We've Moved!

Well, it's kind of old news now seeing as we moved the last week of August, but non-the-less! After living in our first place just over 4 1/2 years (since we've been married), we made our first move. Mikey's Grandma Pete invited us to come live in her basement apartment and it worked out perfectly for us. We rented a moving truck to simplify things, but we really only moved 3-4 minutes away. We've been getting settled into our new space and things are going well. Many, many thanks for all the help we received!My brother Wayne & Me

Mikey's dad Russ, nephew Riley, & brother-in-law Alain

My brother Russ

Mikey's mom Colleen (who was a HUGE help! THANK YOU!)

Saying "Good-bye" to our first place

Part of the moving crew: Andy, Wayne, Russ, Braden, Karie, Mikey

During the move Grandma Pete got really worried because she couldn't find her Mickey Mouse figurine. She was sure someone had stolen it! My brother-in-law Andy took it upon himself to find Mickey & put Grandma at ease . . . and he did! He found Mickey in the entertainment center, right where she had left him! :) We all had a big laugh!

All moved in and working on a few home improvements!

The BEST part of living in Grandma's basement apartment is getting to see Grandma everyday. She is so darling and so sweet. We try to watch "Dancing with the Stars" with her each Monday. We love spending time with her.

My new GORGEOUS niece!

Allie Cloe
Born October 16th, 2009
To Brandon & Sharlene, brothers Austin & Cody, & big sister Emmie!Welcome to the family! Love, Uncle Mikey & Aunt Karie
(Photo courtesy of her mama Sharlene)

Awesome.

Okay, so there's some sarcasm in that title. This morning we walked out to go to Church and found this lovely scene. During the night someone broke into our car! How rude! Whoever it was stole our GPS & Mikey's backpack and didn't even clean up the mess. Our thief actually even left the baseball bat he used to break the window (which is not in the picture because the police officer had taken it by this time). It's a major bummer, but Mikey and I are both safe and fine & everything that was taken is replaceable . . . except Mikey's homework. That's the real bummer. But here are a few photos to document:

I think the glass actually looks kind of cool on the pavement.The plus side is that I've been having writer's block and now had something to blog about, so I'm back at it. I'll give you an update in a couple days of what we're up to now. Hope you're all doing well!

I Won a "Giveaway!"

So I have a friend from high school, Marta, who has an amazing blog. She's an extremely talented graphic designer & writer. I love her blog. She always has lots of cute ideas & it's always very cheerful & happy. Well, each Thursday she usually hosts a "giveaway" on her blog & I won the last giveaway of the Summer! And check it out:It's this cute picnic basket by The Optima Company & everything in it . . . the darling dishes, the embroidered napkins, the tiny salt & pepper shakers. And everything is top-notch quality. Ooo, it's beautiful. I cannot wait to go on a picnic with Mikey . . . as soon as it stops raining!

So Marta is responsible for hosting the giveaway (thank you!), but Michelle of The Paris House Boutique is who actually gave this darling picnic basket away. She also has a blog she updates daily with party-planning ideas and such. THANKS, MICHELLE!! I'm trilled!

Missionary Month!

Wow! I can't believe the time since my parents opened their mission call flew by so fast! And now they are officially full-time missionaries and have been in Mongolia one week. We've gotten to Skype with them a couple times since they arrived and they are doing great. They've met a lot of the members in Mongolia and already love the people and the simple life-style they lead.

Here's a whirlwind overview of this past Missionary Month!

This is shortly after my parents spoke in Church the day before they entered the MTC.
Dinner and pictures in the backyard following Church.
Sisters: Karie, Lynette, Sharlene, & Heather
Brothers-in-law: Ryan, Mikey, & Andy
My cute dad!

Entering the MTC! Dropping off a couple at the MTC is very different from dropping of a younger elder or sister. We got to help my parents take their luggage into their room and see where they would be staying for the next 11 days.
There was even a sign in their room for them to hang on their door when they left the MTC saying, "We have left for our Mission!" Cute!
Dropping my parents off at the MTC was actually a very fun, uplifting experience and not as sad as I expected. We knew we would see them again at the airport in a couple weeks, so it was more like dropping my parents off at EFY or their freshman year of college. My dad was just wondering when he'd get to go to the first football game. :)
My parents loved their experience in the MTC!

