Blake's CANCER CRUSHERS!!

I'd like you to meet Blake. (Chad serves with Blake's dad in his calling and we've been able to learn more about their amazing family through their service together.) At the beginning of the year Blake was diagnosed with Leukemia. He's undergone the normal kemo treatments, and like most cancer patients, he's had his good days and bad days. In spite of the pain his little body has been put through, the times that I've seen him he's been full of life and energy, and has always had a smile on his face. Blake is a fighter and has faced this disease with faith in his Father in Heaven and strength and courage. And most importantly....Blake has chosen to fight back.
In an effort to help raise money for research, Blake set a goal to collect and donate $300 by collecting aluminum cans. He was able to collect over 250 pounds of cans and exceeded the $300 with the help of members from his ward, his dad's co-workers, and family members. Blake also put together a team for the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
Relay For Life is a fun-filled overnight event designed to celebrate survivorship and raise money for research and programs of the American Cancer Society. During the event, teams of people gather at schools, fairgrounds, or parks and take turns walking or running laps. Each team tries to keep at least one team member on the track at all times. We were privileged enough to be members of Blake's team: Blake's Cancer Crushers. Chad and I signed up to walk from 11:00-12:00 p.m. We arrived early and walked around all the different booths that each team had set up. Each booth was selling different things and all the proceeds were going to the American Cancer Society. There were raffles for cakes, ipods, and a Nintendo Wii, good music and tons of food. We had such a great time and enjoyed the feelings that came in supporting a good cause.

At some point in our lives we will either known someone who has had cancer, and survived, or someone who has lost their life because of it. To learn more about this disease and what you can do to help fight back visit the American Cancer Society website. And if you're interested in donating just click here.

Home at Last!

I should have posted this a couple of nights ago, but we've been trying to catch up on everything after a week off. We made it home safe and sound with the truck late Friday night. The oil pump was the only thing that needed to be replaced, so we didn't have to hang around until Saturday. Everything was covered under the warranty, which was a real bonus. I guess this model has been having some issues with the oil pump which means it would have happened sooner or later. It's just a bummer that it happened on vacation. Oh well, that's life right.


So, just a random thought.....you don't need to have a three year old around the house to hear those cute random comments that kids make. I have a husband who is constantly saying the funniest things. Take tonight for example. After dinner he says, "So, what's for cookies?" Instead of "what's for dessert". I took the hint and realized I should make him something sweet. It wasn't cookies though. Instead I made a pumpkin spice cake, which was really good. I'm a big pumpkin lover, so this may not suit everyones taste buds, but you should try it out.

Ingredients:
1 spice cake mix 1-1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/2 water 3/4 c. chopped walnuts/pecans
1 3.5 oz. instant vanilla pudding mix 1 c. canned pumpkin
1/2 c. vegetable oil 3 large eggs well beaten

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Grease and flour a 12 cup tube or bundt pan
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix until well blended
Pour batter into pan
bake for 50-55 minutes
Cool for 10 minutes in the pan, then invert cake onto rack and cool completely
Serve with whip cream

Stranded

Well, the title of this post should say it all. Chad and I are stranded out in the middle of nowhere right now. Actually, we're in a little town outside of Vernal, Utah (Roosevelt) waiting to see if our truck can be fixed. To pass the time we came to the local library which has a couple of computers with access to the internet. I suppose I should start this story at the beginning.
Chad and I decided to take a week off of work, for the Labor Day weekend, and head out to his grandparents cabin to go four-wheeling. We came out on Friday night and planned on being out here for 5-6 days spending most of our time riding up in the mountains. We've had such a great time. It has been so nice to have a few days with absolutely no responsibility. We've slept in, stayed up late, been gone all day riding, and have been pretty lazy. I would have taken tons of pictures, but of course the batteries choose to die out on us.
Well, Tuesday night as we were pulling back into the cabin our truck (our brand new truck) had a warning light go off. It told us that our oil pressure was low and that we needed to stop the truck and turn off the engine immediately. (Blessing #1:) The great thing is that we had just pulled into the cabin and weren't up in the mountains when this happened. So we stopped. Chad checked the oil level and looked to see if we were leaking anything. Everything seemed fine. At this point we weren't quite sure if it was something serious so we figured we would wait until the morning to deal with it.
The next morning Chad turned it on and noticed that the oil pressure indicator was on zero. If you have no oil pressure and continue to drive your vehicle your engine could catch fire. Not a good thing. Especially, since Chad and I don't have cell phones. (Blessing #2:) Luckily, our truck has a free one year subscription to Onstar. So we were able to call the dealership and ask them what they recommend. They told us to have Onstar call a towing company and tow our truck to the nearest dealership. After a 4 hour wait the tow truck arrived and loaded up our truck and hauled it to Roosevelt for us.
At this point Chad and I were stuck in Fruitland, a good 60 miles from Roosevelt, with nothing but a four-wheeler and dirt bike. We spent the rest of the day watching movies and contemplating our options. (Blessing #3:) Good thing Chad doesn't have to be back to work until next week, and I have an understanding employer. Thanks Kevin!
So, we now find ourselves in Roosevelt after an uncomfortable ride on the motorcycle, waiting for the diagnostics to be done on the truck. Once they figure out what is wrong, we can figure out how long we'll be stranded in the deserts of Utah. Worse case scenario.....truck isn't ready today and we get a rental car (which we can only get in Vernal, another 30 miles away), head back to the cabin and wait until Saturday, then if we still don't have a truck we head home and return when it's fixed. (Blessing #4:) At least the truck is still under warranty! Everything from the towing, repairs, and possible rental car should be covered.
Needless to say it's been quite the adventure and at this point we are ready to be home.

