Tom and Corrine's Family Blog

Pumpkin Patch & Halloween

2011-11-04T16:45:00.005-05:00

Mid-October we took a day trip to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. This is the first year we took the hayrack ride to go pick out pumpkins in their patch. There is so much to do there that we never get to it. It was a good time to give Mena a nap and sit and enjoy the ride. Thank you to UP for treating us again this year. Vala's is great!

The Saturday before Halloween we went to the CHAO (Catholic Homeschoolers Association of Omaha) All Saint's Party. What fun seeing friends and playing all the games.

Xavier was St. Peter. See the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven?

Zachary went as a knight: St George to be exact.

Halloween night we went to ICC's All Saint's Party. Potluck, parade of Saints and party with games and prizes. The Youth Group did a fantastic job again!

Philomena went as Mother Theresa

Blaise chose St Benedict. Here he has St Francis in a headlock. hmmm.....

Xavier wanted to be St Peter after finding this fishing net at our neighbor's garage sale.

Dominic chose St Issac Jogues after reading a story on him recently.

Happy FALL everyone~

Colorado

2011-10-04T22:17:00.013-05:00

We drove the van to Colorado last week for a week's vacation in the condo. At the end of our trip, Tom hiked up Roger's Pass to James Peak. This was taken from the top:

In the beginning of our trip, before we even went over the pass, we stopped in Denver at Casa Bonita for dinner. Here are the kids sitting for the puppet show. Fun times!

Xavier and the Batman car

The kids in the condo on the pull out

Adam's Falls trail

On the trail to Devil's Thumb

The lunch spot

Blaise and Xavier were over there talking for a long time.

Dominic and his question mark walking stick

Xavier the rock collector Mena loves the great outdoors!

Zachary the mountain man --

The next day we went to downtown Winter Park

We brought the bikes and tried them out in the new skateboard park Mena at the table in the condo

We also went to the Cozens ranch museum and got to sit in a replica stagecoach.

We also took the boys to the spot where Dad proposed.

On Saturday Tom hiked to the top of Roger's pass and James Peak. A pretty arduous hike, but he did it! Then we went swimming, watched boys play football with some other kids right outside and the Huskers play Wisconsin.

The sunset that last night there was spectacular! This is taken from the balcony.

Another fun trip under our belts for this year. Whew. It's been a travel filled year. But there really is no place like home.

September Birthdays

2011-10-04T21:26:00.008-05:00

September 18th we had a birthday party at our house for Zachary and grandpa. After Mass we all enjoyed a turkey dinner followed by icecream cake and presents. Usually it's just family and godparents but Zachary's little friend and another couple got to join us last minute too. There were 7 signers there with 2 being deaf so someone was always signing. Zachary loves "doing sign language." Mostly he is just mimicking the movements but it's really cute!

This was last May: www.youtube.com/watch?v=0l-mT26NrZI

Zachary and Issias playing

Gregory Evan and Zachary Evan... Happy Birthday!

Summer Update

2011-08-01T11:00:00.009-05:00

What a busy summer this has been! Just an update on what we've been up to...

The week before Fourth of July we got a fence put up! YAY! This is turning into my dream home! One thing at a time :)

One day we went to see the flooding at Rick's Boatyard. An historical event for sure. Uncle Mike with all his nephews and Mena.

Another weekend Tom and I took the kids to Des Moines. We stayed at a Ramada with a water park and the next day visited the Science center.

Happy Feet soccer camp. One hour, one night a week, 3 boys play soccer, less than a mile from our house. Also this spring we played family baseball at a neighbor friend's backyard park where there is a diamond. This is the extent of our formal sports. The rest of the summer has been full of made up ball games in the driveway/circle and swimming in our new pool! Above ground 14ft diameter, 3700 gallon. It's a lot to take care of but it's SO nice on these hot days. On June 2nd we bought a new van. Not a mini-van --no a 12 passenger bus! When we went camping earlier this spring we were stuffed into our old minivan. The ac went out ($700 worth of repairs) and we decided to just go ahead and upgrade since we will probably need one in another couple years when number 6 comes along and we could use the space anyway. Gas mpg isn't as good but we can fit our bikes and camping gear and wagon, coolers... anything else we need to bring. Of course it's never enough space :) I miss my driver's side passenger door but other than that it will do very well. It even fits in our garage!

The many faces of 7month old Mena... She is such a happy baby! She's almost crawling and she's gotten over her refusal of baby food. She has 2 bottom teeth and is working on the top ones now.

Tom and I celebrate 10 years of marriage on Thursday! We are going to Applebees with the kids. That was where we went on our first date over 12 years ago. At the end of August, baby and I will join him for a quick trip to California for a couple nights.

Hope you are having a great summer! May God bless us in our vocations and give us the strength to do the work He has set for us, being always thankful for the joy and peace that comes with doing His will.

San Antonio

2011-05-21T09:49:00.007-05:00

Last Saturday -Tuesday Tom and I celebrated our 10 year anniversary (which isn't until August) by going to San Antonio Texas! It was a really nice vacation and I highly recommend San Antonio for any couple wanting a little romantic get away. The weather couldn't have been better so I'm sure that was a big part of it too. Mena came with us and it was a trip of many firsts for her. She made a lot of friends in Texas.

