LIVESTRONG!!

On June 21, 2009 I participated in my 3rd LIVESTRONG challenge along with my mom and Mike. We were in Seattle for the event and the weather was perfect!! This is us at the starting line waiting to get started. We rode our bikes about 45 miles and helped to raise money for cancer research.

My mom and her friend Jim, that also rides with us, are both survivors and our inspiration, and motivation in most cases!!

Mike, Kristy and Linda ready to go!!
Mike got a hold of the camera and took a picture of me and my mom on the road.

This is the finish line "Go ahead. Pick a fight"!!!

Mike waiting for my mom's friend Jim to finish. It was a little cool in the afternoon.

This is our team, minus my brother Bill that was at the hotel watching golf. Bill had to run the 5k because he had surgery not to long before our trip and couldn't bike.

Linda, Jim Smith, Maryann (Jim's wife), Mike, Kristy

We love doing these rides and look forward to another one next year!!

WHALES!!!!

While in the area we went to Friday Harbor on a whale watching tour. It was AWESOME!!! We got to see lots of Orca Whales, some bald eagles and some harbor seals. I was so glad that we spent to money to do this!!

Me and Mike on the ferry at Friday Harbor
Some of the whales we saw

We got to see a lot of jumpers, they were amazing!!

On the boat ride to find the whales, Bill, Mike and me (along with some strangers)

Here is one of the many videos I took. Watch in the center toward the top and you will see a whale jump twice.

WOW it's been a while!!

So back in June, Mike and I went to Seattle.

He is a few pictures of our adventures there...

The view for the top of the Space Needle.

Pike Market. We met my mom's cousin Mary and her daughter and 2 grandsons
here for a very nice visit!!

We went to a Mariners game at Safeco field. It was a lot of fun!! Funny thing about the evening...it was Ken Griffy Jr t-shirt night so the first how-ever-many people through the gates got a free t-shirt...He didn't even play that night!! I thought it was LAME!!!
We took a tour of the city with "Ride the Ducks". It was a lot of fun!! You ride in this vehicle around the town seeing all the sights, then you go into the water and tour that bay in the same vehicle. If you are ever in Seattle I would definitely recommend it, it was a lot of fun!!

This is my brother Bill getting ready to enter the water on the "Duck"

Girls camp

The past couple weeks have been adventure filled for me!! On June 14th I was at my mother-in-laws for dinner, like every Sunday, and getting ready to leave for girls camp the next day. Tyler was not acting real well and by the time we got home he was running a fever. Not a good time to get sick because I was going to be gone for the next 9 days!! Mike gave him and me blessings and we went to sleep. I woke up at 5:30 Monday morning and checked on Tyler. His fever had broken so I felt that it would be okay for me to go to camp. I packed up and headed to the church. We got packed up and loaded up all the girls and headed to St George, UT. We went to the Cannery there first and helped can apricots. It was a lot of fun and I think the girls really enjoyed it. After that we went to the visitors center at the Temple and ate lunch then we went inside and watched a movie on President Monson. It was really good! After the movie we filled up with gas and headed to Pine Valley where we stayed in a cabin for the night. We also did camp certifications and skits that were a lot of fun.

The next morning we got up and got breakfast and all packed up again then most of the group headed to the Rockin' R Ranch. I went back to St George to meet a parent. We had a little time to kill so we went to the Brigham Young winter home. I thought it was really cool and it really amazes me how crafty those pioneers were!! Then we headed to the ranch to meet up with the rest of the group.

We got there just in time for orientation then one group went on a tube float down the river and my group played in the pond, and made lanterns. When it was our turn to do the float I was not too sure about it because it was overcast, windy and cold. The owner had told us that the river was heated though.....solar heated! Works better when the sun is out!!!

It was FREEZING cold and I could barely move by the time I was finished, but it was fun!! After a long HOT shower I went down stairs and they were having line dancing lessons for the girls then we had dinner then a dance with a live band. It was pretty fun!

The next morning was filled with archery, roping and then this...

We had a good time!! Then after that was over we went horse back riding. This is the horse I got Oreo.

She had a mind of her own!! She wanted to run and if you have ever been on a trail ride you know that is not really allowed, and it was not wanted by me or my bottom either!! She would pause while the horse in front of us got ahead a little bit them would trot up to them. I tried for a while to get her to stop then I just let her do it. I figured she was helping get my bottom ready for my bike ride on Sunday! That evening we had a "rodeo" and the girls were able to "barrel race" and they tried mutton busting but the sheep were not cooperating! They would just lay down, so they taped some prizes to a calf and let the girls chase him to get them off. That was fun to watch! We also went on a hay ride. Before we left we had breakfast and the "Little People, Big World" people were there, so I got to eat breakfast "with" them. It was fun to see them since when I went to their farm a couple years ago it was closed!

