I Love This Bar

Stay with me on this, okay?
You know that Toby Keith song "I Love This Bar?" I'm really not much of a Toby Keith fan, but this song really sums up something I've been thinking about lately. Here are some of the lyrics:


We got winners, we got losers
Chain smokers and boozers
And we got yuppies, we got bikers
We got thristy hitchhikers
And the girls next door dress up like movie stars

Hmm, hmm, hmm I love this bar

We got cowboys, we got truckers
Broken-hearted fools and suckers
And we got hustlers, we got fighters
Early birds and all-nighters
And the veterans talk about their battle scars


Hmm, hmm, hmm I love this bar

[Chorus:]
I love this bar
It's my kind of place
Just walkin' through the front door
Puts a big smile on my face
It ain't too far, come as you are
Hmm, hmm, hmm I love this bar


My Webb family is kind of like Toby's bar. We've got all kinds of people: straight-laced Mormons, Harley riding bikers, druggies (most are recovered), football players, ballet dancers, etc. A couple different ethnicities and lifestyles. And yet, I love them, each and every one. 
Why? Because the thing that unites us is stronger than any differences we might have. We are FAMILY. We are tied together by blood, a shared heritage, and an unmistakable concern for one another. In the Webb family, everybody loves everybody. We watch out for each other. We take care of each other. We love each other.
I've always known this. It's like knowing that I have green eyes or ten toes on my feet. It's just part of who I am. But It's become more apparent to me in the last few weeks since my dad's accident. I have been so overwhelmed by the love and concern our family has shown for him. Every day that my mom has to work, someone has been there to hang out with my dad. They show up at 7 am and stay till dinner time. It's been about three weeks now, and my mom hasn't run out of people who are willing to help. My cousins have even called me, asking if I need them to watch my kids or do something to help out my dad. The most incredible thing, though, happened at the family Christmas party. Unknown to my parents or myself, someone passed around a Mason jar at the party. People put in as much money as they wanted/were able to, and the next day my mom's siblings brought it over to my parents. It contained $2000. While the Webbs are big on love, they are not big on money, and this represents a sacrifice for each person who contributed. It was so kind. My dad will be out of work for at least 3 months, and since he is self-employed, that means no income. This money is such a blessing to my family. 
I am grateful to be part of such a family. As Toby says, 


I love this bar
It's my kind of place
Just walkin' through the front door
Puts a big smile on my face
It ain't too far, come as you are
Hmm, hmm, hmm I love this bar


Thank you to all of you! You know who you are!

When I'm Healthy I'm Happy

The past few months have given me some new perspective on life. I have been so sick that now that I feel good again, I am amazed at what a blessing good health is. You don't appreciate your health until it's gone.
So, here's the story: after Max was born lots of nice people brought us lots of dinners, plus we ate a lot of easy, processed foods like Mac N Cheese. I just kept feeling sicker and sicker. I lost all of my baby weight in about 3 weeks because I couldn't keep anything down, and I was SO tired and cranky because I had no energy at all. Finally I went to the doctor who did a few tests and determined that I have Celiac Disease (or at least a high level of gluten intolerance). What this means is that my body sees gluten as the enemy and attacks it, making a mess of my intestines. The bummer is that gluten is found in wheat products, almost all processed foods, and hides in random places like oatmeal. So all the well meaning lasagnas that neighbors brought were killing me! (I am grateful for them all the same. Thank you, thank you, thank you.)
When I first found out about my gluten issues, I cried. For 2 days. I mourned every doughnut I will never eat.
Every easy meal of spaghetti and Ragu that my kids love. And my newfound love of saltine crackers. Gone.Also in my mourning was saying goodbye to the convenience of Chicken Voila from Costco, as well as being able to stop at Wendy's for chicken nuggets if we're out at lunchtime and I'm hungry. Life without gluten sounded unappetizing and hard.
Luckily it's been about a month and I have come a long way. I went to a gluten free fair at the health store that changed my life. Literally. I tried so many samples of GF (gluten free) foods that actually tasted good. I got a recipe book that tells me how to make my own GF version of things like cream of chicken soup, rolls, cookies, etc.
I've been gluten free for about 6 weeks now and I have honestly never felt better. It turns out that other problems I have had for a while like anemia, eczema, and fatigue were caused by my gluten allergy. So cutting gluten from my diet has helped with those things as well. What a blessing! It turns out that what I thought was lactose intolerance was actually from the gluten so I can eat ice cream again. Yay!
Also of note: last week Kate gave us a scare and we spent the day at the hospital with her. At first we thought she had appendicitis, then someone mentioned an infection in her lymph nodes..... turned out to be a stomach bug and she's fine now. I am so grateful for her good health! I love her so much and it was agony for me to see her hurting.
Then, earlier this week my dad fell off a roof while he was working (he does home inspections). He had to be life flighted to the hospital. He broke his back, neck, ribs, arm, and wrist. Those are major injuries, but the good news is that he will heal from all of them! What could have been a deadly accident, or at least something that left him paralyzed, is only a bunch of broken bones! He's had back surgery and will need wrist surgery next week, but at least the doctors will be able to fix it! Again, I am so grateful for his health.
Our Father in Heaven gave us these amazing bodies. I am so impressed with their design and ability to heal. And I am grateful to feel good again!

