Merry Christmas 2008!!!

Well, I hope that you all had a very Merry Christmas and are looking forward to the new year. Our families Christmas was mostly good! We didn't really have a lot going on so we were able to take our time and just chill out at home. Christmas morning the kids slept in until after 9, which was kind of nice. Brooklyn had been throwing up the morning before, so she needed rest. They both woke up in good spirits and were very happy to see that Santa had brought what they wanted plus some. Brooklyn got a My 1st Dollhouse with all the accessories. Silas got a Batcave with some accessories, a big styrofoam plane and a bb gun. They both also got a big kitchen set. They were just so excited that we had to remind them that we had stockings and presents to open.
After we got everything unwrapped and a huge mess throughout the house, we went over to Grandma Lisa's for some breakfast pizza and more gifts. We stayed over there for most of the morning and then came back home to enjoy all our new toys. I cooked a Christmas ham with all the other good stuff and Sam's brothers and friend Dalton came over to share it with us.
After dinner, our Christmas took a little turn- Brookie started to not feel good again. She just wanted to drink water but as soon as she would drink it she would either throw it up or it would end up in her diaper and all over. That lasted for a couple hours. She finally got to sleep with something in her belly. After awhile Sam and I started to both not feel well. I went to bed and he followed soon after. About a half hour later- both of us at the same time were in the bathroom throwing up. It was not cool at all. It is kind of funny looking back at it now! Sam was up most the night- but I just had to throw up once and I felt much better. Yesterday we were able to chill out at home again. The kids were enjoying their new toys and having fun! Brooklyn was feeling better. Sam had a bad headache most the day. It was really nice just being able to be home with just us! We truly hope that you all had a Merry Christmas! Thanks to all who sent us Christmas wishes! We really love knowing that people think of us this time of year! We wish you all the greatest and happiest New Year!

December 08 Highlights

Well, I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!!!! Before I share the photos and highlights of our Christmas, I wanted to share these highlights from this past month. The kids got to make their 2nd annual Gingerbread house. We met up at the church one afternoon with a bunch of friends and put together our houses. The kids enjoyed hearing 'Miss Heather' tell the story of Christmas with fun toys! The kids really enjoyed putting the candy on the house as well as eating it!
The kids and I also made some sugar cookies and decorated them at home. It was a fun, messy activity that they had so much fun doing. The kids enjoyed the frosting more than the cookies.
We also got some early Christmas gifts from my side of the family. The family party was in AZ on the 13th, we got the gifts on the 11th and couldn't wait to open them. They were so excited to open something. Silas got a really cool Batman wings and mask set! Brookie got a color set and a baby doll. Sam got Carhart stuff and I got a new Crockpot and mixer!!! Just what we all wanted.
Last but not least, Silas was able to be in our churches children's Christmas musical this year. He was part of the manger scene. He was a dog. I'm pretty sure there were dogs there. He looked so cute in his little costume. They didn't really have to do anything but stand there and he did a pretty good job!
Well those were the highlights that I hadn't posted but wanted to. I am putting together our Christmas slideshow so I will post that soon. I hope you all are looking forward to the start of 2009! We hope you will visit again soon!

Dear Santa,

Well, the Saturday after Thanksgiving I helped the kids write their letters to Santa! This is something that I grew up doing and I loved the whole excitement of Santa Claus. It's something that we never questioned doing with our kids. The kids had looked at the Fisher-Price catalog and both found something that they wanted for Christmas. I kind of convinced them to ask Santa for it.
So we started our activity by cutting out what they wanted from the magazine. Brooklyn wants a Dollhouse like her friend Sydney with all the people and furniture. I wrote Brookie's letter and she helped me write her name. She got to glue the pictures to the back of her page. Then she wanted to color on hers. Silas wants a Batcave with the Batmobile and the Joker. He needed help with his letter but definately not his name. He also glued but didn't color. Then we folded them up, put them in an envelope and sent it on its way to the North Pole. They really enjoyed this and I know will look forward to it each year!

O Christmas Tree

Well, it is that time of year again! Can you believe it? Last Sunday we put up our Christmas tree and the kids got to decorate it pretty much by themselves. They really liked seeing all the ornaments and finding out where each one came from. The kids finally got to open the ornaments that they chose for this year. Silas chose Diego on a snowboard and Brookie chose Strawberry Shortcake also on a snowboard. Daddy jumped in and helped put the star on just like last year. We thought we would have issues with the tree being undecorated and redecorated over and over, but after the first day Brooke now knows that it looks prettier with the ornaments on the tree. We finally put lights up in our house yesterday, so I am getting into the Christmas spirit! The kids seem excited, but "it's just takin so long" as Silas says. I am looking forward to sending out our Christmas cards this next week. I hope that you all are preparing for Christmas and are enjoying it!!

