lil this, lil that

I thought I better update so I don't get deleted off the family site again, lol. Still in St George, working and living life I guess. Lets see the most exciting thing that has happened to me lately is I had my wisdom teeth removed, all four were impacted. Took almost 3 weeks to heal and they still bleed from time to time. I think the dentist did a hack job on me. It was a great diet though, so I guess thats one postive thing from it :) Shooter my 6 month old puppy is Ginormous and leaves me lil room in my 700sq condo. He is glued to my hip if I get up to get a drink of water he follows, if I take a step to the left, he takes a step to left...lol i think you get the point. I think this is called seperation anxiety so everytime I go somewhere I have to take him by his collar and sit him back down and make him stay...sometimes it not worth all the trouble to get a drink! I've been mountain biking alot in the evening. It really cools down here around 7:30 now and its perfect to ride right out of my front door to red hills behind my complex. Sometimes Im joined by friends and other times its just Shooter and I. Today is friday and I have 14 friends flying in from, Idaho, Montana and Oregon to Las Vegas, so just thought I would say my goodbyes! lol jk. Im excited to see some old good friends from college and familiar faces. Although I enjoy my new life here in St. George its always good to have a blast from the past. I have some pictures to post but I dont have the time before I leave, so check back in a few weeks and I will have some updated photos. Hope everyone is doing well!, Love you all! xoxo

4th of July

I had a great time seeing everyone up at the reunion! I have tons of pictures...around 350 to be exact. I might have been excited to use my new camera (thanks mom and dad) :) If you want a disk of them, let me know. I tried to get pictures of everyone, so there are some good ones of all of you and your kids. Love you all and thanks for a great birthday and 4th of July!

I'm really enjoying living back in southern Utah, the weather, and outdoor activities that come with being here. I moved into the Sports Village complex that sits on top of a hill next to the Green Valley Resort. I rent a one bedroom condo and its the first time I've lived all alone. It was quite scary to get used to I'm not going to lie. The first week I jumped up every hour thinking someone was in my house, but I've slowly got used to it. I have recently picked up a new hobby, mountain biking. I absolutely love it and the rush that comes with it. It turns out my back yard is mountain bikers haven. My first ride, that a group of friends took me on, was called "Stukki." It was alot of fun and I quickly learned that slamming on front breaks in the middle of steep, dusty, drop isn't the best idea. As I my body begin to sprawl out over the handle bars, I some how managed to pull myself back down and gracefully land on my middle bar. I had escaped my first wreck. My legs were shaking so bad from the rush of adrenalin. I was hooked and have gone every weekend since. Early that week a friend of mine had gone out on the same trails and wiped out so bad that she popped her breast implant. The new name of that trail (please forgive my language) is now "Popped Boobie Drop"

I've really enjoyed my time down here and being so close to Ty and his family. I also completed my first half marathon, which was huge for me because I sincerely hate running. I knew I would like here and I'm glad I made the decision to come here. It has been a good choice thus far. One more piece of news for ya'll is I got a new puppy. His name is Shooter and he has been the best puppy I've had. No accidents and no whining at night. I'm actually quite amazed. After four days Shooter can: sit, fetch, lay down, shake, walk on a leash, be left alone, and sleep through the night. He's only 8 weeks old. I'm waiting for something bad to happen because this has just been to good to be true.

Hopefully I will be seeing you all soon for the Larsen Family Reunion. Here are some pictures of camping with the boys up in Pine Valley, a trip to Zions, and a few randoms.

The Golden Girls

For the past month I've been coaching a woman's 55 and older basketball team. I believe the oldest one being in her later 70's.....and yes, it was as funny as it sounds.

I volunteered to help teach these ladies some of the basics of basketball. I mean really, really, basic. Such as, you have to dribble the ball, not run with it. The differences between offense and defense ( i know it seems obvious, but it turns out that its quite confusing to some of our senior citizens ) :) We were practicing with a goal in mind; to help raise money and gather food for our local food banks.

The first practice was a little shaky, but they improved each week and were having a great time. I had imagined it to be a slow paced game, but I was way off. These elderly woman are aggressive and competitive! They were flying all over the place; hacking, stealing, blocking, shouting, flying sprawled out on the ground after a loose ball. I thought we were going to have some broken hips or something more serious by the end. Even at one point we had to stop a scrimmage and remind them that it was just for fun and to lighten up a bit. They were awesome and it shows ya no matter what your age is competitiveness stays with you. I enjoyed spending the time with these ladies getting to know them and was happy to help them out. After a month of practicing we split them into four different teams and I was in charge of the blue team.

We had a great turn out from the community and tons of food was gathered for the food banks. These woman definitely sacrificed their bodies and time for a good cause and I was happy to be a part of it. The Blue team ended up taking third, well we ended our last game 3-3 with the red team and decided to just call it a tie, so no one came in last place :) The ladies I coached were so happy to be a part of this basketball team that they asked me to coach them for next years Hoop Fest, which is a huge 3 on 3 tournament in Spokane, WA.

They handed out medals at the end of the games that said "Golden Girls 2008" It is hanging in my room and is a good reminder that it's always good to take some time out of your life and help someone else.

spare time

Sometimes ya just gotta cut loose! There isn't much to do for young adults, but I always enjoy going out with the friends and forget about school and work. I also went golfing yesterday for the first time in awhile to a short course here in CDA. Every hole is a par three and I havent really played since high school. It was a blast and I did suprisingly well. Only one close encounter with a fellow golfer and my ball. FORE!

Midterms

Well I'm half way through my first semester back at NIC. Things are going well so far, but a little stressful. The midterm grades were posted and I have three A's and a C. Which is a MAJOR improvement from my prior attempts at college, so I'm happy and hope to keep them there....well maybe I can work on the C a bit :) I'm excited to get this first semester under my belt and then come to Utah for a visit. The semester ends December 16th, so I will be flying in shortly after and hope to see everyone! What else is going on in my life?? Well there was a major drug bust at my work and a few pounds of meth was found in one of our units and I had gangsters from the Insane,(which is a dangerous gang located in Long Beach) driving around here asking questions and undercover cops. Then after the bust the main detective asked me out on a date. It was a very exciting day at work and completely random, but broke up the usual dullness of my job. Nothing to exciting happening in my life just keeping busy with homework. I should be working on a Biography on Samuel Adams, turns out it wasn't just the name of a beer, but one of our founding fathers and a ruthless, cruel bastard. Anyways, it's getting freezing cold up here already and I'm not looking forward to another winter in North Idaho. Really I was thinking about transferring to Dixie after this semester. Who knows though I change my mind quite often! :) any suggestions? I posted a few pictures because Sheri asked if I only owned one shirt so here is proof I own at least 3 or 4 :) There is a few from camping and other random times. I cooked my first dutch oven all by myself!