It is Wednesday, considered "Hump day" here at the cancer center. (They think they are the only ones who get excited about Wednesdays!) A little girl named Stevie "graduated" today. She let a big bunch of balloons go in front of the center, then went inside to celebrate big time with all the people who have watched her go through her 2 months of treatments, lose her hair and come out with a big smile. What a cutie! She is only 5 but acts much more mature than most kids her age. I guess with cancer, you have to grow up fast. Major's treatment was much longer today, almost 2 1/2 hours but he did great and saw his Dr. to boot. He does really well until later in the evening when he starts feeling achey again. That lasts much of the night but by morning he feels good again. I was talking to several wives whose husbands are being treated here and we all agreed how blessed we are to be able to have them treated with the proton because the side affects are so minimal. Some people here at the proton center have to have chemo along with the proton and they have a rough time with that. We are so lucky!!! I put some pictures Major took at Galveston. We took another trip there the other day but hadn't put them yet. He really enjoys catching the different birds. If you click on the picture you can see it bigger. (just in case you are as computer "slow" as I am and didn't know that!!)

Happy to report that Major's shot, that we have been dreading for the last 3 months, went so smoothly that he wasn't sure he really had it. If it hadn't been for the band-aid left behind (no pun intended! ha ha) he would swear the nurse didn't even give him the shot. I would say she gets the "injectionist of the year" award. Some people really are better at giving shots than others. Hopefully tomorrow he won't be sore. Last time he hurt almost 2 weeks. The treatment went fairly well today except for the fact that the computers went down while he was on the table again. That's twice now. At least they haven't gone down completely. When that happens you get pushed back a day and we don't want to have to stay an extra day so keep your fingers crossed.

Major sailed right through his treatment today and it's Monday! That is a very good thing. He was in and out in a matter of about 40 minutes. We decided to go see a Monument at San Jacinto. This is where Sam Houston captured Santa Ana, called the Battle of San Jacinto. Major's brother said we should go check it out because he thought there would be some nice picture ops there. It is a huge monument, actually it is the world's tallest monument, and has a museum inside of it. Then a little further over on the Houston Ship Channel, the Battleship Texas is docked. This ship participated in World War I and World War II. Both were quite impressive but it was a super muggy day and mosquitos were out in force so we didn't stay out long. Major did get some good pictures and I will post the actual monument in front of a reflection pool so you can see it. We didn't stay too long and headed back to eat some lunch and let Major rest. Tomorrow won't be as good as today was because he gets his second shot and we both know how miserable the last one was. Hopefully this one will be his last. I watched him get the last one and told him he is on his own for this one! I am such a chicken!!! The Dr. suggested we use ice packs this time which we definitely will do and hope it works better. Love you all!

We had a nice, restful Sunday. We ended up going to the same ward we attended last week. It seems that all the other close wards were either: Chinese, Vietnamese, Spanish or a singles branch. We decided that the southern drawl was as much of a foreign language as we could understand so we chose to stick to this one. It was very nice. They have such a nice ward choir that they use them almost every Sunday. So today we got to hear them again. (They sang last Sunday as well) We are so out of the loop, we forgot today was Fast Sunday and that next sunday is Gen. Conference. They do something different in this ward that I thought was nice. They keep the front bench empty so that anyone who wants to bear their testimony goes up and sits on the front bench until it's their turn. Thought it made the testimonies go pretty smoothly, although it went over 10 minutes longer than what the Bishop said he would like to close by. We mostly rested today again. Major has felt so good we decided to stick to that for the most part. We did get out a little bit and take a ride but other than that we pretty much stuck to "home." We start Week 4 tomorrow and by Friday we will half way. Yay!!! Looking forward to that. Actually I have to admit, it has gone by pretty fast. ( not sure Major agrees though!) Holly called us while we were driving and we talked to Kaylee for a minute, (we have bluetooth in the car so we can both talk and don't have to hold a phone to our ear). I made the mistake of telling her that we were almost home and she got so excited. Then Holly explained that we meant the hotel we were staying in and she burst into tears. I felt sooooo bad. sorry Kaylee!!! love you all

