The Hansens

Week 1

2012-02-06T19:25:00.000-08:00

So this week actually turned out really well in terms of my goals! Here's how I did plus a few highlights of my week.

Goal 1- I exercised everyday (except Sunda)! And I am really feeling great! I find that when I exercise I have a better nights sleep, and I tend to crave the more healthy foods. And that's always a plus!!

Goal 2- To Do lists are my new best friend. I have been so much more organized each day. I find a lot more satisfaction in he daily tasks that need to be done when I make them my purpose. And I don't end up beating myself up at the end of the day when I feel like I accomplished nothing! My house is so much more clean and organized, and it doesn't get to the overwhelming stage when everything needs to be done and I have no idea where to start. I am doing better at little goals I set because they get put on the list and I love to do them just to cross them off!!
It was interesting in R.S. this week someone shared a comment. We were talking about finding our purpose in life and using our Agency to accomplish our purpose. And about how Satan tends to put road blocks in our way, one of them being that we get bored with the daily mundaneness of our tasks as wife and mother. Then this sister shared a comment that went something like this. "When we have daily tasks to accomplish I find that making the task at hand my purpose in life at that moment keeps me motivated, happy, and I even find joy in the task. We talked about finding our bigger purpose in life, but I think we accomplish that bigger purpose by making our scope more focused in smaller purposes throughout our day.". I loved how that applied to my to do listing and found I have been so happy to accomplish tasks this past week. The dishes werent daunting any more. My bed was made every single day! And in the morning right when I got out of it! I'm just loving this Goal number 2!!

Goal 3- Ohh we are doing so good! A week into Feb and we already found three things to cut out of our budget to save money. Plus I did my first of two shopping visits under budget and with full lists. Our household items were written down and purchased along with grocery shopping! That's a first! Haha but I have felt so good and in control with our finances.
We also did our taxes, which ended up not to be as big of a blow as we expected. With both of us teaching lessons we always find we owe the government so much and we didn't do as well setting aside money for taxes as we would have liked. But with all of our medical expenses, plus business expenses we find we owe less than we even expected. So we have a new goal to add into our planned shopping visits and snowballing payments. Our new goal is to pay taxes quarterly for our music lessons. Then we won't have a big chunk to pay when taxes come around, and who knows we may even get a return with a new child entering our family. That'll be a first! So we are saving saving saving!

Our weeks highlights!
- It was a busy week with almost something every night for Doug, so I worked hard to get dinners ready early and we had some good meals together. I love at least having the time to sit down at dinner and talk, even just for a half hour. Meals were a highlight this week.
- Doug had parent teacher conference which means he had Friday off! I had a Let's Play Music meeting Friday morning, but then we stayed in all afternoon and did our taxes! So fun I know haha.
- We played games with some friends Saturday night and had a blast! We love getting together with friends and I always wonder why we wait so long to do it again. So I'll try to plan the next game night over at our place!
- Burley got a bath and turned into a beautiful smelling puffball! Haha his hair is so long and he is always so fluffy after I dry him, I just love it.

Looking Down!!

2012-02-04T12:09:00.000-08:00

I looked down today while I was getting ready and realized I had to lean forward a little before I could see my feet! My belly always looks so much bigger to me, probably because I look down on it, than it does to other people. Everyone keeps saying I don't even look pregnant :). I'm sure they are being nice. I think the bump has really started to pop out this last week and I can't suck it in anymore ha! So Here's what I saw today at 16 & 1/2 weeks....

It looks way bigger from this view!!

And here's the side view.

My bloating has gone way down and so all thats left is real baby bump. It almost feels like I was bigger in week 14 and 15 than I am now at almost 17 weeks. Or maybe its the button up shirts that make me look so big :) Here's the proof.

14 weeks and 15 weeks.

I don't know what do you think?

Trying to be better!!

2012-01-29T20:20:00.000-08:00

Lately we have had a lot of focus on Goals. What with the New Year and resolutions, and a whole month dedicated to the topic of goals in Church, I began feeling a little guilty. A lot of the time my goals tend to fizzle out after a day or two. I mean I am feeling pretty good when I can say I did something every day of the week! Then I usually let it drop soon after! I know I am not the only one who has this problem, but sometimes I wonder why I can't find the motivation!

Well today in church, one of our Bishopric members shared a quote that stated we needed to be accountable to someone for our goals. And the light popped on! I have such a hard time because yeah I know I should try harder.....but sometimes it's just so easy to pretend like I didn't even have that goal! So here is me being accountable :). I have three goals that I am going to report on every week. It will help me be a better blogger, and even if no one is reading this, it will help me to report to someone!

Goal 1 - Exercise! I would really like to have a healthy and fit pregnancy. I want to feel good and stay active. Of course I don't want to gain numberless pounds that will be so hard to shed!! Exercising will help me feel better throughout my pregnancy, have a smoother delivery, and whip back into shape more easily. I have a lot more time in the mornings and did pretty darn good for about a week and a half. I know I can do it, I have done it, so I have no excuse! I have a prenatal pilates program that I love, love, love too! So I will report back weekly on how my morning exercise routine went.

Goal 2 - To Do Lists! I have found that I am so productive and manage my time so well when I make a little list. They help me accomplish my tasks so efficiently that I can't imagine why I don't use them more. Plus lists should help me accomplish other goals, right? So every day I want to make use of my to dos! I'll let ya know how it goes :).

Goal 3 - Become More Money Smart/Debt Free! Doug and I have made this goal together and really come up with some great ways for us to be more conscientious of how we spend our money. I wouldn't say we are bad with money, or rack up the credit card debt like there is no tomorrow. For the most part we are pretty frugal spenders. We talk to each other before we spend money and have a budget that we rarely go over. But we aren't making much progress in the long term savings or becoming debt free area. So we have come up with some ways to make it happen rather than just talking about it.
We are going to balance our budget every week so we know where we are at. I don't check whether I am under budget for household items before I run to Walmart for shampoo, or vacuum bags. I never make a list of household shopping items, which means we usually run to the store when something pops in our heads, which results in mindless purchases that can rack up the total amount we spent. So in order to be more on top of knowing where we are at, we will look each week at the budget, and make a list for things we need or are running low on. That way I will get those items with my bi-monthly grocery shopping trips. Cuts down on gas, time, and mindless spending.
Another thing we are going to try is putting the credit card and debit card away when we reach our limit on the budget. We never use the credit card without paying it in full each month, so in a lot of ways it is just like using our debit or checks. However we both said that we never think twice about pulling it out to swipe it, even when we have no idea if we are over or under our allotted budget. So in the spirit of the cash system, Its gone when it's gone! We may even find that we never have to put the cards away, because we are more mindful of our budget.
And the last thing is the snowball effect. Many people use some variation of this technique and it really is the most effective for debt reduction. After all of our bills are paid, tithing is separated, and savings are transferred, we will use whatever is left over to pay extra on our smallest debt amount. Once that debt is paid off we will snowball its old payment amount into the payment of our next lowest debt. And before you know it you slash your debt with a power payment plan from hades!
So with being more conscientious of our spending habits, we should be saving more per month, and having extra for debt reduction! We will see how well the plan goes and I am super excited to get started. I feel empowered just thinking about knowing better where we stand with our finances before I run to the store. And knowing that we will always have that savings for a rainy day or emergencies is a wonderful thing!

So my little bloggy world, here's to keeping me accountable! I'm sure you will help to keep me in check and my goals on track!

Through the 1st Trimester!

2012-01-12T10:23:00.000-08:00

Whoohoo!! It seemed like I'd never make it this far, but this week I am officially done with the 1st Trimester of my pregnancy. I wanted to keep a journal of sorts for myself so here are some things I have experienced in the past 13 weeks. And a little baby bump tracking too!

I missed taking pictures a few weeks but the bump is starting to materialize! I'm sure I feel way more huge than I look to other people, and I'm going to need to start looking at maternity clothes before I know it!

Things I've experienced that I want to remember:

-The shear nervousness of waiting after our embryo transfer. I get anxiety over several other things as it is, and this was the most consuming anxiousness I have ever felt. I remember feeling totally positive one minute and then consumed with fear and sorrow that it didn't work the next. But it was definitely worth all of my analyzing and agonizing!

-The pure joy and elation of seeing a positive pregnancy test for the first time in my life!! I wanted to tell everyone the minute the line showed up. At that moment I had such a peace and calm about the pregnancy. I think it's probably the only time I didn't have one ounce of fear about things not working out.

-The terror I felt as I cramped and cramped at 7 weeks. I felt so sure that something was wrong and to my dismay the next day after the cramps had subsided...bright red blood! I was so scared I would loose the baby but at the same time so sure that everything would be alright. My prayers were definitely answered when everything turned out to be fine.

-Up until 10 weeks I had to take progesterone. Unfortunately only the very expensive (like $350 for 2 weeks expensive) stuff had no side affects on me. The oral progesterone guaranteed dizziness for at least 3 hours a day. So for weeks, because we just couldn't afford to do anything else, I dealt with being so dizzy every day that all I could do was lay on the couch with my eyes closed! Am I complaining?? :) No Way!! Haha I would do it all over again and compared to other peoples pregnancies this was nothing!

-I made it through the whole 1st tri without one ounce of morning sickness. Once in a while I felt a little queasy, but only very mildly! I have been so blessed to be able to still enjoy eating and being completely active!

-Several food aversions :). Not to the point of feeling sick if I ate the food, but just something tasting so off that I didn't even want it. Sadly the list includes Turkey Gravy (which is a favorite at Thanksgiving), anything too sweet (not a bad thing I guess), mayonnaise/miracle whip, soda, anything fried and probably a few other things I should have written down!

- I guess you could call them cravings. I never have sat at home just dying for weird combinations or loved things I haven't loved before. My cravings have been more like I could eat the same thing every day because it just tastes soooo good! We went out to Craigo's Pizza one night and I ate 3 slices of their potato pizza and nothing else. I didn't even want my favorite bbq chicken one (and they have tons more flavors I love). Another time we went out to eat with my brother and I just wanted waffles or yummy baked mac n' cheese. So those have been what my cravings are like. I have eaten a ham and cheese sandwich for lunch probably 5 times a week for the past 3 weeks :) Hey if I don't get tired of it, that's ok with me!

- Heartburn! Oh my lands! I have never experience heartburn with such a vengeance! I cannot do anything fried or I suffer the consequences. That means no hamburgers, french fries, chicken strips, chinese food, or any other breaded yumminess. Which makes me a little sad, but I have been eating a lot healthier due to that fact.

-I haven't experienced too much fatigue. It has been great! Once in a while I have a day where I am just exhausted, but for the most part I have felt great and had plenty of energy!

-But oh have I mentioned the gas? Noone does gas like a pregnant woman and I wish it would just go away. It doesn't seem to matter what I eat I am always feeling the urge! So I just I'll have to deal with it and hope it will ease up as I get farther along.

-I wanted to remember our last ultrasound at 10 weeks. The Babes (my little nickname until we find out gender) was so much bigger and totally putting on a show! Had the hiccups, was waving little arms, and bouncing around like he was in a little bounce house. (No I don't think it's a boy more than a girl but I have to say something so we will go with he.) It's funny we have three pictures taken within a second and he is totally floating in one, then touching the wall of my womanly organ, and then bouncing back off with only part of his back touching the wall :). Very entertaining and amazing!! I'm sure we are just going to have a spazz for a child!

So those are just some of the things I want to remember. I'll have to do another post about the weird and wild dreams I have already started to have :).

Christmas Vacation!!

2012-01-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to get caught up on blogging!! Especially because I know it will never happen once the baby is here. So here are the highlights of our Christmas 2011!

-We spent time with Doug's family the week before Christmas. We were able to eat tons of good food, play great games, have good conversation and of course do the annual Hansen Family Nativity. We forgot our camera that night but have some pictures on the rest of the families cameras that I will need to get!

- We then drove down to Logandale to spend Christmas with my family!! It was a long drive but totally worth it. And Burley was pretty fantastic on the way down.

- On our way down we stopped in Salt Lake to see Temple Square and all of the lights! It was fabulous and my favorite part was seeing all of the unique Nativities they had set up. As we were parking a light snow was falling which just added to the experience!

- Christmas Eve we enjoyed a wonderful feast! It was followed by playing games like the Carol game and a new favorite Sardines! We turned out all of the lights and played in my parents small house haha! It was a blast and we played until midnight!!

- Christmas Day! Burley was so excited to see what was in his stocking and now enjoys a wonderful squeaky toy Nana and Grandpa bought for him. We were spoiled beyond belief and it was so fun to watch others open the gifts we picked for them.

- Our Present Scavenger Hunt!! Doug's family has a tradition of hiding clues around the house that eventually lead to a present. We decided to do this for Logan (Doug did one for me and I one for him like usual). But this was Logan's first time and he did pretty good! I don't think he was expecting it at all because we tried to trick him with a gift card to his favorite burger place Five Guys. He didn't know that wasn't his real present!! And it was so fun!

- Shooting with the family! Dad got a new hand gun (which he cried over when he opened :)) and we just had to go shoot. I'm not a huge fan of shooting big guns but I love 22s and would say I'm a pretty good shot! My mom and I had little contests shooting empty pop cans and I hit more than I missed :). Doug got to shoot my dads hunting rifle for the first time and I think he felt more empowered than he should have with that huge thing Ha!

- We went to Vegas to do a little shopping and see Sherlock Holmes 2. It was a lot of fun and we enjoyed pampering ourselves a little at The Cheesecake Factory (definitely a favorite!)

- We played more games than we could count. Had endless Fruit Ninja wars on the Ipads. Let it be known that I am THE ULTIMATE Fruit Ninja, even though Logan believes HE is.

- I helped my mom get the binding put on her quilt so she can finally get it finished!! Last time I was there I started to put it together and on the quilt but I was so sick! By the time I got finished putting the strips together I realize I had sewn every other one on backwards and was going to have to pick it out. At that point I just laid on the floor and cried. The flu was not fun to have then and I just told her to put it away and I'd do it some other time. Well that was a year ago and now she can actually try to finish it and get it on the bed :).

- I got to go to a close friends baby shower right before we left! It was so good to see her and they had great snacks :) Yes a pregnant lady will always remember the food first! We played a lot of fun games and enjoyed seeing all the cute girly things she got.

- Then we drove to Utah for New Years. Of course it was just about dark when we started the drive which spells disaster for Burley. He hyperventilates and wigs out when its dark and we are on a long drive. The only thing that would calm him down was me to hold him tight and sing. Since he falls asleep everytime I have a Let's Play Music class I thought I'd give singing a try. Well I was singing for just about 4 hours!! Once we got there we had a big party with the family. Once again there was tons of food and games! I was definitely wilting by 11:00, but we stuck it out and had our drink of sparkling soda and kiss at 12:00 on the dot! Then we woke up early to drive home.

Finally!!

2011-11-21T20:35:00.000-08:00

We have wonderful news!!! We are pregnant and expecting a baby in July! It is still early and we always said we would wait till we were out of that scary stage, but I really can't wait anymore. Most of you know already anyways so here is the story :).

As you know we went through a failed IVF cycle in June/July of this year. We originally were not planning to freeze any left over embryos because of the cost, and because we had decided that if the IVF didn't work we would know that we needed to move on and focus all of our efforts on adoption. But when it came to the final decision while we were in the midst of the procedure, we felt that we should freeze them. What if IVF worked and we wanted a baby brother or sister later on down the road? It just felt right so we froze them.

When the cycle didn't work we felt like it would be impossible to ever use those little frozen embryos because of the financial side of things. We needed to finish paying for the failed cycle before we ever decided to do anything else. I couldn't even think about spending more. Well our Heavenly Father is so very mindful of us and knows a better plan that we need to learn to trust in!

A wonderful couple had offered in the past to help us with adoption expenses should we need it. One day after our failed IVF (a day when I was feeling especially blue) she called to make sure we knew they would still like to help us out. She mentioned infertility treatments and wanting to even help us with that if we wanted to go that direction. I informed her of our failed IVF and thats when the light popped on and inspiration hit. It wasn't coincidence that she thought of me and knew she needed to call me. It wasn't coincidence that she brought up infertility treatments. I knew she was a tool in Heavenly Father's hand at that moment and a huge miracle was taking place in our lives.

They made it possible to try our frozen embryos at the right time! We did the transfer on Oct 29th with these little guys.

I waited agonizingly trying to talk myself out of testing everyday. Finally 6 days after the transfer I told Doug, "I need to test or I'll go insane! If it's negative then it's just too early and if it's positive then we will know and I can stop freaking out every day." I never expected to see a positive only 6 days after the transfer. I will never forget the crazy emotions I felt as I waited for another negative pregnancy test and it was POSITIVE for the first time in my life!! Not like - you have to wait a while to see the line show up and wonder if it is positive. Positive as in the line showed up the moment it got wet and there was no doubt about it positive. I went running down the stairs laughing, crying and whispering for Doug too look (I would've yelled but I couldn't find my voice)!

As you can see I was a huge test junkie and couldn't help but test every day until my blood test. I just wouldn't believe it until I saw that I was still pregnant and the test was still positive!

And now we have a little baby on the way! We saw it for the first time today!! It looked like a little blob with a flickering heartbeat and it was the most beautiful little blob that we've ever seen!

It was so amazing to watch it on the screen and it is starting to feel more real now. We pray each and every day that this sweet baby will grow and be healthy. That no complications will arise and everything will continue to progress.

