Brian's Cancer Journal

www.caringbridge.org/visit/brianneus

This is a link to Brian's Caring Bridge page. I need to get caught up with our family blog, and thought it would be easier to keep Brian's cancer updates separate. Hopefully with the kids going back to school I will find more time to update on all of the exciting happenings here at the Neus house!!

Wicked Birthdays!

"It's All About The Shoes"


Brian & Lauryn getting ready for our big night!



At the show - the most uncomfortable seats ever (according to Brian)

Mom & Dad

Me, Lauryn & Brian

For our birthday this year Lauryn and I went to see Wicked! It was so wonderful!! Lauryn had been talking about this trip since October when we purchased the tickets. We took her out of school on a Friday and drove with my parents down to Tucson. We checked into our hotel rooms and rested a bit before we headed out for the night! We went to a yummy dinner at BJ's and then off to the show!

It was great! Lauryn loved it! Brian would've liked it more if the seats were more comfortable. (At intermission he stood up and said, "Great show! Let's go!" He seriously thought it was over.) My parents hadn't seen Wicked before and they loved it, too!

What a wonderful way to celebrate my 40th and Lauryn's 8th birthdays! I am so lucky to have such a great daughter - she's always been my very best birthday present!! Thanks Brian, mom and dad for another fun adventure!!

Sea World - Happy New Year!!

We surprised the kids this year with an impromptu trip to San Diego! We told them the morning we were leaving that we were heading over to Sea World for the weekend. What fun! I was able to get a great price on a hotel room at the La Jolla Marriott. It was a beautiful hotel in the perfect location! When we got up to our hotel room and opened the balcony doors, we had a perfect view of the La Jolla Temple! We also could see the ocean from our room! It was awesome!!

Brian wasn't feeling very good by the time we arrived in La Jolla, so I took the kids and headed out to the mall - which was just across the street from where we were staying. Brian was able to rest for a few hours and the kids and I had a fun time shopping and goofing around. I took the kids to Red Robin for dinner and then we drove around La Jolla looking for a CVS or Walgreens to get Brian something for his congestion. (There are only certain types of drugs Brian can take right now because of the cancer in his liver. Thankfully, I found a wonderful pharmacist who did a little research for me and told me he could take Sudafed. That apparently doesn't work through your liver but maybe your kidneys or some other organ that is working for Brian these days!) Anyway, the Sudafed worked wonders and Brian was feeling better by the next morning!!

We spent all day Saturday at Sea World and everyone had a great time! It wasn't crowded at all - a little chilly, but not too bad! By the end of the day though, after the kids went on the river raft ride 3 or 4 times and were completely soaked, it was really cold! We headed back to our hotel and hit a drive-thru for the kids' dinner. Brian and I dropped them off there and went out to a nice Mexican restaurant and had a quiet dinner by ourselves! It was really nice!

Sunday we packed everything up and headed out. We stopped at the beach in La Jolla and let the kids see the sea lions and collect a few shells. I was able to take a few fun pictures with my new camera! We loaded them back up and headed home.

All in all it was a great trip! I think the kids had a good time - and Sea World was a great pace for Brian. He was able to sit and rest when he needed to and it didn't take too much out of him! We were able to get annual passes for everyone so we will be returning some time again this year!

More Pictures - New Year's Trip

We had to take this family picture again! Love it!

The kids at La Jolla Cove

Sydney and the penguins

Hunter and the twins

Sommer

Sydney and Lauryn

Brian's resting spot

My kids loved this ride! Ha ha! I was laughing so hard at them!

I'm sure the other people on this ride were really irritated with my kids!

Lauryn and Dad

The whole gang in the shark encounter

Christmas Morning 2010

Santa came through for us again this year! Fun, fun, fun!!

My Christmas Tree

I love my Christmas tree! Yes, half of the lights have burnt out. The star on top is lopsided. But I don't care! I put my tree up early this year. Really early. Like before Thanksgiving. Yes, I did. It was a Thanksgiving Tree. I wish I had taken some pictures of it! I only put my silver and gold berries and squiggly things on it along with wonderful notes that had written on them the things we were thankful for this year. It was awesome! Really awesome!

Now my Christmas Tree - I love it so much! Not the tree itself exactly - but my ornaments. I was given a gold picture frame ornament for Hunter's first Christmas from Grandma Jean back in 1995. Every year since then I have put up a new picture frame ornament for each of the kids. We now have 57 pictures on our tree! I love it!! I think that's what I look forward to the most each Christmas - picking out my ornaments!











This was the one that started it all! Hunter - 1995

Christmas 2010

Grandpa Neus



The girls opening their sewing kits from Grandma Neus



Katie, Grandma Jean, Hunter & Grandpa

Connor & Hunter

Grandma Jean & Lauryn

We had a wonderful Christmas this year! It was pretty routine - nothing crazy or out of the ordinary happened! Lots of concerts, recitals and parties!! We have so much to be thankful for this year!!

Nativity with the Olsen cousins

Lauryn, Chloe & Zachary

Hunter & Kristen

Hunter's Football Season

I know this was forever ago - but I haven't blogged about Hunter's football experience! Hunter spent many days during this past summer working out with the Desert Ridge JV Football Team. It was hot. Very hot. And practice was really hard. And long. And did I mention hot? Hunter played on the defensive line. He worked hard. Really hard. He did a great job and we are so proud of him!

This summer was the worst summer of my life. And Brian's life. Brian was diagnosed on a Tuesday morning while Hunter was at football practice. We picked him up from practice, dropped him off at home and headed to the hospital. It sucked. Brian missed just about every football game due to being in the hospital or at home sick. It wasn't good.

Hunter was talking with me one day and told me that this was the worst summer of his entire life! I said, "Yeah, it's been pretty crappy". And he said, "Yeah, football sucked!" It's nice that he can still be a kid and keep things in perspective!!