Life's a beach...

This past Sunday, Michael and I took advantage of the nice weather and headed to the beach ...

... not to swim of course but to explore ...

... and play in the sand.

And before we left the park we were at ....

... we checked out the awesome playground.

It was a very relaxing way to spend a couple of hours.

I have a secret to share though - I got sort of sad watching Michael play thinking that the number of summers that Michael will enjoy this sort of adventure with innocent abandon are finite and I better savor them while I can.

Michael has been doing well since the end of chemo. He wasn't sick after that last treatment until Easter Sunday and then it was a long car ride and lots of excitement that did him in. We started our day checking out some goodies from the Easter bunny and Mom and Dad.

The Easter bunny always leaves the Easter baskets on the fireplace hearth. He must come down the chimney like Santa Claus. He also hid some eggs in the house for Michael to find. I think he realized it was just too cold to hide them outside this year.

After the Easter egg hunt, Jeff's Mom came by and the four of us headed to Albany for an Easter feast at Jeff's Aunt Barbara's home. Much of Jeff's extended family was there and Michael had fun getting to know some cousins he hadn't seen since he was a baby. The trip to Aunt Barbara's is three hours long and we haven't been able to make it the last couple of years with all that has been going on with Michael.

Michael did well until the last leg of the trip to Albany when he got car sick. After that his stomach was upset and although he tried, he couldn't eat or drink anything. After we got back home, Michael started throwing up in the middle of the night and by morning was pretty dehydrated. He started having severe pains in his stomach (like he had last month when we wound up in the Emergency Room).

So, I gave Michael a choice of drinking lots of fluids or going to the ER to get an IV and he chose the fluids. By mid-afternoon on Monday, he was feeling like his old self - the pains were gone and he was eating with no problems.

At least Michael was able to join in the Easter festivities before becoming too sick. The Easter bunny was found wandering in Aunt Barbara's back yard - I am not sure where he came from (or is it "she"?).

She had a basket full of surprises for Michael and all of his young cousins.



Including their own little filled Easter basket and balloons.

And then after dinner ...


... there was a magic show (with a professional magician). Michael even got a turn as the magician's assistance and helped pull an egg out of an empty bag.

The last few days have been remarkable. Michael's appetite and energy level are higher than I have ever seen. I would say he is over the "effects" of chemo. Well, except for his blood counts. Judging by the number of bruises on Michael's legs, I think his counts are probably low.

Jeff took Michael to Syracuse last Friday to receive his monthly antibiotic infusion so now he is set with that for another month. Tomorrow is his 3 month MRI. So tonight, we are settled into our hotel in Rochester and have to be at the hospital at 11 am. Then on Thursday, we will get the results when we meet with Dr. Korones. I will let everyone know how we make out. Keep your fingers crossed. And, please keep Michael in your thoughts and prayers, JoAnne.