The Annual Neighborhood Talent Show and Sing-In

Well, we did it - last night we hosted the first annual Neighborhood Talent Show and Sing-In in the Larsen Family Party Barn. Gary went to town decorating the barn with twinkle lights, garlands and stage lighting (while keeping one eye on the BYU bowl game as well, of course! Go Cougs!) It looked amazing! Wish I'd had my head on me and thought to take some pictures - d'oh!

We had about 60 people show up, which is pretty good for a first time thing, and the talent acts ranged from clogging numbers (of course, since half the local kids take from us) to a Scout lip synch to the 12 Days of Christmas to a bagpipe solo. Maggie, Sophie and Gary sang the song Maggie and Gary made up together, Waltzing with my Daddy, and Sophie got up and tapped her way (along with her BFF Charlotte) through Holly Jolly Christmas. Lots of piano solos and caroling, too. Afterwards, of course, we turned on music and the disco lights, pushed the chairs back, and the whole crowd boogied down to Christmas music. Even the teenagers, which we think was quite a feat.

Now it's all cleaned up and we're recuperating. I'm still in my pajamas and it's noon, but it's Christmas break, right? And aren't showers overrated anyway?

Signing off to wrap some presents and drink hot cocoa with the kids...I love Christmas!

Not A Very Festive Rant... Don't Read this if You Approve of the Governement taking over our Healthcare...

To the insanely corrupt, power-grasping creeps currently "representing" the people in Washington:

The U.S. Postal Service was established in 1775 - you've had 234 years to get it right; it's broke. Social Security was established in 1935 - you've had 74 years to get it right; it's broke. Fannie Mae was established in 1938 - you've had 71 years to get it right; it's broke. The "War on Poverty" started in 1964 - you've had 45 years to get it right; $1 trillion of our money is confiscated each year and transferred to "the poor"; it hasn't worked and our entire country is broke. Medicare and Medicaid were established in 1965 - you've had 44 years to get it right; they're both broke. Freddie Mac was established in 1970 - you've had 39 years to get it right; it's broke. Trillions of dollars were spent in the massive political payoffs called TARP, the "Stimulus", the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009.... none show any signs of working, although ACORN appears to have found a new resource: the American taxpayer. And finally, to set a new record: "Cash for Clunkers" was established in 2009 and went broke in 2009! It took cars (that were the best some people could afford) and replaced them with high-priced and less-affordable cars, mostly Japanese. A good percentage of the profits went out of the country. And the American taxpayers take the hit for Congress' generosity in burning three billion more of our dollars on failed experiments like Ms. Clinton's $100 billion annual pledge to third world countries to help them cut their greenhouse gasses (like that will work - take the money and run, boys!) So with a perfect 100% failure rate and a record that proves that "services" you shove down our throats are failing faster and faster, you want Americans to believe you can be trusted with a government-run health care system? 20% of our entire economy? With all due respect, Are you crazy?

More lies from the democrats. Reid says it going to "save" $750B. What the lying weasel forgets to mention is that the 10 year CBO report is based on 10 years of collecting the taxes but only 6-7 years of paying out the benefit. Once the full benefit kicks in, this bill will be massively in the red every year after that point. Its the worst fiscal scam foisted on the American people since the invention of Medicare which is 30 Trillion dollars in the hole.

There are effective, important ways to help the health care situation. I know it needs an overhaul - I know the system needs help. Allow insurance companies to compete with each other by crossing state lines, that's a starter! And a co-pay for Medicaid treatments would bolster both its finances and its users' personal responsibility. But these nutjobs in Washington want CONTROL (and securing up a dependant voter base doesn't hurt, either!). They want to cover illegal aliens and infant murder/abortion with taxpayer money. And legislate the habits, health treatments and life value of the American people. Our taxes will skyrocket, our doctors quit (who wants to be told what they can make, where they have to live and what they can own, for pete's sake, by the government?) and our access to care will shrivel up. What sane, intelligent, THINKING kind of person supports this insanity? If you do, go right ahead and try to defend it - I dare you. Actually, this is killing my holiday spirit. Wait until after the holidays, and then bring it on.

