Gone Fishin'

Now this blog entry is out of order, but most of it still pertains to the fishing trip. Below it explains more about it. Here is Curt, Wally, and Donny getting the fish filleted. Wally made it look so easy. Look how pretty and pink these fish are.
Now, these next two pictures are completed out of order. I was working out in the yard this morning and saw a robin taking a bath. I just had to get a picture of it. If you click on the picture itself, it makes it larger so you can actually see the robin up close.
If you look closely, you can see the robin dipping in the water and flipping its wings around to get wet. You can see the water splashing. Click on the picture and you can see the water droplets all around it.

On Thursday, June 26, Curt, Wally, Gail (Wally's brother), and Donny took a fishing trip down to Piute Reservoir. Curt said they had a wonderful time. They all came back sunburned. Here is a picture of Wally and Curt with their catch--12 three- to four-pound rainbows. Wally and Donny with the fish. Donny's boat and truck are in the background.
Twelve lovely rainbows.
At Piute Reservoir as they are getting ready to leave. The fish and game warden (a girl) was telling the guys no one had come out with such good looking fish all day.
Getting ready to leave Piute Reservoir.

Lacey Turns 21!!!

News headline--Lacey is now legal. She turned 21 on Wednesday so she wanted to take her first trip to Mesquite. She, Landon, Lyndsay, Dusten, Jerry, Shelly, Chris, Amanda, Cody, Curt, and I went along. We had a great time together (other than it probably was a little too soon after Curt's surgery--he was hurting quite a bit). Curt and I stopped and picked up Landon's mom and dad so we could ride together. On Friday night, we decided to go bowling. Lacey was up first. She got to the foul line and went right down the lane herself. She ended up on her hands and knees. Well, that did it for me. I didn't hardly dare get up to the foul line. I think I bowled my worst game ever! Then we played one more--I didn't get a lot higher. Lacey kicked all our butts and did some acrobatic moves besides.

Also on Friday, we played Bingo. I happened to win $50 on that one. On Saturday, Chris, Amanda, and Cody joined in the fun. Before they got there, Lacey, Landon, Lyndsay, and Dusten went swimming. The rest of us didn't get that far. It was only 112 degrees.

All in all it was a great weekend. You can tell the economy isn't so great right now. Usually on the weekends it is packed. Not a lot of people there.

Well, Lacey, I hope you had a fun time. I know the rest of us did. Now we can look forward to our Alaska trip! We'll DEFINITELY take tons of pictures on that one.

Family Cleanup and BBQ

What a busy day we had on Saturday, June 15! We had a family get together to spruce up Grandma Kjar's yard. Grandma counted at least 68 people (not even counting Susan's family who stopped by on their way through town). We spent the morning working on Grandma's yard. I forgot my camera (duh!) but there are a few pictures on Cashelle's blog. After the cleanup, we ventured down to our house for the barbecue. Curt and I furnished the meat (the "famous" Sanpete barbecued turkey, hamburgers, and hot dogs), plates, silverware, napkins, and cups. Everyone else brought things like salads, baked beans, cookies, etc. It was a regular feast! We had a wonderful day doing this service project for Grandma. Now she won't have to worry about her yard for a while. Here are a few pictures from the day. This first picture is Lacey, Amanda, Cody, Thomas, and Jonathan (sp?). Jonathan is Amanda's brother who was visiting here from California. We were happy to have him here--and boy, did he work! Curt, Landon, Lacey, and Maddox.
Here is John helping barbecue the turkey. We were so grateful for those who helped at our house. It hasn't been two weeks yet (two weeks today!) since Curt's surgery so he couldn't lift things. He did a great job cooking. It did take a toll on him. He has slept a lot since then but it was wonderful having the family here.
Madalynn with her friend, Lucky, who thought she had to sit on her lap.
In front of our little cabin in the backyard.
Group gathered in the shade to enjoy each other's company.

All the family enjoying a wonderful meal.
Here is the guest of honor, Grandma Kjar. We love her so much. We are so grateful to her for all the great things she has done for all of us. There is no one in the world like her. I hope to be more like her. She is a great example to us all. We love you, Grandma!


After the barbecue, my family decided to go the Manti Aquatic Center for a swim. Did they ever have a great time! I didn't think they'd allow me in a swimming suit--I would have scared everyone off--so Cashelle and I watched from the sidelines. A.J., Madalynn, Audrey, Thomas, Chris, Amanda, Cody, Jonathan, Landon, and Lacey all went for a dip. Here is Amanda with Madalynn and Thomas.

