Zometa in Provo

November 17

So we didn't want to cut all ties off down in Provo so we have chose to still receive his Zometa down there.  This is his bone hardening drug.  Where this only has to run for 20 min. we thought it may be fun to let Stetson be apart of it instead of being shuffled around.  He thought he was such a big kid to be going with us.  Cody and Stetson enjoyed a movie together on the IPad.

At this point we have met with Huntsman several times and have decided to go forward with the trial drug that consists of Eurbitux and MM121 which Cody calls it Mickey Mouse 121.  The side affects are drying of the skin with a major rash that looks like acne.  Cody has to do a wash out period for 30 days before starting so I guess we have the month of November off.  We are scheduled for December 7th.

Codys Treatments

November 2

Well as for most that already know since I'm a little behind on my blog, but feel this is still very important to post for the kids to be able to go back a read so bare with me on it. 

We just found out that the last and finally drug that has been approved for Cody's cancer has now stopped working.  Where we go from here can be kind of scary.  We are having to leave our comfort zone with all the friends who we now consider family in Provo and head to the big Hospital on the hill The Huntsman Cancer Hospital. We will be meeting with them sometime this week to go over what trial drugs are out there that Cody may possible qualify for.  As he says "which one can I be a lab rat for."  Cody has not lost his sense of humor even though we can tell he is very scarred.  We are not ready to give up on this fight Its just not time.    

Halloween

Monday October 31

So this was the first year our little family didn't have a theme.  I was so excited cause I had the best cape for vampires for Stetson and he was dead set that he was going to be bumble bee the Transformer and not a vampire.  So what do you do but let them be what they want.  I will say he was a very cute transformer.

We started our day off with his parade at pre-school.  He was so excited about it.  His Teachers were so very cute as the 3 little pigs.

Tenlie was a spider Queen and I loved, loved, loved her costume.

Here is Stetson in full fledged costume.

I always try and dress to match the kids so when I had the idea of vampires I decided to revamp it a little and be a Mother spider queen with Tenlie.

We started off our night over in Lehi in our old neighborhood with my in-laws.  Cody's sister Corie still lived over there so we met up did some trick-or-treating and then soup back at her house.  The kids were really into it this year we could hardly catch up with them.  I of course forgot my camera so I didn't get any good pictures.

Then back to my moms house we went and met up with their other cousins to go around our neighborhood.  There again they were having way to much fun I couldn't keep up with them. 

Tenlies Pumpkin this year.

Stetsons pumpkin.

We could not have asked for better weather than we had.  The kids never complained of being cold.  It was a so warm it really didn't feel like Halloween.

Halloween Half Marathon

October 29

Just after this next picture was taken it was time to refuel with a GU shot at mile 9.  When I pulled mine out it had froze.  There for I was not able to get it all down before the water station and by the time I got it down my water had pretty much spilled all out.  So the side affect to a frozen Gu with very little water will make you feel like you are about tho through up.  By about mile 10 I told Michelle to go ahead and go I felt like I was going to loose it any minute.  I was so made cause we were truly rocking it on time. At mile 11 they had another water station that I was able to get some in and break that up. I tell you within minutes I was feeling so much better I didn't feel like I was going to pass out and off I went. 

Michelle came in about 3 minutes before I did so I was able to make up some time on the last 2 miles.

Other than the miner hick up this was a really fun race and I really enjoyed the course.  I was able to get my PR.

Time: 1:46:30

Place in age group: 69/552

Overall place: 511/3308

I've really enjoyed having Michelle as a running partner and look forward to running many more races with her.  We may even get Damon to do a few with us next year.

It was also fun to have our family there at the finish line cheering us on.

So I said I was going to be done after the marathon, but look who did another race. Crazy me!!  It all started out that I was going to be running it with one of my friends and I told her it just depended on how I was feeling.  I was talking to my sister-in-law about it and some how convinced her into running it with me.  When it came down to it my friend back out and Michelle and I had already registered.  So we thought what the heck its just for fun right.  We got into it and joined in on the costumes.  Michelle was a football player and I was a little pumpkin.  I know I know we are very creative. 

It was actually warmer than we had anticipated and were a little over dressed.  The run on the other hand was very pretty.  As you can see from the pictures we had a great scenic run.  Our plan was to run together the entire time and things were going great we had a great pace going.

Fall Break

October 20-23

So for fall break we were planning on going up to Cody's parents property in Idaho until we were given the opportunity to stay in a condo in California.  This was a no brainer for us for we love it there.  We already have the season passes to the parks and a place to stay now.  It wasn't going to cost us much more than it would have to go to Idaho so we jumped on it.  

We decided to surprise the kids and not tell them until we got there, but we new they would figure out that we would be heading in the opposite direction than Idaho so we told them we changed our minds and were going to St. George.  

Tenlie was so fun the kids were still asleep when we were pulling in so we had to wake them up.  Tenlie was trying to figure things out she looked so lost and then all of a sudden she says mom this isn't St. George cause that's Mickeys house over there then a long pause.  ARE WE IN DISNEYLAND!! They were so excited.

We decided one morning that we would head down to San Diego to Sea World and see all the shows.  We love it there and the kids love the animals. 

Then it was back to Disneyland the happiest place on earth.  We love this time of year there.  With all The Halloween Decorations out and the temperature was absolutely remarkable.  This definitely tops the charts for us.  I think the only thing better would be at Christmas time.