It helps to have a baby on a trip. You meet so many more people that way :)

On her first plane ride she was a little startled at the weightless feeling but didn't cry. All in all, she traveled pretty well.

Saturday night we went out to Lorenzo's for one of the best Italian meals I have had. My cousin lives in San Antonio and they took us out that first night before they had to leave the next day. The food was so good. It was the real thing and we wouldn't have even known it was there. It pays to know someone local.

Sunday morning we went to Our Lady of the Atonement which is an Anglican Church that is now Catholic because of the conversion of the members in 1983. The priests are married with children. http://www.atonementonline.com/intro.php

After Mass we went to Whattaburger and then to a couple missions that afternoon. Here is the San Jose mission

Then we went swimming on our 3rd floor pool. Mena's first time swimming!

Sunday night on the river walk talking to the boys who were taken care of by my family and Tom's mom.

That night we decided to go to the Republic of Texas and I ended up with a very large margarita.

Monday morning on the riverwalk. We walked everywhere this day.

We walked to the Alamo. Here is a little replica of the battle. These figures are metal and about $60 each. We didn't get any :) What an art this is and so full of detail.

Tha Alamo

The cathedral had a space behind the altar where people could go and pray before the tabernacle.

Monday, after walking to the Alamo, the Cathedral, and La Villita, we had lunch at Mi Tierra in El Mercado then browsed the shops before catching a trolly back to the hotel.
For dinner we finished up leftovers in the hotel and then went out for an appetizer and dessert.

Tuesday we went to Mission Concepcion and Jim's diner before heading home.

San Antonio: I recommend it.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-27T15:31:00.007-05:00

He is risen! Alleluia! Alleluia!

Happy Easter!!! Many blessings to you during this time of great hope and celebration!

This was one of the best Easters I can remember! Getting to be at home with family on Sunday to celebrate Easter, getting to go to the vigil and be part of a new Catholic's entrance into the church, having so much to pray for this Lent.. It was all very fruitful, which made this Easter one of the best!

We celebrated at our house this year. We made it a lunch time meal since Tom had to sleep in the afternoon. We were itching for the egg hunt anyway.

Spiral ham, potato casserole, resurrection rolls. Mom brought fruit and broccoli salad and Tom's mom brought her Oma rice. DElicious!Mike is signing Easter ..

The hunt is on!!

They were all over the house.

Xavier looked everywhere.

Philomena sat well with her grandma. She is slowly becoming used to the idea that she is not mom. Wait until she finds out that grandmas are even better.

Oh and Mena won her very first egg fight! This is a tradition that has been in our family so many generations that no one knows where it originally came from. Each person has a hard boiled egg and we crack them on another's egg until only one is left.
Congratulations Mena! :)

Here are the bunny carrott cakes we made. They were delicious AND cute!

The last egg is found in Nano's shirt pocket. It always goes to the youngest.

and the First annual Easter Triops monster costume. Hmmm... maybe this is one tradition that won't stick. She is cute though :)

During this Spring, a time of new beginnings, may the Easter season bring you great hope in our Risen Lord! Alleulia!

Happy 5th Birthday Xavier!

2011-04-27T15:10:00.003-05:00

April 10th was on a Sunday this year. On that day we had godparents and grandparents over for a small party. He got some fireman Megablocks, a Mater car ramp, a Starwars transformer, and a bubble machine. It was a fun afternoon!

Here he is with his twin Gabriel... and his brother Zachary..

and his bubble machine...

The icecream cake was something we will do again. It was a hit and really easy to order :)

Happy Birthday Xavier!

Blaise's First Communion day

2011-04-03T22:59:00.004-05:00

April 3rd, 2011 ~ Blaise Alexander received his First Communion! He has been preparing for a long time for this day and it was finally here. For the last 9 days he has been praying a novena and making a "garden" of beautiful flowers representing virtues in his soul. Blaise's seriousness about this big step outweighed his excitement by far. He knows how important this sacrament is. He was almost nervous about it, but I know Jesus is pleased and so happy to get to come to Blaise. May He shower him with graces and grow Blaise into the strong virtuous man we know he will be. May his faith and love for Christ be strengthened, especially through these "little visits." We didn't get pictures of the Mass but here are some afterwards... There were 12 other children in his class. 2 girls and 11 boys. Here they are being enrolled in the scapular... and the miraculous medal:

My dad's sister on the left and my oldest brother James on the right. Mom and dad in the middle.

Immaculate Conception's First Communion class of 2011

Godparents Mr & Mrs Stock

Mena is really looking like her dad in this picture!

We thought Blaise couldn't get much higher than receiving our Lord for the first time. I guess we were wrong

Pilgrimage to Minnesota and Wisconsin

2011-03-25T14:20:00.007-05:00

Tom had a three day weekend so we took an impromptu trip to St Paul/ Minneapolis to see the Cathederal (and Mall of America) and then to LaCross Wisconsin to visit Our Lady of Guadalupe shrine. On the way, we even got to stop and visit our pastor in his home town and meet his family.

