Snow Fever

Saturday, January 24, 2009: Literally every day Reagan wakes up and asks if we can go up the mountain to play in the snow. She is obsessed with snow! I think that little snow we had after Christmas made her crave it even more. So, to make Reagan happy and to get out of the house after days of being cooped up with Travis who is sick again (3rd time on antibiotics since Christmas?! and before that had NEVER been on anything! Oh, how I hate ear infections!) we made a trek up Mt. Graham to the Larson Cabin. The air was cold, but the sun was warm and so was the nice hot fire Jason built and the hot cocoa Reagan made! We were glad to be warm. There was lots of snow on the ground, but it had been there several days and was pretty crunchy so snow balls hurt and it didn't pack well for snowman making. My mom came with us since my dad had to work and she missed the kids. Everyone had fun but Travis. He fell several times in the snow and mud and decided quickly he was ready for a nap so we didn't stay long. Reagan was all smiles though, and hasn't asked once since we came home about the snow...glad we could cure her snow fever. Now if we can just get Travis well....

Dad got the kids to smile by throwing a snowball at me! Thanks--I think!Skinned up nose, oreo cookie and dirt chin--gotta love that face!Reagan loves to build forts at the cabin--even in the snow!Travis fell 3 days before this was taken when he was outside with Dad--he missed the step and face planted. Poor little guy. Sick and now this?!"The Wall" on the way up...

The Dunes

Saturday, January 17, 2009: All work and no play makes for a boring family. I think that is our new motto. We definitely are enjoying playing on the weekends and this weekend was no different. We loaded up the Ranger and Reagan's little Honda (which my parents bought for me when I was her age) and went to the sand dunes at Tanke. It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect weather for riding. We met Tanner, Shaun, Dave and Adam there. The Ranger did great on the trails, but bogged down a lot on the racing hill. We still had lots of fun though! Jason drove a bit crazier than I prefer, but it did make for some excitement. Reagan and Travis loved riding and Adam too (who jumped in for a ride or two).
You can't take Larson kids anywhere without them playing int the dirt! At least this was the perfect place for it! Check out Travis--definitely following in his big sister's footsteps!

Reagan loves her 3 wheeler and her cool new helmet!

Travis thinks he is big, too!

"A picture for my mom!" Adam said as he posed for a shot!

Wishing For A Fish At Roper Lake

Saturday, January 10, 2009: We wanted to do something fun before it was back to school for Reagan, but since Mommy and Daddy had to work, our options were limited. But Daddy thought it would be fun try our luck at Roper Lake. The fishing was slow....so slow we didn't even get a nibble despite Daddy using every lure/bait he had. However, Travis and Reagan were good at sharing their lunch so they managed to make a few new duck friends. It was a beautiful day and the dock made it easy to manage Travis so other than not catching anything, we can't complain much. The Woods family even met us there and kept us company...this definitely helped keep our mind off the fish we weren't catching. (Next time, we will have to take Uncle Scottie--the Roper Lake Fishing expert.)

No Kids?!

Several months ago, I got a strange phone call. It was my Dad and he said he was planning a gold panning trip at the end of the year and wanted to know if he could take my kids. I had to laugh because my Dad is the most awesome Granddad but was a pretty grouchy dad who didn't volunteer to deal with us kids much. Oh, how things change! It was cute and I of course said, "Sure!" So, my parents came and got the kids the Sunday after Christmas and didn't bring them home till that Thurs. Jason and I had over 4 full days without kids and two of those neither one of us even had to work! We were both excited, but that faded quickly as Jason came home from work that Sunday because he was sick with the stomach flu...and you guessed it--I had the same terrible N/V/D on Monday. So, Tues. came all too quickly and neither of us felt much like going anywhere so we goofed off in town, went to a nice (quiet) dinner, went to Valkyrie (which was an awesome movie and the first we had seen alone together in years!), and spent the night at the Days Inn in Safford (a treat we won at Jason's work Christmas party!). Our night out was lots of fun, but by Wednesday, I was missing my babies a ton! More than I thought I would for sure! The house was quiet and Jason and I neither one were sure what to do with all this free time! I went to work and so did he...and when the kids got home on Thursday, our hearts melted! Them being gone really made me stop and realize how much I love them and how lonely life would be without them. Having Travis and Reagan truly is a blessing! I'm glad they had a good time with my parents and little brother at the gold panning convention, but I'm glad they are home. And I'm glad they are mine to keep! (Oh, and next time my Dad wants to borrow them, I will plan better and Jason and I will both take off work completely and go out of town and keep busy so maybe we won't miss them....ha!ha!....probably won't work, but its worth a try!)Welcome home Reagan and Travis!

My Hard Work In Action: Family Yearbook 2008

Still here....Just busy

Nope--the Larson's didn't fall off the face of the earth. I've just been focusing my computer time and any spare minutes of my life to my digital scrapbooking. I just finished our family year book...finally! I love doing it, but by the last few pages I'm so ready to be done! I think it turned out pretty cute--now I just have to publish/print it!

Okay--besides my scrapbooking and Jason tractor playing, we really have been busy with family fun, illness, work, the usual I guess. (Jason asked me today "Are you ever going to update our blog?" To which I responded with a laugh and said if he was worried about it he could do it instead of working on his tractor...no such luck obviously.) I think I'll recap in small portions though...so here goes!