Our Christmas...yes, a little behind as usual!

Here is our Christmas vacation in no particular order. We went to Utah and enjoyed lots and lots of snow. It was fun taking the boys tubing. And yes, that is Mason in pink pants....obviously borrowed!

Mason threw a fit about putting the mittens on, but gave in once he touched the cold snow!

We went to Temple Square on Christmas Eve to see the beautiful temple and all the lights. It was so flippn' cold that Mason, who usually hates wearing gloves & hats, didn't complain one bit when we bundled him up. We lasted about 15 minutes and then couldn't take it anymore.

The boys absolutely loved all the attention they got from Aunt Emmie, Uncle T, and especially their cousins Lily and Bella. They could not get enough of them and it certainly gave Joe and I a break to have them entertain the boys! One of Samuel's favorite thing to do was tackle the girls...and he got pretty good too! Lily also introduced Samuel to the Barbie world.

The story behind this picture below: The girls had taught the boys to do the Donald Trump finger point and say "You're Fired!" This turned out to be pretty funny b/c Samuel would say it with a lot of conviction. Anyways, when we were saying our goodbyes, there were lots of tears as we watched Aunt Emmy and the girls go out the door. As they headed to their car, Samuel ran out unto the porch and shouted "You're Fired!" And then Mason followed suit. It was like...you're leaving me? Then you're fired as my cousins! We sure miss them!

One of Samuel's favorite places is Chuck-e-Cheese, so we thought it would only be fitting to have his birthday party there. It was so nice to have Joe's family to be there and celebrate his birthday with us. It really made the occasion that much more special. If you ask Samuel today what he did at his b-day party he'll say "Chucky Cheese came out!"

I can't believe my little Samuel is 3 years old! I know every parent says that, but honestly, where has the time gone? I took him to primary for the first time and was in tears. I pulled the primary president aside and asked if he could stay in nursery for another year, b/c surely he's too little to start primary? I mean, if he were born 2 hours later, he would've been a 2007 baby. She was kind but firm and I ended up leaving in tears. People were asking me if I was ok and it was so embarassing to admit why I was crying...b/c I'm pathetic!! I'm going to be a wreck when he starts kindergarten! Anyways, the party was an absolute success and Samuel still talks about to this day. His favorite gift was the Superman type action figures. He takes them everywhere!

According to our boys, Santa visited us twice this year...at our home in Texas and Grandma and Papa's home in Utah. Since Santa gave the boys great gifts in Texas already, their main gifts in Utah were from Joe's family. However, we wanted the boys to have lots to open on Christmas morning since that's their favorite part. So there were lots of laughs as everyone realized that all the "presents" from Santa were just wrapped up old books and toys we found around the house. The boys could care less, just as long as they were opening something, and it didn't cost us a dime to have a 2nd Christmas!

*One of their gifts from Aunt Emmie were these Burger and Fries shirts. They love to wear them and I've gotten so many compliments on them. Thanks Em for these cute shirts!

Here are some of the gifts the boys scored while at our home. We had our own little Christmas right before we left for Utah. Mason loves trains and cars so he was feeling good about his car transporter. Samuel was estatic get a little drum set. We had to hide the cymbal after 10 minutes...I figured that might happen! Oh, and if we ever tell Samuel to smile for the camera, this is what happens.

My parents came to visit for Thanksgiving and we had such a great time. We dragged them everywhere...from tree lightings and light parades to the polar express train ride. Note Samuel's "smile" face for the camera!

And thanks to my dad, we had Christmas lights up on our house for the first time. It looked absolutely amazing. Unfortunately the final picture won't download, so you'll have to take my word for it. There were lot's of lights and lots of color. The boys loved it! The real effort however, was in taking it all down! Which I did almost entirely on my own. I wanted to add more lights to more trees, but I'm rethinking that one after being poked in the eye with a branch.

Anyways, lots of good times over the Christmas break. We had so many friends in Utah that we wanted to visit while we were there, but the four of us had the pleasure of being sick our entire trip. Even I, who hardly ever gets sick, slept half our vacation away. My immune system was compromised from the chemo so I got hit pretty hard. But it was still fun and we still got to do so many fun things. We can't wait until our next trip!

New Year=Fresh start? Hopefully!

Since Joe just set up our new computer (Merry Christmas to us!), we are still trying to figure out everything so no pictures just yet.

