And the Baby is.........

Healthy. hahaha. You thought I was going to tell you what the sex was. Well, this is one surprise that will just have to wait for a few more days. We've decided it would be a nice little gift to tell everyone on Christmas Day, especially since this is my Mom's first grandbaby. Now, if there is a better suggestion on how to break the news, I would love to hear. I just wanted something fun to do. In the meantime here is a funny little video of the baby practicing it's sucking reflex.  

If you look at it's eyes, the dark spots in the middle are pupils. The baby is kind of freaky looking with it's eyes open, but neat at the same time. I hope you enjoy!

VOTE EARLY, Vote Often

On the right side of this blog you will find a poll asking what is in the oven, feel free to vote early and vote often! Honestly I just hope that the baby is healthy. Olivia probably wants a healthy girl, but I will be fine either way. I have taught just as many girls to rope as I have boys! Look for updates coming soon! We will be heading back to the doctor in a couple weeks to know just exactly what is in there. My mom doesn't trust ultrasounds, my sister, Kresta, had one of her first and the doctor told them it was a girl. Jeremy is 9, and quite a boy... Mom just says to be sure and leave the tags on all the baby clothes purchased before the child arrives! 

Been a while...

Let me catch all ya'll up on what has been going on. Olivia is feeling better, although she is still pretty dang tired and wants to sleep most of the time. She has been very busy with school and doing a great job at balancing all the things she needs to get done. I am proud of her, and I hope she knows it.
From all accounts, Blueberry is healthy. I call the baby "Blueberry" because that is how big it was when we found out for sure that Olivia was pregnant. Olivia says she thought she felt it move the other day, which is neato.
I have been busy with school, but what else is new? The good news is that I am learning things. The bad news is that it is probably not enough. Work has been crazy busy, as people are stocking up for the new administration. Nothing like fear of your own government to help you purchase a high capacity firearm. But I don't blame any of our customers, if I had a few thousand dollars sitting around I think I would build an AR-10 and buy all the .308 that I could afford. .223 is nice, no recoil and it will go a ways, but I would rather punch a hole that knocks things down, to keep the fight at a distance. No, I am not afraid of a war busting out any time soon on our soil, but I do believe the motto of the Boy Scouts is not out of date. It is amazing to see how bothered people are on one hand and how elated others are. I could start a rant here, but I won't. For one thing, telling people in person what I think is safer for me and for those around me, and it is more fun to watch people's reactions.
We are not traveling home for Thanksgiving. We found out last year that when vacation hits, Moscow isn't such a bad town, and since we live further away from town, we don't mind all the students much anyhow. I plan on getting out into the woods to see if I can find a buck, whitetail season closes on Dec. 1. We also might look for some turkeys. From what I have heard, turkey huntin' is a downright hoot. I am also pondering getting a trapping license, but we shall see.
I would like to give a shout out to the Oakley Hornets for thier so far undefeated season! I am looking forward to seeing them play on Friday at the Kibbie Dome.
Well, peace out for now, keep your stick on the ice...

Exciting Night Out...

Bentley and Olivia were so tired they both passed out. It wasn't even 8:30pm...

I wish the picture quality was better, but you get the idea...

Da Daa Da DAAA

Here it is folks!
I should explain that this is just a short clip. I was lucky enough to get to watch all sorts of things while the ultrasound tech checked out how things were going. Olivia had to lay down and her angle did not let her see too much. It was soooo stinkin' neat to see that little body bouncing around. I really cannot describe the feelings that I had. It was just really neat.
Things are going well, but we are really friggin busy. Olivia is getting busy with her studies, practicing and studying. She gets pretty tired and is trying to keep up. Sometimes I might not be as understanding as I should. I am trying to be better. I still think that she is just doing wonderful things, and I wish that she could see all the great things that I see her doing. My schooling is getting busy, but that is Law Skool. Oh well, stuff happens.

Health, Hunting & Church: What a Weekend!

