The Larson Family

September 2010

2010-10-31T21:57:00.000-06:00

I'm one month away from being caught up to the current month!!! YAHOO!!!

Would you believe me if I told you the highlight of September was going camping with these jokers?!?

It was! I love the Dennison's more than I can even say. I wish we could get together more often, but I will settle for the few random visits that we are blessed with... even though we LITERALLY have to pass their house EVERY time we go to town. Yep, we'll always be lamer than you guys. But we love you!! REMEMBER THAT!

So apparently September was also the month I didn't take many pictures... or maybe life just slowed down a bit. However, I did become just a little more Martha in September... Martha Stewart that is.

September would also be the month these guys joined our little tribe.

No, we will not butcher and pluck them... we will enjoy them for these....

Can you tell which one came from our girls? It has amazed me how much darker the yolks are on these bad boys. We've had them for close to a month now (3 of them) and they've only produced just over half a dozen eggs. K has been having daily chats with them about how they don't feed us so why should we feed them, and is ecstatic when an egg is laid. Hopefully they'll become more consistent, or maybe we'll figure out what we're doing wrong... somethings gotta give!

This was the first egg from our very own chickens.

September did give us our first MAJOR medical incident... only it didn't involve anyone.. medically.

K bashed her head and walked out to find me on the porch, with blood over her face. It was a little scary... but we put on our big girl pants and dealt with it. It didn't really actually even hurt her... she just more reacted to our reactions... it was kinda gross.

but we Larson girls... we're survivors!

Canyon discovered one of his new favorite things... and its only $1 for a pack of 5. The most complicated and difficult thing about it is getting the first one blown up the first time. I've almost blown out my ear drums a couple of times just blowing so hard!...

BALLOON ROCKETS!!!

Once I get it blown up once or twice he can do it... and its fun for HOURS! I highly recommend this toy to any parent with children of age.

THAT, my friends, was September 2010.

Another month closer to another year.

August 2010

2010-10-31T21:25:00.000-06:00

August was just as busy as all the others... PLUS I turned a year older. Does that REALLY complicate things... or is it just an excuse...
Moving on... I am going to keep short on words, because I am still 3 months behind BUT, when we got back from our summer vacation we found that THE GARDEN IS GROWING!

That was very exciting considering the fact that it wasn't weeded for a month!

WHO KNEW?!?!

We went for some bonding time with Daddy at Cabela's (seriously.. what better place to bond?!)

We caught up with some friends...

A earned enough in trade babysitting for the neighbor that she got a perm!!

We spent some time at the pool (I'm not sure why these are the only pictures we have of proof)

Annnd CJ got to sped some time with his little girl friend

this day she wanted to sing him a song

no, I'm not jealous... yet

A, K and C got to have a sleep-over at Jessie and Spencer's, Krystal was also there!

Kailey lost ANOTHER tooth... and it wasn't NEARLY as traumatic as the first!

They just pretended it was

The kids started school...

2nd grade

6th grade

Last year of pre-school!

AND we had C's SECOND and official 5th birthday party

The package from Grammy & Papa

He opened a card from Grammy JoJo and Grampy Stevie and money fell out all over the place!

Oh and we can't forget the BACON for dinner!!! Bacon and eggs is what he chose for dinner this year.

PLUS did I mention I turned another year older?!?!

And my garden continued to grow

What more can a girl ask for?

July 2010

2010-10-31T20:51:00.000-06:00

Getting closer to being caught up!!
Now onto July!
In July we made our annual trip to Spokane. Dad drove down and picked us up and together we made the journey to the beautiful inland northwest... a place I lovingly refer to as SpoCompton.

Canyon is our goof ball. He can make a game out of anything. On the trip to Spokane he had a little party with his Mickey D's burger...

Du-du-du-du-du... I'm lovin it!
(is that the McDonalds tune, or Burger King?!?!?!)

We had K's second 7th birthday party... combined with dads birthday

And just had lots, and lots, and lots of fun!

The "meat guy" showed up

mmmm..... salmon!!!

4th of July

and did I mention FUN?...

Fun which includes trip #1 to SILVERWOOD with Jessii

More fun... and friends

And fun....

And SILVERWOOD trip #2!!

and a little bit o' fun!

And our finale was Canyons FIRST 5th birthday party

(not to mention one of my great friends, Brandi, flying to SpoCompton to drive home with us...

AFTER we went to the street fair in Coeur d'Alene)

And once we got home we were surprised with this...

Because of CJ's headaches he isn't able to make the annual trip with us. But while we were gone he and Jessica worked really hard at giving our house a face lift. They did a great job!! It was a very sweet surprise!

June 2010

2010-10-31T19:43:00.001-06:00

Yep, I'm behind. Now that its October I will do my best to reminisce...
Going back to May...

CJ got together with some of his best friends of all time... the WARRIORS! (I dont think you can say it without yelling it) It was really great to see how excited he got for this. He mentally needed the boost, and I think he got everything out of it that he hoped.

Future "warrior"

In June:

Ashlyn and CJ had a Stake Daddy Daughter Activity

She also had her allergies tested because of some congestion following the big surgery

The conclusion: cats, dogs, weeds... basically the same things that most people are allergic to. She has to take allergy meds when shes going to be around animals, other than that she is doing very well and seems to be all healed up!

Canyon got a "pet"... then lost it... really really fast.

We also celebrated Grandma Nibley's 80th birthday. It was a surprise that her children had planned and included a bus ride through the UT parts of her life. IT was SO MUCH fun. One of the stories the kids especially love to hear Grandma tell is the one where she was cleaning out a garbage can and fell in. As we drove past the house her neighbor, who still lives there rolled out a garbage can... with a life size picture of Grandma inside!

Grandmas dad was actually the Governor of Utah for a while so we got to go the the nature preserve where there is a stone for each of the Governor's of Utah...

AND we got a tour of the Governors mansion, where grandma lived into her teens...

It was a fun, special day. We all feel so blessed to have been able to honor this special women in such a way.

While everyone was in town for Grandma Nibley, Trish was also in town to see her family and we were able to get together at the splash park where Aunt Trish was able to do one of the things the kids love most about her... read a funny story! We love you Trish!

In June we also had the first of K's two birthday parties to celebrate her 7th birthday

Toy Story 3 was the movie of choice. She invited Krystal too, but I guess we took the picture before she got there

Grammy JoJo and Grampy Stevie came for Grandma Nibley's birthday too. And while they were here they painted our room in the basement with the kids. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa!!!

K & C went to summer camp this year and had a blast! The last day they actually made and shot off rockets! It was awesome ~ and extra special because our neighbor Easton went to summer camp too!

I also got the garden planted... I hope it does well!!! (wink, wink... it IS October now, I already know how it did!)

So, thats June 2010... in a nutshell!

Business...

2010-05-10T09:05:00.001-06:00

Almost another month has passed! Crazy! The only problem with waiting so long in between posts is I forget stuff.. AND I don't feel like I should use so many words, because words get boring... but oh well... I'm not forcing anybody to read, right?!
So, thinking back....
Not a whole lot went at the end of April. Ashlyn went on her first campout. She had the time of her life! The only problem was that she started having stomach and back pain, but it SEEMED to have passed after just a couple of hours. She has lots of fun memories!

Then we had family come

for JESSIE BOB'S WEDDING! She was a BEAUTIFUL bride. It was a busy several days, but I think the end payoff was wonderful. The weather was a little scary, but it held out and made for a great day.

Congratulations Jessica and Spencer!

I mentioned at camp that Ashlyns pain "SEEMED" to have gone away, because a week later (the day Blake got to town) the pain came back and she ended up being in the hospital for 2 days! It turns out she had appendicitis! Thankfully it didnt burst but after the pains, which led to minor emergency,

which led to ER at the hospital,

which led to being admitted to peds, which ended up in surgery, which ended up taking a LONG time to come out of anesthesia... it was a full 2 days. But she's a trooper and recovered VERY quickly (once she took 12 hours to fully come out of the anesthesia).

(Thanks for the flowers Grammy and Papa)

Or at least she thought she did. We had to hold her back from doing a lot of things she thought she could do (especially wedding setup and carrying around baby Katy)... including the last dance competition of the season. That was the most difficult I think. But we have a recital to look forward to in a couple of weeks... only 3 weeks left of school... then off to SPOKANE!!!!!!!! We can HARDLY WAIT!!!!!!!!!

This busy time also included CJ's birthday! We had a family birthday dinner while Grammy JoJo, Grampy Stevie, Blake and Kandis were here, so the actual day was a pretty low key thing (he actually prefers it that way though)... never-the-less it was fun, and we did our best to show him how grateful we were that he had another year on this earth, aside from him living in pain.

If you've been a family follower you may remember how CJ loves hamburger stroganoff (bleh!) SO thats what we had for dinner... AGAIN! And he tries very hard to keep us healthy, so since we had a cake with family in town I opted for healthier...

mini fruit pizzas!!

We love you Ceej!

We still have no progress on his health. We had a little scare and he wore a heart monitor for 24 hours, and will probably have to do another longer test... but we are hoping that more "connections" could lead to more testing, and more testing can lead to... well, we all know the routine. Once again thank you to all those who continue to be hopeful with us, who continue to pray with us, and who support us in every way possible.

And finally, MOTHERS DAY. My family did a great job of making me feel really really special.

CJ and I spent Saturday getting some rocks for my new and improved flower bed

thanks Spencer for letting us use your tractor!

(a work in progress)

then on Sunday I had cards and gifts

and a very special dinner with all of my favorites... crab, lobster, steak, grilled vegetables, AND chocolate cake! We lived WELL beyond our means for a day... and will have to make up for it for the next month... but it made for a special, memorable day!

CJ was pretty proud of the work he did!

PLUS I had extra help with kitchen cleanup duties.
I love my family SO MUCH!!!

Easter

2010-04-18T08:57:00.005-06:00

Disclaimer: Once again I lost some pictures... sad, I know. I'm not sure how I do this, but at least it doesn't happen often. I lost ALL of our Easter day pictures, but we still had a wonderful day and we do have wonderful memories of it!

Canyon and I got to help out with Kailey's class party. I let Canyon be in charge of the photos and there were LOTS of pictures... but here are just a few to show how much fun t was! An Easter egg hunt AND an Easter egg spoon race!!!

Then, of course, there was egg decorating and treat making! This is one of the best parts!We decorated lots of eggs and made bird nest treats... only I cooked the mixture too long and the no bakes were falling apart... but throw on a peanut butter M&M and WHO CARES?!?!

I also made "Resurrection Rolls". You basically make a yeast dough for rolls and wrap it around a marshmallow. Once the rolls are baked the marshmallow disappears and you are left with an empty tomb, just as our Savior was resurrected so that we can live in the presence of our Father in Heaven. It was such a great way to convey the message. The kids were looking so forward to the gooey marshmallow in the center of the warm roll. But in the end they realized the marshmallow was still there... it filled the ENTIRE roll with its sweetness.

And... my first card... for a baby shower! It turned out pretty cute despite the bomb that had to go off to make the cuteness a possibility!

And finally, no post is complete without my guys. Canyon is prepared for an evening of working with daddy... in the snow... after a 60 degree day (how weird has this weather been?!?)

And Daddy... oh daddy! Just had to put this picture in for posterity. I've always loved myself a cowboy!

Oh yea....

2010-04-02T10:04:00.004-06:00

Look over there

--------------------------------->

I REACHED MY FIRST 20 POUND GOAL!!!!

St. George!

