Well, the month of May has been pretty emotional for the family. Last April (2009), Jenn went into the dermatologist to have an ugly mole behind my ear checked out. The main reason was vanity and that the mole was ugly, but the doctor said it was just something to keep an eye on and measure it if it looks to be changing. Fast forward a year to this April (2010) and Zach mentioning that the mole looked different and maybe it should be checked out. So, the appointment was made and the mole was removed. The dermatologist seemed concerned when she removed the spot, so it wasn't surprising when the results came back as melanoma.
This picture was taken after the first mole was removed.
After the results came in an appointment was made with a head and neck surgeon to discuss excising more of the area to make sure that all of the melanoma was removed. The surgery was scheduled for May 27th and a 3 cm area of skin was removed and sent off for testing. The doctor was possibly going to do a skin graft, but he was able to just give me a mini-neck lift and pull the skin up. Here is my post-surgery look that I had to maintain for 24 hours...nice, huh?
I was finally able to remove the head dressings and this is what I found. I think I felt each and every one of those stitches being put in.
The stitches were removed yesterday and the pathology report showed that the skin was clean. Thank God! Now we just have to live each day to the fullest and prepare for six month full body exams. 
Zach tends to become an semi-professional photographer when we go visit beautiful places, so he's practicing his skills with a picture of Upper and Lower Yosemite Falls. The falls were just beautiful this time of year with the water flowing. And there was snow all around the falls to make it even more beautiful.
We hiked up to Lower Falls on the second day we were there. It was gorgeous! The kids had so much fun climbing on the rocks, exploring in caves, and trying to cross the river without getting wet. They were so curious!
Here is Lucy doing some rock climbing, cave exploring, and posing!
Tyler was really in his element on the rocks and searching the caves. He seemed to have no fear! Mom had all the fear...
By the end of the day Lucy was pretty wiped out! Poor thing.
The kids really enjoyed coloring, watching movies, and hanging out inside the RV. It worked out really well when it would rain...which it did a few times.
On the third day we hiked to Mirror Lake. This gave the kids more chance to explore the lake and go on a long hike. Tyler had fun posing for pictures...mostly atop rocks.
Tyler and his favorite girl Aria
Isn't this too precious?!
It stopped raining long enough for us to drive to Tunnel View and check out the view of the whole valley. This is Zach's favorite place to go. Unfortunately the sky wasn't blue and there were clouds, but we still had a great view.
On the last night we were able to enjoy the fire for a few minutes. And enjoy some s'mores!
Check out the size of those marshmallows Matea picked out!
