The Larsens

Meet Allyce

2011-11-22T06:18:00.001-08:00

Leaving the house at 5 am for the hospital on Allyce's due date. Am I in labor? Heck no, not even close. If it was up to baby I'd be pregnant for at least a week more like my previous two babies. This one gets to be a scheduled C-section. Hurray for not going past the due date!

And not long after I arrive at the hospital I get one of these.

The first bath.

Awww, so peaceful.

Dressed and ready for the world! She was 7 lbs 10 oz. 22 1/4 in long. She's the smallest baby I've had... and the longest!

I finally get to hold my beautiful little girl and enjoy what I endured 9 long months of being pregnant for.

Tiny feet and tiny toes make me happy!

Proud Daddy gets to finally enjoy the rewards of new baby girl after having to endure 9 long months of pregnant wife.

Chubby little cheeks!

My parents brought the kids down to see their new sister on Day 2 at the hospital. It was chaos! Brigham loved meeting her. I really enjoyed hearing him whisper to her: "Hi Allyce, my name is Brigham, I love you".

Brigham taking over my bed. He said "Wow mom this is really cozy!" Ha ha ha.

Look at all the poking and prodding! Allyce is so loved!

Sarah is THRILLED to meet Allyce. She is like the best real-life baby doll toy ever to Sarah. Sarah kept saying "look, she moves!" "look, she makes noise!" and "look at her tiny fingers"!

Sarah playing with Allyce with lots of close supervision so she doesn't go overboard!

Yep, she is the the best toy ever!

Adding another Larsen to the team!

Lots of love!

The center of attention.

Pa and the kids.

Nanni and Allyce.

All my kids!

This is Allyce on Day Three at the hospital. I finally caught some open eyes!

Me and some lovely flowers sent from Grandma and Grandpa Larsen.

This is Allyce ready to go home!

Leaving the hospital!

She is so tiny in that car seat! Now I'll get to watch her grow and grow!

Happy Birthday Sarah Jane!

2011-11-13T04:14:00.000-08:00

This is our little sweetheart on her big day! We got up bright and early to take her to Denny's for a birthday breakfast.

At Dennys, she wasn't very happy.

But Daddy knows how to cheer her up.

Showing how old she is.

We found Mater while we were driving through Gunnison. I was glad we got to see him because we never got around to visit him at the theater when Cars 2 came out.

Sarah opening presents.

A super pink and purple birthday cake.

Just being silly.

Blowing out the candle.

Sarah loved the present Brigham got her- a princess microphone that would play "Under the Sea" Just look at her on my kitchen table!

Yep, she's a future rock star.

We threw Sarah a family party later that week at my parents house so she could celebrate with grandparents and cousins. Here she is opening a card and shouting "Dollars!"

More presents.

Singing Happy Birthday.

I'm so glad Sarah got to have so much fun on her birthday! I'm amazed at how grown up she is already!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-06T16:19:00.001-08:00

Here are my trick or treaters anxious to get out and get some candy.

Daddy was the one who took them out. Brigham really wanted to use a grocery bag instead of a pillowcase. I was surprised with how adamant he was about that. You can tell by how he's holding it in the pics how excited he is to use it!

Brigham REALLY loves dinosaurs. He decided that he is some kind of raptor. He reminded me that raptors are carnivores and they only eat meat before he left.

Sarah the princess.

The kids after they came home. There weren't many people home in our neighborhood because I guess the trunk or treat is the thing to go to around here for Halloween. I think that it's way funner to do the traditional trick or treat though. I did one trunk or treat before and it goes by way faster, it's too dark to see who's handing out the candy or for anyone to see costumes, the kids get way too much candy and they hardly have to walk or work for it. Somebody who does trunk or treats will have to explain why they like it so much because I don't understand it.

Brigham and his loot after Mommy and Daddy ridding it of it's hazardous peanut content-yum!

Me and my pumpkin. It was fun to recycle this shirt from when I was pregnant with Sarah. Sarah was supposed to be due the day after Halloween.

Side shot. Look in the archives of my blog under 2008 Halloween post- "Cavities in progress" to compare me pregnant with Sarah.

Some before Halloween pictures- This is Brig and his best friend in the Elementary school's Halloween parade. I didn't know how big of a deal this parade was until I showed up there and shocked to discover that I was probably better off walking the two blocks to the parade rather than try and find a parking spot about the same distance away!

This is the night we went "ghosting" which is sneakily delivering treats to neighbors without letting them see us. I'm pretty sure we were busted at each house we doorbell ditched. At least we looked really cool.

I promised not to reveal the identity of the spiderboy.

Spiderboy vs. evil panda girl.

Big Red Barn Pumpkin Patch 2011

2011-10-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

We went back to the Big Red Barn this year to pick our Halloween pumpkins. It was really cold outside. There was no hot cider or chocolate at the barn so we settled for ice cream and donuts (still yummy, but something warm would have been so much nicer!). After we ate we took a hayride out to the pumpkin field to pick our pumpkins. The kids had fun doing all the activities and finding their perfect pumpkins.

We found Denny's in Nephi on our way home for dinner -thank you GPS! I used to go there all the time when I went to Snow College but I had forgot how to get there. We went there mainly to get hot chocolate, but of course they were all sold out of it. At least the dinner was warm! We were actually pretty lucky because Denny's was doing a special where you get a free kids meal with each adult entree purchase on Saturday nights. It was a fantastic coincidence that we were there at the right time with the perfect adult and child ratio!

Waiting for the hayride.

Sarah and daddy.

Brig and Sarah in the Apple Crate Maze. Brig found a couple pieces of trash in it... yuck. I also realized that he grew out of his jacket from last year after I took this picture! I guess the first cold day of the season is a good time to realize this!

Our big girl driving the tractor!

King of the hay bales.

Daddy and Brig.

Spooky!

Cute little ghost!

Brig and his pumpkin.

Daddy holding Sarah's pumpkin.

The kids with the giant pumpkin.

Hanging around the house

2011-09-18T16:22:00.000-07:00

I've been better at taking pictures when we are just hanging out at home lately instead of just trips and special occasions. I think it's fun to catch my kids up to their usual stuff.

Okay this isn't too typical- sharing a beanbag nicely, I had to get a picture of that!

He's getting too big to fit into an 18 gallon bin, time to upsize.

Brigham got my camera one day, again. That would explain the smudge on my lens...

We had a huge of collection of extra hangers when I went through new school clothes. This entertained Brigham for three days solid. Buying toys is so overrated!

This is an a picture from the summer. I thought it was a cute idea to use the stretchy band on the back of a clog and a pencil as a slingshot. It's not too funny that it works and he has good aim.

Sarah playing dress up.

Brigham went through a stage of rigging up machines that would make loads of toys fall down the stairs when you release a pants hanger from the ground. I love that he had Batman involved in this one.

There's the master of disaster.

Favorite Summer Pictures

2011-09-04T17:28:00.000-07:00

Here are favorite summer pictures that I didn't get around to sharing! So sad to say goodbye to a great summer that was filled with many adventures and lots of fun.

Brigham at the playground in Moroni. I meant to visit a different playground in Sanpete each week for fun but I only got around to Moroni and Gunnison. Oh well, there is always next summer!

The kids were so excited to go to a new playground instead of the same one down our street. Brigham said that it was the "best day ever" when I took him here.

My sister threw the most amazing carnival party for her little girl complete with bouncy house! I had a blast playing in there... weeee!

Saying goodbye to my brother Nate before he leaves for Air force basic training.

My nieces Mollie and Lucy stayed at our house for a few days.

Sarah really enjoyed having girls to play dress up with!

Headed to the pool. That look on Brighams face...

Moon Lake.

Matt fishin'

Watching all the water coming down into the lake! Look at all those trees that fell into the water!

Sarah and cousin Ethan playing in Grandpa's truck.

We stopped by Price and visited the Dino museum on our way home from Moon Lake. We pretended that we were just going on a bathroom stop to surprise Brigham because he is so in love with dinosaurs. He was overjoyed when he saw the dino bones when we walked in!

Visiting Wheeler Farm.

A double-seater outhouse at Wheeler farm?!? Is this historically accurate?

The kids feeding ducks at Wheeler farm.

First Day of Kindergarten

2011-08-30T20:23:00.000-07:00

So excited to go!

Sarah really wanted to go to school too and had to bring along a backpack for herself. She was so sad when she couldn't go with Brigham! She cried the whole way home because she didn't want Brigham to leave her behind.

Brigham and his best pal Paul waiting for class to start! He is going to have such a fun year!

Landscaping and the dry riverbed of love!

