Larson Family Reunion

The Larson Family Reunion kicked off the 28th of December. Who was all there? Is that what you said? I'll be more than happy to tell you. :)

Neil & Judy

Dave

Lora Beth
Tom & Aimee: Benjamin & Isaac
Jim & Cindy

Vaunee Ann & Jerry
Millie
Ryan
Janel
Karen
Heidi

Mary Lou & Jay
Sean & Angela
Robin & Brad
Ryan & Lailani
(Please forgive me Lai if I spelt your name wrong.)
Melissa & Bryce

FYI: All names are organized under each Larson sibling.

It was great seeing the family again. It was a shame I wasn't feeling all that great to enjoy all the festivities, but we had a lot of fun. Let me tell you that these reunions are filled with stories, games, laughter, and indecision. . . .

Indecision? you say. . . Let me explain: Everyone in the clan is an intellectual, well-versed individual. When deciding what to do, we go through all our options, the alternatives to those options, the alternatives to the alternatives, and then some. For instance: During Friday Night dinner, we were deciding if we were going to go tubing down some hill in Soldier's Hollow and hot potting. What if some wanted to go skiing that morning? Or would it just be easier to find a local hill and go sledding instead of driving 35 minutes to go tubing? Or should we just go hot potting and go sledding some other day? What were the details involved in tubing? in Hot Potting? On and on we went. It took us forever to agree on the activities (I think it was a good hour of discussion). :) Aren't we wonderful!?!

I, unfortunately, only took pictures of the family while we were at Soldier's Hollow; and most of those pictures were of Benjamin and Isaac. What can I say? My boys are cuties!

The reunion was great. We all went to Desert Star on New Years Eve. It was a blast having the whole family there. I definitely enjoy it when the Larson Clan gets together to Pow Wow. :)

Benjamin's 4th Birthday!

Can you believe it's been already FOUR years????!!!! There are times I sit down and wonder where all the time went.

Our oldest son, Benjamin, turned 4 on the 27th of December. And guess what?!? He got a mini birthday party. :P He's friends Mikey and Gavin came over to help eat cake and celebrate with him. The Benson's, Hughes, Grammy, and Jimdy were there.

I think Ben's favorite activity that day was the making of the cake and blowing out the candles. He is such a creative, imaginative, persistent, knowledge-soaking kid. Tom and I are truly blessed to have such a lovable compassionate son.

When our friends left, the family had fun "chewing the fat" and playing with the boys. Ben and Ike sure like to play "Ride that Horse!"

Christmas 2007

I want to wish all a very Late, but VERY sincere, MERRY Christmas!!!
I hope every one's Christmas and New Years was delightful and full of friends and family.

Our little family enjoyed our first Christmas in our new home. Christmas decorations were hardly present this year. I won't go into details on why nothing but a tree went up.--Isn't our tree adorable?--BUT I will say that seasonal decorating can be way overkill when you have nothing in your living room.



We opened presents, had our Christmas pancakes (yum!), and took naps. :P It was very enjoyable. Nothing much to report. :) Ben and Ike enjoyed opening presents.

After every opened present, Ben would exclaim, "I've always wanted one of these!!!"

It took Ike a few presents before he gotten the hang of opening gifts.

He was more interested in Benjamin's presents than his own. On the other hand, Benjamin was more interested in Isaac's presents than his own. Strange how sometimes we (as parents) get little things like gifts all wrong. :) I am happy to say I now have Kitchen shears!!!! I'm still excited about them. (Side note: I know Tom is probably chuckling as he reads this. He had no clue his 'appetizer' gift would be the hit of the day.) Tom finally got his It's a Wonderful Life DVD.

After our loverly naps, we went to Grammy's house to spend a wonderful evening with her and Jimdy (Aunt Cindy & Uncle Jim).

Here's Grammy reading If You Give a Moose a Muffin.
The boys enjoy stories as much as they enjoy sweets.

To Benjamin!

Benjamin graduated to Level 2 in swimming this past Friday! Woohoo!!!! After 9 weeks of Level 1 swim classes, Ben is finally moving on to the next stop on his Swimming Journey. I thought this day wasn't going to come for awhile--Ben hated getting his face wet. I'm so proud of him. He doesn't mind putting his head under water. AND! He loves to swim (dog paddle) around the pool by himself with a pool noodle tied around his waist.

It's amazing to me how fast he learns and grows. He's no longer my baby. :( Now he's a great helper, loves to play with Ike, and has an imagination that runs wild. He's a sponge that soaks up every little, trivial and non-trivial thing. Soon he'll be in Kindergarten, then high school, dating, college, getting married. . . *sniff* The cycle of life continues no matter how much--sometimes--I want to freeze time and keep Benjamin and Isaac at this age. :)

A Christmas Poem

I received this in an email and would like to share it with you. I was bawling at the end--that's mainly the hormones fault. However, the sentiment is clear. This poem is a great reminder of the sacrifices the men and women--past and present--serving our country give that allows us to live in relative safety and peace.

Whether or not this current war is right or wrong,
let us always remember them in our prayers.


A Different Christmas Poem


The embers glowed softly, and in their dim light,
I gazed round the room and I cherished the sight.
My wife was asleep, her head on my chest,
My daughter beside me, angelic in rest.

Outside the snow fell, a blanket of white,
Transforming the yard to a winter delight.
The sparkling lights in the tree I believe,
Completed the magic that was Christmas Eve.


