Armpit Cancer

What is that lump you say? For those of you who don't know, I have been getting laser hair removal. One of the areas of interest are my armpits. My last treatment in my left armpit was excruciating! Usually I let them go over it twice, but I was shaking and sweating only halfway through the first round. Doctors, nurses, and even these estheticians have told me before that I have a high tolerance for pain. Well this time around I didn't know if I was going to be able to get through it. But I thankfully sucked it up and let them finish my armpit. But by the time I got home I had a huge, solid, lump in my armpit. It wasn't liquid-filled or soft, there is some kind of mass under there (as you can see!). I waited a week and a half and it wasn't going away so I called the doctor that runs the hair removal. He only looked at it for 10 seconds and says he wants to see it in a month, and not to get more treatments until he can look at it again. Really??! a MONTH?!! Well hopefully it isn't Lymphoma. For now my family calls it armpit cancer. haha, Rest assured it has gone down a bit, but the pain goes all the way down to my elbow now. Isn't that weird? Just barely brushing over my armpit all the way to my elbow makes it really sensitive. Who knows, maybe others out there who have had such treatments have experienced this before? And maybe my line of work, working with cancer patients, makes me more paranoid. Anyway, this has turned into quite a long post for such an un-exciting thing. Isn't that the "pits"? Pun intended :)

Bragging Rights

By being a sister you earn the rights to brag on behalf of your siblings. Well today I would like to brag about my sister, Kristin, and her awesome cake making skills. After my sister, Stacy, got married a friend of ours saw a picture of the cake we did for her. So she asked Kristin if she would make hers. This is only the second wedding cake Kristin has ever done and look how amazing it turned out! So if anyone you know is looking for a sweet cake decorator, you know who to get a hold of.

My dad has become Kristin's assistant when it comes to spraying the cakes. It's entertaining to watch him spray. He is almost a worse perfectionist than me!

Middle layer spray-down complete

The finished product!

I posted a few pictures of the reception. I loved the idea they had for center pieces, and I LOVED the candy bar. They also had a popcorn station (and if any of you know me, both candy and popcorn are my two most favorite things, so I was in heaven!) It was pretty much my reception dreamland. If I were to ever have a reception, that's how I would want mine. Oh, they also had a photo booth there so you could get 4 pics taken and attach your picture to the note you wrote the couple, plus a copy for yourself- genius idea!

(Notice the candy in the glasses)

President's Day= Arizona!!!

I didn't find out that I didn't work on President's Day till the Wednesday before (which the Holiday was Monday). So I went to Arizona on a whim, very last minute. I always enjoy myself when I go to Arizona, and I welcome the warm weather with open arms. This visit was full of quite of bit of events, so a lot of pictures are about to happen...

One of the first days there we went to an Arabian horse show. They are such BEAUTIFUL and amazing animals! It is crazy what they train them to do, and how they train them to walk (they look a little stuck up when they trot :) )

The black one above won first place in this round. It was one of my top picks as well

Me and Olivia enjoying the show. I love this little girl. I feel such a connection with her because I've known her since she was born. And from the first time I held her we clicked. It's hard to explain. But Olivia's mom even said she would do things with me that she would only to with me and her dad. How could I not just love her? Look at that face!

We got to go back behind the scenes and pet the horses and watch them get cleaned up for their different shows. They are so responsive to humans, I swear they are like dogs!

NEXT EVENT: The Marathon! Nik, Anissa, and Corry all ran a marathon. We were waiting at the finish line to cheer them on. This one below is Corry on his final stretch. He did awesome!

He was pretty easy to pick out of the crowd. A very tall lurpy red head with a yellow bandana:)

Here's little Rajko waiting along with us for the runners. He is on my top 5 list of favorite cute little boys (there are a few other baby boys in my life. haha). He is so so cute! I posted two pictures of him even though his eyes are closed below, but it shows his amazing eyelashes. I wish you could see it in person. He is super shy, but so dang cute!

Olivia and Corry taking a load of the ole feet. It got really cold and windy. Then the rain soon followed. We were all FREEZING waiting for Anissa and Nik to come.

