Make a Wish Trip

Well, we are home after a fun filled weekend in SoCal (Southern California!)  We left Salt Lake early Friday morning.  The kids were so excited to watch the airplanes at the airport.  This is the first time K&K have flown.  Tim flew when he was 2 years old and Mak was just an infant.  So the flight was full of firsts for all the kids!  We got to LAX around 11, ate some lunch-outside-and hit the beach!  After the beach, we found our hotel, which was in the vicinity of the LA Temple, and chilled out!  Tim spent most of the evening cleaning the sand out of his leg :)

Mak, Kelli, Tim & Katie at Venice Beach

Tim loved the surf, prosthesis and all!

 Saturday morning was another early day as we had to drive north to the San Fernando Valley for Tim's jet flight.  My stomach was in knots all morning!  And it stayed in knots until Tim was safely back on the ground!  He had a great time and did not throw up.  Although towards the end of his 45 minute ride, he said he felt a little light-headed :0  Tim actually got to fly the jet for about half of the flight!  Very cool:)  The rest of the day was spent at the Santa Monica Pier.  We ate lunch there, the kids rode most of the rides on the pier, and we played in the water until the sun set.  An amazing day!!

Tim all ready to go-call sign "Hollywood!"

Tim after the flight.  Still all smiles from that boy!!

Kids at the Santa Monica Pier

Perfect Sunset for Tim's perfect day!!

 Sunday, the California Make A Wish chapter arranged for us to visit "Universal Studios Hollywood."  What a fun park!  And, we had VIP passes which made it nice to go to the front of the lines and go behind the scenes at some of the shows.  We did the studio tour twice because the kids really liked the King Kong 3D show.  And the Jurassic Park and Mummy rides were a hit as well!  It's the perfect place to go for a day outing!  We stayed at the park all day-9 hours of fun:)

Kids at the entrance to the park!

Wrights in Hollywood-yea baby!

 We spent Monday morning at Venice Beach again.  I had hoped to go to the Griffith Observatory or the La Brea Tar Pits sometime during our trip.  But, the kids loved the beach and wanted to try swimming in the ocean.  So, we checked out of our luxury hotel room, grabbed some doughnuts for breakfast and headed for the beach.  At the beach, the kids slowly inched their way into the water until all were waist deep and laughing with excitement!  Cory and I sat on the beach and watched the kids.  It was the perfect way to end the trip.  After the kids dried off and got some clothes on, we walked the Venice Boardwalk to pick up some last minute souvenirs.  Then it was off to the airport and homeward bound!

Mak, Tim, Kelli & Katie playing in the sand after getting wet!

Kids at Venice Beach-again!

Thank you Debbie and Kelly-our wish grantors-for an amazing trip!  Tim's jet flight was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am sure he will never forget!  Make a Wish is an amazing organization.  Check them out here!

Davis High School

 Last Friday night, Cory, Tim, Mik and I traveled north to Kaysville to attend a Davis High School Boy's Basketball game.  Why Davis High you ask when Herriman High is practically around the corner from us?  Well, Davis High fund raised for Tim's Make a Wish trip!  How awesome is that?!  The school's business club chose Tim's wish, out of many, to raise funds for.  All school year long, they have been doing numerous fund raisers.  The school asked us to attend a basketball game where Tim would be a honorary team captain.  Tim was given a school shirt and a jersey.   He tossed the jump ball to start the game.  He sat on the bench with the team and went into the locker room before the game, during half-time and after the game!  And more fund raising was done at the game!  Very cool and everyone was super nice!  It was a great night and the Davis Darts won the game:)  Thanks so much!

 Tim getting a whistle and some pointers from a ref before the game!

 Tossing up the jump ball!  It went a little too high for the players ;)

Tim in his brown jersey, aka the dress, during a time-out :)

Tim with the Basketball Team and Business Club!

Screw's Out!

Tim is "officially" missing a screw now! :)  This morning we were at PCMC before the thought of dawn waiting for an OR.  The whole procedure took right around an hour.  Then I spent another 2 hours sitting next to Tim while he woke up from the medicine.  He had a hard time feeling like he wouldn't throw up:(  Eventually, he dressed and we headed home.  Check out his screw!

3 Month Check-Up

Yesterday, Tim and I spent the day downtown.  We first met with Tim's surgeon.  After an x-ray, Dr. J said that all looked good, but that the loose screw in Tim's rotation needed to come out.  So, sometime here in the near future, Tim will have yet another surgery to remove that screw.  Nothing to worry about, just a quick in and out of the OR kind of thing!  Tim did some lab work and had a chest CT before we met with his oncologist.  Everything looks great!  And, Tim's blood counts are on their way up.  I would post numbers, but it means absolutely nothing, just know that he is still in REMISSION!!

(Tim and cancer buddy Eric whom he ran into at clinic.  He was also in for his 3 month check-up and doing great!)

 (Tim and Eric showing off their prosthetics!)

After a full morning at PCMC, we headed over to Shriner's to meet with a new prosthetist.  He watched Tim walk and said that Tim is growing out of his leg.  So, Tim got fitted for a new leg.  Hopefully one that will make it so Tim can walk a little easier and run.  We go back next week for another fitting!

With this check-up, Tim no longer has to take Septra, a medicine that prevents Tim from getting phenomia.  He is now completely pill free, and I no longer have to keep a log of what he's taking and when.  I was able to add to Tim's stack of ever-growing cancer papers.  The stack measures 6 inches tall.  It includes a binder from the hospital full of information and resources, discharge info, Rx papers, insurance claims and receipts from bills paid.  His pile is bigger than all our papers from the year 2011!

What a Day!

Tim is having a GREAT time at ski camp. He has picked up skiing with three skies quickly. It took him 2 hours to ski down one of the green runs though. But, he did start at the very top of the mountain and went all the way down. What a kid!! Outside of skiing, he is having a blast. They've been bowling and he liked how much $5 got him at Wendy's!! Here are some pics that his counselor sent!

(Tim on the slopes!)

(Tim with Hunter, his room-mate. I think the thumbs up are for the mountain dew they are drinking!)

A year ago today, Tim had his MRI on the left leg. What a day! I still remember getting worried after an hour had passed and still no word. Then there was sitting in the room and being told that it looked like Tim had bone cancer and that the office had made a call to Primary's to set more tests up. I remember walking down the hall after getting the news, tears forming in my eyes and Tim looking up at me and saying, "Mom, it's only bone cancer." The rest of the day was spent in a daze. I met my Mom at Wendy's and she went in and got us some lunch because I couldn't talk. Then there was the phone call to Cory-he was in Denver at the time. He got a flight home that night. Primary's called numerous appointments were already set up with doctors on Friday. (Boy were they quick and very nice!) Cory and Tim went to a Jazz game while my Mom and I took the girls to Olive Garden for dinner. Wow!!