The day before the first day of school...

Ok, so I'm waay behind and should have written this on their actual first day of school, but that's what you get for having a slacker for a friend.  I must admit I didn't do much of anything that first day of school.  (Unless you count my dear hubby buying me this sweet new laptop, he is THE best!!)  Anywho, I really should start with the day before the first day of school.  

I'm going to start with River, cause this is one of the best stories ever. :)  I totally tried to hold him back a year...but he caught me!  We went in for meet the teacher day, (which again, was the day before school starts) Unfortunately I had lost the paper with their teachers names so we went straight into the office.  We got Canyon's kindergarten teacher, Talon's first grade teacher, and River's fifth grade teacher....ya, about that.  We aren't entirely sure what happened, the office said I must have filled out the paper work wrong.  I say it must have been a typo...but since he has been in fifth grade for a year, maybe I did try to hold him back.  To River's credit, he really kept his cool, he gave me "THE LOOK" of certain doom, and took Bronco in the stroller and sat down, on the other side of the office, staring at me.  Every so often he would calmly walk over and say "fifth grade..." and then wander off.  My poor boy, I think he was in shock!  The worst came when the office lady said she would have to talk to the principal, and we should take a seat so she can help others while we waited for her to come back to the office.  He just sat there for a few minutes, still giving me the look of doom, when he finally spoke, it wasn't much better.  "But...but, MOM!"  Uh Oh, I was in real trouble, you see, he usually gets really mad really fast, I have to send him away, then he comes back and we talk it out.  This time he was building up steam, we were all in for it now!  Thankfully that is when the principal came in, and she had a quick whispered conversation with the receptionist, and then went back to her office.  As cheerfully as I could I said, "See, they are sorting it out right now, you won't have to re-do the fifth grade after all!"  Oops, I should have left that last part out.  "MOM!"  This time my rescue came from non-other then Bronco, "Riber, LET ME OUT!"  Who knew he could say that?!  I must add her that he sounded just like the buggly brothers!  (and the Murdock family know exactly who I'm talking about!)  That was about when the principal came back, and gave us River's new teacher.  :)  Now he is in the 6th grade, and apparently, that makes everything right in the world...for now.  

Well, tha'ts all your going to get out of me tonight, more...well, later. =)

