Hello- we are back home and catching up with being gone the last week. We all had a great time on the trip to Hawaii. In my last post I mentioned the first 3 days we went to the beach, fishing trip, and snorkeling. Tuesday was a scheduled trip of Surfing lessons. We were with a group of about 12 people and the leaders were a group of off duty fire fighters that started giving lessons on their days off. They did very well, giving very good pointers on the beach, then going into the water with the group and guiding everyone for about 15 minutes, then letting you try it on your own for the last hour, with them close by for any additional help. They were alot of fun and a great group to take lessons from. Wednesday we got up early and went to Pearl Harbor. We toured the battleship "Missouri", the submarine "Bowfin" and walked thru the USS Arizona Memorial. It was really a great piece of history for us to see. That night we went to the scheduled Hawaiian Luau. This was set up with a shuttle to a private part of the Island, called "Paradise Cove". They had games in the beginning, then a huge buffet dinner, followed with the traditional dancers and firedancers. The full luau and activities lasted about 5 hours, which we all had a great time. The Hawaiians are sooo friendly and seem as if they have always known you. Thursday we went to a water park and pretty much took it easy. There were big water slides, a wave pool, and a surfing area called "Flow Rider". The boys thought this was the biggest thrill and spent most of their time trying to see who could stay on the board the longest. The rest of Thursday and Friday Morning we finished up with our shopping and gift trips to the store before heading to the airport. This Make-A-Wish trip was packed with tons of fun and memories and I have to say it helps you to forget all about medications, doctors appointments, and all the worries that have been part of our thoughts in the past year. Make-A-Wish is a great organization and they make sure the whole trip is planned well and no burden to the family. I will post some pictures of the trip, plus a few that should have been added a while ago.

Now the next BIG day that we have been working on for the past couple of months is this Saturday. The "CureSearch Walk". Our team-Elimi"NATE" Cancer is doing very well. We are close to $2500.00 and shooting for our goal of $3000.00. It's at Village Pointe from 8:00 to 10:00. If you would like to donate or walk you still have time by going to Curesearch.org/events, then click Curesearch walk, then Omaha, Ne. When you get to the scrolling teams click on Nate's team name and it will take you to the spot to sign up or donate. We still have T-shirts for $12.00, even if you can not make the walk. They turned out really good and I will try and add some pictures of them. Also, if you live in the local area, the Post Gazette has a very nice write up about the walk and the 6 teams that are from the Elkhorn area. They have a picture of each child and tell a little about them and their cancer. It also mentions how the walk raises money for childrens cancer research and that this is the 4th year for the walk, and hopefully with this years totals, we should hit a 4 year total going over the half million mark.

Nate has been doing alot better since going back on the steriods. He has gone this past week with no more headaches. He has dropped his dose down from 4 mg morning and night to now 4 mg just in the morning. We will stay on this till we see the doctor this Friday. The goal is to get to the lowest dose without any symptoms returning, even if he would have to stay on this lower dose for a while. So far so good- no bad side effects have started with this latest start up of steriods. He has been enjoying his summer days off since being back from Hawaii by sleeping in, then hitting te new "hot spot" behind the high school for fishing with his friends. He still is working a few days at the Scheel's sporting store, and now has decided to save all his paychecks for a pick-up.

I want to thank everyone for all the work towards our curesearch team. Thanks to all that have donated and bought T-shirts. Also, to the 37 or more walkers that have signed up, and the virtual walkers too. Bless all of you that have said prayers for Nate as he continues to do well. We are greatful to all.

Take Care,

Love Monica

Leslie