Lots of Fun Lately!

While the East was being bombarded with the "Snowpocalypse," I was enjoying 70-80 degree weather in Phoenix with Mindy and her family! I babysat on Friday and we went on a bike ride, made valentines, and decorated cookies with lots of pink and purple sprinkles. On Saturday, we went to the Safety Fair put on by Mindy's hospital-also outside at the Mariners' Spring Training complex.We also went to a friend's house to pick oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and tangerines. Even the sheep liked them!
We also took a trip into Mesa to see the temple...And get Cafe Rio!!!
Monday, we went to the Zoo
And I got to ride on a camel-something that I'm sure was on my bucket list.
We finished the trip with a carousel ride and an earlier flight, the red eye to get back before the next blizzard. Now I am safely back in snow up past my knees and more coming. It was the perfect retreat, and I had so much fun with some of my favorite kids (and adults too, thanks Mindy and Thomas!)

I also wanted to post some pictures of our trip to Charlottesville for the NC State UVA game. Our friends, Andrew and Lauren are die-hard NC State fans and invited us to go. It was really fun, but "State" fell back during the second half and lost :( I've decided I should probably become a UVA fan since I've already been to a basketball and football game (cheering for the opposing team). Who knows...maybe we will be real UVA fans next year??? We'll see!

Our Newest Niece Mackenzie!

After much anticipation, our niece (and first of this new generation on the Larsen side) Mackenzie Lynn Larsen was born on January 27th, 2010. She weighed 5lb 8oz and sure is a cutie! We are lucky to be so close to her. DeAnne was a trooper, but we are very grateful to her for providing this new addition to our family (Scott too)! We were all excited to hold her, but I'd have to say that Aubrey was the most excited at finally being an aunt (as shown below).

Proof

...That things have been a little busy lately. And yes-it was after a full 8 hours of work that I realized my shoes didn't match.

Update On Joey

Joey is still doing really well. She's sure a sweet dog, but is still very scared. The pending adoption fell through, so we took her to Petco again, but no interest yet.

Well, I finally did it. I got a dog! Actually, Joey (Johanna) is a foster dog from a rescue group in the area. I have volunteered to take her until she gets adopted. I'm supposed to take her to Petco 2 Saturdays a month for adoptions. It's been a change having to take care of her. Of course, I chose the coldest week of the year to get her, so it's a challenge having to take her outside when she needs to go, but she's such a good dog. We think she's spent most of her life in a crate, because she is scared of any out of the ordinary sound and spends most of her time sleeping either in a corner or in her crate. She is sure sweet though. The poor thing had to come to a new home, get fixed and stay at the vet, have a bath, and go back to try and get adopted again all in one week. The good news...a really great older couple with their older daughter are interested! I think they would be perfect owners for Joey's needs, so I really hope it goes through. I may take a break for a few weeks, but there will probably be more fosters to come!

The Ultimate Christmas Activity: Christmas!

Just as they got the snow cleared off all major roads, we took off to Texas to celebrate Christmas at the Larsen Family Ranch/Resort/Vacation Home (at least that's what we call it)! It was so nice to leave the snow to arrive at 60 and 70 degree weather! First stop: The Alamo!
Walking around San Antonio, we also saw some other cool sights including these signs promoting "The worlds largest collection of horns and antlers."
We spent the next few days shopping and getting our fill of Christmas Spirit, which was pretty easy considering the decorations we were around. The house was beautiful! Rod and Diney had 6 trees with different themes and at least 3 different Christmas Villages (one was handmade!)We had lots of fun playing games, making lots and lots of cookies (see the cookie variety below) and relaxing. We had a really nice dinner on Chrismas Eve and Aubrey made an awesome yule log dessert which involved multiple steps. Christmas morning was also pretty great! I got a nice yellow coat and lots of things to keep me warm including a space heater, a blanket, scarf, hat, sweater, and pj pants, and Tim got some clothes, church pants, a season of the show Psych, and a basketball. Together, we got passports and a wheat grinder! Below are pictures of us enjoying some of our gifts.

The day after Christmas, we saw the Japanese Sunken Gardens, which are gardens created in an old limestone quarry, and we rode the San Antonio Zoo Train. Tim and I rode in a train car dedicated to Kate. We chose that one for our cute niece!

Before leaving, we did manage to complete my Christmas check off list. #4: see the temple lights! I was bummed the visitor center was closed because of the snow, but we managed to see awesome lights! All in all, it was a really great Christmas season and Christmas. Thanks to everyone who helped us enjoy it and sent us cards!

Pre-Christmas Activities Part II

#3 on my list of Christmas things to do in DC: Christmas at MOUNT VERNON. I had heard they put lots of christmas trees up at Mount Vernon in December, so I really wanted to go. I left early from work one Friday and Tim and I ventured to old George Washington's home. They said they decorated the house as if it were Christmas in the 1700's which, unfortunately, meant NO CHRISTMAS TREES :( As it turns out, the trees are in the visitor center and museum. I guess that was fun too, but my favorite part was the detailed GINGERBREAD house of Mt. Vernon! It was created by a former white house pastry chef and was so awesome! The Gingerbread replica:
The DC Larsens also got together for a Pre-Christmas party/progressive dinner. We wanted to celebrate Christmas with everyone because Scott, DeAnne, and the bun in the oven can't fly to Texas. We drove to all four residences to see everyone's decorations and eat lot of delicious food!
Last of all, I got another SNOW DAY! I was supposed to work this Saturday, but got the day off due to the biggest pre-christmas storm in 70 years! Tim and I ran around and played in it a little bit, but we didn't get very far on our snow angels because it was so deep! ...And guess what? NO CHURCH TOMORROW! Not that I'm that happy to miss church, but the truth is that we were supposed to sing in the choir and we were NOT ready. It's quite a relief!

Due to the snow, my #4 task may be put off until after Christmas, but before New Years.

Turkeys and Trees

Happy Thanksgiving! The Larsen's celebrated (with 4,500 of our closest friends) by running the turkey trot in DC. Aubrey, Tim and I did it last year and we invited Scott, and Tim's Mom and Dad to come along too!

Tim and me after the race. Behind us, you can see the start line. I have been bad at taking my camera places, so I didn't get any pictures of our fun times at the feast, but it was delicious!

I have a list of four things to do in DC this Christmas. #1. See the train at Union Station. It is put up by the Norwegian embassy. It was funny because the trains were hand carved and it's on this big track with mountains and trees all to scale, but then there were giant trolls in the "scene." We all wondered why. Union station was cool anyway. I'd never been there. I also would have taken a picture of the huge pretty wreathes outside, but it was slushing (my word meaning a very wet, cold and windy snow that turned to dirty slush on the ground). I didn't want to be in it any longer than I had to.
The giant tree with Norwegian and American Flags symbolizing our countries' friendship.
#2 on my list: Old Town Alexandria. We went, but again, I forgot my camera :( It was set up so cute though!