Tis the Season

I didn't realize it's been a whole month since the last post! Time sure flies!
We are settled into our new house trailer, and are up north again for our busy Christmas. It's always a whirlwind splitting our time between the two families. But it's always worth it.
I can officially say I am ready for Santa to visit. Jenna can't wait! She's been singing " Checking his list, checking it twice! Gonna find out who's naughty or nice, Santa Claus is coming to town." I like being able to tell her if she's sassy Santa won't come and she instantly acts better. I'm gonna miss being able to use that line. She will cup her hands around her mouth and call up to Santa " I'll be good now Santa!" She's SOOO excited. :)

We were sick with a nasty flu bug thats been going around lately. Travis was sick this Monday, Jenna and Aaron this Tuesday, and Logan yesterday. I haven't gotten sick yet, I'm hoping it'll skip right over me. It was cutting it close to Christmas though.

All of Aaron's family except Kate and Brian ( Kate if you read this, we will be thinking of you and wishing you guys were here!) will be staying at Missy and Ted's house tonight. Think Christmas with 13 kids under the age of 8 on Christmas morning. :) Should be fun.

The weather is kind of sour today, good thing we decided to travel yesterday as the roads are horrible today. We are going to have to borrow my mom's van to travel to our destinations today.

I guess thats about all, hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Our November

My Seven Monther

My little seven monther sits up on his own, likes to randomly scream to hear himself, gibbers lots, likes to play with his feet, rolls over from front to back, and ALWAYS has a smile for his mom. :)

A little update on life

I think I'm going to have to change the title of my blog! I no longer am a resident of a town house. We live in a house trailer. And I am LOVING the change actually. I love being able to do a load of laundry easily every day if I want too. I love the country setting we live in, and love that my kids love playing outside. I love being able to look out any window and be able to see them. :)

Not tons is new otherwise... Aaron got a doe at the hunting camp last weekend. hooray. ( Can you guess my enthusiasm isn't quite shooting thru the roof?) We had to find another freezer for the meat, and did get one from our neighbors. That will definitely come in handy this winter. The freezer. I guess the meat too.... there is a recipe for venison sausage in the T cookbook that I might have to give a try now that we have venison.

Right now we are at the children's museum, we are going to have pizza here for supper while Aars is at class. I had two motives for coming here tonight. One, the kids love it and have a blast, and we haven't been here for a while. Two, so I could check my email and update this blog. Is that sad? I think it's a win win situation.

I guess word is out that both of my sisters are expecting again. Alanna in April, and Loretta in May. Congrats to you both! We're excited!

And I guess that's all..... we still don't have the Internet, I am not really willing to pay sixty dollars for it a month. Too steep. So I might just be on here once a week instead of many times a day. It's probably better that way actually. I can get stuff done at home.

One more thing. Logan can sit up on his own now! Crazy how it makes him that much bigger now. :) I like it, and he does too. He seems to like his new view on life. :) My mom and sisters are coming down on Saturday, I can't wait! I miss them like crazy and it should be a fun afternoon. :)

It's Like Christmas for Him

It's been crazy around these parts lately with the move and all. We have been living between two houses in two cities this past week, and it has been pretty nutty. I can safely say that by tomorrow this place will be empty and we'll be in the trailer for good.

I talked to Jenna's new teacher today, and the bus dept. at her new school. They are able to drop her off at our doorstep in the afternoon, and when they pick her up in the morning. For now. There won't be a problem in the afternoon, but in the morning they don't have anywhere to really turn around in the winter, so we'll probably be bringing her a mile down the road to meet the bus due to snow issues. But that has been something on my list of things to figure out all week and I'm glad to have that monkey off my back. I'm a little sad that she has to leave the school she goes to now though. She has made a few friends and loves her teachers. They told me today she gets everyone to interact together. That she's everyone's best friend. I wish I could take them with us to our new place, but since pre-school isn't mandatory the school of choice policy doesn't apply. All I can do is think that her new teachers have some big shoes to fill.

