Zoo

A fun FREE day at the zoo. We received a phone call Wednesday morning that preschool was cancelled and so we took advantage of the nice day and went to the zoo with our friends. The kids had a blast. Here are a few of our highlights.

I loved how Ethan was so chill and kicked back in the stroller...he was adorable and loved his snacks.

A beautiful picture of my girl as she is taking a rest in the shade.

Hollie wanted to go on a camel ride and to be honest I was shocked, but she loved it and continues to talk about it.

Ethan playing in the splashpad at the zoo.Just another cute picture of my girl.
Hollie and Sarah being girls and havin fun!

One Year

As I reflect on this day one year ago, my heart becomes SO full. I am so blessed to have this little man as part of our family. I am SO grateful for him and for ALL he has taught me and continues to teach me each and every day. I know without a doubt that Ethan was to come to our family and I am so grateful as to how he came. The finalization process in an adoption is just that, final. It makes our child ours and is seen no differently. This day is a day of celebration and will always be his "special" day. We LOVE you Ethan and are SO glad you are a part of our family!

Labor Day Weekend

For Labor Day weekend we decided to head to Cali. There were a couple of reasons, one, Ryan's sister was blessing their baby boy and two, we wanted to go to the beach. Well, I can say it was a successful trip because we did what we came to do. Here are a few highlights of our trip.
The Beach...always a top highlight. There is just something about the beach that is so therapeutic. I think it is the atmosphere, the sound of the waves, blue sky, the warm sun hitting your body and the sand. We just LOVE the beach! Ryan's family came to the beach and we all had a blast...especially the kids.

Hollie loved playing in the sand

Ethan LOVED LOVED LOVED the ocean and the waves. We couldn't get him out. He has NO FEAR and wanted to brave them all by himself...ofcourse, we didn't let him, but it was challenging to hold his hands because he just wanted to go..... I was so proud of him and somewhat shocked because he doesn't care to much for a pool, but loved the waves coming up and crashing on him.

Ethan also enjoyed being pulled on the boogie board...I think we have a little dare devil surfer on our hands.

LOTS and LOTS of sand. I could have sworn we brought home half of the beach...

These are Hollie's cousins, Whitney and Mckenna. They live in Escondido and we don't get to see them very often and Hollie had a blast with them. These 3 girls were inseperable and it was SO cute watching them.

I love this picrture of the gilrs...I just think it is SO cute!

Hollie and Mckenna

Thank you Gayl and Chris for a fabulous, fun weekend!

La Jolla

On Sunday night we stayed with Ryan's dad and stepmom in San Diego. We had a great time with them and enjoyed part of the day Monday with them in La Jolla...I LOVE it there!

We walked around the cove and shops...ofcourse. It was perfect weather, the crowd wasn't to bad (because we were there early) and it was very relaxing! A perfect way to end our vacation.

If you give Ethan a water bottle he will be entertained for quite awhile.

Hollie and Grandma

Grandma, Hollie and I.

San Diego Temple

On our way back from La Jolla we decided to stop by the Temple. I am so glad we did. I LOVE that Temple for many reasons. First and foremost, that is where Ryan and I were married 8 years ago. Second, I was sealed to my mom and family there and third, I watched the Temple be built and was able to work in the Temple before it was dedicated..amazing experience! It is my most favorite Temple.

Hollie was so excited to see the Temple where mommy and daddy were married. It was fun talking to her about that day and that one day when she gets married that she could marry here if she wanted to also. We had a great time there and loved playing in the big grassy area in front of the Temple. Yes, you will see that the boys were not very reverant, but we were having fun as a family and that is where "our" little family began.

Grandma and Grandpa Larson with Hollie and Ethan

Hollie being swung around by grandpa

Ethan doing what he LOVES...flying through the air and being tossed around

Babies do fall from the sky...just kidding.
You should hear Ethan laugh while he is doing this...it is hilarious! The kid has NO FEAR!

These are the days

The last couple of weeks have been good, and here is a glimpse of what we have been up to.

Since we live in a state that is just plain old HOT, this is how we eat popsicles at our house.

