Happy Halloween 2008

Well we all survived another one. Actually I really like Halloween, next year I am going to dress up, I say this every year but next year I really am going to do it!!! This year we had a Skeleton, a Cowboy (Woody), a Witch, Captain Hook, a Gypsy and a Pajama Party Princess. We did the pumpkin carving, the school parade and of course trick or treating. Chad made pumpkin looking pancakes, I roasted pumpkin seeds and we had a pumpkin/jack o lantern pizza for dinner. We ended the night by going over to my parents and letting the kiddos trick or treat at their house and of course we had a few fall asleep as soon as we got there. In addition to the nice day the weather was gorgeous,

absolutely lovely.
What a great day!These are the pancakes, they were so cute!

Here is Chad extremely proud of his pancakes, coming outside and even showing the neighbor how cute they were. (thanks for humoring him Crystal!)

Here is our Jack o Lantern Pizza

This is before school, all of the kids got to wear their costumes for the day and have a Halloween Parade.

Here is Andrew as Woody and his best buddy Isaac as Buzz...Too Cute!!!

Tyler was a very handsome Captain Hook.

One of our neighbors make the kids sing in a microphone to get an extra big candy bar, my kids are all over that!!! Here Kalli and Elle share the mic while Raegan debates if she really wants a candy bar THAT bad.

And of course our cute Skeleton. Max was a trooper all night, as long as he kept shoving chocolate in his mouth he was a happy little man.

WARNING: LOTS OF PICTURES

Sorry guys if you don't want to look at a ton of pictures than leave this blog immediately!!

We just came back from New York and it was pretty great! All of the shopping in NY is amazing. We didn't actually do a ton of it but it was interesting to see all of the famous places you always hear about. We went and saw Tiffanys, FAO Shwartz, the Apple Store, Macy's, Bloomingdales and of course the American Girl Store.

New York...Wow what a place! My friend Karen was working in Boston and was able to meet us in NY and be our tour guide. She was great and so helpful...Thanks Karen!!! We were able to visit Ground Zero (there was this little church across fromGround Zero that housed all of the firemen while they slept in between their shifts, that was really amazing and touching to see all of the missing posters and tributes to those who losed love ones that day), the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, China Town, Little Italy, Central Park, the Manhatten LDS Temple. We also got to see the show Mary Poppins on Broadway...That was incredible!!! The driving in NY is absolutely crazy, it is what you see on TV and more. No lanes, no blinkers, no laws. Luckily we had a driver most of the time. Or else we walked and walked and walked and ate and ate and ate. It was a blast. We had beautiful weather, a little chilly at night and early morning but otherwise, beautiful!!! And of course there was the Rachael Ray show. It was so crazy, what a different life. Valerie Bertinelli and Rachael Ray were so great to us, just as kind, warm and down to earth as they appear on TV. What an experience we had, this was such a great eye opener for our girls.
But I tell you they were sure grateful for the slower pace of where we live.

Tim Mcgraw recently wrote a children's book so that is what the Rachael Ray show gave to my girls, they also got the snack of the day wich were
chocolate covered pretzels.

We had a blast at the Rachael Ray show. They picked us up from the airport in a black Cadillac SUV, with a sign that read "the Kerbys". We had a car and driver most of the time in NY. When we got to the studio, they brought us into this conference room, fed us fruit and sodas and then wisked us off to hair and makeup. Then we went backstage and waited for our turn. Before us was Tim Mcgraw. We met him and yes he is as good looking in person as he is on TV. That was way cool! They had us sit in the front row, showed the taped footage from our home and our kids school (If any of you choose not to watch it that would be very ok with us. It's quite funny but we do look extremely silly and what they say about the camera putting 15 pounds on a person...try 50 pounds I looked terrible...oh well now it's out there for the world to see.) Then Rachael Ray and Valerie Bertinelli asked us some questions and laughed alot. I am really hoping for a positive show, I think it will be. (I hope we don't appear as crazies) They hugged and kissed us and then we had some photos taken by their photographer with Valerie and Rachael and then we were on our way. Oh and by the way the show will be airing on Wednesday Nov. 5th.
Feel free NOT to watch it!!!

