Confessions

Dear Diary,

It's me! Super Shocker, I know.

I must confess to you right now though...I did find a new love for a while....and if you must know it's name was....My Life.

I just couldn't seem to love you both at the same time. The guilt was too intense...you were always on my mind...the list of things I wanted to tell you kept growing until I just

panic-ed.

I know you must have felt it was the worst break-up in history just leaving you empty and useless like that for so long. I can't really say I'm sorry though cause I actually really enjoyed it.

I do see that I may have been a tad hasty and I really do think we can still be friends (yes, I'm totally playing the friend card here). So here's the deal... I can love you again "sometimes" if you won't make me feel guilty anymore.

Come on, Whad ya say?

AND since I am confessing and it really feels good. I had better tell you that I am no longer the same woman that left you 7 months ago either. I should explain.

1. I am no longer a young, voluptuous 35 yr. old. I am a wiser, voluptuous 36 yr. old (did you really think that I wouldn't still be voluptuous?)

2. I have gone up and down in weight numerous times (hopefully on the down again)

3. I have swam with sharks....(hey swimming in the ocean is totally swimming with sharks...they ARE in there so back off).

and probably the most obvious....

4. I have gone from my "kill em with kindness" blonde to "tell em like it is" brunette (a voluptuous one I might add ;)

Proof is in the pictures:

Me then

Me now

I'm sure there are many more but that is seriously enough shock for right now.

So I'm back(kind of...I still have My Life to spoon with), I'm sassy(I think it's the hair), and I'm ready to confess all.

Holiday Vacation/Reunion

Here it is the long overdue New Years in Vegas post.

We were so lucky to have an after Christmas vacation/reunion with Jon's family. We all met in Vegas and let me tell you "what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"....unless of course you are me and want to blog all about it :) hehehe

Mom and Dad Larson rented a house for the whole family to stay in. So from different parts of the western USA 5 families all set out for Vegas. And despite the hour it took us to go 4 miles through the Hoover Dam area - (stinkin' dam tourists :D ...we made it.

Luckily the kids had lot's of movies to watch.And luckily we only have 3 kids look how packed full we were.

OOPS many weeks later....




Now that it has been many weeks since I started writing about this vacation I decided to make things a little easier or I will never get this post actually out of draft mode. So here is my too many pictures to put on individually idea and quick rundown of our events. (Less painful for you and me :)







Starting with first picture going across the top...
1. Phantom of the Opera - phenomenal...even Chase enjoyed.
2. Family photo opp...can't pass up one of those on vaca.
3. Coke Factory... Coke float = heaven
4. Family picture day...what reunion is complete without one of these!
5. M&M Factory... fun for the whole fam.
6. Mama Mia - loved it...even got Jon up dancing...I was so proud.
7. Mckee playing with her cousin, can you believe they are only one month apart??!!
8. Jon getting fresh w/Miss Green. Should I be jealous?
9. New Years Eve on the strip with the girls. On the strip not stripping...gosh :D
10. Chase ready for a fight. Although I can't remember which casino we found this in..hmmm?
11. The boys on the strip New Years Eve in front of the ESPN place...and they wished their was stripping :) heehee
12. The kids on the way home from the trip...couldn't keep their eyes open.
13. The whole gang.
14. Salavating at the chocolate factory...man I wanted more than one sample. The smell in their was incredible.
15. Cousins playing pool...when not in the swimming pool.
16. And last but not least the Bellagio fountain show. I don't care how many times I've seen it I still am in awe.



There were so many details that I missed that were so much fun. We had a great time laughing and playing with the family. Eating at an El cheap-o buffet and zigging in and out of crazy traffic. Making hygiene kits for Kari(Jon's sis.) to take to Iraq. Even the freezing to death and seeing and smelling some things that good Christians shouldn't really experience were all fantastic.

Vegas is always an adventure. Thanks Mom and Dad for the good times.

Whew...I did it!

I just Can't Get Enough

Wow, 2 weeks sure goes by fast in the blog world. I feel like I was just updating this but now I see it has been almost 2 weeks. Am I really that out of it? Ok, don't answer that...sadly I already know the answer.

So this is really random but I can't stop thinking about writing my strong feelings for it every time I sneak a handful. So that is what I am going to do. Call me crazy....ok maybe don't do that either.

I have a great love of chocolate (big shocker I know) and I think I have tried all the chocolate in the world with much enjoyment so I'm not sure what this one product has done different to just take me over the chocolate loving edge. And it's not even a new product so I'm even more curious of its effects on me.

There is just something about these guys

and in my case right now these guys

I swear to you every handful I sneak makes my eyes roll back in my head while the pure shock of deliciousness enters my mouth. And I say shock because I am amazed with each bite how much I really am truly loving the taste. And this just after I had the same reaction 5 minutes ago with the last handful. How does that happen? I really should know what it is going to taste like but for some reason I react like I have forgotten. Is there some kind of chemical reaction going on that I should know about? Do I even care? All I know is that I just can't get enough and I love the reaction every single time.

