Bad Bad Mole!!

This past Spring Brock went to the doctors to get his Physical done so he could go to Scout Camp in the summer. While he was there the doc looked at his back and took a pen and circled a mole that he said needed to be removed and to bring him back at the end of the summer. Debbie looked at it and thought "why is this mole a bad one???" Little tiny mole about the size of an ink pen dot. So on we went with the summer.....
About a month ago Debbie took him in and the doctor did a punch hole operation and took the core out of the mole (1st pic). Super thick skin on the back... couldnt believe it.
So they sent it off for tests and to make a long story short, it came back as questionable so he had to go back in and get the whole area taken out and that came back as melonoma!!!! Debbie about fell out of her chair, started cold sweats and almost a panic attack. The doctor calmed her down and said he will be fine and it was caught so early that he will live a long healthy life. He just needs to be careful in the sun and watch all of his moles in every phsyical.

So to all of you.... be very careful of your moles

Yearly Family Pumpkin Carving Contest!!

Another Fall has come and we have faced each other once again in our contest... trash talking.. name calling... you know how that family competition thing goes lol This year Brock said he was an amature and there was no way he could win. We posted the picture on Facebook as usual for voting and he not only won but kicked BOOTY! He won by 15 votes. NICE JOB BROCK!!

Top left was Cass, top right Debbie, bottom left Sam, bottom right Brock. Yeah he smoked us but I think Cass and Debbie had the most detailed pumpkings by far.. my vote was for Cass.

Happy Anniversary.

Monday was Sam and I's 3 year anniversary. We spent it at dinner at Tuscany in Salt Lake City (one of my FAVORITE restaraunts). Here is to the next 30 years.

Nightmare or a Blessing???

I don't really know if this blog is about step families, raising kids, or a parents melt down, or maybe all of the above.

We have had a interesting year with our kids. We have had ups, downs, highs, lows, jealousy, anger, hateful, happy, sad, frustrating, terror, and fear all wrapped up in this family of 8.

I don't live in la la land and I knew that Sam and I's past would have some scars on our kids, divorces, moving, jobs etc. etc. etc. We knew they would have some jealousy with Sam and I's relationship and that if Sam and I didn't put each other first that the family issues that accrue with most step families would put us under. So from the beginning Sam and I's mode of operation was we marinate our kids in love and they can follow or not but our kids will not LEAD this family. Well this year has proven to be tricky in this department. Sam has had his ass handed to him to turn around to see me get mine handed to me by our kids. It truly has taken a tole on this family. So Step Families a nightmare or a blessing??? I am going to go for the blessing part. I would not give up one of the kids for another, I would not change thing, and I sure the hell don't want to go back. I just hope that at some point we can look back at this and say "it really wasn't that bad"! I also know that I am not perfect, I can't speak for Sam but I know I have so many faults, and have made so many mistakes that I can't even begin to write about them and I have had no clue how to be the world's greates Mom. However, I am trying and I can't undo all my mistakes and all the scars etc. etc. etc. all I can do is work on today forward!

So this is for Sam who ALWAYS has my back, , is one of the most patient men I know, and hasn't let this year of parenting ruin our relationship. With both of us we can do this "The Power of TWO"!

I truly am in love with this man I call my husband.

Idaho Trip

Working for Maverik I do a lot of road trips through out the year. This week I ran through Western Idaho to nearly all of the Maverik stores over there. I kept a camera close because I was taking pictures of competitors and our parking lots.
Anyway....... I love driving through the back roads and getting off the freeway now and then and stumbling on to things like this pic below. I didn't get a picture of the whole thing but look at all the potential hot rods!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some of these are obviously junk but there are more beauties behind that old blue van on the left. Like 1930 and 1940 somethings. They need complete restoration but some of these could be worth a ton of money just as they sit.
This particular road is between Burley ID and Kimberly ID.
So if you ever get a chance to hit some random back roads in Idaho and Wyoming do it...you never know what you can find.

Here is another random picture of a great business idea!!! It certainly got my attention.

Still kicking and having fun!!

What a crazy life these days. With Debbie working hard in her new career and with mine we keep very very busy!! We seem to get home from work, do a few chores to keep things up then crash in front of the TV about 7 then in bed by 9:30 haha... yes 9:30!!
On the weekends we have as much fun as possible. This last weekend we went on a bike ride with the buds from Logan. (below pics). It was a perfect day to ride.

