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!

Life

 Ok, Beck, this is for you.  I'm finally updating my blog. I'll update more later, but this is a few for now.

Here is Jace...FINALLY earning an award for being good!  There was probably about 10 days out of the whole year that he didn't get into trouble.  I think I have my hands full with this one!

 Dreytons AMAZING teacher!  He loves her soooo much (so do I)!!

 The last 2 members of the 'Evil Schemes Club'.  Jace suspended everyone else.

 Grandma and Grandpa Rowley were able to come for Jaces graduation.

 What a weird picture!  I look like I am sinking into a hole and dragging my son with me.

 We were able to make it to Brooklyns graduation.  I can't believe she is old enough to go to college now!

 Dreyton was so excited to stand in the D.  He tells us all the time that he is going to graduate from Delta High.

 Dreytons dream finally came true!  Jace decided to lie to Dustin and tell him that HE earned it.  Dustin first reaction was to get mad and say "Who's yard did you steal that from?!"

 Ky looooves his ice cream (must take after Grandpa Larsen).

 Ky loves the trampoline!

 First backyard campout of the summer.

 I'm sorry but Ky is so stinkin cute!  He can sit here coloring all day long!  There is proof that he loves to color...just look at my cupboards, the wall, the floor.  He leaves his mark everywhere he goes!  Mr. Clean in now my best friend!

There you go Beck...boring but updated. :)

Catch-Up Part 2

I'm so behind on Blogging. It just isn't that fun anymore. But I'll put a few pictures up to prove we are still alive over here.

For Christmas me and Dustin made the boys a castle for their action figures. After blood, sweat, paint and more blood, we got it finished and couldn't wait for the boys' reaction. It so fun to see them open it up. Dreyton doesn't show alot of emotion...ever. But when he saw this he was so excited he almost started hyper ventilation! He couldn't stop yelling "OH MY GOSH!! THIS IS AWESOME!" It was worth every minute that we stayed up till 2 am making it! It is hard to tell, but it has a fire pole, a dungeon with a jail and lots of chains, a trap door, a treasure box, and some little boxes to hold all the guns and equiptment that comes with action figures.

Right after church we all jumped back into our pj's and headed outside to try out the new Christmas presents.

Even Mitzy had a good Christmas. Santa left her a HUGE candycane shaped bone. The boys thought Santa was awsome for that one!
First thing Ky did was sit on a bow. It stuck to his butt the rest of the day. I thought it was too cute and funny to take it off of him.

Drey and J reading a funny book made by Grandma and Grandpa Larsen. It was a fight that night to see who got to read (for the 5th time that day)it in bed.

I LOVE this age!! Jace was thrilled about every thing he got. Especially hotwheels cars!!

It was quite a fight with with Dustin...but Santa won out and brought Ky a kitchen set. He loves it! Look at the smile! How could you NOT give it to him.

Our Christmas presents from Dustins parents! My FIRST Delta sweatshirt. The boys all love their Delta stuff! Being from Delta you would think I would have at least one Delta shirt, but nope. I have to admit, I love mine!

More presents from Rowleys. The boys were given bags with their names sewn on it. They thought it was so awesome that they could both fit inside of thier bags.

Ky broke his arm over Thanksgiving break. It was actually on me and Dustins 13th anniversary. It was sooo sad! After he got in the car after getting it on, I think I cried more than he did. I felt so bad for the little guy. The boys wanted ti sign it the second they saw the cast, but me being anal wouldn't let them. I didn't want it to look gross and dirty for 4 weeks. So, I made them hold off till the last week.

Even with a cast on, Ky loves wrestling with Dustin. He learned how to use it as a weapon and would smack people in the face with it. He brought both the boys to tears with it.

Playing Catch-up Part 1

Celebrating Zachs birthday with his amazing Lego cake that Melanie made. You should have seen the details on this thing! Every Lego dude was doing something different and had little tools in his hands.

The Rowleys Fam and the Christmas party.

Feeling lucky to be married to the WINNER of the Ugly Sweater Contest!!

The yearly shot of the boys with Santa.

Thanksgiving with the Rowleys. I don't know about you, but I think these three look like trouble!

The tribute Jaces teacher made for Veterens Day in her classroom. I love that she let each child wear her husbands army clothes for the picture. It was the highlight of Jaces week.

We celebrated the end of the football season at Pizza Hut feeding the team. We had an AWESOME team this season! It was so fun to watch. It is surprising how intense a flag football game can get! These kids are just as crazy as this picture looks!

My cute little monkey, and some pumpkins.

I dont' really love this time of year, only because it means that snow is coming, but I do love getting pumpkins with the boys. It is so fun to watch them pick their pumkins and then have them help me pick mine. The hay ride is fun, the family time is fun...everything is just fun.

I love the weather we had this year as we went to the pumpking patch. Usually we are bundled up in coats and gloves, this year it was shorts. My kind of weather! Love it!

Kyson LOVES sitting on dads shoulders. He plays the drums on his head and giggles the whole time.
Me and the boys waiting for a horse ride.

Look at my cute little monkey. He is such a sweetie! (most of the time)

He hated the hate, but still smiled through it.

The boys...

It's been a busy, BUSY summer. Football...football...football! We threw in some birthdays, a baptism, school, young men stuff, primary stuff, and life...but most of all, it has been football.

Here is Jace, giving it his all. He is so awesome! He may not be the tallest or the fastest kid on the team (he is the youngest), but he NEVER gives up and tries his hardest every single game. He never gets intimidated by the other kids and is so happy to do everything he is asked to do! He is so fun to watch!
Here is Dreyton, my little scout. He has been so excited to go to scouts. Everything is a competition to him, so he is trying to hard to earn as much badges as he can, as fast as he can.

Dust coaches both Dreyton team and Jaces team. One of the parents gave both him and the other coach some purple socks. Dustin and Nick think they bring the team good luck so they can't play a game without wearing them (even though I tease him that it looks like he is wearing tights). They have so much fun coaching together.

A boy and his dog...

Kyson LOVES our dog! He could sit outside all day with her! Ky loves to feed her bones, throw toys for her to fetch and pat her on her head. It is so cute to watch them.