Christmas (finally). . .AND a whole lot more!

We hope you all had a wonderful Christmas! We had a wonderful, yet busy time. A coworker happened to want to work Christmas Eve night, so I didn't even work the WHOLE week, which made it even better! We celebrated Christmas earlier in the week at Grandma Venita's, she got all of the kids a pillow pet (which they have been wanting FOREVER!) and we also did the Nativity.We had our own Christmas with the kids at our house Christmas morning. Lauren got a barbie house (which ended up being huge, much bigger then expected), a fishing pole, and stocking stuff. Courtney got musical instruments and bath toys. Brady got Lego's, an Erector set, a fishing pole, and stocking stuff. Then we headed to Grandma Jenny and Papa Greg's house for a yummy breakfast including Jenny McMuffins and other scrumptious stuff. Jenny and Greg got the kids pillow pets too! Brady sounds like a little info commercial for them now. The kids have LOVED them and even slept on them for a week. Lauren got a boy barbie (the beast/prince) and a barbie car. Brady got a Star Wars computer to play abc, math games, ect. Courtney got a cute little doll (she gave it a love too right after opening it - so cute!). They all got a cute outfit and new PJ's. Brock and I got a new cooler, family movie bucket and game. Papa Mark came over to our house later in the afternoon and brought some fun things too. Brady got this (see below) and a 2 little storm troopers. Courtney got some clothes, diapers and wipes. Lauren got some clothes, slippers, and Ya ya made a Tinkerbell blanket for her. The kids had a really fun time this Christmas, and we even had a lot less fighting for one day;)Then we had my mom, sister Elaina, Lance and their little guy Isaac over for a turkey Christmas dinner - my first attempt at turkey believe it or not. It was quite delicious, but made a lot of leftovers. I think I am done with turkey for a while;)

Other December stuff. . .

We celebrated Courtney's birthday at my mom's house. I thought she at least needed her own birthday cake for her first birthday! She had tons of fun eating it and making a mess of it. The cousins had a blast watching her too. We went on the Polar Express to the North Pole with other Make-a-Wish kids. Grandma Venita got to go with us too. We all rode in 3 huge tour buses, had lunch at McDonald's, and then boarded the train for a short 30 min ride to Santa's house where we had cookies, hot chocolate and Santa even got the kids a present!We made gingerbread houses (our yearly tradition) with my mom. The kids loved it and could hardly wait to eat some of the candy off of it.The kids had a blast when they got a secret gift for the 12 days of Christmas from a secret elf. It made the mornings quite fun!

Lauren and Brady both had their school programs. Lauren actually participated this time and it was SUPER cute! Brady did a wonderful job too, singing all the words and doing the actions too.

We had Lauren's star raising party at Make-a-Wish. It was a couple days before Christmas, so a busy time of year. I made a movie/slide show of Lauren's whole experience from just before her diagnosis, thru chemo, hair loss, then to our exciting finale. . .Disney World! It was a very emotional movie at the beginning and I couldn't help but bawl, but it was super exciting at the end. Her wish granters, Jan and Lindsay were amazing! They made yummy appetizers, brought drinks and a princess cake for the party. I think it turned out wonderful!

DISNEYWORLD!!!

We got back from Lauren's Make-a-Wish trip to Disney world last Monday. It was quite the adventure. . . 3 kids 5 1/2 yrs old and younger! We had an awesome beginning of the trip, meeting one of our wish granters (Jan) at the airport. Her friends/previous coworkers let us board first, meet the pilot, order any food we wanted, and they made it an exciting trip. It was a long trip to Florida, but we made it with 3 crying kids and checked in to the Give Kids the World place. We left our house at 8 AM (Utah time) and finally got to our room/house at ~7 pm (Orlando time). Needless to see we were all pretty exhausted and didn't do much other then unload the car, eat, and go to bed.

The first stop was the Magic Kingdom (we actually spent 2 days in a row there. . .so much to do and so fun for the kids). It was AMAZING! We had a special pass that allowed us almost always immediate access to the rides and characters. We probably waited about 10 minutes tops! It will be hard to visit without this little perk. The Electric parade was cool (except for the hour wait to ensure a spot where we could see it;)

We spent a day at Sea World and got to feed the dolphins. The Shamu, otter, and dolphin shows were super fun. The kids loved the rides there too.

Disney Universal was next, and the kids had a blast there too. You could tell they were starting to get tired though. Brady got a piggy back ride a couple times because he couldn't walk anymore. We saw the show Fantasia, which was spectacular (again the worst part was the hour wait to ensure a seat before the show. . .Courtney was SUPER fussy, but managed to pass out about 10 min. into the show).

We also spent a day at Universal Island of Adventure where The Grinchmas was definitely a highlight of the day. The kids were able to meet characters at every park we went to, Lauren even filled her entire autograph book (now to get the photos printed).

There was so much to do, we didn't have time to do it all. The place we stayed at was amazing too. A little house with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, kitchen living room, and even a washer and dryer (that came in quite handy for Lauren's accidents . . she was super exhausted and fell asleep on the was to the car):/ We had a yummy breakfast at the gingerbread house every morning and the kids were able to enjoy activities at the Give Kids the World place too.

