My little brother Austin received his mission call a few days before Christmas and will be going to...
...MACEIO BRAZIL! We are so excited for him and so proud of him... although we will miss him while he is gone for the next 2 years. It seems crazy to think that Aidan will be 6, Brinn 4, and little Baby Boy 2 by the time he gets back. 
Congrats Austin!
Still Catching Up...
Little Brinn proudly displaying her artwork...
If you will notice, Brinn's clothes are backwards and inside out. That is because Brinn is Little Miss I Do It! Most recently she wants to pick out her own outfits... and if I pick one out she does not approve of she will be sure to let me know... "That not cute Mom." But when she approves... "How cute," or "Cute shirt Mom" in the most over-exaggerated tone possible.
And yes, this was mid-November, and yes, it was warm enough for my kids to be running around in summer clothes. At the time I was ready for the cold... and now that it's here I am looking forward to the warm spring weather. 
This girl keeps us on the go... Always. I think the phrase we use often with her is, "She is going to give us a run for our money." So much attitude and personality but so so so much fun!
Still Catching up...
Aidan finished his soccer season back in November...
At the end of each game the parents make a tunnel for all the players to run though. (I think sometimes the kids look more forward to this than the game itself.) Here is Aidan going through his last tunnel of the season. So what that he scored a goal for the other team that day... doesn't seem to bother him a bit...(Just how I like it!) 
Here he is with Coach Matt... obviously you can see the excitement in his face from receiving his first trophy!
Still Catching Up...
While in Washington I got to visit with one of my best friends, Kathleen, and her cute family. We have not seen each other in 3 years so it was great to visit again and let the kids play... after all Aidan and Mia do have an arranged marriage.
Brinn was IN LOVE with Ella...
Aidan and Mia spent their time playing "Temple" and "Marriage" and no this was not instigated by us although made us very proud!
Lance and David played "Daddy Daycare" while Kathleen and I hit up New Moon...
Kathleen, Lance, and kids...
Brinn and Maddi playing house...
Aidan and Mia playing "trick-or-treat"
Aidan and Mia dancing (Love the action shot!) In fact all 4 kids joined in on the fun and still weeks later my kids will chant, "Go Mia, go Mia, it's your birthday." or "Go Maddi, Go Maddi, GO." 
What a fun time! Thanks again for letting us stay. Hopefully it won't be another 3 years before we can see each other again!
We got passes to Six Flags this year for Christmas and Aidan went the other day with my family. He is now tall enough to ride some of the big rides and my brother recorded his first ride on Tony Hawk. It's pretty funny!
What a blogging slacker I have been lately! Time to get going...
So here are like a hundred pictures from our trip to Washington....
Morisa and Tami, the birthday girls...
David and Alan Jr. sporting their manly beards...
David and Jeff...
Aidan and his cousin Miranda...
Taking time for a little time with Dad...
Game nights with the family...
Three little cousins: Brinn, Tayvin, and Jayah. It's funny because Tayvin is 6 months younger than Brinn and tall, Jayah is 6 months older than Brinn and short, and Brinn is right in the middle and average which makes them all about the same height. 
Thanksgiving Dinner...
Proof that I was actually there too. David and I celebrated our 7 year anniversary while there and got to enjoy a night out with just the two of us!
Here is where a picture of David, Robert, and Derek went that I just erased... I will add it soon!
And finally, Aidan and Mekhi!
Thanks Tami for letting us stay with you. It was so fun to catch up with everyone and let the kids spend time with their cousins. I have more pictures taken with Grandma and Grandpa but my computer is not cooperating. Oh well... it's a good start!
I was not sure what to title this post... Let's see... I thought about
Christmas Came Early for the Larson's or
I might be crazy!!! or
David said "Are you sure?"... I said "No, but let's do it anyways."
I think all would be fitting for this day! I have tonz of pics from our trip but I am going to show you what we did today first.
We set up our Christmas Tree... Tipped over on Aidan... Luckily before the decos were on... Christmas Tree Done!
David's mom was in town and we each opened a gift from her and David's Dad before she went home. We actually opened them with his Dad watching from Ukraine on Skype. That was fun!
Thanks Lynda for such a fun time, all the gifts, but mostly for being a great grandma and mom. 
We traded in this paper dog of Aidan's for...
this guy... It is an early gift for the kids for Christmas. Aidan named him Pretzel. We decided after all the months of Aidan praying for a dog the time had come for his prayers to be answered. He is a 12 week puppy that weights 22lbs so he is going to be a big guy! He is the sweetest thing, clam, gentle, good with the kids...
We are so excited to welcome him into our family and yet when I think about the other little guy joining our family in a few months I do think I might be crazy. I think if we can get him potty trained it will help a lot!
Merry Early Christmas from us to you!