Robyn and Landon snacking away

Corry was too tired to move so Landon hand-fed him. haha, it was funny

The two partners in crime

Our faces are so red we were so cold. Patrick kept getting behind me to try and block the wind for me. But from the looks of my nose, I was still cold! Nice try though :)

Poor Corry was shivering so bad. He beat the other runners by an hour, so I think the wind was blowing and his sweaty body froze.

Next runner up (literally! haha): ANISSA!!!! She did so great! I don't understand how anyone runs a marathon, but I swear to look at her afterwards you would never have guessed she had just completed a marathon.

I wouldn't have had the energy to lift even a finger!

Wearing her medal with pride (she wore it the next day as well when we went out:) )

Nik following behind. He finished even though he really injured his leg. I was a real trooper. I would have given up. He was in a lot of pain. His sweet twin brother, Noah, found him along the way and ran the last little bit by his side until he got close to the finish line, then let him finish alone to get his glory. It was cool too see twins running side by side. Brotherly love for sure.

Almost there.....

Getting his medal

The finished proud couple

All three of them

NEXT EVENT: RENAISSANCE FESTIVAL!!!

I never really thought I would ever go to a Renaissance festival, but I love trying new things. A bunch of us went, but I didn't get pictures of everyone. I wish I had one of Larry and Tere! Anyway, here were a few highlights:

Landon saw a hole for a face and immediately ran to try it out. Noah put Raiko next to him, he didn't seem to sure about the idea, but they were cute.

Just a few shots of what it looked like once you got past the gates

Crazy workers (and non workers) in costume

Documenting that we actually went

I looked over and saw Noah holding Rajko. Rajko LOVES his dad! I thought it was a cute kandid shot of the two of them. So cute.

Notice Anissa's crutches? Haha, the day after the marathon her "hammies" were feeling it and she could barely walk. Hence you will never see me run a marathon. We had some good laughs about it. It was funny watching her try to walk without them.

Noah showing his manly side, he rang the bell at the top!

Patrick had to test his manhood, and.....

he ALSO rang the bell. Such manly men.

This woman reminded me of a Disney character, the little baby in the back didn't seem too amused when with everyone staring at her though.

Patrick and Noah took the little kids to experience an elephant ride

I love Olivia's face in this one above, haha! Not a whole lot of site seeing for her :)

More of the atmosphere

Nik is learning the bagpipes and ran into his instructor who was going to perform, so we went and saw the Scottish concert. The drums and bagpipes sounded so cool! It was a really fun concert

This guy was crazy at the whip and could crack open a pop can, making it explode

They had trampolines with bunjee's. Robyn tested it out, and was a natural at doing flips

OLIVIA'S HAIRCUT

Olivia had some crazy random hair from her last cut, so I was evening things out. I just thought she was so cute sitting on her stool patiently letting the water drip down her back (she has a towel to be decent for pictures, but it was funny to see her shiver when it dripped down her back) She later cut out a snowflake to thank me:)

"Hoop-a-Looping"

I wish I was able to upload a video of Olivia trying to learn how to "hoop-a-loop." It was HILARIOUS!!!! She held her hands out like that the whole time. Her entire body got into, including an "Elvis" leg she had going on.

GOLFING:

I have always loved going and watching Patrick and his buddies play golf. I was usually the designated driver, or supplier of drinks and licorice :) We decided before he dropped me off at the airport to go do nine holes, but the wait was too long. We decided to hit a bucket of balls instead. He taught me how to swing more correctly (and how to actually HIT the ball- WAY harder than it looks!) It was nice and relaxing. And the weather was amazing.

Patrick showing me how it's done (love his outfit? It made me smile)

I actually hit the ball! I think my best one was 80 yards. I'll take it!

Patrick looks good in this picture, but my eyes were still adjusting from barely taking off my sunglasses so I look a bit stoned. It was a nice way to end the trip though.

*I didn't take my camera on a day we (Jordan, Sterling, Pete, and me) went motorcycling. It was kind of windy that day and sprinkled, but it was still way fun. I was bugged I forgot my camera. We also rode in a Razor (kind of like a go cart built for the dunes). I didn't break my coccyx so it was success.

It was really nice to be able to get away into some nice weather and relax. There was some great company and great memories. Thanks to all who made my trip so fun!