Our weekend

 Let's just start out with a picture of yummy cupcakes, that will get your attention! I made these for a double baptism this past Saturday..... but we will get to that later, since I downloaded the pictures in the wrong order.

 Sarah is my resident animal-aholic, and I hope she stays this cute forever.

 A few things to notice for posterity....1. Yes, she is wearing animal print earmuffs 2. Yes, she placed her stuffed animal on top of Dot, as if one animal isn't enough 3. something that you can't see is the "collar" that Sarah made for the stuffed dog, it just happens to be one of my cancer bracelets, what a goose!

 These two are quite the pair, or trio if you could the taxidermy dog..

Morgan is the Ward Mission Leader and we have had some amazing missionary experiences lately. This past Saturday we had TWO convert baptisms, which were AMAZING! And why am I holding "rabbit ears"? To represent the talk I gave about the Holy Ghost, of course! Which, by the way was spectacular thanks to fearless Sarah who came up to the front of the room, not knowing beforehand what she was going to do and recited the 4th Article of Faith verbatum in front of a room full of people! Thanks for your help Sarah!

 And back to the madness........Will just loves to climb "his mountain" in our backyard, and I have decided that boys just need dirt, they just do. And yes that is a skateboard with no wheels that he rides down the hill, and yes, the ER is only ten minutes away.

 Again with the exploring on Mt. Will...

 Are you wondering where he got this lovely plastic Fireman hat? Of course your not, but I will tell you anyway. On Thursday of last week, he and Sarah went to play at a friends house. When they came home, they were both wearing these hats, and they both had a story to tell.
             Will, "There was fire and I got to spray the hose!"   Sarah was already looking for a snack....
Mom: "Hey Sarah, can you fill me in sweetheart, did Will set something on fire?" Sarah: "Nope, the neighbors car was on fire, do we have any Oreos?"  Will: "I got to be a Fireman and there was fire and I got to use the fire hose by myself!"   Mom: "Uh, Sarah, can you give me some more information........so far we've got a car on fire and Will has joined the Gilbert Fire Dept."
Sarah: "Well, Brother Johnson came on his motorcycle and I didn't get to ride his motorcycle. I was the only one who didn't ride the motorcycle. I REALLY want to ride it!"
Mom: "His motorcycle was on fire?!!!" Sarah: "No mom, (laughing), he called 911, and we had a whole 911 scene and we watched it all and we got to spray the Fireman hose and everything." Mom (feeling a little bit more releived) "So, Will had nothing to do with the fire. So, how did the fire start?" Sarah: "I don't know, the car was just sitting there in front of the house, and then it was just on fire. And mom, everyone else got to ride the motorcycle! Can we call Brother Johnson and see if I can ride the motorcycle too." Mom "Nope, I think one 911 call is enough for today.....

 Speaking of 911, this is my kids' favorite thing to do lately.....wrestle on the trampoline

 Oh, and jump off the swing set onto the trampoline, or flip onto the trampoline if Lund is around.

 And I just wanted to show you what else is going on in our backyard. Hopefully, someday these trees (Ash, Ficus, and Avacado trees), will be towering over us. But for now, this is how big they are. Morgan also added two pecan trees to our collection this past weekend......or almost added them, since he tried to do it all himself and threw his back out half way through. Poor guy, the pecan trees will just have to wait a week or so to get into the ground.

 And here is the state of the garden presently. We have pumpkins, onions, peas, and lettuce, and even some tomatoes that are coming up voluntarily.

 And here is the state of our "small" tortoises.  These two are just out enjoying the sun in their homemade enclosure. For some reason, they always think they can be taller if they climb on top.

And Sarah set this scene. One of these things is not like the other, one of these things is not the same (Sesame Street)............................... Can you guess which tortoise is a fake? Sarah is pretty clever!
                 I hope my kids know how exciting and fun their childhood is even though they tell me every ten minutes that they are "bored". I think we have set up quite the fun atmosphere for them, despite what they think. 

My budding artist....

