The Hansen Family

We're Alive!

2012-01-11T22:00:00.008-08:00

Well, MUCH has happened since I last posted...forever ago. I'll start back in June. :) (Don't feel like you have to read ALL of this, just want it for my bad memory). And brace yourself for a serious series of posts below this one...dating back to Halloween. :)

In June, we moved from good 'ol Logan to Bluffdale, UT. It was a sad move because I have lots of great friends in Logan, and so does Macie, but we moved closer to Dustin's work so we wouldn't spend so much on gas for his commute. He had been working there for almost a year. It was a great summer! We met LOTS of new people and made LOTS of new friends. We LOVED it. Yes, Dustin had a few issues with living in the big city, especial Jordan Landing on a Saturday, but we learned fast and had a great time.

Along comes the end of August, and school starts again. Dustin's LAST SEMESTER!!! Anyway, he calls me Labor Day weekend as I'm headed to Idaho Falls to tell me he got laid off. Yes. Right as school starts, he's now commuting to Logan for no reason. Anyway, he basically applied for probably 70 jobs, and hadn't heard anything. We knew it could take awhile, so we were just trying to wait it out, but with no income, it's tough. The Sunday before Thanksgiving, we decided to just move in with my sister until Dustin could find a job.

That Wednesday, as I'm packing, Dustin calls me. He got a job!!! He had applied for a job in Star Valley, WY. He applied on a Friday and was called for a phone interview Monday. His interview was Tuesday, and he felt like it went well. A few hours after his interview, they called him to see if he could come in for a sit down interview. We drove there the next week and after the interview patiently waited...and waited...actually we didn't have to wait that long. Only about a week and a half. Anyway, Dustin accepted the job of course, but we still were packed up and decided to move in with his mom in Bancroft to save a little and be closer to WY to look for a place to live.

We moved the day after Thanksgiving, another hard move. We were SO sad to leave all of our great new friends in Bluffdale. We really loved them, and I think I had the most fun. I'd go to play group, book group...these people are always doing fun things. It was such a blast. We'll miss you guys!

Things in Bancroft were good. We were so blessed that Dustin's brothers were willing to give up their room to our little family, his sister was willing to play with Macie, and his parents were willing to put up with us and our crazy kids. For over a month! About six weeks actually. It really didn't feel like it was that long. We had a great time, and we will miss being able to be so close to family in that area.

Now to today. We moved to our new place in Star Valley last Saturday. We LOVE it. We love the house we are renting, and we love this area. Let me take a minute to tell you a little about my first anniversary. :) We went to Jackson Hole, WY. As we were driving through Star Valley, Dustin told me how much he would love to live here. In fact, it was one of his dream places to live. I do remember thinking, "I would NOT love to live here. It's in the middle of NOWHERE!!!" But, now that we are here, have a job, and are just so blessed, I have no complaints. Except that my phone doesn't get very good service, and I REALLY don't want to switch providers...anyway...things are good. Dustin works four tens, so he's off an extra day of the week. That is AWESOME because we are so excited to do all the outdoor family stuff we love to do.

We dodged a bullet by getting this job. A few days after Dustin accepted it, he got a call for an interview in Alaska. Now, who's to say he would have gotten the job, but I would hire him, so why wouldn't someone else? He also got a call one day from a number in New York. Yes, it could have been exciting to move somewhere far and fancy, but we love that we are close to family and can start to settle down.

Another HUGE event...Dustin graduated! He got his masters in Environmental Engineering. He did SO good this last sememster, and he was SO busy. Looking back, it really was a blessing he wasn't working because he was so busy and would have been completely overwhelmed had he been working. It wasn't fun, but it's easy to see our blessings, and the Lord's hand in our lives. (I need to take another moment here...don't mind me...I'm SO SO proud of him! He really works SO hard to provide for our family, and I'm so thankful for his drive and dedication to complete something so unfun, long, and exhausting. Thanks so much Dustin! LOVE YOU!!!)

And last but definately not least...drumroll!....we are expecting baby number three! We are SUPER excited. We are about sixteen weeks along and feeling great. We are SO excited to be having another baby. Macie can't wait. She's sure we are having a girl, and that we WERE going to name her Macie, but now we are going to name her Kaitlyn. We will see. Noah doesn't really get it yet, but he sure loves babies. I think they both are going to love this new chapter in our lives. We are due July 2nd, but I'm hoping a little earlier since we have a family reunion in Bear Lake over the 4th, and I REALLY don't like missing out on parties. :)

Lots of changes in our lives, but we really are so so blessed, and we know it.

Here are a few pictures from today. Our new home, which we hope to be living in for a long time.

My view out my kitchen window.There's actually snow here. I got Macie and Noah bundled up because it is a BEAUTIFUL day today, and we went out to "sled" down our driveway on Dustin's snowboard. Can you not tell that my kids love the snow?What cute kids.This is our view off one side of our deck. Dustin is so excited. He says "It's like a winter wonderland!" Yes, Dustin is in heaven, but so am I. We really are just so blessed beyond what we could have imagined.

Christmas Morning

2012-01-11T22:00:00.007-08:00

I really don't have many pictures of Christmas morning because I got everthing on the video camera, but here are a few. Dustin came to wake us up Christmas morning at five. Macie decided she was ok to get up that early, but not Noah. We had Christmas with Macie and Dustin's family at five, and then with Noah at eight thirty. More his speed. :)

Noah loves Macie's baby.These guys sure got spoiled for Christmas. They must have been good kids. We sure love them.

Christmas Eve

2012-01-11T22:00:00.006-08:00

This year on Christmas Eve, we spend it with my family. We never have since we have been married, and I've wanted to, but since we were much closer this year, we decided to make the drive. It was SO SO worth it, and SO much fun! Here's Macie and her cousin Carly. Don't mind the foggy pictures, the camera was out in the car. We got to see Cody's kids Friday because they spent Christmas Eve and Christmas with Beth's family.

Carly, Macie, and Lily.Starting the festivities Christmas Eve, Camille and Tony made gingerbread cookies. They do this every year. The kids all got to help. How cute.Cameron, Noah, Brennon, Mason, Macie, and Kaden.Then that night, off to Cindy's. Celeste and her family joined us for the celebration. Patrick cooked us up some great prime rib, and we had a delicious dinner. Afterwards, another tradition...decorating the cookies.I love this picture. Noah was picking off his sprinkles one by one to eat them.Then to the final tradition. The nativity. I haven't done this for years, and I really have missed it. Macie was the star, and Noah was a wise man.Cindy's, Camille's, Celeste's, and my kids.And lastly, opening jammies on Christmas Eve. Luckily K-Mart was open til six. We made it jus tin time to get these. Nobody told me this was part of the plan. Can I say it was TOTALLY worth it. Macie and Noah both LOVE their jammies. Macie was posing left and right. Doesn't Noah look like a little old man?This was the best picture I got of everyone in their new jammies. Sorry Scott, Macie's hand in your face...I'm so glad we were able to make it to spend time with my family this year. It was so fun, and some great memories were made. Love you all!

Pinewood Derby Cars

2012-01-11T22:00:00.005-08:00

This post won't be too long. We went to the Wadsworth Christmas Party this year, and had a blast like every other year. I didn't get any pictures at the party, but before, we made these pinewood derby cars. Dustin only cut his hand once, but Macie and Noah sure loved painting their cars. They freaked out when I made them be done.

Macie's Dance Recital

2012-01-11T22:00:00.004-08:00

This year in Bluffdale, we put Macie in dancing. She absolutely LOVED it! Here she is at her dance recital. This is her little class of five girls. Macie, Olivia, and Ellery are all in the same ward, so Macie loved having class with some friends.

Macie and one of her best friends, Kaitlyn. My pictures didn't turn out great because the flash was off...way to go, me!Macie and another best friend, Olivia.

Dustin got Macie these flowers to give to her when she was done. She thought that was awesome.

How sweet. And we were so proud of her. She did such a great job, and really just loved it.

Fam Party & Temple Square

2012-01-11T22:00:00.003-08:00

We had a family Christmas Party with the Walters side. It was lots of fun, but seems like not as many people came this year. We still had lots of fun. And Santa even came!

The child gift exchange. Noah LOVED his sword and gun. Thanks DeDe!Macie's hair in curlers because she had her dance recital that night.We also went to Temple Square with Celeste and her family. We love doing this, and my kids are obsessed with Christmas lights.Macie asked if we could go see the big Jesus. She remembers from when we went last time (her third birthday). She must have her dad's memory.

