A Day in the Life of the Richan Family...

IN MEMORY OF MOM

2008-10-24T16:47:00.007-06:00

The Surprise...NYC

2007-10-21T13:08:00.000-06:00

Marianne and I about 6 months ago decided it would be fun to surprise Cami and Whitney for their 16th Birthday. FINALLY the day came that it was time to kidnap them...We told them that we were going shopping for UEA weekend. We got them up early ready to shop and pulled over on the side of the road to pretend that we needed directions. We then gave them each a present to open up. The video explains it all!!!! This was the best kept secret for 6 months........

To add one more surprise to the girls, Julee and Shalyse met us in the SLC airport and went with us for fun! They jumped out in front of us at the gate and Cami and Whitney screamed. I have to say that Julee and Shalyse definately livened up our trip. They have such funny personalities that they kept us laughing! The only thing missing was my mom (which was supposed to come with us) and Leslee (my other sister-in-law). It would of been even better with them:(

We had the best time in NYC. We went to wicked on Saturday night. Cami and I had already seen it, but it was fun to see everyone else's expressions during the show...

I think my favorite part of New York was China town. We bought so much stuff. ie-fake Gucci, Prada, Dulce and Gabanna, coach, Louis Vuitton and Channel stuff. We also bought the cutest pair of Juicy Couture sweats, purses, and jewelry. I think that Cami and Whitney were in hog heaven being able to afford all of that awesome stuff. We also loaded up on hats and Jewelry, which by the way look super real! They show you all of the Tiffany and Co. stuff in their catalogs and then pull out their exact replica that truly looks identical. Here is a picture of me with all of my loot! (Thanks to Shalyse, she was showing us how to find identical things like Chanel Sunglasses....)

We decided to take the girls to Planet Hollywood for dinner one of the nights and they sang Happy Birthday and put them on the jumbo tron. We later walked to the Empire State Building and Cami and Whitney rode to the top. One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the Temple and watching Larry King and his wife walk in to go to church. (They also hold church services there).

Another fun thing that we did was walk over to Rockefeller Center where they always put up the famous Christmas Tree. We saw all of the ice-skaters on the plaza and went over to where the TODAY show is filmed. Shalyse and Whitney were pounding on the window to the crew that were setting up for the next mornings show. They begged if we could come in. Sure enough they let all of us in. I sat in Matt Lauers chair and also pretended to work the Camera. We thought we were the coolest. I posed with some famous designers blazers that were going to be talked about on the next days show.....(see below)

We loved taking the Subway. I know that sounds wierd, but nothing ever took very long to get too. We took it over to the 911 Disaster, where the World Trade Centers were. They still have it all roped off and there is still rubble that they are picking up. It was a humbling experience and their was a certain peace you felt there. We then walked over to Battery Park so we could see the Statue of Liberty.

We did alot of walking everywhere. We took the girls over to Central Park and walked around trying to find any celebrities. We didn't see any, but had a good time. We took lots of pictures of us on the bridge...

Our hotel was the Crowne Plaza Times Square. It was right next to the Hersheys store. We had a great old time pretending to drink straight chocolate syrup! Look at Shalyse...always an actress..

I told Bill that for our 20th anniversary in July I want to go back! Everyone start saving your money and go with us!!!!!

2007-10-19T07:00:00.000-06:00

My First Trip with Mom to her Radiation...

2007-10-03T05:24:00.000-06:00

I told my Dad that I would like to help take mom to Radiation sometimes, as she needs to go 5 days a week for 7 weeks. On Monday, Dad picked me up and decided to still go, because he wanted to show me the way there. Well, this was an interesting experience to say the least. Everyone at the Huntsman Cancer Center is so nice. They call you by your first name and their goal there is to know everyone. One Nurse practitioner (a man) always calls mom happy and beautiful, because mom is always smiling and acts like this is nothing that she is going through. I thought that everyone would be interested in seeing what she has to do on a daily basis....When you arrive you check in and you have to wait. Sometimes they wait for a long time and other times, they take you right in. I brought Abbi with me, so she can get to know her grandma. We loaded her up with snacks, crayons, and movies on the laptop...

