FHE with the Reynolds Family

Yesterday we had the priviledge of having FHE with President and Sister Reynolds. President Reynolds was the latter of two mission presidents Eric had while serving in Florida. He and his wife are amazing people. Sister Reynolds was the former General Primary President and President Reynolds was the former president of F.A.R.M.S. They invited us and our friends the Griffin's, Floyd's, and Bradshaw's who all served in the Florida mission together over to have dinner and FHE. Since all of us get together to have FHE every monday night anyway, it was a treat to have it with the mission president this week. Our husbands talked about their missions and President Reynolds updated everyone on how the work is progressing in Florida. It was so much fun for all of us to get together and we are so blessed to have such wonderful friends who share such great memories!

The Griffin's

The Floyd's

24 Hour Fitness

Yesterday I took the plunge and joined 24 hour fitness. I know it might be cliche to join a gym at the start of the year, but I am determined to get more in shape and feel better about myself. I went this morning and I feel so great! I was nervous to take Connor into the little "kids zone" because I was unsure of how he would react, but he absolutely loved it. Living in Provo, there are lots of little kids running around and I think about half of them were in this little kids zone this morning! Connor loved playing with them and hardly missed me. Thank goodness. I was able to work out for a good hour doing cardio on the eliptical, lifting weights, and doing some tummy exercises. So it's a win-win situation-Connor gets to play and interact with other kids and I get to relieve some stress and not worry about my son for an hour. I think this is a new year's resolution I can stick with!

Connor Photoshoot

A few days ago I went and had a photoshoot of Connor done. The lady who did these was so good with Connor, even though he was being a little bit of a bum. :) I thought these were some of the best. Oh, and the black velvet outfit that he is dressed in was Eric's grandpa's. Eric has a picture in it to when he was about this age. So cute.

Christmas in the City

We had a wonderful Christmas this year. We went down to Las Vegas where we were able to spend time with all of our family. We first went to the Larkin Christmas party the Saturday before Christmas. On Christmas Eve we first spent time with the Smith side of the family. We had a big dinner then listened to Papa Smith read the Christmas story from the Bible. We then hurried over to the Hutchison's where we played "white elephant," listened to my dad give a great talk on a different twist on Christmas, and then we went on a hayride and caroled to many of the Summerlin Ward members. Christmas day I woke up early and hurried over to my parent's house so I could talk to my missionary brother in Africa. It was so cool to talk to him and hear his voice. My whole family was gathered around our table and we put the phone on speaker so we could all hear him. He is doing excellent. He gave all of us little gifts from Africa- he gave me a little hand-carved mask and giraffe. I then hurried back to the Larkin's where we opened gifts and had a big breakfast. The rest of the day we visited family and played with our toys! It was such a wonderful Christmas and we were truly blessed to be around all of our family and to receive such great gifts. Me without make-up and my hubby

Eric, Connor, and Jane opening gifts

Eric helping our little man open his gifts

Eric's dad, Bryce, and Jenny

Eric's dad with his awesome new gun

The boys

Opening gifts

Eric got "rock band world tour" to go with his Wii-woo hoo!

Christmas Eve at Papa and Shauna Smith's house

Uncle Brandon, Eric's dad, Jane, and Eric's Mom

Grandpa Larkin and Connor

Dad gave an awesome little Christmas talk Christmas Eve

Hanging out during the white elephant game

Eric being goofy with Connor

The hayride!

Caroling on the hayride...it was freezing!

Sophie

Connor having a blast

Eric exhausted after putting together all of Connor's toys

Gone With The Wind

is an amazing novel. I just finished it this week-all 733 pages in the smallest print imaginable. It took me a while because it is not exactly a light read, but it was absolutely amazing. My mom had been encouraging me to read it for a while, and I finally took her up on it and read it. She let me borrow her copy- an old, worn-out book that she got at an old used-book store. Reading an old copy of the book made reading it that much more fun. I absolutely love classic novels and I highly recommend this book to those who are searching for a good read. This is now probably one of my favorite books of all time-second to "Jane Eyre." I am now reading "Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen. It's proving to be a great read as well. Happy reading!

Our Christmas Party

On Friday we had our "2nd Annual Larkin Christmas Party." We crammed about 20 people into our apartment and had a ham dinner, went on a hayride while caroling, and had hot chocolate afterwards. The hayride is always the best part. Eric decorates our trailer with lights and garland, then puts hay bails in the middle for everyone to sit on. We then went around and caroled to members of our ward and other people who were willing to listen to us. It was such a blast. The kids absolutely loved it and it was a fun way to celebrate the season with schoolmates, family, and friends!

Brandon and Kelsey with Kelsey's amazing fruit tree!

Kelsey, Jessica, and me

Riley and Jess

Brandon and Kelsey with Connor

Getting ready for the hayride!

The whole gang

Connor had a playdate with our next door neighbor Ally last week. They were so cute together and played really well.

This is how my table looked all last week before our Christmas party. My friend had a baby shower on Saturday, and I was determined to make her little boy a blanket. I didn't have much time, but I was able to pull it off!

I loved this fabric! I especially love the warm and soft "nubby" on the back.

Perfect for a baby boy!