2011-07-31T20:46:00.000-07:00

Here is what we have been up to lately! Of course we were meaning to do our landscaping back in May and June, but we must enjoy punishing ourselves because we started our landscape project in July. You would think we would have learned about working outside in intense heat and misery from doing our roof back in Ogden in July... Anyhow, we hope you enjoy our progress from the comfort of your computer chair inside!

Before (not a true before- weeds have been eliminated, topsoil added and leveled when this picture was taken, we paid for that to be done though) I really should have taken pictures of the back too, oh well...

In progress. I'm using garden hoses to figure what path the dry river bed should take. It took me about 30+ attempts before I was happy. It wasn't one of my happiest moments. Oh yeah and you can see a few miracle patches of grass from our seeding attempt. Good thing that failed because we changed our mind about that anyway!

Ta-dah! We will be putting grass down where you see dirt in the front. And some trees and shrubs in the gravel bed so isn't so dry and desert looking.
Matt did the dry river bed while me and the kids went out of town. He really hated putting it in. It involved digging our impossible rocky soil, collecting orphan cobblestones in our neighborhood, suffering in the July heat. It's now complete because I wanted a dry riverbed so badly and I have a husband who loves me so much! I'm really going to enjoy to see it every time I come home as a symbol of his love for me for a long time to come and I think it looks awesome!
It's exciting to see everything coming together, we still have some extra work ahead of us... if you want to give me free landscape advice on where to put things please do!

Florida Beach and Going Home

2011-07-03T13:26:00.000-07:00

We played at the beach for a day...

Brigham

Sarah

Matt and the kids playing in the sand.

Sarah and her cousins

Some of my cousins and my Aunt.

Matt being refreshed.

Carseat, Headphones, Ring Pop, Sippy Cup, Favorite Blanket, Pillow Pet and lots of other stuff not pictured all carried onto the plane to just to keep her under control and happy. Traveling with kids is so complicated! Oh yeah, we kinda barely caught this flight too, that was a little stressful.

Thursday- Magic Kingdom, Day 2

2011-06-09T21:12:00.000-07:00

Day 2 at Magic Kingdom

Brigham at the Mickey breakfast.

Mickey and Brig.

Minnie and Brig.

The girls at the princess breakfast.

Sarah and cousin Mollie.

I'm telling Sarah to stop dipping her fingers in the OJ and to sit down in this picture. We are working on "princess" manners...

A picture of some of our chaos in our cool smurf colored shirts!

We took up a whole boat for It's a small world!

Matt and Brig.

My cousins with Sarah and Lucy (who are cousins).

Race car ride.

Sarah on the teacups.

Matt and Brigham stayed late for the parade and fireworks. Brig was sooo tired!

Wednesday- Magic Kingdom, day 1

2011-06-09T21:06:00.000-07:00

On our first day at Magic Kingdom, it poured rain.

Nate got stuck in it without a poncho.

While we waited for the downpour to end we ate for like, 2 hours! Here's Sarah being picky, only eating the meat out of the sandwich.

Brigham and those too cute Mickey ears. It made him a ton easier to keep track of too!

Thanks Matt for putting your family in jail with Zurg.

Sarah Jane on one of her favorite rides, her other favorite was the flying Dumbos.

Me and Brig.

This is us being dorky.

Yeehaw!

My parents.

Sarah loved this picture of Belle.

Tuesday-Disney Hollywood Studios

2011-06-09T20:53:00.000-07:00

We threw ourselves back into the fun at Hollywood Studios and had lots of fun.

The girls keeping Pa busy!

Sarah had to walk down the whole line in the street.

To the rescue!

Brig anxious to go on the Toy Story ride.

Sarah was scared of the robotic Mr. Potato head. Who can blame her?

3D Glasses.

It was absolutely tragic when Brigham and Sarah missed meeting Phineas and Ferb! The look on Brigham's face still breaks my heart!

My brother, Nate. He smiled only twice on the trip: Eating his turkey leg, and taking my mom's jazzy for a spin in the hotel's parking lot.

Yum!

The girls ready to watch Belle.

Weeee!

Darth Matt

Me and some bad guys.

My mom couldn't pass up the tacky and touristy Orange world store on the way back to the hotel.

Entertaining ourselves while my mom is shopping...

Wow, Matt is soooo strong!

Silly Brigham.

Monday- Disney Animal Kingdom

2011-06-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

We started off bright and early with Disney Animal Kingdom Park. I never got caught up on my sleep from the traveling so I was pretty exhausted for the whole experience. The kids enjoyed the few rides we took them on, and the highlight for Brigham was seeing all the different lizards, frogs, spiders, snakes, turtles, bugs, etc, they had there. He couldn't go past one without having me read the full description of it. Sarah enjoyed the petting zoo the best.

Ready, Set, Go!

I felt just like this guy.

We all found relief from the heat/humidity by getting into the Finding Nemo show, the show was better than I expected, it was as good as a Disney on Ice show, maybe better? I was amazed that they did such a good production for a theme park show, though all I cared about was getting into some AC, no matter how lame a show I'd have to endure!

The end of the day was spent letting kids play at the dinoyard playground- rope bridges, slides, climbing, and of course they had a little waterfall Brigham had to get in. Sarah was a little too young to let loose in there. I was done with accompanying her on my third time down a super sticky curvy tube slide that you had to climb down because it was so gross and sticky. Being awkward and pregnant added fun to that!

Ironically, the $1 sunglasses we scored from our family California trip the year before didn't make it out of the park alive. My glasses fell out of my pocket on the train ride and Megan and Grady's glasses both broke. We may have to make a trip back to California just for more!

Another sad thing that happened on the trip- my sister's hair got caught in a fan! Ouch!

Our grand finale for the day was eating at CiCi's all you can eat pizza. It was my brother Nate's request because he fell in love with it on his mission in Ohio. The pasta there was terrible and the pizza was okay, I thought it tasted like Totino's frozen pizza with a fluffier crust. Thank heaven their dessert was amazing, the cinnamon rolls and dessert pizza tasted great. The brownies were out of this world! They were cooked all the way but they tasted like brownie batter straight out of the bowl! If I knew this before I probably would have ditched the whole pizza thing so I had room to eat straight brownies. I am a great example to the kids...

Finally in Florida!

2011-06-09T19:20:00.000-07:00

While my dad, Matt and Brigham were already enjoying Florida, the rest of my family (8 of us including me and Sarah) spent our day traveling to Florida. We had a three hour long layover in Minneapolis where me and my sister managed to figure out what state we were in, without cheating! The layover wasn't too bad with Sarah because she had her two girl cousins, Lucy 3, and Mollie 2, to play dress up the dolly with. It's really good Sarah can have girls in the family her age to play with. Playing girl stuff with a brother doesn't work.

By the time we got to Florida and picked up the rental van and all our stuff it was late. We went to TGI Fridays for dinner and unfortunately their service was slow, so our dinner was even later. Starving tired people and kids was a bad thing. Everything was better after the food though. We all shared a place (three separate rooms sharing a kitchen and living area). Unfortunately for me the first thing I saw when I turned on the light to the bathroom in the hotel was a scampering cockroach which I had Matt squash. I had the worst sleep that night, waking up twice that night from dreaming that a bunch of cockroaches have gotten into my bed!

Pa, Mollie, Sarah and Lucy @ TGI Fridays

The girls playing with a magnetic dress up doll.

So cute that they wanna do everything together!

The flight to Florida: Matt, Brigham and Pa.

2011-06-09T18:22:00.000-07:00

Each year my parents plan a big trip which my family, grandma and my siblings and their family go on. This year we went to Florida to meet up with my aunt and her family to go to Disney World. Traveling in a pack with young kids is pretty crazy and you get looks...

This year we split up- Matt, Brigham, and Pa caught a red-eye flight at 1 am to Florida. Matt and Pa thought it was a better idea to leave at that time rather than wait and get up at 5am to catch a Sunday morning flight like the rest of our group did. They could get some extra time in Florida that way, though they were going to be tired.

Apparently I missed all the fun on the red-eye because the pilots let Brigham go in the cockpit and he got the VIP treatment from them. Then as Matt was walking through first class to get to the seats, he couldn't help but recognize the faces of the two American Idol finalists- Scotty and Lauren. Matt shook their hands and said hi and congrats to them! Sorry no pictures, you'll just have to believe me! Matt said Brigham slept the whole ride and so did he and Pa pretty well, but they had to do a lay-over so they were interrupted and had to pick up where they left off on the next flight. Maybe I won't write off the red eye so quickly next time, having the kids treated like they are super special, not having to entertain a sleeping kid and getting to have a brush with fame doesn't sound too bad.

