The Larsen Family Reunion--and a Little about Shanna
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 at 11:07PM This weekend was a first—the first Larsen reunion without one of the four Larsen sisters—without my mom. We had a great time visiting around the campfire (I still smell like smoke when my hair gets wet) and roasting marshmallows, but it wasn’t the same without Mom. She’s been to every reunion since we began many years ago, and she usually coordinates everything for the potluck dinner as well as the craft. Needless to say, we did a little scrambling to organize our traditional potluck dinner (we all snuggled and ate under the canopy of one of the trailers during a rainstorm), and I grabbed a few of the convention Make & Takes for our craft.
The weather, other than the one time it rained, was perfect; the scenery was breathtaking; and I thoroughly enjoyed vegging. In fact, the first day I fell asleep while visiting because I wasn’t doing something with my hands. So, out came the projects, and I didn’t miss anything else.
I’d love to show you lots of photos, but do you think I took a single photo of the mountains or the trails while riding on the four wheelers? No, of course not! I did focus on the people though. That’s the important thing, right? Except that I’m not in a single shot. Usually I ask someone to include me in a photograph so I can prove I was there, but not this time. I hope I’m not the only one who repeatedly makes that same mistake. I took photos that I think will be meaningful to Shanna, and we all recorded a little something on a cassette for her to listen to because she couldn’t be with us.
That reminds me, one of you asked about Shanna. She is serving a mission for 18 months in Spain for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. She’s been gone for 3 months, 13 days, and 12 hours (but who’s counting?), and I miss her tons! Please don’t misunderstand me; I’m thrilled for Shanna and know it will be a wonderful growing experience for her. I just miss her. Maybe I’ll adjust to her being gone, but it hasn’t happened yet, so beware of my blubbering!
And speaking of Shanna, I think I wasn’t as clear as I could have been and one of you thought Shanna wasn’t included in our Gardner Girls Gathering photos (the photos on the photo fan I posted last week). If you look close, Shanna’s the one on the far right. In fact, I didn’t notice it until today when I looked at the photo of the fan again, but the girls are all in age order (except me, of course) starting with Megan on the far left, then Sara, Shalae with Cooper, Sage (and me), and finally Shanna.
And I know my girls are reading my blog because I was reading one of the posts that commented on the photo fan and Washington weather. The comment noted that since I was making one fan, I just as well make five. As I read the post, I thought it sounded like something Sara would say, and lo and behold, it was her! I did laugh out loud, Sara!
I swore these wouldn’t be long posts, but once I get typing, I just don’t want to stop—kind of like the way I talk…
I’m signing off!
Reader Comments (38)
*STAMPIN HUGS* Alex
A re-energized demonstrator,
Shannon
Happy Stampin' Candice
I have an s name...... I could be a Gardner girl for a day!!! :-)
Hugs! Judi
I just love reading your blog. You write the way you talk, which is such a GREAT thing. I can just cloes my eyes and hear your voice as I'm reading.
I completley understand about not being in photos. For my college graduation a few years ago, it was my parents first attempt at using my digital camera. It looks like I come from a divorced family because there isn't one single family photo of us, because either my mom or my dad is taking pictures. THe one that we did get, that my grandparents took... We're headless :) They didn't understand the digital camera either. Too funny! I'm so glad you enjoyed your time off with your family! And know that your mom was there, in her own way, watching over all of you smiling that you are still carrying on tradition!
So glad to hear you had a great time at your reunion and to catch up on some much needed rest. I miss our family reunions - they just don't seem to happen anymore. My dad comes from a family of 14 kids and I'm sure I could trip over some of my cousins on the street and not even know who they are.
I have a question for you - I only saw you on stage at Convetion yet there are so many demonstrators who have pictures with you. Where were you and how did they get to do that?
Thanks,
Betsy
It sounds like the reunion was fun...a picture of you on the four-wheeler would have been so great! I am never in the pictures either...always behind the camera. I do try to get in one every now and then, so future photo album viewers will believe my children actually have a mom. :)
So happy for Shanna! She has a made a terrific choice, and her life will no doubt be deeply enriched because of it. It is so difficult when our children reach the jumping off place. It must be especially hard with the last one. I will send up a prayer for you.
Hugs~
Cindy
I was so excited to see you have a blog. I love the way Stampin Up is always changing with the times and how much information your demonstrators have to help them to inspire me! I love the way you always put your family firstand have had fun watching your cute family grow.
Thanks for your hard work! Dahlene Spencer
Best of luck to Shanna on her mission experience. I hope at some point in my life to be able to take the time to do this. It would be such a life enriching experience.
Have a wonderful day!
Liz (SU demo)
And -like Sara said- you DO write like you speak and I can visualize you writing your postings....its so cool that I can include you in my daily "blurfing" - you are probably THE coolest CEO on the planet....and that's from a Business Teacher!!
Have a good rest of the week!!
Maureen
It has certainly been a joy reading your blog the last few days. I think what I love about it the most is that as I read what you are sharing, I actually can hear your voice speaking the words as if we were at a Convention and you were sharing it with us in person. Thank you for giving us this opportunity to get to know you even better. For those of us that have not had the opportunity (yet) to spend time with you at a smaller scale event and share personal stories, it is really an honor to have you reach out and include us in your day to day life. Being a stay at home mom of 3 beautiful boys, I can so relate to many of the stories you have shared on this blog as well as at convention. I look forward to reading much more and also participating in your craft challenges. Thank you for being you and for all of your inspiration!
I will keep your youngest in my prayers as she continues her mission. I am sure it is enriching her life as well as the lives she is touching. Remember are children are like butterflies. We protect and watch over them till they make cocoons and then share in their joy as they spread their wings and fly.
Rubber Hugs,
Trish B in KY
I loved hearing about Shanna and wished you had said more about her and Spain. Our son Jeff was recently called to the Barcelona, Spain mission and yesterday, after 3 weeks in Provo, flew to the Madrid MTC for more training before heading to Barcelona. He got to call home while waiting for his flight…it was so good to hear his voice! Anyway, I am soooo excited to be a missionary mom and look forward to hearing more about how Shanna is doing in Spain.
-Kimber Millard, Mesa, AZ