Hollie- She is keeping herself busy with preschool, 3 days a week, and gymnastics one day a week. She is loving preschool and from what I hear she is well behaved, listens and does great! That makes for a proud momma! Depending on how she feels after school I sometimes hear what she did and sometimes I won't...well, maybe later on in the day I will. She loves sharing time on Thursdays because she gets to bring something special from home to share. She is so stinkin cute and I am just LOVING the age she is at. She can be the sweetest thing upon the face of this earth and she can also have me in tears at the end of the day because she was just hard, difficult, stubborn and a girl with emotions. I LOVE my little princess more than anything and I love watching her grow and learn.

Ethan- well, he has now been officially given the nickname "TORNADO"!!!! And man oh man do I LOVE this little boy. I never thought that one little guy could keep me so busy and make a mess out of a room in seconds. For me he has redifined the word "busy". I seriously can't turn my back for a second! Today within 5 minutes he had opened the cupboard with all the games and had them all over the floor...you ask where I was, well doing laundry because my little girl was throwing up... As I was cleaning up the game mess he was into the wipes pulling them out and making other messes. I feel like the only words Ethan ever hears are; No Ethan, get down, put that back, out of the trash, give that back to sissy, stop, please don't, we don't sit in that, we don't climb on that, please don't throw your food it goes in your mouth.....oh, and the list goes on. The other day he pulled an empty carton of eggs out of the trash (which had one broken egg in it and all the shells of the other eggs that were used) and made a big fun mess! SERIOUSLY?!! I have had our family ask if there is a class we can put Ethan in to get out his energy and my response is, No, remember he is only 18 months! Trust me, I would much rather have this BUSY child then have a child who is a bum and has zero energy and no motivation. I am learning LOTS and loving every bit of it. Here are a few pictures of a couple of his new adventures. I have been trying to capture all that he does and it is a bit difficult, but trying.

He has started pulling chairs to things and getting into whatever he can...this is the silverware drawer(no longer organized) and no worries the knives are up in a cupboard.

I don't know if you can see it well enough but he has climbed into the shopping cart, pulls the books off the shelf and throws them on the floor laughing.

Ethan's cupboard.

A Tender Moment

Let me first give some history. For those who don't know I lost my mom when I was 8 years old, her name is Holly. When we first learned about our sweet little girl her due date was March 24...my mom's birthday. In hearing that we knew exactly what our baby girls name was going to be...Hollie. (yes, we did spell it differentlly). We have pictures of my mom up around our house and we talk about her often. Hollie knows that she has a grandma Holly in Heaven. She points to her picture and says, "mom, that's grandma Holly".
Well, yesterday, while Hollie was in the bath, she started asking questions.
Hollie- "where's grandma Holly mom?"
Me- "she is in Heaven".
Hollie- Why?
Me- "Well, it was her time to go to heaven
Hollie- Why?
Me- Heavenly Father needed her help
Hollie- What happened to grandma Holly?
Me- She was in a car accident
Hollie- How?
Me- Well, grandma Holly, papa and uncle KC where in a Jeep going up a hill and the jeep rolled down and grandma Holly got really bad owies.
Hollie- Why mommy?
Me (with tears in my eyes) I don't know Hollie, I wish I knew. All I do know is that Heavenly Father had a lots of work for mommy in Heaven and he really needed her.
Hollie- Heavenly Father needed her in heaven?
Me- Yes, he did. And we are so lucky that we have pictures of grandma Holly that we can remember her by. Gramdma was a wonderful lady who always had a smile on her face and was always happy. I miss grandma Holly.
Then our bath was over. Throughout the day I couldn't believe that the day had come when I would be having to explain to my 3 year old that her grandma Holly was in Heaven and not here on earth. To be honest I never really prepared myself for this, especially since she is 3. Having to answer, why, is really hard, because I still don't know why, all I know is that she was needed elsewhere. (selfishly I think she was and still is needed here). I know that my sweet Hollie was with her in Heaven and knew her then.

Now, to this morning as we were walking out the door to go to school,
Hollie says, "mom, grandma Holly died".
Me- yes, Hollie she did.
Hollie- why mommy?
And the dialogue was pretty similar to yesterdays. I have to admit that this is not easy for me, but I couldn't be more grateful that Hollie is so curious at such a young age and is very concerned for her grandma Holly who is not here with us. Wow, maybe I need to make a picture book for Hollie about her gandma and maybe she can carry it around and always remember her and how much grandma Holly loves her.