Marja Brings Home the Trophy

We met at Mike and Tai's house for Super Bowl XLIV Sunday on 2-7-10. New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts met in Miami to battle for the championship. Different venues for us but the fighting for the championship was as fierce at Mike and Tai's. Here are the bets we placed to win the coveted Super Bowl trophy.


Only Nikole, Andy and I were for the Saints. To win the trophy, you couldn't go over the placed bet (Mike tried to make new rules but I think the majority won. He claimed that because we were at his house, he can make the new rules....I don't think so, Mike).

Let's start with the end result first. Yes, that's me kissing the trophy with the statement "I Told You So!" (the winner always has to have a statement, like the real winning quarterback always says:"I'm going to Disneyland". I chose mine as "I told you so" because frankly, the people at the party didn't believe me. They didn't believe that the Larsen's are bringing home the trophy this year. We did. I was off for only 3 points for Saints. My bet was 34-17 for Saints. The final score was 31-17 for Saints. Yea ME!


The trophy is mine...all mine. I would have won big in Vegas.


Even Kailie was for Colts. What was she thinking! Ok, I'll give it to her. She used to live in Indiana so of course she was a fan.

Tai and Mike, the die-hard Colts fans. Maybe next year they will listen to me and choose their teams according to the bet I place. Thanks for hosting the party. Once again we had so much fun with all of you guys!

Jordan and Nikole. Jordan won the trophy last year and he wasn't even there because he was still dating Nikole and I guess she was more important than the game. This year they both were there, and sorry to say, Jordan lost.

Sarah and Andrew. Andrew also thought he was going to take the trophy home. But not so. If you haven't figured it out yet, I took the trophy home. Sarah and Andrew can now focus on getting engaged and then married this spring, summer or fall. Just don't do it between May 14-23. That would be bad because then we would miss another Jennings wedding. Aren't they just so beautiful? They will have super tall and beautiful kids.

Andy and Brooke. Andy was for Saints, so kudos for Andy. Brooke chose poorly. Was it peer pressure?

Dianne and Tim had just returned from Idaho where they celebrated Tim's mom's 85th birthday so Dianne didn't paint her face but she was for Colts. Her pearls are in the shape of the horse shoe. It tells the story. How I love this woman! I wish everyone could have a Dianne in their lives.

Grandma Dianne feeding baby Danika.

McKenzie, Brielle and Kailie decorated their bedroom with the Colts colors. So cute and creative.

Alex has the prime seat in the house. It sure looks like Rod is not that comfortable under that chair.

The whole gang watching the last minutes of the game.

Before the end of the game, we celebrated Rod's, Tai's, Nikole's, Isaak's, Sarah's and Hayden's birthdays.

Rod blowing his candle.

Jordan handing off the trophy.

Did I mention that I won the trophy?

The Twins are 90

We celebrated Rod and Whitney's 45th birthdays on Saturday night at the Spark restaurant in Provo with a dessert at Chocolate in Orem.

Happy Birthday Rod and Whitney!


The Twins turning 45.


So beautiful and handsome.


Whitney and Craig

Rod and Marja

Tournament: Lakeridge vs. Springville 2/6/10

We lost the game against Springville. The season is over. It sure was a learning experience for Alex. He learned that all the coaches are not created equally good. Some are worse than others and ours happened to be one of the worst coaches, ever. But onward we go and hope for a great summer full of basketball camps for Alex where he can learn and develop his skills even further.

We hope that next year's 9th grade team will have a new coach who knows basketball.

Tounament Game: Lakeridge vs. Mt. Ridge 2/5/10

Tournament games started today. Our first opponent was Mt. Ridge. Even though we were pretty even and often ahead of Mt. Ridge, we lost 49-38. Alex made three 3-pointers and played very well. We are so proud of him.

Tomorrow we play either Timpview or Springville in the loser bracket. Wish us luck.

Lakeridge vs. Oak Canyon 2/3/10

Final game of the season. Miserable loss to Oak Canyon 62-35. I think this might have been the biggest loss at any game this season.

Tournament starts tomorrow with a game against Mountain Ridge at 4pm.

Good luck!

Salmon Fry and Shanghai Circus Don't Mix

Last night we had tickets to the New Shanghai Circus that was performing at BYU. To get ready for it, I had to make a really quick dinner, which included pan frying a whole steelhead salmon from Costco. As we all know, the fish smell is not the most appetizing in the world, and we realized it again when Alex walked around with a air-freshener in his hand. The smell was quite bad. I got my salmon fried and eaten and then I decided to change my clothes so I wouldn't offend anybody at the theater.

When we were in the car, I realized that it wasn't my clothes that smelled, it was my hair. Couldn't do anything about it now except to open the car windows and let the fresh air come in, and maybe whisk away the putrid smell from my hair.

We arrived to the theather, sat down, and Alex looked at me with total disgust. "You smell so bad, mom", he said. I almost turned around and apologized to the people around me, but didn't. Was it bad not to?

The Shanghai Circus was incredible. Who knew that you can twirl plates with sticks, or climb a strap with just your hands and legs as quickly as possible. That was some exciting Jackie Chan stuff, for sure. What was with the bald spot of the guy's hair who juggled garden pots? But the best was the Big Wushu. I'm not sure we saw Big Wushu or if they performed it but I think we saw it. Actually, the best number was the hoop diving. That was our favorite. We clapped and cheered the whole 2 hours. Those 3 foot Chinese men and women were totally worth seeing.

Next up: Living Legends at the Conference Center on Friday night.


Alex is ready to see Tang Xingyong and Lin Chengyang to rip it up on the stage.

Lakeridge vs. Orem Jr. High 2/1/10

Another loss, BUT after a OT. 54-58. One more regular season game on Wednesday and then the tournament. With our record, we will be out in the first day. Then FREEDOM from this horrible season.

BYU is # 12 this week

We went to the BYU vs. Utah basketball game on Saturday night. Yes, surprisingly, I was there too. As you can see from the picture, we sat in the nose bleed section but nevertheless, we were there rooting for our team. BYU beat Utah, which was expected and excellent. For a while the game turned exciting because a ref got punched by a cameraman, accidentally, but the ref had to be taken out. Then at the last second, a fight occured and a Utah player was kicked out.

Is it strange that most of the time I watched the game on the monitor? Maybe it was because most of the game I sat behind an old man, who kept farting and the gas fumes got to my eyes, or maybe it was when I changed seats with Alex, I sat behind a giant, so the view to the monitor was not blocked but the view to the court was. Maybe this is the exact reason why I like to stay home and watch the game on my TV. No old dudes farting and no giants blocking my view.

Alex and Rod watching as the Marriott Center starts filling up.

Lakeridge vs. Provo 1/28/10

I feel like a broken record. We lost to Provo 31-44 even though it wasn't a blood bath like I thought it would be. We lost it during the 4th quarter.

2 more games to go and then the single elimination tournament next week. Can't wait for this disappointing season to be over.

Lakeridge vs. Pleasant Grove 1/26/10

Another heartbreaking loss for our boys. Final 54-65