New York Bound

I have had my picture taken more times in the past 2 weeks than I have ever had in my entire adult life. I embraced the entire experience and had an amazing time! I met new family, made new friends, and got to know family members as an adult. I found out how much I have in common with both my aunts and got to see what fabulous people my 3 cousins have become. This trip taught me a lot about myself and my wonderful family. I learned to get over some of my fears and just had fun. I was glad to be able to take this vacation by myself and Travis and my aunt Ann Marie made that happen. If it were not for them I would have never dreamed of, nor have been able to take this trip. I was able to have new experiences like boating (Drugged of course), yoga, a mani pedi, trying new foods, traveling by taxi, and meeting with a medium. This is batch one.

On the boat going to the boat show

We'll take two! Uncle Scott and I having a good time!

Antie AM is ready to cruise baby!

Uncle Scott caught Dinner!

A neighbor down the street let us tour his fabulous yard and pose!

Posing!

This is a farm that the town of North Port saved to keep it going. Me and Mr.Goat.

On the train to the city!

New York Public Library!

Leggo store! Auntie AM can almost reach the dragon!

Rainbow Room!!

Look out Scott, Ann Marie has a thing for Batman.

I am not a rebel I swear! He is also made of Legos!

Turtle

This could be slightly akward

Auntie AM scared by the squid and whale fighting

Me being in love with the giant squid

Just a Sunday afternoon

We enjoyed the sun a couple of Sundays ago and managed to snap a few pictures.

Dear Karen

Dear Karen, Busy can not even begin to describe the last couple of weeks. Our 8th wedding anniversary was on the 3rd, Claire's 5th birthday was on the 5th, and then Travis's birthday is tomorrow. He decided not to have a celebration again this year. I think that is because it is painful as the last birthday party he had you were there. It was a big deal for us as not only was it his 30th birthday but we were announcing that we were expanding our family yet again. We miss you. I am doing the rummage sale again this year for the church which is a huge job and help is scarce but I do enjoy it. I, for the most part, like looking at what people bring and, as you know, like finding bargains. I price things for what I would like pay. It worked in the past and I hope it works again this year. Steve brought in a load of stuff from Matt and Jen. Hidden in the truck was also some of your stuff. Pain and confusion washed over me as I was touching things that I know you treasured. I did decide to keep a couple of things but was tempted to keep it all. I am one of those people, as you know well, who keeps things that I find sentimental. Broken hearted and tearful I only kept 2 items. Why is that hard? I know it is just stuff and not you but here I am clinging on to all that is left. Shana had this beautiful blown glass oil lamp made with Greg's ashes. I really want to have one made from your ashes but it is pricey. Lame I know but we just don't have room in the budget for extras. Plus I don't know if Steve would find it weird to ask for some of your ashes? Claire's party was a hit! It was nice to see the family and the weather could not have been more perfect. She received wonderful gifts and the best gift of all was her own room. We decided that it was time for her to have her own space with all her own girly stuff and not have to worry about her little brothers breaking her toys or destroying what she has made. Ben and Sam are enjoying their room together and the bond between them is growing stronger every day. Ben loves being the "Big Brother" to Sam and showing him the ropes of room ownership. Ben is however struggling with potty training and we are going to hold him back from pre-school. We will send him next fall since the school will not take kids who are not full potty trained. It is disappointing but too much pressure on him backfires and it is hard for everyone. Sam is moving at his own pace like he has for his entire life thus far. He is trying to talk and has recently learned to yell "Go!" He enjoys this because whenever he yells it the older kids run and race each other. Oh the power. He is now climbing up and downstairs, on all of the furniture, and is into everything in the kitchen. Boy have I gotten lax on the rules with the 3rd kid! Kids in the kitchen?! I am trying to teach him to stay on the carpet which has proven to be rough. It consumes all my time which is needed elsewhere but I am determined to make it happen! Trav and I are doing well despite having no money. I remember you telling me about you marriage and that it was also hard with no money. You two loved each other, worked hard, and kept communication open and eventually got established. We definitely love each other, are working hard, and are very good at communication. I know we will stand the test of time as you and Steve were wonderful examples. I can hear Trav filling the sandcastle pool you bought for the kids a few years ago so I should go and slather my very pale children to protect them from the sun. I love and miss you dearly. KT

What?! You gonna wine about it?!

Today has been wonderful!! Steph and I have been wine tasting practically all day! This is the life. We Roamed the Rogue and went to 7 vineyards where we had fabulous food parings with many different wines. All were great but started to blend together a bit after the first several as well as mood. I got a bit silly and then super sleepy. I managed to snap some pictures while out on our beautiful day.

