ALL in the Fight

The Big Climb

2011-01-07T10:10:00.001-08:00

Once again, we have set up Team Charlie for the Big Climb in Seattle! This was so much fun, and I really want everyone to do it!! Now is the time to sign up, since they only let so many people do it....
www.thebigclimb.org and look for us when you register under Team Charlie. Email me if you have any questions!

Ok...so it's been awhile...

2011-01-07T09:47:00.001-08:00

Everything has been going just great, and I forget to update this thing! Charlie's port came out in November, which he was very proud of and had to show everyone...even if they didn't want to see it or had no idea what he was talking about! School has been going really good, and if you ask him what his favorite part of school is, the answer would be recess! I pick him up from school sometimes and he is absolutely filthy, pants covered in mud! I ask how he got so dirty, he'd say he was playing football with his best friend Evan.
Charlie went to the eye doctor at the beginning of November, as I figured it'd be a good idea to get him set up with a doctor since both of us wear glasses. We found out that Charlie's eyes don't converge, and his also don't work together. To correct this he needs vision therapy...the closest one? Lynnwood. So.. every two weeks we go see a vision therapist and Charlie gets to do fun things with her and at home. I've got some pictures included on this post. He has lots of fun doing the exercises and doesn't even realize that it's therapy he's doing!
Charlie got a LOT of LEGO's for Christmas, and boy was he in heaven!! There were ships made, there good guys and bad guys and major battles! The first picture is a fleet of ships for the good guys....the bad guys weren't so lucky.

"Decades Day" at school...it's the best I could do with what we had...but he sure looked cute...

Vision therapy...he is wearing a patch over one eye and catching marbles mid roll with a cup. He loves this game...

Vision therapy again, "What's the diff" he looks a side by side picture and finds the differences between the two while wearing special glasses. One side is covered, so he uses just one eye at a time. They found that Charlie uses one eye for distance, and the other eye for close up. This will help his eyes to work together to look at the same thing.

Loves his Rocky Dog!!!

Coolest thing ever.

2010-10-20T19:43:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd share the best news in the world. I can also now shred the giant stack of insurance explanation of benefits that I've been holding onto for THREE YEARS. Make sure you also check out my other posts...I finally updated after TWO WHOLE MONTHS!!
Also Charlie is now port-free! He got his port out a couple of weeks ago and is so proud of it, and will gladly show you. Even without you asking!

Ahhhh...to be back in Newport, Or

2010-10-20T19:29:00.001-07:00

We decided last minute to go on trip to Newport, Or and we had the best time...this was back in August when it was slightly warmer. We went to the beach every day, took a little jaunt down to the Sea Lion Caves...and then got to see Sea Lions right up close in downtown Newport. Charlie had the most fun out of all of us and it was great to just be. My very favorite picture is of Charlie running on the beach, full of happiness and life. Also, at the Newport Aquarium, Charlie's favorites where the puffins...

Fun at the Peace Arch.

2010-10-20T19:20:00.001-07:00

So, we decided to take a little trip up to the Peace Arch park up in Blaine at the Canadian border...it's a really pretty park that I can't remember ever going to! Charlie and Brian rolled down hills, and pretended to be statues sitting on a bench, over all we had a lot of fun! I was uploading my pictures and found that Charlie had taken 3 pictures of the perfect blue sky....

NW Washington Fair....

2010-08-17T22:02:00.000-07:00

We had a great time at the fair this year! As you can see from the pictures....
Brian is Clifford The Big Red Dog for American Family insurance Tues, Weds and Thurs from 5-8..so make sure you go and see him and let him give you a big hug!! :-)

We scheduled Charlie's very last chemo treatment today..September 10th. Also, his bone aspirate came back clear!! No CANCER!!! YES!!!!
Sorry about two pictures being the same...it's all words and symbols when I'm editing the post, so I can't tell which picture is what!!!!

August 16th....a special day...

2010-08-16T00:11:00.001-07:00

It was the day that Brian and I were married in 1996. 14 years, I can't believe it...we've been together a total of 15 years and it's amazing to think about all that has happened in that time. Moving to 3 different apartments in 18 months time, deciding to move to Bellingham, Brian working 9 hours every night, then going to school for 5-6 hours a day, and trying to sleep somewhere in there, changing jobs, like 15 different car changes, struggles with getting pregnant, then being pregnant, graduating college, finding a job, moving to another city, having a baby, losing a beloved parent, changing jobs, moving back to Bellingham, busting a leg in a freak bike/dog/toddler accident, buying a house, finding your child has cancer and fighting it, and finding time to still find the joy of each others company. Brian is my best friend, and man, do I love the guy. I'm so lucky that he found me...enjoy the pictures of our Wedding day! Brian's jeep was loaded, LOADED with newspaper, bags..pretty much whatever they could get their hands on. The last picture is of us in Newport, Or on our honeymoon. Which oddly enough, we are going there on our vacation this next week!!!

Peaches, waves, potatoes, and lakes

2010-08-11T17:09:00.001-07:00

So, Charlie and I had a fun time together at Wild Waves in Federal Way. He went on everything, except the speed slides, of course, and absolutely loved it. He can't wait to show Dad all the cool stuff that Wild Waves has. It has changed so much since I've gone there and I have to admit, it was a blast.

We also went on a hike up to Fragrance Lake with both Charlie and Rocky. It's about a two mile hike one way and it does get steep in some areas with switch backs. We had to carry Charlie in some parts because he was "so tired". Of course, as soon as we put him down he'd run about a quarter mile. Rocky loved swimming in the lake...it was great and we can't wait to do it again!

In my earlier post, I showed everyone our green peaches, now I can show you our harvested peaches (8 in all), that are juicy and delicious! I also ventured a peek at our potato's and this perfect potato was right there just beneath the surface, not even a half inch in the ground!!!
AND Charlie has his second to last chemo treatment on Friday! They will be doing a back poke this time anyway, so while he is under they will do a bone aspirate to check his bone marrow for leukemia cells. I can't believe we are almost done!!!

Goings on of late

2010-08-01T17:04:00.001-07:00

Here are some pictures of our latest adventures....Going to the D-Derby in Bremerton (Sorta redneck, I know, but It's so much fun!), sailing out in Bellingham Bay with Brian's co-worker and..look! We have peaches on our baby peach tree!! So excited, every time I look at them President's "Millions of Peaches" goes through my mind...

Now the picture of the guy at the D-Derby had a vest that said he was security....I felt so much more secure when he was around. So much more secure. Secure. Well....I didn't feel as secure in my fashion sense though, I was wondering if I was a little underdressed since I forgot my leather cowboy hat. The rest of the pictures are on our way home!

Aaahhh....summer!

2010-07-23T21:43:00.000-07:00

So finally, summer has arrived here in Ferndale. I mean, it's warmer than that spring we had that lasted until after the fourth of July, right.... So we've had some adventures. I can't post with my pictures because blogger is being a butt..and will screw it up anyway. So I'll give you the dialog ahead of time, then you can just enjoy our pictures! Charlie had his EIGHTH (!!!!!) birthday on the 10th of July and we had a great party. I, unfortunately, didn't take a single picture..but I am hoping for some from those that did snap some and will post them soon. We had a Cancer Butt Kicking BBQ here in our backyard that day and we had over 90 people! We all had so much fun and it was great to celebrate the near end of treatment and the hardest chapter in our lives so far. Only TWO more treatments to go!!!
Charlie went to Cub Scout Day Camp for the first time and absolutely had an amazing time! His favorite part was shooting a BB Gun and now he is super pumped to get more awards and get more patches. I, while happy that he's excited, am not too jazzed about sewing patches on his shirt. I stabbed myself more times that I can count trying to sew his patch on his pocket. Now, before everyone starts suggesting ironing them on, I've heard with washings they come off. WIth a big drooly dog, we will have to wash it often!!!
Enjoy the pictures...and look for another post soon- hopefully with BBQ pictures!

Really, it doesn't seem like it's been that long?!

2010-05-31T21:57:00.000-07:00

Where does time go, it really doesn't seem like that long ago since I updated this thing. So sorry! I think Facebook will be the death of the blog. That's so sad....
Nothing much going on lately, although we have started planning for summer and that's always exciting. Charlie will be doing Xfit for kids twice a week, and swimming lessons. We've planned out some camping trips, one will have to be without the dog as it will be at Cape Flattery and the Dungeness Spit. Charlie will miss him horribly, but Rocky will be able to come with us to Deception Pass!
I've just got done ordering invitations for our big BBQ this summer. We're going to have a party on Charlie's birthday to celebrate kicking the crap out of Leukemia...it's a little early, but we wanted to do it in the summer time and what better day than on Charlie's 8th birthday?? He only has FOUR treatments left and he's done!
Now..to the pictures!!! There will be a lot, as it's been forever since the last post! Sorry!! Rocky the bucket head. He loves playing with this plastic pot that some of our flowers came in. Seriously..hours of entertainment.

Ahh...the joys of homeownership. Please don't fall!!!! Brian fixing our roof that got blown off in a big windstorm we had... Goofy kid...Here we were goofing off with our computer's camera and Charlie is trying to stop us from singing "Take on Me" from Aha..remember the video for that song? it was so cool.... Fun at Whatcom Falls Park And we're done! Woohoo!!

March 21st...the Big Climb

2010-04-11T11:33:00.000-07:00

Some of us after we are done...My Dad, me, Nadine, Brian, Beth (my cousin), her husband, Scott, Charlie and Tegan! Group photos with Charlie are a challenge..we can never seem to get him to look at the camera and smile!!

Courtney, Brian, Nadine (B's little sis) and Charlie boy! After the climb...And what am I doing to my child?? It looks like I'm jerking him around by his shirt!!

Yep...there it is.....The Columbia Tower

We were running late because of this...Charlie said, "Oh! A PARADE!!!" Yeah...not quite. Anti war protest....

Charlie picture of Mommy...

Charlie and Daddy the day before at IHOP...and the morning after an ER trip...

So, the Big Climb was amazing. Brian and I had a lot of fun and it was so awesome to see everyone in their blue Charlie/Xfit shirts. Sadly...we didn't get a group photo. The only photos I have, I'm posting. Next year it will be a whole nother story. We will get there early enough to get a good team photo. We had 43 people on our team....41 actually climbed (the other two had things come up and weren't able to make it, but they still did amazing fund raising!) Our goal was to raise $5,000. I have to tell you, that goal seemed huge to me. But, Jerad...our Xfit instructor said we could do it. We didn't raise $5,000...we raised just over $9,100!!!! AWESOME!! It's one of the most rewarding things I've done. It felt so good to do. It was a challenge, that's for sure...but it wasn't any harder than the torture that Jerad does to us at Xfit 3 times a week!! :-) Everyone single one of our team members finished. My good friend, Kristen came in 3rd overall for women with a time of 10:05. My dad did it in 15 minutes and said it was good training for his Wonderland Trail hike he's doing this summer. Brian and I did it around 20 minutes...we forgot to time ourselves officially. Next year, Brian and I are going to do the timed climb...and one more really nice thing...we weren't sore at all!! Woohoo!! In fact, most of the team mates that I talked to weren't sore... So, if you were on the fence about doing it this year...there is no excuse! You can join us next year!!

Fun Random pictures.....

2010-04-11T11:22:00.001-07:00

Charlie, Rocky and Brodee (Rocky's dad). We got to watch Brodee for a couple days while his owners were having a baby. Charlie wasn't too happy about giving him back...

Best school buddy, Evan...

Dr. Suess concert at school...he sang wonderfully and we could hear him. It was great!

Charlie was sick for like a week...we had to go to the ER twice with fevers! There was even a little while where is blood counts were too low to be around crowds. I came in to the TV room one day and found my Charlie being taken care of by his puppy. They were keeping each other warm!

Buddies..

We are crazy, please wish us luck!

2010-03-16T20:20:00.000-07:00

Here we come, Columbia Tower. Yes, you scare me, but I shall conquer. I won't be able to walk for a couple days, but you shall be conquered this coming Sunday! (March 21st) 69 floors, over 1300 steps.....oh sheesh....

Hooray for Team Charlie/Extreme Fitness! Our goal was to raise $5,000, we are now at $6500, and counting! What a great cause, and what a great feeling to be doing this...wish us luck! You better believe that Brian and I are going to need it!

www.bigclimb.org To donate, search for our team: Team Charlie/Extreme Fitness!!!

Dog gone days....

2010-02-26T20:21:00.000-08:00

First off, I want to let everyone know, who doesn't already, Brian and I are doing the Big Climb in Seattle to raise money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society! We are so excited to do this, as they fund research and help families just like ours make it through the horrors of cancer. While Charlie's type of Leukemia is the most treatable form, there are some forms that move so fast and can kill with in weeks of being diagnosed. Please help us raise $5000 for the LLS by either joining our team for the Big Climb ("climbing" the Columbia Tower in Seattle! 69 flights of stairs, just over 1300 steps!!!) or donating for an amazing cause!! Check out : www.bigclimb.org and search Team Charlie/Extreme Fitness!! DO IT NOW. :-)

Second, we have an awesome new addition to our family, Rocky!! He is seriously so sweet, gentle and laid back. Charlie adores him and Rocky likewise!! Check it out:

Then there is Rocky and his dad, Brodee. They are super best friends:

And I think he is quite comfortable in his new home:

I will close with a couple of random thoughts I was think about tonight. I was waiting in line for some medications at the Fred Meyer pharmacy. I was thinking about when pharmacies used to be like 2 or 3 feet higher up then the rest of the store, do you remember that? I mean, what was the point of that?? Would it help the pharmacy workers feel better about themselves to hand stuff down to the rest of us common folk?? I don't get it...
Another thing, while in Fred Meyer, I saw a lady doing her shopping in black sweat pants and t shirt wearing 4 inch platform high heeled shoes, blue in color....what's up with that?? I don't get why that would be cool, or comfortable.

Wacky Hair Day!!!

2010-01-22T19:56:00.000-08:00

Today was wacky hair day at school. Charlie went in style, and now wants to keep it like this all the time...

Some fun pictures (AKA: Finally a post!)

2010-01-09T19:16:00.001-08:00

Here are some pictures from the last couple months. For some reason, blogger wouldn't let me see the pictures, just all the techno mumbo jumbo words that go into a picture. So I will sum up all at the begining... The first picture we see is of Charlie on Christmas morning trying out the new whoopie cushion...Iron Man Charlie on Halloween....1st Day of First Grade!....A funny face after getting mud splatter from spraying water into the garden.....An incident we call "The Tree vs. Charlie" where he actually RAN into a tree....Yes, I found his shoe like this and I couldn't help but take a picture of it! Too funny....Fun at the NW Washington Fair...being goofy on the floor...and finally, a video of him rocking out to some tunes in his room. Hope everyone is having a fantastic New Year!! ;-)

Merry Christmas

2009-12-08T19:56:00.000-08:00

With help from Nana and Papa!!!

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

Just a tidbit

2009-09-27T20:15:00.001-07:00

So, we're all sitting watching TV and I look over at Charlie and he is.....picking his nose. With great zeal, I might add. I said, "Charlie, don't pick your nose!", to which he replies, "Why?? Daddy does it!" Out of the mouths of babes.....Brian just saw what I was typing and called me mean for sharing this (while laughing), but c'mon!! That's funny!!!

Camping!

2009-08-05T20:54:00.001-07:00

On our many adventures this summer, I'll start with the latest. You have to scroll down our whole page, 'cause I've done a massive blog update. Get ready for 2 months of pictures!! We went camping this last weekend with my parents. So after waiting in this massive ferry car line....
Taking a ferry ride...we went to...

Lake Crescent in the Olympic National Forest! This lake is so incredible. The water is super clear. My Dad informed us that the water is too cold for algea to grow, that's the reason for the clarity. It's a super deep lake! The camping here was great, and we will come back to this spot.

Isn't that blue amazing?

Brian got a great sunrise picture. Yeah, I don't "do" early.

Charlie took this picture of our tent...

So green!

On our camp site there was a giant tree stump, Charlie had a lot of fun climbing up and inside of it. It was like his own little fort!

Snuggle time in the morning. See how chipper I look?

Yes, he went swimming. We all did. It was brisk at first, but felt wonderful after about 30 seconds.

Got to have shadow puppets, right? Sorry for the lame picture of it though...

Yes, we loved it here and look forward to more fun camping trips in the Olympics. I recommend it to anyone, but know this: All camping sites in the Olympic Nat'l forest are first come first serve. Luckily my parents got there nice and early and captured a spot just as someone was leaving it!

Sol Duc falls

2009-08-05T20:33:00.001-07:00

On our camping trip, we took a little hike up to Sol Duc Falls. We stopped a long the way to take a couple pictures of Sol Duc River, and the pictures can tell you just a bit of how beautiful it is.