Oh Christmas Tree

2012-01-11T22:00:00.002-08:00

Grandma Wadsworth was nice enough to let Macie and Noah help decorate the Christmas tree. Like everything else, they had a blast.In Bancroft, they do a community night and light up Tuescher Square. I should have gotten a picture of it. It's a little field that has little Christmas decorations all over. It's quite the event, but the best part is that they leave it up year round. They just turn on the lights at Christmas time. Only in a small town...Santa even came. Macie told him she wanted a pony.Wish daddy could have been there, but he was in Logan, working hard during his last couple weeks of school!

Halloween

2012-01-11T22:00:00.001-08:00

This year was my first time ever to a pumpkin patch! It was kind of cool. We got there and it was pretty chilly, so we didn't stay long.
Macie did most of the pumpkin picking.We also went on a little tractor ride that the kids thought was pretty cool.Noah wasn't sure about cleaning out the pumpkin. Each time he had to touch the seeds, he made a pretty funny face. But we sure had a great time.On Halloween, our friends invited us out to Herriman to go trick-or-treating. It was SOO much fun! Macie and Noah BOTH loved it. To this day, Macie still pretends to go trick-or-treating, and she even said, "Trick-Or-Treat" in her sleep the other night. They did pretty good for only going for a little while. It started getting pretty cold. Thanks to Abbey, Tracie, and their whole family!I only got one picture of these guys on Halloween. I didn't take my camera out, but wish I would have. Noah was a giraffe, and Macie was Rapunzel. This was after we were done, so don't mind Noah's tired face.

Witches Night Out

2012-01-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

So apparently there's quite the "Witches Night Out" at Gardner Village in West Jordan. I hadn't heard about it, but Jen called and said she was coming from Boise to go. Amanda and Jesse came, too! We all went and had a great time!

Amanda got this wig for Macie, you know, because she asked for it...anyway...here's Noah sporting the purple look.

Macie and Noah joining in on the getting ready.

Sure had a great time with these girls!

Pictures

2011-10-17T14:37:00.000-07:00

Prepare to be a little overwhelmed with pictures of my kids! I can't help it, I had a hard time narrowing it down, so I put lots up. Macie's three year pictures, and Noah's eighteen month pictures. Enjoy!

A HUGE thanks to Amanda, for yet another successful photo shoot! YOU ROCK!!!

Been Busy...

2011-10-14T16:53:00.000-07:00

Why I've been falling behind in my reading lately...I've been having fun!!

Hogle Zoo

2011-10-14T16:39:00.000-07:00

Again, my super nice friend invited me and my kids to hang out. We went to Hogle Zoo. It was SO super fun, and my kids loved it...even though Noah was asleep when we got there. It was awesome he got a little bit of a nap first, cause he was so happy the whole time.Macie and Olivia.Noah kept sticking his hand in, and looking into the rhinocerous nostril. It was pretty funny.Riding the carousel. Noah was very skeptical.Macie loved it.The whole time we were there, she kept asking to see the baby "crocogile"Riding the train.Thanks again to my super awesome neighbor for taking us. We owe you!

Corn Maze

2011-10-14T13:07:00.000-07:00

On Tuesday, one of my neighbors was nice enough to invite us to a corn maze in Orem. I got to go with a few good friends (sisters), and their kids. It was SUPER fun! Noah is a raccoon, and Macie was Cinderella.This was a little slide the kids could play on.Macie and her friend Kaitlyn.Most of the kids who went...Macie's friend Olivia. What a cutie!These guys had such a fun time in the corn maze. If they found a bowl with beans, they could take one bean and get a surprise. We had a really hard time finding it, so we ended up going in the exit and finding it. Is that ok??Thanks SO much to Tracie, Abbey, and Brekka. We had a ball!

Sisters Party 2011

2011-10-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, my sisters and I had our annual Sister's Party. We have been getting together once a year for over ten years. There are ten of us. Eight sisters, two sisters-in-law. Only nursing babies are allowed. We went to my sister Kristy's house (thanks Kristy!) and spent the weekend doing what we do best. Talking! We had SO much fun! Shopping, hanging out, and just doing girl stuff.Poor Beth...And Cindy trying to get her workout in...We sure had fun. I'm so lucky to have so many awesome sisters! I LOVE YOU ALL!!!!

Willow Park Zoo

2011-10-14T12:30:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Logan. I met Dustin's cousin, Lexie, and her two kids at Willow Park Zoo. It wasy fun to just hang out and visit. Macie and Anna LOVE playing together, so of course they had a ball. Here's the monkey (Macie's favorite part).Macie, Noah, and Anna.Feeding the ducks.We obviously haven't done this much becuase I haven't taught my kids not to stick their fingers in. Macie and Noah both got snapped at, but they recovered quickly. :)

Maple Canyon Climbing

2011-09-24T07:27:00.000-07:00

Last weekend, Skyler and Miranda took us camping/rock climbing to Maple Canyon, down by Ephraim. Oh. My. Heck! SO FUN!!! A HUGE thanks to them for taking us, taking pictures (can't find my camera charger), and helping to entertain our kids. We got there Friday afternoon, and it was raining. Hard. We didn't want to put tents up in the rain, so we killed some time in town, waited for a break in the rain, and headed back out. We got camp set up, ate dinner, hung out, and right as we were getting into bed, it started raining again. All night long. For the most part, we stayed pretty dry. Saturday morning was when the real fun began. Here is a cool picture of the clouds/fog/rain.It turned out to be an awesome day. Blue skies, and good weather. We went on a hike up this really cool canyon.This was a common occurance...making a train to get the kiddos up and down some of the tough spots.This spot, there's a little rope tied to help you climb up.After the hike, we started rock climbing. Dustin lead the way up, and we all got to climb a little.Macie's first time rock climbing. We are so proud of her, and she impressed quite a few people who were happening by. Here's the "rock on!" face and hands.Macie climbed so high! You can kind of tell how high she climbed in this one...

This climb was SO fun. I think it was right around 100 ft. Stinking high! Loved it!Great clip of Macie coming down. Skyler was letting her down nice and slow because I'm pretty sure coming down was her favorite part. Not bad for a first timer.

Tiny Dancer

2011-09-18T19:40:00.000-07:00

I know you are all wanting to see dozens of pictures of Macie dancing...so here you go! :) She started dancing this year, and she's hooked. She goes once a week, and has only been twice. These are from her first day. It was so cute. She seemed so big to me, and this is only dancing. I am dreading school...She loves her hair in a bun now.All these little girls stretching out. So cute. Macie was the only one in black, so she was easy to find to take pictures.Dancing with the ribbons.Trying to figure out turns...Here is the teacher showing everyone how to turn...maybe this is why Macie wasn't quite getting it...notice all the girls on the bar? Very intent on the lesson...Little ballerinas. I love this picture.Yes, Macie got distracted...Macie with two friends in her class and from our ward. Olivia, Macie, and Ellery.

Weekend Fun!

2011-09-18T18:31:00.000-07:00

Two weekends ago, we made the most out of our week! Starting Wednesday, we went out to Herriman Lake. It was awesome. There was nobody there, now that school has started, and it was a gorgeous day! Not quite warm enough that our kids wanted to get in, but we still had lots of fun.Thursday, Dustin had school in Logan, so we got to go hang out with a few friends. I have one picture, but it is a cute one. Macie and two of her friends, Autumn, and Bela.Friday, we went camping up Tony Grove with our friends Josh, Kaleena, and their little Meili. Isn't this the cutest picture! She was all bundled up for the night, and it was dark outside. She didn't love the flash.Saturday, we went fishing. How pretty is the lake?Macie looking cute as ever in her sweats.Noah loving the trip as well...What cute kids. I LOVE Meili in this picture. Also, can you see what Noah puts up with? What can I say? His sister LOVES him.Kaleena told Macie to pick a rock and she'd take her picture. She meant a rock for her to stand on, but she picked up this little pebble and posed. What a cutie.Macie fishing with her pink fishing pole from Grandpa Walters.

Kaleena helping Meili and Noah fish with Noah's pole.Here's Josh, Kaleena, and Meili.Yes, Kaleena had the best luck that day...she caught herself. Nobody else even had a bite!

My little family.

Labor Day

2011-09-12T13:59:00.000-07:00

Labor Day weekend, Macie, Noah, and I went to Idaho to visit family. It seems like I haven't seen my family forever, so it was so much fun! We stayed at Celeste's the first night, then went to Idaho Falls Saturday through Monday. On Saturday, we went to the zoo. It was actually really cool, and I'm surprised of all the animals they had there. Macie said her favorite animals were the monkeys. Here are a few cousins who went.