Aaron is gone to the hunting camp with the boys this weekend. He told me last night that it's like Christmas Eve for him. He can't wait to see what happens out at stand this weekend. His twin brother Brian was coming from Minnesota to join him, B.J. and Marcus for the weekend. How can you get crabby for him taking off and leaving when your trying to finish moving when he compares it to Christmas!? It took him forever to go to bed last night. I think he totalled off at four hours of sleep. We'll miss him, but the kids and I have fun plans to just stay home and hang out and take saunas. If anyone wants to come over for sauna let me know! I'll be at my number that we have now today ( Jennie- if you want to call I'll be here til evening. Otherwise, I'll try to call you as soon as our cell phone arrives in the mail.) for the better part of this afternoon.

Logan can pretty much sit up on his own. He will sit for two or three minutes before he falls over sideways or backwards. He looks like such a big boy when he does that! He has gotten better about being able to entertain himself too. Just give him a few toys to play with/chew on, and he's good for half an hour! I am really enjoying this six month old stage. Also, just give him a cracker or trenary toast to chomp on and that keeps him busy for a while too. VERY nice for when we're trying to pack/clean. Speaking of packing and cleaning, I should go do some more. Til next time, have a great weekend!

Halloween

Our Halloween was busy as we started moving that morning. The kids had a blast, and got a little bit of candy. Enough to make them happy, and we didn't have to go for more than an hour. :) Most of our stuff got moved and we are still unpacking! I don't enjoy the process of packing and unpacking, but the move will be well worth it! The kids are still talking about trick or treating. Yesterday Travis tried trick or treating at the neighbors yesterday. :) He just stood at the door saying trick or treat and waiting for someone to come open it and give him candy. It was pretty cute.

Stolen and Growin

Yesterday Aaron's computer was stolen out of his backpack. We were/are REALLY bummed! Even if it's stolen, the school still charges you 500.00 to replace it. I can deal with that, even though that is alot of money. My biggest let down out of the whole ordeal is that I had pictures on there that weren't saved onto a CD or back-up hard drive.

I'm thankful though, that there weren't a whole summer's worth of pictures. Just the past month and a half, most of which my fav's are on my facebook page. Aaron had to turn in his old computer last month for a newer model. It was a big inconvenience at the time, but now I am thankful for it, because all of my pictures on there were saved elsewhere. I just hope whoever took it needed it more than we did ( although I doubt it).

On a more cheerful note, Logan had his six month checkup today. He weighed 18 lbs. 3 oz., and was 28 inches long. He is in the eightieth percentile for his height, and according to his Dr is at a great weight for his length. I looked up his weight from his four month checkup in August, and he has grown two inches since then! It's amazing how much growing a baby does in their first year of life. As the Dr. was leaving the exam room he said keep up the great work! :)

A Blonde Monday Moment

Those of you who know me well know that I have a history of having some major blonde moments. I am just naturally kind of a ditz sometimes. Well, I guess I was due for one cause today I had quite the doozy of one.

The low fuel light came on in the van today, so I stopped at the gas station to get some gas. I pulled up, and got out and went to open the gas cap. I didn't see it, so I felt a little sheepish and hopped back into the van and drove to the other side of the pump and got out again. This time there was no cap again! I muttered to my self "you've got to be kidding me!" In the meantime, there were two other people at the pump filling up their vehicles and by now I'd made a little bit of a scene. One was a man in a business suit. I'm pretty sure I saw him give a little chuckle. One was a younger lady. She made a comment about my having little ones in the van, and that she does that all the time too. I think she was just trying to make me feel better.

Well, I got back in the van for the third time, and finally got it parked on the right side to pump the ten dollars of gas that I needed. I hopped out feeling really stupid, and opened the cap, and grabbed the gas nozzle, reached to put the nozzle in the tank and felt a sudden jerk. I. was. too. far. away. Now I was just about ready to give up and drive off I felt so dumb, but for the last time I got in, backed up the van so the hose would reach my van and was finally able to fill up. It only took me four times.

How was your Monday?