I need a drink.. oh wait, I don't drink. Rats. Time to go do some yoga I guess and calm myself down...

SYTYCD

I just sent this email to my fam and figured I may as well post it here as well, so the whole world (or at least the three people who read this blog) can get an inside glimpse to the glory and wonder that is the Larsen Family Household:

So I meant to pass this on earlier, but I had a funny story relating to our So You Think You Can Dance experience this week. We always watch it on our downstairs tv because that's the only one with cable reception. Gary, Maggie and I usually sit on the bed while Soph and Spence bop around from the bed to the sofa to the stairs... anyway, we were watching the show on Tuesday (we loved Mollee's waltz, the weird table routine and Russell's Santa solo) when all of a sudden I noticed a trail of ... something .... leading to the other room. I turned the corner and lo and behold, it looked like it had snowed in our downstairs living room! Only instead of snow covering my carpet, sofa and chair rail - it was the extensive droppings from an exploded diaper. What joy! It was just pee, thankfully, but it definitely posed a santitation problem that took hours to remedy. I ran completely out of antibacterial wipes.

I guess I should actually change Spencer's diaper once in a while, huh?

Just thought you could all use a good holiday laugh!

Maggie cried when Mollee got dropped. She's been a Mollee fan from the beginning. I'm glad Ashleigh made it - not much personality but she really turns it on onstage and has come a long way - but I could have seen Elenore leave without a sigh.

Who's gonna win? any bets?

love, Mindy

Quote of the Day

"A home is much more than a house built of lumber, brick or stone. A home is made of love, sacrifice and respect. We are responsible for the homes we build. We must build wisely, for eternity is not a short voyage. There will be calm and wind, sunlight and shadows, joy and sorrow. But if we really try, our home can be a bit of heaven here on earth. The thoughts we think, the deeds we do, the lives we live not only influence the success of our earthly journey; they also mark the way to our eternal goals." - Thomas S. Monson

My Favorite Christmas Movies

1. Scrooge: For me, the Christmas season doesn't officially begin until I watch this movie. Beautiful staging, timeless music, brilliant acting! The opening strains of the Overture never fail to make me teary for some reason. Perhaps because they unearth happy flashbacks to the Just Kiddin' days when we performed these songs at every mall and rest home in the Greater Salt Lake area and had a ball doing it! Or maybe it's just the general themes of hope and redemption, set to catchy show tunes like "Thank You Very Much" and "December the 25th." I LOVE this movie. For me, is the harbinger of all Christmas Spirit and I don't feel that the season is complete without it.

2. It's a Wonderful Life. My mom hates this movie, and I can see why, I guess. All these terrible things happen to a guy who's just trying to live a decent life. But still, if you want to talk about hope, love, and service, this is IT. Mary Bailey is one of my heroes. Maybe I love this movie because I truly believe that it is the little things we do which makes the biggest difference in the lives of those around us, even if we don't get immediate validation of their importance.

3. Meet Me in St. Louis. Okay, technically this isn't really a Christmas movie because it takes place over a whole year in the life of a lovely turn of the cenury family, but it contains my very favorite holiday cinema moment ever. The scene featuring Judy Garland and Margaret O'Brien where Judy sings "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" is sheer magic. If you haven't seen it, RUN to the nearest Blockbuster (or Netflicks) because you don't want to miss it! The summer, Halloween and spring scenes are also simply delightful.

4. Muppet Christmas Carol: So it's the same old story, also set to music, only enacted by oversized puppets instead of Albert Finney. I don't know really why it's so, but this movie always brings a big ol' grin to my face. And my heart. "Whenever you find home, it feels like Christmas!" "We're Marley and Marley... whooooooooooo!"

