Saturday, May 31, 2008

OK...scratch the sunny weather...

I was wrong...so were the weathermen. (So, what else is new?) No sunny weather today.
We slept in and had a lazy morning. We are getting ready to go see RUSH in concert at the Gorge tonight. I know MAYBE 3 songs by RUSH....but live music is always fun.
I have to mention a few words about the LOST finale. How cool was it that Sawyer went back for Hurley and then sacrificed himself for his friends in the helicopter by jumping out so they had enough fuel to make it to the frieghter? He is so HOT! Then, Hello? Penny & Desmond finally found each other! yay! That was the best part! Personally, I don't think Jin is dead...we have to wait until January to find out though. Plus, the island moved?!?! To where...? Or should I ask to when? That would make it even tougher to find! I really like the part where Sayid busted Hurley out of the Mental institution. And I am glad that John Locke ends up dead...eventually. Whew!
All in all I think it was the best season finale EV-A! ;)

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Yardwork, Cleaning, and Sunny Weather?

I am getting so excited about the possible good weather we have coming our way. I have a full four days off coming up and I plan on helping Cindy clean out stuff, taking some stuff to the dump, helping Dave weed in the yard, and hopefully scrapbooking.
Last Sunday we went to Carlen's house on Sunday for yummy belgian waffles and to play with the kids. Sweet Chloe had painted a beautiful flower tile for me for Mother's Day (since my children "haven't come yet" :)...) Wasn't that sweet? I love it. I will take and post a picture of it soon! We had so much fun hanging out with their family. Tanner and I played chess. Chloe & I did too, but soon switched to the matching game with McKenzie and Ainsley. Samantha took to Dave so quickly...maybe because she appreciates a fellow friend with a bald head. :) LOL
See Carlen's blog for pictures: oursweetcrew.blogspot.com

Saturday, May 24, 2008

Heritage & Memory

Dave and his Momma...
Grandpa Larson, Mom & Aunt Janey at Dad's grave.
My lesson this Sunday is on Heritage. I love this quote from Elaine Cannon:
"Be glad you are you--not another instead. With all that you're heir to, add some of your own. Contribute. Accomplish. Serve. Excel. Drink deeply of the good things in life and of the blessings of the spirit. Live that you may one day hand to your children and your children's children the blessing of a heritage even more worthy than your own."
These special people (pictured above) have left me & taught me great things that I need to be sure to pass on to my children (someday).
Dave's Mom: Smile a lot. Serve others & the Lord diligently. Laugh. Always serve dessert.
Grandpa Larson: Serve your country, get an education, live fiscally responsibly. (He will be 95 on June 11th and he's still going strong at slower speed).
My Mom: Love deeply. Never Gossip. Count your blessings. Serve your Family & Husband first.
Aunt Janey: (Happy late birthday--hers was on the 22nd!) Follow your dreams. Family is important. Pursue your intrests.
My Dad: Find Balance between your passions and your responsibilities. Earn the trust of others. Respect your parents. Always be learning.
I miss my Dad so much, and Grandpa Larson (his dad) is really slowing down. Although we'd love to see him stick around for at least 5 more years and make it to 100-- he says he's out of booze. :) the reality is his cancer may be returning and his world has shrunk to the 12 blocks around his house. He hasn't driven at night for quite some time and he's getting pretty deaf and tires easily. I will miss him a lot soon enough. This Memorial day, I renew my promise to myself to make the most of the time I have left with those ancestors that are still with us. Also, I resolve to continue to learn of and honor those who have passed before.
Another point my lesson makes about heritage is that although we are not able to control what kind of ancestors we have, we can each determine what kind of ancestor we will be for our posterity. So ponder this: What kind of ancestor will you be?

Thursday, May 22, 2008

A beautiful evening on Lake Washington

I love the sunset over the water...
A cute one of me & dave
Suzanne, Shawna & Andrew
Trent the Lizard man :) LOL
Thought I'd share some fun pictures from are warm day last friday evening that we spent on our boat out on Lk Washington. It was a fun evening, we ate at Ivars and then finished off with shakes at Kidd Valley. Yum Yum.

Sunday, May 18, 2008

Happy Birthday Dave!

Baby DAve (41 yrs ago)

Silly Dave
I don't really know what this is about...


He likes to jump in front of the camera!

The latest photo of us on our boat

Dave turns 41 today! He is so funny and really fun to be around.
He is my best friend and always makes me laugh.
Happy Birthday Baby!

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Some fun pics from Florida...

Me and Cindy...

Me and Dave


The gang (minus me)


I love this one of Dave...I took it while we were waiting for the water taxi.

This is a great on of Suz!

In the mean time I have been back to the grind. With Safeway cutting our hours at the pharmacy and trying to catch up on laundry at home...it's been a little Crazy.

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Photos from Nassau and a Layout from Antigua

The Atlantis Hotel (we used the lazy river and tube slides)
What a blast!

It's us at the beach!


The guys are begging us to stop floating and go get lunch.
These were the pictures of us Ziplining in Antigua...It was a total blast!

Friday, May 9, 2008

Photos from Virgin Gorda

Suzanne, Me & Cindy
We love palm trees!
These boulders are volcanic remnants from ages ago!
The view from the top of Virgin Gorda...
The water color is so vivid...these pics don't do it justice!
The 5 of us!


Lauren, Me, Cindy & Suzanne
(with Dave peeking through my legs)

My baby & me!
This is our favorite port!
Fun in the warm water.



Thursday, May 8, 2008

Pictures from Antigua

Early Morning....heading for the ziplines!

