Vacation Time (FINALLY!!)

Event: First family vacation 2010. Destination: Galveston Island, Texas

Here we have Avarie in her carseat as we are leaving our house (she was excited!), and the two of us at our hotel (it was across the street from the ocean).

We ate at Fisherman's Wharf (delish!) and stopped by an old fashioned icecream and candy store on the way home. We walked along "The Strand", which is a street filled with little touristy shops. The weather wasn't too sweltering yet, so we had a pretty good time :)

Here we are in the shark cage at the aquarium. My baby bump was just beginning to emerge here. Below is the UGLIEST fish I have ever seen in my life. It looks like the grinch, and I nearly barfed when I saw it. Disgusting.

This Mexican restaurant, Salsas, was SO tasty. Both Bennett and I love us some Mexican food. I quite enjoyed my pina colada (don't worry, it was virgin) and the meal was fab. The picture in the lower right corner Bennett was frustrated with Avarie because she was tired and being a stinker. She sure likes her way :)

Ahhhhhhhh......relaxation. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the beach. I could sit there all day and watch the water, sleep, read and tan. Avarie also grew quite fond of the ocean, and went swimming with her Dad in it. She was so adorable kicking her little feeties around and playing in the sand :)

We love this sweet tootle bug. What a fun little person :) Our vacation was so much fun, and we look forward to many more in the years to come!

Fishy

The Larsen family has a new pet....an Avariefish. She is small, round, and noted for her cuteness. She can be found most days wading in the local pool. She requires much love and attention. She survives off of mushy fruits, veggies, and formula. We definitely recommend this type of addition to any family :)

Magician's Assistant

Ladies and gentleman, right before your very eyes you will witness an astounding miracle. My adorable assistant, Avarie, will be cut in half without feeling a bit of pain. Don't believe me?? Here are pictures to prove it...

Ta-da!

Ode to the birthday boy

This year Bennett's birthday fell smack dab in the middle of his intense study for finals. At first he asked me to postpone all celebrating until he finished his tests a week later, but I am one who likes to do something special on the actual day to be celebrated. So I just made his dinner of choice (Apple Rosemary chicken, herbed rice, asparagus and strawberries) and a delicious German chocolate cake (I felt like saying "Move over Rachel Ray, Jenna Larsen is in the house" all day). We enjoyed a few moments together for dinner and presents before he hit the books again. For the second celebration of his birthday, we snagged a babysitter and hit the town. We went to dinner at Ghengis Grill (Bennett's new obsession - it is a Mongolian BBQ place) and went to see Ironman 2. We LOVE our dates together, especially dinner and a movie. We can't afford movies on our meager budget, so birthdays and holidays are the exception. All in all, we had a fun celebration. And to top it off, Bennett did really well on his finals and classes this year! Snaps for Bennett!

We also went to get Bennett's free Birthday Burger from Red Robin the day before.

Blowin' out the candles...my two favorite cuties.

Breakfast, dinner, and the decor :)

A day for the all the Mommas...

Bennett and Avarie did a great job making this Mother's Day special for me. He made a fabulous breakfast and made sure I got to relax. I'm still pretty sick at this point in the pregnancy, so I enjoyed to the best of my ability :) After church we went up to Sherman where Grandpa and Reece Larsen had a delish turkey dinner prepared. We were able to skype with Chase (Bennett's brother) on his church mission in Colombia, and talk on the phone (like an 8-way call) with Christian (my brother) who is on his church mission in Mexico. They are wonderful missionaries and represent the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints very well. For my present I was eyeing a new hair straightener - and I was overjoyed to get it!! I chopped my tresses a month or so ago, and needed some intense heat to keep it in line :) Thanks Bennett and Avarie (and mom and dad Larsen) for a wonderful day!

Proudly displaying my prize for being a good mom :)

Story time

Can't help but love this sweet tootle...

Avarie loves when we read to her, especially when Bennett does. He makes noises for the different pictures on each page...some are not the most appropriate, but Avarie likes them :) Whatever keeps her giggling. Oh, and she is sitting like a pro! Hooray!

Come fly with me, let's fly, let's fly away

My Valentine's present to Bennett this year was tickets to the Central Texas Airshow. Those of you that know Bennett are aware of his LOVE for aviation, so he has been excited for months to go. It was located 2 hours south of Dallas so we left early Saturday morning to get there for all the festivities. We were able to walk around and look at lots of different planes from various eras (all of which Bennett knew, I was pretty impressed actually). Then we walked through the food vendors a million times to pick what we wanted for lunch - this is mostly my fault that it took so long to decide, but I can't help it that I'm pregnant and my cravings change rapidly :) The airshow was in the afternoon and was really amazing. Bennett took lots of videos of the different planes in the show and had a great time. Avarie was an ANGEL all day and we were so glad she was such a sport! We only ended up snapping a few pics, so I just posted 2 for ya.

Bennett's fave plane...not the "Buzzin Cuzzin" design, but the actual model :)

Dad and Avarie

OK, this guy's pilot jumpsuit was so funny. If you can't see what it says around the rip, it says "Warning: Explosive Gases". Thought it pretty clever :)