Our hike up to the falls was fun and Charlie had a blast. I'm not sure if you can tell, but in this picture of him on the trail by himself, his feet are both off the ground. He loved it!! What an adventure...

The guys in my life...

Plus, a really goofy picture of my Dad that looks like he's striking some sort of pose.

To my fellow Twilight fans...yes I was that person.

2009-08-05T20:05:00.001-07:00

Ok, so we went camping this weekend to the Olympic peninsula. We decided to go to LaPush to see Second beach, and how could we not stop by Forks? C'mon!! But seriously, I don't think they are even aware of the popularity of the Twilight books/movie.....

Taken from the car. Brian refused to stop for pictures like this. I was lucky if he slowed down... :-)

The drive out to La Push was beautiful. Just gorgeous!

I love the Pepsi sponsored sign.

There is a short hike down to this amazing beach. It's a wonderful hike, really pretty and easy enough for the kiddo's.

However, going back, there are a lot of stairs!! We were stairmasters.

But when you get the the bottom of the trail, this is what you see!! After some balancing acts on a massive pile of drift wood, you get to the water, and I can't say enough how beautiful it was. We are definitely going to go back to this amazing place.

BTW, no werewolf or vampire sitings... :)

Swimming lessons!!!

2009-08-05T19:56:00.001-07:00

I'm not sure if any of you remember, but Charlie LOVES swimming lessons. And an even bigger treat: one of Charlie's best friends was in his class with him- Carson! Charlie had a blast this year and really had amazing improvement.

Oooh! It's cold at 8:45am!! There is Carson, as always, next to Charlie. They look quite a bit a like, don't they? Wait, are Charlie's shorts falling off? :-) This last picture, Charlie is saying hi!

2009-08-05T19:44:00.000-07:00

Our summer started out with a road trip to Idaho to see my Mom. Brian flew into Boise a few days later and helped us drive home. (THANK GOODNESS!!)
I did these in reverse order a little. This was on our way home. You can see the long road behind Charlie. That's one thing about southern Idaho, driving through a lot of nothingness. :-) One of the funny things is that getting to my mom's house you travel on a 5 mile long dirt road!! Yes, our car was INCREDIBLY dirty.

Charlie and Daddy being silly. I love how it looks like Brian's really serious about choking him?!

Luckily we had come right after a really, really rainy spring...so everything was beautiful and green!

Charlie's Kindergarten Graduation

2009-06-18T23:38:00.000-07:00

The day has come...Charlie has graduated. From Kindergarten. Which was very cute, he was very excited and participated perfectly. After they received their "diplomas" the kids sang 3 songs, and Charlie sang nice and loud and did all the actions. It was awesome. However, one thing that was NOT awesome is that I turned on my camera to take some pictures and the batteries were DEAD. It's happened at all of his school things, so being determined, I crept up close while he was waiting and took pictures with my cell phone. I felt pretty lame. Any way, they came out cute. The little girl with him is his buddy Galina. They play every day together at recess....batman, indiana jones and Special Agent Oso! They were such good friends and I found out today that she won't be at Mt. View any more, her family lives in Bellingham. I'm sad to say that I no longer have a Kindergartner...he's growing up too fast!! And look at that big gap in his teeth that you can barely see.... (stupid digital delay on my phone camera..LAME!!!)

A Year in Home Improvement

2009-05-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Remember our tree project? Well, now we've dressed up the front yard a bit. Brian was still cursing that tree while he was putting in the garden stones and running into giant tap roots from that big thing.

And look! Our deck is 99.8% done! There are even pretty flowers in the boxes that the picture doesn't do justice. What do you think of our home improvements over this last year?

Yoda's got bills too

2009-05-19T15:59:00.001-07:00

Bet you didn't know that Yoda had a side job, huh? I found this in Charlie's Lego people. He likes to take them all apart and re-arrange them. Yoda, I believe, is a bus driver for an underwater bus system that is frequented by Spongebob and the gang.

Either that, or a pilot. He also will be seen with a sword of some sort. Well...he is Yoda. Right now it looks like he's using the force. "Exact change you will pay". Poor Yoda...these are tough economic times. He was probably heavily invested in the market.

Settlers of Bed Head

2009-05-16T18:44:00.000-07:00

Brian was "playing" Settlers of Cataan tonight with Charlie (and Fergie). Man! Did Charlie have some rockin' bed head or what??! I had to take Charlie to work with me today and a customer said that Charlie's hair looked like he was going too fast...

Charlie had his first fall down our stairs last night. He normally likes to slide down the stairs on his bottom, but was so excited about getting something that his approach was way too fast and he ended up tumbling down the stairs...yes I was properly freaked out. He cut the inside of his lip, has a couple bruises and some rug burn on his chin, but otherwise...totally ok. I'm thinking about installing gates on the stairs about every three steps to avoid this in the future. :-)

Fun random pic's

2009-05-10T21:29:00.001-07:00

I've realized that I haven't posted pictures in forever. So here is a major blog update. Scroll down for more posts!!!
Here's a good shot taken just yesterday...no tooth! He's lost 2 teeth and the top left one is ready to fall out any day

Hemmi supervising the bath.....

Not even 3-D glasses can make salad taste good.

One of the Lego sets Charlie worked on in one of his FOUR emergency room visits in April.

Charlie's amazing Jay Leno impression. Actually I was trying to get a picture of the missing tooth. When I was going through my pictures I couldn't believe how much he looked like Jay!!

Nothing like siting in the dirt, eating some fish crackers

Or playing with your cousin Ethan...

Silly Daddy and Charlie on the Ferry boat!

