Its NoT OvEr YeT!!

So I thought I would just check in....We have had such a crazy holiday!! I was so lucky this year to have my whole family with me for Christmas. First my sister and her husband are moving in to my neighborhood only 2 homes down from me...but there has been a few problems with the loan so they had to move into my basement for about a week until their home has closed. Then we had my parents staying in our office and my Grandpa staying in the nursery with Tatum in our room. Oh and my little sister totally got the shaft and had to sleep in the basement on the bean bags. So as you can see we had a full house! It was a lot of fun though...waking up on Christmas morning with everyone together.

So after a crazy but fun Christmas day we decided to battle the crowds and headed for Tai Pan. Two hours later and spending way too much money, we rushed home just in time to head for the airport to send my Grandpa back home to Cali. Since we were already in Salt Lake, we decided to go to Temple Square and watch the Joseph Smith movie (which I really recommend if you haven't already seen). We then went to the Lion house and had dinner and walked around to look at all the lights. This is one of my favorite things to do at Christmas time.

The next day we woke up and went up to Logan to visit my other Grandparents. We drove up there and had lunch with them and visited for a little bit and then drove back home. It was a short trip, but nice to see them. So this now brings us to today. Eric had a few things to do at work, my parents went looking for some land to buy, and I am home stressing out trying to get ready for our next adventure...CAliForNia!! We are driving down with my family today and spending a whole week in the sun by the beach.

We hope you all had a fabulous Christmas and will see you in a week!!!

LaRseN PaRtY!

Last night we had our annual Larsen Christmas party which was held at uncle Steve's barn in Alpine. It was a lot of fun...we enjoyed some yummy soup bowls with brownies and ice cream for dessert (my favorite), while the kids played some fun games that included a "SnOwBaLL FiGhT" out of cotton balls. Then we did a gift exchange...Aunt Julie had us and got us a pillow case and an apron with a picture of Tatum on it. Tatum loved the gift and just sat there laughing at the pictures of himself! We then finished the night off with a live nativity that was very entertaining. Below are some pictures from the night along with some pictures of cute baby JaMeSoN, who joined the family a little over a week ago!

Oh Christmas Tree...

After much deliberation, we have finally gotten our TrEe! This year we were unsure whether we should get a fake tree or a real tree. Eric's family has a fake tree and my family has a real tree. Well we looked around at some fake ones and didn't really find one that we liked, so we decided to go with the real thing...and here it is....







I love the Christmas season so much and it is probably my favorite time of year. Eric and I love to drive around at night and look at ChRiStmAs LiGhtS, its just so magical with all of the snow everywhere. But another thing I love is to decorate my home with all sorts of Christmas decor. Because of this, I tend to go a little overboard with the decorations and GifTs. I just cant resist going to all of those cute decorating stores and buying something. Well here are just a few things that I have done around the house to help us get into the sPirIt of the season...Tatum even has his own nativity!

Congrats Eric!

When our neighbors Jake and Stacy moved out a few months ago it was a bitter sweet moment. We were so sad because one of our closet friends were moving, but excited because it meant there was an opening on the planning committee. Well for months Eric was trying to get Jake's old position, when finally all his hard work payed off. Eric is now the newest member of the planning department in Saratoga Springs!! He was so excited and has so far loved to be apart of this team. Well tonight the City of Saratoga Springs held its Christmas Party. They had it at the new Noah's building in Lindon. This building is so neat! They have a ton of separate rooms used anywhere from receptions to racquetball. On the roof of the building they even had free ice skating! It was a lot of fun. We enjoyed catering from Tucanos while they gave out awards to all the firemen and police of Saratoga Springs, we even met the mayor! We had to take Tatum with us because we couldn't find a babysitter, but he seemed to have a great time.

Here are some pictures of us enjoying the night. Now the ice skating rink looks a lot smaller than it really was. It wrapped around the roof and had a ton of twinkle lights around, it was really neat!

Photoshoot

Yesterday I took Tatum to Scott Hancock Photography to do a photoshoot for a website, which sells vitamins. Well there was a model there that was being used for a few photos that showed her selling, studying, working out, and a few other poses. They wanted her to be a mother in one of them and they used Tatum as her baby. In another photo they wanted her to be selling vitamins to a customer....well I turned out to be that customer. I will let everyone know when the site is ready so you can see how it turned out.

In between wardrobe changes, Scott took some pictures of Tatum and I. I could only get Tatum to smile by tickling him...notice in the other pictures he just had a blank stare on his face.

Here is Tatum with his "fake Mom".

I got tagged again!

I thought that I would do this a little different. . . Since this is our family blog, I have decided that I talk too much about myself and that this Tag will involve facts about our whole family.

