Holden's Birthday

Waiting patiently to open his gifts.

Daddy and Ella watching him and helping him.

The tools Holden has been asking for. He waited 5 months to get these and he hasn't put them down since he got them.

He loves Buzz Lightyear. His brothers got him these wings but he was a little disappointed when he couldn't actually fly.

Blowing out his candles. Holden was pretty grumpy all day except for the 2 hours that we celebrated his birthday. When he woke up that morning I sang happy birthday to him and when I was done he said he wanted to be alone. Typical Holden. I am happy we have him even knowing he is a handful. He keeps us running and laughing. He is a blessing to us all. Happy 4Th Birthday Holden.

Sloane's Baptism December 5, 2009

The night before Sloane was baptized we took her to Seagull Book to pick out her scriptures.

Here she is looking at all the different ones. But we should have not taken her cause she had a hard time deciding. She went in thinking she wanted blue.

Trying to decide between the Green or Blue scriptures. She decided on Green cause she wanted gold trim. Well I went to the front counter to pay for it and when I was done Chris came up with the blue ones and said she has changed her mind. Then we had to do a return and ring up the blue one. The lady then took it to the back and got her name put on them.

You can't see her name cause of the flash. But she had Sloane Kristelle Gibson put on them. She is very excited to start using them.

Baptism Day!! Here she is getting ready to head to the church with Daddy. My niece Justine was here and french braided her hair for me. Thank you Justine.

Daddy and his princess in front of the font before we had to go into the chapel to start. She is very excited and NERVOUS, she would not stop biting her nails.

Mommy, Daddy and Sloane. We are very proud of her.

After she was baptized I took a picture of her in her white dress. This is the same white dress she wore when she was sealed to us almost 4 years ago. Wearing that dress made the day even more special.

Afterwards we went to our church building and had a potato bar. Here are some of the teenagers. Trey is on the right. I am so happy he was able to make the trip, but he was very worn out and needed rest.

Sloane and some of her younger cousins. I took pictures of everyone that attended but it would have taken too long to post all the pictures. But we had about 50 or more family members that attended her baptism. And some of our friends from the ward. Thanks again for all who came.

These are the wonderful Priesthood holders that stood in the circle that confirmed Sloane.

Uncles Dan, Steve, Cousin Trey, Daddy, Uncles Karl, Dustin and Allen.

Here is our family. I think the picture turned out pretty good except for Holden.... I do have to say when Sloane came up out of the water Holden said "OOhh Cool Do it again" we all busted up laughing.

Holden's Shaving Cream

Holden came to me and said he had a surprise for me in my room. This is what my surprise was.

Thankfully shaving cream isn't a hard mess to clean up.

Holden and his bath

Well Chris walked in from being at a stake meeting and heard Holden down the hall. He turned to see he was in the bath and started laughing. I was in the chair and I turned to him and asked "Do I even want to know?" his reply was "Probably Not." This is what we saw. Well he looks innocent but those of you who know him knows he is not, definitely not.

Enjoying his toys and left over movie popcorn from the night before. You can imagine how soggy it is now.

Poor Woody needs to be attached back to his body and all I can think of is I get to be the lucky one to clean up after him.

Stay tuned for pictures that I took after walking into my room and finding a shaving cream mess all over my bathroom floor, mirror and counter. Oh I will make it through this child.

A Wonderful Surprise

Well today my grandma called me and asked me if I would go on a drive with her out to Ivins to my step-sisters home cause she has to pick up somethings there and wasn't sure if she could remember exactly how to get there. When we pulled up I noticed they had company. I looked at the car and noticed it had California plates and I said oh that looks like Alison's car (my sister) and I just ignored it. Then I saw my brother in law jimmy. I looked at my grandma and she smiled. I asked if Alison was here and she said yes. I ran in the house to hug her and asked what she was doing here. Well she then said I have a surprise for you and we go for a walk. We stop at a house right next door and she asked me what I thought of the house. I said it was cute a little small but nice. She then smiled and said it was her house and she will be moving here in 3 weeks. I screamed and jumped up and down and gave her a huge hug. I then turned and pointed to the trailer that I saw and she said they were here to move some stuff into the house and to sign the papers.