Vegas Baby...

2009-05-10T21:10:00.000-07:00

Just Brian and I took a trip to Las Vegas last week and had a blast. We basically just hung around the pool, poked around and took in a couple shows...one of them was Blue Man Group, we saw them the last time we were there and Brian was actually one of the people asked to participate! This time we got a personal meet and greet with a Blue Man.

Our friends Mike and Katie Stiles, who we haven't seen in a couple years..were in Vegas at the same time we were! It was so great to catch up with them. They used to be our date buddies before kids made going out a little more complicated! We had dinner with them a couple times and went to Phantom of the Opera with them...

Our fun trip to Sigfried and Roy's "Secret Garden" I'm a big animal lover so I absolutely LOVED it. Brian tolerated it just fine... in fact he even was able to call the Dolphins over to him..the picture below is him "calling them" he'd cup his hand and hit it on the edge of concrete there. I think they were curious and came over to see the weird guy making all that racket.

Mommy and baby...they'd love playing ball. It was so cute!

Baby leopard!! He was so cute and just loved playing with his trainer...

The signature white tiger...she was roaring and making a whole bunch of noise. The leopard trainer said it was because she could smell her boyfriend. :-)

Charlie's pictures

2009-05-10T20:49:00.000-07:00

Charlie's on his way to being an amazing photographer...here is some of his best work the from the last few months. And yes, these were all taken by him....I had to delete another 100 pictures from my camera that he had taken. It always cracks me up to see what pictures he's taken.

This one was while he was spinning in a circle when he was at work with me last week.

Some of my co-workers...Trevor's the one behind the desk actually working. Dan is the blond guy who likes to pretend to work.

Mommy....

Isn't this funny? I guess the flash was a little bright!!

Who knew that one of the best pictures of Charlie was actually taken by....himself!

Hemmi...and a picture of his cars...

Ooooh! He's sort of thuggish looking there, isn't he? "Mama said knock you OUT!"

December's snow storms... and one christmas pic

2009-05-10T20:38:00.000-07:00

Christmas morning...stocking presents!

Getting tossed by Dad, a popular request..

Building snow stuff with Daddy... Mommy gets cold and grumpy..she stays inside. :-)

Jumping into a big pile of snow!

Love those action shots!

Oops!

Loves the snow....

Yes.... a lot of fun snow!

2009-04-08T19:05:00.000-07:00

Hope that everyone has a great Easter. Things are kind of hectic here right now.

We updated our Caring Bridge site if you want to check it out. www.carlingbridge.org/visit/charliekennedy

2009-03-17T21:12:00.000-07:00

Here are some fun pictures of the Kennedy's at age 6 or so.
First there is Courtney--

This is her least favorite haircut, but she has the greatest smile, and how can you resist those dimples and wonderful brown eyes.
Then there is me--

How can you not love that shirt. I wish I still had one like it. The butterfly collar tops it off. I also think that I forgot to comb my hair that morning. Must have gotten distracted by the print on my shirt.

Then there is Charlie--

He has the confident smile knowing that he is way cooler than both of his parents when they were younger...

2009-03-06T06:44:00.000-08:00

Man it has been a long time since we have posted anywhere. Life moves fast, and it takes a lot out of us just to keep up. Most of this post is a duplicate from our Caring Bridge site. Sorry...

One thing that is really funny, Charlie couldn't sleep last night because I told him that we would make blue waffles on Saturday. He was so excited!!! It's the little things in life that are the best.

Charlie is doing really good. We have had a couple clinic visits since our last post. His blood counts have been increasing, so they have been increasing his chemo doses. Courtney had to work, so it was just Charlie and Daddy trip this time. It was a big step for Courtney; it was the very first appointment that she has missed. Charlie mentioned several times that he missed his mommy. On our way down the hallway to the exit he was pretending to be Spiderman. He was slinging his webs from side to side as he walked down the hall. It was kind of surreal knowing the brutal medicine that he was just given, yet he still has the exuberance of a 6 year old.

We had his first school concert a couple nights ago. It was pretty funny seeing him up there singing songs with his class. He sang ‘On the Road Again’, ‘She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain’, ‘Wheels on the Bus’, and ‘Row, Row, Row Your Boat’. When he wasn’t singing, he was up there talking to his neighbor and, of course, picking his nose. It was really sweet to see how much his classmates care about him. Before the concert, he was crying because he wasn’t sure he wanted to go up and sing, but his whole class rallied around him.

Charlie is an Honored Patient for the Pennies for Patient program for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He is on a poster and there is a little bio about him. This was sent to a bunch of schools around the northwest to help raise money for the L&L Society. The other day we got a bunch of letters from 2nd grade students from the Tri Cities area. It was really cool of them. Charlie’s favorite was a picture that one of the kids drew of a battle scene from Star Wars.

We also had Christmas since our last post. We had our first Christmas at our new home, and the first one at home since our heavy treatments. It was an awesome day. Charlie got lots of legos, which we played with all day. It snowed the night before, so we had a white Christmas. Santa answered Charlie's letter by getting him everything on the list. Good thing the list was reasonable this year. There are tons of details that I am forgetting, but that is what I get for waiting so long to post.

I have also been thinking about organizing a blood drive, in Charlie’s honor. I would need to have 25 people commit to donating for them to come out. Many more details need to be figured out, but if you are interested send us an email or leave a comment. bricourt@comcast.net

More pictures will be posted soon.

Our Christmas Tree

2008-12-17T20:55:00.000-08:00

We went to a U-cut place for the first time and had a blast. Charlie was having so much fun looking for the Kennedy Family Christmas Tree. It was great....here is Brian, Charlie and our tree!
Charlie helping with the lights....

