The last couple of weeks

Monday marks 2 weeks since Arianna's Tonsellectomy. She was very uncomfortable for the first week. She needed her pain medication every 4 hours during the day and woke up once every night for medicine and ice cream. She wasn't doing much of anything at all other than sleep and watch movies and be read to. During the second week she felt a little better everyday. And was even playing a little by last Tuesday. A few nights ago she slept through the night for the first time since the surgery! I was overjoyed! Grandma was such a good snuggler for Arianna during recovery: Arianna loved to snuggle Grandma, but she would only let me give her her medicine. So, the days I was gone during the day, she would wait out the pain until I got home, much to Grandma's worry. Arianna took a nap everyday after the surgery up until a couple of days ago. Apparently, she still needed one even though she thought she didn't! This is Arianna last Thursday at lunch time. She moved her sandwich right off her plate and used it as a pillow! It was so nice to have Grandma and Grandpa here for a week and a half. One of the things Grandma did with us was help to plant the garden. She brought us lots of good seeds from Logan, UT, where they were visiting Kenneth's sister before they came to see us. (Much cheaper than getting them here!) Unfortunately, the only day it stopped raining enough to plant was the day of Chemo. So, Kenneth went out there planting, digging in the evening after we got home. He was feeling it the next day! He said he had done too much and didn't feel so hot. Grandpa spent most of his time reading. This is where you could find him, happy as a clam, most of the time: If he wasn't there, the kids had roped him into reading another genre: There was other 'reading' going on as well. With all the rain we had, we were mostly stuck in the house! Of course, we didn't let it hold us back too much as you will soon see! Emma reciting Go, Dog, Go to Grant, the captive listener. Aren't they precious! The last Saturday in March, Kenneth's work had their annual Employee Appreciation Day at Great America Theme Park. Kenneth and I decided to take Emma and go since we had Mom and Dad here to stay home with the little ones. (Especially with Arianna still recovering.) We had a ball of a time, even if it was drizzling much of the day. Here are some pictures of the day: Emma and Mom in front of the sign. You can see the double-decker carousel in the background. Here is Emma and Dad. She really was happy, I just caught a funny face. She loved this one!!! This was a funny picture. I got right in to ride with Emma and the ride operator came around to make sure the children were all strapped in and told me the ride was only for kids. It was only then that I looked around and noticed I was the only adult in the cars with the kids! Talk about feeling a little sheepish! I thought it was a little cramped in there! Don't worry, I was allowed to ride with Emma on this one! Emma and I are in the last blue car. I think my hair looks cool flying out behind me! Emma's favorite ride of the day. It wasn't even a kiddie one! It was one of those that spins you silly. We weren't sure how she would do with it; we thought she might get scared, but she loved it! Here they are in action! Daddy and Emma waiting in a line. She was eating up all the attention she got from us. It makes me realize how important it is to have one-on-one time with each child every now and then. Another thing we did while Mom and Dad Larchar were visiting was go house hunting. We are seriously considering buying a house instead of continuing to pour money down the drain into renting. While we had a built in babysitter, we decided to take advantage and go out with a realtor. Dad actually came along to get an idea of what the real estate was like around here. He was quite shocked that you can spend $450,000 for a house in disrepair, foundation cracking, worn hardwoods, nasty kitchen, weeds riddling the yard. It is amazing how expensive it is to purchase a home here! And the prices we are looking at are much, much lower than they were 5 years ago at the peak! The only house I was even remotely interested in had been on the market for 5 days. The realtor tried all day to contact the listing agent to no avail. Finally that evening she emailed us that the home already had 10 offers on it!!! Wow. Oh well. Another day, Kenneth took his parents on a drive to see the Central Valley. Dad was interested in seeing the growing region of California. They appreciated seeing the wide open spaces after having been with us in our cramped urban area. Here are a few more pictures from the last couple of weeks: Lots of kisses for Daddy! Here we are the night before Grandma and Grandpa left. We decided we should take some family pictures. Too bad we decided to do it at (or a little after) bedtime. Notice Grant is a little sad, but okay being on my lap. Arianna was probably tugging on her ears because it was time for more pain medication (the pain from the area of the surgery radiates out to her ears and that is where she mostly felt it) Notice Grant, NOT happy at all being with Dad. Grant wanted NOTHING to do with Grandma at this moment in time. And here he is back with mom and handling life okay. Makes me kind of feel loved. . . In other news:

• Kenneth is losing eyebrows and eyelashes now. He held onto them for quite a while!


