Tyler's Birthday

Tyler's birthday was on Monday the 19th, but this week has been so crazy we finally celebrated last night.  Last Sunday his aunt and uncle and their families came for dinner and we celebrated with them.  We had sweedish meatballs, and cream puffs for dessert.  Tyler requested the same ice cream cake for his birthday as Ashley had.  The only difference was I used mint oreo's in the middle of the layers.  I can't believe Tyler is 14.  I am so blessed to have a wonderful son.  Tyler is very obiedient, fun, and really watches out for all his sisters.  It is fun to watch him play with Joslynn and sit in a chair reading books with her.  I am very grateful for him.

Everyone eyeing the cream puffs!

                                                  

Tyler sporting his new BYU hoodie.

My Wonderful Brother

This is my amazing brother, Kenneth, holding his son Grant. 

Grant, Heidi, Arianna, Kenneth, Emma at the Golden Gate Bridge.

Kenneth was about 10 years old when I graduated from high school and then left for college in Rexburg, Idaho.  I returned home for the summer months for two years, then got married and the remainder of my life has been spent in Idaho and Utah.  After Kenneth graduated from high school he came to Logan, Utah to attend Utah State University in the dariy herdsman program.  Allen was also attending USU at the time and we lived in a small apartment on the west side of Logan.  Kenneth drove out to college in our grandmother's silver ford escort, so he would often come to our house for dinner or to watch TV.  It was wonderful to have him here.  I often felt I missed out on alot of all my brothers growing up because I was so far away from home.  It was great to get to know Kenneth and we had some great times together.  He received his mission call while here and Allen and I were able to go with him when he went to the Logan Temple in preparation for his mission.  Kenneth was only here for one semester, before leaving on his mission to France for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  I remember the night he left to go back to New York and I really didn't want him to go.  I longed to have a family member close and really enjoyed having my brother here.  Tyler was about a year old and he also had grown to love Kenneth.  Upon returning from his mission, Kenneth stayed home and went to a nearby college, met his wonderful wife and he has now lived in several locations, moving for college and better job opportunities.  He is currently living in California and it has been wonderful to be closer to him and get to know his family better.

     November of 2010, Kenneth became very sick.  After much encouragement he went to the doctor and was told he had pneumonia, given an antibiotic and would be fine.  His symptoms continued to get worse, so he found a different doctor and explained what had been going on.  He was diagnosed with Stage 3 non-hodgins lymphoma.  He had cancer that had filled is lungs and was on most of his internal organs.  I cried!!  Our whole family cried.  I only hear about things like this happening to someone else's loved one.  My prayers to my Heavenly Father that night became very sincere and I pleaded with Him to allow my brother to live.  I didn't want his mission to be finished on the earth, I wasn't ready for him to go.  He had such a young family and I wanted him to stay alive.  The next day all of the siblings talked with my parents and reassurance was given that all would be well and we would get through this.  We decided to hold a special fast for Kenneth and contacted other family members to join the fast.  We figured Kenneth's life was in the Lord's hand and the only thing we could do would be to fast and pray that he would be healed.

    I know that Heavenly Father loves his children.  I am grateful for the comfort that I felt from the Holy Ghost.  I felt a peace and reassurance that everything would be alright.  I didn't know what alright meant, but I did know that Heavenly Father was in control and knows our lives better than we do.  All of my family members felt that same comfort and felt that Kenneth would be healed.  Trails make you stronger, right!? 

     We went to California for Christmas.  Kenneth had his first Chemo treatment the monday after Christmas.  I was glad to be there for them and take care of their kids.  He would have a chemo treatment every three weeks for six treatments.  He lost his hair, eyelashes, eyebrows.  I returned in February with my two youngest children so I could help out while he went for a treatment.  Diane and my parents were also able to go to CA when he had treatments.  I love all my siblings and am grateful for the bond that we share.

     In July, Kenneth had a follow-up pet scan to see what was left of the cancer, where he was and what the next step was.  Our family was able to have our own little miracle happen.  Kenneth was healed!!  He had some spots on his lungs, but the oncologist thought they were dead cancer cells that hadn't sloughed off yet.  He told him to return again in three months, but was healed!!  I cried again!  This time they were tears of joy and gladness and thanksgiving.  I was so grateful that Heavenly Father had answered my prayers and many others and that Kenneth was healthy again.  I still can hear Kenneth's happy voice over the phone when he called to tell us the news.  It was so much better than that late night November call. 

