Sunday, January 24, 2010

VACATION OVER

We're Back!!!! We had such a great time in Florida.. . . The weather was great and the kids were such little troopers. I think they each walked at least 20 miles while we were there! This is going to be the biggest post ever. . . but here we go!

We flew out of SLC Airport at 6:55 A.m. (this picture was taken at about 5:00 a.m. when the kids were still chipper) Here we are just waiting at the airport to check our bags. Check out all the luggage!
This is the airplane we boarded for our flight to Denver. The kids thought the walk way that connects to the airplane was pretty cool.

This is at the airport in Orlando. I knew the moment that everyone got excited to take a picture with a plastic goofy that this trip was going to be magical!

Here we are driving on Disney's Magical Express ( the bus that takes you to your resort). We were so excited to see the official Disney World Sign. By this time the kids were about to lose it because they were so excited!



Tuesday: Flight to Denver/Orlando
Quick trip to Magic Kingdom just in time to ride the Buzz Lightyear Ride and watch "Wishes" which is the fireworks show. Sorry we missed you Grandpa, Grandma and Landon (they missed their connecting flight, so they were too late arriving to watch the fireworks with us)
Wednesday: Animal Kingdom where the favorite rides were definately Mt. Everest and the Animal Safari. We met quite a few characters this day, and we totally loved the Lion King show!
Thursday: Hollywood Studios where we scared the pants off of Abby on Tower of Terror. The big kids whooped it up on Rockin' Roller Coaster, and everyone loved "Lights, Motors, Action" the car stunt show and Beauty and the Beast. We were able to finish off the night with the amazing show Fantasmic. It was so great.
Friday: Magic Kingdom where Abby found all of her brave that was left in her for the Thunder Mountain Railroad. She loved it, which was a breath of fresh air after the Tower of Terror! Lyndsie got to be in a show with Captain Jack Sparrow where she became an apprentice pirate and took the pirate oath. What a cutie! Everone loved Magic kingdom because it is so kid friendly. Sorry Landon, not so many thriller rides here! We ended the night with another great showing of "Wishes". The kids love the fireworks.
Saturday: Off to Epcot where the favorite rides were soarin', test track and mission space. Abby got to talk to Crush (the turtle from Nemo) She asked him if he has teeth. We all learned that turtles just have strong jaws. She was so happy that he called on her (the little dudet with pink spots on her shell) What a great time. Then off to world showcase where the kids loved the chinese acrobats (they had some sweet tricks) and then we skipped the fireworks show and went back to the hotel a bit early due to some seriously pooped out kids!
Sunday: Back to Magic Kingdom, hoping to see all that we missed the first day. Favorite rides were Space Mountain, and the Laugh Floor with Mike from Monsters Inc. (Except for Vivian who was sure that Roz was going to get her). Part way through the day we took Abby, Lyndsie and Vivian back to the hotel for some napping and swimming while Anna played with the big kids at Magic Kingdom. We made it back to the park in time for SpectroMagic ( a light parade) and another great showing of "Wishes". We sent Grandpa and Grandma back to the hotel and the rest of us rode a few more rides. It was a fun late night. We had two days in this park and we never made it to Toon Town. . .maybe next time!
Monday: Back to HollyWood studios where the big kids enjoyed Tower of Terror and Rockin' Roller Coaster a few last times before we had to go. We also got to ride the Toy Story Ride (one of Abby's favorites) and see the Indiana Jones Show. We also loved the street shows there with a really funny actor (Flabio Fallini) What a hoot. We left early this night for a reservation at a restaurant at the Polynesian Resort called Ohana's. Landon and Spencer especially loved the all you can eat shrimp, steak, pork, and chicken that they serve to you on a sword. Anna and Abby learned how to Hula and they got to do the limbo. Lyndsie wasn't feeling well and she slept on my lap most of the evening. We ended the evening with our last rendition of "wishes" that we could see from the restaurant. It was so fun.
Tuesday: Back to Animal Kindom for some extra magic hours in the morning. We had time to ride the Animal Safari and Expedition Everest. Abby got to see the Tigers (thanks Grandpa and Grandma). We had to head back and catch the bus to the airport. Yup, that's it. Our vacation is done!
I will post more pictures later, but there is our vacation in a nutshell!
Thanks to Grandma, Grandpa, Sarah, Katie, and Landon for all the help with the kids. We couldn't have done it with out you! We love you, thanks for a great vacation!

Friday, January 8, 2010

Little Red Hen

Today I decided to be the Little Red Hen. I let Grandpa Larsen grow the wheat, and I let him thrash the wheat. . . I 'll take it from there.

Who will help me carry the heavy old wheat bucket to my kitchen? Spencer said. . "I will"
Who will help me grind the wheat with the awesome new wheat grinder I got from Grandpa and Grandma Larsen for Christmas? Abby said, "turn that thing off. . it's noisy!"

Who help me measure the flour I made? Abby said, "I will, then can I watch my movie?"


Who will help me eat the yummy bread that I made? "me, me, me, me, me, me"
And the Larsen family lived happily ever after.
Seriously, this was a great experiment! I have never made wheat bread in my entire life, but I tried this recipe that is 1/2 wheat and 1/2 white, and it is wonderful. I'm sure I can improve my bread making skills and it will be better, but for a first try, I was impressed. Maybe some new whole wheat recipes will follow!






Saturday, January 2, 2010



HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!


Yes, we started off the new year by building a cute little snoman with Grandma Larsen. We gave her a snowman kit for her birthday, and it was definately time to try it out! The snow was a little bit dry, so with a couple of spray bottles to help us make some snowballs, we accomplished the finished product! THANKS GRANDMA!

FROSTY THE SNOMAN