So for now we are so excited, scared, in shock and overwhelmed with gratitude for this beautiful blessing in our lives. I am continually amazed by the evidence of our Heavenly Father's hand and plan for us, but I guess I should just get used to it! I know I will see it many more times throughout my life and that the more I look for it, the more I will see it. Thank you all for loving prayers and faith in our behalf! And thank you especially to that special couple who have made this all possible. There is no way we can ever repay you!

Halloween 2011

2011-11-09T13:07:00.000-08:00

We really like to have fun with Halloween! We had another fun murder mystery dinner that was Halloween themed this year. We enjoyed family, food, costumes, decorations, and quite the macbre story! Here are a few pictures!

For FHE the week before Halloween we invited Logan over to carve pumpkins. We have done a lot of patterns in the past. You know where you trace the picture and then carve? So we decided to be creative this year and design our own faces. Logan and Doug were the artists while I helped clean the pumpkins and then roasted the seeds. We tried regular salted seeds, lemon pepper seeds, and a good harvest spice mix which had cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, and ginger in it. They were all fabulous but I still like the salted the best. Here are the carving efforts!

Can we take a normal picture? Yeah right! HA!

For Halloween night Doug and I decided to stay home for the first time and hand out candy to trick or treaters. We had a yummy pizza and movie (Hocus Pocus - a must!!) party all the while seeing the cute neighborhood kids dressed up! I even got to see a few of my piano students :)! I love to see all the fun and creative costumes and find so much joy in just handing out a few pieces of candy haha! I don't know why but it is my favorite thing about Halloween. Here's a few pictures of our Halloween night.

Thoughts on Temple Marriage

2011-10-06T20:17:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday we were able to go to the Manti Temple to see my sister Brittany and her awesome husband, Austin, be sealed together for time and all eternity. It was a beautiful day, they were beautiful, the temple was beautiful, and the sealing was beautiful. I have to admit I got a little teary-eyed as they were promised blessings included in the sealing ordinance. It made me so grateful for my own marriage, but especially grateful to know that my sister has a wonderful man to share that covenant with. Someone that will love her and cherish her by taking her to the temple and honoring their covenants. Someone that will be a wonderful husband and father as they live their lives.

As I had these thoughts I felt the spirit so strongly, bearing witness of how important it is to keep our covenants and develop a celestial marriage. This world is so messed up these days, that it is so easy to let outside influences into your marriage. The little things that we think matter or time we spend being busy with extra things really can get in the way of helping to build our relationships. As the Sealer spoke to us I had a greater desire to make my marriage celestial and recieve the blessings promised us.

The Sealer shared some great insights to help live a life worthy of all of the covenants we make with our Heavenly Father. He spoke of the things we promise and the blessings we can receive in return. The first thing to help us along was returning to the temple often. We learn and grow each time we return and keep ourselves worthy to enter the doors of the temple. Another suggestion was to pray together always. We are not told to pray sometimes, or when we feel like it or when we feel that we need it. We are admonished to pray always. The Sealer invited Britt and Austin to kneel together each morning and night and to thank the Lord for each other and their love.

The biggest thing that stood out in my mind in way of advice was to be in Love. Tell each other how in love you are often. Of course these are things that I know we should do and I've always tried to do, but it struck me for some reason. Think how unselfish these acts require a couple to be. If every married couple talked daily of the things they love about each other, how many marriages could be saved? When thinking of the reasons you love someone it is almost impossible to focus on their faults. Isn't it easy to forget the little things that seemed to matter before when you focus on what really matters? Does the fact that you load the dishwasher differently or he doesn't get the socks into the hamper change the way that you feel? I just felt a rush of all of these thoughts as he stressed the importance of saying I Love You.

I watched them kneel across from each other and saw the love in their eyes. I'm so happy for them and know they will have a wonderful life together. We are so blessed to have Temples. I felt a lot of love and comfort from our Heavenly Father to be reminded of my own temple covenants. I was reminded to continue to have an eternal perspective in all things. I hope to be able to work on making my marriage celestial.

Through all of the trials and hardships we have we can't loose our eternal perspective. Some of the things that have been getting in our way lately are finances. How are we going to afford adoption? It's impossible to try IVF again when it failed the first time. Can we risk losing out the money again? Sometimes I feel like we have no choice but to give up and wait until we have this or that. It seems like too many dinner conversations revolve around our finances that I find myself forgetting why we are trying to start a family in the first place. Sometimes it feels like I am ignoring our relationship because I'm so focused on doctors and medication and dates or times. It is more important that my husband and I Love each other first! I know that we will be blessed with children, whether it is in this life or the next. If I remember this it would be so much easier to align our will with Heavenly Fathers will. Then our focus could be on patience, love, and our relationship. An eternal perspective gives us the assurance we need to move forward with faith rather than getting confused, obsessed, or neglecting important relationships. Of course we need to continue to try to build our family but not at the expense of so many other important things. It is possible to do all of the things we are trying without it taking over our lives. Hopefully I can do better at keeping this focus as we move forward with things. I was grateful first of all for the reminder of the eternal perspective, and secondly for the reminders of how to build celestial marriages and relationships.

So, congratulations to Britt and Austin for starting a wonderful journey! And thank you for your examples and reminding me of so many important things.

Thank You!

2011-09-17T21:18:00.000-07:00

Thank you everyone for you comments, love and support. I'm truly grateful for your kind words and encouragement. It is very nice to know that while others may not understand WHAT I'm going through, we all understand how trials affect us and can relate to each other on a level that allows us to lend support.

Thank you Sarah for sharing your thoughts on how even as the Savior, who is perfect, suffered in the Garden, He asked that His burden might be lifted from him. It is one more way for me to find comfort in the Savior and gives me strength. Sometimes it is hard not to beat myself up because I feel that by asking for the burden to be lifted, I am asking if I can just give up. I need to remember that what I'm asking for is comfort and the ability to bear my burdens. And there is no reason to feel guilty about that!

It is interesting how 'weak' I have felt lately. I have never thought about it in a way where I tell myself that I am not weak but that the trial may just be maxing out my strength. When I look at it that way I have a greater desire to build up more strength to make it through. And with that comes hope, which I have to cling to when things are hard.

I am so blessed to have you wonderful people to share in my trials. I do feel strength from you. I feel your prayers and I see God answer them in my life all the time. I have had such sweet blessings this week that I can't ignore! The little miracles were most definitely prayed here. Even in the midst of what seems like the hardest time I've ever had, I have seen the little miracles. I will have to share them sometime but for now just know that I am blessed by your prayers and faith. Thank you for having some on my behalf, when I had none left.

Burned Out

2011-09-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

I want to say in advanced that I know this post will sound like it is completely opposite from my last one. That's because it is, and this is my life right now. So just bare with a little complaining from me for once. It will help for me to know that I told the world how I feel rather than wish that others could be a little more sensitive to me but not knowing how to tell them that.

I know that it is really very normal for couples to get burned out about adoption, IVF, treatments and the such... But I seem to be at an all time low! I feel like it doesn't matter what we try, it doesn't work. I'm almost ready to throw in the towel and say, "Ok Heavenly Father, I suppose we are just not supposed to have kids in this life. Let me start working on being ok with that now."

Of course I know that I NEED to keep having faith. I NEED to be patient. I NEED to be positive. It's hard! I do have faith, I try to be patient, and I'm always looking for the positive in our situations. I just need one moment of weakness to say that I'm starting to get tired of being and doing all of those things! I NEED help! That's what I need. I need to find hope in other peoples stories and experiences. I need to feel like everything is not about 'baby this or baby that'. I need my friends and family to realize that yes I am learning and growing from my experiences, yes I feel good about the things I have learned, but my arms still ache for a baby. It is not easy for me to watch the thing I want most pass me by, while this very thing seems to bless the lives of everyone else. I'd like for others to think about that when it looks like everything is just fine with me and I've got a brave face on! I know this sounds awfully selfish, but it would help so very much.

Ok, with that off of my chest I feel better. I do have faith that I will be a mother. It is one of my greatest desires and I know it will be fulfilled one day. I'm so grateful for all of you that are mindful of my situation and lend me support. I'm especially grateful for all of my cute little students!! I feel immense love from them when I see them at church, around town or at the football game :). So I'm glad that I can fill up the little space in my heart with them for now. Some days it is hard to be reminded that my little girl or boy should be sitting in on my classes with me learning right along with everyone else! Hopefully that will be the case someday.

For now I will do my best to be grateful for everything going on in my life! For how busy it is, which helps me to focus my time on others rather than myself. For Doug's love and support, even while he is going through the same experiences. And especially for my Savior and the knowledge that He knows what I am going through. So hopefully with that I can keep my flame going. Help me add to the fuel so that I don't get burned out. If nothing else I will scrape through this experience with the flame still going even if it is a little smaller and weaker.

Something I Need to Write Down

2011-08-04T15:43:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer: This post is super long and gets kind of personal so....if you really aren't that interested, don't care or don't have time, don't worry about it. It's more for me than anyone else anyways : )

This is hard for me to put down. It makes it seem too real....or more than I should be able to handle. I don't want to dwell on it, and I'm certainly not seeking pity, but I've seen huge blessings through it all and I need to write it down. Since this is my journal of sorts, I know that I will want to go back and read it. And yes I do need my friends and family to know me a little more, cause I do need their support, so here goes.

Doug and I have been on the adoption list for almost 10 months now. It seems like forever, yet it has gone so fast. In about March we kept feeling like our family needed to start now! It was an urgent feeling. A feeling that kept me thinking that there was something specific we were supposed to be doing. I wondered if we needed to look at another adoption agency. One that placed more babies, more quickly. So I began looking around.

Every agency I looked at felt wrong. I wanted them to be right because that meant that I didn't have to wait anymore. That I could end up with a baby in a month to 6 months. But those thoughts were purely selfish and full of impatience. I knew in my heart that none of them felt right. We finally found a christian based agency that was much more affordable and I loved it! I felt so good about it!! The only catch was they only accepted 10 to 15 applicants a month. Over 200 people applied every month! So I just thought well if this is right, we have to apply and it will work out.

I applied and went crazy waiting for 2 weeks to hear if we had been accepted. Finally I got an e-mail letting us know that they didn't have a spot for us at that time but we could wait 6 months and apply again. It was hard to feel like we needed to be doing something but had no idea what on earth we needed to do! Adoption was obviously not working out for us in the time frame I felt so strongly about. We decided to pray about all of our options again, which made me feel like we were back at square one except for 3 1/2 years later!

Doug had talked about In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) a lot when we first started talking about our options. I was always too scared to consider it. Too scared of what would happen if it didn't work. What would happen to me emotionally? What about our finances? It would just seem too final if it didn't work! I didn't think I could handle that!! So when he brought it up again, I was surprised to feel more open to it, even hopeful by it. We prayed and prayed about it. And finally felt 100% that it was the right thing for us to try at that time in our lives! I made an appointment with a clinic in Salt Lake and felt happier and more hopeful than I had in a long time! My life felt at peace. We had a plan and it felt so right!

They say that when you get comfortable Heavenly Father has to stir things up a little so you won't get too comfortable and stop learning things. Well that is for sure! 2 days after I made an appointment my caseworker called. Wouldn't you know it! There was a birthmom interested in us with about 5 other couples. She wasn't picking us for sure but she wanted to e-mail us. I was so confused! I look back now and know this was a trial of our faith. A stumbling block to strengthen our faith in our confirmation of what was right.

For days I struggled wondering what this all was supposed to mean! Were we really that bad at following the spirit? Was Heavenly Father throwing adoption in our faces because that's what He told us to do in the first place? What did this birthmom's interest mean???? I was a mess for a few days! I couldn't sleep, I was horrible for conversation because I let this dilemma consume every second of every day!

I prayed for guidance and comfort. For the littlest peace of mind so that I could see our situation clearly. Heavenly Father is very good to us! I instantly felt my mind clear so that I could have a real clear thought process. We had received confirmation to go ahead with IVF. It was strong and true a few days ago. I still felt that confirmation towards IVF, while thinking about adoption and the birthmother filled me with confusion. We didn't even know if this birthmother was really interested in us.

And in the middle of thinking all of this the light bulb flickered on. I am grateful for the inspiration of the Spirit while you are going through a trial. I had a moment of pure understanding. As we go through making a decision, faith isn't only exercised in receiving the answer. We had to exercise faith in following through with that answer. Heavenly Father will continue to try our faith, even after we have acted upon the answer received. I decided right then and there that we knew IVF was the right choice for us. If it didn't work it was still the right choice for us. I couldn't look back on it and say 'Oh we shouldn't have done that! It was a waste of our time and money! or Maybe we just didn't really know and were hoping this was the right answer for us.' I'm so grateful for this opportunity to learn this hard lesson! It made it so easy to go forward with faith from that time on. We were ok with our choice no matter what the outcome was.

So I was at peace. We discussed the fact that the birthmom looking at us had so many wonderful choices in adoptive couples. We needed to leave her out of our thoughts and go forward. And we did! Everything happened so quickly. We had a phone consultation on a Tuesday and then started meds on the following Friday. My wonderful bosses gave me the two weeks off I needed so I could stay in Salt Lake and be monitored. My beautiful, amazing mother came and stayed with me in Salt Lake while Doug got things done at home. And the whole time I was happy, at peace, and 100% positive! This was our answer and everything had to work out. I just knew it!

Things went so well during the whole procedure. We were able to get 16 eggs (wow!), 9 fertilized and we had 5 or 6 that were very good to choose from. We picked two 'beautiful' embryos and had the transfer done. The only time I had an emotional crisis was when a teenager backed into our parked car the day before our embryo transfer! We felt so excited and couldn't wait for our positive pregnancy test.

After the transfer we headed home and I took it easy for the two week wait. I let everyone lift everything for me. I didn't exert myself and I just couldn't help sitting there planning and thinking what things would be like. At that point we were expecting in my mind. That baby was real to me!

5 days before our blood test was scheduled I started to spot. It was the first time I worried. The first time I thought that it possibly didn't work. The nurses reassured me that it was completely normal but, I think I knew deep down that it hadn't worked. It was hard and a complete surprise! We had felt so strongly that IVF was the right choice, and if it was the right choice, well then it was supposed to work. Right? I tried to stay positive and hopeful and wait until I had a blood test to confirm one way or another. But at the same time I prepared myself for the thought that it hadn't worked. I am so grateful for this time I had to process it before it was a for sure negative. I felt comfort from the Lord and my husband that no matter what happened, it would be ok. I knew that it was the right thing from the beginning and that I needed to continue to exercise my faith.

Finally 3 days later I got a full flow and had my answer. I went in for the blood test as scheduled and received the negative result. Honestly it was so hard but almost a relief to let go of the hope that it still worked, when I knew deep down it hadn't. We don't know why it didn't work when it seemed like it couldn't have gone better. But we don't question the fact that we tried it. Maybe it was so we could learn how to have complete faith, even after things didn't work out the way we wanted them to. We still have that faith and we aren't giving up hope. We have some frozen embryos we might try in the future. And as always we are so hopeful for adoption. Oh and the birthmom interested in us never e-mailed. She ended up picking someone else before she contacted us.

I look back and feel so blessed to have had complete faith in something that didn't turn out the way we had hoped! I am grateful for the things I learned through this experience that apply to every aspect of my life! And I'm extremely grateful for the people who were there to love and support us. Honestly it is probably one of the hardest things we've gone through and yet we are so ok. We are sad about it, it is hard, but at the same time we can only change how we react to it and deal with it. I wake up and I think today is a good day! I have a lot to look forward to and I really am happy right now!

I am also grateful for the windows that open as doors are shut. I have been able to get certified and start a piano program geared toward teaching 4 and 5 year olds called Let's Play Music. It is just perfect for me and has given me something to focus a lot of time and energy on. It is the biggest financial blessing as well!! I have 5 classes filled!!! That means 35 little cuties that I get to interact with, love, and teach. It also means we will have the financial means to continue doing what we need to to start our family. This last week I realized I hadn't even thought about the 'dreaded failed IVF'.

Not even once : ).

So though it is hard and we still aren't expecting that baby we desire so much, I really am at peace. It might be hard to understand how. It really doesn't seem like I should be ok, but with the Lord's help and an eternal perspective everything is OK! So don't call me super strong or so amazing or put me in an awesome light. Because it's not me, it's my Heavenly Father and the Atonement of Jesus Christ. With them we can really do anything.

Do we still really really want a baby? You better believe it! More than we've ever wanted anything in the world! But we can wait a little longer. So sorry this was longwinded and drawn out but I needed to write this down and let you all know that we are very much ok.

.....lately....

2011-05-11T08:06:00.000-07:00

Its been one of those days.....weeks....months..... I just can't seem to find the time for anything! I have several posts that I have started and never finished. Our poor house needs a good cleaning...I'm happy when I'm able to just do the dishes. And all of a sudden school is almost over which means Summer is coming with all of its plans and craziness! I'm hoping I'll survive it all!!

We are doing well though, life is good, Burley makes me smile everyday, and Doug loves me. So while it may seem to you all that I have dropped off the face of the earth....I'm still here. I've just had to check out for a while and focus on the most simple and important things. Sorry if it seems I avoid, ignore, or don't go out of my way to talk or see any of my family or friends! I hope you will bare with me a little longer and I promise I will bounce back to my old normal self!

My New Job....Well, My OLD New Job

2011-02-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

The Lord is very mindful of us!! I have been reminded of this over and over in the last couple of months. As you all know we are planning to adopt and have been finding was to save and raise money for it. Doug and I had been talking for a while about me finding another job that I could do along with teaching piano. We bounced a few ideas around but nothing really ever seemed to fit or even work with my schedule. And thats when the miracle happened.

