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!)

VALENTINE'S DAY!

 I had some extra time so I set the table for the boys, polished Grandma Joyce's sterling silver pitcher and candelabra, wrote the boys each a note and then of course created the traditional scavenger hunt! They look forward to that every year, but I know it's really because they get presents at the end of it! This year they all got matching Panda Dunks for Emma's wedding, but since they seemed pretty lame they can't wear them till then we also gave them all some apple cash. After dinner we cleaned up the kitchen while Jared ran to water-n-ice to get me some ice cream while the boys ate their cinnamon rolls. Then we ate our desserts and played "taco, cat, cheese, goat, pizza". Jared and I went to bed that night and decided we had the best night! We were laughing so hard during the game and all the mistakes that everyone made. Jared and I are going to start doing more dinners at the table and setting out some games so they know that we will be playing when we are done eating! More family memories being made! Happy Valentine's day to all my boys!! (Emma and Hunter spent the day together up in Idaho!)

 

RANDOM FRIEND PICS WITH ELI!

Eli and I were the only ones at home so I snatched him up real fast even though we were both in our pajamas and we ran and got ice cream together! I made him put his phone away and talk to me the whole time! Sucker! 

Jake and Jackson have been training for a full marathon! A couple of long runs they even came to our house and Eli refueled them with water and a snack! The night before the big race they went to Jake's house and carb loaded! 

Every Thursday morning at 5:30am Eli, Seth, Tate, Sadie, Brasser and Kai go to the Gilbert Temple and do baptisms. Then afterwards, Cindy buys them all McDonalds before they head off to school! This is the best tradition he has! 

TYSON'S POP TAB INCIDENT!

 Jared ended up being really sick on Superbowl Sunday and had to get a blessing at church right before it started and then he went home. He took some heavy pain meds and went to bed. We finished church, came home and prepped for the Superbowl party and then we left while he stayed. Halfway through the first inning Tyson decides to put a soda pop can tab in his mouth and play with it. Then he proceeds to choke on it while Eli watches him. There is nothing that Tyson can do to breathe so he has to force it down his throat by swallowing it. Finally he tells me, I have to ask his friends and brothers if it really happened and it did. After consulting with Anthony, Kati, Adam and Mark we decide that I probably should take him to the ER just to be safe. We get there and they do a full body MRI and they can't find. They come back in and make sure he for sure swallowed it. He did. They do more xrays and still can't find it. As soon as the game goes into overtime and the Chiefs have the ball they kick us out. Then when we get to the car we find out the 49ers lost. We get home and carry on about our night. We were sad we missed the rest of the party. The next day Tyson texts me that he feels like he is going to throw up and his stomach is stingy. I have to take him back to the ER. We spend our whole morning there. I missed out on my good lunch for my work meeting that I organized and they took more xrays of Tyson and still nothing. He just has to drink Miralax and poop it out. But the radiologist did tell us he had more poop stuck in his body on Monday then he did on Sunday. So that will totally be worth the expensive hospital bills - ha ha! Jared told me Sunday, when I got home from church and I was feeling the worst I just prayed to Heavenly Father to make your life easier and then you end up in the ER with Tyson! This is my life! I will miss it when these boys are grown and gone! Love them! 

ANNI AND TIMMYS WEDDING!

 I have loved watching Anni grow up in to this amazing girl who has always been by Emma's side. It has been so fun watching her fall in love with Timmy! These 2 are perfect for each other and they had the most perfect day!! Amber and I threw her a shower, mostly it was all Amber, but I made for a good shadow! It was French themed, with all sorts of French food, Amber and I made 800 crepes for the wedding, we worked the whole night in the trailer, but could only produce 400 for the guests! Emma had the best time coming down for her wedding and doing all the Bachelorette party things, setting up, etc. Jared spent many hours helping spreading mulch, dirt, etc trying to get all the puddles of water in the Halls yard dried up for the reception. It was a long weekend, but the best weekend! We love the Halls!! 

 

FRESHMAN BASKETBALL SEASON!

 And just like that the Freshman basketball season has come to an end! WE LOVE THIS TEAM!! The boys had so many friends on it and so it was the best! The boys loved Coach Wynn, but Coach Pippert, not so much. I think if we had had a different coach our winning record would have been higher. The boys even had a group chat with Coach Wynn and not Pippert, mean I know. Tyler was getting a ton of playing time and then he broke his ankle, but at least he made it into the first 5 games! Tyson for whatever reason didn't get a ton of playing time. No one knows why. But he made a couple of 3s this season and ended the very last game playing the most aggressive he has ever played, he probably was one of the reasons they won that game! Love these boys and can't wait to watch them grow in this sport!