Macie and Natalie.

Macie and Addi petting a goat.On Monday, we went to Rigby Lake.Carly was laying on her daddy's lap, so Macie jumped up to join her. Thanks Uncle Cody.These cute girls....and their cool-aid mustaches.

Thanksgiving Point: Part 2

2011-09-12T13:44:00.000-07:00

The last Tuesday of August, we went again to Thanksgiving Point. This time, to the dinosaur museum. We had fun looking at the bones and playing with all of the cool stuff there.Above is Macie digging up the bones they have in a little sand pit. Below, she was pretty sad when I told her she couldn't play in the shark's mouth.Enjoying lunch outside after the museum.

Thanksgiving Point: Part 1

2011-08-31T19:48:00.000-07:00

We have been trying to stay busy this summer. Now that's it's over, time to catch up! Apparently, Thanksgiving Point does $2 Tuesdays in August, so we caught the tail end of that deal. It was awesome! We went with another family in my ward, and these kids had a blast. Look how cute! Macie, Tilly, Maddox, and Noah.Petting the cow.This picture cracks me up because Macie is trying to climb over the top, and Noah is trying to get in from below.They got to ride the ponies. Noah was a little unsure, but had fun. Macie LOVED it! A little cowgirl on our hands?Wagon ride behind the horses...We had so much fun. Thanks to Brittany for letting us know of the great deal, and for inviting us! It was a blast!

Chili Pepper Jam

2011-08-29T08:28:00.000-07:00

My kids sure like their Red Hot Chili Peppers! This is a common activity while driving in the car. Let's jam!

Camping

2011-08-14T10:25:00.000-07:00

On Friday we went camping (a.k.a. scouting for elk with Daddy), and had a blast. We drove around A LOT and Macie and Noah were such good sports. We finally found a camp spot and got settled in. This picture is awesome. Notice Noah's little scowl. He does this often (playing) and it might be one of my favorite faces he pulls.We cheated...we started our tinfoil dinners in the fire, and got impatient. It was already like 8:00! Our kids had to eat! :)Putting Macie right to work. What a sweetie.We saw a few deer, which Macie thought was super cool. This one would have been a cool picture because it was so close, but I rolled down the window and it took off.It was nice getting out and spending time with my little family. I sure do love them!

Concert!

2011-08-11T09:34:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, a girl in my ward (who's husband happens to be a good friend who was my neighbor in college!) invited us to a concert. I didn't know who he was until I got home and googled him. I'm a big googler. Anyway, YAY! Mark Wills, with Thompson Square opening. AWESOME! I was texting Dustin, "And they sing this, and they sing this..." It was tons of fun! (For any country music listeners out there, Thompson Square sings "Are you gonna kiss me or not" among others obviously, and Mark Wills sings lots of songs you'd know, but he sings "Don't Laugh at Me", "I Do (Cherish You)", and I love "19 somthin'")I know concert pictures are awesome, since you can see just who these people are, but we had lots of fun, and our kids did AWESOME for being there for 3 1/2 hours. Toward the end, Noah went into his bored phase, though. He does this in the car when he's exhausted all other options...he just stares. He did this for a little bit and then fell asleep. What a good boy! Great way to spend our Wednesday evening!

Bear Lake

2011-08-09T08:27:00.000-07:00

This last weekend we went to Bear Lake for a reunion on Dustin's stepmom's side of the family. They do a week there camping each year. It's always lots of fun, and our kids had a blast. I'm pretty sure Noah is made to be outside 24/7, if he gets the sleep he needs. I wish this picture was better, but we saw this owl the first morning we got up.
Daddy working on his bike while Noah had to hang out and be like him.

The potty's were kind of far away, and I worried about Macie needing to go and not making it, but we did fine since we took our bikes.

Playing in the sand at the beach.

Yes, Macie's hair is ALWAYS like this in her face.

I gave Dustin this nasty Mr-T haircut, but don't worry, I didn't leave it. I would never do that to him...or myself.

So Dustin was sitting the sand playing with Noah and all the sudden he realized a snake was crawling over his feet. NASTY!

Daddy helping Macie and Noah make banana boats. I've never heard of this before, but they seemed to enjoy it.My kids had so much fun, and it was fun being with family. I really got to relax a little. Thanks everyone for helping to entertain my kids! :)

24th of July

2011-08-05T13:32:00.000-07:00

For the 24th of July, Dustin's mom's side had a family reunion. And where better to gather the troops than Bancroft? :) It was actually tons of fun being able to see everyone and let the kids play. Here's everyone enjoying the parade. Some of those not used to how things are done in Bancroft were slightly amused by the parade. You not only get tons of candy, but the parade goes down the street one way, then turns around a comes back again.

Noah definately got the idea of the parade. He was loving getting the candy. Start 'em young, right?

I don't think Macie even lasted through the first pass of the parade. It was SO hot, and she doesn't do hot. She decided to sit in out in the shade.

This picture doesn't REALLY do justice, but a lot of the kids wanted to go see the train drive by, just down the street, so a group piled in the back of the truck and off they went.

We had to have some water for the kids to play in.

Don't you just love this little smile??!!Here are a bunch of the cousins (second cousins I guess) bundled up watching a movie on the side of the house.

The boys inside playing cars. It was so cute seeing them all hang out and be boys.

Saturday morning, Celeste drove up from Pocatello, and her, Skyler, and I ran the 5K! I'm so proud of us. This is definately going to have to be a tradition. Year one under our belts. We will have to do some heavy recruiting for next year! And yes, I look VERY happy in this picture. I was glad to be done. :) We technically don't know our time because the man taking time wasn't there. His stopwatch had stopped working just before we got in. Darn. High tech, these people. :) Love small towns, right?

Beautiful Bancroft sunset.

Sunday, on our way home, we went to Soda to visit my dad and stopped by the cemetery.
We had such a great time with family and being able to spend time together. We were with lots of family that we don't get to see very often, so it was a total blast. Hopefully we all will get together again soon.

Googly Eyes!

2011-07-21T08:31:00.000-07:00

LOVE these kids!

Swimming

2011-07-17T08:54:00.000-07:00

So Friday, we decided to go on this hike to Dog Lake, up Millcreek Canyon. I have no pictures of the hike because Dustin used his phone to take one picture. :) It was SO amazing...(not exactly). We learned fast why it was called Dog Lake. LOTS of dogs. We didn't pass many people who didn't have their dogs with them. Made me want one. The hike itself wasn't terrible, besides all the bags of doggie poop alongside the trail. At least it was in bags, not on the ground. It was a stinking LONG hike! About six miles round trip, which is long for us, packing our kids in. Macie wanted to turn around about a mile from the top, but we knew there would be that unfulfilled feeling of not making it to the top to see the lake. We kept trucking along, after Macie had to pee in the trees off to the side of the trail. I figured all the hundreds of dogs were marking their territories, so Macie was fine. We got to the top to see a tiny lake that was full of bugs and dogs. :) The scenery was awesome, though, great view from the top, and I'm way glad we went.

Saturday, we stayed home and went swimming in the morning. Macie learned a new trick, so we went to Walmart and got her some goggles and floaties. Noah, too. Here is the result.

On a side note...Macie was swimming to Dustin this whole time and after one time, she came up and said, "Dad, your hair on your body is tickling me!" How entertaining!

Weekend Party!

2011-07-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

So for some reason I am feeling the need to blog the details of our entire life. And often. I think since I feel so far away from my family, I feel like I have to keep them updated. So maybe that's why. :) Our weekend party started on Thursday when Celeste and her family came to visit on their way to see Ife's sister. We got all decked out to go swimming.

Unfortunately, our pool was "closed due to poop in the pool". So we decided to head to the nearby splash park.

It was totally raining, but we still stayed for a little bit. We actually went back the next morning too since the pool was still closed.

They left on Friday, and on Saturday, we started the day going to Cabela's to see the animals. Here they are looking at those nasty fish.

Noah getting comfy in the little Cabela's chair. He doesn't have a camp chair yet, and this one was on sale for $8. I'm sad to say (but not really) that we broke down and got it. I can't pass up that deal.

After Cabela's, Dustin had a work party at Boondocks. It was SO fun! We were there for like 5 hours. Here's Macie and Dustin waiting in line for the bumper boats. She was just tall enough to be a passenger.

Poor Noah, though, wasn't tall enough to be a passenger. He just tried climbing in through the fence. I felt bad for him.

Riding the go-carts.

These guys, and us I'll admit, had a ball playing all the arcade games.

We didn't do amazing, but we got a few prizes. Our kids aren't picky.