Before mom actually started her Radiation, they molded this mask on her face to cover the rest of her head for the Radiation. This is an interesting process. So...everyday when she comes, they place this waffle type mask on her face, which is kind of tight. The machine spins around her head with these red laser type lights pointing directly to the tumor. Her body spins around too. I asked the nurse if people get cholosterphobia and he said all of the time, but mom said that she doesn't, which is good! This process made me truly realize how serious this is and it made me appreciate all of the other people that I know who have had to go through this. Mom makes it look like a piece of cake, however, there were terribly sick people coming in and out and your heart truly felt sad. My Dad is a trooper and wants to be by my mom's side at every waking second. I can't believe how strong they both are! We love you mom and Dad....I will look forward to this process every monday and look forward to the opportunity to finally take care of her after all of the years that she took care of me!

This is us leaving after her treatment, she's still smiling...

Abbi was so good that I bribed her with a stuffed animal from the gift shop.

Mom and Dad's living Arrangements...

2007-10-03T05:04:00.001-06:00

Neil has been so nice to give up his brand new house to accomodate mom and dad. He gave up his Master Bedroom and made it really comfortable for Mom. He uses the guest room to sleep. He also put another cable jack in the living room, so that she can leave her TV in the bedroom and go to the living room to have a change of scenery. I think Neil enjoys having them around, because it keeps him company.

Our Family Motto is HOPE...Heavens Opportunities Promises Exaltaion. Shalyses sister gave this picture to my parents. They have it hung in their room.

My Mom and Dad...

2007-10-03T04:49:00.000-06:00

I know that it's been a very long time since I posted an updated blog. Our life has been one crazy mess. We have uprooted our whole backyard, made a walkout basement, cut a hole in our house in the basement to add french doors, built a deck, added rock, waterfall, firepit and now it's only just begun....they start our new garage next week. We are so tired of the construction mess, however, after it is all done we will be glad we did it. Now....enough excuses of why my blog isn't updated...on with the new posts....

We have really enjoyed mom and dad living here in Utah. It's so fun that they just pop in on you and visit with us and the kids. A couple weeks ago Aunt Anne, Carlee and Spencer, mom and Marianne went to Thanksgiving Point to walk around the gardens. I met them there for lunch. Mom is doing great! I thought that her Radiation and Chemo would make her so sick and so tired, but she is always going. Their social life is becoming rather sickening for only living here a few weeks, they have been invited over to so many people's homes for dinner. They went to their Mission Presidents home, they are invited to some friends from their new wards home this weekend. Some people that used to live in Grants Pass have brought them dinner and Bob and Eddie Weske are coming to Neil's house to cook for them. They want to do that once a week for them. Dad attended the University of Utah vs. Utah State game with Bob Weske. Anyway, here are the latest photo's of mom and dad...

Our Mexico Trip with the Stevens'

2007-09-11T11:49:00.001-06:00

Our Mexico trip was a blast. We were gone for 7 nights. The day before it had arrived it rained so much that the streets were flooded when we got there. There was a foot of water on the roads and Bill and Todd were upset because the golf courses were under water. They were VERY worried that they would not get any golf in.

Look at what we arrived too! Water....

By the day after we got there, the weather had turned warm and everything started to dry out. We drove downtown Acapulco (about 30 min.) so the guys could golf and so that Marianne and I could go souvenier shopping. It was a pretty fun day all in all, however, the taxi kept breaking down. Everytime the driver put on the air conditioner the horn wouldn't stop honking. Everyone was looking at us and it was rather embarassing, however, we were laughing so hard that it made it funny.

Most of the days we layed out by the beach and read. I was able to read 3 large books and it was the most relaxing trip that I have been on in a long time. Bill and Todd managed to golf 2 other days, however, not all of the holes were open. The last day only 6 holes were open, so they did each hole 3 times. They claim it was still fun, but seems a little bit boring to me!

On the 2nd to the last day, we drove back to acapulco and had dinner at a really nice restaurant way up on a hill that overlooked Acapulco. After dinner, we drove to the famous Divers who dive off cliffs into the ocean. It was a very fun evening.

