Progress

Science Party!

Click here to check out our afternoon at the museum.  The kids have been looking forward to the science party all week...who knew we would end up on the news!  Dylan is on the stage holding the letter "N" during the atom demonstration, and Izzy volunteered to have electricity run through her body.  Her hair started to stand up and she said her clothes were sticking to her.  They had "watts" of fun!  (attempt at electricity humor)

Swimmer of the Month

Every month, we get an email from Izzy's head swim coach.  It's a great way for him to highlight what has happened over the last few weeks, and give everyone an update so we know what to expect for upcoming events and meets.  It is always full of great advice and inspirational thoughts.  This morning, it was even more exciting than usual.  We got about halfway through the email, and read this:

Time for my Swimmers of the Month and I will start in the Blue Group by recognizing two swimmers that had absolutely awesome performances last weekend at the Winter Invitational.  This first young lady went 6 for 6 including a best time in the 50 back by almost 7 seconds.  She is a great listener and follows directions.  The second SOTM for the Blue group goes to a young man who also had a great meet going 5 for 6 including a best time in the 50 breast by almost 5 seconds.  Congratulations Isabelle Larsen and Hayden Ruggles.

Amazing, right?  She works so hard, and is a natural in the water.  We couldn't be more proud of her. Way to go, Izzy!  

Christmas Day

Our morning started with the kids reading a note that Santa had left for them.  We didn't have a fireplace this year, so we improvised with the fireplace app on our computer (behind Dylan).  It sounded like the real thing, but wasn't very warm ;)

We opened gifts.  We felt spoiled and loved by so many people.  There were gifts that made us smile, laugh, and cry.  Ok, I'm the only one who cried, but that's ok.  There were so many thoughtful things under the tree sent to us by people we love and miss very much!  It was fun to talk to parents/grandparents, brothers, and sisters.  We missed everyone, and hope you all know we were thinking of you!

We had monkey bread for breakfast, then spent most of the day relaxing and watching movies.  We never changed out of our pajamas.  It was great!  Later in the day, we had an amazing dinner.  Ham from Trader Joe's, local carrots and my mom's yummy veggie dip.  There were potatoes from Klamath Falls and asparagus.  Izzy made a great salad with homemade raspberry vinaigrette, candied pecans, and fresh raspberries.  We also had crackers and raspberry chipotle dip as well as some sparkling cider. It was delicious!

The weather was beautiful, so after dinner we spent a little time outside tossing around Dylan's football. We were blessed with an amazing sunset to end a fabulous day.

We hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

Kick Off Christmas 2013

One of our favorite Christmas traditions is going to stay at a hotel the day after Dylan's birthday.  We look forward to it every year!  Izzy had a swim meet Saturday and Sunday. She swam in 6 events, and set new PRs in each one. She killed it! After the meet, we took a little walk on the river trail while the sun was starting to set.

We all took an ornament off of our Christmas tree at home and added it to the one I saw when I was walking the other day.  No Scrooges at our house!

Then we headed to our hotel. We swam. We relaxed in the hot tub. We ate pizza and skittles and licorice. We played games. We watched TV. We sat in front of the fire. We slept.  We swam some more. It was amazing!  Our room was awesome.  It had a little kitchen, a sitting room in front of the fireplace, and a balcony that looked right out onto the Deschutes. Here's the view:

Now that we have spent a couple days relaxing, we are excited to celebrate Christmas! Hope you all have a happy and safe holiday. Love to you all!

Double Digit Dylan

On Saturday, Dylan turned 10!  No more single digits in the Larsen house.  We made him orange rolls for breakfast, opened presents, and went to the Black Bear Diner for dinner. Even Poppy got in on the birthday fun!  (Poppy Larsen, not to be confused with Poppy Brog.  Yes, we stole their elf's name.)

Notice the candles are Ducks colors...that Poppy is one smart elf!

Friends

Dylan's winter concert was tonight, and he did an amazing job!  We were so proud of him. I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures with his friends.  He has a great group of boys in his grade, and they all get along and include everyone. Here's a couple photos of Bucky and his crew:

Ellison, Dylan, Griffin, and Everett...Ray is photo bombing in the back :)

Dylan, Codiac, and Kyle

River Trail

When I have some extra time, I love to spend it on the Deschutes River Trail.  The sun was shining so bright today.  The air was crisp and clear, and the sound of the river was very calming.

As I was walking, I noticed a tree with some Christmas ornaments on it:

I particularly loved this little note:

Good advice for all of us!  I told the kids about it when I picked them up from school, and I think we might try to go add a few ornaments this week :)

Winter Concert

One of Isabelle's elective classes is choir.  She loves singing and has a beautiful voice. Her Christmas concert was last night, and I have to say that Luke and I were really impressed.  It was a nice change from the same old songs we would hear every year at the kids' previous school.  My personal favorite was Edelwiess.  Izzy's teacher is very passionate about music and teaching, and it really shows!  The kids seem to love her, and they all did a great job.

Peyton, Izzy, Grace, and Stella after the performance

American Girls

Izzy and Fiona got together after school yesterday to make cookies and play with their American Girl dolls.  I can't even begin to tell you how cute these girls are.  Two peas in a pod!

Delivery Day

It was a big day of deliveries at the Larsen house.  Izzy and Dylan have been saving up for some pretty special items and they both got delivered today!

Dylan got his new unicycle, and Isabelle got Kit Kittredge.  I wish you could have seen their faces...almost as good as Christmas morning!  Maybe better, because they had to buy them on their own.

First Snow

Izzy and Dylan get so excited the first time they see snow each year.  The first snow brings with it Christmas, Bucky's birthday, family, and holiday magic.  To celebrate, we drive up to Silver Fork for hot cocoa and french fries.  I am not a fan of snow, but I get excited to see it because I love the twinkle in their eyes while we sit and talk about anything and everything.  The warmth of the fireplace inside and the flakes falling slowly outside make for a perfect setting.  Obviously Silver Fork was a little too far away this year, so I did some research and found a new little place to carry on the tradition.  We went to a cafe downtown called La Magie.  It was darling!  There was Christmas music playing low in the background.  Snow was falling outside.  There were fries, hot cocoa, and...cupcakes!  There was a lot of giggling and good conversation.  I can honestly say it was the first time I felt the magic of the season.  Man, I love those kids. Here's to holiday traditions!