WARNING BOUNCE STINKS: HOW TO RUIN ALL FOOD STORAGE

Hello friends and family! I would just like to take a moment to let you know that I have learned a very expensive lesson this month. Bounce dryer sheets should not be in the same area with any food or items used in any way with food. Bounce dryer sheets, even unopened boxes, will ruin everything in your food storage from cold cereal, rice, wheat, oats, and snack bars, to Zip Lock freezer bags. The food and everything else tastes and smells like Bounce. If you eat the food anyway your throat will swell and you have coughing fits that seem endless. Unfortunately, this month I have lost hundreds of dollars in food, supplies, and emergency necessities. Whats worse is we really could have used that stuff. Instead, I am forced to be strategic about all meals and find ways to replace our storage.

This is a warning to everyone because the Bounce box does not state the dangers of putting near anything.

A little catching up!

I know, I know. I promised a few of you that I would keep up on this blog. Well, I have already broken my promise. I am trying though:)

Our lives at the Larson house are always exciting. Adam is in finals and is studying hard. I am finishing up my MBA program and am working hard to stay pleasant and cheerful while I am stressed. Shea is doing well in school She is very good at spelling, math and reading. I am really proud of her. James is crawling. He is diligent in his practice efforts and prefers to be on the floor showing off.

We were able to get away for a couple of days to Nevada to spend Thanksgiving with my family. It was a lot of fun. There were 31 people there to celebrate. We spent our time riding dirt bikes, quads, and eating. The food was excellent! Thanks grandma! Shea rode behind many cousins on the quads. She probably put 150 miles on the quads during the 5 days she spent there. I managed to impress Shea by riding a dirt bike. I have to say that I impressed myself for not killing myself. It has literally been more than 10 years since I have gotten on a two wheeler bike! Karlyn, my sister, is extremely good at the whole dirt bike thing. She took me for a ride that was a bit beyond my skill level. I stalled on the mountain. She came and got me and we flooded the engine and spent the next 45 minutes trying to fix the bike. When we finally got back I could tell my dad was thrilled seeing his two daughters riding dirt bikes together! Needless to say, Karlyn smoked me but it was fun anyway!

We are ready for Christmas. Christmas means a lot to our family. We enjoy the true meaning of Christmas. We also enjoy the break from school.

This semester in a nut shell was very good. However, the main events were the following:

August-wedding ring was stolen

September-my neck surgery

September-family visited for James blessing

October-Went to Utah for Conor's wedding

October- Broke my hand

November-We became victims of check fraud

December-So far, so good!!!

We love the excitement but we hope that the next semester will be nothing more than uneventful. That would be a nice break for us!

Prop 8!

Prop 8 campaigning was an amazing experience for many, especially me. I had the opportunity to serve the Yes on 8 cause with many members of the Terra Vista Ward. During my service I was able to make very good friends, many of whom I expect to be friends with for the rest of my life. I was able to see the immense good in people. I was able to identify and appreciate the dedication and sacrifices of Terra Vista sign holders. We stood out at intersections every day for over three weeks. (not on Sunday though). We had two shifts of sign holders for most days. Many people did double duty, holding signs both in the morning and evening.

We had many people honk for us because they liked our cause. We had many people honk for us because they thought we were cute. We had some flying objects thrown at us because people thought we were hateful and bigoted. Go figure, we the peaceful baby toting, time devoting, stay at home mothers, students, hard working husbands and volunteers.... were hateful. Oh the logic.

We had our large 10' banner ripped right out of our hands by a man who claimed "we were taking his rights away by standing and holding our sign". That was poor logic at best.

Unfortunately, I am finding that my "gay" tolerance has decreased because of the terrible harassment toward us as Christians and Latter Day Saints. There are a couple of people that I know who are homosexual, whom I have the greatest respect for. Those people would not have been among the violent, hateful, foul mouthed protesters.

To all of you that held signs and dedicated so much time, money and efforts to passing prop 8, Thank you. Thank you for your friendship, hard work, dedication and service. Thank you for allowing me to get to know you and most of all, thank you for your friendship.

I have joined the "Blog" group

I have always thought the term "blog" sounded stupid. When I don't like the sound of a word, I usually avoid everything about the word. In this case, I avoided setting up a cool looking page with pictures for everyone who cares, to view. So, I still don't like the word or term "blog". However, I don't like Myspace, and facebook is not visually interesting to look at. My options are decreasing, thus I have ended up with a "blog". Another word I avoid and refuse to say is "winningest" It is a word...Google it! I can't think of a more ridiculous word. That sounds like a word a 2-year-old would use when excited about winning Chutes and Ladders three times in a row. There are a number of other words that I refuse to associate with but I will end the list there. I am smart enough to know that if you are reading this, you did not visit my blog to learn about my weird hang ups. You obviously visited my blog to view pictures of my beautiful children, handsome husband, and our good looking relatives!

I have heard that blogs are a great tool for keeping a journal. I keep a personal journal but have often found myself amazed at the number of misspelled words! I would hate for my posterity reading my journal after I am gone to think I was dim. I am simply a product of public education after "spell check" came around. So, I am committed to keeping a blog for my grand kids and great grand kids to think I am smart. ha.

I will begin with Halloween pictures from 2008. James was a bull and Shea was a ghost and witch. Shea was a ghost for Trunk or Treat and a witch for Trick or Treat.