Happy Halloween!

Well, we made it through another Halloween, and survived the costume stress. The kids all had their minds made up a month ago (except Zach, who made the final decision this afternoon at four and went out at six!). The two boys wanted to be army guys, and after looking through a few racks at different stores, I came to the conclusion that I would have to sew their costumes, and was able to find a pattern. Hayley wanted to be a pirate, so I ended up sewing hers (without a pattern - don't look close!) Needless to say, I started a month ago, and finished costumes tonight at 5 pm. All the sewn ones were finished earlier this week, and Zach had so many ideas, I tried finding a few items to go along with his nerd idea, but failed, so alas at 4 pm today, he decided upon a biker dude (My favorite part of Zach's costume was the tattoo on his arm with MOM written inside a heart!). I guess that is the nice thing about older trick-or-treaters, the more thrown together the better! I am so glad to have that chaos behind me, I think I will be hitting the discount racks next week for next years costumes!

For the first year, Zach and Hayley went with friends, so Kris took the two little ones around, while I enjoyed the peace and quiet of three groups of trick-or-treaters, the third group being my own two little soldiers! Just as we were getting our pre-Halloween pictures, the skies opened up and started to rain. Our dry weather pattern just had to end tonight! It sprinkled for a little bit, then cleared, then sprinkled, so it wasn't too bad! At least it wasn't snow! All in all, it was a great, spooky day! Hope you all had a happy and safe Halloween!

Early tomorrow, we head for Grand Junction, Colorado for Grandpa Larson's 80th Birthday bash! We'll post that one next week...

Pirate Adventures

Well, I survived the last of the birthday parties for the year. I have concluded that it is best to throw the same party twice, the reason, the second time around, it turns out better! This was true for Justin and Tyler's pirate party. Justin's party was in February, and Tyler's was last weekend. Luckily, I was smart enough to save all of the work I put into Justin's for Tyler's, and smart enough to throw them the same party, different friends! I think I even kept Tyler's to a half hour shorter, and added a couple of different games/crafts (thanks Missie!). Everything went smoothly (I credit that to having Kris around this time), and the kids had a great time! Next year's parties...No friend parties, just doing something fun with the family! I think I like next year already.

Trick Or Treat Bags

One of the things I love about Utah is the local television shows. I don't know if other states have these, but we have a couple I love to watch. They usually showcase local businesses and entrepreneuers. I have to say, there is a lot of talent in Utah. That's probably why there are several young talents that are making it to the end in several reality shows (American Idol, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing with the Stars, I'm sure there's more...) Anyways, Good Things Utah and Studio 5 are great programs that give lots of good recipes and great ideas for everything. The other day on Good Things Utah, they had a lady on that showed how to make cute Halloween bags out of the Walmart recycle bags. They are already black, and are 100% recycled. They are like a canvas bag, very sturdy. And they only cost $1.00! Anyways, you take leftover scrap material and cover the words on the front of the bag with cute Halloween decor. You can either sew it on or glue it on! Can't be any easier, and they will be good for several years. Check out the directions here:

http://www.kmckaydesigns.com/

I've already bought the bags, now I just need to find time to decorate them! Enjoy!

Tyler's Birthday!

Five years ago today, my baby was born. Tyler Ethan was the last of the Larson's (at least we were pretty sure he was going to be; there are still days when we question whether he should be the last, usually come up with the same answer-yes!). I remember the day he was born, the weather was a beautiful fall day, we had been enjoying a late indian summer here in Utah. Aunt Patsy came to stay with the three other kids, while Kris and I had an early start off to Jordan Valley Hospital, which I had been to 20 months prior to this. You see, Tyler was a bit of a surprise, a good surprise! When his older brother, Justin was 11 months old, somehow, mommy got pregnant again! There were a lot of tears (happy and sad), and then we accepted our fate of having two kids close together.

It was another inducement, fortunately for me. I was always quick to get my epidural, which I learned after my first baby. During the epidural, my steady support (aka Kris) all of a sudden disappeared while I was holding onto him! Somehow, he had fainted as he was staring down my back at the epidural needle! Just as quickly, the nurse stepped into his place so the anesthesiologist could finish his job, while at the same time, paging for some help for my 6 foot 4 inch husband, who was down for the count! Oxygen was pulled out for him, some smelling salts, and then he started to stir. Take note, don't watch an epidural on an empty stomach! Luckily, he was okay, just a little pale.