Snow Much Fun!

With Thanksgiving this week, I have not had any jobs that I had to get done or stress about. It has been great! I have been able to just play with the kids all day long.
We had a couple days that we even ventured outside to play in the snow! They both absolutely love it! It is much easier this year than last- because Brookie can actually walk in her boots and snowsuit. She just gets mad when she gets it on her face and then wipes it off with her snow-covered gloves which just makes things worse.
Silas got a little snowboard yesterday so when we got home he had to try it out- even though it was snowing and there wasn't much daylight left. He had a blast and I must say is a natural at snowboarding. Our hill is anything but steep, but it is just right for him for now.
I just wanted to share our fun in the snow pictures and just say that I am so thankful for my kids. I need to just take a break more often and enjoy them and their little spirits. I hope you all have a fun winter and a Happy Thanksgiving!

Silly Girl!!

Brooklyn is absolutely hilarious! She makes each day so fun! Right now she is really into playing with babies, playing kitchen and wearing clothes either that are not hers or where they don't really belong. What I think is so funny, no one taught her to dress-up or play mommy- it is just natural. Ah girls! Just wanted to share a funny moment from our Brookie.

Halloween!

We had a fun Halloween! Si was a Frog and Brooke was a Duck. Aren't they so cute!?! The kids loved getting their faces painted and wearing their animal costumes. We didn't hit as many houses as we planned, but the kids enjoyed themselves anyway. And thankfully we only got like 20 peices of candy! Good for them, good for me. Si has already been planning what they are going to be next year. Hope you all had a safe and fun Halloween!

Pumpkin Carving

Well, I'm finally getting these posted. Here are the kids carving their pumpkins. Silas again, just like last year, wasn't too fond of diggin in and getting the gunk out. Brooke didn't mind it one bit. Brooke chose to just do a happy face and Silas of course chose a bat. Brooke helped me carve hers and Dad helped Si with his. Silas had tons of fun carving up the bat shape that they cut out. It was a fun family night. The finished products turned out pretty cute!

High School Tag

My High School: Show Low High School Show Low, Arizona
1. Did you date someone from your high school? I dated some in Junior High that also went to my high school and I had little flings here and there my fresh year.
2. What kind of car did you drive? A white '96 Dodge Neon- Sweet, I know!
3. What was your most embarrassing moment in high school? I'm sure someone else can think of one, but I am drawing a blank on this one. Post one if you remember- be nice though!
4. Were you a party animal? On bus trips for softball and volleyball, if that counts. Otherwise, not really.
5. doesn't have a question...I don't know what happened to it!
6. Were you in band, orchestra, or choir? Not in high school
7. Were you a nerd? I got good grades, but I would definitely not call myself a nerd.
8. Were you on any varsity teams? Yep, Volleyball my senior year and part of junior year- Softball part of soph year and both junior and senior years. Best time of my life! Go Cougs!
9. Did you get suspended/expelled? No, some detentions and one Saturday School.
10. Can you still sing the fight song? Heck yeah!
11. Who were your favorite teachers? Mr. Adams, Chemistry Mr. Hart, History Mr. Murdoch, Senior English
12. Where did you sit during lunch? Fresh year- on the grass outside, Soph year- wherever we drove to, Junior and Sen years at home or Subway a lot.
13. What was your school mascot? The Cougar!!!
14. Did you go to Homecoming and with whom? Yes, my bf and now husband.
15. If you could go back and do it again, would you? Absolutely, I had so much fun and I would love even just one day again.
16. What do you remember most about graduation? The conversations in the hall before we all walked out.
17. Where did you go senior skip day? I think Karah and I went to Snowflake- don't know if that was actually skip day or if we just ditched and that is what is coming to mind.
18. Were you in any clubs? Yes
19. Have you gained weight since then? Who hasn't? I have had two kids so what do you think?
20. Who was your prom date? My bf and now husband
21. Are you planning on going to your ten-year reunion? Yes and we better have one!!!!!
22. Looking back, what advice would you give yourself? It goes by fast so enjoy it and have more fun!
23. Looking forward, what advice would you give your future self? Relax, you are not Wonder Woman!
24. If you could change one thing in your high school years what would it be? I would have gone on a date with a particular person that asked me to. I think we really would have had a great time!
I am tagging...Everyone!!! It was fun to take a look back at the good ole days.

It's Here!!!