Another perk of my parents being on a couple mission is that they have a lot more freedom than the younger elders and sisters. In fact during their MTC stay Mikey and I got to see them 3 times! My dad had a problem with his computer, so we drove him and my mom to Best Buy one night. Then the next day they needed to go to the Social Security Office, so we let them borrow our car, and of course got to see them when we picked it up. When my parents were leaving the MTC for one of these errands one of the elders asked, "Hey, why don't we get to go?" My dad quickly replied, "We've paid our dues!" :)

Then the night before my mom & dad flew to Mongolia we had a family gathering in a park near the MTC! Wow! I felt so spoiled to get to see them so often!
Sister Lasson, Emmie, & Elder Lasson
Sister Lasson & Davis
Sister Lasson, Davis, Wayne, & Elder Lasson

...and now for the final good-byes at the airport!
This is my cute sister Lynette & her three kids Braden, Hailey, and Kahler. My parents' flight was so early in the morning that the kids got to stay in their pj's!
Grandma Verda
Russ & Mom
And they're on their way! This good-bye was a little harder on me. I cried. But just for a minute. :) It's hard to be too sad when you know they are going to be serving Heavenly Father and having such wonderful experiences. I am so proud of my parents. Knowing that they are sacrificing so much is motiviating for me to do my best here at home.

And now they are in MONGOLIA! This is a picture of my parents outside their apartment building.
Here is a quote from an email we just received explaining the photo below, "The next [picture is] of Luke's hair cutting ceremony that we were invited to on our second day in Mongolia. Mongolians don't cut a little boy's hair until he turns two. We were told it was was for 'gender protection.' It's quite a ceremony and we were thrilled to be invited."
Outside a "ger," which is the transportable home the nomads live in!
So that's the update on Missionary Month! My parents are doing very well. At Church on Sunday, the day after they arrived, they bore their testimonies in Mongolian! And then just the other day they were out with some elders doing missionary work and they bore their testimonies again to some investigators. My parents said that the Mongolians speak English about as well as my parents speak Mongolian! They've been trying to speak Mongolian as much as they can...to cab drivers, people in the markets, and members. They are doing great and are having wonderful experiences!

Bargain Shopping

So it sounds dumb, but I just had to show someone the great deal I got today. :) Smith's is having a sale today and tomorrow where they are doubling coupons! Albertson's does this sometimes, but they only let you double a couple coupons at a time; for these two days Smith's will double ALL of your coupons that are up to $1 off (as long as the coupon doesn't say "No Doubling" on it--but before you shop I would call and make sure that particular location is participating . . . just in case!)! For anyone interested in knowing more, I use a website called grocerysmarts.com (it's a little confusing at first, but if you want help let me know). You go to their site and choose the store you want to shop at and it tells you what coupons match up with that store's weekly sales. So when you buy things that are on sale and then use a coupon (and then double the coupon), you get a lot of bang for your buck! I also check out a couple other websites that tell you other deals (that's how I found out that Smith's was doubling coupons): iloveagooddeal.blogspot.com and fabulesslyfrugal.com. There are lots of other sites, but these are the ones I check out.
So do you want to know how much I spent on the stuff below? . . . $28!! Not too bad, eh?

4th of July

With my parents leaving for their mission this Monday, we've had a lot of family around and it's been HEAVEN. We always love the 4th of July, but it was extra fun because we had so much family in town. I LOVED IT!

Our 4th of July weekend this year included:

fireworks at the golf course by my sister Sharlene's house,
reuniting with cousins at our annual picnic in the park,

traditional water-fights (can you see all the conspiring going on in the picture below?),

my mom & dad as the two major victims of the water-fight,
. . . and fireworks in my parents' front yard.


I love the 4th of July!

Tunes, etc.

Mikey updated his "Tunes, etc." blog today & it's really, really good. Music is absolutely his passion and anyone who knows him knows he sincerely has a real talent for it. In his blog he highlights different musicians and often posts videos of them so you can get a feel for their styles. You're bound to find a few new songs for your ipods. Check it out & leave a comment: http://mikeyandkarie.wordpress.com/

Hope you find some new tunes you like!