Several hours later, Tyler was brought into this world. He was the most beautiful baby with a head full of dark hair. We knew we were having a boy (he was the only baby we ever found about the sex before hand), and his older siblings couldn't have been any happier. He has been such a good addition to our family, and I can't imagine life without him. He is best friends with his brother, Justin, and on most occasions, he is willing to beat up his twelve year old brother when Zach has done something to hurt Hayley. He grew a little more quickly than mommy would have liked, passing up his 6 year old brother (and outweighing him!).

Here is a birthday interview with Tyler:

"What was your favorite birthday present?" My corvette and my race car track.

"What's your favorite color?" Um, it's red.

"What's your favorite food?" Um, it's spaghetti and chicken. (Good thing that's what's for dinner tonight!)

"Who is your favorite brother or sister?" My favorite brother is Zach and Justin, and my favorite sister is Hayley and Mom.

"What's your favorite thing to do?" Play with my race car set.

"Where's your favorite place to go?" Um, Lagoon.

"What's your favorite Primary song?" I Am A Child of God.

Good answers, birthday boy! I love you!

Fall Fun

This time of year is a favorite at the Larson household. One of Kris' favorite things to do, and quickly becoming one of Zach's favorites is the deer/elk hunt. It seems we are finally nearing the end of this season (thank goodness!). I swear it is the reason my blood pressure was so high last fall, but anyways... This year on the first day out, Kris missed his first deer right over the top, and as karma would have it, he didn't see any more (of the right flavor) for the rest of the deer/elk season. At least he got one shot off. Zach tends to enjoy just being outdoors and with his dad, so all's good!

Another favorite thing to do, is to head to Pack's Pumpkin Patch (a local place in Farmington) for the Halloween pumpkins. This is a great place to pick up pumpkins (it sure beats going to Harmon's which is what we usually did). There are acres of pumpkins laying around waiting for the kids to pick one. It also has a fun little hay maze that's fun for the little ones. I remember when we lived in Draper, and thought that going to Harmon's and fishing through the big pile of pumpkins and trying to find the nicest one on top, was fun. The kids have so much more fun doing it this way. Of course, this year we were smart, and told the kids to not pick so many, and such big ones, because carving the pumpkins is not one of Kris' and my favorites!

We also tried something new this year with the kids. We took them to a haunted house! We took advantage of our Lagoon season passes, and went to Frightmares on Friday night. Standing in line, there were lots of teenagers, some families, and us with our little ones. I tried looking up and down the line to see if I could see some kids about Tyler and Justin's size, but I didn't see any. At times, I felt guilty for subjecting my small children to this, but after waiting over an hour in line, I was not going to not go through the haunted house! The kids actually enjoyed standing in line. There were several scary monsters walking up and down the lines, and once Justin and Tyler got used to them, they were enjoying it. Hayley probably had the most fun. One of the characters scared her several times and kept coming back, because she screamed every time! Once we got inside, we were prepared to carry the little ones the whole way through, but Tyler wanted to walk the whole way. Justin wanted to be carried, but mommy didn't mind. It really wasn't as scary as we thought it would be. Lots of strobe lights, hanging things from the ceiling, neon polka dot rooms with people dressed to camouflage in with the polka dots, etc. For the most part, the teenagers who ran the spook house were very observant of the little guys and didn't scare us too much! The kids walked away with smiles on their faces and lots to talk about. Not bad, I think we can try this one again next year!

Craft Time - Ribbon Holder

Okay, so one of my hobbies that I love, is Scrapbooking. Sometimes, that hobby involves more collecting of supplies than actual scrapbooking, but it is still something that makes me happy. Recently on a local program, they demonstrated how to make a ribbon holder for scrapbooking. I immediately knew this was something that would look cute and organize my scrap area. I decided to modify it a bit, finding my supplies much easier than the ones used in the demonstration. The one I made, holds 14 different ribbons. The supplies needed are: an acrylic clear box, crop-a-dile, eyelets, ribbon, an embellishment, a wooden knob, and acrylic paint. This is super easy and can be finished in 15 minutes.

