WAITING FOR SUMMER

Not a lot has been going on in our lives lately. We are just waiting patiently for nice weather. The first part of last week was so nice- in the 50's. Then I believe Thursday we woke up to 3 inches of SNOW- yes I said snow. What a tease our weather has been. But finally yesterday and today are back to somewhat nice (the breeze is kind of chilly). So we are seeing a light at the end of the winter tunnel. Summer is sneaking up on us slowly but surely. The kids and I actually played outside yesterday for about 2 hours. Silas is learning that he has to stay in the fence- we are having trouble with bears around lately. Silas made Sam jog behind him yesterday evening while he drove his motorcycle down to the cluster mailbox. He thought is was funny to see Daddy trying to "be fast". Well I just thought I would add a post since I hadn't for awhile. Hopefully I can get my butt in gear and post some pictures soon.

FUN Party

We went to a really cool birthday party for our cousin Anderson last weekend. It was at a place called River City Cheer. It was a great place to go run and bounce since it is still too wet and cold for outside. I thought it was so awesome. The kids absolutely had a ball! They had this really cool pit full of foam cubes that the kids could jump into. There had to be a trampoline at the bottom because it was so bouncy. Brooklyn loved the ramp mats and the really long trampoline(no picts of this). Silas tried it all! But he really liked the big pit. If you live up here and need a place to have a party, especially in the winter, this one is pretty cool. The only downside to it- once your hour is up, you kind of are rushed upstairs for the presents, cake, etc. Enjoy the pictures!

Attached!!!

Silas is just my sweet little man. I do not know what my days would be like if he was not around me. I just get so much giggles everyday from him. We went to the store last week and Silas found a Transformer that he wanted. Since we got back from AZ we have been having issues with staying in bed at night, so I told him that I would buy it but he could not open it until he stayed in his bed all night for 3 nights in a row. Usually that works- or it has before anyway. For two days in a row he wandered up to our room in the middle of the night. He woke up both mornings wanting his Transformer airplane. Since he could not open it, he just wanted to "look at it". So that is what he did. He carried it around with him for most of the day. The day before he finally got it (which was for being good at the DR not for staying in bed- I know I am horrible) I took these pictures of him. He had fallen asleep after lunch watching Diego . And as you can see he is hanging on to that thing like it is worth millions. Definately attached! I just thought they were such cute pictures I had to share with everyone.

Catch Up and Easter 2008

As promised, Easter pictures. Regarding my previous post- No pictures of me and only one of Sam, the only ones we had of us together were already printed and I didn't feel like going through scanning, etc. So I am sorry, just imagine us there- K. Since getting home from AZ-Hawaii-AZ it has been somewhat hectic. I got home with stacks of mail to sort through and taxes that needed to get done. I was just glad that my house was clean- thanks babe! Of course a day later I realized why- the kids hadn't been there in three weeks. So then there was that task that always seems never ending.
Easter came and went- it was a lot of fun! Then for my birthday Sam told me I could get some new furniture, so a little late but we bought some- the whole shibang, couches, dining room and bedroom set . But I had to make room for our current furniture downstairs- which involved cleaning out the spare bedroom and organizing the play room. This has been on the to-do list since Jan. but never got around to it- but now a deadline, new furniture to arrive on Sat. AHHHH!
Needless to say all those tasks have a line through them- DONE!! Now we have two months until June so maybe we can finally try to live our lives normally until then.
Anyways, that is why my posting has slacked.
I did want to share our Easter pictures with you! These are of the kids decorating eggs and then hunting for eggs. I put Easter Sunday pictures on the right side of the blog. Please enjoy!!

Our Days in Paradise

ALOHA! Well finally, here are some of the pictures we took in Maui! It took me long enough- I know. Sam and I had so much fun. We already want to go back. The weather while we were there was absolutely fantastic. A great break from the long, cold, dark winter up here. We stayed at the Hyatt Resort and Spa in Lahaina, Maui. The resort was AMAZING! Neither one of us had ever stayed in such a nice place before. I tried to get pictures from their website but it wouldn't work. If anyone is interested or just wants to see go to www.maui.hyatt.com. Everything was better than expected there. Hats off to Ferguson Plumbing Supply Co. (they paid for this whole trip!)