2010-03-29T13:20:00.002-06:00

It was time again for our 2nd annual St. George family vacation... weekend... trip... dance competition! It was a very busy weekend, but so much fun. It was quite a balancing act to watch 10 dances in 2 days. Of course they can't all be back to back because they are all in different divisions. We watched 3 solos (all either 1st or 2nd place). We watched the Quartz team dance 4 dances (all 1st or 2nd place). Ashlyn danced in 2 dances (1st and 2nd place) PLUS both teams, as well as the hip-hoppers, competed in a hip-hop dance and place BEST OVERALL! It was very fun and exciting... AND in between it all we went back and forth to the hotel and different places for family time so Daddy, Kailey and Canyon wouldn't be stuck at the dance competition! PHEW!!!
That being said here are the pictures & videos, with the exception of the hip-hop dance because my camera died LITERALLY as they were stepping out onto the stage. Oh well, the next competition is in 2 weeks, so I have threatened Ashlyn that they all have to dance as well as they did in St. George!
1st place dance...

Their kick line was MUCH better than the first time!!

2nd place dance...

<

CJ wanted to try the eyelashes... you decide who looks better (sorry Ceej. I know you hate it when I do this to you, but you make such great memories for our kids!)

Our Little Kailey

2010-03-21T21:11:00.000-06:00

I guess I could call this Why I love Being a Mother part 3... in no particular order.
I've said before that we have been blessed with very sweet children. Kailey is no exception. In fact I think Kailey could be our most emotional child. She is always concerned about others, and worries herself almost into sickness (nah, couldn't be a Larson thing).Kailey has had some big events in her life recently as well as her big sister and little brother!

Most significant....

SHE LOST HER FIRST TOOTH

AND her second.....

These moments were NOT without a little stress and trauma. Obviously tooth #1 came out with a little stress (namely pliers... but we won't go into that... I CERTAINLY was NOT around when that happened!!), here is a little more of the event...

#2 was a little easier.

After WEEKS of being lose we told her she could get a cat/cougar too (like Ashlyn and Canyon) IF she let Daddy pull it out on that day... which she did so... we would like to introduce you to Sophie...

(yes Sophie is wearing a dress)

Kailey has also become obsessed with this...

She is officially a chess player and plays whenever somebody will challenge her. She has also started teaching Canyon, just so she can always be guaranteed an opponent I think.

But she did let him win.... once!

Just to make him happy

And finally,
There was a letter that was attached to her latest report card. It basically explained that her teacher used grade numbers 1-4 instead of letter grades. She explained that the number "1" didn't mean the child got an "F", but instead meant that they needed more assistance and need additional help on that particular subject... and on to a 4 where the student "could consistently meet the standard without any intervention whatsoever." We had a parent teacher conference a few weeks back, so I had an idea that Kailey was doing well in the first grade. What I didn't know..... was that she got ALL 4's ON HER REPORT CARD!!! How awesome is that?!?!

She makes us very proud!She is a very, very sweet girl. And she is always trying to make people happy. Especially her parents. Kailey... Hopey.... Lou... Squishy... Loulabelle... Hopey-Lou... K.K.... whatever we call you... WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!!

She has now started piano lessons... which she has become obsessed with... surprise, surprise (notice a pattern here? She seems to become obsessed with just about anything she tries). We couldn't be more excited!!! We are SO EAGER for a potential musically inclined person in our home!

Ashlyn

2010-03-04T10:09:00.001-07:00

If you've kept updated you knew this was coming! If not you'll just have to go back a couple of posts and see why I love being a mom!!

First of all, a few long awaited updates... but I will keep words brief..

She got her cast off!

She gave us all a very special Valentines (if you click on the pictures you can see them bigger)

She had her first dance competition of the year! She was A-MAZING (but that's no surprise!)

February 2010 Dance Competition! Click here to watch!

Nice lashes huh!!!

Having fun at Del Taco with the group!

Ashlyns most fabulous instructor Quinsee!! We LOVE Quinsee!!!

She is quite the amazing performer! (she is the one on the left)

AND she finally had her surgery.

Waiting...

alll ready!...

(Daddy is so comforting!

He was going to go get her prescriptions filled but she told him he couldn't leave)

Details:

3/3/10 Ashlyn was scheduled to have tubes in her ears, a procedure to her nose, a tonsillectomy, and an adenoid-ectomy (that means getting tonsils and adenoids out (: ) to help with her hearing.
A hearing test showed that she had almost no hearing in one of her ears from years of chronic congestion.
We got her to the hospital and all was well. After her surgery the doctor came and let us know that the surgery was a success, he drained a SIGNIFICANT amount of fluid from BOTH of her ears probably because her adenoids were SO LARGE that they were covering her eustation tubes (tubes going into the ears) and blocking her sinus cavity. This could contribute to both her chronic congestion and her hearing loss. We knew she was getting her tonsils out too, but this was secondary, just to try to eliminate any possible issues down the road... HOWEVER... he said when he started taking her tonsils out they looked as if she had chronic infections... SHE HAS NEVER BEEN TREATED FOR AN INFECTION... EVER... never strep throat... nothing. Poor girl. So essentially she has probably NEVER felt good (on top of not being able to hear). He also said her tonsils were basically falling apart ): ... and I felt like a horrible parent, again, for never knowing! So the tonsils were a little more difficult to get out than we'd hoped.. but, all in all it was a success.
She is now home and actually feeling pretty darn good, all things considered.

We noticed in the hospital her hearing was getting better already... even with gauze in her ears!When we got in the car to come home we tested the volume on the radio. Her normal listening volume was 15-20... so we started at 0 and went to 10... TEN... before she said it was too loud! Then as we started diving away she was startled by the sound of the auto door locks! Probably a sound she hasn't picked up on. THEN, her first morning she woke up in a panic! I was really worried and asked her what was wrong! She said "What's that sound???!!!!" I listened and listened and finally figured out it was the heater vent. A sound she obviously has NEVER heard. She has also told me that she thought I had a crackly voice but it was actually "soft and smooth" and that Daddy's was "deeper and louder" than she always thought it was.

She is in for some life changes I think. Great ones! One of the things we are anxious for is for her to dance. She may have been dancing primarily off counts, so we cant imagine how FABULOUS she is going to be when she can actually keep up with the music!

Thank you for all your thoughts, prayers and love!!! We have such a great support system!!!

My Sweet Boy

2010-02-18T08:43:00.005-07:00

Canyon's surgery went pretty well. We are now a week into recovery and its still a bit rocky... but we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel! The doctor is amazing, and wonderful, and we are so grateful that he will be Ashlyn's doctor as well. He is very caring and is never in a hurry to answer your very last questions. The hospital staff was great as well. He had a nurse come in with a box full of stuff that he would see while he was in there, so that made things not so strange for him. He was even given the blanket he has in the picture. There is a group of ladies that make these blankets for the children who have to go into the hospital. A wonderful idea, I'm sure these women are greatly blessed!!!! It was a great comfort to our little man.

This one I couldn't pass up. He was getting his clothes all folded up after getting dressed for surgery... Hello Thomas, so glad you could join us!

This is Canyon and Snug... his best friend throughout the whole ordeal. His second biggest comfort... next to me (and Daddy too of course). To the untrained eye Snug MIGHT look like a kitty cat.. but no. Snug is a baby cougar. (If you click on the picture you can see it bigger... honestly the cutest little kitty... er, baby cougar, ever.) The girls gave Snug to Canyon in the morning before he went to the hospital.... and Canyon named him shortly after.

So a few details of our week...
One of the roughest times was coming out of anesthesia. He was angry and thrashing around trying to pull out his IV. There was no calming him down. I had to crawl into bed with him to hold him down and CJ was trying to force feed him some slushy. The nurse said that as soon as he would eat some she could take the IV out, but she didn't want to until she knew he would be getting fluids. Ya, that lasted about one minute. She took the IV out to try to calm him down, and within a few minutes it worked... and he got most of the slushy down. So after about an hour we got to go home. AND... he doesn't remember a thing! I guess that's good though.
Then entire way home, and for about another hour or so he was pretty much a zombie, so I figured he would sleep the entire day! NOPE! NUH-UH! He was awake and full force. Actually wanting snacks. We were very hopeful that this was going to be his recovery process... not quite so lucky. The next day he slowed down a bit and each day has been a little different. We've had several days of not much sleep, and only a couple of naps. But I CAN say he is SUCH a trooper. He doesn't like the pain med so he wont take it... and when he does we can only imagine how much pain he's in. He is very quiet, so we also know when he is feeling OK because he starts yammering on about anything and everything. We appreciate those moments though, and know that these times are when he's feeling his best.

Canyon loves his quilt (it's almost finished... it isn't tied yet). Even as miserable as he was he didn't forget to tell me thank you. I am a very blessed Mommy (and yes, Snug is tucked right in there with him).

He was actually with me when I was buying the back for it. He picked out the deer fabric himself. It was very favorite at the store. He was calling it a blanket even then, but was so surprised to see it as a REAL blanket.

We have been SO proud of him through all of this. There have been some tears but he has been a really tough little man. Stronger than me sometimes I think. We love you Canyon River!

What it means to be a mother...

2010-02-07T11:00:00.003-07:00

I know there aren't many times I think to post something deep or really probably even that memorable but a couple of things struck me the past few days and I have some thoughts that I would like to share, but more importantly they are thoughts I would like to remember.

I want to start with the fact that I LOVE being a mother. More than anything I love being a mother!! I don't take it for granted, and I don't take lightly the part my wonderful husband has in this whole beautiful puzzle we call life. I LOVE BEING A MOTHER. My children are the world to me.
This isn't a new idea I have stumbled upon. From the time I was a little girl I wanted to be a wife and mother, and I KNOW how blessed I am to be able to take upon the role. I can't say I have been "contemplating" this a whole lot the last week or so, but life, and the beautiful plan Heavenly Father has set forth for me is taking place. Every minute.
This last week we found out that Canyon has to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. Our poor little precious man who had such a thunderous entry into this world has to have a little surgery. By Larson standards (meaning our family of 5) this shouldn't be such a big deal, but it is. To me. As a mother. I love my man, and lets face it, the 2 of us have been through A LOT together. Our lives have been spared and there is work for us to do here on earth... but he is 4, and the thought of him going through something like this has been a little (right...little... I say that lightly) taxing on me. We also found out that Ashlyn has to have tubes put into her ears and the chronic congestion she has had for the last several years has played a huge part in this. Being so congested for so long has caused physical damage to her ear drums. Humbling as parents. What could we have done better? What could we have done more? But its all a process, a process in learning... to become better parents... a better mother... better people. All of us.

For the sake of this post I am going to focus on Canyon (and I am sure in another week when we have a scheduled date for Ashlyn there will be another post but... for now...).
Canyon is going in on Wednesday... and as I have said before, its a little taxing. I have submersed myself this weekend on making a quilt for him.
It may not be something he will ever really care about, but I have done it so that someday he might be able to look back and say "my mom loved me. Whenever I was going through something big in my life she was there, and she made sure I felt loved and important. When I was 4 and had to have my tonsils out, she made me this quilt. It isn't a perfect quilt. There are lots of mistakes and errors, just like mom made mistakes and errors, but I know she had a perfect love for me. She showed me that. And I love my mom."

I LOVE BEING A MOM. I love my children with all my heart and soul and I am SO GRATEFUL to have been given this opportunity. I know there are many who might never know what its like to be a parent in this life. One of my cousins is looking forward to being a mother for the first time and I hope she can read this and be inspired, somehow. She has inspired me and helped me to remember this... God didn't choose anyone else to raise these children. He chose us. And for that I am forever grateful.

Fitness Challenge... and more!

