The weekend

On Friday Olivia received an award at her school assembly for being a great independent reader. She was so excited, and I was excited for her!!

I wasn't able to get a great picture of her because I was so far away but took some snap shots of her with her award at home later that day.

Last week I almost had a panic attack when talking to Alex. For those of you that don't know Alex, she is a talker. She will talk you head off with the most random questions. She reminds me of this kid in Home Alone, Mitch, the neighbor. Remember this part?

Mitch Murphy: Hi, I'm Mitch Murphy. I live across the street. You guys going out of town? We're going to Orlando, Florida. Well, actually, first we're going to Missouri to pick up my grandma. Did you know the McCallisters are going to France? Do you know if it's cold there? Do these vans get good gas mileage?

Airport Driver: Gee, kid, I don't know. Hit the road.

Mitch Murphy: [about the taxi-van] How fast does this thing go? Does it have automatic transmission? Does it have four-wheel drive?

Airport Driver: Look, I told you before, kid. Don't bother me. Now beat it.

Well that's my girl. Not satisfied with a one word answer and doesn't back down until she gets what she's looking for. Miss Alex has always been curious about my mastectomy scar on my chest. Asking questions about how I got it and where it came from. I have always tried to explain things to her in a way she could understand but not freak her out. So a few nights ago I was making dinner and....

Alex: How's the cut on your chest today mom?

Me: Fine honey, it doesn't hurt.

Alex: But that's from cancer. Right mom?

Me: Yeah it is.

Alex: I hope that I don't get cancer because that hurts, huh?

Me: Not anymore, I hope you don't get cancer either.

Alex: Yeah, because people die when they get cancer don't they?

Me: Sometimes people do, but I was lucky.

Alex: But kids can't get cancer, can they?

Me: Uh.... (obviously I had not prepared myself for the conversation veering off the road in this direction) Well....some kids do get cancer honey, but not breast cancer like mommy.

Alex: Kids get cancer?!? (um, she hadn't thought she'd get this answer either) Kids die from cancer? Will I get cancer?

Me: Uh.... Well.....(here's where I am panicking. I didn't want to lie to her but didn't really want to divulge the horrible truth of the matter to my 5 year old) Well.....Honey! Can you help Alex with her question.

(enter Jon aka the hero)

Jon: Well Alex some kids do get cancer and some kids do die from cancer, but you won't get cancer honey.

And that was that, she actually dropped it. I couldn't believe it. Maybe she saw the crazy, freaked out face I was wearing. The reality is that people, even kids, do get cancer and do die from it. This conversation has followed me through the last few days and I hope she doesn't revisit this subject for a long while. I don't want to have to tell my children the horrible reality of this disease. I am positive that I will continue to try and raise money and advocate for cancer awareness forever.

Saturday I was given the opportunity to participate in an outdoor market and run a raffle for my relay for life team. It is always good to fund raise throughout the year. It turned out to be a long day with being there early and not getting home until after 7pm. I had also signed up to do race for the cure on Sunday but didn't end up doing the race because I was too tired. I had some friends that went down though and said it was awesome. Thanks for thinking of me guys!

Sunday was a relaxing day. It was dreary outside and was great to stay indoors and spend time with the family all day. We enjoyed watching general conference on TV and hearing from the leaders in our church. The kids even enjoyed listening and filling out these fun activity sheets that the church puts out about the talks. We had Sunday dinner at my moms and the kids enjoyed playing "horsey" with my dad and my brother. Thanks for the entertainment guys!