The big day...

The big day is tomorrow. Hailey's surgery is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. We will be leaving around 6:45 for the hospital. Thank you so much to all of our family and friends who have stopped by, called, and mailed letters to let us know you were thinking of our family. We will try to keep you updated later tomorrow. We had family photos taken last Thursday before Hailey's hair (well what little she has) goes bye bye. The photos were taken by http://www.kelseycallphotography.com/ . Here are a few of my favorites...

Thanks Kelsey!

THE AMAZING RACE!!!

No I am not talking about the T.V. Show....I'm talking about the RAGNAR TEXAS RELAY. OH YEAH! Thanks so much to my hubby who took the day off work so I could go run with my Chicks! Our team name was CTR-Chicks that Run. It was SO FUN! The race was Oct. 24-25th. It started in San Antonio and ended in Austin. 180.2 miles. There are 6-7 different ragnar relays throughout the US and it was worth every penny. I never thought I could accomplish anything like this. I was on a team of 12 girls, and each girl ran 3 legs. My legs were 4.9 miles, 5.0 miles, 2.8 miles...unfortunately I had some NASTY HILLS! But hey, it just made the experience even better. Okay, I could go on and on but I know all you want is to see some pictures. There were about 8 million to choose from...but here are some good ones (i.e. proof I was really there!)

PRE-PARTY CELEBRATION!

This is what our vans looked like.

Getting ready for my third leg.

Our van. Van#2

Waiting at the last major exchange.

We are so tired....

Man, we are good looking chicks! (me, natalie, stephanie, kellie)

Steph and me in front of our van.

Water, water, I NEED WATER! (This is during my first leg.)

Yes, I was smiling!

Wow...look how fast I'm hauling...haha...just kidding, I'm no PACE MAKER!

YAH...let's just not talk about this photo!

Um...or this one. (I did not puke though!)
Passing of the slap bracelet baton!

PHEW...I am tired!

The chicks with their 1st place baton!

Oh it was so much fun! I didn't get any shots of me on my second leg. Probably because it was around 3 in the morning. It was my best leg by far (funny because it was my longest one too!)

Now if you want to see the totally awesome video that Heika made...go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YH4rIL17RvQ

MY FAVORITE COMMERCIAL

This is my NEW favorite commercial. Everytime I see it I laugh so hard...ahhh...enjoy!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTIzjVxvV2U

One Word Tag

My friend Erinn tagged me...so here goes:
1. Where is your cell phone? pocket
2. Where is your significant other? work
3. Your hair color? brunette
4. Your mother? service
5. Your father? humorous
6. Your favorite thing? SLEEP
7. Your dream last night? weird
8. Your dream/goal? perfection
9. The room you're in? gameroom
10. Your hobby? running
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in six years? happy
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? tidy (I really am working on this!)
15. One of your wish list items? decorations
16. Where you grew up? Utah
17. The last thing you did? email
18. What are you wearing? jeans
19. Your TV? okay
20. Your pet? none
21. Your computer? awesome
22. Your mood? ummmm
23. Missing someone? yes
24. Your car? grandprix
25. Something you're not wearing? contacts
26. Favorite Store? HEB
27. Your summer? gone
28. Love someone? Bridger
29. Your favorite color? blue (unless you ask Carson then he will tell you red because Bridgers favorite is also blue and I'm not allowed to have the same favorite color!)
30. When is the last time you laughed? morning
31. Last time you cried? today

I tag:
1 - Anne
2 - Kelsey
3 - Shanta
4 - Erin (okay all the Erin's can do it since I know 4 of them!)
5 - Stephanie

I am still working on pictures from the AMAZING race...I promise I'll post soon!

Trunk -or- Treat

Gotta love the Ward organized Trunk -or- Treat. So many bowls of candy in such a small area! However, my 'flock' was a little slow and didn't even make it through 1/4 of the trunks before people started packing up and heading home. I think they violated most of the key factors of a successful Halloween outing. Check out this awesome article. That falls in the "things I wish I would have known in Kindergarten" list.


Here is a slideshow of the kids in their outfits:


Alisha just got home from Austin... more to come on her amazing victory, but here are the before and after shots.

(Friday morning... 6:30 AM)


Saturday night... 11:30 PM)

Another update

Just thought I would fill everyone in on what is going on in our lives. Yes I have been extremely emotional, overwhelmed and stressed lately. First of all life is almost back to normal from Ike. I still have a large stack of paperwork to finish, but I keep putting it off to do other things. My first big race is coming up - the Ragnar Relay! It is on Oct. 24-25. I'm on a team of twelve girls and together we are running about 185 miles from San Antonio to Austin. It's going to be so fun! Last of all - Hailey. We took her in for her normal dermatology appointment about two weeks ago. She has been having regular appointments since she was born. Long story short - Hailey will be having surgery to have the birthmark on her head removed. It will take two or three surgeries to completely remove it. They will send a part of the first bioptsy off to check for cancer. At this time they do not think it is cancerous. However, the risk of it becoming cancerous over the next few years is increasing, and because of the location of it - monitoring it is becoming more difficult as her hair grows in. We know the best option is to take care of it now. The option we chose is to remove it in sections, and "stretch" her skin so when she is done all she will have is a scar. We did not want to do a skin graft because she would be in surgery for a long time, and no hair would grow from the skin graft. Her first surgery is Thursday, November 13th. She will be in surgery for one hour. They will have to shave her head (oh no...it took these 16 long months to actually get that little bit of hair she has!) and she will have a "mummy wrap" for two days after. (Wish us good luck with trying to get her to leave that on!) They would like to do the second surgery 8 weeks after the first surgery, but they need to see how the first surgery goes, and evaluate how Hailey does with the anesthesia and recovery. I, of course, am a total wreck, but both Bridger and I know that this is the best solution at this time. Finally - for the Grandparents - here are a few pictures!

Carson and Hailey love WiiFit.


Keeping Carson and Hailey happy with no power. THANK GOODNESS for the laptop and Disney!
Our friends let us borrow their generator once their power came on...THANKS!
This is what our countertops looked like forever!
Munching on some goodies during show time! Hooray mommy's break time!

Just smile and nod

Okay, question for all you runners out there. Or all you who don't run but want to answer! What is the deal? Why do I feel so compelled to smile or say hello or good evening to everyone I pass while I'm running. Let's be honest here...inside we are all thinking, I'm going to die, why am I running right now, how much farther, I need a drink, it's so hot, ugh I have a wedgie, etc. Yet when we pass someone (usually another fellow runner) we put a smile on our face, and say hello, as if we were saying I love that I am out here running right now and I'm not tired at all. We all know it's a fake smile, so why do we do this? (This does not apply to you Nicole B. I truly believe you are happy when you are running!) :)