A House Divided!

Today is November 22nd, the big game is here. My poor children don't know who they are suppose to cheer for. Even our grandma is making BYU blankets to try and persuade them to our side. David walks around listing all the general authorities that are Utah fans and I finally had to tell him that President Hinckley and President Monson have a lot of redeeming qualities about them so cheering for the wrong team can be forgiven more easily. Some one will be disappointed after the game but I hope it is not me. GOOOOOOOO! COUGARS!

The 45 Minute Challenge

My younger brother Michael gets home from his mission the day before Thanksgiving. We are all so excited. Isaac has never heard of such a long "vacation" and he is still refusing to go on a mission because he doesn't want to be away from his family for so long. (I just realized I am rambling in Larsen fashion.) Back to the point of my blog. Michael will be home soon so Jessica challenged all the family members to do 45 minutes of cardio everyday until he gets home. Yuck! I didn't want to do it but then she accused Kim of being skinny fat and me of being just plain fat and she told me to get off the exercise fence. So it is day two of the 45 minute challenge and I just finished my workout. We'll see if it makes a difference.

"Toothbrush Episode"

Lucy has been into everything lately. It is hard to keep up with her. One of her favorite things to do is to take all the shoes off the shelves in my closet. Sometimes I will put them away three or four times a day. The other thing she has really liked lately is toothbrushes. A few days ago, I got out of the shower and she had my sonicare toothbrush, or so I thought. I took it from her, brushed my teeth and put my sonicare away in my drawer. Later that night David was getting ready for bed; he went to brush his teeth and he couldn't find his toothbrush. (David never loses or misplaces anything so he was perplexed.) I realized my earlier mistake immediately. Lucy didn't have my toothbrush; she had David's. I also realized that I had used it! (GROSS!) This "toothbrush episode" reminded me of how my older brother Jason use to torment me. He would always say to me " Hey which color toothbrush is mine, again?" Acting like he couldn't remember which one was his. Then I would pick up my toothbrush and it would be wet. It made me crazy and I couldn't understand why he didn't think it was gross. He claims that he didn't really use it but I am not quite sure if that is true or not. Now as a mother my kids have the same color toothbrush all the time. Truman's is blue, Isaac's green and Lucy's pink. There will never be confusion. I am against the sharing of toothbrushes and drinks.

Do you have a look alike?

We found this picture and everyone was amazed at the resemblance between David and Truman. (Even the ears are identical, I guess Truman will grow into them.) We showed the picture to Truman and asked him who it was and he thought it was him but he couldn't figure out who he was with. John and Amy I hope you are both okay with me putting this picture on my blog.

Amy, David, & Johnny

Truman & Isaac

Goodnight, sleep tight...

I have a cute story to tell about Isaac, but to fully appreciate the story you must know two things. David is out-of-town for the weekend, and Isaac has never been a good sleeper. I mean NEVER! So anyway, the first night David was gone; Isaac came up to sleep in my bed around midnight. He slept like a rock. It is amazing how soundly he sleeps in MY bed. I mean what is the difference? The next night he fell asleep on the couch and when I put him in bed he said to me, "Mom? Who is going to lay by you since Dad is gone?" I replied, "No one." Isaac (in his very cutest voice), "Mom, I can lay by you, because I don't want you to have to lay alone." This is both very sweet of him, because he hates to lay alone and exactly what he wants. So I say why not? ( No one was going to be in that space anyway.) We slept until almost 8 o'clock, not something I get to do very often. Right now, the third night, he is currently asleep waiting for me in my bed. Tomorrow night David is going to have a difficult time reclaiming his spot. Isaac is so funny and such a great kid. I really am glad to be his mom. I'm hoping to wake up to a clock that says 8 something. Goodnight.

Family Pictures

Does everybody hate having their family picture taken or is it just me? Sunday we met Kimberly and she took some pictures for us. There are a few good shots so it is worth it, right. Kim please do not think me ungrateful because I am not but family pictures are stressful to me. I guess you go to all the work to get everyone looking their best and then you have to hope you can all look your best all at the same time. It is tricky. Here are a couple of my favorites.

Come on Lucy, look at your Aunt Kimberly.

He is so handsome. I can't stand it!

I have always thought he has luscious lips. I tell him to save his kisses for his mama.

I love having a little girl.

It was a beautiful setting. Thanks Kimma. You are getting to be good. Practice on us anytime.

Ridgetop Trunk-or-Treat

I have mixed feelings about trunk-or-treat. I really liked trick-or-treating as a kid. I think people like the kids to come to their door and I think trunk-or-treat really takes away from this. We really don't get many trick-or-treaters. I partially blame trunk-or-treat. (It is also a very lazy way to trick-or-treat. ) I do actually like seeing all the kids in their costumes though. We didn't win the costume contest but I think we should have won something. My soup was good. Here is a picture of Lucy all tuckered out. Take note of the sucker.

Halloween Costumes

These pictures are lousy. I am very sad about my good camera dying. The point-and-shoot is crappy! The happy pumpkin, dashing Dracula and a fierce lion.

"I want to suck your blood."My happy jack-o-lantern.Cutie pie!

Minestrone Soup

My friend Heather requested my Minestrone Soup Recipe. (I got it from David's aunt.) It is delicious!

1/2 lb bacon

1/2 lb sausage

1 onion (I use sweet yellow)

1/2 t garlic powder

1/3 c fresh parsley

2 t dried sweet basil (spice island SWEET basil)

2 cans bean with bacon soup

2 cans beef broth

1 qt tomatoes

6 celery stalks with leaves

3 carrots

2 c finely shredded cabbage (I use bagged coleslaw)

3 small zucchini

1 c frozen peas

Brown bacon, sausage and onion. In a large pot on low heat add soup, broth, tomatoes and spices. Begin chopping veggies. I like them chopped finely. Simmer soup for about 1 hour. I don't like to over cook veggies. Add the frozen peas at the very end or they turn gray green.

This soup is delicious and quite healthy. The sweet basil is apparently one of the tricks. Hope you enjoy.