Baby Face

 Babies make the funniest faces.

 First smiles. At 8 weeks old. It seemed to take forever for him to learn to do it, but now he smiles all the time. I just love how happy he seems.

 What could he possibly be thinking here? "Mom, you're crazy. Put that camera down already."

Max's Blessing

We blessed Max on November 6. It was a great day for our family. We all love baby Max so much and are grateful to have him here with us. What I remember most was that he was blessed to be kind and compassionate and to remember the promises he made to Heavenly Father before coming to earth. I hope that I can help him live up to the many good things the Lord has in store for our sweet boy.

Family photos are kind of a joke. We have 80% of us looking at the camera here, which is pretty impressive.

Trav and I looked at this picture and both said, "Wow, we look so old." It's the first time we've actually looked like we were old enough to have kids at one of our kids' blessings. :)

Fall Hike

Trav discovered a hiking trail super close to our house one morning, then decided to take the rest of us for FHE the next week. It was fabulous, and I am grateful we were able to get it in before the weather turned cold.

 It was only a little chilly. :)

 Someone should really cut Eve's bangs. But probably not me because they are always crooked when I do it.

 the view from the end of the hike. That's our beautiful town down there, doesn't it look amazing? We were seriously able to leave our house and be at the top of this mountain in 40 minutes. I love living here!

Proof that Max was there, carried by me in the Snuggli.
Incidentally, I took my old (crappy) camera on this hike because I didn't want to carry my huge DSLR.... and the pictures really aren't as good. It makes me glad for the nicer camera, so I get the occasional awesome photo. I'm also glad that the old camera still works so that I can use it like this.

Halloween

We pretty much spent the month of October being sick, and Halloween was no exception. We were scheduled to do our traditional trick-or-treat with Trav's family, but Anna wasn't feeling good enough to go all the way up to Salt Lake. (notice how forced her smile is in this picture?)
We ended up staying here and doing a little trick or treating in the neighborhood. After Anna had a nap and some dinner, she said she felt fine and wanted to go out with the other kids. So we all went together, and I think she had the most fun of anyone!
Anna was a bride, Kate a ladybug, Eve a bumble bee, and Max a frog. Eve still wears her bee dress all day every day. I love two year olds.

Anna's 7th Birthday

Anna wanted an Under the Sea birthday party this year, so that's what we did. A bunch of giggly little girls playing hot potato with a fish, drawing sea animals in pictionary, and the classic fishing pole game. The bummer is that I was feeling pretty sick the day of her party, so there's not many good pictures.

 Can I just say I love having a Silhouette?

this is Anna on her actual birthday. Her party was actually two weeks later, in my efforts to not go insane with a new baby. For her birthday this year, she told us she was too old for toys. She just wanted a BYU sweatshirt, a picture of Jesus, and to go see a play. So that's what she got, but it is beyond me how a seven year old can be too old for toys.

Life with a newborn

Four kids has been a bit of a challenge, I must admit. There have been days without showers, nights without sleep, meals without nutritional value (hello, corndogs!)..... but for the most part we  are doing well. I feel like we had so much going on during October, but November is more relaxed and we're able to catch up a bit. 

Here are some photos from Max's first few weeks at home:

 There's a lot of love for this little guy from his sisters.

 Anna demonstrates the proper way to hold a baby brother.

 Eve demonstrates her inability to be trusted with said baby brother.

And Kate demonstrates what a happy helper she has become. This girl will hold the baby for me anytime, anywhere! It's been great so I can do my hair or make dinner, or anything.

And Trav demonstrates his multi-tasking abilities: holding baby, entertaining dog, and cheering for BYU football.
Max had some trouble with jaundice at about a week old. He is fine now, but notice how much darker his skin looks back then compared to now. We were thinking he'd be dark like Eve, but I think he's going to end up pale like Anna and Kate. and me :)

Max Thomas Larsen

Our little Max has finally arrived! He was born September 21 at 7:58 pm. He weighed 7 pounds and 15 ounces, 20 1/2 inches long. He's so sweet and we love having him in our family!

 

Turns out life with four kids is hard. thanks to everyone who has helped/will help as we figure this out!

Summer Vacation to Couer D'Alene

 Once upon a time there was a darling little girl whose best friend moved 12 hours away and it broke her heart. This little princess commenced saving her pennies in hopes of one day going to visit her long lost pal. The kind hearted king and queen saw how important this was to their sweet daughter and forsook their own supersweet vacay to Chicago in order to make this trip happen for the princess.
And so, our family trip this year was to visit our friends, the Parsons, up in Couer D'Alene, Idaho. (hereafter referred to as CDA because that's what the locals do.)

 We started our trip by driving up to Idaho Falls after T got off work. We didn't get there till 10:30 pm, and we were starving! So Anna and I jaunted over to the Applebee's across the street and brought back food to our family. Unfortunately, the kids were all so sleepy they barely ate anything, which led Trav and I to pig out on yummy appetizers. No big loss.
I just booked our hotel through priceline.com, and it turned out awesome! We were on the seventh floor, with a balcony that overlooked the Idaho Falls temple. The kids loved it.
In the morning, Trav and I decided to take turns going to the temple. He went and did initiatories and was back within an hour. I drove over and realized I had left my temple recommend at home! It was so disappointing for me-- to be right outside this beautiful temple and not able to go in!! Lesson on personal preparedness there.
Instead, we went to the zoo in Idaho Falls. Thanks to our zoo membership, we get into other zoos at a reduced or free rate, and we have used that to visit the zoo in IF before. We love that zoo! I think it's great because it's small and there's a lot of shade. And a fun little area for the kids.

Here's Eve getting kissed by a goat at the petting zoo.

This is in the kids' area. We have an identical photo from the last time we were there, only it was 1 year old Kate on the chicken with dad back then.

Tigers!

Then we drove FOREVER until we reached our friends' home in Athol, which is about 20 minutes north of CDA. Holy flip, we could see Canada out of our window. It was so far away! But it was amazingly beautiful. their home is located about 5 minutes from Lake Ponderay in this amazing forest. So awesome! They are regularly visited by deer, moose, and chipmunks.
We were so lucky to stay with them. They have a massive house so the kids all got to sleep together upstairs in a loft/playroom area. Amazingly, they all slept at night... and when they woke up in the morning they were all together and started playing once again. The Parsons/Hunts took great care of us too-- how I love waking up to the smell of someone making waffles for me!

This cat, Patches, was amazingly patient. He was lugged around like this the entire time my girls were there.

This is not the best shot ever, but it does show you how gorgeous it was. This is their backyard! A huge field of wildflowers surrounded by forest. So cool!

They live on this little hill which was perfect for racing our coasters down! The Hunt family had just finished a reunion where they all built these coasters and we loved racing down the hill on them.

Anna in Josh's rickshaw coaster. Totally unsafe, thus the helmet.

We went to a little amusement park called Silverwood (kind of similar to Lagoon). The kids loved all the rides. Anna and Kate even mustered up the courage to do their first grown up roller coaster ride..... on a coaster that most resembled the White Roller Coaster at Lagoon (ie old and decrepid).

All the kids preparing for blastoff.

Anna and Addie. BFF.

We went to the water park section and the kiddos were exhausted. Kate fell asleep on the concrete, and our little buddy Cannon fell asleep in a lounge chair and didn't wake up for 2 hours!

This is what Eve did while everyone else went on the scary roller coaster. She rode these airplanes about 10 times and loved it. She even figured out how to get in by herself at the end.

The next day we went to the local farmer's market in the morning. The adults splurged on cilantro pesto on artisan bread for lunch, while we placated the kids with quesadillas from Del Taco. They were definitely on the bad end of the deal!
That afternoon we went to Lake Ponderay with the Hunts (our friends' parents). It was beautiful! The trees came right down to the shoreline.

The girls getting ready for a ride on the UberTube.

This time it was Eve and Cannon who fell asleep in the middle of all the fun. Apparently this happens a lot, so they've set up a little section of the boat for sleeping kids.