We got home one night and had a message on our phone from someone in our ward. He owns a donut shop that recently opened in town. He was calling to ask Doug about any families in the ward who were out of work and might need a job. Doug had just gotten released from Elders Quorum President a few weeks before. We didn't know if this Brother knew he had been released. So Doug called him back and talked to him about how he was no longer the President but could think of a few people in the ward he could contact.

As they were talking I heard Doug say, "Well my wife might actually be interested in that position. I mean I don't want to speak for her but that is something that may actually fit with her schedule. And I don't want to take the job from another family in need, but if you wouldn't mind keeping her in mind as a possibility..." They talked for a while longer and as soon as he got off the phone I asked him what that was all about. He told me that they had a baking position that was open and the hours would be from 2 am to 7 or 9ish for about 3 days a week. That it wasn't a full time job but they definitely wanted to see my resume and interview me the next day at 8 am.

I went and talked with them and found out more about the job. It was more than I could have ever hoped for!! It wasn't a full time job because they don't have the ability to offer benefits yet so it is a max 35 hour/week job (pretty much full time). It would be 3 days a week at 2 am and then 3 days a week at 6 am. It worked perfectly with my schedule, and they are the most awesome people!! I left the interview with it at, "Think about it, talk to your husband, and if it will work for you call me sometime tomorrow and we will get started." Of course 2 am isn't the most lovely time to get up : ), but it is perfect with my schedule of teaching piano lessons in the afternoon. Heavenly Father dropped the answer to our prayers in our laps!!

So Doug had talked to him on Tuesday, Wednesday I interviewed with them, Thursday we officially got the job, and Friday I went in to start being trained. It was a miracle. This all happened the week before our Christmas Benefit Concert. It was an answer to our prayers!

I have been working for over a month now and it is really an awesome job. The people I work with are amazing and the best bosses I could ask for. I actually enjoy my 2 am shifts! It's when I get to talk with them and learn more about them and the manager. The manager and his wife just finalized their 2nd adoption, this one through the foster care system. Our Heavenly Father blessed us again by putting someone in our life that has direct experience with what we are going through. I have learned a lot from them and been blessed to learn more about different options in adoption.

I am just so grateful to my Heavenly Father for this immense blessing. We are having so many of our needs met through the people I work with and the financial stability the job gives us. I just kept wondering how can we ask our Father in Heaven to bless us with a child through adoption when we aren't financially ready to pay for the fees involved. I knew adoption was the answer for us, but I couldn't help asking "How?" over and over. I know when our Heavenly Father gives us an answer that doesn't seem possible, He will provide a way if we are willing. It would have been really easy to say, "2 am?!!? Are you crazy? That is so not worth it." But it is worth it and I am so thankful to my Heavenly Father for this blessing. I'm thankful to the owners for following the spirit and calling Doug even though they knew he had been released. I'm thankful to the manager for sharing his thoughts and experiences with me so that I can be more prepared for our child to enter our lives. And I'm grateful to my Husband for his love and support in this job. For dealing with me being gone sometimes when he gets up, and going to bed at 8 (or earlier) so I can get up. Well I had to write about this and my feelings, more for myself than anyone else. So come try some donuts at Paradise Donuts in Rexburg. They are the best donuts around!!

Christmas Benefit Concert

2010-12-15T13:19:00.000-08:00

December 22nd we are holding a Christmas Concert to raise money for Adoption and an awesome organization called The Goodfellows! They help those in need locally and at this time of year they are helping make sure families in need are receiving Christmas Gifts.

It will be a wonderful night filled with music and the spirit of Christmas. We will be featuring several different local artists and groups including:

Serendipity (Shauna Williams, Jennie Zundel, & Coleen Crystal)

BYU-I Faculty Barbershop Quartet

The Rick Hansen Family

Ballet Arts and more...

Join us on this special night!!

Christmas Is....

December 22nd @ 7:00 pm

in the Madison High Performing Arts Center

Tickets are $3 or $10 for a family

All proceeds will go to The Goodfellows and Doug & Jessica Hansen's Adoption.

Our Thanksgiving Adventure

2010-12-03T13:26:00.000-08:00

So this year was Thanksgiving with my family. No big deal right? Travel for about 9 hours and spend the holiday in wonderful weather! Oh how wrong I was! It was a storm from Rexburg to St. George!! It took us about 14 hours to get down there (not including the few hours we stopped and slept). The roads were awful and it didn't help that Burley is terrified of the rumble strip on the side of the roads. When there is snow and ice all over the road its like you are driving on a constant rumble strip. He shook, whined and about hyperventilated most of the time. I gave him some benadryl just to help him be drowsy and it helped a little but he never went to sleep, poor guy.

Once we got there our holiday was fabulous! We played games with family, ate amazing food, and visited. I love when we all get a holiday off to just spend time together! Instead of hitting the stores on Black Friday my dad drove us out to the Grand Canyon. We had never really been before so it was amazing! Heres a few pictures.

Now this drive was extremely bumpy and lurchy, but this time Burley just hunkered down and went to sleep. I don't understand him at all!! He was seriously bouncing off of my lap most of the way and yet he still slept!

We took a good family picture with who was able to be there.

We got to skype with Tyler and Janae and Baby Gavin, who was only 4 days old. He is so so cute! Here are a few pictures of him and their cute Christmas picture.

It took about 13 hours to get home because we drove in a storm again, all the way from Cedar to Pocatello. Not the most fun drive, but at least Burley slept about 90% of the time! We decided next time we are flying!!

Halloween

2010-12-03T13:20:00.000-08:00

Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. Not because I like to be scared. Most definitely not because I like to be scared! Just ask Doug if he will ever be taking me to the Haunted Mill again. I love it because of the fall colors, the pumpkin carving, dressing up and seeing all of the cute little kids. Not to mention the candy! Heres a few pictures of some of my favorite decorations I put up!

So this year Doug and I dressed up as 'The Guitar Hero' and a singer in the band. I think we pulled off 80s punk rock. Pretty good huh? I was tempted to give Burley a mohawk and spray it red or something, but I didn't want to torture him that much. So we made him a ghost costume. He's probably the cutest ghost I've ever seen!

We carved pumpkins, played in leaves, and had a fun Halloween dinner. We also enjoyed the Halloween concert. They are so fun and entertaining! So that was our fun holiday!

Our Hiking Experiences

2010-12-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

This summer we were able to go on some really fun hikes! I've already wrote about our hiking with Brittany in Teton Canyon and climbing Table rock with my dad. But I'll include some of those pictures anyways!

#1 - Our first hike of the summer on the Huckleberry Trail with Burley. We kept him on a leash and it was a good thing too! The trail maintainer/ranger guy came down the trail with a backpack on and an ax in his hand. Burley went crazy barking and growling!! I think he was ready to protect us from the 'big animal' coming towards us.

#2- Teton Canyon hiking with my sister Brittany. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery! There were waterfalls everywhere and everything was so green. We had a picnic by the river and enjoyed the great weather.

#3- Table Rock with my dad. It was an awesome hike!! The weather was perfect and there was hardly any wind on the top of table rock. It's a hike we have to do every year.

#4- Pack Saddle Lake hike. Doug was getting ready for school to start and just had to have another day outdoors befor that happened. So we planned a picnic, grabbed our coats and drove out towards Driggs. I had never been to Pack Saddle Lake before and so I was excited. We decided to let Burley off of the leash to see how he would do. He was awesome!! He never tried going off the trail and would run ahead then turn and wait for us.

This is what we found when we got there! It was just beautiful!!

There was a rope swing hooked up too! Of course we had to swing on it and I'm sure if it had been 20 degrees warmer we would have just let go and jumped in the water. It was an unusually cold day even though it was sunny and beautiful.

#5 - Hiking around Cave Falls and to the Bechler River. The Saturday after my birthday we went out to see the collapsed cave at Cave Falls. Again we packed a lunch and brought Burley along. We were very glad that Burley never jumped in the river.

The Falls were beautiful but the fall time colors were even more amazing!! Everything was yellow, orange, and red!

We weren't really planning to hike, but we just couldn't resist the beauty surrounding us so we jumped on a trail that followed the river. After a while the trail took us a little away from the river and I suggested we turn back. Of course Doug being who he is said, 'Lets just go a little bit farther. Then we can have lunch and turn around. I just want to see what's up around that corner.' And boy I'm glad we did just see what was around the corner!

#6- Backpacking from Bechler River Ranger Station to Old Faithful. Ok so I'd never been backpacking before in my life....until harvest vacation this year. Doug got me all excited to hike to Old Faithful so I insisted we still do it, even though the weather might not be amazing the whole time. So we rented some gear from BYUI and bought our freeze dried meals. It didn't really cross my mind how far 30 miles really is, especially when you are carrying a pack!

We did it in 3 days and it was awesome! Yes I was sore when we got done. I hobbled around on sore feet for a few days and had some knots in my shoulders and back. But I would do it again in a heartbeat!!! I loved being out alone with Doug and in a place you could only get to by hiking.

The first day was beautiful! It was sunny and the hiking was easy. We went across these huge meadows. I'm glad it wasn't really wet other wise we would have been hiking in a lot of mud. We had to cross the river 3 times. It was pretty freezing and up to my mid-thighs! Thank goodness we brought our chacos!

Just after the last river ford we found our first camping site. We got our tent set up and dinner made just before the clouds gathered and it started to sprinkle. We tied our food up on the bear pole and snuggled in for the night.

Unfortunately it rained all night long and continued in the morning! So we had to pack up a wet tent and it was quite chilly. We got going and started up the first real climb. We passed waterfall after waterfall! It was beautiful even in the rain. We also passed a lot of thermal areas that were steaming in the cold weather.

When we got up on the ridge passed three rivers junction, it was like we were just up in a cloud! We couldn't really see off the side of the ridge or the mountains surrounding us. It was amazing! It began snowing where we were supposed to camp up at the top of the mountain....so we decided to come down the other side and camp in a lower campground. Luckily that campground wasn't already taken by anyone.

And our last morning we were trudging along (me in front) when around the bend came a BIG buffalo. I gasped and jumped off the trail and Doug didn't know what to think at first. Once he realized it wasn't a bear he was happy! We grabbed a few pictures while he walked past us like we weren't even there. Our one and only wildlife encounter on this trip.

This picture doesn't do him justice!

Lone Star Gyser

At the end-Yes our smiles look a little strained and I'm standing like my feet are killing me, well because they were!

Our Adoption Profile!

2010-11-29T14:12:00.000-08:00

Our adoption profile is finally up and available on the LDS Family Services Website!! Yay!! This is our direct agency profile where birthmoms will be able to view our information and have the ability to choose us as their adoptive couple. So here is the link.

https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/25055456/ourMessage.jsf

I'm also attaching this link to my adoption blog so it is connected to the information I have already passed around to friends and family. Hopefully we will meet our baby soon!

September...

2010-11-02T10:00:00.000-07:00

Well we started off September by having a fun little Hansen family get together. We traveled to Salt Lake to see 'The Lion King' and went to This is the Place.

The Lion King was just as wonderful the 2nd time seeing it as it was the first. I think our camera was MIA again! Sorry! I know someone got pictures of us there but I'm not sure who. It was so fun though going to the Capitol Theater to see the show. It was way smaller than the theater we went to in LA and so I felt like we could really see what was happening. It was so much fun especially with the nieces and nephews drinking in the show.

The next day we went to the pioneer monument, This is the Place. It was fun and interesting to see all of the pioneer activities they had. It was almost like a mini Nauvoo experience. We watched basket weaving, made beaded bracelets, visited the printing press and rode the train. It was a pretty warm day and we were able to cool our feet off while we panned for gold. That was a lot of fun! I loved seeing the quilt display they had in one of the buildings. They had quilts from the late 1800s and it was just amazing.

Doug and I at the Monument.

Riding the horses!

Our cute nephew waiting so patiently for lunch.

Digging for beads to make our bracelets.

The Blacksmiths! It was awesome to see them work and some of the things they had made.

Later in September we celebrated my birthday! It was on a farmers market day so I ended up setting up my stuff. My neighbor was so kind to sell it for me that day. Doug walked me down the street a little and surprised me with beautiful roses! We went to dinner and a little bit of the homecoming football game. Then we just went and played mario kart together! It was so much fun to just spend time together, I loved it. Oh and Doug got me this handmade pottery cookie jar!

Then the Hansen family celebrated with me after Sunday dinner. Everyone was so sweet with their gifts and birthday wishes. Thanks for an awesome birthday!

August went in a blur...

2010-11-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

August was filled with more fun...

We enjoyed the Boyer Reunion here in Rexburg. I enjoyed sleeping in my bed while still being able to show up early and eat food. We were pretty spoiled this reunion. We loved seeing all of the Boyer aunts, uncles, cousins, and babies. The activities, music, dancing, and church were all wonderful like always.

Doug and I painted Grandma Hansen's house. This was fun but at the same time not so fun. I loved spending the time with my husband but it was just flat out hard work. We did work hard though and it turned out looking just beautiful. From doing that we got to paint Aunt Sharlenes house which was once again fun but not. No really we enjoyed ourselves and I love the sense of accomplishment when you get done with a hard project.

We went waterskiing a couple times with Bryant, Becca and Craig, and Dallin and the kids. It was fun and beautiful. Doug talked me into water skiing and I crashed hard like usual. It's one of the many talents that I have not been blessed with. I try though. I have more fun watching Doug do the thing he absolutely loves.

Doug and his brothers went on Attempt # 2 to conquer The Grand. Sadly the weather had other thoughts and they had to turn around and come back before they were up it. Us women at home just chewed our nails and fretted around the house as we watched the black clouds gather. We were very happy to see our men return home safely. So next year I'm already planning for Attempt # 3. Hopefully it will be a success.

We filled our Fridays with working at the Farmers Market. It has turned out to be a great way to advertise for my quilting/sewing projects. I made a huge king sized Minkee quilt as a custom order and a crib set. Both were started and finished in August so I was busy! It was easier to work when Doug started school and I wasn't so tempted to spend all of my time playing!

School started and so did my daily visit to help with the 5th graders. I have learned just how hard it is to teach in a class room setting and am so grateful that I am a one on one piano teacher! Doug has so many 5th graders that he can't fit them all in one room. So I get to take half of them on occasion, and attempt to teach them how to play the violin, viola, cello or bass. I love the days I just get to tune and walk around fixing positions or answering questions!! But I am learning a lot!

And that about sums up our August. We spent time outside whenever we could and enjoyed a wonderful summer.

The Hansen Family Reunion

2010-11-02T09:30:00.000-07:00

Right after my parents left we had an official immediate family Hansen Reunion. We almost had everyone there! Richelle and Bryce weren't able to come with their boys, and they were very missed. We decided that since everyone is married and starting to have kids it was time to have our own reunions.

Doug and I volunteered to be the first couple in charge which was a little bit of a chore but so much fun. With everyones help it turned out great! We found a cabin in Island Park that had a wonderful kitchen and open living room. It was a great size for our little family! It could've used 2 bathrooms but it worked : ). There was a tree swing out front, fire pit out back and even a hot tub on the deck.

We had a great talent/skit night the first night! Everyone participated and it turned out to be a fun and laughter filled evening. Here's the pictures I got before my camera died.

Throughout the course of the reunion we had a horse shoes tournament. I think this was everyones favorite activity. I don't remember who won! But thats not the important thing right?

We also played plenty of games and ate plenty of treats, thanks to my wonderful sister-in-laws culinary expertise. Everyone pitched in with food and cooking meals. We definitely had more than enough to eat over the weekend.

We visited Big Springs to see all the big fish, which turned out weren't so many or so big, but it was fun! It's a good thing we decided to visit because just as we were leaving 3 moose came running out of the woods to cool off in the spring. There was a mommy, daddy, and baby. It was an awesome, if not terrifying, thing to see.

We played Minute-To-Win-It my way. It was a lot of fun! It's crazy how hard some of those games can be. But we got a lot of practice after all was said and done.

I got to dutch oven! Which I love! And my new favorite crisp/cobbler is Apple-Rhubarb crisp. It was fabulous, not to brag, and definitely one I will be making again. We also got to have s'mores and sing campfire songs.

And another favorite, which will always be, was our sunday testimony meeting. I am always amazed at the wonderful people I am blessed to have surrounding me. We were spiritually uplifted and grew together as a family.

All in all I think we can stamp the Reunion as a SUCESS. We kind of had another mini-reunion over labor day so stay tuned for more info on that...

Adoption!!

2010-10-15T00:13:00.000-07:00

Hey everyone! We are planning to adopt and so very excited about it!! We are still waiting to be approved but would like to get our information out there. Let your friends and family know and help spread the word around. Come see our adoption blog at:

dougandjessadopt.blogspot.com

We will have buttons and links to our profile in the near future. I'll let you know when our profile at lds family services is available. And if you wouldn't mind grabbing our adoption button that would be great!! Help us get the word out!

To make the button on your blog: 1st copy the code in the drop down box on under the button on my blog - on your blog go to customize/design - then page elements - add an html/java script gadget and paste the code that you find in the box under my button! Thats it!

Thanks!

July Continued.....Dad and Table Rock

2010-09-30T19:56:00.000-07:00

The same week of our anniversary my dad came to visit. He flew in on the weekend, like Brittany did. We had so much fun during his visit. It was the most time he has been able to spend with us at our home since we have been married. We loved it. We were able to play some games, spend time at the Farmers Market, hike and visit. I think we filled up the weekend pretty well.

