Rounds 2, 3 & 28

Nick and I are still waiting to get his infusion (round 28) started after meeting with Dr. Gouw. Meeting was short and sweet - sweet in that he gained 4 lbs and short in learning that his actual tissue samples were never sent out for testing (miscommunication somewhere). With steam still spewing from Dr. Gouw's ears, he assured Nick samples will be delivered today. Looks like another 3 weeks before we get results.

While we are waiting, I'll recap our trip. Upon arriving Wednesday night, we were quite excited to find out that the BYU basketball team was staying at our hotel (ok, Lee & Carly were excited). Kelsey and I decided we deserved a treat at the Cheesecake Factory while Nick & Carly stayed in their room to channel check (Lee flew in from Nashville Thursday morning). We soon spotted the entire BYU team sitting at the restaurant, too. Kelsey quickly called Carly to see if she wanted to come down, but both Carly & Nick were like, "Oh, whatever. If it's really the basketball team, go get an autograph from Jimmer!" (FYI non-BYU fans - Jimmer Fredette is the #1 scorer in the nation.) Kelsey said "fine." I handed her a napkin and pen and walked her over to the general area they were seated. Luckily, Jimmer was seated right at the end; Kelsey took a deep breath, with her siblings doubtful comments still ringing in her ears, took off around the corner. I grinned as I heard her say, "Jimmer? Could I have your autograph, please?" He said "Sure," and then she continued the conversation by asking if his roommate's name was Bench. He confirmed and asked how she knew. She explained her sister is friends with him. He thought that was way cool and now Kelsey thinks Jimmer is way cool. The best part was when Kelsey brought the signed napkin back to show Nick! A fun night for Kelsey.

The games on Thursday for rounds 2 & 3 of the NCAA tournament were amazing! We got to see Morehead State beat Louisville; Richmond beat Vanderbilt and Gonzaga beat St. Johns - all upsets. And watching Fredette was an experience all in itself. I'm a "commissioner" for our local NCAA pool and watching the leader board change continually was quite interesting.

We had an over-enthusiastic, loud, obnoxious, annoying, foot-stomping, fist shaking, BYU fan sitting next to me. Regardless of the absense of foul language and beer, this fan made me want to smack her. Yep, that's right - a mom... not Jimmer's mom, not Emery's mom, not even a distance relative of the coach, just a BYU fan, weighing 100 lbs soaking wet. I didn't know someone that little could invoke such emotions. When she found out I was also a Gonzaga fan, she said, "You certainly aren't going to cheer for them if they play BYU on Saturday?" I said, "You bet I am!" So, on Saturday, we made Kelsey sit by her and I sat on the opposite end.

On Friday, we did a bit of eating, shopping, eating, walking and eating (except Nick & Carly; they did a lot of sleeping, sleeping, sleeping and sleeping). Nick's First Descents friends - Matt, Kelsey & Brooks - had dinner with us Friday night. It was great to see them and great to see Nick's spirits lift to spend the day with them.

We randomly chose a restaurant on Saturday on our walk to the Pepsi Center (we didn't have to rent a car - our hotel was within walking distance to everything). We like to pick places that we don't have in Salt Lake City. Once seated, I noticed a man semi-shielding his face, as he and his friend were escorted quite quickly to a table adjacent to ours. It took me 2 seconds to recognize him as Craig Ferguson, the late night tv host - Nick and I LOVE him! He and his friend enjoyed their lunch as Nick and I tried to explain to Kelsey & Carly who he was. We chose to leave them to their privacy, but could've passed them the salt should they have requested it!

We ended the evening with dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe, all of us thanking Lee sincerely for the wonderful trip we all had together. It was the best NCAA trip we have had yet!

The kids and I flew home while Lee took off to Chicago. Reality set in as Nick drained 2 liters from his tummy Sunday night. Time for chemo.

Love to all - thank you for checking in!

Lori