Hangin with Uncle B!

So my little brother is pretty excited to be a new uncle.  He came down from Utah to hang out for the summer with his niece and nephew.  We went over to  my parents house for dinner.  We had Xander dressed up in a cute blue Hurley shirt with grey pants.  He looked adorable (of course), but what was funny was to see my brother come out in a blue Hurley shirt and grey shorts.  We were laughing and couldnt resist a picture of the two trouble makers in their matching Hurley Outfits!  Too cute!

Such wonderful blessings!

Some of our dear friends may or may not know that my big brother and his wife have also been trying to have a family through adoption along side of us.  We both became certified about the same time, but we felt prompted to move quickly to post our profile (obviously because we needed it to be ready for Carolyn to find us, so we could have our sweet little boy).  My sister-in-law only recently felt prompted to get their profile posted.  While we were in Florida, we received a fun little phone call from my brother telling us that they had received a phone call from a birth mother in Utah and that she had picked them to be the parents of her baby, the only catch was that she would be giving birth in 3 days!!!  They had alot of praying and thinking to do to figure out if this was right for their family.  Amazingly, they quickly received confirmation that this sweet little spirit was meant to be in their family and they packed up their car and drove to Utah.  Everything went smooth and beautifully and their sweet little girl was placed in their arms.  So not only did we receive the blessing of a son through adoption, but 11 days later, we received the gift of a new niece!

Introducing Olivia Ranee Seals

We think it is pretty amazing that we were both blessed at the same time and that these two will be so close in age and be able to be a strength to each other because their share the bond of adoption!  It is amazing to us, but we are so grateful for the bountiful blessings that our family has received.

And, to say the least, my parents are beyond thrilled.  They went from not having any grandchildren (besides our twins), to having 2 grandkids within less than 2 weeks!

The Xander Zone

Welcome to the Xander Zone!  Pretty much, our blog is going to be taken over by this sweet little guy, but we realize that everyone would definitely prefer to see his adorable face, rather than ours.  And its ok, we understand, and we totally agree!!!!  So since Xander has been home, we have had quite a few visitors!  There are still so many people that we would love for him to meet, but he is still very small, so we have only had visitors in small doses.  Soon enough (because time is absolutely flying) we will introduce him to church and to my work friends and the public.  In the mean time, we have had fun with those who have come to visit.  Everyone thinks he is just perfect (which he is) and they love his chubby cheeks and his triple chin (yep, he has one).  He is so sweet and just adorable.

Family Baby Shower

My mom and her sweet friends through a baby shower for my family members and family friends.  One of my favorite people in the world, Cherilyn offered her beautiful home for the shower and the food was beyond amazing!!!  Our family and friends were wonderful and beyond generous.  This little boy is going to be so pampered and loved!  I am so very grateful to all those who love and support us and our sweet little boy.  So much fun!

Christmas 2011

 For Christmas this year, we spent Christmas Eve with Eldon's Family.  As is tradition, the kiddos made "spud nuts".  They are homemade donuts that taste just like Krispy Kreme donuts only better!  This kiddos love to put the frosting on!         

 Eldon was testing out our new camera for Christmas.  So here is our cute puppy Zeus!!!  He is a very happy puppy, who smiles all the time, but not for the camera.  He was not so thrilled with his puzzle toy on Christmas.  He couldnt figure it out.  A few days later, he was a pro and gets every treat out of the puzzle every time!

 Our niece Shelly may hurt me for posting a pic of her just out of bed without any make up on (even though she is gorgeous anyway) but I couldnt resist because of her face.  She was so stinkin excited for this gift.... it was a Justin Beiber singing toothbrush.  Ive never seen anyone so excited for a toothbrush for Christmas, but she was in Heaven! hahaha!


 My Christmas morning was awesome!  Watched my lovely niece and nephew open their gifts while enjoying a very relaxing massage in this chair!  Lets just say that I was greatly coveting this chair.  Zeus enjoyed the view of the gifts from the safety of mommy's lap in the chair too.

Our little nephews helped to bring the Christmas spirit to the morning.  They were very cute opening gifts.  Our nephew Dax is 2.  He really liked the gifts but wasnt too sure about the wrapping paper.  This little boy is all BOY!  He got a gift of a toy car.  One button made the car make noises from the "radio".  He made the funniest frowny face.  He didnt like it at all.  The next button made a "vroom vroom" noise.  Man, did his face light up to hear the car noises!  So cute!  And just because he is adorable, I included a picture of our newest little nephew Ryker.  We think he looks alot like Eldon.  So cute!  It was a very Merry Christmas!  We were grateful to spend it with our family.