2010-01-26T11:45:00.015-07:00

I know that some people are getting tired of hearing about it... so I won't dedicate my whole post to it... but I am really striving for some big goals here... so I need all the support I can get!!... and yes, I am obsessing, just a bit... but that's ok... big goals... remember!
So a couple weeks ago I started a fitness challenge (and if this bores you I'm sorry... this blog is my attempt at journaling too). A six week challenge, but I intend on continuing it to May when my sister in law gets married and we'll be seeing lots of family... not to mention summer will be just around the corner from there and... well... we ALL know what that means!
The challenge includes keeping a daily food journal and working out 5-6 days a week. You get points for daily accomplishments and working out (which I go Mon, Wed, and Fri at 5:30! AM!... but am LOVING it... as well as a couple Wii workouts during the week and kickboxing on Saturday mornings).
So... goals...
I'm just gonna get this one out of the way... so maybe you'll forget about it... but since this IS MY journal... here goes: I'm turning 25 this year... oh... whoops... 35... yes... 35. So by my 35th birthday my goal is to lose the control tops!!! Pantyhose that is. Sorry guys... but CJ didnt even know what they were so maybe I'm good here??? I figure after 3 kids, and 2 abdominal surgeries, PLUS the ever loved "diabetic waist tire" it'll be difficult, but I think I'm up for it.
In addition to the "waist tire" I had a goal to reduce my insulin by HALF in the 6 weeks of the challenge... I CAN CROSS THAT ONE OFF! Its really amazing what a little dedication can do. Just 2 weeks into a diet and exercise plan and my insulin is already down... HALF!!!! That's pretty exciting!

My other 6 week goals include:
ChangED eating HABITS
Daily fitness routine HABIT
Loss of INCHES (nope... not gonna even mention how many)
and all of my "tight" pants will no longer be tight.

I'm getting close... I can do it! I'm working really hard on a low glycemic diet, and I REALLY know that its helping. It been a little difficult with a daughter who wont eat beans and a son who wont eat cooked tomatoes... but they'll get it. They have to!
My May goals include everything previous PLUS a loss of AT LEAST 20 pounds! I really hate numbers... but.. I am giving one, hey everyone needs something to strive for right?!!
Mom WAS on board with me when they were here in December but she has TOTALLY slacked and... I am SO WINNING. It was a challenge between the 2 of us... but its not much of a challenge when SOMEBODY doesn't participate!!!!! (Hows that for a push??? Love you more than you know Momma!!!) I cant remember what our challenge deal was for sure... I'm sure it had something to do with her giving me money... ???

Ok, I said I wouldn't devote the entire post to the fitness challenge, so here's some fun stuff...

CJ got to go hunting again. A few times.

(such a handsome guy I have)

One of the guys he took out actually didn't want the elk, so he gave it to CJ. Another he split and he got to keep a yearling for himself (yep Bambi... in elk form ).

Needless to say we have a chest FREEZER full of elk meat.

I would love to hear some tried and true recipes. If you know me at all you know I love too cook, and so far the elk meat has worked just fine will all my beef recipes... but ALREADY we're getting a little tired of red meat so I think this will last well into the year, and maybe the next.

Canyon River has loved the elk hunting too. Not going, but enjoying the after-fun. He especially LOVES the legs. Each and EVERY elk he has claimed the legs.

(ya ya, gross I know)

He was making tracks in the snow.

After Daddy got home from the last hunt he just fell into bed (this is one of the times I am thankful he has his hospital bed). I went into the bedroom a few times and made sure he knew that he STANK! When he woke up and was sitting with Canyon in his lap Canyon's little sniffer started working... he finally detected the smell was DADDY. He response was "mmmmmmmmm" ... and continued sniffing Daddy until Daddy couldn't stand himself anymore and had to take a shower. I probably don't need to tell you how proud Daddy was!
Their most favorite thing to do together is to take the carcass up to the mountain behind our house and feed the wolves. Then they go back up and look at the tracks of all the animals who went and ate.

on their way up

coming back down

a trophy from the adventure

And the girls....
(I just wanted to get more Polar Express pictures in.)

On a side note....
Here are a couple of recipes that I have enjoyed eating that are pretty low glycemic... just in case anyone wants to try.
These are pretty much my lunch staples every day...

Chang’s Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients:
3 teaspoons oil
2.5 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts (or pieces of)
8 oz. water chestnuts – finely chopped
2/3 cup mushrooms – finely chopped
3 tablespoons chopped green onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
iceberg lettuce leaves

Special Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

Stir Fry Sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Directions:
Make the special sauce by dissolving the sugar in water in a small bowl.
Add soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, ketchup, lemon juice and sesame oil.
Mix well and refrigerate this sauce until you're ready to serve.

Bring oil to high heat in a wok or large frying pan.
Saute chicken breasts until done.
Remove chicken from the pan and cool.

Prepare the stir fry sauce by mixing the soy sauce, brown sugar, and rice vinegar together in a small bowl.
When chicken is cool, mince it as the mushrooms and water chestnuts are (or chop in a food processor).
Heat the pan to high.
Add chicken, garlic, onions, water chestnuts and mushrooms to the pan.
Add the stir fry sauce to the pan and saute the mixture for a couple minutes then serve it in the lettuce"tortillas".

Top with"Special Sauce".

I basically use an entire bag of frozen chicken and this lasts me the entire week!

Honey Walnut Bread
2 Loaves

Ingredients
2 C. Water
2 pkg. Yeast
3/4 C Honey
1/4 C. Applesauce
1 T. Salt
6 C. Whole Wheat Flour
2 T. Flax Seed
1 C. Walnuts, chopped
2 T. Milk Powder

Directions:
Dissolve yeast in warm water.
In a large bowl, combine applesauce, honey and salt and mix well.
Add walnuts; Add yeast mixture and then gradually add milk, flour and flax seed.
Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth.
Place in buttered bowl and let rise until double.
Punch down and let rest for a few minutes.
Divide dough into 2 parts and shape into loaves.
Place in greased pans and let rise for about an hour.
Bake at 375* for 35 to 40 minutes.

This is REALLY REALLY yummy bread. Especially when I need a "bread fix". Its low fat, high fiber and 100% whole wheat!

Dance competition season is beginning in about exactly a month now. I am the team mom for Ashlyn's team and am really looking forward to it. I cant wait to start posting about the dance adventures of 2010! This year not only are we going to St. George but to Pocatello, ID... and to Lagoon. It should be fun!!!

JANUARY 2010!!!!

2010-01-10T11:00:00.006-07:00

Why not twice in a row?! I guess working on the computer now as much as I do... makes me neglect something I actually enjoy doing!! Yes, yes I do spend some time on Facebook, what with high scores to challenge and Scrabble games to win... my journal-ing seems to be put on the back-burner. Its really sad when I think about it though because so many memories happen each and every day.. then by the time I am sitting down to write, some of them have slipped away. Sad, I know... and I am going to be better at it... again... I hope!!!
It has, in fact, been so long that I am having to shuffle through my pictures to remember some important dates and fun events...

#1 - Grammy and Papas visit! EARLY Christmas! Thanks goodness Santa gets things done... and thank goodness Kailey wrote him a note letting him know that it would be very nice if we could have Christmas early while Grammy and Papa were here... he obviously DOES watch because he came through! He showed up early.. and with my new camera... I don't know where the pictures are :( We did manage to get some pics of the girls dance though. The studio did a dance production of the Polar Express... and it was FANTASTIC. The girls did GREAT and Ashlyn was on top her game even though she STILL had her cast.

Canyon river has become absolutely obsessed with hunting... and thanks to a gift from Uncle D last year... spends most of his time hunting the mounts that are already on our wall... acting out being hunted (and the actual hunters who have watched him are amazed at the actual characteristics of each animal he has picked up)... watching hunting videos, and playing "the hunting game" on the Wii we got for Christmas from Grammy and Papa. Needless to say daddy is per-retty proud... but even HE admits, after hours where Canyon wont talk to us because he is an animal, that maybe our little man is becoming a little obsessIVE!
Although this is one of the rarer moments when he did find something else to do... I mean seriously... who can resist a snowman!?

Then we had Christmas... ON Christmas!!! Daddy hid beneath the stairs and snuck a shot of the big guy. We were pretty luck he didnt notcie and high tail it outta here... although the presents were already under the tree so I guess we would have been safe anyway... I wonder what would have happened next year though????

Glad we dont have to find out!

I wish I had something a little more to document! Somehow my dear husband deleted all the Christmas pics of our family Christmas off the camera too. Although we did have a one day surprise visit from Aunt Jess.

and this is Jessie's... friend...???... Spencer. We are looking forward to getting to spend more time and get to know him much better over the next... many... many years.

So anyway... Merry Christmas and Happy New year (just a little late). We are dreaming of, and praying for a wonderful... HEALTHY year.

November

2009-11-25T21:44:00.013-07:00

This post is going to be FULL of randomness... how many times have I done this???
Eventually, I guess, I will start keeping up again!!! So here has been our November...
First of all Kandis came to visit... then she left... for a LOOOONNNNG LOOOONNNNG time (I'll get over it eventually)... but she came back and we had SO MUCH fun!!!

First we made Rice Krispy sculptures

My sculpture!

this was all Kandis' idea... I think mostly because she felt guilty for leaving for so long... then having to go back to work, or some sort of weird thing like that.. and wanted to make her few days especially fun (I am sure that eventually I WILL get over it).

Then we ate them.... Canyon, of course, enjoyed his the most!!!

Then we had an EARLY Thanksgiving dinner... who can NOT have fun when there is SO MUCH food!!!

Then THIS happened...

Seriously though... she's in 5th grade... doesn't actually bother her a bit (She rather enjoys all the attention to be quite honest). She was at dance... but not actually dancing... and slipped on the hardwood floor. Thankfully she was never in too much pain and should be getting her cast off before Christmas.

Kailey had a Thanksgiving pie feast in her class...

there were about 10 pies... 5 varieties. These first graders were in HEAVEN!!!

And today we spent preparing for Thanksgiving!

We made some little turkeys...

Kailey tends to be our VERY most emotional child... this was her reaction when she got in a little trouble for licking a candy corn!! Yep... tears... we love our little Lou!

THEN we made THE MOST adorable little turkey basket to take rolls to Aunt Cindy's in. The kids decorated the feathers and I seriously think they had the most fun of any project we have ever done. In the several hours it took to make it... I don't think we had a moment of contention!! This is a moms dream!!! I sure have good kids!!!

lunch break, on the floor... because the table was COVERED
The finished feathers
annnnd.... the mess
it was SO worth it though!

I will get another picture of the basket filled with rolls for Thanksgiving!! Its kinda hard to get a good picture of it in this picture.

I am so grateful and recognize many of the blessings I enjoy each and every day. CJ is closer to a diagnosis with part 1 of of one test completed today, a lumbar puncture (to check the pressure in his brain next week) and a "tilt table test" hopefully next week as well. We should have a good direction as to where he stands on the 8th of December when he meets with the specialist again. Thank you for all your prayers, I know they have blessed us in many, many ways.

So for now, thats all folks!

Ashlyn got jipped!!

2009-10-26T10:04:00.009-06:00

First of all, I don't think its any big mystery how proud I am of Ashlyn and how much I adore her and how totally in love with her I am. That being said... I am a slacker!
Ashlyn had her 11th birthday... and I am just now finally blogging! In my defense though, she did have one of the best birthday parties EVER!! Starting with....

5 of her closest friends.

truth...

or dare!!!

FOOD!!!

Cake...

Presents and... did I mention 5 of her closest friends!!

We sure love you Ash!!!

Ducks and Doctors

2009-09-24T17:28:00.008-06:00

This is pretty random, but I figured I should get a post in before the month is up - if not just for my own entertainment I know that our parents like them as well!! :)

So... ducks and doctors!! I'm laughing just thinking of all the directions I can go with this! But I will stick with the honest to goodness truth! Those who know us know that our reality is often far fetched enough... why make anything up!! Anyone who knows us also know that CJ is an AVID hunter. In the past 3 years he hasn't hunted much so we have taken on a few trophies of others. At one point we had an elk, but he sold it... then a couple of weeks ago we got a moose.

He is pretty cute, and I get the moose, he didn't take too much getting used to.

