The Backyard Project!

Our backyard has been our summer long project and we are finally finished! We never knew putting in a small backyard could be so much work. We have gone about it step by step and done much of the labor ourselves to save money. We started back in May with hiring out to get our patio put in. We then decided to get the boys a playscape. When we purchased our playscape we got a big box of wood, pieces to the swings and slides, and a set of instructions. Needless to say, it took many hours to put it together.

My parents were then kind enough to come and visit at the end of July. They helped us put in the sprinkler system in the backyard. We finished in one long day! We all worked very hard and appreciate all of their knowledge and help to get it finished.


Once the sprinklers were in it was time to level the yard. We also needed to bring rocks in for the side of the house because there are restrictions in Colorado about putting grass within five feet of the foundation. Many people in the Elders quorum came and helped us knock out this project quickly. We served some breakfast burritos, doughnuts, and juice and they continued hard at work laying 14 cubic yards of dirt and 6 tons of rock in our backyard. They worked so quickly that we were done by noon! This would have been a project that would have taken Lamont and I several weeks.

The last step was to lay the sod. Our hometeacher and another friend came and helped us finish up the yard a couple weeks ago. Once again the work was finished quickly with many hands. We can now walk on the grass and I keep looking out in the backyard to check and see if our yard is really completed. We are so excited to finally have a yard for the boys to run around in, and appreciate all the help we had in making it happen. The only thing left is just to add some trees and shrubs and eventually a box garden, but I think that will have to wait until next spring.

Catching Up-

It seems like there has been so much going on lately and a lack of time for blogging. Where do I even start? I guess our time has been spent on a combination of things: the demands of Carter's new school, trying to get a grasp on my new calling, soccer season is back, McKay has begun his pre-school co-op, and on top of all that a new addicting manuscript from Stephenie Meyer (Midnight Sun). Where does all the time go? Here are some pictures from the past couple of weeks.

McKay on his first day of preschool


The soccer team
McKay getting in a little practice of his own

Labor Day Weekend

For labor day weekend we headed down to Angel Fire, New Mexico with some of Lamont's cousins to his aunt and uncle's cabin. It had been quite a while since we had spent some time together, and it was great for second cousins to get to know each other. Angel Fire was just beautiful and I was surprised at how mountainous it was. We enjoyed a relaxing weekend with family playing LOTS of games and having a BBQ. The boys tried to do a little fishing, and we even took the four wheelers out for a spin! Thanks Janene, Alicia and families for the fun!!

BYU 28 - Washington 27

Wow, check out that blocked kick!! Although the score ended up close, BYU clearly outplayed Washington and but for a goal line fumble, would've had another touchdown. Washington sure had luck and the referees on their side - except for the last two plays!! This was the first time BYU has blocked at PAT since Dec. 5th, 1998 vs. Air Force. But check out how the Washington player has a hold of Jan Jorgenson's jersey (#84) - one of about a dozen holding calls that should've been called against Washington.

FINALLY...

This is a blog posting that has been a long time in coming...after some struggles we are very excited to announce the upcoming birth of Baby Larsen #3 due on March 6. We are very excited and so far everything seems to be going well with the baby and pregnancy. We had a sonnogram last week and the baby was happily kicking away. I am doing well and am just having some normal fatigue and stomach aches. The boys are both very excited, and when we told them the news Carter immediately went downstairs to make sure there would be room for the baby at the dinner table. It looks like as the time draws closer we'll have to discuss what newborn babies can and can't do!

Carter's First Day of School

Today was finally Carter's first day of school. It seems like his school started later than a lot of the others - especially the year round schools. Carter has been very anxious to start. We bought his school supplies weeks ago and he has literally been counting down the days.

He had a good day today and immediately told me that they had Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk come and visit them because he lost his beans and needed help finding them. He is also very excited that Friday is pizza day for lunch and has already memorized his lunch number so that he doesn't "miss out" on pizza day. He also told me that it should be an even more exciting day than today because he would get to do math, art, music, and centers tomorrow. It was hard to feel sad at all this morning when I dropped him off because he was SO excited to finally be in school.