    In July our family went to CA and spent a week with Kenneth and his family.  We went camping, to the ocean, to the redwoods and just had fun together.  Our kids all got along and we had wonderful laughing moments.  Kenneth's hair was starting to grow back, he was gaining weight and the outward signs of him being sick were gone.  Too see him, you would never know the hardships that he has endured and the extra work his wife had.  Lately, Kenneth has stated that on some days he felt better when he was on chemo.  He had a check-up with his oncologist and his blood work showed something wrong with his liver.  It is swollen and Kenneth is jaundice.  He needs to have an ultrasound done to see what is wrong.   When first hearing the news, those same scared thoughts returned to my mind.  I also know that fear and faith can't exsist at the same time.  I still know that Heavenly Father is in charge and feel that this is just another trial on his road to recovery.  Kenneth is a very good, righteous man, and has a wonderful spouse too.  Together they are very diligent in everything they are asked to do.  I think the Lord is molding him to do greater things and in the process is also healing and molding the people that love Kenneth the most.  My perspective on some things in life has certainly changed and I hope that I am a better person than I was a year ago.  Life is very precious.  If you have room for another person to pray for, please add a prayer for my brother.

9/11 Rememberance

Today's Music and the Spoken Word with the Tabernacle Choir was a tribute to the 10 year anniversary of the attacks on 9/11/01.  Tom Brokaw was the guest narrator and did a great job.  The choir is very powerful.  Ashley and I watched a Dateline episode about the attacks and we both cried through it.  Ashley was born 6 days before the attacks.  It makes me sad to think there are so many evil men in the world that plot such horrendous acts.  If all that energy and time was spent doing good, the world would be a marvelous place to be.  My heart goes out to the family members who lost loved ones that day.  I feel very blessed to have my faith and know that righteousness will over power wickedness.  Satan is real and has powerful ways to entice people to do bad things, but the power of Jesus Christ is stronger and he will reign in the end.  I am grateful for the Book of Mormon that teaches of Christ, teaches how to become like Him, so that when He comes again I will recognize Him.
President Thomas Monson published an article in the Washington Post encouraging people to remember God.  He states that "Our Father's committment to us, His children, is unwavering.  He softens the winters of our lives, but He also brightens our summers.  Whether it is the best of times or the worst, He is with us.  He has promised us that this will never change".  He states that the destruction should be a time to "rebuild our lives with God in our hearts and mind.  We must speak to Him, listen to Him, and serve Him.  Heavenly Father never forgets His children.  Look to our constant God for guidance in all conditions".  I believe Pres. Monson's words of comfort and truth in this article.  To read the whole message, go to http://www.lds.org/ and it is under the Prophets and Apostles speak today section.

USU Employee Family Day

Tonight was the yearly family night at USU.  The kids love going and doing all the fun activities.  Most of the departments have tents set up and show the kids experiments or have crafts to do.  Dinner is provided, sandwich, chips, fruit sancks and drink.  After dinner we started our trek around the quad.  Tyler went camping with the boy scouts tonight, so that is why he is not in any pictures. 
They always have some neat rocket experiement which is by far the favorite.  The girls needed to fill a small water bottle, place it upside down on a stand and secure it with a metal piece.  The man counted to three, turned on water and the girls pulled the string.  The bottles shot up in the sky.  They then had to go retrieve them for the next person in line.

Ashley and Kaylynn had a balloon race.  They blew up their ballons, taped them to a straw that had a string thread through it and let go.  The larger the balloon, the farther and faster it went. 

Alyssa sat on the stool and was spun around.  She would pull her arms in, or let them out to determine how fast she spun.  The students gave Ashley some weights, but they were to heavy for Alyssa.

Kaylynn and Alyssa mashing corn with large rocks.

The girls writing on their own rocks.  Ashley is listening intently!!

Everyone was able to frost their own sugar cookie and put sprinkles on.

Joslynn was so excited to finally have something for her to do.  She LOVED the fishing pond and we had a hard time getting her away from it.  If we let her out of the stroller, she headed back to the pool area. 



Everyone loved the sacks races. We had a video clip of the race, but it won't download; probably operater error.  Ashley won the race, Kaylynn fell and I helped Alyssa along.  It was a good night to be together.  I sure enjoy having my kids around and we missed Tyler.  Hopefully he is doing fine and having a good time.  I trust the scout leaders that they will take care of my son.



Zucchini Boats

There was no school today, Labor Day, so we went to Merlin Olsen Park for a picnic and to float our zucchini boats.  We had three different sizes of zucchini: large, medium and small.  Ashley scooped all the seeds out of the middle.  We started out by just placing them in the water, but Tyler wanted to drop his from the bridge.  I thought the small ones would float the fastest, but I was wrong.  The small ones never finished first, the large ones won every time.  Some of them turned over and then got caught on the rocks.  It was a fun activity, one that the kids all want to do again.

