holiday update!

We have had a busy holiday season! (just like everyone else in this world!) So here is an update of our crazy life! nothing like two little boys who fall asleep....at the same time...in the same position

We've tried extra hard to teach the boys about the "true meaning of Christmas"- And to remember the Savior- and if they haven't remembered any of it- at least they know that "Jesus is the light of the world." (or woreeld as Cade says...)

I was trying to get the older boys off to school and Dax likes to play with the magnets in Austin's room- so he gets ditched there quite often throughout the day. This is how I found him the other day- asleep, face down in between two pillows!

Cassie, Brett, Taylor and new baby JACK are in town!! We love them so much and are so happy they are here!! Jack is the sweetest baby ever- and Taylor is the same silly Taylor just a little taller and talking more! Welcome home!!(for a minute at least!)

I have to fight Austin to hold baby Jack Jack- oh, he is such a sweetie!!

The annual Larsen family party is always a fun, loud, crazy time! Santa was great- all the boys loved him, even Dax. Cade was the last one out of 21 cousins to sit on his lap. He waited very patiently until it was his turn! It was cute to watch him stick his lip out every time he called someone else name- but he never cried!

that's a lot of kids! and we're only missing one baby! Cyndy and Josh just had their baby.

Sweet baby boy- Griffin Jake Larsen! Welcome to the family!! Pictures coming...

and don't forget the gingerbread houses- I don't know if Cade ate more treats than what made it to the house or not- but it was fun! and messy! This video is SO CADE- just dancing and hanging out in his own little world- what a nerd.- and the background noise- is the 16 adults and 21 kids partying!

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas!! We are so blessed with great friends and family!

funny kids...

it's been a while- and I don't have any cute pictures, but MY KIDS have been saying some pretty hilarious things and if I don't write them down, I will forget- and these can not be forgotten!

My dad was showing Austin his gun collection- showing him how to cock the guns and Austin was Loving it! He would play around with each gun and then move on to the next. Well, he couldn't figure out one gun and he says, "how in the hell do you cock this thing?"
We are not cussers in our house so it is HILARIOUS that he said this!! He has been watching Home Alone so I think that's where he got this from?! Who knows- but too funny!

Dave and I put the kids to bed and we were watching TV. Well, Cade's thing after he gets in bed is "I just have to tell you one more thing" , then he walks out and tells us anything he can think of...

Cade: "I jumped off a really high cliff"
Dave: "really?"
Cade: "yea... You have to get me a drink of water."
Dave: "will you please get me a drink of water."
Cade: "will you please get me a drink of water."

Cade: " I'm Awesome."


When we were at the dentist months ago we discovered that Cade has a "cross-bite". The other day I noticed a cut on Cade's tongue and I asked him if he bit his tongue and he said, "no, it's just a cross bite"

family pictures

so blessed

So, It has been a LONG couple of weeks and things have been extra crazy than normal! So I thought I would just give a quick update- this will be long -WARNING!

Yes, I know it cliche- but over the last few weeks I have had SEVERAL moments to reflect and remember how BLESSED I am. I am usually too into Christmas to really get into Thanksgiving- but this year I am not going to just let November pass me by without thinking about all that I am grateful for.

On November fourth we discovered that Dave has Type one diabetes. WHAT?? Seriously, when he first starting hinting at thinking he had it- I just ignored him. Yeah right. Isn't diabetes for old people...(shows how smart I am!) And when he came home from the neighbors (he borrowed their glucometer to check his blood sugar) he was much more emotional than I have ever seen him. And I knew it must be bad. So we went to the hospital only to discover that he truly did have diabetes. So after a long night in the hospital- we woke up to a new world- I can't even describe the feelings that I felt over the next few days. scared. worried. sick. pressure. completely OVERWHELMED by the unknown... (I can't imagine what Dave must of been thinking)-

Now that we are on week two, things are getting better. I'm learning more about diabetes than I ever thought I would and I am learning how to count carbs! We are on the switch to sugar free treats and much healthier living! (I still cry over this one!- I think I'm going to become a closet treat eater, but I've found that eating a big bowl of ice-cream isn't so fun when you are alone.)

I am so thankful for Dave. I am thankful for all that he does for our family! I'm thankful that he was aware of what was going on so that we could catch this before it got too out of hand. I'm SO thankful that shots don't affect him, that he doesn't have a soda addiction and that he doesn't "love" ice-cream, or treats too much. He teases that he has a been a diabetic in training his whole life! (what a trooper)

I'm thankful for his positive outlook on life. He is amazing and I'm thankful that he is always uplifting me and supporting me. I don't know what I would do without him! He is such a great daddy- his boys love him so much and I hope that they turn out just like you. If anyone can do this, it's you babe...