With our Gratitude

 To our Dear Friends and Family;

First, we must apologize for the delay in this letter.  While our gratitude is abundant for the love, support, and generosity of those around us, we still find it very difficult to bring ourselves to finish projects related to our sweet babies.  Second, we must give a huge THANK YOU to our family, friends, and co-workers, whose generosity has allowed the memory of our sweet little boys to help and uplift so many others.

It is so amazing to us how quickly time goes by.  It seems like just yesterday we were entangled in the stress and sorrow of the loss of Ethan and Tommy and yet, it has already been two years!  During the past two years we have become ever so grateful for the knowledge of a loving Heavenly Father who leads and guides our lives.  We have come to learn that while we do not know the meaning of all things, (especially related to this loss); we do know and feel our Heavenly Father’s love helping us through each day.  Just as with their 1^st birthday, it was very important to us to make Ethan and Tommy’s birthday a memorable one full of love and celebration for the joy they brought to our lives.  December 3^rd was actually a very dreary one.  It was raining off and on frequently throughout the day and we were incredibly concerned that the weather would ruin our plans at the cemetery.  Thankfully, the clouds parted from the exact minute we entered the cemetery to the exact minute we drove away and not a single drop of rain fell.  It was a sweet thought to think that the Heaven’s could pause for just a short time to allow us to honor our sweet little boys on their birthday and “send our love to Heaven” with a balloon release.  Following the balloon release, friends and family joined us back at our home for a birthday dinner.  It truly is so comforting to be surrounded by those we love during difficult days. We are very grateful for those who were there in person and were able to share in this special day and for those that were there in spirit and thought as well.

As part of the tradition for Ethan and Tommy’s birthday, we prepared bereavement boxes, similar to the gifts Stefani received during her time in the hospital.  These boxes were created through the love, time and talents of our sweet friends along with the generosity of so many who gave the needed items to fill the bereavement boxes.  These boxes were donated to the hospital that took such good care of Ethan and Tommy and will be distributed to other women and families who will suffer the tragic loss of a child.  We desperately wish gifts like these boxes were not necessary, and that there wasn’t a need, but unfortunately there is.  We are again, so grateful for the blessing to be able to take such a difficult trial in our lives and turn it around into an opportunity to help others who will experience our grief and know our pain. 

We know with a doubt that we have been beyond blessed during our struggles and trials, and with this specific one, this fact has been abundantly clear.  Words cannot accurately express our gratitude for the love and support we have felt and continue to feel on a regular basis.  We are grateful for the role each of you play in our lives and for your help in ensuring that Ethan and Tommy’s memory will be preserved and will help to make a difference to others.

Thank you for all that you do for us and our sweet little boys! All our love!

Eldon and Stefani Larson

Happy 2nd Birthday Ethan and Tommy

 It is crazy how quickly time goes by.  It seems like only yesterday that we were wrapped up in the heartache of losing the boys, and now we are remembering what would have been their second birthday.  It is our tradition to have a gathering of our friends and family to remember the love our sweet babies brought into our lives.   This year it was pouring rain.  I was so worried that our plans for the cemetery would be ruined by the rain.  It stormed off and on all day.  The entire drive to the cemetery it was sprinkling.  The second we pulled into the cemetery grounds, the rain stopped.  It was still cold, but thankfully, it wasnt wet.

 We were surprised and honored by the many people who showed up to show their love and remember Ethan and Tommy.  There were quite a bit more people than we expected which was a wonderful surprise!!

I love to see the balloons fly.  Sending our love to our sweet babies in Heaven.  Amazingly, the rain stayed away until the very minute that we drove away from the cemetery.  Our sweet babies held off the rain so they could have their balloon release.  It was very special and it touched my heart greatly!  Ethan and Tommy, we love and miss you so very much!  You have brought so much love to our hearts and to our family.  Just your memory makes us strive to be better people each and every day.  We are grateful for the lessons we learned from being your parents and strive to make you proud of us.  We love you babies!!  Families are Forever!

Camping Trip

My family decided it was time to go camping before the woods got too crowded for the summer.  So my Dad, my big bro and his wife and their pup along with Eldon and I and Zeus, headed up to a favorite camping spot that has this beautiful river, clean toilets (an absolute must), tables and camp fire rings so you can actually still have a campfire despite all the fire warnings.  The only problem was, the weather in Arizona right now has not been the usual Arizona weather, so it was actually really chilly!!!!  During the day it did warm up and was quite nice, so we took a little hike.  It was a lot of family fun.  The pups both did an amazing job and didnt even need to be on a leash, which was wonderful!!!  Definitely something we will have to do again soon....as long as it warms up a bit ;)

My brother trying to be Dopey with his hat.

