Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween! My friend Heather Dahle is a crazy-good photog and she took pictures at the trunk-or-treat. Here are 2 of the pics of the kids.

I can't figure what cracks me up more...V's tongue or P's face.

Be safe tonight!

Apes

A Run in the Rain

I'm a big chicken. But today I did something big...for me. I ran in the rain. A proper 4.5-mile run in real rain. I told Sean I'd run outside if I could have a nice waterproof running rain coat and the man, who is a gem, got me one. It's amazing. Pearl Izumi Infinity Softshell. Pink. Iphone pocket. Waterproof. Windproof. Insanely warm. I've been wearing it...just not to run. I've been running on W/F while Gage is at preschool and today when I dropped Gage off it was raining. A lot. I know, I know. I'm from Washington this should not be a deterrent but it at least has been an excuse not to go. But today I did! I did and it was wet and raining and in my face and AMAZING! As I was running down Chapin road and Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" came on Pandora I felt like I could do anything. It was incredible. I might even have the guts to run in the morning now...in the dark.

Vermont

Gosh it's been forever since I posted. It's been a busy few months that's for sure!

So Crete was a bust. We had a trying 3-4 months there where--well--it was touch-and-go.

We were blessed with this most amazing job opportunity in South Burlington, VT, where Sean is the new CFO of Logic Supply. It has truly been a miracle for our family. He is so happy and I'm happy he's happy.

We left Nebraska the end of July with a lot of fond memories. We miss my parents and Amric so much!! We also miss our neighbors the amazing Tucker's and our wonderful friends the magnificent Miller's.

We found a townhome in Essex and we are close to the school.

Vermont is beautiful right now. The leaves are starting to change. School has started. Kids are in soccer. I'm reffing soccer on Saturday's. No transcription right now. Miss my piano students. Debating whether to teach again here.

I'm grateful for my new friends here in Vermont and how great and welcoming everyone has been. Me thinks we can be happy here.

Here are some pics of our trip to Vermont and our time here so far…enjoy!

The Mississippi. I thought I saw Jim & Huck 

The American Gothic house. It was cool. 

Sean and my dad in Indiana

The Nauvoo Temple

Indian Brook Reservoir. It's amazing

Swimming in Lake Champlain

Our new home

The Vermonster! My first Vermont Girls Night was a success.

Palmyra

Pax at Indian Brook

On one of the Saturday walkabouts Sean does with the kids

Pax is a soccer diva

I'm a ref!

Sean trying to be tough 

Vaughn turns 7 and I learn a little something

I learned a parenting lesson tonight. It's Vaughn's birthday today. He turned 7. I wanted so bad for it to be a good birthday. The only thing he asked me for was books about Deadly Animals. So what did I do? I bought him a Nintendo DS XL with Mario Kart and some dollar items from the Target bins. He opened his presents from Nana & Papi which were amazing! Nana tied him a new blanket which he LOVES and Papi got him some snorkeling fins and goggles for the lake. He was in heaven! He opened up the coloring book, Ritz crackers with cheese and a light-up yo-yo (totaling $3 from the dollar bins remember) more Heaven. Then he opens up the DS and the game and BLANK stare. Totally disregards it and goes back to the yo-yo and his singing Spider-Man card (from Nana&Papi). Lesson learned. I get it. I probably over bought and he doesn't really know what it is and I'm sure if I opened it for him and taught him how to play he would love it and play it all the time. But I think it's kinda great that he doesn't and that he wants to build things and color and create. So I'm taking it back and taking my kid to the zoo and buying him a book about deadly animals.

With the craziness that has been my life the past 3 months patience is something that I have needed to learn and I've still not got a handle on it but I found this quote awhile ago and it's stuck with me and I wanted to share it:

Everything comes in its own time.
Everything comes when you are ripe.
Everything comes when you deserve it
    - this is my experience.

In the last thirty years I have not felt, even for a single moment, any impatience, and I have seen that everything goes on becoming better. Existence itself is involved; we are part of it - there is no need to worry. Even something that looks dark today may prove just the beginning of a new dawn. Before the dawn the night is the darkest.

Just watch life.

-Osho

(Tathaastu Jan/Feb 2012, p. 92)

Reflections on Turning 30 (Tomorrow)

I found this quote from Lord Byron about turning 30. I think I’m going to ignore it.

