THE LARSON'S BLOG

Some days seem to come and go and the weeks sort of blend together. I seem to get so caught up in our day to day routine that I never stop to ... smell the flowers, so to say. Today I just tried to notice all of the things I love about life. And for a moment I feel like my head is in the clouds and I feel so lucky and so grateful for all that I have.
* It was a beautiful day today. We woke up to all three kids piled in our bed wiggling all around us and asking for cereal. Jordan was fully dressed at 6:45 AM and wanted to go the gas station to buy a car that he'd seen a few days ago with his new $5.00 bill that dad had given to him for having an awesome report card. Jordan's kindergarten teacher always says the sweetest things and he always has all 4's and all E's in every category (I'm so proud of this cute kid!).

* As we're getting ready Jordan asked me what it meant to have a crush. Oh my! I'm so not ready for this! He told me that all the girls chase him around the playground and he thinks he has a crush on some of the girls. I think he's a little young for this... but still the same I think it's cute that he's the little boy that gets chased all around the playground.

* When I was dressing Austin this morning he gave me a giant hug and said, "Mom, I love you more than all the planets". Then I say, "I love you more than the universe". Then he says, "I love you more than all the planets and the universe." And this goes on and on. He's such a sweet little boy and he's always wanting to give us hugs and tells us that he loves his all day long. What would I do without my sweet little Austin??

* As I'm taking off Cayden's jammies this morning he keep saying, "MOM".. "MOM"... with nothing else to say. He just puts his feet up in the air because he knows I'll kiss them again and again. And then I blow on his belly and tickle his neck. I LOVE his little laugh! I could just kiss that tubby little child all day long.
The kids get dressed and they run around laughing and shooting each other with dart guns. Our house is noisy sometimes, but I love to hear my kids laughing. It's the best sound on earth.

* We go to the gym and do our thing, Jordan is downstairs doing "YODA" with the kids - all these little bodies stretched out on mats exercising. I talked to a friend of mine at the gym who's a mom of 3 boys and one daughter. The oldest is on a mission; she got teary-eyed when I asked her about her missionary. I just know that will be me one day soon. She just loves and misses her son and I guess that love for your children never really changes. As most moms say, "Cherish every moment because they grow up so fast". Can I push that pause button once in a while??

* We ran home to get backpacks and snacks, and then to a friend of mine/neighbor's house to let the boys play and learn how to do digital scrapbooking. (And maybe this is why I feel so inspired to write today - I really want to document and record what we do day-to-day; I want to capture every moment of it because I know the time goes by so fast! I don't want to forget how I feel and how much I love this stage of life).
I love our neighbors and we are so lucky that we moved into a place that I know our kids have such great friends whom they live amongst and we have some of the best neighbors. This is our piece of Heaven on Earth; we love where we live the people we have around us.

* Snacks: check. Backpacks: check. Jogging stroller in car: check. All 3 kids + one friend: check... off to school. It was such a sunny day and Cayden and I went for a long run and we even got some much needed sun on our skin. It was a little breezy but it felt so good. I had my ipod cranked up and I just loved the feeling. I can't wait for next weekend; Tiffany and I are running the Moab 1/2 marathon together and I'm so excited about this! I'm so grateful for our friendship and that we can do this together and just spend time talking.. I mean running solid for a few hours together. She makes me smile and I just LOVE her!

* Kids are back in the car with more snacks, scooters, and off to the park for a few hours. Really - it was such a nice day! Then to Zurchers for some party supplies. Jordan and Austin are very excited about a St. Patrick's Day party we're having next week and they wanted to help pick out some of the supplies. They are very excited about this and they keep asking what we're going to do, who's coming, and they want to help with everything. Some days... I just love being a mom.

* We all come home to see dad, and all three boys maul Jared the minute they see him. I love, love, love that Jared is such a good dad and that all three boys just adore him. They all want to crawl all over him, snuggle with him, wrestle with him and they just can't get enough of him. Jared's favorite thing to day is tell Jordan to come over here and he'll say, "let's have a talk". Jordan smiles and crawls up in his lap and they talk about all the things they did that day. And when they're done he'll have Austin do the same thing. Cayden doesn't know what's going on but he just wants to crawl and wiggle all over his daddy.

Some days I just want these days to last forever. I want hear those little feet running around our home at 6:45 AM waiting for us to get out of bed and on get on with our day. I want to be able to look in the back of my car and see those cute little boys singing along to the songs on the radio with the windows down. I'm sad to think that one day things won't be this way.
Some days my heart just feels so full and I'm just so happy. I want to bottle up the feeling and keep it with me forever. I want to feel just like I did today every day. I love this stage of life and right now I just wish that every day could be like today.

Jordan had his 6th birthday this past Monday and he's been talking about it ever since! He keeps telling me that it was the best birthday ever. We started the day with breakfast in bed (including a lit candle and a present - per Jordan's request). It was President's Day so he didn't have to go to school, but he did want to go to the Treehouse and tell his friends that it was his birthday. So we did just that. And then Jared took Jordan to Boondocks so I could run all of my last minute errands before the birthday party. We had his birthday party at Bouncin' off the Walls (again, per the birthday boy's request). Needless to say, he felt like one special kid that day and that just made my day! Here's some pics of Jordan's big day:

Hollywood Connection with Tif and the Boys!

Oak Hollow Night Out at Classic Fun Center:

Lacie's Birthday Party at Airborne Trampoline Arena:

Playing with Friends:

RV Show with Jared's folks:

Saint George
And this past weekend we were able to head down to St. George and see the Parade of Homes. We love the SG Parade of Homes - there's always so many fresh ideas and we always walk away thinking ... what if we did this... or that, so I go nutso with my camera taking pictures of the drapes, the furniture, etc. etc..
But even moreso, we just love going to SG and spending "away time" with our family.