I just wanted to briefly post the great news from my doctor. It looks like the chemo did it's job and all the growth seems to be killed off. I actually passed the tumor...sorry if that is disgusting to anyone reading this, but it actually made my whole holiday! It was the size of a golfball and I had to run it quickly to my doctor so he could preserve it in some solution before it was sent to a pathologist. That was quite the experience...trying to quickly get myself and the boys ready, realizing the boys had found and were fighting over the "tissue"! I know, sick! Luckily it was in layers of bags so there was still a layer left by the time I arrived at the scene! Geez, I can't seem to get anything high enough these days!!!Anyways, my latest bloodwork showed that things are looking good so I am taking a break from chemo for a little while. I have an appointment in a couple of weeks to see if anything has grown back. If my bloodwork comes clean, I could possibly be homefree from this ordeal! Wish me luck!! Pictures from our Christmas vacation to come :)

Update on Jenn:)

For those who are curious about the status of my health situation, or for those who have absolutely no idea what I am talking about but might like to know...I thought it would easiest to inform and update my blog and in that way, everyone who cares will be in the know on how I am doing :)
So, how do I summarize a 5 month and counting experience? I'll try to keep it as short as possible.

• After a miscarriage in July, 2 D&C's (both related to same m/c), and months of continuous and major bleeding, my doctors figure there's something wrong.
• 2 biopsies, a gazilion ultrasounds, and CT scan later, I find my self sitting in front of an oncologist who gives me a diagnosis:

Gestational Trophoblastic Disease

• Apparently after I m/c, some of the 'tissue' embedded into my uterus and formed a small tumor. So, while GTD is a form of cancer, I have a 99% chance of a full recovery as long as it hasn't spread elsewhere...and it hasn't (phew!)
• I've had 2 weekly chemo treatments and so far I've got 4 more scheduled...but the dose is very mild and the side effects have been really minimal. PLUS, test results show that the medicine is working...already! Hallelujah! I'm ready for this to be over!

So that's my story, in as few of words as I could manage! The hardest part of the whole thing really has been that the bleeding has made me very anemic so I am weak and tired all the time. And did I mention, grouchy? Yikes, poor Joe and the boys! Anyways, I will try to remember to post any updates on me when I hear any news from my doctor.

I also wanted to mention...it snowed here in Texas! How cool is that? It was very strange to wake up and to see white all around (a very thin layer, but still!)

The longest post ever!!

I apologize ahead of time for this super long post, but it has been since July! I decided to take my computer head on and update...even if it took me an hour or 4! So, these are the events that have happened since July, in no particular order.
1. Joe and I went to a Dallas Cowboys game. His company provides the football players with free orthowork and as a perk, the doctors can go to games once in a while. The stadium was amazing!! 2) One of our closest friends, Brent and Kristen Rigby, happened to move just 20 minutes away from us! We all went to Ohio State together...Brent and Joe in dental school, Kristen in dental hygiene, and me in social work. Being one of the few LDS couples without kids, we hung out a ton and had so much fun. Coincidentally, their little boy is about the same age as Samuel and Mason, so its been so fun to get together once again and watch our boys run wild. 3)In September, we went to Carlsbad, CA for our first little family vacation, along with Joe's parents. Thanks to his sister Bethany, we stayed in a nice condo right by the beach. It was fabulous! We went to the beach everyday, ate great food, visited the aquarium, and hung out with his sister Bethany and her family who live near by. The picture below is us at Legoland. It is seriously the best themepark for children 5 and under. We were there from open to close and our boys were so stimulated they didn't even nap.

The reason why we decided to go in September is so it wouldn't be as crowded. We were loving how there were no lines. The boys went on this horse ride 3 times in a row!
The boys loved the beach! Mason was scared of the water, but boy did they love playing in the sand. They loved it when the tide was low and we could dig little baby pools for them to splash in. Samuel would stand on that hill and say "I'm the king!" Joe and I are giving thumbs up because that is Samuel's latest thing...when he approves, he gives you a thumbs up with wink.

Joe and Mason searching for little sea crabs.3) Airshow in Fort Worth. I'd never been to one so I had just as good of a time as the boys. They loved looking through all the different planes and then watching them perform tricks in the sky. We were there all day long and were very exausted that afternoon, let me tell you!
4) Pumpkin fun: The boys were excited to have their pumpkins lit for the first time. Thanks Brent for helping us carve them! Boy did our boys love the pumpkin patches this year! We went to 2 of them a total of 5 times!! There is just so much to do that they couldn't get enough. Here are the boys on a hay ride.

5) Halloween: Samuel has been in a major pirate phase for the past few months so there was no question as to what he was going to be Halloween. See this pirate fight stance? This is not just a pose for Halloween pictures, this is Samuel who believes he's a pirate through and through! Thanks mom for the beautiful costumes straight from Disney World. Samuel is Captain Jack Sparrow...dreadlocks and all!
Samuel the pirate, fighting every spider and ghost he faced that dark Halloween night!! Mason wants to do whatever Samuel does, so he claimed that he wanted to be a pirate too. Grandma got him the cutest Captain Hook outfit and he loved it! Held the hook all night long!

Here is our little trick or treating crew. We have Lucas as superman, a friend we met at our pool this summer, and Logan Rigby the tiger. They did so well, knocking on doors for over an hour! Samuel of course could've gone on until midnight!

