was too!

We made a side trip to see the pipeline that runs near North Pole. It carries the oil from Prudhoe Bay, AK to Valdez, AK. The pipeline does not run in straight line, but makes bends every few hundred feet. This is to keep the oil from going to fast in the pipe and getting hot. It wouldn't be a good thing to have the pipe thaw out the permafrost!

George flew to Seattle on Christmas Eve to bring David back up of Chirstmas. I did last minute shopping. I plan on never doing that again! The store was crowded!!!

Mark opening a gift on Christmas morning! Everyone got some cool stuff! We must have been on the Nice list!

The next day I flew to Seattle to ride back to Anchorage with Sarah, Courtney, and Alex. Matt couldn't make it this trip , but we are hoping he can come up sometime! While Sarah and the kids were here, George, Mark, Jeff, and Emily took Courtney and Alex sledding at Emily's school. There is an awesome hill to slide down! All of the kids had a great time!

George, Jeff, David, and Alex were doing some boy bonding....George was telling Alex about some stuff his mom did when she was younger. Alex just could not get his mind around the idea of Sarah being little! So George asked Alex where his mom came from.....Alex said, "My dad made her." HHmmmmmm

This is Jeff in front of 'his' plane. Ever since the kids have been little George has had the kids 'adopt' a plane at Lake Hood in Anchorage. So we have photos of them over the years with their plane . This is the most recent!

David is out braving the cold and the snow! You can sure tell who lives in the cold and snow, and who doesn't!!

While the boys were out bonding, they came upon this moose. He was walking from one house to another, and even tried to 'get in a car'. Not really, but some of the pictures look like he is up to something shady!

We took everyone skating.

The ice rink has these awesome skating helpers! Great for the kids and parents!

Courtney and Alex wanted to keep going! I discovered that the faster you go when helping the kids to skate, the less they fall and the more fun they have!

Jeff had a turn around the rink with Alex

Then Emily had her turn!

Some of us needed to rest between circuts!