Family Photos!

Jenn Petty in our ward took us to take our pictures. Normally I think of family photos as TORTURE. You all know... coordinating outfits, forcing them to sit, "adults keep smiling and look at the camera", squeaky toys... But this was the most enjoyable time I have ever had taking pictures. Jenn just let the kids run and go where they wanted. The weather was great and we got it all done in the morning so the kids weren't missing their naps. Thanks so much Jenn. let me know which one is your favorite!

The Play Group Party

Robby is in a sweet little playgroup and I was lucky enough to have them the week of Halloween. It was great! I was tired at the end but it was all worth it. They are so creative and try so hard.

Our favorite pumpkin patch!

Since my sister in law introduced me to pumpkin patches 2 years ago I have decided to share in her tradition of going to a pumpkin patch and taking video and pictures and buying the family pumpkin and jumping on hay bales. well this year scheduling seemed to be a little bit of an issue. Since most of them are only open on saturdays and I wanted the pumpkin to last through Halloween I decided on the weekend before Halloween which also happens to be full of other activities such as Giff and Giffs birthday! Happy birthday boys and stake conference, not to mention a few other activities that couldn't be rescheduled. So, I decided to look for one close to home and found this one. Wendy was so sweet and came along (after making sure Giff was taken care of of course) to be my personal photographer. It would have been crazy without her.

This was Robby's favorite because it was a "big huge giant pumpkin!"

What a bunch!

But then natalie began to be suspicious because I had told them it would be a long drive and there would be animals, hay rides, treats, tractors, corn and pig races.

When all she saw were pumpkins and shopping carts she questioned us. So I must confess we decided not to drive 45 min. to have super awesome pictures and feed the animals and instead went down the street to whole foods where they have a whole pumpkin patch scene set up. Robby continued to be happy and Natalie was soon swayed (bribed) into liking the pumpkins because we told her we could take them home. All in all a great trip to our locally grown and set up pumpkin patch.

I wonder how much longer I will be able to get away with this makeshift pumpkin patch. Little innocent kids are the best!

The colors of fall add so much! I am so happy we are into the holiday season. Thanks again Wendy and Giff for helping me out all the time and making my life so much easier. You ease my burdens so often.

Finally a new post

Ok, so it has been a while, but I have been reading all of your blogs and loving them. I also found this contest for a free stroller and because we are expecting ANOTHER BABY i realized that I am going to need a double stroller soon and I knew I loved Chico gear and a side by side stroller so this came at a perfect time. Check it out.

TAGGED!

So much to say and so little time. I am sitting here waiting for the hurricane to come and since I know I wont have power for a while I thought I would get as much blogging done as possible. So, I need to respond first to my sweet sister in law who has been so patient in waiting for me to respond to her tag.


Where were you born? Rexburg Idaho! 1983, when my mom brought me home it was 16 degrees below zero. Idaho is crazy.

Middle name? I didn't have one until my wonderful husband offered to give me a new last name free of charge I kept my maiden name LARSON and made it my middle name.

How old will you be this year? 25! Mid twenties is so weird

Nicknames? Jess, larson-nielsen, sshh (I talk so much), Suzy Q, JessIca

Are you taller than your mother or father? No way! My family is not tall at all but at 5'3" there are very few people that I am taller than.

Do you cry often during movies? Only when I am pregnant. I may or may not have been known to cry at sylvan learning commercials too.

What is your biggest pet peeve? When people don't put the lid back on a 2 liter bottle tight, and it makes the pop go FLAT. Sick.

Favorite color(s)? My grandma's favorite color was green (like her shag carpet and dining room chairs) but I decided later that my favorite color is pink and lucky for me Rob agreed to have a wedding all different shades of Pink. Thanks Rob you are the best.

Favorite food(s)? Little Debbie snacks! Quesadillas

Favorite restaurants? Chick-fil-a, Chili's, Taste of Texas

Favorite smells? Super weird I know but I love the smell of bleach, vanilla air freshener, they both smell so clean.

Favorite time of the day? Bed time for the kids! I love when I know they are just in bed and I am done for the day.

What brand of shampoo/conditioner do you use? Dove or whatever is the cheapest
What brand of make-up products? I always use samples from the makeup that Wendy buys. I have about 5 mascara samples, 3 things of eye shadows and a walmart brand of eye liner.

How many pillows do you sleep with? 2

Do you play an instrument? No

Have you ever been skinny dipping? Nope

Did you play any sports in High School? I was a cheerleader (jenna it is so a sport so bring it on haha)

What was the last movie you saw in the theatre? Girls night out for Kacey to Mama Mia.

