Farters Day.. I mean.. Father's Day

    Brian and I went on our first date on September 9, just 2 weeks after we had met. It turned out to be such an unexpected fun adventure that he asked me out for the next day. And of course I said yes.
    We went ice blocking and afterwards we went back to his place to watch Star Trek and talk. I remember asking him what his greatest weakness was.. and out of all the answers I expected him to say... I was not expecting the fart that exploded from him.
    That's right-this kid farted... on our second date! And yet-I still married him haha.

   He later told me that on his mission to South Africa he had picked up some "bug" that made it so he had more gas than usual.. and I totally believed him! I can even remember telling my family about it at one point and getting frustrated when people "didn't understand" how hard it probably was for him.
   To this day I still don't know if the story he told me is true or not.. Regardless, when I saw this shirt I knew it was perfect for the Farter of my child. Lydia crawled into our bed wearing it in the morning, and she even added a little of her own drooling "flare."

     Something I love about Brian is his arms. Sure I love them because it makes him a great snuggler during scary movies and firework shows, and it's fun to watch him flip pancakes or vacuum the house. I guess I love that something so strong can also be so gentle and kind as well.

His arms though strong and steady, delicately held our baby girl during her first few minutes of life. 

His arms swing her around and around in the backyard on the grass and throw her into the sky so she can feel for a moment that she is flying.

His arms will tuck her into bed at night and be wrapped around her tiny little body as she cries out for one more hug.

His arms will patiently hold the seat of the bicycle as she tries riding without training wheels. 

His arms will hold her hand as she makes her way to her first day of school and his arms is where she will run when he comes home from work each night. 

His arms are folded in prayer as he pours out his soul to our Father in Heaven to watch over, protect, and help our little girl grow strong and healthy. 

His arms will hold me as we watch our baby girl and future family grow.

    Oh how I love this man of mine. He is perfect for this little Larson clan. We definitely needed someone just like him. I think I'll keep him. ツ

Lake Pals

     The 3rd week in June, Lydia and I set off for Utah leaving Brian behind, and then I set off for Lake Powell leaving Lydia with her grandparents. 

     It was my first time ever being without Lydia for more than a few hours. Was I nervous? Heck yes I was. Not only was I going to be away from my baby for a whole week-but also Brian for a whole week! And the cherry on top of it all was that I wasn't going to have service to even call and check up on them! So of course I was nervous.

    The plane ride to Utah was a disaster. What was supposed to be a 3 hour flight turned into near 5.. with a baby that only had slept 20 minutes in the last 8 hours. I flew Frontier for the sake of their "deals" but they sure were not family friendly at all. Lydia had to sit on my lap for all of that 5 hours which if you have met my child-it just isn't her style.

    Feeling terrible to all the people around me for my crazy and wild child, and trying to keep her occupied and even possibly get her to sleep was impossible. When I got off the plane [finally] I felt like I had been in a war zone and dreaded the flight home.

   The next day we dropped Miss Lydi off with her Grandpa and Grandma Larson and took off for Lake Powell. We stayed on a houseboat which is the best way to do Powell hands down. 

We found a few really neat waterfalls, this one was so slick and was really warm water.

Lots of hiking and exploring! We camped in Iceberg Canyon, where the week before had, had MAJOR hail and flash floods. The water towards the end of the canyons were covered in debris and foam so we couldn't take our boat all the way up the canyons like we normally do. But we sure had fun swimming as far up as we could go and looking for some slot canyons to climb through. 

   At night, we danced to Nat King Cole, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. In the words of my wise mother that kind of music is a "day come and passed." We will never have the innocent love songs today like we did at that time. It was a blast to dance under the light of the stars as well as the stringed lights along the houseboat.
   The stars in Powell are the best.. especially sleeping out in the open with them..

     By Morning, we would wake on top of the roof of the houseboat and go cut up the glassy waters of beautiful Lake Powell.

The family in the boat and me out skiing

    Early one of the mornings we hiked Hole in the Rock trail. This was were the Mormon Pioneers crossed Glen Canyon and was the spot that took them 6 weeks to get all their wagons down the rocky terrain. It was quite a hike and I couldn't imagine 80 wagons and 250 people-men, women, and children-climbing down the narrow and steep crevice to head on their way to central Utah.

The top sure was gorgeous! The view was worth the climb!

   It was great to spend some time with these crazy folks-we missed Camille and Ben and their kiddos as well as James (who comes home in AUGUST! That's right! SO soon!!). Hopefully the next time we go we can get everyone together.
   It sure was fun to get away for a week with my family, but by the end of the week I was ready to see my baby and hubby.

   Lydia had fun with Grandma and Grandpa Larson from all the pictures I received once I had service. We picked Lydia up on our way home from Powell and the poor girl had a hard time the next couple days with separation anxiety-she wouldn't let me out of her sight. But we still had fun visiting the Grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins before we took off for Chicago.

I missed this girl's snuggles.

   The plane ride home was just as crazy, but luckily shorter. I thankfully sat inbetween two girls who allowed Lydia to crawl all over them and give them slobbery sleepy kisses as she tried so hard to go to sleep-but then would see a flight attendant or someone walking back to the bathroom and she would pop right up, "Where are they going? What are they doing? Why aren't they taking me? I want to move. I want to get down and wiggle. I want a snack. I want to play... etc" Ha.. My parents say that she is a mini me when I was young, but this girl is a wild one of her own.

     Lydia was so excited to see her daddy once we got home, as was I. Just in time for some quick Lydi-Hugs and a little pool party.