Tianjin, China

This is an update on Kyle and Tiffany and their family. They have safely arrived in Tianjin, China. We have received two Skype.com calls from Kyle and it is just like calling from next door. There is no delay in the conversation. It is great. They are staying in a Korean owned hotel still. The apartment they were going to get fell through (landlord probably got more money from somebody else). They have looked at another apartment and hope to move in on Monday. He will start teaching at the Korean school a week from Monday. He says it is very smoggy there, just terrible. But nobody wears face masks. So far so good.

Debbie and Ben Olson's wedding

Another quick trip to the west coast for me. Friday afternoon, Aug 17 I hopped on a Sun Country airplane to Seattle, rented a Jeep SUV (you know that was the cheapest car I could rent in Seattle - much cheaper than a super compact economy car) and headed to Olympia, about 45 miles south. I thought I would not have any problems on I-5 because I got right up to 65 MPH right away. But then three miles down the road, traffic on the 10 lane interstate stopped. It was just as I remembered, busy and crowded. Well one hour and 45 minutes later, I arrived at the unmarked Super 8. I drove past it twice (you had to almost drive through an alley - actually the entrance to the Quality Inn next door). The wedding took place at 4:00PM on Aug 18 at the Carlyon Beach Club House. The tide had just gone out so it looked like someone pulled the plug in the bathtub (water was down about 8 feet). Here are Deb's two sons Jared and Dan. These are daughters Sara and Crystal.
The ladies in the wedding party.

Mom and daughters are very happy.
Deb and Ben were actually kissing before the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Washington, who married them, actually said "I pronounce you man and wife". He told them about it, too.
Dearly Beloved...............

Hoa Nguyen and Nathan Findley's wedding

Here are the happy couple just after being sealed together for all time and eternity, Hoa and Nathan. Hoa was absolutely stunning and happy.

They weren't as kissy as Kyle and Tiffany were but they got a good start.

This is the attempt at the "dip".

Moroni is looking down at them.

The Bride, Hoa Findley.

Kyle and Tiffany visit before leaving the USA for China

Getting ready to get on the plane back to Provo for a couple days before they fly to California and then for a couple of weeks. It was hard to say good-bye because we won't see them for at least a year. Well, the very next morning at 5:00AM we left in the car to drive to Provo to visit them again. Well, the real story was that we were going to a wedding in the Timpanogas Temple of a Vietnamese sister return missionary, we got to know well while she was on her mission.We are leaving for the airport. We had just heard the the I35W bridge over the Mississippi River just collapsed 30 minutes before and thought be better get on the road, not knowing what traffic was going to be. Well, there wasn't any traffic because the bridge was out just north of where we were going and there was very little southbound traffic.
Ellie loves ice cream, you can tell by the ring around the lips.
Ellie was happy to be here and she was an absolute doll.

The big Thompson Campout

Well it has been a while since I have updated the blog. Lots of things have happened, including two cross country trips. First of all we have the big Thompson campout, spotlighting Jocelyn's baby shower. These are all random pictures and not in any special order. Most everyone was there at one time or another. You can see Gary trying to get pictures of everyone.
Liam is wondering what is going on, soooooo many people, soooooo much to do.

Lorelei is doing something.
Gigi is trying to get in the chair, with Ellie and Joseph in the background.
The focus of the gathering and proud parents to be.
Joseph and Liam playing on the blanket.

Logan and Liam.
Pirates! Look out!!!! Oh it is just Joseph, Lorelei and Uncle Mike.
Here are all the girl pirates, Lorelei, Gigi, and Ellie.
The Barnharts: Braden, Tana, Joseph, Lorelei and Gigi

This is everyone. The first time that all of us has been a picture at one time. It includes Grandma G, Judy and Ron and all our children, their spouses and their children, too many to list. Well not really. We have Kirstin, Jeff, Logan and Liam; then we have Brett, Charity, Andrew and Brandon; then comes Tana, Braden, Joseph, Lorelei and Gretchen; Then Kyle, Tiffany, Ellie and the newest one, Erik, or as they call him Didi (Chinese for little brother). That wasn't too bad and I did not cheat.
Did with a big smile.
Gig sure liked to get rides on Grandma G's walker. She went all over the place.
Later in the Barnhart tent, some of the kids watched a movie.

This is a group picture of Grandma, with Kyle and his family. One of the last opportunities of a picture before they move to Tianjin, China.
Kyle, Tiff, Ellie and Didi with their tent in the background.
Liam, does not like to eat many sweets. When it comes to cakes and frosting, Liam likes to squish it in his hands and spread it around. Notice, not much on his face.

On the other hand, Logan loves to eat and he has surpassed Liam in the weight category. Cake goes from fist to mouth immediately. Sometimes he misses and gets some on the outside of his mouth.

A Tribute to Andrew

Well, the long awaited tribute to Andrew is here. Andrew had his 12th birthday in early July (we won't give out the date). Let's just say that it was in the first one third of the month. Andrew is our first and oldest grandchild. That makes him king of the clan. Here he is with the happy Mom and Dad.
He was soooooo tired that all he wanted to do was sleep. They usually do.

If you look at this picture of Logan, you can see that his hair resembles Andrew's. It is all sticky-outy. There must be a sticky-outy hair gene somewhere in the Larsen line.

See Andrew's hair. It is the first sticky-outy hair in the family. He has learned to tame it; in fact it is quite long when he attends school but real short during summer. His Uncle Kyle, Aunt Tiffany and cousins Ellie and Erik will be moving to Tianjin, China for at least a year. So he decided to try on Kyle's China hat, with the long pony tail.

Andrew also got his first music lesson from Kyle. He gave up the guitar for the trumpet and he plays a mean horn.

Maybe there is something to the "Born with a silver spoon in his mouth" saying because he has one.

This is Andrew at his first birthday. Doesn't he look excited?

Andrew had his first flying lesson when he was vary young. He was barely walking but still took to the skies in this WWI replica of the Red Baron's plane.

Now we jump ahead to Andrew's second birthday where is is actively engaged in removing paper from a gift.

Andrew is measuring himself to a fire hydrant. This was a milestone for him because now he can run with the big kids (all those that equal the height of a hydrant).

Flash forward to birthday number three. The wind is about to put out the candles.

Andrew started out fishing at a young age. Here he is pulling out a big one while ice fishing in the cold Minnesota winter.

He took part in many school plays and concerts. Here he kind of looks like Don Diego DeLevega (Zorro).

He likes to swim. His dad is giving him a little boost.

Here is a joyful Andrew with his first gun, a Daisy BB gun. "You're going to shoot your eye out," Another one of Andrew's school concerts, where he is singing out his heart.

On Andrew's 10th birthday, grandpa gave him a ride in an airplane, where he sat at the controls, along with the pilot Fred Larson. This was his second flying lesson. Remember his first one was reported earlier.

Here he goes, up, up and away. His dad was in the back and says he will never go in a small plane again. It was bumpy and worse than the Wild Thing at Valley Fair. Oh well. They are still fun to fly in. Congratulations Andrew for being in your last pre-teen year.