CT results

We had Kristoffer's follow up appointment yesterday. The results...Kristoffer is still cancer free. There are several lymph nodes in his abdomen that are swollen again and 1 swollen lymph node in front of his spine but the Doctor said that lymph nodes change sizes all the time to fight off different viruses and infections, so I am determined not to worry this time. His labs are great. His remaining kidney is doing great and he drinks like a camel. He probably drinks twice as much as the rest of my kids.

Kristoffer will hit his 2 years in remission mark in October. I have really avoided reminders about Kristoffer's cancer since diagnosis. They do so many fun things for kids that have had or have cancer (like cancer day at the amusement park, camps for kids with cancer and their siblings, days at the museum) and I have avoided them all. It brings back heartache but I am going to try harder to help Kristoffer be more involved in these things. So having said that...

they are having a cancer walk-a-thon in Albuquerque that benefits the Children's Oncology Group (COG). This is the group that saved Kristoffer. The walk-a-thon is October 15th and our family is going to walk for "Team Kristoffer." If anybody wants to walk with us, we would love to have you. It will be fun and at the same time support the people that saved my little peanut. I will post a link to the website soon.

Memorial Day Camping

We had so much fun on our camping trip. We went with my Mom and Larry. Larry had picked out a perfect spot in Pagosa Springs, CO. It was very private and there was a meadow behind our camper that we could play softball in.

I get a little claustrophobic just looking at this picture. Sibling bonding.

Everyone enjoyed hiking. Connor even found dinosaur bones (aka deer bones).

Ashley and Katelynn

We hiked up to a waterfall.

And got soaked while we waited for Larry to take our picture. (I think he was doing it on purpose).

Connor and Ashley

That is some bright sun!

Katelynn and Kristoffer

The man I love.

Ashley enjoying some relaxing hammock time.

My sweet boy!

Notice the meadow behind Katelynn. It was so beautiful! We had such a great time.

Ashley's final band performance

Ashley has been doing band since 5th grade. She plays the Saxophone and has really had fun. The problem this year was that her performances kept conflicting with her sports. She was getting worn out trying to balance the two.

Where's Ashley?

We are grateful for a patient teacher cause I stopped by a couple of times during practice and it really takes a special person to teach band.

Katelynn's softball banquet

Katelynn is finally done with high school softball. It was a long season full of lots of drama among the team members and coaches. They really struggled to come together as a team this year. The coaches seemed like they didn't want to be there which then reflected on the girls performance. It was unfortunate. Katelynn played starting left fielder. She did great at her position but struggled a little with her batting. She is playing recreational softball now and trying to improve her batting.

Katelynn and Coach Johnson

Connor's Kindergarten celebration!!!

My little peanut Connor had his Kindergarten "celebration" the end of May. We cannot call it a graduation cause some parent complained. Really? I guess I just don't really care what you call it.

Connor traced his body and I think it bears a striking resemblance to my little peanut.

We absolutely love, love, love his teacher Mrs. Gillen. She loves her job and it shows. She is a great kindergarten teacher! Mrs. Gillen said she thinks Connor will be a future dinosaur scientist cause this kid absolutely loves dinosaurs.

Now I just want you all to know that Connor is a ham but he does not perform on command as you can tell by the picture below. He was not happy to be singing and dancing.

One other note. I did have that shirt tucked in at one point and it bothered me until I could get my hands on him and tuck it back in. But it really does fit his personality.

Updates...

I have been a blog slacker the last few months. I finally sat down last night and started to update but I am too retarded to actually put them in the right order. I will continue to do a couple more updates but there are several I did finish, so keep scrolling down.

Easter Fashion Show

This was a painful picture for Kristoffer obviously! He so did not want to put this suit on and it shows. He has since gotten used to being a little stud but all my other kids loved their new clothes.

Katelynn is sporting a lovely yellow number!

Ashley is sporting a lovely white dress with black flowers.

Now this little boy was sooo excited to throw on this cute little suit. Who would have thought he would be such a preppy little thing.

That poor forced smile is almost painful to look at! He tried! Bless him!

A good looking bunch if I do say so myself!

Handsome boys!!

Easter morning!!!

This is a rough looking bunch!
Katelynn
Ashley
Connor

and Kristoffer

The Flack Easter Egg Hunt

It was another great Easter Egg Hunt this year. The kids found eggs and the adults found doughnuts. It was great!!
This is the look of determination. He is planning his attack.
Gotta love cousins! The kids look forward to this every year.
Score!!

I'll send his Grams his dental bill! I think we will get some new cavities from this loot!

Kristoffer's Baptism

Kristoffer was baptized on May 7th. It was an exciting day for him. We didn't know if he was really going to be baptized because he just really thought there were sharks in the baptismal font. But in the end he chose to be baptized and we are so proud of him.
His friend Katie and cousin Abbie were also baptized.
They all looked so cute in their fancy clothes.

This is Kristoffer's GQ pose! He was so handsome in his suit.

My sister's keeper...

So I finally watched My Sister's Keeper against my husband's better judgement. First of all don't ever watch a tear jerker when you are trying to work out on the eliptical. It makes it very hard to breathe. The ugly cry was ever present and I did have to turn it off several times to give my heart a break. But in the end I made it through it and found it strangely comforting to see that maybe my craziness was normal, to see that sometimes death can be better than poor quality of life and to see that life can go on even when you lose a child. Don't get me wrong though, I desperately hope that I never have to face the horrible task of burying my child. On a funnier note though...Kristoffer asked why this girl was bald. I told him that she had cancer like he did. And the conversation went like this...

Kristoffer: "I didn't have cancer."
Me: "Yes you did."
Kristoffer: "No I didn't."
Me: "Look in your journal." He looked and said...
Kristoffer: "That's not me, that's Connor."
Me: "OK"

How do you argue with that logic? Not sure if he was just being a stinker or just wishing that this never happened to him. Either way, it caught me a little off guard. Our next CT scan will be next Thursday. Probably should not have watched this movie so close to more scans but we are hoping that our journey through cancer is over and we won't have to hear the word relapse...ever.