Spa Weekend

This last weekend, I had the most amazing, relaxing time. On Friday night I left the kids with Jared and went up to my parent's house in San Clemente. My parents were out of town, and my sister Jenny and I had the whole house to ourselves, to lounge, and relax. It was so nice to go to bed when I wanted, and to sleep in as late as I wanted. (Too bad I could only sleep in until 8:30am.) Then, my sister and I did a run along the beach trail in San Clemente, and went straight from there to Burke Williams Day Spa in Mission Viejo. OMG! Words cannot describe how nice this place was. From the moment you stepped in, it was like you were in a dream world. We got there at 11am, and our actual spa treatments were not till 1pm, so we were in the steam room, sauna, jacuzzi, mist room, relaxation room (reading US weekly :)), etc. This spa had EVERYTHING! Vegetables, fruit, flavored water, aroma therapy face towels, iced towels, facial cleansers, masks, brushes, razors, deodorant, plush robes, slippers, candles, music, waterfalls, and constant assistance from their staff. When I was in there I thought to myself, "so, this is how it feels to be rich!" It was truly awesome. My sister Jenny gave me the spa day for my Christmas present and Birthday present from last year, and I was finally able to use it. We had a great time together. She kept on telling me, "it's not just about how you are feeling on the outside, but the spa experience also works on the inside". At first I didn't believe her, but as we were there, I completely forgot about everything, except for relaxing and enjoying myself. My massage was awesome and it was nice to have a full day without kids, and without a worry. What a blast! I will remember it forever! Time to save up for next year!

My little man

2 Days ago, Brent, Cameron and I went to Quail Botanical Gardens in Encinitas, because it was a free day. They have a really cool tree house play thing, and rocks, logs, instruments, and all this hands-on stuff. We were there for 45 minutes, and Brent slips off a log, falls head first onto a rock, and bonks the back of his head REALLY hard. He was bleeding a little, but not enough to where he need stitches. The bump seriously looked like a golf ball on the back of his head. I was thinking to myself, how do I know if he's OK? He was worn out from a long day of playing, so being sluggish was normal. Jared and I put him to bed early that night, and he woke up a couple of times, because his head would hurt when sleeping on it. That night both Jared and I were stressing that we would wake up and find him brain dead or something in his bed. These things are so scary. I realized that night how incredibly hard it is to be a mother. I usually don't worry so much, but when something happens, like sickness or injury, it really takes me back. I told Jared that I know I could handle things if something were to happen to him (as I did, while he had cancer), but when your child is hurt, it is the most stressful thing EVER! I'm sure all of you moms would agree with me! :)
The next morning Brent woke up, and he was fine. The lump had gone down, and he was ready to continue his normal routine. Smart, energetic, and sweet...my sweet little Brenty. I love him and who he is becoming each day. He is going to be one incredible man someday.

The End of Summer

It has been awhile. We have had a very busy summer. As it is coming to an end, I need to remember all that we have been up to. In the beginning of August we moved out of our smaller home into a bigger home just a mile and a half away. We are loving it! Way more space, and a cute neighborhood. I'm very happy that I pushed and pushed to get Jared to agree to let me move.







At about the first part of August the water at the beach became very warm. We had many family late afternoon dinners and dips in the ocean. It was alot of fun, and good to be enjoying our summer as a family, without any illness. We then packed our bags and headed to Utah to visit Jared's family over Labor day weekend. We stayed in Utah for a week, hung out with family, ate lots of food, saw old friends, and relaxed together as a family. We had a great time visiting the land of our college years, but we were glad to get back to our new house, and beachy climate. When we got back from Utah, Brent started Joyschool Preschool. Brent really enjoys having friends over for preschool, and learning, dancing and making crafty things.

The other day he said something really funny. He was snacking on some fruit snacks and I asked him if i could have one. He looked around and saw a glass of water and said, "Mama, I think your thirsty, have a drink." I said again, "could I have one Brenty?" He said, "Ummm, I think there are alot more over there, you can get your own." I just thought it was funny how he was giving me other suggestions to have, he eventually shared and gave me one.
Cameron is started to crawl, but mostly crawls backwards. He doesn't get the forward motion yet.
He is such a calm, happy baby. He loves to be around people, and is crushed if you leave him alone to play by himself. He has a sensitive side, and I can't stop kissing his sweet cheeks!
As the beach weather kind of diminishes, we are getting back to our routine of going on walks to the park. Brent loves to walk and it almost over riding in a stroller. He hates it when Cameron touches him as they are riding in the stroller, but how do you explain to a 3 year old that he really isn't touching him to bug him. Oh well!

"The Future is as bright as your faith"

Last week Jared had his after chemotherapy appointment. The doctor wouldn't say that he was cancer free, but that the treatment had worked, and they are going to strictly monitor him for the first year, and then I guess after 5 years of monitoring, they will give us the clear, if everything is normal. So, it was kind of anti-climactic, and a little disappointing, but Jared and I are moving on, and according to us he doesn't have cancer anymore.