This is the cathedral in St Paul. It is a replica of St Peter's in Rome and is an amazing sight to see. We arrived an hour before 7am Mass started. I didn't get any pictures of the inside but here is the website. http://www.cathedralsaintpaul.org/ In the basement there is a LEGO Cathedral that fascinated the boys.

After Mass we went to IHOP and then over to the Mall of America. First stop... LEGO land!!!

...then a bit of time at Nickelodeon Universe http://www.nickelodeonuniverse.com/

We went to check in at the hotel, took our naps, had some turkey sandwiches and then went back to the Mall for the evening.

Dominic and Xavier next to Woody

The next morning we packed up, went to Mass at Holy Trinity and then drove to Winona where our pastor is from. http://www.visitwinona.com/

After a short visit, tour of the town, and lunch at Beano's for some wonderfully unique sandwiches, we headed to Lacrosse for our final pilgrimage stop. http://www.guadalupeshrine.org/ It was cold and a little rainy but, hey, it's a pilgrimage. And it was well worth the 1\2 mile! What a beautiful church! I didn't even think to take a picture.

...but we got plenty of pictures of the SPAM Museum on the way back :) The Hormel plant is in Austin and we were driving right through. It was a really fun and interactive museum! Much more than expected. Admission was free and we learned all we could ever want to know about SPAM!

Blaise on the assembly line...

Mena is 3 months on this trip and showing her sweet personality.

That night we made it back in time for the Cub Scout Pack meeting with our guest speaker Alex Henery --record breaking Nebraska kicker!

And today we celebrate the Feast of the Incarnation! What a fruitful week it's been!

Merry Christmas!!

2011-01-02T18:37:00.002-06:00

Before all the lights come down, we wanted to wish you a very Blessed Merry Christmas! May God shed many graces on you in the coming year!

Baby's First Christmas

(she gets extra pictures :)

Love, The Larsons

and the stockings were hung....

2011-01-02T17:18:00.008-06:00

Gingerbreadhouse exhibit

our mantle adds another stocking!

Nativity scene at the baseof our Jesse tree

Christmas morning

The best gift our family received this year... :) What more could we want?

What a mess! The proof of a good time

My family came over for Christmas dinner. We broke tradition and grilled steaks and burgers this year. Great Grandma, Fr Brancich and we invited Ed too. After the baptism we had everyone over and then exchanged presents with each other.

Sunday was Christmas in Mead with Tom's family.

Grandma Larson(tom's stepmom)

Uncle Jonny and Aunt Marlys from Kansas City

One of the best Christmas' EVER!

A Christmas Baptism

2011-01-02T16:58:00.004-06:00

Philomena was baptized into the life of Christ on Christmas Day after the 10:30 Mass by Father Brancich. Meg and Shane Knopp are her godparents.

And Dominic got to serve!

All the prayers and rituals involved in the traditional baptism have such deep meaning. From the actual entrance into the church to the dedication at the end. Oh I'm a sucker for anyone's baptism but especially of my own children. Is there anything more beautiful than bringing a soul to Christ? Thank God for this great blessing!

It's a GIRL!!!

2011-01-02T15:35:00.009-06:00

We have a GIRL!!!

Philomena Marie

12-17-10

6#1oz

21 inches

Philomena has been a name we have been thinking of since before we were married. Well, Tom liked it a lot. It grew on me. Now there is no doubt. This girl was meant to be a Philomena. I agreed to the name when hearing what she will go by : Mena! I love it and it fits perfectly.

Not only is Philomena named after a beautiful saint who is very close to our Lord, but it has Greek, and Italian ties. "Meena" is a popular Korean name meaning beautiful. and I just found out that there are many women named Philomena in Ireland!

Anyway. She wasn't due until the 23rd but I was trying to go into labor early. On my way up to my 39week appointment I decided to take the stairs and jog up. By the time I got in to see the doc I was 3cm and 70%effaced. During one of the contractions, which were 2.5min apart, her heart rate dropped. That concerned the doc enough to monitor me for a while and then send me over to labor and delivery. I was in LABOR!! Yay!

My brother came over to watch the boys while Tom hurried to the hospital and hoped he could get off work that night. A couple hours after they put me on the IV fluids, my contractions had noticeably started slowing down. So pitocin was started at 8pm. At 11pm my water was broken. Active labor started at 1:30 when I hit 6cm. Next thing we knew it was nearly 3am and I was 9cm. At that point the doctor was called. He came right in, and caught the baby. 3:06am! 2pushes! As far as labors go, this one was as easy as it gets (minus the epidural of course) I don't know if I would have had time for one if I had wanted one anyway. What a blessing! Stacey my labor and delivery nurse.

Dominic is a big brother again!

and Zachary is a big brother for the first time! He calls her Philomena

but it sounds like "Pretty Mena"

Xavier holding Mena for the first time

Blaise is more excited to meet her than anyone. He has been talking to her in the womb pretty regularly and telling her how much he wants to meet her.

Mena Marie Day1
We left the hospital Saturday afternoon and welcomed our new daughter home.