6 Months Old

It is really hard for me to believe this little man of mine is six months old! That time sure flew by fast! He has gotten a little bit chubby as of lately. His hands and legs are filling out. He's not near as chunky as Travis was when he was this age, but he's gotten bigger. I'm ready to move him out of my room, so that is the plan for when we move in two weeks. We'll probably have to let him learn how to put himself to sleep as well. I hate that. Aaron usually does it when I'm working, but there are a few days where I just have to block their crying out. I'm just too nice to let them cry themselves to sleep. But that's what we had to do for Jenna and Travis, and it worked. It just takes a few days.

Last night this little guy was so cute! Not that he isn't everyday, but last night he was all cuddly and snuggly in my shoulder, and doing his little "singing" that he's been doing to comfort himself when he's sleeping or eating. He just lights up the room with his smile. All it takes is for me to walk into the room or within his eyesight range for him to smile. He really likes his mom. Which most days is a good thing, but when he's all sad and crying on his Dad, who is perfectly capable to hold him especially when I am busy trying to clean or make supper, it can be not so great. Usually when he does that and I go pick him up, he looks back at Aaron and smiles. He SO has us wrapped around his little fingers.

We started him on baby food last week. So far he doesn't care for peas ( we tried them yesterday and he acted like we shoved something sour in his mouth) and green beans. Those will be tried again in a few days. He loves his fruit and sweet potatoes however, and the orange veggies have gone over pretty well with him. He was def. ready to move onto more than formula and cereal. Now that we started him on his solids, he seems to be more content.

Weekend Adventures

I love fall for pictures. It was finally nice AND dry out for pictures. This is one of my favorites from the whole weekend.

My wonderful mom and dad. I love you guys!

My family without spouses and grandkids.

The whole family with our kids and spouses.

Logan and Karmyn

Baby Gavin and the Larson Grandsons minus Dustin.

Jenna

Travis

Logan and Gavin

October

We made it to my mom's last weekend! The whole family was home on Sunday. I'll post more pictures of that later.

Jenna's new dress from Grandma. She loves it! Thank you!

Me and Jenna waiting for her bus.

My pasties that took me all day to make! I was pretty proud of how they turned out.

Can you believe this little guy is almost six months old!? I can't!

Off

We're off to see the family this weekend! I'm excited. My sister and brother in law just had a little baby boy on Monday, so that means I will get to see him. I'll also get to see Katie and Aaron's house project that they have taken on. That will be fun too. I've not really seen Katie since her wedding in July. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Pasty Day

I had a productive day today. I woke up at seven with Aaron, did a half hour workout, then got the kids settled, and proceeded to make pasty. It was an all day process. Literally. I had MANY interruptions, and it didn't help that my first batch of crust didn't turn out. I was pretty much piecing chunks together to cover the filling. Well, I called my pasty queens and got some good advice on how to make it better the next time.

. (-Grandma, I know you read this, It's a good crust! I just boiled the water too long! :0) Aaron says that they are as good as yours and mom's.)

So I followed her advice, and got it made, and let it chill for a few hours. They are turning out, and it is eleven at night and I have a half hour left on my last batch. I started at nine this morning. It'll be worth it though! I love pasty!

Stay Fit Challenge

Today is the first day of our stayfit challenge and I must say, it will be a challenge. But hopefully a good one. It'll always be on the back of my mind, and that's what I need. I totally lost track of time, and haven't been real good about working out. But now, now I am committed to something and have no excuse. I need to measure everything to mark down, and keep track of my weight, and inches. That way if I get frustrated, hopefully I can see results and make it worthwhile. I should probably find a journal to keep track of my points I accumulate. I'm not known for my great memory.

Good luck to everyone else who is doing this! I'm excited, hope you are too! :)

Everyday Happenings

He found a friend in the mirror.

Jenna relaxing after getting home from school one afternoon.

Just Logan and I

It's just Logan and I this weekend as Aaron and the big kids went up north to my mom's. He is doing a drywall job for my Grandma in their garage. I have to work and am still nursing Logan, so I wanted him to stay home with me. I found two babysitters, Kaylin today and Lianna tomorrow morning so I could do that.

