tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20419446636645168222023-11-16T02:41:34.252-08:00The Larsen FamilyBritneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.comBlogger57125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-88195166962889446142011-05-29T16:52:00.000-07:002011-05-29T18:28:54.979-07:00School is Out!!<div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6nPHUirx6yp528es5q8l3PMscH7YFU0SPthu7qZxlurUH3AHB3z-DMBTYLgnY8VumkZTGgPp9hPjaIPkt2oVwpun7FoZYQCvE1Iv_REpqpdvgV-vHwA_iVzX89q7NqOoN4keVHeyO3M/s1600/DSCN1382.JPG"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612312965341567442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6nPHUirx6yp528es5q8l3PMscH7YFU0SPthu7qZxlurUH3AHB3z-DMBTYLgnY8VumkZTGgPp9hPjaIPkt2oVwpun7FoZYQCvE1Iv_REpqpdvgV-vHwA_iVzX89q7NqOoN4keVHeyO3M/s320/DSCN1382.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwT2QI_uFtq8RrbtROXmUFwC1n6uBM9kLZE2aALXW5BY4C5z4vi4gYvXBy5clAnu8ikw9RWICsmirVi__pHYiFaboM4Nn-PZoDthgMu1LQu2y1N39bQY7YLOnx1z7fTn7CTMCkUKKbmUI/s1600/addie+dance+2011+001.jpg"><img style="width: 186px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612311036758470162" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwT2QI_uFtq8RrbtROXmUFwC1n6uBM9kLZE2aALXW5BY4C5z4vi4gYvXBy5clAnu8ikw9RWICsmirVi__pHYiFaboM4Nn-PZoDthgMu1LQu2y1N39bQY7YLOnx1z7fTn7CTMCkUKKbmUI/s320/addie+dance+2011+001.jpg" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRg8frHG_ToF6bVVXJbzb8UtztXfhLbvFRjUX85Je1TwzdERYvwQVU0nFRnzWucCDb7G-pmSkVmJx2ezOJumXGH5c9R4d3nNXNKTdHt686z7nFiEyT-Pf8JvtzF2pB8xCQjWmDGFryGs/s1600/auggie+dance+2011+001.jpg"><img style="width: 182px; height: 320px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612311036846281538" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMRg8frHG_ToF6bVVXJbzb8UtztXfhLbvFRjUX85Je1TwzdERYvwQVU0nFRnzWucCDb7G-pmSkVmJx2ezOJumXGH5c9R4d3nNXNKTdHt686z7nFiEyT-Pf8JvtzF2pB8xCQjWmDGFryGs/s320/auggie+dance+2011+001.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZE1ygC6yUr0umEzmkZbWx-DMkLBanUggIDTF5T_OrQI-ySq1dMqKbO4UhWZ2ph0FoIAB32R3UxRUKwi1pwZsONAR7_91TYM-YBjF-RHCR4SE_q07wMbJnLC-OujCkfy1gEoEQdfvTIo/s1600/DSCN1381.JPG"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612309299192375378" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPZE1ygC6yUr0umEzmkZbWx-DMkLBanUggIDTF5T_OrQI-ySq1dMqKbO4UhWZ2ph0FoIAB32R3UxRUKwi1pwZsONAR7_91TYM-YBjF-RHCR4SE_q07wMbJnLC-OujCkfy1gEoEQdfvTIo/s320/DSCN1381.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3B-i-KHgHhn9eRk0zOwGy_UkMvbe8slQxjKFf8EVYS9k_0lqbEDuMrpER6BQZVd5zYX4L9k98aWrgYKE6sRdF0F1RrOabekw6NXwPO7z-zBpn9_SbCaPs0EHgdBV8LFCYgb6MOMGrb_k/s1600/DSCN1384.JPG"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612309291071859138" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3B-i-KHgHhn9eRk0zOwGy_UkMvbe8slQxjKFf8EVYS9k_0lqbEDuMrpER6BQZVd5zYX4L9k98aWrgYKE6sRdF0F1RrOabekw6NXwPO7z-zBpn9_SbCaPs0EHgdBV8LFCYgb6MOMGrb_k/s320/DSCN1384.JPG" /></a><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkOXySqr_IJcIdiMaGvDAuQm2-C0sY7PdzVH2covUjUsjeB0y6eePeF_gUMjuq_19kux8j-Y9t0wjvtIfT9VSrw-9RpPwXudF8Usmcadg3RuzOUI2Bqen8Do4lNltbMJ8Bmw1_LU7PXE/s1600/DSCN1397.JPG"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612309282829311218" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKkOXySqr_IJcIdiMaGvDAuQm2-C0sY7PdzVH2covUjUsjeB0y6eePeF_gUMjuq_19kux8j-Y9t0wjvtIfT9VSrw-9RpPwXudF8Usmcadg3RuzOUI2Bqen8Do4lNltbMJ8Bmw1_LU7PXE/s320/DSCN1397.JPG" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_RsuNEQky6viJwphACW58NUycf5dCx-qALsSkM-HNLH_cD4u98T5gda1ngYwZTli6Vtm1OvO9G95Zj0b4XfiwtzJDQQzXEb4pJ0thRIflRHYc2kKAG1-n8AAmczfit1N9oJZLu95t4k/s1600/DSCN1400.JPG"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612304967989462082" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN_RsuNEQky6viJwphACW58NUycf5dCx-qALsSkM-HNLH_cD4u98T5gda1ngYwZTli6Vtm1OvO9G95Zj0b4XfiwtzJDQQzXEb4pJ0thRIflRHYc2kKAG1-n8AAmczfit1N9oJZLu95t4k/s320/DSCN1400.JPG" /></a></div><div>Last day of school! August with her new haircut.<br /> <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTBQNik_kmaD-Gl51az9XaUw3phZjl-cw64t8XwTpDr9gP1m2Zon4xK9JW1E2NbL934np8BJMtKG1Q02SvledJ1_jSX4MWslmQZiLmdhQK6UtT8C4zgL9y2SMvNRc2QT3UxkaLB6ecnk/s1600/DSCN1408.JPG"><img style="width: 320px; height: 240px; cursor: pointer;" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5612304976044570354" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrTBQNik_kmaD-Gl51az9XaUw3phZjl-cw64t8XwTpDr9gP1m2Zon4xK9JW1E2NbL934np8BJMtKG1Q02SvledJ1_jSX4MWslmQZiLmdhQK6UtT8C4zgL9y2SMvNRc2QT3UxkaLB6ecnk/s320/DSCN1408.JPG" /></a><font></font></div><div><div>Addison & Mrs. Christensen (we love her!)</div><div> </div><div> </div><div>Notice I didn't title this post, "Summer is here!" I don't know about where you are, but it's definitely not summer or really summer-like at all in Idaho. I was so excited for the kids to finish school but if the weather doesn't straighten up I may have to rethink my position. We have had a really fun school year this year. Both of the g<font></font>irls loved their teachers and classes and they both got all A's (or E's for kindergarten.) They both were in dance and we enjoyed the recital so much. They did great. I love watching them and I really love that the recital lasts only an hour. When I was in dance we had a marathon 2-3 hour recital every year. I don't know how my parents did it. So thanks Mom and Dad! Hopefully you were able to sneak in a snack or something. :) Now, speaking of recitals, performances, graduations (of the kindergarten variety), and such; they make me so emotional. Does that happen to anyone else? At the "graduation" they played the ever-popular slide show set to some song about kids growing up. (You know the ones.) Well, as I start to get teary-eyed I look around and I'm the only one. I mean this is only kindergarten!!! I fear I am in big trouble here. They are just growing up too fast! I already have Avery and Aiden on the preschool list for 2012, which sounds crazy to me. They are <em>my</em> babies, but I need to realize that they<em> aren't</em> babies anymore. That brings me to what else I've been doing this year: Potty training x 2!!! Wow that was fun. What a wonderful thing to be done with FOREVER! Avery caught on quickly and so did Aiden<em> when</em> she decided to try. For months she wouldn't sit on the toilet because it was "scary." She and I were definitely in a power struggle. Then when I gave up and she figured she had won she started using the toilet. Sigh. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm so HAPPY to be done with diapers but I now spend what feels like a major part of my day in the bathroom supervising 3 year olds. Fun times at the Larsen Home! </div><div> </div><div>Brandon started his new job full-time in March. He works from home and we love having him around a lot more. Things seem to be going well so far. He is selling commercial-grade park and playground equipment again but with another manufacturer. So if you know any schools, cities, or developers in Montana or Idaho in the market have them give him a call. :) He was also just made the Elders' Quorum Pres. in our ward. We love our ward and he has great counselors so he's excited. He always does great in his callings. He's the most responsible person I know, and he doesn't get stressed out. Unlike another person I know who was just made a Relief Society instructor. I seriously feel like this calling is taking years off my life, but I'll save that for another post. :)</div><div> </div><div>We just had our 11th wedding anniversary. That is just crazy! We celebrated by going to Lowe's and buying a curtain rod. Isn't curtain rod the traditional 11th anniversary gift? Haha! The longer we're married the more glad I am that we got married in 2000. No tricky math to figure out how long it's been. :)</div><div> </div><div>Well that's what we have going on. If the weather ever warms up I see a lot of trampoline time, bike riding, and awesome little girl</div><div>tans in our future just like every summer!! </div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-39311742752643407952010-11-08T11:02:00.000-08:002010-11-28T14:08:57.248-08:00Eight is Great!<div><div><div><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bZ_Ke2iy7NWnIwxaRmN9vRRfNchccqWOiTl78yQo_laAi4zf-u-wacsl0ngku6e1zfCne7mhPZITZQNbJ8eC7a-vleI9InochyphenhyphentS8OjfOED_eDXd26viJVeylKfwMFjsxEM55Djpzys/s1600/11-28-10+008.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544720078946861650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-bZ_Ke2iy7NWnIwxaRmN9vRRfNchccqWOiTl78yQo_laAi4zf-u-wacsl0ngku6e1zfCne7mhPZITZQNbJ8eC7a-vleI9InochyphenhyphentS8OjfOED_eDXd26viJVeylKfwMFjsxEM55Djpzys/s320/11-28-10+008.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFuvXaaCsbK1gHiORJpnkc-BhGREQ6hT4KUl8dM0j-CivWF-RN3vfmc-8MaaII-VyaKQtVXlafMTw1-VEZnZfMogcwM521MPAsAOAlfoZQb7RTK7iyfTRHEogez4ktWGESKuvPjNN3U4/s1600/11-28-10+013.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544720087185230242" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiFuvXaaCsbK1gHiORJpnkc-BhGREQ6hT4KUl8dM0j-CivWF-RN3vfmc-8MaaII-VyaKQtVXlafMTw1-VEZnZfMogcwM521MPAsAOAlfoZQb7RTK7iyfTRHEogez4ktWGESKuvPjNN3U4/s320/11-28-10+013.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dtt6C-TMf4o4DwBkx7aHqbKbXlXVisZp1prjSiny862RF4oQ8QgdtjX5EdqfmPZTBVj-vDUuGm1_VwBBAUI-gmBMIIhfreOPg_pzdnrj-R2m0hA_eSEhyKvzr38dxZUfQMuhey2U4Dg/s1600/11-28-10+009.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 286px; HEIGHT: 200px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544667465480107026" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3dtt6C-TMf4o4DwBkx7aHqbKbXlXVisZp1prjSiny862RF4oQ8QgdtjX5EdqfmPZTBVj-vDUuGm1_VwBBAUI-gmBMIIhfreOPg_pzdnrj-R2m0hA_eSEhyKvzr38dxZUfQMuhey2U4Dg/s320/11-28-10+009.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3zkSRZQGzN3c3oiV3TIaap-MXbW2ZtMuj09NGR8d1FW0yNU3kPqAOw9wKd-dtezoLxxWGYYs4Z-HGLd0wSwo1qgm9QGHx6LgJn2dzMf4hVxcj8If4TkzaOxdDXidSwgUQ7YujCwFxBA/s1600/11-28-10+014.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 244px; HEIGHT: 190px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544668143857884514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR3zkSRZQGzN3c3oiV3TIaap-MXbW2ZtMuj09NGR8d1FW0yNU3kPqAOw9wKd-dtezoLxxWGYYs4Z-HGLd0wSwo1qgm9QGHx6LgJn2dzMf4hVxcj8If4TkzaOxdDXidSwgUQ7YujCwFxBA/s320/11-28-10+014.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><div><span style="font-family:verdana;font-size:85%;">August turned <span style="color:#cc33cc;">8</span> last month! As usual her birthday fell close to conference weekend so we had a great weekend with lots of family. My parents came up for the festivities and we also had Pam & Leon, Brooke & Reese, Grandpa Larsen & Grandma Peggy, and Grandma King (GG) over on Sunday to celebrate with cake, ice cream, and peach pie. The weather was so beautiful we had the party in the back yard. She got spoiled with lots of great presents and was thrilled to get her very own rollerblades!