Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Vegas Baby

For Justin's 30th birthday we went with 6 friends to Las Vegas for an extended weekend. Really the pictures speak for themselves. We had a great time!
My recomendations for anyone visting Vegas anytime soon are: the Comedy Club at the Riveria Hotel- We have gone everytime we in Vegas and it has always been great, Bite-This is an adult show at the Stratosphere. It has vampires, singing, acrobatics, and dancing. We found this great little lounge at Mandalay Bay that had live music and no cover. It is a great place to people watch!
Thanks to everyone who joined us for making Justin's 30th birthday memorable. My 30th is next year. Anyone want to do Vegas again? :)

Thursday, January 15, 2009

My fantastic husband

Today my husband turns 30. We have now been together in our teens, twenties and thirties. I think this is quite a feat, especially for our generation. Justin has always been a fantastic father and husband. Don't get me wrong, fantastic doesn't mean perfect, but he is pretty darn close. He is a great father. He takes the girls to swim practice 3 days a week and sits in the freezing cold watching them for an hour and a half each time. If I offer to take them I am quickly shot down by both him and them. "It is our thing with Daddy" the girls will tell me. At their swim meets he is their biggest cheer leader, always right by the starting blocks cheering them on. So many of the fathers don't come at all. I hope my girls realize just how lucky they are.
I am pretty lucky too. Nearly every night Justin will encourage me to go take a bath and read my book. He is thoughtful and sincere. When all of this started with my dad, Justin offered to bring me and all the kids home lunch on his lunch break so I wouldn't have to worry about feeding them. With all the packing and craziness that is going on, he suggested that I spend the weekend with my dad and he would take care of everything. This is a few of the things that make him so great.
I know that I don't tell him enough how much I appreciate him or how proud I am of him. I really can't imagine my life without him. If you have a someone make sure they know how wonderful you think they really are. I am sure it will make their day!

Monday, January 12, 2009

Ugh! What a week!!

Sometimes I feel so tested. I live by the mantra that God won't give you anything you can't handle. I truly believe this, but right now I am wondering if He thinks I am more capable than I think I am.
In late September my grandfather was diagnosed with lung cancer. In November my mom, sister, and I went to visit him and the rest of our family on the east coast. It was a great visit and we were able to spend some great time with my grandpa. Two weeks later he passed away. It was especially raw and difficult because we just were with him and he really didn't appear to be as close to death as he was. He was the grandpa that I was closest to and I miss him every day.
Friday my dad called me with the news that he had cancer. He knew it was Lymphoma but we didn't know what kind it was. There are over 40 different kinds of Lymphoma cancer.
We were holding out hope that is was Hodgekins Lymphoma because it has a much higher cure rate than Non Hodgekins Lymphoma. On Sunday dad got the pathology report and found out it was Diffuse Large B cell Lymphoma, which is Non Hodgekins. The cure rate is less than 50%. I just watched my grandpa battle cancer and lose. I can't stand the thought of the same thing happening to my dad. He has an appointment with his oncologist today, and will probably end up at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota for treatment. If anyone can fight this its my dad. He is strong and has at least 6 wonderful reasons to live, those being his daughters and grandaughters. I am so much the oldest child. I like to fix everything. It is what I do. I mother everyone I know (and you guys are great for letting me). In this case I feel helpless, like there is nothing I can do and there isn't a worse feeling.
Speaking of mothering...... Yesterday my mom and I had to make and emergency run to Corvallis. My sisters room mate is a horrible being (I say this about very few people) who has been making her life hell. Now she is making serious uncalled for threats to my sister. Katie no longer felt safe in her own apartment so we moved her out in 2 hours. She is going to sleep on a friends couch until she can find and afford a new apartment. However she still has to go to school with this girl, which worries me. I can't understand how anyone can be so hateful with no real reason, and to Kate of all people. I hope she doesn't cause any more trouble for her.
On top of all of the above I am taking 21 credits this term. If I do that this term and next I will be done with my Associate of Arts Transfer Degree and can transfer to the U of O in the fall. I have thought about dropping one of my classes, but I really just want to get done. AND we are moving at the end of the month which means we need to pack, clean and coordinate for that as well.
I will keep updating on my dad's progress. Right now however, I need to to write a paper or 2.

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

My little swimmers











Both Joannah and Allisyn swim competively. This requires hour and a half practices 3 days a week which their daddy arranges his schedule so he can take them, as well as swim meets on weekends. Joannah has been on the swim team since May of 08 and Allisyn made the team in October. They are both having a great time and learning alot!
Joannah really wants to go to the Nike swim camp in Portland this June. The cost is $460. We told her she has to raise the majority of the money herself by collecting cans or doing odd jobs for friends and family. If you have either please let her know. Right now she has saved $25.60. We are so proud of her for working hard to get what she wants (do you have any idea how many cans she has cashed in to get her $25??? :))
Here are some pictures from their last big meet. Enjoy!

Friday, January 2, 2009

Moving......Again!!




We are in the process of purchasing a new home! We are so excited. It is a great house in a nice area. The girls can ride the bus to school now, which is an added bonus. We close on January 30 and will move on the 31st. I promise...this will be the last move for a long time. :)

These are a few pictures from the RMLS listing. I will add new ones once we move in.