The Big Trip

My little brother Tanner got married last week, on the 19th. And since that date also happens to be Emma's birthday, it was a VERY full trip from Tucson to Mesa, Mesa to Safford, and from Safford back to Tucson again.

[WARNING: This post is almost endless. Only read if you've got some time on your hands!]

We tried very hard to have an actual party for Emma's big #5, but none of the fam could celebrate with us at Matuku's Island or back in Thatcher. Emma was really disappointed that she didn't get to have a party with her cousins, but we tried to make it special for her anyways.

Matuku's Island is a huge family fun play area just off of I-10 in Gilbert. We heard about it from Gina & Bryce, and it was perfect for Emma's celebration. Since we were going to be too busy on the 19th, we drove up early on the 18th to have lunch there. At first I was disappointed because we were the only ones there, but after a while I was very glad that there weren't masses of kids everywhere. I never would have been able to keep track of my 2 crazy kids if this place had been crowded. Let me just say- AWESOME!!!

We all had fun climbing & exploring.

I have never felt so undignified in my life- and if you know me, that's really saying something! This slide was just barely short of dangerous- this is me shooting out the end. Don't ask me how little kids survive this thing.

Emma after going down the same slide. She refused to go down any more of the big slides after that. Go figure, neither would I!

I'm approximately 30 feet in the air at this point. Yikes!

The 3-story "curly slide." Intense!

Frank decided to stick to the little slides after being scared to death with Mommy on some of the big ones. Can't say I blame him at all!

After a few hours of playing & getting really worn out, we headed over to the temple for a session with Tanner's fiance, Amy. I would like to say a big THANK YOU to her for providing babysitting for us while we were up there. It meant so much that she would think of us so that us husbands & wives could both go to the session & sealing. Thank you! And how nice it was to get back to the temple. It's been ages since we've been able to attend, and it was wonderful.

After the session, we headed over to the temple lights & wandered around with Gina & Bryce Moody, who drove down to see us. It was nice, but Emma started running a fever & was coming down with a major UTI, so we headed off to find some cranberry juice & to get those kids into bed. Jack was so tired from his day that he actually fell asleep at 9:00 pm in his carseat at the temple and slept until 7:30 the next morning without moving an inch! Mommy was glad, because I was up most of the night with a fevering Emma & a Frank that kept falling off the bed. Kids!
The next morning Emma was miraculously healed, just in time to turn 5! What a kid- she got up & took a shower by herself so that she could put on her birthday dress & get her big day started. She was very patient as we ate breakfast, but was dying to open those presents that appeared sometime during her sleep.

A true Emma story:

3 presents sitting on the table.

"Which would you like to open first, Emma?" Mom asks.

"The little one!"

"Why, Emma? What comes in little boxes?" Mom wonders.

"Diamonds!" Emma exclaims.

(Where does she get this from? She sure doesn't get it from me!)

Anyways, she got a beautiful bracelet from Daddy, a camera from Mommy, and a game from the boys. Good times, and lots of smiles from our precious little birthday girl. After checking out from the hotel, we mosied on over to the temple & got the kids settled with the babysitters again. During a lovely sealing ceremony, we got to see Tanner marry his sweetheart, and it was beautiful. We are so happy for them, just like we were just a few weeks ago for Seth & Josylyn. So much joy in such a little time!

Some pictures on the steps. (I was wondering if Andrew & I were ever this young or beautiful.)

Some pictures on the lawn.

And off in the car for the long drive to Thatcher. All of the kids had finally succumbed to the exhaustion that they'd been fighting for the past 2 days & slept most of the way. All except poor Emma who kept waking up & asking if we were there yet. She was desperate to have some cake & ice cream, as apparently that's what constitutes a "party" to a 5 year-old. Thanks for helping us out with that, Grandma!

Finally, we blew out some candles & hit the sack. Whew! And to think the weekend wasn't even over yet!

Saturday morning dawned bright & beautiful- a perfect day for a reception. Mommy & the older kids went to the church to help decorate, and visit with family.

