My Father, My Hero

I talked to my parents last night,  they made is safely up to Salt Lake.  They left early yesterday morning,  stopped in St George for a blessing from my Uncle B and made it up to Salt Lake last night in enough time to grab the keys to the apartment and unpack.  My mom says the apartment is nicer than the one they had last time (which I thought was really nice)  and they look out onto the Gateway courtyard.

My dad gets his port line put back in today and should be in the hospital and receive his 2nd round of chemo this weekend, and his 2nd round of stem cells next week.  My plan is to go up and spend a week up there the 1st week of July when my dad will be hopefully gearing up to get out of the hospital.  We had such a great response from the 1st round, so everyone pray we have just as good a response this time and it knocks him into complete remission!!

Before they left we were able to have a BBQ for Father's Day at the house last Saturday,  we had my parents and brother and Ryan's parents and some cousins over to swim.  Ryan's cousins were a little afraid of the dogs at first.  I forget to tell people we have dogs I am just so used to them being around when people come over.  By the end of the BBQ though the kids had warmed up to them and were not to afraid.  They realized the dogs were following them because they wanted food :)

I was able to take this picture with my Dad.  I wish he didn't have a hat on because it makes people think he is still bald,  but he isn't his hair has grown back probably a 1/2 inch or more all over and I think it looks great.  He had the hat on though because he didn't want to burn his head.

I am less scared this time about my dad's treatment, we pretty much know what to expect and I know my dad is NOT looking forward to being sick again but he knows it is worth it to kick cancer's ass. :)  The care he received was top notch and we are looking forward to him being home in 5 weeks.  He has been really lucky that since he has been home from his 1st transplant he hasn't had to take any medicines and has been able to go back to work, golfing and pretty much all the things he loves.  I am hoping the transition from the 2nd transplant will be just as smooth.

I love my dad very much,  he is my hero and has always been there for my whenever I need him.  I was lucky enough to not only be his daughter but be his roommate also for the better part of 6 years and it not only made him my dad but one of my best friends.  When we first started living together our relationship was nothing like it is today,  but without him I wouldn't be where I am today and I wouldn't have the great relationships I have with him, my mom and my brothers.  He is one of the most loving, caring people I know and will give you the shirt off his back and the last dollar in his wallet, even if he himself needs it.  I am so proud to call him my Dad and am so excited to have him done with transplants and back to his new normal. 

 I'll even go see Harry Potter with him if he wants and I don't like those movies :)

Love you Dad and even though you have to be in the hospital on Father's Day, it's worth it so we have many many more....

Don't mind the mess...

I had to post this picture,  my cute little family all sleeping on the couch (while I'm cleaning the bathrooms)  I came out to find them all zonked. 

P.S.  Don't mind all the blankets,  they went swimming and we load the blankets on the couch so we don't get wet dog hair all over!

And Mag's doesn't have freaky eyes like that, it's my camera phone LOL



San Diego Part 2...

Here is a few more pictures I wanted to post of Sea World, the Zoo and the USS Midway.

They have this program with wild animals and dogs,  these two were raised since birth together and were best friends.  They were so cute together.

You could pay $5 and feed biscuits to the giraffe's there was a huge line of kids to feed them

 Ryan laying in the spacious bunks



I can't wait to go back soon but it sure was nice to be home this weekend!  I came out from cleaning in the bathroom on Saturday to find my 3 babes all sleeping peacefully on the couch together.  Those are the moments I love. :)

Ryan and I were able to stop by my friend Anna's little girls 4th birthday party on Saturday, it was so funny because I told Ryan it was a fairy and tutu's party but I don't think he listened and thought we were going to their house.  I pulled into the parking lot of the dance studio called Fairytales and Tutus and Ryan was like huh?  I think he was a little overwhelmed with all the girls dancing all over the place ;)  It's what he has to look forward to some time in the future when we have kids. lol

I then took him on a secret date,  I took him to a restaurant in the Forum shops called Max Brenner's he is a chocolatier and if you have a night free and want to get a good dessert full of chocolate..GO.  Get the sharing tasting menu for the dessert and ENJOY!  We then walked across the street to the Bellagio to watch the water shows, Ryan took me on one of our first dates there, we saw 3-4 of them they were playing every 10-15 minutes.  It was a great night and we came home to our 4 legged children and all cuddled on the couch and watched a movie together :)

Looking forward to next weekend we are celebrating Father's Day early since my dad will be back up in Salt Lake having a 2nd transplant.  He is not looking forward to it, but he responded so well to the 1st treatment that his doctor's feel he should have another one just to kill the cancer even more.  We know what to expect this time so even though it is not going to be fun for my dad we know this is the best thing to do so we can be cancer free in 2012!