Where've you been?

Friends and family came to the porch to help celebrate Bryan's 60th birthday. We had good food, a fabulous cake, and lots of people. All of our kids and grandkids were here. Mike and Diana Roller and Talmon Preyer came from Mountain Home. Jerry Smith and his wife Brenda came. Jerry and Mike were Bryan's college roommates. Don and Lee Bell, Jeff and Sarah Koenig all came from Northwest Arkansas. Gail and Vic Sutcliffe came from Frisco, Texas. Terry Joe Shaw, Joe and Mary Helen Henry, Cliff and SanDee Clifton, Carl and Judy Chipman were the locals. The weather was good enough to sit on the porch, and we all visited until late.

On January 20, we flew to Honolulu where we took off on a cruise around the Islands. It was warm, beautiful, and relaxing, a time apart. We came back to Little Rock just in time for all these snow events.

Medical news? Not much. Bryan took an extra week off of Sutent during the cruise to be sure he could walk! He will have his next scans on February 24 and his appointment for the results on the 25th. The nurse asked at the last doctor's appointment whether he was anxious about the upcoming scans. No. Not really.

After the trip to Hawaii, Bryan went to the Greater Philadelphia Historical Home Show. He stayed in the hotel where the show was so that he would be close by. He flew back home during the Super Bowl, arriving back home about 10:00 pm. In March he's going to Las Vegas to Coverings, the annual trade show of all things for floors. Erin and Rachel are going along to be his beautiful booth support staff. I think they're actually going for the shows, food, and time away from their day jobs. (I'll be stuck in the classroom, having used up all my PTO for the year.)

I tried to post some Hawaii pictures, but my computer froze. Picture blue Gatorade--that's the color of the water. Feel 80 degree air, not humid, just a slight breeze. Hear cliche Hawaiian music--it's real. Now, this is how much I love the Gulf of Mexico beaches: they're better than Hawaii's. Really. Best news yet: a new airline is flying a nonstop flight from LR to Destin for $89. I'll be on it soon.