Kids + Balloons = Happy Faces (until they pop...)

Pete & his Spiderman on a stick

Hailey and Tinkerbell

This Month in Pictures - and a few words too

Ok, ok, I know once again, long time no blog... Things have just been so busy around the Martin house. I figured that instead of a lot of writing (blog, blog, blog), I would sum this month up in pictures. Here goes...

This month, we have sure had some beautiful sunsets!!

Ok, I'm sure this couple would be surprised that they are on my blog... I have no idea who they are, but I thought it would be a nice picture, so I took the shot. I wish it was my kids on the other side of the pond, but I'm sure one of them would end up falling in the muck (most likely Pete), so I had to settle for the unknown couple.

Well, Miss Hailey has a funny smile in this shot, but her bright eyes are sure shining!

So I do exist - imagine that! I had to had the camera to Jeff for this one. He is not particularly comfortable behind the lense, but with a little cropping, it turned out very well.

This was taken on the 4th of July in Ashland before the parade began.

Jeff's turn with our beautiful children!

Not sure what that face was about, but I thought it was a funny shot.

Hailey and Pete had to stand to enjoy the bagpipers!

Throughout the parade, Pete kept declining candy from the participants. He kept saying he wanted candy from the firefighters. In this shot, he is wondering why they didn't have any candy and I'm sure he's not happy with his previous decision...

Caballero's pretty caballo

Mr. Ryan enjoying grandpa & grandma's newly improved pool.

I thought this was a great picture of my dad.

Jeff, hoping that the fireworks would hurry up and commence!

They were worth the wait, even though the show was pretty short this year... Darn budget cuts!!!

Miss Ava @ Ryan McNeil's 6th B-Day party.

Jeff & Hailey at the Oregon Caves.

Hey look, it's Pete and me at the Oregon Caves too!

Miss Laila having a grumpy moment, but still cute.

Marc, Christy, Laila & Kenley came from Florida to visit us again this year. We were so excited to see all of them and to finally meet little Kenley! Can't wait until next time.

Christy and Kenley, so happy to finally be out of the car and ready to explore the caves.

Look, Kenley learned a new trick.

We also took the Vermonts to the Dunes for some sand, speed and fun!

Hailey enjoying Marc's camping hammock.

Marc didn't approve of our BBQ skewers as marshmallow roasters, so he had to find his own stick. Pretty sure he won't burn his fingers now!

What an amazing, gigantic, beautiful Dahlia we found in Winchester Bay!

Ok, I know it's an ugly old boat, but I thought it was pretty cool anyways.

Miss Kenley was so happy to just hang out. What a sweet baby!

Pete rode his bike soooo much while we were camping. It was wonderful to see him zipping around the parking lot like a pro!

Jeff (in shorts), Marc (bundled up like Kenny from South Park), Hailey and Pete ready to go for a ride in the rail.

I really wish this picture was more in focus, but I thought it was such a cute shot of one tired baby.

I guess that pretty much sums up our month. It was busy, but we had a lot of fun!

It's a Small World After All...

Our trip to St. Jude started out last Tuesday (my birthday), before the crack of dawn.  I had the clock set to wake me at 4:00am, to catch a 6:20am flight.  After laying awake in bed, waiting for my alarm to ring, I decided to get up at 3:30am and hop in the shower.  I got Pete up just after 4.  He was bright eyed and bushy tailed, as usual!  I desperately needed coffee!!  

We picked up my dad and headed to the airport.  It seems that getting to Memphis just gets harder and harder...  We had three connections this time (Medford-Salt Lake-Cincinnati-Memphis) and got to visit an airport we have never been too - Cincinnati.  While we were in Cincinnati, we called Jeff to let him know that everything so far had been on time.  Pete wanted to talk to his daddy.  Pete informed Jeff that we were in "Cincolina."  Jeff traveled to North Carolina a few weeks ago and Pete combined it with Cincinnati to come up with this new word...  After Pete hung up with Jeff, he got a worried look on his face and said, "I forgot to pack my tooth brush!"  I asked him if he had packed anything?  He said no...  Lucky for him, he has me to think of tooth brushes and other necessities.  We finally arrived in Memphis around 5:30pm, picked up the rental car and headed to the Memphis Grizzlies House (St. Jude's hotel).  We ordered pizza (to be delivered of course) and went to bed early.  Man, it was a long day and just the beginning of a long week!

The next day, Pete had to be at Assessment/Triage at 7:00am.  Two nurses searched for a good vein for about 30 minutes (Pete's poor hands were turning blue, after the tourniquet was put on and taken off sooooo many times), they hit the vein on the first try, drew blood for labs and placed his IV.  Woo Hoo!!  I hate it when they have to poke him more than once.  Pete, in true hero fashion like always, handled it without any complaints.  My dad on the other hand, was having a tough time watching the whole thing!

