HI FROM THE WET COAST!

Hi everyone,

I'm sure by now you're bored by our updates but I still feel compelled to send them out - just to say thanks! We know that we have a great cheering section out there - thanks so much - it means eveything to us.

My Big Guy continues to do well - he's slowing down on the fishing end of things because fishing has dried up for now. He'll focus on a couple of other projects that we have on the go - we're going to redo the back deck and then the ensuite bathroom really needs a reno. That should keep him busy until Christmas!

Dallas is still on his 3 week herceptin treatment so we're off to the cancer clinic again this week. Next week he'll have his bone strengthening IV treatment and then the schedule begins again. We're so lucky to live in a city now where the medical facilities Dallas needs are readily available. And of course the boating isn't too bad either!

We enjoyed a great visit with our friends the O'Leary's last week - Anne and Brian rented a house that's just down the road from ours. Brian and Dallas logged quite a few hours on the Cinnamon Girl, Anne and I shopped until we dropped and we all enjoyed a dinner over at Genoa Bay.

We're sending big hugs out to all of you! More later....

Love,
Patty & the Big Guy

CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT SUMMER IS OVER?

Birthday Cake for Dallas and Tina

Uncle Dallas with Connor and Emmy on the boat

Hi Everyone!

Can you believe that summer is almost over? It just whizzed by at our house! The last couple of weeks have been really busy - Dallas celebrated his birthday on August 28th. We were joined by Marcus and Heather, Jordan (who flew in from Calgary), our buddy Steve, my brother Ron, his wife Tina and our super niece and nephew Connor and Emily. A lot of hours were logged on the Cinnamon Girl as everyone went fishing and crabbing. I think that a good time was had by all and I've attached a few pictures for you to enjoy. Since Tina's birthday was the week before Dallas's we had a joint cake ceremony.

Thankfully, things remain quiet on the cancer front. Unfortunately, we were reminded on our last visit to the cancer clinic that most patients on herceptin are on it because they've already beat their cancers. Dallas is apparently the exception - the herceptin is keeping his cancer in a holding pattern - it's still there but it hasn't moved around lately. As usual, my Big Guy put a positive spin on this - he says that the herceptin is just letting his immune system catch up before it kicks this thing in the butt!

Hope that all is well with you! More later...

Love, Patty

CATCH OF THE WEEK!

Hi Everyone,

I just had to share this picture of my Big Guy in all his glory. Dallas and his buddy Brian went halibut fishing this week and each managed to catch a nice fish at the same time (would have been like another goat rodeo!).

Dallas has also developed another passion - gardening! He always loved to maintain a beautiful lawn but he's now enjoying transplanting shrubs and redesigning flower beds - something I never thought I'd see. It has been so much fun to watch him play in the dirt!

This week marked the two year anniversary of Dallas's surgery, which is quite a milestone in our books. For the last two autumns he was also going through those dreaded rounds of chemotherapy - thank goodness those are over. The herceptin continues to keep everything in check so we're counting on it to continue to do it's job. Life is good. More later...

Love, Patty

UPDATE FROM THE BIG GUY

Hi everyone Well we had an up and down last week. Every 3 months I need to get my heart checked as the herceptin can do damage. The test I had came back below normal so they stopped my herceptin until they could do a full echo cardiogram on my heart. We just got the results and my heart is in perfect shape, so herceptin continues this Thursday. I have started power walking again as my neck and face pain seems to be getting better. We have spent some time out on the boat lately and Heather caught a big ling cod. Thanks for being concerned. Dallas
PS - Patty is doing well too

HOME FROM ALASKA!

Hi Everyone-

We've been back from our cruise for a few days now so I thought I would report in. Dallas and I had a wonderful time although I am afraid to step on the scale - I ate so much I thought Dallas would have to roll me off the ship! We enjoyed kicking around Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway and ended up in Seward. Dallas would have loved spending a day in Seward because it was a very active fishing community - the Big Guy would have interviewed every boat coming and going if he could have. The scenery was magnificent through Glacier Bay and the College Fjord so we'll bore you senseless with our photos if you stop by the house!