Stetson really is our little adventurist.  This was his very first time on Thunder Mountain Rail Road.  And of course hands up the entire time and giggled the whole way through.

Then it was off to the Haunted Mansion where the decorations couldn't get better than that.  We love it every time you ride it you always see something new. and then of Course Splash mountain.

Over by Toy Story is so fun.  The Charictors are always out roaming around.

We truly have been so blessed to travel and take so many trips as a family.  I now have to say the last minute ones are my favorite.  There is no stress trying to plan it and get things just right.  We were in no hurry and just enjoyed one another.

St. George Marathon

Saturday October 1

So this year I decided it was the year I wanted to accomplish a full Marathon.  I new just getting out of the house and putting the stress out there on the road was going to be a nice stress reliever for me.  I don't know what got into me for I have never had a desire to run 26.2 miles.  I always said only insane people run that far.  I guess I now have to put myself into the insane category.  

I had a lot of fun training for this race, but in the same breath got really burned out in running.  If it wasn't for having my Sister-in-law to train with I don't know if I would have completed it.  I really enjoyed our time out on the road together.  I feel that our relationship grew leaps and bounds during this time.  Not only with her, but with my brother as well.  There is something to be said about having a training partner and now I know why.  

Training was coming along very well I had joined up with Coach Kenna and was taking her Track class.  In this class she has you doing sprint intervals around the track to help you improve your speed.  Then Michelle and I would meet up at the crack of dawn which was anywhere between 4-5am to start our runs.  Thing were going great and I was exceeding my expectations on my speed. then about 3 weeks before the race we decided to head down to St. George and do our last long run on the course.  We were scheduled to run 22 miles that day.  We were right on course with our pace which we wanted to stay between an 8 1/2 minute mile to an 8:45 minute mile.  I was feeling really good energy was great and then mile 9 came and my knee starts having a little pain I kept on pushing thinking it would go away.  Mile 11 comes and I am in a lot of pain at this point.  I told Michelle to go a head for I was going to baby it in I did not want to cause a major injury.  Lets just say the remainder of the miles were pure HELL.  My brother Damon was out on his training bike ride and came up along side me and could tell I was hurting.  Nothing felt good running or walking it was just extreme pain.  He went a head and caught up to Michelle telling her to go get the car and come find me.  I was so frustrated knowing how hard I had been working towards this race and just scared that I wouldn't be able to run it.  Michelle found me at mile 20 and I was so glad to see her.  The rest of the weekend I wasn't able to walk very well.  As soon as I got home I got right into Muscle works which is a Massage center for athletes.  Lets just say I wasn't very excited to go, but knew if I had any chance of running this race I had to see them.  My IT band was extremely tight and they told me they could work it out so I could run, but I have to just go for finish and not push for time.  I was relieved to hear this, but knew I was going to be going through torture in the treatments.    

So let the race begin!

We started out to the buses at 4:30 that morning.  I thought I would be extremely nervous due to it being my first one.  The morning was really nice and warm which I was a little concerned that the temperatures would rise quickly.  We choose to just chill in the Port a potty lines and wait.  About a half an hour before the race began we drank our energy drink went to drop off our cloths in the drop trailer and then one last potty break.  To our surprise the race started 15 minutes early. So needless to say no last potty break.  We hurried up to the start line and began our journey down the road for 26.2 miles.  I was a little hesitant in the beginning not wanting to over push my knee and be miserable the remainder of the time.  I passed the 9 mile mark where my knee started hurting last time and so far so good.  By mile 10 my energy drink had caught up to me an I needed a stop.  I never stop during races, but this time it was so painful I had to.  I was worried about stopping that my knee would tighten up on me.  So far so good I was back on the road and still in good shape.  About mile 20 my knee started to tighten up and I kind of started to panic.  Mile 23 comes and all I can think is you can do anything for a 5k.  I believe this was the longest 5k I have ever done.  The good thing was it was in town so you had large crowds cheering you on.  By mile 24 it has started to get warm and the sun was beating down on you.  I felt a tap on my arm and I look to my side and see my Brother Damon.  He had met up with his wife Michelle at mile 13 and helped pace her in.  Once he left her he came back to check on me.  At this point my leg did not want to move I was really concentrating on getting it to move he said I looked good, but I felt like I was dragging my right leg.  It was sure nice to see someone to help coach me in.  He grabbed extra cold towels and squeezed them over my head and around my neck to help cool me off.  We turned the last corner and you could see the finish line.  I tell you that last .2 really is not that far, but after already going 26 it felt like it was forever long.  I was really hoping to come in around 4hrs with my knee or a little under, but my official time was
Time: 4:06:42
Overall Place: 2330/5700
Female age division 30-34 162/783

The kids were so excited watching and patiently waiting they had made some cute signs for me and it was extremely emotional to see them at the finish line.

It was really nice having my brother by my side coming in.

I have to say thank you to my amazing family on letting me take the time to train for this.  I know it may not have been easy with mom being so tired and physical drained. 

Soccer

So this Fall we signed Stetson up for Soccer and he found his niche.  He was in love with it.  He was always kicking a ball around.  He was really good and caught on to the object really fast.  Normally at this age its just a huge cluster of kids kicking each other.  Not Stetson and his cousin Crew they were a little aggressive.  Lets just say once they got the ball watch out here they go.  He looked forward to every game and so did his parents and grandparents.  He was so fun to watch we never wanted to miss.