Then the other night I got in the car to run down the street to borrow some books from a friend (just as a sidenote: Kailey is reading the SPIDERWICK series!! 3 weeks into first grade and she's reading SPIDERWICK... crazy!!!). I will just say that I think our street is the darkest street in our whole neighborhood, and our porch light wasn't working... so it was really dark! I have always been the kind of person who never looks in the back seat... just in case somebody is hiding in there (we all have or issues don't we?). As I am backing out of our driveway I hear something rustle in the back seat... it kind of sounded like paper. My first thought was "what the heck?", my second thought was "I have to figure out what is back there before I get too far away from the house"... so a few houses down from ours is a streetlamp. I could see before I got to the streetlamp that there was something in the seat behind mine (thankfully not a person).. and CJ borrowed my car that day so... what the heck was in my car?? Mind you, this WHOLE thought process lasts about 10 seconds... not enough time to really let any rational thought soak into my head. When I get under the streetlamp... "HOLY CRAP THERE ARE DUCKS IN MY BACKSEAT!!!" No, they weren't live ducks, they were stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks! So, in the minute that it takes me to get down to my friends house I am already reeling as to what my dear darling husband is planning to do with these stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks!
In the 5 minutes I'm gone I have come to terms with the fact that CJ wouldn't possibly think of keeping... stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks! Ya... you see where I am going with this... don't like the ducks much. When I do get home I ask CJ about the ducks and he reassures me that he did, in fact, like the ducks... but that he was planning on selling them... PHEW!!! Crisis averted! Riiiiiiight!!!! CJ goes to basketball, I go to bed, CJ comes home, maybe goes and plays a game of chess with a friend... heck, I don't know I'M ASLEEP! The next morning I wake up and there are DUCKS ON MY WALL!!! Stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks! ON SKEWERS... ON! MY! WALL!!! Have I mentioned I DO NOT LIKE THE DUCKS???!! Here are the lovely ducks....

(on skewers)
SO.. the next day I had a hair appointment... and I picked myself up some "ducks"!!

Yep... this was my "ducks"! I had been wanting to do it for a long time, but CJ had always asked me to keep my long hair. I was tired of my long hair... MY long hair... not somebody else's long hair MY long hair!! Now I LOVE my short hair!! MY short hair! (OK, JoJo... it wasn't all about the ducks... and I wasn't THAT mad.. but I still don't like the ducks !!) And I do realize its a matter of loving nature.. so that's what I am thinking of these particular trophies of CJ's as... trophies of nature.

NOW... onto doctors!! YAY!!! CJ had been waiting for close to a year to see a headache specialist at the U of U (University of Utah).. and the day finally came! I was really trying to stay positive. Things hadn't been so great in our home (seriously.. you know that! We have ducks...stuffed ducks... stuffed trophy ducks. Somebody else's stuffed trophy ducks!).
CJ had been really miserable lately.. .bad headache... dizzy most of the time. We all had a bout with a severe flu which caused lots of throwing up... by each of us. The problem with that is when CJ gets sick like that he passes out. So on Labor day he passed out at least a half a dozen times. In addition to that he always takes way longer than anybody else to fully recover (as you can probably imagine), so we had really been looking forward to this appointment. It didn't take too long to realize that CJ was the only appointment the doctor had scheduled. Not for 15 or 30 minutes.. but for 2 HOURS!!! This doctor was awesome. Not once did she shake her head or seem to doubt what CJ was telling her his symptoms were. She had plenty of time to look over his MRI's and make ... A HYPOTHESIS!!! Her hypothesis is this:
CJ has a "condition" called low pressure headaches. When your brain doesn't have enough pressure lots of crazy things can happen including the brain descending down into the spinal column appearing to be the condition he had brain surgery for!!! Also, it can (and usually does) affect the pituitary gland... which can affect the adrenal gland (which he is currently taking supplements to try to heal)... it can cause dizzy spells and passing out... it can cause narcolepsy symptoms and it can cause dementia (yep... that explains a lot doesn't it!! haha!). SO basically CJ may have (possibly) never needed brain surgery... his adrenal gland may end up being ok, and this condition is probably treatable.
One of the first things the doctor asked for is his MRI's from before his surgery. She is hoping to be able to come up with a full diagnosis through these. What she will be looking for is a "leaky valve". When he first started getting headaches he was lifting weights and heard and felt a pop in the back of his head... so it could have been something bursting and he may have had a "leak" all along. If she can locate it on the MRI's she can fix it. If she can't find in on the MRI's he will have to try a few more tests to see if she can find what she is looking for!!
CJ took the MRI's to her the day we went in, and he is also supposed to get an abdominal binder... basically a girdle (don't tell him I said that) to force pressure up into his brain. If that works we'll know that her hypothesis is more probably correct (is more probably even a term... I don't know.. but you get my drift).
So we have more hope... again (hope + faith). This also explains why last September he had that month of feeling so good.. .and now he doesn't anymore. So if you could keep sending prayers his way (I know, I really don't have to even ask). I know that prayers have carried us both through many of our difficult times!
I'll keep everyone updated the best I can!

What You've All Been Waiting For!!!!!!

2009-09-01T20:49:00.035-06:00

I have to go back quite a ways to get to my last update.... about 15 weeks I think!!! YIKES!! SO I am going to attempt to do it in as few words as possible (I have lots of pictures to help me out!). I know I've attempted this several times before... but have faith... here goes...

June - Summer began (the girls got out of school the end of May), Kailey got a FABULOUS haircut (or did I post that already.. I don't remember... so I'll do it again!)!!
From this....

to this!!

Grammy and Papa came for a surprise visit (bearing gifts of course)... well, it was a surprise for the kids, and I kinda kept the date a secret from Ceej too, he tends to make secrets not so secret.

(Canyon got a bike, Ash an Ipod and Kailey a camera)

Ashlyn had a dance recital, I think I have shown enough of her dancing, and I am going to have to Photoshop these pictures because they are pretty dark, but this was the first time she performed this particular dance... it was really fun and the girls got to pick their own costumes... way cute!!

We also made a trip to the Hogle Zoo...

complete with a train ride

(and pre-zoo food...)

Once we left for our annual trip to Spokane, Kay turned 6!!! I cant believe she's 6!!! She had a party at Grammy Bev's and we went strawberry picking with Grammy JoJo

a cake from the strawberries we picked!!

July- was spent in Spokane. It was going to be a 2 week trip, but it ended up much longer. Our days were really full and we ONLY saw family.. .so if we didn't see you.. I sincerely apologize... you weren't left out, I promise! Here are some random memories of this summer in Spokane...

And the most memorable part of our vacation was the 4th of July

August - I had a birthday... yep... I turned 30.... ish and our little Buddy turned 4!!! I attempted to, once again... make the perfect cake... AND... I failed... miserably... so, no, you will never see a picture of the cake. However... his birthday was on a Thursday so he had a birthday weekend and a birthday day. For his birthday weekend we went "fish hunting".
And after a long hard wait... Daddy and Canyon caught a fish... but "it had a cut in its throat so we had to let it swim back to its home".

(apparently where we went you cant keep cutthroats is what it all boils down to. )

We also caught and ate crawdads
(which we decided wasn't worth the trouble so we are just going to save up for a lobster next time)

The only downer part of the entire day was the bugs. Every once in a while these little flying, biting ants would SWARM us. Having the hair that I have I have always had a little phobia of bugs and birds (weird, I know) so I stole Ash's shirt and was dubbed "pirate mommy" for the day

(assembling a bbq... cuz thats how I roll)

Then on birthday day we opened presents from Grammy and Papa (he got his present from Grammy and Grampy Larson while we were in Spokane)... ate his special birthday dinner choice (french fries & chicken nuggets)... had a little fun with the cake (this will be the only picture ever shown). (yep... laughing!!)

(oh... and Kailey started dance too!!)
Canyon also got to do some bonding with Daddy and went up in the mountains on the 4 wheeler!

What a great birthday!!!

And last but not least SCHOOL!!!

5th grade

1st grade

and yes, pre-school

SO how'd I do!! I managed to get 3+ months wrapped into a nice little package!!! Now, if only I can get back on my weekly schedule...

Oh, and did I mention a move??? Yes, we moved... and CJ did most of it while we (the kids and I, he didnt come along) were out of town. The house is still too unsettled for any pictures, but as soon as we have boxes out of the way I will show you our new little humble abode (same neighborhood and everything!!) What I can show you though... is that THIS is about 1/3 of our view... every morning!!

Just So I Don't Forget

2009-05-25T09:10:00.004-06:00

There are so many things my 3 children have said over the years that I wish I could remember or would have written down... and didn't. So I am going to try to start keeping track of the extra special, super cute things... I know I wont get them all, but if some day I can look back and laugh and say "oh, I remember that".. it will be so worth it!

Last night CJ was feeling exceptionally bad. Sometimes it really helps him to have a meal full of antioxidants and when we lived in Spokane he would go to a Mongolian grill and get these SUPER stir fry meals, made to order. We've been here 2 years and haven't found one yet, that may be the only draw back of living here :) . Anyway, we live down the road from a nice little Chinese restaurant and decided that maybe some Moo Goo Gai Pan would help his body try to recover just a little bit. So he grabbed Canyon and off they went. By the time they got back CJ was obviously feeling better and Canyon was talking 90 miles a minute! They got to drive in a rain storm... and drove the LOT of SPLASHING PUDDLES... and Canyon got to eat a cookie!!!! He proceeded to tell me that his tummy wasn't hungry but his heart really wanted a cookie.
CJ said one of the best parts of their hour together was when our publicly shy (EXTREMELY shy) 3 year old looked at the waitress and told her "dat is a bery cute dress"... he was speaking of her apron. We explained to our dear sweet boy how happy it made OUR hearts for him to say something so nice... he went on to tell us we were two of his best friends (sorry Andrew... you've been away too long now I guess).

Precious AND sweet!

CJ's birthday, mothers day, gardening... and stuff!

2009-05-18T07:48:00.009-06:00

What a title!!... that's what we've been up to... the end!!

Just kidding!
Ok, so CJ had another birthday! The big 3-2! I think every year I make a point of saying how much I enjoy his birthdays because then, for almost exactly 3 months I am only a year older than him. Probably something that only gets to women... and only a few at that, but hey... it is what it is, so I will enjoy it for a little while longer! We really wish he had been feeling better and able to enjoy it a little more, but the end may be around the corner. As of the day of this post he only has 3 more days until he meets with a specialist at the U of U!!!
Anyway, here are some memory keepers of the family trying to make daddy's birthday special (we even locked him out to decorate... but I don't think we got any pictures of that)

Kailey made him a cake at school

He got to use the very special plate the Jessie-Bob made us for Christmas. And the stuff in the pan... hamburger slop... of all the things I make... that's what he wanted... and it was his birthday... so I did it. Its actually hamburger stroganoff... but when we could have had it with REAL meat in it... it gets renamed hamburger slop!

And he got a fruit "cake" it was actually a pie... of fresh fruit... but you can see who was the most excited... AND who got the first bite!

I think daddy had a pretty happy birthday!

Then we had Mothers day... well, I had mothers day. They cooked and cleaned for me... and got me a beautiful bowl of flowers that I was able to plant out front. I am very grateful to be a mom, and I am grateful for the time I get to spend with my wonderful family. I am grateful that, for the most part, we get along so well, and enjoy being in each others company. I am grateful for the patience of my children who have the gift to make even difficult times better. Heavenly Father has truly blessed me with many, many wonderful things, and my family is certainly at the top of that list. I don't have any pictures of my special day... because I guess I am the one who is always holding the camera and... it was my day off!!!

Gardening.. oh how I have longed for the days I could garden!!! This year.. thanks primarily to a group of fantastic people from church... I HAVE A GARDEN!!!! My friend Allison and I are actually doing it together. Its the first year for both of us, and we figured it may be better to learn together than have 2 dead gardens... so... first things first...

this is our fabulous Bishop rototilling our yard... GARDEN!!

This is 2 hard working women building a fence
and this is the planted GARDEN!!!