When the guys got to Florida, they spent their extra time going to church (catching up on sleep), did a Walmart run, and got the room ready for the rest of us. My Dad went to pick the rest of us from the airport while Matt, Brigham and my 5 cousins from Georgia played at the hotel's pool.

Sorry no pictures! There is a picture of Brig in the airplanes cockpit that I'll have to add later!

Scandinavian Festival and grumpy kids.

2011-06-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

We went to the Scandinavian Festival together on May 27th, which is a weekend celebration of Ephraim's heritage. There were craft booths, storytelling and settler demonstrations. We ended up getting two new pet froggys for the kids (yes begging and begging can sometimes wear a parent down). Brigham named his "Kitchjo", he said that he didn't want to give his a name that belonged to something else. Yep, I think he did that. He keeps on correcting me and Matt if we mispronounce it too! Sarah's was named "Princess" with her approval.

The kids hated the storytelling so I missed out on that, it seemed like something they could have enjoyed if they would just give it a chance. The food at the festival was pretty good, I mean it's fair food so it's a given that fried stuff is great, but looking back I seriously got a better deal at Disneyworld for the same price....ouch!

The highlight of the day was the little settler village and demonstrations. There was a guy with a beehive display that had the kids mesmerized. I took a walk with Brigham on Snow College campus (where the festival is held) and it was fun to revisit where I went to school. Too bad both of the kids were overdue for some major naps when I finally broke out the camera. I didn't catch any of the festival itself, just some attitude.

Doesn't this picture say it all?

Oh wait, Sarah has something to add to that...

That look is just a preview of what could come. Did you know 5 yr olds can throw really big tantrums?

Brigham loves...

2011-05-14T20:16:00.000-07:00

On his 5th birthday, Brigham got a hold of my camera and took about 100 pictures before I caught him. When I asked about why he took so many pictures, he said he wanted to get a picture of everything he loves. I thought it was sweet so I'll share some of my favorite pictures he took! Brigham Loves...

Cartoons

Firetruck

Our Truck

Picture of Daddy holding him as a baby

The computer

Banana Bread

His beanbag

Himself!

Dinosaur Book

And his sister of course!

May Birthday Week

2011-05-07T19:19:00.000-07:00

There are two very special months in our household: May and November because all our birthdays fall in those months (even baby Larsen is scheduled for Nov.)! My birthday and Brig's birthday are 5 days apart. I really enjoy sharing a "birthday week" with my little boy because it makes all the celebrations better and even longer :)

Our little family on my Birthday (that's
my niece Mollie is in the foreground)

Sarah, Lucy, Mollie, Brigham doing silly faces.

My kids trying to get my candles!

We took Brigham out today to celebrate his birthday early since his birthday fell on Sunday. We took him out to BYU's Monte Bean Life Science museum since he has recently taken an interest in dead stuffed animals. He has been hooked on them since seeing the small collection Snow College has in their science building.

We came in time to see a little live reptile show where Brig was able to touch a boa constrictor and a large lizard. It was a really neat museum, there were animals there that I didn't know existed! Brigham was intimidated by the large bears and tigers, but seemed to warm up to them a little by the time we left and was already asking when we'll be back!

After that we went out to Chuck E.Cheese and of course he loved that too! It is amazing how in love he is with the little spider he got with his tickets! Unfortunately since we live out in nowheresville we had to make the trip somewhat practical and had to go to Costco for bulk necessities! Not a fun birthday activity!
But we made up for it by stopping by the Big Red Barn for ice cream to break up the drive and we kind of unintentionally had ice cream for dinner! But it's birthday week, so those types of naughty things are acceptable!

Tomorrow night we'll have birthday week grand finale with Brigham's cake and presents (oh yeah it's mother's day too, so it will feel a little bit like my birthday again)! Then we'll have to wait another 6 months until our three November birthdays will come!

Starting to finish the Basement.

2011-03-26T20:49:00.000-07:00

With the new bathroom shelves completed successfully and Matt full of confidence, we have moved onto our next project: The Basement. We thought about using a contractor to finish it for us, so we got some bids in from contractors which pretty much made up our minds up for us that we were going to save a ton of money and finish the basement ourselves. And so it began.
Last weekend we spent a long day up in Provo with the kids buying tools for the project. I don't think Brigham and Sarah will let us go near a Lowes or Harbor Freight store ever again! I don't want to take them again either, there's a lot of stuff that they shouldn't touch or play with there!
This weekend Matt began getting the basement ready for it's big transformation with the sawzall, trimming the metal "pokey things" (proving my ignorance) off the walls and bought studs for framing the basement.
On Saturday Matt cut boards to size and when it came time to break out the air compressor to nail them together he discovered that the brand new air compressor was cracked. So that meant another trip up north (-gas money -lots of time) to exchange it for a unbroken one.
When Matt got home he jumped back into putting a wall together and 5 minutes later Matt sliced his finger with a box cutter. After the bleeding is under control he went to the hospital to get a tetanus shot and luckily didn't need stitches. So after a long day of trying to get a wall up there isn't too much to show for it. But so far we have put in a lot of time, money, blood, and tears into the basement. We are hoping to add some sweat and make better progress next weekend!

This is what we have done so far. The framed wall was already there, Matt was working on framing the cement wall.

New home: our view and the first project...

2011-02-19T13:01:00.000-08:00

We've been slowly getting things in order at our house. the last thing that remains is the dreaded "stuff" in the garage! I hope once I go through that, it will never accumulate again so bad... or we never move again so I can avoid it!

Here's the view from our front room window. I love the mountains!

This is our first project on our home: building shelves in the bathroom!
This is the before.

In progress....

TA-Dah! The after.

I'm happy we got one project done on the house! Once spring comes, bring on the landscaping and finishing the basement!

Larsen Christmas Letter 2010

2010-12-19T20:19:00.000-08:00

This has been a year of changes for the Larsens with lots of ends and new beginnings. Matt completed a bachelor's degree in Spanish at Weber State University this past spring. He worked various jobs while completing his degree including being a janitor at a movie theater, tutoring elementary students and delivering pizzas. He gladly accepted a job with the State of Utah as an eligibility specialist for the Department of Workforce Services in August. That means he takes a lot of phone calls from people who are applying or having trouble with various government welfare programs. He does a lot of tedious paperwork as well at his job, and he's content with it. He says he likes it a lot better than going to school.

With his new job, we moved from our home of 5 years in Ogden to Ephraim, a small town in central Utah about 2 hours away from Salt Lake City. Matt actually commutes from Ephraim to Manti (7 minutes away). We are currently renting an apartment but are hoping to be closing on a home a few blocks away within the next month.

Brigham is now 4 ½ and proudly writes his name on every piece of paper he can find around the apartment. He has started preschool and loves learning new things. He loves to collect pebbles, sticks, shells, leaves, etc. and puts them in a box for his “collection”. He has wanted to be a mailman, “a boy who cuts hair”, and currently wants to be a guy who fixes cars when he grows up. He is very helpful and kind to his sister Sarah Jane (most of the time).

Sarah Jane just turned 2. She loves talking on Erin's cell phone to imaginary and real people, intentionally and unintentionally. Sarah loves playing with her dolls, dancing, singing, and to say “Me too!” after everything Brigham says. She loves the color pink, which is the only color she knows and dislikes things that are not that color. Milk lids are switched on the milk in our household so that her milk has the pink lid. She is that picky!

Erin is still staying at home with the kids. She has discovered with Matt's new job she finally has some much needed free time! So she resolved this year to find a new thrilling hobby for herself... she'll give you an update on whatever she decides it will be next year, but she swears it won't be cooking or cleaning!

We hope that your family will have a merry Christmas this year filled with peace and joy! We are excited to start our new life down here in Sanpete County! Best Wishes!

Love,

Matt, Erin, Brigham and Sarah Jane

Happy 2nd Birthday Sarah Jane.

2010-11-14T20:51:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Sarah's birthday at home and then threw her a big family party over the weekend. The party was lots of fun and we had all of Sarah's cousins there (minus the three that live in Washington). Matt had to make a last minute run to burger king to get some crowns for the boys because I had cute stuff for the girls and nothing fun for them! I really tried finding something for the boys before the day of, but the best I could find were plastic swords and I knew much better than to hand them over to a group of wild boys at a party!
I'm so happy to see Sarah growing up and I'm already amazed at how much she changed in just two years! I'm so thankful to have her and her sweet personality in my life. I've really enjoyed hearing what she is thinking about now that is starting to talk! The majority of what she has to say is about treats, Briggy and her family! She is so lucky to have so many cousins around her age to play with! Happy Birthday to our little raccoon, rah-rah, boo-boo, aahh-jane, little girl!

