Caleb's Supercub Tour

Caleb has his SuperCub (choir) Tour today. I was able to chaperone and it was so good. The kids were sssssooooo excited to ride the bus! (Our school has no bus service- walking school).

Our first stop was Wal-Mart. Okay, so Caleb goes to choir practice every single week and tells me how much he loves it. The way he is in this picture is how he was the whole time. His lips barely moved. He would just look at me and smile every now and then.

Mr. B is an amazing teacher. He reminds me of Jack Black in the movie School Of Rock. He just gets out there and dances with the kids and makes funny noise. And the kids even had air guitar solos. Funny!

The group that I was in charge of.

After Wal-Mart and the Senior center we ate at Pizza Man. The most de-lish pizza. (I was so dedicated to eating well that I brought an apple and home made granola only to come home and eat fudge that someone dropped off while I was gone.) After we were done eating we went to go load up on the bus...

Only to of found that our bus driver parked it in some really deep snow and got it stuck. So we sat in Pizza Man for 35 minutes longer and sang more songs.

Need some Vitamin D

This is a crappy picture but you get the idea. So I'm started to get a little tired of the dark. I took this picture last Friday at 10am. STILL DARK! Okay, so we did have some cloud cover because it was going to snow but still. It's like this at 10 and dark by 4. It makes me want to have a 24hr nap.

Winter projects

So I finally finished a sewing project. It's a holiday snowman! You really can't tell from this picture but it's 50 inches tall. Great to hang on a door for winter.

Kali's Christmas program

Today was Kali's Kindergarten Christmas program. It was super cute. They sang a couple of song and Kali grinned the whole time. I totally forgot to put her in something red but oh well. She did a fabulous job.

All Madeline cared about was that after wards there were having cookies and hot chocolate. Of course we stood in the back near the table because we had a stroller so Madeline snuck over and got a juice. That's all she could think about. I think it was totally obvious that I either 1) don't give my children juice or 2) that I starve them because she drank 3 of them!

Jack was just awesome and chilled out the whole time. Poor kid. We found out last week that FOR SURE he's really allergic to peanuts. So I really have to watch what we give him especially when we're going potlucks.

Here's our proud singer. Good job Kali!

Law of Compensation

Okay so now that it's on private I can finally start blogging again. Sorry about that little disruption.

SO I got the best advice the other day. I mean this is the kind you have to write down to read over again, especially you MOMS! I was telling a friend about some of the upcoming trials that I know my family is going to go through with Aaron being gone. I was upset about it but one thing is for sure: The Law of Compensation! Elder Wirthlin's talk last conference was amazing. Actually I just gave his talk as a lesson for my VT this month. It's entitled: Come With May, and LOVE it. If you are doing all that you can be doing and faithful to the Lord he WILL compensate you. The kicker is it's on his TERMS and on HIS times table.

Okay on with the advice, so I was just talking away and my friend shared the most "light bulb" moment that I needed right then.

She said her dad shared this experience with her many years ago. He was working at BYU and riding his motorcycle on a four lane road. A little boy, about 8, wanted to cross the road so the car in the right hand lane stopped for the boy. He, the woman's dad, was approaching the left. A car pulled up behind the car in the right hand lane and couldn't see the boy and became impatient as to why the car had stopped so it swerved around the car to pass it. Her dad said at that moment the boy had begun crossing the street. In his mind he saw the little boy get hit...but he didn't. As the same moment that he SHOULD of stepped out in front of the left hand lane, where the impatient car was passing, the boy paused for a second. Not because he was looking for cars. He just paused. And during that pause is when that impatient driver passed. And then the boy just kept skipping home. Her father was shaken up but moments later it was reaveled to him that because of that mother's faithfulness that boy was saved. LAW OF COMPENSATION! As stay-at-home mom's sometimes we feel like "where are our blessings?!" We do our visiting teacher, read the scripture, try to raise faithful children, do the laudry, are taxi drivers, have a calling, and on and on. While we are sometimes frustrated wondering, "Lord, where are my blessings? Why don't you help me?" That day that mother was helped and will never know it. Her child was saved! Our blessings come sisters but most of the time we don't even see them. Maybe today it will be that your child doesn't develope a cancerous cell in their body. Maybe it will be that your husband gets home safely from that drunk driver on the road. This story brought me to my knees the other night. How grateful I am for the Law of Compensation.