Had a good Saturday. Major's nephew was supposed to come get us and take us to see some more of Houston but had to cancel at the last minute. We were sorta glad. It really gave us a chance to rest up and just relax. We did go to Herman Park which is in the museum district. They have lots of cultural events there and they are free. Today was supposed to be some Chinese thing so Major thought it would be a good photography opportunity. When we first got there a dragon dance was going on and it was very good. A couple of dance troupes performed after that and they were colorful but the things that followed seemed like a chinese talent show gone bad. Major had gone clear to the back to be able to take better pictures and I was still about in the middle. I was thinking, "OK I can endure this if he is wanting to stay" but secretly hoping he wasn't enjoying it any more than I was. Sure enough, my phone rang (quietly, and it is in an outdoor theater) and he asked if I thought I could discreetly get up and leave. You can believe I was able to accomplish that task! We left and vowed to find out more about what we were about to attend before we got there. So we spent the rest of the day in our little home away from home, Major working on his book and I finished blankets #23 and 24. I have 5 more blankets to go and then I'm going to seriously have to find something else to do. Major mentioned tonight that he really felt good so I'm thinking this relaxing weekend is just what the dr. ordered. love you all! (oh yeah, I am missing the RS broadcast but I couldn't ask Major to sit and wait for me that long and the church is 20 minutes away, getting on the freeway and I'm not that sure of myself just yet, so I'll have to check it out of the library when I get home. Somebody can fill me in on it until then)

It's Friday!! Soooo excited. We can sleep in tomorrow, no getting up to start drinking water (Major). We went to the Cheesecake Factory for lunch today and ate a "normal" meal for the first time in 6 days. Ymmmm. We even brought home a slice of Chocolate Mousse Cheesecake for later tonight. I think we have shrunk our stomachs because we can never finish a whole meal, let alone have dessert. If we liked the same things (Major is a beef man and I'm fish and chicken) we could share a plate. I found out something today that made me feel a little better. The guys who were put on hormones 2 months before starting treatments are having more side affects than those who were lucky enough to avoid that part. I was afraid that Major was the only one who feels achey all night long and some of the other things. He gets his 2nd shot Tuesday and we are both dreading it. Maybe his body will be more used to it and it won't affect him as bad. Either way, we do know that it's doing it's "job." His PSA is down and that's a very good thing. Question: I'm behind in my journal since I got here. I hate that. Does this blog count? (guess I can use the blog to remember what happened 2 weeks ago, right?)

Treatment #13 complete and went well. Tomorrow we go at 11:00. We are liking the mornings much better. Major has the rest of the day to relax, rest up and get "his mind right" for the next treatment. Tomorrow is Friday and then 2 whole "treatment-less" days. It rained most of the day again but I guess it's ok because they say they really need it. WE GOT A HEART ATTACK today and it was so fun. Thanks everybody for your sweet notes. We surely enjoyed reading all the hearts. Please convey our thanks to the primary as well. We are doing really well. To answer some questions we have been asked a time or two, no, Major isn't in any pain, his treatments don't make him nauseated only very tired. He has some problems with his hands, they are pretty weak, and his shoulder still gives him fits, but we think we are pretty lucky. Other types of treatments have so many bad side affects and Major has avoided these. So we are truly grateful. Heavenly Father is blessing us beyond what we deserve. Thanks again to you all, Craig and Carleen, it's time to take a breather. We are really doing great! Love you all! P.S. blanket #19 is done and #20 3/4 done.