We had some great fun this weekend! It all started with me, puking incessantly until I could hardly hold up my head. I had skipped most of my Thursday classes and all of Friday. Mac went to work and school like usual on Friday, until I sent a text that read: "I need you to come HOME ASAP". Unfortunately, he had left his phone at school while he went to work for a few hours. So, my desperate call for help went unnoticed, all the while I am puking every little thing that went down my throat. Finally, he went back to the school for his class and received my text and quickly began to head home. When he got here, I asked for a blessing. It helped calm me, but I still felt miserable. So, we headed into Quick Care. Little did we know we would spend the entire afternoon there. After about two hours waiting for a urine sample, I finally peed and the doctor produced the outcome: I have a cold and sinus infection (I already knew that), a very dehydrated body, and a urinary tract infection. Oh joy. While They were waiting for my sample, the doc came in and said that I could always have an IV to speed things up. I thought about it a couple of times, but I really don't like needles, especially when they poke me. It ended up that I had to have one anyway, and the poking began. It took three tries to set the needle and catheter. You see, because I was so dehydrated, my veins had shriveled so that they were not visible, or big enough to hold the needle. And I could feel every movement of the needle, catheter, dripping, you name it. Two hours later, the bag was finally empty and we could journey home. It took a while for me to recover, I was lying on my back the entire time, and was still nauseated. Mac said when I sat up, all the color in my face immediately drained, and I was extremely light headed. But, I had lots of fluids to get my body going, and soon I would have lots of drugs, too. Mac will pickup from here....
So I ran Olivia home in the Subaru, because driving that thing at night is dangerous, as it has no lights unless the brake is pressed. I jumped in the pickup and headed back to town, destination: Wally World's Pharmacy. As I drove, I thought the truck was pulling to the left, which was odd. I have driven that truck for over ten years, and it always pulled to the right. However, it had been over a week since I had driven it, and I just couldn't place why it felt so funny. When I got to Wally World, I found out: the tire was dang near flat. I procured the pharmaceuticals, then set to changing the tire. I had to be careful with my feet, I was wearing a brand new pair of boots and I didn't want to scuff them. I had the tire changed out and I was on the road in no time.
I arrived home to find Olivia in the capable care of Pat & Tim (our landlords). Pat had cooked up quite the meal and I finally had breakfast. Yeah, that is right, I had not eaten all day, mostly cause I just plain forgot to.
Saturday was another long day, but I did get to do some hunting, which was fun, even though I didn't see a dang thing. I took the tire in to Bruneel's, to have it fixed. I dropped it off with high expectations, because they are a local shop and were pretty congenial. I returned to find out they couldn't fix the tire. Now, I am not going to try to defame them, but they told me someone had patched the tire before, and that the patch was leaking. I didn't tell them that I had bought those tires new and had made records of when I bought them and rotated them and such. I have never had a flat with that set of tires. NEVER! I took the tire over to Les Shwab, even though I figured they would charge me, since it wasn't one of their tires. Luckily, one of the fellas that works there comes into the Sure Shot quite often and he recocnized me. He looked at the hole and told me that the problem was Bruneel's had tried to grind to deep for the patch. They were trying to stick the patch to nylon instead of rubber! They ruined my tire and wouldn't own up to it! So Shwab's mounted a used tire on my wheel: free of charge. I will be a Shwab patron for the rest of my life, because they have treated me good more than once (one time on a Sunday when I really needed to get down the road from Rexburg to Burley)...
Sunday was a bit bitter sweet. We finally made the switch to the Student Stake. The good news is that it was the right thing to do, and we know it. The bad news is that we will miss all our friends in our old ward.
It was ward conference in the Fourth ward, and it was great. Heck, that was the first Sunday in over a year that Olivia and I have sat by each other for Sunday School! She has always been in the Primary... At least one Sunday together.

Via Con Dios, Amigo.

The first time I met Ed he was fat, lazy and just plain rude. We rationed his food, started him on an exercise program and watched his weight. He needed to lose about 200-300 lbs. He had been on pasture grass for most of his life. Ed was a horse.
Training Ed was kinda like riding a train that left the rails. You knew once you figured him out, you could control him. He had some crazy nervous ticks. He tried to buck a little, but he was too fat. He wouldn't break into his right lead, but that came with time. The one tick that stuck was the flapping. Ed flapped his lips and made a sound like an outta tune Harley. It was really annoying, at first, but then it got to where I didn't think about it, until someone would point it out to me. We weren't really sure that Ed could run very fast, but finally, one night, Ed showed his stripes. That booger could run. He even started looking at cattle and stopping like a heal horse. When I was home this summer, I roped off Ed and Simba. Both have ticks and niether was quite finished, but it was dang fun. By the end of my break, I was even roping like I normally should. The last time I rode Ed, he worked pretty dang good. Good enough that Dad said he was gonna start heading off Ed.
I called Dad to tell him about the great trade I made today. Dad sounded distant. I asked him how things was and he said, "Rough. The snow was bad, but its melting. This morning when I went out to feed, I didn't have to feed Ed."
"Why not?" I asked.
"Because he was dead. He died last night sometime. Dangdest thing."
I was so stunned I didn't even cuss. Just a sad thing.
I hate to say it, but I felt worse off after that news than a whole lot of things that I have heard.
Via Con Dios, Ed.