On the way home we stopped just outside of Bryce canyon, so we didn't have to pay to go in, and did a hike. It was beautiful!! Me and two other leaders and one of the girls hiked up this hill to the top. The view was great!!

Here is a picture of the view from the top.
We had a great time and I was glad that I was able to go!! I am glad that my mother-in-law is so wonderful and was willing to help with Tyler while Mike was at work!! Thanks Corrine!!!!! I got home at about 6 pm and went to Corrine's to get Tyler, I had to wake him up so I could hear what he and grandma had done!! Then we came home, I unpacked, did laundry then repacked for my next adventure that started the next day at 4:30 am. (More to come on that later!)

Tyler's 6

On Saturday May 30th we celebrated Tyler's 6th birthday. It is hard for me to believe that he is 6 already!! This is Tyler getting ready for the party to start. That is a fly on his forehead.

Here is a picture of his cake. I got the idea from my cousin Jenny, thanks Jenny!

Mike and I went to the party supply store to get ideas of what we could do for the cake. We found a small pail with sand toys in it and I told him we could do a sand cake, a fish cake, or a frog cake. Mike said "frog cake?!?" I said yes and he said he didn't think I could do a frog cake. He thought it sounded too "Ace of Cakes". Well I think I did a pretty good job!!
We bought water guns, water balloons, and soaker balls for the kids to have a water fight. It was a lot of fun!! Mike and I got involved too. The water balloons go way too fast when you do these kind of things, but we had the soaker balls so it worked out well.
This is me and Breanna and Rachel trying to get Mike.

The kids reloading for another round.

This is Henry going to get the other kids. It took him a little while to get into the whole thing but he did and I think he had a great time.

We had a great time partying with Tyler!! He got lots of new clothes, which he REALLY needed since he has grown like crazy over the past 6 months or so!! Mike and I also got him a picture to hang on his bedroom wall and he got the cd's of the primary song, which he will love to listen too!! Thanks to everyone that came and celebrated with us, and we missed those that celebrated from a distance!!!

Tyler's school was on TV this morning. They had their annual "Miller 500" a couple weeks ago and it aired this morning on "What's cool at school". Here is the link if you are interested in viewing. http://www.lasvegasnow.com/Global/story.asp?s=5601186 You go to the site and it is in the upper right corner video. Enjoy!!!

LIVESTRONG Challenge 2009

Friends and Family,

Almost all of us have been, or will be, affected by cancer. I am no different. My mom, Linda McArthur, was diagnosed with breast cancer in December 2003. After a long hard battle she is well and is a cancer SURVIVOR! My father was also diagnosed with cancer and is battling it today, and I have had several other family members that have fought cancer, some surviving and others not. Because of these reasons and the hope that we can find a cure and better treatments for cancer, I have decided to participate in my THIRD ANNUAL LIVESTRONG CHALLENGE to help raise money for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. Mike and I will ride our bike’s 70 miles in Seattle for this cause.

Today, there are nearly 12 million people living with cancer in the Unites States, and it is estimated that close to 1.4 million more will be diagnosed this year alone. One in three people will be diagnosed with cancer in their lifetime.

I would like to honor my family members, friends, and everyone out there that has been affected by cancer. I hope you will join me in my efforts and help me raise money.

The LIVESRTONG Challenge is the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s (LAF’s) signature fundraising event. Your donation to the LIVESTRONG Challenge will support the LAF’s mission to inspire and empower people affected by cancer. The LAF’s website serves as an invaluable resource for cancer survivors, families, and caregivers around the world, including information ranging from what you can expect during your cancer experience to the opportunity to get one-on-one advice and support through the SurvivorCare program. The LAF also works to increase awareness of issues facing cancer survivors within our communities and among our representatives in Congress.

Please visit my LIVESTRONG Challenge website http://seattle09.livestrong.org/kristytilton (or Mike's website http://seattle09.livestrong.org/miketilton) where you can make a donation on line. You can also print off a donation form from my fundraising HQ http://seattle09.livestrong.org/kristytilton (or http://seattle09.livestrong.org/miketilton) and mail a check. Please make sure to write my participant ID# 128253275 ( or Mike's 219987197) on the check. All donations must have a donations form attached and should be mailed to the address on the form.

Lance Armstrong Foundation Events
National Mail Processing Center
P.O. Box 6002
Albert Lea, MN 56007-6602

I know it is a tough year financially, but know that EVERY little bit helps. Even if you can only donate $5-10, it WILL make a difference!!