I told you today would be a better day! The sun actually came out and treatment #12 went very well. Nice change. Major has a visit with Dr. Choi every Wednesday and he usually has to wait quite awhile to see him but not today. To top it all off, Wednesday nights are game night here at the hotel. We play BINGO with other patients who are also being treated for cancer at the MD Anderson Cancer Center. (don't laugh, we get really bored) well tonight we won a free night at the hotel! That's worth a heck of a lot more than the mug of M & M's and a cookbook we won last week! Yeah, we are winners!!! Blanket #19 is complete. 26 more treatments and 10 more blankets and we will be home. I think we are down to 36 more days here. A week from this Friday we will be at the halfway mark. I'm not sure if I mentioned earlier that on the way down here Major told me "do you realize we will be in Houston 1/6th of a year?" Now I don't know about you, but 1/6th of a year sounds waaaaay longer that 2 months! I didn't think it was as funny as he did. We have gotten so many cards that I think the staff here think we must be somebody special. Thanks for all your support. We can certainly feel your love and prayers and are so appreciative. We are truly blessed! Love you all!

It has been raining all day! Very gloomy actually. It's treatment 11 out of 38. It didn't go so hot today. Kind of a rough day. Major actually admitted that yesterday and today were pretty bad. He said as he lay on the table he wondered to himself if he could really do this to the finish. Coming from a guy who hasn't complained yet I think it must have been bad. But then he reminded himself that if the other guys could do it he guessed he could too. Made me feel pretty sad. Up to this point, I think he's been telling me some "little white lies." Tonight he is feeling better I think. (Who knows!) One good thing, I'm thinking tomorrow will be a better day. I finished quilts #17 and #18. To be fair, one was a small one for one of the littlest granddaughters. I'm going to have Major take a picture one of these days, before I send some of them home, so I can prove that I'm not fibbing!

Week 3 begins!!! Major started morning appointments today and thinks he is going to like it much better. His appointment was for 9 so we left about 8:15. We weren't sure how bad the traffic is that time of day. When we walked out to get into the car my glasses fogged up so bad I had to take them off to see!!! Yeah, that's a first. The weather has actually been fairly pleasant. Really really muggy all day. I think it may have rained early this morning causing the humidity to be high. Well anyway Major's apt. went ok except the computer froze for about 25 minutes and he had to lay there that much longer which is quite uncomfortable for him. I wasn't really looking forward to having to meet all new people but guess what, (you'd be so proud of me!) I actually went over and introduced myself first this time and it wasn't all that hard! (for those who don't already know it, I'm a VERY shy person) I got acquainted with 7 new people who are in the same boat we are, except for one very lucky 83 year old man and a 4 year old little boy named Alex. They both "graduated" today and there was a big party for them. They both get to go home tomorrow. It's nice to see there are people who actually get through the 38 treatments. Well, I finished blanket #15 and started #16 today. Guess that's about the size of it!!! love you all

Oh gosh the weekend's almost gone. They go sooooo much faster than the week itself! Major is working up his nerve to get week 3 started. We got up early this morning (5:45) and took Gary, Kayelyn and Elise to the airport. Their flight left at 7:30 a.m. On our way to church Gary texted us to say they had just landed (10:50 a.m.) Had such a good time with them here. So good to see them. We did find the church but we think we are going to try and find one closer for next week. We didn't realize that this one was as far away as it was. We'll do more research this week and find one closer. Actually, this time we will make a test drive during the week to see how long it takes us to get there! We are so "little town" people and not used to having to get on the freeway to get anywhere. The time to get there actually is different each time, depending on the amount of traffic. Our hotel is really close to the Lakewood Church (you know, Joel Osteen???) and you should see the traffic going there! The hotel suggested we attend that one when we first checked in because it so close, ha ha. I have to admit it was pretty easy to find, it takes up a couple of Houston blocks all by itself. We did enjoy our own though, even though we didn't know anyone, we still felt at home. Major has had a good day today and that's a very good thing. Actually his whole weekend was good. Love you all!