I need to thank our families for all the help they've given us with the boys- and especially Mike and Andrea- I think I called Andrea every day for a week straight- You both are amazing and it means a lot to have such good friends! I'm always amazed at how so many people just want to help! We've had many phone calls and many people who have been a great support- sending info on diabetes, cook books, recipes, and visits- it's been great and very helpful!

So now it's into a new, and a little bit different life. if you find any good low carb recipes I would love to hear about them!! (and watch out- Dave's got lots of diabetic jokes...Not sure how long those will last...He's starting to sound like my dad with all of his lawyer jokes...:))

All in all I am thankful for the gospel, for prayer, families, and for our Savior. Happy Thanksgiving!!

my baby is crawling

ok, he's been crawling for a while now- but I just had to show the video... and I LOVE that he is really playing with a car- already!! He's only nine months old!! SO CUTE!

trick or treat...

Happy Halloween everyone!!

cade and taylor

I was just browsing through my pics from the summer and found these two videos that we took of Cade and Taylor- TOO FUNNY!! Only problem is it made me miss my Taylor girl like crazy!! Enjoy!!

KIDS!.....

Things have been pretty much the same old around here- My life is feeling very monotonous and I am in desperate need of a VACATION...

my sweet hubby surprised me and got us tickets to THRILLER by Odyssey- We had a fun date night with no kids- and It was very relaxing! I love going to dance concerts, I always critique and think in my head- "I could totally do that..." and then I remember that I've had three kids and can't even touch my toes anymore- ha! (and back in the day, I know I was never that good anyway....BUT, I CAN spin a rifle like it's nobodies business!)

I feel like life with kids is constantly changing- we'll have times where I feel like we've totally got the parenting thing down, and then the next day the monsters come out and I wonder how my kids will ever survive with a mother like me...

Like now, we are definitely in a struggle...my sweet Cade (imagine that) is going through a "testing phase"- he is constantly testing me and seeing how far he can push me. I never knew I could feel so many different emotions in one day, sometimes even in five minutes. He is so dang smart and I know he's just playing me- examples...

I leave Dax in a room with Cade and walk away for 30 seconds...Dax starts screaming and I run back in the room to Cade either smothering him, pushing him over, pulling on his legs, or whatever it might be and I instantly yell, "CADE!" and he looks at me, "oh sorry mom, I forgot"... (seriously this happens at least 75 times everyday.)

on the flip side- Some cute things that he's doing right now

He is totally confused about BYU and UTAH. For those of you who don't know, Dave is a HUGE Utah fan, and my dad and Dave's dad are both BYU fans- so the grandpa's are always trying to get the boys to be BYU fans- (this does not go over well with dave.) Well, I got a phone call from Cade's preschool teacher and this what she tells me...

"Today at school I told the kids to go find their favorite colored toy and Cade says, "I'm going to get a BYU color!....because they don't SUCK!" and then he brought me a RED toy!"

Cade is always saying "GO BY-UTES", and "I want to give you a BYU hug"....weird!

And Austin is another topic too- He's learning how to tell me "no"- and although he is still very obedient- he has figured out how to throw his own fits. It usually consists of his hand going immediately to his eye to cover up the tears that are forming. I am just thankful that he will listen and we can usually talk about what ever is bugging him and figure out a way to fix it. negotiation- a daily occurrence in our house.

The greatest thing about having a five year old in the house- is that he is such a great helper and he is pretty much independent! I love that he can dress himself (I have to choose the clothes), he brushes teeth alone, he even hangs his backpack up after he gets home from school- without me asking! He loves to "tend" dax and he's always very helpful in getting me diapers- now, if he could just change them! :)

and this brings me to Dax- my Sweet baby boy has got to be teething- he has been such a grump today and he is such a MAMMA'S boy!!- and he is officially crawling! He's not too fast (which is nice) but he is definitely mobile! (and I hate that!)

So after this novel I am feeling guilty about being so negative!- I guess I'll have to hurry and do a new post and write about how much I love my kids! Because I DO! I really do!!

so not meant to be a mother of boys...

really? Boys? Stinky, sweaty, bugs, snakes, and FROGS. Well, a frog- GROSS! Seriously, I really don't think I was meant to have all boys- I can't tell you how bad I HATE everything I just listed above- but a few weeks ago my sister (who is a mother of four boys) brought Austin home from playing and in his hand was a slimy frog! I did not want that thing anywhere near me- they are disgusting! Even the joy that gross thing brought to my boys was not worth how yucky it was! So they made him a home in a bucket in our back yard and finally it was time to take him to the stream and let him go. I couldn't even hold the plastic thing it was in- Boy was I glad to see him go!

On the Austin Update- he has gotten to be the VIP in school this week. Not sure exactly what it means other than that he gets to hold the door open for all the kids on their way to recess, and that he gets to be the special helper for the teacher- but man has he loved it! He is really liking kindergarten and I am learning that homework is not going to be so fun!