Baby Blessing

Allen's sister, Natalie, blessed their baby today at church, followed by lunch at their house.  It was a nice day, but Allen's mom was grately missed.  She passed away two years ago in November.  Whenever the family gets together it makes me miss her more.  The  grandkids loved Grandma Dawes.  She made time for them and made them feel important.  They all would swarm around her for the craft project that she prepared.  I loved to hear Beverly laugh.  She would always remind us to "walk in the light, remember who you are and what you stand for".  She made me want to be a better person and I am grateful for the things she taught me.  She loved the scriptures and shared her testimony oftern with my children.  I will always be grateful for the wonderful son she raised and for the chance I have to be married to him.  Her physical presence was missed, but I believe her spirit was with us today.  I know that I have a loving Heavenly Father and I believe that he allows loved ones to return to witness important events in their children's lives.  I look forward to being reunited with her again in the next life.  Until then - I am grateful for the memories I have of her.

Allen, Mike, Nathan, Wes (Natalie's husband with David), Allen's Dad, Wes's Dad, Doug

Happy Birthday Ashley!!

We celebrated Ashley's birthday on Saturday Sept 3, since all of her cousins were here.  She requested hawiian haystacks for dinner, followed by an ice cream cake.  It was cookies and cream ice cream on bottom, fudge and crushed oreos in the middle, followed by mint chocolate chip ice cream on top.  Vanilla ice cream is around the outside.  It was YUMMY!!!

Natalie, Allen's sister, always makes a pinata for her childrens birthday and Ashley asked me to make one for her.  She requested a star, so Natalie helped me make it.  The process is time consuming, but easy once the shape was formed.  All the kids had fun wacking it and Ashley got the final hits not blind folded to break it open.

                       Ashley with all her cousins (Dawes side of family) at Doug's house. 

Cody, Alyssa, McKayla, Annie, Katalyn, Joslynn

Floatin' the Onieda Narrows

On Saturday we floated the Oneida Narrows with Allen's siblings and their families.  Weather wise it was a beautiful day.  The adults and older children went down on tubes.  I went in a raft with Allen's older brother, Mike, and nine children.  The oldest child was 8 and the youngest was my Joslynn.  She didn't like getting wet, kids were crying about spiders being in the raft and then we hit a rock and Mike fell out of the raft.  That started his two kids crying which raised more anxiety.  Kaylynn stated several times she wanted to get out and everyone was happy when they could.  I now know that nine is too many to take, but I would definately go again with less children.  This picture was at the take out and everyone has smiles.  Our prayers were answered that no one was hurt and all had a good time.

Ashley's Birthday Party

Ashley's birthday is not until Monday, but since it is a holiday we had a friend birthday party tonight.  She was sad that not everyone she invited could come, but we had a good time together.  We had pizza and watermelon for dinner, and mint creamies dipped in chocolate for dessert.  Ashley opened her presents, followed by games.  Pictured below from left to right:  sister Kaylynn, cousin Whitney, sister Alyssa, Ashley,  Emily and Becky, two friends from school.

After dinner we went outside and played Minute to Win it games.  Following are a few of the pictures from the events.  We had some good laughs, and some challenges were harder than we originally thought.

Ashley had to stack five building blocks on a plate on top of her head and hold it there for 5 seconds.  She was able to do it.

  Whitney had 20 marbles and needed to knock over a pencil standing upright.  She was successful once we moved the pencil in the path of the rolling marble.

Becky had two streamers to unroll in a minutes time, only using her hands.  She won the challenge and Joslynn had fun playing with the mess.

Emily had to move the egg 15 feet by fanning it with a piece of cardboard.

Kaylynn is so funny.  Her challenge was to remove a penny from each leg of the panty hose using only one hand.  She couldn't do it!!  Grandpa Dawes held her other hand, so she tried to use her mouth.  Needless to say she never got to the pennies.

Tyler had to move 10 cotton balls from one plate to another using vasoline on the tip of his nose.  He did it and it was very funny to watch.

Ashley has a yo-yo tied to the back of her shorts and needed to knock down all of the glasses.  She did quite the dance for us.

Whitney has a stand of spaghetti in her mouth and need to put 6 pieces of penne pasta on it.  If the spaghetti broke, she lost.  The noodle didn't break and she did it in under a minute!  Great job!

Tyler has a pair of panty hose over his face.  There is a baseball in the bottom and he needed to knock over all the water bottles.  He won the challenge.

Allen needed to move the Oreo cookie from his forehead to his mouth, only using his head, no hands allowed.  He winked several times which moved the cookie down and it landed in his mouth.  A couple of the kids tried, but no one was successful.  Leave it to Allen!

Alyssa tried some of the challenges, put was thrilled to be wrapped in the left over toilet tissue and streamers.  Whitney made a beautiful dress for her.  She was even more thrilled that it was pink.