Seriously!!!!...

   So why does life have to move so quickly?! We are officially parents of a TEENAGER!!! Can you say "AAAARRRRRHHHHHH!!!" I can't believe that this little man has been blessing our lives for 13 years!!

   I looked at some pictures today of when my dad and mom took the whole family to disneyland and he looks so teeny!! He still fit under my arm while we were standing for pictures, and now he just doesn't fit anymore!! His voice is cracking, his moods are changing (Scary, I know), and he is floating on by, ready to explore his world, even with my desperate, feeble attempt to keep him close!!

   I am so proud of this young man!! He works so hard to help me around the house. He worked so hard in school this year and rocked a 4.0 and was in the newspaper for honor roll. He is getting some pretty great friends, and I hope he will always be a great friend in return. We are truly blessed to have him in our lives!! Happy 13th Birthday Kaden!! We love you so much, and we are always so proud of you!! You are truly a gift from Heaven!!

Again Mckay!?!?

Mckay has decided that he wants to keep getting older, go figure!! He's officially 10 years old on Thursday...That's right....a huge TEN!!! I can't believe that he is already that old!! It seems like yesterday, all the tantrums, the whining, the complaining...oh wait, it was yesterday!! I got a huge list of things that he chose not to do in class, like not wanting to do anything because he was SO tired!! He got sent to time out...in fourth grade people!! I can't figure this one out like I can the rest. I have no idea where he came from or where he's going!! I guess the old adage is true...apples don't fall very far from the daddy tree!! This one is totally up to him!!
Speaking of the daddy tree, last night for dinner, we had left over spaghetti from the night before, and as I looked over to make a tree-apple comment, I saw the little apple eating spaghetti out of a clear, square tupperware container, and right past him, out of the corner of my eye, I saw his dad eating his spaghetti out of a clear, square tupperware container. It made me laugh so hard!! I love my boys so much!! They are all so good to me!!
HAPPY BIG 1-0 Mckay!! I'm so proud of you!!

Woah!!! Hold your horses!!

Wow!! A lot of things have happened since I posted last, but isn't that how life is supposed to work?! Doesn't it seem sometimes that you're trying so hard to walk up a sand dune hill to get to the top, only to find half way up that you might not make it? But then when you finally get there, the view is life changing!! That's how we have felt this last year. I am so grateful for our trials in life, don't get me wrong, but sometimes you just need a slow down!! So here it goes!!

Jason got really sick with pneumonia after staying out for 18 hours straight in a blizzard, so the town of Ephraim didn't go without power for more than necessary, and by the end of February he was a "walking dead man" as the doctors put it!! He was transported by ambulance and admitted to the Utah valley hospital on March first after having an oxygen level of 52! (I didn't know just how serious this was until my emt family told me that they usually resuscitate patients at a level 68!! Scary, I know!!) He spent 4 glorious days in the hospital while doctors and nurses tried to stabilize him and find his strain of Pneumonia so that they could treat it properly!! Since then, we have dealt with blood clots in his main artery in his leg and one in his knee, coumadin nightly, and beeping air machines(which now he insists on not wearing because he feels that it's no longer necessary!) He tried to go without oxygen for two weeks, when new symptoms started appearing. He went in to the doctor only to find out that blood was pooling around his weakened heart and that it was not strong enough to pump out his blood. He also recently found out that he has a torn mediscous and needs to go to an orthopedic surgeon to have it operated on because his cortisone shot lasted a whopping 4 days!! This boy is falling apart!! Things are looking up though, so I guess we hold on for the ride and hope that we don't fall off!!

In other news, we finally went to talk to the college about the possible purchase of our house, and he kind of giggled and said that there is no way that the college will give him any more money until the multi-million dollar housing project is up and running, and he gave us a timeline of 30-40 years until they will find other things to do with this block!! Yeah!! That's what I said!! So I mentioned that with any new business that moves in, it is required to install a privacy fence, and that our quality of life is being compromised, and that we are going to start working on raising our property value, he just laughed and started talking to Jason about the current power situation with their housing project!! Classic!! So we went straight home and started making plans on what to do to increase our property's value. We gathered rock from whoever would give it to us and my dad and mom bought paint and painted our house for my birthday!! I know, I'm spoiled!! They came down on conference weekend and helped with the start of the transformation!! I loved how helpful they all were! It helped so much!! We are putting in a sprinkling system this spring and we are finally installing our swimming pool in the back yard, so things are finally looking brighter, regardless of what our year has been like!!
The boys are healthy and happy and as spunky as ever, which I kind of love about them, and we are still "swimming" after all that has happened!! Let me tell you what, faith and prayer goes a long way in this time and place, and it has strengthened us so much as a family. So as for this, I guess I am grateful for times of trial, so we know just how good we have it the rest of the time!!

Larsen army reunion 2011

The Larsen reunion was as awesome as ever this year! It started with complaints from a 3 tent camp that got way too close to our "saved" camp. After welcoming them to leave our area or dealing with it, and getting pulled off the fight, things started settling down a little.
We went fishing at the beaver dams and both Kaden and Mckay caught a fish. I read and baited the hooks and they fished and swam. It was refreshing and fun.
When we got back to camp, we decided to go slide down snow banks in garbage sacks, and that was awesome as well, until Kaden and Mckay went off the other side of the snow bank and fell almost straight down onto some rocks. Kaden was finished after that, but Mckay wanted to get back up there for another round. He thought it was awesome!!
We started a game of volleyball that evening, where I just happened to be on one of the most competitive people's team...not a good idea!! I really don't have the skill or know how in sports to be an aggressive player, so it really didn't turn out that well!! We lost every game...every one!! She wasn't very happy with the results...She likes to win...:0(
The last day the remaining Larsen/on's decided to give volleyball one more shot, so as I was hiding from the team captains, I got a shout out to be on a team. I tried my best to be invisible, but got called in anyway. Lo and behold, guess who's team I'm on a.g.a.i.n.!! She wasn't very happy with the fact that we lost, again!! It sucks on both sides of that pendulum.
Our last bit of excitement this year was to watch one of our cousins try to ride an air mattress down a snow bank and land in John August lake. It was way more exciting talking about it. When they finally went, it was slow and go, but at least they tried.
I love the chance to go spend time with family every year, so we can visit and reconnect with each other. I can't wait till next year!! It's always a fun weekend with the family!!

Well...he did it...

Well, he did it!...Kaden's 12 years old and as of July 3rd, 2011, is officially a priesthood holder!
We had an awesome party to celebrate this little grown-up's life at the park after the great blessing he received from his dad earlier that day. We are so grateful for all the support that our families are to us, for their willingness to either drive all the way down here, or to take time to call and congratulate him in this big accomplishment in his life.
When I told Kaden that I was freaking out a little bit because he wasn't supposed to be 12 yet, he said "yeah, you're not the only one freaking out here, but look at the bright side, now you have two people in the house that hold the Priesthood, so that makes it o.k."
You're absolutely right Kaden, It does make things o.k.! Love you son! I'm so proud of you!!