Take me out to the ballgame... and the Natural History and Science Museum

For some end of the summer fun we went to the Rockies baseball game on Saturday. It was "Rockies Rookies" night so the kids got to make a loop around the baseball field before the game started. The stadium is pretty large, so it was fun to get close and personal. Afterwards, the boys were extremely excited to meet the mascot Dinger the Dinosaur (first and last time- that line was nuts!). We then enjoyed the game with some hot dogs and peanuts. McKay especially loves the seventh inning stretch and sings as loud as he can. It was a fun way to spend our last Saturday evening before school gets started.


Previously, I also took the boys the the Natural History and Science museum. It was a cool museum and we all enjoyed ourselves there. That is one of the things that I really enjoy about Denver, there are so many museums and cool things to do pretty close to us. I am just beginning to learn about all of the fun places to take the boys.

Are you sure?!

This past Sunday I was sustained as our Ward Young Women President. To say the least, this is a very overwhelming calling for me. I have never served in the YW organization before and my only YW experience is my own. I couldn't help but wondering if the bishop was really sure about this. I know how things work in the Relief Society, but not the Young Women's. Once the bishop assured me that he was positive, I knew that I needed to accept. Last night was the first mutual night and I did survive. I do not even know any of the girls and none of them even knew who I was - I heard the teenage honesty of, "I wondered, 'who is that?' when you stood on Sunday." I guess it is just going to take some time for me to get organized and get to know all of the girls. Any advice out there from past or present YW leaders on what you found works well, activities you have liked, or balancing time with a very busy husband???

Ward Family Campout

Last weekend we headed to a beautiful area in the Colorado mountains for a little family campout with the ward. It has been a long time since we have camped together as a family. In fact, McKay has not been since he was a baby. We headed up last Friday after work only to move into a very heavy rainstorm. In my opinion, camping and rain don't mix. We ended up making a little pit stop to Wendy's so we would not have to roast our hot dogs in the rain. By the time we got to the campout it was just perfect because the rain had just stopped. The turnout at the camp was small, but those of us who were there had a great time and the rain even decided to stay away. The boys both slept well through the night, after I repositioned them in their sleeping bags several times.


In the morning we enjoyed some delicious breakfast burritos and pancakes. Afterwards we had some fun relay competitions with the other ward in the next campsite over. Lamont and I even participated in a couple of relays and a tug-of-war. The boys had a blast and are still talking about how much fun the campout was and wondering when we can go again. I guess we may have to hit the mountains one more time before the cool fall weather comes.

Swimming Lessons

Carter just finished a session of swimming lessons last week. It was four days a week for three weeks in lessons. This was great because Carter was able to have the consistency that he needed to really learn to start swimming. I noticed great improvements that he made over the course of three weeks. He was so proud when the session ended and he was advanced to the next level.




*McKay cannot do swimming lessons until he is three. He definitely has a fear of the water. There was a baby pool next to the big one where he was able to "play in" while Carter was in lessons. Actually, I was doing good just to get him to step all the way into the pool. So, I guess his lesson this summer was to overcome the fear of the water. I am not sure if he advanced to the next level, however. Oh well, there's always next summer!

Summer Fun!

We have done a lot of fun things this summer. But, now that we are finished with all of our trips, we are enjoying the summer here at home. We have spent a lot of time at neighboring parks with friends, several even have a splashpark. It took McKay a little while to warm up to running in the water, but now it is the perfect activity for a hot summer day. We also joined the summer reading programs at the library and Barnes and Noble. Carter received a free book from each and the boys also received various prizes. We always look forward to the summer reading program.


Recently my parents were in town to help us put in a sprinkler system (more to come on the backyard project later) and we took the boys bowling. They are still talking about this outing and both LOVED it! The smallest bowling shoes were a little too big for McKay, but he didn't seem to care and insisted upon wearing them anyway. It was so fun to watch the boys get such a kick out of bowling. I guess that is something that we will need to do again soon.

...6 Random things...

In answer to a tag from Amber, I thought it would be fun to share six random things about myself that maybe a lot of people don't know. So, here it goes...

1. I have lived in four cities in 7 years of marriage (Provo, UT; Austin, TX; Corpus Christi, TX; and Aurora, CO).

2. I am very good at hula hooping and can keep the hoop up for a VERY long time! I know, what talent!

3. I used to assist in Lasik eye surgery and have had it done myself - I would highly recommend it!

4. One of my favorite movies is and always has been Mary Poppins.

5. I used to debate in high school and always wanted to go to law school. (I am not sure anymore since I put Lamont through law school).

6. I think blogging is thereputic for me -it is my time to unwind while the boys are down for naps.