Cancer, Dead Dogs and Sports

 Cancer, Dead Dogs and Sports.  Yep.  That pretty much sums up the beginning of our summer.  Life has been so crazy lately.  No matter what life has thrown at us though, I can't help but feel thankful for it.
So, to start the crazy summer, we had to put our dog Mitzy down.  It was so so sad.  The boys loved that dog so much.  She was such a good dog!  I never thought I'd get that attached to a dog, but since she has been gone it is so lonely outside.  I still look for her and catch myself saving meat from the kitchen table for her.  She was such a great dog for the boys.  They would put a flag football belt on her and would play football with her all the time. It was so fun to watch. Anyway, it was a sad time.  The boys cried for over a week. I found Jace huddled in the corner just trembling and crying about it.  It was such a sad time.

 The boys wanted to write Mitzy a goodbye letter and have it buried with her.

 About a week after Mitzy died we found out Dust had cancer.  But since I don't know how to move these pictures around, I'll talk about that last.  

Sports takes over our life most of the year. I usually love it, but by the time July comes around I am soooo ready for a break!  July is my favorite month of the year...there is absolutely nothing on my calendar.  No double practices, double games, trying to figure out who is going where, running around trying to find where the boys left all their equipment....nothing. Just family time. I love it!

Dreyton LOVES sports.  Football is his favorite, but baseball comes in second.

 LOVE these boys!!!

 Dreyton has coached Dreyton for the last 4 years of football. It has been so fun to watch these kids grow.  They had such a great team!!  I love watching them!

 This is how serious Jace takes sports.  He is opposite of his brother.  He is such a goof off!

 Dreytons team took 2nd place, out of 25 teams.  I was so proud of him!  Dust helped coach baseball too when he could.

 So, now onto the cancer thing.  A week after the dog died we found out about Dustin.  It pretty much sucked.  We found out on a friday and then he was in having surgery to remove the tumor 5 days later.  But, Dustin said he would rather have 10 surgeries in a row than ever have to go through radiation again.I was thankful that Dustin's parents were able to watch the boys that day.  A month after surgery he headed in for radiation.  If you have ever been around anyone that has gone through radiation, you will know how bad it totally sucks!!  Dustin was soooo sick and miserable. There was nothing I could do for him besides drive him back and forth every day to treatments.  It was not only miserable for him, but also for me.  I was trying to take care of him, take care of the kids, figure out sports schedules, school schedules, what to do with the boys while at treatments and trying to help the boys understand what was going on with their dad.  Then 2 of the kids got strep throat in the middle of it all.  Through all of this, I was soooooooo thankful for my family.  There was not a day that went by that I didn't hear from one of my brothers or sisters or parents.  My sis in Pilly even sent a package to Dustin full of 'superman' stuff.  I am so thankful for them! We also have some amazing friends and ward members. They took such good care of us! I am so thankful for how tough Dustin was and seeing all the other patients at the Huntsman center, I am so thankful for my childrens health and for Dustins health.  Dust has almost gained back all of his strength and I am glad to be done with that little wrinkle in our lives...but also glad to have gone through it.  It has made both of us more appreciative of things.  The picture abovet was DEFINILTY not taken during the radiation days. It was a few weeks later. You can tell he was REALLY excited to be done...he never smiles that big! :)

My brother and sister and their families came over a few weeks after it was all over and had a dinner for him. I love family get-togethers!