We are truly excited to share this journey with you. Thank you for your support and for being a part of our fight!! Please forward this message on to anyone that you think wants to pick a fight with cancer.

Kristy & Mike

Easter 2009

We had a great Easter this year. Our fun started on Saturday morning when we got together with our ward for breakfast and games. It started at 8 am and it was COLD (for Las Vegas anyway!!) This is us after the egg hunt and other fun, ready to go home where it was warm.

On Sunday we had Mike's friend take some pictures of our family. This is the outfit the Easter bunny brought Tyler. He looked pretty handsome I think!!
My two favorite men!!

Tyler after the egg hunt at grandma and grandpa Tilton's with the cousins. We had a great dinner of ham and grits after the hunting was over. Delicious Corrine!!

All of the cousins showing off their loot after the hunt.

Jeremy, James, Breanna, Tyler, Mike

Adam, Rachel, Hailee, Ethan, Scotty

Mandi Forester's White Chicken Chili

I have another tasty recipe to share with you all. I got it off the Rachael Ray web site and it only took about 20 minutes TOTAL to make. It is SUPER easy and tasty!!

Ingredients:
1 32 oz Chicken stock
3 cans white beans, left undrained (although next time I will probably drain 1 can)
5 cups cooked chicken, rotisserie or boiled (I used rotisserie)
1 16 oz jar salsa-heat you like
1 8 oz block pepper jack cheese, grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 cloves garlic, minced
Black or white pepper to taste (no need to add salt)
1/2 cup finely crushed corn chips (Optional, if you like your chili thicker)
Sour cream, for garnish

Directions:Place all ingredients except the corn chips in a crockpot. Cook on high until the cheese is melted. May also use stovetop (which I did) over medium-high heat until cheese is melted.When chili is ready, add the crushed corn chips, if using, and simmer for 10 minutes to thicken. Garnish with more chips, cheese and/or sour cream and serve.

Number Of Servings:6-8

Tyler update

Tyler had his tonsils and adenoids removed on March 24th. He has been having problems with them for a while and we were planning on having them removed on the 30th. He woke up Monday morning and was really having a hard time breathing. As the day went on it was getting worse. I knew the ENT Dr was doing surgery that day so I thought I would call his office and see what they thought about me taking Tyler to the ER and then getting him in for surgery. The nurse said she was not sure it worked that way and the Dr was already back in the office anyway, it was 2pm, so she said to bring Tyler there and they would check him over and see what needed to be done. So we headed over there and as soon as the Dr heard Tyler breathing he said the tonsils needed to come out ASAP. That is what I thought 2 weeks ago but I am just the mom!! He said he could definitely do surgery the next day at UMC hospital, the county hospital that I REALLY did NOT want to go to, or he may be able to do it at Sunrise hospital, which was better for us but not real convenient. He had to call the anaesthesiologist that he worked with to see if he was available. So I said a little prayer and he came back and said the other Dr was available so we could go to Sunrise. He sent us right over to the ER to be admitted for the night. We got to the ER and up to the PICU with no problems, but Tyler kept struggling more and more with his breathing so they had to put him on a ventilator. That was pretty tough to see!! But he was able to relax and get some sleep before surgery at noon the next day. The surgery went well. They took out Tyler's tonsils and adenoids and two loose teeth that he had. They were even able to take the ventilator out and he was breathing well on his own. Then at about 4 he started struggling again because he had a lot of secretions that he was not handling very well. I guess he did not want to swallow them down or cough them up, so they had to put him back on the ventilator at about 6 pm. When they told me they had to do this I had a little melt down because I was Super tired and VERY frustrated that this surgery was not done sooner. After my melt down I felt better and Tyler was able to relax again and get some rest. So Wednesday they worked on getting Tyler off the ventilator. They turned it to the C-PAP setting in the morning for a couple hours then back to the regular setting to let him rest. At about 1 or so Corrine came down and sat with Tyler so I could go home and shower and rest, THANKS CORRINE!!!! When I got back 5 they had Tyler off the ventilator and he was doing great!! I was so surprised and HAPPY!! He did great the rest of the night, although they still had him on oxygen. Thursdays goal was to get him off the oxygen so we could go home. They would turn down the concentration every couple hours. At noon I had to leave so Corrine came down again to sit with Tyler and Mike and I went and signed papers to refinance our house. We got back around 3:30 and Tyler was off the oxygen, YEAH!!! The Dr said if he could keep his O2 level 92 or above he would let us go home, so we sat and waited until about 5 and the Dr said if I was comfortable taking Tyler home he would let us go I said LET US GO HOME!!!! So we were discharged around 6 and made it home at 7. I was so glad to sleep in my own bed last night and Tyler sounds SOOOOO much better not having his tonsils blocking his airway. I'm glad this ordeal is over but also wish it would have played out a little differently. Now we just have SEVERAL follow up appointments with different Dr's and he will be in the clear! For a while hopefully!!!!!

