Camping and other fun July stuff

When I met Matt, one thing that I loved so much about him was how much he enjoyed spending time with our friends, something that was incredibly important to me.  I had seen so many friends basically disappear into their significant others along the years that I worked hard to make sure that Matt and I never lost touch with our wonderful friends and all the fun things going on.  I think we were pretty successful at that ;)  

And so now, with a baby on the horizon, I know that this is another hurdle we must learn how to jump over.  Yes, I/we know that life will undoubtedly change in ways we can't even fathom as of yet.  But I have long vowed that whenever we have children (which now is so much closer than I can even begin to comprehend!), we will not be that couple that stops having a great time with our friends (nothing against those that do, of course).  I am writing this down so that we can be held accountable to that, because we mean it!  It may mean fewer fun nights out and about, different activities all together, or heading home earlier than normal, but I am confident that the Larson crew will continue to have many fun adventures.  (And when I'm tired and haven't showered for days post-baby, please remind me of all of this!) :-)

Ok, now that that's off my chest, on to our latest adventure (and no, I'm not talking about the completion of my root canal taking place in approx. 3 hours...) - the 2nd annual Supper Group Camping Trip!  We had a fabulous time heading up to (near) Piney Lake again (a little ways outside of Vail) with 16 wonderful people.  Songs were sung around the campfire, games were played, hikes were taken, the boys went disc golfing in Beaver Creek, great food was consumed (and I assume the beer and wine were great too), and in general, fun was had by all.  Here are a few snapshots from the fun weekend (in a gorgeous location!!):

In other July happenings, we also drove up to Black Hawk to have dinner with my Oma and Opa...

And celebrated Mr. Noah's 1st birthday!!  I can't believe he's getting so old.  He is ADORABLE.

I attended my 3rd Phoenix Multisport Gala (thanks to a seat from Evelyn) - it was a great night that raised lots of money for their great work!

And we held many-a band practices getting ready for this weekend at the Sipapu Music on the Rocks Festival:

We caught Fleet Foxes at the Fillmore (they were pretty awesome, I must say, even though it was late, and I was pregnant, er, tired.) ;)

Off to mentally prepare for the root canal...

Biggest Adventure Yet!

The Larsons have a big adventure coming... but before I tell you what it is, I thought I'd take some time to look back on some of our fabulous adventures since we met back in March of 2007.  We sure have been blessed.

* adopting a child dog

  * Broadway shows, fireworks, dance clubs, hot dog eating contests, marathons, and fabulous times in New York City

  * getting married after a Spring blizzard in Boulder

 * visiting fun cities like Boston, Chicago, Seattle, Durham, Philadelphia, L.A....

 * tubing in West Virginia

 * visiting Civil War battlefields

 * double dates with Senators

* New Years Eves in the Outerbanks

 
* watching Duke lose in the NCAA tournament :)

 * many great sporting events

 (including playing some flag football together)

(and of course cheering on Matt's beloved Twins AT their new stadium)

* fun times with friends in Puerto Vallerta

 * sweating around seeing Chichen Itza, and drinking lots of pina coladas in Cancun on our honeymoon

 * concerts galore in many cities across the country

* moving to Colorado

* living the life in DC

 * getting engaged on the banks of the Tidal Basin in view of DC's finest monuments:

 * exploring the Bahamas

* playing in the "family" band:

 * having fabulous times with our fabulous Denver friends

 * enjoying the Colorado (and New Mexico) mountains;

 * the making of a Jeopardy! champion

* making memories with our families in Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico, Michigan, Illinois, California....

* buying our first home!!

Looking back at these pictures, I am flooded with amazing memories that were created with my very best friend.  (Cheese alert!!!)  I am so thankful to have someone in life to laugh (a lot, and loudly) with (and at), who supports me in absolutely everything I do, who is kind and compassionate, who loves me for all my crazy quirks and wants me to be the best version of me that I can be, who has a passion for music that far exceeds my own, who knows that we don't need money to be happy (maybe just to pay our mortgage), who loves our silly and crazy Lincoln/Stinker like he is the greatest and most precious dog on the planet (which he most certainly is not!), and who will undoubtedly be there for me no matter what.  I say all of this gushy stuff because I know that all of these things (and more) make me to believe know that Matt will be an amazing dad someday.  (I mean, have you seen him with Lincoln?  I'm serious...)  :)  And thankfully...

...that someday is January 13th!!  Our next and biggest adventure is underway!  (I hope that I was able to tell most/all of you personally, so hopefully this isn't a big surprise!)  But we are more than excited, nervous, scared, overjoyed... and while this Fall will be absolutely consumed with school and more school for me as I try to get my teaching license before the baby comes, I can't help but spend a lot of time day-dreaming about our little one on the way.  We can't wait to meet you, little baby Larson!  You will be SO loved.

(this is from my 12 week ultrasound - he/she waved and kicked at us - quite a sight to see from such a TINY little thing!)

From May 7th when we "officially" found out, i.e. The Day Our Lives Changed Forever: