Baby Caden Begins Chemo Treatments

Baby Caden's recovery from brain surgery has been amazing. He has had another surgery to implant ports for the chemo treatments, he has had two blood transfusions, and a spinal tap. They have also tested his eyesight and his hearing so that they can monitor any changes to either during his chemo treatments.

We were all thrilled with the results of the spinal tap when the spinal fluid came back free of any cancer cells. He has had a good appetite and has even shared a few giggles and smiles. Today started a new chapter for the little fighter.  He started his chemo therapy today to rid his tiny body of any remaining cancer cells.

Caden, his young parents, and his two year old sister still have a long road ahead of them. The plan is 28 more days in the hospital for this round of chemo treatments then a week at home. Return for another 21 days with a week at home then back for another 28 days. This will be the chemo treatment cycle until at least the end of the year.

Caden adores his mommy and his mommy rarely leaves her sweet Caden's side. Please continue to pray for baby Caden and his family. Caden has been a fighter, the power of prayer has been felt and very much appreciated by his family, and the Phoenix Children's hospital doctor's and staff  have been incredible.

When you see the children's hospital overflowing with activity it becomes very clear that many families are being challenged with the stress, heartache, and worry of very sick children. It is a very good reminder that we should count each and every healthy child we love as a blessing!

Even Rocks Stars Have to Sleep!

Following our Rock n Roll dance party at our camp out it was time to calm things down and get our little rock stars to bed. We had a full schedule planned for the next day and we needed to have well rested campers. Everyone got on their pajamas and they brushed their teeth.

I and my two oldest grandchildren hauled all of the bedding and pillows outdoors to the tent while Papa and the younger children sat around the campfire and told stories. My pretend fire ring has been part of the camp out for years and the children never tire of it.

Once all of the bedding was in place we once again discussed tent rules and our eight little rock star campers very anxiously climbed into their beds! There was a lot of excited chatter and it took a little time to get everyone quieted down.

We were packed into the tent. Ten of us in all! I stayed awake until everyone was asleep. Some conked right out right away and others were still a little too excited to sleep. After everyone was asleep I adjusted their bedding throughout the night to make sure they all stayed nice and warm.

Morning came quickly and early. 

The campers were ready to get on with the fun 

filled day we had planned!

Everyone woke up hungry and they were ready for the 

chocolate chip pancake breakfast a full hour ahead of schedule!

Rock Star Dance Party

At the Grandkid's Camp Out this year the tradition of our night hike was replaced with a Rock Star Dance Party just after dark. After dinner the kids got ready for the dance party. They were all given a rock n roll camp t-shirt to wear to the dance. A selection of bandanas, tattoos, their guitars, and their rock star wristbands turned them into little rock stars ready to party!

When the party time arrived the lights were turned down and the dance party CD was turned way up. Papa and I had burned a special rock-n-roll CD for this special occasion. I will share our really fun play list in a later post.

The kids danced hard and played their guitars even harder! I had a battery operated strobe light of sorts that added to the rock n roll theme. I had found the light for pennies on the dollar at an end of the summer clearance in Walgreens. It is meant to be a light to float in a pool but when I saw it I knew it would be perfect for the rock n roll theme. It has multiple settings and the kids thought it was way cool! The colorful lights seemed to strobe across the ceiling and walls to the beat of the music.

About half way through the dance party we stopped for refreshments. Glasses of sparkling Sprite on the rocks were served in plastic stemware glasses. The toasts to one another were really fun to hear. "Cheers to rock stars!", "Cheer's to cousins!", and my personal favorite "Cheers to our rock star grandma!"

The kids thought the cups were really cool and after the dance party the cups were tucked away in their Camp Out tote bags as a keepsake to take home.

We also served boxes of popcorn and m&m's!

Although the kids started out being a bit disappointed that the night hike was not in the schedule this year they were as happy as they could be at the dance party. They all had an absolute blast!

Thirty-Five Years and Counting!