Dear Karen

Dear Karen, I am awake before everyone else and the birds are chirping and the air is crisp and it makes me think of you. You were always up first and I can only imagine that you have had many moments like this. Many fond memories of the peaceful silence and being one with nature for a few precious moments. I think you would be happy to know that I am on a vacation with Stephanie. I have no kids with me and no husband! A girls trip if you will. Travis was very supportive, encouraging me to go and I haven’t looked back. I have only been gone since Thursday night but I am having so much fun! Stephanie’s parents have a home in Gold Hill (Near Medford) and it is a dream here. I long for the rural lifestyle complete with chickens and some livestock. Ken and Kris (Steph’s parents) are truly wonderful people and have treated me like family for as long as I have known them. They love our family and feel like our kids are their grand kids and we are happy to have them in our lives. They are our family. I was privileged enough yesterday to help with the chickens and got to catch one and hold it! This just made my day. I know I am quite the dork but I will embrace it and enjoy my chicken time while I am here. Steph and I got our toes painted as well yesterday and I have little white flowers on them like you used to get. I always loved your flowers on your toes and now I treat myself once a year to that as well. I have called Trav twice since being gone and he is doing very well with the kids (Not that I was worried). He is such a great dad. I wish you could see him with them as you would be proud. I see so much of you in him that sometimes it hurts. I wanted to call you the other day and tell you about Claire. We were in the grocery store and a lady was talking to me about laundry soap, as we were in that aisle, and Claire chimed in saying that I had turned all out towels pink. Yes I did do that but that was almost 2 months ago and it was a total accident with the kitchen rug. She has been telling everyone we know and some we don’t “My mommy turned all our towels pink!” I can’t help feeling embarrassed when she recalls this story and wish she would forget it already. She is so excited for kindergarten she is bursting at the seams! I got her a work book so we can be going over some things this summer in better preparation for the fall. You would be proud of how much she knows and of how loving she is. Ben is Ben. He loves to play and be ridiculous as much a possible. He can get me to laugh like no other. His smile gets him out of a lot of trouble. He is 3 now and is being difficult most of the time. Potty training seems to be getting better as I changed my tactics and he is responding quite well to them. The goal is to have him trained by the middle of the summer so he can go to preschool in the fall. He and Claire were fighting in their room a few days ago and so I went to investigate. When I got to the door I stopped to listen to what was going on and I hear Ben saying in a regal manor “I am the queen.” Claire is arguing against that saying she is the queen and that he can be the prince. Ben then says “I am the queen and you can be…….my servant!” We need to find some little boys for him to play with. Sam has been doing much better. He has gained weight and been pretty happy lately. He has a couple of teeth coming in so he has had some unpleasantness but that is to be expected. He is playing alone very well and is so SO loud. You thought Ben was loud! Sam is 10 decibels louder in his speaking voice than Ben. It is hard to imagine until you hear it. He started walking finally but only because my mom got him to do it. Trav and I tried so hard to get him to walk for months. My mom comes in for the weekend and got him to do it within the first 3 hours of her being there! It is great! He loves it, we love it and he is just delighted to be able to keep up a little better with Claire and Ben. Sam looks so much like you I find it uncanny. I will have to find a baby picture of you and post it with a picture of Sam so you can see it. He has so much Peterson in him and I think he laughs like you too. He really laughs and enjoys life. Today is going to be wine tasting starting at 10am so I had better eat a hearty breakfast and get myself together. I love you and miss you. You are always in my heart and on my mind. Love, KT

That's Our Son

You may ask why did we perch our son on the top of the porch railing? We did because.......well we did because our son's mother got a new camera and needed to try it out. Why is our son dressed like a Superhero? Because he is one.

They Flew Through The Air With The Greatest Of Ease

What is a dying wish? I have asked this of myself and have not yet come up with an answer. I guess you have to be dying? I once heard of a dying wish many years ago from a man I was soon to be related to. Greg Larsen. Greg in his usual booming voice mentioned in casual conversation that upon his death he wanted to be shot out of a cannon. Yes a cannon. At the time of this statement he was a healthy young man with his whole life ahead of him. It could not have been more than 2 years later that he and his wife Shana found out that he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma. After battling for almost 5 years (He fought tooth and nail) he lost the fight. I remember having a conversation with Travis after receiving an email form Shana. The email was asking the immediate family if they wanted to be with Greg in the last few days and hours of his life. We didn't need to think about it as we both were on the same page as we wanted to support Shana in this most awful time and help ease Greg out of this world. I now will admit I was slightly worried about how I was going to feel after he passed as he wanted to do it in the comfort of his own home. What would this look like and what happened next? I didn't want to ask any questions as I didn't want to be cruel or morbid as at the time he was still living so I kept those questions to myself and just decided to muster the courage for my husband and family when the time came. We got the call and all arrived at Greg and Shana's home. At the time Sam was 3 months old. I was still nursing him so he came as well. He was a bit of a distraction which was good and Greg got to see him again. Greg was fairly lucid and at one point he said "Where's my million dollar kid? Where's my million dollar kid?" And Shana asked if he was talking about Sam and Greg replied "Yeah! Where's my million dollar Sam?" So Shana took Sam over to Greg and Greg touched his feet and got to look at him and Sam was just looking at his uncle. "There's my million dollar Sam." It was less than 24hours later on April 12 2011 he slipped away peacefully with all of us at his bedside. After it had happened and we all embraced each other crying it felt natural to have Greg's body still with us. It wasn't scary or uncomfortable. He was in the living room on his bed and we were congregating 10 feet away in the kitchen talking about good times with him. Shana spoke up and said that a few days earlier that Greg again mentioned that he wanted his ashes to be shot out of a cannon. We all looked at each other and laughed! Matt said "Well that's Greg." That was Greg. He was big, had a commanding presence, booming voice, and knew how to leave a lasting impression on anyone who met him. Of course he would want that. He was Greg Larsen. Greg left this task to his father Steve and brothers to make this happen. They came through boy did they ever. On April 15 at the Larsen beach house friends and family rallied as the cannon was brought onto the sand and wheeled out to the waters edge. Steve prepared 7 rounds of Greg's ashes and 3 rounds of Karen's ashes (My mother in-law who passed away on Nov. 11 2010) and they left the earth with a boom. My sister in-law Jen said she could just hear Karen squealing with delight that she got to be a part of the big day as well. I agree.

Getting the Cannon on the beach

Gathering

Shana sharing her journey to this moment

Steve putting in the first round

Travis preparing one of the rounds

The beautiful plume of ash

Karen's closest friends Janet and Donita

Wonderful friends and family

Ben in awe. When told a few days earlier what was going to happen he said "Uncle greg is going to be so surprised."

Shana getting to fire the cannon

Matt fireing a round

Shana fireing another round

Kids having a good time at the beach

Last shot of the day

A day we will all remember