Like I said random....and a bit crazy.

P.S. I am sad to say there was a casualty in the making of this post. Whilst taking my pictures to share I accidentally lifted the wrong end and spilled out the last of my bag of refreshing creme de menthes. It was quite shocking to me when it happened and I almost didn't know what to do besides get ready to weep...but I controlled myself and prayed that the counter wasn't too dirty and swept them all back into the bag (well, I shouldn't say all there were quite a few that didn't make it into the bag...the temptation was just too great if you know what I mean). Am I pathetic now too?

Shout out!

Just a quick shout out to my most bodacious brother, Lance.

Happy Birthday to you!

May your day be just as grand as all of your wildest dreams combined!

(think teary)
Love you Bro! :D

Running Club

I know I still need to blog about our wonderful post Christmas Vegas trip but that will be a marathon post and life is still moving right along so I thought I would do something more current instead.





Kiana is our enigma runner extraordinaire. She LOVES to run. Don't ask me where she got it...I can tell you right now though that it's definitely not from me.



She is in the Running Club at our school and every Tues., Thurs. morning she gets to go and run before school. She loves it ....and I'm beginning to disliking it more and more because I have to take her early and it is stinkin' cold out there. Plus my bed is so comfy cozy and why would anyone want to leave cozy. But I know the love she has for it (and seriously this is nothing compared to next years zero hour that I will be even more begrudgingly taking Chase too) so I endure (in my jammies, fuzzy slippers and dare I say...no bra...did I mention it is quite nipply...oops I meant nippy out there.... :)



So far she has logged over 80 miles over the last couple of months. That seems crazy far to me. The fun part for me is seeing the actual races though. Since I'm too much of a wimp to stay and run with her at practice it is fun to see her actually "run like the wind" in the races.



She is the one on the far right in front. I know it's a terrible shot of her but 20 girls all with pigtails in my cameras viewfinder doesn't make it easy to pick ones daughter out. I'm just feeling lucky she was in the shot at all.



They run anywhere from 1 1/2 - 2 miles for the races. They usually run against 3 other schools in the district. So she competes against all the 4th grade girls from those 4 schools. So far she has had two races and has done great. First race she came in 4th, which I thought was fabulous, but she was a bit disappointed because she said she could have run faster. So Wednesdays race she showed us that she definitely could and came in 1st place. YEAH!



I love the shirts they picked out this year for running club. On the front it says "We're the roadrunners(school mascot)...you've been warned!!! And on the back it says "Beep Beep"! Cute huh?




We are so proud of Kiana (and her competitive nature...which does come from me....wait, did I say that out loud?) and know that she can do anything she sets her mind too.



Go Ki Go!

Just Because.....

I was downloading my pictures onto my computer and I found one that really made me smile.

McKenna loves to go around the house and take pictures with my new camera and let me tell you some of the things she has taken pictures of are ummmm...let's just say...interesting. Lots of her baby doll, her toes, herself extremely close up, my legs...you get the idea. Anyway when I came across this one I couldn't help but smile. I love that she unknowingly documented a tender moment for me.


Roses from my honey.

Nope it wasn't my birthday or anniversary or anything fancy like that. He said it was "just because"! I love that he is such a romantic and knows that "just because" is way more tender to me than "it's a special occasion so I should". Now whenever I see this picture that my little 4yr. old took I will remember how much I am loved...."just because".

Christmas Day

All the stress and shopping and baking are so worth it when you see the smiles on the faces of your family Christmas Day!

Santa was the hero again for us at our house. We love that he leaves us exactly what we asked for (no coal) and eats our cookies too.

I especially love the lounging around and playing with all the new games and toys and eating yummy food and stocking treats all day. Then cozying up and watching a great movie at the end of it all. I love the pure joy that this special day gives to my family and I am so sad when it ends. (Apparently at my house this year I subconsciously must not want it to end though because I STILL(check the date) have my tree up...lights and all. It's almost getting embarrassing at this point but who has the time. Especially when I would rather blog instead ;) Jon has only been able to enjoy it on the weekends anyway so I'm doing it for him (right?)).

I would really be naughty and ungrateful though if I didn't express my love and appreciation for my Savior, Jesus Christ because without him and his birth I wouldn't be able to have this wonderful day to always remember what's most important. Jesus is the reason for the season and the giving to others side of this holiday really is the best part. Our family had the opportunity to help others this year and it really felt good. I just wish the feelings we have around the Christmas season could last all year. It is the middle of January and I feel it fading already. Bah Humbug :(

At least I have pictures to help me remember.

It was indeed a very Merry Christmas!