We loved seeing the Manhattan Temple, it was amazing the difference between being outside the Temple on the noisy street and walking inside. Raegan and Kalli thought it was pretty neat.

We Absolutely LOVED Central Park.

Lets just say that we ate from one end of NY to the other. We had to try everything and everything was SOOO GOOD!!!!

If you ever have the chance to try a deep fried OREO please do, it just might change your life!

Then there were these cornbread and mozzarella cheese things called something like Mozzarepas, oh my heck they were to die for (and if you eat to many of them you will die)

Then there was Serendipity's, YUM, YUM, YUM the Frozen Hot Chocolates are so yummy. They had amazing sandwiches too!

Oh how we LOVED Patsys, it was delicious! (this is our friend Sara Borg, she was one of our EFY counselors. She lives in Manhatten and met us for dinner and helped us use the subway, thanks Sara!)

All in all it was a fabulous trip. My other kiddos did great with my sister Stacey and my mom...Thanks so much for all of the help! We came home to happy children, I don't even think they missed us!

A Witch, A Cowboy, A Patient and A Monkey

Andrew (cowboy), Dad (patient),
Max (monkey) and Sydney (witch)

Max LOVES his Grandpa, he kept kissing him.

Max would not hardly let us take him away from "Bumpah".

We took the kids up to the hospital to see Grandpa tonight. Sydney and Andrew were determined to wear their Halloween costumes. Max was so excited to see "Bumpah" he wouldn't hardly leave him alone. My dad looks good. Since the surgery he has had 4 extra units of blood. We are still waiting to see where to next. We think he will be going from the hospital to a rehab facility possibly on Tuesday and then hopefully be home this weekend. Then on Friday he begins his radiation treatment on his hip. We are down one step in a long process.
Thanks for the thoughts and prayers!!!

Our Day With Valerie

We had the greatest day. Seriously it was so much fun. Today the crew came from NY to film our family with Valerie Bertinelli. What a blast. They even flew in a makeup artist from Las Vegas and I got to get my face air brushed. No flaws in this skin today! And as for Valerie, she could not have been more pleasant. So nice! She spent about three hours with us. She was so kind to the children oh and speaking of my children they were so well behaved (maybe it was our bribe to take them to Chucky Cheese if they were all good, they definitely earned it!)
It really was a day out of "Hollywood!"
Something that my children will probably never forget!
I can't wait for NY!Valerie getting her makeup touched up in my kitchen

Valerie with my kids in the front yard, they loved her!

Valerie right before she left to go catch a plane,
She was as nice as she could be!

I will let you all know when it will air, probably in about a month.
Stay Tuned!

Happy Happy Birthday Mom!!

October 16 is my mom's birthday. Not much of a birthday if you consider sitting by my dad's hospital bed while he is recovering from major surgery, but you know what...She wouldn't have it any other way (unless my dad was healthy of course). My mom always jokes that she is Florence Nightingale (the nurse) so lately my dad has called her "Flo". My mom has been such a strength to my dad, it is sweet to see the love they have for one another.

Here are a few thoughts I have of my mom:

*She always and still does, makes the best rolls.
*A clean and organized home has always been important to her.
(why did that not rub off on me)
*She adores her grandchildren and enjoys their funny ways.
*She is concerned about everyone!
(a little bit of a Nervous Nelly but we love it!)
*She is an amazing decorator. Her home always looks great and smells good too.
*She likes to travel, see new places and people watch.
(we have loved our trips with grandma and grandpa)
*She has a genuine love for her family and enjoys being around us.
(at least it seems that way)
*She is fun and nice and so funny and I love her
(this is what Tyler said)
*She likes to ride the rides at the amusement parks and plays a mean game of air hockey!
*She is extremely honest, with her what you see is what you get!
*She the best bargain shopper, I remember going to the "Fashion Gal" and getting a ton of new school clothes because mom would go on the "buy one get the second for a penny" sale. She could always find the deals!

I am so grateful for a mom who always taught me to tell the truth, be ethical in all things and to see things for what they are. She also has taught me compassion especially as I have been raising my own family. "I appreciate your example of complete love and sacrifice especially with what you are experiencing with dad at this time"
Happy Birthday Mom! I Love You!