This is Sarah celebrating her birthday with us. She loves her Daddy!

Of course I did a homemade crazy birthday cake for her big party like I always do for both my kids. This year it was a pink and purple pony for Sarah. I used the same cake mold that was used for my birthday when I was a kid and in love with "My Little Ponies". I knew I had better use it this year before Sarah is old enough to choose what cake she wants because kids never choose what mommy wants!

Sarah fell asleep while everyone was eating pizza and I was worried for a little bit that she wouldn't wake up to open her presents and blow out the candles!

Uncle Trent, Aunt Katherine, Cousins Tyler and Peter.

Uncle Jon, Grandpa Larsen and Aunt Rachel

Uncle Nate.

Blowing out candles.

Ready for Cake!

Aunt M, Grandma Larsen and Grandma Brown (a.k.a. Nanni)

We had lots of available help for opening presents!

These are the "Larsen" cousins (minus Olivia and three Washington cousins)
Hannah, Brigham, Tyler, Sarah, Eric, Bella, Peter, Ethan, Clay and Patrick.

Larsen cousins + cousin Lucy and Mollie.

Halloween 2010

2010-10-27T20:15:00.000-07:00

We had a great time preparing for Halloween, Matt carved the family pumpkin while the kids painted their little pumpkins.

Brigham L-O-V-E-D pulling pumpkin guts out.

Sarah is our future little artist, she loves to paint, draw and color. She was so excited when I set paint and a pumpkin out in front of her. I love how focused she is, with her little tongue sticking out in this picture.

This is Brigham's masterpiece. I love the colors and the mouth with sharp teeth.

Brigham working on another pumpkin.

Icky hands!

I finally captured an awesome picture of the kids where they are both smiling and looking at the camera... and then Matt has to misbehave!

Proud of my pumpkins!

Our little pumpkin family.

We went over to Grandma and Grandpa Larsen's home to celebrate halloween and trick or treat with family.

Sarah Jane as a fairy.

Brigham as a dinosaur (holding a gun). I don't think you can find anything more dangerous than that! I call this creature the Brigosaurus!

Looking cute and ready to go trick or treat!

Cousin Ethan the bee and Sarah Jane.

Trick or Treating. It rained the whole time, we only could catch a break on covered porches.

Our family all dressed up except for Matt who is too cool for a costume.

Hay Ride and Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-18T07:26:00.001-07:00

We had to break the Punkinaze tradition because we moved too far from it, so we went to the Big Red Barn in So. Santaquin to celebrate. The kids had a blast, there was a kiddie crate maze for them to run in, an old tractor to play on, and a hay ride to the pumpkin patch to pick a pumpkin. They also have awesome ice cream which we couldn't pass up. It's always fun to try their novel flavors like pomegranite, green pineapple or pumpkin pie and to share licks with each other so we can experience each flavor. I know it's not the most sanitary thing in the world, but we're family! We spent a good part of the day there and had a long drive (about 45min.) back to home.
We stopped by a gas station in Moroni for turkey sandwiches from the little kitchen inside. We had to wait over 30 min. for our food, apparently lots of locals go there to eat for Saturday lunch too. It was a pretty rough wait for the kids... or us...in a gas station with lots of isles of candy and a super cool halloween display that said do not touch all over it. A 80 year old lady enjoyed the entertainment that our kids provided, though. The kids can't wait to paint and carve their pumpkins tonight when Matt comes home!

Palisade State Park

2010-09-18T20:23:00.000-07:00

We spent the day at Palisade State park. It's about 15 min. away from Ephraim. We had a picnic, took a hike around the lake and let the kids play on the playground. It was a nice day to be outside!

Nice view!

New life in Ephraim.

2010-09-11T20:39:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah, I have a blog... I can't believe how much Sarah and Brigham have grown up since the last time I posted! The latest news for us is that we made a big move from Ogden to Ephraim on August 21st. It's way different here, I knew what to expect because I went to college down here. ATV's are a main mode of transportation here, wild cats are all over the place, I always see falcons soaring in the sky when I go outside, it stinks from the turkey farms when the wind is blowing the right way, and the scenery is beautiful. There is a Walmart here which should cover everything I need to survive. I miss Ogden a lot still, we had great friends, neighbors, and house there. Matt has a good job here though, and I hope that as we get more settled in here I won't feel so sad anymore.

Our first packed moving box. I thought we were moving to Manti because that is where Matt's job is, but we ended up 7 min away in Ephraim.

Moving day.

Saying goodbye.

Lots of stuff. We lost a couch cushion on the freeway :(

Speed limit signs in Ephraim/Manti also state the speed limit for ATVs.

We went for a drive up Ephraim canyon on Sunday. This is the view of Ephraim.

Sarah Jane playing behind our apartment.

From February to March.

2010-03-14T19:48:00.000-07:00

Only six more weeks to go on Matt's degree! This upcoming week is Spring Break for Matt's school so I am excited to have him around more even if he is going to be studying downstairs in his "man room" most of the time. We are hoping to get some extra fun in this week though. One of our plans is to start working on our neglected yard to attempt some kind of a garden! Wish us luck on that!

Here's my favorite pictures from the past month:

Matt and Sarah Jane taking an afternoon nap after a long day over this weekend. Usually Matt is the one to put Sarah to bed every night so he has the special ability to make her fall asleep. Of course he isn't immune to falling asleep himself! I love Matt so much for doing that for Sarah. I don't have the patience and serenity at the end of the day to put Sarah to bed like Matt does!

One of Sarah's newest talents is to help me put the clean dishes away.

Matt and Briggy at the model train show. Brigham loved it! In the background is a model train and landscape made out of all Legos. It was so neat!

Brigham ate a breakfast of ice cream one morning. He put his dirty bowl and spoon in the dishwasher then put concentrated DISH soap in it and turned the dishwasher on to dispose of the evidence. The result: lots and lots of bubbles. it took a lot of time to get it all out the system. I thought it was funnier when he glued toys to his wall that day, but less funny than the tissue box glued to my nightstand (especially when I discovered it after the glue had set.)

This is at the safe kids fair in Sandy.

This is Brigham and Sarah steering a helicopter.

Brigham on a police motorcycle. I should of taken a turn on it too!

Sarah really enjoyed taking Amoxicillin for her ear infection. I wonder what they put in it to make it so tasty!

The future graduate, body spray overload, bubble beret, city streets paved in snow and power of chocolate cake.

2010-02-18T19:53:00.000-08:00

Yes, I promise to give you everything I said in the title! It is amazing what I can accumulate in about three weeks! And I will try to make sense of it for you now.
I'm ecstatic that we have reached mid-February which means Matt is a few days away from the halfway point in his last semester of school! He is actively searching for all the jobs he can get with his future Spanish degree!

My latest Brigham story happened this morning when he went into our room and sprayed a whole can of Axe body spray in there. We smelled the trouble before we even saw anything! The odor was so strong that it made your eyes water and nose and throat burn! Luckily today wasn't freezing cold so I left the window open to air it all out. The smell isn't as powerful now but our room smells like a first date now- so still pretty stinky. My life is always so full with these kids! I'll share some more of it with some of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks.

Briggy as a Frenchman with a bubble beret!

Matt finally shaved off his beard to start looking like a serious professional that's ready to contribute to society!

Picture of Brigham at Ogden Winter-fest. My city paved the streets in snow for this event.

This was the only time Sarah Jane was happy this day. She had an ear infection and I didn't figure it out until I took her to the doctor the next day. Isn't the power of chocolate cake amazing... she is now on real medicine and feeling loads better without the cake!

This just makes me laugh!

So that's my life for now. I never know what's in store for me the next day!

Team Briggy and Sarah Jane

2010-01-16T18:50:00.000-08:00

Matt just completed week 2 out of 16 weeks of school. We are so happy it is his last semester of school. We have been spending most of our time at home, saving what's left after paying tuition. Brigham and Sarah Jane have been playing a lot together lately, nicely for the most part. It makes me laugh when Brigham jams all the magnetic alphabet letters together on the fridge and tells me it says "No babies allowed", referring to Sarah Jane.
They both showed their ability to work as a team when Brigham snuck a chocolate pie out of the fridge and gave himself a slice and put the rest of the pie at the edge of the table so Sarah could reach it. She was so excited to eat the pie with her fingers! I'll post Sarah's pie picture, but since Briggy's in his underpants, I'll withhold his pie picture and stash it in my blackmail pile for later... He had the most guilty look on his face too!

Sarah's pie picture: dirty face, big smile!

Briggy giving Sarah his version of a big hug!

Wasn't expecting this when I went to check on them in the living room.

So cute!

I know this picture is off topic.. but this is Matt's first attempt at pizza dough and I'm so proud of him! It was so delicious! Big thanks to his parents for sharing their recipe and wisdom of pizza dough with us!

Christmas and our 5 year Anniversary

2009-12-30T19:40:00.000-08:00

I have gotten behind on our blog so I have lots of pictures to share now:

It's our tradition to have our family Christmas picture taken by a fireplace. This is our first year borrowing someone else's fireplace for the picture.

Here's Brigham showing his Christmas spirit!

Our annual visit to the Ogden Christmas village.

Briggy's favorite house in the village had a train that went around a track when you pushed a button.

Sarah Jane and Briggy at Pa and Nannie's house for Christmas.

Brigham woke up first on Christmas morning, went through everyone's stockings and played with his new dragon castle before he woke us up. Here's Briggy in front of the dragon castle he's been telling everyone that Santa is bringing him.

We love that Brigham is really nice when it comes to sharing.

Matt and I left the kids with Pa and Nannie to celebrate our fifth anniversary up in Logan. We had so much fun! We had a date, stayed at the Anniversary Inn, went to the Pepperidge Farm cookie factory outlet and left with loads of delicious bags of defective cookies and french bread. We also went to the Logan temple for our first time. We loved every second of our exciting romantic getaway!
We are amazed by how much our lives have changed in just 5 years!

Being One is so Fun!

2009-11-19T16:29:00.000-08:00

We celebrated Sarah's first birthday a couple weeks ago! It was a little sad for me because she is growing up from being my helpless little baby and into a curious little explorer. She loves things that dispenses stuff one at a time. Kleenex, baby wipes and sandwich bags are some things I have to remember to keep out of her reach. She has earned the nickname "little raccoon" for her obsession with garbage can diving lately. You could imagine all the gross things that have been pulled out of our garbage can and sometimes they go into the mouth.... yuck! We always have to keep that baby within our sight. Nothing is like asking Matt where did Sarah go and him saying "I thought you were watching her" and then I exclaim "I thought you were watching her" and then of course we find her getting into trouble somewhere in the house. For Sarah, being one is all about exploring in hopes that someone left the diaper wipes on the ground again, or there will be some delicious leftovers in the garbage can, or making the exciting discovery that when she presses all the buttons on the computer at once, she can get the computer to beep. I guess she gets to have more fun being one than mommy does!

Sarah and her birthday balloons.

All bundled up.

Playing outside in the snow for the first time! I love how huge that coat is on her, I bet we can get two winters out of that one!

Getting ready for Christmas time!

Baby see, baby do...

She's a good climber!

I don't have the counter space for that!

Wheeler Creek Hike

2009-10-16T19:15:00.000-07:00

We took advantage of the nice weather today to take a hike up in Ogden Canyon. The leaves have changed to red and yellow so everything looked glorious! We were in the shadow of the canyon for most of the hike which made my toes feel chilly in my sandals. Brigham enjoyed looking over the edge of the steep embankment at the cold rushing stream below which kept me and Matt nervous and ready to spring into action for a lot of the hike. Whoever wasn't holding Sarah got to guard the edge of the path from Brigham who obviously had no fear of the cliff. Despite having to be on guard, it felt really good to get some fresh air with the kids. The air smelt so fresh you could smell the dirt! We really enjoyed the scenery and hearing the rushing stream below. Like most our hikes we take as a family, we left this hike unfinished, to be continued because our pace is snail like with Brigham who rather play in the dirt than walk. So if circumstances allow, hopefully we will get to enjoy another attempt at this hike before winter comes!

King of the rock.

Matt & Brig

The beautiful leaves and me while Brig searches for spiders under the rocks.

Pretty Sarah and the flowers Brigham picked for her. The scratch on her face came from Brigham the night before :(

Matt and Brigham by the stream. Brig yells SMILE when I tell him to instead of smiling...

All wiped out!

Punkinaze IV

2009-10-12T20:37:00.000-07:00

We made our annual trip to the Punkinaze! I can't believe last year I was still pregnant with Sarah Jane when we went there! Brigham loved the hay slides, he ran the whole time to make sure he got lots of turns down it. Sarah was indifferent to the whole hay slide experience; we couldn't tell if she loved it or hated it. I know we all had lots of fun getting lost together in the corn maze and we celebrated with pumpkin ice cream when we made it out- and we didn't even cheat this year too!

Matt & Brigham: Where are we?

Brigham makes a handsome little ghost!

Sarah with two fists full of corn.

Matt and Sarah having a slide.

Me and Sarah.

Brigham at the top.

Brigham enjoying the ride down.

There's always a smile at the end!

N. Ogden Fire Open House

2009-10-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

October is National Fire Prevention month, so a lot of fire departments are having activities open to the public. North Ogden seemed to have the most exciting activities tonight, so that's where we decided to go. Like every little kid Brigham was so excited to see the fire engines. Brigham was able to walk inside a fire engine, spray a fire hose, and ride in a fire engine and an ambulance where they turned on the lights and the noise. Those firefighters have a neat job, and we all had lots of fun!

What a long day!

2009-09-19T20:44:00.000-07:00

Today we decided to go to the Utah State Fair in Salt Lake City to have some fun. We took the UTA Frontrunner down there, which I thought Brigham would appreciate and we would get to avoid expensive parking. Brigham was thrilled with riding on the train as expected, but some things went not quite as planned, particularly on the way back from the fair with the 8 block walk to the train stop back felt more like 20 blocks and we had to carry 40 pounds of an exhausted 3 yr-old under a scorching sun. By the time we made it to the train station we had a 50 min. wait until the train left and I splurged on the best $3 bottled water of my life!

We did have an unexpected good surprise when we had to pass by Leatherbys on our walk to the fair. Leatherbys has really creamy, rich, bad-for-you, enormous sundaes. It was an easy lunchtime decision.
When we made it to the fair there was a lot for us to see and do and it used up Brigham's energy surprisingly fast. And that was when our miserable journey back began. At least Leatherbys made the trip worth it to me!

More mileage on the Car!

2009-07-16T05:12:00.000-07:00

We've been enjoying our summertime! I've been so busy I've neglected the blog for a few weeks and I have to take note of the fun things we've been up to!
We went to the Manti pageant June 25th with Grandma and Grandpa Larsen and cousin Ethan. Brigham keeps on reminding us practically everyday since that he wants to go back. I agree with him, I love the Manti pageant and the spirit there. I even enjoy the drive when we get away from the city and you can look out the car window and see all the glorious open space. It made me sigh about a trillion times and drove Matt crazy. I told Matt when we move from the Wasatch front I'll quit the sighing but for right now I'll have to sigh away *sigh*
On the way down, we stopped by the big red barn in South Santiquin for ice cream- which you are not allowed to pass by if I am in the car! Even though the power was out from the storms that day, we were able to eat some drippy delicious ice cream. They have some unique flavors- peanut butter and jelly, pumpkin pie, lemon custard, etc. Matt usually chooses one or two of the unique flavors and I choose the ice cream with the most chocolate content.
We did the Chester challenge, where you hold your breath through the town of Chester, I tried unsuccessfully and Matt prevailed. If I was driving, I would have made it. We also got to pass though my favorite one stoplight town of Ephraim- Go Mighty Badgers! In Manti, we ate at the famous stakehouse turkey dinner! We ended up getting a take-home box stuffed full of turkey to go which made it about the best day ever of my life right there!
The pageant was amazing and though I've seen it many times before, it always reminds me of the sacrifices of those before us and that families can be together forever. I'm excited to go again next time like Brigham!

Last week Matt took Brigham to the Splash pad and Sarah started pulling herself up to stand using the couch. I took a picture of her second time ever doing it, she didn't last long enough to get a picture of the first! She had the biggest smile on her face on her first time- you could tell she was so proud of herself! It's already been about a week since and she is an expert at pulling herself up now!

Brigham taking aim at the splashpad.

I love the focus on Sarah's face!

Hurray!

Now I get to see this every morning!

We went to Moon Lake with Grandpa and Grandma Larsen this past weekend. Grandma and Grandpa go every year with Grandpa's co-workers. It was a lot of fun and I finally got to break in my new tent I got 2 1/2 years ago for Christmas! Brig got to go fishing for his first time. He loved sleeping in a sleeping bag and in a tent for his first time too!

Sarah Bear breaking out of the tent!

Sarah Jane and Daddy!

I love that face!

The fishing was good!

Daddy and Brig.

Yesterday we went to the open house at the new Oquirrh Mountain temple with the kids for FHE. It was a longer drive than expected so it was difficult to keep Sarah (hungry) and Brigham (wanting to stretch his legs) from making a scene inside the temple. In the end we all enjoyed sitting by the water fountain after the tour was over!

Our Backyard Bunch

2009-06-17T19:24:00.000-07:00

The backyard has been the coolest place to be lately. Brigham and Sarah Jane have been enjoying the new playground and swings. Sarah can't get enough of her little swing, she loves it when you pull her up and let her go. Brigham loves to swing too, and plays in the dirt even though I wish he'd choose the sandbox instead. We sometimes get to play with the neighbor's cat that comes to visit which is an added bonus because we just get to pet and enjoy him but I don't have to take care of him. (I miss having pets but two kids is enough work for me now).
Matt has been enjoying the backyard too- using the grill. He is so anxious for corn on the cob to go on sale so he can throw that on to cook.

Swingset buddies!

Sarah loves that swing!

Brigham and his silly faces!

One happy little girl- This picture also depicts the eyecolor dilemma I have- is that blue, green or hazel?

Summertime!

2009-06-06T08:45:00.000-07:00

Summertime has been great thus far! Matt is keeping up with his summer school which has been mostly math classes. He hasn't found a job that is compatible with school yet so we have been enjoying seeing him around a lot more. Matt hasn't been bored though- he has been getting plenty of homework to do and he got to start on re-taming our much neglected yard. It was starting to get pretty wild out there- the overgrown trees, humongous weeds and the random debris left from past owners! Fun, Fun, Fun! We have been able to do lots of things together as a family which has been the best part so far for me! I took lots of pictures!

We went to a free car show in Ogden last night. Here I am next to my dream Jeep. I'd love to go to the grocery store in one of these!

Matt next to his dream machine! Brigham looked the least grumpy in this picture...

Sarah Jane is starting to take off! She does a really good army crawl so I can't expect her stick around in the same place anymore!

Went to the Drive in to see Up!

Enjoying a summer day!

Blowing bubbles and popping them at the same time- what an efficient kid!

Lake Powell

2009-05-26T20:22:00.000-07:00

The kids and I went with my parents and grandma to Lake Powell over the weekend. I was so sad that we had to leave poor Matt behind to go to work and school. It rained a lot there but it's better than when it's so miserably hot! The best parts for me was lots of good food and hiking. Brigham loved throwing rocks and working on a sandcastle. The worst part was the looong drive with kids. I think we could make a record for taking the most amount of time to get home with the packing, stops to eat and change diapers and the blowouts (I'm not talking about the tire kind either)!

Pa and Brigham

Slot canyons are so fun!

I love this picture of Brigs!

Great and Sarah playing on the houseboat

Brigham fell asleep at the table. What a long day!

Brighams Birthday

2009-05-16T21:47:00.000-07:00

Brighams Birthday was over a week ago already and I haven't got around to posting the celebration pictures until now! I still can't believe my little baby boy is 3 and nearly 40 pounds! I love that my Brigs is such a helpful and loving big brother to Sarah Jane! He always makes sure our home is never boring and he is always doing stuff to prove that he is the silliest kid on the block. I need to strap a camera to my forehead for a day so people could just understand what I get to enjoy and what I get to be frustrated by each day! One day when I was pulling my hair out from his behavior and I asked him why he was such a boy and he answered "Boys make noise". I think he's got that completely right! What a smart little guy!

His little fire truck cake. Yes it's probably eligible as a cake wreck but I had too much fun creating this masterpiece!

This is Brigham's big smile!

Another one of those things boys do: showing off what is going on inside a full mouth. Yum!

One happy three-year old!

Brigham's Greats!

A New Beginning!

2009-05-06T21:43:00.000-07:00

School is starting for Matt in about a week! We just found out he got hired at a new job and we are just thrilled to say goodbye to 55 hour weeks at Domino's. Though it also means saying goodbye to eating loads of pizza, and for Matt the familiarity of having the same general job since high school. I am looking forward to a change and all the new opportunities that await us.

It's exciting to begin again with fresh hope that in 2 years Matt will graduate with his teaching degree. The goal isn't new; we had attempted this before and and gave up. I think that we have learned from the last attempt and have realized that we want this too much to give up. It's intimidating to think that these next two years are going to be so incredibly tough with Matt gone a lot between work and school while I take care of our home and kids. I feel that I can do it if I believe in myself and have faith in the Lord. I think we are pretty crazy sometimes for choosing to do this, there are many other opportunities that require a lot less work and sacrifice that would give us similar or greater rewards monetarily. Matt really feels strongly about it and I agree with him that in the long run we will be a lot happier with this choice.

Oh and finally here is an updated family picture! Thanks Megan for your patience to capture Brigham looking at the camera- even though it's while blowing a bubble of spit!

Pet Peeves

2009-04-16T21:58:00.000-07:00

I think I have found a new pet peeve: Public Easter Egg Hunts. I haven't done one of these before but I let my mom convince me that I needed to take Brigham to one of these. Why in the world would this be so important to her now when obviously it wasn't a priority for her when I was a kid!?! Grandparents... Anyway I need to thank the random dad that threw an egg our way at the Easter egg hunt at This is the Place state park. It meant a lot to not go home with an empty basket to Brigham,(okay maybe me). I have some faith restored that some "adults" can play nice and share too! I don't think I could do another public egg hunt again; I'd rather have Brigham scramble around without getting toes trampled on and having me getting grumpy at greedy kids and some parents. I know, I'm like an Easter grinch, I think Briggie had a ton of fun though I am so pessimistic.

I also have to vent about my other pet peeve: Solicitors! Uggh! They all come out once the weather warms up! So far I don't need: more telephone services from qwest, more cable tv service from comcast, more insurance, winder dairy milk, lawn service, magazines to put a poor soul through college, and I'm sure to get visits from people that want me to buy burgler alarms, new windows, and the JW's come every year as well also. Do you think a no soliciting sign would actually work? Maybe I'll give it a try, even though I think hanging up a NO SOLICITING sign next to my door is a little ugly and makes me seem like a cranky old person but oh well maybe I am.

Okay so I'm done with my ranting. Here's a couple pictures from last years easter- our camera's memory card fizzled this past week. I figured these pictures could be new to most people anyway and it's fun to see Brigham so much smaller last year! And it's mind blowing to think I was just pregnant with Sarah Jane a year ago! She probably was the size of a peanut or something like that!

Extreme Home Makeover.

2009-03-24T22:31:00.000-07:00

Brigham's latest interest has been coloring and has decided to display his artwork- all over the house.

Unwashable crayons. A little bit of Clorox sink cleaner got most of this smiley face off (thanks mom).

I'm glad this is washable marker!

Unfortunately this is permanent marker on my wonderful dresser.

A closer look at what I'm up against.

Any ideas on how to get this off without having to refinish? Seriously- I'd like to know.

Whew! Washable marker! You can see that the smiley face didn't quite come off all the way yet.

I'm done crying over my dresser and so glad that everything else was easier to fix! I still love him. I hope he will learn to use crayons in coloring books though!

An Update!

2009-03-14T06:45:00.000-07:00

I just have a random assortment of things to say. Matt found out that he can't make it into the police academy this summer which we had been planning on. So now we are on to Plan B or maybe it's now Plan C or D for us now as far as his future career goes. At least he still has his delicious job right now at Dominos in this interesting economic time- which is like our Plan X or Y! We don't have to worry about starving, we just have to worry about our expanding waistlines right now!

We went to a family reunion last night where we celebrated the life of Matt's late Grandpa Larsen on what would have been his 100th Birthday. It was interesting for us to learn about his life, he passed away before Matt was born, and it is amazing to see how many people we are related to! I had to do a family tree for one of my classes and I think I deserved major extra credit because I had to do the Larsen side on the family. Grandpa Larsen had a total of nine children to start with then you add wives and husbands and their children, it gets very large very fast! It's so hard getting all the names and faces straight. I also finally got to see a couple of Matt's Aunts that I haven't met yet too! I regret leaving the camera at home and not having pictures. I need to work on my New Years resolution to take more pictures at family events!

I've added some of my favorite pictures from the past few weeks:

Matt, Sarah Jane, Brigham (and me too-but not pictured) have enjoyed the few good weather days we've had. I really hope it doesn't snow again, I'm really sick of it!

I'm so glad these two get along! This is in Brigham's new room-we just did the switch a couple weeks ago- it's in the room formerly known as the junk room and toys in time out room.

I so wish I could believe in the 5-second rule this day.

Sarah Jane's reaction to her first taste of cereal.