Our big activity was hiking table rock. On our way up the road we saw a young bull moose. It looked pretty awesome in the morning sun with dust hanging in the air from the road. It was the second moose I've seen but I didn't have the camera out.

We went up the Huckleberry trail and back down the same way. My dad said he wanted to go the pretty way and since we killed ourselves going down the face last time we decided to go up and down the long way. It took a long time but was worth it. We got beautiful pictures too! My dad kept wondering if the hike was worth it but in the end he agreed it was. I'm still not sure crossing the river twice, taking our shoes off, and almost freezing my feet off in the water was worth it : ). I just don't want to do that again! we will go later in the season next time.

Everything was so green it was just beautiful. This is the beginning of Huckleberry Trail.

Here was our destination and hiding behind it is The Grand. We passed some beautiful waterfalls on the way up.

We ate our lunch on the top of table rock, while staring at the grand. It was a beautiful sight and the weather was perfect.

On our way down we ate 'snow' for water, crossed the river again, decided to soak our shoes, and dad fell in! It was pretty funny! I felt bad for my dad though when we got done. He was supposed to go on a backpacking trip with Tyler and Janae a few days later! He had pretty sore legs for the rest of the weekend.

My mom met up with us to take my dad to Spokane to see Tyler and Janae. She had been off traveling with her sisters for their Sister's Retreat. She got to spend a day with us, which was wonderful. We went out to dinner played games and got to visit. I am so glad that they took time to come and see us even with how busy their schedules were. It was too much fun!

July Continued...Anniversary and Birthday

2010-08-23T22:28:00.000-07:00

After Brittany left we celebrated our anniversary and Burley's birthday, which happens to fall on the same day. We didn't do anything too fancy. Just dinner and hanging out with Burley but it was so much fun! After 3 years we are more in love and happy than I could have ever imagined being. After seeing some friends and family do some husband posts I thought it was about time for me to do one! So here goes...

Ten Things I Just LOVE About My Husband:

1 - He is the perfect person to help balance my crazy personality. When I freak out he is there to calm me down, when I'm sad he makes me laugh and together we are just perfect!

2 - He has the greatest sense of humor! Its what attracted me to him in the beginning. We both just get it.

3 - I just have to smile at the way the talks to our dog. The way he so patiently explains what a horse is or how to read words...I can just see his fatherly instincts in little moments like that. (yes Burley is more like a person than a dog....to us anyways)

4 - I love love love the way he can make any words fit into the melodies of classical songs or any songs for that matter. Most of the words have something to do with how Burley is a good dog or is cute, or how mommy has lost her mind or is crazy : ).

5 - He is the master of made up words that rhyme. Another thing that makes me smile. Again these words have become about Burley more and more.

6 - The fact that he loves to be outside doing something rather than sitting around. He finds beauty in the world and to him thats the perfect reason to climb a mountain, hike, camp, rock climb, waterski, cross country ski etc.

7 - I love that he does what he loves. He didn't choose to be a teacher because we would make a million dollars. He honestly loves music and teaching kids. I sleep good knowing that he is happy when he goes to work and that he will come home just as happy.

8 - He is 100% supportive of me and my crazy endeavors. He helps me when I need help, even if it is picking out fabric or something silly like that. I feel like I am able to do things that fulfill my creative needs, and he will always be encouraging and supportive.

9 - He is such a spiritual strength. He serves in his callings so diligently, honors his priesthood, and leads our family. His example helps me to become a better person. I love that he has lived life the right way and is helping me to continue doing the right things so we will be able to be together forever!

10 - He loves me! I love that I can see how he loves me in how he treats me, talks to me, and serves me. All of those little things are huge to me! I love that he loves me : )!

Love You Doug!

Ok and for Burley's Birthday...Lets see if this video will work.

If the video stops but the sound keeps going, just pause it and drag the little dot a little and it should catch back up. Finally a video with Burley doing some of his tricks.

A Very Eventful July

2010-08-23T21:54:00.000-07:00

After we had a wonderful 4th, July just blew by. Doug and I took a week and painted the outside of Grandma Hansen's house. It was long hard work. And it seriously took a week! I kept teaching lessons through the summer so we were busy morning till night. The house looks awesome though and really needed the paint job.

My sister, Brittany, came up the weekend after that. It was so much fun to have her! We got to spend time playing games, hiking, talking and just hanging out. Her friend Amanda came down Saturday and we all went rock climbing out at Hiese. Of course you cant go out to Hiese without eating Big Jud's! We had a blast!

Me & my Sis hiking in Teton Canyon. I just love the model look Britt : ). I'm not sure she knew I was taking the picture.

Yes she is beautiful!

Not only are the girls beautiful but the scenery was just breathtaking.

And Brittany's first attempt at out door rock climbing. I think she did pretty good eh? It looks so tall in a picture.

Burley's attempt at rock climbing. That's his 'Mom what the heck are you trying to do to me!?' look.

And the good lookin hubby...what else is there to say...: )

Oh yes I forgot, there is more to say. I must record the battle between Doug and The Horse Fly. As we were walking through the brush and flowers in the canyon, breathing in the fresh mountain air, flies buzzed in and out of our path. I wasn't too concerned about them, with a quick swat they flew away. That is until I noticed a particular fly landing on Doug's pack.

This was no ordinary fly. It was a horse fly. It was trying to hitch a ride and give his wings a rest I guess. I told Doug there was a fly on him and he swatted at it, but the fly persisted. It landed on his arms, his pants, his pack, his pants, his pants (well a particular area of his pants if you get what I mean). It just wouldn't let up despite the constant swatting. Thats when Doug's 'fly dance' (I'm going to call it that) began.

Now in order to do the 'fly dance' you must first grab a long weed or grass out of the ground for swatting. Then proceed to turn in circles, stamp your feet being sure to raise your knees high, and swat at your backside as quickly and as many times as possible. It helps to yell things like "Fly!! Go away Fly!!"...."Stupid thing!!"......"Get off me or your gonna die!!"...."Leave me alone!!" and other loud and threatening statements.

Mind you if you do the 'fly dance' for more than 10 minutes.....it's probably not working. : ) Brittany and I had the laugh of the century in the middle of the trail in Teton Canyon. It was one of those laughs that 'hurts so bad you just want to stop laughing, but you can't help yourself' laughs. I wish Brittany would have recorded it on her camera but maybe it was a 'you had to be there thing' I don't know. I just know I can't think about it without laughing. And yes it went on for at least 10 minutes maybe more.

4th of July

2010-08-04T11:39:00.000-07:00

The 4th of July was fun and pretty much the traditional 4th. Sorry no pictures : (. We started the day with the parade. We went with Doug's Dad, Dallin & Leslie, and their kids. We decided to bring Burley and see how he did. He was actually great! Besides trying to steal the kids candy and wanting to say hi to the millions of people there, he was content to sit and watch the parade.

After the parade we went of to Dallin & Leslie's house for a quick lunch bbq (which was fabulous) and then all went to see Toy Story 3. We loved the movie and it was nice to be able to relax for a couple hours. We had planned to go rock climbing but our poor nephew fell and broke his arm a few days before the 4th. So a movie was a great alternative.

We took a quick nap and then headed out for the Maleluca Freedom Celebration. Doug, his Dad, and brothers usually play in the orchestra, which gets us a free meal and great seats for the firework show. After eating we laid our quilts down to enjoy (with a few laughs here and there) the patriotic program : ). And of course after the program we watched the most spectacular firework show I've ever seen. It was amazing and beautiful!

On the following Monday we went again over to Dallin and Leslie's to enjoy some home fireworks! It was fun to watch the grown men act like little boys and my niece and nephew doing sparklers and snaps. All in all we had a wonderful holiday filled with family and fun!

Catching Up Continued...

2010-07-29T10:21:00.000-07:00

Ok I've decided I just need to make time to write this stuff down before I forget it all!!!

After our fun time with my family in Nevada. We met the Orchestra trip buses on their way to California. They had a really rough night with multiple break downs! Lets just say they were supposed to come pick us up around 2 or 3 in the morning and we got a wonderful night of sleep. They didn't even get to Logandale until around 9 in the morning. Poor bus riders! And then we still had another 6 hours to Anaheim!

We made it to California though and checked into our hotel. We enjoyed 3 days in Disneyland and California Adventure, which is the way to do it! Plus Mom Hansen's foot was hurt so we got to push a wheel chair around and get to the front of almost every ride in Disneyland. Its wonderful to not feel rushed to get to every ride you want to go on. For the first time I felt like we could wander through shops, watch shows and even watch the parade if we wanted to! Here's our Disneyland/CA pictures.

The one character I got a picture with! : )

We got to go into the Lincoln Memorial thingy they have at Disneyland. That was the first time both Doug and I went. It was AWESOME! I didn't even know that was in Disneyland (I guess I've always been too focused on rides).

We ate down on the pier in CA, at the Sourdough Bread Bowl place! They were delicious, can't ya tell?

We got to go to Medieval Times and enjoy a fun show with good food.

Then we got to go to the San Diego Zoo! Which I loved! It was one of my favorite parts of the trip. I loved seeing all of the amazing animals.

Funny story about the Polar Bears. They weren't playful because it was time to eat. One bear just sat down and dug into the carrots, eating them right off the ground. The other bear had to hold the carrot between its paws and eat (like you see in the first picture). It would eat the carrot until it got down to its paws and toss the rest of the carrot. Then it would grab a new one and start all over again. It eventually had a little pile of carrots that were about half eaten because it wouldn't eat past where it was holding them with its paws. It thought it was kind of funny : ).

The giraffes were awesome! I like the little baby one laying down!! : ).

The elephants all did a little dance for us. The workers said they sway because they are anticipating the time of day where they get moved into their cleaning time or something like that. It was cool to see 4 or 5 elephants all swaying back and forth and flapping their ears. Each day they get a hose down and I think he said once or twice a week they get their feet worked on.

Haha this sloth was sleeping like this! Now when they say fall asleep anywhere they mean fall asleep anywhere! I would be afraid that I would relax too much and let go of the branch!

Peacocks were everywhere!! They would fly up and walk on the roofs of buildings or walk down the sidewalk. I think we saw 4 loose throughout the zoo. They sure are beautiful but man could they have a more annoying call?

After the Zoo we got to go see Broadway's The Lion King!!! I love, love, loved it! It was such an amazing production. I'm excited we get to go see it again in September with Doug's family. It is just so amazing how they transferred the story to the stage!

The Theater was amazing! I couldn't believe how those mirrors worked. They were at the perfect angle to make continuous triangles go on forever. It was beautiful. Thats the best I could do of the stage curtain before the show started. Anyhow, we enjoyed ourselves!

My parents watched Burley for us while we went and partied in California! Thank you, thank you! I think he had just as much fun as we did. Now we know that he would be perfectly content to adopt a new family : ). We were excited to see him and him us though so we felt happy that he still wanted us.

The buses again had trouble on the way home. We were so happy to be driving our own car. Those poor kids and Dad Hansen. Man they had it rough with those buses. It ended up being about a 24 hour drive down and a 24 hour drive back. But they were troopers and didn't complain. Besides that the trip was awesome! Thanks for letting us tag along Dad!

And that concludes our California portion of the trip!

Our Trip (Catching Up!)

2010-06-27T21:44:00.000-07:00

Warning!!!: very long post with pictures.

Ok so our summer has been super busy from the get-go! School got out for Doug a week early so we finished right before memorial weekend. We were able to go down to Utah to camp with my family on the traditional memorial camping trip. It was a lot of fun! As always we enjoyed great food, good company, and fun games. My brother was able to bring some friends and my sister as well. We had a lot of fun playing card games, bases, and sitting around the camp fire. Brittany made awesome coblers like always!

We brought Burley with us and after about .2 seconds he was the dirtiest dog he's ever been. It was so dusty and he turned back into a brown dog while we were there. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures (we were missing a memory card for our camera). We got to take him for some fun walks but I think he enjoyed playing with the Brady's Shih Tzus more! I've decided that he is the biggest tease too. He would go steal the other dogs toys and just taunt them with it. Set it down and wait for them to try to get it, then grab it and run away. He definitely doesn't know how to share haha! He had a blast but got tired of being cold at night and wondering why in the heck we weren't going to bed! It was pretty cute when he went up to the tent and started scratching and whining because he was ready to go to sleep.

After camping we got back in the car and drove down to Logandale to stay with my parents for a week. I love being back at home!! Even though its ridiculously hot outside and you start to feel a little cooped up, its just fun to be back in my house. We had fun playing games as always. I killed my mom at poker twice. She was so unlucky that night : ). I don't know how I did it but everytime she thought she had something good I shut her down with something better. I was very lucky. We played the Train game, ripple, and all sorts of other things with friends and family.

We all went to Risa's (sortof) graduation and found out the the sound system in the high school gym very lacking. Listening to muffled speakers for an hour and a half really starts to grate on your nerves. Brittany and I had fun watching Dad hold his hands in praying position the whole night. It didn't help that he looked like he had his hands wrapped and ready to box. He had carpal tunnel surgery on his hands while we were there. He had to hold them above his heart for like a week. I think the worst thing about it for him was what he couldn't bike for about a week! He is a biking machine! He has lost so much weight and loves it!

Doug and I took Burley to the Valley of Fire. It was awesome to see all of the beautiful rocks and petroglyphs. Burley didn't know what to think about the heat! He was excited to get out of the car and go on a walk, but after the first walk he was guzzling water from our water bottle. The second short walk he made it halfway down the trail and when we turned around to go back he started walking like a snail! He was so hot it was funny. Here are all of the pictures we took from visiting the valley of fire.

On the trail to Elephant Rock.

We made it to Elephant Rock! Burley was dying of the heat.

This is the trail to balancing rock. Its the one Burley started walking extra slow on. I wasn't sure he would make it back to the car.

The beginnings of a new archway (maybe:)

There are a ton of colors in the rocks. These pictures don't do them justice. Burley was posing so well though.

We got out and hiked around a little bit. After a little exploring we found this awesome hole. Burley liked looking up through it rather than looking down from above haha! He got a little nervous at the edge of some ledges.

It also worked out so well that we were able to go to my friend Ashly's wedding. It was such a beautiful day for her. Super busy but wonderful! We enjoyed waiting in the temple and watching her being sealed to such an awesome guy. I'm so proud of her for finding an awesome husband and making all the right choices to be sealed in the temple. The reception was just gorgeous!! I got to catch up with some friends and again eat some great food. Then they were off in a flurry of flower petals and popper confetti! She was a beautiful bride and I'm going to miss her till I can see her again, but she had a blast in the Bahamas and I'm sure I'm the last person on her mind : ).

I'll post another post with my california/disneyland trip on it.

The Fruits of My Labor

2010-05-15T16:46:00.000-07:00

I've finally had a chance to breath! Whew! I finished 4 quilts and 2 quilt kits in a week. It has been so crazy! Everything has seemed to be falling into place so that I can get a little exposure to my quilting business. Yes its falling, or rather crashing, into place.

I found out about the store Mutt n Jeff's and had a week to finish some quilts that I already had started. Right after those were done I found someone that would allow me to share their booth at the Farmers Market. Could that really have only been a week ago? Anyhow I was so happy to get into the market this year since the spots had all been filled up. Happy to get in? Yes! Happy to have a week to get some quilts ready? No.

I don't know how I did it but they were ready. Actually yes I do! Prayer! I prayed a lot sitting at my sewing machine this week and somehow Heavenly Father helped me do it! So if you are wondering what I got done come and see at my site. I'll give you a peek at my favorite one.

If you want to see all of the fruits of my labor you'll just have to jet on over to that other blog of mine! Oh and for the next two weeks only any quilt available online is 10% off!

Keep checking in for a free blog giveaway!

So Busy!

2010-05-10T21:46:00.000-07:00

I've been very bad at blogging and I will continue to be bad for at least the next week. Quilting has taken over for a little while. I'll let you know when I find my way out of all the fabric and thread : )...... if I ever find my way out.....I'm hoping.

Now Announcing....

2010-05-01T16:45:00.000-07:00

A Stitch A Day

Quilts by Jess

My quilting business is now open! Come see what I've got.

I also have my quilts in a store that is having their 'Grand Opening' next week. If you're out and about stop by and check it out.

Mutt n Jeff's Chotchkies

Grand Opening

May 6th 7th & 8th

10 AM - 6 PM

Accessorize

~ You ~ Your Home ~ Your Family ~

113 W Main St

Rigby, Idaho

Our Trip and Other Stuff : )

2010-04-16T08:25:00.000-07:00

We were able to take a trip for Doug's spring break for the first time! I wasn't in school so we were able to actually do something. We planned a trip up to Washington to visit my brother and his wife, and Doug's brother and their little family. It was so much fun, even if it was too short.

We went to Spokane first. My wonderful brother cooked wonderful food for us. Like he always does. We got to go on a hike in the beautiful hills, even though it was still freezing : ).

My brother took us to REI and we dreamed of everything we would love to have. I swear my brother should get paid because he's the best sales associate they've ever had : ). He almost convinced us to get some things. We were sad not to have seen his wife too much because of her job, but loved every minute we got to spend with her. And they were even brave enough to watch Burley for a few days as we made our way up to Seattle. Thank You!

*my camera is still dead so my brother has some pictures for us of us. The pics I used are from his facebook, when he went on this hike with his wife.

In Spokane Burley got to experience a few firsts.

- Being left outside alone! Yay for him : ) We bought a stake with a lead on it so he could wander but not too far.

- Getting 'doggy-sat' for more than one day. He needs to prepare for our summer California trip.

- Seeing birds/ducks and actually noticing them.

