July

The first week of July, Jesse and I flew to Las Vegas for the Larsen Family Reunion. Even though no one in my family lives in Las Vegas it is a central point for everyone in my family except for me. So for the past two years we have all split the cost of a big vacation rental for four days. My dad and nephew, Austin, picked us up from the airport on Wednesday night, and we met up with the rest of the family at the ballpark. We were only there for the first half of the ninth inning, but the main reason the family went was the for the fireworks after the game. I must say it was a pretty impressive display. I was sad that we wouldn't be in D.C. for the 4th, so I'm glad that the fireworks didn't disappoint. After the show we headed to the vacation rental. Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were spent playing games (dominoes Mexican Train and Chicken Foot), cribbage, pool, Ticket to Ride, various card games, swimming in the pool, trips to Starbucks with my niece (she drove!), enjoying the batting cage, eating, winning "Most Creative" in the Smoothie Competition, talking, and decorating t-shirts with neon paints for the awesome black light party I planned --- complete with glow in the dark balloons, glow glasses, bracelets, and sticks or swords if you're a little boy.  I didn't take any pictures, so I'll update as soon as I get some from family!

I LOVE hanging out with my family. I didn't really grow up with the others because I'm the youngest by several years, so I've only ever thought that my siblings were awesome. I know the stories about the others having the usual sibling squabbles when they were younger, but everyone gets along great now. When the older of my two brothers, Adam, moved back to our hometown with his wife, I was thrilled! In high school, Adam and I had a regular lunch date (we still do when I'm in town) and I often spent the night at their house. Four of my siblings live in CA and one sister lives in UT, so I live the farthest away. It's hard living so far away, and I'm terribly jealous when I hear about the others getting together. I missed seeing my sister Wendi and her family at family reunion, so hopefully I'll get to see them when we fly out to CA for Christmas!

The day after we got back from reunion, I got to play with Sophia and Natalie. I say "play" because I have more fun with them than the term "babysit" suggests. I don't get to watch/play with my nieces and nephews since I live so far away, and watching Sophie and Natalie makes me feel like an aunt. Being an aunt is awesome, by the way! We played with blocks, balls, and bubbles, we played on the swings, we read books, we snuggled, and I tried to help Sophie understand the difference between Friend Natalie (me) and Sister Natalie. It was great!

The rest of July was pretty laid back. I finished up my hours in the admissions office, taught piano lessons, started looking through quilt patterns, and I actually bought some fabric. There will be more about these quilts later. I'm making two quilts for my brothers' babies. My niece Amaya was born on Sunday, Sept. 1, and my nephew is due to arrive on Sept. 8.

I suppose the last thing that happened in July was getting my new calling. I was called as secretary in the Stake Young Women's presidency. I was in the ward (local/regular congregation) young women's presidency for 1.5 years, then I was released and called to go to Girls Camp, and now I'm on the stake (regional) level. It's amazing how different each job is despite all of them dealing with the young women. The young women's program is for girls 12-18 years old. The program is all about teaching, loving, and strengthening them. I'm so excited about working at the stake level, but I'm still overwhelmed by the responsibilities. At the ward level, it's more about day to day involvement with lessons on Sundays and activities mid-week. At the stake level, it's more about supporting the leaders at the ward level and creating opportunities for the girls to meet those outside of their own ward. I have lots to learn still, but I suppose learning is the best thing about callings!