All in a day's work...

We spent the day at Lowes and at the house. D obliged us and helped to clean up the yard. I got all of the wallpaper down in the bathroom--we lucked out, the previous owners used the kind that's easier to remove. I'm hoping the kitchen is the same!

As seen in music city...

I was in Nashville the last 7 or 8 days. Stayed at the beautiful Hutton Hotel, it was exquisite in all regards. This is in their lobby, thought you might enjoy. I love the blue glass 'water' he's drinking from... more pics of Nashville to come, once I get home I'll upload them all.

Another northwestern PA winter...

Here are some highlights from the last few months.

Chris's friend, Daryl, was over one night while it snowed and blowed. When he went to leave, we discovered the snowfall had drifted right in front of our door! We had to dig out piles and piles while you can see the cars next to us were fine!


D has been taking drum lessons at a local music store. Each study room has a fun door on it, and his teacher has some great art on his wall. I snapped a pic while he was in class.


Bowling is one of my favorite pasttimes! I dusted off my bowling ball and shoes and we headed out into the cold.

Hospital gowns and Valentine's Day...

Well, thanks goodness it came and went without any major procedures, but Chris's second hospital stay was another long week. On Valentine's Day I brought him chocolate-covered strawberries and slept in the room. I documented, as usual.

I snapped this while we waited in the ER hallway. It took them a few hours to get him to a room upstairs.


Chris definitely had a better view this time! We could see ice fisherman out on the bay, and it snowed quite a bit.


This is officially my new favorite photo of Chris and Daulton. They were playing the game Battleship on Daulton's game player, and they both laughed at the same time. I always catch them giggling about one thing or another, in their own little world.

We did it!

Well, we bought a house! It's such a strange feeling. Now instead of being full of potential, it looks like a lot of work! ha ha. But that's okay, it will be SO great when we're done. This is our front porch!

a big change

I always sit across from the guys at restaurants. So this is a typical image I see pretty regularly. This is also what Daulton's hair has been looking like for a few years...



Lately the view has changed a little...Daulton decided to alter his appearance—it's a dramatic difference! (And now they look alike more than ever!)

power positive

Chris has been a good sport about me trying to document his medical experiences. Here is a quick view at what we've been through the last couple months.


Finally feeling better from the arm thrombolysis, the multiple procedures that fixed the blood clots in his arm and that led to the eventual discovery of his tumor.


A visit from Daryl, who has been a great shoulder to lean on for both of us.


A get well card from adorable Ally, the daughter of Chris's coworker, Joe. Joe was bummed that he couldn't visit (he always had to be at the store in Chris's absence) but his wife brought their two children by to see us. I think Ally made a second card just recently.


A visit to the lab for a blood test. Chris goes regularly so they can manage his blood thinners properly. He's no longer afraid of needles!


I can't remember if this was before or after his bone biopsy. I can only imagine it was before, because he probably wouldn't have let me snap a photo after. Definitely the worst (most painful) procedure so far, we're hoping he won't have to do it again. Luckily it didn't take long. If it's going to be painful, it should be short.


Chemo Number 1! I tried to be discreet so I didn't offend others there, I think there was only one guy left when I took this. The room has a central large desk for all of the nurses and then chairs all around all four sides (and some rooms behind that). The nurses and staff have been wonderful so far, and we're so lucky to have wonderful doctors as well.

fall 09 wrap-up

A few pictures from our fall...


My new favorite photo of Chris.


Chris with my brother, Peter. Peter's girlfriend, Missy, had a 70's-themed party for her 30th birthday. Peter went all out!


Trick-or-treating another year!


The three of us on Thanksgiving.


Our trip to the Cleveland Browns game (go Vikings!).

the holidays 2009

Here is a link to our holiday photos!

Christmas 2009

school days

So the school year started and D seems to be pretty comfortable at the high school. His bus comes an hour earlier than it did last year, so we all get up early now. Tonight was the school open house, and Michelle, Chris and I had to walk Daulton's schedule. We went from homeroom and continued on to each of his classrooms—I forget what it's like to switch classes like that! (Okay, I forget most everything from high school, it was WAY too long ago.)

I found an old photo of D on his first day, I think it's from second grade? Both it and this year's photo are here:

goofballs II

we hung out at the beach the other night, we played catch football and watched the sun set. when I tried to get a nice photo of the boys on the beach, this is what ensued...I figured it was better to have the video.

click on the thumbnail below to play. (I'm not sure about the quality, I'm trying to figure out the best settings.)

From Presque Isle

happy birthday, d! (oh yeah, and america)

D's 14th birthday started with presents in the morning, of course. Always a favorite part of the day.