 Lately, Lund is in this position a lot.... big drawing pad on his lap, charcoals by his side, and even an occasional "artist beanie" on his head, which always cracks me up. He has always loved drawing, but lately, he spends a lot more time with his sketchpad and charcoals. I love that he is working on a talent that he has been blessed with and Lund loves to share his drawings with his dad, who is also an artist at heart. Morgan shows him different tricks for dimension and shading..............and I look on with a smile (because I have NO artistic ability!)

 The Eagle

 The dove (he drew this one for his mom)

 The Phoenix (he drew this from his imagination)

And, the wolf.   Great job Lund!

Brain Tumors and Eye Patches..

 Well, I have good news and bad news..... The good news is......... MY BRAIN TUMORS ARE SHRINKING!! SHRINKING LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!

 The bad news: This Zulu pet lost an eye last night (the boys are looking pretty suspicious), and Sarah was devastated. But today I performed surgery. The eye couldn't be saved, but she was fitted for an eye patch.

She is recovering nicely and will be back to gibbering around the house soon!

Happy Thoughts!

It is citrus time here in Arizona and MAN, I LOVE oranges!!!! Our trees in our backyard aren't ready to produce yet, but our neighbors like to share.....yummmmmm! I can still remember as a kid jumping on the trampoline at my neighbors house. They had six HUGE orange trees and as I jumped, I would grab another orange and eat it!! I think I consumed quite a bit of Vitamin C as a child!!

     Another happy thought!  Today we took the kids to get their Passport cards for our wonderful trip during Spring Break...

 A Disney Cruise!!!!!! Wahooooooo!!!

 No, not this ship, I hear it's not available!!!

 And here's our Captain..............

No, not this Captain, he isn't available right now either!!!

So, here's to happy thoughts and loyal Captains!!!!

A Day in my Crazy Life...

I am sitting here right now trying to get my chemotherapy before I pick up the kids from school in two hours. The only problem is.....my chemo is broken! What?! Your probably thinking, "how does a liquid medicine break?" hummmmmm. But there are three nurses huddled around the computer discussing why it is broken and one on the phone with "IT" trying to figure out the computer system as well. I guess I am just so awesome that I can simultanously break a computer, an IV pump and three nurses all at once!! I should really get an award!
  Cassidy came with me to my chemo and Oncology appointment today, because she is in a LOT of pain due to getting new braces Monday.  I checked her out an Ipad, started up Angry Birds and ran in to see my Oncologist.  The conversation went something like this...."Doc, I lost another friend from on of my support groups this weekend. She was 33, just like me and had cancer in her liver just like me. And she was looking pretty good at the Christmas party just a few weeks ago. What I need to know is that you are on my "team". I need to know that you are going to fight for my life just as hard as I am!"
Doctors response, "The hard thing about support groups is that they are a two edged sword, they are sometimes helpful, but sometimes people in them die."
  "All right doc, I started taking some amazing stuff this week that is supposed to help me build up my cells during chemo and hopefully make me healthier at the same time, so I can beat this cancer."
Doctor responded, "Well, it seems like it is working because your doing well, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it!" (Even though it costs 600-700.00 a month).
"What about vitamins Doc? Can I take these amazing vitamins they have too?" 
"Nope. Studies have not proven that vitamins help at all."
  "Hum, ok. Doc, I went to get my brain scan on Monday and I got all the way to the MRI machine, and then they told me that my copper implant is magnetic, and that, for my safety, I can't have my brain scan. But Doc, I have been having MRI scans for the last two years and it has never been an issue."
 "Well, our machine is extra powerful"
"But I learned in Elementary school that copper isn't magnetic. Have the properties of copper changed?"
"Well, our machine is extra powerful."
"Right...."

