*Less than two weeks after we drove into California, we headed back to Utah for Miss Millie's funeral. I truly wish each and every person we know could have been there. It was an incredible tribute to that sweet girl's life. Jeff and I both were more than impressed with her mom and dad's strength and courage and the words that were spoken. It was a day that none of us will ever forget. I am so beyond grateful for eternal families. We took Jake with us and I am so glad that we did. Not one day has gone by that he has not talked about her. He prays every night that she is happy with what she is doing. It has been a bit humbling for me to listen to his faith and him talk about "Sweet Millie".
*The timing of driving that weekend to Utah, worked out well, as we hopped in the car on Monday and took off to Lake Powell with my family. Jeff was not able to take the time off of work, but we had fun without him! The pictures tend to speak for themselves, but as always this is one of our favorite vacations every year.
This year, the boys thought they would try out cliff jumping with the big kids. I am sure everyone in the boat with me thought I was insane. I was petrified watching my five year old jump off at least a 25 foot cliff. I was going crazy worrying that Jake and Cole would accidentally push each other and they would fall. I was a little crazy watching them.
*We had our Jamieson family reunion. It was so fun to see family that we have not seen for over three years. So excited they are closer by now and we will hopefully be able to see them more often.
*Cole celebrated his NINTH birthday. Ugh. Every year seems to go by faster and faster. And it makes me so sad. Jeff and I took him to breakfast that morning. That afternoon we went and floated the river. We had a few kids topple overboard, and Jeff had to jump in to save Gigi, but they LOVED it. We had his very specific cake that he wanted, (poppyseed), and opened presents. Spoiled boy got waterski gloves, an art kit, vans shoes, a giants hat, and some legos...he was very particular about what he wanted. It was a good day.
This kid may be a year older, but not much has changed about him. He is still a tease. He still has more energy than his little body knows what to do with. He is a little crazy and will typically try anything anyone dares him to do. (remember the bruised heels incident?) He is incredibly good with little kids. He loves rocks. And loves to collect them. We have a huge pile of rocks out in our backyard that I am not quite sure what he plans on doing with. He is a good little athlete and picks up on things very quickly. He is a smart little stink. He hates to read, and it is a fight to get him to sit still long enough to even read a chapter. (Ironically, my aunt tested the second graders in reading last year. She told me he scored the highest in the whole second grade, but he still despises it. I am not sure why. Most likely because you have to sit still for more than two minutes.) He is my one child that has to have sleep or becomes overly emotional. He hates cereal and loves steak. He has quite the imagination and he and Crew will play together for hours doing who knows what. If he gets bored, beware. That is when the teasing typically begins. Love this child. Love his quirkiness. He makes our life so interesting and fun. Because to him, life is a party.
*My mom and Rand and Bigul came down to visit for the week. My niece, Avery, was getting baptized in San Jose. We drove to San Francisco on friday for the day and after the baptism, spent Saturday at the beach. It was freezing. I am not sure how these boys manage to enjoy 60 degree air temps and even colder water, but all four of them were soaked through by the end of the day. They loved every minute of it. Between the sand and the bonfire and smores and water, there was not much more you could ask for.
And probably the best photo bomb picture ever...
While my mom and Rand stayed in San Jose, Alex came home with us and we played like crazy. We went to the lake almost every day. We played at the pool. We went to a Giants game, which we loved and will try to make this a tradition every year. We went to the California State Fair. And played and played some more. We were exhausted by the end of the week but had so much fun with family in town.
*We met with Jake's new oncologist. We have only met him once, but I really really liked him. It was interesting to see the differences in how hospitals do things. Jake is doing really well. His blood work came back normal. Our only concern right now are some swollen lymph nodes he has on his neck. He has had them since January and they are not seeming to go away. PCMC did a CT scan of them in April and everything looks normal. They are not abnormally sized, but he found a couple more in his neck this week. It is so hard because something that would be normal on one of our other kids, makes us kind of panic a little when it comes to Jake. We are trying not worrying about them right now and will just continue to watch them. As long as they don't start to get any bigger, we should be okay. His new doctor also wants him to see an endocrinologist. I was a bit surprised at this as PCMC said they would watch and wait to see if he was having a problem growing and to see if levels ended up dropping in the future. I have to admit, I am grateful they are being proactive about this. I despise the waiting game. I hate wondering what the future will bring with him and, honestly, I try not to think about it too much. The chances of him having some kind of chronic health problems in the long run, are more likely than not. And it is terrifying.
And now I am ready for school to start! It is time. I have loved sleeping in until 10:30 every day, but I like schedules and am ready for these boys to make some friends and have California start feeling like home. It feels like we are on vacation all the time!