Now I am just going to eagerly await the little sprouts to shoot up and confirm all the hard work that's been put into this! We will hopefully have corn, carrots, beans, peas, tomatoes, broccoli, onions, beets, romaine lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini (yellow and green), and 3 other kinds of squash... PLUS in another spot I planted pumpkins, melons (that's what the package said... MELONS), cantaloupe and watermelon! It will be SO exciting if all of it comes up... but I would be happy with just a few things!! This will be great adventure because already we don't have a sprinkler that waters the whole thing without moving it 6 times (literally... that is NOT an exaggeration), plus our hand sprayer lost the ring that seals it to the hose, so if we use that we end up showered... we'll get it figured out... its all part of the fun!

Ash has a dance recital coming up in June, then we are headed to Spokane for at least a couple of weeks! (That's another reason I couldn't do a garden by myself!!!). After next week the kids will be out of school and summer will be in full swing!!!

The LAST Dance Competition!

2009-05-04T07:18:00.002-06:00

Oh how I have loved watching Ashlyn compete this season! It has changed her in so many ways! She has grown so much mentally and appreciates so much more in life. She has truly found her passion, or one of them, and it has come in the form of a beautiful natural ability!

On Saturday we had the last competition (isn't it funny how as a people if we are involved in something, even if from the sidelines, we refer to whatever that event is as "we"??!)! The competition was at a place called Lagoon. In Spokane I would most liken it to Silverwood. We were all excited. We had discount passes, parking passes, the works. Ashlyn was dancing at 9 and 11, so that would leave the whole afternoon for fun! YAY!!!
THEN.... we woke up... rain... pouring down rain. POURING!!! I'm being slightly dramatic. We actually knew the night before that it was going to rain and made plans for CJ to stay with Kailey and Canyon, since we had to be out the door by 7AM... and did I mention RAIN?!?!
HO-LY SA-MOKES!!!! It was insane!! POUR-ING!!!! ANDDDD being in the pre-7AM hour... did I even THINK to grab the umbrella when we walked out to the car in the pouring rain??? NOPE!! I sure didn't!!! Thankfully I grabbed an extra jacket (duh??? why???) that we threw over our heads to WAIT IN LINE for the tickets and WALK the block to GET TO the ticket booth AND the area where the competitions were held. UGH! OK, OK, enough of the dramatics... EXCEPT... our feet were totally SOAKED, to the point (after SEVEN HOURS!!!) that the prunes on them were actually hurting! 0% body fat Ashlyn was freezing... it was crazy!

Anyway...
we made it to the pavilion area, and found the dressing room. By the time Ashlyn's team had to be there the competition had only been going for an hour, so the dressing room wasn't too bad (it was later that it was packed and every inch of the floor was a puddle, and smelled like sweaty dancers, and rain... we told eachother we all smelled like wet dogs). There weren't a ton of people there... yet. She got changed, we found her team, AND a spot to park it until it was time for them to line up. The pavilion area was thankfully kind of like a barn/warehouse room, so the area we were in was covered, which also made it very crowded because... it was raining... have I mentioned that?? So, the girls head to line up... via outside, in their little dancing footwear called foot undies. Realized they went to the wrong side, came back in... via outside, went to where they were supposed to line up, but weren't sure that were they were supposed to be, went BACK OUTSIDE through a different door, disappeared for a few minutes, and came back inside... line up... and danced...

Needless to say their foot undies were soaked, and didn't do much good for anything other than slipping around. At one point Ashlyn almost fell flat on her back, that's when you don't see any dancers on the video because I was watching her... but not through the camera. She ended up being fine and...
THE TEAM WON BEST ALL AROUND for this dance in their division!!

Here is their second dance..

Despite the music being started before they were ready....

THEY WON FIRST for this routine!!!

Good job girls!!!

We are finally all dried out and warm... we didn't end up getting sick or anything even!!!
I truly enjoyed the time I got to spend with Ashlyn. Its hard to get individual time with your children, and now, somehow, I owe Kailey a couple of Mommy/Daughter days too.

Ashlyn's company recital is on June 11th, we will actually see her get to dance ballet!! We cant wait... she can because she hates ballet... but she doesn't realize how beautifully she dances either. We are hoping that next year we will have the finances to have her do a solo at these competitions. Its definitely something to look forward too.

Just So I Don't Forget

2009-04-30T19:55:00.002-06:00

Children are so beautiful and innocent and the time passes so quickly:

A conversation between a 5 year old and a 3 year old concerning personal prayers:

K: Canyon, you know when Mommy reads stories? Can you see the stories in your mind?
C: *thinking* YES!
K: After you hear a song can you hear it in your mind?
C: *thinking* YES!!
K: When you say a prayer can you think of it in your mind?
C: *thinking* YES!
K: Canyon, that is how you say your own prayer in your mind!!

This happened a couple of weeks ago and ever since I will see Canyon pausing while doing something, he will then go on to tell me he just said a prayer!

A couple of days ago Kailey came out of her room:

K: Mom, I just said a different kind of prayer
S: Oh really? Whats a different kind of prayer?
K: A "Mary" Prayer
S: Thats nice Kailey (slightly brushing her off, because I didnt really realize what she was saying)
K: Ya, instead of saying "Our Dear Heavenly Father", I said "Dear Heavenly Mother"

I didnt find out the content of her prayer because I was so beside myself that she even considered doing this. SO Sweet.

Each time CJ and Canyon play there is some sort of dramatic climax. It usually goes something like this, for example:

CJ: Alright Canyon, time for me to throw you in the lake!! *picking him up*
C: No Dad!! No!! *laughing*
CJ: Lets go... off to the lake!
C: But Dad, NO!!! *still laughing*
CJ: *carrying Canyon over his shoulder*
C: But DAD!!.... YOU'RE MY BEST FRIEND!!!!!

One Month!!

2009-04-22T09:10:00.020-06:00

How has it been a whole entire month since I posted????? (you thought it would be something more exciting didn't you!?!?!)
There is so much to say... but I will try to keep the words minimal since I have lots of pictures to do the taking for me... we'll see how that goes!!

So, CJ got this truck... for $300. Seems like a pretty good deal.. but what an UGLY truck huh...

but then he got to work...

(click to enlarge)

It turned out pretty good... and somebody else loved it and bought it. It was a fun project for him!!

He also tried replacing a starter in a vehicle
If he was feeling a little better you would be able to see how excited he really was! He is turning into quite the handyman!!

The kids... well... they were kids... ALL MONTH LONG!

(click to enlarge)

Then there was EASTER!! We are so grateful for our Savior and for the greatest sacrifice that was made on our behalf so that we can live again!! Its a great time to celebrate, AND Kandis came to visit!!

(click to enlarge)

Plus we had Spring break which meant a road trip to another dance competition!!
Last Friday we headed to St. George for the weekend. Its about a 4 hour trip from our door and it is a beautiful, quick drive! It was the first time for the kids and I and CJ's second... although he thought we were only 5 minutes away from Lake Powell... ya... not exactly.. more like another 4 hours, thankfully we caught that mistake before we headed out in the car! Sadly we were only 5 or 6 hours away from our family in Arizona, it would have been fun to see you guys.

Anyway... onto the pictures... pool... FUN IN THE SUN!!! (except for Ashlyn who chose to stay and have fun with her dance company... inside... most of the day... haha! Although, I must say I don't think she minded one bit!!) OK, OK, pictures....

We got to the hotel and decided that we had time to kill that evening... and CJ is ALL about making memories, so Ashlyn and I went to the lobby to see if we could find a brochure on something fun to do. This is what we found... The Rosenbruch Wildlife Museum!! It was awesome, AND... here are some of our experiences

I LOVED this quote.. .it was right when you walked through the door...

They gave Kailey and Canyon binoculars, and the older children (yes us) radios. At each section there was a number and if you punched that number into your radio you could hear all about the animals in that part of the world. All of the animals were real stuffed mounts...they were so cool... and needless to say CJ was in HEAVEN!

(click to enlarge)

Kailey and Canyon got to go swimming on Saturday while Ashlyn was at dance... all three of them were in HEAVEN!

THEN there was dance

And the video... yes it is the same song but you HAVE to watch Ashlyn in this! She is SO committed to dancing and it certainly shows! She stole the show... ok, maybe that's just me... but watch!!!!!!...

THEY GOT FIRST PLACE!!!!!!!!

In both of their performances... and the companies Hip-Hop team also placed first in their dance! I wish I hadn't missed that!! Good job girls... you are ALL so beautiful and talented!!!

THEN there was the ride home... the 4 hours... make that FOURTEEN!!!!!!!!!!
Yep... CJ and his road trips! Instead of heading straight up I-15 and home... we went through Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon... allllll the way up to Boulder, Utah where we got to see.... KANDIS!!!! SURPRISE!! We almost missed her... she was just a couple hundred yards away from turning off the highway to go hiking for the day... and our road trip would have been all for nothing!! Well, not totally...
Canyon found heaven again going through this HUGE mile long tunnel...

He called it the choo choo train tunnel, and, in fact, the car tires even sounded like a train as we were going across the lines in the road!!

Kailey found heaven with the plethora of ROCKS that were EVERYWHERE...
(Daddy explaining to Kailey that this is a special place where you cant take lots and lots of rocks)

Ashlyn was just happy to be alive... she is growing up and enjoyed seeing the scenery as much as we did... but she especially liked seeing the wild life and seeing the rocks she has been learning about in school. In fact she has been working very hard on a 5-10 minute oral report on Kane county... which we just happened to be driving though!!

We all had a great time together (MUCH better than the Yellowstone road trip!)

Then the visit with Kandis!! It was only a few hours but it meant a lot to all of us (and we got to have a junk food dinner picnic.. because that's all the food we had left from our trip!). She really does live in a great place!
(this is at the neighbors house!)

(eewwwwww.... Elk Poop!!)

Yes, that was our trip! We'll be headed to Spokane sometime this summer. Haven't decided exactly when though... a little help would be nice. Hopefully the trip to up there will be as fun as the trip down south!

And THAT was the last month with the Larsons!

Dance Competition #2

2009-03-22T13:04:00.005-06:00

Ashlyn competed in her 2nd dance competition!! The team did AWESOME!!! They placed 4th for this routine

and 3rd for this one! The judges were up on the top row of the bleachers (it doesnt look like there were many people there because everyone was crammed into the front and sides of the gym to see the "front" of the stage)... watch how Ashlyn looked directly up at them most of the time!! I.LOVE.IT!!!!

She loves it so much and we are very proud of her. One more month and we're off to St. George for another!!!

Dance Competition!

2009-03-02T12:22:00.003-07:00

I think Ashlyn and I had THE.BEST.DAY.EVER. together on Saturday. We got up and got ready. Kandis, Andrew and Lisa were visiting so we got to spend some time with them in the morning before we left. Then at about 10:30 we headed out for COMPETITION!!!! Just the 2 of us... the rest were joining us later.
We got to the competition.. it was HUGE... this place was packed and there were non-stop dancers competing for 3 days!! Saturday it started at 8am and went until after 10pm (but we weren't there the whole time... obviously).... anyway we found her class right off and took her to change and do her makeup. She was beautiful!! Then her instructor did their hair. We thought she was supposed to dance at 1:30... but at about 1 her director realized that they were put into the wrong class... so they wouldn't be dancing until 3. CJ and Kailey and Canyon were at lunch with Kandis, Andrew and Lisa, Grandma Nibley, Aunt Shelley and Aunt Cindy... so we were able to join hem for a sandwich and some ice cream (even though Ashlyn was too nervous for ice cream... only because we weren't physically AT the competition... she wasn't nervous ANY other time... AMAZING). We ate and headed back to the competition to hang out and watch more dances.
I think the best part of the day for me... aside from actually WATCHING her dance, was being with her and really enjoying something that she totally LOVES! Then the girls headed back for warm ups! OH BOY... it was all I could do to hold back the tears... I AM SO PROUD OF HER!!! When I knew it was close to their turn I headed up to the front so I could get video... I managed to keep all the tears in though... I DID have to focus on the video, so it was a good distraction at the time... here they are

Ashlyn starts in the center, then is in the back left corner

They ended up getting 3rd place in their division! She was so happy to have placed in her first competition ever... and was SO proud of her own performance... and let me tell you WE were all SO proud of her performance. ASHLYN WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH!!!