She was a little jaundiced when we brought her home so she would sit in front of the window with a heater nearby.

Mena's first bath was December 23rd, the day after her cord came off. She ENJOYED the warm water in our bathroom sink. She's so precious.

At a young age, Saint Philomena died a martyr's death instead of denying our Lord and giving herself to Diocletian. He had her imprisoned, scourged, thrown into the Tiber with an anchor, then dragged through the streets of Rome. She was even shot with arrows but they all missed. Nothing worked until he finally had her beheaded. In the meantime, many people came to Christ because of her Christian fortitude and our Lord's protection of her.

St Philomena, pray for us.

Grotto of the Redemption

2010-10-23T17:09:00.005-05:00

We took a weekend and drove to Westbend Iowa to visit the Grotto of the Redemption.

"The Grotto is a composite of nine separate Grottos, each portraying a scene in the life of Christ. It includes the largest collection of precious stones and gems found anywhere in one location. The beautiful artistry has to be seen in order to be appreciated, and the message it inspires is beyond words."

"The Grotto is frequently considered the "Eighth Wonder of the World" and The Iowan magazine has described the Grotto as a "Miracle in Stone"

http://www.westbendgrotto.com

This was built mostly by Fr. Paul Dobberstein. It was his vision and he lead the construction and collection of rocks. How about that for using an interest and a talent for the glory of God?
"The designed purpose of the Grotto is to tell in silent stone made spiritually eloquent, the story of man's fall and his redemption by Christ, the savior of the world."

There is much symbolism in the way the rocks are displayed.

This scene represents Paradise Lost. Notice the stained glass window. It is lit up on the other side and is of Mary accepting the angel Gabriel's Annunciation. God's promise is fulfilled.
Behind Tom is the Annunciation window. The reverse of Paradise Lost.

The Word became Flesh.

The laying of Jesus in the tomb.

This is carved from one block of marble!

Zachary stopping to smell the flowers

Our Lord's Agony in the Garden

The Nativity surrounded by tons of petrified wood

Jesus' childhood home made of white quartz.

St Joseph is in the other corner with a saw.

Swans and geese on the lake
It was a beautiful weekend! We had dinner at the Wagon Wheel and went swimming in the hotel.

Four years ago we came here with the boys but they didn't remember the grotto. Dominic did remember the waffle iron in the hotel though. lol. That just makes me laugh.

It was a nice little get-away.

Vala's Pumpkin Patch

2010-10-23T16:29:00.005-05:00

October 20th, Union Pacific treated us to Vala's Pumpkin Patch. I am so glad this can continue to be a family tradition. Every year there is something new and it has become a yearly event to look forward to. It's just part of the season of fall.

An old horse drawn school bus
Dominic and Xavier on the Tractor ride

Blaise didn't want to ride on the tractor until he was assured it wasn't scary. Those stuffed scare crows can be kinda creepy.

Corn box

duck races

Panning for rocks

...and arrow heads
the guys

How tall next fall?? We'll see. We keep growing in more ways than one!

Ozark Vacation

2010-08-30T17:02:00.016-05:00

August 2010... Mom and Dad celebrated 40 years of marriage on August 15th and they invited us all on a vacation to remember.

We spent a week in Branson and then headed to Bull Shoals Lake for a houseboat where Aunt Ann, Uncle Pat, Mike and Jim joined us.

We arrived in Branson on Monday night. Tuesday, the 3 older boys, Tom and my parents went to Ripleys Believe it or Not Museum.

That night we got a taste of what Branson has to offer when we participated in a BBQ/sampler show in the condo's clubhouse right across the street. One of my favorite nights. The food was great and the entertainment was entertaining. Zachary really enjoyed it as he wanted to dance to all the music.

Wednesday and Thursday Tom and I took the 3 older boys to Silver Dollar City. Hot but fun. We stayed on the water rides enough to stay cool and drank a lot of water to stay hydrated.

On Thursday we toured Marvel Cave where we descended 500 feet and got to ride up part of the way on a train. It was amazing to see such a beautiful wonder of God's creation including all natural formations and waterfalls.

Here's the train that took us out.

Just before we left Silver Dollar City

We spent a lot of time in the pool at the clubhouse. It was just across the road and the water was perfect.

Friday we rode "the Ducks" It was the one thing the boys really wanted to do. So we got a tour on land and then drove it right into the water where Blaise and Dominic got to try their hand at the wheel.

Saturday morning we left Branson and drove to Bull Shoals Lake to begin our stay on the houseboat. The next day would be my parent's 40th wedding anniversary. These pictures are not necessarily in order.

One day we got a jetski for a couple hours.

Dominic caught his first fish on August 16th. Instead of throwing it back, he and Uncle Mike cut it up and used it for bait for future fish.

Mom and Dad brought their canoe and it got daily use.

The captian of our vessel...

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!! Sunday was the big day and we went to Yellville for 11:00 Mass where one of the petitions was for blessings for Steve and Carolyn on 40 years of marriage! That was planned, but get this... the recessional hymn just happened to be the same song as the recessional at their wedding 40 years ago! That was just by coincidence. I still can't get over that.