Quick Update on my dad: His surgery today went as expected. They were able to get about 85% of the tumor out. They will radiate the remainder that is left in the hip. The doctor had to rebuild the back of his socket with cement and screws. He did receive about 2 units of blood through transfusion. He is recovering after a long day. Thank you to all who offered prayers on his behalf, we definitely felt them! On a side note it was quite funny when he came out of the anesthesia the nurses asked him if he knew where he was, his reply was "yes, I am at the D.I." he had all of the nurses in stitches. He then told them that he was at the "Dog D.I. or maybe it was the Cat D.I" he also said that he did not want to eat any dog food. We had a pretty good laugh.

My Dad is the Mystery Man...

Here is a quick update on what is going on with my dad and his cancer. Last week he had what is called a PET Scan and a Scope. The Scan is really the last test they can do on him to try and figure out what type of Cancer he has. Today the Doctors were able to show us the scan over the computer. It goes through his entire body, major organs and glands. The result of that was nothing that we don't already know. It is in his hip, lung and a few glands, but his Heart, Liver, Pancreas, Stomach and Kidneys all are clean, they look great! (Due to the cancer he has lost 30 pounds since the picture above.) They still cannot figure out where the source of the cancer is. So right now his condition is labeled "Cancer of the Unknown Primary" which is only about 5% of all cancers, very rare. They admitted him today up at Huntsman Cancer Hospital to start his prep for his surgery on Wednesday. Today they are doing an Embolism which is where the doctors cut off all blood supply to his tumor in his hip (about a 2 1/2 hour procedure). Then on Wednesday he will be getting a full hip replacement and a removal of that yucky tumor. That procedure will be about 6 hours. Then he will have a recovery in the hospital anywhere from 5-10 days. His healing at home will be about 4 weeks. After the 4 weeks then the doctors will discuss what type of Chemo he will be on. They only have two to choose from. They will try one type for about 2-3 months and then x-ray to see if the cancer is shrinking. If that doesn't work than they have one more to try. We still have a long road of waiting. Please keep him in your prayers, especially on Wednesday.

I will update as I know more.

Tyler's Last Game of the Season

Tyler, #12
(serious how cute is this kid!)

Tyler, Talmage and Conner

Tyler LOVES to WIN!

Tyler had his last soccer game tonight until spring. He loves this sport, well Tyler really loves any sport. He is a natural little athlete. I am wanting to try him in something else next year but I am not so sure I can convince his dad of it. (Chad plays vicariously through Tyler)
Way to go Tyler, you had a great season.
(mom is ready for a break, one less carpool on my list for now)

Guess Who is Coming for Lunch????

Well I just got word that in a couple of weeks I will be welcoming Valerie Bertinelli into my home. She is coming to spend the day with me and my family. Oh My Heck!!!! I am a little in shock right now and am at a lost as to what I am supposed to do to get ready. This is even crazy for me. Apparently she will be spending time with Chad and I and then with our kids. Then they (the producers) think it will be alot of fun for her to spend some time with all of us. Holy Cow even our

Family Home Evenings don't last that long, trying to get the kids to sit still for five minutes much less a couple hours!

What a crazy time for our family,

WHAT A BLAST!!!!!

Start Spreading the News...

Well it is official, we are going to be on the Rachael Ray show. The producer just called me and they are flying out Chad, me, Raegan and Kalli in three weeks. They are paying for it all. We think we will extend our trip by a couple of days to be able to see all that we can.
WOO HOO!!! Who would a thought? Not me. Chad asked me at the beginning of the year if I could go any where, where would I want to travel this year. (he was just curious, not alot of $$$ prevented much traveling this year) Anyway I told him I really wanted to go to NY! Our neighbors left today and invited us to go with them but we just couldn't afford it this year. But hey lo and behold Rachael Ray happened and we are getting to go for free!!!!
(yes at a cost of looking ridiculous, but FREE)
Yippee!!!! I will let you all know when the show will air.
(Well that of course depends on how ridiculous we actually do look)