Once she was done dancing we headed out... and about half way home we realized we didn't want our time together to end! We should have stayed and watched more dancing! Oh well... everyone was at home waiting... well.. almost... Andrew and Lisa had to run an errand... and Kandis and Daddy took naps... but the day was STILL so awesome! One of the best Mommy-Daughter days EVER!!

Next competition is in about a month! We cant wait!

Kailey and Canyon

2009-02-19T10:38:00.004-07:00

My little balls of fire! Never a dull moment with these 2!!!
Kailey is LOVING kindergarten! I think she mostly loves the snacks she gets in kindergarten... but she LOVES kindergarten... and she even was the class shining star!
She is doing really really well. She is already reading beyond the level at which she should, and picks things up so quickly!! She amazes me every day! She enjoys watching Ashlyn dance, as we all do, and the other day while having a conversation about whether or not there was something she would like to learn... we went through piano, and karate, then she decided on Yoga!! Yep... my 5 year old wants to do yoga!!! She doesn't really have the patience for yoga (can any 5 year old sit still that long?), and I don't know if she has really ever even seen yoga... but thats what she decided she wants to do. After this conversation she went into my room because I told her she could do my yoga video whenever she wants... and she made it for about 30 seconds. So we'll see what she comes up with next. In the meantime she stays as busy as she can with her Nintendo DS... we have to literally put it where she cant reach it to get it away from her... and besides that she loves building forts downstairs. The playroom is one big giant fort... which is good because that is one of Canyon's favorite things too! Forts and Thomas the train... he is ob-sessed!... and when he can play WITH his trains IN the fort... OH BOY!!! Daddy and I are trying to find something else that will divert his attention, but so far we haven't found anything that he has any desire to connect with... unless its edible... and has sugar in it! He is growing so quickly and by now has a FULL vocabulary! He is already conscious of the letters he mispronounces though.... except when you wish he would... he has a lisp, as most kids do, and corrects himself when he tries to say things like station... they turn into sha-shon... but no lisp! The other day, however, he was playing with Kailey.. .his Q and G's are usually D's.. anyway... Kailey said "QUICK, QUICK" and he repeated her... with D's... didn't realize he was saying that one wrong though!!! Oh the joys! At least we were home alone!

Ashlyn and dancing

2009-02-19T10:24:00.008-07:00

So Ashlyn has a new best friend and love! In November she was really able to find her first love... dancing! We have been so very blessed because there have been people who have recognized and believed her to have natural talent, so we aren't having to pay for her 3 dance classes a week - they're doing it for us! What a blessing! It has been such an outlet for Ashlyn and is really a passion. She is in a jazz class as well as a ballet class to help with her technique. One month into ballet and they moved her up to the next level!!! PLUS she is going to be competing with her dance studio, Saratoga Performing Arts! The first competition is on February 27th and 28th, AND her teacher has her positioned front and center! She will be the tip of the triangle... dancing alone as the other will be in pairs!! We are all so excited and we're sure the next week is going to be full of anxiety... and spinning!!!
For those of you who wont be here to watch her compete here is a video of her dancing. She is just making it up as she goes, while practicing spotting her turns so she doesn't get dizzy... that's why she had so many turns in this particular dance. I hope you enjoy watching her as much as we do!!!

(the song she is dancing to is not the original song. YouTube made me change it from the Blake Shelton song she was dancing to)

This Saturday she will also be going to a dance workshop with the choreographer for the High School Musical movies!! IF THAT ISN'T EXCITING I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS!!!

She is excelling at school and is working on being a real leader. I remember 4th grade being the start of all the drama with my friends, and yep... its started with her too. Hopefully she will be able to continue to recognize what it means to be a true friend and not have to deal with the horrible emotions that come with being a pre-teen, or teen, or young woman... I won't hold my breath!!

This was Ashlyn with her first big report on Elizabeth Blackwell.

Stacey and CJ Random-ness

2009-02-19T10:03:00.006-07:00

I am posing about us first, know that by the time I post about the kids we will be the 4th post down... and nobody really wants to know about us anyway!!

CJ is still going to Denver once a month to see Dr. McCarty. He has never felt good or complete relief like he did after the first treatment, but we are still optimistic. Each treatment brings a "change", and at this point change is good. The treatments are going to last longer than expected because when he had his surgery 5 years ago they literally removed a piece of his skull, so he has a hole in the back of his head. When you are trying to restructure something, and a piece is missing, it takes a lot more work, and more precise work, to get the job complete. So that's what we are dealing with. The trial now is that he walks around all the time feeling like he is going to pass out... with a headache... and no end in sight. So you can imagine how frustrating that is for him... and for me as a wife, not being able to help. But it is what it is, and we just push forward KNOWING without a doubt that someday this will be over and he will be whole again! The doctor thinks it could just be that his glands that secrete things like adrenalin (which helps us to not get dizzy) aren't working properly. CJ is taking supplements to try to combat it, but we are anxiously awaiting his next trip to Denver, that's for sure!

I am as healthy as I can be right now. On top of my 3 years now of diabetes, I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism last fall. You'd think that by having a diagnosis you could move on, right?!? NO... we're the Larson's we don't just move on from anything!! The problem is that I have hyPER thyroid but symptoms of hyPO thyroid... which means I am excessively tired and gain weight!! haha!! Funny huh!?!? What woman over 30 isn't, or doesn't!!! Anyway, I was put on a prescription that would essentially obliterate my thyroid and cause me to be on yet another medication for the rest of my life. CJ wasn't ok with that... and either was Dr. McCarty (we love Dr. McCarty!!!). So I am trying to battle the weight gain and fatigue and treat my problem naturally. I'll let you know how that goes!!

ON LIGHTER NEWS...

CJ and his friend Spencer (and Spencer's beautiful and MOST supportive wife Allison) are in the works to start another meat business. This time the idea is to NOT go door to door, instead they placed an ad in the local Valpak and have had a great response. It may have gone in a month early because all the kinks aren't worked out yet, so they haven't been able to make any $$ yet... but they are in the final stages and we are all really excited about it. Well, I think THEY are much more excited than I... as we have been through how many businesses so far?!?! I'm trying, I really am... and if Allison and Spencer still want to be my friends through all this I will be truly blessed!!! Anyway... here is their new website www.stock-save.com. It should be up and running within the next week.

Blog lazy

2009-02-12T09:15:00.002-07:00

So how does this happen, you ask??? I do not know. I love blogging. I love reading other peoples "bloggings". I've just become a lazy blogger. Maybe its because its cold outside and we've been stuck in the house with nothing exciting going on. Maybe its because we are now at dance classes 3 nights a week. Maybe its because we've been sick... each.one.of.us. Maybe its because there is no new news on CJ (still going each month for treatments though). Maybe I'll just have to look for the more exciting aspects of life. I guess I have gone into a slump!
I know there are good things in our lives. I know there are things to be thankful for each and every day. Maybe its just time to look back at the basics and realize Heavenly Father really does bless me. I have shelter and food, and family... a beautiful family, and a loving family, and a family that actually gets along and enjoys time together. AND I have all my friends... blogging friends... and all my Facebook friends. We have good doctors. We have medicine. We have freedom, and education. I slept in a huge warm cozy bed last night. And even the fact that my son is spreading chocolate milk powder all over the kitchen right now.
You see, there are many, many things I could blog about... but right now... I have to go clean up chocolate milk powder!

Ashlyn's First Dance Competition

2009-02-09T10:33:00.001-07:00

I made this widget at MyFlashFetish.com.

I'm NOT a redneck!!

2009-02-07T10:20:00.001-07:00

Exploring talents

2009-01-21T16:05:00.007-07:00

We are all given earthly talents. Some of them are natural talents, and some of them take a little honing. Talents come in all shapes, forms, and sizes.
One of my natural talents is being able to handle adversity. My other talents, I think, all are going to take a little honing.
Right now I am trying to explore a couple of different talents, one being the "crafty" version and the other a skill. On the craft side you may notice my blog headers changing periodically. While this is not really a "passion" for me I do find it fun (and fun is always good in trying to wade through adversity) and, who knows, maybe it could even turn into something else... although I cant say I am confident enough for that just yet.
The other talent I am focusing on - the skill - is sewing. Eventually times could get bad enough that knowing how to work a needle, read a pattern, or repair a sock could come in pretty handy. I made my first sewing creations as Christmas gifts, and even though they were well received, I pray that they will hold up (at least to get a few good uses).
This was my first...

Its an "ugly" quilt I made for Andrew and Lisa. Its not made to be especially beautiful, just useful. And I learned a lot. I learned how to sew a straight line (almost). I learned how to measure and cut squares. I learned how to back a quilt. I learned how to tie a quilt. AND I learned that all things come together better if you take your time. Overall though, I had fun doing it and assured them their quilt was made with love.
This was my second...

Another quilt, this time for Kandis. Different fabric. Different challenges. AND I learned a little more... OK, a lot more.
So now, onto my third project.... a king size quilt for our bed! This is kind of where all of the talents I listed in the beginning come together. Adversity = $$, which means I couldn't buy all the fabric at once. Creativity = trying to find fabric and a pattern that both CJ and I would be happy with. Skill = the whole darn thing.

I would like to "journal" my trials of this monster quilting project... so you get to benefit from my learning! Lucky you... unless you decide not to read it... then... whatever... but anyway..
I figured by doing this I will keep myself on track and work on it as much as I can... not getting too discouraged along the way.
SO here is what I started with.

Most of the fabric (still want to find a green and another brown) and tools... once I figured out the design (which is mostly in my head so you can't see a picture of it until its finished).
Step 2 is cutting the squares, then cutting the squares into triangles.

Seems easy enough! So far so good.

Third is sewing the triangles into a block (that's where a pattern comes in handy). My finished block size is 12".. so without knowing what size triangles will make a 12" block... complicated. But my good friend Jessica assures me that its not too math involved... true... if you have a pattern!
So, after jamming the sewing machine a few times (Mom gave me temporary custody of her sewing machine, thanks Mama). Ripping one seam apart, because somehow I managed to sew it incorrectly. AND almost fine tuning the art of measuring... here is my first block!!

I have made 2 so far. YEAH! These blocks are going to make one big square... or probably a diamond (which is actually just a square tipped to the side :0) in the center... and corners... of the quilt. With the solid green and darker brown around that.
The image I have in my mind seems like it will work nicely... hopefully my real life work will come out as well as I envision!!

Uncle Blake

2009-01-10T22:39:00.007-07:00

The kids sure have enjoyed having Blake here.... at least the last couple of days they have!!

Blake pretty much slept for 2 days straight, and when he woke up this happened....
This was Friday...

and its only one very little moment, in the chaos that was our home (I've since realized we need to have an FHE on humbleness)... because as soon as that happened... THIS happened

And this was Saturday... such dedication!

And Adrian, being the good friend that he is, took one for the team!

Yes.... yes they are getting their toe nails painted!
Thanks guys!!!

SNOW!!!

2009-01-10T21:25:00.004-07:00

So I tried to earn my "Mother of the Year" award back today. It's only January 10th, so I will probably lose it again soon... and the fact that I already assume I've lost it... SAD!!! Anyway... in all humbleness... LOOK WHAT I DID TODAY!!!

(Ashlyn's reaction to just about any kind of work. After about 5 minutes with the shovel I had to remind her this was FUN! It was FUN before she came out and we were going to continue to have FUN... so if she didn't want to have FUN she should go inside... which she did.... then when the hard work was over she came back out...)