I always looked to about thirty as the barrier of any real or fierce delight in the passions, and determined to work them out in the younger ore and better veins of the mine --and I flatter myself (perhaps) that I have pretty well done so --and now the dross is coming.

I turn 30 tomorrow, yikes! Have been dreading this one though. An age marker hasn’t bugged me so much since 27, so I guess that is only 3 years . . . hmmm. Well, never mind . . . I love birthdays, I mean I LOVE them. I think everyone should always have just absolutely fabulous birthdays. I just love having one day that you can revel in yourself. Especially since as a mom that opportunity seems to be getting fewer and far between. And I know that one you should revel with caution, you don't want to revel in your awesomeness all the time; you wouldn't have many friends probably nor would you have time to be one.

What are your favorite birthday memories and/or birthday traditions? 

One of my favorite birthday memories is turning 16. When I turned 16 my mom sent me flowers to school on my birthday and my dad traded appraisals to get me a car. I love that birthday. My parents went crazy out of their way to make me feel loved and special and it is just now as a mom that I get it. Don't you wish you could go back in time and just shake yourself!    

I had no idea then what life had in store for me. I thought I would be a world-famous doctor-astronaut-traveler and be rich and famous. I did not see myself turning 30 in Nebraska with 3 babies and a hubby nor would I have ever thought that it would take me 8 years to get my Bachelor's degree, or that my kids would come so fast (though I'm pretty sure God had a hand in that, he knows me so much better than I do myself) but here is one thing I know as I turn the big 3-0; I am truly content with my life. I love it and wouldn't trade it for anything. I love my husband, my kids, my family, friends and my Heavenly Father and Savior Jesus Christ. I know that I have been looked after and guided and protected much more than I could ever hope to know or appreciate. 

I have had many great and fantastic birthdays in my life but I’m hoping that I can make 30 the best yet. It’s already been pretty fantastic. My mom laughs at me that I’m making every weekend of November a party. She took me to Kansas City last weekend for Time Out for Women (which was incredible in so many ways) and this weekend Sean and I will get to go on a date (and I know what he got me but I’m not supposed to and it’s pretty great). I get to see my brother and his family whom I haven’t seen in a long time on Monday and then next weekend I get some pretty important visitors from Vegas and we are going to Twi-Hard J. It’s pretty fantastic. I’m so blessed.

I love this quote from T.S. Eliot, “We shall not cease from exploration and the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started... and know the place for the first time.”

I hope that in my next decade and hopefully forever I don’t ever stop exploring.

I'm going to go enjoy the last day of my 20's.

Love,

Apes 

October in Nebraska

October 2011

October was busy for us. It was a really fun month. My parents took us to Vala’s Pumpkin Patch which we have decided is an autumn Disneyland in Gretna (almost as expensive!) It was really fun! We watched pig races and went in the corn maze, launched water bottles out of cannons and went down a super fast slide. The food was great and it was really incredible.

Vaughn finished soccer, sad! Can’t wait for it to start back up again. We made some really good friends (even me J) and Sean had a lot of fun coaching. 

Nic & Angie came to visit us. It was so fun to show them around. We took them to Winter Quarters to the Visitors Centre and Temple grounds. It really is a beautiful place and has such a special atmosphere. The kids always like getting to see the cabin, wagon, handcart and ship replicas there. We went downtown and walked across the pedestrian bridge into Iowa. I couldn’t figure out where everyone was until we saw the Nebraska game on a big screen downtown! We took them to Po’Boys which is my favorite BBQ place in Gretna. It seriously wafts through my window as I drive by it which is usually at least once a day. It is so delicious.

My mom made us lots of good food (thanks mom!) and then she was gracious enough to babysit so we could have a double-date (thanks mom!). It was so good to be with family, Larkin style.

We went to a play at The Rose Theater which is a children’s theatre in downtown Omaha called “How I Became A Pirate.” It was super cute and a really fun thing to do with the kids.  

For Halloween we went to the trunk-or-treat at the Clarke’s farm with our branch and then we trick-or-treated on Monday night with our neighbor-friends Anne & Ty and their girls Mya and Adalyn. It was really a fun night since our neighborhood is great and everyone was out. Steve and his family, cul-de-sac neighbors, hosted a get together for the neighborhood with hot chocolate and s’mores.

We just had a really great month. It’s gorgeous here in the fall. We feel so blessed to be doing well. Our thoughts and prayers are with all our friends and family. We love you guys

Apes