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!

B A B Y P A R T Y !!!

We are so blessed to live in such a wonderful neighborhood and even more so, to belong to such a great ward.  Some of our sweet friends from our ward threw us a couple's baby shower.  It was actually more of a "last night out before having a baby" party.  It was amazing.  We knew about the shower (when and where), but everything that was going to happen was a complete surprise.  Everything about the night was about our favorite things!  For dinner, we had a variety of mexican food (my favorite).  On the tables were peanuts (Eldon's fav) and m&ms( my fav).   We played some great baby games such as who can drink the juice from the bottle first, the clothes pin game of who can not cross their legs the longest (p.s. eldon won that one!), who can dress a baby blind folded the fastest, which candy bar (poopy diaper) is which melted.  We also had a DANCE PARTY!!!  yep, its true.  A full on disco lights, balloon floor filled, dj music'ed dance party.  It was awesome!!!  And again, my fav!  And the best part was, our friends totally rocked out with us, and even Eldon danced!  It was a blast!  We truly had such an amazing time with our dear friends, and they were all so very generous that we got some amazing gifts for our sweet little Xander.  Lets just say that he will be rollin in style for quite some time thanks to the generosity of our friends!





One of the major highlights of the evening was the parenting advice we received from our friends.  I hope you enjoy as much as we did.  It was some amazing advice!!

We just wanted to thank all those that came and played with us and especially give a big THANKS to those who organized the night so that we could party and feel so very loved by those around us!!!!  We know we are so very lucky and we know that Xander will be all the more lucky to grow up surrounded by such amazing people!  We love you all!

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!

Time flies when you are having fun

At least that is what we are hoping as we anxiously await the arrival of our sweet little boy.  We have been having a lot of fun lately out on the town with some sweet friends.   Thought we would share a bit of what we have been up to.  First my work had spare tickets to a Diamondbacks game.  We were able to get like 30 tickets, so we were able to bring a bunch of our family and friends to enjoy the nosebleeds with us!  We were having so much fun that I didnt even take any pictures :(  but our cousins took some cute pics of their kiddos having fun with us!  (Of course, because we are so much fun! hehe) Go Diamondbacks!  P.S. we won which made it even better!!!

About two weeks later my sweet friend Jenny and Hubby had amazing tickets to an ASU Game.  Since Eldon had never been during his student years at ASU, and the tickets were pretty awesome (with dinner included) we couldnt pass it up.  Sorry to my fellow classmates since we passed up my 10 year high school reunion to go to the game instead, but we had a great time!  P.S. ASU won that game too!!!! Guess we are good luck!  Go Devils!

 Arizona's weather has been a bit strange this year.  It has been unusually hot, but for about one week, it got chilli (as a teaser before it got warmer again).  For that one week, it actually felt like fall, so we decided to celebrate fall at the local farm.  It was alot of fun.  They had a corn maze, yummy chilli and cornbread, cute picture ops, go carts, and lots of opportunities to crack jokes with our good friends.

Happy 28th Birthday Eldon

Eldon turned 28 this year!  To celebrate we went out to dinner with some dear friends at Joe's Crab Shack.  We had a wonderful time, Eldon got to eat some wonderful crab (he loves seafood, me not so much, so it was a big treat for him!)  

I even got brave and experimented with some Calimari (squid)  Can I just say YUCK!!!!  I wont be that brave again!  Our little friend Jackson got brave and wanted to try his first crab.  hehe. 

The best part was Eldon's birthday song.  At Joe's Crab Shack, they make the birthday boy participate too.  Eldon had to get dressed up in hula gear and sing along saying "Hula Hey, Its my birthday!"  I got it on video.  Its a little slow in the beginning because the waitress is giving Eldon instructions.  We were dying laughing though.  It was great!   He had a wonderful birthday, we had a wonderful time and we are grateful for those who helped him to have such a great birthday!

