Has it really been six weeks?

I can't believe how long it has been since I have added to my blog. I have been incredibly busy since June 1st and it is only slightly slowing down. I figured that from June 1 to July 5 I was home for only ten days. I have many things to say and lots of pictures to add. I hope to have a quiet moment to get caught up on my blog before we take off for Lake Powell in a week. But my first order of business has absolutely got to be finishing organizing and unpacking Girls Camp stuff. Blogging will be my reward for putting off the inevitable.

Kids and Swings

Last Sunday (the Sunday we found out that #9 is on its way!) we put Rylee and Keagan in the swings. As you can see Rylee was mad about being in the swing. She actually tried to get out by herself. However, when we let her hold onto the monkey bars she was thrilled! Keagan, on the other hand, was thrilled to be in the swing. I think this experience says alot about their individual personalities....especially Rylee. Next time Eliza is around we will have to let her take a test drive.

Results of Remodeling

About two and a half years ago I was consumed with the idea of remodeling and knocking out some walls in our home to make it more comfortable for our growing family. David didn't seem to have the same vision or desire. So I gave it some thought. What might motivate him to agree with me??? He has wanted a motorcyle for years. He had one when he was a teenager and when we were first married. I thought maybe the promise of my support of a motorcyle would knock out walls. I was right!

He has had his dream bike now for two years. He loves to share it with me. He has made many adjustments to it so that I can ride comfortably for longer periods of time. (Thanks for your hard work sweetheart!)

Last Saturday we rode to Park City to buy him a light weight leather jacket. We found one and we also found leather chaps (on sale!) for both of us. One has to go through an interesting process to get into chaps. It is a two person job. I never thought I would own anything leather that would cover my legs. But I have to say the ride home was much more enjoyable because of them. We rode down Parley's Canyon and took the turn-off to Emigration Canyon on the way home. I wasn't cold and I didn't feel any gravel hit my legs. The question is....Do these chaps make my butt look big? The answer (unfortunately) is....yes!

A-U-D-R-E-Y Audrey Audrey Rose

While Matt and Lindsay were packing the U-Hauls for their move back to Utah, I was lucky enough to tend Audrey and Eliza for six days. Audrey was working on her spelling so I thought it would be fun to teach her how to spell her name. Gampa came up with the tune and I helped with the words. This was the result!

David's Birthday

Back on May 16th, we celebrated my fabulous husband's birthday. We had a barbecue in the backyard with the kids and grandkids. When I think of my husband, I can't help but to be grateful for divine guidance. Our courtship and marriage were fast to say the least, but 31 years together have proved that I married the right guy for me. He is incredible! He supports me in every crazy adventure that I want to attempt. He is always right behind me with every church calling and assignment. This year I am going to Girls Camp without him -- the first time in seven years. It is going to be a lonely week for me. He loves Festival of Trees as much as I do. In fact, he has become known as "The Voice of Festival" because he is the announcer on Opening Night. He goes along with most everything I want to do to our home and cabin. He supports me in every family activity I want to hold. He is my best friend. I really am spoiled. I'm glad I let Heavenly Father guide my choice in a husband. He certainly picked better than I would if I had been left on my own. I love you the most David! I'm grateful you are mine!

I Love You Through and Through

Yesterday was such a beautiful day that I decided to organize an impromtu barbecue for Sunday after church with any of my children that could come. Talya and Ryan (with Eric, Tyler and Rylee), Clay and Jenny, and Erica and Chuck (with Keagan) were able to come. We had hamburgers, chips, yummy salads and rootbeer floats. While sharing my dessert with a very sticky and dirty Rylee, Clay handed me a gift bag. I assumed it was something they had bought on their weekend in Chicago. (Jenny is the ultimate gift-giver. She spends a lot of time picking out the best gift for each person. I always have appreciated her thoughtfulness.) Anyway, I pulled out the tissue and saw a darling white teddy bear and a book that went along with it entitled, "I Love You Through and Through." I was trying to keep Rylee's very interested but dirty hands from hugging the bear while trying to pick up the book. Then Talya announced, "Don't you get the message???" Oh my goodness! I was slow on this one. I would think by now that I would catch on but I didn't. If I had been able to open the book and read the inscription I would have read, "Congratulations Grandpa and Grandma Hansen! You're getting another grandbaby to love "through and through!" We are SO excited for Clay and Jenny! I couldn't be happier! The magic of each new baby announcement never dims. He/she will be a fun birthday present for Daddy Clay. We expect the due date to be sometime in January. My prayers are with Jenny that she will feel better soon. Congratulations mommy and daddy-to-be!

