Christmas Eve

This is the first year we've celebrated Christmas by ourselves. There are several things we've really enjoyed about it, but we have also really missed being with our family. However, thanks to technology, we've been able to participate with our families - my mom read her favorite Christmas story to us over web cams, and we got to watch Nate's family perform the traditional Nativity story via a live broadcast over the Internet. In between those events, we've had our own family things too . . .

Kiersten decided that for an "activity" we were going to act out the Nativity (she used to confuse "activity" and "nativity", but I think by now she usually gets it right!).

Here she is pulling out all the things she's collected over the last couple of days to use for the "activity" or Nativity or whatever it was we were doing!

Tanner was far more interested in giving Daddy (and everyone else!) kisses than getting for his role as the lone Wiseman!

Our Nativity telling started with the Angel Gabriel appearing to a very pregnant Mary and telling her that she was going to have a baby and that she should call his name Jesus.
" And she brought forth her first-born son . . . " (I didn't mean to time the picture just so, it just happened, and it's the only one Tanner was in, so I had to use it!)

Here's Mary and Joseph admiring their baby Jesus who is laying the the manger (which is really the stable to a Nativity my mom bought for the kids in the Phillipeans!). (Keep in mind Kiersten chose everyone - including Joseph's - costume!)

Our telling of the birth of Christ ended with the visit of the shepherds (my shepherd costume consisted of a Christmas hair bow and the white sheep on my lap) because our wiseman had moved on to bigger and better things!

After our re-enactment of the Nativity ended, we had my Grandma's bread pudding - I didn't expect Kiersten or Tanner to like it (I remember not liking it as a kid, but now I love it!). I was right on one count - Kiersten was interested in it only long enough to determine that she didn't have the nut and win the prize. Tanner on the other hand couldn't get enough of it; I think he ate as much of it as I did!

Kiersten and I ended our Christmas eve festivities by putting together a plate of cookies for Santa. (We even had fun decorating the plate together, although it did get a little stressful when she and I had VERY different ideas about which font we should use to say "Cookies for Santa." Thankfully, in the end, she saw the light, and I prevailed!
We've had a wonderful Christmas Eve, and look forward to more family time tomorrow, and I'm off to bed so Santa can come visit our house!

Christmas Lights

There have been a lot of things that I would have liked to do with Kiersten and Tanner this Christmas, but decided that they were still a little too young. One of these years we're going to ride the Polar Express, and I think next year I'm going to let them decorate cookies (I'm sure they would have loved that this year, but I just wasn't ready for the mess! Next year, though . . . !) But, one thing they have both really enjoyed are the Christmas lights. Every time either one sees lights anywhere they squeal, and then usually the other joins in as well!

So we started the Christmas season by going to see the lights at the Mesa Temple with Nate's family who was here for Thanksgiving. Everyone loved it. It's not Temple Square in Salt Lake, but it is quite impressive, and it's a whole lot warmer!
(Tanner didn't care who held him that evening, as long as they cuddled him and kept him warm, so Grandma Larsen and Aunt Kathryn fought over him!)

A Tucson holiday tradition we hear about every year, but hadn't actually tried yet, is going to see the lights at Winterhaven, a community in Tucson. Their light displays are amazing - it's as though each house is trying to be bigger and better than the next. I'm really glad we don't live there, because the pressure to compete must be pretty strong!) We figured that this was something the kids would appreciate and enjoy, so we bundled up (ok, so it wasn't snowing and frigid cold like we're used to braving in Utah, but it still was cold, especially for our Tucsonian children . . . and their mom!).


(Kiersten dressed herself that night. We suggested they wear their warm "snuggle" footed pj's, and we told her she needed a hat to keep her head warm. This wasn't quite what we had in mind, but she was adament that this is what she was wearing. )

One house not only had their lights timed to music, but also had water jets synchronized. Here's a short video - but they seemed to be encountering technical difficulties as we got there, because everything went black and quiet, and stayed that way!




The kids loved it, as did Nate and I, and even though we only made it through a fraction of the houses, we felt it well worth the drive. (Tanner could have stayed longer, it was Kiersten who was done first, and very vocal about it!) We've decided to make it one of our family traditions every year - to go check out another part of the lights at Winterhaven.

Relief Society Christmas Dinner

Since I made reference to my "decorating monster" and blamed it on my Relief Society calling, I thought I would share a few pictures from our Christmas dinner. Our president is amazing when it comes to decorating, and Kiersten has learned quite a lot from her! :) The cultural hall was beautiful that night.(Yes, that is a Christmas Tree hanging upside down from the center of the ceiling.)

