Summertime!

School's out! Yay! The kids have been out of school for 2 weeks now and we have been loving it! It's not that we slow down a ton when school is out, it's just great to be on our own schedule. The weekend after school got out we went to a baseball game in Stockton. We had so much fun and once again Brooklyn and Kelsey were obsessed with the mascot. Our friend who coaches the Visalia team made sure that each of the kids got a ball, so they were super excited. Then we had a party to celebrate my parents' 40th anniversary. It was so much fun to honor their amazing commitment to each other. Last Monday Brooklyn had another spinal tap. It was the last time we were going to see one of the nurse's in the operating room because she is retiring, so it was sad to say goodbye to her. We get really attached to these nurses who help to make this time in our lives so much easier. They really have an amazing gift of being able to make such a serious situation, something that we are able to get through with ease. We went to the water park by our house last week which was really fun. It was a hot day so the water felt good! It was also great because last summer we weren't able to go to the park much because of Brooklyn's broviak and the fact that it wasn't supposed to get wet. Swimming has been so much easier too. Brooklyn apparently thinks she is part dolphin because she wants nothing to do with floaties anymore. She is fearless. She is swimming all around the pool on her own! She's not a super strong  swimmer yet so Mike and I are on the edge of the pool or in with her at all times. It is great to see how strong she has become. We also finally finished our baseball season! Kayla had her last game and then end of season party last Saturday and then we had Braden's last game after that. It was also Kelsey's 2nd birthday that day! She had a fun filled day of baseball and we celebrated her birthday that night. Sunday was Braden's end of season party, and it was fun to have the whole team together hanging out one last time. This week we've had some fun days relaxing at home and playing with friends. Kayla and Brooklyn took turns sleeping in Braden's room this week, which was super fun because they don't usually get to do that during the school year. It was sweet to see how much each girl missed sleeping in the same room with her sister when they were apart just one night. I love that as they are all growing up together, they are also becoming friends. I took Brooklyn to My Gym today for her first class in over a year. The last time she went to a gym class was the day we took her blood test and found out that she had leukemia. It was so exciting to see her get to enjoy running around and playing, just like she did when she was 2. I think that going to class will help her with some of her gross motor skills that may have been a little affected by having so much chemo. Her blood counts have all remained good, so one of her types of chemo was increased this week. She has been nautious pretty regularly this last month, but it's almost just kind of normal in our morning routine now. She'll drink some juice and then say she needs a bucket and either dry heave or spit up a little. It was tougher this Wednesday morning when I jumped out of bed because I heard her throwing up in the bathroom. I think the upped dosage of medicine made it harder for her because she was holding on to the toilet for dear life and her whole little body was heaving. It was really hard to see her going through that. It was also hard to hear my parents' friend say that he is just starting to feel better now, and he finished all of his chemo and radiation 6 months ago. There's a lot of yuck that's going into her little body, but somehow it is curing her, so it is going to be worth it in the end. And she's still smiling every day.