• Kenneth finally got the cold that had gone through the kids. Luckily, it never really caught hold. He just felt some congestion in his chest. He is feeling fine now.


• The van is back in the garage!!! I finally washed enough of the clothes from our moldy closet that had been taking over the garage. Now I have to get the dry cleaning done and that's it!


• For those of you who might be interested, Arianna is MUCH quieter when she sleeps now. It is amazing!! What a difference in before and after the surgery. One problem, however. . .she has a really annoying nasally voice now. We are really hoping that it is because she still doesn't feel 100%, so is just whiny. We really hope. . .


• We visited the farm park again this past Friday. When we told the kids we were going to the Farm Park that morning Grant was so excited and walked around the house saying, "Aminals, Aminals!!!". We sat down for our picnic when we first got to the park and Grant yanked on my arm trying to pull me in the direction of the animals. All the while shouting, "Aminals!! Aminals!!" He learned to say goat and peacock while there.


• We also flew a kite that day at the park!! The kids loved it!! Kenneth also told me it was his first time flying a kite. We'll have to go back and do it again another day when there is more wind. We had to do an awful lot of running to keep it up in the air!


• Kenneth's Degree from Cornell came in the mail this week. It's official! Yahooooo!!!!


• Yesterday and today we enjoyed (as much as is possible with 3 sometimes loud, sometimes difficult children) watching General Conference here in our home on the internet. How grateful I am to be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints! I felt humbled and grateful during the conference. I was reminded that I MUST do better and be better. I was also reminded of how thankful I am for the Lord's guidance in my life. He has guided us to so many incredible places and through many different experiences. I look forward to studying the words of the conference more in the coming months.

Well, that's it for now, I suppose. Hope you all are doing well. Nine more days til the last Chemo treatment!

Grandma and Grandpa, Tonsellectomy and Chemo!

Wow! We have a lot going on this week! As I write this we are once again at Chemotherapy. Diane did the sticking today and first time was the charm, so things have gone pretty smoothly. Chemo day also means I get a little time to update on what is going on with us. Well. . . .

Friday afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa Larchar arrived from Upstate New York. We had been hoping to share some of our beautiful, sunny weather with them, but it has been raining almost nonstop since they arrived. Today is the first day of nice weather and Kenneth and I are stuck inside at Chemo, Arianna is recovering from a Tonsillectomy/ Adenoidecotmy/ SNR of the Turbinates yesterday, and Grant and Emma are sick with a cold/ cough. And the rest of the week rain is in the forecast. Such is life. At least we have green beautiful mountains to look at!!! When I talked to Grandpa a little while ago, he said Emma and Grant were outside playing- so I guess they aren't sick enough to miss out on the opportunity!

The children LOVE having Grandma and Grandpa here. They are eating up the attention, the story reading and the snuggling! It has been about 10 months since we've seen them, so it is good to get to spend some time with them.

Last week I took Arianna to see the ENT (Ear Nose Throat Doctor). He took one look/listen and knew surgery would be beneficial. We have known her entire life that something is up. She has always been a mouth breather, was very often congested the first 2 years of her life, and has an abnormal breathing pattern at night. Lately, she will complain that she is tired in the morning after 12 hours of sleep at night! So, upon the doctors recommendation, I scheduled the surgery. Since I knew I would have extra help this week, I figured it was the best time as any to go ahead and get it done. She was a champ! She was adored by all the nurses in pre-op; they called her Princess Arianna. I wasn't sure how she was going to do getting ready for the surgery. Last time we went to the doctor for her 3 year check-up she gave me a really hard time. She absolutely would not allow herself to be measured for height or weight, screamed when the nurse tried to check her ears and throat. It was not fun. So, I was pleasantly surprised when she was very cooperative yesterday morning. She put on the cute tiger hospital gown, fuzzy socks and hat no problems and even asked if she got to take her 'surgery clothes' home with her. Of course, at the end of it all, she wanted absolutely nothing to do with them!!
She did very well in surgery and the doctor said her adenoids were huge! It took her a while to get back to herself after the Anesthesia (which is normal) and she definitely needed a lot of love yesterday. One thing is for sure, she is a smart little girl (she takes after her mother, you know) and she is taking advantage of the ice cream and popsicle diet. She even woke up twice in the night and had some- that's not including the 4 or 5 bowls of ice cream she had during the day and the 8 or 9 popsicles! She is loving it! I am thankful that she is keeping hydrated and has something in her belly. Emma is being very understanding that she can't also have that many treats! So, we are hoping that this procedure will help her breathe/ sleep better.