(The serving table.)

(One of many tables the sisters ate at. This was the first time we didn't have enough seats and had to hastily set up another table after the dinner started.)

Mommy's Little Terror

I am constantly amazed at the differences between Tanner and Kiersten. I know some people will say it's the difference between boys and girls, and while that may be some of it, I am firmly convinced that a big chunk of it is the personality they come with! Tanner is a much more creative problem solver, takes a lot more initiative to gets what he wants, and is much more independent than Kiersten ever was.

Two days ago I left him alone for two minutes while I went to the bathroom and when I came out I discovered that he'd brought a small play chair in to the kitchen from one of the other rooms, pushed it up to the counter, pulled the phone charger off the counter (in case you don't know, he LOVES plugs) and let himself into the garage and found an extension cord Nate has in the garage (it is usually up where Tanner can't reach it, but since we had the ping pong table out over Thanksgiving, it was sitting on the ground) and plugged the phone charger into the extension cord. And I was only gone 2 minutes!

Later that afternoon when I had gone into the other room for less than a minute to put laundry away I come out and find that Tanner has pushed a kitchen chair over to the counter and has climbed up on to the counter and is standing on the counter playing in the box of pens, scissors and keys that I keep out of the reach of little hands. When I come out he proudly shows me a set of keys he's found in the box, and gets mad at me for picking him up off the counter!

And then yesterday morning I had a pan of cornbread sitting on the stove waiting for me to make the main dish for our Relief Society dinner which is tonight. Here is the sight that greeted me:

Tanner pulled a chair over to the stove and was helping himself to cornbread.

Maybe I ought to start by getting rid of all the chairs in my house. You don't think anyone would mind always having to sit on the floor, do you? It may not solve all my problems, but it might slow Tanner down some!

Oh well, it's a good thing we think he's pretty cute, especially when he smiles at us or who knows what would happen!

Safe From Little Hands

On Sunday Kiersten was "helping" me set up my Nativity set, which just makes me cringe. Last year when she "helped" me she broke Joseph's staff off because she thought it should come off like the shepherd's does. But, I get in trouble if I try to do any sort of decorating without her help because she loves to decorate everything and anything! (I'm raising a decorating monster, in case you didn't know, and I blame it all on my Relief Society calling!) Anyway, she asked where we were going to put it, and I told her on top of the entertainment center so "it would be safe from little hands." She jumped right on that, and immediately wanted me to help her find a place to put her special nativities so that they would be "safe from little hands." When I suggested putting them on the piano, she told me no, because Tanner can climb up and reach on the piano. If she put it on the piano, she explained to me, it wouldn't be safe from little hands. And ever since then, she'll find something she thinks Tanner shouldn't touch, and she'll tell me that we need to keep it safe from little hands."

While Tanner's are 2 of the 4 little hands I want to keep my Nativity set safe from, it makes me laugh that she never even considered that hers might also be little hands I need to watch out for!

Picking Pumpkins

Our clubhouse had pumpkins for the kids to choose. Since Kiersten had chosen "her pumpkin" the day before on our fieldtrip to a farm with a pumpkin patch, I told her that the pumpkin we chose this time would be Tanners. Since it was going to be Tanner's, Kiersten was very insistent that we choose a smaller one than she chose the day before! And since we'd walked to the clubhouse with the kids in a stroller, I was only willing to cart home one pumpkin.

She was pretty funny that morning - she wanted to pose on all the different pumpkins. Tanner, on the other hand, didn't want his picture taken at all, and was only happy when we left him alone to do his own thing.

A Brave Girl

We've been taking Kiersten to the dentist with us since she was about 1 year old. When she was 2 she let the hygenist look at her teeth (from the safety of mom's arms, of course), when she was 2 1/2, she sat in the chair and got as far as letting the hygienist put the "necklace" around her (the napkin on a chain) neck before she was done. At 3 she let the hygienist take some x-rays of her front teeth (she'd done a face plant on the tile not too long before that!) with no "necklace!" At 3 1/2 she let the hygienist polish 4 teeth before she was done. And finally a few weeks ago she let the hygienist scrape the plaque off all of her teeth, but no polishing, while sitting on mom's lap in the dentist's chair. We were so proud of her and how brave she was.

