LOOKING FORWARD TO FAMILY FUN TODAY!!!

Hi Friends!

Today seemed to fly by. I woke up this morning to lots of kids -- Brandon, Will, and Heather were all over most of the day in addition to my own kids. They're all good kids, though, and after Bill left for work (about 8 a.m.) -- they left me to sleep in until about 11 a.m. At that point I decided to get up, because I really wanted to do some laundry. The cleaners were coming today, and I really wanted to wash up all the bathroom rugs, towels, etc. Don't ask me why (Bill thought it was silly!), but it seemed very important to me. And if I do all the bed sheets, then the cleaners put them all back on the beds for me, which makes my life so much easier! So, I spent the afternoon working on that until the cleaners arrived at about 3 p.m. Mission accomplished! Yeah for me!!!

The boys were on a mission as well today. They found a flyer in our neighborhood for a little lost chihuahua, and they really wanted to find it for the family. So, they did lots of biking around the neighborhood on a "search and rescue mission," but unfortunately they had no luck finding the dog. I thought it was very sweet, though.

All in all, I felt very good today. When I woke up, I was feeling no effects at all from my chemo. I had a bit of a problem after I took my Boniva this morning, though. It's a once-monthly osteoporosis drug, which I take due to bone loss caused by all the steroids I was on. Well, it usually doesn't make me sick to my stomach, but today it really did. So, I made note to never take it again on a chemo week, because I think it was a bad combination. I felt especially sick while making 3 boxes of mac and cheese for all the kids for lunch, but since I'm the Mom I just had to "suck it up!" The big kids had already made breakfast for everyone, so I didn't want to ask them to make lunch, too.

When the cleaners came this afternoon, Judi came over and supervised the kids while they swam in our pool. (She is doing really well, and she even drove for the first time today!) Shirlene came and got Brandon and Nate during swimming time. Nate again spent the night there in Palmdale. Annie, Cameron, and I went to do a few errands. First we went to Target as we "needed" some electronics according to Cameron -- styluses for gameboys, memory cards for the PS2, and new headphones for MP3's and cell phones. Cameron seemed to know what everyone needed, so I was basically just there to provide payment. And we also picked up a few prescriptions for Bill while we were there at Target.

Then we moved on to Albertson's. I wanted to pick up breakfast and lunch for our trip tomorrow. We got donuts and juice to have in the truck on the way for breakfast. And we're going to go out to the car for a picnic lunch mid-day rather than buying lunch at Hurricane Harbor. So, we picked up some roast beef sandwiches from the deli, chips, jello, string cheese, and lots of drinks. Last time we went to Hurricane Harbor we ate lunch there, and it was over $50 for the 6 of us and it wasn't even good. So, since we're taking 8 of us this time (our family + Will and Brandon), I thought this would be a better way to go. Definitely much more cost-effective as well as better food! We'll stop for dinner on the way home.

By the time we got the groceries put away, it was time to feed everyone dinner. Sylvia Romanelli from church brought us a great salad and chicken cacciatore. I'm going to be sad next week when I have to start cooking again! Then at 7 p.m. we had our Heaven Bible Study.

So, after that (around 9:30), the kids and I packed up everything for Hurricane Harbor -- you know, towels, swimsuits, goggles, sunscreen, the food, etc. We all know I'm not a morning person these days, and we're planning to get up at 8 a.m. So, I figured we'd better pre-stage as much as possible.

And the kids have finally all fallen asleep. They were very excited -- especially Isaac and Will! Will has never been to a waterpark before, so he just keeps thanking me over and over for taking him. I think it's funny because we haven't even gone yet! And last time we went, Isaac was too short for all the cool water slides. You have to be 48 inches tall and he wasn't before, but he is now 49 inches. So, he really thinks he's hot stuff!

Brandon and Nate will be dropped off at about 8:30 a.m. tomorrow on Shirlene's way to work,so we'll leave as soon as they get here. Hurricane Harbor is in Valencia, which is about 1 1/2 hours away -- depends on traffic, though. The waterpark is open from 10a.m.-8 p.m. If all goes well, we'll stay the whole day.

I am taking my wheelchair as my energy level is still low, and I'm not sure I could handle all the walking. I also have a huge hat, SPF 85 sunscreen, and several very large umbrellas. Bill is still worried. So, I've been teasing him that he'll have me looking like Michael Jackson -- in a wheelchair, all covered-up, and with kids holding umbrellas all around me. I think I'll be fine. I may have a rough day or two afterward due to sun exposure, but it will be worth it for the family fun!

Brandon will spend the night with us on Friday as we'll be getting back late, and Shirlene will pick him up after work on Saturday. Saturday, by the way, is his birthday -- he's turning 17! I feel so old, because I've known him since Cameron and him were classmates in 2nd grade!

I'm going to sign off now and go to bed. I just had a bubble bath, and I am in my PJ's. Everyone else is in bed, and so I'm now getting the sleepies, too. I'll take lots of pictures tomorrow. And hopefully, I can post them on Saturday.

Much Love,
Michele