January is always a mellow month for me. I think it should be called "Pajamuary" because I spend more hours of the day than usual in my pajamas during this first cold month of the year. It's dark earlier in the evening, which leads me to get ready for bed earlier, and in the morning I get going later in the day, since usually I have nowhere to go and no desire to venture outside.
I love my flannel pj's, but I'm also looking forward to the end of this month and the beginning of one month closer to Spring.
Maybe I need to set a goal for myself: to get dressed.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Friday, January 27, 2012
LLLVWG
Would you like to know more about Livwig?
The first ever LLLVWG - Larson Ladies Las Vegas Weekend Getaway - or Livwig, for short - took place MLKJr weekend 2012.
Just a month before the scheduled event, it was looking like it would be a skimpy turn-out. But then, just days before it was to begin, 9 of the 10 invited guests had committed to come. I'm sure our hostess, Sara, was scrambling and maybe just a tiny bit stressed with the last-minute planning, but she didn't appear to break a sweat. She hosted us all at her home, and magically transformed her husband Thayne (hereafter known as T-Butler) into a very accommodating Guest Services Co-Coordinator. Their cute little girls, Sage and Calla, probably got sick of the extra tickles and hugs I gave them, but they made excellent stand-ins when I was missing my own girlies at home!
Everyone arrived on schedule Friday afternoon, and after settling in, we kicked off the weekend with some Cafe Rio. Yum. That night we caught up with some candid conversation, but I might have been the party pooper who went to bed first. I hate to miss anything, but I also hate to start drooling on Sara's couch pillows mid-conversation. Besides, we had an early morning ahead of us!
Most of us got up bright and early Saturday morning, sampled Sara's impressive Continental Breakfast, and headed straight to the park for Boot Camp. Sara, six months pregnant, must have gotten a good laugh when the first round of Boot Camp exercises kicked my butt, and I surrendered and decided to just walk the pathway around the park for the next 50 minutes. (But I was not alone!) Someday I would love to be in tip-top physical condition, and be able to keep up with the pregnant ladies (and other athletes) in their workout.
After a little more breakfast and freshening up, it was time to hit the nail salon for pedicures. Ahhh, now this is more my speed!
With our piggies polished, we were ready to do some outlet shopping. Once again, I'm totally digging this agenda. Shopping made us hungry for lunch at Panera, and that made us tired for a nap.
But after nap time, there was a little excitement--Melaina, the only sister-in-law who couldn't make it to LLLVWG, was actually going to join us! Picture time!!
Sara tried to introduce us to some Las Vegas culture that night, with a little trip to the Strip. We had high hopes for the Food Truck fare we had heard would be there, but we weren't quite prepared for the long lines. We wimped out, headed back to Sara's house with some really yummy thin-crust pizza, dropped by Yogurtland for dessert (that place did live up to expectations!), and then laughed ourselves silly with a game called "The Game of Things." Questions about lessons learned too late, irritating things about men, and what you should never say to your mother were incredibly educational! A really great party/get-to-know-you game that I might need to add to my own game closet now.
Sunday was low-key, with some sleeping in, some presents (an un-birthday party for all of us, and a baby shower for Sara - about to have her first boy - and Corinne - about to have her first baby, a girl), and some goodbyes.
That night, I once again fell asleep while the others were watching a chick flick. Sara warned us not to even pack our party pooper pants, but I was just so wiped out from all the fun!
Monday morning, we experienced one more Las Vegas treat: a $5 breakfast buffet at a nearby casino! We came late enough and stayed long enough to top off our omelettes and french toast and bacon with a couple slices of pie. Hoo-boy!
Then it was time to head home.
The first ever LLLVWG - Larson Ladies Las Vegas Weekend Getaway - or Livwig, for short - took place MLKJr weekend 2012.
Just a month before the scheduled event, it was looking like it would be a skimpy turn-out. But then, just days before it was to begin, 9 of the 10 invited guests had committed to come. I'm sure our hostess, Sara, was scrambling and maybe just a tiny bit stressed with the last-minute planning, but she didn't appear to break a sweat. She hosted us all at her home, and magically transformed her husband Thayne (hereafter known as T-Butler) into a very accommodating Guest Services Co-Coordinator. Their cute little girls, Sage and Calla, probably got sick of the extra tickles and hugs I gave them, but they made excellent stand-ins when I was missing my own girlies at home!
Everyone arrived on schedule Friday afternoon, and after settling in, we kicked off the weekend with some Cafe Rio. Yum. That night we caught up with some candid conversation, but I might have been the party pooper who went to bed first. I hate to miss anything, but I also hate to start drooling on Sara's couch pillows mid-conversation. Besides, we had an early morning ahead of us!