All in all it was a spectacular trip that seemed to speed by fast. We are so appreciative to all those who made it possible for us to make this trip of a lifetime!

**More photos to come. .. technical difficulties today. . .**

November 2010

Brady made the cutest card and gifts to give to Brock for his birthday. He is such a creative inventive kid who always comes up with unique inventions! He even made the card and wrote it all by himself. After church we went to Grandma Jenny's for a yummy birthday dinner and got to see the cousins. Brady has made great strides with learning to spell and sounding words out, I never noticed how many words aren't spelled phonetically until now. The other day he told Brock he was M. . .E. . .N! (aka mean) He doesn't believe me when I tell him how the word is really spelled;)

Cousin Riley

Bethany and Cousin TaylorChris, Taryn, and their puppy Josie

We got to meet with Lauren's wish granters (Jan and Nicole) again and got our itinerary for Disneyworld. They brought Lauren a princess backpack full of little princess thing. It will be nice to load it up for our 5 hr flight. The kids are super excited. We made a chain a little bit ago to help them know when we are leaving. It will be so fun for them and such a break from our year.

Jan, Lauren (with her new backpack and barbie), and Nicole

Poor Courtney got Conjunctivitis (pink eye), a runny nose, and an ear infection (the 2nd in 2 months. . .only her L ear both times). Let's hope she doesn't have her daddy's ears! So she is on antibiotics for both. She loves the Amoxicillin and gets mad when it is gone, she HATES the drops and closes her eyes super tight. It is amazing how much better they looked just after 24 hrs. I am glad she seems to be getting better fast just in time for our trip!

We had a wonderful thanksgiving dinner at my mom's (I didn't even have to bake anything. . .we'll except for making the gravy). It was so fun to see everyone again. It seemed like it had been a couple months. The kids had fun playing with there cousins and then we got to stop by Frankie's house and see Serena and the gang, followed by a slide show of Mark and his siblings. It was cute to see the pictures of everyone when they were little.

Brady

Brock

Cousin Eli

Courtney

LaurenCousin Kylie

Cousin Taya

We'll we are off for Disneyworld this week. Let's cross our fingers we get good weather and that the kids have a wonderful time.

Results In. . .Good News!

We have been anxiously awaiting Lauren's visit this week. She actually went Monday because I felt a small marble-shaped object a little bit above her scar on Friday night (after she had complained a couple random times last week about her tummy hurting. . .which is how it all started in the first place!) and wasn't sure what it was, it definitely worried me along with seeing what the lymph nodes around the spleen were doing over the past 4 weeks. She had her lab draws, urine tests, and abdominal ultrasound Monday. We had been waiting for the results and got them at her regular monthly visit today. She likely has a lipoma (which is what I felt) and the lymph nodes have not changed much. Lauren will be able to get her port (central line) out in 2-3 weeks and then she will go every 6 weeks for a regular check up and every 3 months for scans (CXR and US alternating with CT scan). So the news is good, we will just continue to watch her and hope for a full remission:)

SNOW!

The kids were super excited to play in the snow. It lasted for a day, and was a total hit! I bought Brady some new snow pants just in time. . .now to buy some 'real' gloves:) Lauren used Brady's old pants and Courtney stayed inside.

Halloween Festivities!

Of course, as usual there is an overabundance of photos. . .a little behind on the blogging;) Here are just a few shots of the Halloween festivities:

Brady as "The Knight" (as he said it), Courtney as a little ladybug, and Lauren as Snow White

Brady got to walk in a parade with all the other elementary kids. We got a quick glimpse as his class walked thru the halls of the school, picking up each class of on the way and ending in his class. We also got to see him perform a dance to Thriller too. He did an awesome job! It was SO cute to see him perform.

Brady in his Kindergarten class. .. he is in the way back by his teacher's assistant in the waldo costume.

Grandma Venita and Lauren after her Preschool ProgramLauren and Ms. Wendy- her teacher (she also has 2 student teachers who help in her class)Lauren and her preschool class (note the 3 Snow White's. . .the only repetitive costume. Brady was one of 3 superman's when he went to preschool at Ms. Wendy's too)Snow White at the beginning of her program. I thought she would do all the actions and sing all the songs, since she had been doing it at home everyday. She acted a little tired, and maybe stage fright??? There were TONS of people there watching it. . .parents, grandparents, siblings. Luckily we got there just in time to get one of the last seats. Most people had to stand for the program because there were so many people. We brought mummies (a version of pigs in the blanket with little smokies, complete with 2 mustard dots for eyes) and cheese for a refreshment. They were SO cool looking and quite a hit, they were gone super fast.Nick, Brady, and Lauren at Grandma Jenny's and Papa Greg's pre-Halloween partyMe and the kids at the annual Make-a-Wish trick or treating party. We weren't going to go because it was a couple busy hectic days that week, but cousin Riley wanted someone to hang out with. We met up with Becah, Marc and Riley. The kids got to get some candy, fish, and play a tossing game. They had fun so I am glad we went.Brady "fishing"Lauren tossing a beanbag in the pumpkins mouthAnd our final Halloween outing was trunk or treating at the church. No need to go door to door this year. The kids were completely satisfied with the little church outing. I made homemade chicken noodle soup and we had a yummy dinner. Thankfully they didn't get too much candy:)