Fourth of July

2011-07-07T14:23:00.000-07:00

For the Fourth this year, we went camping...in Dustin's dad's backyard. It counts, right? They are going to be moving far away at the end of the month, so we had to take advantage of the big yard before they left. Here's Macie helping Dustin set up our tent when we got there.

On Saturday, their neighbor was nice enough to let us use this blowup toy. Thanks neighbor! It took awhile for the kids to get warmed up to it, but they sure had fun all day. It was Macie, Noah, and their two second cousins, Anna and Kade. Four kids. And one was like eight months old. :) It was fun.

Macie and Anna were basically inseperable for the whole weekend.Twinners. Their Christmas gifts from last year. Matching jammie pants and they both got sweaters.Riding in a sled behind the lawn mower. Noah hanging out by daddy.

Macie was asleep for fireworks. We went next door to the nice neighbor's house and joined them for fireworks.

We decided to take a drive up Providence Canyon. We wanted to hike up to this waterfall we've been to before, but the road was closed before we could get close. Flooding. We walked up a little ways, and you could see why. This is usually a pretty small stream, but it was quite high and fast. You can see in this picture the water undercutting this tree. The roots are all hanging down. It was crazy! This is the canyon we went up to go snowmobiling not too long ago for our anniversary.
This is looking back towards our car. See how much of the road was taken out? That entire bank on the left of the picture was cut from the flooding. This isn't the regular riverbed.

This tunnel thing usually takes the water under the road. Now we know why the road was closed. No getting across this.

If you look at the right side of this picture you can see where the usual riverbed is. Where the water is running is the newly cut riverbed. :)

We went climbing up Logan Canyon while we were there. Here's Dustin's dad.
Noah playing by the car. He was loving the car.
Hallie.
Hayden in cowboy boots.Hayden barefoot. :)It was such a fun weekend, but like most long trips, it was nice getting home and now we can work on getting back on schedule. Here are my kids enjoying a nice cuddle at home. :) Hope everyone had an enjoyable weekend!

Splash Park

2011-06-27T08:52:00.000-07:00

Once a week, we have play group with some people in our new ward. TONS of people go. It's so much fun! Last week we went to a splash park. Noah wasn't so sure about the water, and it took Macie a little bit to warm up to the idea, but they still had a blast.

I love Macie not wanting to get too wet, so she'd stick her foot in. :)

Macie with two of her new friends!

Oh Macie...

2011-06-23T08:11:00.000-07:00

So on occasion, not often, but occasionally, I feel motivated in the morning to exercise. Typically Macie likes to exercise with me. We get sweaty, and then we shower. :) That's how she sees it anyway. Today, she slept in a little, so I was exercising without her. I was through a good chunk of my Tae Bo movie when she wandered out. She was still a little sleepy so she just sat on the chair and proceeded to watch me. I was using some bands and working on my triceps, which aren't very strong, so I bowed out a little early. Like ONE eight count. Macie, being as observant as she is, told me, "Mom, you didn't pump it!" Thanks Mace, for watching out for mommy.

Hiking

2011-06-20T09:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, we decided to go explore the new area we are living in! :) We just went for a hike up Little Cottonwood Canyon. It was a gorgeous day, and a nice little hike up to this reservoir.

I love this picture of Macie and Dustin hanging out on this rock. She is showing Dustin something...I'm thinking she was pointing to the duck. This duck must have been used to being fed by people or something, because it really was not scared of us.

Macie looks a little nervous in this picture. Rightly so. That duck jumped right up on the rock next to her. She wasn't quite sure what to do about that. :)

I got lots of pictures of this duck. It was pretty cute because the mommy and about seven little ducklings swam out a little later.

And the lizards we saw...

On the way down, Noah was so tired. He fell asleep right on my shoulders. He's looking at the camera in this one, but he zonked right then.
Love Macie's face in this picture. Nice.

We had actually been here once before. Dustin took me here on a date in high school, so it was fun to go back. Oh the memories.....

Macie's 3rd Birthday!

2011-06-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Macie turned three on June 10th. I had always planned to have a little birthday party with all of her little friends but since we moved, that didn't happen. :( I was sad about that, but we still had SUCH a blast! I think she had a very successful birthday. After all, all she wanted was a purple cake...Here she is eating her special breakfast...Chex. Notice her bruise on her head. Sad story. Walking back from the pool wrapped in a towel...tripped...no hands...at least it looks way better than it used to.

Like I was saying, all Macie wanted for her birthday was a purple cake. She's been saying that for the last few months, so I figured I'd give her a purple cake. Here are Macie and Noah "helping" me with the cake.

Don't look very close. It was my first attempt. Luckily, nobody around here is picky!

Grandma and Grandpa Hansen, Hayden, and Halle drove clear down here for a little birthday party. We opened presents, had pizza, cake, ice cream, and went swimming. Here's Macie opening her Cinderella barbie from Disneyland. Love her face.

Yes, Macie looks a little skraggly in this picture, but she usually does, and it's all good. She got a Cinderella dress-up dress, thanks to the wonderful Hanna who made that possible, and here she is with her matching barbie. Too cute.

Macie and Sophie.

Dustin had to work on Friday, Macie's birthday, so we decided to do something fun on Saturday. She ALWAYS talks about the temple. How she's going to get a white dress, get her hair done, and go dancing. :) We decided to take the kiddos to temple square, where mom and dad got married. Macie, being the girly girl she is, loved watching all the brides. So cute. Mom enjoyed it, too.

I just wanted this one for fun. :)

One of Macie's gifts that was almost the end of me, but that I LOVE!!!...is this little skirt I made for her. Much cuter on. I'm very proud of myself. She got to look super cute for her first day in a new ward. I can never seem to get a decent picture of this child!

And I just had to throw this picture on the end because it's basically the cutest picture EVER of my two little babes!

"Happy" Mother's Day

2011-05-09T22:02:00.000-07:00

Yes, today is the day. Mother's Day. A day I sometimes dread, but a day I can reflect and appreciate the things I have.

Seven years ago, my mom passed away from cancer. It was one of the hardest things I've had to face in my life so far. I was eighteen, a freshman in college, and oblivious to how bad the cancer was. Not because I was young and only cared about myself, but because I was a little more protected than some of the rest of my family. I was in a place where I think a lot of us are comfortable. "Nothing bad will happen to me. It happens to other people, but not to me or my family." Needless to say, I was in total shock when I got a call at work that Monday morning from my brother-in-law saying I needed to go now if I wanted to see my mom again.

There are so many memories from those few days. Sometimes it feels like it happened yesterday, but then I realize I haven't seen my mom for seven years, and it feels like a lot longer than that. There are times when I get a 'woe is me' attitude. Like when I got married, basically any holiday, when I get sick, and mostly when I've had kids. It's no fun not having my mom there to call up to ask about what to do with a sick baby, to vent about a bad day, to ask for advice with a new calling. Knowing what my kids are missing out on. Knowing that they won't ever get to experience the feeling my mom could give anyone in her presence. It sucks actually. But, as we know, we do most of our growing through difficult trials. I'd like to remind myself out loud things that help get me through these hard times.

*My family. Obviously. My dad, my 7 sisters, and my 2 brothers. Not to mention their husbands and wives. My family is the strength that holds me together. I have limitless knowledge at my fingertips. I know I don't talk to each member of my family daily. That would be ridiculous. And expensive. But each have their importance to me. Their advice that I need. Their support. Their love.

*Friends. All of them. Friends driving from California and Washington for the funeral. Being able to call friends on the phone, hysterical basically, from the hospital. Friends coming to the hospital to visit and help calm me. So many friends who showed they cared. I remember getting a card from a friend. He was in my ward in college. I hardly knew him at the time. It was the nicest thing ever. To know someone cared, who didn't even know me that well. He still texts me on Mother's Day to tell me he's thinking about me. Flowers from my roommates who were in California at the time, where I would have been less than 24 hours after that phone call at work. Calls from close friends and not so close friends. The lesson in church that next Sunday about losing loved ones from the girl who played the violin. It's crazy what I remember from that time, even with the brain that I have.

*A blessing I got from my Branch President when I lived in Denver. He told me that when I miss my mom, to think of memories of her, and it would lift me up. He also told me to ask, "What would mom do in this situation?" and then, "What should I do?" It's not always easy. I know I often don't make the right decisions, definately not the decisions my mom would make, but that doesn't mean I have to give up.