After Triage, we had a quick clinic visit, to be cleared for sedation and then it was on to MRI.  They called us back before I could even finish the paperwork.  Pete had to change into a hospital gown.  In order for me to be allowed into the MRI room, I have to walk through a metal detector and it always goes off, because of my bra.  One time, they made me put on a hospital gown and the ugliest orange Crocs, just to go into the MRI room until Pete was sedated!  This time, when I walked through the metal detector, the guy looked at me and said he didn't hear it go off (which of course he did).  I told him that I was pretty sure my bra wouldn't fly off my body, with the force of the MRI magnets and decapitate someone!  I was happy that they didn't make me change into a hospital gown this time.  After about 2 hours, we were called into recovery, where we were greeted by our happy, smiling, groggy boy!  I have to say, this kid makes everything look so easy!  I'm pretty sure most kids don't take such things so well.

After a quick visit to the cafeteria for a milk shake and some food, Pete was almost feeling like his normal self and it was on to E-Clinic, to meet with Pete's doctor and hopefully get the results of his scans.  While I checked Pete in at the front desk, my dad sat down with Pete, next to a couple of women and a little boy in the waiting room.  When I came back out, one of the women asked me if that was "Peter Jacob Martin" sitting in the wagon.  I looked at her a little perplexed and said yes.  As it turns out, she is someone who visits Pete's CaringBridge website.  She is with prayer group called Angel Wings and has been checking in and praying for Pete for a few years now.  Once, she mentioned her name, I knew exactly who she was, because she has been signing his guest book for some time now.  Wow, what a small world!  What are the chances of meeting someone who only knows you from a website??!!

We had a good meeting with Pete's doctor.  He was happy to see Pete looking so well!  He told us that the results of Pete's MRI were not back from the Radiologist yet, but that he had peeked at them and didn't see anything obvious.  It was great to get the thumbs up from Dr. Broniscier.  Even though we didn't have the final report yet, it helped to put my mind at ease.  Later that day, we received the official report for the MRI of his brain - No Evidence of Disease.  The next morning we received the final report for the MRI of his spine - it continues to have No Evidence of Disease!  Whew, now we could finish the rest of our appointments/trip with much lighter shoulders!

All of Pete's other appointments (Endocrinology, Physical Therapy, Speech Therapy, Audiology, Ophthalmology, Psychology) over the next two days went very well.  It was also nice to have the afternoons free.  On Wednesday, we visited one of our favorite places, the Memphis Zoo.  Pete was excited to show Grandpa around the zoo!  This time, Pete's favorite part was the herpitarium.  He said he like all of the snakes.  The weather was a lot cooler than the previous day and it turned out to be a perfect zoo afternoon.  

As many know, Memphis is famous for a few things...  Elvis, Sun Studios, Martin Luther King Jr., Isaac Hayes, Justin Timberlake, Beale Street, Jazz music, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and it's BBQ to name just a few.  I have had real Memphis BBQ  shipped to my mom & dad and sister & brother-in-law in the past as a special treat, from a very well known place downtown called Rendezvous.  After the zoo, we took my dad to Corky's, for a different Memphis BBQ experience (they also ship all over the country from their website).  I'm not much in to ribs, beans and coleslaw but we couldn't bring my dad to Memphis without taking him out for BBQ.  He was pretty happy with the slow cooked grub!

Well, we lived in Memphis for a year and from my experience, it's thunder storm/tornado season all year long.  This trip wasn't any different.  After all our hospital business was done, the final night we decided to stay in the hotel, watch a movie and order pizza (again for delivery).  I had just ordered pizza and Pete was watching Hook when the phone rang.  I answered and it was the front desk.  They said, "You might want to go ahead and come downstairs because there is a tornado warning."  As I hung up the phone, I went to the window and opened the curtains...  I decided immediately that yes, it was indeed time to go downstairs!  I have never seen a more ominous looking sky!  It wasn't even 5:30pm, it looked as dark as midnight outside and it was torrential downpour! We were evacuated to the conference room and as it turns out, the tornado was just across the river - only a couple of miles away.  The storm did quite a bit of damage in the downtown area.

The end of our trip began much like the beginning - very early!  Again, we woke up at 3:30am (this time Central Time) to return the rental car and catch a 6:40pm flight.  This time, we only had two connections (Memphis-Salt Lake- Medford).  On our flight from Memphis, my dad sat in front of us and next to a woman who slept most of the trip.  Toward the end of the flight, she woke up and she and my dad started talking.  Here comes another "small world" experience...  Dad told her we had gone to Memphis for Pete's checkup and that he had had a brain tumor.  As it turns out, she currently has a brain tumor (also in the pineal region but not aggressive like Pete's).  She was 60ish and had a pediatric brain tumor - what are the chances that two people on that plane (one behind the other) would both have brain tumors in the same region of the brain??!!  It's just too weird!  She was very interested to hear about Pete's surgeries and the treatment he had received.  I could tell that it did her good to see how well Pete is doing.  Isn't is just amazing how things happen and the people you meet along the way?  Life is a journey to an unknown destination.  Life is good!