UPDATE: Going to Private

Someone from my past found my blog so that's why I'm setting it to private. Aaron and I agree that setting it to private will secure our family's safety. I just thought I would give a little explanation why because many have emailed showing concern. So, next Monday is when you'll have to start logging in.

Going to private

I never wanted to do this but I'm being forced to set my blog to
private. If you would like to still have access please email me your
email address to jessica_e_larsen@yahoo.com. Sorry guys. I feel
horrible about this- it sucks.

Don't ask me how..

Just go to:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oklahoma_City_Oklahoma_Temple

Look at the picture on the right hand side...YEAH I KNOW! I'm so famous.

I love you

You are smart...I am dumb
You are handsome...I'm not
You have straight teeth....mine sorta are
You are tall...I'm short

What else??? Are you buttered up enough?! Thanks for accidentally buying me my mixer. I love you.

The evolving Mom

I've been changing so much lately and I give credit 100% to the amazing women that I'm hanging out with. Thanks to Steph for teaching how to make whole wheat bread (from scratch...as in we actually grind up the wheat). She's actually had to show me more than once bc I was making bricks with the amount of flour I was putting in. And her recipe is so good and healthy- no butter or oil!!! I feel so healthy! I just got off the phone with my mother-in-law and she has me stoked about pressure cooking canning!!! And sewing....I LOVE IT!!!!! My quilt is taking me longer than what I thought but that's bc it is covered in embellishments. I'm just super excited about all these new skills I'm learning!!!

Moms just rockin' it

So sometimes I have very faulty thinking and think that I'll have fun someday when my kids are older but on Friday I had a blast!!!! Steph, Megan, and I went on base to work out and then rock climbed after wards.

I've always watched the kids do the rock climbing but when Megan suggested it I went for it (plus it was during the day when it was pretty much empty- don't need to embarrass myself in front of a huge crowd).

After wards my arms were just shaking so bad from climbing up twice. All the kids just played on the play structures and watched up. And then after we were done we put the harnesses on the kids, hooked them up to the wall and then sat down and talked. It was great because they couldn't go any where. Girls, we need to go again!

Sent from my iPhone

Terrific Tower of Tulle Birthday Gift

About a week ago my VT companion and I realized that it one of our sister's birthday was coming up. We thought for a while what we should do and then it came....the "gift" of all gifts.

We went to the Salvation Army and tried to find the more hideous, ridiculous, tacky thing we could find. It ended up being this...The Terrific Tower of Tulle. What is it? Looks like the wedding decorations to some 80's wedding. Oh yes, it lights up!
So we went to Julie's house and presented her with this rule card and made her read it out loud. (This whole time we had it hidden so she didn't know what we were talking about).

It says... Congratulations for being loved so much and recieving the "Terrific Tower of Tulle Birthday Gift" aka TTTB. There are a couple of fun rules that come along with this gift

1*TTTB has to be proudly (proudly defined as: keeping it clean of snow or anything that way everybody can see) displayed in the FRONT of your house (front defined as: viewable from the street in front of your house)

2* You have to have TTTB for 24 hours before passing it on.

3* You can only pass TTTB to a Relief Society sister.

4* You can only pass it on the day ofa sister's birthday. No cheating and passing it a week, day, or minute early.

5* TTTB can't be dropped-off, that won't be any fun! You have to give it to the lucky sister in person so they can see your bright smiling face.

6* When you pass TTTB pass this rule card along with it and write your name and birthday on the back.
By the end of reading the card Julie was totally...stumped. I wish you could of seen her when we revelaed it to her. Priceless. She put it up in her big window in the front of her house. Let the traditions roll.....

P.S. The gift could of been worse. I put an add on craigslist asking for people's most tacky things they have in their garage for a gag gift. The best response I got back was this....

Mounted full size mountain goat that went through a fire. I thought it would of been perfect. You could even dress it up for the holidays! TTTB won because Jodi thought that it would get flees or might be too heavy.

Is it actually possible that I'm developing a new fear? Earthquakes. It seems like once a month we've been having them. Last week I was almost alseep and I heard the deep rumble and then the shaking. It's not huge earthquakes (probably just 3s) but still I ended up playing in bed thinking about how I could rearrange the furniture in my room so if the floor gives out it won't crush Jackson or Caleb. Actually I just checked USGS and we've had a couple last week. Well, the positive side to this is that I'm proud that my rigging for my mirror had held up. That thing is 200 lbs so if it falls it's going to make the biggest mess ever.

