Joey's Last Update

She's adopted!
Tim and I really miss Joey, but she was adopted by a wonderful lady who is experienced with dogs, has a nice big yard, and will love Joey so much. It was sad to give her back because I don't want Joey to miss us and we can't explain to her what is going on, but it's for the best. It was a great experience. We'll give it a few weeks before we consider fostering any more dogs...

Below: My Valentines creation...

Snowy Joey

Isn't she cute? ...Does anyone want to adopt her?

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!