Trav and the girls getting ready for the last ride of the day.
That night we took our friends to dinner to thank them for hosting us. It was hard to leave because we had enjoyed ourselves so much and Anna and Addie loved being together. They were so happy and it was so cute to see them play again!

All of the kids together. Cannon and Whit, the little boys, were the ones who convinced me that having a baby boy would be a good thing. They were so sweet and funny the whole time and it makes me excited to have a boy of my own to love!
We left the restaurant a little after 9 pm and drove to Missoula, MT where our next priceline hotel was located. We didn't get there till 1 am, and the only room they had available for us had one double bed. For the 5 of us. I was so worried that the kids would throw a fit when we put them to bed on blankets on the floor, but they were so exhausted they just went right to sleep. What a blessing that was!
It was a quick trip, but it was absolutely fun. We love the Parsons and are grateful to be their friends. And for all the nice things they did for us on the trip. It was wonderful!

More summer fun

 My goal is to catch up on the blog before the baby comes. Because  I may never have time to write again once that happens. So here's some more of our summer fun!

 The girls had their first sleepover with our little friend Gwen. They all wanted to sleep in the same bed, so this is how they started out the night. When I checked on them at 10, Gwen was still awake because she was too hot. No kidding? I scooted her over to Kate's bed and she was asleep right away.

 

Breakfast in the morning with Gwen. They had Cocoa Pebbles and Gwen said to me, "This is great. My mom only lets us have Cheerios because she wants us to be healthy." Not sure if that's a compliment or not. :)

 

 We did a quick little camping trip up Payson Canyon. Oh, how kids love camping! I had been sick the whole week, so I just went up for dinner in the canyon, then took the dog home with me while Trav and the girls stayed in the tent. It took Eve about 4 hours to fall asleep, but other than that, a good time was had by all!

 We did our Annual Eve Celebration (her half birthday party since her real bday is too close to Christmas). She had a color themed party with her little 2 year old friends, in which I learned that 2 year olds are really not able to do a whole lot of party activities. They were good at eating treats, though!

 It was bound to happen. With three little girls, it was inevitable that someday one would find a pair of scissors and do a whack job. Evie found the scissors when I had given the girls the assignment of cleaning out the van. So I had a couple huge piles of hair to vacuum off my seat and floor mats. The little crazy cut her bangs super short (we're still recovering 4 months later), and then cut one section in the back so that it was only 1/2 inch long. The irony was that it was AFTER her  haircut that people started complimenting me on her cute hair. Which I couldn't even look at without cursing.

Now seems like as good a time as any to give an update on Eve. Seriously, she is crazy. I now understand what they mean when they say Terrible Twos. She has so much energy cooped up in that little body and runs around all day long, often falling flat on her face because she decided to attempt diving off the couch or riding her scooter with no hands. She has no fear. She watches her sisters and thinks she is big enough to do anything they can do. If I ever tell her no because she is too little, she defiantly glares at me and says, "I a big girl. Baby Max is little." So there.
Eve loves fruit. We literally have to hide the fruit at our house or she obsesses about it all day long. You might think it's a good a thing for a kid to love fruit, but if that's all they eat..... let's just say it makes a mess.
She has given up on naps. Heaven help me! My older girls napped at least a year longer than this, but Eve just won't go to bed at night if she gets ANY rest during the day. It was taking 2 hours every night to get her to sleep, so we decided to forego the nap and things have improved. It's actually a little fun to have some time that it's just me and her, since both of the older girls are at school in the afternoon. And it's a little aggravating.
Eve hasn't learned the value of nice words or soft voices. She basically yells for everything she wants. Trav says she uses hostility to get her way. We're working on it.
And yet, she is still the cuddliest little thing. She adores her mommy. She adores her sisters. She adores her dad. She doesn't really like the dog, another thing we have in common. :) She builds me up, "I like your shirt," or "You a great mommy." My favorite is when we sing the Happy Family song, she always belts out "We are a happy family" at the top of her lungs. Every night she gives me "hugkiss" when I tuck her in to bed. Whether it's the first or fourth attempt at getting her into bed for the night, I still love those "hugkisses." She loves washable markers and has a very creative imagination when she tells me what the random scribbles on her paper are supposed to be.
The other day she wanted to watch a show, and I said "What about your brain power? Let's read a book instead." Her reply: "I not have brain power. A spider crawled in my ear and ate it."
She's kind of a little monster, but I love her to pieces.