</span><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GATsS0ZLgrBVHn-3Er0v9BvajCzykgAKXQo_R86scpsPAnc8qapp9W_wj7qneTUZuUOqqVT6PNafbzvIz2YqnS_Eh1GdNDQar0dOk_gW7z7istlXof5xY4jA8Mx3qxB3324ZNKRSXo8/s1600/11-28-10+073.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544721058856384626" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6GATsS0ZLgrBVHn-3Er0v9BvajCzykgAKXQo_R86scpsPAnc8qapp9W_wj7qneTUZuUOqqVT6PNafbzvIz2YqnS_Eh1GdNDQar0dOk_gW7z7istlXof5xY4jA8Mx3qxB3324ZNKRSXo8/s320/11-28-10+073.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkBl1bsDUPuRj_cpBDVavV3Kh5MoXw2xkW6-tdd3RtMDNXe-08yFxF073jXHOP7ELi1wmqFZvaSFF2xmwYaahJ5XtEfM-5vNZs6KpSxbxpBnjNXaH9JhTbzyAS8Ej1abl_RcTGbxDlac/s1600/11-28-10+071.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544721064861266514" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnkBl1bsDUPuRj_cpBDVavV3Kh5MoXw2xkW6-tdd3RtMDNXe-08yFxF073jXHOP7ELi1wmqFZvaSFF2xmwYaahJ5XtEfM-5vNZs6KpSxbxpBnjNXaH9JhTbzyAS8Ej1abl_RcTGbxDlac/s320/11-28-10+071.JPG" /></a><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsQNiy64PWKdADR07ewcT1ESnZoOhFnQm7anf4mKVPZr65m6etcMjPe5AZdOTEtRdK90yIoTCap2C4NM0MhhboRX1LEgkYKkXuyLC6vBxt5mt5unqQH3llIcKuo56qhIrY3ibieOdwoc/s1600/11-28-10+084.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544723597975275650" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHsQNiy64PWKdADR07ewcT1ESnZoOhFnQm7anf4mKVPZr65m6etcMjPe5AZdOTEtRdK90yIoTCap2C4NM0MhhboRX1LEgkYKkXuyLC6vBxt5mt5unqQH3llIcKuo56qhIrY3ibieOdwoc/s320/11-28-10+084.JPG" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwDnJ8XVaLJ_H4DoeJkh6CFF6-bQp5fbtkcSCzUb-1YAh-FUjlQ4LAC15JfKOoSXBC2jqA1aW_lDyHLepRYld0czT1sGCjIvYHlGA8CBp96D524diQQclM6oesHByQWOQqrV4rtGC_pc/s1600/11-28-10+075.JPG"><img style="WIDTH: 320px; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5544721086963891506" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibwDnJ8XVaLJ_H4DoeJkh6CFF6-bQp5fbtkcSCzUb-1YAh-FUjlQ4LAC15JfKOoSXBC2jqA1aW_lDyHLepRYld0czT1sGCjIvYHlGA8CBp96D524diQQclM6oesHByQWOQqrV4rtGC_pc/s320/11-28-10+075.JPG" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:78%;"> Let's title this one "Baptism Bling"</span></div><div><span style="font-size:78%;"> Our best friends the Finlaysons! Wow it's handy having them next door!<br /><br /></span><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">On November 6th August was baptized. It was such a wonderful day. When we went in for her bishop's interview Bishop Lords told August that I would be crying that day because all moms do. :) I remember thinking, "nah, I don't think I will." Well we were both sort of right. I didn't cry on the day of the baptism, but I cried almost everyday leading up to it for a week. I just felt in denial. My "baby" can't be eight ALREADY! Ugh. She just seems so mature lately, she's a great helper, and an awesome big sister. It doesn't help matters that she got her ears pierced for her birthday (after the soccer season), and we gave her new scriptures for her baptism. Aren't those grownup things for a tiny, little eight year old? :(</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">We had a lot of family come up for the baptism. My whole family made it and Brandon's sister Penny and two of her boys made the drive up as well. Then we had Brandon's aunt Debi and uncle Donnie, Grandpa and Peggy, Grandma King (GG), and Pam and Leon. It was so good to see everyone! Our awesome neighbors and the girls' best friends also came as well as Rhett, Karen and their boys. The weather was beautiful again, so the kids were able to play outside all afternoon. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;font-size:85%;">After our little luncheon we all changed clothes and spiffed back up and drove to Ririe to get our Braegger family pictures taken. Leon, Pam, and Penny & boys met us there. It was a great setting and the pictures turned out great. I'm so glad Penny was there to help with all the kids! The last time we had professional (non-wedding) pictures was before any of us was married, over ten years ago! Sheesh...time flies when you're having fun, and getting married, and moving to Las Vegas, and having babies, and changing jobs, and buying minivans, and buying houses, and selling houses, and ...well, you get the idea. Hopefully it's not another ten years before our next photo shoot! When I figure out my scanner I'll have to post the old picture with the new one. In ten years we've added thirteen people to our family! Stay tuned for a post on our basement progress...</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-77616503024464581742010-11-03T07:44:00.000-07:002010-11-08T09:36:02.574-08:00Fall Futbol<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9zzTTDcUta2Ayz3S1D3QcWP48VW7miLVZAo0jke_BM6runxkZw8mOZcci3syINvGmsiBFxAEGp9fTAyFQoUNWSQqRoLorJWEfHrmSTJY009rP-0BKWF8XkRLZ3zAmcGCYO_ArwcS3hw/s1600/8-29-10+338.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537233213828187106" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ9zzTTDcUta2Ayz3S1D3QcWP48VW7miLVZAo0jke_BM6runxkZw8mOZcci3syINvGmsiBFxAEGp9fTAyFQoUNWSQqRoLorJWEfHrmSTJY009rP-0BKWF8XkRLZ3zAmcGCYO_ArwcS3hw/s400/8-29-10+338.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9syg6bcGqbMunHkyL0Rctz1uD16ruv8rH4r926p9t5de__JYVZCNdMTu_yEFKYYtYKl5rXdcNLgdbxb1LHoAuOTENyQHu0AhvbHpR09cxOEOcGdSSgOQ_AsNBxefjb5dj7GWKi3dQj4c/s1600/8-29-10+315.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537233208408499186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9syg6bcGqbMunHkyL0Rctz1uD16ruv8rH4r926p9t5de__JYVZCNdMTu_yEFKYYtYKl5rXdcNLgdbxb1LHoAuOTENyQHu0AhvbHpR09cxOEOcGdSSgOQ_AsNBxefjb5dj7GWKi3dQj4c/s400/8-29-10+315.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiInvN9uYvXKmAqMEQdaDnYzYYKFbZToZymlTH6Qwd4A_s-6bMViIABKdnrY7HFgzeCCkSy6iAioTQrIAUh_iDmYGL8MktztNUjCbXIo3avyTB7nYXZvuh6rgTxZTxAw6NFIKF9m01WfCE/s1600/8-29-10+313.jpg"></a> </div><div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537231806758576226" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieYWo1C3C26t6QXYqy5jtZZ1QqLjyoFuvyMP7_n1tyRqFHdnkCRcH2wW5BUMkbvrcEmlUlVNYC6ua7sWwT017mTih9luTVU0FMy9RjKnuNmA1pSih4GXHF2-TFhSnafYQ_prjBQSnjkDA/s400/IMG_1500.jpg" />We stayed busy with soccer this year. Both of the older girls played. This translates into two practices a week and two back to back games on Saturday mornings. That was a little stressful at times! (kind of glad we're done for this year.) I think both of the girls enjoyed it. August had a lot of her friends on the team and we had the same coach that we loved from last year. She is still pretty timid around the ball so we did a lot of yelling, "August run, go get the ball!"<br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 267px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5537231799021260194" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqbGqmW5uAd1Odg6XNu_c1tJdbxqi0XgIdjMsUIzZXiUvLVcPF6ZBfYIXF7BTbVbi3aQ5cwbELL_KsK8PKsCg608QEo3IqFh84x4PsJ9TaTy5vOVW2JJvTbC0qeeuEml2dXc4D7xFh9DM/s400/IMG_1508.jpg" /><br /><div><div><div>Addison's team was fun to watch. She was one of only two girls on the team but that didn't stop her from scoring the first goal (and quite possibly the only goal) of the season. Addison's coach was great with them too. We also lucked out again this year with the weather. Fall soccer is always a gamble in Idaho but this year we had very mild conditions. :) (today it's snowing though...)</div></div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-1633018320832900372010-11-02T15:39:00.000-07:002010-11-03T07:46:17.651-07:00First Day of School<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_XLAmQTZvzZLMpUDbpRfj6DcHtWMRIJgPdeD01fyBjP3v_NqJnwQ5ru3zZl0YLXUAoTw-TEOXb0iyaX09mb1n7n2xqfbEcSPDNyequM_BuzIhN2jIdKP6kkTw9xMu_bJEpvZf7nAHws/s1600/8-29-10+295.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535334233515079570" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB_XLAmQTZvzZLMpUDbpRfj6DcHtWMRIJgPdeD01fyBjP3v_NqJnwQ5ru3zZl0YLXUAoTw-TEOXb0iyaX09mb1n7n2xqfbEcSPDNyequM_BuzIhN2jIdKP6kkTw9xMu_bJEpvZf7nAHws/s400/8-29-10+295.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5blSMB4D30g2HAU9GTsq8YMgBf1FLwYjLRUBGQI0uu8-601v_3vO44PnsK8Vq9mSqeFGhPeb5AjHbhKpAdalEJfFIgcEVz4t3cFj3cgnp8HlgLX9lP-rqY8ayuI_6g-QhoiEYkRornPc/s1600/8-29-10+297.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5535334230117611442" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5blSMB4D30g2HAU9GTsq8YMgBf1FLwYjLRUBGQI0uu8-601v_3vO44PnsK8Vq9mSqeFGhPeb5AjHbhKpAdalEJfFIgcEVz4t3cFj3cgnp8HlgLX9lP-rqY8ayuI_6g-QhoiEYkRornPc/s400/8-29-10+297.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I'm just trying to play catch up for a few posts so that I can print my blog book at Christmas and not have it be two pages long. :) This year August is in 2nd grade and her teacher is Ms. Staples. She really likes her teacher and her class this year. McKay, her best friend from next door, is in her class. The school sends out letters in the summer letting you know who your teacher is and McKay, having already received his, waited as we opened August's. Wow! It was like they had won the lottery. I absolutely love that they are friends. It will be sad when they each think the other one has cooties! When does that happen anyway? </span><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Addison started kindergarten this year. I decided to send her in the morning, and it's working great. She does tell me on a regular basis how she hates getting up so early, but she's been a trooper about it. Her teacher is Mrs. Christensen and we love her too. Addison loves learning to read. She is my kid that has always loved books. As a toddler she would sit in her little rocking chair and look through books all afternoon. (oh why can't the twins be like that?) She is reading well already and asks her teacher for more books everyday. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">This year I have been able to help out at the school more. My friend watches the twins for me on Wednesdays so I can help August's class with writing and then I take them with me on Fridays and help with Addie's class. It has been fun getting to know other moms and the girls' teachers better. I feel like I'm slowly getting my life back as the little girls mature. Hey, it's only been 3 years, not bad! </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:Trebuchet MS;font-size:85%;">We are still working on the basement and it's coming along. I'm getting so excited! I'm sick of dusting upstairs everyday. Hopefully we can get it done in time for Christmas. (fingers crossed!) I'll try to post pictures of our progress soon. </span></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-1061015420681344782010-08-29T21:25:00.000-07:002010-08-29T23:05:10.662-07:00Summer Catch Up<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcvuhZBkrsLYLWbQ9emgSjI4JduUL5Di0zeDPm5DTS0AzGm_Y7ZMVANwuwg8Zx2ObJ0rmd7sCFRRtPlOiP4uGBNAuh6YfT-Nbw1aebAzDqmdqAa0GuXTmcvuHPZrlkJvTe9q5L_v6jj8/s1600/8-29-102.