5. Tie: A Christmas Story ("You'll shoot your eye out!") and Elf. I know, sick and wrong. But so, so funny. This is a family favorite. "I just like smiling, smiling's my favorite!" "Candy, candy canes, candy corn, and syrup!" "These toilets are ginormous!"

Runners Up: Miracle on 34th Street (the old black and white version); Holiday Inn; White Christmas; and The Nutcracker, featuring Mikhail Baryshnikov. (Can you get more beautiful lines than Gelsey Kirklands'? Do they even play this any more? Crying shame. I'd gean the newspaper for the holiday tv listings every year growing up to make sure I didn't miss this. I have it on VHS somewhere, and need to see about burning it somehow to dvd... Gary's a genius at stuff like that...)

I am thankful...

... for each day I get to spend with my family. My children are the joys of my life and my husband is a gem. He even watched "Twilight" with me last night to try to understand something I get such a kick out of.

I am so lucky. And blessed to be a part of this family.

Thanksgiving in Richfield

Here are some highlights of our weekend in Richfield with Gary's folks:

*Getting nice and dirty (and lost ... oops!) on an extended four wheeler ride with the dogs
*Getting nice and clean in Gram's uber-cool tub

*Great food (including mom's 2-hour turkey, my Maglebys rolls and the famous Larsen Family Cream Cheese Pie)
*Sleeping in a little because the kids ignore me to race upstairs to see Gram, Grandpa and the dogs. Luckily they are early risers!
*Getting to go see New Moon - twice! (once with Gary, who though he'd never seen Twilight actually liked NM, and once with my dear NC friend Sarah Cannon. Send me pics, Sar!)
*Playing Legos and Scum
*Lots of Spongebob Squarepants. Ew. I despise that show. But the kids love it and only get to watch it at Gram's house. I can live with that... I guess..
*Reading a charming new book (Dragon Slippers)
*Admiring all of Grandpa's new projects

A Brave New Recipe

I don't normally create a recipe from scratch; usually I alter existing dishes to my specifications. But after having a lovely pasta dish with butternut squash at Il Fornaio in Del Mar, I was craving a something similar at home. So after doing some research, I came up with the following. If you stir it too much the sqash falls apart, so just lightly toss with the sauce and serve.

Cheese Tortellini with Butternut Squash
serves 3-4

1 small butternut squash
2 9-oz packages fresh cheese tortellini
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped nuts (I prefer pecans)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
1/2 cup cream or half and half (I used fat free half and half and it was great)

First, cook the squash however you prefer. I cut mine in quarters, rub them with olive oil, then bake on a cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. This can be done well in advance, then the rest of the meal comes together very quickly.

Boil water and prepare tortellini according to package instructions. Rinse and set aside. In a frying pan on medium-low heat, melt butter and heat just until it stars to brown. Add nuts and stir for a minute or two, but don't let the butter burn. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cream and stir. Cut warm squash into small bitesized pieces, gently toss with butter sauce, and pour over pasta on individual plates.

Yummy yum yum. This is a sweet pasta dish, which is unusual, but I though it was delish. All my favorite fall flavors! I tried the sauce over regular pasta and that was good too, but the creaminess of the cheese tortellini added the perfect touch. If you don't like it I'm very sorry, but what's not to love about butter, cinnamon and cream?

It's a Mermaid Birthay Party!

So everyone was finally healthy and we finally got to have Sophie's birthday party last Wednesday. She loves mermaids so long ago the theme was decided, and I had a lot of time to research fabulous maritime motifs. We had blue jello in clear cups with swedish fish swimming around in them; pin the flowers on Arial; musical chairs to Little Mermaid and Muppet Treasure Island songs; find the fish relay races; a pinata; treasure box treats; dancing with the disco lights; and the movie Mermaidia for when I finally burned out of energy. It was a memorable day for my sweet Soph; on the phone with Gram and Nana that night, Sophie gushed repeatedly, "it was the best birthday party ever!" Phew - I delivered.

I'm going to go collapse now.

Ahhhh....