*Memories of my mom. One memory that for some reason sticks out in my mind so much was of I think the Thursday before my mom passed away. She was in the hospital and most of our family came to visit. There were a bunch of us in that hospital room just hanging out, talking, and laughing. I remember specifically looking at my mom. I remember her sitting in her hospital bed with her eyes closed, listening to her family, and smiling. I remember feeling the spirit so strong. I remember thinking, "She knows what this is all about. She is taking this all in, and loves it." She went home that weekend, just to end up back in the hospital that last time a day later. I remember another time after a really bad day in high school. I went to her school where she was teaching. I peeked in the room with a tear-filled face. She just left her classroom full of students to come give me a hug out in the hall. She didn't say anything, I don't think. She just had that gift of fixing my problems, like I'm sure all moms have.

My mom was amazing. Those to really knew her, knew this. She had this talent, a talent I've found in few others, to make everyone around them feel like they are the most important person to them. She could read people. People were drawn to her. She made people feel so comfortable around her. She was the kindest, most genuine person I have ever known. Her hugs made the world better. Her example reached and influenced so many.

Something a friend of my moms wrote about her, "Lourene was a very thoughtful and sentimental person. She cried easily and often when talking to her, her eyes would fill with tears." This is something I must have definately got from my mom. I get tears in my eyes all of the time. People always ask me if I'm ok. It's something that I haven't loved about myself because I get a little embarassed, but apparently it isn't such a bad thing. I'll keep telling myself that.

I think of the quote by Joseph Smith. "God will feel after you, and he will take hold of you and wrench your very heart strings, and if you cannot stand it you will not be fit for an inheritance in the Celestial Kingdom of God." I'm not saying I'm fit for an interitance in the Celestial Kingdom, but I can say that it is my ultimate goal. It is something I think about always, and something I'm striving for daily. It's easy to lose sight of our goals, to give in to moments of weakness. I do it often. But knowing that we have a Father in Heaven who knows us better than we do makes things easier. It's something we can't do alone, but we can with the help of our Savior. I am so thankful for the knowledge of the plan of salvation. That truth is probably what really has helped me the most through times of trial, especially with losing my mom. I'm so grateful for that knowledge and am so blessed to be a member of His church. I'm so blessed to know that a loving Savior made it possible to be with my family forever. Even without my mom here, I'm so blessed. I have the most amazing husband anyone in the world could ask for. He's perfect for me in every way. Two beautiful kids who are the joy of my life. An amazing family, family in law, and friends. I have countless blessings. Thanks to you all for being who you are to me.

Onto another note, I love being a mother. I'm SO lucky to be able to stay home with my kids all day every day! Yeah, it's hard and sometimes I think I might lose my marbles, but I wouldn't trade it for anything. Macie is the sweetest thing. She makes me laugh all of the time. She is such a great helper. She has the sweetest smile. Noah is so sweet, too! He is such a good boy and makes me feel so loved. He brings a smile to my face every time I see him. I have the best kids ever!

One sister told me awhile back that she makes Mother's Day all about her. It helps. We deserve it! I hope all you mothers out there really do have a great Mother's Day, and that you appreciate the blessing of mothers in every aspect of your lives...whether you have a mother, or you are a mother. It's the greatest gift EVER!

Hawaii Baby!

2011-04-07T13:08:00.000-07:00

So mid February, my sisters all went to Hawaii together. Ten of us! Rosetta called us all up about two weeks before, asking if any of us were in. It started with DeDe saying yes, I think. A bunch of us were "obviously in". I don't think we even had to really talk anyone into it. Everyone was up for it. Everyone made arrangements, and we all miraculously made it there! A little background info to this picture of DeDe...we all flew standby. Ten of us. Just after all the 747's were grounded for computer issues or something. Of the time we spent in airports, I took one picture. Of DeDe. And her waterbottle. ;) One of the first things we did was go to the swap meet at the Aloha Stadium. It's just shops like this all the way around the stadium. It was a blast! I forgot how much fun it was to shop there, and as always, I got home wishing I bought more stuff there.

Ang, me, DeDe, and Rose after getting in some good shopping.

Me, Ang, and Tawny enjoying some pineapple ice cream at the Dole Plantation after standing in line for kind of a ridiculously long time.

All of us waiting for the canoe tour at PCC.

On the canoe.

A night out on the town.

Laie, Hawaii temple. We were bummed we ended up not being able to do a session.

At the beach.

We buried DeDe. I thought that was a pretty common thing to do, but apparently not where we were. You should have seen the people staring at us. It was pretty hilarious. Or maybe it was because we were adults doing it...I don't know.

This is a totally random side note. :) DeDe and I came home through LA I think, and we had quite an interesting time there. We were waiting for our flight and this guy walked by. I knew he looked so familiar, so I googled him once I rememberd where he was from. Anyone remember Uncle Jack from On Our Own? Or Benjamin Steed from The Work and the Glory? Yeah, we met him. Sam Hennings. You should have seen me and DeDe. We were probably 5 feet in front of him looking at pictures on my phone and trying to decide if it was him. I'm sure he thought we were crazy. He was SUPER nice and told us some pretty cool stories. He told me I needed to hurry home to my husband and start working on having more kids. :) It was super cool! This trip was super fun. I still can't believe we all went, that we all made it, and that we all made it home! It was a nice break and a good time to hang out with my girls! A super special thanks to Dustin for letting me go without him, and to Dustin's mom for watching BOTH kids while I was off partying!

Noah One Year

2011-04-04T12:56:00.000-07:00

Noah's One Year Pictures. Thanks Beth for taking them total spur of the moment, and Amanda for editing them. You guys are awesome!

What a handsome guy!

8-Mile

2011-02-24T11:13:00.000-08:00

A couple weeks ago, we went camping! It was Dustin's dad's birthday, so we went to a ranger station in 8-Mile. It was so much fun!
Macie LOVED riding the snowmobiles. She has ridden them before and likes it, but sometimes the loudness of them scared her. I guess she's related to her dad or something because she about wouldn't get off them! She loved it!

Here is Sophie. I put this picture on here for Hanna, who might be missing her puppy. :)

The view from the front porch.

Happy Birthday Dusty!

My sleeping babies.

I had to put this picture on here. This is Macie's first time on a "outside potty". She didn't want to go at first, but she toughed out the cold and stink and went. She's such a big girl!

Skyler put his head lamp on Noah so he could see what he was looking at while we were waiting for the "shuttle" out to the cabin.

We hope Dusty had a great birthday, and we had TONS of fun out there! We love doing this. Hopefully we'll get to go a few more times this winter.

Who THEY Love

2011-02-10T21:11:00.000-08:00

Day 6: Who THEY Love
Yes, I'm very far behind, but that's ok. This first picture was actually taken in the dark with a flash...hence Dustin's expression. :)

Love to Hate

2011-02-07T07:13:00.003-08:00

Day 5: Love to Hate. Let me explain this one. There are things we love about our loved ones that drive us bonkers. Here's mine! Really? Could he put them ANYWHERE else? But I love him!

What They Wear

2011-02-07T07:05:00.000-08:00

Day 4: What they wear.

Then and Now

2011-02-04T12:32:00.000-08:00

Day 3: Then and Now. Macie at three months.

Still loves painting her toes at two and a half.

Noah at....little.
Noah now: a little bigger. (11 months)

How They Look

2011-02-02T19:19:00.000-08:00

Today is 'how they look'. This first picture is pretty blurry, but here's sad.

Happy.
Dirty.Clean.

All in a days work! How cute are these two? LOVE THEM!

What They Do

2011-02-01T21:17:00.000-08:00

So I am doing something crazy and I totally randomly signed up for this photography class. It's a free online class. I don't have a fancy camera or anything, but it could happen one day, but I thought it would be fun anyway to get some tips and ideas. AND I need to take more pictures, and I would love to have something from every day of this month! Anyway, each day of the month we have a topic of something to capture. We are supposed to capture our loved ones. Dustin basically refuses, so here are my kids. :) Today, the theme is 'What They Do'. Here's what I have! Noah gets into mischief!

Macie loves to type on the computer.

And ***drumroll*** Macie has been in panties all day for three days now! She goes by herself, and she is doing awesome! I'm very stoked!

Noah 9 Months

2011-01-13T13:03:00.000-08:00

I'm willing to admit I've been a blog slacker. There actually are some things I want to catch up on, but our computer has been on the fritz a little. Anyway, it's all good cause see how cute our little Noah is?

Halloween

2010-11-06T12:36:00.000-07:00

So, we didn't do a ton for Halloween. Dustin went duck hunting in the morning, I worked in the afternoon, and then we went to our ward party. Macie wouldn't wear her hat, but their costumes turned out pretty cute. Macie was a lady bug. Noah was a bumble bee Pooh bear thing. Macie got her face painted at the ward party.

