Summer Is Over

This week I went to Cheryl and dad's schools to make a little money. They also brought me out to eat. I went to Bjs and went to a Mexican restaurant near dad's school.

I am also starting to move up in scouts. In the next court of awards I will earn my 1st class and my 2nd class all in one. Then I just have to wait 3 months until I am a star, because I already have everything done to become a star. Last week we had to make a family first aid kit. Dad went all out. He spent a whole 65 dollars.

Last week my Ama and Yeye came to visit us from Taiwan. We didn't do much though. We went on a walk at Mt. Rainer and went to tons of Chinese restaurants which I don't get, because they just came from Taiwan.

I know we already told you about American Idol, but I want to tell you what I thought about it. It was awesome. The rockers were the best. They put on a great show, especially Shibaun. Even though my favorite singer in the season was big Mike.

I start school on Tuesday. Summer went by way to fast.

Miss you,
Lewis

August

It has been a very busy month here at the Larsen Ranch. We are preparing for back-to-school. The kids begin the new school year at the end of the month. Evan and I get our students in early September. Rozi will be starting high school - 9th grade. Lewis will be in the 7th grade.

I have run back and forth to Portland about a dozen times this summer. I spent most of those visits packing up everything in my parents house. I also snuck a couple peeks of my adorable baby nephew, Gavin. Another trip down was for my Uncle Darrell's memorial service. He was my dad's older brother. I also went to my parents' Bon Voyage party. Evan and the kids drove down with me to help load up the moving truck with all my parents' belongings. Then I drove my parents to Indiana in their car. We drove through Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Wyoming, Nebraska, Iowa, Illinios, and Indiana. It took 4 long days, but we had a good time. Poor Mom and Dad ended up with horribly swollen ankles from so many hours and hours (days) of travel. We had to get them ice packs to bring down the swelling. I was able to avoid the swelling by wearing sandals. But my sandals did not protect me from the humidity. Just a few hours after arriving in Huntington, Indiana, the moving van pulled up and we unloaded the truck in under an hour so the driver could get on his way to Michigan. Then after the truck was unloaded we brought everything up the stairs to my parent's apartment above my sister's garage. We had a few helpers arrive after about another hour and once the help arrived, everything got up the stairs in less than 20 minutes. So, we were able to relax and go inside the house for some lemonade. For the next three days, I unpacked boxes for Mom and Dad with help from my sister, Colleen, who drove down from Boston (Attleboro), Massachusetts. I just flew home on Wednesday.

As many of you know, watching American Idol has been a Larsen tradition since before I was part of the family. This year, Evan and I took the kids to the American Idol live concert. They came to Seattle two nights ago and we had a rockin' time. Everyone was even better that they were on the show. I was surprised to find that Siobhan Magnus was truly the best performer on concert night. That girl knows how to rock!!

I hope everyone has had a fantastic summer!!! Fall is in the air. Time for new school clothes, sharpened pencils, homework, and football.

Love to everyone!
Cheryl

Especially For Youth!

On Monday I went to the University of Puget Sound for EFY! Lets just say, I loved it. It was the most amazing experience I've ever had. It started out on Monday, being the first day, was definitely the most awkward. The boys have to escort the girls EVERYWHERE so the girls can "rest" their arms, even though it didn't help very much. We had FHE which was basically games with the company (which consisted of 2 girl groups and one boy). On Tuesday we had 4 classes, 2 of them were on the boring side, and the other 2 were fantastic. There was one teacher I really liked because his lessons were inspiring and interesting. The other ones were more academic and not as exciting. Later Tuesday we had a dance, which was pretty amazing. The songs were lame though because its Mormon camp and anything slightly off was banned. Wednesday was basically the same as Tuesday except instead of a dance we played games and had a cheer off. My team won the best banner, which I helped with, and got 2nd for the best cheer. There were SO many different games, and I definitely rocked them, well most of them anyway. Thursday is when the spiritual stuff comes in. The boys and the girls were separated and we had classes together. At night there was the most amazing fireside in the whole world. I don't think I've ever felt so Mormon, ever, and it was basically amazing. Then we had testimony meeting and I bore my testimony for the first time! It was fantastic. Friday we did a service project which was making blankets for orphans. It was nice doing something to help others. Friday, was our last dance. All in all EFY was the most amazing thing ever! And Max should go up here because he would love it! I have like 30 new Facebook and text friends. I'll post pictures later, love Rozi.