In other news, Cassidi moved back in with us after 3 months of renting a place with a friend.
Brock is enjoying school...... and GIRLS.

More blogs to come..... now that things are settling down a little....

The Buds with a mid day refreshment in Coalville

We made a new friend in the parking lot at Taggarts near Morgan when we stopped for lunch. Even birds like Victorys

High heels and Hospitals.

So from the post below ya know I have went back into the work force. I wanted to update real quick about how much I LOVE my job. I love working with Elderly people, they are fascinating and have the most amazing stories. I run around A LOT, spend a lot of time at Assisted Living homes, hospitals, doctor offices and in peoples homes. I am putting a lot of miles on my car and my car is now my office and taxi.
Brock is now in 8th grade and back in school, and I am working so this house is an entirely different animal than it was the last few years, but I think we are getting the hang of it. I have truly found a job that was custom made for me.. LOVE IT!
However my feet hurt so bad tonight I may have to crawl tomorrow. My feet have forgotten how to walk in heels 8 hours a day!

For those of you that know us you know that Debbie had a terrible accident 2 years ago... almost exactly 2 years ago. Here is the link to one of our blogs about it back then -
Accident

About a month or 2 ago Debbie was in the back yard with me cleaning up some yard work. She bent over to pull a couple of weeds, which normally over the past 2 years she would have nearly fallen over because she gets so dizzy. This time she stands back up and says "SAM.. this is the first time that I have not been very dizzy!!!"
From that time on she has been toying with the idea about going back to work. She put her feelers out in a few places and started interviewing a few weeks ago just checking things out trying to find out what she wants to do now. We both agree we don't want her traveling all the time but we tried to keep out options open to what really was a good fit for her. 2 weeks ago she was offered 3 jobs in as many days.. back to back to back. She accepted each one not knowing what was going to happen with the other ones. Each offer that came through was a better job with better money. The last offer was a perfect job for her right here in Kaysville with great wages and benefits.
Today she started her first day in Marketing for a Home Health Care\ Hospice company. She is so excited and will do a wonderful job!!!
Debbie I am so proud of you and to see you healthy again and ready to take on the world is an awesome sight.

Nevada City Wedding

Lauren and Tyson have been planning their wedding for some time now and we could not wait to go. We had no idea what we were in for. We drove clear through Nevada (and hit several Maverik Stores on the way) and by the time we hit Reno it finally started getting pretty. We exited off the freeway 40 miles through the trees and come upon this town nestled in these HUGE pine trees... so huge that GPS systems would not work. Nevada City is such a unique place.

Our first day there we hung out, explored a little and did some wine tasting... well it IS California... wow such great wines. If you get a chance to go to Nevada City DO IT!!

We have so many moments and stories we just cant tell them all in a blog. These few pictures say a lot so I will leave it at that... Congrats Tyson and Lauren!!

A quiet moment while Tyson and Lauren release this into the air in rememberance of our family members who have passed. Miss you Mike Dahle!!

On the way home from California

After the wedding and of course, the reception party, we trekked back home. There are so many things I love about Debbie and one of them is she is adventurous. The night before we left to head back she wanted to go see Lake Tahoe since we were so close.... so we did.... and had a blast for a few hours. Truly a beautiful place and HUGE lake. I had no idea. So we get to town and see a mini-golf place and stopped so I could kick their butts. After that we took in lunch by the lake and hung out by the dock and skipped rocks for a while. What a great place and great day.

So about in the middle of NOWHERE... I mean smack dab in the middle of Nevada on the way to the wedding we caught sight of this strange building and I said "what the hell was that????" and I quick and looked at the exit in case we wanted to see it on our way back. Well we did and we were.....surprised??? hmmm strangely haunted by being here?? We were all alone off the freeway about a half mile on a dirt road. Have you ever seen anything like it? Its actually a historic site but also says "enter at your own risk". It reminded me of several horror or slash movies.. you know... innocent tourists are suddenly ransacked after pulling over for a rest. Anyway... here is the link if you want to read more about it. Just click the words below -

Thunder Mountain Monument