Kenneth is doing great! Gained 2 more pounds since the last treatment. He generally feels pretty good. The Oncologist said today that after the 4th treatment, they usually expect all the cancer to be eradicated. The fifth and sixth treatments are for good measure; to make sure it's gone and stays that way. Here we are at the fifth treatment!! It is really going by so fast!
On the way to the doctor's office this morning I looked over at the traffic backed up on his normal route to work and jokingly asked if he missed it. He reminded me that he will be returning to work in just 7 weeks! It will be a big adjustment for all of us when that day comes. We are so used to having him around!

We purchased our plane tickets and will be in New York state the last 2 weeks of May. We are very excited to go to graduation and visit family and friends. When we return home, Kenneth will have the PET scan which will reveal whether or not the Chemo has done what we hope. We are so thankful for all the prayers, fasting, sacrifices and kindnesses of all who have made this experience as pleasant as possible.

I had an insight the other night while preparing dinner. Grant was crying and whining at my feet, as usual. I tried to give him a piece of cheese to hold him off and let him know dinner was coming soon, but he refused it and continued to wail and tug on my pants. I wonder how often our Heavenly Father is trying to offer us a 'piece of what is to come' and encourage us to be patient. Just like Grant, we can't see the whole picture. We don't understand what is happening in our lives and what do we do? Like Grant we wail and moan and in essence have a tantrum. How thankful I am for a patient Father in Heaven, who continues to love me and hold me, even with all my tantrums and impatience at not being able to see the future.

Redwoods and Natural Bridges

The second adventurous day we had during Diane and Joseph's visit was to the Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park and then to Natural Bridges State Beach. It was a lovely day, albeit slightly chilly. Both of these places are also within an hour drive of us. It really is amazing to me how diverse and beautiful this whole area is!

Arianna climbing around and having fun before our walk in the woods.

Gorgeous trail and very good for bringing strollers, for which we were grateful!! The walk would have taken all day if we didn't keep them all strapped in! (4 children 4 and under!)

The gang minus me (the photographer) in the Redwood forest. We even saw a number of banana slugs on our walk. They are pretty cool.

After the walk in the woods we drove just 10 miles to get to this beautiful place. I had never been here before and loved it!!! This is Natural Bridges State Beach. It is just up the coast a couple of miles from the Santa Cruz Beach that has the huge boardwalk/ carnival area. I had been to that portion of the beach when we first moved here and it was nice to be on the beach, but the loud, brash boardwalk kind of turned me off to Santa Cruz. I don't enjoy the noises of carnival games and arcades. So, when we discovered this portion of the beach that is so natural, calm and beautiful I was delighted!!

The girls had a blast in the sand!

Arianna having the time of her life. I hadn't seen her this happy in a long time!!

Daddy and his girls

Our family. Poor little Grant was miserable at this point- coming down with a pretty bad cold at this point, so he never got to get down and play in the sand.

Diane, Joseph and Benjamin

Kenneth and Heidi

The children running free!

Sandy girls.

Emma, Benjamin and Joseph exploring among the rocks

They were all sopping wet, sandy as can be and happy as clams!

We had so much fun with Diane, Joseph and Benjamin!! Here are a couple more pictures of their visit:

The kids playing at our neighborhood park.


Uncle Joseph reading all the kids a story. You do that and you are their new best friend.