Of course, it helped that we'd gone to the store that morning and she'd spent (what felt like) hours going up and down the isles trying to choose the perfect "reward" (not a bribe, a reward!) for being brave at the dentist's office. She finally settled on a Snow White doll with several dresses and shoes to change. When she got scared and was ready to be done, we talked about how we would have to take the Snow White doll back to the store, but if she could just be brave for a few minutes more she's be able to open the doll and play with it on the way home. Thankfully it worked, and a very patient, wonderful hygienist managed to clean all Kiersten's teeth. Thanks, Ms. Valerie!

(Oh, and just in case you're wondering, Kiersten added the headband after I'd done her hair and hairbows!)

Father's Day . . . in September

For Father's Day one of the things we gave Nate was a family camping trip. Now, those of you who know me, know that camping is pretty far down on my list of 101 favorite things to do. It's not that I hate camping, it's just that there are so many other things I would rather do, that we never make it far enough down the list to go camping!

However, Nate really enjoys it, and hasn't gotten to do much since he was released as the Young Men's president a couple of years ago, so I figured it was about time to brave it! Thankfully the kids really enjoy camping, even if they don't sleep all that well! Unfortunately with how busy we've been we had to settle for an over night trip in Madera Canyon (and no, we didn't see any illegals and yes we felt perfectly safe.) in September.

Kiersten felt like a pretty big girl because we put Tanner to bed and she got to stay up and watch Dad build a campfire (for roasting s'mores). And, while we waited for the campfire to get just right (I learned you don't roast marshmallows over the flames but rather over the red hot coals that come after the fire has been going a while. Who knew?) she got to play a card game with Mom and Dad by lantern.

As soon as Tanner woke up the next morning, he went straight for his shoes - he was ready to start exploring again!

The view from our tent!

Kiersten and Tanner enjoying Dad's yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage and hot chocolate. Why is it ok to eat like that when you're camping? I'd never make that much at home on a regular Saturday!

After we cleaned up camp we decided to hike a little bit before heading back home. However, things weren't looking good for our hike when we had to stop for our first break after hiking from the car to the trail head! To keep Kiersten entertained and willing to go on (she wanted to stop about every 50 feet!), we stopped at each and every sign posted along the way and had her read the letters and try to sound out the words. She didn't get too many of the words, especially when there are abbreviations, but she did a fantastic job with the letters.

After completing this "rigerous" 1/3 mile we decided we had had all the fun we could handle. The trail was supposed to get quite a bit steeper from this point on, and Kiersten just didn't think she could make it any farther, she was just so tired (oh the drama!). So we turned around and headed home.

It was fun, and VERY nice to spend some time as a family before Nate started back to school! Kiersten is already trying to plan our next trip, so I doubt I'll make it another 5 years before I go again!

Halloween Happenings

I had decided I wasn't going to do much for Halloween this year. Kiersten had plenty of dress-ups and old costumes that she was sure to find something she liked. And, I had this cute pumpkin costume that my aunt had sent me for Kiersten when she was about 18 months (but we'd never used because I'd already made her a bumblebee costume) that was going to be perfect for Tanner. But then I got this really cute Halloween scrapbook page that was titled "Pumpkins and candy" and I thought it would be so cute to make Kiersten a candy corn costume. So we got looking at pictures on line, and she decided it needed to be a Candy Corn Fairy, complete with wings and antennas. And of course, it had to have a tutu, because as far as Kiersten is concerned, it can't be a Halloween costume without a tutu!

Halloween seemed to last almost a week and a half this year at our house . . . We picked out pumpkins on the 22nd and 23rd (don't worry, there's a post and pictures to come on that!), Nate and Kiersten carved their first pumpkin on the 23rd for our Ward Party and Trunk or Treating the next night. They did a great job and carved Snow White's face. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it! They even won the pumpkin carving contest at our ward party . . . it helps when you're the only entrant!

Here they are getting ready to leave for the Ward Halloween Party and Trunk-or-Treating. Nate had to hold Tanner's hands so he wouldn't take off his hat!


Then on Tuesday Kiersten got to dress up again, for her Halloween party in dance class. Aren't all those princesses, witches and fairies so cute?


Then on Wednesday they dressed up for trick-or-treating at the Library for Storytime.

Thursday was the Halloween party in preschool, which we moved inside the church becasue it was "so cold" outside (it was "only" in the mid 50's!); that's also why Kiersten has a long sleeved shirt on - she didn't want to get cold!
One of the many fun activities at our Halloween party in Preschool was a donut eating contest, but they couldn't use their hands. Many of the little girls had seemed to have a problem grasping the concept, but not Kiersten - she just dived right in!