My Grape Ain't no Sissy!

With pregnancy comes the name game. What kind of crazy names can we come up with for our grape? (This week that is how big the baby is, in comparison.) Well, ya'll know me, I think a man oughta have a tough name and then he'll live up to it. My dad had a cousin, Steel. The guy was 6'4", 280 Lbs and tougher than nails. I have a buddy we call Virgil. He is a bit goofy, but he can drive a truck like nobody's business. My buddy Nacho is the craziest ropin' sunnovagunn, ever.
My folks disagreed about my name for a while. Mom wanted to call me McCord Brent Larsen. However, my dad thought it was too much. They reached a middle ground and just dropped the middle name. That is why my full name is McCord Larsen.
Now if we have a girl, we'll give her a fitting name, something cute and sweet. But I will be danged if the grape is a boy, we ain't giving him no sissy name that'll get his butt kicked every day. Unless we choose to call him Sue.

AS PROMISED!!!

A new post.
We have been puttin this off for a while because we have both be extremely busy. Olivia is busy with her schooling and I am just trying to keep up with school, work and life on the ranch. We hardly have any time for much extra, so blogging has not been on top of the list. We have also been busy figuring out how to tell everyone that WE ARE GONNA BE A MOMMY AND DADDY!!!
Boohyah! How's that for a post? Olivia is roughly 9 weeks along. Right now she is not too sick, but she gets really tired, and she feels crappy. Apparantly the baby is the size of a blueberry, so I call it "Blueberry." (Sometimes when Olivia is mad at me, I talk to her stomach and say something like: "Blueberry, this is your dad, please help me tell your mommy that I am sorry I... (however I messed up)).
I hope all of you are doing well and we will keep everyone updated!

NEW POST COMING SOON!!!

Stay tuned, fans, cause a new post is coming soon. We just haven't had the time to get all updated yet!!!

Thank goodness for good friends...

Or thank goodness for people who owe you favors, cause that is really what friends are: people who like trading favors with you. Some you trade talking, some you trade odd jobs, and others you trade putting up with each other's bad days. Thanks to all out friends who came out and help put this piano where it is.

The Fortress of Solitude

So, while my wife and most of my fellow law student friends are at class, I changed the oil in the DR and played with chain saws. Is that not great? Nothing makes you feel more like a man than dirty oil and the smell of burning fuel. I do sympathize with all you folks in class, and if you are reading this in class you should wake up and pay attention to what your prof. is saying, you may learn something!

In case you feel slighted, just remember that on Tuesday and Thursday I have classes from 9:30 to 4:30, the longest break in between my classes is 30 minutes. I realize I did it to myself, but I wanted to take these classes and they are all on Tues and Thurs... Oh well.

It is a little strange to have Olivia back in school, I know she will do well. She is an absolutely amazing girl. I am so proud of her!

I guess it is almost time for me to get cleaned up to go to town, so I can learn some more. You gotta love BA with Anderson...

Traveling Partners

These are my nieces Annabelle and Adelyn. They are going to stay at Grampa Brent's, then they will be headed to California. Traveling girls, I tell you what...

What a Cutie!

On my way to Burley, I had the opportunity to visit The Naylors. I had Jake snap this picture of Reese and me. She is just too cute.

Off to B-Town!!!

Hot dang, I am headed back to Burley. I will be leaving early Thursday morning, to travel in the cool in the morning without the traffic. Olivia is not coming with me on the drive. She is staying in Moscow to attend Girl's Camp with our ward girls. She will then fly to Boise. We will be in Burley until about the 23rd of August. I am really looking forward to getting some work done. But anyone who really knows me knows that I am most excited about roping some steers and drinking root beers! Yahoo! Hopefully I will be able to cram enough roping in to satisfy my craving all the way through December. It will take a lot of work, but I think I am up to the task.
For those of you wondering what I have been doing the last few weeks since being done with Summer Skool, I will tell you. I get up with Olivia in the morning and she heads into town to work and I usually read the news. Then I kick it outside to see what I can get done. Washing concrete, watering plants, working in the garden, cutting trails with the D.R. and doing whatever else needs done. I have played a full round of golf thanks to Dave. Olivia and I did attend the ward Pioneer Day Celebration. It was a campout near Elk River. We just threw sleeping bags in the back of the truck. It was great. Our ward is fantastic. I have reloaded lots of ammo and enjoyed firing said ammo at various targets. I also make a trip into town every day to take Olivia lunch. I tell you what, this has been a nice vacation. Someone chidded me yesterday for not getting a job here in Hippie-Ville, and I thought maybe I was being selfish, but I have been working like a rented mule the last 11 months at this Law Skool thing, crud I think a little time to enjoy myself will help me in the long run. Besides, I will be back at banging my head against the wall soon enough. Hope all of you are enjoying the summer months. Take care.