Chicken Pot Pie

I got this one from Rachael Ray's show that aired March 13, 2009. It is SUPER tasty and makes a large amount. It says it serves 4 but I think more like 6-8 normal servings. Give it a try and let me know what you think!!

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts or you could use a cooked rotisserie chicken
3 small onions, 2 cut in half, 1 chopped, divided
2 bay leaves
2 Tbsp Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO)
1/4 lb button mushrooms chopped
2 carrots, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
2 parsnips, peeled and chopped
Salt & pepper
3 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp flour
1/2 cup white wine or liquid reserved from chicken
1 cup milk
1 cup chicken stock
5-6 sprigs fresh tarragon, leaves picked and chopped
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1 cup frozen peas
*1 cup frozen corn (not on original recipe but I like corn)
1 sheet puff pastry or pie dough, defrosted if frozen (I just made my own pie crust)
1 egg, lightly beaten with a splash of water

Preheat oven to 375 degrees (When chicken is cooked)

Place chicken, whole onion halves and bay leaves in a large pot and cover with cold water. Place pot over medium-high heat and bring up to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until chicken has cooked through, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and let cool. Reserve about 1 cup (a mug full) of the cooking liquid and then discard the remaining.

While chicken cools, place a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add chopped onion, mushrooms, carrots, celery and parsnips to the pan, season with salt and pepper, and cover. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, 7-8 minutes. While the veggies are cooking, remove the chicken breast meat from the bones and shred.

When the veggies are tender, scoot them over to the side of the pan and add the butter to the center of the pot. Once butter has melted, add the flour and cook for about a minute. Whisk in white wine, milk, chicken stock and reserved poaching liquid. Bring up to a simmer then add the tarragon, Dijon, peas (and corn) and shredded chicken. Bring back up to a simmer, season with salt and pepper, and cook until the sauce has thickened, 2-3 minutes.

Transfer to a casserole dish and cover with the pastry dough, trimming it as needed to cover the entire surface. Make a few slits in the dough to allow steam to escape, then brush the top with the beaten egg.

Bake the pot pie until the filling is bubbling and the crust is golden brown, about 30 minutes. Serve.

SPRING IS HERE!!!

It is spring time again here in Henderson!! This is our Peach tree. I think it is so pretty this time of year. We had a watering issue with it last year so we didn't get any fruit, but we fixed that this year so hopefully we will get some fruit.

We decided that this year we would take out the sand box and add top soil and have two garden boxes. This decision was made a little easier when we realized we had a very large kitty litter in our back yard. It was never a problem until late last year so we got rid if it!! I have still never seen the cat though.

This is Mike adding some new soil to the original garden box.
Here is garden number one. It has corn, yellow bell peppers, yellow squash, zucchini, green beans, a couple of tomatoes, and watermelon.
And garden number two has more tomatoes, strawberries left over from last year and are doing GREAT, carrots, peas and cucumber

This year we planted about the same amount of stuff we did last year but we spread it out a lot more so I hope it will do better. I am very excited for the harvest!!! We will keep you posted on how it is coming along.

Tyler

On Friday Feb 20 Mike and I were getting ready to head up to St George for the Parade of Homes. We were meeting my family there for the weekend. At about 1:30 I was going to change Tyler's diaper and then we were going to hit the road. I pulled his pants down and noticed his body was covered with a strange rash. I called the pediatricians office to get him in and they said they didn't have any appointments until Monday. I told them what was going on and they put me through to a nurse. She said she would squeeze Tyler in, the worst that could happen is the doctor could complain to her supervisor. We went in and he saw Tyler. He rubbed his arm and the rash magically disappeared. He said it was "just" hives, and asked what we had done different the past week or so.

