Martha Clara Vineyard with Erika and Rob 2017

Super fun Sunday at the vineyard with Erika and Rob! (All made possible by our amazing neighbor Carol who jumped in when our babysitter bailed.)

Doing a wine tasting at Martha Clara. Love the wines!

Everyone is having fun.

Rob and I also got ice cream.

Sunflowers!! We should have have jumped into the field.

Nolan's Pool Party 2017

Yes, this is the summer of pool parties. Lots of fun at Nolan's though!

Nolan going down the slide

Ella, Nolan's little sister, is Miranda's buddy

Weee!

A little solo time.

Great news! Miranda is moving into Ella's preschool class!

Boys playing in the yard. First grade, I hope you're ready for them.

Barbies have pool parties too.

Digging with little Kacy

Water guns and crazy games.

Mrs. Maloney visited!

They love her and they missed her.

Fire Island 2017

We took a brief little family break on Fire Island this week. We hopped on a ferry and went out to the skinny island for a day of hiking and beach. Sadly, our hiking was cut short because James and I were being eaten alive by mosquitos- especially strange because it's usually me and Miranda that get bitten. But Kevin got to finish the hike on his own, and we all had a lovely time playing on the beach and in the ocean waves. We even got to pose with some friendly swans.

Sunken Forest Pre-hike

Miranda being carried back

James and I killing mosquitos

Kevin hiking alone

James burying his sister

Building tunnels from the ocean

Working on a dam

Perfect little sand hole

So sandy!

Never getting clean

On the pier waiting to go back

With our friends, the swans

Mom's Kidney Cancer Update- August 2017

Mom had a series of doctors appointments recently that included scans. We went to her appointment on Friday to talk with her oncology doctor and nurse. All the areas in her body remained the same except her liver.

 

Mom was feeling pretty sick on her most recent visit

It's been 4 years since my mother was originally diagnosed with kidney cancer, and 2.5 years since it came back in an advanced stage. Since June 2016, she'd been on a great new drug combo Lenvima + Afinitor, but with the growth on the liver, the doctor has decided that it's no longer a good option for my mother to continue to take it.

The doctor gave her the option to return to Torisel + Avastin, which she originally took in September 2015 and which gave her few side effects compared to the other drugs. As I explained back in the November 2015 post, it's an IV drug combo of temsirolimus (Torisel) and bevacizumab (Avastin). Temsirolimus is an mTOR inhibitor. It blocks the effects of a protein called mTOR, often over active in cancer cells that makes the cells divide and grow. Temsirolimus is also an anti-angiogenesis drug. Bevacizumab is a different kind of anti-angiogenesis treatment that targets a cancer cell protein called vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF, which helps cancers grow blood vessels).

Drug combo choices

Solar Eclipse with Christina, Hudson, & Aria 2017

Christina, Hudson, and Aria came to visit us yesterday. We played in the house a little, then we went to Port Jeff to show them around, play at the newish park there, and get some Italian Ice.

Miranda, me, James, Christina, Hudson, and Aria

In the Mini-Van!

Too many Mini-Van adventures!

PJ Rocketship Playground, the Merry-Go-Round

The Treehouse

Italian Ice time!

Despite Herculean efforts, we weren't able to get solar eclipse glasses, but a family lent us a pair and we were able to see the eclipse for a moment. It was only a partial solar eclipse here so it did not get dark, and the eclipse was in no way observable without glasses. With the glasses, you could see the partially obstructed sun.

 

Me, helping the girls see the eclipse

Christina, helping the boys see the eclipse

Candace's picture of eclipse (glasses on phone camera)

Jaime Visits- August 2017

Jaime visited on her way to Massachusetts and back. We took the kids to the beach, ate sushi for dinner twice, and visited Mattituck for a wine bar and delicious dinner on Love Lane. We even got Italian Ice, which I'm clearly obsessed with this summer.

Miranda showing her art on August 12

 

Jaime swimming with James

Me, playing in the water with Miranda

Drying off

Roanoke Vineyard's Wine Bar in Mattituck

Love Lane Kitchen in Mattituck

Aidan's 7th Birthday Party 2017

We celebrated Aidan's 7th birthday at his house with a big fun pool party! These kids are so sweet-- and so lucky-- look at this amazing party!

Aidan and his mom Kathy behind him (Nolan and Samantha on either side)

James, Nolan, and Caris at the huge bounce house

Swimming with noodles!

James chatting with Caris

Hot tub time!

I mean, their lives are ridiculous!

Happy birthday, Aidan!