THESE ARE THE RULES: 1.The player lists 6 facts/habits about themselves - try to find 6 you haven't already posted about! (Instead of 6 facts about me I will do 2 about myself, 2 about Eric and 2 about Tatum) 2. At the end of the post, the player tags 6 people and posts their names, and then goes to their blog and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged.




#1- Elyse - I have recently discovered the greatness to FaceBook. A friend of mine told me about this site and I decided to check it out. After about 2 minutes on there I found that I was addicted. This site is sort of like MySpace but its not as trashy. Its really easy to get in touch with old friends and post pictures without the worry that some creep is going to hunt you down.

#2 - Elyse - I love the show Friends!! You could use the word Obsessed if you would like, I do have all 10 seasons on DVD and I was able to go to one of the tapings of the show in highschool! A couple of weeks ago I played the "Friends" board game with some of my friends and I totally got beat at it. Well since then I have been religiously watching every episode again so that I could call them to a rematch and sweep them!!



#3 - Eric - Alot of people don't know this about Eric, but he can play tons of different instruments. He has never had a lesson, but he can play the piano, guitar, drums, bass and he can sing! He is his own mini band! It really makes me mad because I took 10 years of piano lessons and he can figure out how to play any song without any sheet music...Not fair!

#4 - Eric- Eric loves to be tickled. Any time that I am sitting next to him or laying by him I need to be tickling him or scratching his back. And now I am seeing that Tatum will be the same way...if he is crying I can tickle his face and he will normally calm right down. But anyways I can talk Eric into almost anything if I agree to tickle him...its kind of nice!





#5 - Tatum - Tatum loves to do anything that the "big kids" do. He loves to go to restaurants and sit in a high chair, eat big people food, stand up (he really gets a kick out of that), and talk...those of you who have witnessed this first hand know that my son is a chatter box!

#6 - Tatum - Tatum is such a silly baby, he loves to laugh. He will laugh at almost anything. Here are some things that make him laugh: We have one of those doorway bouncers and he will sit in it forever and just laugh, being tickled, sponge bob, Eric's dancing, patty-cake, when its time to eat he laughs, baths, recently we have learned that he loves to dance, which makes him laugh too....really I could go on forever.

Now I need to tag 6 others: Karly Chase, Amber Winward, Becky Barnum, Eryn Bradley...and everyone else has already been tagged so I will just tag 4.

Warning: Extremely Addicting Ahead...

I just finished reading the TwiLigHt series. These books were so good that I could not put them down. I read all 3 books in a matter of 2 weeks. Eric thought I was such a NeRd because all of my spare time was devoted to reading. If I could have, I would have spent every minute of everyday reading until I finished, but I have a life and a baby so that was not an option. I haven't been this into a book since I read the "HarRy PoTteR" series, which Twilight stole the #1 spot from. I definitely recommend these books, especially if you are a hopeless RoManTiC like I am. But if not these books have a good mix of romance and suspense that I think everyone would like! I took a quiz that told me I am the most like Esme, which is one of my favorite characters.

Which Twilight novel character are you?

You're Esme Cullen - Your maternal instinct to take care of people and be kind draw people towards you. You're compassionate and loving, yet firm when you need to be. You appreciate hard work and value the beautiful results of your dedication to any project.

Am I at RObErtS???

Last night some girls in the family decided to have a scrapbook night. We went to Aunt Shannon's house and scrapbooked because she got a TON of stuff from one of her friends that owns a scrapbook store. Well we get started on our pages when Shannon brings out a bag of stuff for everyone to take home. This bag had rub-ons, paper, ribbons, books.... well you get the idea, there was alot of cool stuff. Well then as I am getting ready to leave she takes me into her scrapbook room, which looks like it came straight out of RoBerTs CrAftS, and gives me probably twice as much stuff!! If I were to buy all of this from a store it would probably add up to about $500!!! Lets just say I will be scrapbooking for months to come:)

Here is Shannon's scrapbooking room...it looks like a store!

This wasn't even a portion of the stuff she had...there were crates packed full of stuff hidden everywhere!

Here is some of the things she gave me.











Here are some of the pages I have done. Sorry they are bad pictures...I don't have a scanner :( I know I am really behind with my scrapbook, but with my new stuff, I will catch up in no time!!

How AdDictEd are you??

I just took this quiz and found out that...

62%How Addicted to Blogging Are You?
I thought I was too addicted... and this just proves it!!
How addicted are you??

I love being a Mom!!