Having just one baby is so odd after the commotion of three! It's a nice little break, and I think it will do me well. A little bit of bonding time being able to just enjoy my baby with no interruptions. I think he likes having just his mom around. He slept in this morning, and woke up just happy as can be. He was happy hanging out in the exersaucer for about an hour while I did dishes and cleaned up. He was great all day. He even got a bit of quality floor time with no one kissing or hugging or sitting on him. :)

Tomorrow I will have all day to enjoy him. We have a progressive dinner that our townhouses are putting on, and I volunteered to host a course. I am making chicken tortilla soup. Last time we had it I loved it. We'll see how it goes over. I won't be sad if there are lots of leftovers. I am stop number three out of four so it's a possibility.

But Logan is fussing now telling me he just wants to go and cozy and go to sleep. Not a bad idea as it's pushing midnight and I have to get up at seven to be at work for eight. Goodnight.

Halloween Party

The kids and Aaron and I went to a Halloween Party at the local Kids Museum tonight. They all got to wear their costumes. Logan was a mouse, Travis a skunk, and Jenna a leopard. They had a blast. There was a bunch of different stations around the Museum, ice cream, pineapple sampling, card making station, an acorn stop, monkey masks, and even a silly putty making station. TONS of activities.

Jenna saw the Wildcat and Big Boy and was just pumped. She went right up to them, gave them high five, and then told me "take a picture mom!"

All three kids with their costumes. They only sat still long enough for me to get one picture. I was glad it turned out to be a good one. They were too busy the rest of the evening playing to sit still for any pictures!

Same Same Brother Buddies

I bought the boys some new shirts from Target's clearance rack the other day. Travis was pumped. He kept saying "Same same as Logan!" :)

We're Moving

We're moving! Our rent has always been a bit high for us, so lately we've been thinking of other options. Last night Aaron thought of the trailer we lived in when we were first married. So I called Jen A. today and asked if it was open. Last fall it wasn't when we first moved down here. Guess what! It is! Well, not anymore actually. :) We are going to be moving in. I have to give a thirty day notice to the school tomorrow so we can move out. Then we will be trailer dwellers again. I'm a little excited. The rent is WAY WAY WAY cheaper. So, I'm a little nervous, as it is a big decision, one we have contemplated many times and always vetoed it, but decided today that we are going to do it. I don't like moving, we have done it many times in the past five years (this will be the 6th time). When we bought our house up in town, I swore I wasn't moving again in the next ten years. Ha. The trailer has alot of good memories in it.

But this will be a good thing. I'm trying to figure out what to do for Jenna school wise, but I'll just have to talk to her teacher. The kids will have a bigger bedroom, and a yard to play in. There is more storage room, and it even has a sauna! I'm happy about that. Overall, I think it's a smart move and we are happy about it.

Socks

So I went to Target tonight with the kids to buy some diapers for Travis, and pull-ups for Jenna. I probably spent about fifteen minutes walking up and down the diaper aisle trying to decide what brand to buy. It was a toss up between Pampers and Huggies. I had a 3.00 coupon for Jenna's pull ups, and then chose the Huggies big pack (112) for Travis as I had a 3.00 coupon for those too. I had too many coupons to choose from!

I actually only took Jenna and Travis, and since they were good all day today, I decided I'd bargain with them and instead of buying them a sugary treat, I bought them each a pair of socks from the buck spot. Jenna got tinker bell socks and Travis got Mickey Mouse socks. One pair each. They were pumped. When we got home they put them on right away. They are still on and they're both sleeping now. Travis was so fired up. He kept stopping every so many minutes to pull up his pants and check out M.Mouse. :) He was so funny today. My little Myrna bird. He copied everything I said to Jenna for the most part. He will do that once in a while, but today pretty much did it all day. It was comical really.

Other than that, not much has been going on around here. The weather has been crappy, really cold and rainy, and I've been working. So same old same old. We're healthy and happy. Perfect.

Life in Pictures

Some September Moments