Then on Halloween, since we had another pumpkin that needed carving, Nate and Kiersten decided to carve a second pumpkin. This time they just did a cute face on it. Kiersten loves to help and poke the holes so that Nate has something to follow when he cuts out the design.
Tanner just loves to poke and touch everything!

And finally it was Halloween night and they got to go trick-or-treating. We went over to our friend's house and went with them. Their daughter, Savannah, borrowed Kiersten's bumble bee costume.

Soccer MVP

Earlier this summer we signed Kiersten up for soccer. Nate was delighted - he's hoping that soccer will counteract some of Kiersten's dancing-princess-dress-up-girlishness. I don't think there's much hope for that, but figured that soccer would be fun and entertaining for us! I figured that an activity where her mom isn't the coach would be good for her.

For her age the kids play 3 on 3, with no goalie, they don't keep score, and only have 30 min games (their weekly practice is supposed to be the 20 min before the game). The first week they must have played the best team in the league - a team that will go after the ball! There wasn't much action from our girls. If I remember right, Kiersten was the only one who scored a goal for our team, and she kicked it in the other team's goal!

But, our girls did do pretty well with throwing the ball in. The other team had to have their coach hold their feet down so they wouldn't move when they threw the ball in.

However, in the last few weeks we've seen such a change in Kiersten. Three Saturdays ago she was so proud of herself for scoring 2 goals. We didn't have the heart to tell her that to actually score a goal she had to kick them through the yellow goal cones, and not the flat orange out-of-bounds cones. Then the next week she scored 3 actual, real goals, which I missed because I was at the cannery. So we'd talked about it all week and she told me she was going to score 3 goals again this week (the Saturday we just had) so I could see her score a goal. She was on a roll this past Saturday, not only did she score the 3 goals we talked about, she scored 5 of the 7 total goals of the game! We're really not sure what happened to her, but she was unstopable!


Today she told me she wants to score 10 goals next time because "it's fun to score goals." That being said, she also still prefers practices to games because "there are too many people at the games." Of course, now that she has discovered how to score goals maybe she'll decide that games aren't all that bad.

You Can't Go Wrong . . .

So the other night Nate and Iwent out to dinner and ended up at a fairly new Greek restaurant near our house. I decided to try one of their sandwiches, and asked the waitress for recommendations. Her reply was, "Well, obviously in a Greek restaurant you can't go wrong ordering the Greek Gryo (pronounced jahy-roh, like in gyroscope)." Nate and I had the same thought, although we didn't say it out loud (at least not until she left the table!) "And you can't go wrong with a waitress who can't even correctly pronounce items on the menu!"

Despite our waitress I did try the gyro, and it was pretty good!

Tanner at 1 Year (and 3 months!)

I'm not sure where this summer has gone, but somehow almost 3 months had passed since Tanner turned 1 and I still hadn't taken him in for his 1 year pictures.

A week or so after I had these pictures taken, I took him in for his 15 month check-up. The doctor asked me how many words Tanner was using, that a stranger would be able to understand. I hesitated, trying to think if there were any. I think he misinterpreted my hesitation because he told me to "just estimate . . .10? 20? 30?" I started laughing and told him I was trying to think if there was even 1. Kiersten didn't even really start talking until she was 18 months , and he thinks my 15 month old little boy would be using 30 words? Tanner may not use many words, but boy he sure knows how to get his point across with pointing, grunting, and tears!

And then a few days after we picked up the pictures that I'd ordered, Kiersten decided that I hadn't cut them apart quickly enough, so she took matters into her own hands. When I got out of the shower one morning she came running in the bathroom and said, "Mom, I have a great idea. Let's cut these pictures apart." I explained to her that those were special pictures and that Mom needed to be the one to do it. She left the room dejected. I later discovered that she went and cut them apart anyway and then didn't tell me. It was a good thing she was in bed later that night when I discovered her handiwork. I think one picture off of each sheet can be salvaged; all the others show signs of having been cut by a 4 year old.

A Month on Vacation

(WARNING! This is a pretty long post, although it is mostly pictures. We did a lot in the month we were gone!)

The kids and I spent from the middle of July to the middle of August in Utah visiting family. Nate got to join us for the first part, and the last part, but had to go home and work in the middle (someone had to pay for all the shopping I did!) We had a wonderful time, got to do lots of fun things, and see tons of friends and family.