Ok last night we threw my sister-in-law Stephanie a baby shower (well my mother-in-law did almost everything, I just helped her get ready). She is due in about 2 weeks and is having a baby boy. It was a lot of fun, we enjoyed salads and cheesecake and had fun opening gifts. It brought back a lot of memories from my baby shower they threw me and I got a little bit sad. We sat and watched Stephanie's stomach as baby "SnoDgrAsS" kicked inside of her and I couldn't help but remember the wonderful feeling that brings. I quickly got on the computer and reminisced at old photos of myself while I was pregnant. I know it sounds kind of dumb, but I truly miss being pregnant. My clothes fit better (I know it sounds crazy, but its true), your skin is radiant, you hair is more healthy, and you get to enjoy feeling your baby move inside of you, what could be better? Of course it does bring a lot of discomfort, but the whole experience is so fascinating and new and exciting that it makes me actually miss it. I look back and can't believe that Tatum is 8 months old already. Has it really been that long since I sat in that hospital bed anticipating the arrival of my precious baby boy? Everyday I look at my son and can't believe this is my life. I love being a mom!!

How funny is this? Tatum is balancing on Stephanie's stomach - now that takes some skill!!


Ya Tatum!!

So ever since Tatum was born he has needed to be bundled up for him to fall asleep. Well we got home late last night and Tatum was already alseep, so I carefully transfered him from his carseat to his crib. Out of curiosity I didn't bundle him up just to see how long he would sleep this way and he slept without waking up until 7:30 this morning! Then later this morning, when it was time for his nap, I just put him in his crib with his blanket and this is what happened...

They are so cute when they are alseep!

Happy Halloween!!

Its funny how now a days our society takes a holiday and stretches out the CeLebrAtioN to a week long event. We have done this with Halloween this year. Our celebration started on Friday with a party at Shaun and Marin's house in Orem. This party was for some of Eric's high school friends. The following day we had a ward Halloween party that we were not able to attend due to yet another Halloween party. This one was for Eric's work and it was at the Crowshaw's ranch down in Mapleton. Then finally we had our annual Halloween party at our house on Tuesday. This one was for some of our neighbors and married friends, where we enjoyed soup, treats and some wicked GuiTar HeRo. By this time i think we were pretty sick of our costumes and it wasn't even Halloween yet! On Halloween we took Tatum to Novell, where Eric's aunt Julie works, to go TriCk-Or-TrEatiNg from cubicle to cubicle. Its so fun to have an excuse to go Trick-or-Treating again.

This year we dressed up with a "WiZarD oF oZ" theme, I was Dorothy, Eric was the Scarecrow, and Tatum was the Cowardly Lion.



Lions and Tigers and....ZEBRAS oh my!!!



My favorite was little Ryder the SUMO WRESTLER.

Im IT... I got Tagged!

Attached or Single- Duh...Attached!

Best Friend- Of course Eric comes first, but runner up goes to Kassy.

Cake or Pie- I love both, but my absolute favorite is Brownies and Ice Cream.

Day of Choice- SATURDAY!! This is the day that my house is always messy, which is ok because we are out playing as a family.

Essential Item- Hair product for me, Sports Center for Eric, and a pacifier for Tatum.

Favorite Color- Green (can you tell by my blog and my house?)

Gummi Bears or Worms- Worms, they are just more fun!

Hometown- La Cañada, California

Indulgences- The salon - it doesn't matter what kind: I love manicures, pedicures, and getting my hair done.

January or July- JULY! Hello I grew up in LA...what do you expect??

Kids- Just one- my little Tater Tot

Life is Incomplete without- Family, what would I be without them?

Marriage Date- May 28, 2005

Number of Siblings- 2 sisters...I suffer from "Middle Child Syndrome"

Oranges or Apples- Apples with fruit dip please! (Nichole thats for you!)

Phobias or Fears- Losing Eric or Tatum is at the top of my list, but next up is probably Spiders and Snakes.

Quotes- "Love like you'll never be hurt, Sing like no one is listening, Dance like no one is watching, Live like its Heaven on Earth." I don't know where I first heard this, but I love because it reminds me to live my life to the fullest and don't worry about what others think.

Reason to Smile- Every time Tatum laughs you can't help but smile, its the best sound in the world!

Season- Spring!! It means there is an end to Winter and a beginning to Summer.

Tag 3- Becky(a.k.a. Hefer), Kacey and Nichole.

Unknown Fact- I am 1/2 Cuban, my Mom's side came directly from Cuba and no I cannot speak Spanish...Lame, I know! Also my claim to fame is that when I was a senior in high school I went on a date with Paul Walker (those of you that don't know, he is an actor in Fast and Furious, Skulls, Shes all that and Pleasantville)!!!

