There's been lots of pictures taken since I last wrote, so that must mean that either a lot of time has passed, we've been doing lots of fun stuff, or both.
The weekend before last was supposed to be bad weather, otherwise we would have tried camping. It turned out to be a gorgeous weekend. At least we enjoyed a family picnic at the Creek Park on Sunday after church. Kelby loves to "swim" in that creek. Tegan's arm still hurt a bit, so she played with Anika at the playground.
Last week was great for Kelby. She enjoyed wonderful and full days at church day-camp. Gramma Debbie was one of the teachers in her class. She had a wonderful time and didn't want it to end. She loved the pony rides and thought brushing the pony was a major highlight. She got to slip down a fun water slide, go roller skating, and enjoy a trip out to the beach all in one week. That's not to mention the singing, crafts, snacks and learning about God that she got to do as well. On Friday evening the kids all gave a presentation of the songs they had practiced all week. Again this year it made me cry because it is so precious. After the big BBQ bash that night, the church pool served as Kelby and Tegan's haven for over an hour.
Tegan's broken collar bone is already better. It doesn't seem to bother her at all anymore and it has been just two weeks. She and her cousin Naomi hung out together last week while their big sisters were at camp. We went down to Alderwood mall (about one hour away) to visit the Build-A-Bear workshop to get Naomi her fourth year birthday present. She picked out a cute bear, had her stuffed, and named her Tinkerbell. Tegan bought her own bear some new clothes with her birthday money. Heather and I enjoyed our chance at a bit of shopping.
This weekend we decided to pack up on rainy Saturday morning to search for a sunny place to go camping. About 2 1/2 hours east, we found a great site. The girls love camping, especially the roasted marshmellow part. Even Anika slept well that night. On Sunday after we packed up all our gear, we found a 2 mile hike in to a lake. Yes, the girls made it! The big ones hiked all the way in. Anika rode in the backpack. We helped carry them a bit on the way out and they were exhausted, but if you ask them now, they'd still say they liked hiking. The beautiful lake didn't impress them much, but they enjoyed wading in the creek for awhile before we walked back to our car. Even I was exhausted when we were done.
Monday was our first trip down to Seattle's University of Washington for radiation treatments. The process is much quicker without anesthsia. Kelby doesn't seem to mind it at all. She just watches movies on the trip to and from while I listen to books on tape. Someone sweet anonymously sent us a $50 gas card! Thank you so much to whoever you are. The price of gas is a bit high for all this traveling, but God has provided for all our needs. We'll be making this drive every week day until about August 3rd. Debbie has watched Anika and Tegan for me, but I'm going to try taking them all down there tomorrow. We may even try to visit the zoo! I want to make the best of our trips down to Seattle.
I've noticed that although Kelby seems to be as strong as a rock, she is thinking about things more deeply this time. Yesterday I was looking her over and asked her how she felt. She calmly said, "I hope that it didn't spread anywhere else." It is times like that when I realize that she is really paying attention. I asked if it bothered her when I worried about her and she said, "No." "Are you worried?" I asked. She gave her usual "no." Tough as nails, I tell you. I said, "You're right. We don't really have to worry, do we? We can trust that God has a plan." I'll try to remember that for myself too. It seems like such a grown up conversation to be having with such a little girl. Still, sometimes she reminds me that she is a little girl as she pushes her puppies in a stroller into her appointments or carries one in on her back in a pack. Today she chose to buy a little stuffed puppy (with the cute purse to carry it around in) at the hospital gift shop with her birthday money. Puppies are definately her thing.
All that to say, we are doing extremely well for the circumstances. Thankfully, Kelby feels no pain and the radiation treatments shouldn't give her any short-term side effects.