The very first day we layed by the beach, there were these stray dogs that would lay by Todd and Marianne. It was the funniest thing, because they wouldn't go away....

Marianne and Todd with the Dogs.....hilarious!

Janette and Marianne in the lobby...we were checking into the hotel...

This picture was taken at a nice restaurant overlooking Acapulco...

Bill and Todd ready to golf... Our broken Taxi......

Marianne looks fed up with our taxi doesn't she? Here I am smiling patiently waiting for him to get the dang horn turned off....embarassing!

One other funny story that I wanted to tell was Julee (my sister) texted us to see if we were okay. She said that we were in the middle of two hurricanes and she was worried about us. We texted her back and said that we were fine, but they were requiring us to wear life jackets and whistles. Marianne told her that my life jacket sprung a leak and that she kept losing her whistle. Julee texted back and said, "Are you serious." So, in fun, we took a picture of us in this kayak and told her we were really afraid! Ha ha. Julee...you're so funny! Below is the picture we took for her!

My Mommy....

2007-08-30T22:22:00.000-06:00

Mom on the day she got to go home...

As most of you know we heard last Monday (August 20, 2007) that my mom had Brain Cancer. This was devastating news and we are all so sad and worried. I love my mom so much and she is such a wonderful Grandma to my kids. They get so excited to see their grandma and grandpa Olson when they come. Well, it's been a rollercoaster ride ever since.

Marianne, Neil and I hopped on a plane last Thurs. night. We met Jared and Leslee, Julee and Brian there. The minute we got to the hospital I got a nervous feeling to see my mom. We walked into the hospital and got on an elevator. When we walked off the elevator, there was my cute dad anxiously awaiting for our arrival. He broke down into tears and could hardly compose himself. I think that he was so glad that we were all there to support one another during this time. I think he was also glad to see us to help lift his burdons and to lighten his spirit. We have never cried so much in our lives, yet we had a good time being with one another.

We have witnessed many miracles during the time that mom has been so sick. I want to share them all with you, so you can see how much we are being blessed at this time.

1) My mom has been not acting normal for a few months, her personality kind of changed and was a bit distant. We were so worried about her because she would forget alot and she didn't even know she was forgetting. We thought she may be in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's which worried us. So....now knowing that she had a brain tumor, they were able to give her steroids to help shrink the swelling, therefore, her fun and energetic personality is back, and we now can feel her emotion again. We have our mom back! We were so worried that maybe there was permanant damage, but she is the same loving mom that we had for so long. We were truly blessed.

2) My dad gave her a blessing that the Dr.'s hands would be guided by angels and that there would be a special spirit in the room to guide the doctors hands and mind during this surgery. The doctor performed this surgery smoothly and efficiently and his words were "Extatic". He said the surgery was so smooth and precise that he felt "Extatic" with the way everything turned out. He finished the surgery in 3 hours, far less than most of those kinds of surgeries. We truly know that the Lord was guiding that surgeon to do his very best performance and it truly did happen.

3) The MRI results came back for her full body and they found no other cancer anywhere else. This is why the doctor decided to take the tumor out, because no other cancer was found. At one time, he thought they might not even do surgery, that they would just start her on Radiation and Chemo, which depressed us, but knowing there wasn't anymore cancer, he was determined to get that tumor out.

4) The MRI results after the surgery showed that he was able to completely get the tumor off of her brain. Sometime this surgery is done in stages, because of the size, but the dr. was able to get it all out in one stage and the MRI showed it clear.

5) Mom went to church only 4 days after Brain surgery and she was so determined to live a normal life. She looked great and people were flabbergasted seeing her walk into church. There are no more excuses for us to never go to church. Sometimes a little cold keeps me home! One woman heard that mom may go to church; she had been up all night with her kids and she had a cold, but she was determined not to stay home and let Linda Olson show her up!