Since we didn't end up buying a house due to all the crazy unknowns in our family, we are moving August 15th out of our 2 bedroom/loft house, and into something bigger, with 4 bedrooms and a loft. It was like pulling teeth to get Jared to allow our family do this. But, he realizes it will make me happier to have more space, and we will actually be paying 100$ less each month, and getting way more for our money. So we are busy getting boxes together, and I'm VERY excited to have SPACE!
We also have planned a few trips. We are going to Utah the first week of September. We are also going to Jamaica for a week, the day after Thanksgiving. Hallelujah! It is going to be awesome...no kids...no stress...no responsibilities...just Jared and I having a blast! I really love taking trips with just Jared, it reminds me why I married him, we always have so much fun together.
I'm totally excited for the future...

Getting our life back

So it has been a few weeks since Jared finished his last treatment, and we find out for sure if the cancer is gone next week. We are very excited to get the clear from the oncologist. Jared is still having some side affects, but his energy levels are getting WAY better. In fact, we are almost back to be a normal active family. The last couple of weeks, we have gone to the beach, and Jared has gone surfing a handful of times, and I have been able to start going to the gym, leaving the kids home with Jared. Brent and Cameron love going to the beach, especially Brent. We go about 3 or 4 times a week, he runs around, and plays so much at the beach that he gets chaffed between his legs. Well, we bought him a speedo, the kind that look like biker shorts, and they solved the problem. (We put the swim trunks over the speedo). It is so funny, Brent knows the definition of chaffed, and he says, "now I won't get chaffed anymore" in his little 3 year old voice.
We are looking forward to taking a vacation soon. Jared has saved his paternity leave from when Cameron was born, so we are going to take 6 weeks off over the months of December and January. During that time Jared and I are getting away for a nice break, no kids, just enjoyment. Jared deserves it, and so do I, we can't wait. We were thinking Jamaica, south east Asia, Australia, Dominican Republic, or Hawaii. I wish I could go to all of those places!!! Soon enough. When Jared and I first got married we vowed that were were going to take a big trip every 3 years, and we are coming up on the 2 year mark since our last trip, but since cancer happened we are doing a trip early!
I will keep you all posted on the news next week! Miss all my friends!

I can feel that light shining on me, @ the end of the tunnel!

Last week Jared finished the last round of his chemotherapy. It has been definitely rough! I never want to see anyone ever go through this again. He has one more shot that he has to get on Tuesday, and then he is done with IV's. Even though Jared can only live one day at a time, I'm thinking about the road ahead, and how great it is going to be when cancer is just a memory in our minds. I have to say one thing, I'm so glad that our children will not remember this time. It would have been so much harder to see them suffer emotionally from this. Brent just thinks that daddy likes to take naps all the time, and gets "owies" at the doctor constantly. Cameron likes his daddy even more with a bald head, because they match together. We are definitely looking forward to a future filled with lots of FUN memories. Jared's attitude on life is to live it like there is no tomorrow. We may be going on some crazy trips soon....screw buying a house, let's go to Australia! Ha ha! We will see...
This past month my sister Lana was able to come down for a visit. Brent LOVES playing w/ his cousins. We went on the train, down to downtown San Diego. The kids didn't care much about S.D., it was the train ride that was fun. The coastal view on the way down was awesome. My sister and I also took the kids and picked strawberries in the fields here in Carlsbad. You pay like 4 bucks, and fill your baskets with strawberries, they are TDF. We spent a couple days at the beach, and also enjoyed watching the Bachelorette together. It was awesome, because all the things I say about the show to myself while I watch it, I had someone to say them to.
Back to the future...Jared goes in for his last body scan and blood work on July 19th, and then we meet with the oncologist for our hopefully final visit on the 24th, where she will say, "You are cancer free, Jared". And that day will be a PARTY day!!! July 24th is also the day that Jared and I kissed for the first time. Sappy, I know, but it could become an even more memorable day to us. Oh ya, and it's pioneer day...don't forget them!

Getting through it!

A week and a half ago, Jared finished his second round of chemo, and it was a rough one. He was pretty sick during that week and about 4 days after. His toughest side affect has been the nausea. All the foods he has eaten in the last month sound gross to him, so the difficult part is thinking of new things for him to eat. Jared is a bald man now, but he still is as hot as ever to me :) . Next week will be his last round of chemo, and we are very excited to be done with all of this craziness. It will be nice to see Jared getting better constantly, instead of getting better and then getting poisoned again, like he gets as he is going through this treatment. When I think about what we have been through for the last 2 1/2 months...I'm seriously amazed. I just can't believe we are making it through this. Before all this happened, I used to think in the my head, "wouldn't it be the worst thing if Jared ever got really sick?" HA! Funny how sometimes the brain foreshadows what is going to happen. However, we are almost through, and I never thought we would be able to handle something like this. It just goes to show, that you can handle just about anything that life throws at you. It may suck, and you may not want to be going through it, but you can make it through anything, especially when you rely on Heavenly Father to help you through it.
The kids are doing great! Cameron is a giant. He is wearing 12 month clothes now, and he is only 4 months old! He is not very chubby, it's his body length...it's insane. I feel like he has grown up so much. Brent is a social butterfly, and loves playing with friends, going to the beach, and watching his "shows" in the morning on TV.