The song was"They'll know we are Christians by our Love" You can really tell these two are Christian by the fruit they have produced. Through many years of living their lives for God and helping others, they have been an excellent example of Christians to so many, especially their children. Thanks Mom and Dad! We love you!

This was the sunset we got that night.

back to the water the next day

Making toast with Zachary

Dominic got to be captian for a bit too.

Zachary reading the Three Little Pigs. It's one of his favorites.

Xavier.. still has his duck caller.

Here we are finding rocks and throwing them with the little ones. Xavier would only get in the water when we were docked so that's when we did most of our swimming. My favorite part of this houseboat was not having to be anywhere at any time. We could just enjoy being there. Good company and beautiful surroundings. What more could you want?

Yes Zachary is naked... he just had a bath in the lake.

Nightly campfires provided by the boys

These are the carp at the dock where we rented the boat

These are the travelers of the boat we rented from the dock

The last night there Mike caught a 23" catfish.

.. and he shared it

This is the boat we rented -a 14 sleeper. When we were out in the middle of the lake Dominic started feeling comfortable enought to start jumping off the top of that penthouse into the deep water! He got good at diving off the back too. After Blaise realized there were big fish in the water he didn't want to do much more swimming but he kept himself busy elsewhere.

We are very thankful for a safe and enjoyable vacation. Definitely something we will do again.

July 4th weekend

2010-07-17T11:49:00.008-05:00

What a weekend this was!
Saturday morning our neighborhood had a parade lead by the fire truck to the park where we had a cook out and blow up slip and slide for the kids. Here is Dominic doing a little decorating of the wagon for the parade.

Blaise on the slip 'n slide

That afternoon was Tom's sister's wedding. Congratulations Taylor & Justin!

That night we went to a firework show in Millard.

Kaleb was staying the night with us since his family was in town for the wedding.

Little did we know the real show would be out our front door the next night...

Jonny and Marlys

Grandma and Nanno with Zachary

Xavier and Daddy

Happy Independence Day America!!

Jim's birthday at Manawa

2010-07-17T09:39:00.006-05:00

July 9th my parents took the boat out to Lake Manawa. It was Jim's birthday and he got to join us for a bit before he went to work. The whole thing was quite an adventure. The first time out always is :)

While the guys were trying to get the boat started, no one knew that the boat had been slowly filling up with water. So, the plug was replaced and we started bilging then we realized it needed to drain. After Dad pulled it out we waited 15 min while the boat "went potty" hahaha

The boys have a good time in the water wherever they are.

Then we had lunch on the boat and anchored and swam. but the adventure didn't end there. While visiting a cove, we ran out of gas and discovered a great place to picnic next time. These are the fun days that we will remember!

Durham museum

2010-06-14T21:06:00.005-05:00

Tom took the 3 oldest to see "Nature Unleashed" at the Durham today. http://durhammuseum.org/
seeing the coin collection

These two looked amazingly like Blaise and Dominic

At the end, Daddy treated to something at the soda shop. Lemonheads for Blaise, Smarties for Xavier and icecream for Dominic. Thanks Dad!

Lots of cute pictures. I'm glad he brought the camera. :)

A Springy Weekend

2010-04-21T22:34:00.008-05:00

Whew it's been quite a weekend! Saturday Blaise woke up to find out that his training wheels had been taken off. Dominic snuck out Saturday morning (with my permission) and took them off. Blaise was upset at first but it didn't take him long before he was thankful for the push. Now it's all he wants to do. That is, until we got the swingset Tuesday morning. We will get to that at the end of the post. Here is Blaise discovering the bike surprise and trying it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCJcTHrcMmg

Later that morning Tom, Zachary and I went to the Husker red-white game. Thanks Neill and Libby! It was fun getting to hang out!

Tuesday (yesterday) our new swingset came! We opted for installation for an extra $200. It only took them 3 hours to set it up when it would have taken us... much longer.

We got sand in the sandbox not long after. We were going back and forth on getting the set but I am really glad we got it. They have been spending every spare minute on it the last two days. I can watch them from the kitchen. Plus, when it gets way too hot to go to the other park we can turn the hose on here. It will be a fun summer.

Oh and our new neighborhood is beautiful in the spring. It's the season of new life and there are blooms everywhere! We are enjoying seeing what's coming up. What a beautiful season it seems after such a long winter.

Ski trip

2010-01-13T13:40:00.006-06:00

It's been three years but we have finally made it back out to Colorado! We got to spend the week with my parents and brothers. All ten of us stayed in my parents' condo and enjoyed lots of together time. Unforunately, my dad twisted his knee on the first day and Mike and I had to take a sick day, but once that was out of the way it was a really great trip. We even tried some wine tasting at a local winery and enjoyed the pool and hot tub with the kids. Many memories have been logged. I just hope it doesn't have to be another 3 years before the next trip.

There is a little trail in downtown winterpark that Mom showed to the boys, Uncle Jim and me.

James and Zachary just in front of the condo. Yes... that is the view.

Mike on the top of the bowl Thursday. Nice day. Since it snowed all day Wednesday, we finally got some powder.