And I tried to capture the fun... but the self-shots are challenging for me

Just a thought...

2009-01-04T22:50:00.002-07:00

A friend of ours posted about a NERF gun her son got for Christmas and it brought back a recent memory that I wanted to be sure to remember, so what better to do than to .... BLOG IT!!!

For Christmas this year Canyon got a NERF gun from Uncle D and Marcy. This was the first year he really realized what the heck was going on... and that there were multiple presents FOR HIM! By the time Derrick and Marcy arrived all of Santa's presents had been opened and he was eagerly awaiting the arrival of "the last one" from Uncle D. Derrick hadn't even fully entered the house when this "conversation" took place
C - "do you have a pesent for me?"(no greeting, just get down to business)
D- "yes, I think so"
C - "where is it"
D - "well, its out in my truck"
C - "well doe det it"
He probably doesn't even remember my brother at this point mind you. In the life of a 3 year old 5 months is a long time... and perhaps there is a memory of Uncle D... but... ????
Anyway... Uncle D finally went out and got the "pesents" and when Canyon opened the guns he wasn't quite sure what they were or what to do with them. The most violence he has been witness to is Kung Fu Panda... and he was hesitant to watch that a second time (he is very devoted now however!!!). Anyway... once he realized he could shoot people he was ALL. FOR. IT! The gun comes with 16 bullets and when all but like 4 were lost (about 15 minutes) he decided to turn the gun on me. I hadn't really been paying attention to what was going on because I am the cook whenever my family gets together. No, no team effort... I am the cook (well there are dishwashers, of course... we all know I don't do that!). He shot me and told me I had to fall down. So, I did, and when I fell I closed my eyes... we all know what guns do... right?? He very quickly and sternly told me "Mommy, don't faw sweep, I want to shoot you!". I stood corrected! I got up... he shot me again and proceeded to tell me that then, at that point, I could "faw sweep". SO innocent! I made sure that nobody corrected him. Juuuust sleeping. Good boy buddy!

The end of 2008

2009-01-04T07:30:00.009-07:00

The end of yet another year... YEAH! Out with the old, in with the new... YEAH! I can't wait to see what 2009 has in store for the Larson family. It would seem that there are lots of positive blessings just waiting to be given to us, so we're going to choose to stay positive. We're going to choose that good ol' straight and narrow path. And we're going to choose to show our Heavenly Father that we still have the faith worthy of receiving the bounteous blessings he so desperately wants us to have. Aren't all decisions we make, and attitudes we have, a choice? Honestly!
That being said...
2008 went out with a bang (and boy are we glad its over!:0)!
CJ is still doing treatments once a month in Denver. They aren't always positive - as far as him having relief every time. But its a process and he definitely notices changes each time - even if its just a change as far as where his headache is in his brain... but all change is good, and he is going to continue going until his entire skull has been adjusted. We are very thankful for Dr. McCarty, and the Sinquefield's who selflessly let CJ stay in their home... and for Ellen who lets CJ have her car while he is there... and for the Davis's who help us with CJ's airfare. We owe so much and are so grateful! You are blessings to us and through your service you all will be blessed! We are also SO thankful for all of the prayers we receive daily. I still believe, with everything in me, that CJ will be healed!
I am still planning on going to school, although with CJ's treatments we have decided to put that on hold for just a little while. Its still a passion of mine and a true desire... I am sure I will get there soon!
So I said the end of 2008... here is how our December went...
Last year we didn't make it to Spokane until February. As many of you may or may not know CJ decided to have heart attack symptoms the week before we were supposed to leave. Turned out it was just anxiety (as far as we know... all the tests came back normal). So mom and dad, in an effort to get us there FOR Christmas this year, decided it would be best for dad to drive down and pick us up. CJ was having treatments in Denver the week before so we weren't sure if he would be up to going... and any stress we can minimize for him seems to be a huge help... so we just removed the Christmas stress altogether! Dad drove down... the day before Spokane got a record breaking 17" of snow in 24 hours! He arrived on Thursday, CJ got home on Friday, Blake got sick on Friday as well... so Dad, Ashlyn, Kailey, Canyon and myself piled into dads truck and headed to the great white northwest Saturday! We made it in 12 hours on clear roads! THANKFULLY! CJ and Blake made the drive a couple days later in 17 hours on snow packed roads! UGH!! But we were all together with our families for Christmas and it was wonderful!
There was family...

presents...

(we lost our kids to modern technology....)

friends...

and even a dash through the snow...
(I had to put in 2 of Grammy JoJo just because she's so dang funny!)
and this set... check out this progression... Kailey had snow in her pants (I can only laugh because I wasn't there)

and did a mention snow?!?!

This is a picture of Shandi's parents house on the south hill. I'm not sure when in the process of the Spokane snowfall this was taken, but the snowfall at mom and dads was... deeper (they live outside the city). All of the Christmas yard art they had... buried... totally... except for the antlers of one of the lit up deer. You could see the very tips! I took pictures but those were on moms camera... so I will probably never see them.
These are of the Larson's house...

Blake's bedroom window The front porch Kandis after shoveling snow off the roof... yes that is the roof!
CJ, Kandis and Joanne spent a couple of days removing snow off the roof!
CJ and the kids actually went up there (to the Larson's... we were staying at my parents house) to sled and were stuck for a couple of days because of the snow.

We ended up leaving Spokane a couple of days later than expected but it was good to get a little extra time "back home".

In all truthfulness the snow may be a blessing! CJ and his friend Spencer (both basically unemployed - but not by choice... don't even get me started on the economy) have headed back up there with some heavy equipment (aka a tractor and a snow blower for the tractor) to do some snow removal. Hopefully it will be enough to sustain both of our families for a while. Spokane's normal snowfall for the entire winter is 46". So far the month of December brought them 70" with another foot or so coming in the next few days. If any of you Spokanites need help getting out of your driveways, down your street, into the parking lot at your business... there are at least a couple guys who are able to help! Just let us know!

We had a very good end to 2008. We pray that you all did as well. We hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and wish the best for you in 2009!!

TAG

2008-12-22T22:12:00.004-07:00

8 things I did yesterday:
1. Woke up
2. fed the kids
3. ate
4. took a shower
5. Facebook-ed
6. went shopping with Mom
7. I'm sure there was something else
8. but I have major short term memory issues!

8 places I like to eat:
1. Won Won
2. Wingers
3. Cafe Rio
4. Ruby Tuesdays
5. Chili's
6. Subway
7.
8.

8 things I look forward to:
1. Dates with CJ (I've been looking forward to this one for a long time!!!!)
2. Movies
3. Visiting Home
4. my birthday
5. CJ going to Denver (and NO not just because he leaves!)
6. reading
7. bedtime
8. people visiting

8 things on you wish list
1. A house
2. CJ to get better
2. a job for CJ
3. a new car
4. energy to get everything done
5. lose 20 lbs
6. a family vacation
7. 0rganization
8. financial freedom!

8 people I tag:
Jamie... and any of the rest of you who havent posted in the last month!
Anyone else who would like to do this!

Beautiful Dancer

2008-12-16T23:03:00.003-07:00

I love my precious Ashlyn so much! She is turning into such a beautiful young lady!!! Her new passion is dancing (and when I say passion... let me emphasize PASSION!!) Her dance group danced at an event called Festival of Trees a couple of weeks ago.. yes weeks... sorry for being slow... again! She was so beautiful!! They all did a really great job. Unfortunately the video part of the camera I was using didn't do a good job of videoing AND it didn't have any sound... so I don't have video (and the charma I sent out to the electronic forces in the world actually made my camera mysteriously BREAK just a couple of days later... so strange)... but here are pictures of my beautiful dancer...

I obviously still need practice with my picture taking skills!

You know you want it....

2008-12-04T12:09:00.003-07:00

So check this out!! (thanks for the insight Alicia)

And for the record... I loved Twilight! There were a couple things I think could have been done better... but it was the first movie so we must give some exceptions!

2008-11-30T22:23:00.030-07:00

I know I said I would update within the week.. and... well.... I guess I'm just a liar! I had full intentions of posting, but you see, everything I could have, or would have, posted... would have all had to do with one thing that I couldn't have posted about - or, once again, a long line of Larson surprises would have been spoiled (always trying to surprise, almost always being spoiled... but never by me, so that's good... although once I did make CJ tell... but that's a whole different story... moving on...). Tuesday the 25th was Kandis' 30th birthday!! The big 3-0!!! So for months Mom and Dad Larson have been planning on the family driving down to Southern Utah and surprising her... and boy was she surprised!... although she did see our cars before she saw us... so it wasn't a TOTAL surprise in the sense that we didn't get to say surprise (yes we did re-enact just like she never knew).. but she cried for 2 days because she just couldn't believe we were all there. Even Andrew and Lisa made it all the way from NC, they DID get to yell surprise because she didn't even expect them when she saw our cars, and they were hiding in her cottage - that's when the waterworks really began for the first time! We sure love you Kander Bear.... hmmmm, ya, I think I like Kandalicious better!!!
Here are some highlights of our trip

Kandis' cottage (yep, this is where she lives)

and some of her animals (actually the property owner's animals that she helps take care of while they're gone)there are several horses and chickens, there are also sheep that the kids got to help her feed the first day we were there.

the cabin we stayed in

Christmas gift exchange (we wont all be together again for Christmas).

We did a homemade Christmas this year. My first sewing project ever was Andrew and Lisa's "ugly" quilt.

It went pretty smoothly. Thankfully my good friend Jessica is a GREAT mentor or I would have been insane. Oh wait... I DID go insane....

I decided to make a flannel quilt for Kandis for her birthday!!! Have you ever seen how much flannel frays?!?!? Well.. it does! And I don't have the greatest skills yet... only my second project!!... but after having to tear apart the seams 4 times and one extra trip for fabric (that didn't actually match) I got it done... and it turned out pretty nice. FULL - O - LOVE!!! (it isn't shredded in the trash so it is FULL of love!!)

AND while I was working on Kandis' love quilt I realized that I/we hadn't made anything for Mom and Dad Larson yet... sooooo...

Sorry Grampy Stevie. We really wanted you to match, so we either had to go masculine for you or feminine for Gammy JoJo... I guess you lost... but thanks for being a trooper!! We love you! (You can just keep the shirt... we wont even be offended)

Gifts from Grammy JoJo (and Grampy Stevie)

Our tour of some of Kandis' favorite places...

slot canyons

A hike up a canyon (Canyon wouldn't let us call them canyons for a while though, that was all kind of confusing... but he got used to it and eventually began to enjoy the BIG mountain canyons)

Native American art

100 hands (do you see the hands wayyy up on the flat part of the canyon wall?)

Native American grainery (this is where they built a cave into the side of the mountain to store their food away so animals couldn't get to it)

We also got to enjoy some time with Kandis at her school. She teaches at a school of 13 kids.. or maybe its 12... anyway... we played kick ball and had a blast... the game ended in a tie. Good timing!!!

Here's the entire group...

and here's the entire family... oh wait... Lisa still has to email me the picture with her in it... we'll see if she ever actually looks at my blog!

But here are the girls... without Lisa again... she IS pregnant you know... she suffers from small bladder syndrome!

and next year there will be one more!!! NO NOT MINE!!! (that would be a miracle wouldn't it!!??) Congratulations Andrew and Lisa!!!!!

We actually went down on the Saturday before Kandis' birthday and came back on her birthday, but everybody stayed for Thanksgiving (no I didn't get to cook this year but I am TRYING to get over it - Aunt Cindy did a great job though, so I cant be too sad). Jessie Bob even had a friend Annie (a.k.a. Annie Banannie) visit, and the kids all adored her... and love their time with Aunt Jessie

I heart blogs!!!

2008-11-17T16:40:00.003-07:00

I love my friends and family... but I think I just found the coolest blog... EVER... ON. THE. PLANET!!!
So here it is.... A Year Of Crockpotting.

I promise... by the end of the week I will have more personal updates posted. I just wanted to get this on here before I lost it!

And I do think all of your blogs are really cool too!!!

Scrabble

2008-11-04T08:51:00.004-07:00

OK, I have an addiction. It started when I was probably about 10. I would go over to my grandparents after school a few times a week and my Grandma would often find the time to play Scrabble with me.
CJ knows Scrabble makes me happy , so every once in a while when he is feeling abundantly unselfish (it hurts his head physically to sit for any length of time and Scrabble can get long!) he asks me if I want to play Scrabble. I always accept, and most of the time I win (which is another reason why it takes CJ being extremely unselfish to play... even though we have tweaked the rules to favor him a bit). I also like to play ScrabbleBlast online AND I have started playing with Anna and her friend Anna on Wednesdays... that is, I guess, if they aren't going out to lunch or something?!?! So far I think I am about 3-1, but who's keeping track?
Anyway... the reason for this post... Anna has introduced me to 9 tile Scrabble its a faster version of the regular 7 tile Scrabble - so CJ has actually asked me a couple of times in the last few weeks to play with him!! The other night we played... and when you're on... you're on!! Here are my first 3 words... Anna... eat your heart out...
1) highlight (7 letter bonus)
2) clothing (7 letter bonus!)
3) epiphany (7 letter bonus)
I USED THE WORD EPIPHANY playing Scrabble!!!!!!!!

Anna... let Boyd know I am awaiting the challenge... but I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow... that is if you aren't too busy!!

Halloween

2008-11-04T07:56:00.007-07:00

Ok, so the title is an explanation in itself... I don't have too much to say... and I know you all want to see the pictures anyway... so here is Halloween fun...

A diva, A candy corn,

and a fireman... but do you think that at 7:30 in the morning I could get his fireman costume on him?... not a chance!

The school sent home a letter saying they didn't want to promote the gory, bloody side of Halloween so "please dress the children accordingly"... hey, I am ALL FOR THAT!!! And the girls looked so cute! Canyon, Kailey and I went and helped with Ashlyn's class party and she asked if her friend could come home with us. I said ok, and by the time we made the short 6 minute drive home, the girls had already decided they were going to be 'dead' versions of their costumes for trunk or treating. Greeaaaat!
So this is how they ended up

a dead diva and a dead mummy... Ashlyn was obviously much more into her role than Taylor was!

I had to do my part in the festivities (my costume was 'the color black'. CJ made it very clear that "you cannot go out on Halloween night dressed in all black!" I managed to be in before dark and stayed safe... rest assured!) so I made dinner...
Dead rats baked in blood, and Ghost brains!

the best part of dinner was that Kailey was going to eat none of it!!! I finally had to explain that the "rats" were, in fact, hamburger, the "blood" was tomato sauce and the bones in the "rats" were just rice... she had already figured out the "ghost brains" were just biscuits (we both have carb issues!... notice the only thing she served onto peoples plates?)

So here is my little group... ready for the real fun to begin

And the fruits of their labor!

They happily exchanged all but a sandwich bag of their candy for $10 each!! Canyon was able to buy the Thomas Train figures "Emily" AND "Harold" the helicopter, so the fact that he didn't have ALL that candy didn't make an ounce of a difference to him! Kailey got a Barbie and Ashlyn got some doll house furniture... and CJ got the peace of mind in knowing that Halloween 2008 was not going to be the source of 2009 dentist bills!!

Grammy, Papa and GG

2008-10-29T08:01:00.006-06:00

We've had another family visit come and go. It is so fun to have family visit since we live so far away... I'm just hoping that some day my brother will decide that we are worthy for a visit!!! (Love you D)
Grammy, Papa and GG came to visit. This time Papa Choo Choo had to stay home... not only to take care of the cat, but to prepare for retirement! He is planning on officially "retiring" (he retired from the railroad, hence the name Choo Choo, several years ago) from being a taxi driver in January. Grandma is a little nervous about her allowance, but I'm sure she'll be fine (its actually Grandpa I worry about... he technically wont be retiring since he'll have Grandma to keep him occupied!!)! We had another fun visit. First off, they weren't getting into town until around 9 pm. Our kids usually go to bed between 7:30 and 8, so it was a challenge finding things for them to do to keep them up and not let on that they were getting to stay up. The reason for this is that they were coming a day early! SO, at about 7:00 Kailey asked if they could take a bath,. I agreed, knowing full well that once they were in there they would lose all track of time... which they did. About 1/2 hour later they asked if they could have the tub crayons, to which I agreed, again. Now Canyon wanted in too... SCORE, all 3 of them occupied (mind you, CJ is in Denver for a treatment). Another 1/2 hour passes and I hear "Mooooooom, can we get a wash cloth or something!".... ????? hmmmmmm, whats going on... I go into the bathroom to see every line of the back splash filled in with RED tub crayon! OH MAN! The plus side to this is that it will keep them very busy until our company shows up. After about 15 minutes I walked in and still saw...

Notice anyone missing???? Oh yes, Canyon... totally innocent!

Just as they were finishing as much as I could let them suffer, they were drying off when Grammy, Papa, and GG showed up and surprised them in the bathroom. They couldn't have been more excited.
The only down part to the whole visit was that Krissy had a... little gland issue (I wont go into detail). Mom called when they were on their way here and asked if I'd schedule a vet appointment, and found one that would take her the next morning... anyway, when they got here I insisted her "issue" be covered... she wasn't very happy

One of the reasons I don't want a pet!

The women got to spend a day out shopping (Tai Pan, Quilted Bear, IKEA, dinner at Ruby Tuesdays... YUM!!!!!... and a stop off at Kohls where we found a fabulous sale!!), and the best part of that is that I get very spoiled when Mom and Grandma are around!! (Thank you again!!!) Ashlyn got to join us this time, and really didn't show how tired she was until the NEXT day! We'll see if she comes along next time.
I even got to go work out every morning which I loved!!!
Then Daddy and Papa took the kids to..... the pumpkin patch!!!!! (NOTHING like Greenbluff, but they don't know that!!)

Isnt Kailey's expression PERFECT!!!

We also enjoyed our first Thanksgiving of the year, and some very nice family time together. We sure miss you all!!!

Now we're just hoping for a visit from the rest of the Larson's in November... and whoever else wants to visit any other time!!!

Ashlyn's birthday party

2008-10-29T07:43:00.004-06:00

Its funny because every year I do a party... and every year I wonder what the heck I was thinking!! Fortunately this year, though, wasn't so bad. Ashlyn had 5 friends over (of which only 1 RSVP'd because I know the mom and come to find out had forgotten to put the RSVP phone number on the invitations! YEAH me!). Two had to leave right after dinner and presents (we made our own mini pizzas... no pictures... YEAH me, again! It was really fun though. Definitely will do that again!) Then we played a game, and one more friend had to leave. Then the remaining 3 girls (counting Ashlyn) had a dance-off! (Kailey and Canyon were just enjoying being part of the big girls fun! It was so cute!!! They all did great, and again... no pictures! UGH!!
After the dancing... we ate cake!!!

We can always count on Miranda to start the food-on-the-face game!!!

Yes, she is now smearing it on... then wondered why some got on her shirt!! Silly girl! Its funny how at 10 it is such a thrill to have food on your face. I guess that's not just at 10, I just wonder at what age it stops?!?! I guess time will tell!

Then they painted fingernails until it was time to go. A good, fun time!
Hope you had a memorable 10th birthday Ash!

A day late...

2008-10-09T20:37:00.010-06:00

Ashlyn turned 10 yesterday!!! Can you believe it!! We sure can't! She is turning into to such a beautiful young lady and we are so very proud of her. We got to go to her school conference today and her teacher is very proud of Ashlyn and said what a good girl she is and how she is a silent leader in the class. What a great thing to be! I have though about this several times tonight and to be a silent leader, to me, would mean that she is humble enough not to outwardly try to force people into situations, but trusted enough to be a great example and lead the others to do the right thing! Ash, we love you so much!! You are a wonderful daughter, and a great big sister... well, most of the time!!

I wish I had some photos of my only "normal" sized (8 lbs 12 ounces), bald headed baby, but unfortunately those were taken before the digital era, so we'll have to settle to look at those in books.
Wedding Preschool
1st year as a Princess in the Junior Lilac Parade in Spokane

The makings of a drama queen!
Proud big sister!

Did I mention drama queen?! (sorry, Sissy! You'll appreciate this when your older... ok, no you wont... you'll always hate me for it!)
Baptism time!
Princess in the Miss Spokane Pageant
fabulous funky hair days!

4th grade!

Then next big thing... she wants to follow in Aunt Lisa's footsteps! With the birthday money she received she is going to put it towards 6 months of hip hop or modern dance lessons! We are going to do a free trial next week. Hey Lisa, wouldn't this be a GREAT reason for you guys to get back over this direction!?

2008-10-01T16:59:00.003-06:00

Tagged!

1. Where did you meet your husband? We lived side by side in a duplex

2. How long did you date before you married? we were just friends and neighbors for 5 months, before September 11th, then I asked him about his faith, we started having discussion, then the Missionaries gave me the official discussions, I was Baptized that December and we were married the following June... so we knew eachother for only just over a year.

3. How long have you been married? 6 years

4. What does he do that surprises you? since he has had his treatments... EVERYTHING!!!

5. What is his favorite feature? HIS favorite feature of MINE? Or My favorite feature of HIS? His eyes... since they are all bright and happy these days... but I really love the fact that my head fits perfectly in the crook of his neck.

6. What is your favorite quality of his? since his miracle "healing" he has become a spiritual POWERHOUSE!.

7. Does he have a nickname for you? Stacey Lacey!

8. What is his favorite food? Cafe Rio Salad... but he would say anything I cook

9. What is his favorite sport? basketball

10. When & where was your first kiss? I couldnt tell you the date... but around Halloween of the year we dated... when we realized we REALLY liked eachother... we had a 5 hour hug!

11. What is your favorite thing to do as a couple? we havent been able to do much as a couple... yet... but times are a changin'!.

12. Do you have any children? 2 girls and 1 boy

13. Does he have any hidden talents? I think he is much more musically inclined than he leads on

14. How old is he? 31

15. Who said I love you first? probably him... I have security issues

16. What is his favorite music? Gospel I'd have to say... anything uplifting

17. What do you admire most about him? he is an insanely positive person

18. What is his favorite color? Brown

19. Will he read this? Probably not... only if I make it our homepage

20. Who do you tag? Anna, ALLISON (just for the heck of it... I know you dont actually blog anymore), Jessica, Tara, Jamie

Long overdue...

2008-09-29T08:13:00.002-06:00

OK... I'm SORRY!!
So..... CJ is doing GREAT! He had 8 of his 55 treatments while he was gone (he's been back for a while now) and is feeling better than ever. He had been living with constant pain at a level of about 8-10... now his worst pain has been about a 3!!! His mind is clear, he has lost most of the pressure behind his eyes, he can think with a clear mind... and feel real emotions! We have been so very blessed and owe so much to our Father in Heaven for these blessings!
One very important lesson that we have learned through all of this is that prayers are answered... but not in our time! There is a plan for all of us and when we are ready to learn what He would have us learn... then our prayers will be answered!
It looks like he will be headed back for more treatments (as finances allow) at the end of October. Thanks to our family and friends who have helped both financially and with the support of love and prayers!

We are so grateful!!!

Quick Update

2008-09-10T20:58:00.002-06:00

CJ has now had 4 treatment sessions (2 a day) and is doing fantastic (he doesn't want me to give too many details until he is further into the process... but his pain is definately "changing"). We couldn't be more happy with the results he is seeing!!!!

GOOD NEWS!

Thank you again for the thoughts and prayers!! (and for the gifted hands of Dr. McCarty)