We DEFINITELY needed to take naps, and the kids hit the sack hard. We barely got them up & ready in time for the reception at 7:00 pm. Somehow I managed to not get 1 picture of Tanner & Amy at the reception. I could've sworn that I took a couple of pictures, but maybe they got erased or something, because they don't exist anywhere that I've looked. Maybe there's a few on Emma's camera. But rest assured that everyone was beautiful & we had a good time. Hmmm..... maybe I didn't take any pictures because I was so occupied with the chocolate fountain??? No, that doesn't sound like me at all!

I don't think that the drive home from Safford has ever seemed so long! But we made it, just in time to start (or finish) all of the preparations for Christmas. But that's a story for another post.....

Time to take a break!

Oh, man! If I could only explain to you how tired & drained we are at our house! The past 2 weeks have been filled to the brim with every conceivable sort of activity & trip. We literally have not had 1 day that didn't have a Dr's appointment, errands to run, or multiple projects scheduled. So now that the big stuff is over, I finally have a moment to sit down & just breathe for a few moments. After that, I'm going to attempt to document our craziness for all of you out there in blog-world.

My mantra for the past few weeks has been "One Day at a Time." After you read this, I'm sure you'll understand why.

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OK, I'm ready. But where to begin? We've had 4 Mondays so far this month, and a Dr's appointment scheduled on each one. Throw in one on a Wednesday, and that's over $100 in co-pays & a LOT of driving back & forth into town. Yikes! But nearly everybody is perfectly healthy, and Emma's asthma is well-controlled for now. I say "nearly everybody" because Andrew gets to have another surgery on his hernia that never healed correctly, so that'll be fun to go through all over again. We've made countless trips to town to finish up last-minute Christmas details, and have spent countless hours wrapping presents & finishing up all of our Christmas "projects."

Here's just a sampling of some of our projects:

Making hats & scarves for the whole family for Winterhaven & the temple lights.
Finishing up the kids' Christmas quilts.Mixing up TONS of chocolates for goodie boxes for family & friends. Add to this a little cinnamon candy & they were finally done at about 2:00 am on December 23.

Gotta do the Santa cookies!

We've also been gone from home to attend a wedding, had family & friends visit us here, made 2 excursions to Winterhaven, and made a flying trip to Safford for Christmas Eve with the family. Add in the festivities for Emma's b-day & I'm exhausted even thinking about it all.

So that's a small sampling of what's been going on. I'll try to go into more details in subsequent posts. (If I can stay awake that long!)

Happy Birthday Emma!

Our "big" little girl turns the big #5 tomorrow. (Holy Cow) We'll be in Mesa at my brother's wedding, so I'll post this today. 5 Reasons why Emma is special:




1. Emma has unconditional love for everyone in her life. She has never met a stranger and makes it her mission to help everyone around her be happy.




2. Emma is the BEST big sister any child ever had. She works hard all day long to ensure that both of her brothers are content & entertained. Emma tries hard to be a good example and is very good at putting her brothers' happiness before her own.




3. Emma gives the most amazing hugs, and usually attacks you the moment she sees you with a hug that seems to warm your entire soul. When we go places, I have people ask me where Emma is so that they can get hugs from her.




4. Emma goes at 60 miles an hour all day long. She runs, plays, sings, and even thinks at top speed all the time. But that means that she spreads love & enthusiasm at that same amazing rate. Emma can brighten a room in a matter of seconds!




5. That smile! There's nothing in the world like an Emma grin. Like a friend once said "She smiles with her whole body." I'd do just about anything in the world to see her smile.

Happy Birthday Big Girl!

We Love You!

My New Header

We took this nativity picture at the same time that the whole Larson clan took a big nativity picture as a present for Nana & Poppa. I was the only sister lucky enough to have a boy, girl & baby the right size to have this done- and man, am I glad that I did! I think it turned out AMAZING, and even had custom Christmas cards made featuring this photo so that I could share it even more.

I had this picture & a couple of others blown up & they sit on my table with my nativity collection. It's the best reminder of the season that I could possibly have in my home.