Festival of Trees

Back in my lifetime, almost 30 years ago, I tended children and cleaned house for Barbara Frazier, (an incredible woman!) She was involved in a little community service project known as Festival of Trees which has evolved into a huge community service project. She signed me up to be on her committee and the rest is history. This is the 38th year. I have been involved with Festival of Trees since Matt was a baby. This is my 9th year of serving on the Festival of Trees Executive Board. I have worked in the Gift Boutique, served as co-chair to Lori Peterson and Edyth Hansen, and I am currently serving as the Auction Host Chair with additional duties on the Large Tree committee. My responsibilities as Auction Host Chair include training and scheduling 500 plus Auction Hosts for Opening Night. Last year we raised $1,604,021.64 in less than five days. Every single penny of that money goes to charity care at Primary Children's Medical Center. All my daughters (which includes my daughter in-laws) are on my committee. Talya is also a member of the Executive Board. This year she is the Entertainment Chair. I celebrated my 50th birthday on Opening Night (hence the tiara) and my daughter, Erica, was engaged at Festival. I am often asked why I keep doing Festival. To me it is a no-brainer. In my small way I get to help children. The money raised gives hope to families in need. Then there is the selfish side of me that keeps doing Festival. I do it for the friendships I have made with some incredible women. I do it to serve with my children, my sisters, my husband and my dear friends in a great cause.

Cheekie Weekies or Squishy Bums

I have a thing for baby bottoms. I just do. They are soft and smooth. They come in all shapes and sizes. They are irresistable to squeeze. That squeeze is the only payoff of having to change a messy diaper. My older grandkids now run if they know I need a cheekie weekie fix. But I have three that don't know about my addiction just yet. Erica sent me this picture of Keagan. (Boy is he going to hate his mom someday!) His squishy bum isn't very squishy. He needs some more fat but it will do because he is so dang cute! Rylee and Eliza have better squishy bums for cheekie weekies. They take after their Gamma and even have great thighs to squeeze during those dreaded diaper changes. I love babies! I can hardly wait for Dax to join the group.

It's official! The Arizona Family is coming home!

It has been 26 months since Matt and Lindsay headed south for the winter....then spring, summer, fall and all over again. Now they are coming back north sometime in the next few weeks. It will be wonderful to have them close by again. I know it will be hard for them to leave their home in Arizona. They have fabulous friends who answered a mother's anxious prayers when they first moved. It is bittersweet to leave a place you have grown to love to come back home. They will probably settle somewhere in Pleasant Grove. Matt is going to be working for a new company called everysinglehome.com. Look it up if you have a minute. Great concept! I am glad to have them return so my family can be all in one state for a few months before Erica and Carly and their families leave sometime next year. Welcome home Hansens!

Another April Birthday -- Audrey

My granddaughter, Audrey Hansen, turned four years old on April 29th. Audrey is full of life! She is such a fun little girl to be around. She is the only blonde with two brunette sisters. We tease a bit and say that she is really Carly's daughter. (Carly was my only blonde with four brunette siblings.) Audrey is the youngest of my first four grandchildren. I watch her try to keep pace with the older ones. She hussles and does a good job of keeping up. She, however, seems to recognize her size limitations. If the older ones are faster on their scooters or swimming in deeper water, she seems content to just be. She is a busy little girl who doesn't sit still too long. She's eager to please but has a spitfire personality that surfaces every once in a while. She knows the best moment to say "I love you" for the biggest effect. She loves to mother Eliza, her baby sister. My favorite conversation with Audrey was when she called to see if she could run away to my house. Of course I said yes! But then I realized that I needed to support Mom in a teaching moment. I explained that I had the same rules that she had at home and there was also a time-out spot at Gamma's house. She still wanted to come. She told me that she just didn't love mommy and daddy anymore. If she hadn't been 12 hours away I would have kidnapped her for the weekend. Happy birthday Audrey! You are my very favorite four year old!

More April Birthdays

April is a busy month for birthdays in our family. The middle of the month brings my daughter in-law, Lindsay's birthday. She is married to my oldest son, Matt. Boy did he do well! She is beautiful to look at. She is a fabulous mother. She is a valiant member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is a great daughter. (I was always nervous to talk to my mother in-law about day to day stuff but it doesn't seem to bother her, for which I am extremely grateful.) I couldn't have arranged a better marriage than the one Matt did for himself. The newest thing I really appreciate about Lindsay is her support of Matt in realizing a dream that he has had since he was a little boy. He has always wanted to fly and become an astronaut. In fact, his old bedroom still has a space shuttle mural on the wall. When he was three or four he told me he would take me for a ride in the space shuttle someday. Well, he didn't become an astronaut but he is a pilot. He took me for my promised ride in an airplane when we visited in March. He sacrificed a lot of sleeping time to be in the air. But he couldn't have done it without Lindsay's support. Thank you Lindsay, for taking care of my son and letting him realize a life long dream. Happy birthday to wonderful addition to our family!

For her birthday Matt arranged to have the airplane and they flew over the Grand Canyon and up to St. George for a well deserved getaway.