Charlie took our picture in front of the tree. He also had his finger in front of the flash. But it was so cute, he made us say "MOVIES!" when he took the picture.

Getting ready to go play out in the snow. Look how big he is getting!

Finally...just a really cute bath shot!

Don't forget to look below at our Seahawks game post!!!! Merry Christmas everyone...Love from all us crazy Kennedy's. :-)

Seahawks game pics, etc....

2008-12-17T20:32:00.000-08:00

Here is Charlie and Daddy at the game!

Here is the great view that they had....

"And now, here is Charlie Kennedy, the place kicker. You know, I heard that is the only way his mother would let him play this great sport....."

Charlie hitting on some Seagals...sorry the one is a little dark. Brian was probably too excited to remember how to work the flash....

Yes, it can be a bit loud, but obviously still having a good time.

Ah...fooooood........
Mmmmm...more food..

Honest...

2008-11-24T23:15:00.001-08:00

I'm not purposing leaving people out of the loop, but seriously...it's been pretty quiet on the Kennedy front. Charlie is doing AWESOME. He's getting over a cold right now, and he's quite the trooper. Especially when his paranoid Mom takes his temperture every hour to be sure he doesn't have a fever this time. **sigh**, I can see this happening even when he's 18. Grrrr....cancer. His last few appointments have been great with no terrible side affects to the chemo. His oral chemo that he gets at home, and will get until he's 8, is giving him red dry patches on just his face. It really looks terrible sometimes, but I found if we are really good about gooping on the lotion a couple times a day, it's not terribly noticable. In fact, even when it is bad, he doesn't even notice. Thank goodness he's not a teenage girl right now!!! (or ever..... for that matter)
School is going pretty good, making friends, enjoying most of the things he's learning. I definitely have to wrangle things out of him about his school day. He just wants to tell me what he did on the playground and nothing else! By the way, his favorite thing to do on the playground is "play pirates" I know you are all surprised.
Anyway, that's the update for now...nothing to crazy going on with Brian and I lately. Although I did go see Twilight this weekend and really liked it. Of course, nothing compares to the book, but it was still pretty good!!!

Everyone, have a great Thanksgiving!

And yes, he's sitting in a bucket eating popcorn.....

Get Smart

2008-11-09T17:34:00.001-08:00

So, yesterday (Saturday) we received 'Get Smart' in the mail and decided to watch it, with Charlie. It was funny, Brian and I really liked it....Charlie LOVED it. Physical comedy is really his bag. While through the movie peels of Charlie laughter filled the house, it was the end gag that really did him in. He was laughing really hard and then Brian kind of egg it on so he'd laugh harder. I have to say we hadn't laughed that hard in a long time. Charlie stands up and says, "You peed on me!!", he had laughed so hard that he peed his pants. So I told him to run to the bathroom, which he did, then he ran upstairs to get new underwear and pants. We have an intercom in his room and it's mate is in the TV room where Brian and I were. He was singing the Get Smart theme song while getting new clothes. We about died laughing.

I was going to upload some Halloween pictures, but my camera's dead and we don't have any new batteries (of course). I have one of Charlie and his friend Carson at our church's Halloween party. We went trick or treating with Carson in his neighborhood. When "Luke Skywalker" Charlie and I went to Carson's house, he opened the door and was dressed like Obi-Wan Kenobi. We couldn't believed it! And no, it wasn't planned! I'll post pictures of Charlie in full garb as soon as I fix the camera snafoo....

Fall Pictures-- Enjoy

2008-10-21T22:16:00.001-07:00

Cute bags

2008-10-13T23:10:00.000-07:00

Cute bags, and you can enter to win a free one....I'm done plugging....
:) Court

www.handbagplanet.com

Captions are screwy

2008-09-24T22:21:00.001-07:00

The captions on the slide show got all messed up. Sorry.

Fun random pictures

2008-09-24T22:04:00.000-07:00

Trees

2008-09-02T17:13:00.001-07:00

Our cute little property has a lot of trees. I like trees, no, I love trees. BUT I also like to see the sun and have nice warm summer days. Our yard, when we moved in, had 15 trees (yes, some a lot smaller than others). We took out a huge lilac about a month after we moved in, and today, we brought the tree number to lucky 13. We used Western Star Tree Service, and I have to do a plug for them, because they totally rocked! Russ, the owner, is a 4th generation Treeman and is very knowledgable and so very nice. I had gotten a quote from another company in town, wasn't impressed with them or their ridiculous price and Russ happen to come through my line at Fred Meyer about a week after that. About 2 months later we decided to give a call.... I'll say it again, they were GREAT and I highly recommend them!

BTW they blew the other guys bid right out of the water. Here is our cute little house with this ginormous silver maple.

The base of the tree had a ton of water just sitting in there, you can kind of see it in the picture. Plus the tree would always drop big branches!

The guy in the cowboy hat is Russ.....

and this is the stump grinder!

And there is our house! Look at all that sunshine!!

Finally

2008-09-02T17:04:00.000-07:00

Finally! Here are the pictures of the 90% completed deck. Where the boards are sitting up right against the deck is where Brian is building flower boxes. They are almost done, he has one completed for the left side that I just need to stain, and Brian has just started the boxes for the right side of the deck. They will go around the deck, basically under the benches. Cool, huh?! Everyone should be very proud of all the hard work Brian has done for this....believe me, he is so glad it's almost done! Next project: staining and replacing some fence boards! I know he's so excited about it........ :-)

Swim Lessons!

2008-08-09T23:52:00.001-07:00

Peeking over to say, "Mommy! Watch me!!!"

Charlie doing what they call a "pull-touch", basically doing a stroke swim. He's really getting the hang of it!