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 286px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511073029792200610" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcvuhZBkrsLYLWbQ9emgSjI4JduUL5Di0zeDPm5DTS0AzGm_Y7ZMVANwuwg8Zx2ObJ0rmd7sCFRRtPlOiP4uGBNAuh6YfT-Nbw1aebAzDqmdqAa0GuXTmcvuHPZrlkJvTe9q5L_v6jj8/s400/8-29-102.jpg" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeJhIuIoxoMQ8zfYl07tulxn8goszKZ6G7_ZOG-PMkvqr-hG5RK84Hk0j7ZmLaXthIrEjZ8QsJxB3DBLpmFmgspvydvM2GjQK_sKw9pW-muYg2NQxuDOgQ3TSxoVEHLX4a0ielBburqw/s1600/Collages1.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 286px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511070341490086690" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKeJhIuIoxoMQ8zfYl07tulxn8goszKZ6G7_ZOG-PMkvqr-hG5RK84Hk0j7ZmLaXthIrEjZ8QsJxB3DBLpmFmgspvydvM2GjQK_sKw9pW-muYg2NQxuDOgQ3TSxoVEHLX4a0ielBburqw/s400/Collages1.jpg" /></a><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511065509690508450" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEit4wKTVm2yrip3ZQZPkL_oLXLTGB7e4H7rShybdHTa6CKcZlqPBfsn_D1j25i6J-kE2H9pL6BskyTCMkl9kjFnMY839O_OA0Ec53NKMf5mr6NRoo-TkEaKspCK8KIRz13zTOb7uV7Iyr0/s400/8-29-101.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlLQSGpe0fTo1rv_wDAG9UQfh5f_075r8ysOzdrOb-nYC47UCJsHb_4o7KzU43brSK01z3tgYVMgkvdXP4XAgrPLCi_HebK-w0dF49rhOOx4N5oPN2H8PXXQbI9ZnR2ThZJepm4C3t48/s1600/8-29-10.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5511065489027551970" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinlLQSGpe0fTo1rv_wDAG9UQfh5f_075r8ysOzdrOb-nYC47UCJsHb_4o7KzU43brSK01z3tgYVMgkvdXP4XAgrPLCi_HebK-w0dF49rhOOx4N5oPN2H8PXXQbI9ZnR2ThZJepm4C3t48/s400/8-29-10.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family:arial;">Well, well...here we are less than 24 hours away from the beginning of the school year and still no summer post. Time flies when you're having fun, or chasing twin toddlers! (that can actually be fun <em>sometimes</em>) We actually had a great summer, much better than last year, with a lot of family adventures and fun times. Here are some that made our highlight reel. They include, but are not limited to: Brandon's BD, a visit to Grandma & Grandpa's (handcart rides included), Bear Lake and Lagoon. My parents also came for a visit on my birthday and brought my Grandma with them. She had never seen our home in Idaho Falls so it was fun to show her around and spend time with her. Of course I have no pictures of that...why do I even have a camera? My Mom came for 5 days a couple of weeks ago and we had so much fun starting quilts for the girls new bedroom. I think we hit every fabric store in town at least twice. We also ended our summer with a trip to Lava. (Also no pictures of this event, please someone e-mail me some!) My parents and every one of my siblings and their families were there, except Reese who was working. It was great weather and the kids loved it. </span><div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">We also had many fun visits with Brandon's sisters this summer. We saw April twice, we got a 3-week surprise visit from Becka, and we saw Penny and her boys more this summer than probably the last 3 summers combined! :) Luckily they have posted great pics of their visits, because yeah I stink with remembering the camera. We have also enjoyed many backyard BBQs with Brandon's parents and grandma. They really do have a great backyard. The twins had their 2 1/2 year photo shoot with Papa and Nana and the pics look great as always!!</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Now I just need to post about a few of the messes the twins have made for me this summer so I can make them feel sorry for me when they're older. I won't go into a lot of detail, I think a few key words should paint the picture nicely. </span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">1. Red fingernail polish & carpet (really, need I say more?)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">2. Broken lightbulb on bed (have you ever seen the pieces of a shattered lightbulb? teeny-tiny)</span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">3. Chocolate pudding and a fan (I'm not making this stuff up!)</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span> </div><div><div><span style="font-family:arial;">Well that's it for our summer. We're looking forward to fall and starting up with our schedules again. August is in 2nd grade this year and Addison is starting kindergarten. Crazy! Both older girls are in fall soccer and will start dance again next week. We are still working on finishing the basement. We're in the mudding and taping stage. We're getting there! Right now we're looking forward to the FAIR! Yahoo! Bring on the funnel cakes! <br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family:arial;"></span></div><div><br /><br /><br /><br /></div><div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-34665805683438189772010-08-01T18:28:00.000-07:002010-08-01T18:33:46.863-07:00May Days!<a style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 1em; MARGIN-LEFT: 1em; CLEAR: right" href="http://goo.gl/photos/WW9k" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_qnWFRCIhqCo/TFYaWE5K2ZE/AAAAAAAAAjM/G2kFxCobDtU/s160-c/MayStuff.jpg" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHPPuwgB3LH8GB6fZi5azB2a_3bsgrZIvcZgbnq9X6rn2nGCejSy33e4P0-tHsD8_HNxW7tx61UpZ9mOCQVDhoOlgkPQl4Hay0_j8z704xD8fCeCNU1IWW6RtpNNp_SCbD8FdKXDIKvHk/s1600/6-8-10+025.jpg"></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Isn't May just a crazy month when you have kids? Here are some pics of what we were up to. They include a dance recital, a visit from Aunt April, a preschool graduation, a field trip, another tooth lost, and a weekend retreat for our 10th anniversary, now just add some destructive duo episodes of smearing themselves with vaseline, then desitin for an encore, and completely obliterating five years of financial records on the computer and then you have some feel for life around our house! :) Hopefully I can play catch up and get our summer blogged before school starts. Let's be realistic here, probably not going to happen...</span>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-51094567442775005992010-02-25T18:57:00.000-08:002010-04-28T18:13:22.194-07:00Avery & Aiden Update<div><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465360295278485234" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66wMjMvVGYB-8BrdWy6HoN18zT-aE_NijJ0tj7886Y5uHKIL9TsW7l2vgd0pbCCCy1vOuoKD8zxIzvXHYdf4bl-YO8sIDy948GLKobXsKLPUA91Q_YWfhKYNswR6-RZB_FtvHQTxeBFY/s400/4-27-10+139.jpg" /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtMD_rNBHJHm6yjDCa1_ZVwVV9BIxpCNqJ5zvY_i4v-SnHZ97HzU5hVVOWVt13GplcZOz2RZVANxyq4OLgcN_ZNv5iv_0dGPDczamVDGi5riiYVLBsA3dH8A3L8hdcb9wRU9RFqHiqOA/s1600/4-27-10+143.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465360287765373602" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhtMD_rNBHJHm6yjDCa1_ZVwVV9BIxpCNqJ5zvY_i4v-SnHZ97HzU5hVVOWVt13GplcZOz2RZVANxyq4OLgcN_ZNv5iv_0dGPDczamVDGi5riiYVLBsA3dH8A3L8hdcb9wRU9RFqHiqOA/s400/4-27-10+143.jpg" /></a> <img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465360259476057730" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPVoNWo9yN-cI0_N_95R_4xWrrQWx3l9A654Bn9rvIbaOw5SBg4cb3klUXMYVsT7AO0BbNDUmXL3c9y_H1JYiblwwgGmNbV1GPZadEiAyC4iJnBimeL0Qr_xPWAYO6xc3W2IOXHCBwQbY/s400/4-27-10+156.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465360252297184850" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWhycuBmTi0FArynZWnA_aAV9sMlmOh-d1fQcRWJIN4DtKNmwLHK05yJIAZC_8fE1ujgTSd4cDW2IMeEmpFq6luxuT-harO_zzTxavwFqENHZFnUDOA3ajIkBnODC9aeAVI07ih-jXm8E/s400/4-27-10+155.jpg" /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465357570863602178" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRaSeZ8XVcL-B-EtbqbKbEOVUMbIrvEJ_W7AdlRJ_u_ut511TcxHZnrnZdRYkuckHe9TfNmTC31KvZYP8Q5qyOWTAinEdnZvJpqzlD2vIDHDDKfRnhykE1Np7hYBhydL6xkgiOVpyCkY8/s400/4-27-10+128.jpg" /><br /><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465357564104551186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX4ZPpeUOd3644Ca_fOdRxld-gP57-B-S87qGhEoTtDm738UuvNM8RIrHssTvtPGwNQm8E4xeh2R5e7GradJftRzawsGse9e9RKbTZP-YBJl9O1Atwx5xWm-lqbUFS5UwWxaZTMTtTrlc/s400/4-27-10+007.jpg" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Okay, to satisfy the twin mother in me who cringes when I here "the twins" I will do a short individual update and then them together. I mean they <strong><em>are</em></strong> identical twins, they actually do have a lot in common. :)</span><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Avery is very funny and pretty sensitive. She loves to say "Nnnnnnnno" dragging out the word like that when we ask her a question. Usually something like, are you ready to take a bath, go to bed, get in your car seat? She likes to make us laugh with her goofy faces and games. Avery is a great eater and she recently discovered she likes salad. She has preferences about which clothes she wears and which car seat she uses. Her favorite phrase is, "No, I don't want to!" </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Aiden gets my attention by screaming "Mommy!" at me all day while hitting me for effect. I recently read that Aiden means <em>fiery one or little fire</em>, and she is living up to her name. Aiden tries to stop Brandon from going to work in the morning by blocking the door and she must give August a hug goodbye as she leaves for school or she's extremely distressed. Aiden gives the sweetest kisses and great big hugs.