Speaking Larsen

It's always a treat to have Grandma Betty in town. And today was no exception. We went out for Chinese and laughed and laughed. You cute grandkids sure make her happy.

Landon! Happy 11th birthday, bud! You're the best! Tonight we went to Applebees and ate our hearts out. The best part was they were doing free kid's face painting, and she sure painted you a fierce basketball. It was a nice day and we are so grateful you're a part of our family. A few days later, we got together again as a family and celebrated another accomplishment. You receieved your Arrow of Light! We are proud of you for working hard to fulfill all the required tasks to complete this difficult award but you did it! You and Dad worked very hard on it, and it warms my heart to think about how you two were neck deep into it. GOOD JOB! Also, you have the prettiest eyes. I know that boys aren't terribly fond of this, but we girls sure get jealous when you're blessed with such long lashes. You hate them, and I had to keep getting after you to STOP PICKING AT THEM. You were literally pulling your eyelashes out because you didn't like tha...

Today, this sweet girl is 9!!!  She woke up early{6:30}, unable to contain her excitement. She got dressed, and then did her favorite thing: READ. That's right. She's my bookworm! When she came upstairs, she got to open a birthday present, and then she had to go change clothes because she got a new sweater dress. Love her.

Yesterday, Jocelyn ended up with three staples in her head. After stake conference choir (which I've been asked to direct) we were in the EMPTY primary room, putting away the last three chairs. Jocelyn, as a happy 8 yo girl, is spinning in circles, getting dizzy and giggling like a she should. Our good friend, Kerri Hansen, and I are visiting, and we witness her loosing control, free falling, and colliding with the corner of the oak podium.  She rolled onto her side, and (sadly) we laughed at her. But COME ON! you would've, too. It WAS funny. Until, BLOOD. She didn't hit the front face, with her forehead, which would have resulted in a lovely goose bump. That's not our kind of luck. So, with Kerri's trained eye, we examined it, best we could with the gushing, flowing, sticky blood, and then we took off to the Urgent Care. Thankfully, it only took 30 minutes, but that was a rough 30 minutes. They didn't numb her, either. Instead, they scrubbed...

Landon's first basketball game of the 2016 season started out with a bang! Landon scored 14 points of  32. And they won! There is something pretty spectacular about watching your ten year old son play on the Bonneville Bees court. Something that draws the thoughts to the future with such bitter sweetness and uncertainty. You can't help but think: Maybe he'll play on this court when he's 16, too. Coming back to reality, you watch as they struggled and attempt to play as a team, and leave their days of bumblebee ball behind. This is just a few of the kids on Landon's team--I'll be sure to get a team shot soon! Also, on Friday night, he and I went shopping for a pair of basketball shoes. Should we have got them sooner, so he could break them in? Yes, but that just didn't happen. We finally found a pair he loved, at a price that didn't kill us, and they were blue. The best part is that he paid $25 dollars out of his own pocket for them. Anoth...

I don't know if I agree, but so many people thing we look a lot a like. One thing is for sure--she's definitely mine. Because she's got this serious writing streak going on. Jocelyn wrote a book--and they had a little publishing party in her 3rd grade class, which was fun to go to. But better yet, at the end of second grade, she was voted Most Likely To Be An Author. And she really, really wants to live up to that. Also, this may be one of the funniest texts that I'll ever get from an 8 year old. She went shopping, and of course, she wanted me to buy her this: (Which I did.)  And I got to spend a nice fall day with her, and all her friends visiting Mrs. Julian's mom's apple orchard. The cutest thing--I tell ya--to watch all the kids learn about apples like the've never seen them before. Also, since then, Jo is an APPLE EATER. I mean, this girl eats an whole apple, nearly every day. It's awesome, and kinda cute. THIS, HOWE...

Landon's in 5th grade, which meant that he was assigned a historical figure, and Landon got John Cabot, the man who discovered Canada. Grandpa Lynn and Grandma Cindy came, too.  He worked hard to memorize his speech, and we scrambled to find something that would look historical enough for a costume.