Sunday, December 30, 2012

Baby Brother Tied The Knot

We are so excited for Derek and Whitley!! They tied the knot on December 29th. We were lucky enough to make it for the ceremony in the Logan Temple and join in on the AMAZING reception they had afterward. We love Whitley and couldn't be more thrilled for them!! 

Our traveling to get there for the wedding was not the most fun....Due to J.R.'s awesome job (sense the sarcasm) we were planning to fly to Utah Friday night and head back to Indy Sunday. Quickest trip ever, but completely worth it! Things turned for the worse when our flight was delayed. We ended up staying over in Denver and catching a flight which got us to the Temple with just 30 minutes to spare before the ceremony started. WHOOSH!! We ended up being in Utah for only 24 hours. It was terribly stressful and reminded my why I want to live closer. I am not a fan of flying for multiple reasons.

Regardless of the struggle and stress it took to get there we were over joyed by being a part of such a big part of their lives. We felt the spirit so strong in the temple and felt dad close the whole weekend. What a wonderful way to finish off the Christmas week!

There's is something about watching your baby brother get married that tugs hard at your heart strings. It's been emotional for me leading up to this day. I'm not ready to give up my baby brother to another woman. ;-) Luckily she is absolutely gorgeous and just perfect for him and fits wonderfully into our family!!

Congratulations Derek and Whitley! We love you so so much! 







Wednesday, December 26, 2012

The Christmas Hangover

This is a great depiction of the Day after Christmas.
We did get a big snow fall so J.R. and Elliot couldn't resist some snow fun. Me and the twins were very happy inside the warm house :)




Tuesday, December 25, 2012

Christmas Day!

Christmas Day is so fun with little kids! 
Elliot is crazy with anticipation and was beyond excited when he saw that Santa actually made it to our house! Thank Goodness! :)

 The set up

 The empty plate of cookies and returned note from santa
Goodbye letter from Chippy

 Remote control cars were a hit this year!

 He was especially excited about his Power Ranger gun/sword


 The Hot Wheels track was by far the family favorite!

 Elliot trying his best to get a picture of mom and dad

 Turkey, mashed potatoes etc....YUMMY! 


 Another family favorite...a mini Air Hockey table

My little christmas elf!

Monday, December 24, 2012

Christmas Eve



These are the cookies we made and Elliot choose to leave out for Santa. 
One for Santa, Chippy (our new elf this year), and Mrs. Clause (so cute that he thought of her)







It's been a while since we've had a consistent Christmas Eve. Before we moved to Indiana we spent our Christmas' in Sun Valley (10 years in a row). So I really don't know how to do Christmas at home. I'm not good at it. Our first year in Indy (2009) Grandpa Larsen died and J.R. was able to get enough time off to spend Cmas day in Utah. The next year we had out Twins (2010) and I honestly don't remember anything about that Christmas except finally holding Jaxon in the NICU on Cmas Day. Last year (2011) was fairly normal...boring maybe, but normal. We spent Cmas eve cutting out snowflakes and hanging them on the ceiling because there was no snow outside. Got to be together and had a good experience. Then there was this year. We were so happy to be invited to a Cmas Eve dinner at our dear friends house (Matt & Erin Pitcher). The Chinese food supplied by all who came was DELICIOUS! The company was fun and acting out the Cmas story was neat. We enjoyed the evening with great friends who, like us, don't have family close by. We went home early enough for our own moment of singing and setting up then it was off to bed.  I'm not sure what it was about this year, but it just felt disjointed. We're in a strange place in our lives. So close to moving on and probably never going to see these friends again. Our anticipation of the future. Our lack of family and tradition. Our lack of funds for much in the way of gifts. My frustration of all the spending and semi "forced" gift giving (probably because of the previous concern)....I think everything just sorta piled on top of each other and put a strange taste in my mouth. Talking with J.R. in bed on Christmas Eve we decided we are not stay-at-home type of Christmas people. Sun Valley is our tradition. Even if we don't carol in the group again, I have a strong suspicion we will be spending our future Christmas' in Sun Valley or somewhere like it.

Beside the strange feeling there is always one feeling that is felt no matter where you are or what you're doing at Christmas. That is the feeling of the Savior and the importance of that day so many years ago.

Merry Christmas...Eve!

Saturday, December 22, 2012

Favorite Place




They are getting too big for my lap...that will be the saddest day!

Friday, December 21, 2012

First BIG Snow


Elliot and our sweet neighbor friend Maggie enjoying the first BIG snow day!

Thursday, December 20, 2012

Twins 2nd Birthday







Happy birthday to 4 of my 5 children!! 
WOW, that is just crazy to say. 

Jaxon:

This kid is one of a kind! He cracks me up...he has so much personality it is the BEST! He's not a man of many actual words, instead if he wants something he'll walk over to you and stare you straight in the eyes without blinking till you say something or ask what he wants. Sometimes I let the stare game last as long as possible just to see how patient he is. It always surprises me how long he lasts...I'm usually laughing before he gives up. His other form of communication is non-sense words. He will talk to you forever just babbling away with only an occasionally recognizable word. Again, hilarious! He calls himself Jas and he calls Miles Jas. He has tons of silly faces and many expressions for every occasion. He loves to shake his head "no" just to feel his hair wave back and forth. He LOVES the Wii. For a while he loved playing mario kart (even though his car hardly moved at all) but lately he just wants me to turn it to the wii and he doesn't even want to play. He just likes having it as background noise I guess. He is a mama's boy. He definitely prefers me over J.R. J.R. tries to sneak in cuddles and get him to love on him, but that's usually only a rare occasion. Jaxon is a GREAT snuggler. He likes me to sing or hum to him before going down for naps or bed. He is a tank compared to Miles. He's about 5 lbs heavier then Miles and the gap just keeps getting wider. He loves all things boy...kicking balls, throwing balls, hitting balls like baseball or golf. He & Miles constantly have cars in their hands driving them all around the walls, the grocery store shelves or just about anywhere. He's good at eating pretty much anything I give him...but he doesn't love sweets. He'll eat a little but even if I offer him more he usually refuses. He did NOT want any of his bday cupcakes (not sure if he was having flash backs from his 1st bday) This kid is strong willed, but he's character melts my heart to mush. I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!!

Miles:

Sweet Miles...don't let his innocent face deceive you. On occasion a little devil gets out and that devil has some lungs! :-)  More often then not, Miles is a sweet heart. His smile and laugh can melt you to the floor in seconds. He loves to hug and kiss and is so giving of his affections. He's spiky blonde hair is enough for anyone to giggle just looking at him, then he smiles and it's all over. He has you heart and you'll do whatever he wants. He is picking up speaking fast. He's constantly repeating words and trying to make your same sounds. He just recently discovered his name is Miles, not Jas...but he'll answer to either. He LOVES his blankie. That poor thing gets drug around everywhere. (he carries around the blanket that was actually made for Elliot) He picks and bites at the seams so it's constantly falling apart. The sweetest thing to hear is him sing along with us before bedtime. He loves the songs Twinkle Twinkle and Lullaby (by Eclipse) We've been singing Lullaby to our kids since Landon & Lydia were born and Miles LOVES it! His little voice catching every other word or phrase is so so sweet! I want to bottle it up forever. He love Mickey Mouse Clubhouse in the mornings and talks along with the show "Oh Toodles!" He is obsessed with sweets. He's constantly asking for cookies, treats, suckers...you name it. He's as bad as Elliot. Miles is also obsessed with daddy! If daddy is anywhere near he won't have anything to do with me. He wants J.R. to get him in and out of his car seat. Wants him to snuggle him and sing before bed, read books etc...J.R. asks if it bothers me - it doesn't. I get all day to have his attention and love so it's easy to give it up in the evenings when J.R. gets home. Miles is so petite and cute I just couldn't imagine life with out him. He makes my days brighter! I LOVE HIM SO MUCH!

Both boys are in LOVE with their older brother. They love watching for his bus and get so excited when he gets home. They all hug and kiss for several minutes when Elliot walks in the door from school. It's the sweetest thing. Elliot is a great big brother and is learning quickly his responsibility to be an example because they follow EVERYTHING he does. The twins are really great at sharing. They are easily settled when fights spring up over toys or games. They are good at taking turns or finding things to trade for the thing they want. Having twins is such a roller coaster. Most days are pretty tough. Grocery shopping is nearly impossible with them running in different directions and pulling things off the shelves. We don't get out much because it's so hard to keep them safe because they love to roam and I only have 1 set of arms and eyes. We try to do fun things when J.R. is with us or during the morning when places are less crowded, but still...the energy and mental awarness required to leave the house is usually too much to deal with.  Luckily they entertain each other really well so it's easy to get stuff done with them at home. As I look back at the past 2 years it still feels like a blur. I have small memories of moments, but in general I feel like we just survived most days. Twins have so many wonderful benefits and so many struggles as well. It's a constant roller coaster for sure.

Twins: You have a built in BEST FRIEND FOREVER!

Love you Jaxon & Miles - Landon & Lydia!
Happy Birthday!


Saturday, December 8, 2012

First Basketball experience

Elliot got to play on his first ever organized basketball team! He played with one of his best pals from the YMCA preschool (Kellen) Kellen's dad was the coach and it was awesome! He got a great handle on the rules and loved practicing dribbling...especially on my kitchen floor. (A mom can only handle the bouncing for so long...I kept telling myself that Michael Jordan's mom probably never told him to stop dribbling, so I usually held my tongue :)

I'm looking forward to when J.R. has more time to be involved in his sports teams. J.R. would be a great coach.

Love this little 5 year old! Such a great little athlete!

He rebounds - He shoots - He scores!!

Thursday, November 22, 2012