Family Christmas Card

Instead of sending out Christmas cards this year, we decided to do it electronically. Here's our update of the year:

2009 has truly been a blessed year for our family. We have had many opportunities for learning, serving, and enjoying time together as a family. We thank our Heavenly Father for all our many blessings, and especially for the gift of His Son.

Our family loves to play together. We went to Disneyland for the first time, and it truly was magical. Every minute was perfect, even the 2 hours in line to meet the Princesses! We also did a few quick trips to Zion and Idaho. The girls love spending time outside in the mountains going for hikes, boating with Pappy, or just looking for adventure. They also love the thrill of sleeping in a tent. Easy to please!

Travis continues to enjoy working for the firm. In November he started managing a branch of the firm in Spanish Fork. This has been such a great opportunity for him both in his career and in his home life. We love that his office is only 3 minutes away! Trav continues to serve with the Young Men in our ward and even survived a few camping episodes with them over the summer. He is the greatest dad in the world, and his daughters love wrestling and playing tag with him.

Laurie loves being a stay at home mother. Three little girls has been challenging but well worth the efforts put in. I have developed a "crafty" bug and have created a blog to record my projects. I work with the Sunbeams in the ward and laugh at the funny things they say every week.

Anna is the greatest big sister anyone could ask for. She and Kate are partners in crime; hardly a minute goes by that they don't have some game of pretend going on. Anna is learning to read and loves her preschool. Her favorite part of preschool is the carpool with her little friends. She is such a social girl! Anna also took a dance class this summer and was amazing. She loves performing for a crowd.

Kate started preschool this year as well. She loves the chance to make crafts and spend time with friends. She surprises all the time with things that she has learned as we have been trying to teach Anna. Kate and Mom did swim lessons this summer and loved the unlimited water slides on the last day. Kate has the sunniest personality and we love having her in our family.

Eve is one year old now. She keeps us busy as she pulls books off shelves, socks out of drawers, pans out of cupboards, etc. She can take a few steps on her own, but mostly prefers to crawl around still. We love watching her learn new things and see her personality develop.

We love you all and wish you a Merry Christmas.

Baby Eve

I pray that I will never forget the sweetness of this little babe. That I will remember her pudgy little fingers that tighten around my shirt while she nurses. That I will remember her baby-chick flyaway hair. And the softness of her cheek against mine. That I will not forget her delight as she learns new things and the pride you can see in her eyes. Oh, those dark eyes! How I love them! This little one absolutely melts me, and she has from the beginning.

Is there anything better than holding a newborn? Seriously?

Eve has a very special relationship with Anna. Anna tries to mother her a little too much, but Eve loves Anna and gets excited by all the little things that Anna does to make her laugh. She also appreciates that Anna helps her to walk around the house so much, something that I often find myself too busy to do.

Eve loves having big sisters. She wants to do anything that they are doing, and is not afraid to crawl over and take toys right out of their hands. She may be the only one year old who plays with Barbies.

This baby has more personality than I can handle. It seems she has an opinion about everything! She lets you know if she likes something with big smiles, head bobs, or cries of "moa." If she doesn't like it, she pushes it away, cries, or throws it as hard as she can. We better watch out.

Eve loves to eat. Right now she is insatiable. As soon as we walk into the kitchen she starts saying "moa" (more). Her favorite foods include yogurt, puffs, raisins, and clementines. She is no longer interested in baby foods.

Love the tummy hanging out over the pants. Our little muffin top :)

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Now that Eve can get around on her own, she is out of control. I find her everywhere, and it always seems like she is making a mess. She got stuck under Kate's bed one morning, then another morning discovered the toilet paper in the bathroom. Every day while I get ready she unloads all the drawers in my bathroom. So busy!

You cannot tell me that Baby Legs are not the cutest thing ever.

Happy Birthday little Eve! I am so glad that you came to be in our family. You are just what we needed!

Let's Pretend

Let's pretend that you've lived in your house for 2 years. Let's pretend that you've worked here and there to get your house to look like you want it to, but there's still so much left to do. Let's pretend that you just got some money for your birthday to be used on the house. How do you spend it?

1. Master bath-- needs paint, a full length mirror, new towels, shower curtain, and rug. And something for the walls.

2. Master bedroom-- needs paint, new bedspread, and art for the walls.

3. Front room-- needs art for the walls. Looks quite naked with NOTHING there.

4. Family room-- needs curtains, maybe some pillows for the couches.

5. Kitchen-- needs different curtains (who knows why I chose silk curtains for my kitchen. The baby is constantly flinging food at them), cute-sy stuff for above the cabinets.

6. Kids' bathroom-- needs paint, new towels, new rug.

7. Blow it all on more Christmas decorations. Tis the season


It's a tricky deal, because I want to do our master bed/bath, but the funds are limited. So I wonder if I should actually finish one of my other projects just to get it done, then do the master later. On one hand, no one ever sees the master suite but us, but on the other hand.... isn't that the reason it should be my favorite room in the house?

Please comment and let me know your vote!

Santa's Little Helper

Last week I got a coupon in the mail for $10 off at Shopko. So I took all three girls to the store with me, hoping to get some Christmas shopping done. Let me tell you, there was no holiday cheer on this trip. It was more like me yelling at the kids "I don't CARE if your dad lets you hang off the cart like a hooligan, you're not doing it with me. You are TIPPING THE CART OVER!!!!"

and so on....

I realized something on that trip. Why am I putting myself through all this? Why am I allowing myself to be Monster Mama? It was an epiphany of sorts. And so I have become an online shopper.
But let me tell you about the great deal I found: go to www.ebates.com. Register and use me as the person who referred you (laurielarsen2000@yahoo.com). We both get some sweet moolah back just for you signing up. But the best thing about ebates is that they have all these coupon codes for stores you already shop online, AND they give you cash back.
For example: Today I went to oldnavy.com. They have a bunch of cute stuff for super cheap, especially for little girls (like $6 or less). Then there was a coupon code for 20% off all of your online order (ONSAVE20). Then, because I went through ebates.com, I will get another 10% cash back on my order. Plus, orders of $50 or more have free shipping (I HATE paying for shipping, I will only shop online if the shipping is free.)
So, see how I saved 30% (almost) on my orders of $6? How great is that?
Go register now. You'll thank me. Promise.