white christmas

for the first time ever, i can say that my christmas truly was white. as most everyone knows, winter storms dumped snow all over the western united states during the holiday season and rexburg, idaho was no exception. for shane, it was just a normal winter snowstorm but for me, it was a cold but beautiful christmas treat. i wish i had taken some pictures of the many feet of snow just outside the front door but all we have are a few shane took while skiing with his sisters.

either way, it was a nice way to spend the holidays -- all bundled up near the fireplace, watching movies, reading books, soaking in some family time and sipping hot cocoa. not bad at all.

home sweet apartment

once we realized for sure that we'd be staying in dc for the next few years, we decided it was time to make our apartment an actual home. so over the last few months we've been buying bits of furniture to fill things in and finally started hanging up the picture frames we had laying around.

one of our big projects was a picture wall we'd been envisioning for months but had put off putting together. the big wall above and around our television set was blank forever, but we finally got brave and built from the center on out. i decided to post some pics since most members of our family have yet to visit our humble abode.

step one:


step two (sorry for the blur, the flash was bouncing off the frames so i had to take it without):


as you can see, we still need to finish filling in the frames but at least we got the hard part over with.

we also found a beautiful painting to hang over our square bookcase, and really liked the way the look came together:

Tanner Tribute

I just wanted to take a minute a write a quick tribute to my little bro Tanner. Monday morning, while I was at work, he surprised me with a call from my mom's cell phone. My mom said he had been saying all morning: "I need to call Ivy." So, she told him to eat his applesauce and finish getting ready for school and then he could call me.

After telling me, "This is Tanner, Ivy," he told me that I needed to come to "the new house" (the house my parents had built last year is still "the new house" to Tanner.) And when I told him that for Christmas I was going to Shane's house (his parents') this year instead, he said that he wanted to come too. ;)

Goodness, I miss that little guy. But it's so great to have the technology we do to be able to communicate no matter how far we are from our loved ones.

(These cute pics were snapped by our sister, Megan, during the Thanksgiving break. My parents' neighbors run a small Christmas tree farm on their property.)

New Nephew: Jackson McKean Gilbert

In the past few weeks as I've slacked on blogging (among other things), my sister, Chelsea, delivered an 8 lbs. 5 oz., 21.5 in. long healthy baby boy on Nov. 14.

Jackson McKean Gilbert, five days old

my parents, first-time grandparents

For more pics of Jackson and his excited new uncles and aunts, check out the Gilbert family blog.

White House Garden Tour

Meant to post these sooner since they were taken back in October when my mother was still in town. We were lucky enough to get into a White House Garden Tour Sunday after church.

back of the White House (the more picturesque side, printed on the back of the $20)

Part of the Jackie Kennedy (Onassis), or First Ladies, Garden

shadowy shot of Shane and I to prove he was there as well (he's always got the camera in his hands)

more of the backside of the WH -- the second floor is where the First Family lives

my mother and I in front of the Rose Garden (where press conferences are often held and important announcements made by the president)

the Oval Office, which opens into the Rose Garden

Golden State Perspective

Shane thought he was pretty clever finding this online. He has a theory about Californians and Texans and how they view their states in comparison to the rest. Of course, since he married a California girl (lucky guy!), he's had to suppress some of his skewed opinions on the greatest state ever (just trying to keep with your theory, handsome).

Baby Larsen

just wanted to share some exciting news in our lives: shane and i are expecting a little baby boy this spring. around march 26, to be a little more exact. we wish we could tell you all in person but we figure at least this way you hear the news from us and not just through the grapevine.

baby larsen appears to be healthy and strong and measuring right on schedule. he's been especially active in the past week or so and we've enjoyed feeling him kick and squirm. as for us, well, let's just say the news hasn't completely hit us yet but we're definitely anxious to meet this little guy.

we can hardly believe we'll be 23 weeks pregnant come thanksgiving. time sure flies as you get older. ;)

Adventures of the Larsen Nephews

Keith's family has spent the fall deer hunting. Wyatt got his first deer this year, and we just heard that Bobbie got one too. In fact, from the sounds of it, Keith is the only one that didn't get a deer this year. :) Next year, Keith, next year.

Unfortunately, the only thing Tayson caught during the season was a bee. As you can see from the poor little guy's swollen face, they didn't get along very well.

Haiden playing lifeguard.

And here we have all three of the boys together (Haiden, Tayson and Wyatt)

Tayson Kicks Back

Tayson's taking it easy in the new house. Enjoy it while you can, kindergarten is just around the corner.

Keith, Bobbie and the boys just moved into their new house. Each of the boys have their own room so Haiden and Wyatt might not end up killing each other before they are 16. However, there is still only one Playstation, so things could still get violent.

New York, New York,

My mother came out for a visit last month -- we were so excited to have her! It was the first time she'd seen our little apartment and I think it was the first time I've ever really had her to myself (not an easy trick to pull off, with nine other siblings around). The first weekend she was in town we spent three days in the Big Apple, did our share of shopping and some sightseeing, and topped things off by finally seeing "Wicked" on Broadway.

a beautiful cathedral on 5th avenue

the famous skyscrapers

scary picture of me but my mom is super cute -- we're at the Trump Tower sitting in the rooftop garden

Gershwin Theather -- home of "Wicked" (we practically ran all the way there through Times Square -- running late from our afternoon shopping spree, but we made it with time to spare)

and we are off to see the wizard...I mean, witches

Shane thought I needed a picture with the words "Munchkinland"...

so I made him join me on the other side of the camera (he gets all the credit for the cool photos taken that weekend)

on our way out, leaving oz...

ancient sphinx at the met

castle in the middle of central park