</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Okay, now for the pair of them...they refer to each other as "Sissy." Isn't that the cutest? I absolutely love it. It's Sissy this, and Sissy that all day long. Aiden can actually say Avery's name...Avey is how it usually comes out, but Sissy is by far her favorite way to refer to her sis. They also have started tattling on one another and are constantly summoning Brandon and I to come check out the latest way their sister has outraged them. They love coloring, anything Elmo, watching Sesame Street & Caillou, and they could watch the movie Up all day long if I let them. They are starting to play really well together during the day. It's fun to catch them sitting side by side in their room holding their baby dolls. They are talking a lot now. They were a little slow getting started, but now they can always get their point across. Over Easter my mom gave them their first real haircuts. They had that baby hair mullet going on, so we took care of that. They look so grown up, like little girls, not babies anymore. At nap time they still curl up on my lap with their blankies to fall asleep. I love it! They are so much fun and I can't imagine our family without them. I'm posting pictures of their nighttime ritual...totally destroying their bedroom. I started tying the closet door shut and that seems to help. They just want to play all night, I don't blame them, being twins that share a room is like having a sleepover with your best friend every night. :)</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-27814255160183447412010-02-03T08:45:00.000-08:002010-02-18T10:39:25.406-08:00Addison Update<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiHgDEYxNCMeu9aNgK21sCp5bvfoacCjNLdd2tNUrAx7TTi2XvOMcO0h6evzSwf-oO77mNP1fN1yQIN-HRKFAJcQhPuYQUvcyqgbvg43Ey1_pbse7Ke3-a6lsmULSd5BPuEK3x5B8Mnk/s1600-h/addies+5th+bd.JPG"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 400px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5439647753575935794" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYiHgDEYxNCMeu9aNgK21sCp5bvfoacCjNLdd2tNUrAx7TTi2XvOMcO0h6evzSwf-oO77mNP1fN1yQIN-HRKFAJcQhPuYQUvcyqgbvg43Ey1_pbse7Ke3-a6lsmULSd5BPuEK3x5B8Mnk/s400/addies+5th+bd.JPG" /></a><span style="font-family:courier new;">Addison turned 5 last month and is in preschool and dance lessons. She still loves to sit on her bed and look through books. She is very interested in reading and is pretty good at sounding out words and has some of the sight words figured out. She loves animals and said she'll be a veterinarian <em>if</em> she can take care of "nice" animals. </span><br /><br /><div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Last Saturday when I got out of the shower August informed me that she couldn't find Addison anywhere. Hmmm. We started yelling for her and looking in all her usual hiding places. In the meantime Brandon came home and Brooke came over. We sent August to the Finlaysons to see if she had gone over to play, and we kept looking everywhere else. Well, August came back crying saying that she wasn't there. At this point it had probably been 15 minutes of this. Brandon was heading out to cruise the neighborhood, and I looked behind the couch <em>again</em>. As I knelt on the couch I felt movement under the pillows and guess what...there was our sweet, adorable,severely in trouble, Addison! I wanted to kiss and spank her at the same time! The funniest thing was that August kept telling us the last place she saw Addie was on the couch. Well, that was accurate! Brandon made Addison apologize to August because she was <em>really</em> upset. While we were looking August kept walking through the house yelling (while sobbing), "Addison, please come out! You won't be in trouble." I can't believe she laid there so still and for so long, and that nothing we were saying compelled her to show herself! That's a good story to illustrate Addison's personality. She usually does what she wants, when she wants, regardless of the consequences! Sigh.<br /></div></span><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">The other day Addison told me she wants to take guitar lessons. I think that would be cool, because I actually want to take lessons too! Maybe if I go to her lessons with her I can figure it out. She said that she won't complain about lessons like August always does. I thought that was funny. Does anyone know the right age for starting guitar lessons? Or a good teacher?</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Addison's best friend is Anaya from next door. They are so funny together! They play dress up and like to make up songs and dances to perform for us. </span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:courier new;">Addie lost her first tooth on Sunday and that sort of blew our minds. Is she old enough for that to happen? Of course she is, but for some reason she is stuck in my mind at about 3 yrs. old. Nope, she'll start kindergarten in the fall. Yep, we're old!!</span></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-31864617201240791662010-01-29T15:57:00.000-08:002010-01-30T18:24:44.963-08:00So long old friend!!!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">Today we said goodbye to a piece of furniture that has been a part of our home for the last 7 years. Our crib...that's right, our daredevil 2 yr. <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_0" class="blsp-spelling-error">olds</span> have consistently climbed out of their cribs all day today. (Our second crib was on loan, and is now heading back to Grandma's.) No naps today! If that isn't bad enough, I'm <em>really</em> nervous about bedtime. How is <em>this</em> going to work? I <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_1" class="blsp-spelling-error">soooooo</span> look forward to bedtime! Our other girls never attempted climbing out of the crib, and they were both older before transitioning to big girl beds. For the time being we're just going to let them sleep on their mattresses on the floor. When the basement gets finished they'll inherit the trundle bed from the older girls.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><em><strong></strong></em></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;"><em><strong>Update</strong></em>: I started writing this yesterday and last night was a little crazy. Initially they didn't want to stay in the beds, but we (when I say we I mean Brandon, I needed a break. Thanks Bran!) used <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_2" class="blsp-spelling-error">Super Nanny's</span> technique of not talking to them and sitting on the floor in their room until they fell asleep. That probably took about 10 minutes because they were so tired. Brandon works tonight so I'm flying solo. I hope I can do as well as he did! This morning we heard them wake up and start playing with their toys at 5:30am. I'm thinking I should start hiding the musical toys before they go to bed. :) Then there was a stretch of quiet and then Avery came into our room at 6:40. I went to check on <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_3" class="blsp-spelling-error">Aiden</span> and I found her asleep on Avery's bed...sort of. (refer to picture) Notice the state of their room, it was clean when they went to bed. Good thing they are so sweet because <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_4" class="blsp-spelling-error">sheesh</span>...change is hard on me. Talk about some major adjustments! My <em>babies</em> got rid of their <span id="SPELLING_ERROR_5" class="blsp-spelling-error">binkies</span>, turned 2, and started using big girl beds all within a couple of weeks. Sniff Sniff :(</span><br /><br /><br /><p><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 300px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5432695013139150498" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipUo74FHfr1R8xJIc-4FEFXcjh1rtKw6zhR5HNFqeGpSZlFydQJAQmJfPurcH1zSGMTSo5h9awJmj5lKQ70W66gKxWReCnGSDKVJCBaiJazRJ1p5mEYW5A-nlooSSIXkX40jPT-RWItaY/s400/1-30-10+148.jpg" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:78%;">P.S. I finally quit being lazy and found the cord for my new camera, hence pictures shall be coming in the future. I know some aunts that will be happy! :)</span> </p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><strong>Update #2</strong>: Just got them to bed tonight by myself! 5 minutes flat!!! I love Super Nanny...and it didn't hurt that they were t-t-t-tired from getting up too early and not taking naps today, yet again. Oh well, I'll take what I can get!</span></span></p>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-78866180948212125142010-01-27T12:39:00.001-08:002010-01-27T12:39:50.616-08:00Animoto.com<script type="text/javascript" src="http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/4805fc0db4a3562c/4b60a495d513d7d7/4805fc0db4a3562c/3e38b4df/widget.js"></script>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-11772558585541561772010-01-27T12:00:00.000-08:002010-01-27T12:42:24.236-08:00August Update<div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Instead of back-tracking too much I decided to spotlight each of the girls in the next few days...or weeks. We got a blog book for Christmas and now we'll be doing that every year. It's awesome and eases my guilty conscience concerning the documentation of my children's lives!<br />So basically this is for my posterity and anyone else this interests. :)</span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span></div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">August turned 7 in October. Is it just me, or does 7 seem a lot older than 6? She is in 1st grade and loves it. She has never had her clip pulled (equivalent to having your name on the board) in her whole elementary school career. She likes to remind us of this on a regular basis. I'm a little concerned about what will happen when she does. Can you say perfectionist? She is mini-me I'm afraid, and I feel like my life has come full circle. The things she says I remember saying, and the things I say I remember my mom saying. Yikes! August is our little comedian. She has a pretty mature sense of humor. She likes to banter with Brandon when he teases her and she comes up with some pretty witty responses. At parent-teacher conference her teacher told us that she can always count on August to understand and laugh her jokes even when it goes over the other kids' heads. August still loves anything creative. She loves to design things and paint and color. We are trying to get our basement finished this year and on one of our trips to home depot we were checking out light fixtures. August spotted one and commented that she really liked that one because it had a lot of detail. I just agreed and tried not to laugh out loud. She totally caught me off guard with that one. What a character! We recently started chore charts with the older girls and August loves it. She's all about marking things off and getting credit where credit is due. She is still in dance lessons and I started teaching her piano lessons a couple of months ago. She is doing really well. I think it's more fun for me though. August is a great big sister and a big help to me. She is always giving us hugs and telling us she loves us. Just so people don't think this sounds too good to be true, I'll just say she contributes her fair share of drama to the Larsen home but we'll take it because the good far outweighs the bad! Love you Auggie!</span></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-33187324646259928152009-11-05T13:31:00.000-08:002009-11-05T13:56:01.460-08:00Hooray for Hand-me-downs!!!