The Hula Girls

Our wonderful Jodi went to Hawaii and came back with some Hula outfits for the girls- complete with grass skirt, coconut "bras" (as Kali calls them), shell necklaces, and a flower for their hair. Here's Jodi explaining the rules: You can only have these if you always promise to wear a shirt or something under the "coconut bra."

Isn't this a crack up?!

Kali was more than happy to pose for the camera.

We actually had to go grocery shopping after wards and she was begging me to let her wear this.

Keeping Track

In our kitchen I have a big framed chalkboard. Here are some of the dates that we are keeping track of:

Dad comes home in 47 days
Thanksgiving in 20 days
Christmas in 49 days
Caleb's baptism in 54 days
Caleb's birthday in 44 days

Voting day

I was planning on voting int he morning but as the day went on I started to think "we live in a Republican state, I guess it doesn't matter that much if I vote." Aaron called and reminded me that he serves our country and that it would mean a lot to him. SO, after I picked up the kids from school we headed down to the Lion's Club. On the way there Caleb and I had a little conversation-
Caleb: I think you should vote for the brown man because he hasn't been president before.
Mom: Well, I don't like some of the things he stands for.
Caleb: Like what?
Mom: Well he cut funding for our troops. I want someone who will support the troops. Especially since your dad will deploy next year.
Caleb: Ohhhh.....does McCain support our troops?
Mom: Yeah and he used to be a pilot also in the military.

So I went into vote and the kids were amazingly well in there. After I got out of the both Caleb asked me who I voted for. When we hit the parking lot I told him McCain. Caleb says," So...is that the man in white skin?"

That night when McCain lost Caleb was so mad and worried about the troops. "Troops might die now. We need to go get dad!" Aaron was awesome at calming his nerves and reassured him that he thought President-elect Obama would do the best he could to lead our country. I just thought it was so sweet how concerned Caleb was.

Kali's 6th bday

Thursday was Kali's 6th birthday. It was nice because it was only half a day of school (parent conferences) and we were able to come home at noon and get ready for our birthday surprise.

Kali's present from Granny Yo and Grandpa.

High school Musical seemed to be the theme for the night.

And Granny and Grandpa sent some money and movie tickets.

Here's a kiss for you Yoyo.

And this seems to be the face she always wants to make for the camera lately.

Our birthday surprise was going to go see High School Musical 3 with she loved and one song was stuck in our head after wards and we sang the chorus all the way home. Then we came home to ice cream and cake. The phone is in the pic bc Granny Yo and Grandpa were singing along.

Hooray! I can't believe she's 6 years old! P.S. The cake looks the way it is bc Kali decorated it. It was so super crunchy from the 50 pounds of sugar sprinkles she put on it.

Stampin it up

Kali had a school Halloween party on Thursday and someone made little goody bags with a Halloween stamp in it. Yesterday morning after breakfast I'm doing a little cleaning while the kids are still eating and when I come back into the kitchen Jack has been decorated by Madeline.After two baths the stamps are still there but have faded just a bit.

Happy Halloween 2008

We had a fun and super cold Halloween. The kids were rushing me out of the house so we started around 6:30 and were home by 7:10. It was a whopping 17 degrees! Here are some pics when we got home. Look how red Maddy's cheeks are from defrosting. Mads was Strawberry Shortcake but didn't want the freckles or wear the hat.

Kali was a rock star. I realize now that I did a crappy job at taking pics bc it doesn't show her with her pink hair on microphone on. Well, most kids were just in their snow gear and you really couldn't tell what they were. I'm starting to figure out that in Alaska you buy a costume to wear to school for the Halloween party and trick-or-treating is done in snow gear.

Caleb was a really cool pirate.

And baby Jack was a perfect little baby. I had him in his full snow gear and riding in the backpack on my back. After 40 minutes he started making some noise and I figured he was probably frozen like the rest of us. Sure enough when we got home he was practically an ice cube. Look how red his face and hands are. Poor baby.

Halloween tradition is everyone dumps out their candy and eats as much as they possibly can. I think they love that tradition.

When we were leaving Caleb wanted to go just in his pirate costume. I kept telling him it's freezing outside and he's going to be so cold. Well, he's 7 and knows everything. 10 minutes into it he was frozen and had snow in his shoes. When we got home he said, "You were right mom. Next time I"ll listen to you." Someone please hand me a video camera for that moment...

Jack enjoying his sibling's goods.

"Christ is the center of this home, a guest at every meal, a silent listener to every conversation."

