Time to catch up-

I am going to attempt to catch up on all that we have been up two in the last two weeks, but not in a lot of detail. We have been WAY TO BUSY and it would take hours to post.
These pictures are from the Portland Rose Festival. The kids had a blast and the weather was just awesome! This is a sling/jump ride that both of the kids did. I could not believe how high they were jumping...

Lilly was just dying to try this and she did an awesome job. She has ZERO FEAR...

Mac was selected to judge some clown acts while we there. He was pretty embarrassed up on the stage, but won a Portland Lumberjacks hat and autographed jersey for participating and that made it all worth it to him.

Some more rides...

...and some critters.

At the end of the Rose Festival adventure, the kids could not resist playing in the fountains that are by the downtown Portland waterfront. It was hot and they had been in the sun all day, so we let them get soaked!

School is out now for both kids and the summer break has arrived. We have a busy summer, but it's busy with lots of fun things!
We had an "over-due" garage sale this weekend at Pat's grandmother's house and it felt like a big accomplishment. It was a year ago on May 30th that she passed away and it has taken a while to go through her house and figure out what to do with things. She never could throw anything away...so there was a lot of stuff. (We sure do miss her)
The sale was a success and what's left over is on it's way to Goodwill. The sale was on Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, Pat and I catered for the Burdett's party. It was Tom's graduation celebration from Eastern Oregon and Jim's 60th birthday celebration as well. We made ribs, brisket, potatoes and rolls for the crowd. It all turned out WONDERFUL... the more of these jobs we do, the more confident Pat gets. He has really gotten the "smokin meats" business down to a perfection! We do enjoy cooking and catering together too!
At the moment, I am working on getting Mac and Lilly's bedrooms finished. I have had too many projects going on at the same time. They are almost done and looking pretty snazzy! I have a long list of projects to finish before my Dad gets here in July. He will be here for about 3-4 weeks and we can't wait to see him! He is bringing Pat's custom made BBQ/Smoker trailer up to us. Pat is just "stoked" for it to get here-
I would like to ask all of you to keep my Dad in your prayers. He has been diagnosed with Hep C and will be starting an intense therapy called Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin. He contracted this virus while serving in Vietnam. This theraphy is very intense and has very serious side effects but it is necessary in order to slow the virus down and keep him from gettting chirrosis of the liver. He will need a lot of prayers and watching over during his treatments. We are still waiting on results to determine which genotype he has. The viral genotype will determine if he has to complete 24 or 48 weeks of therapy. Let's all pray for the 24 week treaments. This therapy requires weekly injections/shots that he will have to administer to himself, unless someone else is available to do it for him, oral medications and lots of bloodwork. As I said earlier, there are some serious/scary side effects. If you want more info on them, you can google Interferon/Ribavirin or Hep C. The VA is highly expeirenced with treating Hep C, so Dad is getting awesome care. I just hate that he has to drive 4 hours one way to get there and that I am SO FAR AWAY. He will begin his therapy mid to late August. I will have more details as we get closer to his treatment date and will keep you all updated.
I found out last week that my brother, John and his girlfriend Nora might be coming to visit too! They are coming in July while my Dad is here!! I am soo excited and glad that we have plenty of room for all of them to stay with us! We will go and play and have lots of fun!
Well, that's enough info for now-
Will post again soon!

PS: Catie Lynn is doing well and is still on her weekly schedule of chemo treatments. I will do a more detailed post about her very soon. Our family THANKS you for your continuous support and prayers.