Dominic and Blaise. Imagine a flash forward 15 years. Watch out WinterPark!

Dominic and mommy on a lift together. We watched Blaise fall and get up again so many times. I was really impressed with how he wasn't getting frustrated, especially with how often his ski popped off. It was hard work but he didn't give up. His persistant attitude really served him well out there.

Dominic is such a hotdogger! He went up and down and up and down all morning. He loved it!

Here are the guys at the table. Mom loves having proof of her grandchildren in the condo since she enjoys the mirror prints they leave behind so much. WEIRD :) That's grandma love I guess.

Grandma with a book. What more do they need? One day mom took the boys to the library while I skied with the guys.

For some reason Tom is in none of these pictures. He took Dominic and Xavier tubing on the mountain the first full day there.

Here are a few short videos. I don't think you can view them on the e-mail so if you want to see them you may have to go to the link below.

Christmas preparations and the big day!

2009-12-26T14:55:00.009-06:00

Merry Christmas! We hope you had a great one! Here are some highlights of our Christmas 2009. It has started off with a bang as a blizzard hit us right about the time everyone usually starts the festivities and it has continued for 3 days! At least we are home now. What a Christmas to remember!

Advent preparations...
Our new outdoor nativity set in front of our new house...

Here I am letting Xavier take our picture again. Will I never learn? Otherwise though, there aren't many pictures of mom with the kids. Also this day (Dec22) Zachary got his first major haircut by yours truly.

I think he likes it. He looks so grown up. He's not a baby anymore.

Catching the boys and their smiles... Dec 23

Making gingerbread cookies... Dec 24

And we got PLENTY of SNOW!!! Here is a picture taken from our backdoor. (Dec 27) Check out that drift!

Dominic is King of the Mountain!

After Christmas with Daddy !!!

Here are my little elves.

Christmas Eve we went to 5p.m. Mass at St Patrick's because we weren't sure if we would be able to get out the next day with the blizzard on it's way. Afterward we went to my parent's for dinner and the boys and I stayed for 2 nights because of the snow. Tom had to work both nights and the roads were terrible but we really made the most of it. Here is a video of Christmas Eve at my parents house. I'm glad we all exchanged presents that night so everyone could be there. What a party!!

Now the countdown to next year's Christmas begins right? :) Woohoo!

Happy Halloween!

2009-11-04T21:10:00.003-06:00

This year we went to ICC's party. It's such a great time and very educational too. We learned about some saints we hadn't heard of before. People are really getting creative and doing their research.

This year Dominic chose St Michael the Archangel.

Blaise went as St Francis of Assisi

Xavier was St Patrick

and Zachary was St John the Baptist.

Afterwards we were able to go around to a few (5) houses too. Between the party and the houses, we reaped a lot of candy!

The week before was busy with costume creation.

Here is Blaise helping sew his costume. It kept him from bouncing off the walls for a while anyway.

First snowfall

2009-11-04T21:00:00.005-06:00

Our first snowfall at our new house! 10-10-09

It didn't take long to make tracks. Let it be very clear that we are a home with children!

Pumpkin Patch

2009-11-04T18:54:00.006-06:00

October 6th at Vala's Pumpkin Patch

Their 25th year running

my pumpkins

S'mores were provided by Bag 'n Save

The boys' favorite part was panning for rocks

We found all kinds of rocks! ...quartz, crystal, fools gold and others.

Zachary was there for a while then my mom offered to take him to our house.

That was a big help. We were there 6 hours total! It was free because UP paid as a company party. So yeah, we really got our money's worth!

In cinderella's pumpkin carriage..

Getting to see my children enjoy it as much as I did, makes me get to enjoy it all over again~ http://www.valaspumpkinpatch.com/

The new kitchen table!!!

2009-09-15T22:14:00.002-05:00

Here is our new kitchen table! Can you tell I love it? :) I am so happy to own it and thank you for letting me show it off. It just came this morning and I just couldn't wait for you all to see it in person. The stools are new too.

The table is 42"wide x 70"long with two 12" leaves that store inside. We have 8 chairs to go around it. With this table and the 3 counter stools we will be able to feed lots of people in our kitchen -comfortably!

Out of the old...

2009-09-13T22:34:00.005-05:00

Yes! We moved!!! It's been busy but I am finally getting pictures up. The whole thing was a huge process so this post will be of the packing and moving. Our next post will be of our new house. Have to keep this thing complete.

The boys are ready to go...

Dominic is old enough now to be a big help. Here he is packing the spices. He even labled some of the boxes for me.

And of course they made forts with all the boxes laying around before they were used. Oh, did they make forts! Here they are showing Uncle Mike how cool it is. (Yes, he fits anywhere)

Dominic in our dining room closet.

The last two nights in our house we slept on the mattresses in the living room.

Here are Xavier and Zachary

Moving day has arrived!

We had to load all our things into one truck since we were to be homeless for 4 days.

Here are Mike (bro) Mark (cousin) and my dad fitting it in. I'm glad they like puzzles!
Staying at Grandma and Nanoo's before we could move into our new house was super fun! And I am so thankful for the wonderful break between the packing and the unpacking. I couldn't have planned it any better.