San Francisco

I have been meaning to post about this fun adventure for a while and figure I really should before our next set of visitors are in town in just 2 days!
We've been here for over 7 months now and finally made it to the big city!!! We live just 1 hour from San Francisco where we currently live. Diane, Joseph and Benjamin were our big motivation to get us over there. They came to visit from New York for a week to be here for the fourth Chemo treatment. Because Kenneth was feeling so well, we decided to take a couple of day trips and enjoy this beautiful area with them. Kenneth and I had been to San Francisco together once before way back when we were just dating. We came out to California for my sister's first baby's blessing and for Kenneth to meet my parents. At the time, my parents lived up in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas- just 2 1/2 hours from San Francisco. I also have an Aunt and Uncle who have lived in Berkeley (just East of San Francisco) my entire life. So, I have been to this city a number of times. I love San Francisco! However, this trip confirmed to me once again that I would never want to LIVE there. Too crazy, too cramped and too many interesting characters! It does have it's own kind of beauty that is certainly fun to visit.
It was an interesting day in the city- much different than planned or that I had ever experienced. Benjamin, Diane and Joseph's 3 year old son, had a mild cough when they arrived here in California for their visit, but the morning we got in the car to go to San Francisco, they decided that a trip to urgent care for an antibiotic might be necessary. So, our first stop in the city. . . A doctor's office!!! They had to wait for about an hour and then have the appointment, so Kenneth, the kids and I had a little bit of time to kill in a random neighborhood in the city. We took a walk and explored the area. It was interesting to see the mailmen. They walk to deliver the mail, but instead of carrying the mail in a pouch like our mailman does where we live, they have a pouch on a cart of sorts that has one handle bar to make it easier to push it up and down all those hills. We also found a Studio apartment for rent for $1,500 a month!! (An extra $250/ month if you want covered parking!) (Wanna move?) The kids favorite 'treasure' we found was an area of sidewalk where marbles had been pressed in the cement when it was still wet. They plopped right down on the sidewalk and were happily playing for a good 10 minutes. (Wish I had brought my camera on the walk!) Also during our walk we passed by a fenced yard where a big dog lived. Immediately when the dog saw us he barked very loudly and ran toward the gate. Emma was so startled she jumped and clung to my leg. Grant, however, hunched right down in a funny little stance and barked right back at him. It was hilarious. He wasn't scared one bit, just wanted to communicate with that dog!!
So, after the Doctor's office we went straight to the Pharmacy to get the antibiotic and ate a late lunch in the car. Then we were off to see these cool things:

Here is the cable car we rode.

Here we are waiting for the Cable Car. Benjamin was asleep in the car, so Kenneth stayed with him and met us at the other end of the line. Diane is taking the picture.

Me with Grant. He wasn't so thrilled with the Cable Car ride. He kept whimpering and saying, "All done." He got a little more used to it as the ride progressed, but still didn't really like it a whole lot.
Downtown shot. I liked the domed building against the skyscraper.

Shot taken from the Cable Car at the top of Lombard Street. You can see Coit Tower in the distance.

Kenneth and Me at Fisherman's Wharf

View of the Golden Gate Bridge

No visit to San Francisco is complete without seeing the 'Silver Guy'. This isn't the best shot of him, but off to the left you can see that guy in the jump suit standing on the crate. His skin is painted silver and he will dance and do cool things if you pay him. Notice Arianna zonked out in the foreground.
In addition, no visit to San Francisco is complete without paying a visit to the Sea Lions at Pier 39. This was the highlight of the kids' day!

Another shot of the Pier and Sea Lions with the city in the background (from Joseph's camera)

My little jumper in action. She jumps off of everything nowadays.

Nice landing!

Alcatraz
I liked this ship out in the bay. I don't know what it is, just liked it!

Here are Benjamin and Grant in the stroller. Doesn't Benjamin look miserable!! Grant kept touching his arm and Ben kept saying, "He's bothering me!"

Here I am by the blooming tulips. Diane and Joseph were so thankful to have a break from the record snows in New York. They were amazed by the flowers and trees in bloom in late February!!
Some cool Sourdough Bread shapes we saw in a window.

The whole bunch of us. What a fun day we had despite the detour in the beginning.

On the way back to the car, we got some fish to eat and completed our day in the City by the Bay. If you have never visited, I highly recommend it!