We carved pumpkins after our ward party since we didn't take Macie trick-or-treating. It was rainy and cold.

We had a good time being able to be home and be together as a family. Isn't that what it's all about anyway?

Hiking

2010-10-25T08:43:00.001-07:00

It's snowing in the mountains today, and Dustin is getting excited for winter. I won't lie, I'm getting a LITTLE excited, too, but I'm still having a hard time letting go of warm weather. I thought I'd post these pictures from a hike we took a few weeks back when the leaves were just starting to turn. It was really pretty.

Bring on the snowshoes, snowmobiles, and snowboards!

Noah 6 Months

2010-09-27T06:53:00.001-07:00

Here's a snippet of Noah's six month pictures. What a handsome guy! Thanks again Amanda!

He was finished by the last picture. :)

Rednecks

2010-09-19T16:36:00.000-07:00

So we gave in to our redneck sides and took our kids to the demolition derby. It was so super fun actually. Here's Macie and Dustin at the beginning.

I figured Macie would have tons of fun, but thought Noah might get a little nervous with the loud sounds. Turns out Macie was the nervous one.

Not Noah.

I don't know...

2010-09-06T08:01:00.000-07:00

So this morning, Macie got out of bed and said, "I go potty." And walked into the closet and closed the door. I said, "Mace, do you want to go in the big girl potty?" She says, "No, in here." Now what? :)

Jack Jack?

2010-08-16T11:46:00.000-07:00

This picture doesn't really do justice, but I think I see a resemblance. :)

Family Reunions

2010-08-10T11:35:00.001-07:00

We've had a few family reunions we've gone to this summer. We went to Bear Lake with the Forsgren side. Dustin wasn't able to make it because of work, but me and the kiddos went. Here's Macie with her 3 second cousins, Nick, Ty, and Anna.

Macie and Halle.
After that reunion, we headed to Idaho Falls for my family reunion. It was fun. Tawny and Bret couldn't make it, but everyone else was there. Here's the kids doing a pinata.
Macie and Carly waiting in line for the slide to go into the pool. Still looking so much alike.

So I didn't have a swimmer diaper for Macie, so here she is. Poor girl. Her swimming suit was too small, but her diaper too big.

Not sure which was better.

We went to Rigby Lake. Here's Macie and Bailey.

Here's a family picture of everyone who was there. Again, no Tawny and Bret, so eleven people missing.

Kylee had Macie and Addison who were not happy getting pictures taken.

The grandkids who were there.

The numbers are what number of grandkid they were. 39 now. :)

Eight of the ten siblings. Nice shot, I know.

I LOVE Rosetta's face in this one. Don't mind us all blinding ourselves looking into the sun.

It was fun getting together with family, just like always. We really missed those who didn't make it, but we realize it's hard getting all of us in one place at one time. :)

24th of July

2010-08-10T11:20:00.000-07:00

The 23rd of July, we went with Dustin's work to a Bee's game in Salt Lake. It was way fun going to a game. We haven't been out for awhile, so it was a good time. All the people Dustin work with are so nice, and I had fun meeting them. Noah was so hungry, he kept trying to eat my pretzel.

We watched fireworks afterwards. They were actually really good. Dustin pointed out that it was fun watching fireworks without having to listen to the music that typically goes along with them. They were just playing rock songs. Fun.

The next morning we went to Bancroft for the parade. Here's Ethan and Noah.

Macie and Kara jumping on the trampoline. I know this is kind of a crappy picture since it was getting dark, but if you can see Macie's face, it's worth the post. :)

Fishing with Dad

2010-08-10T11:02:00.000-07:00

This summer has been so busy, but fun. Dustin took us fishing one night. Macie was obsessed with the "fishies" we never really caught. At least Grandpa Hansen caught one she could look at.

Notice Macie's fully submerged feet.

It's always nice getting out into the great outdoors.

How Sweet

2010-08-05T07:40:00.000-07:00

The other day I was laying in bed with Macie after putting Noah in bed, and Dustin came in and said, "I wish I could just freeze them at this age." He went on to say that Macie is so cute and innocent, usually, and Noah is just so happy. It was so sweet! What a cute dad.

Does your face hurt?

2010-07-22T07:48:00.000-07:00

So, this is probably just a "you had to be there" moment, but I had to blog this because I was DYING last night! So, it was about 11:45 last night and Dustin and I decided we should get some shut eye. Dustin was in bed, and I lay down and try to relax. Do you ever notice how once you get in bed, you really can realize where your whole body hurts? Well, I thought Dustin cared and proceeded to tell him, "Man, my knees hurt so bad. So does my back." Then he pops in this little jewel. "Does your face hurt?" Me, not seeing where this was going said, "No, should it?" and he replied with, "Cause it's killing me!" Oh my heck! It was late and I was so tired, but I spent the next 15 minutes giggling and crying like a little 6th grade girl! I was dying!!! Then we spent about 10 minutes trying to decide if that really was how the insult went. I told Dustin I'll never be able to complain about my aches and pains without laughing now. Oh, good times. The joys of being married to Dustin. :)

Fourth and Fun!

2010-07-15T18:51:00.000-07:00

Well, the fourth was pretty fun for us. We spent the weekend in Wellsville with Dustin's family. Macie liked doing the fireworks. I know it's dangerous for little kids, but we like to live on the wild side. Here's Noah watching the fireworks. His eyes were huge the whole time.

On Monday, we went to the parade in Hyrum. It was TWO HOURS LONG! At first Macie was content getting a piece of candy and hanging out.

Then she got into getting the candy. She ended up making a pretty good haul.

This last week, we went to spend a few days with my sister, Kristy. Here's Macie jumping on the trampoline with the sprinkler. She wasn't quite as into it as I thought she'd be, but she had fun.
The other night, Dustin and I decided to go for a drive, and we hiked up to this waterfall. It was SUPER pretty, and a good hike, too. We had to haul our kids up and watch for stinging nettle. Dustin found it first by walking through it, so we kept our eyes open after that.

It was so pretty up there. The view was awesome. It made us really appreciate living where we do, and being able to get out and do stuff in the outdoors. What a gorgeous place to be!

Macie 2 Year Pics

2010-06-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

I was very sad thinking about picture time because Mollie, who usually takes my kids' pictures, lives in Arizona. I had seen some pictures my friend Amanda took, and so I called her up. Thanks so much Amanda for putting up with all of my craziness. You did a great job. As you can see from the pictures, she didn't disappoint! :) Tons of fun. Here are Macie's two year pictures. What a beauty. Enjoy.

Noah 3 Month Pics

2010-06-28T12:58:00.001-07:00

I LOVE PICTURE TIME! Here are Noah's three month pictures. It's a little closer to four months, but that's ok. He was so good and smiled so much. What a charmer!

Thanks again Amanda. LOVE THEM!

#1 is #2

2010-06-25T11:21:00.001-07:00

So, this post is a little late, but Macie turned 2 on June 10th. Here are a few pictures of her and her presents. I'm pretty sure she had tons of fun!

Here are some pictures of our first time out climbing this year. Macie is quite the climber. She loves it.

Dustin's grandma had her 80th birthday, so his family all got together in Pocatello. Here's Noah, Macie and her second cousin, Ella. This is the only picture I got of the whole night.

We are just keeping busy so far this summer. We are having fun, though!

Ode to the past...

2010-06-17T09:17:00.000-07:00

So this is a bittersweet post for me. With Dustin driving to Salt Lake every day, we were spending a pretty penny on gas, so he decided to sell his motorcycle for a new one that would commute better. I loved his motorcycle. As nervous as I am with motorcycles, I'm doing better and I guess I just always imagined myself one day driving this one. I will always hold a special place in my heart to you, Honda Nighthawk! This is the motorcycle Dustin bought just before his mission when he lived in Salt Lake, and I was still in high school. He looked so good on it, and it just brings back memories from the dating days. So I say with a sad heart, Farewell my friend! (Isn't she pretty?)

On to new things. Here's Dustin's new bike. A Honda CBR or something of the sort. Yes it is purple and green, yes it's a bullet bike, and yes I worry about Dustin on the freeway, but he's a smart cookie, so he can take care of himself.

We will be saving about half the gas money we were spending before. Maybe a little more. Dustin is loving his job right now. He's really into it and is doing a really good job. I'm super proud of him. He rode his new motorcycle to work this morning, and he got there safe. :) Yahoo!