And now we are in our new house!!! Here are the boys helping Daddy put together an end table that came last week.

Stay tunned for the next post.. OUR NEW HOUSE!

Camping at Two Rivers

2009-05-24T23:50:00.005-05:00

We all went camping last week with my parents and brother. The boys got to fish with their Uncle Mike, play in the sand, catch toads, find sticks for the fire, roast marshmellows and throw peanut shells in the fire. We even took a walk after dark to peek at the fish and the stars! My parents make it so easy on me by taking care of the meals. It was a great birthday for Dominic who turned 7 the next day. This is what memories are made of!

Zachary's first time camping ...

While packing up the camper, Dominic and Blaise found a resting spot.

And all the boys fell asleep on the 4o min drive home (except Daddy of course)

I think that is the sign of a fun camping trip! They can't wait to do it again!

Dominic's First Communion!

2009-04-29T11:22:00.010-05:00

Come to me Lord Jesus!

On April 26th, Good Shepherd Sunday, Dominic and 3 of his friends received Communion for the first time! He had been preparing for a long time for this day and it finally came. We celebrated after with friends and family in ICC's gymnasium.

Our little boy is growing up.

Dominic with his cake

Blaise having some cake

Uncle Mike and Xavier

Dominic and his godfather, Mr. Sawicki

Out to play and eat with Tom's family

2009-04-29T11:11:00.002-05:00

This weekend Tom's brother's family came up to visit. Saturday we were planning to go to the zoo but since it was so cold and rainy, we decided to go to the Pizza Machine instead. What a fun night. This place always fills us up, and wears us out!

Here are Uncle Jonny, Aunt Marlys and cousins Kaleb and Quentin coming down the stairs after driving the race track.
Dominic and Xavier concentrating pretty hard

The boys enjoying their desserts...

And Xavier is finally tall enough to ride the Frog Hopper! He loved it!

Dominic lost his first TOOTH!!

2009-04-14T15:11:00.002-05:00

Dominic's first tooth finally popped out on April 13th! We were all in the kitchen together noticing how it looked like it was about to come out when Dominic started wiggling it and out it came!
Here it is before...

...and after

He's not quite ready to part with it just yet but maybe someday he will decide it's time to get some money for it. I think he's watching the market for the price of central incisors to peak.

Happy Easter!

2009-04-13T09:49:00.007-05:00

We hope you have a wonderful Easter and enjoy the beginning of this beautiful season of rejoicing!

We celebrated by painting eggs, reading stories, visiting the sick, and lots of church attending throughout Holy Week, including attending the opening of the Easter Vigil with the fire outside, holding candles and being part of the glorious sights, sounds, and smells that the Easter Vigil brings! Actually, it was just Dominic and I who got to go to the vigil. The whole family went again on Easter Sunday. Followed by a fun, delicious, relaxing dinner at Grandma and Nanno's with lots of family.

What a glorious Season! Alleluia!

Blaise was carefully painting half of his eggs one color and the other half another color.

We happened to stop by to visit the Easter Bunny too. Dominic wanted no part of it because it was "just a guy in a suit." He tried hard to convince his little brothers that there was no Easter Bunny until had to take him aside and tell him to let them pretend. Ah, they grow up so fast.
Time for the Easter egg hunt at Grandma and Nanno's! We also had a small one in our backyard before we went to church. I didn't get any pictures though. I just enjoyed :)

Blowing bubbles...

Dominic and Xavier ready to catch the bubbles the Blaise would blow..

Sky diving Zachary

Xavier, Zachary and Blaise

Daddy and his boys...

And here we all are at my parent's. Two years ago we had the same picture taken on the same couch. Looks like this might become another tradition!

"Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead..."(1Peter1:3)

Great Wolf Lodge and St Joe's

2009-01-23T08:45:00.005-06:00

Tuesday night we stayed at the Great Wolf Lodge. The was our third time there. We like to work around and go during the week when everyone else is in school and working. Not only are the rates great but there aren't many people there either. We had a great time to say the least.

Every time the bucket was getting ready to dump Dominic and Blaise would get under it. Here is Dominic about to get soaked.Blaise was a little fish and was going under as much as he could in that life jacket. Xavier and Daddy in the pool

For dinner we brought in some pizza

and of course we had to go down for story time with Wally.

On the way back to our room Blaise wanted his picture taken with this particular wolf

The next morning we got to swim and play some more!

Dominic walking over some wiggly tree stumps

Zachary even got his first experience in a swimming pool! He really seemed to enjoy being in the water.

Xavier was happy to be jumping into 5" deep water all by himself

...and we finally got him to go down one of the smaller slides

Hopefully see you next year Great Wolf Lodge!

We also planned our trip so we would be able to visit our godson close to his birthday. We stopped by on the way home to see him on his last day before he turned one.

They even made a cake for the eve of his birthday so we could share in the party.