... a weekend at Nana and Papa's. Gary taught at a conference in Salt Lake this weekend so we got to go down. Things I loved:

*getting away from the incessant cleaning, dishes and laundry at my house. It's more fun doing all that stuff somewhere else, I guess!
*seeing deer two mornings out of three in Nana's back yard while eating our black and white pancakes at breakfast time
*running out to pet every dog that goes by on the golf course
*seeing Maggie and Sophie's excitement to crawl into bed with Nana (at the crack of dawn) for morning cuddles
*helping them decorate their 20 foot Christmas tree! We blasted holiday music, drank hot chocolate, and watched Miracle on 34th Street. Bring on the holidays!
*eating a roquefort bacon H and root beer freezes at Hires. mmmmm.
*walking "the circuit" through the Fairy Forest (the golf course) at sunset. Is this gorgeous warm weather really November? wow!
*Costco! yay!
*tea parties and duck duck goose with Papa
*Maggie's incessantly playing the piano. Duets with Nana and Papa, her first Christmas song... she's getting pretty good but if I hear Old Joe Clark again I'm just going to lose it.

Happy Halloween!

Halloween is not my favorite holiday, but I enjoyed it more this year than I ever have with kids. I actually even decorated for it! Other fun things we did this year are:

-carved pumpkins grown from our very own gardens!

-made cinnamon sugar pumpkin seeds

-had a neighborhood movie night out in the party barn, watching "Nightmare before Christmas".

-made orange, pumpkin-shaped popcorn balls -yum!

-easy costumes - got them all off Ebay! We love cats, Dorothys and knights! I can sew, but the kids don't really know that yet...

-Watched "Clue" with Gary as we did our nightly chores. "Would anyone care for fruit, or dessert?"

-Had a fabulous Halloween day with Nana and Papa at Nanny's house out in Lewisville. Went on a long walk down the fields with Nana and Papa, hearing stories about Papa's youth and looking for wildlife. Maggie learned new piano duets with Nana and Papa and picked out fabric for Nanny to make me a pillow. (She is so darn amazing!)

-played Monster Memory with the girls

-Ate the traditional Dinner in a Pumpkin Halloween night, with wassail, Magleby's rolls, and a chocolate cake Nanny made us for dessert! Then trick or treating with dad and Papa until Papa got the chills and had to go home. Papa does not like the cold!

Happy Birthday to Sophie!

...unfortunately she's had better. Monday night she was complaining of a tummy ache, and Tuesday morning she said her legs hurt. I took her on an errand or two, thinking she had just slept on them wrong, but when they were still sore to the touch an hour or two later, we went straight to the doctor. He tested her for the swine flu and it came back negative, but she's on antivirals just in case since she's got every symptom except the cough. Poor thing. Not much fun to barf all over on your birthday! The mermaid party had to be postponed, so more pictures later on that...

Happy Fifth birthday Sophie Sopra Tootie Toodles Joy!

Just Venting

It seems to me that if you compare current politicians' words and actions these days, they just don't add up. I don't care what your party affiliation is, or where you get your news - facts are facts. And there are some serious liars out there. "There are no earmarks in this bill." No, only over 7,000 of them. "I don't want to take over GM." Lie - Obama did and gave it over to the unions as a payoff for their support. "Acorn will receive no more federal funding." Lie: it will be reinstated at the end of October, but nobody is reporting that. "If you have insurance that you like right now, under this plan, you can keep it." Lie: see page 84 of Baucus bill. "It won't give health coverage for illegal aliens." Lie: see page 50. "Abortion will not be covered." Lie. "Care won't be rationed." Lie. Lie lie lie. It's all such a huge power grab. I am so sick of it.

I wish I didn't have to care, but this is my future and the future of my kids, and of my country, that we're talking about there. It is my duty as a mother and an American citizen to care. I CARE!