Christmas Time Fun

We were able to go up to Snowflake for Christmas Eve and enjoy some of the fun traditions of the Larson Family Christmas.  It was a lot of fun and we were really glad to spend time with our loved ones. Check out these super cute family pics.

We drove back home Christmas morning to spend time with the Seals side of the family for the remainder of the day.  My little brother surprised our family for his gifts, he gave us all matching outfits so we could take a new family photo.  Our last family photo was at his mission farewell (more than 4 years ago).  We went out to the park by my parents house and took some super cute family pics, if I do say so myself

we have been busy

And I have been a slacker!!! Sorry! Its really hard to have the desire to hop on the computer when you are on it all day long at work! And the weekends have been full of trips, family, and fun little projects. Usually, when I take a while to blog something, I cheat and just back date it. Well, I am just meshing all our recent adventures into one giant blog, so sorry if this is really long (and it is really long).... like I said, we have been busy!

Going back to May.....

As a quick update, Eldon's family names their cars. Not sure why exactly why, but they do, so we thought we would follow tradition. It took a little bit to come up with the name but then we found the perfect one! The Black Pearl!! :D

If you know me, then you know that Pirates of the Caribbean is like my all time favorite movie... All of them. And it just fit so nicely. It is black, its a treasure (pearl) and like Jack Sparrow, I have been after the pearl for a very long time!

Ok, now to the events

Our sweet little niece Olivia had her Honor Choir concert. She did an amazing job and even though I may be prejudice, she was by far the prettiest girl up there.


My Grandfather (my Dad's Dad) passed away.

It was very sad, but (and i know it sounds morbid) a little happy. My Grandpa had been sick for quite a while and was really suffering from Alzheimer's to the point where he learned his beloved wife had passed away several times a day as if it were the first time he had heard it. Can you imagine your heart breaking with the worst news ever multiple times a day. He also physically was to the point of being dependant on others for pretty much everything. My grandpa was too proud to ever want to live like that, and he missed my grandma dearly, so for that sake, it was time and i am glad he is reunited with the love of his life. We went to California for the funeral. It was really hard, but got even harder when I saw my uncles and my Dad and how hard it was on them. My Grandpa was a great man, and I love him very much. He will be greatly missed!


On a happier note, a week after the funeral, we made a trip up to Snowflake to see our 2 Nieces graduate from 8th grade.

In Snowflake, Jr. High graduation is almost as big of a deal as the high school, so we wanted to be there. The weather was kinda crazy that weekend. While we were driving up it was raining like crazy but the Black Pearl (my X-terra) made it through like champ.... Eldon's driving helped too. :P The graduation ceremony was awesome, my nieces looked beautiful and all was good....until we got a terrible phone call.... well i guess it could have been worse, but still not fun. Hollis (Eldon's brother) and his family were also on their way up to the graduation, but their vehicle lost control in the bad rain storm, hydroplaned and spun right into a guardrail, broke through it, and drove down the cliff into the ravine.


You can see from the pictures it was a scary drop!! Thankfully everyone was OK... A few bumps, bruises and frightened kids, but no permanent damage! The car was totalled completely, but everyone was OK!

Once everyone finally made it safely to Snowflake, the family fun began. Nothing special, just good times together. The kids always love jumping on the trampoline

and the newest form of entertainment is a dual bike that Eldon's dad built from 2 separate bikes.

He is pretty freakin talented! It was pretty fun to ride.

That same weekend (it was Memorial Day weekend so we had a 3 day weekend that we turned into 4 for the graduation) we went camping with my family.

We got to break in our new tent,(not pictured) and see how Zeus did in the wild. I definitely think he enjoyed it....He was very dirty and not my white clean little pup anymore.
The X-terra did great as well! I am still really loving it!

at the end of the May (yes all that above was in the month of May) was the Brett and Angela's twins (Payten and our angel baby Zoe) birthday. It is definitely a bitter sweet day! We had a blast celebrating with Payten. She was super cute, loved her cake and her gifts and she especially loved Zeus! She just wanted to hug and squeeze him all night. Then we went to the graveyard to remember and send our love to Zoe. It was really cute, we let Payten send the first balloon and told to her give it to Zoe and she walked right over to her grave and let the balloon go. She was trying to put it on the ground, and was a little sad when the balloon floated off, but she knew that when we spoke of Zoe, that is where she is. I think the picture of all the balloons looks really cool and really shows all the love we have for our angel baby and how much she is missed!



PS....doesnt Zeus look funny. He just chills and is content to be held.