Merry Christmas!

Christmas is just around the corner, and it’s happening again – it’s sneaking up on me and I’m starting to get a bit anxious. There’s still so much to do, presents to buy, letters to send out, cookies to make, and I wanted to get my blog updated so I could print this project of mine and put it into a book. Ahhh…. I’ll get caught up on this one day. But it’s been so busy around here – I’m getting used to packing a few cereal bars and a banana in the car just in case there’s not a suitable time to sit down and have a meal. I’ve been getting to bed really late (thus, I’m losing my voice) just like I do every year about this time. But you know what: I don't even care, I’m so excited about Christmas! I stayed up late last night baking treats, my house smells like cinnamon, there’s ribbons and presents and cards all over my kitchen table. So it’s starting to feel a lot like Christmas. I have some fun things planned for the next week or so, weather-permitting I hope we can get it all done.  Here are a few things I need to make note of before I forget (and to use as a good reference for next year):

1.       When you live on a hill covered in snow, wear Sorrels when delivering Christmas treats.  High-heel boots seem to lose traction.

2.       Don’t try and multitask when baking treats – you just might forget what you’re doing and skip on to the recipe on the next page and ruin the whole thing entirely. 

3.       Amazon.com is the way to go when shopping for kids. For moms like me, you’re never really “alone” and you can shop for other friends in other places – and have the presents shipped out wrapped and all, with no shipping charges! Yes, I’m now a fan of Amazon.com.

4.       If a cold is on the horizon, take Airborne on the go, Vitamin C day and night, and knock yourself out with some Tylenol PM and Nyquil before you finally call it a day. I had a raging cough yesterday and today – it’s completely gone.  

5.       Kids are smart. They know where all the secret stashes are and how to access those little hiding places all throughout the house. Lock toys away and keep the key in a safe place. It’s just a wise thing to do.

6.       Kids are really smart. Print the “From Santa” tags, don’t handwrite them – they’ll figure it out. 

7.       Christmas is a great time to bribe kids. My kids think that Santa’s elves have hidden cameras at home and at school. Thus, my kids behave exceptionally well in the month of December. Mr. Clause is my best friend. J

There are so many more random and silly thoughts that seem to spin around in my head all day… but for now that’s all. I just wanted to write something because I’ve been so bad about keeping up with our family blog; one day I’ll sit down and throw up some new pictures.  I love Christmas and I love that it’s so busy. I love how excited my kids are and I love that we read Christmas stories together, bake sugar cookies together, make Christmas crafts together, etc. etc.  This is the best holiday of the year and I wish we could stretch the month of December out a few extra weeks.  11 more days…..   Merry Christmas!

September

Today
I'm having one of those days. It's cold and rainy outside, I'm missing summer like no other, and I'm trying to get my arms around how fast the months are going by. I feel like I blink and another week, another month, another year has just wisped on by. Life keeps going by - faster and faster it seems. We spend so much time running around from one thing to the next that sometimes I forget to just sit down and soak it all in. Life's busy and full and I wouldn't have it any other way, I just wish it would slow down a bit so I can enjoy every little moment.

Ahhhh. Ok, on with my story...

This is what we have for the month of September. It was a busy month; my family came to town, we went to Bear Lake with some of our best friends, we did the Dirty Dash, went to a few weddings, birthdays, played a lot of sports in between it all. And just had a blast playing outside and soaking up that beautiful sunshine while it lasted. September was a wonderful month.  

My Family

My mom, Kent, Carly, and their two little girls were able to come out to UT for Labor Day weekend. We had SO much fun being with them and spending some time together. I love my family and I'm so lucky that we're all so close (even though some of us live so far away). I love them so much.

Brother's Day
Last year we decided that we'd make this an official holiday in our family. We celebrate all sorts of holidays throughout the year:  Mother's Day, Father's Day, Valentine's Day, etc. So we decided to dedicate one day to our special little boys. The Larson Boys get to decide all of the activities for the entire day from sun-up till sun-down. This is what we did for Brother's Day this year: we went to Park City and had pizza on Main St. - their favorite place to eat, rode the trolley, played mini-golf and rode the Alpine Slide/Alpine Coaster, and topped it off with cow cookies and ice cream.

Real Salt Lake Game

Parks and Play-DatesWe can never get enough of this!

Sports
We had a busy season - Jordan was in flag football (2 days a week), Austin was in T-ball (2 days a week), and Jordan started Jr. Jazz all at the same time. We had a few things overlap but it all worked out. Heaven help us when all 3 boys are in sports.

A Day at the Zoo

Oak Hollow's Fun Run

 Wheeler Farms

 The Dirty Dash
This was the one of my favorite things that we did this year. I can't even describe it - it was that much fun.  We got to dress up, hang out with our very best friends, and run, swing, slide, and jump through 6.5 miles of mud. It was in our hair, in our teeth - and we loved every second of it. Of course we'll do this again!

 Jared and Coby

 Check out that tattoo (I've been practicing), not too bad.

 The Skid-Marks Gang. There were some more of Tif and Cob's friends that were there, too. We started out together and got split up. But we all had fun - no doubt.

 My Twin Sister.

 Fun, Fun, Fun Times!!!

 Weddings
Tod & Rachel Wadsworth's wedding reception

Matt & Nicole's Wedding

Emmett & Eli's Birthday Party.

Girls Night Out: Celebrating birthdays at Ginza

The Boys.  This is what I live for. Right here. These little boys rule my world!