Divine Del Mar

We just spent a week down in Nana and Papa's new place in Del Mar, CA (just north of San Diego) and it was jaw-dropping. Inlaid marble everything, a movie theater room, personal golf cart for getting around the resort (the Grand Del Mar), a grand piano you can program to play anything for you, private yard with hot tub, three gorgeous pools, a spa to die for, and the most dazzling palm trees I've ever seen. A private elevator and butler? Really? But where's my private lounge and pool boy? Oh, right there.

It is a really tough life.
A California sunset after dinner at Il Fornaio in Del Mar.

What's a trip to SoCal without Disneyland? Highlights: meeting up with dear LA friend Pam Welch, the ice cream sundaes at the Golden Horseshoe and a good dinner with Nana and Papa in the French Quarter, and hopping on to Peter Pan without a single second waiting in line!

The Fab Four: Haley Cranney, Gracie Hunter, Maggie, Katelyn Cranney

Poolside catering, a favorite with all the grandkids.

The Foyer (you must say it in a snobby French accent). The elevator's to the left, spiral staircase to the right. I kept expecting footmen to greet me at the door and give me back my glass slipper.

Our real favorite thing: playing constantly with the cousins! We actually had two villas this time, right next to each other. The Cranneys and Dave Hunters stayed in one, and the Lambs, us, and Nana and Papa, were in the other. We swam, rode the golf carts, put on plays, went on walks, and watched movies to our hearts' content! Kenneficks and Rochester Hunters, we missed you!!!!

When can we go back?

Funnies

Had a few good laughs today already - Spencer took off this morning down the street, and when I caught up with him and asked where he was going, he said "Nana and Papa's house." I asked him how he was going to get there, and he calmly assured me he was going to walk. He'll do anything to see his grandparents, I guess! See ya next spring, buddy!

Then later, Sophie told me her penis was hurting. Had to have a little talk with her about that one. Sure, I guess that "penis" kind of sounds like "peepee", one of our euphemisms for the female part, but really... it sounded so funny coming out in her sweet, girly, innocent little voice! I guess I've been a little free with the term around here lately as we've contemplated potty training Spencer...

Things I Love Right Now

-Hearing Spencer sing the Star Wars theme at the top of his voice as he wakes himself up every morning
-doing chores with Sophie, who willingly folds the laundry, cleans my lint catcher, and vacuums. When she's in the mood for it, that is.
-Hearing Maggie recount entire chapter books at bedtime while she tickles my hair, and vice versa.
-going to the temple. We've really kicked it up lately.
-my favorite breakfast of a baguette and cheese (currently aged white cheddar), an orange, and herbal tea with creamer (it's cold enough in the mornings now to appreciate it!)
-admiring my freezer full of the goods from our garden, and looking forward to carving our home-grown pumpkins come October!
-getting good sleep. Yes, it happens once in a while.
-a husband who LOVES his job (and lets me input once in a while - he is teaching a Humanities class, after all!)
-My comfort food, pad thai
-Sitting on my back porch at sunset with Gary, looking over the shorn fields dotted with cattle, listening to elk bugling down the street and the hundreds of geese flying south in their V formations overhead, and watching the cats and kids and neighbors playing hide and go seek in the twilight garden. I don't think I would trade living here for anything... unless it meant being closer to family.

Life is pretty darn good. I'm trying to appreciate it for all it's worth.

Quote of the Day

So school's going well, the studio is thriving (I'm only teaching one class! hooray!), our backyard grass is growing, the nights are cooling, and Gary's classes are making him stretch in a whole new way (he's teaching an academic Humanities class for the first time and the prep is invigorating but time consuming). It must be fall.

Nothing exciting to report, really, except that Spencer can now kind of sing the ABC's and we planted a new peach tree. We are gearing up for Halloween and Sophie's birthday already, but first we get to spend Harvest Break in Del Mar with Mom and Dad, Kars, Abby and Kate! (and spouses and kids, on and off, right?) Can't wait for the beach and Disneyland!