We headed over to my parents around 10:30 and had a wonderful lunch/dinner, followed by birthday cake and ice cream. D, of course, had to wear the birthday hat—it's tradition! My sister, Nicole, was in town for the week, so we got some more time with her, too!

Around 3 we headed to Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center. They have a 4th of July celebration every year that includes a great view of Pittsburgh's fireworks on the river. We saw an IMAX movie, checked out their robotics exhibit, saw a great presentation about electricity ("High Voltage!"), and got in a laser light show after the fireworks.

I have to say the fireworks were incredible (complete with free popcorn and soda) and by far the best show I've ever seen in person. Chris asked at one point if it was over, because they were stopping at certain intervals. I told him, "If there's one thing I know about fireworks, it's that you always know when they're over!" The finale did not disappoint.

The long car ride home was rough, but I think completely worth it!

Link to photos here:

D's Birthday 2009

goofballs

I caught both of these goofy photos in the last couple weeks. The one of Chris alone is from a comedy show we went to. The show hadn't started yet, but we were being silly.















On a different night, Chris and Daulton accidentally wore the same T-shirt. We went out to dinner, and luckily I often have my camera with me. They reluctantly granted me a couple photos to capture the moment.

relay on!

I volunteered as an entertainment coordinator for the Relay for Life again this year. It starts around Noon on a Friday and goes for 24 hours.

The weather report was calling for really bad storms, but somehow we lucked out and had the most beautiful weather ever all day Friday! Around 2 a.m. it started storming, so everyone was asked to clear out of their tents and take shelter.

We returned around 6 a.m., but the storms continued without break. Chris, Daulton, my dad and Char all showed up to help me pack up the car! By 9 a.m. Chris, Daulton and I were having breakfast at a local restaurant!

It was disappointing we had to call off Saturday morning, but Friday went so well I think we'd all call it a success! My team this year raised over $1,000, I'm so proud of everyone.

Here's a link to photos:

Relay for Life 2009

he's outta there

Had to get a smile from Daulton on his last day of 8th grade!

the beginning of summer

Last Friday we had a family picnic at Allegheny. Chris and Daulton drove down at 5 p.m. and we all ate and hung out. On the way home they called me and told me to stop at Family First, a sports park, so we could ride the go-karts. Perfect idea!

too funny

I came home to find this on the counter the other day. That kid cracks me up...

fun for the whole family

This is Daulton singing some karaoke with our American Idol video game. Always a good time.

happy birthday, char

For the last few years, Char and my dad have been in Mexico for her birthday. But this year they came back a little early, so I insisted we celebrate! We also insisted she wear the birthday hat and suffer like the rest of us do.

(Also, I can pretty much say that it was Chris who switched her age around!)

bird exploration

Rocket & Rudy love to play in our cupboard. They climb over and into the top shelf, where the bowls are. They often disappear into the metal bowl.

happy anniversary to us

Chris and I had the most amazing dinner at Peppino's Italian Restaurant for our anniversary. Wine, mozzarella, steaks, and some crazy limon chocolate something... it was a great night!

ah, lazy days...

so Daulton is on Spring Break this week. Chris had at least three days off work to spend with him, and he actually accompanied Chris to work the other day as well.

I am yo-yoing between irritation and amusement each time I encourage Daulton to GO OUTSIDE AND GET FRESH AIR and he responds, "Penny, I'm on break...I need to relax..."

So today I'm just sitting at work wishing I was home bumming with them (though Chris would probably tell you he usually has a lot to do on his days off). I don't have a picture to share because they're having all the fun without me... *sniffle* *sniffle*

:-)

Rocket vs. the Duck

This is an older video we have of Rocket "talking" with a rubber duck we got from a March of Dimes event. It's just something cute he's done before. Poor little guy is always on edge...

a project revisited

Well I came home today to find Daulton on the couch, surrounded by legos. He and Chris had started this big project back during the holidays. I think it must have been a Christmas present? So today Daulton felt like getting back to it...he actually made quite a bit of progress. We left for a short time to get some ice cream, and when we got back he went right back at it again. It sounds like it's going to live on the living room floor until tomorrow morning when he plans to resume building...

luck, finally

Daulton and I had a little adventure on Saturday. We drove 45 minutes to Meadville only to find we had missed the St. Patrick's Day parade! To be sure we hadn't wasted the trip, we bought some goodies and something called a mashmallow gun at a local shop, got footlong hot dogs for lunch, and then finally headed back to Erie.

I realized we were getting back to Erie just as it was time for that parade to start. So we found a great parking spot and enjoyed the 35-minute parade, complete with llamas, clowns, floats, and plenty of candy. The sun stayed out long enough to keep us warm in the chilly weather, and there were a lot of people out. Daulton was nice enough to agree I had redeemed myself!