161/365

Ahoy there Matey! Arrrrrrr you ready for a Pirate Adventure???

My mom and dad do a "Cousin Camp" 4 times a year for all the cousins.  As of right now, we have 13 grandkids under the age of 8.  This Cousin Camp was a Pirate Theme.  All the kids had to dress in their pirate attire for a sleepover full of adventures.

Captain Grandma Becky--- One super creative grandma

 Captain Grandma Becky with her deck hand... (are they cute or what?)

Dinner included an array of sea creatures, but I especially loved the octopus hot dogs. 

These are all the pictures I got, since I quickly got kicked out of the party because I'm a grown up.

My kids look forward to cousin camps. This one was their favorite so far.

160/365

Avery had a super fun day.  

Dress Rehearsal at Kingbury Hall

Then we got to have lunch with Grandpa Dallan.  

159/365

Today I lost my wallet.  Lost my Phone  (both at separate times)
I'm losing my sanity!

158/365

Busy. Busy. Day.

Took Avery to Dance, Delivered a wedding cake, Had to get Kaden to Karate (thanks for helping me out with this one mom) and taught a Relief Society class on Cake Decorating.  

I'm tired.

157/365

It's cake season. 

Sometimes I like it. Sometimes I don't. 

11 Cakes in 2 1/2 weeks.... 

right now I'm not loving it.

156/365

Summer Sunday Aftternoons at the Larsen Household Always End Up in American Fork Canyon. 

It's our most favorite tradition.

Dinner, Climbing on rocks, enjoying eachothers company, and of course..... S'MORES!

154/365

I never see my kids anymore. 

Well, I take that back.. they are never in the house anymore. If I ever wonder where they may be, all I have to do is look out my kitchen window and this is what I see. 

Once again..... oh how I LOVE this trampoline.

153/365

I'm sad to say that most times during the day, Connor gets the "prop the bottle with a blanket" feeding while I leave him all alone on the couch........

But there are those moments that I slow down and enjoy one of my very favorite past times.  I love this little guy.

152/365

We Got A Trampoline!!!!

This has been the best decision ever! We decided to go in on a trampoline with 3 of our neighbors we share yards with.  It is becoming the summer hangout spot for all the kids.  

We decided to have a little family fun time as well.

Brighton wants to be like his big brother.... Kade's getting great at backflips

Go Brian. Go!

Connor liked hanging out on the grass.

Avery doing killer tricks!

No one was too impressed with my bounce down on my butt, but after 4 kids, I couldn't even do this without peeing my pants.  I probably won't be spending too much time on the trampoline :)

151/365

(I know I am way behind, I'm trying to catch up... but here's today's post)

Brighton has said some of the funniest things the last couple days.

#1: I was giving him a bath and he had a scrape on his knee. I said, "Oh Bright, do you have an owee on your knee?" He replied, "no.. it's just a birth mark" . :)

#2: OK.. this was funny, but this little defiant attitude he has right now is going to drive Brian and I to drink one of these days..

We were having dinner and of course he decided he wasn't going to eat. After the dishes were being cleaned up, he went into the pantry to get a granola bar. I told him no because he hadn't eaten his chicken. He then proceeded to go to the fridge for some cheese.... same deal buddy... no food unless you eat your dinner.

So I grabbed his plate, took everything off of it except for 3 little pieces of chicken and told him he wouldn't get to eat anything until he ate his chicken.

He threw a bit of a fit for a second and then I saw a light bulb go off in his head as he said, "Mom, I going to Angie's" (she's our neighbor)

uhhhhhhh no he isn't trying to pull one over on me at 3 years old!!! That little pill! He knows Angie will give him treats. He practically lives in her pantry.