Lace, Thomas, and Audrey.
A.J. and Landon.

Amanda and Cody. Cody had such a fun time, too. We had just a wonderful weekend together.

Good News

Yesterday was a good news day for us. The doctor told Curt that he should be cancer free now. There were no cells in his lymph nodes--just in the prostate which is now removed. He won't have to have any radiation or chemotherapy. Now he just needs to continue to heal.

Yesterday he got his staples removed. They also were going to take out his catheter but it wouldn't come out. So the nurse released the bubble inside and said it would eventually fall out on its own. That was about 4 p.m. yesterday. At about 11:30 last night it came out. We were so relieved to have that part over.

Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers, putting his name on temple rolls, etc. It all helps, and we appreciate it very much.

Day 5

I was worried about bringing Curt home just two days after his prostatectomy, but I found out there was no need to worry. He is much better today than he was yesterday. He had a shower and washed his hair which made him feel like a new man. While he was in the shower, I changed the bedding so he'd have clean sheets. Now, if we can just take care of his catheter until Wednesday we'll have it made. It is looking a lot better now, too.

We didn't ask the doctor, but I would suppose he may take out some of the staples on Wednesday too--maybe even all of them. Wednesday will be nine days after surgery. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I'm glad he's home. Hopefully, this will be the end of his cancer worries. Let's hope so. The doctors seemed to feel good about it. I'll update again in a few days.

Day 3

Surprise, surprise! Curt was allowed to come home today, even though the doctor planned on keeping him until tomorrow (Thursday). I am glad he is home. He has been sleeping most of the day which is what he really needs.

He needs to have a catheter in until next Wednesday. We'll stop by Dr. Kronmiller's office to get it taken out. By then, he should also know the results of the pathology tests taken on his lymph nodes. They looked clear to the doctors but they tested them just to be sure.

We are so grateful for modern science. Without it, we wouldn't be where we are today. Thanks to you all for your thoughts and prayers. We'll keep you updated. As for now, Curt should be cancer free.

Day 2

Today was the 2nd day after Curt's prostatectomy. It sounds like the doctors did remove the lymph nodes as per Curt's request. Visually, they looked clear. Pathology tests won't be back for ten days from the surgery so we won't know for positive for a while yet. But, the doctors feel pretty confident there is no more cancer.

This morning, Curt had the nurse give him a suppository (he has a catheter right now) so he could go to the bathroom. It didn't seem to work, so a while later the nurse gave him another one. Boy, did it work. I swear, he got up to go to the bathroom at least every five minutes for five or six hours. Poor guy. He has been for a couple of walks today, plus the uncounted times he got up to go to the restroom, I'd say he got his exercise today. The drain that was surgically attached came out this morning. The doctors were not pleased, but Curt seems to be doing nicely without it.

It looks like he'll be able to come home on Thursday. He needs to have the catheter in for at least ten days so that will be a little bit of a challenge. But, it will be okay. I will be driving up again tomorrow. I'll let you know how tomorrow goes.

Surgery Day

Just a quick update on Curt . . . .

We had to be in Payson by 8:30 a.m. to prep for his surgery. (For those of you unaware, Curt was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few weeks ago after a biopsy found cancer. He had to wait for the biopsy to heal before they could perform the surgery.)

Anyway, we got to Payson Hospital at 8:30 a.m. Finally, at 10:30 a.m. he was taken back and I was sent out to the waiting room to wait with Chris, Amanda, and Cody, who showed up for moral support. At about 2:15 Dr. Kronmiller came to the waiting room to talk to us. He removed his prostate along with lymph nodes (I think--or he just checked them--I'm not sure up to this point). The Dr. said the lymph nodes looked great so they don't think the cancer had spread past the prostate (let's hope and pray). They, of course, will test the lymph nodes to be certain the cancer hadn't spread. He was pretty confident that this operation should take care of it. I certainly hope so.

Around 3:45 p.m. he was finally in his room, where he will stay until Thursday or Friday of this week.

I was really holding it all together really well until this morning before we left. Curt said, "Let's have a prayer." I offered the prayer and could hardly make it through it. Curt assured me everything will be okay. By the way, his brother, Steve, and Steve's son, Shaun, gave him a blessing last night. It was really nice. I am so thankful for the priesthood and the opportunities it affords us.

I drove home about 8 p.m. and will go back up in the morning. I hope Curt continues to get better and better until he is able to come back home. Thanks to everyone for your support and prayers. We really appreciate it.