Our Larson Life

 September is always a little more mellow and moody for me. It's been 6 years and it still hurts. There are moments the memory can crush me but they are fewer and fewer every year. Our loss is the most sensitive on the anniversaries of when we found out he had died in September and his due date in February.  When we went back to visit London last month, we placed a grave stone on our son's grave. We were not emotionally together enough to do that when we buried him. I ordered a beautiful yet simple stone off of Etsy and kept it safe in my carry-on. It felt so right to be back there. To be in the place where we experienced and grew so much. We will always be tied to that wonderful city not just because we loved and gained from it but the losses we had, too. The thing that has actually helped most is to talk about him. And there is no one better than Charlotte to do that. Seriously, she brings up her brother all the time. At the park, at the store, at church, anywhere. She is pro

  When we lived in Northern Virginia last year, we loved a little drive down to Old Town Alexandria and soak in its historic charm. Even better than seeing all the charming houses by the water is seeing them all dressed up for the holidays! Of course, it was the pandemic so trick-or-treating was not a thing but the decoration was still worth hanging out there for as long as the girls could hang. Which wasn’t actually that long. Charlotte was trying to kick naps at that point and she fell asleep in the weirdest position on the stroller ride-along board which made the walk back to the car very awkward but hilarious. I literally had to tie her to the stroller so she wouldn’t fall off in her deep sleep. Devon was still young enough not to complain but she knew that something was up and she stared at me like she couldn’t believe I was letting Charlotte sleep on her feet. So many wreaths and from a distance I thought was Christmas too soon…pumpkins! Buckle in for a million pictures because I

It has been too long since I went away without a kid! There is no way to truly describe how much I was looking forward to this weekend. And boy, did it deliver! My BFF Kiri and I soaked up some much-needed grown-up time when no one was touching us with sticky hands or asking for a snack. We spent multiple hours reading in a museum, browsing an antique shop AND we slept in until 9. I know, shocking, and totally impossible feats with 3-year-olds. I took hundreds of pictures, as usual, so this really is the cream of the crop. The food and sights were pretty spectacular. On our drive up, we stopped for dinner in Culver City. We just stabbed at the map (aka phone) and we got lucky and landed on a GREAT place.  We split a 3-meat plate with a side of Mac and cheese and slaw. I don't usually go for slaw but we disappeared this one quick! We had to try the banana pudding. It is particular to Maple Bar because of the peanut butter mousse and chilled bananas. I know, right?? (I am pretty skep