6) Joe and I went to a U2 concert. It was my first concert ever and it was amazing! Quick story: So we go to our seats on the lower level and they were completely blocked by the lights tower. We were ticked. Joe went to guest services to complain and they put us in the VIP section front row!! We were as close to Bono and The Edge as you can get sitting down.
7) Mason and I flew to Missouri for my grandma's 80th birthday party. During our visit we got to see Dave and Jada, our really good friends from Wisconsin who now live in Kansas City, MO. It was a quick dinner, but it was so good to see them! Jada was on the verge of having her baby but she was tiny and gorgeous as ever. So unfair! People asked me if I was having twins when I was only 7 months pregnant!

8) Finally, I must mention my own summer saga. Many of you may already know that I miscarried in July (yep, apparently we can still get pregnant!!) but unfortunately that miscarriage was not fully resolved until just recently!! Meaning, I got a D&C after that miscarriage, and from then until now I have had major complications. After telling me to wait it out for over 2 months, my doctor finally checked it out and realized he left a good amount of tissue behind. Switched doctors, and after trying a couple things, we had to resort to a 2nd D&C because of all my blood loss. That happened last weekend and I am praying that I can finally move on and feel normal! SO! If you or anyone you know has a future D&C, it is NOT normal to bleed for more than 2 weeks! Knowledge that will stay with me always!

The Cruisers are BACK!

Thanks to my wonderful and fantastic parents, Joe and I were able to relive our cruisn' days. We had a whole week of fun and relaxation without the kids on Royal Carribean's Freedom of the Seas. It's the biggest ship out there right now.

Here's Joe relaxing on the balcony of our room. One of my absolute favorite things we did was sleep-in and then order room service breakfast which we ate on our balcony. The life!On our previous cruises, Joe and I would be super busy trying to squeeze in as many activities as possible...from art auctions to excursions to sport events on the ship. Not this time. For me at least. I took advantage of the "no kid" time and sat in the hot tub, read by the pool, and slept!Isn't this cool? It hangs over the ocean. So I relaxed while Joe kept up his usual regime of trying to do every activity possible. What can I say? I love to relax, he loves sports. During down times, he could be found rock climbing...Surfing on the ship's flowrider. Sometimes he'd be up at 8 AM to be the crowds on this wave. He actually got pretty decent...I did not dare try it after watching the majority of surfers wipeout in 2 seconds. Plus, some swimsuits were lost!While I laid around like a "slug" as Joe referred to me, he entered the ping pong and the speed rock climbing tournament...and actually won both. "I get better with age" qoutes Joe triumphantly, since I tease him all the time for being "old". Joe owes his gold medals to the 10 ice-cream cones he gets a day. I owe the extra pound I put on to these twist cones. The machine is right by the pool...what else am I suppose to do?Our first stop is Labadee, Haiti. Beautiful place!These swim mats are my favorite things! I could continue my lounging in the ocean!Our next stop: Jaimaca. The thrill of the cruise was our drive up a mountain on a 1 lane, 2 way street. It was the mix of cliff drop-offs and horrible Jamaican driving that made my life flash before my eyes. This picture is of 2 cars in front of us stuck b/c neither of them honked like they were supposed to let other cars know they were coming along a curve in the road. Thankfully, we made it to our excursion where we tubed down the White River. It was absolutely beautiful and there were fun rapids along the way. I managed to be one of the few that flipped over...of course!Along the way, there were some Jaimacan families barbequing while the kids played in the river. They wanted Joe to take a picture of them.We snacked on some burgers and fresh cococanuts afterwards. This picture is for my parents!
3rd stop: Grand Cayman. We'd been there before, but thought we'd try snorkeling. It actually wasn't too bad...there were some pretty coral out there. That's me snorkeling with our ship behind me. So here is a fun couple that we dined with every night. They are Chris Fountain and Amy Diamond from England. Chris is actually a soap opera star in England and a pretty well known celebrity. His girlfriend Amy is a model and singer who has sung all over, in cruise ships, tours around the world, and a show in Vegas. It was interesting to see people (from England) recognize him and ask for autographs. They were even invited to dine with the Captain which I think is a pretty big deal. Anyways, despite our completely different lifestyles, we got along really well. Hanging out at 70's night.4th stop: Cozumel. We've been there plenty of times and love just going to a beach with good food and things to do. We went with our Chris and Amy. Joe and Chris played on the waverunners.

And football in the ocean.

While Amy and I floated out to sea (literally, the boys had to come and get us) and relaxed by the beach.

So that concludes my very long post of our very wonderful vacation. It was just nice to get away and focus on Joe and I for once. Thanks mom and dad for giving us that opportunity to be free kids again. We love you and are so glad you survived the week!