This is one of them:

I think that Emma's got the Mary bit down pat, except with her it's not an act. She really does love him that much!

Hand Bell Hero!

Like Guitar Hero?

Test your holiday music skills with this game. I tried it & let's just say I need some practice! Happy Holidays!

http://www.freewebarcade.com/game/hand-bell-hero/

Happy Birthday Daddy!

Today Andrew turns the big 29- for the 4th time. (For those of you keeping track, that means that he's really 32.) But don't tell him that- he's totally content to stay 29 forever.

We have the best Daddy anybody could ask for, and we want him to know how much we love him.

Happy Birthday, Andrew!

Decking the Halls (& House)

I decided that Andrew needed a little more Christmas spirit, so I delegated to him the responsibility of decorating the tree this year with the kids. Man, it goes a lot faster when you're not the one having to dig through the boxes, find the hooks, even out the clumps of red glass balls, and referee between the 2 kids fighting over the shiniest ornaments. Thanks, babe!Emma was ecstatic to get to place the star. I guess that makes her more special or something? Whatever makes you happy, kiddo.

Once again, Jack missed out on all the fun!

I guess Frank took the term "stockings" literally. What a hoot!

This year, I also talked Andrew into put up lights on the house. Well, maybe the 9 boxes of lights that I bought & just sat on the counter had something to do with it. Can't let 'em go to waste, right? He refused to let me take pictures, because he was convinced that he was about to fall to his death the entire time. Did I mention that Andrew is afraid of heights?

We were sneaky & put them up while the kids were napping & turned them on before we left for Emma's school potluck. We had this grand vision of coming up the drive & the kids just going nuts. Well, not so much. All we came home to was a dark house & blown fuses in the light strands. So Andrew fixed it. The kids got to scream for all of 3 minutes before the fuse blew again. (At about this time, Andrew is mumbling something about how he'd like to strangle me with these darn lights.) Anyway, after some consultation with his electrician father & some extra extension cords, we have pretty Christmas lights on our house & 2 VERY happy kids. And I must admit, 1 very happy mom. What's Christmas without Christmas lights? What a dad- Thank You, & we love you!

Parenting Tips

Just a few tips for those parents & parents-to-be out there.

I know that I learned a few things!

These pictures are from a book by David and Kelly Sopp called "Safe Baby Handling Tips."

Practice Makes Perfect!

Jack & I have been practicing every day to get this right, and we want to show you what our hard work has produced. Here we go!

Almost!

Almost!
Getting better!
And there it is! Can you believe I got a picture of all 3 smiling when the youngest is only 2 months old? How lucky am I?

To explain this picture- Emma thought that Jack was cold, so she wrapped him up in her favorite blanky. And why is Frank still naked at 5:00 at night? Your guess is as good as mine.

Jack had his 2 month checkup on Monday & he's doing amazing. His growth seems to have tapered off a little, and he now weighs 12 pounds, 2 ounces. He's in the 50% for weight, but he's in the 75% for height. Who knew he was so tall for a 2-month old?

As for Jack's hearing, the Dr says that his ear canals are still so tiny that it's next to impossible to even see into them. So no new info on whether the fluid has drained yet. But, I have been working & experimenting every day with his hearing, and I know that he's hearing great these days. He turns his head to sounds, and he's even been awakened from a dead sleep when his siblings are screaming in the other room. That never happened before! I feel very confident that he's doing well, so I'm going to wait for his 4 month checkup before I request another hearing test for him. Since his ear canals are still so small, what's the point of re-testing him? We'll just let him continue to grow & when he gets another shot, I just know that he's gonna ace that test!

Emma & Frank harrass Jack daily, and he's just such a good sport. I think that he has learned quickly how to just endure their "loves" until they get distracted & leave him alone. He's spending a lot of time being awake these days, so I'm getting to see what a sweet little personality he has. He's really turning into a little angel just like the others are (well, most of the time!)

All in all, Jack is doing great & I couldn't possibly love him more. How on earth did I get blessed with 3 such perfect children?