- Chasing said ducks around the pond.

- Jumping with no fear or reservations into that pond, realizing with horror that it was freezing and he had never been swimming before. And of course he had to jump in twice : ). It was rather hilarious.

So we made our way up to Seattle in the middle of the night, through a blizzard in Snoqualmie Pass, with washington drivers driving 20 miles an hour without snow even sticking, and me and Doug trading off every hour to catch some shut-eye. It was quite the adventure.

They treated us so well and we really appreciated their hospitality. We enjoyed spending time with our two little nieces, who by-the-way are completely adorable.

We experienced Pikes Market.

It was crowded but so much fun. There was a very ummm entertaining(?) music duo we listened to as we devoured delicious doughnuts. We walked along the beach, looked at the skyline, and enjoyed spending time together.

It was fun to relax and listen to conference. We enjoyed easter eggs and baskets and the great company.

We had a blast!

Now in other news. I finished my Mothers quilt quite a while ago but I have been buzy working on other quilts : ). So here are the pictures I have.

She still has to quilt it but it turned out beautifully. In the first picture you can kind of see the wall that the gold colors were picked from. I'll have to post another when it is all done and we can get a picture of the whole room to get the full effect.

I'm finished with the crib set but will wait to post pictures when it gets washed and laid out. (and when we fix our lack of camera problem).

I am officially going to be selling quilts as soon as I get a few more made and a website set up. If anyone is interested let me know. I've been designing some I can't wait to make and I'm totally open to customizing! I love it : ).

Busy, Busy, Busy....

2010-02-26T13:02:00.000-08:00

I know I have been neglecting my blog lately! Things have been extremely busy the past couple weeks. What with Valentines Day and several quilt projects I find it easy to pass by the computer day after day. But I will catch you up on what we have been up to.

Valentines Day was fun! We have a tradition to go and stay in a little cabin up in Island Park. It is a great way to break up the monotony of winter time. Yes there is more snow up there but at least we are out of the house and adventuring! My camera has died so I don't have pictures but the cabin was cozy and comfortable. It even had a hot tub on the deck. I've never been hot tubing in the winter so that was a first for me!

Burley got his first real hair cut. I sat there and watched as all of his beautiful brown hair was shaved off. I was very nervous to see what he would look like after and I hate to admit it, but I was scared he wouldn't be cute without his long locks. However I was very pleased to see that he was still Burley and still extremely adorable.

He did so well sitting there for about an hour and a half while he was groomed. He had a lot of hair!

My quilting projects have been coming right along! I love working on them and probably spend time sewing just about everyday. Here are some pictures.

The pictures don't do them justice! The colors are way better in person. But all I have is my cell phone camera, sorry.

These are all for the quilt I am making for my Mom. The top two were just my favorite squares out of the 42 squares I made. It is a Stack-n-Whack quilt so ever square turns out different. The bottom picture is the sashing and corner squares. The golden yellow color matches perfectly with the fancy wall my Sister and Dad painted. I will have to get a picture of the room with the quilt and the wall when I'm finished. I am starting to assemble the quilt top! Yay! so I will post some pictures when I get it going.

The crib set for Rachel:

This is the quilt top.

One of the bumpers in progress.

A close up on the bumper.

The cute little stars I had a blast making! : ) These go on the bumper and the duster.

Now that I have stuff actually put together I thought I could show this off. When you have a stack of fabrics there isn't much to show : ). I still have to finish the bumpers, quilt the quilt, and start the duster. It is coming along nicely though! When it is all done I will post a picture of it in the crib (which by the way is beautiful!).

I bought some Christmas fabric on sale to make a log cabin quilt! No I have not started it and I won't till I get these finished. But I am super excited for it!

So as you can see this is what has been keeping me so very busy. On top of this, I find time to teach piano, clean my house, and cook the food. I guess I am not happy unless I'm busy, since I always seem to be busy. At least I choose to be busy right?

Jessica vs. Snow, Ice, and Car Doors

2010-02-05T09:00:00.000-08:00

The battle took place last Saturday night, around 10:00 pm. Jessica and Doug were spending the evening visiting with Doug's parents. They enjoyed watching the movie 'UP' and snuggling in a blanket to get warm. They had no idea of what would be coming. As the night wore on they began to get tired and decided it was time to go home. They gathered their belongings and, of course, Burley and headed out into the bitter cold.

They made it successfully to their car and down the street before Jessica realized she had forgotten her cell phone. She reports, "I remember thinking, 'Well we could just get it tomorrow,' but we use my phone as our alarm clock. And we couldn't miss church. So I told Doug we would just have to go back and get it." Which is exactly what they did. They turned around, pulled into the driveway and Jessica ran into the house.

She recovered the cell phone quite easily. After saying 'Goodnight' to Doug's parents once more, she headed back out into the night. The battle began as she slid halfway down the driveway and had to steady herself on the car. After opening the car door she thought she was home free! Thats when things started happening too fast. As she shifted her weight, she went down hard. With no time to catch herself, she went straight for the edge of the car window. She then whacked her eye on it, bounced off and slid the rest of the way down the driveway.

Needless to say, the battle was won and not by Jessica. "It was those darn shoes!" says Jessica. "If I had been wearing any other shoes I would have been fine. But no I had to wear the easy slip ons with the smooth bottoms. The tread on them is almost nonexistent."

The traitor shoes! They helped the snow and ice drop Jessica in an instant.

So the conclusion that we have com to: A rematch. Next time the battle field must be evened out. No more slick shoes. For now Jessica is recovering from a pretty beautiful black eye. It has turned some marvelous colors that we didn't know even existed. Jessica is now able to laugh at herself, "I guess it is kind of a funny story. And I will always remember my first black eye." Stay tuned for reports on the next Battle: Jessica vs. Snow and Ice. Who knows she may come home with another black eye.....or worse.

The day after. Some fairly pretty colors going on. It was very swollen although its kind of hard to tell in the picture.

Nearly a week after. The bruises are now fading to green and yellow. Although it looks like the plum purple color is sticking around for another week.

Thinking of Those Who Have Passed.

2010-02-01T08:17:00.000-08:00

Just in the last couple of days I have been told of several people who have passed on suddenly. The circumstances of all of them have left families who love them and will miss them terribly. It has hurt my heart to think of those families without their loved ones. I have reminded myself often of the Plan of Salvation and Heavenly Father's constant involvement in our lives. With this knowledge it seems a little easier to understand how such wonderful people can be taken from us. Easier to understand yes, but it still is hard.

Our home teacher came by yesterday and shared the message with us. It was 'Hold On a Little Longer'. Just when it seems that things can't possibly get worse we have to remember to endure faithfully. Hold on for just a little while longer and the trials will pass, we will find the happiness we seek. I couldn't help thinking of the Davis family all throughout his message. I hope that they can hold on a little longer. Our prayers are with them and all those who have lost their loved ones recently. We hope they will find the love and peace that our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have to offer. The gospel is such a blessing simply because of the knowledge it gives us. We are truly grateful for it in our lives!

Quilting, a new love found in 2009

2010-01-21T16:05:00.000-08:00

As many of you know I picked up piece quilting this past year. It is something I absolutely LOVE! I'm afraid it might be one of those things my husband is scared of now : ). Quilting isn't necessarily the cheapest, fastest, or easiest hobby I could have picked up. And I started young! Who knew you didn't have to be old and a grandma before quilting was even thought of?!

I often have to answer Doug's question, "Well, why don't you finish this one first?" Yep. I admit I get a little OCD, its from my mother. Once I decide to do one for someone I have to start it, even if I'm already working on several other projects. Needless to say I'm a little head-over-heels when it comes to spending hours with some fabric and my sewing machine.

So here are some pictures of quilts I made in 2009:

This one I made for my brother Bryce and his wife Sonya. It was my wedding gift to them. It was my first real piece quilt and turned out so great!

This was a quick rag quilt for a baby shower I went to. So fun, cute, and super fast!

This was one for my sister-in-law Becca and her husband Craig. It was also a wedding gift. It made great memories that won't be forgotten by anyone in the Hansen family. Everyone put a stitch in somewhere!

This one I made for my sister-in-law Leslie. It was a Christmas gift which still needs to be quilted! (anytime Leslie, anytime!)

This one I made for my Mother-in-law Cheryl. It was so beautiful when I saw it online as a quilt block pattern, I just couldn't pass. It was a Christmas gift, which also needs to be quilted : )

I had so much fun last year that I started early this year. I am making my mom a quilt for her new office/guest bedroom. They painted and have all new decor so she needs something new that will match. My camera died and so I don't have pictures of it. I will post when I get some.

I am also working on a crib set for my sister-in-law Rachel. We are so excited for them and I'm absolutely loving making this! I've decided not to post any pictures because I don't want to spoil it. I will post them when the whole thing is finished!

New Year Resolutions? Anyone?

2010-01-19T07:24:00.000-08:00

Oh it is sad when I look at the calendar and realize January is gone and I haven't even been able to follow up on my New Year Resolutions for a month. Does this happen to anyone else or is it just me? I have to believe that I'm not the only one who finds themselves in this predicament.

Well and I suppose I can't be extremely hard on myself. It's just not that easy to exercise when there is snow piled on the ground. I just wish I could go out for a run or a bike ride. Or that we could jump in the car and go rock climbing somewhere. I'm just not that good at doing an all inside exercise program, its not so fun. So if anyone has any suggestions for how they deal with this problem in the winter, please please let me know. Then maybe I will feel more accomplished when it comes to New Year Resolutions.

Christmas in Nevada

2010-01-14T09:54:00.000-08:00

This is the first year that Doug and I have spent Christmas with my family. I was very happy to leave the cold weather behind for almost 2 weeks! Yes snow is great on Christmas but.....you can only handle it for so long. So we got to go down to Logandale and spend it in 50 degree weather.

All of my siblings were home except for Logan, who is on his mission in DC. It was great to see my family! We had fun playing games and just relaxing. My favorite tradition is to have a big Christmas Eve dinner. I just love having everyone around the table and the time we get to spend with each other. Here is our big spread and of course our desert! That is one big apple pie(definitely my favorite)!

I love being in my parents house around Christmas! My Mom's decorations are amazing and Dad always has a huge fire blazing (even if its not that cold outside haha). We bake and cook and cook and bake! It seemed like most of our time was spent in the kitchen but I loved it! One thing my Dad said while we were there was, "You know I would be fine just skipping presents and everything every year. It's the most fun to just have my kids around and spending time with each other." Amen Dad! Thanks! You helped me find the true meaning of Christmas. We enjoyed every minute of just being around our family!

Burley enjoyed presents after he realized he got something fun and new every time we started ripping the paper off of one. After a while though he was more excited to rip the paper balls up that we were throwing into the garbage pile. He got a very cute scarf and new bone from Mom and Dad Hansen, some very delicious treats from Mom and Dad Waite, and a new bed, rope toy, and of course new bones from us. He was one happy dog!

The biggest project we undertook was making a massive gingerbread house. I don't know why we decided to do it, maybe because I just like to be challenged and stressed, or maybe it was the fact that my brother thought we couldn't do it. So we built this monster with the help of many hands. It took so long we didn't even have it finished by the time we left. So I guess we will save it and work on it again sometime who knows : ).

Oh I must give credit to Doug. He was the amazing architect of the roof and without him I think I would have ruined the whole thing. The singles we made out of ginger snaps. We used just the head of a ginger bread man cookie cutter. The two tone color is pretty sweet, if I do say so myself. Funny thing is its because I burnt the first batch that we even got the idea to make the roof look so cool. My sister made the windows look awesome, I again would've ruined them by myself. We melted sugar for them and used tooth picks for the window pane look. It is missing the deck railing, some landscaping work, and snow but at least the house was finished!

Christmas Tree Hunting!

2010-01-14T09:20:00.000-08:00

Oh how I love Christmas! And of course it is always a busy time of year so I am a little late in writing about it : ). We started the season off a day or two after thanksgiving by going tree hunting! We have cut down one tree in the past and it was a lot of fun so we thought we should do it again. Believe me you should plan before you go!

We left a little later than we should have and so decided not to go very far. We ended up having the choice of one kind of tree (and they weren't my favorite kind). They were all very sparse or had two trunks. Finally after hunting all over the side of the mountain we settled for one. I think we kept trying to talk ourselves into how great it would look. So we chopped it down and strapped it to the car.

When we got home, we measured it and found it was 12 1/2 feet tall. Of course it was too tall! So we had to cut the bottom half off, which by the way was the best part about the tree. We were left with a little tree that had branches about every 2 feet. Not my kind of Christmas tree : (. It was too sad for me to even take a picture of so you will just have to imagine it.

Then we had a GREAT idea! I'd heard all the stories about how Grandpa Boyer would always buy two not so great trees and use the branches off of one to make the other look fantastic. He would drill holes and stick the branches in. So we tried that with a couple branches from the bottom half of the tree......It looked good......but.....if you even breathed on them the wrong way they fell out! I do not know how Grandpa Boyer could possibly have made a tree that they could decorate!

We soon decided that it was just not going to work to put extra branches in. Now we were left with the problem of holes drilled in a poor tree that didn't have enough branches to cover them up. Plus the fact that the tree was going to die ten times faster because we had drilled holes into it. So our final decision was to just go buy one. And here it is, the best tree we've ever had.

I learned many things about Christmas Tree Hunting:

1. Leave early enough to go somewhere with a variety of trees.

2. If you're trying to convince yourself that the tree will be ok....it most likely is not going to look as good when you get home : ) Every tree looks good on the mountain.

3. Grandpa Boyer had some secret way to make branches stick into the other tree. Without that secret you should not attempt to do it on your own.

4. Grandpa Boyer got the trees the day before Christmas eve and it was taken down the day after Christmas. Fake branches will most likely die a lot quicker than the rest of the tree (Yes we only thought of this after we had put them in).

5. Don't cut a tree down that you may not end up using, you feel really bad for cutting it down. I'm sad I ended the poor trees life for no reason.

6. Cutting down your own tree will always be a wonderful experience and give you great memories! It's not about the way the tree looks but about the time you spend with each other as a family : )!

Thanksgiving

2009-12-12T08:40:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving was wonderful! We spent it here in Rexburg with Doug's family. I just love getting ready for the 'big dinner', when everyone is in the kitchen helping, and making delicious food. True the food is delicious but its more than that. Its about the fact that family is all gathered together. That you can feel the love that is being shared as everyone is happy to help and contribute. Thats what I love about the tradition of a 'big dinner' on thanksgiving day.

My other favorite thing, something that is a tradition in the Hansen Family, is going around the table and saying what you are thankful for. It is a wonderful opportunity to share your feelings with your family that you don't often share. I always come away feeling uplifted and having my testimony strengthened! Thanks family for all of your wonderful examples!

The Hansen Family (minus a few truly missed members)

September/Halloween Catch-Up

2009-12-03T13:01:00.000-08:00

Septemeber brought us to my birthday and of course a fantastic birthday present: Burley! The cutest little fuzzball on this planet : )!

We went to visit Becca & Craig in Twin Falls over Labor Day weekend and stopped to pick him up in Burley (no its not a coincidence that this happens to be our pups name) on the way home. He was so tiny and cute I just can't believe how he has grown up so fast!

He was not too bad to potty train. He actually caught on rather quickly and only had one accident every couple days. It was kind of funny because he never would whine at the door or scratch when he needed to go. Instead he would just come up to you, sit, and stare at you, willing you to read his mind and the fact that he needed to go outside. Needless to say potty training only took about 3 weeks and now he never has a problem with it.

I have really enjoyed teaching him tricks and taking pictures of him. For those of you who know him, you know that these pictures don't do him justice. He is just way too cute.

His first time digging. He loved it! He had such a messy

face afterwards though : ).

Playing outside at Doug's parent's house.

Just being adorable. He climbed up onto this shelf we have in the kitchen and just sat there watching us do whatever. It was too cute not to take a picture.

Ok moving on : ) I will have many more posts about Burley with lots more pictures.

Halloween was a lot of fun! I just love to see little kids dress up and enjoy all of the colors that come with fall! I'm not a fan of the scary stuff. We had fun doing another murder mystery dinner with Doug's family. We even got to have Becca and Craig come do it with us. Here are the great pictures : )

I don't know how we missed Mom & Dad Hansen but they looked fabulous as well. We enjoyed lunch together and a good mystery.

Dutch-Oven Dessert Cook Off

2009-11-26T09:13:00.000-08:00

We also had the Quick family reunion about a week later. We had a lot of fun playing games, seeing family, and of course eating. My parents decided that the dessert cook off was so much fun at my Dad's reunion that we should do it at the Quick one too! I decided I might as well compete.

I soon found out that almost everyone was going to cook something and they were practicing to make sure it would be just right. So of course the competitiveness in me began to come out. We practiced making and apple pie in the dutch oven and it surprisingly turned out so well! So I was set for the competition, thinking I had done it before and shouldn't make any mistakes.

I love to watch competitions on Food Network and I sometimes wonder how when they cook and practice everyday they can ever forget something or mess something up. Well I now know : ). We were given a time limit and it didn't seem like enough time at all! I was hurrying so fast I totally forgot to put the sugar in the pie crust, which I didn't notice till after the whole pie was made and the lattice top put on. It went a little something like this:

Me: Mom, does this pie crust taste salty to you?

Mom: Woah! Yeah did you put too much salt? Its WAY salty!

Me: No I swear I know I put the right.....(I was looking at the recipe).....Awww I forgot to put the sugar in!

Mom: How much sugar did it call for?

Me: ummm....a 1/3 of a cup (cringing).

