As you can tell by the photos below, both our kids made a good haul for Halloween.  We were able to trick-or-treat inside the apartment building where we live, which made it much easier for the kids. 

Yes, that is Joseph as little Yoda sucking on two lollipops at the same time.  I wouldn’t recommend trying to take either one from him - these are his favorite type of candy.

I would say that our race car driver made a pretty reasonable take for an hour’s work.

After having a pretty crazy week, we thought that it would make sense to head out to a fall-festival type place. Cox Farms (http://www.coxfarms.com/) was pretty close by and had lots of things for the kids to do like petting some goats, going down some big slides, and a corn maze (well, okay, it’s more like a marked path in the middle of a corn field).  The apples were great, and some of the best I have ever had.  And while the apple cider wasn’t quite as good as Grandpa Foote’s, it was a pretty good substitute.

Heading down the slide

Chris and Joseph

Erik, Dad, and Joseph

Becca and Hayden playing with the goats

At the age of 30, after a long and painful battle with cancer, Jacom Derick Larson (my brother-in-law), left this life to return to his Father in Heaven.  He is survived by his wife, Becca and son Hayden.  The second son of Michael and Mary Jo Larson, and brother to Zachary and Elijah, and sisters Christy, Mikell, and Brittany, they will miss him and his sense of humor.

After graduation from Brigham Young University, with a degree in English, Jacom was attending Virginia Commonwealth University, seeking a second degree in Bio-Engineering.  Jacom was married to Rebecca Bergaust in October 2006.  In November 2007, Hayden Gabriel joined their family. 

 Jacom was first diagnosed with synovial sarcoma, in October 1999, and after many treatments and surgeries his body finally lost the battle with the cancer and he passed peacefully in his sleep.

 Jacom was an active elder in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  He served a mission for his church in Peoria, Illinois.  He also served in several church callings including Elder’s Quorum President and Executive Secretary.

Jacom worked as a swim coach for 4 summers, he lettered 4 years in swimming, and was a certified scuba diver.

While many of the deer in Virginia will be resting easy that he is no longer driving, his large and infectious smile will be missed.

The family has requested, that instead of flowers, contributions could be made
to The Larson Trust which was set up for the welfare of Jacom’s family. To make
it convenient for those interested in making contributions, the website
JacomAndBeka.org tells how this can be done. 

Thank you for your prayers and continued support during this difficult time for our family.

We went to a really cool park that Norma discovered with her playschool group a few weeks ago.  It’s probably about 5 acres in size and is totally covered with playground equipment for all ages.  Erik probably liked the carousel best, closely followed by all the airplanes and cars elsewhere.  Joseph just liked dodging in and out of everything and playing hide-and-seek with his dad.  For directions and information about the park, you can click here: http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/clemyjontri/

Joseph and Norma on the carousel

Erik hopping between steps

This weekend we had the chance to go on a Father & Son Campout with some people we go to Church with.  There were about 250 people there, and Erik definitely had a good time.  He loves being outdoors, playing with sticks, and looking at bugs (or anything else that moves).  During the evening program, I brought out my guitar, which helped me remember why I like playing.

I think this one speaks for itself.

Ever since we got back from El Salvador, Erik has been begging to go to the beach.  Unfortunately, the only quasi-beach close by is the Chesapeake, which isn’t exactly an ideal place for swimming.  We decided to avoid the summer crowd and go down for the weekend to Virginia Beach a few weeks after Labor Day.  We all had a great time, and Joseph couldn’t stop giggling with delight for the first ten minutes that he was in the water.  This beach had way more things to do than we had time for, and we could easily see ourselves spending a week or more here.

Having fun at the beach

Erik and Joseph chasing birds and going on a walk together

On our way down to Virginia Beach, we decided to stop by a WWII Iowa-class ship, the USS Wisconsin.  Of course Erik and Joseph liked wandering around the ship and seeing the big guns.  Interestingly, this ship has been decomissioned and reactivated three times, last serving in the Gulf War.  I would highly recommend a brief stop by this site if you have young kids or are touring the Norfolk/Virginia Beach area. Here’s the link: http://www.hrnm.navy.mil.

Standing on the bow of the ship

Erik having fun

I think this one just speaks for itself…

Today we had the chance to head over to Manassas to have dinner with my sister’s in-laws.  My mom was in town, so we had a great time getting together.  

Here Erik and Joseph using some sticks to go fishing after a car that fell into the stream 

Playing around