February 2014 - Basketball, Birthday's and Lobster Bisque

     

     The last few weeks have been extremely busy for us as a family.  Summer and Sadie and just getting ready to wrap up their basketball season.  They have grown a lot as players through the season – and it is a lot of fun watching them play.  Sadie is pretty aggressive and really gets in the mix of everything on the floor, and Summer is becoming a great defensive player and really helps with the assists.  School is going well for them and it is actually so nice to have them in the same class and able to help each other with their homework. 

     Sawyer had his 6^th birthday on Feb. 1 and it was a great day!  We decided to head down to Layton and see the cousins – because that was all that he had asked for.  We went to eat at Golden Corral, and then went to the Air Force Museum, and finished off the day with some ice cream cake.  It was very cool at the museum to see a display for one of our relatives.  Grandma Doris’s cousin – Vern Moncur has donated his WWII uniform and there is a display telling all about him.  That was neat to see!  One of the coolest parts of the museum was a hands on kids area where they were able to sit in simulators and view science experiments.  We were so glad that the Draney’s, Hurd’s and Grandma and Grandpa could come and enjoy the day with us!

     Savannah is doing great and the BOOM keeps growing!  We had some Martinelli’s and a dance party to celebrate the completion of another course.  She is also getting ready to complete two more courses.  It seems like she has really discovered the best way for her to study and learn and she is really exceling at the independent study.  We are still in the hunt for the perfect name for our upcoming arrival – text her your suggestions.  Sawyer’s favorite is Abraham…but we think it might be a little extreme. J

Skyler is doing great!  He got to go to Pocatello and participate in the ISU music festival with the band.  He is also looking forward to a trip to Seattle in April with the band, and a trip to St. George with the Trendsetters.  He is also having the “opportunity” to play in the pep band for many of the DHS basketballs games – and it is more of a curse than a blessing.  School is going good for him and he is looking forward to going to Pref in just a couple of weeks.

     Jacob is as busy as ever with work.  He is splitting his time between Burley, Boise and Idaho Falls during the week.  The eastern Idaho network is set to go live on March 15^th – and it will be a push to meet that deadline.  He was also SO EXCITED to travel down to the rail yard in SLC and pick up his new, custom ordered work truck.  All that driving doesn’t really seem to bother him too much…lol.  He is also staying busy with the Priest quorum and enjoys his calling there.

     This past week I had the opportunity to go to SLC and participate in the WGU Regional Academic meetings.  I facilitated a Mentor Best Practice panel and that was a cool experience that gave me a lot of professional exposure.  I am enjoying my work and am really glad that I made the move to management.  We got the chance to eat for free at Ruth’s Chris Steak House when we were in SLC and WOW is the only word for the steak there!  Plus – as an added bonus, the soup of the day was Lobster Bisque.  To find out what makes that funny you can watch this Studio C skit.  It is a favorite of Sam and Trevor’s.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2KCGQhVRTE

Here are some links to some other interesting videos that we have seen this month:

1.          If you want to know what a typical day in the life of a virtual worker is check out this video which is hilarious and pretty darn accurate: http://www.wimp.com/conferencecall/

2.         Here is a link to a TED talk from Shawn Achor on how to experience more happiness in your day to day life: http://www.ted.com/talks/shawn_achor_the_happy_secret_to_better_work.html

     Also be sure to check out Trevor and Samantha’s Blog.  We gave Samantha’s recipe for Chicken Enchilada Pasta a whirl and it was AWESOME!  Plus – Trevor is an amazing writer and we love his posts on his I’m a Mormon site – they are very well researched and interesting.  

     Jacob and I are so proud of our family and just grateful for every day!  We love you all 

Heidi

January 2014 - Here Comes the Boom!

     Here the first picture of Savannah’s baby!  We went to the ultrasound on Friday and it was quite an experience!  Everything looks healthy.  There are 10 fingers and 10 toes, only 2 eyes, and…it’s a BOY!  We are all really excited and grateful.

     The funniest part of that entire day was telling Sawyer about the fact that Savannah was pregnant – and that this would, in fact, make him an uncle.  He was standing there in his PJ’s and slippers and when I told him that we were going to go to the hospital, and that everything was fine, but that Savannah had a baby in her tummy and we were going to go look at it.  I told him that he would be the baby’s uncle and that was pretty cool – right?  He was thoughtful for about two seconds, looked and me and said…”So, I will be an uncle, like Jason, only shorter, and with Perry the Platapus slippers on…?..”  I just looked and him and said “Yep”  - and that was the end of “the talk.”  Kids are great!