As he walks out the door, I call Angie to give her a heads up. Sure enough, a second later, I hear that cute little voice (and I'm sure puppy dog eyes too) through the phone say, "Angie, I want a treat" Oh that little stinker! Now Angie is a sucker for Bright. She loves the kid and he probably get away with murder if he gave her one of his famous twinkley eyed, dimple infused smile. (Yes, it's hard for me to say no to that face too, but this is war! Now I understand I'm being overly stubborn on this one, it's just a couple pieces of chicken, but come on, the kid needs to learn the rules. )

Angie is talking to me on the phone while Bright is trying to pull a fast one on me. Then I hear it..... the words that make me feel happy over the control I've got (ya, ya... give me a break. I know I won't be able to have this power for very many more years!) Angie says, "sorry brighton, you have to go eat your chicken". Then I hear Bright say, "nooo! and starts to make a fake huffing sound like he's about to start a fake cry"

Well, his darling little face couldn't keep Angie strong for long. She held her ground, but said, "bright, here. Lets put some cheetos in a bag and you can have them after you eat your chicken.". Well, it worked! That little pill walked over (with Angie, for supervision, so he wouldn't cheat) and came over and happily ate his 3 pieces of chicken.... then devoured his cheetos!

KIDS!!

YES, they are cute.

YES, they are hilarious.

YES, they are pills.

YES, they make you want to be stubborn just to prove a point.

YES, I can't get enough of their funny personalities.

YES, I love them more than anything in this world.

136/365

Ahhhh, What a Beautiful Day!!

Kaden finally went back to school today.  4 weeks off track, then he got a bonus week off because he was sick.

But today, life was good.  House was clean. Kaden at school. Avery at school. Brighton and Connor took a 2 1/2 hour nap.
Ohhhhh the beautiful sound of silence!!!

135/365

This little prayer made my day.  Some prayers are said just to get them done, some prayers are soul searching, some prayers are full of thanks, some prayers are silent, some prayers are to help in times of struggle. Other prayers are straight from the heart. Simple, pure,  Perfect.... this was one of those. Given from the heart of a 5 year old little girl.
Avery, Thank You for helping me remember what prayers are all about.
I love you.


"Heavenly Father,
Thank you for this day. Thank you that we could go to Grandma's for Family Night.
Please bless mommy that she will make pretty cakes. Bless mommy that she will do good at her Bridal Shows.
Bless Daddy that he will do Young Men's perfectly.
Bless Kaden that he will feel better and stop coughing.
Bless Brighton that he won't bite or hit.
And bless Connor that he won't cry in the night.
Please bless me that I won't complain about going to preschool.

In the name of Jesus Christ, Amen."

133/365

Avery went on her own little photo shoot today.
My favorite picture is the piggy bank.

132/356

HAPPY 12 YEARS!!!! 

The Top 12 Reasons I Love Being Married To Brian"

12-  He has given me 4 amazing children that are the joy of my life
11-  He puts me and the kids first.  He is always willing to do what ever is needed.
10-  He does the yard work and takes out the garbage cans each week
 9-   He not only supports all my crazy plans, (ex... starting a wedding cake business) but will stay up till the wee hours of the night helping me without a single complaint.
 8-   He is the BEST dad!
 7-   He makes me laugh
 6-   He knows me better than I know myself
 5-   He is my best friend
 4-   He thinks I'm beautiful even when I don't feel so myself
 3-   He makes sure I slow down every once in a while to get out and enjoy nature
 2-   He is always willing to fold laundry, change diapers, do dishes and take the kids when I need it the most.
 1-   He ALWAYS says "I love you" whenever we get off the phone with eachother.. even if it's just a quick call asking him to pick up milk before he leaves work.

I love you Brian.  You are the best part of my life.

131/365

The kids had a blast roasting marshmallows at our neighbors house today.

129/365

Happy Mothers Day to Me!

The highlight of my mothers day was by far spending time with all the beautiful mothers in my life, but today was pretty great as well. Yesterday I had a lunch for my mom, Shauna, Grandma K, Jeannie and Grandma Horton. I feel so bad I forgot to take the picture before Shauna had to leave and Grandma Horton wasn't feeling well so she couldn't come.  It was such a wonderful day for me to celebrate my love for these amazing women in my life.