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:130%;">There are some advantages to having our cousins a bit older than us...we get their toys when they outgrow them. Thanks Petersens for sharing with us! Addison seems to enjoy the four wheeler the most and Avery is probably a close second. August was in school during the video and Aiden was napping. We'll have to get a video of those two together tonight. (If Aiden is as brave as her sister!) Thanks again!</span><br /><p><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxxmB19Mt_AmT8S9Ennu9WUE3Pm2vSI7HIvcpy2iNG-PMa24oAm1nTOqPTjd_Y3GrrK9PEbshA2oueH34fHZA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe> </p><p><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">There is definitely some loud squeaking in the video, but if you listen closely you can also hear Avery's giggle!</span></p>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-54349566451067622372009-11-01T10:54:00.000-08:002009-11-01T11:17:04.941-08:00Halloween Stress!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzLCftN_NRUMBeB33aFnfEoxKmlCJwT8_cZvo2YIuUZg6rt5vxGcCzdwMGyssBsYv_gY9Nkwc1v9fzKJDrupOZdUf4MznM5Tfidfl9haCHGjV9CHY4Z0xj1A_xeC98_rUNfBU27vnqXM/s1600-h/11-1-09+118.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399214694200317186" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAzLCftN_NRUMBeB33aFnfEoxKmlCJwT8_cZvo2YIuUZg6rt5vxGcCzdwMGyssBsYv_gY9Nkwc1v9fzKJDrupOZdUf4MznM5Tfidfl9haCHGjV9CHY4Z0xj1A_xeC98_rUNfBU27vnqXM/s320/11-1-09+118.jpg" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wnCwOFIjEveuvf5TLojcQjm59kFEzS7S1yhtUG9PUSzONE6jpZXVpXvuzp520eg3EUkxQkWD5z5i3S1hnnYCCjGW1H41YPUejMPop-pyHTfbl86tzgnXOvaHOZ4eBEBevnZxSDNrnS8/s1600-h/11-1-09+130.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399214689356440274" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3wnCwOFIjEveuvf5TLojcQjm59kFEzS7S1yhtUG9PUSzONE6jpZXVpXvuzp520eg3EUkxQkWD5z5i3S1hnnYCCjGW1H41YPUejMPop-pyHTfbl86tzgnXOvaHOZ4eBEBevnZxSDNrnS8/s320/11-1-09+130.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfWvMokL1Ug-iTK6OVAnT2TOiGDh_mm7reX9byzEoaTS5CzcpUiPKKIxRNT8FSQ1xEu2ky87CXTalLqBCiQaECmtbHw7zvYjyoJOs4NAOw1IGBuBPsdByUNd16ooDp7Mi3d2ndaQJM4E/s1600-h/11-1-09+116.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399214682484304386" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKfWvMokL1Ug-iTK6OVAnT2TOiGDh_mm7reX9byzEoaTS5CzcpUiPKKIxRNT8FSQ1xEu2ky87CXTalLqBCiQaECmtbHw7zvYjyoJOs4NAOw1IGBuBPsdByUNd16ooDp7Mi3d2ndaQJM4E/s320/11-1-09+116.jpg" /></a><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAdtGDfol6NgQXdvXmLqjVgTPlTsAB957PyyZi0C8jTCPUHseubFsuQuRXvHx5tlUWOniDsH7ODMSfsBZMEWiGOokoNHa1MTo8EimOp-ZPAVe8k5DB3uGroVvk-wV9QXEX1ThlIqgvts/s1600-h/11-1-09+115.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399214670365673986" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBAdtGDfol6NgQXdvXmLqjVgTPlTsAB957PyyZi0C8jTCPUHseubFsuQuRXvHx5tlUWOniDsH7ODMSfsBZMEWiGOokoNHa1MTo8EimOp-ZPAVe8k5DB3uGroVvk-wV9QXEX1ThlIqgvts/s320/11-1-09+115.jpg" /></a> <span style="font-size:78%;">Love this picture! Avery (ladybug) Aiden (pumpkin)<br /><br /></span><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BvRajXBtzdrtkhMg8eWPJfK6SsC981t5SyOPsPJCcZm34W3aBUPf738_0dme4GVilwiABhC8iLyWBcObEs4z2HJkkLHg6GnR9ouEfhbRKVn6TzmMgdVQMDyejS04Mr5k-t2VisFp4qA/s1600-h/11-1-09+114.jpg"><img style="TEXT-ALIGN: center; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; DISPLAY: block; HEIGHT: 240px; CURSOR: hand" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5399214659510184722" border="0" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6BvRajXBtzdrtkhMg8eWPJfK6SsC981t5SyOPsPJCcZm34W3aBUPf738_0dme4GVilwiABhC8iLyWBcObEs4z2HJkkLHg6GnR9ouEfhbRKVn6TzmMgdVQMDyejS04Mr5k-t2VisFp4qA/s320/11-1-09+114.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"> Living in a household of four little girls, Halloween really isn't that big of a deal. Everyday is a dress-up day of some sort. We usually don't stress that much about getting new costumes every year because their closets are already full of princess dresses, dance costumes, etc. Here's where the stress comes in though...between school, dance, pre-school, the trunk or treat (held on Friday not Saturday), and actual Halloween, I dressed up at least one kiddo five days in a row. Now, that's still not that bad, right? Well, you see when they don't have a set costume that leads to the changing of their cute little minds during the week. Oh joy! Good thing there is a lot of chocolate lying around during this time of year. I needed it this week! Good thing tomorrow is Monday and we can get back to our normal craziness, which is pretty much the same just with fewer bobby pins and less glitter. :) <span style="font-size:85%;">August was a princess the first 2 days of dress-up then shifted to Taylor Swift then to the more glammed up Taylor. Addison was consistently a ballerina during the week by made some major wardrobe changes, going from her dance clothes to August's old recital costume. Avery and Aiden only made one Halloween appearance as a cute ladybug and an adorable pumpkin.</span></span></div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-42008524567620784882009-09-10T21:33:00.000-07:002009-09-10T22:18:05.990-07:00Who doesn't love the fair?<div><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD112YtKtMeI54q2meVDMyiYglE6_l0C9ajDJOBByvf9xkICUQzUuL0UmVvhZawlXixOl9Y0rx2sIVk2MZXfy62X2SlRVENB7kEApe3UAotDwstTdIfImxiwdBhF75BOcFNSSYYXVxPYM/s1600-h/9-10-09+084.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380071805647946386" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD112YtKtMeI54q2meVDMyiYglE6_l0C9ajDJOBByvf9xkICUQzUuL0UmVvhZawlXixOl9Y0rx2sIVk2MZXfy62X2SlRVENB7kEApe3UAotDwstTdIfImxiwdBhF75BOcFNSSYYXVxPYM/s320/9-10-09+084.jpg" border="0" /></a> <img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380071788636652642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUgF1MPktC2VDvUDQ0ugF4ddeNTYQk0Jjy9F5MfmoWpJQvUpnY_8l6Is3nkyiNS1jBRZ0lWAfdYutR3aPZskl9gznuDJakofwGVy9uuUT45YNdmUL9uhwsri9Y6MJjPcYjhenr_dk9bp8/s320/9-10-09+078.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">Yay</span>! I love the changing of seasons! Isn't fall the greatest? I mean kids are back in school, the weather is more tolerable (we don't have A/C), and most importantly the Eastern Idaho State Fair is in full swing. Yahoo! We went this week on a weeknight. Definitely the way to go. The crowds were manageable, which is important when you're maneuvering a double stroller around. We do the same things year after year. But why change a good thing, right? We check out the amazing photography (<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">yay</span> Papa!), are blown away by the quilts and crafts, get STUFFED by yummy fair food, and finally pet all kinds of farm animals. (Don't worry, a good hand scrubbing is always part of our routine!)</span><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Addison started preschool this week. She was so excited. I'm so happy for her. I didn't realize how hard it is to be the second child. It has been hard for her to watch August get big and try new things. I'm afraid Addie is not incredibly patient. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Hmmm</span>...wonder where she gets that?</span></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380072985124311426" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxqiE0_HY6gVHmkB674ehDqW9RNfX9_dG9B4TA34YfA5kUuKT-uVed2RuLVGsqmvyz6ozlzOowwppOYTk2x6ntIyPutlTjMBQOIZm1MlGrWUsz3IwOMuzQIZ4NcQShEFIGLXYO2976gJU/s320/9-10-09+089.jpg" border="0" /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Dance also started this week for the girls. Addison's best friend <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Anaya</span> is in her class. They were dying of excitement on the way over there. What is cuter than two little girls all dressed up for the first day of dance lessons? </span><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380071795844650946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi92TGCgKqZ_2c2etDfW04pNRSGS6P1m2ZSZovR79tCYlH9bY1oW11hpjdfT3E79er8ETZDODoIriUJQJwZFuYGsU6y8VlT-Yox9_2kOnfRkn-J4xlZ5v9TAlqEUinkfF3-NOHdjzSdpCQ/s320/9-10-09+076.jpg" border="0" /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380071782084328050" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD3hmdda-Gltu0FPTn8Sidj9zQ9kGMrKDV3QhDi4DAGkyY3PJ_COIpt57PS07vj3a4OyHrQXCzNFqMxKAwUvJ5XFQmuvI9-vGZN1pFJvcixv2BYEMxpVwYNnexemQQQ3ZV6jIcdFbL_jU/s320/9-10-09+019.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Soccer is in full swing. August is pretty timid on the field. She says she's afraid to hurt the other girls. I think Aunt Brooke needs to come over and run a training camp for her in the backyard. She likes her coach and the girls on her team and the game was entertaining, so that's what's most important, I guess.</span></div><br /><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5380071773185276866" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpaER5tVKaaNmyemuOhy_T1NBOAUD5dOu1C3xsBzT6TMnJErcb0McLzEn-KEiAkZuNH18IVXdbPAwVlEDLbLPQF34QwsNm5BBaOgzAvEqx7-7OXR4L82TNsMkWAAu6dxaorrTlSnKae5w/s320/9-10-09+013.jpg" border="0" /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Let's see, how do I describe Avery and <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">Aiden</span> these days? Let's just say staying one step ahead of them is becoming increasingly difficult. They climb onto the counters, open doors, and today <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">Aiden</span> learned how to get onto the changing table and slather herself with lotion. Now if she could just learn to change her own diaper while she's up there. :) Needless to say the house is full of gates, latches, and doorknob <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">thingers</span>. Wow, it's hard not to wish away this stage! </span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-11787097479695882342009-08-25T10:23:00.000-07:002009-08-25T11:50:56.994-07:00Back to School<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4d_aYVqfSF6pik_Qfwz44RiEzKdVx2q5GP68Zw8RpLSBxB_J7wn3t2Egk3tpw-NAEDsM8eWLTwF3hG4IjNXrv-HuwhmxTNE3JwJnPolFhH762O9nlBJ-Rtw7BWPGaE4G_TK8YXcH4f7A/s1600-h/8-25-09+006.jpg"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUju1KE7ZuOLmnF31xB2xlcP3ox989FNa-CJDf6FOmQ1ekWgQwGeM1rpG0fMbiIM9f4brb1kMU2lWKsMLk_f3ymwXiY_bpKGHlX3qrjIHfmBhu4yf7zQ40dE7vUPfyzhKflkgJu2uzkrY/s1600-h/8-25-09+001.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5373972436364222898" style="WIDTH: 158px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 400px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUju1KE7ZuOLmnF31xB2xlcP3ox989FNa-CJDf6FOmQ1ekWgQwGeM1rpG0fMbiIM9f4brb1kMU2lWKsMLk_f3ymwXiY_bpKGHlX3qrjIHfmBhu4yf7zQ40dE7vUPfyzhKflkgJu2uzkrY/s400/8-25-09+001.