We went to the Aquarium this morning. Had a really good time. I put some pictures up. The last one didn't post so I did it again and it still didn't post. So if tomorrow there are 2 pictures of a jelly fish you'll know why. It was for you Kaylee! If it doesn't show up I'll try again in the morning. Anyway we decided we'd eat a little lunch and then go to Galveston to take some more pictures. However Major started feeling bad so we turned around and went back to the hotel. Major took a 2 1/2 hour long nap and felt better. While he slept we went to the pool. The kids all either swam or sunbathed and I.....you guessed..... it made another blanket. #14 is done. Tonight the kids wanted to try some Texas BBQ so we went to a little place we had seen and it was OK but.... probably won't try it again. To describe the pictures, the fish is a Lion Fish, the white tiger was very agitated. We couldn't quite figure out why he was there, (why would he be in an aquarium????) and the rest is self explanatory. Major got some awesome pictures. Wish I could share them all but maybe tomorrow I'll add a few more.

What a fun day. Gary, Kayelyn and Elise are here with us this weekend. They arrived last night just before midnight. Yes, we picked the right airport! (whew!) Gary went to the Proton Center with us today. He got to meet Richard and Elyse Coleman who are also from New York. They were anxious to meet him. Richard is being treated for the same stage of cancer as Major's. Major did ok today but not as quick as yesterday. Yesterday he was out in 30 minutes, today more like 2 1/2 hours. I did finish quilt #13 today. Going to take the rest of the weekend off though. We are going to just find some fun things to see here in Houston with the kids. Elise wants to go to the Underwater Aquarium so that's first on the list in the morning. We'll see what we can find after that. Tonight we went to Pappasito's, a very good mexican place Major and I have eaten at twice before on previous trips here. We are all suffering from tummy aches now though. Hmmmmm.....maybe it wasn't such a good idea. Fridays are really the only time Major can eat "normal" so hopefully we'll not be sorry we went.

Had an awesome day. Major was in and out of his treatment in 30 minutes!!! Record time. We felt so good we ate a quick bite of lunch and headed to the Temple. It took us about an hour to get there thanks to the Houston traffic on the freeways! There were only 11 people in the session and that was kinda nice. That is until Major found out he gets excruciating pain when he lifts his arms up. Hmmm...don't know if that will continue or if it's short term. Pres. McGee must have said some nice things about Major when the temple called him because they gave him a "temporary 2 month temple recommend" which they said they usually don't do. Thanks Barry!!! We appreciate you! Hopefully we will get to go at least one or two times a week if Major's shoulder gets better. Also got one more blanket done. I'm on #12 and Major is on #9. I'm ahead!!! ha ha Oh yeah, Gary, Kayelyn and Elise are flying in tonight from New York at 11:35. They are going to spend the weekend with us. We are soooooo excited. Only one problem, they forgot to tell us which airport they are landing in. Houston has 2. We are hoping it's Hobby and not Bush because we are headed to Hobby in about an hour. Wish us luck! Love you all!!

Major's day wasn't easy today, but he still says he can't complain. Like I've said before, his attitude is what will get him through. He is beginning to develop some weakness in his hands, but we've been told that is one of the side affects he could have. So all in all, he is doing super!

We are down to 31 treatments. We can't believe tomorrow is Thursday already! We are going to attempt to go to the temple tomorrow evening. Pres. McGee called to check on us today and said he would call the temple ahead and get him cleared (since he didn't get here with his recommend). We are excited to go. Oh yeah, I completed my 10th blanket today. I'm making progress too.

Not much to report today except that all went well again. This time Major was so well prepared, we went early again, just in case someone ahead wasn't "prep ready" and sure enough. He was through with his treatment before his actual appointment was supposed to be. Two days in a row! We'll try again tomorrow but it's probably a fluke. Oh well, we'll take the good any time we can get it. Major said I should mention something about the picture I posted yesterday of the Proton Center. It doesn't look all that big from the outside but when you go in, we go downstairs and down there it is the size of 2 football fields! Yeah, pretty amazing! We think most of it is underground because of all the radiation that goes out from there. Anyway he had treatment #6 today. That leaves us with ONLY 32 more! We did get a new schedule today. It looks like we will be coming home after the 29th of October and not November 6th. They managed to squeeze 2 extra treatments into his schedule so we are excited. Yeah we could be home by Halloween! Oh yes, HAPPY 90th BIRTHDAY DAD!!!! We love and miss you!