Hand Made Ornament Exchange

My cute friend has a super fun Christmas tradition of doing a homemade ornament exchange party. When she asked if I wanted to participate, I have to admit at first I wondered what in the world I would do with 17 homemade Ornaments (especially with the hopes that we will have a house full of children some day who will provide a great deal of homemade specialities to add to our tree) but after she explained a little further and directed me online, I was in.  She invited 17 different people to participate and then each person had to make 17 of the same ornament.  This cute little guy was my creation.  I wish I could take credit for the idea (I found it online), but I did make it from scratch.  My wonderful hubby even helped me.  The Marshmallows are made out of clay, which I had to spray paint white because they dried gray (grrrrrr!) the chocolate is brown foam and the graham cracker is cork.  The rest is paint, ribbon, and wire.  I am pretty proud of how cute they turned out, but I have to say making 17 was a lot of work!  It was really neat to see what the 17 different people came up with.  We each did something unique and different!  It was a great time and I am super excited for next year's party.  I am totally hooked and already have planned my ornament for next year :P

Trunk or Treat

We went to our Ward's Trunk or Treat.  It was a lot of fun.  They sure know how to throw a party!!! Some people decorated the trunk of their cars, and we even had Snow White's magic mirror which told fortunes to the kiddos.  They really enjoyed it!    

 We have a wonderful bishop who is so much fun!  His wife too!  I thought their costumes were hilarious.  Especially because he really is a very young bishop. Karen's costume was just awesome! The butt pad was the best!

There were so many great costumes.  The whoopee cushion was hilarious.  And I absolutely adored this little lady bug.  Amara, was so good the whole time, and just so stinkin cute!!!

 This little girl, Riley, absolutely loves Eldon!  It is so stinkin cute!  At church she will run up to him as if she hasnt seen him in forever.  She snuggles and giggles and flirts. Its so funny.  Her mom text us after the trunk or treat to tell us that she said she had "fun wid Edon".  So cute.  I was rolling because we even brought Zeus to the party, but she had fun with Eldon!  ha.  We might have to fight because i am a jealous girl, but it just goes to show that Eldon is going to be a wonderful father!!!  Next to Riley is her big brother Jaxon. 

 My good friend Nicole and her hubby came along for the ride.  It was alot of fun.  Eldon and I went as ourselves.... nerds!  And Zeus was a pirate.  The kiddos thought it was really cute to get a treat and pet the puppy.  He always does so good with kids, especially crazy scenes like this one.

 Bobbi made a great pregnant nun.  She really is pregnant.  It made it even better that her hubby Kyle went as a priest.  Hilarious!  And our good friends little girl, Sophie made a beautiful queen of Hearts, especially when liking icing off her lips from the yummy Halloween cupcakes.

We had a wonderful time with our dear ward friends and are excited for the rest of the holiday.  Happy Halloween!!!

Lil Jenny Got Hitched!!!

My old roomie and and one of my best friends Jenny got hitched last week. I am so excited for her to get to join the old married lady club :P She absolutely deserves to be happy and she seemed really happy that day. I am sure i am posting this before her because I am pretty sure she is still on her honeymoon, but i thought it was fun.... So Congrats to Nate and Jenny! We wish you all the best and welcome to the Club! Its the best club to join!

Happy Halloween!!!

Happy Halloween Everyone!!! I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween. I really enjoy this holiday but for the past couple of years we have been bums (not literally, bums as in, not really done much). This year my cousin August and his wife Melissa threw a Halloween party. It was a lot of fun. They had a costume contest (we were in second place by 1 vote), yummy food, a donut eating contest ( my sister Nauni won for the girls ), bowling with pumpkins, and just some fun times. Eldon and I were Hercules and Meg from the Disney version of Hercules,

but everyone thought we could be the couple from 300....didnt see it, but I will take their word for it. (Check out my hot hubby!! )

Nauni and my cousin Melissa were scary fairies

and my Brother and Cousin August were MAC and PC from the commercials.

I thought it was pretty creative. We had a blast hanging out with family and meeting new friends out on this side of town, but we were a little sad not to be at our house for trick or treaters for the first year....oh well. This year, Halloween was for us and we had a blast! Hope Halloween was happy for you all as well!