First thing you want to do, is measure and mark your spots for the holes. I had 5 holes along the long sides, and 2 holes on each end. (My measurements were 1", 2 1/2", 4", 5 1/2", and 7" for the long side, and 1 1/4", and 2 3/4" on the ends.) Next, take the crop-a-dile, and punch holes using the larger hole punch. I set my crop-a-dile so that I could put the crop-a-dile in as far as it could go. Then punch. It might make a small crack, but it will be covered with an eyelet. I was able to make 3 boxes without one box breaking! The crop-a-dile is an amazing tool that can be used for fabric, leather, acrylic, paper, wood, chipboard, and more! It is definitely a must-have tool! After punching holes, set eyelets using your crop-a-dile.

Then, paint wooden knob with acrylic paint. A great tip I learned, is to stick a q-tip in the hole on the bottom, and paint the knob, holding the q-tip, then after, tape q-tip to table to let dry. When dry, glue to the lid. Glue a ribbon, around the box, add embellishment. Then you can add your ribbon inside and thread ribbon through eyelet holes!

Tagged?!

Well, apparently I have been tagged! Thanks Missie! Anyways, I don't know what this means, but according to her blog, she listed 7 things about her, so that is what I will try to do...(By the way, Missie, this is draft #2. The first one I did at 6:30 this morning, and a half hour later, somehow I lost it all. I told you how most of my blogs are done twice before being published! Frustrating! Needless to say, this will be the shorter, more edited version.)

1) I taught myself how to crochet, thanks to a book named "Stitch'n Bitch Crochet, The Happy Hooker" No joke! And a very good book with great details that made something as difficult as crocheting so easy! I was taught as a young kid to crochet a single chain, but no one ever had the patience to teach me to go further. Now I can!

2)I met my hubby at a dance club (The Edge) and never even danced with him. Yep! My friend Stacy and I liked to frequent the Provo dance clubs, and decided to give the Edge a try. I remember that I had noticed a cute guy dancing with a group of people, but I was never the type to ask a guy to dance, so I stood on the sidelines while Stacy got stuck dancing with some guy for a while. Well, that cute guy came over and talked to me for a few minutes, got my number after we found out he lived down the hill from me with his sister. He then headed back to the group and left me hanging. I was a little disappointed he didn't ask me to dance, but 14 1/2 years later, I have had several dances. Love you Kris!

3) I am deathly afraid of heights! I remember a time when at a fourth of July party at my Uncle Darrell's, everyone climbed a ladder to the top of his roof to watch the fireworks. Going down was much worse, and my dad had to climb up and practically carry me down! I was 20 years old!

4) I dated a rocker once! Stacy and I met some guys skiing (don't ever date anyone you meet skiing) and they looked to be like decent guys. You can never tell with all the coats and snowpants, very misleading! Anyways, he called and invited me and Stacy to a Primus concert with him and some buddies. The radio station we listened to at the time played one Primus song that seemed okay. Didn't know they were a rock band! Anyways, it was one long night, thank goodness I was with Stacy. The highlight was running into the next door neighbor (we'll call him Greg J.) and he was smoking something with some friends at the concert, and asked me not to say anything to his parents!

5) While we are on the dating theme, my first kiss was with a polygamist! Yes, I went on like three dates with him before my mom and dad's detective work (I guess the clues of 15 brothers and sisters and the last name of Barlow helped) put an end to that romance. Nice guy, wrong family! I will never live that one down!

6) I like most crafts (scrapbooking, sewing, etc.)

7) I once wanted to be a Hairstylist when I grew up, but my mom told me to do something with myself. Still wish I would have pursued that one a little more. What a useful thing to be able to do! (I cut all the boys hair in my family, that is about as close as I will come to that one. Have you ever seen a thirty-something student at a Beauty School?)

I made it through for the second time, and I am going to hit save and publish right now!

Can I tag you again Missie?!

Fall Canning

It seems my sister and I are on the same wave-length today. It must have been the way we were raised, remembering our mom canning in the fall from the garden. She just posted on her blog today about 72 hour kits, which you can read about here:

http://www.fairlyscrumptious.blogspot.com/

I was sitting at a soccer game last night talking to one of Zach's friend's mom, and she mentioned she had been busy canning lately. She had canned butter the night before. Yes, butter. And all you use is sticks of butter, melt them down, pour in pint bottles, shake, shake some more, then put in fridge. And best of all it looks like regular butter and has a shelf life of 3 to 5 years! I am so doing this! I found this website if any one else is interested, here it is:
http://simplicityfirst.wordpress.com/2008/04/24/canning-butter/

Happy canning!