Mom: Thats a lot of sugar....we'll just have to see.

I was sure that I had ruined the whole thing and gave up all hope of winning. The good thing about the pie that I chose is that the filling is extremely sweet and right under the top crust is a whole ton of sugar. You sprinkle a mixture of brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon, and pecans on top of the apples before you put the top crust on. So when the pie was done and I tried the first bite I was pleasantly surprised to find it was even better without all that sugar in the crust. It helped to balance the sweetness of the filling!

Everyone had to sample the different desserts and then on a silent, private ballot cast their votes. They announced the third and then the second. My name wasn't in either and I knew I had won! We got a 12" lodge dutch oven which is great because we only had one 10" one!! (my Dad was in charge of the prizes and of course went all out on the dutch oven stuff : ). I felt like I was in a food network competition for a couple of hours. The only thing missing was the $10,000 check at the end : ).

August Catch-Up

2009-11-26T09:09:00.000-08:00

We started August with the Boyer Reunion. It was so much fun as always. We got to see a lot of Doug's cousins, which was great! Some of the high lights of the Reunion were boating, rock climbing, and of course skits/talent night. I got a lot of pictures during the rock climbing but seemed to have forgotten my camera for the other activities.

The Great Climbers...

We also took the kids to the Splash Park and Carousel. It was so much fun to watch them play! Here's me and a couple of my adorable nephews.

Later on in August Mom and Dad Hansen drove us, Rachel and Bryant to meet Becca and Craig in SunValley and go to the Symphony. We enjoyed the drive and were able to stop and say hi to Grandma Boyer for a couple of minutes! It was so good to see her again.

We listened to wonderful music while the weather got pretty rainy. Luckily we were under the tent during the concert. We got some blankets to walk under while Doug and his family reminisced about their days while Dad played in the Sun Valley Symphony. It was fun and we had a great time!

The Waite family reunion was in Island Park this year! So we only had to drive a couple hours to get there. We got to stay in a fun cabin, play games, sing songs, buy fun things at a bazaar, and bid on items in an auction. It was so beautiful up in the mountains and we loved spending time outside playing horse shoes and darts.

I think one of my favorite things about reunions is most definitely the food. We always eat so well! We got to do dutch oven cooking one night and got to sample delicious desserts from the dessert cook off. Unfortunately I forgot my camera and I have no pictures : (

July Catch-Up

2009-11-04T08:55:00.000-08:00

July was a pretty crazy time for us! I graduated with my Associates in Piano Pedagogy, so my parents came up to see me. I also was lucky (or should I say unlucky?) enough to be asked to play a musical selection at convocation. Of course I had to say yes although I really hate the pressure of performing, especially in front of all of the music majors graduating. Here are some pictures from that extremely terrifying and yet still relieving experience.

Of course everyone was there to support me from Doug's family and for that I was very grateful.

So after that was over my Mom stayed for a week while my Dad went home and worked. We had a reunion up in Idaho so he would return the following week for that and they could both go home together.

My Mom was such a sport! She got thrown in the middle of Becca's wedding, helping me quilt and the Boyer Reunion! It would be so overwhelming and yet she loved every minute of it and made herself at home like she was just part of the family. I was so glad to have her here for a whole week it was wonderful!

As I said she helped me finish the quilt I made for Becca. It was crazy because I put the quilt top together while I was going to school and got the quilt up on the frames right before finals week. Well I didn't get too much quilting done because of finals so we had a whole lot to accomplish in 5 days so we could have it ready to display at the reception.

Luckily we had the help of the whole family! Yep those are the Quilting Hansen Brothers! They were great sports to come and put a few stitches in. Dad Hansen and Bryce did put ONE stitch in and wanted to be sure everyone knew it, I just didn't catch them on camera with the evidence. Needless to say I think they all came away with a new understanding of how hard quilting can be : ). They really were awesome at it and their stitches were so neat and straight!

So then that brings me to the wedding. We were so excited to witness Becca and Craig being sealed! It was a special experience to have see so much family together in the temple to lend their love and support.

Becca was such a beautiful bride and Craig looked rather dashing in his tux : ). We enjoyed a beautiful reception with a wonderful program and of course wonderful food! We are definitely looking forward to having Becca and Craig back from Twin Falls!

Well that wraps up July. Stay tuned for catch-up from August....

June Catch-Up

2009-11-03T18:11:00.000-08:00

June was a pretty fun month for us! We had Dad & Mom Hansen's birthdays, June 2nd and 13th. It was great to get together have dinner and ice cream cake yumm!!

Then we went for a drive up around Palisades Reservoir. It was a beautiful trip! We stopped for tinfoil dinners, s'mores, and some campfire songs. It was great to have Becca and Craig with us although I think we truly opened his eyes to the Hansen family when we started singing, "Once an Austrian went yodeling..."

Doug & I by the reservoir

Enjoying S'mores!!

It was a great trip and we enjoyed the outdoors, even if we didn't camp over night! The one disappointment was that I didn't get to try the famous Square Ice Cream. We will have to go back for sure since I am assured that it tastes way different that regular scooped ice cream.

Oh where as the time gone....

2009-11-03T07:33:00.000-08:00

Ok so I realize I haven't blogged in like 6 months! A lot has been going on! Things have been just plain busy, but I figured when is it not busy? So I will try my best to keep up on blogging.

I will start with playing catch-up for the next few posts. I need to get a cable for my camera so that I can post some pictures with what has been going on. Then most definitely I will be posting! Ok until then...: )

Schools out!!......Or so I thought.

2009-04-19T22:43:00.000-07:00

I'm finally done, with the exception of one online class, with my Associates in Piano Pedagogy!!! Yay! This past week was so wonderful with no school. I only had piano teaching to worry about and helping Becca plan her wedding. But by the end of the week I must admit, I got a little bored. I think its because I've been so busy since I started college, so when I get some freedom it seems like I have so much time with so little to do.

So this brings me to my big announcement.......*drum roll*.......

I'm going back to school : ). Tomorrow actually : ). What am I thinking??? Well you see.....I had to take this one class this summer so I can graduate. Its a 3 credit class and so it was going to cost me about $400. Thats quite a bit for one silly class but I had to do it so I got online and registered for it. A couple days later(last friday actually) I received an e-mail telling me that my scholarship information was updated. "What scholarship info?" I asked myself, "I'm off track this semester. hmmmmm." So I got into my account and found that I had been awarded full tuition scholarship this summer if I took a full load of classes!

My first thought was, "Too bad I only need one class. I'll have to pay for it anyways." Then the little thought that had been in the back of my head for the past two semesters crept up. "We'll I did want to try to get an Associates in Professional Preschool Education. Although last time I talked to the academic office they pretty much acted like that wouldn't be possible." And with that little thought I became very determined. I decided that I would have to really find out. So I jumped back online, registered for the classes I needed to get started (its amazing they weren't all full), and headed up to the college to see if it was possible.

After about an hour of talking to "someone else" I finally nailed it down. As long as I fill out a paper graduation form and then petition to change my major it should all work out. Now the catch is that I have to petition, which means that they can tell me no, but they acted like it wouldn't be a problem to switch my major. And the beautiful thing about it is I can be done by the end of next summer!! I could have just continued in music and gotten a bachelors in piano performance but I don't really like to perform, and I've already got the teaching degree. Now I get to gain new skills and do another degree that is similar to what I was leaning towards when I first started college (early childhood special ed)!

Needless to say I'm excited and no longer bored : )........... Just don't ask me in a month if I'm glad I'm in school.

Yay! Our computer has returned to us!

2009-03-28T11:57:00.000-07:00

Finally our computer is home and working! No more slow laptop that never shuts down when you want it to, is so slow it's not worth using, and can't handle running more than one program at a time. Yes our wonderful Mac is back! Just thought I'd let you all know how happy we are about it :).

My sister is moving far, far, away

2009-03-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

I couldn't believe my ears as my dad told me where my brother-in-law, Gary, was thinking about going to medical school. I had only called to talk to him about my brother getting married and our travel plans to attend the wedding. the conversation went something like this... Me: "Well we want to fly but will probably end up driving because it is less expensive. Oh and I'm going to stay about a week. Its right after school gets out and I haven't been home in a while." Dad: "Ok that will be fun. Logan will be the only one around besides me and mom. So that will be great for you to spend time with him before he goes on his mission. With Britt and Gary moving, and Tyler working you won't get to see much of them." Me: "Moving? What? Where?" Dad: "Oh you haven't talked to them. He got accepted to Ross University in the Carribbean somewhere." Me: "What!! The Carribbean! You're just joking....no your serious?!" Yep, school starts at the in May and they are probably leaving right after the wedding on April 25th. I can't believe my sister will be living in tropical paradise for 16 months. Thats a long time to be gone! She said that the island is not really developed its considered more of a country, so there aren't tons of tourists or anything. She posted a picture of the island and its absolutely beautiful so I've decided we need to plan a family vacation to Dominica, thats the island they are goint to. Perrfect I've always wanted to go to the Carribbean! But.....seriously......I will miss them so much. I still can't believe they are going.

Our poor computer.

2009-02-24T09:07:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago our computer died. We woke up one morning to a computer that had turned off by itself in the middle of the night (it never does that!). Alarmed we tried to turn it back on. Nothing happened. We thought maybe the outlet was having a problem we moved it across the room. Nothing happened. Oh its just got to be the power cord we thought. So we got a new power cord. Nothing happened.....We finally came to the conclusion that it was just dead. Its an IMac(which means its intel-based and everything is built into the monitor) and the closest apple store is in Salt Lake, and the people at the computer repair shop in town.....well lets just say we aren't so confident they always know what they are doing. Doug dropped it off to them on Saturday and talked to them about how much it would cost. It went something like this. Doug: So what do you think the problem is? Guy1: Well we'd have to get in there to really see but its probably something with the internal power supply. Doug: Ok, so how much would it cost just for you to diagnose what is really wrong with it? Guy1: Theres a $59 testing and diagnosis fee. But if thats what's wrong with it the part is about $200 and all together the labor would be around $200. Doug: Well....lets just have to do the test and diagnose right now because if thats not what is wrong with it I don't want you to order anything yet. Guy1 (as he begins unscrewing the back of the computer).: Ok. No problem. Now let me tell you about a conversation I had yesterday with these people after Doug called down there to find out when his computer would be done. The people down there said, "Oh, this is your computer? We were trying to figure out what its doing here. Theres no note or anything with it and its just been sitting here on our counter for a couple days." Doug proceeded (in calm tones that may not have been coming out of my mouth had I answered) to explain what the problem was and then asked him to work on it. The phone rang a couple minutes later and I picked it up. Me: Hello? Guy2: Hi. We have some more information on your computer. Me: Oh ok, what is it. Guy2: Well, we haven't done anything to it yet but we are pretty sure its an internal power supply problem. So the cost of it will be $250 for labor and $200 for the part. Me: Well have you done the testing and diagnosis yet? We kind of just wanted you to do that. Guy2: Oh ok, that will be $150. Me: $150?! Wait a minute. When we came in on Saturday we were told that the fee was $59 how can it go from that to a 150? Guy2: Well I don't have anything written down about what your order was. That must have been Jason and he doesn't understand what exactly our prices were. Me (beginning to be very frustrated).: Well its not our fault you don't have anything written down and that was the price quoted to us. We don't want to pay you a $150 just to tell us whats wrong with it.... And on the conversation went with the guy telling me that it would take a lot of labor just to get into the computer and that it doesn't matter what we were told but it would cost us $150 to just open the darn thing up. So I finally told him I'd talk to my husband and call back. Needless to say we decided that if the person we dropped the computer off to doesn't seem to know the prices and obviously didn't touch the computer after we dropped it off a few days ago(even though he appeared to unscrew the back and start working on it right away) and can't even write our order down....well maybe we didn't want them working on our computer anyway. So we are going to take it to Salt Lake to the Apple Care Center and people who work on them everyday. Sorry that took so long to explain : ).....I just vented some very built up frustrations about the whole situation....So yeah......Thanks.

Ummm....Yeah its been a while....

2009-02-20T15:10:00.000-08:00

Ok so I would say I'm sorry for not blogging for whats been 4 months but I'm not really. I have been so busy I don't know how I've had time to get enough sleep! I am in my last semester before I can graduate, teaching piano to 11 sometimes wonderful (when they practice) kids, serving as assistant to the secretary in Primary (where we have 5 soon to be 6 nurserys), and all the while trying to be a good wife who makes dinner and cleans the house (yeah I could do better). We have both been cruzin through this school year and it I can't believe midterms are next week. I am taking only music classes this semester and it is so nice not to have to worry about that 5 page english paper or math exam when I sit down to practice. I am working on some fun music this semester! I love learning new songs I just wish they didn't have to be performed and then given a grade. I'll be so excited when I can learn them without that pressure. Doug has been having fun teaching his middle school kids. He is trying to plan a trip down to Lagoon in the near future that should be really fun. We just have to wait and hear whether it gets approved. We have done some fun things since the new year has started. I'll list a few of the recent ones: - I started a quilt for someone (I won't say cause its a surprise). It's my first real piece quilt and I'm super excited about it! Its so cool. I'll post a picture and explain how it works later. - Doug got asked to play with the Rexburg Tabernacle Orchestra in a year or two? (cant remember when). So he's started to learn Saint Seans 3rd(?) Violin Concerto. - We went and rented a little cabin up in Island Park for Valentines day and it was so much fun. We went cross country skiing and saw tons of beautiful swans on the river. It was perfect because it snowed the night before and the sky was clear and sunny. (we had to do this a weekent before valentines because of whats coming next). - We went to Arizona last weekend to hear Doug's brother play his last recital for his doctorate program. He did awesome and we enjoyed the warmer weather, sun, and their two great kids. We had to drive to Salt Lake then get on a plane so it was a lot of travelling but it sure was fun. I got pretty sick on monday when we were supposed to travel back and thank goodness I have wonderful priesthood holders in my family who could give me a blessing. I started feeling better on the airplane and was able to travel. Well thats it. I'll get on more often now that this semester is winding down. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time in the near future! Yay for graduation!

Our oh so busy life

2008-10-19T09:12:00.000-07:00

So we have been just going and going! I finally found the chance to jump on the computer. Doug has been fairly busy with his Elders Quorum President calling. They finally have succeeded in putting all of the home teaching assignments together and have visited just about every member in their quorum.

While he had spud harvest, Doug decided to build a ladder that we could get down into our crawl space with. He very expertly measured and drew one out using all of his math skills : ). He was very proud of the end result! (that is untill he realized his steps were just two inches too wide). So he needs to go back and cut them smaller before he can complete it.

I very suddenly have acquired 10 piano students! I know you might wonder how I have time. I don't know but I do know the Lord is behind making my days stretch 3 or 4 hours longer. I know I can't possibly do everything with out his help! So these students came from a young piano teacher in my ward. She decided she needed to focus more on her composing and recording and just couldn't teach them anymore. She asked me if I would like her students and I said sure. I officially start teaching them this week and I'm so excited!

School is just continuing on for both of us! I have a lot of fun with my classes but they take up a lot of time. I am doing homework more than I ever have in my whole life! I can't believe that midterms are this week! At least its a comfort to know this semesters half over. Doug is going to start preparing for his december concert! I love to watch his students perform. He has so many of them its crazy.

Well thats how our life is going....I will post later about our super fun murder mystery dinner we had this last saturday and all of the cute things I did for our enrichment night.

Hmmm.....Long time no blog!

2008-09-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

Ok so I have been horrible! School started and I don't know what happened to me! I'm so busy I haven't even had a chance to check others blogs in two weeks let alone post on mine. So heres the rundown on the last part of summer and the beginning of school.

We went to a couple reunions in August it was really fun. We had the Boyer Reunion here in Rexburg and then the Quick Reunion in Lehi utah. For a great rundown on that you can read my sisters post here. It was a lot of fun to see all of our family.

Doug, Me, Bryant, Rachel, and Becca decided to hike to the top of Table Rock to see the Tetons right in front of our faces. It was my last fling before school officially started. It was a wonderful hike. The scenery was beautiful even for 12 miles : ). We were all very sore but extremely happy that we had done it.

School started for me and I found out I was the class sequence schedule I was following was missing 4 classes that I need before I can graduate in the winter. So I am pretty busy I am taking 18 credits and when your a music major it means you have about 9 classes. Its only the second week of school and I feel a little like I've been ran over by a bus. I have a lot of reading and it gets a little mentally draining while walking all over campus is physically draining. I'm excited to learn though! I love school and am excited for what I get to do this semester.

It was my birthday on the 17 and I had a great time. Doug got me beautiful flowers then took me to dinner in Idaho Falls. My biggest present was a good winter coat (something I've never needed before moving to Rexburg). We had cake and ice cream with Dougs family and my family called to wish me a Happy Birthday! It was very fun.

So thats what's been going on. Maybe this semester will get easier as it goes on and I'll have more time to get on and post. If not just know that I am wishing I could and I do still try to read all of your blogs!

