Amazing Race

Following a very relaxing and quiet Christmas morning (probably because I completely lost my voice), we went to St. George to meet up with all of my family. I love my family and I love St. George. It was a little cold the first couple days and then it really turned beautiful.

I volunteered (don't ask my why) to create an Amazing Race game for the family to compete in. Last year we did a photo race through St. George and we had a lot of fun. So thanks to the Internet and the actual show, I came up with 6 destinations in Washington County and tasks that had to be completed at each site. I divided the family into 3 teams and they competed in activities such as gulping down In-N-Out, performing at Tuachan, sketching famous artwork of Zions, racing to the marathon finish line. I wish I could have seen what actually happening at each place. But, I have pictures of the teams as they made it to the last pit stop.

On the 26th, we had a birthday party for my mom - HOLLYwood style. We had a red carpet, paparazzi, and a FroYo bar. Kenyon used photoshop to do some cool shots of my mom as a movie star. It was so fun and my mom was a good sport. She HATES any fuss over her birthday. However, my grandma always made sure that we made a special day for her.

We also fit in some tennis. I stink and really need some lessons. Kenyon, of course, did great even though he feels so lousy. Completely unfair. The kids also got to play a little. They love to play tennis with Grandma and Egan.



We only wish we were there for their New Year's Eve party. We have no party plans here.

Happy Birthday

Today is Kenyon's 35th birthday! Probably not one of the more exciting birthdays. It is too hard to go anywhere without germs. Darn it. And then that dumb BYU loss. But we did celebrate with some pizza and cake.

I am sure this is one of Kenyon's least favorite years. But he has been a good sport through it all. He has kept a good sense of humor. That is hard to do when you feel like puking all the time. And he never complains (unlike me). We are anxious to have him back at a 100%. The kids want to be chased.

Best Deal

The last time we had our kids sit with Santa for pictures - I was prego with Elise. Nice, huh? We found out that you can go to Thanksgiving Point and get your picture taken for free and they will email you a copy too. Gotta love that. Plus, they have real reindeer. Gavin was excited to feed them a bag of reindeer food that he made at preschool (oatmeal and sprinkles). Our neighbors made it extra fun. They helped kill the time in line. And then we piled all the kids in the back of the truck and the adults in the cab to drive through the lights. Quinn was on her worst behavior but everyone else had a great time.

STOP!

Things that need to STOP

1 - Snow. I love how it looks, but it needs to STOP. I hate driving in it. It totally stresses me out and it I really can't avoid it. Kids need to be picked up. Errands must be run.

2 - Quinn. My cutest little baby needs to STOP growing. I want her to stay a tiny little newborn for a little longer. Except she has learned to smile and it melts me!

3 - Leukemia. It needs to STOP. What is happening? We just learned that a little boy we know was just diagnosed with leukemia. He is 4. This this the 3rd child this year that we know. And it seems like every week we are learning about other families who are facing this dumb disease. What is going on? It seems like it is getting more frequent, but why? Before Kenyon was diagnosed, we knew people dealing with some other cancers but it seems like leukemia must be on the rise. Who knows but it needs to STOP. I am so sad for these families struggling with the health of their little children. The treatment available seems to very successful and most likely these children will do well. But it is not a fun road. In fact, it is awful and hard. It makes me sad. I know that the Lord blesses these families, prayers are answered, amazing service is rendered, people grow stronger, etc. But still...

A Little Good News for Kenyon

The worst medicine of all is OVER. It is called GenGraf (cyclosporin). It is the immuno-suppressant drug. Kenyon has been taking this medicine for a LONG time and it has made him so sick. Even the sight of these pills made Kenyon sick. It was probably one of the worst parts of this BMT for him. Of course, if that ugly GVHD (graft vs host disease) ever shows up then he will go back on it but so far so good. Now that he is off that medicine, his new immune system will start working. But it is weak. So, it is still really important that we keep him away from all germs for about 3 more months. Last night Kenyon and Quinn stayed home from the ward party to try and avoid some of that. It is such a bummer because he would love to get out of the house and join in the festivities. But better safe than sorry. Plus, he really hates that mask.

Shortly after I made my last post about Kenyon, we got a call that his counts are moving in the right direction. He is at 98% donor marrow and 2% his own marrow. He has clinic on Monday and hopefully will get a little more info on what the plan is.

We are happy that he now has all his hair back on his head. We even had to give him a little haircut a few weeks ago. It is different and actually better. I was pretty worried about how it would look but I like it!

A Little Bragging

It is my blog so I can brag right? Today was Elise's gymnastics performance. She goes to a great studio - Jolley's - in Riverton. It is hard work. She puts in two hours a week and it has paid off. She is strong and talented. She dreams of being in the Olympics and doesn't understand that she would be the first 6 foot plus gymnast. It just doesn't work that well. But for the time being it is good. I hope one day it will pay off and help her to be great at something else - volleyball, for example. Anyway, her performance today was impressive. I love watching her. I would put up a little video clip but I did a really lousy job trying to film it.

Waiting

I know. I haven't updated my blog for quite some time. I have been waiting. We are supposed to have some Kenyon's tests results back. My plan was to update as soon as I had word to the tests. Well, it has turned into weeks and I give up.

Are you ready for Christmas? Not quite. I have plans, projects, ideas but I haven't made many of them happen. Thank heavens for the internet because I have done MOST of my shopping online. Here is my one big complaint. I ordered Gavin's one big gift (a green machine). The UPS guy delivered it at 6:00 pm (when everyone is home) and to make it worse - there was a huge sticker/label with the item on it. Couldn't they have packaged it in another box? Duh! Obviously it was being ordered for the holidays. Then if the UPS guy sees it - couldn't he have knocked on my door and told me that he had a package so that I could distract the kids. Nope. So I had to lie. I told Teague and Elise that one of my neighbors ordered it and had it shipped to our house. Dang it.


Gavin has picked up on some of this dad's habits - lounging on the couch with the laptop. Isn't that the good life?

We are constantly amazed at our little Quinn. She is growing so fast. She is such a good baby. We love her smile. Elise has been such a big help - she has been changing Quinn's diapers. Love it! It has been most helpful when I am trying to get dinner together. Quinn likes tummy time. If she is tired, she will fall asleep and have a good nap while sleeping on her tummy.

Hopefully, I will be able to give an update on Kenyon soon. He seems to be doing pretty well. We made it out to our first movie. We took the kids to see Bolt. We picked a time when there would be no one in the theater. Five minutes before it started, we bough tickets and picked a row that was far away from the other 10 people in the theater. A few minutes after it started, two days and kids came and sat right behind us. Duh. There are a bazillion other choices and they picked the ones by us. Oh well. We enjoyed the movie and a little time out of our house.

Thanksgiving Weekend

Here is Quinn! Can you believe she is already 4 weeks old? She is getting so big. I know she is still tiny but it isn't the same as that new born tiny. Gavin told me today that she is so cute that sometimes he gets tears in his eyes. Teague said that she is so cute he just can't stand it. We are pretty smitten.

No official turkey bowl this year but Kenyon took the kids out to the front yard for a our own little mini family flag football game. The kids had a great time and no major injuries.

Now we are counting down the days to Christmas. I love advent calendars and I saw one like this in Creating Keepsakes so I gave it a go. It is the first part of a Christmas present for my sister-in-law Lindsey.