Memorial Weekend

2010-06-02T15:05:00.000-07:00

This picture was just a random one that made me glad Macie is still little. Dustin was getting her ready to go outside to play and she had to take her baby and backpack. Minus the bink, she looked like she was off to her first day of school. It almost brought a tear to my eye!

Memorial weekend was a good one. Starting off, we headed to Bancroft/Soda for Sam's graduation. Macie puked in the car on the way, so I didn't go to graduation, but it looks like Dustin and his brothers have similar taste in clothing.

Saturday, we went to Soda again to the cemetery. It was way past Macie's nap time, so she wasn't super smiley, but here she is carrying flowers. It seems like every Memorial Day we've been up to Soda it's been crappy weather. At least it kind of stopped raining for a sec while we were there. I sure miss my mom.

After the cemetery and driving down to the bridge to see the geese and new goslings, we headed to Idaho Falls to hang out with family. All but three siblings were there. It was lots of fun. Here's my babe with my babes. So cute.

Macie, her arms, face, and clothes, enjoying a popsicle.

Camille and Tony were playing flag football with all the kids, so Macie had to get in on the action.

Our little climber. Starting so young.

And of course, Macie and Carly. Beth and I joked that these guys will get old and see all these pictures and think they were best friends. Actually, I don't know if they ever smile in these, and they hardly really know each other. :) Oh well.

And now, it's back to Logan and life. Dustin started his internship yesterday. He's working for an engineering firm in Salt Lake. He feels like he knows what he's doing, so that's good. He has his own office, too. Things are going good!

Good Job Dustin

2010-05-27T17:43:00.000-07:00

So, I'm not trying to toot my own horn, it's not mine to toot, but I thought I'd just tell everyone what we are up to these days. I'm so proud of Dustin. He officially got accepted into grad school. He's had a few offers from professors offering him funding and wanting him to work with them. He got an internship with a really good company in Salt Lake. Yeah, he has to drive to Salt Lake, but there's a possibility that he will spend some time working in Logan because the company is doing some work up here. That would be awesome. This means we get to live in our house for at least two more years. We are really excited. Good job Dustin!

My Cuties!

2010-05-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

Dustin graduated May 8th. Macie was in Bancroft, so Noah and I went. I'm so proud of Dustin for this accomplishment! He's awesome.
Here he is with most of the other Environmental Engineers.

I finally got Noah back in his blessing clothes so I could take a few more pictures closer up. He was SO tired and couldn't stay awake. Here's a couple with his eyes open.

Here's Noah and Macie in their matching jammies! How cute.

Macie didn't want to smile.

Then she decided to.

Macie likes to basically get in Noah's carseat with him.

I love when Noah smiles like this! He smiles all the time! It's so much fun. I love me family so much! I have three cuties to have around. How lucky am I?

Big Girl!

2010-05-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

So I had to hurry and post. Macie told me this morning, "Mom, Potty!" She went potty in the toilet two times today!!!! WE ARE WELL ON OUR WAY OUT OF DIAPERS! I love being a mom and having little things like this be such a big deal. It made my day. :) My baby girl is growing up.

Noah Blessing

2010-04-24T11:32:00.000-07:00

We blessed Noah the Sunday after Conference. It was a great blessing and it was nice having so much family there. Thanks to everyone who came and brought stuff. We really appreciated it! Besides the wind, everything was perfect. :) Here's a few pictures. We went to the park after the blessing. Here's a few of the nieces and nephews.

Can you just not get enough of Kaveni? Look at that hair!

Here's a four generation picture. Noah, Dustin, Dustin's dad, and Dustin's grandpa.

Cameron's unfortunate event that put his hand in a cactus.

I think Macie and Carly still look alike. How crazy.

What a cute baby boy! We had such a good day, and are really blessed to have our little family growing.

Look-Alikes

2010-04-02T20:41:00.000-07:00

Dustin found these pictures. Do you think our kids look alike?

Not much going on...

2010-03-27T18:17:00.000-07:00

Here are just a few random pictures. Jesse, Lonny, and Halle stopped by awhile ago to see Noah. Halle had the same jammies as Macie, so I had to get a picture. How cute!

Macie LOVES Noah.

So, sorry to everyone who thinks I'm a bad mom, but Kristy called this weekend, so we took the snow machines out. Kristy and Gregg had their huge snow machine trailer for us to hang out in. They have a heater in there and everything, so it was perfect for the little ones. That's why I was able to go. Thanks Kristy and Meggan for watching our kids so we could take a quick ride. It was so much fun! This is Macie saying "cheese".

We had so much fun, and it was great getting out. Noah is getting so big. Macie just loves on him all the time. She is a great helper. I just have an awesome family!

FINALLY!!!!

2010-03-06T07:34:00.000-08:00

Alright! The time finally came. Sorry everyone who has been waiting to see pictures. I don't know why it took me so long to post. Dustin has actually been a little busy, so now he's here to help with the kiddos, so here goes. Basically, Tuesday night I was in lots of pain, so I didn't go to work Wednesday and asked to go to the doctor instead. He checked me and I was dilated to a 2 1/2 and 90% effaced. He could feel the head and said one membrane was already gone. He stripped my membranes, and I basically contracted from then on out. I went home for about two hours and the told Dustin to come get me. This is the only picture I have of me pregnant. We took it right before we walked out the door to the hospital. Mind you, I was having a contraction during this picture. Super fun!

We got to the hospital at about 12:30 in the afternoon on Wednesday. Here we are at the hospital. Just getting ready. I had my epidural and felt really good after that. I went from a 5 to a 10 in an hour. The nurse checked me and said, "Let's start pushing!" I was SO EXCITED!

I pushed through one contraction and baby was here! We named him Noah Dustin Hansen. He was born at 5:07 PM on Wednesday. 8 lbs 6 oz. Twenty inches. He screamed til I fed him, and then he's been good ever since.

Proud daddy.

Thanks to grandparetns for taking Macie while we were at the hospital. They brought her a few times to meet her little brother. This picture is pretty much the cutest thing ever. Macie LOVES Noah. She is already such a good helper and hasn't even gotten jealous, which is what I was really nervous about. She's awesome.

Shopping spree with Grandma. She had to show us her new outfit.

I'm wondering who he looks like. Macie was totally Walters. I'm not sure about this one. He has little hands and feet. Nothing like the long fingers and toes Macie had. He's pretty stinking cute. We came home Thursday night and are so glad to be home and getting back on schedule. Noah sleeps a lot and eats SO good. That's always nice. Anyway, thanks for everyones calls and stuff. Sorry if I haven't gotten to calling people back. Hopefully everyone can get their fix for a few days with these pictures. We love our little family!

No News...

2010-02-25T14:37:00.000-08:00

Well, no baby yet. I did have an appointment yesterday. I'm still just 50% effaced and dilated to a one. I'm measuring at 38 1/2 weeks. My ultrasound lady told us March 8th, so that's what I'm going by. About a week and a half! I feel like this baby will come any time, but I also have no instincts whatsoever. I'm sure I'll still be feeling ultra uncomfortable in a week. I feel like we are ready. I finally got my tubs scrubbed! All I really want to do is get my floor mopped, and then it'll all be good. Anyway, we'll keep everyone posted!

Macie 18 Months

2010-01-28T13:44:00.000-08:00

So here are Macie's 18 month pictures. They were a little closer to 19 months, but it's all good. Mollie (who takes Macie's pictures) was in Logan for the weekend from Arizona, so I snagged her and had her do these pictures. It was so much fun like always. There are some with our piano, and some with my mom's old guitar. I thought they turned out so cute. Sorry there are so many, but I just can't get enough of this girl!!!

Let it snow...while we aren't outside.

2010-01-24T15:19:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Celeste and Ife came to Logan to visit. It was super fun. We loaded up the kids, our gear, and the snowmachines to head up Logan Canyon to play in the snow. These three carseats barely fit in here!

Macie loves getting her snow clothes on, but it was snowing quite hard, and she wasn't appreciating it blowing in her face. Here, she's waiting in the car.

I love this picture of Kaveni.

Saki had a good time riding the snowmachine. He lasted a little longer than the little kids.

Celeste and Kaveni since you can't see either. :) Nice and warm.

Oh Dustin, doesn't he look so cute?

We haven't had good snow hardly all season, so we haven't gotton the snowmachines out much. We were so excited when it stormed finally, but it was storming all day in the canyon. You couldn't really see anything, and the kids liked riding in the sled for a little bit, then it was back to the car, which was actually pretty fun, too. I realized on this trip that 7 1/2 month pregnant people don't really fit on the back of a snowmachine. I rode with Dustin up one hill, he got the sled stuck, and I walked about halfway down before he picked me up on the other one. Thanks Ife for helping him dig it out. Anyway, it was a fun time, and I always love spending time with my family. Thanks for coming! We'll go again when we can go for real!