WEEK 2! Yeah! We are doing good. We now are down to 33 treatments. Today's went very well. We were warned that sometimes Mondays can be hard. Being allowed to eat somewhat normally on the Friday and Saturday can also be very hard on the system. Sundays he goes back to eating the "special diet" with lots of water. Well Major did pay somewhat on Sunday but he is a very fast learner and was very careful all day Sunday. Well it paid off because so many guys were having a rough time and Major sailed right through it and even got finished in less than an hour! That's dang good!! We stopped and took a picture of the MD Anderson Proton Center where we are going to be spending 5 days a week for awhile. Thought you might like to see where we are. Major mentioned that he has a schedule for 36 treatments and thought we'd be going home on October 29th. However they informed him that was a mistake and he needed to go back to the therapist and get his "new" schedule which includes 2 more treatments and probably won't get to leave until November 6th. We will find out for sure tomorrow. Major thought maybe because his cancer is a little more aggressive than some of the others his treatments are a little more "zap" and he needs only 36. ha ha not going to happen. There are 2 treatment rooms for prostate cancer patients. Room 3 and Room 4. Most of the guys he's met go to #4 while he get his treatments for the more aggressive ones in #3. However there are a few who have a gleason scale above 7 and they are worse off so we are grateful for that. I think I mentioned I would be making 29 blankets for Christmas for my kids and grandkids. Well I am making progress too! As of tonight, I have completed 8 blankets. I was thinking if I could get one done every 2 days I'd get finished by the time we left here. I am ahead of schedule!!!! Yeah I'm pretty happy. We are also getting alot of reading caught up on, well Major is. I am just getting started!! Love you All

Just thought we'd add a few pictures from our little drive to Galveston yesterday. Major felt better tonight and so we added some pictures! Hey kids, look what we can do! (Actually Major has no problem figuring these things out. It's me that's a little slow. But I'm getting better !!)

It's been a lazy Sunday. We got up to go to church for the first time since we got here and Major realized he wasn't going anywhere. I think it had something to do with him eating "normal" Saturday. (with permission of his dr. by the way) His body didn't agree with "normal" and did a number on him. So consequently we stayed close to the bathroom all day. Hopefully we will get the hang of what's really normal for him and that won't happen again. Meanwhile, we are back to the "weird" diet for now. We have to remind ourselves that he can't lose OR gain more than 5# while he is here! Do you realize just how hard that can be??? Well we do and it isn't easy. If he doesn't do this they could possibly zap the wrong areas and that can't be good. So for now the scales are his best friend. (well next to me that is!) We were alerted to the fact that we are still in 3rd Ward and that made our day. We will be getting a map sent to us soon so we can see for ourselves just what took place today. We hear we missed a really, really good Stake Conference. Congratulations to Randy Rogers on his new call. What a blessing it will be for him and his family. I did hear that we lost some our great families to 5th Ward and that makes us sad. However our loss is 5th Wards' gain and I'm sure we received some new families we get to know and love.

Well it's Saturday. Major got to eat normal food today and didn't drink much water (surprise!) He has to go back to the "weird" food diet tomorrow to prepare for Monday's treatment. It was nice to have a break though. We even saved some good Terimussu (sp) for later tonight. We spent the day with Jim and Elizabeth Fritzler, (Major's nephew and his wife). They took us to see what's left of Galvaston after Hurricane Ike last year. Pretty sad to see such a beautiful place ravaged like that. However it has been improved somewhat since we saw it about 6 months ago. Sorry Carleen, we didn't go for a walk on the Beach. It was much too dirty and Elizabeth is a nurse in Houston and says she had a patient not too long ago who got some flesh eating virus from swimming out there. So we passed on that one. However, it was a very nice relaxing day and we enjoyed it alot. Major is super tired though and I suspect it will take the rest of the weekend to recoup in order to survive his treatment on Monday. We found out the ward we will attend while here starts at 11:00 a.m. How's that for finding one like home? Oh yes, we got back to find a card and flowers from Craig and Carleen waiting for us. Nice surprise and it livens up our little home away from home. Thanks so much! We miss you all! ( I got a little homesick last night.....hate that feeling!) Major says, "a little!!" ha ha I'll grow up one day, you wait and see.