Most of us got up bright and early Saturday morning, sampled Sara's impressive Continental Breakfast, and headed straight to the park for Boot Camp. Sara, six months pregnant, must have gotten a good laugh when the first round of Boot Camp exercises kicked my butt, and I surrendered and decided to just walk the pathway around the park for the next 50 minutes. (But I was not alone!) Someday I would love to be in tip-top physical condition, and be able to keep up with the pregnant ladies (and other athletes) in their workout.
After a little more breakfast and freshening up, it was time to hit the nail salon for pedicures. Ahhh, now this is more my speed!
With our piggies polished, we were ready to do some outlet shopping. Once again, I'm totally digging this agenda. Shopping made us hungry for lunch at Panera, and that made us tired for a nap.
But after nap time, there was a little excitement--Melaina, the only sister-in-law who couldn't make it to LLLVWG, was actually going to join us! Picture time!!
 |
| I can't handle boot camp, but I can make a pyramid! |
 |
| My mom will love this. Here we are in age order of our husbands (not necessarily ourselves--we'll never tell!). So from oldest to youngest, Left to Right, Back Row: Scott's wife Kaelyn, Brad's wife Kristine, Doug's wife Me, Thayne's wife Sara, Clay's wife Amy, Bruce's wife Melaina, Clark's wife Liesel, Steve's wife Breanne, and Mark's wife Corinne. Front Row: Momma Suzanne |
Sara tried to introduce us to some Las Vegas culture that night, with a little trip to the Strip. We had high hopes for the Food Truck fare we had heard would be there, but we weren't quite prepared for the long lines. We wimped out, headed back to Sara's house with some really yummy thin-crust pizza, dropped by Yogurtland for dessert (that place did live up to expectations!), and then laughed ourselves silly with a game called "The Game of Things." Questions about lessons learned too late, irritating things about men, and what you should never say to your mother were incredibly educational! A really great party/get-to-know-you game that I might need to add to my own game closet now.
Sunday was low-key, with some sleeping in, some presents (an un-birthday party for all of us, and a baby shower for Sara - about to have her first boy - and Corinne - about to have her first baby, a girl), and some goodbyes.
That night, I once again fell asleep while the others were watching a chick flick. Sara warned us not to even pack our party pooper pants, but I was just so wiped out from all the fun!
Monday morning, we experienced one more Las Vegas treat: a $5 breakfast buffet at a nearby casino! We came late enough and stayed long enough to top off our omelettes and french toast and bacon with a couple slices of pie. Hoo-boy!
Then it was time to head home.
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
A Faint Pulse
This blog isn't dead, it's just mostly dead.
Quick recap:
Christmas was not white. In fact, we've had hardly any snow this winter! We had our biggest snowfall last night, and I didn't even lift a shovel, because I knew that it would melt away today--and it did! I'm quite pleased about that.
Most of our Christmas gifts were electronic this year. Surprised? We got a new Wii system, and now all the old games are like new gifts, because it's been so long since we've used them. Our favorite new game, though, is Just Dance 3. Well, it's everybody except Doug's favorite. He's not a big fan of dancing in front of people, even when those people are his own children. I'm sort of baffled by that.
Katelyn now has her own phone. I was still a little nervous about taking that leap, but honestly, the "Kids' Shared Cell Phone" had already become 99% Katelyn's.
Emily loves her iPod Touch.
Doug is happy to be able to hook his iPod into his car stereo now.
And I am learning, very slowly, to use my new iPhone. Someone like me should not have such fancy technology. It's kind of a shame to let it go to waste! Probably my favorite thing about it is the nice camera I carry around in my purse now. But I don't know how to get the pictures off my phone and into this blog yet. So that's a bummer.
If it weren't for the younger girls, our Christmas morning would have been pretty dull. Call me old-fashioned, but I find it more magical to see American Girl dolls under the tree than a bunch of fancy new gadgets.
Two days after Christmas, we celebrated Lauren's 10th birthday. She had a breakfast party, with all her friends in pajamas.
The following day, we all headed to California. Katelyn left early in the morning, on a bus, with the high school band. The rest of us took a flight that afternoon and beat her to California by hours! The highlights of this trip included seeing Katelyn march down Main Street in a Disneyland parade; watching the AFHS Band's field show in the Tournament of Roses Bandfest; and visiting family. Lowlights were unfortunately abundant, and included: diahrrea at Disneyland; puking in cabs and airports; and a towed rental car just when we should have been turning it in and catching a flight home.