What is in a name?

Its just letters right? But tell me friend: What is the difference between an "e" and an "o"? I will tell you: one is our last name: LARSEN; the other is another family, LARSON. Dutch and Sweden, C'mon people! For hell's sake, if the newspaper can get it right, you'd think that the Federal Government could get this right. The name said LARSEN on the marriage license, LARSEN on BOTH my driver's license and Olivia's. AND ON THE FORM OLIVIA FILLED OUT SHE WROTE LARSEN IN MULTIPLE PLACES!!! Why in the world would we get a letter from the Social Security department addressed to OLIVIA LYNN LARSON?!? AWESOME, right?
Chalk one up for human intelligence in our government agencies...

Doubt Your Doubts

and Believe your Beliefs. Whatever they are. I read a few stories today published by people who claim to understand what I believe and call people who worship the way I do "misguided," "brainwashed," or "uneducated." I wish that I could share the feelings of my heart with these who are my brothers and sisters. They deserve the same blessings in their lives that I enjoy. All I am I owe to my Church. I know that without the Church in my life I would be lost. I would not be married to the wonderful woman that makes me happy. I would not be attending Law School. I know that God lives. I know He is guiding me in the choices I make. I know that Christ suffered for my sins and He is my Savior, and the Savior of the world. I know that Joseph Smith is a prophet of God, whom through God restored the Gospel, in it's fullness. I know that God has called a prophet in our day, Thomas S. Monson. I know that God loves me, and you, and everyone on this earth, we are all His children and He wants us to be happy. To this end He prepared a plan, the Plan of Salvation. We can learn this plan and understand it in our lives. Following this plan gives us assurance and hope. I know these things are true. また日本語で僕の証を皆に話したい。永遠の父なる神様は私たちの天にいるお父さん。イエスは世の救い主です。救いの計画は幸福の計画。従うと永遠の幸せをえることができる。モンソン大根著は神の預言者です。ジョセフスミスは神の預言者として福音をこの世に回復されました。神の力をとしてジョセフがモルモン書を翻訳されました。モルモン書は真理です。末日聖徒イエスキリスト教会は神の教会です。これは僕の証です。真理です。

Just a Thought (We'll See...)

So, Mac has had this blog for quite a while. When we married, it remained his blog, although I was mentioned several times. And it wasn't really that big of a deal. He loves eletronics and technology, and I enjoy them, but not like he does. It wasn't until recently (namely, when we were looking at our married friends' blogs) that he decided it might be alright to let me be a contributor. After, I am his eternal companion. So, he changed some things around, and here I am posting my first blog. Yay! In all this excitement, I decided that this blog was too much a bachelors blog, even though we've been married for over a year and he most certainly was not a bachelor. Around the Fourth, I tried new blog templates, and font colors, the whole shuh-bang. Mac wasn't so impressed. He said it was too frilly and he didn't like it. Not even the big fireworks exploding at the bottom of the page. After a bit of bickering and compromise, we found a template that we could both enjoy. However, the Fourth only lasts for one day, so, I changed the template again. He didn't like that, either. He doesn't really like any of the ideas that I have for "our" blog. I'm a girly girl, I like the frilly things. And while he likes that I'm a girly girl, I don't think he likes it seeping into his manly world (his blog). One day I told him that maybe it would be a better idea if I had my own blog. Besides, I've heard that once you have kids, your blog becomes a shrine to them. Not that that's bad, but looking around, it's true. So why should it be different when you get married? Isn't that a major change in your life? And shouldn't that be included in your personal blog? And really, nothing is personal after you get married, it's all shared. When I told him my idea, he gave me a funny glance, thought about it, and kind of agreed. I think the idea is growing on him. And me, too... We'll see...