B.O.O.T Camp at Lake Lyman

Well, I just recently returned from another successful girls camp. Every year our Stake goes to Lake Lyman for girls camp. It's a gorgeous area and we were lucky enough to have great weather the entire time. However, this year was a little different from all the other camps I've gone to. First of all, this was my first time going to camp as a Stake Leader. It was a little different being a leader at the Stake level, but still lots of fun. It's been a blast getting to know the girls and leaders throughout the Stake and I still was able to hang out with my ward at night.I was also able to have my little sister go with me this year. My parents were out of town, so she was with me for the week. She had a really good time and I was impressed with how well she got along with everyone in my ward. (Thanks to everyone who made her feel at home)

Our theme for the year was B.O.O.T. Camp (Building Our Own Testimonies) Hence the camo. I was in charge of the craft for the entire Stake which gave me more gray hairs than I'd wish to have. We decided to make the gift something that the girls would actually like to have and hang on to for years to come. So we came up with the idea of magnet boards. They were really fun and easy to make and the girls loved them. The hardest part was finding and ordering all of the materials, finding people to cut the wood and tin, and keep it all within the budget I was given. Talk about stress. Anyway, I think they look really cute. Not only was the craft a big hit, but the entire length of girls camp was too. I had so many leaders and young women tell me how much they enjoyed this year, and I had several tell me it's the best camp they've ever been too. We had some pretty miraculous stories and events take place that changed many lives. It was neat to see girls come up one way and leave totally changed, having been touched by the spirit. I have such a strong testimony of the importance of girls camp and the effect it has on the testimonies of the youth. It is such a rewarding feeling to know that we were able to touch lives and hopefully influence our girls for the better. Now, if we can just do the same thing next year!

New Family Pictures

Just recently my Sister and her family came out from Ohio to visit for a few weeks. We don't get to see them all that often, and I just had a brother come home from his mission, so my Mom figured it would be a great time to update the family pictures. I thought I'd share these with you since there are so many of you who know my family.

The entire family. Including little Keegan who is on the way

Bennett, Annecy, and Elden

Just the two of us

Meet Big Blue.

Well, we did it. We went and bought ourselves a truck. We've actually had it for a few weeks now and since so many people were giving me a hard time about it I decided I'd better post a couple of pictures. She's a real beauty and it's been nice to have a truck that will be able to haul our trailer up large hills faster than 35 mph. I think Chad is excited about it, however it's not exactly what he wanted. He was pretty specific in some of the features that he wanted to have, but we weren't able to find quite what he wanted in the area. So he had to settle a little bit, which actually made it very hard for him to buy this truck. We spent a few days thinking about it and we weren't too sure that we were really sold on it. Once the dealership finally got to the price range we were looking at, we spent a good 2-3 hours debating on if it's what we really wanted and if we should get it.









All in all I think Chad's happy. I know I am!!! I'm always wanting to go for a ride and have to beg Chad to let me take it for a spin. I'm sure he'd like to keep it all to himself if he could, but he's been really good about sharing it with me. Chad's family has always named their trucks and for some reason I've been put in charge of naming our new one. I don't know if we've settled on Big Blue yet. We usually refer to our vehicles and toys as girls, and Big Blue sounds a little too masculine. So, I was thinking we should go with Babe (after Paul Bunions big blue ox), or Crystal (as in crystal blue), or Sally (which deals with a song that Chad and I like). Any suggestions??