We did a lot in the short time we were there. We were able to go on the Atlantis submarine cruise: it was something that I really wanted to do. Honestly, I would not recommend this. We thought we were going to see the real tropically fish- nada. So my opinion- too much money, not enough satisfaction.
We went to the Maui Ocean Center: this was pretty stinkin cool. Although I really like aquariums(we actually got to see tropically fish). There was one awesome hallway that was all surrounded by water- every direction. Way too cool!
We ventured on the roads of most of the island: we made it down to Big Beach. We climbed up these rocks and got an amazing view. On the opposite side of these rocks was a NUDE beach. We only saw from a distance- don't think I am a sicko!
We took one day and drove the VERY CURVY 'Road to Hana' (and we survived): I was told by a friend that this was a must-do. It definitely lets you see the beauty of Hawaii. One tidbit of info- just because is says Hana 20 miles, does not mean Hana 20minutes. Let's just say- we should have planned an all day venture. Along the way, Sam was able to go cliff jumping at a few different spots. We could see this very tan foreign guy (in the picture) standing on the other side of road so we pulled over to check the cliff out. To me it looked not safe at all, but the surveyors (Sam and Nate) apparently thought otherwise. The dude was standing there like he was going to jump for like 10 minutes when finally the 'surveyors' had to show him how we do things here in America. Off they went into the water ahhh! Another tourist standing next to me asked if I was with them, I said yes and she says "Do you have your will in order?" I'm telling ya, from where we were standing- I don't know how they did it.
We got to hike to waterfalls: Twin Falls was pretty, but a treacherous walk in flip-flops. Funny story, we got about halfway to the first waterfall and what happens- my flip flop breaks. But don't worry- McGyver's to the rescue. I was rigged up with a flip flop bottom and a video camera strap for the rest of the hike.
We ate some awesome local food: Sam ordered a lot of Mahi Mahi and I got a lot of grilled pineapple with my food. We took one night to eat a dinner we would not normally eat (which means spendy), although it was so delicious, a $10 steak is just as good as a $50 one. My favorite meal of them all was at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co. I loved the atmosphere and my coconut shrimp was to die for! I am still bummed I didn't buy my stinkin' shirt!
The last day Sam chartered a fishing boat. One guy on the boat, Jesse, caught a Mahi Mahi. While Sam did that, I went back to the resort, packed and then basked in the sun on the beach! It was nice, but I wish it would have been longer!
I would definitely recommend to anyone to take a vacation to paradise!
One quick shout out to my sister, Kim. This trip never would have been so relaxing if you hadn't been willing to take our kids. Thanks a million! I know it was kind of a hassle changing the dates and all- but we really do appreciate it. I'm so glad they were good for you. I can say it was definitely nice knowing they were in good hands. And it was a good break for us too. TTTHHHAAANNNKKKSSSS!! We owe you big time!! Hope you all enjoy our picts! ALOHA!

FRUSTRATED!!!!!!!!

I will have you all know that I have been sitting here at the computer, attempting this for almost two hours and basically I have got absolutely nothing accomplished. I was trying so hard to get my pictures on here today! I have not attempted a slide show before and thought I would give it a whirl- after I finally figured it all out and it had uploaded my picts the page tells me that it cannot find the server- I am SOOOOOO pissed to say the least. So I give up for today!! My kids are grouchy at me for sitting here this long and I have other things that I HAVE to do today- so I will attempt this again tomorrow (maybe tonight). If anyone has any slide show advice please send it my way! Sorry again Amber- another day gone by and no picts.

Lovers Tag- You're It!!

How long have you been together? Feels like forever.... 8 years last month
How long did you date? Just two weeks shy of 4 years.
How old is he? He will be 25 in April.
What is his full name? Samuel Dale Larsen
Does he have any hidden talents? Most his talents are not hidden, but a lot of people up here don't know that he can paint cars.
Who eats more? Probably me since he is at work all day. But once he gets home- he eats and eats!
Who said "I love you" first? He did! - how sweet!
Who is taller? Sam- that's not much of a competition.
Who sings better? Probably me, but I love it when he tries!
Who is smarter? Depends on what subject or topic! Probably him.
What is a phrase he says all the time that you hate? "For real though?"
Who does the laundry? I do!! If he wants to, he is only allowed to do his own clothes- everything in all at once- I don't think so!
Who does the dishes? Usually me- but mostly our dishwasher.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? Me
Who pays the bills? Me, he peeks every once in awhile
What is the one place he would blow all your money? The Snap-On tool truck
Who mows the lawn? No lawn right now. When we do- he will, unless we have a riding mower.
What could he 'care less' about? His looks- he just wears what he wants to wear and does not care.
Who cooks dinner? Me- I absolutely love to cook!
Who is more stubborn? I would say me.
What is the one thing you would change about him? Nothing- I absolutely love everything about my hubby!!
Who kissed who first? It was definately mutual movement! I guess he did make the first move
Who asked who out? I made the first move by asking him to dance but he actually asked me to 'go out' with him.
Who proposed? Sam- really funny story. Not quite what he wanted it to be.
What made you marry him? He could make me laugh and always told me how much he cared for me. Which he still does both to this day!
Who is more sensitive? Totally me. I am such a baby!
What image of him do you cherish? I love when he is cuddled up with both our kids on the couch- usually eating popcorn or ice cream.
Who has more friends? I do more stuff with my friends but if you actually count them- it is about the same number.
Who has more siblings? I do 4 sisters, 2 bros
What is his favorite destination spot? He really liked Hawaii, but we are living the only place that he's ever dreamed of being.
Who are you tagging? Taralee and Teresa