Life is back to normal!

WHOA! Where did December go? I know I lived through it, but I am not sure why it went so fast. So here is what happened!

1. Ben came home from Oklahoma, started dating Ali, and is now back in Oklahoma for law school. Don't know when we will get to see him again, but it was great to hang out with him for a month. We went to a Jazz came, my first one, with him and Ali, and it was great because the Jazz won! Ben also helped us in the basement putting in some doors! Thanks Ben and good luck with this semester!

2. Valerie came home and we have enjoyed many a sleep over and fun times with her as well. She and Ellen went Christmas shopping together on the 23rd, yes a little late, but it was still fun! She and her friends from BYU came over for a game night, which the new favorite game of the year is Blokus, WAY FUN!

3. Basement progress: we now own a 5 bedroom house! Wahoo! The weeks of the 17th was a mess, we had insulation guys come the Monday and Tuesday, and then the sheetrock people came on Wednesday along with the fireplace guy as well. The sheetrock was all hung by Friday and another inspection was passed. Starting on the Thursday after Christmas the mud and texture people arrived. It took them a little longer than we had anticipated, but they got the job done by the 2nd of January and Creed, John, the scouts, and I got the two bedrooms painted so that the carpet guy could install the carpet on Thursday. Saturday Creed and Ben got the doors installed and then Creed has been finishing up the final electrical work, so now if anybody comes to visit we have space to put them!

4. Christmas! Christmas was wonderful this year, pretty laid back and very enjoyable. We went and saw National Treasure 2, which I cannot give a review for because I got sick in the middle of it and missed at least 30 minutes. But Creed said it was great! Then we had the whole Larsen clan together starting Christmas day evening. Little Kinzley is very cute, and really small, it made me remember how little Sarah used to be. The day after Christmas we spent with Creed's family as well, and we went bowling, which I am not so very good at, but it was fun!

5. Sarah is growing up so fast, she is saying words like bye bye, I love you, where did it go, and other fun phrases, though you do have to use your imagination because they aren't as clear was what I wrote. Her new favorite phrase is Uh, Oh! She says it all the time. She loves seeing the snow and calls it no with a funny inflection. She also enjoyed making sugar cookies with me the other day, which I have pictures of and will post later! She really is just a joy and we love her!

6.My whole family was at my house starting Dec. 29th and going through the 3rd. It was great having them all here even though space was at a premium. Tyler and Alan are adorable and Sarah really enjoyed them hanging around and playing with her. We had a few family pictures taken by Ellen, and Creed, yes he will have to photo shop himself back into the pictures. We also had a fun time with the Wii, my brother Nate has one and he brought it with him. Even my Mom enjoyed playing, oh and Sarah had a few swings in the tennis round.

So all in all it was a great and very busy December, I finished my parents scrapbooks in the nick of time, it ended up being three books and most of them are filled to the brim and can't have anymore pages added. I didn't get Christmas cards out, which is sort of a bummer seeing as I made a bunch, but hello! I have been pretty busy! And so life is back to normal, Creed goes to work everyday, John goes to school and work everyday, Oh and I babysit Ryan most days, which Sarah loves, and I make dinner every night. So I can't complain, LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL!