Marcy Larsen

Snowshoeing above Sundance Resort

This was our first attempt at snowshoeing.

We went up above Sundance Ski Resort near Aspen Grove.

The weather was perfect.

We only made it about 3 miles total, but once again, it was our first trip out.

It took us a little while to figure out how to walk, but after a bit, we got the hang of it.

This is Kenzie’s new favorite Christmas song.

We listen to it over and over. She is becoming quite the little singer.

“Box of Rocks” by The Song Trust

Joey+Rory | MySpace Music Videos

---

Here’s Kenzie’s version…..

One lucky shot!

Wow- what an experience this year! I was a little unsure of the whole hunting thing even as the morning began. It did not take me long to find out what all the excitement is about that I have seen Russ and my brothers go through every year. Opening morning I got up and had my coffee with Russ and Joe and those two giving me a hard time about bringing my Cosmo hunting. Once I had all 4 layers of clothing on, and my very stylish orange binnie we hit the road.

It only took us an hour before Russ spotted this deer. The bad thing was, I was off watching the sunrise and hiking around. When he rounded me up, I have to tell you that every nerve in my body was shot! He is so patient with me and handed me the loaded gun and told me to shoot.  Shoot, shoot, shoot already! I couldn’t see the deer in the sights. He fixed that for me and I finally shot. He wondered around about a hundred yards and fell. We were not lucky enough to see him and we never did find any blood. I just happened to be walking down a gully and ran into him. When I screamed, like the girl that I am, Russ thought I found blood finally. When I told him that I found the deer, he yelled at me to get away, thinking he was still alive. I knew there was no way that was true.

I got my first high five from Russ in the 14 years we have been married. I think he was a little proud of me, which made it all worth it. I had to thank my dad for all the good shooting genes that he passed down to me. One bullet on the first shot. I have never shot at an animal in my life, call it beginners luck, I will take it either way.

Jeff was a sweetheart and nice enough to send me down the mountain in his Jeep to get more help. I was not going to pass up that deal, I kill, they clean….sounds good to me!

A little history on this deer – Apparently this buck has been made famous through email. People have been watching him since the archery hunt in August and all the way through to the rifle. I seen the pictures but this is my first hunt and I never really paid much attention to those things. Now that I see them and we have made the connection, it is really cool.  I am definitely hooked and look forward to spending many more hunts with my family and my kids who will start hunting next year.

There is always something magical about going to Lake Powell.

Some of our best memories (Marcy’s and Mine) as kids are from this great place.

The weather is usually warmer than it is at home, and the water is always inviting (though not so much in March).

Seems like we could go on forever talking about that one time at Lake Powell, or remember the trip when…..

We are hoping that our kids will cherish similar memories as they grow up and always remember the good times with family.

However, there comes a time when it is so good to just leave the kids home and see this magical place in a whole new light.

We finally made a short trip without them. Yes, this is the first time that we have done this since Marcy and I have been married.

Seems weird, waking up, having coffee, sitting around in a chair on the back deck of the houseboat, literally doing nothing. Walk inside, mostly quiet, kind of boring (missing the kids maybe just a  little).

No, “Dad, will you take us wakeboarding?” or “Will you pull us on the tube?” or perhaps “Will you take us on the water weinee?”

Just mostly silence and peace (and quite – is that the same as silence? I think I already mentioned that one.)

That is, until the wind starts to blow.

Always seems that way, the most peaceful places can also be the most unforgiving.

The wind decided to blow all day….harder and harder as the day progressed. Dang I hate the wind, especially when I am in a boat.

Oh well, still no nagging, crying, whining (except maybe for a little from Matt and Ryan – whining)

Put out another anchor line or two, sit back and wait it out.

It was a great trip anyways, though always too short.

Even more memories created at this special place called Lake Powell and we look forward to many more.

http://marcylarsen.comhttp://marcylarsen.comhttp://marcylarsen.comhttp://marcylarsen.com

Russ and I were up late last night talking about how our kids have each had such a different sleeping pattern. Colten has ALWAYS been our night owl and we remember spending hours each night rocking him to sleep. To this day, Colten has a hard time going to bed at night. Chase was a little easier, he would just fall asleep in bed with me EVERY night and I would move him into his bed.  Chase has no problem falling asleep wherever he lands now.  Kenzie has been our easiest of all. She has always loved her sleep and will actually get herself ready and ask to go to bed. We never have issues with nap times, she is always more than happy to go and lay down. At our age, we are grateful for this each night, makes the routine so much easier to get the boys ready. The only downfall now is to get her to stop wondering in at all hours of the night, or at least to find daddies side of the bed for a change.

Today was a little different for us. Russ had told her that when she woke up, he would take her to buy a new movie. She went right to bed knowing that when she woke up, she would get to go. She wondered down the stairs about 45 minutes after we has laid her down. I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye and she was going into Chase’s bedroom, which is scray enough without being half way asleep. I gave her about five minutes and went to see what she was up too, she was being a little to quite. I was shocked to find her curled up and asleep in his closet. She has never been a sleep walker. I let her sleep for another hour and she wondered in the office a little confused. I told her she fell asleep in Chases closet and she gave me a sly little smile and started to laugh and then started to tell me that “her daddy was taking her to the store to buy a new movie”. She  must have been dreaming about it, woke up, came down to get Russ and got confused on her way down. I am just glad I got the camera to show her.