In the meantime, here's my thought for the day, because after destroying my minivan's bumper by hitting a perfectly stationary trailer today, I've needed a laugh: The wise man can pick up a grain of sand and envision a whole universe. But the stupid man will just lay down on some seaweed and roll around until he’s completely draped in it. Then he’ll stand up and go, “hey, I’m Vine Man!”

The "Honey-Do" List Achievements!

Good thing Gary had four weeks off this summer between teaching semesters - I had a mile long list for him to help me with! Actually, it was a team effort. He painted the barn (thank heavens for Grandpa's paint sprayer!!!) and I did the detailing on the deck; he planted our new grass plot in the backyard while the garden, raspberries and fruit trees have been all mine. What can I say - we work well together!

Note our lovely rock collection - that's actually part of the parking lot for the dance studio in the barn. I finally talked Gary into putting in just a little grass though so my kids have a place in back to play!

Next year's project, is, um, the front yard, which is basically a weed haven. If you know anyone who needs Scottish thistle, alfalfa or crab grass, we got them covered!

First Day of Third Grade

Today Maggie started the third grade with a bang! Our awesome neighbors organized a breakfast for all the kids, so we were all out there to eat food (I made nutella crepes, of course!), chat, and hug our kids goodbye together. What a fun tradition! I hardly even cried this time! Maggie's all excited to go, as always. We hope it will be another amazing year for her.

Where did summer go???

Our #1 New Recipe of the Summer

This was the top new recipe we discovered this summer. Between us and our neighbors, the Fransons, we have probably made it 20 times. If you can get over the fact that you are using refrigerated crescent rolls, these are so dang yummy! Beware all diabetics out there - this will send your blood sugar levels through the roof! Even if you're not diabetic, this may make you one, it's that sweet. But so, so, finger-licking, plate-licking, pan-licking good.

Mountain Dew Apple Dumplings

2 cans crescent rolls
2 apples (I like Fuji or Granny Smith)
2 cups sugar
1 cup butter (two sticks)
cinnamon
1 can Mountain Dew

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel, core and cut apples into 8 pieces each. Roll a crescent roll around each piece of apple and put in two 9x13 pans (I like glass better than metal). In a saucepan, bring sugar and butter to low boil. Add a bit of the Mountain Dew and stir well to make sure sugar is dissolved. Pour around the crescent rolls in pans. Pour the rest of the can of Mountain Dew over the rolls and sprinkle all with cinnamon. Bake for 30 minutes uncovered, then cover and bake for 10 more minutes. Serve with cream, ice cream or Cool Whip.

Enjoy the sugar rush! You can get away with serving one per person, but invariably your guests will want two each. Or three. Then they start licking the pan... oh wait, that's just me.

We've Been Initiated!

So, you're evidently not a true Idahoan until you've been taken on a secret mission to the wilds to procure that elusive treasure, the official state fruit, the wild huckleberry. When we lived in Sugar City, we heard about everyone's secret patches and the pilgrimages they would take to visit them, but nobody volunteered to divulge the locations of their private stashes. In fact, they guarded their secrets more ferociously than the goblins at Gringotts. We left Sugar feeling a little deprived of the true Idaho experience.

Here in Lyman, however, we were lucky enough to stumble on a friendly (and generous!) neighbor who selflessly agreed to let us accompany her on her family's huckleberry mission. Four hours later, gloriously dirty, scratched and berry-stained, we returned with our precious pint of purple berries which I hurriedly transformed into muffins and a cheesecake before the kids finished them off.

I now can say, I'm a real Idahoan.

Tad and Dee Dee's Wedding

Last night two of our favorte former students of Gary's, Tad Sakota and Dee Dee Murdoch, got married. We've loved them both for a long time; DD was Gary's student director for Dance Alliance this last year, and Tad is like a kid himself so our kids just adore playing with/on him like a big jungle gym. We got to go to their temple ceremony, made fondue for their reception (the recipe is in my cook book, Aunt Lynne's fondue, and guys, you gotta try it because it is SO GOOD!), and Gary clogged with some of the other DA members as part of the entertainment. And as a special piece de resistance, during DeeDee's dance with her dad, Maggie and Sophie sang the song that Mag and Gary wrote together called "Waltzing with My Daddy". They did such a good job, and I was so proud.

