Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving this year was one of the best ever! With the exception of Chad having to work, I was able to get together with my side of the family and eat one of the best meals ever prepared. (If I must say so myself, my mashed potatoes turned out delicious!)
My brother and sisters and I, along with my awesome nephew Isaac and Megan's hubby Adam, played the loudest game of Catch Phrase. I think we gave the neighbors something to talk about!!! As usual, us girls kicked butt!!
I am most thankful this year for my beautiful kids and my husband who works so hard for us. I am additionally grateful for such great parents and all of our extended family. They are always there to help us and they support us in everything we do. I live in a nice home and I don't want for anything. I have truly been blessed and am so grateful for all that I have.

Another Head Injury

Everyone who knows Dustin knows he LOVES football!!! They also know that he is very prone to head injuries. Well, Friday, I got a call from the school nurse telling me Dustin had been playing football at recess and got hurt. Now anytime my kids need to check out, they are the ones who call me so when it was the nurse who called, I knew something was very wrong.
Turns out that after a play, Dustin was running back to position and another player stuck his foot out just as Dustin turned and he went down so hard he ended up with a mild concussion. When I went to pick him up, he was very shaky, he was nauseous, dizzy, and his pupils were dilated. He had quite a goose-egg on his head as well. I brought him home and had him lay down while I freaked out not knowing what to do. Of course Chad was working and I couldn't get a hold of him, so I called the pediatrician. They told me unless he was throwing up or couldn't stay awake, then there was no need to take him in. He just needed to lay low all weekend and would slowly get better.
Needless to say, there will be no more football playing for a long while. Here we are 3 days later and he still gets dizzy when he stands up. This kid is so smart and such a good football player! It makes me sad that he got hurt, but I am glad he will be ok and that it wasnt any worse!!!! I Love you Dustin!

Good Bye to a Friend

Yesterday, my little friend Trent DuVal passed away. He is the 8 year old little boy I have talked about who has been battling leukemia for the past 15 months. He and his family have been so amazing through this trial and have set an awesome example for so many. Trent was a great little kid who always had energy to spare. I have known this family for 9 years and they are some of the nicest, most amazing people in the world. If you read Trents blog, you can see the influence he had on people. There are a ton of comments about he inspired people and I am lucky to be counted among them. He mostly taught me that no matter what we have to deal with, little trials or big, Heavenly Father loves each of us and knows what we are going through. We may not always like the answer He gives us, but that is the test of our faith and we become closer to Him this way.
Thank you Trent for never giving up and reminding me to look for the good things. You will be missed!

Happy Autumn!

So, I realized today what a bad mom I am. I didn't even take pictures of my kids on Halloween. I hope I will be forgiven, but who knows.......
Chad had to work, but the kids and I had a good day. Dustin decided about 30 minutes before leaving to trick or treat that he wanted to be a zombie. We shredded some old clothes and "dirtied" him up. He looked pretty good, if I do say so myself. Oakley and Kylie were witches. They looked very cute. Maybe next year I will be a little more on the ball. They stayed out gathering candy for over 2 hours and I think we have enough to last a few weeks.
Hope you all had a good one as well!

Halloween Race

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!
On Saturday, October 25th, Chad and I, along with my sisters, Julie and Megan, ran a Halloween Race in American Fork. It was a 5k and the weather was perfect. This race was the funnest I have ever run because it was at night and you get to dress up. I chose not to this year because I get so hot when I run and I was sick. My sisters, however, couldn't pass up the opportunity.
My sisters are "special". Sometimes I think they each need a helmet and a ride on the short bus, but that is a story for another time. We have so much fun when we get together!!! There were a ton of really cool costumes. The race is even more spooky because you run through the American Fork Cemetery twice. We got a really cool long sleeve race shirt that says "Runnin' through the bone yard", a goody bag at the finish line, a glo stick necklace, and a ticket. At the finish line you take your ticket up to a table and if you find a match you win that item. I literally win something at every race I run and this time was no exception. I won a very cool water bottle to add to my collection. It was a great race and one I will definitely run every year!