My eyelids were heavy, my breathing was deep,
Secure and surrounded by love I would sleep.
In perfect contentment, or so it would seem,
So I slumbered, perhaps I started to dream.


The sound wasn't loud, and it wasn't too near ,
But I opened my eyes when it tickled my ear
Perhaps just a cough, I didn't quite know,
Then the sure sound of footsteps outside in the snow.


My soul gave a tremble, I struggled to hear,
And I crept to the door just to see who was near.
Standing out in the cold and the dark of the night,
A lone figure stood, his face weary and tight.


A soldier, I puzzled, some twenty years old,
Perhaps a Marine, huddled here in the cold.
Alone in the dark, he looked up and smiled,
Standing watch over me, and my wife and my child.


"What are you doing?" I asked without fear,
"Come in this moment, it's freezing out here!
Put down your pack, brush the snow from your sleeve,
You should be at home on a cold Christmas Eve!"


For barely a moment I saw his eyes shift
Away from the cold and the snow blown in drifts
To the window that danced with a warm fire's light
Then he sighed and he said "Its really all right,


I'm out here by choice. I'm here every night.
So that your family can sleep without fright.
It's my duty to stand at the front of the line,
That separates you from the darkest of times.


No one had to ask or beg or implore me,
I'm proud to stand here like my fathers before me.
My Gramps died at 'Pearl on a day in December,"
Then he sighed, "That's a Christmas 'Gram always remembers"


My dad stood his watch in the jungles of 'Nam',
And now it is my turn and so, here I am.
I've not seen my own son in more than a while,
But my wife sends me pictures, he's sure got her smile.


Then he bent and he carefully pulled from his bag,
The red, white, and blue... an American flag.
I can live through the cold and the being alone,
Away from my family, my house and my home.


I can stand at my post through the rain and the sleet,
I can sleep in a foxhole with little to eat.
I can carry the weight of killing another,
Or lay down my life with my sister and brother..


Who stand at the front against any and all,
To ensure for all time that this flag will not fall."
"So go back inside," he said, "harbor no fright,
Your family is waiting and I'll be all right."


"But isn't there something I can do , at the least,
"Give you money," I asked, "or prepare you a feast?
It seems all too little for all that you've done,
For being away from your wife and your son."
Then his eye welled a tear that held no regret,
"Just tell us you love us, and never forget
To fight for our rights back at home while we're gone,
To stand your own watch, no matter how long.
For when we come home, either standing or dead,
To know you remember we fought and we bled
Is payment enough, and with that we will trust,
That we mattered to you as you mattered to us."



Let's try in this small way to pay a tiny bit of what we owe. Make people
stop and think of our heroes, living and dead, who sacrificed
themselves for us.

LCDR Jeff Giles, SC, USN

30th Naval Construction Regiment

OIC, Logistics Cell One
Al Taqqadum, Iraq

Bun in the Oven

Could the title mean I have a pastry baking in the oven? (Mmmmm... baklava.)

It COULD... unfortunately for you, I'm not doing an baking at the moment.

If you haven't figured out already with my subtle hints through-out my recent blogs, we're . . .

Well . . . perhaps I shouldn't tell you. Where would the fun be in that?

I'm sure the suspense is killing you.

Unless you've cheated and skipped to the bottom of this post. Cheater!

. . . .






Tom and I want to the hospital today to . . . not have a baby . . . but to get an ultra sound of the baby in my tummy. :D

We are expecting our third addition to the Brown Family come May. Woohoo!! We're very excited. The boys are excited in their own way. Yes, Angela, we seem to keep doing it to ourselves. 3 kids. :) Can you believe that?!?


You're probably wondering: Is it a boy (3 in a row!) or a girl?

(Diddles, I've used the enter key a lot in this post.)

Tom and I looked very hard for that something to show up on the screen. We looked and stared and looked some more. Just to make sure we were seeing what wasn't there. We are somewhat sure we're having a GIRL!!! I am still in shock. Tom and I were so sure this bundle of joy was going to be a boy. So SURE! Well, I guess Heavenly Father had other plans for us.

Let the pink ribbons, blue bows, purple socks, green dresses, and yellow frocks come! We don't have any names picked out. Let alone anything pink. We are wholly unprepared for a girl . . .


But I have till May. . . .

Snow Storm

We had a rain storm on Friday. Little did we suspect Mother Nature had a huge surprise for use Saturday morning. We woke up to this picturesque delight.

The whole valley (and most of Utah) was covered in a blanket of white snow. What a wonderful way to start December!

The boys were delighted. Benjamin LOVES the snow. He enjoys playing in it, but he LOVES to eat it!



We got Ben and Ike sized shovels to help with the driveway shoveling. They had fun! (A good way to instill some work ethic in at a young age as well.)





This is Isaac's second time seeing the snow. He was enjoying every minute of it. He'd mimic Ben around the yard. If Ben shoveled, Ike shoveled. If Ben ate some snow, Ike ate snow as well.

We went to Grammy's home to sled down the hill across the street.

Tom, Ben, and Ike had a lot of fun sledding down the hill. It was a blast watching them trudge up the hill after every run.




Watch them use their saucer-leet skills!

Tom made (with Ben's direction and help) a mini snow family. Ben insisted on putting antennae on each family member.

From left to right: Mama (yours truly), Benjamin, Daddy, & Isaac (he got the one special antenna holder)