Our Many Travels

2008-08-06T12:57:00.000-07:00

We went down to visit my family for a week on the 21st. Our anniversary was on the 19th of July so we decided to stay in Salt Lake on the way down on Monday. It was nice to have a break in the drive but as soon as we got to Logandale we jumped right back in the car to go to California with my mom. Doug had never met my grandparents or my great-grandma. So we left on Monday, stayed overnight, drove the rest of the way to Logandale on Tuesday, took an hour break, and headed down to California the same day. We stayed and visited my grandparents wednesday then jumped back in the car to go back to Nevada on Thursday. Then we stayed and played till the following monday. We went waterskiing and wakeboarding. I tried wakeboarding for the first time and crashed the hardest I've ever crashed in my life. It was a lot of fun though. We also got to play a lot of games with all my brothers and sisters. Logan (who is preparing for a mission) recieved the Melchezedik Priesthood that sunday and I was very glad we were there for it. We got home on Monday and Doug's parents asked us if we would like to Moscow, Idaho to move Brad and Traci up there (Brad is started medical school in a couple weeks). We were debating whether to go or not because they were leaving on wednesday. Finally we decided we really did want to go even if it was a 10 hour drive just to get there. So we went up there and helped them move into their new apartment. We were really happy we went. It was a lot of fun to see their new apartment and help them organize it. We got to watch Alaina be so cute all weekend and have fun with Brad and Traci, Mom and Dad, and Traci's parents. Then we got back in the car on Friday. All in all we had a great time. I only wish we could cut travelling time in at least half. I think we travelled about 50 hours in the last two and a half weeks. 9+9(Idaho to Nevada and back)+6+6(Nevada to California and back)+10+10(Rexburg to Moscow and back) yep that equals 50. I'm just glad the Boyer reunion is in Rexburg this year.

....grrrr...

2008-08-06T12:42:00.000-07:00

We have been pretty busy and so I haven't blogged in a while. However it doesn't mean I havent tried. My Internet has decided to be the biggest pain in the world. It will work just long enough (sometimes) to read other blogs and check my e-mail (rarely). But as soon as I have a real reason to use it (such as blogging, or looking something up), it immediately drops the connection to the server and won't work. My solution was to call the company! Of course if you have problems with the server its the company's fault right? So they tried all kinds of troubleshooting with the modem and asked me more questions than I wanted to answer. In the end they wanted to come and put a dish up on my house to boost my reception (we have wireless internet you see). That wouldn't work because our homeowners association is trying to set up a deal where there will be one dish for internet and one dish for tv on each building. Anyone who puts up anymore dishes before that is all worked out can be fined. So I talked to the president of the HOA. He said if we could just stick it out I could get a better deal with better service in two weeks. I decided that sounded ok so we are still stuck without properly working internet. You might be asking how it is that I'm blogging right now. Well I came to the school with Doug to set up his room. His computer works just fine! I guess if I really need something we can just come up here. Hey it works for me : ). OH and did I mention that our phone has not been working for two weeks? : ) ......grrrr... : ) I have to just smile and remind myself that those are just little things compared to what is really important. : )

Very Busy!

2008-07-19T15:10:00.000-07:00

We have been very busy this last week. Doug has been involved in directing Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat. It has been a great experience for him! He has had quite a few practices which I'm not too crazy about, but it has turned out great. I am going to go see it tonight with his family. I had juries this last week. I think they went pretty well. You never get used to playing for a grade. I had a big mess up at the recital part of my jury : ). I smile at it because it was avoidable. The guy in front of me got up and couldn't get his piece started. He would get a few notes out and then have a memory slip. He tried 4 or 5 times before he could get going. So I sat there and thought I don't want to do that so I better know how my piece starts. I thought through it picturing the notes on the page and what they were feeling confident I knew my piece. But when I sat at the piano my fingers simply would not start it. I stopped and thought through the notes once more and still couldn't get started. Now Doug and I have decided that my analytical side of my brain overpowered the side that feels and does things naturally. Its ok I played the rest of the piece great and even had the chance to play it again later in my jury to redeem myself. We also have been very busy finally tiling our bathroom but since I don't have the pictures on this computer I will leave that for another day.

Jewelry

2008-07-09T00:34:00.000-07:00

I haven't ever been a really big fan of jewelry. I like simple things. I don't own many earrings and have even less when it comes to necklaces. So when one of my primary friends invited me to a lia sophia party a while back I wasn't sure what to expect. I found I liked a lot of the stuff they had and was even swindled into booking a party for a free necklace.

So today I had a party at my house. It was a lot of fun. My family came and supported me (thanks guys). We had a great time putting all of the Jewelry on and playing games the advisor had for us. I had hoped a few other people would come but it was a great party anyways! I know the stuff is more on the expensive side but it is really nice. You know if you buy something that's cheap, thats what it is.

I am just letting you all know that you can come and do an online party in addition to my party at home. The products are all here at this link http://www.liasophia.com/sites/bernadette/page-catalog?CatID=20&TotalPages=61&PageNum=1 And if you find anything you like you can buy it under my name/party and I get a little closer to some rewards. You just click on "how to buy" and enter my name in the hostess place. They also are discontinuing a lot of stuff and have sales like buy one full price get two half off (make your most expensive one half off). So for anyone interested have fun!

Hansen Reunion

2008-07-09T00:06:00.000-07:00

We had our Rick Hansen Reunion last week! We finally got everyone together and had a great time. It was a pretty busy week.

Tuesday was Brad's birthday and we went repelling/climbing with him in the morning. It was just us, Brad and Traci, and her brother and sister. We drove out by Table Rock and repelled in the canyon. It was definitely more beautiful than Heise : ). It was kind of scary getting over the ledge to repel and then swing out over the canyon but exhilarating at the same time! We got back, ate dinner, did presents for Brad, and had to rush to go see savior of the world at the college.

Wednesday Doug and I decided to go ride our bikes down to the splash park to watch our niece and nephews play. However, by the time we got down there we had just missed them. We turned around and labored back up the hill : ) (great exercise!). We had dinner together and then everybody went to practice for the 4th of July concert.

Thursday we went boating! The water was great. We had a fun time waterskiing, tubing, and wakeboarding. When we got home we all decided we needed a nap! Afterwards we had a great time playing games.

Friday was the 4th of July parade. It was fun to see all of the people in the parade and grab candy for the kids. We had a bbq for lunch and got ready for family pictures. Following that we headed to Idaho Falls for dinner, a concert, and the best firework show I've ever seen. It was a very fun day but I think we were all funned out by the time it was all over and we were sitting in traffic just to get out of the parking lot. I guess its worth the show but I vote getting a hotel room next year and just going to sleep when its all over.

Saturday we went swimming at Heise and had a picnic. It was fun swimming with all the kids. They are all so cute and were so excited to get in the water. The water slide was pretty fun! I'm glad they had something to entertain all of the guys : ). We had a great big nap when we got home! ( I know I think we got this reunion stuff figured out. Do something then take a nap! Its a lot more fun that way : ) ). We had a program where the kids sang, babies blew whistles, and the oldest played violin. They were all so cute! Bryce and Richelle sang a great song for us! I'm so glad we got that one on video. And I played piano, Dallin played his violin, and Becca read her poetry. Off course it wouldn't be a program without ridiculous skits : ). Brad and Traci did a great one : ) then Mom, Dad, Becca, and Bryant did a more ridiculous one. They each made us laugh and were so very entertaining. All of the brothers sang some barber shop for us and we just relaxed. Brad put up a badminton set and we had fun swatting the birdie onto the roof with a lot of help from the wind. (whew that was a long day!)

Sunday we had a testimony meeting in the morning before Dallin and Leslie had to leave. It was a very spiritual and wonderful experience. I am so amazed with the strength of this family and am so grateful to be a part of it. It was a great family reunion!

Suzuki Camp

2008-06-29T09:49:00.000-07:00

Ok so I haven't posted for another week. And as always I have a good excuse. Really. I do. . .

This last week Doug was teaching at Suzuki Camp in Boise. It was my first time going and it was pretty fun. It's just a camp where kids come and take classes from a bunch of different teachers who teach Suzuki.

Doug had 4 classes he taught so I sat in and observed on some of the piano classes while he was busy. I was never taught Suzuki method until I took some lessons from Mom Hansen so it was good to see how to teach younger kids (since the way Mom taught me isn't exactly how I would teach beginners). I also got to observe another piano teacher which has given me a variety of ways to help students with different learning styles.

Dallin and Leslie came up also to teach and put their little girl through for her first time. So my other time was occupied watching their very active two year old so Leslie would be able to be in classes without worrying about disrupting it. It was a lot of fun for me. I've always loved babysitting and its even better when you don't have to work very hard because this little boy entertains himself so easily.

The other part of my time was taken up with practicing. I have only 3 weeks till school is over which means juries are coming up. I was glad that this was a music camp and I had plenty of time to access a nice piano to practice on.

So that was my last week in a nutshell. Very busy and no access to a computer (which is my other excuse for not posting). We had lots of fun and are just getting prepared for another busy week. The Hansen Family Reunion! I'm excited to see all of my brother and sister - in - laws. It will be fun and I'll keep ya posted on activities.

Camping & Climbing

2008-06-22T22:28:00.000-07:00

We went camping with Doug's Family this last weekend. It was a lot of fun! We went to Heise and camped by the river. It was a different kind of camping than we are used to because it was all grass and the spots were pretty close. There were a lot of trailers and we joked about all of the old folks eatin dinner and turnning in at 5:00. But we had a blast. It was actually great to have the grass under our tent and it was a really beautiful night. I loved sitting around the camp fire and sing songs. I got to learn some new songs I had never heard before and Mom Hansen was great entertainment : ).

We got up early to go rock climbing with Brad, Traci, and Bryant. It was a hot day against the rock but still fun. This was only my second time really climbing and boy am I sore. My forearms have been the worst but it is a good sore (you know the kind that reminds you that you actually did something that made you feel so alive? Yeah that kind of good sore). I got halfway up the first face and then completely up the second. Doug did great he got a little further than me on the first and did the second much quicker than I ever could. Brad, Traci, and Bryant did great. I'm always amazed when I watch other people climb. Brad always makes it look so simple and Bryant is so tall it takes him about half the moves it would take me to climb. Traci really inspires me! Here she is the one with the baby but climbing (and doing great by the way). It was a lot of fun and I want to do it some more.

We were so hot when we were done we got down and dipped our feet in the river. Brrr it was cold water but felt great. It was a great way to end the camping trip!

Update

2008-06-17T11:15:00.000-07:00

Ok so we really have been busy....So I'll tell you all about it : ).

Last week Doug had Fiddle Camp with Brian and Aaron Ashton. It was a lot of fun for the kids. They learned a lot and played some fun games. The concert was really fun to listen to! Some of the kids had improv solos for about 2 measures. I think that was my favorite part and it was definitely the most entertaining.

I have been busy catching up on practicing piano and cleaning the house. I finally got through the laundry from our long trip so Doug could put all the luggage away. I'm still in the process of deep cleaning the house (a process that never ends by the way). It seems like every time I am satisfied with one room we have something to do so I don't get to move on to the next. But hopefully I can finish up this week.

Mom Hansen's Birthday was on Friday. It was busy day but we went over after the concert and had birthday cake and played games. Then on Saturday we went to Indiana Jones and had a blast. It was a very entertaining movie and we all decided we couldn't see why anyone wouldn't like it as much as the original ones.

Also on Friday we went rock climbing with Brad, Traci and Alaina. It was a lot of fun. We went to a new spot so the climb was a little more challenging for Brad and Doug. It was a cliff face of lava rock and huge! They only climbed up about 1/3 of the way. There were lava rocks covering the ground so Lainy didn't have anywhere she could really go but she still had fun climbing with her Dad.

Saturday morning we went to the airshow with Brad and Dad. It was way fun to see the planes that were involved in war. Some of them bombed and sunk ships and were involved in all kinds of missions. It was especially fun to see the trick planes put on a show. I don't know how the pilots could stand spiraling towards the earth just for fun. Scary if you ask me. It was a nice morning and we all got sunburned staring straight into the sun

: ).

We wanted to find out all the details about putting the tile up in our bathroom so we went to a few stores on Saturday. We are going to get all the materials and rent a saw so we can just do it ourselves. I hope we can do it all in a day so we aren't without a shower for very long. We are hoping to do it this week so I'll post pictures.

Then Sunday came and it was Father's Day. I called and talked to my Dad and then we had dinner over at Doug's Parents. We love our Dad's and are so grateful for their examples! I don't think we could ask for better Fathers.

Then yesterday I decided we should do something fun for FHE. So I packed up dinner and we went to the park to have a picnic. The weather finally turned beautiful and it couldn't have been a better day. So we didn't want to go home after we were done eating so we walked around the park. Then got some ice cream at Mill Hollow and walked around the block. We wanted to watch the sunset so we took a drive around and looked at houses (one of our favorite things to do!). The sun finally started to go down so we drove up by the temple and sat on the grass in front of the chapel to watch the sunset. It was beautiful and we had a great FHE.

So that is what we've been doing and I'll try to keep ya posted more often : ).

Our California Trip

2008-06-10T09:08:00.000-07:00

Well I'm a little slow getting back to life. I do have a good reason I haven't posted for a while. We went with the Dad Hansen and the high school on their California trip. It was a lot of fun!
We got to go to Disneyland/California Adventure for 3 days! It was great because we didn't have to try and cram it into just one day. We got to go on all the rides and still watch shows and parades. It was a lot of fun too because we got to see Dallin and Leslie and their kids.

We also got to go see Wicked in LA! It was fantastic and the theater was amazing!

We had never seen it before and it was a lot of fun! If you haven't seen it you all should. Its the story of how the wicked witch of the west became wicked. And it is a great story :)

We also got to go see Medieval Times and it was a lot of fun! We've been to it a lot but its

always fun! The food was great and sadly our knight, the Blue Knight, didn't win. But then again this time none of them won. Instead it was the prince who came and conquered the green knight. Lots of fun!

We also got to go to the San Diego Zoo. It was amazing to see all of the animals. Here are the pandas.

They were so cute! Its a picture of mom and baby Zhen Zhen, which means precious. They were just lounging and eating bamboo. It was too much fun. We got to see polar bears showing off and all kinds of monkeys (mostly grooming each other : ). The Gorillas were amazing to watch and so much fun. We didn't get to se the tiger because he was being lazy and sleeping somewhere. But we did get to see the female lions and a few other big cats. The elephants were just huge! It was a great trip.

Camping Pictures

2008-05-30T16:32:00.000-07:00

My dad bought this Razr for hunting and camping. Its way fun! And its still small enough to go on all of the 4-wheeling trails. Here is Doug and the Razr. We had a blast going on it but it was so cold we had to really bundle up. My dad brought jumpsuits for everyone to wear and it really helped to keep us warm and clean.

We drove it up to this look out twice.

The first time it was snowing and really cold (as you can see from the picture) and the second it was a lot sunnier. This picture doesn't do the view justice. We were up not too far from Bryce Canyon and so it kinda looked like this in a lot of areas. The dirt was all really red and yellow.

While we drove up to the lookout we saw a couple wild turkeys! Too bad I didn't get any picutres of those they were huge! It was a lot of fun.

On Sunday it was finally sunny. We play some card games and mostly relaxed. We had a big dinner with the whole group. We go camping with 4 or 5 other families. Now that we are all mostly married the group is expanding a lot. There were tons of people to play kickball and capture the flag with! We had a great time together and can't wait till next time.

Memorial Day

2008-05-27T16:37:00.000-07:00

Yes, yes, I know I just wrote a blog about being more on top of things and writing more often. Well I have a good excuse this time. I was planning on posting and letting you all know I was going camping last weekend with my family. However, my lovely internet stopped working and wouldn't load anything right on Friday. So I just had to wait till I got back. We went camping at Tropic Reservoir and froze! It was down past Beaver, Ut so we figured that it wouldn't be too bad. But boy were we wrong! It snowed off and on every single day. And when the sun did come out it was still too cold to not wear a sweater. We still had lots of fun though! And I've decided its great going camping when you are married because crawling into a freezing sleeping bag is great when there are a nice pair of warm legs to put your icy feet on. : ) I'll post again about it when I can get some pictures up.

First Project Done

2008-05-21T08:03:00.000-07:00

I finished making my pillow covers that match the Christmas blanket I made. Here's a picture.

I tried to put a picture of the blanket and the pillows on but it wont work. I did three pillows though and it turned out just great. Now on to my next project.....

Doug's B-Day

2008-05-20T09:10:00.000-07:00

It was Doug's Birthday on Saturday! So we had a party for him with his family. It was a lot of fun!!! We were going to have a bbq at his parents but while we were waiting Brad and Doug wanted to go out and shoot some old plastic apples Mom Hansen was getting rid of. So Brad, Doug, Bryant, Traci, and I loaded into the car. It was pretty fun here are some pictures.

We also got to go to Prince Caspian and we loved it! So you all should see it. It is a bit different from the book but essentially the same.

Doug got a grill from his parents!! Thanks Mom and Dad!! I can't even believe it but it is just what he wanted. And I got him a new swimmin suit and helped Grandma get him a camping pad. So he had a great birthday and we all enjoyed beautiful weather.

Super Savings!!!

2008-05-16T11:21:00.000-07:00

I have to tell you about my cereal savings. Thanks to Mom Hansen, I got a sweet deal. I never shop at Albertson's but Mom told me they were having a great sale on Kellog's cereal. It was 10 for $10! So we went down together on the last day of the sale. I picked out 10 and she got 10. When we got to the register it ended up being even less. They gave us some $2.00 off coupons. For some reason they gave Mom 3 coupons so her total was something like $4. They only gave me 2 coupons so mine came out to be $6. I was excited though! I'll take 10 boxes of cereal for $6!! Thats crazy!! One box of those costs almost $3! So I just had to tell you all I got good name brand cereal for $.60 a box (I usually buy the bag stuff) : ). I'm happy.