Dickinson's Bay Beach....Beautiful! (went there after ziplining!)


Dave & Trent Floating in the ocean!


me & dave :)

I've worked 2 twelve hr days since we got home...I am so behind on e-mails, blogging, and laundry! I will post more pictures soon!

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

We're home!

Wow! We are finally home (although our luggage is NOT)...It's good to be home. We had a great 12 days away but you start missing your own bed, your pets, your house, etc. Although I did not miss having to make meals everyday or Seattle weather! LOL
We are leaving in a minute to drive back to Seatac and see if our luggage ends up on the 11pm flight (the one we were supposed to come in on before we changed to the earlier 8pm flight). Wish us luck.
I will post soon with details on the ship, ports, excursions, photos and getting to meet and bond with some of my Scraplove friends in real life (IRL) when we met in FLL to go out to dinner. :)
See ya soon!

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Pictures from San Juan

This is us in front of our Cruise ship in San Juan.
We were only there from 5pm to midnight but we got to visit the
purse stand! I got a cute LV, a Kate Spade and a Coach one for MIL.

Trent & Suzanne in front of our ship...

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

I got in some MAJOR scrapping before leaving for my trip!








Ya'all be good while I'm gone...K? (hee hee)
I'll try to post from the boat!

Cute Pictures I found on Dave's phone

Me and my cute niece Cosette who was a cow girl in her school play.
Adorable.

Me and my beautiful Mother-in-law June (what a sweet lady).


Me in the shoe department at Nordstrom's while Dave buys YET ANOTHER

pair of Nikes for work...he is really hard on tennis shoes!

Us last night at the Mariner's game...They won and we had a BLAST!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

50 Things about Michele & Dave

I saw Melanie do this on her blog and totally copied her idea! :)

1. We were married on June 21, 1991. (Our typical response is "the longest day of the year" because it is summer solstice and it really felt LONG)!
2. We went to Lake Chelan on our honeymoon.
3. He could eat ice cream every night; she could usually pass.
4. We don't play board games at all (together). She likes to play but is apparently too competitive for him. ;)
5. We do play WAR with each other or BUTTHEAD with friends.
6. I don't remember what our first big fight was about. (we don't have many).
7. Countries he most wants to visit in Europe: Italy, Greece, the Mediterranian
8. Countries she most wants to visit in Europe: Austria (Sound of Music tour), and England for the old castles.
9. Camping is fun but we like hotels with pools better.
10. He loves waterskiing...she barely even swims and doesn't like to get her face wet.
11. Both are not really into politics and quite fed up with our options this election.
12. He is a dog lover; she loves them but thinks they slobber a lot.
13. He's quite the dresser...even cuff links on Sundays.
14. She's a pharmacist but wants to be a mommy.
15. He works at a health club and loves the social aspect of his job.
16. We love to eat at Azteca.
17. We both are not great spellers.
18. We are both fed up with winter/spring weather in Washington and are seriously considering moving to AZ.
19. He prefers Steak or beef, she likes pasta dishes.
20. We can’t get enough of the Mexican Coke in bottles at Costco!
21. We love to travel to warm places.
22. She loves reading Harry Potter & the Twilight series. He HATES anything "sci-fi" and prefers reading historical novels like "Gone with the Wind".
23. He is our dreamer/planner.
24. She is our organizer/doer.
25. She gives him haircuts once a week.
26. We like the movie Ferris Buhler's Day Off. (We have a huge DVD collection).
27. We like to go for drives.
28. We love brownies and carmel popcorn.
29. We are trying to eat healthier.
30. We have lots of nicknames for each other.
31. She likes to watch TV; he thinks it’s the most annoying thing ever unless it involves sports.
32. Fortunately, he is converted to The Office and LOST.
33. We love watching House Hunters on HGTV.
34. He complains about weather if it's anything but sunny; hence, our weekly trip to the tanning bed to get some UV therapy for his mood.
35. We love driving to Magnolia where Dave grew up and reminiscing.
36. She deals with the finances.
37. He does ALL yard work.
38. He & kitty kill the spiders.
39. We both cook.
40. We are both very close to our families, and we're lucky to have all of her family and his parents in this state. (So why do we want to move to AZ?)
41. We like the show Dirty Jobs.
42. She thinks he is the sexiest person she knows.
43. He thinks she’s pretty cute, too.
44. He’s very social, she’s not as social.
45. At the movies, she could get a small popcorn and eat it all by herself- but that would be very bad.
46. He does not eat popcorn unless there is carmel on it.
47. He went on a mission to Georgia and was "Elder Elder" :)
48. She got married when she was 20.
49. He plays baseball, she reads and scrapbooks.
50. We do actually mind the rain.

Now I tag all my friends. I challenge you to create a list. It can be about what you like to do, OR places you'd like to go to, OR things you'd like to do before you die.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

Joy

This is our cute Larson family circa 1979...This photo is so cute because it shows everyone's common expressions. I was watching Carlen be funny, Kerry was encouraging Cami's sillyness and Michael was just fascinated by the camera. Mom and Dad looked happy and not too overwhelmed by 5 kids! LOL.

We recently re-watched "Bucket List" with Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. (Thanks for the fun night out Ashley and Wendell!) and I was struck by the two Life Questions posed by Morgan Freeman's character to Jack Nicholson's about the measure of one's life.

Have you found Joy in your life?

Have you brought Joy to others?

These are deep, important questions that I tend to lose sight of in my day to day life. Right now I am feeling very joyful. (Maybe because we leave for vacation in 4 days and I finished work yestderday and don't have to go back for 17 days!) I also pray that I do bring Joy to others.