6) We were able to find her a Dr. at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Salt Lake City. This is a Doctor from back east that just started at the Huntsman Cancer Center. He specializes in Brain Tumors and supposedly has other forms of treatment ideas that have been under research for some time that are not available anywhere else. How ironic that he just moved here at this time and is waiting for his Utah license to arrive. By the time mom gets here and starts radiation, he will be her doctor. Right now he will analize all of mom's surgical notes, MRI reports and film, Medical records, and Pathology reports, because he has two more weeks before he can practice. Mom will be one of his first patients here in Utah.

7) Mom showed some horrible signs of shaking and dizziness. She would walk crooked and stumble and fall. She got the flu the week before and thought that was why she felt so weak all of the time. The doctor told us to be greatful for the flu that she had, because it flushed everything out of her body, therefore the signs of the tumor came to life. If she wouldn't of had the flu, then these signs would of never come about and they said that she would of only lived for a couple more weeks, because the tumor was so aggressive.

8) We don't want it to seem like a miracle that Neil isn't married yet, however, we are so glad that he is able to take mom into his house where it can be quiet. There aren't any stairs for mom to climb and there aren't any kids to make her nervous or cause her to not sleep. Neil will be at work all day, which gives mom and dad the quiet that they need. Neil is giving up his Master Bedroom and putting in a comfy chair for mom and dad to use for as long as they need. If he were married, he would have a wife around and kids around and it wouldn't be the ideal situation.

9) Dad has Marianne, Jared and I to help him drive to Salt Lake City everyday for her Radiation treatments. Utah is the ideal place for my parents to be with lots of help and also the best Cancer Treatment Center around. We are so blessed by this.

10) Dad received a little inspiration during one of his blessings to mom. He felt that mom had chosen this trial in Heaven to make her children better people. She has passed every test on this earth and that this would be her last trial. We, as her children wonder what he means by that, however, a little more temple attendance, scripture study and service can't hurt right? We love our mom and know that with our faith we will be blessed by this trial. We as a family came up with a family motto: HOPE H-Heavens O-Opportunities P- Promised E-Exaltation. We are the army of one! Mom get better and can't wait to see you here in Utah!

P.S. We thank our cute sister Julee for being in Oregon and helping out my dad with my mom. She was the one that helped my dad get her to the emergency room, comforted my dad when they heard the news and stood by my mom's side at every waking moment. She has been with my mom 24 hours for 11 days. She slept at the hospital everynight so my dad could go home and get some sleep. She has cleaned the house, cooked and supported both my mom and dad. She has 5 kids and a great mother-in-law who took her children so Julee could do this for them. Thanks Bonnie.....

CAMI MAKES VARSITY.......(VOLLEYBALL)!

2007-08-30T16:21:00.000-06:00

The fans....Rio (her ex), Matt, Taylor and Whitney

Our baby is getting big....Cami is 15 (almost 16) and just made the Lone Peak JV/Varisty team. She is pumped. There are only 3 sophomores who made the team. Cami's life revolves around volleyball. Once the school season ends in Nov. the club season begins. By the time club season ends, practices begin for the summer for school. She lives, eats, sleeps and dreams about Volleyball. I am so glad she found her little niche in life.

She will be jetting out to Chicago soon with her school team. Nike is sponsoring a tournament and only invited 25 teams in the nation. Lone Peak was chosen and they are all pumped to attend. Lone Peak has an awesome team this year and are ranked first in the press to take state this year! Let's hope it's true! They have 8 seniors on the team vs. only 2 seniors last year. We just had a huge Asics sponsored tournament with 16 top Utah teams and Lone Peak Sweeped it all! Can't wait to see if Camille will get her first State Champ. Ring.... Go Knights!

CaMiLLe GeTs MeNtiOnEd iN ThE NeWsPaPeR

(Click on photo and read second to the last paragraph)

First day of school....