Not bachelors anymore huh guys? :)

A visit with Jonny and Marlys

2009-01-22T21:50:00.013-06:00

January 18th was our nephew's 2nd birthday so we drove to Kansas City. Tom's brother and his family took us to Union Station for dinner that night. We ate at a place where the food is brought to you by a train on the wall! Fun Fun! Here are the engineers:

Here are Tom and Jonny with some of the boys
Aunt Marlys and Xavier
Union Station had a train exhibit and we stopped by. Xavier was thrilled!

and Dominic loved studying it.
Here are the cousins at the hunger awareness display in front of a train made of cans of food.
After that we went on the real train bridge and felt some trains go under the walkway.

The next day we were off to the Great Wolf Lodge...

Sledding etc.

2009-01-22T21:00:00.005-06:00

Zachary is now 4 months old! ... and growing as I type.

January 10th was a pretty warm day so we went to the big hill at the neighborhood school. Dominic couldn't get enough. Blaise got cold and tired pretty quick and Xavier enjoyed being pulled around by mom.

Dominic and a neighbor friend

Xavier

Santa brought us a 3D movie (Journey to the Center of the Earth) There are the guys with their glasses. What a novelty!

Christmas Excitement

2008-12-26T08:59:00.004-06:00

Here are a few pictures from this Christmas (in backwards order)
Sunday before Christmas we went to Tom's dad's to celebrate with family. Tom's brother's family was there from Kansas City and the boys got to sit together at the kids table.

Daddy helping Zachary open his first Christmas presentThe Saturday before we went to the library and made gingerbread houses. The boys really got into it.

...even Xavier. It was a fun and delicious way to spend the afternoon!

Making Cookies... Always a fun Christmas tradition!

This is what memories are made of. Thank you to all who helped make this a wonderful Christmas.

Christmas pictures

2008-12-13T13:18:00.007-06:00

Just because it's so hard to pick a favorite to send with Christmas cards, I am posting the rest up here. My friend's mom came to our house and took these pictures for us. They came out so well... many thanks!!

The Boys

Dominic age 6 1/2

Blaise age 4 1/2

Xavier age 2 1/2

Zachary age 3 months

Here we are together again

Blaise and Xavier on a horse

Dominic and Xavier on a horse

Corrine, Tom and Zachary

Zachary Evan

Dominic and Blaise in front of our tree

Xavier on his horse

Hope you enjoy. We sure do. Thanks for visiting. Wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year~ Love The Larsons

Tom's Italy Pilgrimage

2008-11-16T22:27:00.016-06:00

Tom went to Italy last month with the confraternity of St Peter and he enjoyed visiting many places related to our Christian faith. First stop was in Norcia where they toured the birth places of Sts. Benedict and Scolastica http://wordbytes.org/pope/SaintBenedict.htm

Mike and Tom in Norcia

After Norcia they went to Cascia and visited the convent where St Rita lived and died http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=205

as well as a Eucharistic Miracle that happened in Cascia.

Here are Neill, Mike and Tom in Assisi

The stable where St Francis was born

And then off to Rome...
This was taken from the second highest point in Rome at the North American Collage.

Michangelo's Pieta

Mike holding Omaha's banner on October 14th, day they visited the Pope

Tom took this picture of Pope Benedict XVI that day

Tom said the highlight of the trip was getting to see these relics of the Passion...

They also visited the catacombs of St Callixtus http://www.catacombe.roma.it/en/dettaglio.html
The Holy Stairs, St John Lateran (the first Christian church after the persecution), St Mary Major, St Paul outside the Wall, the Trevi Fountain, the Sistene chapel and the Colleseum

This is my favorite picture of St Peter's that Tom took.

He saw many things that deepened his faith. It was definitely a pilgrimage well traveled.

Halloween Night

2008-11-01T13:26:00.001-05:00

This year we tried something a little different for Halloween night. Our parish was holding an All Saints Day Party as an alternative to trick or treating. We decided to go to that this year and it was so much fun! Not only were many of our friends there, but there was a parade of saints, games, candy and prizes... all following a great potluck dinner.

Our 2 oldest boys wanted to go as their patron saints: Saint Dominic Savio and Saint Blaise. Xavier went as Pope Saint Pius X and Zachary went as Saint John Vianney.

It was fun and we all like it more than trick or treating so it looks like we have ourselves a new family tradition!

Thank you to the Sullivans for letting us borrow the undergarment and thanks to my mom for finishing up the robe. I didn't have the time to finish the sewing so my mom took over. Mom also made Dominic's white "surpluss" What a nice job she did! I ordered Xavier's costume. It's a baptismal gown that just happens to look like what the pope wears.

They played Noah's Ark

and Crossing the Red Sea

along with quite a few other games that they could play as many times as they wanted.

Their prizes were candy after each game or a token you could trade at the prize table.

What a wonderful treat!

Pumpkin Patch

2008-11-01T11:19:00.001-05:00

On Tuesday October 28 our family got to go to Vala's Pumpkin Patch! It started off a little chilli but it soon warmed up. Our favorite's included the tricycle races, the giant slide, Pumpkin cannon, the bouncy pumpkin pillow and eating kettle corn and turkey legs together on an old wagon. There was so much to do and it was a lot of fun. But after 4 and a half hours Mom and Xavier were ready to go. The rest of them would have stayed hours more I think.