After that crazy trip, I was just a little bit anxious about our next trip: less than 24 hours after coming home from California, Doug and I left the girls home with Grandma L. and went to Key West, Florida. Doug had a work conference, and I planned to spend evenings with him, and my days all alone, sleeping, reading, and soaking up some sunshine.
California should have clued me in. I should have expected the worst. But I didn't.
I did not expect to be cold in Key West. But I was. The daytime high when we arrived was 57 degrees. Don't worry, it did eventually warm up. And I did spend plenty of time reading and sleeping. The day we left, Florida was lovely and warm!
But I was so happy to come back to the cold, just because I was missing my kids, my home, and even my routine!
Before I could get back into the swing of things, however, I had to pack for one more trip. This time, I left Doug and the girls at home, and headed to Las Vegas for a weekend with the in-laws. Sounds strange, I know, but believe it or not, I had the lowest expectations for this trip, and it was probably the most relaxing and enjoyable of all three! It was really a treasure to spend a couple of days with my eight sisters-in-law and my mother-in-law, and to get to know each other and bond better as ourselves, without kids & husbands attached.
Speaking of attached....I wish this little post had some pictures attached, but my laptop is mysteriously dead (more dead than this blog is), so I can't upload anything from my real camera without too much effort; and like I said, I haven't yet figured out my phone.
If this blog wasn't dead before, after this lame post, it really might be. Sorry!
Quick recap:
Christmas was not white. In fact, we've had hardly any snow this winter! We had our biggest snowfall last night, and I didn't even lift a shovel, because I knew that it would melt away today--and it did! I'm quite pleased about that.
Most of our Christmas gifts were electronic this year. Surprised? We got a new Wii system, and now all the old games are like new gifts, because it's been so long since we've used them. Our favorite new game, though, is Just Dance 3. Well, it's everybody except Doug's favorite. He's not a big fan of dancing in front of people, even when those people are his own children. I'm sort of baffled by that.
Katelyn now has her own phone. I was still a little nervous about taking that leap, but honestly, the "Kids' Shared Cell Phone" had already become 99% Katelyn's.
Emily loves her iPod Touch.
Doug is happy to be able to hook his iPod into his car stereo now.
And I am learning, very slowly, to use my new iPhone. Someone like me should not have such fancy technology. It's kind of a shame to let it go to waste! Probably my favorite thing about it is the nice camera I carry around in my purse now. But I don't know how to get the pictures off my phone and into this blog yet. So that's a bummer.
If it weren't for the younger girls, our Christmas morning would have been pretty dull. Call me old-fashioned, but I find it more magical to see American Girl dolls under the tree than a bunch of fancy new gadgets.
Two days after Christmas, we celebrated Lauren's 10th birthday. She had a breakfast party, with all her friends in pajamas.
The following day, we all headed to California. Katelyn left early in the morning, on a bus, with the high school band. The rest of us took a flight that afternoon and beat her to California by hours! The highlights of this trip included seeing Katelyn march down Main Street in a Disneyland parade; watching the AFHS Band's field show in the Tournament of Roses Bandfest; and visiting family. Lowlights were unfortunately abundant, and included: diahrrea at Disneyland; puking in cabs and airports; and a towed rental car just when we should have been turning it in and catching a flight home.
After that crazy trip, I was just a little bit anxious about our next trip: less than 24 hours after coming home from California, Doug and I left the girls home with Grandma L. and went to Key West, Florida. Doug had a work conference, and I planned to spend evenings with him, and my days all alone, sleeping, reading, and soaking up some sunshine.
California should have clued me in. I should have expected the worst. But I didn't.
I did not expect to be cold in Key West. But I was. The daytime high when we arrived was 57 degrees. Don't worry, it did eventually warm up. And I did spend plenty of time reading and sleeping. The day we left, Florida was lovely and warm!
But I was so happy to come back to the cold, just because I was missing my kids, my home, and even my routine!
Before I could get back into the swing of things, however, I had to pack for one more trip. This time, I left Doug and the girls at home, and headed to Las Vegas for a weekend with the in-laws. Sounds strange, I know, but believe it or not, I had the lowest expectations for this trip, and it was probably the most relaxing and enjoyable of all three! It was really a treasure to spend a couple of days with my eight sisters-in-law and my mother-in-law, and to get to know each other and bond better as ourselves, without kids & husbands attached.
Speaking of attached....I wish this little post had some pictures attached, but my laptop is mysteriously dead (more dead than this blog is), so I can't upload anything from my real camera without too much effort; and like I said, I haven't yet figured out my phone.
If this blog wasn't dead before, after this lame post, it really might be. Sorry!
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