Two-Year-Old

Saturday was simply a brilliant day!  River was at scout camp, (his first one with out Dad tagging along) Rob took Talon with him to fix a friends AC, that left me with only 2 boys!  We loaded up our 'too small' clothes and went to the Stake Clothing Swap.  Can I just say how impressed I was?!  It was a little odd at first as they weren't 'open' yet, and the hall at the Church was lined with Mom's and their kids.  We dropped off our bag, and stood in line.  Ten O'Clock straight up they let us into the gym, the place was filled with tables piled high with clothing!  The stage was stacked 5 deep with shoes, and they were handing out garbage sacks (you know the 13 gallon ones people use in their kitchen) to fill with the clothing they picked out to take home.  I found 2 skirts that fit perfectly, I was worried since they don't exactly have a fitting room! Found River some nice gray dress pants, and a white button up shirt.  Can you believe he jumped from a 12 to nearly a 16!  (aaaahhhhh I won't let my little man grow that fast!)  Canyon found a shirt, a tie, a pair of blue pants, and we found a sweet biker jacket, shoes, and a camo fleece pullover for Bronco.  ALL FREEEEEE!!
Once I got home I threw our hot new duds in the wash, and started dishes.  Have I mentioned that our dishwasher doesn't work?  Well, it doesn't, and I HATE spending hours standing in front of the sink.About then Rob called and said that Jefafa and Brittany were headed our way with their twin boys, and their itty bitty baby girl, I think she's only 8 weeks.  Now there isn't much more I love then hangin one to itty bitty's, especially if they happen to be girls!!  So I put Bronco down for a nap, sent Canyon to a friends house, and began cleaning like mad!  I'm not the cleanest person on the block, and it just so happens that the only carpet in our house is very light and in the dinning room.  (With four boys, that just isn't a pretty sight!.) They show up, we get to catching up soon Rob and Talon make it home and he says that he invited his friend Bryan, his kids and wife.  So now we have an impromptu BBQ!  I just love these kinds of days. :)  About twenty minutes later Bryan gets here with his two-year-old boy, and seven-year-old daughter, but no wife. :(  We have seen him only a few times in the last few years, and never with his wife.  Rob keeps teasing him, saying that we don't even believe he's married.  Next to show up is Ann and Alex with their 12-year-old daughter.  We boiled bratts in beer and onions while Rob threw the hot dogs on the grill for the kids.  Soon however, I realized that in the madness I forgot to buy diapers.  So Brittney and I head off to Reams just down the road on the corner to buy diapers.  Unfortunately when I tried to change the stinky baby, the diapers were size 1.  Like thats going to fit my 2-year-old tank. hehe  So I got the last two diapers out of the diaper bag (which, by the way, I still need to replace) and just gave the bag of diapers to Brittany for her itty bitty.  
Rob was giving the guys a tour of our back yard, with the black berry bushes we are trying to give away, the peach and cherry trees, the choke cherry bushes on the south side, and the 'barn' in the very back.  Behind the barn is Hobble Creek, but because of the field fencing we put up you can not see down to bank to the river.  After words we came inside to play cards, when the dogs threw up on the only carpet, right under the table.  The grown men scattered like leaves in the wind, and I got to cleaning up.  Once done with that clean up, I heard some splashing from the bathroom, I ran in just in time to see Bronco flushing a hand towel.  Quickly I snatched the towel from the drain, but it still wasn't flushing.  Angrily I called to Rob, he rushed in to see the toilet over flowing, as I tossed towels down, and the baby standing in the tub, clothes dripping with toilet water.  Once I got the towels down, and took the baby out to put him in the last diaper, Rob used the plunger, and got one plastic Tonka Truck out.  But it still wasn't flushing.  We shut the door, and began our card game.  When one of the twins said something about going potty, I rushed in to the bathroom just in time to see him pulling up his pants, and a present floating in our unflushable toilet.  Saying nothing of our present, I locked the door and told his mom they both needed the bathroom, it was downstairs on the left.  We returned to the card game, (Apples to Apples love that game!!)  It was around 10:30 before everyone left, and the sink was piled high with dishes, but we had a great time.  Leaving the dishes for the morning, we went to bed.  
Sunday morning I woke up just in time to get everyone dressed and ready for church.  Well, I can't say just in time since we were about 15 minutes late.  I left Bronco home with dad since his runny nose came back again.  However Talon and Canyon totally made up for his absence.  They just couldn't find their quiet voices anywhere!  Soon enough Sacrament was over I was able to put them in Primary and head off to my class.  Until the door was thrown open and Canyon yelled "MOOMMYY"  So off to sit with him in Primary I went.  Unfortunately, that set of Talon.  We made it through the opening exercises, and mostly through singing time before I gave up and we went home.  While I knocked on River's classroom door, Talon and Canyon decided to fight over the Primary door, yelling, slamming, and causing general mayhem. Now I'm done even pretending to be nice, I grabbed them by the ears and stormed home.
Once home, I felt much better, having used all my energy dragging the scared boys home.  Rob had pulled out another plastic Tonka truck, and was attempting to seat the toilet.  LOL the phrase, "seat the toilet" hehe.  But we are Larsen's, and one trip to Home Depot is never enough.  The toilet needs two was rings to seat (hehe) properly.  So we changed clothes, and headed back to Home Depot.  On the way, I remembered that Bronco is wearing his last diaper, so we went to Costco, then to Sportsmans Warehouse, (River got his Totin Chip (some card from Boy Scouts that says he is certified to carry a pocket knife) so Rob had told him he would buy him a knife.  Then we were off to Home Depot.  Can I just add a little side note here?  The boys (Talon and Canyon mostly) had decided that they weren't going to act any better in the store then they had behaved in Primary. :(  Anywho, somehow we ended up home alive, and Rob was able to seat the toilet, and it decided to flush!  Woot woot!  Off to the shower he went, right until he stepped in the water at the bottom of the stairs.  Yup, the basement had flooded.  The toilet downstairs wasn't flushing, and none of the drains were working.  Our little snake wasn't even pretending to work on this one.  We were fortunate enough to have the sewer drain between the toilet and the wall down there, so we decide to open that and run the snake through there.  Yaaaa, its cast iron piping, and it refuses to budge.  Rob is getting angry now, and needs a larger pipe wrench so I tossed the kids in the back yard and ran to the neighbors.  I remembered that a member in our Bishopric had said he has every tool we could ever need, I just don't have any phone numbers, and can't even remember his name.  But I knew that the neighbors would know.  They knew exactly who I was talking about, and even called him for us!  Before I could walk the two houses back home, he pulled up along side me and asked if Rob needed any help.  I simply laughed at him, and said that I have no idea, Rob was frustrated and ornery, therefore he wasn't talking.  Then it was his turn to laugh, "that's exactly what I do" he replied. :D  So he pulled into the drive and went down to check on Rob.  After I threw the dogs out, I went down too, there to my surprise I found him, in his suit, tie, the whole nine yards, in the sewer water helping Rob to open the drain.  I think that made Rob's day.  He wasn't nearly as ornery for the rest of the day.  Even though he had to leave, offered some advice, left the tools with Rob, and told him to call back if he needed anything else.  How cool is that?  Well, the cast iron fitting was not going to come loose for anything less the breaking it open, but then we would most likely end up needing to replace all the plumbing, and that just isn't anything we are ready to tackle yet.  He pulled the toilet down there and tried the snake again, but still no luck.  Off to Home Depot Rob goes again to rent a bigger, stronger snake, and more wax rings just in case.  On his way home he was able to get a hold of his dad.  Here I have to interrupt the narration again and tell you that I am truly blessed with the BEST Father-in-law ever!!  Before Ross could get here, Rob got another dish towel out of the drain, but things still weren't draining right.  Ross and Becky are now on their way over, its after 5pm, and I have no dinner, all my dishes from the night before are still in the sink, and I can't use the water due to the flood downstairs...starving children turn into monsters.  I can't begin to name all they broke in their hunger rages.  With Ross's moral support, Rob and he sorted it all out!  Finally, I whip up some Mac&Cheese, but by the time I get the kids off to bed, its after 9pm. 
Rob is headed downstairs for a shower,again, when the baby wakes up.  I put him back down and sit down to finish the paper I have due by midnight that night.  When the baby wakes up again and again, giving up, I curl up with him in his chair, hoping that Rob will wake me up since I HAVE to finish that paper tonight.
All said and done, the plumbing got fixed, I got my paper done, and the kids are still kicking.  An eventful but successful day!