Long Time No Write...

I know, what's the point of starting a blog if you are never going to write anything...  Well, it was a busy summer.  The week after Hailey's graduation, we traveled back to Memphis for Pete's check up at St. Jude.  This was the first time Hailey had been back since we lived there.  I was surprised at how much she remembered.  We had a good trip and Pete had another good checkup!

After Memphis, we drive up to St. Louis and met our dear friends (the Schellhorn Family) at Six Flags to play a bit.  It was great to reunite Pete and Grant.  The bond between those two boys is really special.  Pete certainly doesn't have any other friends who have been through what he has - surgeries, chemo, radiation.  My dad said they should buy a lottery tick together when they turn 18!

At the end of June, Hailey and I traveled up to Portland for her MRI of her spine.  The results came back normal, thank God!  While we were there, we stayed the night at my dear friend Amy Ruth's house.  It was so nice to spend time with her and her family.  Addy Rae and Josiah are such cute kids!  We can't wait to meet baby #3 after it arrives in November!

I am having to look back at my pictures to see what else we did...  In July, we went to the 4th of July parade in Ashland.  This year we actually allowed the kids to stay up and we took them to see the fireworks in Ashland.  They were very tired, buy enjoyed it so much!  It was really cute how impressed they were, before the show started, with the little fireworks that people around us were putting off.  I just kept telling the, "Just you wait, just wait."  Well, they both thought it was well worth the wait (they didn't start until 10:00pm)!

Also in July we took the kids to the Jackson County Fair.  It was the same old fair...  But, I had to remind myself, how exciting the fair was to me, when I was a kid.  Hailey and Pete loved riding the rides, seeing the animals and they even got to pet an alligator.  Good times!

In August, we took a bit of a vacation to the coast.  We spent a couple days in Gold Beach with mom and dad, at their vacation house.  It is such a comfy and relaxing place to be.  From there, we headed up to North Bend for some camping, relaxing and play.  Pete finally decided that yes, he actually does like the sand rail.  Our friend Greg at camp kept asking him, "Who is your friend, Pete?" and Pete would reply, "SPEED!"  Daddy was so proud!

After our coastal excursion (also in August), Kim and the kids came up from California.  Ryan went to day camp at the Science Works Museum for a week with Hailey and Pete.  I think they had a good time, but hey were all very worn out every day after we picked them up.  The entire camp day was spent outside and it was rather hot...  Pete also got bitten by a bearded dragon (lizard) - OUCH.

That brings us to Septmeber again.  The summed whizzed by and now the Autumn winds are blowing, the leaves are starting to change, and we officially have a 1st grader!  Hailey has lost four theeth since the start of school last year.  The adult teeth change a kid's apperance so much!  She's not a baby anymore...  I think Haile is so cute with her two front top teeth missing.

The second Friday after school started, we picked Hailey and Pete up from school and went camping up at Howard Prairie Lake.  Jeff took the kids fishing for the first time.  They didn't catch anything, but had fun anyways.  We took the kid's new bikes with us and Hailey learned to ride without training wheels!  We stayed over two nights.  It was a quiet and relaxing last minute get-away.

Pete was accepted into Hogwarts School of Magic & Wizardy...

Pete was invited to a Harry Potter themed birthday party

yesterday. He had a really fun time. At the beginning of the party, they had each child sit on a chair and the "sorting hat" was placed on their heads. They were all sorted into different houses, just like they do in the Harry Potter books/movies. Pete was placed in "Gryffindor" (just like Harry). Of course, I felt Pete's hair was very Harry Potterish and he even has the scar on his forehead (it's not a lightning bolt shape though...)

During the party, they played several games. One was fishing for dragon eggs. Another, was searching for the "Golden Snitch." I'm sorry I didn't bring Hailey with us... The party was for a boy that Pete goes to preschool with and I didn't know if Hailey was invited too. As it turned out, I should have brought her with us because there were several boys from her class and also because Hailey is sooo in to Harry Potter right now. She and I just finished reading the third Harry Potter novel. During the party, Pete was excited to catch some tadpoles form the pond too.

I thought the invitation was very clever and definitely worth sharing :-)

The text read:

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted into the Hogwarts School of Magic and Wizardry to celebrate the 5th Birthday of Ian... The Tri-Wizard Tournament will commence at... There you will find the magical entrance visible only to Hogwarts students and their families. Proper school attire should be appropriate for outdoor wizardry games. Wizard or Witch's workrobes and hats are optional. Please RSVP by owl or by Muggle Phone to the Headmistress at...