Happy Halloween.

I've had a great time putting together Ana's costume. A few weeks ago she watched "Tinkerbell" and she was determined to be Tink. She didn't change her mind once.

Yesterday she got to do the Costume parade at her cousin's Rylee's school. (Rylee is 9 and they are best friends. Ana said to me the other day: "I know we will be friends forever.") Then she went to Rylee's costume birthday party at the bowling alley. She had a lot of fun.



I'm excited for tonight!

an answer to the question "what did you do all day?"

Sometimes, when its 9:00 pm and I am exhausted and the house is a mess and I am confronted with this:


I think to myself, "what did I do all day?" So, I write it down.



And then when I feel validated at my exhaustion, I get to work and finish the dishes. Because nothing is worse than waking up to a sink full of dirty dishes.



Ahhh. That feels better, now I'm going to go watch Thoroughly Modern Millie with Dave.

life has changed

I used to sing great arias.
Now I'm humming a lullaby tune
I used to read "The Great Books"
Now I'm reading "Goodnight, Moon."

I used to hike up mountains.
Now I'm chasing toddler feet.
I use to go out on Friday night.
Now I'm rocking a baby to sleep.

I used to want to see the world
and travel to far off lands.
Now I'm kissing tear-streaked cheeks
and washing dirty hands.

My fingertips once were trimmed
and polished perfectly.
Now they are calloused and rough,
but it doesn't bother me.

For all the things I used to do
have fallen all away.
But I'd trade them all forever
for my babies every day.

- Erin Larsen
October 26, 2009

have i mentioned that my kids are really cute?

Because they really are. And in case you are not quite convinced, here are some pictures of them...

But in all seriousness, I mostly just wanted to "journal" a few things about my little boy right now.

*Jack can say (and does) about 40 words. My favorites are that he can say sticker "tick-y" and he calls his blankie "lee." When he really wants something (like a fruit snack) he says, "Peeeez" (please) and when he really doesn't want something (like a diaper change) he squeals "NOOO!" and runs away.

*He likes to lounge (evidenced by picture #2). He is relaxed and happy and content most of the time, but he can throw a mean temper tantrum when he is really tired or hungry.

*He loves blocks. That is weird to me because Ana was never really interested so we don't have any. But Grandma does, and boy oh boy that is what he plays with there.

*He dances by turning around in a circle. He did it for 30 minutes straight tonight. He only fell down a few times from dizziness. I really need to get a video of that.

*Being mommy makes me happy. Though, that is easy to say when they are both asleep and went to bed without a peep.

all you need is love

I have being average down to an art.

I can do a lot of things at a mediocre level. I sing and play the piano enough to get by. I can sew a few things here and there. My house is usually a mess, but it isn't dirty. I like being active, but I'm not "athletic." Some days I'm a good mommy, most days I'm an average mommy. I can be crafty/creative in spurts, but its not my forte. Nothing is my forte.

I'm not complaining. A while ago this would have been a complaint, but I'm finally becoming okay with it.

After Dave and I were married, one of the biggest adjustments for me was meeting girls. I was always so sure that other wives/mommys wouldn't think I was "cool" because I wasn't some fasionista who could sew and craft and have a perfectly spotless house and who always looks perfectly accessorized, or whatever.

Part of it was that I was going to school and really didn't have the time to do my dishes let alone all that other stuff. The other part was that it just isn't me.

The other day I was standing at my kitchen sink and I realized that I didn't care. I just want to be nice. I want people to say, "Erin is a nice person." I want to be good at loving people.

Though I have a long way to go, I think I'd rather spend my energy on that than all of the other "good" things that could pull me in different directions.

That's all that really matters anyway.

(P.S. THIS is one of my favorite talks on the subject)

ana the photographer

When we were taking our family pictures Ana really wanted to take some pictures by herself. So, we set the camera up on the tripod and let her point it and push the button. She has done it a few times now. Here are some pictures that she took. I told her she could tell me what she wanted to write by them. Also, she typed some at the bottom. So, here you go-

Stop look and listen.

Mama

I forgot to say cheese.

ana
dad
ananananananannnananah
dadad
ada

family pictures

We went up to Pomerelle today to take a new family picture. We had a good time and Ana got to take a few pictures by herself which made her very happy.

time out for cooties

Ana and I played "Cooties" today. Then she decided that the cooties were her babies. A few minutes into this game, she said, "Mommy, my cootie said 'stupid', she needs a time out."

So, she set her cooties on the time out chair, set the timer, and waited for it to go off.

(Now, in our house, after Ana has a time out, we always ask if she knows why she got a time out and then talk about it.)

After he cootie time-out was done, she walked up to her cootie, picked it up and said, "Now, why did you get a time out? ... that's right. Don't say 'stupid.'" Then she turned to me and said, "she's sorry. She won't say stupid again."

I guess now I know what she remembers from the day.

p.s. the carpet in our kitchen is stellar, huh.

good news

After 1 1/2 years and thousands of dollars, David has been accepted into medical school.

Des Moines University College of Osteopathic Medicine accepted him this morning into the class of 2014.

Everything that has been up in the air for the last 2 years finally has landed on a path. We have until Dec. 14th to let them know. We will wait to see what happens from Rochester and Vermont before we decide.

But we can relax now...

Congratulations Dave!

he calls it a "ticka"

When Ana was Jack's age, we lived in Rexburg. At the grocery store there they always gave Ana a sticker when we went through the check out. I always thought, "what 1 year old thinks a sticker is cool?"

Then I realized it was just Ana. She still doesn't love stickers that much.

But, boy oh boy, Jack loves stickers.


And juice.

back to normal

Dave was gone for a week and a half.

Well, there were a couple days in between where he was home, but for all intents and purposes, he was gone for a week and a half.

While he was touring upstate NY, I was here. I earned a little bit of money, went to lunch with my mother-in-law and a couple of Dave's sisters, and then went to visit my mom. Oh, and the kids got sick. Nasty colds that they are finally starting to get over.

Dave has been wiped out since he got home and he has gone to bed before me every night since he got back. Boy, does this little girl have him wrapped around her little finger.



So we're back to normal now. Only normal means no more days like this:



It is freezing around here. On the plus side I can bake without turning my house into an oven. And I'm really excited about Ana's Halloween costume.

another bulleted list

*Dave is home. Yay!!! He did really well in his interviews, and he really, really, really wants to get accepted to University of Rochester.

*Loved General Conference.

*When I got home from Poky the other day to a freezing cold house, I learned that the gas got disconnected in our house and I have to wait until Monday to get it turned on. So we spent a few days at the in-laws and are using space heaters tonight. Its still pretty cold in the house...

*My kids are sick. Jack isn't sleeping well, and they are both coughing. Sad.

Drive to Rochester

I took a ferry across Lake Champlain. It was really cool. The guy who was operating it used to design armaments for government contract stuff. He said he outfitted a C-130 with two Gatling guns during Vietnam. Anyway - here is the area the ferry took off from and then a picture of me on the ferry.




This is a picture of my rental car enjoying the scenery. They upgraded me from an economy car to this one for free because it is what they had.


This was an awesome little road I got to drive on for a few miles - leaves flying behind me just like the commercials.


Then I went to Palmyra. This is a replica of the Smith log home that my uncle Eddie helped build while he was on a service mission there in 1998.


One last picture.