What a Guy

I just need to take a moment and brag about my husband. This morning, by the time I got home from the gym, Brian had both of the boys bathed and made the bed. Then while I was getting ready, he put Henry down for a nap and is now out shoveling the driveway.

And all without being asked! What more could a girl ask for? Thanks hon!

Emily's Week of Fun

Two nights in a row this week, I had my night life back and it was a blast!

Wednesday night, all the Bitner girls went to see Carrie Underwood, courtesy of Dad Bit.

We started out with dinner at PF Chang's. YUMMY!

Then on to the concert. Little Big Town was the opening act. Pretty good for a starter if you ask me.

Finally, on to the main act. Carrie is amazingly talented and so cute. I had so much fun, and I think I speak for all the girls when I say it was a night to remember. Thanks Dad Bit!

Continuing on with the party theme for the week, Thursday night was dinner at California Pizza Kitchen and TWILIGHT! In case any of you out there didn't know, I'm a complete Twilight geek through and through(as some of these pictures will prove). My friend Becky, knowing my girly infatuation with the books, invited me to the midnight showing will some gals, and Nat came along for the fiasco.

I'm SO glad I went! It was completely worth the lack of sleep. Sure it was quite cheesy in parts, and a few of the characters weren't quite how I pictured them, but I loved it and can't wait to go see it again. It may not be the same the next time around without the audience screaming and cheering at the appropriate times, but I'm sure it will still be fun.

The Pumpkin Patch

Last Saturday our ward had a Halloween party and we went to Day Farms for a hayride and pumpkin picking afterward. Lucas was a "scary dragon" and Henry was a 'lil stinker. We love Halloween and can't wait to go trick or treating.

Discovery Gateway

This past year, my sister Jill and I got passes to the Discovery Gateway. Lucas and Abby had a blast! Here are some of our adventures.

What a great couple!!!

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The Verdict

We can all rest easy now. We finally got the full pathology report back and the margins around Brian's tumor were clear of any traces of cancer. Let's hope this was the last go around.

Tag, I'm quirky!

I've been tagged by Nat. This is a fun tag because it gives you insight to the quirks that we all try to hide in person, but feel brave enough to write about on our blogs. The rules are to copy the rules, come up with 6 quirks and then tag 6 more people. In doing this, I have come up with two realizations. One- I am a bit of an open book, so it was hard to come up with quirks that anyone who knows me doesn't already know; and Two- after looking at some other blogs to come up with ideas, most of my quirks are not just a bit embarrassing, but mildly disturbing. Well, here goes anyway.

1. I make lists for EVERYTHING: Cleaning, to do today, to do in the near future, grocery lists for each store. . . it goes on and on. I can blame this one on my sister Jill. When we were little, anytime we were about to delve into a project or organize our day she would insist on us "making a list" first.

2. I have to have the volume for TV, radio, etc. on certain numbers. Ideally it should be on a number divisible by 5, but when that won't work, certain even numbers will do. For example, if 15 is too loud, and 10 is too soft, the only other option is 12 because 14 is too close to 15 and 11 and 13 are odd numbers. Strange, I know.

3. Perhaps the least appealing of all is that I sweat profusely. I can thank my dad for this one. As gross as it may seem to some people, this one actually doesn't bother me so much. Sure it was mortifying in junior high, going to class still red faced and dripping after gym, but now I rather like being able to really sweat it all out at the gym. My quick way of detoxing I guess.

4. I count stairs meticulously. I use to be able to tell you how many stairs were on each staircase that I encountered at BYU. I've often caught myself not paying attention to a conversation I'm having with someone because I'm too busy counting. If this has happened to you, I'm sorry. I'm not trying to be rude, I'm just a bit of a weirdo.

5. I have to eat my candies/fruit snacks so that all the colors come out even. For example, if I have 2 blue, 1 orange, 2 red and 1 green, I have to eat one blue and red one first so that there is one of each left. Then I eat my least favorite color first and save the best for last.