We're still kickin!

Here we are, and here we stay!

Alright, so here is the latest scoop.  After all the complaining about the berry bushes, which turned out to be black berries, we chopped them all down except a couple in the corner.  Seriously folks they were taking over my yard!  Who knew berries were so determined?  That was a couple weeks ago, and they are already coming back with a ferocity not to be underestimated!  Consequently we are digging many of them up, so if you would like some black berries for your yard, you will have to come to our BBQ this Sunday. :D  (Except if your my mom, then you can pick yours up anytime this weekend lol)  Everyone in the neighborhood says they are the best black berries you will ever have the pleasure of eating...ok, moving on.....

We are all doing great in our new house, finally got some pics up, not all, but some lol.  This is a permanent home and all, I can't just throw things on the walls, I don't want holes!  Plus, the walls turned out to be plaster, and I don't know how to fix holes in plaster walls!  Sheetrock I was getting good at, but no clue on the plaster, or how to match the texture that's on there either.  :) Just more obstacles to over come. (they really need an eye-rolly guy on here!)

Oh, and guess what I discovered last night?!  River's room is full of glow in the dark painting!  from the 70's :(  Oh ya, all about the flowers, free love, pot etc.  The worst part is that its all on the one brick wall.  I don't like painting brick, I think its lame.  Oh well, Now he gets to start picking out colors.  (And by 'he' I mean we!)

Alright, finals are on the 13th, and I've got a couple papers to write before then.  Love you all!!

New House

So I would really like to post a new pic for our new house, but I need new batteries. :)  Anywho thought I would tell you a little bit about our first week.
Saturday night we didn't get anything put together, well, the babies bed doesn't come apart, so it doesn't count.  So the boys slept on mattress's on the floor, and since our room is also the laundry room (BOO) we didn't have enough room to put the bed up yet.  So off to the couches we went.  Sunday morning, 8:30am, doing dishes, boys playing downstairs, nice quiet morning...should have known better.  Neighbor walks up the road in her night dress, odd, then I see my two boys tailing her, heads down.  *huge sigh*  This is NOT the way I wanted to meet our new neighbors.  It seems they went around the corner, across the bridge, around another corner so they are directly behind us now, and into their back yard, and down to the river.  Nice.  When she asked them if their Mom knew where they were, Canyon refused to talk, and Talon simply said, "I can't explain right now."  This is to become his mantra for the week.  We get dressed and went back to the duplex and picked up a couple more loads of misc stuff, including the fringe stuff, just not the freezer stuff.  Mac and Cheese for dinner, again.  Monday, Rob's boss sent him home to unpack (YES) we went to Home Depot spent waay to much getting sprinkler heads, blinds, yard tools, door knobs, dead bolts, smoke alarms ect.  Then off to the duplex again to get the last load, and clean.  Back home, had a major melt down over my lost cake/casserole pan.  How on earth can I possible cook tator tot casserole without my pan?!  I was a little tired, and waaay over reacted, my poor family!!  Can you believe it was in the bathroom box? My hubby had filled up the hot tub, however, it was anything but hot, and his shivering couldn't convince me otherwise.  Two days later its hot enough!!  Wahoo I love having a hot tub! 
I'm still unpacking, wandering through a maze of boxes to get from room to room.  Yesterday when the Comcast guy got here, I finally had it with the boxes and started moving them all down stairs.  I will bring them up one at a time when I'm ready to unload them. 
Tomorrow is the great yard clean up day!  I trimmed some of the berry bushes, one of the neighbors who helped the old man keep his yard up said she couldn't remember if they were Oregon or Washington berries.  Either way, one bit me, and it got all itchy and swelly like a mosquito bite. ewww.  So I will spend Saturday in a long sleeve shirt and gloves in 90 degree weather, go me! Actually I'm really excited, yard work is waay better then house work any day! And now I have a hot tub to relax in when we are done. :D