It's Friday!!! that means 2 whole days of no proton treatments. They certainly knew what they were doing by giving them the weekends off. Hate that it means we have to be here longer but they really need a couple of days rest before getting back on schedule on Mondays. Today went well again, thank goodness but tonight he is feeling a little under the weather. I think the weekend will be good for him. (We will check out a new ward on Sunday if we can get someone to answer a phone so we know when to go.) We have Major's nephew coming to pick us up to take us to Galvaston tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully Major is feeling better by then. It will be nice to do something different. Next week we will make a trip to the temple (on a good day.) Somehow we got here without Major's temple recommend. Can't imagine what happened to it. We were just to the temple in Alb. 3 weeks prior and I always keep his with mine so I didn't even check! Just got them renewed for the next 2 years a month ago! How's that for luck? Anyway, guess we will have them call Pres. McGee and see if he will pass him through. ha ha We're hoping to make it to the temple at least a couple times a week since it is so close. (45 min.) Hopefully he doesn't have to get ok'd every time. Thinking they could put him on a "list" somewhere. Guess we'll find out!

Posting a little late tonight. We have been driving all over Houston trying to find a WALMART!! You wouldn't think it would be that hard. Texas is very close to Arkansas. Isn't that where it originated? I'm looking for fleece and yarn to do more blankets for Christmas. It's keeping me busy while here. I have 29 to make and I am working on them while I wait for Major's treatments and while he rests. I have 2 finished. Since we have only had 3 treatments I think I'm on track! Major's treatment went much better today. At least he came out smiling. He says it depends on which tech does the prep on him. Some hurt him while others make it quite simple. (Kinda like those who stick you for a blood sample, some are very good and some need to find another way to make a living!!! (You know I'm right!) Anyway he is very very tired tonight but isn't miserable like yesterday. He says he can tell he is being "cooked." Starting to get very tender inside. I tease him and say he's always been very tender inside, at least his heart is. He still has an amazing attitude. Very grateful for that. Love you all!!!!

Major's treatment today didn't seem to go as smooth as yesterdays' did. He looked pretty pale when he came out. He has a visit with Dr. Choi on Wednesdays so today they added that to his list of "things to do." The Dr. seemed surprised that Major was already experiencing some things that shouldn't be an issue this early. I think that may have bothered him a little. Don't really know what to expect so guess we'll just have to wait and see. Hopefully things will smooth out for him. The good news.....we only have 36 more treatments!!! I have been having some problems with my neck...from an old disc fusion surgery. My sweet brother has called me in an anti-imflammatory med plus a muscle relaxer and I should be back on my game by tomorrow (I hope!) We will go to the drug store in the next hour and see if they have it by now. Thanks Kennard!! It has been raining all day so it has cooled off quite a bit. It's supposed to rain for the next 3 days.

Major now has his first treatment under his belt! I think he was really dreading it mostly because he didn't really know what to expect. There are sooooo many things he has to do. Getting him ready for the treatments each day takes just about an hour and the actual treatment takes about 25 minutes. He has to drink around 36 oz. of water an hour before and "hang on to it." Then the "getting ready" begins and finally the treatment which consists of many x-rays and the actual radiation (proton). It blows my mind that he has daily x-rays but this is to insure that they treat all the right spots. Also it's their way of "inspecting" the results of the radiation to makes sure it's doing what it is supposed to do. Sorry to ramble but don't know how else to tell you what is happening. I am playing the waiting game. I go to the proton center with him and wait with all the other "cancer wives" as they tell me they call themselves. I decided I would pass my time by making fleece blankets for Christmas for the grandkids and their parents! I only have 29 to do. Started the first one today and got it 2/3rds done. Hope I can keep it up. All in all we are doing great. Major says it was very uncomfortable but not as bad as it could be. His attitude is amazing!

