celebration and relaxation!!

Alright, so we are absolutely 100% behind and as the days march on I am finally giving in. We will never catch this blog up from all that has happened from Spring to Fall 2008. (though Dan will try and I am sure posts will pop up between here and there) I mean we are talking...camping trips, day hikes, swim lessons, first day of school, basketball camp, birthday parties, silly times, soccer, labor day woodstove projects, family campfires, garden, golf trips,tetherball installation camp Kiwanalong..my gosh the list goes on and on. After this posting I will work very hard at adding some new stuff. I have some great pictures of the kids that I am dying to get out there for you guys to see.

As I sat down tonight to catch up on e-mail, I realized that we have had such a whirlwind of events since spring that I have yet to update some people on some of these, well...pretty big events.

I finished my NAC (Nurse Aide Certification) schooling in Spring. I passed my state skills exam and written exam in July and I am now officially an NAC. In fall I began my search for a job and as of yesterday I was officially hired as a new staff at one of hospitals here in Spokane. Yeah! Just when I thought my pretty bare resume/application was finding all the circular files in Spokane! I am looking forward to the new transition and hoping that I will adjust smoothly.

Second bit of great news. I think my new neurologist is up to something. I had my 2nd year check up and when I went in I was going to stand firm and tell him I was not going through another MRI. By the time I left his office I was not only having the brain MRI but they were also going to do a cervical spine (the neck area) MRI as well. He also scheduled me for a test to be done on my optic nerve on the right eye (the eye that went blind). My MRI returned clear yet again this year. No sign of any lesions. yea! But for my Dr. this is concerning, as he seems to think that there could be a possibility that I may have been mis-diagnosed with MS. So he is having me retested to make some new baselines and then I will have the sames tests done in 6 months and if the MRI is clear again....we move to take me off my disease management drugs, then on to monitoring for awhile after that. His theory is that in the 14 or so years he has been studying MS, he has never seen an MS patient return a clean MRI. That even with drug therapy, there is always some sort of lesions still active and going on. Maybe not producing the effects physically but nonetheless they are still present. So it is all at a stand still for awhile yet but what fantastic news!! I am very excitedly embracing this news. Will have more to come on that front sometime soon.

note from Dan: There is also the very real possibility that Tina has been healed! The lesions on the sheath around her brain- and subsequent decline in health during July of 2006 - were very real. Sorry for intruding on your post babe, I just had to throw that in :)

I am looking forward to settling into fall....the kids (all 3) have their last soccer games of the season this Saturday. We have been running around like crazy people with all the soccer practices and games. I am excited to sit back and enjoy a quiet evening at home, a nice long cooked meal and a soothing glass of Merlot. Such a great feeling soaking in the warmth of this time of year. cheers! And new pictures to come soon! - Tina

Leavenworth trip - July 18-20 (still no kids!)

Those who know Tina well know that she loves musicals. I found out that the Leavenworth Summer Theater performs The Sound of Music every year in their outdoor theater on Ski Hill Road so we decided to check it out and make a weekend of it. It's a beautiful setting with the mountains behind the stage. We love Leavenworth but had only been in the winter before. It was beautiful as usual and fun to actually see in the summer. We spent the weekend there in a small camper cabin at the Icicle River RV Park about 3 miles out of town. We got the last 2 tickets to the premier of Batman: The Dark Knight at the Icicle Cinema on Friday night, took in the play on Saturday night, went on bike rides, took a nap in the grass downtown, visited Wedge Mountain Winery.... It was like a second honeymoon. We had a great time.

Icicle River

The Icicle River runs right through the RV Park. Tina is sitting at the river's edge about 100 yards down the hill from our cabin. We went down to soak our feet after a long, hot bike ride back from town (where she picked up her cool new hat :)



Someone had very delicately stacked some rocks in the middle of the water. It looked really cool.
If you look really closely in the middle of this photo you can see about a 2' fish that almost beached itself on the rock right next to Tina, twice! It was crazy. His tail is easy to spot on the far left of the photo. Eric, maybe you need to take Tina with you next time you go fishing :)

The Bike Ride

The Run of the River Bed & Breakfast

During our ride we swung in to see the Bed & Breakfast we honeymooned at 10 years ago. It was strange to think that the teenagers we saw there with their family were probably in first grade the last time we were there.

7/15/08 HEY DORIS!!! IT'S GAME NIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Spokane Indians date night. Nothing like a night at the ballpark in the summer...hot dogs, peanuts, nachos, ice cream sandwiches and a kid in front of us who ate at least 4 of each... by himself .... aggressively. It was also free hat night for the first 1000 people through the gate, so we got there fairly early and scored hats for Spence and I. There was a gal sitting behind us who provided as much entertainment as the game ever could have. She only had one volume....LOUD. I think she had Voice Immodulation Syndrome, where you can't control the tone or volume of your voice. (see Will Ferrell on Saturday Night Live :) She randomly spouted obscenities, gyrated to the PA music during nearly every mid-inning break like she was trying to pass a kidney stone and talked to her friend Doris (who was seated right next to her) like she was in Couer d'Alene. At one point, after a foul ball flew about 20ft over our heads in the general vicinity of where we were sitting, she screamed to whomever she was talking to on her cell phone: "OH MY GOD. A FOUL BALL ALMOST TOOK MY HEAD OFF JUST NOW!"

A Spokane Institution - Day 1 of No Kids 7/13/08

After dropping off the kids at the airport, (and after Tina stopped crying) we went straight to Frank's Diner for a late breakfast. They've been voted Best Breakfast in Spokane forever. It's a classic dining car with primarily counter seating. There are only like 3-4 booths in the back. We've tried to eat there before, once just us 5 and another with the pre-Leyton Hurley 4. Both times the wait was at least a half hour and the likelihood of sitting together was practically nil. With it being just Tina and I, the half hour wait was no big deal. Neither was the counter seating. Frank's did not disappoint. We both agreed it was one of the best breakfasts we'd ever had.

Still Day 1 of no kids - Arbor Crest Winery

Met some good friends up at Arbor Crest Winery. Had some great wine, food and really good music. Was a fantastic night.

Ryan and Amber-old friends from Oregon, that live here now too.

Massive people having a great time!
Not often will you catch me on a dance floor...Ryan was trying to teach me a couple of steps.


I wish I had a name for this guy. The four of us were totally taken in by him. He was out there for sure, but I am not even sure he had anything to drink. He was having a great time, full of joy!! Danced and played his tambourine all night!

Hey Mr. Tambourine Man!!

Away they go!!

July 13, 2009

July 13, 2008: The kids are off! Here they are at Spokane International Airport boarding to Portland. They got to go to Oregon for 12 days to spend time with family and go to summer camp at Camp Kiwanalong. For the most part their departure went well. I didn't cry until I saw their plane high in the air and then the overwhelming feeling came over me....their they go, all 3 little bodies in one place getting further and further away from me.