Parent Teacher Conference

Last night we had parent/teacher conferences. As Eric is out of town again I took the two little boys with me, that was fun! But, this is a blog about bragging about my two older boys, so hang on as this entire blog is a proud mom moment! :)
Robbie has all A's and one A-, his teacher had nothing but great things to say about him. These are some of her remarks:
He is a quiet student who keeps to himself and is very respectful.
He loves sports and includes others at recess.
He loves to read and is at a fifth grade third month level.
He is very bright but does not boast about it.
He does not like to have attention given to himself.
It is a pleasure to have him in class and I don't have any concerns.
That was so nice to hear. I know he is a great kid and is loves school and learning. I don't know where he came from. But I am very thankful for him and his hard work and love of learning.
Kamren had all 4's (they don't get grades yet) 4 is the highest. So he is doing well. Here are some of the comments his teacher made:
Kamren has A LOT of friends.
He includes everyone and everyone loves him.
He is very bright.
He loves to read and is at a second grade sixth month level.
He is VERY SOCIAL!!!
He forgets to raise his hand and is so excited about answering questions.
He loves to help others and loves to talk!
He needs to remember to put his homework in his binder...not just his backpack!
He loves to write notes and draws pictures on his homework.
He always gets his work done on time
Kamren is my boy! My mom would always come home for ptc and say that the teachers said I was a good student, I just needed to learn to not talk so much. I just had to laugh. His teacher is a neighbor so we both just laughed, cause that is just Kam. But at Church it is a different story, he is so quiet. I guess that is a good thing.
It was fun to hear how different the boys are. This is something I know, but it was fun to see how their teachers see them. It is fun to have them so different, it keeps me guessing on what they will do next.
Before Christmas their Nana Larsen and I went and had lunch with the boys at school. Kamren had lunch first and the entire time people were coming up to Kam and saying hi and just wanting to talk to him. It was fun to see him in his social glory! Then in came Robbie. He is Mr. serious and quiet. He has his select few friends and is good with that. He has a variety of friends that don't really play together unless Robbie gets them all together. He is one that gets along with anyone and likes to do everything. It was so much fun to see him in his social environment.
I guess that I have said what I wanted to and bragged enough about the boys. They are so much fun and I love them dearly.
Just a quick note on the two little ones: David is still two and acts like it. But we love him anyhow. If you ask him what he is he says, "I'm a stinker" It is so funny. Abraham now weighs 11 lbs and is 5 months old. He started cereal and is liking it thus far. They are both doing well and keep me busy all day long.

Santa

Dear Santa, I would like one of everything! Thanks!

Abraham is so excited for his first visit to Santa.

Kamren asked Santa to bring him Heely shoes and Trick Tracks (hot wheel track)

Robbie asked Santa to bring him a 70 or 80 dirt bike, but he also told Santa he had to pay for 1/2 of that, so this year he wanted a model car and sport stuff.

David asked Santa to bring him some toys!

Salt Lake City

Robbie and Abraham showing off their USA wrestling hats.

Robbie and Kamren wanted to touch the Temple at Temple Square...what cute boys!

Kamren standing at the door to the Temple.

Robbie at the door to the Temple, both boys promised to return to the Temple and live worthy to enter.

Some of the lights and nativities at the Temple.

Eric and I at Temple Square, it was cold!

David saying "cheese" while looking at the lights!

Kamren and Robbie at the Salt Lake Slam, wrestling tournament.

Holiday Craze

Eric is done traveling for the next month! He was gone a lot last month, so it will be great to have him home. One time he was gone for 8 days!!! I was so busy that week that it went by quickly. I had Evening of Excellence for Young Women, which I was in charge of the decorations. Thank heavens for my mother who always comes and helps me make the Cultural Hall so beautiful. Then she watched the boys for me so I could go and enjoy the evening. My mom is the BEST!!

We had scouts, wrestling practice, piano, wrestling meet...which I braved with all 4 boys. It went ok, I was happy to have it over. The Friday he was gone I went to Twilight with some of my friends. It was so great to get out and have some adult conversation.

Life has been a little crazy for the past few weeks. The boys have finished up the folklore wrestling season and had the last tournament in SLC in the Salt Palace this past week end. They had a great time and both placed 7 or 8 out of a group of 20 boys. We were/are very proud of them and how hard they worked. They both love wrestling and we love watching them. It will be nice to have a break for the next month or so before freestyle and greco start. Their coach wants to continue practice in a few weeks so they don't regress at all. But that is Eric's department, so that is fine with me.

We had Thanksgiving at our home with Eric's family and a couple from RMS that he used to work with. I love baking and cooking the meal, but it is two days of "slaving" in the kitchen and then we eat in about 45 min. and it's over. I am not sure it that is worth all the work, but the family seems to enjoy it, so I do it. It was so fun to have all of Eric's family here with us. Katie and Ian came up on Tuesday night from Provo, and then Emily and his parents came up late Wednesday, around 2:00am. We had a great weekend. The boys loved shooting the air riffle out in the back yard, Ian was the sharp shooter. We took the kids to Bolt and then the next night we went to see Australia, I loved Australia.