What is your favorite article of clothing? Jeans! I love when they just fit and I can choose any shirt to wear and not worry if it matches.

What is your dream vacation? 2 weeks in Europe and stop off to see the Philippines (robs mission).

What was your first impression of your spouse? He was in the cool group at EFY and totally out of my league.

If you were an animal, what would you be? I would be a girraffe too because of my long neck! I would also be a monkey because you can just swing around all day and eat bananas.

What is your dream car? not into cars, sorry.

What is one of your weaknesses? making a scene when I am upset about something and judging other people.

What do you fix for dinner when there is nothing to fix? Quesadillas!

If you could live in a different decade/era what would it be? I don't think I would want to like in a different time. I love the advances in technology, communications, education. there are definitely things that are not so awesome about this time but what point in the world has been perfect? I would love to just see an overview of history sometime and move through it all really quick.

What is the emotion you feel the most? Content, probably means i should do something more, but it feels good for now.

Do you consider yourself outgoing? yes, I love talking to people but I never know what is going to come out of my mouth.

What is something you are constantly working on? Patience!

Any hidden talents? I wish.

What is a word or phrase you overuse? Funny. Whenever I am describing something and I don't know the word I am looking for, or don't know how to respond I say "that's funny." Or they are just funny.

What was the hardest thing that happened to you this past year? After having Natalie I had to have a few trips to the hospital and nothing is easy right after having a baby.

What is the best thing that has happened to you this past year? Christmas in Utah with my family at the Nielsens condo and seeing Robby build a snow man bigger than him. Also, Robby is potty trained and a swimmer! Huge advancements.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish this year? Setting up and sticking to a budget for at least 2 months, maybe then it will be a habit.
The best piece of advise you learned this past year? I am still learning it, but I have learned to "let it go."

NOW I TAG Angie Ward, Julie Weaver, Lindsey Frakes

Kourtney's texas style open house

I am slowly but surely coming around to being a texan. Kourtney just had her open house here in Sugar Land and made is casual and all southern themed. We had so much fun thinking of how to use all of hte things that represent Texas. So the food was Frito pie with blue bell ice cream sundaes. Lemonade in jars and super great texas sheet cake. It was also fun breaking Bretts (Kourtney's fiance) parents in the first night they got here. We took them out at 11:00 at night to a random field down the road and we cut down sunflowers to put around the house. They were great sports about everything and a huge help! The open house was a huge success and Kourtney and Brett are as cute as ever.

Summer Fun!

This summer has been so great! Kacey and Jenna my sister in laws have been here in Texas visiting and it has been so fun. 9 cousins all together can be chaos, but it also has been so fun to see them all get closer. Robby loves being "a big kid" with Ashlyn, Drew and Maddy and Natalie loves being the baby who everyone wants carry around and hug. She has surprised us all by not wanting to miss anything! We were driving to Galveston and trying to keep the kids entertained by playing I spy. Natalie loved gasping and clapping as she pointed out the window trying to play along. Our family is so blessed to have such great family around who all work together and try to get closer. Our latest family tradition is a triathlon (kid style) We stayed up till 4 in the morning making iron on t-shirts and laughing together. Then the next day we walked to the Quinlan's house about 1/2 mile away and stopped for Popsicles half way there. Then we rode bikes from the Quinlan's house through a green belt where we stopped for a water balloon fight. When we got home we did swim relays until we were tired and then we just played around in the pool. I am so excited for next year and love doing active things together. Thanks to the whole family for working so hard and having such great attitudes about everything. WE LOVE SUMMER!

Fourth of July

We had a great fourth of July! Natalie had a super cute outfit from her aunt miken that i have been waiting a whole year to use and it lived up to its potential. Robby was super excited because Robs cousins Jake and Sabrina came to town from San Antonio and totally spoiled us with their cute kids and dinner. Thanks for the fun trip. We went swimming at the Weavers house and had Nick and Julie Weaver, Jake and Sabrina, Brodie and Jennika, Brent and Kelly Weaver and of course the best hosts ever Paul and Nancy. The food was awesome and the swimming party was even better. This has become one of my favorite holidays because there are no expectations. Just good food, friends and patriotic feelings. I Love this country!