Last weekend was our Super Saturday and this is what I made. The picture is a little funny bc I was holding the camera over my head bc it's on top of my kitchen cabinet.

I thought of you, MOM, when I saw this sign. I remember when you used to wear that wind-up Dracula pin. Love you.

THANK YOU AUNT ROSIE

Thank you so much Auntie Rosie for the birthday movies! We were so excited when we got the package in the mail. We love them!

Anybody want a freebie?

Every Friday is Family Fun Night which calculates into we get our Netflix movies in the mail that day and we stay up as late as possible eating popcorn. The kids usually pass out on the sofa. Well, I got 4 Free one month trial coupons in the mail from Netflix. They expire on October 31 so if you want them you got till the end of this week to sign up. Each priority code is for a different coupon. I use Netflix because I hate dragging the kids into the movie store....holy cow is it hard to get four kids past the candy section, which is by the checkout, without causing a huge scene when you say no. Anyways, if you wan them here you go. Enjoy.

Go to http://www.netflix.com/TellAFriend

Priority code:
M636146791595

M606186791955

M666106791855

M656196791445

I think she was 4

So I have to write this story down because 1) my friend Jodi has made me tell it a couple of time because she thinks it's so funny and 2) it just shows how dynamic our family is.

Every Monday and Wednesday morning I play basketball at 6am. A lovely girl named Andrea comes over to my house at 5:45 and just hangs out until her ride come and gets her for seminary. Well I got home one morning and this is what she tells me (keep in mind that Andrea is very shy and quiet):

Jessy: So how was everything? Did they all stay asleep?

Andrea: Well one of the girls got up and went into your room. Then they came out here and told me you were gone. I told them to go back to bed but instead she went and picked up her Little Pony. Then she stood at the steps so I told her again to go back to bed and she did.

Jessy: Was is Kali or Madeline?

Andrea: I'm not sure.

Jessy: Kali is 5 and Madeline is 3.

Andrea: I think she was 4.

Jessy: (me thinking, 4???? I don't have a 4 year old. Crap Jessy....you're going to have to say it.) Okay..I hate to say this but was she white or brown? (That's the part Jodi can't stop laughing)

Andrea: OHHHHHH....she was white.

Yep, sometimes in desperate situations I guess it's the only thing left to ask.

The black girl with curly hair

One of the sister's that I visit teach told me a funny story. She said that forever her son, who's Kali's age, would tell her, "I want to marry the black girl with curly hair when I grow up." She was stumped as to what he was talking about. So this school year the two of them are in the same class and when she notices how shy he is around her she puts it all together. Well, Saturday when we were at Target we ran into them and man when he saw Kali he turned all red, got a huge grin, but was really shy. LOL. Even his mom looked at him and said, "Wow, why are you so red?" We all knew why. I have a feeling that Kali is going to have that effect on a lot of guys.

The best part of my day.....

So every night at dinner whoever said the dinner prayer gets to be the moderator for "The Best and Worst." Each person gets asked two questions: What was the best part of your day? What was the worst part of your day? There's a couple rules to it. 1) Everybody has to listen and can't decided for another or make fun of them and 2) the worst part of your day can't be anything about a family member.

So Jennie, I bet you can guess what was the best part of two little kids' day.....talking to Preston. Hands down. We need to do that more often because they LOVED it.

Frustrated!

I love love love my iphone but I HATE HATE HATE that I'm sending in my 2nd one because of "hardware" issues!!! Now, I'm once again without my cell phone!!! How am I supposed to lay in bed and search the internet now?

Snow time fun

After school today the kids were going outside and I thought, "why not", and put on all our snow gear and went outside.

Jackson totally loved it! He just sat in the sled and I pulled him around the circle.

Of course, all the mommies in the neighborhood also wanted to be around baby Jackson.

Poor little guy. He couldn't figure out, at first, how to keep his balance and kept falling over. He eventually figured it out.

Maddy sledding down the hill. It was almost impossible to get her to stop and smile for me. She was really into it.

Almost all the kids in the cirlce. We're missing 3 more. (Now you can see why I totally love our circle, lots of play mates!)

Caleb working on his snowboarding skills. I actually put in on but hit a rock at the bottom. I tried to fly off with style in front of everyone. Wonder if I was successful.

Jackson was ready to go in. He didn't cry once but his little hands and nose felt super cold. I took him in a gave him a nice long bath. He's such a good Alaska baby.