Ahhh Summer, at Last:

I took my last final for six months last Friday. I will tell you in a while how I felt about it. So what do I do now? I have no reading to do, no outline to make, no reason to go to the Maynard and enjoy the noise of construction. Olivia is working in town at a law office as a secretary, so I am alone all day, on my own recognizance. Yes, I can be trusted. I even clean and take care of our apartment.
The first day I loaded ammunition so that I can go shooting sometime this week. Then I took Olivia lunch. On the way into town, I ran out of gas. I turned on the reserve and off I went. I made it to the station and swore when I saw the price: $4.15. Just Saturday, it had been 4.04. Oh, well. Too bad I wasn't one of those oil speculators with a good chunk of Exxon in my pocket. I got to eat lunch with Olivia and then I visited the hardware store. There really is nothing like a good hardware store, makes me feel good to walk through one. My favorite hardware store is in Murtaugh, Community Building Supply. If they don't have what you need, or can't get it, you don't need it! I wound up the day by talking to my extended family on the phone and relaxing with Olivia.
Yesterday, I got the bug to clean. I cleaned all over! I hit the trail with the weedeater and cleared things up to make the walk to the pond more enjoyable. I accidentally hit a snake and cut him in two.
Alright, enough with the play-by-play. I just hope all ya'll are having as much fun as I am. But I highly doubt it. If I can I will get pictures of the twin fawns running around here.

The 4th July

Chris LeDoux pegged my feelings about the 4th. So did Johnny Cash. I use the lyrics from their songs here, to give you some of my perspective:
4th of July Rodeos:
Just about two hundred years ago they signed that declaration
Tellin' everybody in the whole wide world they're gonna start a brand new nation
From that day on the 4th of July has been a holiday
To the rich man poor man and everybody but the cowboys in the RCA
Well I get on the phone and call the airlines rent-a-cars and Greyhound stations
Cause I've entered bout thirteen rodeos out across the great big nation
Got the car tuned up the tanks full of gas I've got money in my hand
And if I ain't overdrawn by the end of the week at the bank
I'm a lucky man
It's the 4th of July on the rodeo trail and it'll drive you insane
My wife's worried home by the telephone I'm on the road again
It's the Forth of July on the rodeo trail if I ever make it home I swear
I'm gonna to hang up my hat put up my riggin' sack
And for a month I'm gonna stay right there
Well I've been on the road about three days now and I haven't had a minutes rest
There's dark circles all around my bloodshot eyes and my face is now a whiskered mess
Boy I'd sure like a bath and a home cooked mean but for now I must be satisfied
With this double super-duper half cooked burger
And a side of grease soaked french fries
Well the week's nearly over and I wonder to myself will I ever make it home alive
When a bronc fell on me up in Calgary when he slipped tryin' to make his high dive
And the plane and the pilot that we rented looked like surplus from World War I
And I thought any times about suicide but I haven't found myself a gun
It's the 4th of July on the rodeo trail...
Ragged Ole Flag:
I walked through a county courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man was sittin' there.
I said, "Your old court house is kinda run down,
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town".
I said, "Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag you got hangin' on it".
He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down,
"Is this the first time you've been to our little town"
I said, "I think it is"
He said "I don't like to brag, but we're kinda proud of
That Ragged Old Flag

"You see, we got a little hole in that flag there,
When Washington took it across the Delaware.
and It got powder burned the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing "Say Can You See"
It got a rip in New Orleans, with Packingham & Jackson
tugging at its seams.
and It almost fell at the Alamo
beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on
That Ragged Old Flag

"On Flanders Field in World War I,
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp, and low, a time or two,
She was in Korea, Vietnam, She went where she was sent
by her Uncle Sam.
She waved from our ships upon the briny foam
and now they've about quit wavin' back here at home
in her own good land here She's been abused,
She's been burned, dishonored, denied an' refused,
And the government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout out the land.
And she's getting thread bare, and she's wearin' thin,
But she's in good shape, for the shape she's in.
Cause she's been through the fire before
and i believe she can take a whole lot more.

"So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don't let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought
I *do* like to brag
Cause I'm mighty proud of
That Ragged Old Flag"

GOD BLESS AMERICA: LAND OF THE FREE AND HOME OF THE BRAVE!!!
May we never forget what this country really stands for.
I have only been to a little bit if the world, but I think I have seen enough to know that we really do live in one of the greatest countries in the world. Tonight, I walked out on my balcony and shot six .357's in the air. I can do that to celebrate our independence because I have the right to bear arms. I am writing this because my right to free speech. I stay informed of what is going on in the world because of the freedom of the press. I bow my head wherever I am and pray because I have freedom of religion. I vote for my leaders. I can be heard! What a great country. I love America and I am proud to be AN AMERICAN.