     Summer, Sadie, Skyler and Grandma all enjoyed going to the ultrasound as well.  It was neat to see how scientific the whole process is now.  Probably the longest part of the entire ultrasound was the time that they spent tracking the heart and making sure that the four chambers were all doing what they were supposed to.  The technician was very kind and really took the time to tell us what we were looking at whenever we asked. 

     Boom is measuring at 20 weeks and has an ETA of May 28^th. 

Heidi:

Work is going good for me.  I currently have 16 mentors and 1282 students that I supervise.  It was crazy this past week because my work computer crashed and I was technically impaired for the whole week.  I “unpacked” all the files on my new computer this past Friday and all is well again. 

Jacob:

Things at Safelink are exciting!  Jacob has been spending a lot of time traveling over to eastern Idaho these past weeks.  They are hoping to have their network in that part of the state launched in the next six weeks and it is going to be BIG!  Of course we have always loved that part of the state – it is gorgeous – so he doesn’t mind the driving.  Also – he is getting the chance to work with Katy, as she is managing the marketing for the launch – and that is a lot of fun!

Samantha and Trevor:

The newlyweds are still in LOVE and doing great!  Samantha told me about a wonderful exhibit that they had gone to see at the BYU art museum that had many pictures of the Savior from all across the world that have been brought to BYU only until May.  She said that the spirit at the exhibit was honestly rivaled only by that at the temple.  If you are going to be in Provo – or could find an excuse to go – it is a must see.  I think that our family is going to go over President’s day if possible.  Samantha and Trevor are also all settled into their new apartment at Wymount Terrace.  We seriously got our stair-master on while moving them.  It is a 3^rd floor apartment – that has a sweet storage room in their bedroom. 

Trevor is back in school for winter semester, and learning more about structures engineering.  I have a feeling that the graham cracker tower we witnessed over Christmas is just the start of great things for “the Redhead.”  Samantha is also working hard at school and moving forward with her accounting courses.  Her term is done in February and it is going to be a push to the finish. 

Savannah:

Savannah just has the final assessment in her Nutrition course to go and will take that this week.  As a family we have loved this class because we have enjoyed tasting all of the homework.  There was some yummy stir fry, pumpkin bread, and muffins this past week.  We are ordering Biology this next week because we found out that as soon as Savannah finishes the two Biology courses she will be eligible for the tech center health professions courses that will lead to the CNA certification, and the start of her nursing career. English is also officially halfway done – and a big shout out to Grandma as a co-participant in that class…lol…we couldn’t do it without her. J

Skyler:

Skyler is very busy these days.  He is working two days a week at Safelink and trying to learn as much as he can.  We are also in basketball season and he plays in the pep band for the games.  Skyler also had to make the tough decision to quit robotics this past week.  We decided the it was just too much to manage with all his other activities.  L  Also this past week I helped Skyler to complete a scientist timeline project for Mr. Sagers class.  Pretty crazy to think at this point that Hollie, Rob, Katy, Heather and Samantha have probably all done the exact same assignment…lol.  We really should have been saving these things! 

Summer and Sadie:

Summer and Sadie are very glad to be back in school!  Basketball season also started this past week and they get to be on a team with Paige as well – that it going to be a lot of fun!  Plus it is great that Katy and I will have each other to sit on the sidelines with at the games!!  Sadie also got a new pair of glasses this past week that she is pretty excited about – it is only for a small prescription, but it makes a big difference for her when she is reading.  Summer finally purchased a used iPod this past week (from Savannah) and she has been enjoying setting that up and using it. 

Sawyer:

Well – Sawyer is just funny and awesome!  He keeps us in stitches.  His reading is really coming along – when we he decides to demonstrate for us his skillz….lol.  We love his sense of humor and I appreciate our nightly snuggles. J

I was reading in Dr. Denis Waitley’s book “The Psychology of Winning” yesterday and there was a particular section that really stood out to me that I wanted to share.  Preceeding,  was a discussion of some of the findings of Viktor Frankel.  Frankel observed from his time in the death camps that “Life asks of every individual a contribution, and it is up to that individual to discover what it should be.” 

Dr. Waitley then continued that “The response to the challenges of life – purpose – is the healing balm that enables each of us to face up to adversity and strife.” 

As a family we get the opportunity to watch each other go through both the good times and the bad times that inevitably come in life.  It is inspiring to watch each other overcome adversity, find our purpose, and accomplish the things that we desire.  The Larsen’s are so grateful for each of you in our life!  Have a great month!

Heidi