Halloween

Austin aka Darth Vader

Carson aka Yoda

May the force be with you!

Austin and his friend, Mason

Ward Trunk or Treat

Cute friends

I'm so sad that I missed one of my favorite holidays this year! Halloween ended up landing on the weekend that I get out of the hospital and spend at my parents' house, so I missed all the festivities. The kids dressed up as Darth Vader and Yoda-they were pretty cute! I have to say, Carson made the perfect Yoda too, just the right heighth! Eric took them to the church trunk-or-treat Sat. night and did some trick-or-treating in the neighborhood afterwords.

Toothless wonder

Austin lost his first tooth this week! What a big boy he is. He was so proud of himself and did it by repeating this tactic- "Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle. Pull, pull, pull"!!! Although I missed the milestone, I was so excited when he called me to tell me all about it! He also said, "Mom, this means that I'm getting grown-up teeth!" What a cute kid. We told him that he is now officially "the Gapper #2" (Carson knocked out a tooth about a year ago), and he didn't like that too much!

Go Green Dragons!

Austin finished his last soccer game of the season yesterday. He had a fun team of boys and learned how to dribble the ball better, kick far, and team work! We've decided that soccer might not be his best sport (he isn't the fastest runner, plus he gets distracted easily), but when they start playing positions next year, Austin wants to be goalie. I guess as long as he's having fun, that's what matters most!

Pumpkin Patch

The Farmstead Corn Maze

Carson on the air pillow

The 3 of us

Austin and Mason playing in the corn box

The cow train

Pig races

The rabbits

Feeding the goats

The corn husk guns

Carson picked out a little pumpkin

Load them up!

Carson and I on the hay ride

We had a blast at the corn maze/pumpkin patch the other day and the weather was perfect! We went with our friends, the Tuttles and were able to see everything there pretty much! The favorite was watching the pig races and picking out pumpkins! Fun times!

Run From the Sun

Me and my sisters

3 of the YW leaders I worked with in our SLC ward

Eric and "Lats" (mission comp)

Former roomies and USU friends!

The White extended family

The Boyers, long-time friends

Some of the McEvoys

Beautiful Fall colors in Little Cottonwood Canyon

Britt, me, and Elisa at Snowbird

Eric and I went down to SLC for the weekend for the Run From the Sun benefit. It was the most amazing experience! There were over 300 runners, many I didn't know, all there to support me and our family in my fight. It was overwhelming to see so many people there to run on behalf of me. Our dear friend, Joe Roylance, organized the event, with the help of other good friends and family members. A big thanks to EVERYONE who helped organize and support it! It was such a great event! We had such a great weekend hanging out with family and friends (sans kids!)! Professional pictures soon to come...

No Cavity Club

Austin had his first official trip to the dentist and NO CAVITIES! Thank goodness he doesn't have Eric's genes! (Whew! We have enough medical expenses right now :) He was soooo good for the dentist, fully entertained by the office and the TV playing a movie above his chair! I'm so proud of him. He even got a new toothbrush that lights up for the length of time you're supposed to brush!

CARRRR...SON

Carson was appropiately named for his love of cars. He has so many cars and most of the time is always carrying around at least 1 or 2 cars in his hot little hands. He loves to get new cars too-they will quickly become his new favorite and he will play with them non-stop!

BIG NEWS!

We finally got the big news we had long awaited for...that the treatment was working and the tumors were shrinking!!! Prior to my scans last Friday, I was pretty nervous (to be expected), but I tried to trust my gut feeling, which was that all would be well and we would get good results. Well, boy did we! The doctor came in Monday beaming from ear to ear, exclaiming, "FANTASTIC scan results!" He then proceeded to tell us that 5 of the 6 tumors were gone, undetectable on both PET and CT scans. Amazing! And the large tumor had shrunk by 50% and didn't even light up on the PET scan (meaning it could mostly be dead tissue).

This news was above and beyond what I expected. I mean, I had prayed hard for "remarkable results", but Heavenly Father really hit this one out of the park! Only one word can describe this event and blessing...MIRACLE. I have witnessed with my own two eyes many miracles in my life, but this one takes the cake and I'm grateful to be at the receiving end of this wonderful blessing. I know it was the collective faith, prayers, fasting, and love from everyone around us, not just my own. Thank you for all of your prayers and love, one of the most amazing gifts to me is to "feel" of the power of prayer of so many people praying on behalf of us around the WORLD. It is truly astounding and humbling. We are so blessed!