Busy doing.....nothing?

I am sure by now I have lost my faithful following; my posts continue to get fewer and further between. Honestly, our lives have become a little boring the last few weeks and I didn't want to bore the world with the details. For some reason, the boredom has taken up a bunch of time. I feel like my time is constantly going somewhere, but not entirely sure where. Work has kept me on my toes, and when I come home out of the sun, I crash! Between intramurals, mutual, adoption classes, and riding horses, our nights have been full as well.

As far as an update, I will start with the promised pictures. Perhaps one of my favorite days of the summer was the 25th of June, the date of my last post. The Relay for Life was better than expected. It was an emotional experience for me, I was slightly surprised at the tears I shed at this event. It seems that since Mark has handled treatment so well, I often place him in his own category--not a "true" cancer patient. I hear too many other stories that make Mark's experience seem like a cake walk. However, the Relay for Life reminded me that Mark is indeed a fighter and a survivor and cancer is cancer. Cases and treatment differ, but in the end it is a big 'ole group and we are trying to find a cure for it all. I am consistently moved by my little hero Ironman Jace. This night was no different. We were fortunate enough to camp out at his Jamba Team tent for awhile. He looked amazing! I received a Team Jace shirt and continue to wear it proudly. Ironman is a champ and a hero, and someone who has touched my life forever. These pictures are just too cute:

This last picture is like my personal "cancer cool kids club" shot. My big hero, my little hero with his amazing dad, and our incredible hero doctor. Words can't describe!

Mark and I walking the survivor lap together.

I loved seeing members of our ward and the community supporting cancer research and cancer patients. Heartwarming! I love living in a place where people care about each other. Selfless volunteers who braved the lightning storm and walked all night. Thanks to you all! I even had a cousin who walked in behalf of Mark and other Lymphoma patients specifically in her local Relay for Life in Arizona. Amazing! She sent Mark and I special shirts with green writing. Green apparently is the color representing Lymphoma. Never knew until she pointed it out to me. As an avid t-shirt collector, I appreciate my new special collection of cancer shirts. Love 'em.

That night my favorite little buddy made it home from Poland. BJ is one special kid, I think all who know him would agree. He makes me laugh and we have the best time together. I am glad I have a movie and treat partner back. Our family is pretty low-key and we never got into the whole airport display fiasco. As this was our last returning missionary, I felt a little bummed about our lame production. I decided to hit the Budget Car Rental counter to make things right and made this beauty. I wanted a post-it note to make it really special, but this was the best they had:

You can't read it, but it says "Welcome Home Chubbs" ( a nickname given to BJ for obvious reasons;) )

This isn't a great picture, but this little guy has been one of the reasons the past month has been a blast. His name is Chula's Short Dual, but we just call him Chula. He is only 4, but has had a great start to him. I am a little afraid my riding inabilities might ruin all he knows, but so far he has been a great horse. The best part? He loves to be spoiled and loved on, which honestly ranks pretty high on my must have list. He will eat the treats I bring him, and he loves to be groomed. I was pretty much hooked after that. He isn't a bad ride either. He has great bloodlines and might be one of the fanciest things we own. I feel like he is Cadillac and I should only be allowed to touch Geo Metros.

The next month is looking pretty up and down at the moment. I have one more week of work and then summer break. All my brothers are coming home with their kids and I am so excited for some quality family time. I finished our paperwork and profiles for another adoption agency (in addition to LDSFS), and things might work quicker down this road. I seriously can't wait! The big downer is that Mark starts radiation on Monday. I have liked not having to see the inside of a doctor's office. Last Friday we spent a good 5 hours at Huntsman's getting Mark ready to go. He will need to have 20 treatments, 5 each weekday until finished. He has an amazing assortment of tatoos, none of which are cool. I tried to tell the people to make little hearts or stars but apparently wasn't listened to. The radiation oncologist decided to radiate his chest and his hip, initially it was only going to be his chest. Huntsman's seems to be a little more thorough and aggresive, which is fine by us. We are ready to be done for good and forever. It stinks that Mark's energy level will sink again and we are back to the cancer world, but at least we can see the finish line.

On a complete side note--my thoughts and prayers have been with the Sullenger family. Once again, I am grateful for a community who cares about each other, and the internet with its amazing ability to connect people and make miracles.

I will try to make life exciting and useful so I can update my blog more readily. I will work hard to earn you faithful readers back!