Tales of a Frigid January

I’m pretty sure this morning’s –22 degrees broke the cold record for the month.  I guess that makes the –12 of a couple of weeks ago seem pretty warm. 

Spring has never looked so enticing!!    I’m sure those icicles are only going to get bigger as we shiver through the next several weeks.

We’ve been working on our sign language lately.  Rachel really loves to use “no”…

…but I’m not sure we can take that big smile seriously!

Daniel has started to sign “book” – though he does the sign for “again” instead.  I’m not sure how he got them mixed up.  But we know what it means, and he obviously does too, so we’re working on fixing that one.  He started nursery yesterday.  There is a lady in our Ward who is in charge of being his assistant.  So he gets one-on-one attention while he’s in there.  I’m so glad our Primary President was the one to take the initiative on that.  She recognized that we might have a need there and came to me for the scoop.  I feel much better about sending him when someone is directly responsible for only him.  Though, I’m still super worried about the germs.  We’ll see how these first few weeks go.

How could you not love this face?!?!

Or this one??!?  (This is what he does when anyone talks about animals.  He’s barking like a dog, but without much sound.)

This is the month of hardly any school (at least it feels like it) for our kids.  They started back on the 3rd.  Rachel has today off, and they all have tomorrow off, for parent teacher conferences.  Next Monday is MLK day, so there won’t be school.  And the following Friday will be a no school day as well!  Good grief!  Sometimes I wonder why they even have school at all during January!!

We’re going to cross our fingers for a warmer-than-usual February and try to stay warm in the meantime!

Park Photo Bomb

I took the three Littles to a new (to us) park last night after we got ice cream.  Hey – we have to have fun when Dad and the Bigs are gone!!  I took a ton of pictures (a large proportion of which were pathetic) when I wasn’t holding Daniel or trying to keep woodchips out of his mouth.  Here are the best.

Just a little peck on the ear.

I think her ship is trying to beam her up!

Holding on tight while Mom gets yet another picture.

 

And…he’s had it.  Too much heat and oh-so-tired!

Fireworks!!

Our city does fireworks on the night before the 4th.  I happen to really like this because we can stay up late and still have the 4th to have fun.  No worries about getting to bed at a decent time!

I don’t have pictures of any fireworks, but I do have pictures of my cute family…waaaaaay better than fireworks!!

Caleb wants to be a photographer.  (He’d probably do a much better job than I do!)

Daniel enjoyed himself until things started getting too hot (about 10 minutes after we got there).  This is a happy picture, just in case you were wondering.

The Emily Chill – Wordoku (Sudoku with letters instead of numbers), pink blanket, and a place to lay her head.

Josh in a tree.  Josh in a tree?  How can that be?

 I happen to really like this guy.

Rachel my silly girl.

Daniel blowing raspberries at having his picture taken.  He needs some lessons from Emily.

It’s gettin’ kinda hot out here.

 

Taking refuge in the shade of the Suburban.

Such a sweet boy, even when he’s hot.

We survived the heat until the sun went down.  And Daniel was especially relieved when Stacie arrived with popsicles for everyone.  We all loved the fireworks – even Daniel!!  He clapped and flapped his arms through lots of the show.  It was a fun evening, but I’m glad we can hang out in the cool A/C today!

Jumbo Elephant

This is for all the grandmas out there - for your enjoyment!!

An Eventful Week

We have had lots going on this week, so buckle your seatbelts! This could be a long ride!

First off, Emily got her hair cut on Saturday. She wanted to donate to Locks for Love again, so I agreed to a short haircut. I always have a sad moment when that much hair is gone, even if it's not my own. But Emily was very glad to be free of all the length! She ended up having 11 inches cut off! Her hair was not quite as long this time as it was the first time she donated, so she ended up with a pretty short cut, but she looks adorable! Here is a picture of the front - ignore the goofy face!

I have to admit that I was wanting it cut just as much as she was! Fights about combing/brushing have been too frequent and none too pleasant!

Tuesday was Jared's birthday, and we decided to try out our season passes to Lagoon! So he worked until lunch time and then we headed down. As we were half way through Sardine Canyon, Emily realized that she had her flip flops on instead of her shoes! They won't let you ride some of the rides without shoes, so she was pretty upset. We stopped at Wal Mart in Brigham City and bought her a cheap pair of shoes so she could fully participate. The things we do to keep everyone happy!

This was the first time that Caleb and Rachel had been to Lagoon. For the most part, they both had a lot of fun. Here's a blurry picture of Rachel during a ride, but you can tell that she's obviously loving it!

She got so used to us taking pictures that she would just start waving as soon as she got on a ride! She's got the parade wave down to a science!

Caleb enjoyed most of the rides, and really hated having to watch the ones he couldn't go on! He loved this little tug boat ride, and especially pulling the string to ring the bell.

Rachel gave the poor worker a heart attack when the ride was over! Rather than exiting the boat to her right (which was onto the sidewalk) she tried stepping out to her left, which would have put her into the water or up onto the island in the middle! We were both trying to grab her, (while I was trying to keep Caleb on the sidewalk and out of the water) but couldn't quite reach - if we stepped in the boat we would have sunk it! The worker finally got ahold of her shirt and we pulled her out onto the sidewalk!

Josh said he was going to be brave and go on Wicked this time, just for Jared's birthday. But, he chickened out (and we didn't make it down to that end of Lagoon). Maybe next time!

Josh and Emily were both really good sports about helping with Caleb and Rachel when we couldn't be on the rides with them. See? Josh knows we're trying to get Caleb to look at the camera, so he's being a great helper turning his head right where we need it! (I promise he's not choking Caleb!!!)
Emily got this great shot of Jared and Josh on Jet Star 2 just as they were ready to head down the first big hill. She didn't want to try this ride, so she was more than happy to be the photographer while I kept Caleb out of the garbage can and Rachel out of the flower beds!

We ended our trip with a visit to Denny's for dinner (kids choice). It happened to be kids-eat-free night, so everyone got fed and we only had to pay for two meals! Maybe we'll have to come on Tuesday every time!

We've also had our usual week-day activities - cleaning, bike rides, playing, fighting, yard work, whining...ahhh summer! And swimming lessons will start soon - yipee!!!

Budding Artist

Rachel loves to color.

She begs me all the time to color.

This is why I don't like to give in to her pleas.

Thankfully it wasn't a permanent marker.

{I think maybe she's going to be an impressionist - looks like a spider to me!}

And a Child Shall Lead Them...

We partied (haha!) as a family at Apple Days this past Saturday. {haha! because Jared and I had just spent the day canning peaches, so we were pretty dead!} For those of you who don't know what Apple Days is, see this post. We didn't make it to the parade this year, but we did have lots of fun going down the huge inflatable slide, getting treats, and roaming around.

This is Emily and Josh doing the beanbag toss:

{Notice Rachel chilling out here at the bottom!}

Then Rachel took her turn to show them how it's really done.

I can't believe I didn't think of that!!!

Just a Typical Day

Here are a few shots of a typical day around our house...

If Emily is not off reading, she is playing the piano! I don't have to beg and plead to get her to practice, I have to beg and plead to get her to stop!! She's great at multi-tasking too...see the cracker in her mouth?!!

Caleb's new favorite activity - climbing to the highest surface he can! Yes, he's standing on the cedar chest which is up against the railing, which is the only thing keeping him from taking a flying leap down the stairs! In a 5-mintue span, he has managed to climb onto the kitchen table, be removed, climb onto the cedar chest, be removed, climb onto the end table, only to be removed yet again! I hope I can survive this kid! In fact, I hope he survives himself! But how could that face not instantly melt you?!?

Rachel is synonymous (spelling??) with sweetness. She just bounces around with her ringlets bouncing right alongside! She has discovered how to be a little impish, though! You can see it in her eyes! She is usually the one showing Caleb just how fun it is to climb onto things, or she's right behind him encouraging him to go farther!

And Josh...well...just look at the picture! Would that drive you nuts?? He prefers to wear socks, and this is how he wears them 99% of the time!

Summer So Far

Here we are - half way through Summer break!! I can't believe we will be half way through July this week!

We've been trying to keep busy...well, maybe busy isn't the right word. With 4 kids, two of them a handful on their own, we don't really have to try to keep busy!! I guess we've been trying to get stuff done and keep entertained!

Emily and Josh just finished up Fun and Fitness camp at the school. Basically, it was supposed to keep them physically active but having fun. Goal accomplished! They both said they wished it lasted all summer long. They got to have two off-site activities - mini golf and swimming at the aquatic center - which they absolutely loved!! Who wouldn't, though??!?

Em and Josh are also finishing up their last session of swimming lessons. I don't know if either of them really LIKE swimming lessons, but they've been good sports to go and get it done. We've told them they have to go, but they don't have to like it! I think knowing how to swim is something they need to do (this from someone who doesn't swim very well)! Here they are on their performance day for the first session. Looks like they're having fun to me!

We have also been trying to keep up with the garden. If you looked from the house, you would wonder if there was anything out there besides weeds!! With all the rain we got throughout June, the weeds pretty much took over. We (mostly I) have been trying to get them back under control. Emily and Josh were loving the $$ they were earning at first, but even that isn't enough to entice them into the heat! I don't blame them though! It looks like we're going to have a bumper crop of tomatillos! Hope Jared can find a really good salsa recipe or we're going to turn into the tomatillo bandits and start leaving them in cars while we're at church!

We've had a few bike rides, but we can't seem to keep tires filled with air. The kids LOVE when we do get to go. We almost always end up at the park for a while too.

Last night we went to Providence Canyon for some dinner and shooting. Yes, you read that right! Jared did some repairs on a gun or two and had to make sure he did everything OK. He told us all we needed to stay in the van while he shot the first rounds, just in case. Um, yeah! That made me feel really good! I was concocting an emergency plan in my head, just in case! Thank goodness he did everything right and didn't have any problems! He even let Emily and Josh shoot his 22. Instant heaven, especially for Josh! Sidenote: I brought the camera to take some pictures, and what do you know - that battery was dead!! Dang thing!!

And, to top it all off, we've had another round of the sickies. I really can't believe it myself! You'd think we'd be safe in summer, but no. Coughs, throw ups, fevers, you name it!!

And all in the name of summer fun!!

Easter 2009

We started the Easter festivities this year by having our Larsen Family Easter Party on Saturday. We were so lucky to get to see all the aunts, uncles (except Greg in Iraq), cousins, Grandma Larsen, and Great-Grandma and Grandpa Farnworth. Whew!! Lots of people!!

We colored eggs,

Ate lots of good food, visited, and had a fun egg hunt.

Rachel found the biggest egg of all!

Josh was so fast that I didn't even have time to get a picture of him!

But here we are all together, minus Jared. Tax season is quite the task master!

And here are all 12 grandkids!

Caleb loving his Grandma time! Don't you love the tongue?!?

Easter morning - everyone's happy...



...except Caleb!! Easter bunny woes!



Cutest kids ever!!
So proud of them for sitting still for pictures right after church!

Easter fun continued Sunday evening at Grandma and Grandpa Ripplinger's house.

Josh is lovin' the toys!

Seriously - this is the sweetest girl EVeR!!
"See, Daddy?!"

Aren't we cute?!?!

Totally good lookin' guys!!