ST GEORGE TOURNAMENT!

 Eli got to go with the Varsity team to play in a tournament over the weekend against some really tough Utah teams! The team rented a VRBO and the coaches and players all stayed there and then Cindy and I would come in every day and cook all their meals for them! On the way over they stopped in Vegas and ate at a restaurant, then hit the batting cages as soon as they got to St George. Eli had a great time with his team. He only got to pitch 1 inning and did a great job! He was mad and sad that was all the playing time he got, but then I had to point out there were other players who didn't get to do anything!! He was one of the lucky ones! The good thing about them playing for 3rd or 4th place was their night ended early so the boys headed back home, ate dinner and then it was a free night the rest of the night and they hung out all night in the pool, messing around and just having a good time together! Sadly, I was in such a hurry at the end of every game to race back to their house and prep their next meal and then we would show up late right when the game was starting because we were cleaning up that I never remembered to take a picture with him - not taking pictures of my kids and with my kids is one of my biggest regrets all the time! We love this boy!! It's hard to play sports in high school and one thing we have learned through Emma and Eli is these sports are for sure making our kids better humans and stronger mentally - NOTHING is given to our kids at all. They have to fight for everything! So proud of him and all he has accomplished! 

ELI'S DOUBLE HOMERUN!!

 Second JV game of the season and second pitch of the game....Eli smacks the ball for his first ever out of the park homerun!! I couldn't see where he hit it because the players were blocking my view, but as I watched Eli running and then I saw all the players jumping up and down I knew he got himself a homerun....I didn't find out later that he hit it out of the park!! Then the second inning of the game....he smacks the ball again and the team is chanting, "double double" and then they start saying "he got a triple" and then you can hear them saying "he just hit another homerun!" it stayed in the field but he still was on fire!! After the game ended Jared and I went and got his ball and told him we couldn't find it, but now he will be surprised at the banquet! Last year Eli hit a homerun on the first pitch of the first game of the season - this was almost the same but even better cause it went over the fence! 

CAR WASH TIME!

 I told Eli he needed to wash his car. Him and Jackson did. I am pretty sure they just hosed it down and called it good. The next day it was so bad still so I made him and the twins go out there with a bucket of soap and get to it. These twerps worked together and cleaned it - not very good but better - but they added their own special flair to it and did it on their hover boards! 

JARED AND HIS BLACKSTONE!

 I wanted to surprise Jared with this Blackstone for Father's Day...but it turns out it was way to heavy for me to lift myself. I had the perfect plan too, my parents gave me $400 cash so I could buy it without Jared knowing and I was going to casually pull out cash every once and a while and pay them back, but all that didn't matter and I ended up having to confess to Jared my plan and he met me at Costco with the Yukon and helped me load it up! He loves cooking on it and makes the twins go out there with him while he does it! 

CANCER FREE!

 It's official! Jared is cancer free! I never posted anything about his cancer on social media. Didn't want the attention. But now that it is all said and done, we are posting about it:

I love him! In December 2022 we took some at home health tests from work and found out he had a high PSA result. After many more tests, scans, uncomfortable dr appointments, it was confirmed he had prostate cancer. We didn't tell the kids until March when we knew everything, had a plan, etc. In April 2023 they did a radical prostatectomy. Afterward we found out it was very aggressive and it should have removed all the cancer but the sneaky little snake had spread. 

After he fully recovered from that then he started the process in August to block all his testosterone. After that was handled, he started radiation every day (minus the weekends) for 2 months straight and finished right before Christmas. Then we had to wait 8 weeks for it to clear his body so he could test again! Today we found out Jared's PSA score is less than 0.1 which essentially means undetectable which means NO MORE CANCER!!!

He will continue to go every 4 months to have his PSA checked for 2 years, then we will move to every 6 months. Now he is not so patiently waiting for his testosterone levels to naturally come back up - they will NOT give him an injection. he is at an 8 - an average person is 400 - 900! We have several more doctor appointments coming up to fix some things and make him all better, but we couldn't be happier! We are eternally grateful for our friends and family who drove our boys, brought us in meals, gave blessings, insisted on helping when we insisted we were fine but we weren't. There have been so many miracles and blessings throughout this journey that we will hold sacred in our hearts forever! 

I love this man of mine more than life itself. Even when he was at his sickest he wouldn't be praying for himself, he would be praying for me. (I am also loving that without testosterone he is experiencing hot flashes and cries all the time and now when I hit menopause he will be the most supportive hubby)

PUBLIC SERVNICE ANNOUNCEMENT: Prostate Cancer isn't just for old men...get your PSA checked! Because Jared is so young we now know that it runs in his family and our boys, his brothers, and is nephews will all have to check theirs early in life. It's a simple blood test! 

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Then Emma made these very sweet social media post: 

GRANDPA AND HIS DUNKS!

 Grandpa Rodgers is going to walk Emma down the aisle for her ring ceremony. Our whole family including Hunter will be wearing the Panda Dunks to the ring ceremony and the reception...so we called Grandpa and asked him if he would like a pair as well. He is always a good sport and willing to do whatever his grandkids want! So he gladly agreed and the boys said he is going to be the drippiest grandpa! 

TWINS GOT THEIR PERMIT!

 The twins haven't said anything about getting their permit. They didn't seem to care about it. We didn't push it. Then all of the sudden out of no where they became super ansy about it and had to have it. Turned out Nash was getting his that week and they HAD to have theirs before he got his! So off we went to get their permit! (2 months late, but no skin off my back!)