Everyday over and over again

2009-02-18T20:37:00.000-08:00

Time doesn't seem to go by for me at all when I'm battling the endless cycle of laundry, meals and cleaning because it is pretty monotonous. But in reality time has been flying by. I've tried to do one thing different for Brigham (and my sanity) each day whether it be pull out some playdough, make a snowman or just play a game. Brigham is attempting to say a lot more of what is on his mind which is really fun. I love seeing pictures trigger memories he has and remind him of someone or something. He love categorizing people and animals as good guys and bad guys.
He walked up to me one morning and said "mommy pretty" even though I was in my pjs and hadn't had a shower and felt far from it which made me feel like crying.
I can tell Sarah can't wait to express what she is thinking to me too. I love the expressions she makes when she's "talking". She can make the cutest pout in the world when she is sad and she has the sweetest little smile! She rolled over for the first time yesterday. Oh how I wish I could freeze time and keep these guys little and my to do list checked off!

I caught an elusive Sarah smile!

Sarah after rolling over a second time!

This captures Brigham's personality perfectly.

One of those things to I do to break up the monotony- make goodies! This is a cherry chocolate cake slathered in warm chocolate sauce with whipped cream on top. I've got to do that again!

Sarah's Blessing

2009-02-02T18:23:00.000-08:00

Sarah Jane had her baby blessing on Sunday. It was really special to see Sarah blessed by Matt and have lots of family there to share it with us. I love hearing about all of the potential our little baby girl can live up to! Sarah looked beautiful in her dress. She was more interested in trying to eat her dress than look beautiful!

Cleaning out the camera

2009-01-23T21:10:00.000-08:00

It has been such a long time since I've posted! My camera's memory card is full, AGAIN. The amount of pictures I take has doubled now that I have two gorgeous children. I even made a few rare appearances in a picture or two! I'll rummage through and show off some of my favorites.

We were so close to having that perfect family picture but one of us just could not cooperate!
This would have been on our Chirstmas cards if I ever got around to sending them, maybe we'll have better luck next year!

Oh the joy of trucks!

Matt and little Ms. Santa Sarah

Brigham mixing up some bubbies (brownies). I definitely prefer him mixing things together in the kitchen under supervision- see Brigham's Christmas Cookies I & II for recall.

Mmmm... yum.

Lovers of Loving Love for 4 Years!

2008-12-28T18:59:00.001-08:00

I saw this on Joanna's blog and thought it would be cute to post mine and Matt's answers to the questions for our anniversary. Our anniversary was a couple weeks ago and I've given up on Matt having time to do this so he can read this and tell me his input!

1.Where did you meet?
On my first day working at Domino's pizza in Bountiful. We were both seniors in High School.

2.What was the first thought that went through your head when you met?
I was sooo impressed with how he threw the pizza dough into the air! I was in love at first toss!

3.Do you remember what he/she was wearing?
Domino's uniform sprinkled in cornmeal.

4.Where was the first time you kissed this person?
In my old white Jeep in front of his house in Bountiful. We were listening to one our favorite songs back then: "Lovers of Loving Love". I was so excited he kissed me that it felt like I flew back home.

5.Where did you go for your first date?
I think I took him out on our first date to a improv comedy show at Trolley Square and then we went to the Pie and got cheesy pull aparts. He had a cold and not much of an appetite so I ate most of that greasy goodness.

6. When were you officially a couple?
A few weeks after he got home from his mission but 4 years after I met him.

7.How did he/she ask you out?
He'd call me and I'd always make myself available with a few exceptions- like when I had to finish reading my Harry Potters.

8.Has this person ever proposed to you?
Yes and I was mad because I was in my PJs with no makeup and he made it sound like he was breaking up with me! What was I supposed to think when he says "there's something missing in our relationship?" But he made up for that when he told me what was missing was a ring.

9.Do you and this person have kids together?
A boy and a girl.

10.Have you ever broken the law with this person?
We've trespassed into Midget-ville. We never got very far though- we are both wimps and got scared.

11.When was the first time you realized that you liked this person?
I liked Matt the first day I met him and I kept on liking him more and more as I got to know him better.

12.Do you get along with his family?
Yes, I love Matt's family!

13.Do you trust this person?
Yes I do!

14.Do you see him as your partner in your future?
Forever and ever.

15.What is the best gift he gave you?
All the thoughtful things he does to show his love for me- like back rubs, letting me sleep in sometimes and cleaning up the latest Brigham disaster.

16.What is one thing He does that gets on your nerves?
Drinking straight from the milk jug, Leaving the toilet seat up, talking in his alter ego's 'Crazy Joe' voice, always pulling pranks on me... it's so hard to pinpoint just one thing- bless his heart...

17.Where do you see each other 15 years from now?
Middle aged with teenagers. I don't think I'm looking forward to this.

18.What causes the most arguments?
Politics. And his choice of talk radio and sports stations for long drives.

19.How long have you been together?
We haven't been able to forget each other for the past 7 years.

20.Are you Married? 4 years and 2 kids later and I still am married to you even despite questions #16 & 18! And I love you!

EVEN MORE Brigham Christmas Cookies

2008-12-23T20:14:00.000-08:00

Oh yes. He did it again.

This time scissors and powdered sugar are involved.

Has anyone seen my precious Costco sized bottle of pure vanilla extract... Oh there it is in a puddle by the oven where it rained powdered sugar and chocolate chips.

Darn that naughty little car!

Here is where the rest of that bottle of vanilla is.

Briggie's attempt to clean up.

Add a few more items to my grocery list. I'm really, really bummed out about the vanilla. My white vinyl floor is now scarred with yellow tinge to remind me of this forever! Hopefully I can beat the cookie monster to my kitchen tomorrow. If I don't- I guess he doesn't have much left to work with.

Brigham's Christmas Cookies

2008-12-22T22:31:00.000-08:00

Brigham woke up before the sun was up this morning (around 5 a.m.) and decided to make chocolate chip cookies by himself while mommy and daddy were sleeping. Pictured is the scene Matt came upon when he went down to see what Briggie was up to.

For making cookies a total of 5 times between me and Nannie Brown he did pretty good at getting out all the correct ingredients. All he was missing was the butter and baking soda (salt not pictured but the entire contents were dumped into the bowl- along with flour and sugar). Briggie even tried to crack an egg in the bowl. I thought it was a nice touch that he got out a dish towel to wipe his hands on. I have to admit we were pretty impressed and a little amused at his ambition. It definitely wouldn't have been as cute if he dumped my new Costco sized bottle of vanilla into the mix- that's some pricey stuff...

After a run to the store to replenish our supplies and a little help from us and measuring cups, Chef Brigham can make Santa some Christmas Cookies tomorrow.

What a mess!

Look in the bottom left corner for Brigham's accomplice, his little ride-on car a.k.a. stepstool on wheels.

Holiday Hullabaloo

2008-12-15T21:24:00.000-08:00

With the holidays upon us and the new baby life has been busy, busy, busy and time has been flying! I can't beleive that Sarah Jane is already a month old! Maintaining order and keeping clutter and dirty laundry from taking over the house has become a full day battle- yes I probably should be vacuuming instead of blogging right now! I figure if I maintained everything perfectly I'd probably go insane so I do not feel guilty at all. At least no one can see what my living room looks like when I blog!

I'm pretty proud of us for making time and putting the effort into doing some fun holiday things. We've made and devored christmas cookies, Matt and Brig played in the snow, and we also made fun little ornaments together for our Christmas tree. I think I enjoyed doing online Christmas shopping the best- it so beats going to the store. The main reasons I like it is that there are no lines, and I can do it in my pajamas with no shame! I just may never leave the house or get out of my pajamas now!

Briggie and a Christmas cookie.

One month old!!!

NOT cookies... Our christmas ornaments!

They are made out of cardboard because we have a lot of that from my online shopping...

Find: 1. Matt's Domino's man 2. The three eyed monster man 3. Erin's two gingerbread women 4. Briggie's pink nosed gingerbread man. 5. Spiderbread man!

I finally decorated our naked christmas tree! I'm so super proud of the bow I made on top!

Coming home from a long day. It's probably not advisable to let your kid fall asleep with a sucker in their mouth...

Christmas Village and Late Birthday Night

2008-12-02T21:04:00.000-08:00

This is such a magical time of year for Brigham- he loves seeing the lights, watching Christmas movies, and seeing all the decorations. I think it's funny that he even feels the need for the radio to constantly be playing Christmas music. I've even caught him dancing a few times but stops the second he realizes I'm watching him.