Tile Update

2008-05-14T07:25:00.000-07:00

When I went down to Salt Lake, I happened to mention the fact that I needed to do something with my bathroom to my Uncle, GV. He lays floors (tile, lamanent, wood, vinyl, etc...) so I thought he might have some tips for me before I dived in. He asked if I had tile and I told him we were still looking. Then He jumped up and said 'well come out here and look I have tons of left over tile.' Wonderful!! I know!! Free tile?!!? I was so happy because we were a little worried about expenses and this could cut them in half. So I jumped up and went out to his garage. And boy did he have tile. The biggest problem wasn't that he didn't have very much but that he didn't have very much of a set kind. I found tons of beautiful slate, granite and marble but there were only about 10 tiles each of them. I finally settled on this

It is lighter than in the picture. It is off white and is almost the same color of our walls. The smaller tile is granite (light tans, brown, and white) and we are going to cut that in half length ways to use it for an accent border. We will probably put it in between the two rows or on top against the ceiling. And he had 4 boxes left over of the big tile so we have enough to do the whole thing. I am excited. We will have to do some cutting on the tiles and I hope we can do it without breaking many. We can probably afford to break some of the big tiles but the granite is limited. And thats the problem with not buying the tile ourselves but oh well! I'll take what I can get, especially when the word free is involved : ) !!!

Trip to Salt Lake

2008-05-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

I got to go to Salt Lake last weekend to see my Mom and some of my extended family. It was perfect because Mother's Day was this weekend and I have been missing my Mom. My Mom came up for a Primerica convention which she is involved in. I decided to go and see her and go to the convention to see what this thing was all about. It was fun. The company helps people get out of debt and that is great! I'm just not ready to jump in and sign up. Its a multi-level build your own buisness company. I think that its a great opportunity but the problem is motivation. It is hard to stay motivated to do it when you are so busy with other things. And most of you know I'm not to hip on doing the multi-level thing. : ) But while I was there I found myself saying 'Yeah this is great! I could do that!' I mean they have meetings every week to train you and keep you motivated. Thats better than any other company Doug has signed up for. And I kept thinking if they could keep me motivated this might be great! Haha but of course after a few days I have more doubts. I just keep having the thought that I could be good at it if I give it a chance. The problem is I don't know if I want to take the risk of giving it a chance. How about you guys? How do you feel about things like this? Have you ever tried them?

Oh Dear

2008-05-07T09:05:00.000-07:00

I have been really slacking on the whole posting part of blogging! And I have no excuse because I have so much free time. I find a lot of my problem is simply coming up with things to post about. A lot of the time I just forget but I am making a goal to be better at it. So with that in mind.....

Our bathroom has been giving us problems. The shower and toilet are set apart from the sink and mirror, which is great! I love it! Except they are squeezed into such a small space that it is almost impossible to vent without leaving the door open. I don't have a problem doing this but even so we have water damage on our walls. The paint is peeling all above the shower and when I talked to our builder about it he made it clear that it was my problem but they would give me new paint to fix it with : (. Not so fun! I just painted it 5 or 6 months ago! So Doug and I have come to a conclusion. We are going to tile it (well we will see...it depends on expenses). But if we do we plan to do it ourselves. We decided it would be a great summer project : ). So I will have to take pictures and keep ya updated on how it goes.

Some other projects I have decided to do have to do with Christmas : )! So I won't really tell you all what they are exactly otherwise all of my sister-in-laws would have no surprise. But they have been taking up time (one of my many excuses for not posting).

I also have been making pillow covers that match a christmas rag quilt I made last fall. What better time to do it than during the summer! Its fun and I'll post pictures when I have them finished.

I have been scrapbooking like mad! I figured if I don't get things done now whats going to happen when I have kids!?! I'll never do their pictures because I still haven't done trips and christmas and parties from before they were born. So I have about 20 pages done and 20 pages to go of pictures and I'm sure our summer trips will give me that many more.

Also my sister-in-law Richelle has made some of these, which are so cute I cant even believe it! I have found some very cute fabric (which by the way was a $1 a yard YAY!) and plan to make some in my spare time. Thanks Richelle for being so crafty! You inspire me : ).

My biggest summer goal however is to exercise! Not that I feel I need to loose weight because if I don't really. But because I feel like I can't do much anymore. Doug and I went rock climbing with Brad and Traci and I should have climbed but I didn't have the desire because 1) it was so stinking cold and 2) it just looked so hard and I wouldn't have got very far : ). I know they are sad excuses but I plan on going climbing anyways next time because hey thats what helps get ya in shape right? So Doug and I have set a goal to run a 5k in June sometime (not much time I know) and I am gettin ready. I plan to run everyday, no excuses. If I mess up I am going to post it on here and all of you have to seriously scold me! : ) hey I need all the support I can get.

So for now that is what I've been doing and I plan to keep up on posting so you dont have to worry about stopping by and being disappointed with the same old thing every time : )

Teaching

2008-04-28T12:09:00.000-07:00

Doug's mom asked me to teacher her two classes while she went to Arizona to visit family. It was fun since I don't have much in my schedule. But boy let me tell you, college kids are hard to teach : ). First of all it was beginning piano and I am used to teaching little kids so I have all sorts of easy-to-understand explanations for little kids. Well you can't use these with college kids! I found it hard to explain things without talking down to them. Secondly they said nothing! NOTHING! When I asked them if we played it too fast, or if they need it again, or if there were any questions..............................Yeah you guessed it, a lot of blank faces staring at me and the room so silent you could hear a pin drop. It was actually kind of amusing to compare it with teaching opinionated and very vocal children (which is what I'm used to). You would think college kids are comfortable enough with their lives that they can ask questions or at least talk to each other. Lastly I found ways to fix my own problems in teaching. Sometimes I go too fast or I confuse rather than clarify. It really uses more self discipline to teach older ages than younger. It was a great experience and I really enjoyed it!

Family Pictures

2008-04-16T15:22:00.001-07:00

Warm Weather on a Saturday!

2008-04-13T10:43:00.000-07:00

Oh I just have to get on and tell all of you how nice it was yesterday! Haha it is a little silly that I write about the weather so much but I just have to! Yesterday it got all the way up to 54 degrees!!!! : ) Well you may laugh but we were having a great time. We went up to Doug's parents and washed our car. This was a little hard because their hose was frozen under a big pile of ice that will never melt because its in the shade. So we were stuck with taking buckets of water in and out of the kitchen. But we succeeded in making our car all squeaky clean. Then we came home and cleaned the house with the windows open! It was a beautiful day and today is supposed to get even warmer so we are going for a walk after church! Thanks for reading my weather update for Rexburg : ).

End of Semester

2008-04-09T07:09:00.000-07:00

Oh boy, it has been a while since I have even had time to think! I have officially 2 days left till the end of the semester so I can relax! It has been so crazy with only a 12 week semester. All of the teachers have to try and shove everything in and I have way less time to get all of my piano pieces ready and memorized. Of course I'm not complaining! I love to start a week or two into September and get done right at the beginning of April : ) all of my other friends start in August and get done in May. My advice to them is come to BYUI : ). Anywho, last night I had Juries. For all that don't know thats when I play for the piano professors here and they give me a grade and decide whether I am progressing enough to continue. A little nerve racking to say the least. I think I have mastered the art of being nervous and not letting it affect you. It actually went very well and I am hoping to get a good grade. I only have two more tests to take and I am home free (well at least for 5 months). Then I will have all the time in the world to continue to post my life on here!

Happy Easter!

2008-03-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

I was asked to share my feelings on the atonement and resurrection with the primary kids in sharing time later today. I am very grateful for this assignment because it has made me think a lot more about why we celebrate Easter. It is so much more than egg hunts, candies and baskets. The resurrection is the center of Easter and we need to remember that. New life is symbolized over and over with the eggs, spring, and baby chicks or bunnies. Christ has done so much for each of us! Without the resurrection the atonement would loose its purpose. He made it possible for us to return to our Heavenly Father both spiritually and physically. To me this is the greatest gift we could ever receive! We need to remember how important this holiday is and what it represents. We should give it as much recognition as Christmas! I am so grateful for what our Savior has done for us. I am indebted to him forever! I hope as everyone celebrates this holiday, you won't get lost in the candy and eggs. Remember what Easter is really all about. Happy Easter!

Easter Eggs!

2008-03-21T16:12:00.000-07:00

For Family Home Evening this past monday Doug and I decided to color some eggs! It was really fun. We got a special tye-dye kit so you could do it the regular dip-it way or a fancier way. We turned out some really good lookin' ones I would have to say. So sorry too I took pictures and planned on putting some on here but we don't have the cable for my camera or a card reader. So we will have to work on that and as soon and I fix that problem we will post plenty of pictures! Happy Easter!

Relief Society Auction!!!!

2008-03-12T19:41:00.000-07:00

Today Traci invited me to come to an auction dinner presented by our Relief Society. I was very happy to have a friend since I'm in primary it is hard to get to know everyone. The dinner was very fun and creative! The food was great but the auction was even greater. Lots of people brought things they had made, i.e. cookies, bread, blankets, dresses, and dolls while others wrote on little pieces of paper what they would do, i.e. babysit, flower arrangements, and help scrapbooking. We acquired money by the things we had done in our life, how many kids we had, had we gone to the temple this month, have we served a mission etc. I knew what I wanted was a nice loaf of bread. I don't make bread often, I love homemade bread and I knew Doug would appreciate it (especially since I skipped out on dinner tonight!) So when the first loaf of bread came up I was ready! With $335 and my bidding number in hand the auctioneer called for $50. My hand shot up as did several others. $75! $100! 150! 200! It was back and forth between a few of us. '$225!' shouted my most persistent opponent. '$250!' I returned....$275! $280! She really wasn't giving up but neither was I. I didn't show that I was getting low on resources (I only had $335), hoping that she would give up with the thought that I would never quit, no matter how high it got. '$290' she looked at me questioningly......'$310!' I smiled back wondering how far she'd go. 'Do I hear $320?' the auctioneer asked. Defeat on her face, my opponent quit! I had won! A loaf of bread worth $310! It was a very enjoyable experience and had I had more money I would have continued bidding. 'Only in Relief Society,' I thought, 'could a loaf of bread be worth so much!' I returned home with my winnings, very proud, and now as soon as Doug gets home I will enjoy a very expensive piece of toast and jam with my hubby.

Water Aerobics

2008-03-11T19:18:00.000-07:00

I am having a very fun semester with a stress relieving class of water aerobics. It is a very fun way to exercise! It is also the only exercise class recommended for pregnant women. There are 5 in my class all at different stages in their pregnancy and all very much entertaining (I know my time will come when I waddle and can't bend over so I feel safe saying this). Yesterday I enjoyed watching 3 of them race against each other in a relay! The object of the relay was to swim across the width of the pool holding a 1/2 cup measuring cup filled with water and poor the water into a bowl on the other side. Not spilling the water is the hard part. It was very funny! They had the benefit of a noodle to help them float which I think was very helpful. It was interesting to see the competitiveness come out as three very far along pregnant women struggled across the pool! I guess it is something you may have had to be there for. Anyhow I enjoy their good natured attitude about their limitations and always being last to get done (Not to mention how cute they look in their swimsuits). My time will come but for now I just have to laugh...

Longing for Summer!!!

2008-03-04T15:45:00.000-08:00

Oh its been beautiful outside! I can say that because for the past five months its hasn't gotten above 25 degrees and has stayed mostly in the teens! oh the wonderful 30 degree weather is definitely refreshing!!! It felt so warm to me when we went outside the other day. I was thinking "Yes!! Warm Weather!!".......that is untill I talked to my mother on the phone. She informed me it was '80 degrees just the other day' and that 'dad has been outside in the yard all day'. I suddenly realized how crazy I was to be rejoicing in warm weather! 30 degrees!?!?!?! Now where I come from that's definitely cold!!!! Its now March 5th and almost summertime according to my book. Oh how I dream of wearing sandals, shorts, and a t-shirt. I know I shouldn't complain because when it comes summertime I'll be thankful I'm in Idaho and not in Nevada, but oh how I long for that 75 and 80 degree weather my family is enjoying. I guess I will continue to sit and wait for the snow to melt and the grass to turn green. However long that might take.......

Leslie's Tag

2008-03-04T14:58:00.000-08:00

Grown Up Tag RULES OF THE GAME: 1) Each player answers the following questions 2) After answering all the questions, the player tags 4 people and posts their names, then goes to their blog and leaves a comment letting them know they are tagged! 10 years ago I was: Umm....I was in 4th grade! oh dear now I feel really young. The title of this is grown up tag right?!! 5 things on my list to do today: 1) Take a NAP! 2) Make dinner 3) Practice Piano 4) Do some homework 5) ummm....oh yeah I have a concert... Things I would do if I became a Billionaire: 1) Save! 2) pay off our house I guess 3) start college/mission funds for future kids 4) invest in some land 5) find some cabin land for my dad and our family! thats something we've always talked about going in on together. 6) I'd love to go on a cruise or visit europe or something fun! 7) I don't know??? 3 bad habits: 1) reading instead of doing homework or practicing 2) leaving the dishes for tomorrow 3) being a control freak 5 places I've lived: 1) Las Vegas 2) Moapa Valley 3) Rexburg 4) mmm......

5) .........very few places I know! Something most people don't know about me: Ummmm....Something that I've just come to realize is I hate to perform on the piano. I love to play but I hate to perform. Some people get all excited and feel wonderful on stage and I hate it! 5 jobs I've had: 1) McDonalds (yes one of my sad summer jobs) 2) Radioshack! 3) I did one on one work with an Autistic boy for almost 2 years! very fun and interestingly rewarding 4) Piano teacher 5) and I will someday add mother to this list which is sure to be a full time job! I Tag... 1) Brittany 2) Lara 3) Julie 4) umm everyone else already got tagged!

On The Subject Of Cooking....

2008-02-24T09:26:00.000-08:00

Doug and I had a wonderful time yesterday. We had been planning to invite his family over for dinner since who knows when but had never actually done it. I was making the grocery list and thought we should have them over.

Of course when it comes to the cooking dinner part I think I'll choose frustration for two . . . : ). But I enjoyed it! I now know what every mother with married kids goes through to get dinner on the table.

It was so much fun to have our house so full! I love having family so close and have enjoyed so many memories made so far! We missed a few family members who are so far away and I just hope that we can see them soon. I love you all and am so glad families are forever!!!

My Never Ending Cooking Problems

2008-02-23T09:20:00.000-08:00

With a title like that you'd think I hate to cook. Well I love to cook and I think thats one of the biggest problems. I love to try new things and feel a great sense of accomplishment if they turn out.

Just two thursdays ago, for Valentines Day, I asked Doug what one of his favorite meals were. And of course he picks something I've never really made: Lasagna. That was ok. I was up to the challenge but as I looked for any recipes, I found that they all made huge amounts. I didn't want to ruin it by trying to downsize it and then just getting it all wrong. So I just followed the recipe.

It turned out great, I'm glad to say, but today we still have half the pan sitting in our fridge. This was also the problem when I made enchiladas (which were almost gone before I had to through some out). Casserole, meatloaf, soup, and even hamburger helper! I can never just have leftovers for one night they last at least three!

Needless to say I get a little frustrated because even I don't like to eat the same leftovers that many times in a row. If anyone has recipes for two, Please! Please! help me out here.

Who Drove???

2008-02-17T08:57:00.001-08:00

I'm almost too embarrassed to put this on here but it was really funny and I can laugh at myself now. Last Friday when I got out of class I walked to the lobby of the Snow building and proceeded to wait for Doug to come pick me up.

I just got out of Piano Pedagogy and Doug always comes to get me after that class. I waited for about 20 minutes and then tried to call him at the school. Of course the office was closed and I didn't know his extension so I was stuck. (He really needs to get a cell phone!) I even called his parents to see whether he had been up to their house and thought I got out at 5:30 instead of 4:30. They hadn't seen him and started to worry. I thought 'maybe he got in a car crash or something, the roads are really icy.'

Then I had an idea that I could find out his room extension on the middle school's website. So I found a computer to use right when my cell phone rang:

Me: Hello?

Doug: Hi what are you doing?

Me: I'm waiting for you. Where have you been?! I've been waiting for like over a half an hour!

Doug: What? I'm at the school waiting for you.

Me: What??? (very puzzled)

Doug: You drove the car today!

And yes I am sad to admit that I had driven the car and was spacey enough to wait for over a half an hour with the keys in my pocket. Although it is definitely one of my most extreme cases of forgetfulness I doubt I will ever forget that I drove again.

Whats been going on...

2008-02-17T08:46:00.000-08:00

Our lives have been kind of busy this past little while. While Doug is teaching Orchestra I've been a full time student. School work keeps me pretty busy most days. Just last weekend we were swamped with the temple dedication. The community/college put on a celebration for the history of Rexburg and a thing called the wagon box prophesy. It was really neat! Back when the LDS people settled Rexburg the land was awful and the winters were even worse than they are now. Wilford Woodruff came up to Rexburg one Sunday and made a prophesy standing on a wagon. He said that the land would be blessed and that he could see schools of learning, beautiful houses, chapels and temples dotting the land of Idaho. There are now I believe three temples in Idaho. The celebration that was put on included over 600 primary kids, probably about 200 fiddlers, and at least 100 dancers plus the 100 college kids in choir. It was amazing and took a lot of work. The Temple was dedicated the next day and it was very special. Doug and I have to make appointments to do sessions its that crowded up here! But yeah thats the major things that have been happening in our lives.

Our First Blog!!

2008-02-16T09:08:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I am now trying to figure out how to do all of this so things might be changing around for a little while. I figured this is a great way to keep in touch with family and friends so I will try to keep up with you all.