Jump back to Feb 11th. The nurse at Tyler's school called me at 9:05, he gets to school at 9:00. She said she thought Tyler was having a hard time breathing and they thought he needed a breathing treatment. They did not have drs orders to do that so they asked if I could bring his nebulizer down and give him a treatment. I said sure, I would call the pediatrician and get him an appointment and head down, it would be about 45 minutes. I got him an appointment and was heading out the door and they called again. They were really concerned and thought they might need to call the paramedics to give him a treatment. I said I was on my way but I live about 30 minutes away on a good traffic day. I headed out. I got about 3 miles from my house and got ANOTHER call. It was the paramedic this time. They were at the school with Tyler and were wondering if I wanted them to transport Tyler to the ER, I was right next to the hospital at this time. I said no I was on my way and I had a Dr appointment for him in a hour. They said ok. I got to the school and they had him on a gurney and they were giving him oxygen. I thought it seemed a bit over kill and I thought he looked FINE!! They said every time they took the oxygen off his O2 level dropped and they were concerned and thought they needed to transport him to the hospital. After some discussion Tyler headed out in the ambulance and I followed back to the hospital I had driven past 20 minutes earlier. After 4 hour in the ER they found a small spot on Tyler's lung that they didn't want to chance turning into anything serious so they gave him Amoxicillin and sent us home. We went to the lung dr the next day and he feels that Tyler has large tonsils and wanted us to do a sleep study to make sure all is well.

Now back to the 20th. Tyler is allergic to Amoxicillin!! By the way, I get 3 calls in 45 minutes about the breathing thing, but not 1 call about a rash over Tyler's entire body. Odd don't you think!! So we loaded him up and went to St George and got him some Benadryl to help with the hives. This is what he looked like Saturday morning. The hives were on his ENTIRE body!! He actually looked worse then this Saturday afternoon but then started looking better.

Luckily my dad had gone to St George with my mom so we left Tyler in the hotel with him on Saturday. THANKS DAD!!! We had a good time at the Parade of Homes. On Sunday Mike and I were walking away from a house and a lady was kind of looking at Mike funny, I looked over and Tyler's shirt had worked its way up and you could see his hive covered back. We pulled his shirt down and made sure that we kept it covered the rest of the time. It was a fun weekend, hives and all!

My mom

Many of you know my mom and those of you that don't I wish you did!! She is AMAZING!!! She is my hero and has made me the woman I am today. I owe her a lot!! There is a story about her and her friend Jim Smith in the Desert News today and I thought I would share it with all of you. Hopefully you can get some inspiration from these two they are amazing and I enjoy the time that I get to spend with them when we ride in the LiveSTORNG Challenges!!
http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705287485,00.html?pg=1

Enjoying warm weather

On January 31st we decided that the weather was so beautiful that we could not stay home!! So we headed out to Red Rock. This is Tyler in his new car seat, he out grew his old one. He really likes it because it is SOOO comfy. I like it because it holds his head up better.

When we got to Red Rock the sky was so blue against the red and white rocks. It was beautiful!! I was very glad that we went. We were definitely not alone out there either!! A lot of people decided to take advantage of the beautiful weather.
We decided to go on a short hike and we found this rock. My mom would be so proud that we stopped to take this picture!!

Mike had to take a picture of the car enjoying the scenery too. Looks good doesn't it!?! If you look close you might be able to see me in the back seat, I was feeding Tyler.

This is Mike and Tyler on our hike. It was a good hike, but Tyler is getting a little too big to take hiking!! The trip down the hill was fine, but going back up was a different story! We decided next time we go we will bring grandma and grandpa along so one of us can stay back with Tyler, probably grandpa, while the others hike.

We are now even more excited for Spring to come!!

Christmas 2008

We had a great Christmas this year!! I know it is kind of late for pictures, but I thought I would share anyway. My family came to town for the holiday so we just had fun visiting. On Christmas Eve we had my aunt Shannon and her family over for dinner. After dinner, Mike, Tyler and I went up to Jeff and Andrea's house for the Tilton Christmas. We were visiting when we heard Santa at the door. He brought pj's for all the kids and then grandma Corky read a book. After that the kids opened presents from their cousins. Tyler got Kung Fu Panda. This is our family waiting for the story to begin. These are Tyler's pj's from Santa. I think he likes them!!

Tyler was pretty excited to open this present from grandma and grandpa Tilton.
It was a much needed jacket and some new church clothes. He doesn't look so excited any more does he!?! Tyler got lots of new clothes for Christmas because since he got his g-tube he has been growing like crazy!! Mike and I got some new pans that I LOVE and some other small things to go in the house.

This is all the Tilton grandkids in their pj's from Santa.

This is the present that Mike and I got for my brother Bill. I was excited that my whole family was able to come down! Bill and Kev came Christmas morning. We made Oceia wait until they got there to open presents, she thought we was trying to kill her or something. It was fun though.

We had Shannon and her family over again and visited and played. Bill came down for the golf, little did he know that it was going to be freezing cold and WINDY!! He should have come the next weekend when it was nice and warm!!