Slow Going

We are slowly finding where to put things in our new house. The kitchen has me baffled...just trying to find the right flow. I talked to Liz a couple days ago, though, and she said she is still moving stuff around, so I don't feel so bad. It will come in time, right? I am just happy that we have some furniture moved in. It is already starting to feel like home. Here's a quick shot of the front room from the dining area...remember, we are still in a bit of a mess. Luke had an event this weekend, so he hasn't slept much at all, and I am pretty sore after running, so after breakfast, we started the fire and turned on the TV. It's going to be a very lazy day here at the Larsen house!

The kids are enjoying having their own rooms, and are excited every time they open a new box. They haven't seen a lot of their stuff for 22 months!

I'd post a photo of the master bedroom, but there isn't anything to see. Just a huge room with a king size bed at one end. We don't even have a comforter yet...like I said, it is a work in progress! 

Luke is off at the storage unit grabbing the lawn mower. It has been a while since we fired that puppy up, so I'm crossing my fingers that it works. We are so excited to get started in the yard. We have plans for garden boxes, a deck, and a perfect spot for our fire pit. It's all coming together. I'll add photos as we start (and hopefully finish) projects. All I know is that I am not itching to move again anytime soon. I am happy as can be to just stay put for a while!

Wow...

It has been a long time since my last post! No pictures yet. We are so busy unpacking that I haven't had a moment to take any photos. Between Luke's new job (he is neck deep in events right now), Dylan's baseball schedule, and Izzy's swimming, our days are pretty packed.  Here's an update for now:

Luke is working at Lay It Out Events. He has been an amazing addition to the team, and is doing a great job. They just finished The Salmon Run and are gearing up for the Happy Girls Run this weekend. After that is Bite of Bend and the list goes on! It will be a busy summer for him.

I am working and taking the kids to and from practices and events. I am also running the Happy Girls 10K on Sunday. I love everything about Bend, especially the importance of community. There is an amazing energy here that makes me happy. I love being in a smaller town with a slower pace...it is just what we needed.

Izzy is rocking it in the water! She made her first national standard B time in the 50 fly, and was given a certificate at her awards banquet tonight. She also got awards for most improved swimmer and most inspirational swimmer. She was so excited, and Luke and I are so proud. As her coach said, she will be one to watch. She is also doing great in school (no surprise there), and making so many darling friends.

Dylan is still unicycling, and has made it to level 4 (there are 10 official levels). He got to ride the giraffe unicycle at school and loved it! He said he could touch the top of the basketball hoops...something that is really fun for someone his size. He got drafted to the Mariners in little league, and is doing great. He is such a bulldog when it is game time. We love watching him play. He is also doing awesome in school. He is being challenged and really rising to the occasion.

That is it for now. I will take some pictures soon and post about our new house. We are loving it already. It's going to be nice to settle in make it our own.

Easter Eggs

Now I just need to figure out how we are going to eat 18 hard boiled eggs...

Home Sweet Home

We finally found it! It has been quite an adventure to get us to this point, but we have loved every minute of it. We couldn't be more excited to move into our new home. Izzy and Dylan are already making big plans for their rooms. It will be the first time that they haven't shared. Luke and I are excited to get all of our stuff out of storage...it's been so long that I'm not sure we know what we have in there anymore! This will also be the first time that we have had a garage. And oodles of storage. And more than one bathroom. Seriously--excited is an understatement!

Visitors!

After our whirlwind spring break week, we were able to come home and spend an amazing weekend with Hope, Sam, Makenna, and Halle. We are so excited that they came to visit! We keep telling everyone how glorious the weather is here, but whenever anyone comes to stay, it couldn't be more opposite. When my parents moved us here, there was a major heat wave--the worst in over 100 years. It was unbearable! When Fred and Kelly came to visit, we had a weird cold snap. So, in keeping with tradition, the weekend was cloudy, rainy, snowy, windy...you name it. The cloud cover was so thick that for three days we couldn't even see the 3 Sisters! We didn't let it get us down, though. We went swimming, visited the High Desert Museum, and played at the park. We shopped in the Old Mill District and spent an afternoon downtown. Sam and I took a walk on the river trail and took some photos. We played games, ate yummy food, and had a good time visiting. Izzy and Halle even got to have a sleepover. Those girls are two peas in a pod, and I know Izzy is already missing her.

We look so tiny on the bridge! We took a walk around Drake Park and Mirror Pond before walking over to Deschutes Brewery for dinner on Sunday night.

After spending the weekend with us, they took off to hang out in Seattle. So much fun! We can't wait for them to come back; maybe the weather will cooperate and we can paddle board and soak up some sun. Maybe even see the mountains. Hope did say next time she visits it will be via plane, not car...the drive is so bad! 

Spring Break

We spent spring break in Utah with friends and family. I took the camera, but didn't really get it out. I guess I was too busy having fun, visiting, and relaxing. I need to get into the habit of just having it around my neck so I can catch all those kodak moments. There were many!

We spent a day playing and giggling with Angel, Tyler, Kyrie and Savannah. We went to Hollywood Connection and had an absolute ball! The bumper cars were my favorite.  The hot air balloons--not so much.  We had a nice lunch and had a really good time visiting. The girls are growing up so fast. We are really proud of them and all they are accomplishing!

Jake and Emily were so sweet to let us sleep over for two nights. It was so nice to catch up and spend time together. The kids couldn't get enough of Jack, and Jake made the best burgers ever for dinner. So much fun! We also played some games, ate treats, and stayed up much too late.

We got to spend a couple of days with Fred and Kelly next. We had such a great time! We went to the Utah Museum of Natural History, caught up on some of our favorite shows, and colored easter eggs. They planned a fun night of bowling so we could see the whole family. Tons of people came, and we were so happy to spend time surrounded by some of our favorite people on the planet! My personal favorite was the amazing sunday dinner that Kelly made. Ham, asparagus, mashed potatoes, bread...the list goes on. It was incredible!

The next day was set aside to see friends. I got to spend time with Sarah and Liz. We picked up right where we left off, like no time had passed...the sign of a true friend. Izzy and Dylan got to play at the park with Cooper, Camden, and Riley. They jumped on the trampoline with Lilly and Claire. Izzy had a play date with Kate, and Dylan went over to Theo's to play. While they were busy with friends, I went and saw my work pals. We even got to see the Petersons'! It was a crazy day trying to fit it all in. We missed a bunch of people that we'll want to see next time we come to town. If only there was more time in a day!

Our last stop was Logan. It was so wonderful to be at my mom and dad's. We ate tons of great food, played games, and relaxed. Hope and Halle were there, too, which was lots of fun. The kids moved the couches together to make a pirate ship to sleep on and put on a really cute play for us. My mom treated us to a movie--The Muppets Most Wanted. (Our reaction to the movie is another post for another day.) I felt so well rested once it was time to go. And, as always, I headed home with much more than I came with. I had a cooler full of meat, lots of homemade spaghetti sauce, homemade creamed corn, and my mom's bread and butter pickles. My mom's famous bread, and most important--her fabulous raspberry jam. We are feeling so spoiled! It was hard to go, especially knowing we had a ten hour drive ahead of us. But, we know we will see everyone again soon.

It was a great spring break vacation! Thanks to everyone for making it so special for us. We love you all!

Cousins

We got to spend some time with Jack over spring break.  He has gotten so big and kept us laughing the whole time we were with him!  Dylan would wait for him around a corner and scare him...Jack thought it was hysterical!

It was really good to see the kids together laughing and playing.  We are excited for Larsen cousin #2 to make his or her debut in August!