Halloween 2008

This year our ward did a trunk or treat/ Chili cook off on Halloween. We invited Jen and Blake and their cute kids Calvin and Nina to come with us. we all had a great time.

We decided to go with a princess theme, I know girly, but Dallin wanted to be a handsome prince and I know that this is a stage that wont last so I thought "why not" Dallin didn't understand why everyone thought he was a pirate, I guess we should have forgone the pirate hat...

Grant was a cute jester/clown. we couldn't resist he looked adorable! he was the cutest with his wig but that of course didn't stay on longer then half a second.

Katelyn was going to be a beautiful princess up until it was time to put on her costume and then she wanted to be Dorothy from the wizard of Oz. we threw something together that she was happy with and called her Dorthy, unfortunately she had a hard time pronouncing it and kept calling herself "dorky" when people asked. she grew tired of the chuckles and soon refrained from answering all together. she is a cutie!

one of the main attractions of the night was Cameron's amazing pumpkin, yes that right, one single pumpkin with three carvings, we were doing a sleeping beauty theme up until 5 minutes before Katelyn put on her costume, so Cameron did sleeping beauty's castle the Dragon and the three fairies. I spent even more time on a castle made a felt to decorate the trunk, a castle that in the end we couldn't figure out how to pin up so it would stay on the trunk, therefore a castle that no one saw.

the Trunk or treat had a carnival type theme to it, the young women did a fishing game and a feel table, the primary did a cake walk and the Relief society did mini golf and relay races.

We had a great time.

One treatment left... but who's counting?

I went in for my 7th chemo treatment yesterday. Cameron was on call and at the hospital all night so Louise got to come and sit in the green "visitor" chair and watch me drifted in and out of consciousness as the Benidryl takes it's toll.


Me and Benidryl don't get along... don't get me wrong it's a much better relationship then I have with Chemo but it knocks me out. I feel it's effects instantly. my body feels like someone has placed one of those magnetic vests that you wear at the dentist office when you get your teeth x-rayed on it. my head gets all foggy and my speech starts to slur.

Celebrating at the Patrick's house

I was scheduled for Chemo on Katelyn's actual birthday. But don't worry that didn't disappoint Katelyn because it meant she would be spending the day at the Patrick's house. Which is far better then spending it at our house or at the infusion center. The Patrick's have become our second family. My kids absolutely love and adore all of them, and word on the street says they love hanging out with my kids too. It's great when life works out that way.
Louise came with me intending to spend the better part of the day with me in the infusion center reading a book or watching TV while I slept off the Benadryl, Unfortunately, (fortunately?) my blood count was too low to get Chemo so we got to come back home and go to Katelyn's birthday party at the Patrick home.

It did of course take a few hours for them to decide not to give me Chemo so meanwhile back at the ranch this is what the kids did while I was away..

Katelyn and Dallin chowed down on some Mac and Cheese. why is it that when I make them food they hum and ha over it and then play with it until it's unrecognizable as something eatable?

Dallin loves riding this four-wheeler. He rides it around the kitchen-dining room-playroom circle

Emily and Katelyn.

In honor of Katelyn's birthday Emily wore her birthday balloon party dress. they are also both in braids although that's hard to tell in this picture.

Katelyn and Emily helping Liz decorate the cake. Katelyn got to choose any type of cake she wanted and she choose a mermaid. Although, once again she was very close to choosing Dora. she also choose what we ate for dinner and we had chicken nuggets and pears. Liz is so good at making people feel special, especially on their special day. I have learned so much from watching Liz as a mother, she inspires me. It takes an amazing person to have 8 kids and do it with as much grace and joy as Liz does.

Grant eating Cheerios in his new portable high chair. I think my kids are over there so often that Liz decided it might be beneficial to have a chair for Grant. He seems to like it.

Katelyn and Danial Probably helping with the cake some more.

Diane is Great with Grant. it is rumored that Diane and Marie used to fight over who got to hold Grant when he is a new born.

Marie has spent countless hours on the floor playing dinosaurs with Dallin. she is so patient and fun with the kids.

Katelyn turned 4 a few weeks ago. she is getting so big and she knows it. She has transitioned from a toddler to a preschooler. She loves coloring, painting, reading, coloring, playing, watching movies and coloring some more. she is a precious and beautiful little girl.

to go with the princess theme we had the kids, big and small, plant a kiss on the frog prince. here is everyone getting ready to pucker up.

The short kids of this group were kind of at a disadvantage, because the frog was a bit high for them. Thankfully I forgot to hand out prizes so no one lost....

midway through the party Carrie Halverson noticed no one was taking pictures and she asked if I would like her to take pictures of the party. I had completely forgotten about the camera, so it is thanks to her that we have any of these shots.

she wanted a princess themed birthday party, that is up until it was time to pick out the cake then she wanted Dora. unfortunately for Katelyn, we already had princess themed party stuff so we "discussed" it and she settled with a Cinderella cake.

as is typical with birthday parities for this age, she had plenty of help blowing out the candles

a few of our honored guests, From left to right Cameron's Cousin Jen is holding Grant. Calvin and Blake who are Jen's son and husband. Talia and Solana friends from Temple Terrace and Marie and Thomas Patrick friends from the ward.

this is the before and after shots. I wish it were easier to tell but in the after picture she is a mess, she has dirt all over her face and clothes she even tore her dress (don't worry, it's completely fixable). She had a great time.

This pictures were taken by Stephanie. Thanks!

Delayed

Fortunately I feel pretty good this week.

Unfortunately I didn't get Chemo on Tuesday as planned

Fortunately the Taxol doesn’t make me sick or tired, just a little sore.

Unfortunately it apparently lowers my blood platelet count significantly

Fortunately I don’t feel any different when my platelet count is low

Unfortunately there isn’t anything I can do to increase my platelet count except delay chemo.

Fortunately I have Louise here to help with the kids

Unfortunately my kids are still crazy