I called my boys who are with their dad and told them and they can't wait to hang out with their cousin Chance more. I then called Chris who was at home with the other kids and told him and he was surprised too. Sloane is thrilled to have some girl cousins that live close to her now. My brother in law works for the movie industry and he will still be in California most of the time and will come home on the weekends. They have wanted to move out of California for sometime and now was the time.

This has just made my day. I keep on thinking of all the stuff we can do together now. I haven't lived near any of my siblings for 19 years. I am looking forward to having a sister close now.

My Nephew Trey

I have had a lot of people ask me about Trey lately so I thought I would put the current update of him on my blog. It was written by my mom after she had talked to my Sister Heidi (Treys Mom)

This will be a long entry...I talked to Heidi last night and she gave me a lot of information to share. She said she knows it has been awhile since she's updated but the last two days at the hospital were very long and she has been exhausted...Hopefully I will be able to share it all accurately...First off, nothing about Trey's case is text book. His reactions are unusual and have the doctors scratching their heads...the type of Leukemia he has hides in the body and is very hard to determine if it is in complete remission, which he has to be before they can do the bone marrow transplant. He hasn't had spinal taps for quite awhile due to the back pain, which helps the doctor determine his remission status, which in turn, then causes his doctor to be hesitant to move ahead.Trey is on a 60 day chemotherapy treatment plan. He has a treatment every 10 days and his first for this series was Monday (28th). He also saw a neurologist to try to determine why he is in so much pain. The dr stated he doesn't have nerve damage but found some "nerve aggrevation" which he didn't think should be causing as much pain as Trey is having. They want to do more testing and one test is doing "pin pricks", but with Trey on blood thinner they are hesitant to do it..Trey also received one of the meds he had been taken off. In previous entries two of the meds he needs to prepare for the bone marrow transplant had to be stopped. One med can cause blood clots, which it did, and the other med which is injected into the spine was stopped due to the pain Trey was having. The med usually given in his spine was given in an iv that goes directly into his heart. He didn't have a reaction until he was home where his eyes and nose swelled shut. He was also very sick with stomach pains and intestinal distress plus nausea. When he has these types of allergic reactions he can take Benedryl but didn't this time because they weren't sure it was ok until after calling the doctor and she okayed. He was doing better Tuesday but very tired.Trey's case will be presented to the City of Hope again today (Wednesday, 30th). Heidi was explaining to me about this process: A committee of doctors meet on a weekly basis and review a number of cases. These doctors may be from all over the world and meet via tele-conferencing. As each case is discussed the various doctors share from their own cases and look for similarities that may help with the treatment of the cases they review. One doctor doesn't make the decision for a transplant. It has to be a consensus of the entire committee. Anyone considered for a bone marrow transplant has to have their case reviewed by the City of Hope.When Trey is cleared to receive the transplant, he will be in the hospital two weeks before for complete chemo and radiation to prepare him for the transplant. After he receives the transplant he will remain in the hospital another 2 weeks as they monitor him and deal with the initial rejection. After this is under control he will be allowed to come home and he will require around the clock care for the next 4 weeks.Trey's donor, Raeghan will not have to have her marrow extracted. They are able to use her blood thru a different procedure that is less invasive and painful for her. She is required to meet with a social worker to be sure she is not being forced to be a donor. Heidi and Allen were required to sign papers that they will be his primary caregivers once he is home and they understand the requirements and conditions. They have to remove all animals from the home, masks have to be worn at all times. There will be limited contact with others. He has to be on a special diet and food prepared per instruction. In an earlier entry it was found Raeghan is his match, what is unusual is she is an EXACT match. There are a number of elements of the blood which determines the matching capabilities. Her blood matches completely. What is more unusual is Justine, Madison and Tristyn are also EXACT matches to one another.Another interesting aspect of the transplant is Trey's blood type will change after the transplant and will become the same as Raeghan's. I asked Heidi if the transplant could be repeated if this one doesn't work. She stated yes, but generally they are not successful.Trey feels very positive the transplant will be what he needs to beat this. He knows it will be a very rough time but he is willing to go through it. Trey is having a rough time right now. The constant pain is starting to get him down and mom says he's been kinda grouchy. He wants to be going and doing things with friends but his reactions to meds and treatments are so unpredictable it's hard to be able to do the "normal" stuff. He has plans to go to Catalina Island and a BYU game. Mom says if she or Allen can go then it's fine...They know what to do, others don't. Our hearts go out to Trey and his struggles. I know we all want to see him well again. I asked Heidi how the family was doing and she said, "We do okay..this has just become our way of life. Sometimes I have to be able to think about something else, Spider Solitaire on my phone has become a new addiction and is a way I unwind... I know when it's time to spend some one-on-one with my girls, but we're doing good. I know there are things I could do better but right now I do what I can and have to be satisfied with it." Heidi promised she will get pictures sent soon to post.On a lighter note: Kai, Trey's very sweet Bull Mastiff is a sweetheart but still a puppy..The other night as the family were all at mutual, a church meeting, Trey forgot to put Kai outside and she had the run of the house. When they all got home, Heidi heard a yell "Kai!!" coming from Madison. Apparently Kai had chewed on a library book and her homework...Heidi and the rest of the family had a good laugh about it...except for Madi..The next day Madison took a picture of Kai, her homework and the book, presented this to her teacher and said, "Look! My homework really was eaten by the dog and this is the one who did it!!" Her teacher thought it was pretty funny and had a good laugh over it!!Trey is scheduled for still more tests this week, will update as I hear results...That's all for now...