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">Yesterday was August's first day of <span style="color:#333399;">FIRST GRADE</span>! She seemed to do great. She ate chicken nuggets at lunch and enjoyed recess. That's about all the info she gave us. Aren't kids silly! I'm excited to be back on a schedule. All of our carpool arrangements are made and we're set for this new year. It shouldn't be as hard to load kids in and out all day now that Avery and Aiden are bigger. Addison starts preschool in a couple of weeks and they both start dance soon...so tune in for more pictures. August is also playing fall soccer and seems to like it so far. We'll see if that lasts when they're playing during some bad weather. :( </span><br /><br /><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;font-size:85%;">I finally tried out the "extreme coupon shopping" yesterday. (Thanks to my helpful sis-in-law...it's kind of confusing at first) I bought $90 worth of stuff for $32. Not bad for my first time. I can see how people get addicted to this!</span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-13643680942848751352009-08-08T18:20:00.000-07:002009-08-08T19:04:56.962-07:00Radioactive MamaOkay here is the story of my summer, and Brandon and the girls' a little more indirectly. I feel that I can now blog about it because I'm not smack dab in the middle of it. I'll try and make it short and sweet. I've had thyroid problems for years which causes me to take medication and get annual thyroid ultrasounds. This year it seems my little thyroid nodules decided to grow slightly, hence the need for a biopsy. Ouch. Not fun...it's just not natural to see someone coming at you with a needle...repeatedly! Biopsy showed basically nothing but they couldn't rule out cancer. Okay, that's helpful. My doctor felt like surgery was needed and we decided to just take the whole thyroid out. Yikes. I had my surgery on June 26<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span>...again painful and unnatural. Isn't it a natural response to try and protect your neck against sharp objects? They actually did find a tiny cancerous mass, so I'm so glad I had the surgery. Ooh...I forgot the most pleasant little tidbit of this whole process -"The Low-Iodine Diet." (spoken with a creepy low voice) I started the diet before surgery and remained on it for 8 weeks. What is the Low-Iodine Diet you ask? The most horrific, <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">torturous</span> diet ever. In my humble opinion. It's a way to starve your body of iodine because the next part of this fun summer is receiving radioactive iodine to kill any remaining thyroid cells left in the body. We'll get to that next. I'm still not done complaining about the diet yet. I couldn't have any dairy, egg yolks, chocolate, anything with red dye (bye-bye Cinnamon Bears and Red Vines! ), basically anything with salt in the ingredients because you don't know if it was iodized salt or not! Ask me when I'll ever eat a corn tortilla or a fruit smoothie again. Ugh! Gross! It took me 7 weeks to get my levels low enough for treatment. That means I had to be tested twice. How do they tell your iodine levels you ask. Good question. With a 24-hour urine test. Yes, that's correct...collect your pee for 24 hours and store the big pee jug in your fridge! April and I are sure my kids' primary teachers probably heard all about that one. Can you just imagine that conversation? This Wednesday I received my radioactive iodine treatment at the hospital in the Nuclear Medicine area. It was pretty easy...I just had to take these two tiny pills. The catch is that I couldn't be around anyone for 2 days and pregnant women and children for 4 days. The girls are all in Utah with the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">fam</span> and we're going to pick them up TOMORROW. <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">Yay</span>! The treatment made me tired and a little weak, but that's all. I actually started my thyroid <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">meds</span> again today...finally. I hope that I can feel like myself again soon. One of the side effects of everything is my manly voice. My vocal chords haven't healed yet from surgery so when I answer my phone people always think I've been crying or that I've been sleeping. Nope, just don't have a voice. Oh well, if that's the extent of the fallout I'm good with that. I want to thank our awesome families for taking such good care of us this summer. You've helped so much with the girls and we appreciate it tons. Hopefully we're done with the drama for awhile. Great, just jinxed myself! If anyone ever has this problem...I'm your girl. Give me a call and we can chat.Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-27794053929821335502009-07-19T16:10:00.000-07:002009-07-19T17:02:54.948-07:00A Week in ReviewWhat a week! We have had a lot of fun hanging out with family and friends. Brandon got tickets to the midnight showing of Harry Potter on Tuesday night. He and August went with Leon and Brandon's cousin Jared. Yes, August liked the movie and did stay awake. We had her take a power nap beforehand which helped I'm sure. Then Brandon went golfing with a client (18 holes) on Wednesday after having 3 hours of sleep. He didn't care though. He likes golfing and RARELY (the annual Bear Lake outing) gets to go. On Thursday night we met Brandon's sis, Penny, and her family up at Palisades where they were camping. We didn't get to stay for long but it was a lot of fun. The kids ate hot dogs, and we all ate some yummy, "better than anything" cake. I had never been to Palisades and it is really beautiful. Thanks to the Petersens for the invite! Friday was my birthday and my mom came up for the weekend. Thanks Mom! We had dinner at Olive Garden and then were surprised by my Dad staying over that night. He came to deliver a load in Driggs for Luke on Saturday morning so he stayed the night and part of Saturday. Brandon went golfing (another 18 holes) on Saturday morning with his friend Rhett and cousins Cory and Jared. What are the odds...twice in one week! I thought it was MY birthday! :) On Saturday our great friends from Utah stopped by for a visit on their way to Yellowstone. It was awesome to see the Andersons and to meet Kami's boyfriend Kyle. In the afternoon Brandon watched the girls while Brooke, my Mom, and I went shopping and had a little girl time. Then my cousin Christalee and her kids stopped by for a visit. They have been in Utah visiting family and now they're vacationing in Yellowstone before they go back home to Minnesota. Sheesh...a lot of visitors huh! On Saturday afternoon our awesome neighbors took the big girls to Rigby Lake, the Rexburg splash park, and out to pizza. Thank you Finlaysons! The girls had a blast. Today we finished the week off with a BBQ at Pam and Leon's with birthday cake and ice cream. Whew! Can a person ever have TOO MUCH fun? Nah, don't think so.<br /><br />I almost forgot to blog the most glorious event to happen to our family in the last 18 months! Our precious toddler daughters are now in NURSERY, and they love it...and so do we! Yes! We made it. I feel like shouting it from the rooftops... "Here we come sunday school, relief society, priesthood lessons. We're ready to learn again!"Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-21427333619343220622009-06-04T22:17:00.000-07:002009-06-10T11:49:29.400-07:00Our Jackson Hole Retreat!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4cSmbP9lJ9PNdmWkT30Zrn-8gBdxxte20iuZajIGYReQxZXlAUp6q3B0nKAdqK_VwVYx0ZKucmF5T-6XuOAD_dirZ2y2cfVV1Y8AEM7NSi__TWHxiADzcDv5cFLl4i60DR9Bz7BTEPA/s1600-h/bison.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345771913277688642" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB4cSmbP9lJ9PNdmWkT30Zrn-8gBdxxte20iuZajIGYReQxZXlAUp6q3B0nKAdqK_VwVYx0ZKucmF5T-6XuOAD_dirZ2y2cfVV1Y8AEM7NSi__TWHxiADzcDv5cFLl4i60DR9Bz7BTEPA/s320/bison.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHpuwCv9X1O_7CFx9SA2ker1Ms6KnyFu41yom49wU_lFzcmqzySlrFd1DskUCZ9ms1fyA0Kqvu1_r4AjvxN8pStKkTz76fBbudiNMZiVZ7XszBf6SKOtQcHnaxZEAj_WI-GnfKQxsJEk/s1600-h/yellowstone.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345771910053800258" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUHpuwCv9X1O_7CFx9SA2ker1Ms6KnyFu41yom49wU_lFzcmqzySlrFd1DskUCZ9ms1fyA0Kqvu1_r4AjvxN8pStKkTz76fBbudiNMZiVZ7XszBf6SKOtQcHnaxZEAj_WI-GnfKQxsJEk/s320/yellowstone.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrMXvishpOp6VONJH-JrofuJCTVEO0kXdCNkceApAUB1Bbu6swEUoUu_1POtglfqyDDmxmHniGAr5acxKqygpe8SCTca1jI6tPtFG4XvNbFYNt4Ks3EDbdTLJjuyPDlU5KT82caLi3M0/s1600-h/old+faithful.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5345771905298862738" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOrMXvishpOp6VONJH-JrofuJCTVEO0kXdCNkceApAUB1Bbu6swEUoUu_1POtglfqyDDmxmHniGAr5acxKqygpe8SCTca1jI6tPtFG4XvNbFYNt4Ks3EDbdTLJjuyPDlU5KT82caLi3M0/s320/old+faithful.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="font-family:arial;font-size:130%;">Brandon and I celebrated our 9th anniversary in May. Whoa! A lot has happened in nine years, huh. (namely, having 4 kids!) Brandon won a three night stay in Jackson a while back and we finally decided to use it to celebrate the occasion. The last time we went away together was when August was a year old and we went to Florida for work. (and just as a side note, the Florida trip was about 10% fun-90% not fun at all...Huh Kam!) We had a really great, relaxing time this trip though. Before I forget I must thank our team of nannies (or manny in Reese's case!) my Mom, Brooke, and Reese made our vacation possible. Thanks team...we really appreciate you! We stayed in a great condo close to Teton Village. We went to Yellowstone on our first day. It's still an amazing place to visit. We went to Teton Village and rode the new aerial tram. It was a lot of fun! We got to watch some para gliders jump off the side of the mountain. I even got to read a new book! (The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins...I'd highly recommend it!) We had fun but it was great coming home too. The girls were so happy to see us and Avery and Aiden showered us with kisses!</span></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-53037343996350523802009-05-08T18:56:00.000-07:002009-05-08T19:30:16.616-07:00Entertained...<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Isn't it funny what can keep kids entertained for hours!! Actually adults too, I guess. I watched my kids do all of this and <span style="color:#6600cc;"><em>I too</em></span><span style="color:#6633ff;"> </span>was thoroughly entertained.<br /></span><div><div><div><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Hula Hooping: August has some sort of chicken-dance technique going on, but hey whatever works.