Getting a pep talk from his instructor. Does he like swim lessons? Look at his face and decide for yourself!!

The swim back without the kick board. He would struggle with this a little bit

Learning how to dive. He would do it if she was helping him like this. If he was doing on his own, he'd set up like he was going to dive, but then just jump in. The instructor would always laugh when he'd do that.

Do you like how they are all looking at the crazy lady taking pictures???

Waiting in line for the diving board. This cute little girl would always try to talk and play with Charlie while they were in the water. Being a typical guy, he ignored her. We'll have to teach him how to be a gentlemen.......

The funnest part of the diving board!!!

Charlie is swimming!!!!!

New Deck!

2008-08-09T23:35:00.001-07:00

Our awesome friend Darin showing us how it's done.....

My Dad and Brian assessing the situation and getting things done!

Below is Brian and my Dad getting ready to start putting the decking on. Almost there!

Charlie trying out the new deck! He loves it!!! Sadly, as I post this, I realize that I did not take a "finished picture", as in I don't actually have a picture of the full deck. Well, that shows you how well I plan things.....

Happy Birthday Charlie!

2008-07-10T12:59:00.000-07:00

Charlie growing up through the years....

July of '02......isn't he sweet??!! My beautiful baby was just a couple days old here.

These were taken in 04, Charlie and Papa napping and Charlie and Mommy swinging.

This is how Charlie would pretend to take a picture, he'd say, "Cheese!" while doing this. This was in Jan of 07

Charlie's 5th birthday. What a difference a couple months can make. Although.....look what a beautiful healthy boy he is now!!

I could not get him to smile! I tried, I really did, but this was the best I got. He is happy today, got some really cool presents that he's been wanting for about 6 months!

Happy Birthday Charlie, I'm so grateful for you and I love you so much!

Sorry about the year gaps in the pictures. We didn't get a digital camera until LAST year, so I just used what pictures I had already scanned into the computer. Sorry!!

Summer's Here (and to stay, I hope!)

2008-07-08T13:28:00.001-07:00

Here are some new pic's of Charlie...

Washing the sliding glass door. I had this great little video clip of him doing it, but for some reason it didn't make it to the computer from my camera. Before I knew it, I had Adobe delete the images from my camera. Darnit!! Such a helpful guy though... he washed and washed and washed the window. It was pretty funny, he kept saying, "I'm busy!!" "I'm washing!"

What was left of a 1/2 a pan of Brownies one day when I came out of the shower. "Someone", I'm not mentioning any names here, ate them while Mom wasn't around to say NO! Steroids. My favorite.

Playing transformers in the backyard. This cracked patio will be gone by the end of the week. Brian and my Dad are going to be building a deck over it! I'm so excited and I will be sure to post pictures!

I love to watch him lately doing the little boy things that he's supposed to do. Here he is patiently waiting for his lunch and playing with his transformers at the table. His birthday is in 2 days, although we are having ice cream and cake tomorrow (I have to work Thursday :-( ) So the next pictures you will see of Charlie he will be SIX!!!

And Finally, a picture of Brian hard at work cleaning all the guck from our fence. Pressure washers rock. Seriously. It has made a tremendous difference! It will look even better when we get a stain on it....

It's been over a month already?

2008-06-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been over a month since we've updated our blog with new pictures. Sorry for the delay! Another thing I can't believe is that Spring is almost over and Summer is just aroun the corner. Is a little sunshine too much to ask for? I've lived in Washington practically my whole life and I can't remember having a more lame spring! :-)
here are some new pictures: Here is a picture of our garden that finally has everything planted. Doesn't it look amazing??! Ok, ok...most are seeds. But the beans, lettuce and carrots have really done well, and the peas have finally come through. I don't have much hope for the tomatoes though...not enough sun. :-(

Some great flowers though in our yard. I was totally excited to see that we have a snowball tree!! I doubt that is the actually name of the plant, but it's what we call it. Isn't it pretty? It had been cut back so last year when we moved in, it didn't bloom and we weren't sure what the heck that plant/tree/shrub was!

We have several lilac trees, but this one is my favorite. Warning: The following is not to be viewed by the "crack" sensitive out there!

Remember that one nice weekend we had this spring? Charlie got to play in his swimsuit and his pirate ship! Lots of water balloons and water fights happened that weekend as well. Had a blast!

Our friend Sammy. Everyone here loves to watch him and his antics----including the cats. We have just one squirrel that comes to visit us and so we decided to name him.

Charlie telling me he's had enough of the camera. This was after our last chemo treatment and he was tired. :-)

Charlie playing "Speed Racer" He lines up all of his cars for the big race. The race is basically to see them go flying off the window and onto the floor. It's lots of fun.

Charlie having lots of fun in the tub!!! Look at ALL that HAIR!!! It's still baby soft, in fact one of his Karate classmates touched it and said it was like petting a kitty! We haven't cut it yet (well, I trimmed around his ears), but it's getting so long. I think we will wait just a bit longer.

And lastly, we are dog sitting Porter. He used to be our dog once upon a time. He is now the Mumfords who love him very much. In Charlie's mind though, I think Porter will always be his buddy, no matter who he belongs to. He's been playing with him and talking to him so much. It's so very sweet. Someday we will get another dog, when Charlie is a little older to help take care of it better. Right now, we'll borrow Porter every now and then!!!

Is spring here? Hmmm...Maybe....

2008-05-07T13:26:00.000-07:00

I'm posting on Brian's....hope he doesn't mind. But I have a just a few pictures to share and a reason why. I love spring! I love seeing our trees get their beautiful leaves back: Try to ignore the old looking fence in the background that needs to be seriously cleaned...