Well it's official! 6 days earlier than last year. We had our first snow! Monday morning we woke up to falling snow (pictures). It was gone by mid-day though. Didn't even have time to go play in it. But yesterday morning we woke up to a lot more - well only like an inch or two (should have taken picts). It snowed on and off throughout the day but most melted off since it warmed up to 37 degrees. Today we still had some on the ground and our high is supposed to only be 34, so it might stick around until tomorrow. Silas thinks it's supposed to be Christmas and just wants to go outside and play in it. Brooke would just look out the window and start laughing "snow". It was pretty funny. When outside- she just wants to touch it and eat it. Well just wanted to share our weather with all of you. It was just a glimpse of our winter ahead! I just don't know if I am as excited about it as the kiddos.

Mud Boggin'

These pictures are from about a week ago. We had so much rain and some other issues that I don't want to explain again- that we got a huge muddy mess in one corner of our driveway. Well, one persons pain is a 4 year olds pleasure! Silas and his Uncle Matthew had so much fun Mud Boggin' it through our mud. You can imagine the mess on that little boy!

California and Arizona

Finally after a few weeks home I got these slide shows done. I really hope you all enjoy them. We started off our vacation at Disneyland and California Adventure. The kids had so much fun visiting where Buzz Lightyear and Winnie the Pooh live. We met up with some of my sisters,my neice Kylee and my nephew Jayce. It was great having them there. They were all very helpful with the kids! Silas had a blast! He got to see Buzz (his favorite) and many more characters. He loved pretty much all the rides. Even the ones that some would think were scary(like Tower of Terror). The only one he did not like was Space Mountain. It was the very first ride we went on, but I think it being in the dark was what he didn't like. Brookie wasn't too fond of any rides that went dark. But most of the ones she was able to go on she enjoyed. She couldn't wait to get up to Pooh, but once we were right by him she didn't want anything to do with him. I had a blast too. It was a lot less stressful than I was expecting it to be. My most stressful time was when we were eating. My kids just didn't behave as well as they usually do at meals. We got some fun souvenirs and lots of memories. We look forward to going again, but next time will be with Daddy!

One huge highlight at California Adventure was an awesome parade called Disney/Pixar's Play Parade. It had all the characters from the Pixar animated films- most of my kids favorites. The kids danced and had fun just seeing the characters. It was the coolest parade that I have ever been to

After four days at Disneyland and California Adventure my sister Cristi, her son Jayce, myself and my kids drove to San Diego and went to Sea World. The kids had tons of fun just seeing all the sea animals. Brooke fell asleep for the first Shamu show so we stuck around until the nighttime show. It was pretty cool! Silas' favorite was the penguins. Brooke still talks about the dolphins to this day. It was a long day but I am really glad that we took that extra day and went.

We spent the next day driving to Arizona. We got to Show Low(my hometown) around 8 at night. We spent the next week there just visiting family and friends. We hung out at my Mom's quite a bit. It was a good break from the go,go,go that we had the days before. My kids had a blast jumping on the tramp and swinging. They had fun playing with their cousins. I was excited to watch my nephew Justin play varsity football at my old high school. We also watched my nephew Josh play 8th grade football and my nephew Koy play a type of PeeWee football. We had way too much fun! Thanks to all who helped out, visited with us, and just hung out with us. Thanks Grandpa Ken for the costumes and prizes. We love and miss you! As always, it was hard to leave but we are hoping to visit this Christmastime. As you can imagine, my kids were wore out by the time we got home. It is nice to be home and get back into the groove of things.

Back on Track

We are finally back home from our trip to Cali and AZ! As soon as I get my house back in order I will post pictures.

Future Fisherman

Like Father, Like Son!!!

This was Silas' catch the other day. He went to the creek behind our house

and caught this 10 1/2 inch fishy. He was so proud of himself and has wanted to go back everyday since. Daddy has planned a fishing adventure for Sunday, Si is so pumped.

MEMORIES

Okay I'm gonna give this one a whirl!!

1. As a comment on my blog, leave one memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or a lot, if it is recent or years old, silly or serious--anything you remember!

2. Next, re-post these instructions on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It's actually pretty funny to see the responses. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing the game and I'll come to your blog and leave one about you.

Take a stroll down memory lane.... Lets Hear Them!!

4 ALREADY !?!

Well Silas celebrated his 4th birthday on the 23rd. He has been dying to turn 4 since his friend Cole did in March. Well it finally happened! I just cannot believe that my little boy is growing up so stinking fast. He will be starting school next year- crazy!!! It seems like just yesterday he was a tiny little thing and now he is such a big boy! He is always full of energy but will pause just to tell you he loves you or give you some loves. He is the best big brother and loves his sister to death. He is the greatest helper- always wanting to do something with you or for you. I am so grateful that I have him in our lives! Sam and I can't wait to see what this next year brings.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MONSTER-BUTT!!!p style="visibility:visible;">

Visitors

My Mom and StepDad came up and visited us for 10 days. It was nice to have them here. We had a good time with them. I know they had a good time too. Lyle was able to go out fishing with Sam. They caught 6,000 pounds that day- Lyle really enjoyed telling that to people back home. The kids were great! I thought they would act shy or be hesitant at first, but they weren't at all. It was kind of cool. We were sad to see them leave but we look forward to their trip up here next year. Here are just a couple shots we took while they were here.