<br /></div></span><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwD_wWtp98NoCCISH656RAjyvGPzMSMNIWQean-oP1eL-GD3hwRgJAA7llLvVE14Q6Hh1Z00XlU8BROi1-YxA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Cleaning like Mommy</span><span style="font-family:verdana;">: this is a favorite because they can play peekaboo with each other <span style="color:#6600cc;">and</span> see themselves in the mirror.</span></div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAdVdo92aYsLU_384dwJbj6Q7ACtFen_f1rfpuHVnACZcMZoT9y0ReILbArbWD_r4qc0E77rLiQPCJ7G4HZQx_PTtUFTnOE5SmS-nFhsAjOgL0OPtmr9s5CqaxNsRZX9gkOfCYS9y0YQ/s1600-h/5-8-09+002.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333640847960225298" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicAdVdo92aYsLU_384dwJbj6Q7ACtFen_f1rfpuHVnACZcMZoT9y0ReILbArbWD_r4qc0E77rLiQPCJ7G4HZQx_PTtUFTnOE5SmS-nFhsAjOgL0OPtmr9s5CqaxNsRZX9gkOfCYS9y0YQ/s320/5-8-09+002.jpg" border="0" /></a> <div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSfVTFXx0tW04QLEXk1YRCrmphkQNG3uaCRDKL9nNhfnJ8hap0HPI9ip4Z1qyrq2u7SByxYIc2r2aXd3Y0M7O9WmVGjMa-G11DB49JPCodoZ6QbVDvdQ6yWKQZEqjvKYe4YtrRlWhSLk/s1600-h/5-8-09+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333641089035090226" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSfVTFXx0tW04QLEXk1YRCrmphkQNG3uaCRDKL9nNhfnJ8hap0HPI9ip4Z1qyrq2u7SByxYIc2r2aXd3Y0M7O9WmVGjMa-G11DB49JPCodoZ6QbVDvdQ6yWKQZEqjvKYe4YtrRlWhSLk/s320/5-8-09+004.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><div><span style="font-family:Verdana;"></span></div><br /><br /><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSfVTFXx0tW04QLEXk1YRCrmphkQNG3uaCRDKL9nNhfnJ8hap0HPI9ip4Z1qyrq2u7SByxYIc2r2aXd3Y0M7O9WmVGjMa-G11DB49JPCodoZ6QbVDvdQ6yWKQZEqjvKYe4YtrRlWhSLk/s1600-h/5-8-09+004.jpg"></a> </div><br /><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><br /><br /><div></div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Standing on bags of diapers: I really don't know how this one came about, but I'm all for getting my money's worth out of diapers! Notice how Avery went back to get her camera too.</span></div><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzIhyM4HP5i7zbP7dTsLhWD-uPKLfS7EWjKGkTZb7wIqswYhzJOrVz3LQlzdRXsdGMxNmtTxU2mVLSpTelnfg' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe><br /><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span> </div><div><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Playing dress-up and posing for the camera: this is Addison and her best friend, Anaya</span></div></div></div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZMKO_B9uQ3k4VPlzAsvGxs1t2zGKQyIMm1pHjg5pPt5k2tZxLnAl0yOQ3loCDYVDgkAlGU_mKDH3qPVDGolUeB98UGXKjdAYGGX_ln9NhYWVXXDilPU5AISN386s6ouEEyrBbqvnawg/s1600-h/4-26-09+004.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333644617236978370" style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8ZMKO_B9uQ3k4VPlzAsvGxs1t2zGKQyIMm1pHjg5pPt5k2tZxLnAl0yOQ3loCDYVDgkAlGU_mKDH3qPVDGolUeB98UGXKjdAYGGX_ln9NhYWVXXDilPU5AISN386s6ouEEyrBbqvnawg/s320/4-26-09+004.jpg" border="0" /></a> <p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtTl-5BJY-nkoszAaE6fY8L8uGl-yr0nu0vmAdNeW9YkO-oFf6PTfWpZYN0uvS0j-aq8NaiZGteUhgPZbkQSATzYzGWgcz_A1fBc4Kw5xtOx5dPmKc564WU5irecZtdr2SUfRCEQPQ6E/s1600-h/4-26-09+006.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5333645095199834146" style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtTl-5BJY-nkoszAaE6fY8L8uGl-yr0nu0vmAdNeW9YkO-oFf6PTfWpZYN0uvS0j-aq8NaiZGteUhgPZbkQSATzYzGWgcz_A1fBc4Kw5xtOx5dPmKc564WU5irecZtdr2SUfRCEQPQ6E/s320/4-26-09+006.jpg" border="0" /></a></p><br /><br /><p><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrtTl-5BJY-nkoszAaE6fY8L8uGl-yr0nu0vmAdNeW9YkO-oFf6PTfWpZYN0uvS0j-aq8NaiZGteUhgPZbkQSATzYzGWgcz_A1fBc4Kw5xtOx5dPmKc564WU5irecZtdr2SUfRCEQPQ6E/s1600-h/4-26-09+006.jpg"></a> </p></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-90883833912948587952009-04-26T13:59:00.000-07:002009-04-26T14:40:16.560-07:00Oh the horror!!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4nn6HbqnbRPtqVzGJ_OackntfPFzsJyD11bfFZ5WcCuSrHxkzitfOI8nd2POkt1rc4wfjG5t05vFcbkSQjwGqGxUqfi2_3Kdus5_zjnIbeuaW1HM1NnVVzs1xy9Pg2HBWlYhfcntLvno/s1600-h/4-26-09+020.jpg"></a><br /><div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhb6efDSPPKny2RdUSFOacFwPFlzGvlBJqH1AjX0QWVLW7ZXqivrm2iBrrRgL6TyJP_du3EGq-I3Xo0awzyA1B2V-hNYo4HiC4FEqdMeyBTn9T4VMvDIwFEFyGPLLk2o5wq5oFOi79fv1s/s1600-h/4-26-09+020.jpg"></a><br /><br /><div><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6G8f5yJqOtUF0EU9ion28CKMWOgBwmMYa8kiGBIEGdVyZtKKfDW2NxzYzSjI3gMkVRF31LBSRlSiwlnIXqxuNp7LDKCROpcdwX38DlQ2Smp5FthkwpwQZ5zjPqjAHm28xQyf9VL-o-o/s1600-h/4-26-09+022.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329111606563925362" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn6G8f5yJqOtUF0EU9ion28CKMWOgBwmMYa8kiGBIEGdVyZtKKfDW2NxzYzSjI3gMkVRF31LBSRlSiwlnIXqxuNp7LDKCROpcdwX38DlQ2Smp5FthkwpwQZ5zjPqjAHm28xQyf9VL-o-o/s400/4-26-09+022.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTzevCJcizopE-O23WZjfk61nyRU83jmYx8mot3pExCy3hva8ybp8GKov4eQhMmdyqt4TUkSjTTrl2wLyP_k36XTcxQS8JD4BIhU8Hndl4TuMXpoter9sLbtQcDXTclyFIrQZwlqiHzI/s1600-h/4-26-09+021.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5329111601546410946" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihTzevCJcizopE-O23WZjfk61nyRU83jmYx8mot3pExCy3hva8ybp8GKov4eQhMmdyqt4TUkSjTTrl2wLyP_k36XTcxQS8JD4BIhU8Hndl4TuMXpoter9sLbtQcDXTclyFIrQZwlqiHzI/s400/4-26-09+021.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-size:130%;">This is what we woke up to this morning, April 26th! Why do I continue to be shocked and horrified by the weather? This is eastern Idaho...it <span style="color:#cc0000;">snows</span> in spring. It's just a fact. I still have vivid memories of our Ricks graduation(not BYU-I, I'm old I know). We were all lined up outside in caps and gowns, covered in snow. Yahoo! What an appropriate send-off from good old Rexburg, don't ya think. It's just so annoying that yesterday was gorgeous outside. Brandon mowed the lawn, we went for a walk, the kids played outside, and then when our guard was down...Wham! A blizzard. Okay, so I'm exaggerating a tad...the only reason I can really even talk about this rationally is because all the snow has already melted. Hallelujah!<br /><br />Here are Aiden & Avery doing their new favorite thing. Brushing teeth.<br /><br /></span><br /><br /><br /><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyYwpC4vyYdvOXV6WQ-rzppTw-lyVIzNbSp49zXXxpFPjan2llMcJTmHFORuS3A5aXxT3l2rNyyMvPl3JspNQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-82883301102272074562009-04-19T16:14:00.000-07:002009-04-20T13:45:21.790-07:00Catch up!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6xV-G5GCOT6z7H9v2seI8a5z39GbQUGfwNa7cHOeJNS7XCeJMVx7oqYnkDIOrT8-p2gTxIXfIsln_biYHBzB2uMO4jFYHfy_X3z6thjdB0NRPcqpFM1yNPNMFETBrLcLiHysqhVdN7A/s1600-h/4-14-09+223.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6xV-G5GCOT6z7H9v2seI8a5z39GbQUGfwNa7cHOeJNS7XCeJMVx7oqYnkDIOrT8-p2gTxIXfIsln_biYHBzB2uMO4jFYHfy_X3z6thjdB0NRPcqpFM1yNPNMFETBrLcLiHysqhVdN7A/s400/4-14-09+223.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326876627430855618" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-g5Ej8JqDhrNl2alF_hQFrw8nojbAF5keOrZbrwAQekkrJ5HoAfJwAjJ5xA-hXdDruGCopyNXSXc5cwWCzq6MyKrArO5bvYKoJjtKSKSqAD16zCJS1tGllHTiCnYVYseTZFqm5sj0FY/s1600-h/4-14-09+222.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc-g5Ej8JqDhrNl2alF_hQFrw8nojbAF5keOrZbrwAQekkrJ5HoAfJwAjJ5xA-hXdDruGCopyNXSXc5cwWCzq6MyKrArO5bvYKoJjtKSKSqAD16zCJS1tGllHTiCnYVYseTZFqm5sj0FY/s400/4-14-09+222.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326876622451198882" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoNow8iSZ30r1S5yzRKg1iqaovXPyN46AT7_YUZhOHjvfrkiXoC_qYbG5njXL0BFI-QwSixnsS4fh8F80nN7tLerysTTLwXatbs1wV8518uPlquEQ4qeaMf9p1TbcixXXb6FwkOTz3h8/s1600-h/4-14-09+216.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKoNow8iSZ30r1S5yzRKg1iqaovXPyN46AT7_YUZhOHjvfrkiXoC_qYbG5njXL0BFI-QwSixnsS4fh8F80nN7tLerysTTLwXatbs1wV8518uPlquEQ4qeaMf9p1TbcixXXb6FwkOTz3h8/s400/4-14-09+216.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326876618400371858" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcetOsONWFuPTAce5ZtSguyBFNUvDA59-WWDaY42U_mZDIu3sx_oskwynOC7vVfaDcbtyMlAUjCUJzo8d4waeJVFRI0KRMBZMWHBGcEKBEZY6NjblbErCAC1_rgA_bu5t46gPOSzhWJ9E/s1600-h/4-14-09+217.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcetOsONWFuPTAce5ZtSguyBFNUvDA59-WWDaY42U_mZDIu3sx_oskwynOC7vVfaDcbtyMlAUjCUJzo8d4waeJVFRI0KRMBZMWHBGcEKBEZY6NjblbErCAC1_rgA_bu5t46gPOSzhWJ9E/s400/4-14-09+217.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5326876611578674770" /></a><br />Well, we took a little Internet break for the past few months...and now we're back. A lot has happened! Aiden and Avery are into EVERYTHING! They love to pick through the garbage and dump things onto the floor. They just follow each other around all day wreaking havoc on our poor house! I was really proud of myself for making it through the baby (breastfeeding) stage with twins, but I'm learning the fun is just beginning!!! They are not quiet, little babies at church anymore. They scream and cry and run. Last week Aiden tried out her new eardrum rupturing scream in the middle of sacrament meeting. The bishop actually paused for a second at the pulpit so that people would be able to hear him. They are pretty funny though and we adore them. They had their 15 month checkup on Friday and they are doing great. They play pretty well together, but the occasional wrestling match over toys does occur. They love bath time and think it's hilarious to run away from us while we're trying to get their jammies on. August is still loving kindergarten and she just lost her first tooth. She says the funniest things. I really think she could be a comedian...her timing is perfect. Addison loves playing outside and loves all animals. She's finally started riding her bike around the driveway and she loves it. The weather is finally springlike around here and so we've enjoyed going to the park and playing in the back yard. Easter was a lot of fun. Brandon's sis April surprised us with a visit. We had an egg hunt, a trip to Bear World, a yummy Easter dinner and a lot of crafts and projects crammed into the weekend. A good time was had by all!<em></em><strong></strong>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-21281703817367794112009-01-18T17:48:00.000-08:002009-01-18T18:12:04.243-08:00Birthday Mania!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OTKcmu6_NLLRcwltGEpNkC8vHgDvRjqjWra01y6kLKUpDiV8i0Me2gxE40WNMATuIw2Ge6YL4kqYwOWS7ONO1jABIk0L-baqD8XpQyB0pdoebhr9tHURnCHGMx-V8y63T6gTSIJojIA/s1600-h/IMG_3003.