6. Last, but certainly not least... I sleep with my eyes open. It's not like they hang wide open, but they are open just wide enough that if some happens to pass by while I am sleeping, they're not sure if I am awake or sleeping. As many times as I've tried to conquer this one, I still wake up with my eyes dried out and irritated in the morning. What can I do...I'm sleeping. I've passed this one on to my two little boys who I'm sure will be lucky enough to have a few embarrassing photos of their own in the years to come.

Now that I have a few of my embarrassing quirks out there for all of you to see, I'd like to pass on the opportunity to a few of you. Unfortunately, a good majority of my friends aren't into blogging yet, but the lucky few I tag are Marilyn, Jill, Mom(when you get your blog going), Mandi and anyone else who would like to join in the fun.

Mr. Picasso Head

Lucas has rediscovered his Mr. Potato head that he got for his birthday this year and has apparently learned how it works. This was his creation that he brought to us last night.

Fly Fishing at White's Ranch

On Friday, September 19th, my dad's financial adviser offered to take our whole family to Sportsman's Paradise. Sportsman's Paradise is a private fishing / hunting area. Those who came along were Emily, Lucas, Henry, my mom, my dad, Alissa, McKay and myself. We had a great time.

We arrived at 12:00 where we were given trout for lunch. We then headed with a guide out to a couple of fishing holes where everyone had tons of success. Out of the five of us that fished, we probably caught around 50 fish (Emily caught 2 in the span of about 10 minutes). Lucas spent most of his time trying to throw rocks in the water when he wasn't watching Grandpa reel in the silly fish. All in all everyone had a wonderful time. We hope to be able to do it again. Thanks dad for inviting us along.

Lucas & Daddy fly fishing together for the first time.

Emily fly fishing.

It wasn't the biggest fish I have ever caught.

We knew it was going to be a good day fishing when I bought a bag of sour patch kids and found a fish in with the other candies.

Get Down with Your Bad Self

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The Classic Race

Emily at the final stretch of the race.

Emily crossing the finish line at 55:50. Way to Go!!!

The two boys supporting their Mom.

Lucas clapping as Emily finishes the race.

Only 3 months after giving birth to our second child, Emily is at it again. Saturday the 13th of September, Emily completed her first ever 10K (6.2M). All proceeds for the race went to benefit the McKay-Dee Heart Services. The race took place in Layton and started at Surf n' Swim (Check out the full course http://www.mapmyrun.com/run/united-states/ut/layton/203227639).

Emily's goal was to finish the race in 55 minutes and she did just that finishing in 55:50. Emily finished 103rd out of 193 people who ran the race. She was 42nd in the overall women category. Here is the link to the race that will post the official results (http://www.theclassicrace.blogspot.com/).

I think her main motivation to finish the race was to see her 3 boys waiting at the finish line cheering her on. It was fun watching her complete her first 10K. Way to go Em!!!

Our Little Giant

It's official, our Henry is huge (as far as 3 month old babies go). Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adore every little roll and dimple and I wouldn't change a thing about him. It's just that today I went to buy him diapers and according to his weight, he should be in size 3! For all you young moms out there, that should mean something. It won't be long before he's giving Lucas a run for his money. He's such a joy, and we're so blessed to have him in our family.

Surgery Success

Brian's surgery #15 was successful and he is doing surprisingly well. They were able to remove all of the tumor without creating a gap in his pelvis. The verdict on the tumor is that it was a grade 1 chondrosarchoma, meaning it was a low grade cancer that was contained within the mass. We're still waiting to hear back on the margins. He's quite resilient and eager to get back to golfing ASAP. We truly appreciate all of the support and prayers in our behalf.

Lagoon Day

Saturday, Grandma and Grandpa Bitner took Lucas on a field trip to Lagoon. He had the time of his life! By the end of the day, he was wiped out.

SUMMER FUN

We've had a lot of fun this year spending time with family. The Bitner cabin in Island Park was definitely a highlight.

I LOVE MY BOOTS

Lucas is getting much more use of his boots this summer than he ever did last winter. He loves wearing them just about anywhere, including the doctor's office and to run errands.