It was a definite dancers' reception, because the last half hour of it was a total dance party. DD even changed out of her wedding dress so she could relive some of their greatest hits (the 80's medley, Gid and Alyssa's duet, the DA finale, Dance of Discovery that Sophie joined in which I thought was appropriate...). All the non-dancers there must have thought we were all raving lunatics, but we had so much fun. This was a party after our own taste!

They went to Island Park for their honeymoon. We gave them mosqito repellent as part of their wedding present. :-)

Maggie's Baptism

To end our crazy July activity, Maggie was baptized on July 11, 2009, at our stake center here in Lyman, ID. Many thanks to our wonderful relatives who traveled from near and far to be here (especially Nana and Papa, Gram and Grandpa, and Ron and Mary Beth from Cedar City!). I couldn't have done it without your help! And Maggie appreciated your show of support on such an important day. It was a great day from start to finish. Highlights included a hootnanny divine pancake breakfast (with sour cream, lemon curd and fresh strawberries - Kars, wish you were here! YUM!), a lovely baptismal service (Sophie gave a talk and all the grandkids sang "I like to Look for Rainbows"), a gourmet buffet lunch with help from all the cousins, watching Spencer lick the frosting off of at least 30 of the mini frosted cupcakes Nana made, and of course an impromptu dance later in the afternoon in the Larsen Family Barn. And eating a Hungry Heifer at Big Juds later with Mom and Dad, and actually meeting Big Jud himself who helped Papa change his tire!

We wish everyone could have been there, but we had an awesome turnout to support Maggie, and her baptism was really what it was all about. Congratulations on this big step, Mags! We are so proud of you!

Yellowstone!

I love that we live so close to major geographical stunners like the Tetons and Yellowstone. We recently took a road trip with some friends through these amazing places and had to post some pics. Highlights included being charged by a bison as we were driving along the highway, walking around the hot pots by Old Faithful, getting up close and personal with a whole herd of bison, and exhausting our camera batteries with gratuitious photo taking. Let them serve as an advertisement to come visit us in Idaho!!!

And oh, we also did the Rexburg 4th of July parade. Had a great time! There's Sophie in red, cousin Gracie Hunter in pink, and Maggie in blue polka dots. We love to dance, especially on a float!

Summer Stuff

After we left Aspen Grove we went down to Grandma and Grampa Larsen's house in Richfield for some more frolics. Highlights included sleeping with Scottie and Kenzie, the Westies; rock climbing and riding the tractor train at Danish Days in Central Valley; and four wheeling to the pioneer cemetary!

Aspen Grove

Well, I have a lot of catching up to do. As you can see, it's already July and I haven't covered any of June's many and varied activities, almost all of them blog-worthy. So here goes.

Dad scheduled a week-long Hunter family reunion in June up in Apen Grove, a gorgeous mountain retreat high up among the peaks of the Wasatch Mountains. I kinda had my doubts about going there - I had vague memories of dated A-frame cabins, group party games which traditionally I detest, and limited dining options. But after a week of the Aspen Grove experience, I'm won over.

It's a great vacation for families. You can stay in a rustic A frame if you want, but Dad got us suites in the new Beckham Lodge right next to the dining hall instead. All the rooms had two bedrooms, bathroom and sitting area, and all opened up to a great room where all the adults congregated in the evenings after the kids were asleep. The food was okay - I could have used some more options but really very edible. (Plus Mom stocked up our community kitchen with all sorts of goodies to tide us over!) And best of all, there were kids camps which took the kids for us every day for two three-hour sessions so the parents had time for themselves! Even Spencer (2) and Kate's 6 week-old Wyatt had their own places to go. It was so great! I got to nap, hike with Gary, swim, and generally refill my bucket before joyfully gathering my offspring from their camps every day for some quality family time. LOVED it.

