Uncle Brent

I spoke to mom today for a little while and she told me that Uncle Brent is not doing very well. He was happy to see mom and dad come into his room last night, but after awhile he was not very aware that they were there. He is being moved to a local hospice where he can be comfortable. They have or will later today remove his IV, so he should only be there for a few days. Brent has a burial plot in Ogden near grandpa and grandma Wards, and when the time comes he will buried there.

Kelly and Grandma are flying from Ogden to AZ to be with Brent. Kathy is on her way there from CA, so they all will be there together.

Keep Grandma and Dad, Mom, Kelly and Kathy in your prayers, they are having a hard time losing a brother and friend.

Michael AKA IG

Uncle Brent

Mom posted this as a comment but I am posting it here so that everyone will see it.

David J. has taken Brent to the hospital. He has been unable to eat since Saturday. We were on our way to the airport when he called. David J. didn't know what to do about putting in a feeding tube. We spent an hour and a half in the airport parking lot while Dad agonized over what to do about the trip. He wanted to go so bad but in the end he decided that he should be with his mother and Brent. The doctor told David that he doesn't think Brent will live more than a few days. The family has decided not to put a feeding tube in but they have him on an IV with an antibiotic. Brent's MRI showed a very badly atrophied brain with a lot of fluid--they said it would be like wearing a 25 lb. hat. Please remember Dad, Brent and Grandma in your prayers.

Saturday night potato bar at Mom & Dad's

David playing the Sponge Bob Square Pants video game.

Dad sharing the blog


Mom fixing Sarah's monkey

The monkey saying thank you!

Gram giving away a whole truck load of here things. I got a marble rolling pin!!!

Dad and James playing Jenga

A voluntary Picture

After church today the kids actually asked me to take their portraits. That NEVER happens so I jumped at the chance! I took some individuals as well as a last chance group shot before we went inside to eat. I really liked how the group picture turned out. Our dogwood tree is in all its fall splendor right now so they wanted to have the picture done there. The dogwood is an amazing tree. It blooms with bunch of white blossoms in mid April, provides nice foliage all spring and summer and then goes out with a bang for a couple of weeks in November. Without a doubt it is our favorite tree!

Later in the day after a really long nap while the kids gorged on candy. (Crystal and I are sick) we went outside for a bit. Emma was riding her bike and I was punting a football while Chas and Katie chased it around. They were amazed at how high I could kick a rubber football. (not that hard really) Just before dinner we got Mr. Turkey out. For those of you not familiar with this story I will share it.

The second year we lived in Atlanta Mom and Dad came to visit us shortly before thanksgiving. We went to dinner one night and I didn't feel well and didn't eat much. The next morning I Really didn't feel well and worked from home. After a few hours I finally went to the Doctor who sent me to the emergency room. Turns out I had appendicitis. Shortly thereafter my appendix was gone and I got to spend the night in the hospital. The rest of the week was spent in bed recovering. One day Mom and Crystal were gone and came home with an inflatable turkey. They had found it at a drugstore and were able to 'gobble' up the floor model for a good price. That was my get well present and ever since it has been inflated before thanksgiving. Setting it up has become an event and a tradition at our house. The neighbors think we are a little weird but oh well. If you have a 6 foot inflatable turkey flaunt it!!

Larsen Blog

Would someone please post the link to the Larsen blog, I have lost it in cyberland.

Thanks,

IG

Cutting up the rug

Great fun was had by all at J & J's wedding reception; especially great grandma and Josh!

My first publication

This came out in September but I am seeing it for the first time this weekend as I am in town (Utah) for a research symposium. I thought that you all would enjoy seeing my first publication. I hope to have many more articles in journals in the years to come!!!! I had a meeting with one of my mentors this weekend and she, her research assistant, and I are going to be collaborating on some data analysis in the coming months ... sounds boring I know but I am super excited!!!

Still in Love

This picture was taken on the beach in Hawaii last winter. We did have a great time and I know that we'll return to see more of the sights. There is nothing like being in a beautiful place with someone you love.

Georgia Halloween

We had a fun Halloween Night although it always seems like a lot of work after the very efficient Trunk or Treat! We went over to the neighborhood where we belong to the Swim/Tennis. It was nice to see familiar faces walking around and handing out treats. It reminded me of growing up in Inkom where my brother and I trick or treated with our friends up and down block after block. I knew every person in every house and we could never get in too much trouble because everyone knew me even in my awesome Gypsy Costume. I loved wearing red lipstick and big silver hoop earrings. (Emma was a gypsy this year so the tradition continues!) We also knew which houses to skip because that "mean guy lives there" or to hurry Mrs. Phillips house because she gives the best candy but turns her light out early. It's weird how some memories pop into your head! I was telling the kids about how it always seemed to snow(wet, slushy snow) on Halloween and our costumes had to be too big so we could wear coats under them. My feet were always freezing. We worked in harsh conditions for our candy!

Dan gets the Awesome Dad Award for fighting scary, wicked Halloween traffic to get home from Alpharetta (it took him almost two hours) so he could be with us. That is true dedication! I sure appreciated him pulling Emma's wagon up those BIG hills!!!! She did too!

Field Day!

This week at school each of the kids had a Field Day with their classmates. For Chas' grade there were about 50 different skill centers(sack race, soccer kick, chin-up, push-up etc. etc.) that the little kids just ran around to and completed at their own pace. Chas' pace was run, run, run, with his Mom running after him. I raced him in the football carry. It was a tie. Chas earned all of his ribbons in an hour, that was 25 events completed. Whew, I was tired! The nice 5th grader in the video urges Chas to "just try the somersault, you can do it". She didn't know that he was not being timid, just waiting for the go signal from the videographer. Check out her surprised face when he does a Tae Kwon Do Roll!

The upper grades actually run races and compete class vs. class. At first, Emma felt bad that she couldn't run the races but that all changed when she helped her team kick some patooty in the Tug-of-War!! 20 lb casts and all those upper body swimming muscles can come in handy sometimes. She was the anchor of the team. She didn't budge an inch except to pull back and back and back! Emma also got to hold the Flag for the Pledge of Allegiance. I'm glad our kids still get to say "under God". (I'll post that picture when I get it from my friend)

Katie also competed in field day but for some strange reason I didn't take any pictures of her running her races. I think it has something to do with the fact that I was jumping up and down cheering for her! I can't believe that a child of mine can run that fast! It must come from Dan! Katie actually ran the last leg of the 4 x 200 and she made up some serious time. Again, distance running gene comes from the Pig family, I only run effectively when chased or if there is a court or diamond involved! This girl knows how to get her picture taken!

Last cruise ship

We had our last cruise ship in port on Halloween! Now most of the shops in town are closed. There are a few that stay open all year but it is going to be a ghost town in Bar Harbor.