Worst Habit- I have a bad habit of trowing stuff away, I hate clutter. Once I threw away tickets to the AFI concert without realizing it, that was a sad day:(

X-Rays or Ultrasound- I have never had an x-ray before or a broken bone for that matter, which is strange because I am the most clumsy person alive. I have had many ultrasounds during pregnancy - more than most people due to Tatum being breech.

Your Favorite Food- Hot Chocolate with toast (a Bradley family favorite), Chicken Picata and Mexican food.

Zodiac- Taurus

Gap Casting Call

The other day I was out shopping when a lady came up to me and said that Tatum looks like he could be a "Gap Baby" and that I should enter him in. Now I have had a few people tell me this before, but this time I thought I would try it. So I came home and went online to Gaps website and found out they are doing a casting call and are looking for babies for 2008. Each person can enter up to 5 current pictures, so we decided to do a little photo shoot to get some good pictures of him.

Here are some good ones we got...

Now there are ALOT of kids entered in so the chances of Tatum getting it are very slim...but still I thought it would be fun. The Gap judges will narrow down the contestants to the top 20 between October 25th and November 19th. Then they open it up to the public to vote on their favorite. We will keep everyone posted on what happens:)
So wish Tatum luck!!!

The Flying Burrito Brothers

This last week my Dad was playing basketball in the World Senior Olympics down in St. George. We were able to go and spend the weekend with him and watch some of their games. Their team name is called "The Flying Burrito Brothers" after a 60's band (those that have heard them before know how old they are). Well they won the GOLD METAL in their devision!! Its so fun to see a bunch of grown men getting so competitive and in to it.


The rest of the weekend we spent trying to savor the last of the warm weather. While it was snowing in Utah County, we were enjoying 80 degree weather down south. So we went shopping at the outlets, went mini golfing, hit up the batting cages and went to the Dixie High Carnival. Overall I think we can say that we took advantage of every last bit of sunlight.
I must say that it was sad to come home to this....

Scarecrow Festival

This weekend we went to the scarecrow festival at Thanksgiving Point. It was alot of fun except for the fact that it was freezing. It is a kind of carnival so it had a juggler and slides and a haunted house. Half way through the day it started pouring rain, thankfully it stopped and cleared up. We took Tatum over to the petting zoo and he absolutely loved it. He got a little scared when the cows would get too close to his face though. His favorite thing was inside where they had animal puppets, I can see thahe is going to love animals.

Poor Roxy!!

Lately Roxy has been a pain in the bum and a few days ago she ran away from me (which happens regularly,with me not Eric). Well it took me about 20 min. to get her back and when I did I threw her in the garage. Now before I continue you must know that we need to discipline Roxy or else she doesn't quite understand that she has done anything wrong. Well this time I went back in the garage about 1 hour later and her paw was bleeding. So we gave her a bath and trimmed the hair around her paw. Well we couldn't really see what was wrong and she kept re-opening the wound, so we made a cast for her. This is the most ghetto cast you will see, but we didn't want to take her to the vet. We first wrapped it with a paper towel, then with an ace bandage and then wrapped duct tape around the outside so she wouldn't bite it.


For some strange reason Roxy is scared of cameras, so I had to chase her around the house to get this picture.

Conference Weekend

I enjoy conference weekend so much. It is always such a relaxing weekend for me. For the Sunday session we go up to Alpine to my in laws house and have breakfast with them. This session was especially neat for me because we got to hear from President Doug Callister of the Seventy. It is really cool because he is from my home town in La Cañada California. I used to watch his grandkids and his wife was a seminary teacher. When I was in 9th grade, President Hinckley came to his house to call him to be a general authority. He was there during school hours, so at lunch time my sister and her friends went to visit him. I was really jealous that I couldnt go, due to no off campus permit. Still it was pretty neat.


After conference we had dinner and some of our friends (Scott and Natalie, Bj and Steve) came over to play volleyball with us. I forgot my camera so I couldnt capture any cool spikes. Overall we had a blast!

Scary Maze

The other day my little sister showed me this site and in the spirit of Halloween I thought it would be fun to share. If you think you have guts, I dare you to try this maze. Just click on this post and play the game... you wont be disappointed!!

Tatum can sit up!

Tatum can finally sit up!!! Its taken 7 months, but he got it down. Tatum gets so excited when he realizes that he is doing it on his own. This is a picture of his first time sitting up. He was so happy!

Lake Powell

This last week we went to Lake Powell with Eric's family. It was so much fun, Tatum loved it!! This is one of our favorite summer vacations. We got to go from Wednesday to Saturday.The weather was perfect, we could not of asked for a better trip. Eric and Tatum found a crawdad, we went for a nice hike and spent every night fishing off the back of the house boat under the stars. It was so nice and relaxing, too bad we had to come back to reality:(