Actually, anytime I travel with children, it isn't a "vacation," it is a "trip." It is only a vacation when no children are involved! So this was really a month-long trip, and only a couple of days of vacation!

We started out the trip with Nate's youngest brother's wedding (thankfully they chose to get married weekend Nate was going to be in town so he got to be a part of it!). Here is our family in front of the Provo Temple, waiting for them to come out.

This was the first time in who knows how long all the Larsens were together. Here are Kiersten and Tanner with all of their Larsen cousins.
Tanner and Angie at the fountains at the Gateway (in SLC). Kiersten wanted nothing to do with the fountains and was perfectly happy staying in Tanner's stroller watching from a safe distance.

We also headed down to The Farm at Thanksgiving Point where spent a couple of hours with my brother Todd, his wife L0ri, and their two girls, Brooklyn and Savannah.
Kiersten was more than happy to feed the animals as long as she could throw their food at them and they stayed on their side of the fence. She would not let them eat out of her hand, and she didn't like it when they came "begging" for more!
Kiersten was pretty brave and rode the ponies a couple of times. We even got Tanner on for a few feet before he decided he was done.
We had fun swimming with Grandma (who figured she didn't need to go past her ankles with Tanner!), and my aunt Leslie and and her youngest, Lexie (who showed me her very impressive triple twist jump) and Mitchel out in Grantsville.


One night when several of us were at my Mom's for dinner, Tanner decided he'd had it with his high chair and was joining Kiersten and Brooklyn at the big kids table. (I suppose it's all relative - before we know it, the big kid table won't be good enough and they'll want to be at the adult table!)

Nate and my dad arrived just in time to catch the last day of the Oquirrh Mountain Temple Open House. Kiersten was really excited to actually be able to inside a temple and see where people get married.

Then we headed out to a family reunion at a ranch outside of Heber. It included my dad's Dad, all of my dad's siblings (and their spouses), all of their children, and all of the childrens' children (there were a few people missing, but most everyone was there). The ranch we stayed at had lots of things to keep us busy, such as horseback riding - Brooklyn and Kiersten are suited up and ready to go. (Yes, they made everyone wear helmets and life vests in order to go horseback riding!)

And Kiersten actually riding the pony. I was proud of how brave she was - she rode the pony 2 of the 3 times we walked out to the stables for her to ride.


They had archery, but I think mine were a little too young for that one!

Tanner enjoyed the paddle boats so much he fell asleep sitting up on my lap. Kiersten never wanted to ride in the paddle boats with Nate and I, always with Grandma and Grandpa.

Grandpa found a new friend. But, unfortunately for Grandpa, Tanner wasn't into making friends - all he wanted was a chance to play with Grandpa's laptop that was out on the bed.

Then we left the family reunion a little early (Wednesday night instead of Thursday morning) so that Nate and I could get ready for a backpacking trip I had been lovingly coerced into going on. Nate told me that it would be only two or three miles each way (it ended up being more like 7, although we didn't carry our packs for all of that), relatively flat (we had between 2 and 3 thousand feel of elevation gain, most of it in a half mile or so), and he would carry an air mattress for me (but the pump was too heavy, so he was going to blow it up with his mouth).

Anyone who knows anything about backpacking laughed at me and my pack! In Nate's defense, he did carry most everything else since I had the big, awkward, heavy foam pad. I wish I could say I slept wonderfully on it, but. . . well . . . , I'm sure I slept better than I would have without it!

Nate and I at Amethyst Lake. It was really pretty, and unfortunately a little chilly! (Unfortunately a cold, windy camping trip was not on my itinerary when I packed.)

It was a fun hike and we enjoyed spending time with Nate's brothers Dave, and his wife Juli, and Greg, and his new wife, Lexi. As much as I enjoyed it, I was certainly glad to get back to a shower and a real bed!

We finally loaded up the car (somehow with more than we brought out - I guess I did more shopping than I thought!) and headed home. We did make a slight detour up Kolob Canyon (part of Zion's). We did make Kiersten use the outhouse before getting back in the car and continuing on our road trip home. She was not excited, because she HATES public restrooms because they all have either automatic flushing toilets (she's so scared of them flushing while she's going that I have to hold my hand over the sensor the entire time she's in the stall) or they are exceptionally loud ( at least in her book, so I have to wait until she's out of the stall before I'm allowed to flush for her). She was delighted and more than happy to use the outhouse once she discovered that they don't flush at all!

While we had a great time, we are all glad to be back together as a family and home, sleeping in our own beds!