Larsen Light Show

One of the things on our "To Do at Christmas Time" list was to go see the "Larsen Light Show". It is a house about 20 minutes away that puts on this amazing light show every year and everyone raved about it and told us we HAD to go. We were planning on going when Jeremy's parents were here, but Eli had a fever the night we had planned on it, so they went without us. Luckily, we were able to go on New Years Day and it was AWESOME!!! And since it was a week after Christmas, the crowds were much much better. There were still a lot of people there, but the line actually moved and after about 15 minutes we were in a prime spot.

The guy who does it is a landscaper and said he always wanted to do something like this. He starts setting up in August and the show runs from right after Thanksgiving through January 2nd. He's a good Christian guy who wants to help people enjoy the Christmas season. His website says he has over a million lights! And it's free! There are 28 songs programmed and you tune your radio to a certain station they have set up and the lights are synchronized with the music. It was pretty amazing!

 Not to mention the house was pretty spectacular by itself!

Here's a video. I had to reduce the file size, so the quality isn't as good as it is on my computer, but oh well. It gives you an idea anyway!

And here's another one before we got closer. It was a really fun way to finish up the Christmas season!

Connor Quotes

Connor has been cracking us up lately with the things he randomly says. He is picking up quite the vocabulary with all the reading we do and has a very cute way of saying things. I wish I could record his little voice so I could remember the way he talks forever! Here are a few funny things he said the last few days:

On the way to pick Eli up from school: "Wild people live by their selves. Like wild dogs."

In the bath: "Crabs often hunt octopus. And whales."

After building an airplane out of legos: "This airplane flies at incredible speeds."

Another move!

We are moving again! I know, we just got here 6 months ago, but Jeremy started a new job today and we will be moving to the Cincinnati, OH area. We were originally planning on being here in Illinois for a year and then going somewhere more permanent within the company Jeremy was working for, but shortly after we got here, one of Jeremy's former bosses reached out to him with a great opportunity. They talked over the next few months until Jeremy went down there for a formal interview in November. In December, he got the job offer and the next day told his boss he would be quitting. It felt like a long process while we were going through it but now it seems like it happened so fast! This is a great job for Jeremy and he is super excited.

So Friday was his last day at Eaton and he started the new job today. He will be the Director of a business unit that is actually here in Chicago, but they're in the process of moving down to Cincinnati. They plan to have it completely moved by April 1st, so we will try to find a place to live down there by then. It really has worked out perfectly and we recognize that we are very blessed! His commute will only be about 10 minutes more than it was, and he will be able to work here most of the time until April, when we should be able to move.

One of the great things about this move is that it should be our last for a long time! Woohoo! This is kind of a dream job for Jeremy and it's a place we'll be able to stay for awhile. We are really looking forward to settling down. 2015 will be our fifth year in a row of moving, so staying somewhere longer than a year will be a welcome change! Connor was born in Utah less than four years ago, which was the 1st state Jeremy and I lived in (for 6 years) and Ohio will be our sixth! Whew! I shudder to think of the many hours I've spent over the last four years looking for housing online...

We really do like Ohio though. When we were in Pittsburgh, we made at least a dozen trips to Columbus to attend the temple there (which will be our temple again) and every time we did we said, "We could live here. We like Ohio". Cincinnati has lots of rolling hills and tons and tons of trees and it's really quite beautiful. Jeremy has a cousin there that we know pretty well and my sister Amy will only be three hours away so it's a win!

That's the latest! Thanks for reading! Now to find a house...