I'm so blessed.
Beautiful kids,
Awesome Husband,
Other moms in my life that inspire and make me a better person.

128/365 part 2

What a night!

Just spent the last hour an half at InstaCare with Kaden. After a chest x-ray, we found out the little guy has phnemonia.

Poor guy.Publish Post

127/365

Tonight was late over.   I can't believe I forgot to take pictures!!!

The kids wrote special cards for their moms for mothers day, dipped strawberries in chocolate and helped make mint truffles. They were all super excited to give their moms the yummy treats!

It's getting to be pretty funny.  All the kids have favorite things about each house when we do late over.  Jana always makes chocolate chip cookies, Jenni lets them choose what they want to eat, and I guess I've become the craft house. Whenever it's at my house, the kids always come up and ask me what type of craft we'll be doing that night.

 I'm wishing I had one of Jana's chocolate chip cookies right now! mmmmmm.

Day 22 HCG:  loss as of today:   23.2 out of a 100 lbs to lose by April 2012

126/365

First Lemonade Stand of the season.

They made a whole $3.00 and most of that was from Angie and I.

Life is good.

123,124,125/365

Moab is my kids favorite getaway.  Here's a glimpse of our fun little trip.

We LOVE this tradition!


We Rented a fun little cabin. This place is a keeper.  Mini Golf, Swimming, BBQ's, Playgrounds, Scavenger Hunts, Human Chess and Checkers... this place had it all.

Moab trip just wouldn't be the same if we didn't try to push Balanced Rock off the mountain.

  We do a little hiking.... not much, but we do enough that the kids still like it.

There's always jumping off cliffs.  Kaden's now a pro.

Traditional  Sand Burying

and Beach Toys for Sand Dune Arch

The park is always a must.  The kids brought their scooters this year to try out the skate park.  

Check out Kaden riding the rail.  

 

The #1 Reason we go to Moab????

Swimming. Swimming. Swimming.... then some more Swimming.

Did I mention my kids LOVE Swimming???

122/365 moab

We headed to Moab today. The kids waited in the car for an hour while we were finishing packing up.

Ya think they are excited???

121/365

I made a groom super happy with this little surprise today.

I dedicated this cake to the biggest BYU/Jazz fans I know.....Thayne and Jordan.

120/365 ap29

Unless you have had a kid that loves trains, you have no appreciation for this post.
I got all the tracks to fit!!!! (It only took me an hour, and just a couple curse words under my breath, but I got them all to fit!!!!)
This is HUGE news. I'm so proud of myself.



It's all worth it for this cute little guy.  Just look at him?  Ahhhh! I can't get enough. He melts my heart.

119/365

Avery was playing outside with the boys and all of a sudden I hear her come into the house saying, "You guys were not listening to me.  You need to go into time out for a while"

What could they have possibly done to deserve this?? Poor, Poor animals.  

You better mind Avery better next time.

118/365

My two guys sound asleep.  So cute.

144/365

Happy Easter!

114/365

Brian and I were guests to the hottest, most trendy candy store in the city.  The food was delicious!!!!
It was a little pricey, but luckily we had a whole wallet full of imaginary money.
The owner was super nice and was happy to serve us whatever we wanted.  My favorite were the chocolate brownies.  mmmmmmmm

113/365

Happy Birthday Brian!!

36 years old this year! Wow!! We have been together for nearly 19 years!!!


Love you!

Day 8 HCG:  loss as of today:   13.7 out of a 100 lbs to lose by April 2012

109/365

Little Brother wants to be just like Big Brother

This one just lost tooth #5,

This one just wants to show off his teeth for the camera.

107/365

Today was yet another Bridal Show.  There were 5 other cake decorators there this time. This is by far the most I've ever had to compete with.  My favorite part of the show this time was that we had a cake eating contest.  There were 5 couples who were competing for a free wedding cake.  They had to eat a cake (feeding eachother with only their hands). Who ever got done first was the winner.

It was hilarious.