OAKLEY'S NEW LEG

So, a couple weeks ago, Oakley finally got her new leg. She picked the pink and brown paisley for this one. (We talked her out of the black and white zebra stripes!) As always, the fitting is trial and error and after 4 trips to Shriner's we got to bring it home. However, after wearing it for a few hours, it really started to hurt her. As you can see in this photo of just her leg, her knee is growing rather quickly on the inside and not so much on the outside. She is scheduled to have surgery next June to have a plate put in to stunt the growth of the inside of the knee and let the outside catch up.
We got in to see the prosthetist and got the rubbing fixed. She loves this leg because they put a new foot on it and it also has a hingable ankle. Very technologically advanced!
We are so proud of her and how well she deals with all she has been dealt.
We love you Oakley!!!

Kristin's Elk Hunt

Beautiful Scenery!

Kristin's 5 point!!!
Chad and Kristin
The Elk Posse!!!!
We had a bittersweet elk hunt this past week. Dustin started having some serious medical problems a few days before we left and ended up having to be taken to the hospital several times for blood tests. They were testing for everything from Von Willebrand, (the blood disease Oakley has) to Leukemia. Since there were several days in between the tests and the results, the nurse assured us we would be ok to leave for a few days.
Guilt riden, we left Tuesday afternoon and as soon as we got to camp, Chad and I hiked down to Skull Crack (a really good elk blind) and immediately started hearing the big boys screaming at each other. It was so cool to hear that! We knew they were in there and we just had to wait until morning to go after them.
Wednesday started at 5:30 am and we got on the bulls right away. We literally ran after some of them, but that day and night we just couldn't get a clear shot. I saw the biggest elk I have ever seen Wednesday night and he was about 60 yards away. The problem was he was on private property so we had to watch him walk away. The first day we easily hiked over 20 miles. It was exhausting, but hearing those ornery elk kept us going.
Thursday morning started bright and early again. Myself, Chad, his dad, Wade, brother Cory and our friend Roger headed out ready to get this done. Knowing we may have to head home that afternoon to be with Dustin, we felt the pressure to make this morning count. Again, right off we heard some big elk so we headed that way. Before the sun even came up we came upon a big herd bull, but it was too dark and far to shoot so as we let him head into the trees to bed down, we started after another bull in the distance.
Long story short, (too late), after calling back and forth with this 5 point, we heard him get real excited about thinking some cows were down in the river. We heard him barreling down the mountain toward us so we jumped a river and immediately got ready to shot. He came out of the trees about 23 steps away (Wade counted!) and I pulled the trigger. NOTHING HAPPENED! The primer didn't fire so I tried again and this time hit him and he went down. After I stopped shaking we went to find him and there he was 100 yards away.
He isnt the biggest elk we saw nor was he the biggest we could have killed, but for my 1st elk, I am not disappointed in the least. He is a real good 5 point who had a huge body. I can't wait to taste him!
I was so grateful for all the help I had on this hunt. I was nervous that I would disappoint Chad and that all those other hunters who would have loved to have this tag would be mad at me too, but I am pretty darn proud of myself and glad I had this opportunity. There is nothing compared to hearing those elk scream at each other and then to see them in their glory. I had a great time and was glad to be able to share that with Chad.
As for Dustin, he is doing a bit better. Whatever this is started manifesting by making him very tired, feverish and he had weird bruising all over his body. The Doc told us it could be anything from a virus to Leukemia. So far the test for the VW blood disease has come back negative. His white blood cell count is low so he is not out of the woods. We will be taking him again tomorrow (wednesday) for another blood test and we will see where he is. If his count is not up, he may have to be hospitalized for more testing and possibly a transfusion. We are keeping our fingers crossed for him and hope it is just a weird virus. We will update again when we know something.
Thanks to all our family who helped us with the kids so we could go on this hunt. I am glad I got to spend this time with Chad doing what he lives for. I love him so much and am grateful we got to do this together!