We are back to Houston and settled into the Residence Inn. The address is: 2939 Westpark Drive, Houston, TX 77005 Room 115. We can actually get mail using that address. We are tired but happy to sort of be settled for the next 2 months. We went to the grocery store, which is just around the corner and got a few things to make our kitchen feel a little more like "home." Putting it away, we realized the things we will probably need and will have to go back tomorrow. Oh well it's a start. Major is completely exhausted and is already in bed. (It's 7:12 p.m.) Hopefully he will get rested up before treatment starts tomorrow. He says to tell everyone he is doing great! (just so you know)

Well, we've had a fantastic visit with Arlis and Shirley, Brett and Heather and kids! So fun, relaxing and rejuvenating. Now we will make the trek back to Houston early in the morning so that Major can rest up for his new "adventure." He has such a great attitude that it can't be anything but good. We are here because of Major's amazing experience. Our faith tells us that he is going to be fine, he just has to endure the treatments. In his words, "piece of cake."

Well it's Saturday night and all's quiet in the house. Had a wonderful day with family, the guys got up early and went down the river in Arlis' boat to let Major take pictures and then we spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching the kids play in the pool. Nice to just have a relaxing day. Had a BBQ tonight and relaxing evening. Tomorrow more of the same hopefully and then back to Houston. Then the fun begins......until then, it's nice to think about other things. Major gets tired pretty fast so we let him slip upstairs to rest awhile and then he gets a new wind. He is starting to know his limits and I guess that's a good thing.

Happy Birthday Tara!!! Wish we were there to celebrate with you (or better yet wish Mat was there) 4 more days compared to a whole year, piece of cake! We are here in Arkansas waiting for Brett and Heather and the kids to get here. We are planning a fun weekend with them. They are pretty excited to jump into Uncle Arlis and Aunt Shirley's pool. We are just hoping it doesn't rain so they can. My neck is giving me fits but the good news is that Major seems to be feeling very well, other than he is tired, but that's been his normal for awhile. (I'm needing my personal massage therapist right about now!)

We spent the day driving around Major's old stomping grounds (as a little kid). He and his brother really enjoyed remembering all the things they used to do here. Very good therapy for Major to get relaxed and ready for the next 2 months. It's been a nice change of scenery for him.

Major had his simulation this morning and said it went well. At least he is done with that part, big relief!! Then we got our "new home" all arranged for. We will be at the Residence Inn in Houston for the next 2 months. I'll post an address later. After some lunch we left for Arkansas. We arrived about an hour ago and now we will rest up and enjoy a visit with them and our kids coming from Oklahoma for the Labor Day Weekend. (working up our nerve to begin the treatments on Tuesday)

Well we are here. We drove 15 1/2 hours yesterday and 7 hours today. Tired doesn't even begin to describe us. However we checked out the Residence Inn where we will be spending the next 2 months and they have really bent over backwards to make us comfortable with everything. Major has an appointment to be simulated tomorrow morning (that should only last 3 hours hopefully) and then we will drive another 7 hours to go to Arkansas to visit Arlis and Shirley (Major's brother for those who don't know). Brett and Heather and kids will be meeting us there on Friday to spend the Labor Day weekend with us. They only live 4 hrs. from Arlis so we will get to see them and what a treat! It's been way too long. Oh I should mention that we did stop in Carlsbad to visit the Caverns. Never been there and what a treat! Wow! Everyone should see that at least once. Is it one of the 7 wonders of the world? If not it certainly should be!