Mess Maker

Last week Josh was being quiet, a little too quiet. . . when we found him he had gotten into my makeup and this was the result. He got into my lipstick, rouge, and mascara. . . I think he watches me put my makeup on too much. The funny thing is that he got the right makeup on the right part of his face, mostly. He sure keeps us laughing!

Frosting fun!

Josh is definitely two and excels in coming up with new ways to make messes! A few weeks ago while my mom was in town we made gingerbread houses out of graham crackers. Josh loved it! His favorite part was the frosting which he smeared all over his hands and then would lick them off. He loved dunking the candies into the frosting and then eating them, hello sugar high! He was really hyper afterward and kept us highly entertained by watching him run laps around our living room! Here are some pictures of the fun night we had. . .

Thank you thank you!!!

Thank you to of you who donated to help my mom and my sisters reach their goal of raising $6,600 for the Susan G. Komen for the cure 3-day cancer walk. Not only did they reach their goal, but they were able to raise a total of $6,847. In all, the event raised over $5.2 million that will be put to use to find a cure for breast cancer. Breast cancer affects 1 in 8 women directly and I can tell you that it affects each woman's family as well. Here are some pictures from the 3-day 60-mile walk. To read more, check out my mom's blog - Darla's Story.

Here is a picture of the opening ceremonies. There were over 2,120 people who participated in the 60-mile walk.

My sister Jenna, my mom Darla, and my sister Mauri ready to begin their 3-day journey!There were people all along the route to give words of encouragement and to cheer the walkers as they passed by. Some folks took this opportunity to be a little irreverent, but hey, it's for a good cause so we'll let it slide!


After three days of walking, they made it to the finish line!!!

Please read this and help if you can

Click here to help fight against breast cancer

As many of you know (and for those who don't, now you do), my mom has been battling breast cancer for the past couple of years. During this time I have tried to learn more about what breast cancer is and how it is treated. Unfortunately, there is still a lot that science has yet to discover about this terrible disease.

Breast cancer has the potential to affect all of us in one way or another. Each year over 200,000 women in the United States learn that they have breast cancer. Approximately 1 in 8 women will develop some form of invasive breast cancer at some point in their lives. While early detection and treatment have significantly increased the number of breast cancer survivors, this horrible disease still claims the lives of over 40,000 women a year in the U.S. alone.

Breast cancer develops in stages: stage 0 through stage 4. My mom's breast cancer is currently at "Stage 4." That means that the cancer has spread from her breast to her bones and to other organs in her body, specifically to her liver, lungs, neck, spine, and hip. While there is still hope that my mom will be able to find the right type of chemotherapy to hold the cancer at bay for a while, there is still no cure for breast cancer that has reached this stage.

It is the hardest thing in the world knowing that there is nothing I can do to immediately help my mom. I have gone through the full range of emotions and, to be honest, it has been a rough ride. While I work to come to grips with the reality that there isn't much I can do individually, I find great comfort supporting those who are working to find a cure. Hopefully they can find something to help my mom but, if not, I can only pray that someday doctors will be able to come up with something to help someone else's mom, wife, sister, or friend.

This week, my mom and my sisters are participating in the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Breast Cancer 3 Day walk. Their goal, among the three of them, is to raise $6,600 to help find a cure for breast cancer. As of this minute, they have been able to collect $4,847. They are only $1,753 short. The walk begins this Friday and I want to do my part to help them raise their goal to helping find a cure for breast cancer.

I am asking all of you to please help me help them help everyone. I understand the economy is tough right now and for many of us money is a little tight. However, think of this as an investment. You may not see immediate returns, but the day they find a cure for breast cancer, we will all be able to reap the benefits by knowing that those we love will no longer have to suffer from this terrible disease. Will you all please join me in this important cause? Your donation does not have to be large in number to be significant in purpose. Every penny you provide brings people like my mom one step closer to winning their own personal battle against breast cancer. It is my hope that everyone reading this today will chose to donate at least $5. If you feel you can donate more, that would be wonderful, but every bit helps. Thank you so much for your help. Thank you on behalf of myself, my family, my mom, and all those who suffer directly or indirectly from breast cancer.

Click here to help fight against breast cancer!
Then click on either my mom (Darla) or my sisters' (Mauri and Jenna) name and follow the instructions to donate. Thanks again!

Halloween and stuff

I guess I could have made one post for Halloween and one post for the rest of what I'm going to say, but just in case some of you only look at the top post and don't scroll down, I'll put everything together. This Halloween we had Dan's mom in town helping out with Holly and Josh. It was great to spend time with her. While she was here, she made our traditional Halloween dinner "Pumpkin Stew." I'm not sure if that's the actual name, but it makes sense to call it that. See below:














You clean out the pumpkin, put in all the fixings, put the lid back on, and then put the whole thing in the oven. As Josh would say, "It's yummy delicious!" Josh had a blast drawing on the pumpkin before we cooked it. He had some help from Grandma.














Unfortunately, Josh caught a bit of a cold and wasn't able to go out trick-or-treating. However, he loved answering the door and passing out candy to all the ghosts and ghouls who roamed our neighborhood. This included two of Josh's friends Camden and Effie who stopped by to see us.














And now for the stuff. Josh is a wonderful helper for a 2 year old. A couple weeks ago we decided to rearrange our pantry. Our little cupboard monkey was right there to lend a hand.
































Next, we have a family tradition (my Grandma and Grandpa Colton's idea) of having all our family's kids get their picture taken when they are 2 years old. Here is Josh's. Click here and type in the customer name "Dan Colton" to see the rest of the pictures from our sitting.














Finally, we are slowly in the process of weaning Josh off his pacifier/binky/binkok (That's what he calls it). He has only been using it at nights for quite a while but sometimes he finds them during the day. Do you think he's trying to send us a message? Maybe something like "So you want me to get rid of these eh? Take 'em if you dare!"














We hope you are all doing well. Thank you for all your love and support you've shown to Holly and our family over the past couple months. Only a few more weeks until Maggie joins us! By the way, Holly had an ultrasound appointment today and they were able to see that Maggie already has hair! Any bets on what color it'll be?

Air Force Judge Advocate General

I am excited to announce that I have been accepted into the Air Force Judge Advocate General's Corps. The Air Force JAG Corps typically only hires about 100 new attorneys every year and is the most highly sought after JAG Corps in the military. I feel very grateful that I was accepted. Before I am officially committed to the Air Force, I will have to pass a physical and a background check and pass the bar. At that point, the Air Force will give me two different assignment locations and after committing to one of those, by officially joining, I incur a four-year service commitment. I will then go through a five-week officer training course and a nine-week JAG military legal course. JAG officers begin as a first lieutenant and after six months are promoted to captain. Holly and I are excited to see where we will be and are looking forward to a new adventure.

Family Pictures

A couple of weeks ago, we were able to go have our annual family pictures taken. It has been a fun tradition that we hope to keep up every year. This year, we had our picture taken by a good friend Jaqui who has her own photography company. As you can see from this year's picture, she does a great job. To see her web site click here. Here is a little stroll down memory lane to see how our family has changed and grown over the past four plus years.
July 2004


















August 2005


















November 2006












November 2007












October 2008