To kick off our holiday season we went to see the Ogden Christmas Village and Brigham was thrilled. It was fun to see his reaction to meeting Santa for the first time- when it was finally his turn to sit on Santa's lap he ran for the exit! With mommy holding his hand he sat on Santa's lap and with some help from me he whispered to Santa that he wanted trucks and dirt for Christmas. After he left Santa, I enjoyed seeing the silent look of amazement on his little face!
After we got home we celebrated Matt's belated birthday and ate cake. What an exciting night!

One of the many fantastic Christmas village houses.

Hurray for the mini Ogden arch!

Brigham and Santa.

If you want to know how old Matt is- look for the subliminal number that the candles form. If you can't figure it out- he's too old for just one box of candles...

The birthday boy!

Tag

2008-11-22T16:53:00.000-08:00

TYPE ONLY 1 WORD... IT'S HARDER THAN YOU THINK!!!
1. Where is your cell phone? lost
2. Your significant other? working
5. Your father? tall
6. Your favorite thing? icecream
7. Your dream last night? sleep
8. Your favorite drink? gatorade
9. Your dream/goal? motorcycles
10. The room you're in? office
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? hooper
13. Where were you last night? home
14. What you're not? energetic
15. Muffins? chocolate
16. One of your wish list items? wafflemaker
17. Where you grew up? Maryland
18. The last thing you did? eat
19. What are you wearing? socks
20. Your TV? large
21. Your pet? lost
22 Your computer? new
23. Your life? busy
24. Your mood? hopeful
25. Missing someone? Matt
26. Your car? jeep
27. Something you're not wearing? earrings
28. Favorite Store? ross
29. Your summer? pregnant
30. Favorite color? green
31. When is the last time you laughed? yesterday
32. Last time you cried? yesterday
33. Who will/would re-post this? Megan?
34. FOUR PLACES I GO OVER AND OVER: bed, bathroom, kitchen, smiths
35. FOUR PEOPLE WHO E-MAIL ME: random, random, random, random
36. FOUR OF MY FAVORITE FOODS: casseroles, steak, salmon, dessert
37. FOUR PLACES I WOULD LIKE TO BE RIGHT NOW: Beach, Rafting, Skiing, Chuck-a-Rama

Okay Megan- You're it.

Introducing the newest Larsen

2008-11-15T10:58:00.000-08:00

With some help from the doctor our baby girl was finally born on Sunday Nov. 9th. We named her Sarah Jane and she weighed a healthy 8lbs. 2oz. and was 22 in. long! Our family has been adjusting well to life with a new baby. Erin is recovering well, Brigham has so far been very helpful as a new 'big brother' and Matt has been enjoying his time off from work to spend time with all of us! We are all so happy to have this new beautiful girl in our lives!

Cavities in Progress

2008-10-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

Happy Halloween! Matt somehow managed to schedule himself late this Halloween so he could take Brigham trick-or-treating. He's worked on Halloween night for the past 4 years. I think it's a curse. I took the job of handing out the goodies while watching Clue tonight- it was a difficult choice between that and Ernest Scared Stupid :). Surprisingly, we didn't get very many trick or treaters this year and I had stocked up well on the candy in preparation because I've gotten so many visitors in the past two years that I've run out of candy each time! This must be another Halloween curse... but come to think of it we all don't mind having extra candy laying around here!

Brigham as a monkey- I love the banana attachment!

His costume is so cuddly and soft- I had to squeeze in a hug!

This picture is for all of you who keep on saying that I don't look pregnant! It's my glorious profile shot. Baby's dressed up as a prize winning pumpkin (stole your idea from last year Megs). I seriously considered being a disgruntled landlord instead and taping an eviction notice to my belly- I'm due this Wednesday!

The guys are ready to ransack the neighborhood for treats. Brigham of course scored bonus treats for being extra cute!

One hour later. Brigham wasted no time getting down to business. He walked in the door, sat down with the bucket and started unwrapping and eating.

Punkinaze III

2008-10-23T20:57:00.000-07:00

Today we all went to the Pumpkinaze like we have for the past two years. The first time we went spontaneously because we saw it alongside the road and it turned out it was closed but the owner let us check it out for free. Brigham was just a little baby back then! We've been loyal Punkinazers since!
We love this maze- it's very family friendly with lots of fun stuff for little ones to enjoy for half the price of other mazes I've seen. Theres a hay slide, large bin full of corn with hidden treats and the maze of course. The maze was easier for us this year we walked in, made a few lefts and walked out! We didn't even know what the shape of the maze was supposed to be. Last year we were stuck in that maze for what seemed like eternity and we ended up cheating and exiting through the entrance.
I couldn't help thinking how cool it would be if my water broke while we were lost in the middle of the corn maze. Of course at the pace my labor went last time I would have all day and all night to get out the maze and make it to a hospital. What a good time even though my wildest going into labor dreams didn't come true. We'll be back again next year.

Falltime fun

2008-10-23T20:08:00.000-07:00

Brigham 'helped' Matt raking some leaves yesterday. Basically it's all work for Matt and all fun for Brigham. They created a huge pile and most of the leaves are on our trees still so the fun will continue... Hurray for the many large trees around our home!

Once there was a snowman...

2008-10-12T21:24:00.000-07:00

Brigham has been excited for the snow all summer long! When he looked out the window this morning his face lit up when he saw all of the white stuff falling on the ground. I could hardly believe the winter storm we got today in October! I heard it was coming but I didn't believe it until I saw it. Brigham had waited patiently until after church to play in it. Of course this is when I figure out those boots that were a size too big last year are now two sizes too small and I still need to get him some snow pants. Of course to a two year old not having these things doesn't matter and he had loads of fun anyway. Matt helped him build a big drippy snowman with a flat head and yellow leaf eyes. Unfortunately for our little snowman, winter isn't supposed to stay very long and we'll get fall weather back and I'll have to get around to raking leaves.

What we did this summer- A summer recap

2008-10-02T13:41:00.001-07:00

I can't believe it's fall already! Since I was too lazy during those summer days to post what we've been up to all summer I guess I will share some of my favorite summer pictures from all our fun adventures!

We spent some time with Matt's brother Jon and his family at the Ogden Dinosaur park. It was a hot day to be outside with the dinos!

Brigham in a dino skull.

Brigham and his cousin Clay had fun posing for pictures.

Summer recap- Around town

2008-10-02T13:23:00.000-07:00

Random around town fun this summer.

Here's a couple pics of Brig at the South Ogden Splash pad:

This is the Place State park on their FREE day! We waited in line forever for this "8 second ride"!

Looking at all the neat aircraft at Hill AFB Muesuem.

A day at Hogle zoo.

Summer recap- 4th of July

2008-10-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

Pictures from the Ogden Hot Rockin' 4th Celebration.

Brigham liked the bounce house (I think)!

For a grand finale to the exciting day there was the best demolition derby EVER! Ogden definitely has some rednecks... This is a car that got pushed on top of a barrier! Brigham loved watching the big trucks push and pull the cars out of the derby. What a fun night! Oh yeah, there were fireworks after.

Summer recap- North Carolina...

2008-09-29T20:44:00.000-07:00

Here's our trip to North Carolina:

The pit in the sand kept Brigham entertained for most of the day. It is amazing how a lot of dirt can keep a boy so happy.

Matt and one of the many catches of the day! I still can't believe that dad smuggled most of those fish in his suitcase home and they stayed fresh and cold. I wouldn't even take the chance of having all of my clothes, belongings and suitcase reek of rotted fish. Way to go dad- for taking a little bit of North Carolina home with you!

Dad and Brigham 'catching' a wave.

All of the family (without our photographer- my bro-in-law, Grady) at the beach house.

Summer recap- Zions

2008-09-29T20:02:00.000-07:00

These are some pics from our Zion's trip in May:

Here's Brigham in all his gear trying to poke a lizard sculpture with a stick.

Here's a cute little varmit:

Here's a couple more cute varmits ! I absolutely LOVE seeing the red rocks towering everywhere you looked! I just couldn't stop sighing because I was in Erin heaven.

These are the ugliest and nastiest petting zoo animals I have ever seen- Oh and they spit too.

We finally made it to the top!

Our Latest Escapade

2008-08-21T19:57:00.000-07:00

Here's some of the fun we had at Bear Lake with Nannie and Pa. Unfortunately beach day was cool and windy and the water was freezing cold. The only person who didn't care was Brigham. We had to drag him kicking and screaming out of the lake of course!

Thank goodness the lifeguard was on duty...

And here's Matt showing off the latest summer fashions.

Briggie and Pa found a giant dandilion on a hike.

With Nannie there is never a shortage of delicious snacks.

Brigham finally fell asleep after a long day while fishing with Daddy.