Birthday Party

As usual, I am not right on top of things in the blogging world. My life seems so crazy every day and then by the end of each day I wonder what in the world I got accomplished. Anyways we had Si's 4th birthday party on July 19th. He wanted a skateboard party at the beach! Well since the beaches are so crazy this time of year we had it at a park in Kenai. But we stuck with the skateboard theme. At first I didn't think that I would be able to come up with anything with that theme- but sure enough, I did and it all turned out good!

Thankfully, it was a somewhat sunny day which was a very good thing! He had a lot of friends come and they had a bunch of fun. Thanks again to all who came and for all the great fun stuff he got!

Busy July

I just thought I would just speak my mind a little today. Our weather hasn't really wanted to cooperate- so we haven't had much outside days, which really bites. It is making our summer go by that much faster. Our summer has been crazy busy this year, which is also making it go by faster. July has been unreal. Sam started fishing June 30th and has been doing very well. He spends most his off days working on the boat- so he has been very busy. Silas is absolutely loving the extra time with his Daddy. He gets to go work with Daddy most days. Brooklyn and I have done a lot of stuff around the house. We don't get to see Daddy much this time of year- so that kind of sucks.
Our friend from AZ, Marchell and his wife came up and stayed with us for a few days. We had fun with them. It was good to finally have some friends come and visit. We are preparing for my Mom and StepDad to come up here on Monday. They haven't seen our house in it's DONE condition- so I am excited for them to come visit.
Silas is going to be turning 4 on the 23rd, we are having his party on the 19th. He is so excited that it is finally here. He has been asking very often if today is his birthday- I guess that is what I get for starting to plan so far in advance.
Well I guess I don't really have much else to say. Just a bit lonely today I guess. I hope everyone is having a good summer. I will post probably after Si's party. Happy Summer to all!

Pampered Chef Party

I am having a Pampered Chef party Tuesday July 8th. These parties are now virtual as well. For anyone wanting to check out the products (they have awesome gadgets) and/or place an order can do so online. Just visit www.pamperedchef.biz/elainekellum. Make sure to input my name(Jamie Larsen)as the host. Your products are shipped right to you!! I hope you all can find something you like. Thanks to all who participate in this virtual party. Thanks a bunch!

Happy Father's Day!

I just wanted to send out a Happy Father's Day wish for all the Dad's, StepDad's,
Grandpa's and whoever else needs the wish. I would like to show my
appreciation to three great men in our family's lives.

First, my husband- Babe, you are such an awesome Dad and husband. You never give yourself the credit that you deserve. Si and Brooke absolutely adore you and every second that they get to spend with you. You sacrifice so much and work so hard for us, I will never be able to show how much that means to me. We have had a long time together and I have absolutely loved it. You make me laugh like no one else can- and I adore that about you! You are a great example- I will never forget the first time I asked Si what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said "My Daddy" ! I just hope that you have as much fun with us as we do with you! We are so grateful for the Dad/husband that you are. We love you lots! Happy Father's Day!

Second, Sam's Dad- Thank you Dad for all the love and support that you have given to us. We have some really great memories with you! You truly did a great job with the Dad thing- because Sam is a pretty good one. Keep it up> one more to go! haha! Sam still looks up to you and respects you and the values that you taught him. We wish we were closer so we could all spend more time with ya. The kiddos have really enjoyed going to Gpa Ken's. And I could definately tell that you really had fun with them. We hope that you have a great Father's Day! Can't wait to see you again! We love and miss you so much!

And last but not least, My Dad- It is crazy to think that he has been gone for 5 1/2 years. I still think about him quite a bit. Usually when I am having those precious moments with my kids, I just wish that they could have known him. He was a really great guy! Skilled in so many different areas. He sacrificed more than I ever knew for our family, especially during my last 2 years of high school. But I am so thankful for that time (here I go getting all pouty)- I loved looking in the stands at every one of my softball and volleyball games and seeing him there. I took it for granted at the time but now I look back and I truly cherish that and will never forget it. I could go on for many many paragraphs but I will keep the rest for myself I am so grateful to have had such an amazing and humble man to call my Dad! I truly love and miss him! Happy Father's Day!

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!!!!!