A few minutes later I enter the 3rd floor chemo area. Cassidy, holding her sore mouth and a soda is with me. I check in.
Receptionist: "She can't be here. No kids on the 3rd floor"
Me: "but the last chemo room said 12 and up are allowed and she turns 13 in a couple of weeks."
Receptionist: "No kids."
Me: "Can she stay here until her grandma comes and gets her. I will call her now, but it will be a few minutes."
Receptionist: (Looks around the waiting room, which is entirely empty) "Well, I guess so, she doesn't seem to be too much trouble"

.... and so now we are back to the present.... with a "broken" chemo pump and I am pretty sure I won't be able to get the kids from school. Welcome to the wonderful world of cancer!!! he he he

My kids are smarter than me, and other nuggets of truth.

   I never figured out physics.... especially at the age of 11!

 My son seriously amazes me with his math/science/physics knowledge.

And the reason I have three pictures of this is because I can't quite figure this out!!! Still working on it!!

I'm thinking he got his brains from this guy!!!!!

Slip Slidin' Away!!

 What is everybody lining up for?????!!!!!!!!

 The 3rd Annual Cousins Sliding Contest, of course!!!

 All the cousins line up and get their chance to slip, slide away!

 There are three categories: Distance, Trick sliding, and Sliding with style

 Kade is going for distance here....

 And Will is probably going for style with that tongue out and all!

 Lund was going for awesome style as he played his air guitar and slid at the same time.

 Cassidy was going for the new category called "ripped pants". We will definitely have to add that next year.

 Here is the whole gang getting ready to receive their awards. Everyone received something, in good cousin fashion, but there is always one ultimate winner, and this year it was............................

                            WILL!
And talk about humble.... Even before they announced his name, he ran up to collect his award. He just "knew" he was the BEST!

Suns Game in da' box

my mom and yours truly at court level after the game.

 Every once in a while Morgan's work offers its employees a few tickets to their "box". We love it when this happens because we really enjoy taking various family and friends with us and sharing the love. This past week we had a chance to go to a Suns game with my parents and our older kids.

A lot of fun was had by all and we can't wait to go to the next event sometime down the road. I guess I didn't take a picture of my dad, but he was enjoying the game too, and he took these pictures. Thanks Dad!

The Baby gets married!!

My Baby brother got married this past week and I had a BLAST! Ryan has always been 10 years younger than me since the day he was born! he he he.  I took Lund Ryan with me to Vegas, since I named his middle name after my brother. That sentence sounds like it needs some editing! Anyway,  we had tons of "together" time, which was very theraputic for Lund and I. And, we had a chance to be there with family and see Ryan get married... I took a cagillian pictures, so I will only post a million...

 This is the happy couple before a home mortgage! he he he! Sorry guys, it is late! Please excuse my comments and just enjoy the show!

 Lund and his cousin Cooper. Two crazy peas in a pod!

 Here are the girls that came to the Las Vegas Temple to await the happy couple. Kayla, Candin, and Little Raelynn.

 These are the Future Missionary cousins minus Will and Brody.

 Love these boys! Kade, Cooper, and Lund

 Success!!! They are now happily wed!!!

 Young Brody looking pretty good!

 My Little Sister and her hubby..

 All the cousins that came to the wedding.

 My parents smiling big because it is their LAST wedding!!

                                                              Snazzy Coop-Dog

 Alisha and her adorable kiddos. I was having some photography fun and they were my victims of the day.

 My beautiful neice Kayla wanted a picture of herself in front of the Temple to put on her wall. She is one amazing girl!! Someday maybe I will tell you about the charitable Christmas gift she gave. Heart of gold, that one!

 And here is my wedding date! wahoo! Watch out 11-year-old girls!

 Now, onto the reception. They had some remarkable decorations, and I loved taking pics...imagine that!

They "made" this decoration! It was BEAUTIFUL!! A homemade chandelear of sorts!

And here we have Ryan and Lund Ryan. Two handsome gents!

 How adorable! this is how you signed in... with your thumbprint. It also worked in case someone was arrested and they needed a fingerprint! Doubly awesome! (Hey, what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas!! Except if you are looking for your thumbprint, cuz that is in Provo now on my brothers wall.)

And to finish it all off...... The happy couple was escorted outside and to their car with lots and lots and lots of sparklers!!! Wahoooooooo! Hope you have a sparkly life together!