It is always sad to have company leave and a little lonely. I miss having people here, but it is also nice to get back into the swing of things. I decorated the house for Christmas on Monday and Tuesday. Then started getting ready for my annual ornament party. I have done this every year since living in Idaho, and I look forward to it every year. I guess it is "tradition" for all of the ladies who have come. It is funny that I am asked as soon as Thanksgiving is here about when my party will be. I am glad that everyone has a wonderful time, I stress over it every year.

The day after my party we headed to Utah for the Salt Lake Slam (wrestling). It was crazy getting there, but well worth all the stress. I'll post pictures on my next blog of the tournament. We stayed with my sister and her family. The kids had a ball playing together. Eric and I went to a Jazz game on Friday night, it was fun to go on a date! We ran into the Petersons from our ward here, it was fun to see familiar faces. Saturday we wrestled and then in the evening we went to the lights on Temple Square with the Wheelers and Jacksons. Then we headed to the Wheelers for dinner and some games. It was fun to see Katie and Ian again and my sisters little girls just fell in love with Ian.

Now we are home and are trying to get things ready for Christmas. YEAH!!!

Boys Pictures

Robbie would not smile for us! He is such a funny boy.

Such a serious little boy!

I just love this one of Kamren. I think this captures his personality.

We had the boys pictures taken while we were in Utah. These are some of our favorite ones of David.

A huge thank you to Thayne who took the time to photograph our crazy boys! You're awesome!

Halloween

Robbie, Kamren and David on Halloween night.

Dr. Abraham H. Larsen. He was also a pumpkin, but I don't have a photo of it. I'll have to get one later. This is not the best one of him in his Dr. outfit, so I'll be taking another one of these.

Robbie and Kamren before trick or treating!

David ready to go get treats! He was not sure what was going on, but he did not like his hat and did not wear it out, even though it was cold!

Kamren, before school. He could not wear his costume to school or have a lot of face paint on.

Robbie was a BYU fan! He is a traitor! He used to love BSU, but has traded to BYU after going to two games with Nana and Grandpa Larsen this season.

Robbie cheering for BYU!

Eric was out of town for Halloween! It was a crazy, crazy day. The older boys were up at 5:30 ready to get ready for school and have their faces painted. I did get them to go back to sleep for about an hour! We got them off to school and then I got things ready for Kamren's school party. His teacher asked me to plan and carry out his Halloween party! We frosted cookies, played Halloween Bingo, read Halloween stories and made a pumpkin craft. My mom came and watched David and Abraham so I could go and be productive! I don't know what I would do without her. She is the best mom and Nana the boys could ask for!

After the party we did homework, cleaned up a little and headed out to a trunk or treat a friend and me planned. Elsha did most of the work, I was her back-up! She is amazing. After the trunk or treat we went up to my Grandad's and then to my parents. My dad took the three older boys trick or treating and then David spent the night with my parents as we had a wrestling meet in Shelley the next morning.

We had to weigh in at 7:30am, so it was an early morning. I didn't take pictures this meet as I was alone, Eric was still gone! The boys did a great job, Kamren took a first and two second places. Robbie took third over all in his group, he has some tough competition this year. It will be fun to watch them grow and learn.

We will be heading to SLC to wrestle in the Salt Palace in December. That should be a lot of fun. The boys are really looking forward to that.

Eric is finally home and will be home for a couple of weeks and then he heads of for another week! I am not looking forward to that.

Fall Fun

October has been a busy month. Eric started his job with Klim and is loving it. I like that he is home so much earlier and on Saturdays! He has been gone a lot this month. He went to Denver for 4 days and then was gone to South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. This week he leaves for Michigan...and yes, he will be gone for Halloween. I am not so happy about that.

This month we had our sisters and mom reunion. Eric was gone so Tyson and Audrey Dye watched the three older boys and I took Abraham with me. We went to Salt Lake City for three days. I didn't remember my camera, so I don't have any pictures of the fun event. We spent one day relaxing, shopping and then we watched a movie, Jane Austins Book Club, it's a good show if any of you are looking for a good chick flick! We spent a day scrap booking and making jewelry and then we went to Hale's Theater and saw "Into the Woods". It was a great show and we all enjoyed it. Saturday we spent shopping and then drove home! We had a wonderful time and it went by too fast.

Once we were home it was back into "real life". The boys started wrestling and their first meet is this weekend. Eric will be gone, so we shall see how it goes. They are all excited about Halloween. I hope it is not too cold.

We went to Utah this weekend. Eric had a show in South Jordan so we all tagged along. The two older boys went to the BYU game with their Nana and Grandpa Larsen. They had a fabulous time. I spent time with my sister Kristel and her girls. We had a fun time together. Sunday the kids just played and had fun with their cousins. It is nice to be home and back to "normal".