2007-08-30T13:00:00.000-06:00

The night before school started was the worst day of our lives. I was in a meeting with Cami's volleyball coaches when all of the phone calls came pouring in. Everyone needed to talk with me and I knew it wasn't going to be good news! I left the meeting to find out that my mom had a tumor on her brain. Talk about shock...As I went back into the meeting, I sat down and from then on everything was a fog. I don't remember one thing that was discussed in the meeting. All I wanted to do was get out of there. We had a family meeting with Marianne, Neil, Jared and me to discuss the situation and make plans to get to Oregon....By the time I got home it was 9:00 p.m. Earlier that day was an open house where the kids got their school supply list. Luckily a friend of mind knew the situation and her husband left for an office supply store to get his own kids supplies. She called him and he was able to pick up the major things for me and then Neil took Cami and Bradi to our local grocery store to find the rest. Needless to say it was a late night. Bill was out of town and Cami and Bradi slept with me. Neil came into my bedroom and sat on my chair and we all cried together! It was a sad experience and Cami and Bradi didn't get to sleep until about 12:30 p.m.

Neil.....my cute brother...

2007-08-30T12:41:00.001-06:00

Everyone knows who Neil is. He is the favorite uncle (as he says) to our kids and our brother that is a bachelor! Neil comes to my house regularly to have meals (when I cook). Sunday nights are a regular and I LOVE IT! He comes a bit early to help with the last minute preparations, which usually include putting ice and water in the glasses and cutting the meat. My kids get so excited when he comes and they wait outside eagerly for his arrival! We love Neil to come hang out at nights and Bill loves for him to come, because he is another man to talk with and watch sports. I am selfish in some ways, because I never want him to get married. My kids are like his kids and they love him so much! If he were to be married, then we would have to share him with someone, however, we are willing to make that sacrifice...haha. Here are pictures of Neil at our family sunday dinner....now you see why we invite him over? The last picture shows that we finally let him sit down (of course after the floor was swept) and let him sip on a soda and eat cookies! Until next Sunday Neil.....

Sunday Night with Family...

2007-08-30T11:37:00.000-06:00

We had Jared and Leslee to Sunday dinner on August 19. I should say that Neil was there too, but he comes regularly on Sunday. I love it, because Neil is the one that does the Sunday dishes. (I have pictures to prove that.)

We enjoyed eachother's company as we all gathered around to watch Richard Bischoff's music video's and looking at everyone's blogs. It's always a good time when Jared comes, because he is kind of a jokester. Jace and Brynlee are finally comfortable here and enjoy playing with Madi and Abbi. (of course when Abbi and Madi aren't tormenting them... I have photo's of Brynlee getting hurt with Abbi pushing her in a doll stroller.)

This is why I love being here in Utah. I love to get together with family and love having Sunday dinners together occasionally. I can't wait to get my mom and dad here to have them here too. I don't like the circumstances which they are moving here, however, it will be nice for my children to get to know them better. I will post more of that as soon as my dad e-mails some hospital pictures.

Brynlee starting to try to forgive Abbi for what she did.

We were reading all of the different blogs....

Watching Richard Bischoff's music Video's

Our Home Makeover....

2007-08-26T15:23:00.000-06:00

We remodeled the outside of our house. Bill's brother's company gave us a good deal and they put up new stucco, rock and Brick. We also added an arch instead of those white columns!

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BEFORE...

After...
Bill made these adorable shutters from scratch! And I painted our door and garage doors! We have been working very hard and now are starting to enjoy our "new" home!

2007-08-18T23:08:00.001-06:00

I don't know how to get your links on my page.....please send me the name of your links so I can attach them.....along with directions on how to do it. Excuse the lame page, but I am still trying to figure out how all of this works. Any ideas from anyone?

The Richan Family: We are Bloggers.....

2007-08-18T23:06:00.000-06:00

The Richan Family: We are Bloggers.....

We are Bloggers.....

2007-08-18T22:57:00.000-06:00

We are finally Bloggers, however, I haven't taken any current pictures of my kids in a while. I wanted to get started, however, it's turning out a bit lame. I wanted to show my family and extended members the changes of my house. I think it turned out pretty good. We are working now on digging out the backyard for a walkout basement. It looks horrible right now. I will take some before and after pictures and hopefully the after pictures will look better than the before pictures. I will start taking pictures again of my family and things that we do throughout the week....as for now, please accept this as a start!