Speaking Larsen

Brooklyn turned 9! She wanted to have a lot of friends over to Grandma Mac's house to swim! So, we invited them and at the end of the day all but two were able to come! I think it was a little overwhelming for her because there were a couple of times that she cried. I think it wasn't quite turning out how she thought it would. The pool was crowded and some of her friends weren't getting along with each other. Oh well. In the end it worked out great. It just took them awhile to remember that they were all friends. So they swam and we had pizza and cake and ice cream. But one thing that we learned about Brooklyn's friends and Grandma really know her! She received 15 stuffed animals! Which meant she hit her goal! She had 100+ in her collection. As everyone was headed out there was a tornado warning. *Crazy.* It rained hard for about 15 minutes and when we got home, we realize that we had missed out on a major hail storm that had struck on the east side of town. The h...

This year at the fair, we gorged ourselves on good food and made sure to do all the things we wanted, because the farm is slated to be sold in December. The kids have worked so hard to help break the heifers to lead. We drove out to the farm twice a day for weeks and weeks to teach Mel B, Hazelnut, Cocoa, Paige Turner, Red Pepper, Dancer, and Lil Red to lead to water. We had extra help at the fair, too. Alex Chandler, a return missionary who served here in Idaho Falls, came back to the area to go to school but she had exactly two weeks where she we never was free to help us on the dairy and at the fair.

Well, on the morning of April 8th, a beautiful Saturday, we woke up and got all dressed up for Brooklyn's Baptism. I'm sad to report that I didn't take a lot of photos of the after party, but I can you some of the fun details of the day. ► Brooklyn was one of twelve kids being baptized that morning. ►She ended up being thee very last one to be baptized. ►Because of this, she was asked to "swim down to the bottom" and pull the plug to drain the font. ►Because of this, the drain whistled and gurgled quite loudly while she was surrounded by the priesthood holder who were conferring the Holy Ghost upon her. ►She opened a golden birthday gift immediately after getting home, as it was a black and gold outfit from us for her to wear for the rest of the day. ►Grandma and Grandpa Larsen gave Brooklyn her first set of scriptures, and an adorable stuffed animal. ► Grandpa and Grandma Pack gave Brooklyn her heirloom baptism Barbie doll. ► The Park...

While the boys are at the General Priesthood Session, we girls snuck in a photo of ourselves and spent the evening at Grandma Pack's. I milked the cows while they watched MOANA. And as I look at these girls, my heart overflows with a million smiles that are like bright stars, full of hope and promise. There is a weight I cannot describe that comes with it, too. I love being their mom and am grateful, every day, for their enduring strength, their positive attitudes, their sass, and their friendship. They're ridiculously beautiful, inside and out. In 20 years, I hope they're still my dearest friends and will snuggle me like they do now, because if this keeps up, they'll still be beautiful, inside and out, and I'll be beside myself on what a lucky woman I am to have them.

Landon's growing up and up on us. And I mean literally. His long legs kill me. He's ready to attend his first General Priesthood Session with his Grandpa Lynn, and Kyle. He's growing. UP.

It's almost this sweet girl's birthday. She'll be turning 8 on April 8th, and getting baptized on this golden day. Our hearts are full, and we are so excited to celebrate her!

If you can't tell Brooklyn's flying through the Post-it notes. I found these ones, at the bottom of her school bag. So I took them into the school, handed them to her teacher to read and giggle at, and then told her to have Brooklyn deliver these kind messages to her classmates. This girl is single-handedly going to keep the Post It note company in business, and bring the art of passing handwritten notes back into style.

This girl's has got to stop growing up on us! She loves the ukulele and so we got her a purple one! She's kind and thoughtful and turning into the kind of young lady we've prayed for. She loves to babysit and be dramatic and silly. Right now, she's gearing up for a musical and we can't wait to watch her perform! She sure love the stage. She's hoping to take Drivers Ed soon, but we're happy to wait. Maybe a few more practice lessons out on the farm are in her future, though. We had a low key day (Sunday) and ate her favorite--Fruited Chicken Salad, a homemade dish created by Grandma Cindy. We had the Pack family over to open gifts, because she'd spent all of Saturday night at the Larsen's swimming in her new suit--thanks Grandpa and Grandma Larsen--and watching Moana, with a bunch of her friends. She is excited to be on Instagram, looking forward to summer, and pushing 5 foot 7. The stinker.

Here is the mastermind behind Fablehaven, and now, Dragon Watch.  We were so excited about it we waited in line for 2 hours at the mall, with  Serene Heiner and her kids, to get our copy of it signed! It's really fun to meet authors the kids love!

I'm not sure this needs much explaining. Other than I found these notes while cleaning. At least they're communicating with each other, right?

Well, Where do I even start with this post? Catelyn and Jocelyn came with me, and Dayvne Molifua, to Boise to watch the high school state championship games. Except they spent spent two days playing with friends, while I attended games. However, on day three, they came with me to the last game. And that's when something clicked for these two. They got into the game, cheering and yelling and hyped up. When the game ended in over time, BHS winning by two, we were thrilled! Cate asked me when the next games was. A part of me laughed at her so hard. I had to explain how Basketball scheduling and tournaments worked, all over again, how this game was it for these boys, and she seemed to get how all those times she told us NO about 'going to a game' what she'd been missing out on. Poor thing. I think next year, she'll be a Ball Junkie like me. At least, I hope so. And maybe Jo Jo will, too, since she loved watching the game as much as I did. Now, ...

Your dater. She means, YOUR DAUGHTER. Still, can we just take a minute here to laugh at how badly she wants her own Plug In Scentsy warmer? I mean, she even had it back dated. How was I supposed to get it for her when she wrote the note ten days later? We did go to PPC, just in case you were wondering. We go about once every three months. Update: As of March 15, she officially has her own warmer, purchased with her own money. She earns wax for it by keeping her room clean.

Lately, when we get home, we have notes stuck to doors and mirrors from Brooklyn. She's fearless when it comes to spelling things and getting what she wants to say on paper. Mostly, it's adorable. Tonight, it appears that Brooklyn's note making has rubbed off onto her bigger sister. Jocelyn's note is especially funny with the whole LOVE AND PEACE bit. Gosh, I sure love these monkeys of mine.

The following photos weren't taken on January 31st, but that was the day Leena was born, so I'm back dating it a bit. Blaine and Paula welcomed Leena after months of waiting, and the whole family is excited to have another Pack baby in the family. Born after an 11 hour labor, Leena came into the world at 6 pounds and 15 ounces, and 20 inches long.

Remember when this happened? CLICK ON THIS LINK. Yeah, that was January of 2015. Seems like it's time to move on out of those braces, right? The Orthodontist and I thought so, too. So we surprised Cate at an appointment, and removed them! She was so excited to eat an apple, I think she consumed 2 years worth in a week. Happy January 31st!