A Day at Zions National Park

No matter how many times I have been to Zions I never get sick of it. Loved being able to go with my brother Adam and his family. Best of cousins. Jayce and Holden sitting in the back of the bus when driving through Zions.

Uncle Adam, Aunt Amanda, Trinity and Jayce. Uncle Adam was being daring and went off the trail to look over the edge.

The squirrels at Zions are very friendly and want food. But there are signs every where telling you don't feed them cause they can get aggressive.

Cute little Jayce

Sweet little Trinity

Amanda and Jayce trying to make it across the river without falling into the water.

Mom and Sloane.

Mom and Holden

One of the many views of Zions that are so beautiful. I think one of our sisters weekends might have to be up here in Zions Lodge I think. What do you think sisters of mine?

Uncle Adam putting Sloane up on the big bolder in the river. She wanted to slide down it but I wouldn't let her. Cause knowing her we would of had an injury and the water was moving fast that day.

Sloane's Big Day

Well after 4 years of Sloane and I bugging her daddy to let her get her ears pierced he finally said yes. She was too nervous to ask him again so I bugged him about it and told him to think of what his daughter wants and not what he wants. We have a very good girl and she doesn't ask us for much. Well after reviewing the church website on the matter he went out and held Sloane in his arms and told her she could. She hugged him so tight and was crying cause she was so happy. That made me cry too. Daddy wouldn't come with us cause he couldn't handle it.

Here we are out front of Claire's where we are going to get her ears done.

Sloane looking at the earrings deciding which ones she wanted. She ended up picking a rainbow flower crystals. Very pretty.

Mommy filling out the consent form.

Sloane sitting in the chair getting more and more excited waiting patiently.

The technician marking her ears to make sure their even.

And here we go. Sloane says the pinches were not as bad as she thought they would be.

She now has earrings. Sorry you can't see them real well in this photo. I promise you when you see her she will love to show them off to you.

Summer Photos

This is at Malibu Beach in southern California. Tevin teasing his cousin Jayce. The family is all in the back ground. These are the last pictures of Tevin that I have.

Griffith Observatory in Hollywood. This was amazing looking over all of Los Angeles and Hollywood. Kids with Grandpa Duns.

An old train museum we went to and saw this and of coarse had to take a picture with Holden in it

The kids with the Hollywood sign in the background. I love California.

Holden and Mommy riding on a small train at the train museum.

Sloane and her cousins Rae and Trinity already starting to sun bathe at Malibu Beach.

This explains itself. I didn't even ask Holden to pose. I was standing there and noticed he was copying and was glad I got the shot before he noticed me.

All the kids at the Train Museum again.

Holden and Harrison have become best buddies. This is taken up in Hooper Utah at the cemetery where my grandpa was buried.

The kids in front of Great Grandpa Heslops casket in Hooper Utah.

It was hard to put the ones with Tevin on our blog. I miss him so much.

I hope you have enjoyed some of our snap shots we took over the summer. I will try and be more frequent.