Been busy

Sorry its been a while!  I've started school, work, and buying a house. Its sorta crazy, and my time management clock is waaay off.  (point in case I'm blogging instead of studying)  The most amazing thing yesterday, Bronco got out of the tub just to poop in the toilet!!  Add potty training to the list and we are rockin!  Have a wonderful day  :)

     Wow, am I glad last week is over!  What a horrible week.  Monday morning Rob's cousin, Ryin Rice, passed away.  Now I have never met Ryin, we talked online a few times, but I've never met him face to face.  We are close to his sisters, and his niece and nephew.  His niece, Brianna, babysits for us, in fact, she is the first person I call.  Canyon calls her His Brianna.  His nephew, Seth, is River's best friend, has been since the day they met.  So, although I have never met Ryin face to face, I feel for his family, I morn for him.  Its odd really, it usually doesn't bother me when people pass, but this time was different.  Every time a motorcycle pulls into Harts, I think of Ryin.  Then I feel sad all over again.  He was Catholic, and I was very interested to go, having never been to a Catholic funeral before.  However the boys didn't cooperate.  They had cement floor in their chapel, and EVERY sound echoed.  I think the worst part was that they saw the outdoor playground before we went in.  I have to admit, I was disappointed in the chapel.  I really wanted the neat stained glass windows, the Saint statues, but this was a more modern building.  It was architecturally neat, but much more modern then what I expected.  The gathering at "My Brianna's Grandma's House" was the most interesting group of people I've ever seen all together.  Only Ryin could have brought all those people in one place.  He belonged to two bullet bike groups, his dad is a Harley man, and his mom is a hippy, he belonged to the Catholic Church, but living in Utah, had LDS friends as well.  From the youngest baby to the Harley riding Great-Grandpa with a cane, from the pierced, the tattooed, the chain smoker, the drunk, the Atheist, the Priest, the Mormon, they all came together, they all cheerfully intermingled, telling stories about Ryin.  He must have been one great guy to get all those groups together.  RIP Porkchop

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/saltlaketribune/obituary.aspx?n=ryin-rice&pid=142516472

Brianna wrote the obit she has many hidden talents.

Sunday

Tomorrow morning is going to be crazy, I should be getting ready for bed instead of watching the news and blogging. :) I worked Friday and Saturday nights, so the kids were all up late both nights, and we went to Grammy's for dinner (I just love Sunday dinners with the in-laws!) so the kids were up late again tonight. errr the kids don't sleep well when they are up late, especially Bronco, therefore they don't wake up on time, and the morning turns into a long fight. This is a TERRIBLE way to start the week! Anyway, I've got to try to get River and Talon to walk to school. Talon hates the cold weather, and I have a hard time convincing him to walk, I usually have to drive him if its cold. Which is ridiculous really, since the school is only a couple blocks away. Anyway, I've got another doctors appointment for Canyon in the morning, so I will have to leave here at 8:30 and hopefully get to West Jordan by 9:15...in rush hour traffic. OOOHHH, the light bulb just turned on above my head!! LOL I will just give River a couple dollars and then I can drop them off early, and they can eat breakfast at school. :) Yup, I'm brilliant. :)

OK, done whining, on to the house! They accepted our bid, and Rob saw it for the first time on Saturday morning!! Can I tell you, I was soo nervous. I choose the house, and he trusted me enough to put in an offer, site-unseen! Its really...humbling actually to realize how much he trusts me. I know, I know, that is what a marriage is, and I've always chosen our apartments, but a home is just so huge! Its on a level all its own. Anyway, back to Rob lol he really liked it, we will have to redo the basement, and the back yard needs some serious help, but its nothing out of our capabilities. (As long as we can figure out how to get a bobcat into the backyard...) LOL anyway, the yard doesn't scare me, I have to see if Dad has any field fencing, 10ish feet, to temporarily fence off the river. But, all we can totally move in the way the basement is set up now, I just don't really like it lol. The inspector, and the appraiser are coming out this week, I know of a couple things the inspector will find, and the realitor says that he is sure the appraiser with appraise for a higher amount then what we are paying. (That would be nice in this economy!)

I'm off to bed, after I get Canyon into school tomorrow I'll tell you how Rob cooked the roast today. (I married one of the best cooks!) We don't know how much of the ingredients he put in, he, like me, just added until it looked, smelled, and tasted right. :)

Remember to make your plates colorful!