Robby Birthday

June is a super busy month for us. Fathers day, Robs birthday and Robby's birthday. So needless to say things have been busy but it is so fun to create great memories. Robby's birthday was great. It was June 29th and that night was a sing along so we had a pancake breakfast with Mimis awesome syrup and Dad cooking away all morning. We are so grateful daddy loves to cook because mom maybe isn't the best. Robby loved being the center of attention and by his request we had a baseball cake and football cake. For nursery we brought baseball cupcakes and capri suns. He is getting so big and has all sorts of opinions. We love seeing him grow and become a loving obedient boy. Grandma and Grandpa win the prize for coolest present. They bought him a bike! He loves it and is trying so hard to learn to keep up with mom so we can go on bike rides together. Mimi on her death bed was also there every step of the way. Thanks for the sacrifice Mimi we couldn't do it without you. Uncle Brian, Aunt Kelli, zaza and Bell came too. I love seeing Robby and Eliza work things out and become little equals in teasing each other. We love having Kelly and Brent next door and Robby couldn't leave them alone all day. Every time we did anything we had to go knock on their door and make sure they came too. Thanks for your patience guys. Rob and I can't believe we have a 3 year old! We love him so much and are so grateful for him.

Alexander and I have something in common

Ok, Sunday was a fine day that started off with Rob having meetings and me making breakfast and talking on the phone. Then in the middle of my conversation with Wendy I had to abruptly hang up and figure out where the water from my ceiling vent downstairs was coming from. As I was getting a pan to catch the water in the bathroom I heard the living room start dripping from the ceiling and then and drip in another part of the living room. Now my pancakes are burnt and I am running out of pans, the dog is barking, Natalie is trying to play in the water from the ceiling and Robby is laughing at me and the pans all over our house. (and he is only in a towel because he had come to tell me that he was done with his bath.) Just as I had finished putting pans around and moving Natalie upstairs I realized that our "bathtub" that is really only a shower and has a 6" lip that comes up to keep the shower water going toward the drain had been left on when Robby came downstairs and the rag was over the drain! I turned off the water, drained the tub picked up the bath mat and went to get towels to clean it all up. The water kept dripping and there was no permanent damage. I only had to change Natalie into new church clothes and put the dog outside while I finished mopping all the floors in my house and drying out the edges of the carpet next to our bathroom. So much for keeping the Sabbath day holy. Church went was great and we all put a smile on our face as we ate our burnt pancakes. I just thought it was the perfect story for a blog because every mother can relate to those kinds of mornings. Also, I am so happy to have a blog because it has helped me to see things in a positive way. Take this story for example. It is WAY more entertaining than my normal routine which I would typically be sharing. I am sad to report there are no pictures of the flooded house but I do have a great picture of Robby swimming with a huge life preserver and goggles over Memorial weekend. He likes to dress himself.

Natalie's 1!

I can't believe how fast this year has gone. Natalie is one and Robby is almost 3. I love first birthday's because the parents get to do exactly what they want and it is all about the pictures.
So for Natalie's birthday she was so lucky to have Aunt Kourtney and her new fiance Brett in town. They were great sports about letting us steal their engagement thunder. We went to Benihana's for lunch and then had a brisket and ribs for dinner the next day. we were all very grateful she had a birthday so we could have such great food.


My favorite part of the weekend was Rob taking Robby to get a present for Natalie and the women staying home and making the awesome cake! Thanks to Wendy and Kourtney who took my idea and made it possible. They are the best. Natalie hated her birthday hat but the bib and balloons were a big hit. Robby didn't understand that it was Natalie's birthday and she should get to unwrap her own presents; but chalk it up to having a big brother I guess.

I am giving in!

Ok, I am giving in to the family blogging. I can't imagine that it will be too exciting but it is so fun looking at others that I thought I should give back. We have been so lucky being able to go visit Giff and Jenna in DC and have a little family vacation. The first day was great we had dinner in Maryland and then got to see the harbor, but the best part was watching Maddox and Robby laugh and meet each other. Jenna and I loved to use the line "look, Maddox is going to bed to, look at Maddox!" and vice versa. Jenna was a saint and stayed home the next day while Rob and I took Robby to DC to see the museums and have lunch. Robby was a good sport but I am pretty sure he enjoyed feeding the birds his hot dog bun more than the Smithsonians. We also rented bikes and toured the monuments by bike and had a date night with Giff and Jenna. we loved every second! Then the hard working Rob had to go back to the grind and I stayed and visited with a friend from BYU and got caught up. WE loved it! Well, that is a good start and I am exciting to be in the world of blogging!