Engineer Ceremony

Yesterday, Chad was promoted to Engineer in a ceremony in Salt Lake City. He was sworn in and presented his new badge by SLCFD Chief Dennis Mckone. It was a really short, but cool ceremony. Chad will now swing to different stations. Basically, where ever a driver is needed, that is where he will work. I am very proud of him and hope he drives VERY carefully!
Way to go Chad!!!!!!

So, it has been a very busy summer around our house. With all the hunting and camping it seems like fall has rushed up to our doorstep. The kids finally started school on the 2nd of September. They are going to a new charter school in our area called Providence Hall. So far, they love it. They are all learning Spanish and Kylie already would have you believe she is fluent. I am not so sure, but she knows quite a bit. Hopefully the rest of the school year will go as smooth as the first week.....
On Saturday, the 6th, my sisters, Julie and Megan and I as well as a couple of my friends (Michelle and Barbara) ran the 9/11 race for America. It is a race that I have run for the past 4 years as all the money donated goes to the families of fallen firefighters and police officers. It is a great course at Wheeler Farm and I did really well this year (if I do have to say so myself!!!) I ran the fasted 5k I have ever run, finishing in 26 minutes and 27 seconds. I finished 2nd in my age group... and, yes, there were more than 2 people in that group!! :) It sounds better to say that I finished 18th overall with more than 250 people registered for the race. I had a great time and loved being able to spend that time with my sisters. I just read Megan's blog and have to agree with her that us 3 girls think we are pretty darn funny and when we get together it all hits the fan. I love my sisters so much and to echo Meg, they are the best friends a girl could have!
We also just learned that Chad will finally be promoted to Engineer on the 15th of this month. They will hold the ceremony at Station 1 that morning so he will finally officially get his raise!
The only other major "happening" is I am preparing to go on my elk hunt in the next couple weeks. Chad has patiently taken me to shoot the muzzle loader several times and helped me get comfortable with it. I just hope I don't disappoint him and not get one! He told me I "need to show my swagger" and get a little cocky, so any words on encouragement from any of you would be great!!!! The Doyle family has had a lot of success so far in the hunts this year. My father in law, Wade, as well as Chad's sister, Tenille, both shot REALLY nice bucks on their archery hunt earlier in August and Cory, Chad's brother, as well as Kevin, our brother in law, both filled their elk tags. So here's hoping I don't mess up the streak. Stay tuned........

Thank you all so very much for all your phone calls and emails to wish Chad luck on his Engineer tests. All the extra prayers and his hard work paid off. We found out yesterday that he finished #1 in the class! Not only is he in the top spot, but he beat everyone else by 4 points! He will officially be promoted on August 25th at a ceremony in Salt Lake. We are very proud of him and we just pray he doesn't wreck one of the fire trucks!!!!
Way to go Chad!!!!!

Well, it has been a very stressful month at the Doyle house. Chad has been going through Engineer school and we can finally see the end in site! He has been taking major tests everyday this week and will take his State certification test on Monday. He will then interview with the board and then, with luck, will be promoted the end of August. We are all very proud of him and grateful for how hard he works for us. He never complains about working extra shifts and spends all his extra time studying so he can get this promotion. He is such a good husband and dad... we are very lucky to have him!
Oakley went to Shriners on Monday to have a clinic appointment with her surgeon. The valgus in her knee is getting worse so she is scheduled, for now, to have a plate put in her knee next June. They have decided to do the surgery during the summer as she will not be able to wear her leg for at least 2 weeks and will need to be on crutches, so they dont want her to have to be in school and deal with that. We are hoping it doesnt get worse any faster, but for now that is the plan. We will go back to Shriners on Monday when she will be casted for her new leg. She has chosen a really cute pink and brown paisley material for this new one. We will post pictures as soon as it is ready.
That is all that is new in our fam right now. Again, I will keep trying to update every now and again, but I make no promises!
Love you all!!!

The Doyle Family

Hello All!
So, we are new to the whole blogging thing, but think it is a great way to keep everyone updated on our incredibly exciting lives. I cant promise to update every week, but will try to when something good happens. Stay tuned......