Summer Summary '09

Summer ended up being busy... which was a good thing.

Here is a small sampling of what happened (some of you might recognize your photos...Thank you for being there with a camera when I wasn't)

C was baptised. It was a long 2 weeks of birthday celebrations. In June, it rained a lot and I thought we were going to go stir-crazy.

Then a wonderful thing happened....

Grandma & Grandpa W came to visit for a few weeks!!!

Grandpa was busy building us a cool and organized garage:
They are wonderful grandparents and took the kids out to do fun things:

The kids played with friends and cousins.

With two boys we play lots of sports. We finished playing soccer (no pictures), took up golf (no pictures) and started the baseball season. E pitched some for the Yanks...

I went to NYC with my friends: the blond, the redhead, and me the brunette. (Incidentally, we did enter a bar but only to have a good Philly cheese steak and a diet coke.)

The CFO and I biked some on the tandem. And, sadly, he busted his road and mountain bikes.

We attended the CFO's High School Graduation.

We also visited with our Idaho friends .

We played lots of baseball.

"Congratulations, your son has made it on the All-Star team. You owe 30 more dollars."

So, we played more baseball. I must have spent a small fortune at the snack bar.

We celebrated the 4th "small-town" style...with giant reptiles, watched a parade, a candy CANNON, and fireworks.

Our All-Star team won the championship.

C's team also was ranked 1st and they played championship games.

(They took 2nd.)

We played at the beach.

We played in the water and boated.

This is how you surf when you live in the mountains:

In the middle of all these activities, the CFO changed jobs and began training, which he has blogged about.

Then, as our final hurrah, we took a family vacation to Washington/Seattle.

I guess you now know what my next blog will be about.

Miss Me?

Whomever coined the term:

"The lazy days of summer"

was a MAN

with NO kids!

A 12 Year Era-Finished

No, the mascot isn't dead (she will be 12 this year, however). Rather, the CFO has changed employment. After 12 yrs with the same company (8 in Idaho and 4 in Utah in Oncology) I have changed employers. The last 12 years have been very good to us but it was time for a change.

I have gone to work for a Utah based company that patented several different gene sequences and gene mutations for different types of cancers. I will be selling the genetic tests that analyze a persons genes to see if they have a mutation which would predispose them to an extraordinarily high chance of having a specific cancer. With breast cancer for example, if a person has the mutation, their lifetime chance of having breast cancer goes from about 8% to about 90%. We have tests for people with family histories of Breast, Ovarian, Endometrial and Colon Cancer.

I will be selling the tests to OB/GYN's/primary care docs and asking them to screen patients for a family history of these 4 cancers. If the patient has a significant enough history there is reason to be tested. Of those with a significant family history, about 10% will actually have the mutation. Either a positive or negative result is extremely valuable. If the result is negative then your chance for breast cancer goes from 90% to 12% and the patient is followed and screened the same as the normal population. If the result is positive then the patient has enhanced surgical and screening options.

The reason I am posting this much information is because I am stunned at the number of people that, as I have explained what I am doing, have expressed concern about their family history. Most don't know that this type of testing is available. If this is something you are interested in I would be happy to discuss it with you. I'm not trying to get more sales through my blog, but I am quickly becoming passionate about the value that this information provides to a person who is truly at an extremely high risk.

The CFO

Green, Green and more Green!!

Mtn Green is Green and Gray (with rain and clouds). Weve had 16 or 21 days in June with rain. The record is 17. My brother moves to Seattle and I get his weather. The upside is the beautiful landscape.

The temperature has been 60 to 75. We still haven't turned on the air conditioning, another new record. The boat has only been out twice on the two days that did get to 75.

Can anyone say GLOBAL COOLING? Its the only explanation! A brand new crisis! Sounds like we need some new regulations on something to prevent the next global ice age!!!

The Evil Eye

Michelle Obama and France's first lady Carla Bruni-Sarkozy. They are at the 65th anniversary memorial of the D-Day landing in France. (picture taken June 6, 2009) Is this Michelle's "normal face"? Did Jerimiah Wright put this on her face or did she put in her angry eyes for this special occasion because this is a serious moment? Perhaps it is Carla and the Right-leaning Sarkozys that she despises?

If I got to fill in the word bubble above Michelle Obama, I would put that she is thinking, "you skinny white ________!" ??

What do you think she is thinking?

Please Don't Mind My Gentle Sobbing

The kids are officially finished with school.

That means they are home with me.

All

Day

O and I made this sign for the boys: If you listen real close......

Yes,

there it is.

Can you hear it?

It is my kids' constant bickering for the next two weeks as they get used to being around each other 24/7 .

I have good kids and I love them. I am trying to be like one of those mothers who is excited for their kids to be out of school. Honest. It is their constant bugging of one another for enjoyment and the crying that usually follows that I am not looking forward to. So, I am trying to come up with some good activities to combat this problem. Any suggestions are welcome.

When C got home from school, he wanted to "break through to summer" by running up the little ramp and tearing through the sign. The boy is graceful. He's a gazelle. From now on, he shall be know as Cazelle:

(now I can use it again next year)

Stay Cool and Have a Great Summer Everyone!

15 Years!