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_OTKcmu6_NLLRcwltGEpNkC8vHgDvRjqjWra01y6kLKUpDiV8i0Me2gxE40WNMATuIw2Ge6YL4kqYwOWS7ONO1jABIk0L-baqD8XpQyB0pdoebhr9tHURnCHGMx-V8y63T6gTSIJojIA/s400/IMG_3003.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292821588852592418" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQV1TMdbpN6WrRMyviliraTHVmCeff7QfdsBjja0dDkDE_yIPYT2Fl7Opopw2RDcA_5Sv_msGOlrn1aqSYTT9MU9kz2aQot5GoeGBq_n2FyuAS-798zbnDF_tKHYU5uJ53aBqWdPbO5Kk/s1600-h/IMG_3019.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQV1TMdbpN6WrRMyviliraTHVmCeff7QfdsBjja0dDkDE_yIPYT2Fl7Opopw2RDcA_5Sv_msGOlrn1aqSYTT9MU9kz2aQot5GoeGBq_n2FyuAS-798zbnDF_tKHYU5uJ53aBqWdPbO5Kk/s400/IMG_3019.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292821585963519314" /></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgYOEcd8hJUJrY81r4vcoli79QY-rB5HYDOu2mC2nqIqwWPFLQ5yY9gvuDTys_ilUWNPWcFPVMNA3nGNYAqlhIwLaiNQ0arwJpQcj_aq6zFflzNPoioXk6uCQnRDeFvy_UzCw9iqxFYU/s1600-h/IMG_2967.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbgYOEcd8hJUJrY81r4vcoli79QY-rB5HYDOu2mC2nqIqwWPFLQ5yY9gvuDTys_ilUWNPWcFPVMNA3nGNYAqlhIwLaiNQ0arwJpQcj_aq6zFflzNPoioXk6uCQnRDeFvy_UzCw9iqxFYU/s400/IMG_2967.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5292821582277798514" /></a><br />We have three of our four girls birthdays within five days in January. I wouldn't recommend it. For starters you have the whole Christmas hangover going on and then wham...Birthday Mania!!! Addison turned four this year. That's crazy!!! August turned four when we first moved to Idaho. Where has the time gone? She had a great party with a cake frosted orange and pink, just like she ordered. (Thanks Grandma and Aunt Brooke.) She is so excited to be four. She's a "big girl" now! The babies turned one on the 17th. Can I call them babies still? Well, they're MY BABIES. Avery & Aiden loved their cake, but didn't quite understand the present thing. This year has gone by so fast. It's all just a blur really. We have learned so much this year. We feel so blessed to have our four,beautiful, healthy, little girls. I think Brandon and I have learned to appreciate each other even more. Our life is very structured and scheduled (out of necessity) and it takes both of us to keep things running smoothly. My mom was here all week to hit both birthdays and she helped Brooke and I arranged furniture and hang pictures. It was a lot of fun...thanks for being the shuttle, Dad. Brandon's parents just got back last night from Arizona so we're over here visiting. They brought lots of grapefruit and lemons back...yum! Thanks for all the presents and cards everyone, and I'm sorry I had three kids so close together right after Christmas!Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-80818248679480349292008-12-30T14:03:00.001-08:002008-12-30T14:05:55.228-08:00Random picsThese are just some pictures from the last couple of months. I'm hoping this will buy me some time before my Christmas post.<br /><br /><div><embed src="http://widget-b1.slide.com/widgets/slideticker.swf" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" quality="high" scale="noscale" salign="l" wmode="transparent" flashvars="cy=bb&il=1&channel=1801439850969741745&site=widget-b1.slide.com" style="width:400px;height:320px" name="flashticker" align="middle"></embed><div style="width:400px;text-align:left;"><a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=1801439850969741745&map=1" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-b1.slide.com/p1/1801439850969741745/bb_t053_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide1.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=1801439850969741745&map=2" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-b1.slide.com/p2/1801439850969741745/bb_t053_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide2.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a> <a href="http://www.slide.com/pivot?cy=bb&at=un&id=1801439850969741745&map=F" target="_blank"><img src="http://widget-b1.slide.com/p4/1801439850969741745/bb_t053_v000_s0un_f00/images/xslide42.gif" border="0" ismap="ismap" /></a></div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-13223897651743100172008-12-24T09:32:00.000-08:002008-12-24T09:55:42.930-08:00I love Christmas!<div>Well I hope we're ready for Christmas because here it is. Ah! Last weekend we went to Utah for a family Christmas party. It was a quick trip (in between snow storms) we figured we were only there for about 20 hours! It was worth it though. Every year we have a Christmas party with my mom's family. We've been doing it for as long as I can remember. We eat yummy food (of course), play bunco, and decorate gingerbread cookies. This year I think we had more babies than adults. The Wyoming and Colorado fams weren't there so we were few in number, but we still had a good time. My dad's family has a caroling party every year on the Sunday before Christmas which is also an awesome tradition. August has only gone once or twice when she was pretty little and she still talks about it. We couldn't make it this year because of the storms but maybe next year.</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Tonight we are having a Christmas Eve dinner at Brandon's parents' house and then tomorrow morning we are going to Grandpa Larsen's for Christmas breakfast. All of Brandon's sisters (except Robyn who is in Korea-love you, Merry Christmas!) will be here this week some time. I really love this time of year so that we can reconnect with our family. Isn't that what it's all about?</div><br /><div></div><br /><div>Here is my new favorite picture of the babies, doing their new favorite thing...emptying drawers! Don't they look so proud of themselves.</div><br /><div></div><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283416002529184434" style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 400px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1EwxrKNo32zxy5QHdYL5SGV9-RUzG7IgyZfWWGI9Ky-xrrP7Z_g0O9g_e82P5RyHyNFMVwUMVoJfCLRvSCTNGebrpNEyX0IgDuQAbEPLSS0uMwFvrNEmobm8X6ULOuVIWpi8f89g9mOY/s400/12-24-08+054.jpg" border="0" /><br /><div></div>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2041944663664516822.post-64566837647638874572008-12-16T14:22:00.000-08:002008-12-16T15:17:58.404-08:00We're back!<span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Wow...it's been awhile! I guess my blog is a pretty accurate respresentation of my life. A lot of other things are being neglected in my life as well...ie: laundry, dishes, <span style="color:#ff6600;">Brandon</span>! :) </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Instead of trying to catch up I'm going to start afresh with renewed determination to make this the <span style="color:#cc33cc;">best blog ever</span>! (or at least a mediocre attempt to stay in contact with the few friends I have left)</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">August is as hilarious as ever! Today she added singer to her list of "what she wants to be when she grows up." The list also includes: moviemaker, author, and mom. She is extremely creative and writes and illustrates her own books. She wrote one titled, "Flowers" and took it to school for show and tell. Her teacher Mrs. Austin read it to the whole class (bless her heart) and August loved every minute of it. We've learned not to throw anything away around here. August can quite literally turn trash into treasure. Her book was written on some of our extra wedding invitations from 8 years ago.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Addie had her Christmas Dance Party today. They did their Christmas dances for us, Santa came and surprised them, and then we had some goodies. August was at school, Brandon at work, and Brooke babysat the babies for me so it was just Addie and I. She was funny during her dances. She would dance along, then stare at some of the other parents, pull some funny faces, and then do it all over again. When Santa came she looked shocked and confused, not necessarily happy. She told him she wanted a candy cane and a doll for Christmas...huh? She's been telling us for weeks she wants a bike and a Kung Fu Panda movie. </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">This was our ensuing conversation:</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Me: Why didn't you tell Santa what you really want?</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Addie: He wasn't the real Santa, so he doesn't have magic.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Me: Why do you think he wasn't the real Santa?</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Addie: Because I saw his skin and it was different.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I don't know if she was talking about his beard, or what. At this point I'm just trying not to laugh my head off. After some more discussion I said that it was probably just one of Santa's helpers dressed up to make the girls happy. To which Addie replied: "but I wasn't happy, it wasn't the real Santa." <span style="color:#cc0000;">HILARIOUS!!! </span><span style="color:#000000;">She wasn't going to waste her real Christmas list on an impostor.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cc0000;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Avery & Aiden are getting so big! They each have 5 teeth and will be 11 months old tomorrow! They are very close to walking. Yikes! When I lay them down for their naps they stay up playing and laughing for about 20 minutes. I like to watch them from the hallway without them knowing I'm there. It's so cute. They like to touch hands through their cribs and they also swap binkies that way too. When I'm feeding them in their high chairs they like to hold hands sometimes. Precious. I don't want them to grow up! Sigh. Sniff Sniff.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">Brandon is really liking his new job. He started about a month ago working at a local TV station. He still sells ad time but now on TV instead of radio. He liked his other job too, but this will be better for our family. It's hard for him to jump ship because he's so loyal and he'll miss all the friends he made, but we're really glad we took this opportunity.</span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;">I love staying home with the girls. It is so challenging some days, but extremely worth it! I'm basically behind on every aspect of keeping our home, but my kids are clean and fed and happy (with one 3-year-old exception that apparently can sniff out fake Santas).<br /> </span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cc0000;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cc0000;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:trebuchet ms;color:#cc0000;"></span>Britneyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01924099809934649549noreply@blogger.com5