Owen's birthday party

Today, we celebrated Owen's birthday, his "cake birthday" as he named it. 30 people joined us in celebration. We are so lucky to have so many family and friends close enough to celebrate with us!

 

 Suzi made an awesome spiderman cake. Here's Owen pretending to eat it. (Henry doesn't look pleased)

 And here he is again, so happy!

A sweet picture of Ruby.

 

A pile of sausages Lucas grilled up for dinner.

 cousins and friends helping open presents.

 

 And the birthday boy.

Saturday

This morning, we had breakfast with Heather at the Black bear diner. Here's Henry hugging the momma bear.

 

 After breakfast, we saw black bear in the parking lot. Last year, this would have made both boys run and scream. This year, both boys gave big smiles and hugs.

 This afternoon, Owen had his last soccer class. Here he is saying he's almost five.

 The class.

Preschool Program

After three prior programs, Owen had his fourth and final preschool performance. This time, he sang. He gestured. He smiled. He had FUN!!

 

 He even got a little preschool diploma.

Henry was promised a cookie if he sat quietly through the program. After each song he asked if it was cookie time... each time we said no, he would politely clap and wait. He was very excited for his reward of cookie and juice.

Blackhawks

Through the Candlelighters, a support group for children with cancer, we were invited to McNary Field to see Blackhawk helicopters. A father, whose son had cancer, arranged the tour through the Oregon Army National Guard. It was an amazing experience and the boys (all three of them) had a great time.

 

The boys got to try on the eight pound helmet.

 And then they got to sit in the pilot seats, the back and all over of the Blackhawk and the Lakota helicopters.

 At the end, the commander and the gentleman who arranged the tour, presented the five cancer kids with a wings pin and a certificate showing his honorary membership into the national guard. It made Lucas and I tear up. But, Owen was sad he didn't get one, and how do you explain to your (almost) five year old that he didn't get one because he didn't have cancer... So, I quietly asked the gentleman if they had an extra pin for Owen. At first, they sadly said no... then the commander said he'd be right back and ran out of the hanger. He came back with a very shiny pin, just for Owen. What an amazing group of people!

A few random shots

Lucas and the boys love going on Max rides. This is Owen racing Max.

 And a quick brotherly hug while waiting for the train.

 Henry had labs on Monday. Owen will hold Henry's hand and try to distract him while Henry is poked. This was the first time he cried. But he was brave, with the promise of chocolate milk and a lollipop in is future. His labs looked great. We won't be back until the end of June!

 

Phone pictures of owen

Phone pictures of my boys

Phones pictures of henry

Mother's Day

For Mother's Day, we had dinner at Lovely's fifty-fifty, a wonderful wood fired pizza place. We went with Bob and Amy and had a lovely time.

 

The boys loved staring at the fire.

 

can't blame them.

 The best picture of the three of us (tired Marla, goofy Owen and silly smile Henry)

 "Patiently" waiting for pizza.

A Scare

 Post chemo life is great, I won't deny it. We play and laugh and enjoy every minute "post cancer". But, we still live in a state of paranoia. We still worry, a lot. Most the time, when one of us feels he has relapsed, the other person talks us out of it. But, last weekend, Henry seemed "off". It's hard to explain, but something wasn't right. He was bruising more, he has really needy, and the kicker was when he fell asleep on the floor during Owen's gymnastics. So, we made a phone call, and got approved to get labs done in the emergency room.

The kids are pros. They played and watched TV, and made the agonizing moments until the labs came back bearable.

 Where are the kids?

 some music therapy

 After a poke, Henry got a Popsicle

His labs were OK. His ANC was low, which explained the neediness and lethargy. We blamed the drop on his Septra (an antibiotic he takes weekly to prevent pneumonia). Oh, just when we think we are past the cancer crazies... we are reminded that we will be here for a long time.

Zoo Day

Last Tuesday, the boys, Beatrix and my friend Sara went to the zoo. It was a beautiful day and we all had a great time.

 

Owen and Beatrix on the goat, Henry wanted to read about them.

 looking for bobcats.

 Tall Sara and short Henry

 Chillin in a cave.

 They loved hanging out where there is a spurt of water...

 Beatrix really like it!