I know that my last post was all about the crazy wrestling matches that go on at our house constantly, but I can't resist a moment like this...I had just gotten the boys out of the bath, I got Dax dressed, and left him in his room....when I came back to get him this is what I saw. (don't mind cade in the nude- he is my "free spirit")- All three of them were playing so quietly!! This sight was SO CUTE! They were showing dax different toys and cade was "reading" him this book...Just goes to show that yes, we do have some peaceful, happy moments in our life too! Daxton is growing like crazy! He is so much fun and I just can't ever get enough of him!! Right now he is loving popcorn. Not sure he should really have it- but he LOVES IT! He gets so excited and it's so cute to watch him chomp it with his chubby cheeks and his lips go in this straight line across his face- like a bitter beer face/old grandpa face...too cute for words...

He is almost crawling which I am so sad about! He gets up on all fours and then he leans forward and drops right on his belly- he's got the backwards movement down pat, and he call roll anywhere he wants to go- any day he'll be on the move, then I'm really in trouble!! And watch out Cade- I think Dax has attitude!

And on the Cade update...He always has some kind of battle wound and the newest is across his face- he ran full speed into a dresser. It was pretty sad, but he's got a cool scrape to show for it. But the best part of this whole incident is...the day after he scraped his face he was over at Celesta's and she found him and Kambree painting their faces- well, his scratch was still open so the paint got in the scratch and stained it purple. So yes, he went to school with that paint all over his face. (I joke that he is my homeless child- because pretty much he wears whatever he wants, he won't let me do his hair (and he's in desperate need of a haircut), and he doesn't wear shoes or underwear- ever! (like I said before, my "free spirit")

(the blue under his nose is not paint...just some Gatorade...) ha!

the JOY of BOYS

austin vs cade and the winner is...
sometimes cade



sometimes austin

either way one(or both) always end up crying! what am i going to do when dax joins the fight?

school boys...

I am slow...but better late than never!! My boys started school last week- yes both boys in school!! I have to admit I felt a bit Naked the first day without my two boys...but I'm learning to love the buff!! Austin is in Kindergarten and he is liking it so far! He has a lot of friends from his preschool in his class so that helps! And at the last minute I decided to put Cade in preschool. He may now have 3 years of preschool- but I've decided that might be better for his health...and mine....:) here they are (don't be shocked that they both are wearing something other than basketball shorts and nasty old t-shirts! They clean up nice huh!

Cade's teacher is Miss Marsha (he says it so CUTE with his lisp) and his best buddies Max and Davis are in class with him! He's also met a cute girl named Taylur (this could be the beginning of my little heart breaker)

Austin and his best friend Isaac...these two are inseparable! They are both in different classes- so you can imagine the reunion at recess...Austin even made sure to include how glad he was that he got to see Isaac at recess in his prayers! (don't look to close at his shoes- of course we have lost his NEW shoes I just bought him for school- so the night before school started my sis-in-law Shalice lent us some shoes- don't worry that they are two sizes too big- but of course, he loves them!

The boy in front of Austin and the boy behind him are twin brothers- Mason and Tyson- they both have the cutest red hair- just like my boy! Austin loves to play with them- I'm not sure how he tells them apart- they are cute friends!

my baby is six months old

First off I have to say congrats to Darbee on her new baby! When I got the text this morning telling me that she had just had a new sweet baby boy I have to admit that I got jealous! I looked over at my big beefy baby and I almost cried because I can't believe how big he is getting! It feels like it was just yesterday that we were in the hospital with him! Don't get me wrong- I LOVE the stage that he is in...he is so active and smiley and giggly and so fun- but there is just something about a brand new baby that melts my heart. So I've been looking back at pictures of him in the hospital trying to remember that "new baby smell" and trying to remember holding him on my chest- ohhhhh.....I need to go see Darbee's baby....tommorrow....or right now....

chocolate chip cookie anyone?....

mmm....that looks good....
maybe just a bite...

okay, I'll eat the whole thing....

Weddings!!

Thursday was Curtis and Megan's wedding...it was beautiful!! What a fun day! It couldn't have been more perfect! They got married in the bountiful Temple at 11:30, had a luncheon at the Wight house then off to the reception at the Davies' house... She looked fabulous- their colors were SO CUTE- and the kids looked darling!

Kimi and Charlie were in town for her little bro's wedding- so we got to see them. So fun! Look at her cute belly!

Hillary did all the flowers for the big day- she is amazing! Seriously- everything from the center pieces down to the bouquet- Thanks hill!! You rock!

the three baby boys...

what a HANDSOME boy!!!

Man I have a hot husband!

My THREE babies...

baby acrobats- he loves it!! (and this isn't even the half of what they can do!)

that is one HUGE family! Starts with My mom & dad...three boys and four girls...all of their spouses...and 20 grandkids with two on the way!