Highlights:

-The scenery was UNREAL beautiful.

-Hiking with the fam!

-All the activities (playgrounds, basketball and tennis courts, paintball - have you recovered from your battle wounds yet Joe? - ropes courses, arts and crafts, archery, swimming, miniature golf, badminton, etc etc etc)

-Frontier Night! We got to ride a mini train, pan for gold, get our faces painted, listen to Indian tales in a teepee, play in the awesome western villiage, play pioneer games, and throw axes at pieces of wood! Hm, I probably wouldn't make that great of a pioneer...

- Spencer loved the guns! (of course)

-Be with my dear family! (get wrestled to the floor by Josh as usual; watch Papa teach Josh MD some super special surgical tips; play Settlers of Catan with Pete and Josh; talk with the sisters and mom; watch So You Think You Can Dance with everyone up at the Lodge; hold brand new baby Wyatt; watch Soph and Jack be the sweet ones together; play Take Two, Scum and Five Crowns with everyone...)

Thank you Nana and Papa for WONDERFUL memories!

My Garden is Growing!

Lovin' the garden this year! It's such a miracle to me that all this comes from teeny tiny seeds...

Giddyup Cowgirl: Maggie's Horsy Birthday Party

So I know it was almost a month ago, but here's some pics of our Maggie who turned 8 this year! She wanted a horse party so Gary made her a horse cake:

And I supervised her 14-kid party out in the barn which entailed a horse pinata, horse relays, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Herd Your Horsies (sweeping balloons with brooms through an obstacle course) and Horse Horse Mule (duck duck goose). It ended, of course, with a big ol' barn dance complete with hula hoops and Maggie's favorite dance, the Cha Cha Slide. We had a blast, even me! And Maggie got some special presnents this big baptism year: a set of blue scriptures with her name embossed on them from us, a carrying case from Gram, and a new bike from Nana and Papa. Happy Birthday Mags!

Opportunity Missed

The one night in six months, the ONE NIGHT, that Spencer slept through the night without waking up once, what did I foolishly do? I accidently took a non-drowsy Claritin that kept me up from 1:30 AM on. WIDE AWAKE. A chance to get a great night's rest, and I bombed it. stupid stupid stupid...

Mad May!!!

May was a crazy time in the Larsen household, which is why I didn't blog or facebook much. We had Maggie's ballet dance concert, her Mother's Day program at school, Sophie's preschool graduation from Mrs. Broadheads', chasing Spencer constantly down the street, and our Footworks clogging studio concert. And the end of May is the Rexburg approved time to plant your garden (I'm so jealous of those of you with long grow seasons!!!).


This is my first garden EVER (apart from some pumpkins I think we grew as kids on Ambassador Way); we've never lived anywhere long enough (or anywhere with a yard big enough) to have a garden. And now we live in Garden Central - at least I had lots of local expertise to help me! I will say, it took a lot out of me. Preparing the soil, designing my layout and actually doing the planting took a good two weeks, almost full time. Take a look: TA DA!

I'm so proud. It's actually even started growing! We planted sweet corn, peas, sugar snap peas,bush beans, onions, potatoes, lettuce, carrots, zucchini, hubbard squash, spaghetti squash, and two or three kinds of pumpkin. And cilantro, basil and rosemary. And oh yeah, watermelon, tomatoes, broccoli and honeydew melon, but we're not sure they'll actually grow here. Then we planted 15 raspberry bushes and four fruit trees. We'll see if any of it actually turns out, but we have a good start. And now when I hear quotes like "we will see the day when we live on what we produce" (Pres. Marion G. Romney) I won't freak out quite so much.

Ignore the rest of the yard; it's mostly weedy parking lot for the dance studio, but we have big plans!

Here's a video on YouTube of Maggie's dance concert; we'll have more soon for the clogging concert.

And here are her closeups:
And Sophies:

And, well, Spencer of the Chicken Legs:Happy Spring!