Emma Jane "3"

Our hearts are so full of love for you!  Emma turned 3 on September 25th.  She was well aware that it was her special day!!
 I lOVE 3!!  The things she says! The way her little mouth moves as she tries to form her words.  I love the way her tiny arms cling tightly around my neck and her legs curl up behind her when she gives me a hug.  Her innocence.  The way her fingers wrap awkwardly around a pencil as she draws a picture of me.  It looks like an alien, and of course I tell her how beautiful I am and what a good artist she is.  I love how she marches to the fridge and proudly hangs it there for all to see.  I love when she counts to 10 and beams with delight when I tell her she is the smartest girl in the world.  I love when she tells me how much she loves Jesus and wishes she could give him a hug.  I love the way she can turn her frown upside down whenever Dad is around!  I love that she really thought she was buying her baby stroller at Costco with her baggy full of binkies! (That really worked by the way)  We are so blessed to have our Emma Jane.  Happy Birthday my darling girl!!      

8 IS GREAT!!

My Baby is 8!  Elle loved her birthday balloon!  These animals balloons are so cute because their little feet touch the floor and it looks like you are really giving them a walk!  My Mom was able to be with us because she was here for Ellie's baptism.  We went to Islands which is one of the girls favorite restaurants!!  Ellie opened her presents.  She is really into horses right now and she got a diary with a key!!!!  Nana also got her some beautiful scriptures.  Happy Birthday Ellie!  We love you 

A MILESTONE

Ellie was baptized on September 10th 2011.  This was a very special day for her.  Our bishop told us that during her baptismal interview he was amazed at her maturity.  Ellie was prepared and knew that what she was doing was very important to her Heavenly Father.  We were so lucky that my brother Brandon was able to baptize his son Josh the same day.  I'm so sad we did not take more pictures.  

Everyone special in Ellie's life was able to be there, except for one.  I kept imagining what it would be like to have Alain
(Ellie's Papa) walk through the door.  He always looked so handsome in his Sunday clothes and black cowboy boots.  It was just the first of many special moments in my children's life that we will think of Alain.  Ellie sang the song "Baptism," and our dear friend Lori played the guitar. I don't think I have ever seen anything sweeter in all my life.  She was in her beautiful white dress with a white flower in her hair.  (Where is the picture of her in that dress??)  When I think of that moment, I feel blessed to have had such a beautiful confirmation that being a mother is the most precious gift I could have been given.     

Refugio Beach 2011

What a fun tradition we are blessed to have each year!  It's a blessing that at times I feel I am enduring, but for the sake of my sweet family I endure with a smile on my face.  This year was record breaking as we stayed the entire week.  We again created unforgettable memories good and bad, :) and enjoyed spending the short time together we had as a family.

Aunt Lauren spent a great deal of time french braiding all the girls hair!!  It was so fun to see all the girl cousions together.(-Claire- not sure where she was)  It seems that we are only able to see the Larsens once a year.  Not fair for family to be so spread apart.    I got the girls each a little Lanturn that turned out to be quiet a hit.  They actually turned out to be very useful.  I love this picture of Dad and Paige.

After we lost Alain earlier this year I was devistated that I did not have more pictures with him.  I told John how important it was for him to treasure the time he has with his parents.  I'm so glad I got this picture of John with his Dad.  I know he will be so greatful to have it one day.Za
Zane and Emma

Pedicures "camping style"

Janet truly amazes me sometimes.  This is the last thing I would ever attempt while camping.  Water had to be boiled, buckets filled, feet washed, and silly girls to be supervised.  None the less, Janet had this wonderful idea and the girls went crazy for it!

Can I just say how lucky we all are to have Lauren!    We are so happy that Jeff brought her into our lives.  Her energy amazes me as well.  She sat and taught all the girls how to make friendship bracelets, braided their hair, and here you see her painting and decorating the girls nails.  It's no wonder they all love and adore her!!

I have to hand it to Jenny for letting Maeve just go wild with the nail polish!  I have a feeling if it was one of my little ones, I would have intervened and stopped this creative and independent moment. 

Sand and wet nail polish!  Wonderful combination!

Beach Pictures

 Janet and Bill hired a photographer to take family pictures at Refugio this year.  These are just a few shots of the girls with our camera.  The professional pictures I have yet to see, but I know they will be gorgeous!  All of us trying to shower in the lovely beach showers, do hair and makeup in the tent, and keep the kids from getting dirty for even an hour was quiet comical.  With all said and done,  I believe it was a success!!  Not an easy one.

JAM

14 pounds of strawberries!

What was I thinking!! I made jam until I fell over, and still have a million strawberries in my freezer. Making jam is EASY and it is sooooooooooo good!!! It just takes a little time. With some tender love and care, the end result is months and months of scrumptious jam! My family doesn't know how lucky they are!

Mormon Night

Dodger Stadium

Every summer we look forward to celebrating Mormon Night with all our family and friends. We were able to sit with everyone from the Santa Clarita Stake and saw many wonderful people. The girls love to eat goodies and travel around bothering everyone as they try and watch the game. Lauren is always so patient and kind. The girls love hanging our with "cool" Aunt Lauren! I wish I would have taken pictures of so many more people. Well, there is always next year!

John and Angie

Lauren, Ellie and Paige

Emma and Grandpa T!!

Emma with Grandpa and Grandpa Thompson singing, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game!"

July in a Nut Shell

The Parade preparation took some time. We had to butter up each girl with sunscreen, make sure we had plenty of drinks, blankets and chairs. We usually bring a squirt bottle to spray the kids faces because it is smoldering hot!! We were sooooooo lucky this year that Jamie and Aaron were able to save us all a fabulous spot in the coveted shade. It truly saved the day. The girls were excited to start the parade and already sick of getting their pictures taken. I love this picture of my Mom with her grand kids, minus a few!! They love their Nana and are so excited each year when we take the long road trip to Idaho. It was so different this year without our Papa. Nothing is the same although we try to go on just as before. It feels like he is right there with us loading the chairs in the car, making sure everything is packed in its proper place and that we didn't forget anything. It felt like he should be there with his straw hat on holding the girls hands. How will the girls ever know how much their Papa loved them?? The girls stood like this the entire parade. Unless of course they were diving for the million pieces of salt water taffy that was thrown to the crowd! My girls love the horses the best. They think the Rodeo girls with the sparkly hats are just about the coolest ever!! It's so funny to realize how different our lifestyles are from many people from this area until we are actually in their midst. When we first were driving through Idaho, we are looking out the windows and the girls began saying, "look over there, do you see the cows!" "Hey, there are some more!" We even pulled over to let the girls have a look up close. We heard things like, "Wow, Oh, they are so cute." "Look a brown one, a black one! "AAaaaaaaaa", they would scream! "Look at the baby one." With the amount of enthusiasm they would say it, you would have thought they saw a bear walking on the side of the road. We were in Idaho how long? Three weeks! The enthusiasm for the cows remained! My sister Jamie was laughing at us because she sees cows out her back withdow every day. John swims with dolphins when he surfs. I have a feeling that would be pretty foreign to some of these farmers!!:) You gotta love the U.S.A. I love that I captured this one! What would the Rexburg parade be without a John Deer tractor. Gotta love it!!

Emma was so excited when she was able to wrap her little fingers firmly around a piece of candy. It wasn't easy with 50 kids all running for the same 5 pieces! Elle and Paige are always so sweet to Emma and make sure she is taken care of . These two pictures make my heart smile because it shows each of them getting excited for her that she got some candy. What a fun morning to start off a great 4th of July!!!