I also love seeing Charlie play outside and full of LIFE!!! He loves to swing..Brian put in a new swing for him that he absolutely adores. The only problem is that either of us has to constantly push him. I'll admit, it does get old, but it's fun to see him really enjoy himself. Plus seeing him play with Daddy is always entertaining: he is hiding behind the tree waiting for Daddy to find him. He can barely stand waiting, and will be laughing the whole time.

Got you Daddy!!!

Another favorite past time that he loves is filling up his water balloons. He can get really talented and put them in his play fort, slide down the slide with 3 or 4 then launch an assault on various things in the yard. I make sure it's not Mommy. :) Now I just can't wait for the weather to get better so I don't have to worry about freezing feet and hands when he plays with these things. In fact, he and I got into a small argument about playing outside with the water balloons when it's chilly out and someone already has a cold that hasn't yet gone away for the last week or so! Sadly, I prevailed. He's over it now, but it was a tough blow for him to take.. :-)

Make A Wish trip pics!!!

2008-04-26T14:35:00.001-07:00

2008-04-25T19:36:00.000-07:00

Here is a video of the Pirates IN the Caribbean Dance party. Charlie absolutely loved it.

It is so close, we can taste it....

2008-04-13T20:14:00.000-07:00

So we had our Bon Voyage dinner on Friday. We had it at Billy McHale's with Carina, one of our wish granters (not pictured), and Darin and Kristen Holman and family. Make a Wish is an awesome organization and they sponsored the dinner.

Kaitlyn, Madison, Charlie, Shane, and Josh

Not only did they sponsor dinner, they bought this enormous bag of goodies for Charlie.

Captain Charlie (check out the earring... Hard to see)

Carina picked out the perfect cake for Charlie. He thought it was "sooo cool"!!!

Blood Drive and Easter Pictures

2008-03-24T22:52:00.001-07:00

2008-03-24T22:01:00.000-07:00

So we got a camera that was small and easy to use. The problem with that is Charlie is really good at taking pictuers, twenty or more at a time. His favorite subject, his toys...

But eventually, you just have to say enough is enough.

Charlie's good buddy Nigel came over the other day. He loves to hang out with him and play.

Here is me practicing with the Mumford 4. It had been a while since I have played so there was some massive dust coming off.

We have discovered that Charlie like fizzy balls in his bath. What Court and I didn't know is that some fizzy balls are more fragrant than others. This one turned the water purple and made him smell like a girl for the rest of the night. Nice pose here...

Feb 24, 2008

2008-02-24T19:45:00.001-08:00

February Pictures!!

2008-02-11T22:55:00.001-08:00

T-Shirt pics

2008-01-30T20:44:00.001-08:00

Master Swordsman Carson- Ready for battle
The Andersons- All wearing very cool shirts!!!

Blue Sea Systems- Front
Blue Sea Systems- Back
Blue Sea Systems- Ready to fight!

9 Day stay at Children's

2008-01-20T00:29:00.001-08:00

Christmas Pictures

2007-12-30T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a video of Charlie showing off his ninja moves. We do not have audio, but at the end of the video he asks for more popcorn. It is pretty funny. Here are some pictures from Christmas.

T-Shirts for Charlie

2007-12-20T23:54:00.001-08:00

A Message from Friends of the Kennedys

We're so excited!
Thanks to Charlie's "big brother" Kevin Chambers for the awesome drawings and generous friends at Digital Threads...the t-shirts are ready to order. All proceeds will be donated to the Kennedys.

We can unite and show our support for Charilie and his parents. Join in the fight for this beautiful little boy.

Sincerely,
Jessica Richins

T-shirts are available in LONG and SHORT sleeves. Sizing and prices as follows:

Long Sleeve $20/ea.:
Adult sizes - S through 3XL
Youth sizes - S through L

Short Sleeve $15/ea.:
Adult sizes - S through 6XL
Youth sizes - S through L

*orders due by January 7th for mid January delivery

To order contact:

Jessica Richins (Ferndale, Bellingham, out of area)
email: kevinandjessica@verizon.net
phone: 360.312.1565
(Pay Pal Accepted)

Caroll Chambers (Bellingham)
email: chamb_2@juno.com
phone: 360.714.1309

Nadine Kennedy (Bremerton)
email: nads005@yahoo.com
phone: 360.377.5395

Jodi Faix (Blue Sea Systems)
email:jfaix@bluesea.com
phone: 360.738.8230 ext. 106

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-12-04T22:54:00.001-08:00

2007-11-30T08:27:00.000-08:00

We have had a busy last week or so. I thought that I would add some pictures from yestrdays appointment. Charlie also got to ride a horse on Wednesday, so I added that picure as well.

Thank you to Jessica for letting me ride your horse Missy.

Here are some pictures from yesterday from our brave little guy. They are accessing his port to pull blood and to give his chemo meds. We have him do all the steps on his friend Eddie first. It

seems to help.

Charlie likes to help give his medicine too. Here he is just helping to flush his line.

New Pictures

2007-11-27T22:28:00.001-08:00

October's set of pictures, Enjoy!

2007-10-16T19:47:00.001-07:00

Here is another set of pics. A bit newer.

2007-09-16T20:35:00.001-07:00

Check out my Slide Show!

2007-09-14T19:26:00.001-07:00

Testing is good

2007-09-14T06:42:00.001-07:00

So I am trying to post some old pictures to test this out. We want to direct people to this site just for pictures and short blurbs. basically this is a test.

Getting Started

2007-09-06T09:21:00.000-07:00

The reason for starting this page is to post information regarding Charlie, my son. He has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Thus the reason for ALL in the Fight. We currently have a site on Caringbridge.org, but we may use this one if it is more flexible. We shall see.