Blog gap

Well, my blog looks like my journal. Lots of big gaps. Oh well there have lots of things keeping me busy. My biggest block of time goes to my service commitments. First of all, to my church calling as Young Women's President. We do many fun things together but it takes a lot of time to research activities, plan them and then carry out the plans. Every once in a while I have the opportunity to teach them on Sunday. That is a huge deal to me. I taught a room full of beautiful young women last week about The House of Israel. I spent hours preparing for the lesson. I learned a great deal and my testimony that Heavenly Father loves me increased. Tuesday night we weeded together at the Sandy Vegetable Project and then went out for Slurpees. I LOVE every single second I get to be with them!

My next block of time goes to maintaining my home. We did some major remodeling starting two years ago and we have never finished. Currently I am working on doing deep cleaning, de-junking and organizing. That is a slow process -- especially when you come across something that reminds you of days gone by or pulls at your heart strings. I worked all day in my basement. I filled up six boxes for Deseret Industries. Some of it was hard to let go. I decided that if I hadn't read the books in the last ten years they were going to another home. But then I started opening them up. When I found a handwritten note or an autographed copy I couldn't part with it. I even found books that my Young Women leaders had given me throught the years with sweet notes on the inside. I parted with my old LPs that I received starting back in Junior High. Do you know that Cat Stevens has beautiful eyes? I thought of the nights I spent listening to America, The Moody Blues, the Carpenters, Chicago and wishing for a date to prom. Then there was all of the other outdated technological stuff like cassette tapes and floppy disks. They all went into recycling. And what about handmade pottery items and pencil cans given to me years ago on Mother's Day? How can I part with those? It is a work in progress but I do have a lot of empty shelves tonight. Soon I will start stripping wallpaper and painting. We paid for the carpet a year ago so it is way past time to be done.

And of course, there is my family with whom I love to spend time! I have a lot to say about them and it is coming up. But now I am off to check on the score of the Jazz vs. Lakers game and then into bed.

Happy 21st Birthday Erica!

As of April 6th, my baby is 21 years old. I don't want to contemplate what that makes me. The truth is I don't feel much older than she is. We celebrated by taking her to Joy Luck for some yummy Chinese food. Matt was in town so he was able to join us. Erica has matured a lot over the past two years since getting married. I was nervous about letting my "almost 19 year old" tie the knot. She reassured me that she and Chuck would grow up together. They certainly have done a great job of doing just that. I love you baby girl!

A slobbery wet kiss from Keagan as he tries to bite my lip. Ouch!

Happy 79th Birthday Dad!

On Saturday, April 12th, most of my siblings, my Dad and his wife, Alice, got together to celebrate Dad's 79th birthday. Alice treated us to a buffet dinner at Scheider's Restaurant at Zermatt Resort in Midway. The food was great and the company was fabulous. I hope my life is as full as my Dad's when I turn 79 years old.

Things I have learned from my Dad.....Perhaps the thing that I learned most from my father was a strong work ethic. Dad always plays hard, but before playing hard, he works hard. I learned that if there was something worth doing, then it certainly was worth doing well. Scrimping and cutting corners wasn’t allowed much at all. Doing one’s best was a requirement of being a member of the family. These traits are all the more evident now as he battles Parkinson's disease. He is determined to be the winner and I know he will. I am proud of the way he doesn't give in to the disease. Instead, he finds ways to fight it. In fact, he is sharing his knowledge of the battle by funding a new therapy program to help others. What an example of perseverance and endurance!

Next to working and playing hard, the best survival skill for life that I learned from my Dad was to have a sense of humor and don’t take life so seriously. His jokes, no matter how corny, always seem to produce a smile and lighten the mood.

I don’t remember a specific occasion that taught me his love for the gospel and his reliance on the Lord. It was just taught through a lifetime of example. There was never any question as how he felt about the gospel and doing what Heavenly Father required. He just did it, and, consequently, he has a family of faithful children and grandchildren.

There is no one that could match my Dad! I am truly grateful that I am part of his family. He is an awesome father! I love you Dad! And Alice, I love you too! Thanks for taking such good care of Dad.

My Adopted Daughters

Being a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints provides me many opportunities to serve. I currently am serving in my favorite calling. I am Young Women's President, which means I work with all the girls in our ward ages 12 to 18. I am grateful that they love me and tolerate me given my age. (I have to be careful how I refer to my age or looks. The rule in our group is -- if you say you are ugly, fat, or old you get a punch in the arm.) They keep me young and in touch with what is happening. They build my testimony in the Savior. They are fabulous examples to me. They are a lot of fun!!! I have counselors and advisors that work alongside me. I am grateful for their dedication. Most of them are young also. In fact, I could be the mother to three of them. They are remarkable women.

These pictures are from some of our activities. We went to the temple to do baptisms for the dead and then went to the General Young Women's Meeting.



Scrapbooking favorite quotes of President Gordon B. Hinckley

Hair Care and Makeup Night



At the beginning of the school year and then for six months, our Young Womens group had an exchange student, Katharina, from Germany. We learned alot about life from being around her. My greatest lesson from her was to don't be afraid to experience all that you can and live life to the fullest. We miss her!