One of the highlights of our trip was meeting some other Stobers from Charleston. We don't hear our surname that often and to meet potential relatives from the U.S. was interesting. Bob and Brenda have done more research on the clan so we're still having fun trying to connect the dots.

Now that we're back home we've been busy catching up with household chores and gardening jobs. Dallas is feeling well and his energy levels seem to be at an all time high - he constantly runs circles around me! Enjoy your summer! More later...

Love,

Patty & Dallas

ANOTHER GOOD NEWS UPDATE!

Hi Guys,

I can't believe it's almost been a month since my last update! Dallas has been out on the Cinnamon Girl a ton - no surprise there. I used to think that his passion for golf would never be surpassed but now it seems as though fishing has one that contest hands down! Last week he caught a 31 pound halibut by himself on the boat! For those of you who aren't familiar with the fight that these fish put up when you catch one picture this: GOAT RODEO! Especially since this halibut was an incidental catch - Dallas landed it while fishing with salmon gear. Anyway, he came back that afternoon smiling ear to ear and filled our freezer. The kids and I think we need to outfit him with a camera equipped helmet set up to film all of his lone escapades on the water!

In the last few weeks we enjoyed a quick visit with friends Mark and Kathy from Invermere as well as a weekend with friends Jim and Diane from Vancouver. While Jim and Diane were here we boated over for dinner to Genoa Bay - what a fabulous restaurant! And of course the highlight of our month was when our Jordan was home for a few days. It's always so wonderful when we have the chance to bring all our kids together! Our newlyweds are doing well and Marcus got to finally toss his glasses away because he had lasik surgery this month. We enjoyed Genoa Bay so much that we went over with the kids for dinner on Sunday - it's so great that this restaurant is less than a half hour cruise on the boat.

Dallas sailed through his treatment four weeks ago and we're off to the cancer clinic today for another one. Yesterday he had a great meeting with our favourite doctor who said that the Big Guy looked the best he'd ever seen him look. For the most part Dallas feels the best he's felt since his surgery - almost two years ago! He continues to amaze all of us and we are forever thankful that he's doing so well.

As for me, I've been a bit under the weather - I was laid up for over a week with a fever/flu. This old bod just doesn't bounce back the way it used to! Now that I'm on the mend I'm looking forward to our cruise. Dallas and I booked a one week cruise to Alaska and we leave on June 13th. I can hardly wait!!! I think the change of scenery will do both of us the world of good and I'm looking forward to a week of pampering. More later...

Love,

Patty

GREAT NEWS!

Hi there...so after sitting on the edge of our seats for a couple of weeks we received some VERY GOOD NEWS - Dallas's back pain doesn't indicate any change or advancement of the cancer! We spent most of our Monday at the hospital while the Big Guy was scanned and x-rayed from head to toe. Our friend Anne McGilvary was out for a visit and kept us company at the hospital - definitely lightening the stress of the day. When our doctor phoned yesterday to say that everything was normal we were so relieved - the cancer that is present in the bone is behaving itself and nothing needs to change in Dallas's treatment plan. Happy tears were definitely the order of the day - we are so very thankful.

We're counting down the days now until Jordan's visit next week. He'll be working in Calgary this summer and has landed a great job at the Alberta Treasury Branch. He received the job offer a couple of weeks ago and we couldn't be prouder of him. It will be great experience in the finance field and will also count toward the co-op job term portion of his degree. Jordan is in the process of moving out of Res at Mount Royal and into a house with a couple of buddies. Luckily for us, he'll have a bit of time in between to drive to the island for quick visit - yeah!

Dallas had fun out on the Cinnamon Girl this week - he continues to develop his "crabbing" skills and also brought home a 15 pound salmon. Today he's at the floating boat show with Steve and our newlyweds Marcus & Heather. He's always on the lookout for the Cinnamon Girl II - yikes! More later...

Love,

Patty