cubbies.

Mr. Larsen and I have had the wonderful opportunity to be called as Cub Scout leaders in our ward.  I have somehow been placed as the "Cub Master", with Mr. Larsen and a dear friend as other leaders.

fyi. i call the Cub Scouts "Cubbies".  

it's cuter.

and Cub Scouts needs some cuteness.

you may also be asking yourself right about now how a cubbie program works in this place.

we like to think of is as "urban scouting". as you can imagine we tend to stay away from things like fishing and building fires.  we focus more on subway safety and the stock market.

now lets be honest.

when i was called as a cubbie leader...i was not thrilled. Mr. Larsen was...but me...no..not so much.

i am the oldest of three girls. barbies, dresses, cooking, and the young women's program are my strengths.

wrangling fourteen 8 year old boys was foreign ground for me. 

lucky for me Mr. Larsen and our dear friend come from all boy backgrounds.  i am enjoying this calling so much, and i love making treats for the little guys.

these little boys are so sweet and energetic.

we get to do fun things, like build birdhouses, race car derby's, and go to NBA games.

i am in heaven.

we are on a cubbie break for the summer while families travel and play in the heat.

this means that i have been missing my cubbie boys like crazy!!

i was thinking about them this week and thought i would share with the world the calling that Mr. Larsen and i have been having so much fun with.

Happy New Year...a look back in time...clearly...because it's July 15th.

for some reason i have been on fire when it comes to catching up on this bloggity blog.

maybe i finally realized that i could very possibly forget about cool things that happen.

i vow not to ever forget so here is another look back into something that has already happened.

a long time ago.

we spent our first New Year's Eve in New York this year and it was crazy!

we started off the night with karaoke in the east village.

i wasn't sure if this would go over very well, because i've never been a huge karaoke fan.  

it turned out to be really fun, because everyone just let loose and sang their hearts out.

 all the professional singers.

we then went to dinner on the east side at a cute little italian spot.

this is a picture of Mr. Larsen and Paul.

apparently their seafood pasta monstrosity was number one.

blech.

 a picture of our awesome hats and noise makers the restaurant gave us.

i know....looking good.

after dinner we walked over to Times Square.

Times Square was definitely a mess after the big shebang.

 Mr. Larsen must have had too much sugar.

he and paul were having way too much fun with the noise makers.

Egans, Davis', and Larsens in Times Square in the early hours of 2011

Mr. Larsen and Paul down in the subway on the way home.

 Mr. Larsen again. even though it was about 2 in the morning he seems happy while waiting for our elevator in our lobby. 

it was a great way to kick off the new year!

p.s. my poor bestie Whitney dropped her cell phone onto the subway tracks on the way home from Times Square that night. BUMMER.

visitors.

while living in NYC we have had so many visitors!

we have been so lucky to have such great family and friends come and see us.

here are a few pictures of our lovely visitors.

i hope i haven't forgotten anyone!!!

 

JEFF, AMBER and AMMON.

the Tingey's came for Thanksgiving! here we are watching the MACY'S Thanksgiving Day Parade.

TERICA CAME TO PLAY!

eating a yummy dinner at Max Brenner.

(i'm not sure why this picture is sideways.)

CHARLOTTE WAS LIVING IN D.C. FOR A FEW MONTHS SO SHE CAME TO VISIT OFTEN!

riding in a horse drawn carriage in Central Park.

ALEXA AND CARLY CAME TO PARTY!

this picture was taken on Liberty Island on our trip out to see Lady Liberty.

MY AMAZING MOM AND DAD!

this picture was also taken on Liberty Island. 

(they are cute.<3 )

 MY AMAZING COUSIN KARI CAME TO STAY!

Kari was in D.C. for work and extended her trip to come see me! 

she is so awesome.

CHARLOTTE AND JESSICA CAME FOR A WEEK!

it was so good to have a couple of my best friends here in Manhattan.

this picture was taken in front of the Central Park Boat House the day we rode bikes through Central Park.

MR. LARSEN AND HIS BFF MARK!

this was taken on the subway coming home from Chicago on Broadway.

WHO CAME TO NYC WITH MARK?? HIS FIANCE TAYLER OF COURSE!

this is a picture of Tay and myself at the Yankees/Red Sox game.

ANGIE, SKYLER AND JAY!

Skyler finished up his mission in France and my wonderful in-law's Jay and Angie went and picked him up.

on their way back from France, they made a pit stop in NYC to visit us!

now, this is a pretty extensive list of visitors. they all came within about 6 months of each other and filled our little apartment with love and laughter. thank you all so much for coming to see us even though it was a one room slumber party!

xoxo

IT ALL ENDS.

i have mixed emotions.

part of me is jumping out of my skin with nerdy excitement as i await the private screening of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (part 2).

the other part of me is stricken with anxiety as i await the private screening because i know it is the last.

i just finished re-reading the last book...like 10 minutes ago.

it was my third time reading it.

i will forever be a faithful supporter of all things Harry Potter.

i read the first book at the ripe old age of 10.

this means that i have grown up in an era of Harry Potter therefore i will forever cherish my magical childhood.

The first showing of Harry Potter in the U.S. is at midnight tonight.

Mr. Larsen's company has reserved the entire theater in Battery Park.

with this special reservation, they are also showing the movie before everyone else.

which means that in 2 hours, i will be viewing the final movie.

words cannot express how i feel about that.

lucky i have my investment banker Mr. Larsen to hook me up with my deepest desires. 

"We are only as strong as we are united, as weak as we are divided"  

-Albus Dumbledore 

another thing i love.

Mr. Larsen's first time ice skating...EVER.

Rockefeller Plaza.

a couple reasons i love NYC.

Mr. Larsen and I ran across this Doo Wop group on a corner in SoHo. 

it made me happy.

and this....MADE ME SOOOOO HAPPY.

 

look closely and if you are a fellow POTTERPHILE you will see why. 

Giving Thanks

2010 also presented me with my first Thanksgiving away from my entire family.

i was so happy to hear that my cousin Amber and her family would be coming to NYC for the holiday!

Mr. Larsen and i went on an amazing trip cruising the Caribbean with the Tingey's last summer and always have fun with these two.

Amber's sis-in-law lives here in the city and they invited Mr. Larsen and myself to join in on their shindig!

we gladly accepted the invite, and were so excited to spend time with family and new found friends!

i had so much fun cooking with Amber and Becky, and it was fun to incorporate some of our Granny's recipes into our city dinner!

i carried out a life long dream and watched the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade!

Larsens and Tingeys

Mr. Larsen and his buddy Ammon bundled up in the cold

 the girls sitting along Central Park West

j. simpson. my high school idol.
i may have acted a little loco when she rode by.

and of course Garrett's Popcorn.
yum.

we had such a great time here in the city on Thanksgiving Day.
we are so blessed and thankful for all that we have!