Dear Friends and Family,

Two weeks ago, five-year-olds looked forward with great expectation to their first day of Kindergarten, perhaps none more so than our little one.  For Quincy, a day she had talked about for so many months was finally here. With her backpack on, a focus in her eyes, and a smile on her face, she declared herself ready for school.  A thrilling and exciting event for her, but not half as thrilling and exciting as it was for us as we walked her those two blocks to school.  Our dream of nearly two years had come true.

Kindergarten has really captured Quincy's enthusiasm.  She can't wait to get “homework” like the boys.  Both Brody and Keenan have generously offered to give her their homework but she says she needs to be able to read first!  Every morning she wakes up excited to pick out her snack, pack up her lunchbox, and carry it all in her “Hello Kitty” backpack, eager to skip to school like her big brothers.  Her leg rarely seems to bother her any more, with her limp now very slight.  Lisa has been going with her each day to make sure Quincy is happy and adjusting to school, since she really didn't have much of a pre-school experience.  She is continuing on her current chemo protocol of one week on and two weeks off.  This past week was a chemo week so we took Quincy into the UCSF clinic early each day.  Her treatment takes nearly three hours in the clinic and two hours for driving, so we race home to try and attend some of the afternoon Kindergarten class.  It was a busy and challenging week but Quincy handled it well with never a complaint.

Now that the kids are back in school and Labor Day has passed, it's fun to think back on how great the summer was.  Quincy and the boys had a wonderful time at Nanny and Pop-Pop's house at the Jersey shore.  We went to the beach and watched Quincy make sand angels, visited with family and friends, took in a minor league baseball game and swam everyday.  Aunt Karen and Aunt Maureen came out to visit and help during Quincy's chemo weeks.  Then, our friends here in California surprised us with a weekend getaway for our family to the beach near Santa Cruz, which we really enjoyed.  But what made the summer the best by far was that Quincy was a very happy 5-year-old girl.

Love,

Roger and Lisa