Look at this handsome young man that I snatched up as my husband 35 years ago today. After a one year engagement we were married on May 10th, 1975. We loved going to the Phoenix Suns basketball games, dances, movies, and out to dinner on our dates. We fell in love listening to the Best of Bread that we blasted on his very cool eight track player in his car!

We were married just shy of my 20th birthday. Just 18 days after our first wedding anniversary we became parents to our son. We added three more little girls over the next fourteen years. We have now raised our family and we are enjoying our freedom and the friendship of our adult children.  We are both loving being Grandma and Papa too!

Camp Out Rock Stars

The Grandkids Rock-n-Roll dance party was scheduled for just after dark. The kids had made their own rock star wristbands earlier in the day as their ticket into our dance club. They had all visited the tattoo parlor (the dining room table) just before the dance where they got to choose their rock star tattoos. I then gave them each a gift bag with a Rock-n-Roll shirt to wear to the dance party.

They all changed into their new shirts and they were ready to 

Rock-n-Roll!

This little guy, my youngest grandson was not at the dance party but he came at the end of the Camp Out to help pick up his big brothers. He had to get in on the rock-n-roll action too!

Rock Star Tattoos

After dinner it was time for our campers to turn into tattooed rock stars for the Dance Party.

The dining room table was turned into a tattoo parlor. Papa and I were the tattoo artists for our little rockers.


This little guy loved the tattoos. He couldn't get enough of them.

Once everyone got their tattoos we were one step closer to being ready to enter the Grandkids Rock Dance Club!

All of our tattoo choices were a variety of Camp Rock designs or Peace signs.

Our littlest camper was very pleased with his tattoo choices!

Rock Star Wrist Bands Craft

Store bought slap wristbands were turned into custom rock star wristbands for entry into the rock-n-roll dance party that we had later in the evening.

To make the wristbands each child cut a strip of black glittered felt the width and length of the slapband. I furnished a full tray of small trinkets (old pieces of jewelry, buttons, jewels, chain, dice, beads, buckles, etc.)  for the kids to dig through for their wristband designs.

All of the kids were very pleased with their finds. The oldest boy chose a piece of leather to cover his wristband without adding any bling!

Once the kids chose all of their pieces I hot glued  the felt into place then glued the trinkets into place just like they designed them.

The Rock Star Wristbands turned out pretty cute don't you think?

Buddy Burners / Canned Heat

The Grandkids Camp Out turned to serious business when I began this project with the children. I explained to them that we were going to be doing a project that had some danger involved. The word "danger" seemed to peak their interest but at the same time they became very serious about what I was saying.

They listened carefully as I presented the rules with a warning that if at any point someone wasn't following the safety rules that the project would have to be put away.

I had made a buddy burner ahead of time to show the children the completed project. We talked about how we store extra canned food, bottled water, and other items in our pantries in case we need them in an emergency. We discussed reasons why having canned heat on our pantry shelves would be a good idea too. We also talked about using canned heat while camping for warmth or for cooking.  For our purpose, I had a tailgating party planned for the next day. The buddy burners were going to be used for cooking our lunch the next day.

Each child was given a tuna can with their names printed on the bottom and strips of precut cardboard. I demonstrated how to roll the cardboard and how to place it in their cans.

Papa sat close to our youngest campers and helped them complete their projects.

Once the cans were stuffed with cardboard it was time to add the wax. Safety rules were repeated and each child raised their hand showing that they understood the rules and that they promised to follow them. You can melt a can of wax to pour over the budding burners but I chose to make it more of a hands on do-it-yourself project and allowed the children to each light a candle and drip the melting wax over the entire can of cardboard. EEEEK.....Papa is looking at me like what are you doing???? We both kept a very close eye on the children to keep them safe.

I was very proud of the children for following the safety rules. They absolutely loved making this project and some very important lessons were taught along the way. 

The buddy burners were used very successfully the following day at our Camp Out tailgate party!