Christmas

2010-01-20T21:36:00.001-08:00

This year for Christmas, we went to Dustin's dad's house in Wellsville. We stayed the night out there and had Christmas morning. It was lots of fun because it was the first time we've been with the Hansens for Christmas. Macie LOVED her gifts. Each one she openend, she didn't want to put it down to open the next one. Great times. Here she's brushing her doll's hair.

Some bling from the Hansens. Don't mind her face, I don't know what she's doing. She got a little purse that she loves. It has a little wallet in it with a drivers license for her, and she had to go around showing it to everyone. Even the pets.

A little computer so she can be like mom.

Brenda made these matching hats for Macie and her baby. SO CUTE, but I wish she'd actually wear it more. She lasted about for the picture, and that's about it.

Even though we were sick almost all of Christmas break, we had a great time. It was nice to spend time with family and relax at home. Even though it's late, I hope everyone else had a great time enjoying this awesome season.

Thanksgiving...

2009-12-26T21:37:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving was great this year. It was the "off" year for our family, but things changed and all of my siblings were there! All ten of us kids! It was super. We had it in Idaho Falls at Texas Roadhouse. My brother-in-law is the manager there. We had prime rib, along with all the other regular Thanksgiving fixins. Yummy. We stayed in Idaho Falls til Sunday because Cody blessed their baby girl, Kate. It was great except basically we got everyone sick there. Well, I feel like it was us because Macie and I were the first sick ones. Sorry family! Anyway, I'm glad we all were able to be there. Here's all ten kids and my dad.

Here are all the grandkids except baby Kate who was about a couple weeks old at the time. She was with Beth seeing her side of the family, but they came back the next day. I think that makes 37 grandkids, ages 19 to a couple weeks.

Macie was a big fan of the olives.

And the cookies.

We had a really great Thanksgiving and were so glad we were able to spend it with family. Thanks Cody and Beth for volunteering Idaho Falls. Thanks everyone else who did everything. :) My family is the coolest!

Yes...Halloween!

2009-12-26T21:13:00.000-08:00

I know I haven't posted anything really since Halloween...besides baby boy news....so I thought I'd get caught up again since I have my iPhoto back. Anyway, here are just a few pictures of carving pumpkins.

Macie was a ladybug for Halloween, and I didn't get any pictures. We just dressed her up for the ward party and that's it. We didn't really do much for Halloween except hang out with my neighbor and timed her contractions. It actually was really fun playing games and getting excited for her baby. She had her baby boy the next day. Anyway, that's about it for Halloween for us. Super cool!

It's a.......WHAT??

2009-11-01T08:37:00.000-08:00

So, Dustin and I are expecting Baby #2. I was so sure it was going to be a girl, but lo and behold, it's a boy. I was in total shock, but I'm so excited! We both are. Sorry to anyone who didn't know we were pregnant. Our families knew, and that's about it. SORRY! :) We are due March 16th, but the ultrasound lady said is would probably be closer to March 8th. These are crappy pictures, but they are pictures of pictures. The machine wouldn't save anything on a disk or anything, so we just have pictures. Anyway, just wanted to share the excitement!

Fun in the Sun

2009-10-21T15:11:00.000-07:00

Dustin and I went to Orlando, Florida last week because he competed in a wastewater treatment competition. They qualified here in Utah to go to Nationals even though it was Utah State's first year competing. They did such a good job in Orlando! (I got to go watch). It was very interesting believe it or not, and it made me even more proud of him. He's so smart! :) We got to stay in this sweet condo place. It was super nice. Oh, I have to tell this one story. While we were driving to our condo, I saw an armadillo crossing the road. No, not a skunk, an armadillo! Crazy. Anyway, since we were in Orlando (and it's hurricane season) we went on a cruise as well. We rented a car and drove to Miami. We left from there and went to Key West and Cozumel. It was tons of fun, and nice to be in the sun. Here are a few pictures. This is when we are leaving Miami.

Our ship. Imagination!

Here we are in Cozumel.

Storm? What storm is coming? It poured on us! I doesn't rain like that in Logan. It rained HARD for about an hour, maybe? Then the sun came back out and we went back out to enjoy it.

Here is the deck on our boat. We had such a good time!

So Friday, we got back to Miami at like 8:00 in the morning, but our flight wasn't until 6:00 at night, so we went on a tour of the Everglades. It was so cool! We saw alligators, crocodiles, turtles, fish, birds...good times.

Here's the fan boat we went on. That thing can turn on the water. It was awesome.

So we sat down on the boat and felt a couple rain drops. We took off, got poured on for about one minute, but it did enough. Dustin doesn't even look wet. How lucky to be a guy.

Here's an alligator.

No, we didn't forget about Macie. She stayed in Bancroft with Dustin's mom. I missed her so much, but she had such a good time! What a lucky little girl. How cute is she? :)

Crazy Summer!

2009-08-18T07:49:00.001-07:00

So I haven't updated in a long time because this summer has been a little wild. Here are just a few pictures of the things we've been up to. We went camping in Bear Lake with Luke and Natalie (our neighbors). It was a little cold that day at the beach, but it was still a good time.

We had our family reunion in Island Park. It was way fun. I haven't been to Island Park since a family reunion when I was a little tyke. We got to go see Guys and Dolls in West Yellowstone. Thanks for watching our kids everyone! I don't have many pictures of the reunion, but we did go on a little walk with everyone. All the kids, Ife, and Tony got to play in the water.

Then we went to Green River to float down the Green River. Imagine that! We left Macie in Bancroft with Dustin's mom. Thanks! I don't think she would have liked sitting in a canoe in the heat for two days. We went 50 miles in two days. It was fun, too! Here's all of us getting ready to push out.

Look how cute Dustin is! He looks smokin' in his cowboy hat and sunglasses. :)

Here's me and Dustin. Skyler and Miranda are in the back. Look at what a good idea they had! I wish I had that idea. That umbrella served for some great shade and a little sail at times.

I had to put this picture in. Here's Hanna coming back with her "poo bucket". Dustin had to get a picture.

The next weekend we drove to Denver for one nephews birthday and a new nephews baby blessing. Celeste, Ife, Saki, and Kaveni rode with us. The kids actually did really well on the long drive. Here's Macie starting out. It was her first time in a big girl carseat. She loves it.

In Denver, we went to walk around at this outdoor outlet place. The kids just played here where all these little fountains shoot up. Macie loved it and got 100% soaked.

Then we went over to Outdoor World. They had this little section where you could shoot at targets. Who taught Celeste how to hold a gun? :)

And here's Dustin shooting. He did a great job. It was super fun.

That's about the extent of our big travels over the summer. We had lots of fun and put lots of miles on our car. It's a little nice to be home and be able to work on some projects around the house. We'll add some of those pictures here soon! It's been great getting stuff done!

Fourth of July Festivities!

2009-07-09T20:13:00.001-07:00

For the 4th we went to Soda. It was a good time. They did the annual foam party on Friday. I took Macie, but she wasn't interested. She didn't like the foam, but she sure had to help Celeste push Kaveni in the stroller.

We went climbing up Sulfer Canyon again. Macie was loving the outdoors...like always. She was being so funny! She'd walk around to the leaves she could reach and kiss them. It was hilarious.

Cody, Macie, and Carly.
The grandkids who showed up.

Here are my siblings that came. Tawny, Kristy, DeDe, Cindy, Camille, Cody, Celeste, and me.

Macie didn't get a ton of candy, but Dustin did. :)

This was hilarious! Cody and Cindy had to get in on the fun. They did this whole gladiator thing. (Sorry Cindy! I can't get my movie to work, so I'll have to figure it out for you so Patrick can see it. SO FUNNY!)

I got to see a bunch of my high school friends. Here's me and Jennie.

After the parade, we went to Hooper Springs to hang out where it wasn't quite as crowded. Here's everyone sitting down to eat lunch.

I just had to put this picture on here. Jennie gave Macie this cutest dress ever! It has a matching flower you can't see too good, but it's SO CUTE! Thanks Jen!

We had a great 4th weekend. We got to go see the fireworks in Lava with Dustin's family. I'm just so grateful we get to celebrate the 4th and remember how lucky we are to live here.

Happy Father's Day!

2009-06-23T21:37:00.001-07:00

I didn't take any pictures on Father's Day because I didn't do anything for Dustin until Monday. Long story, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I have an awesome husband! He's an awesome dad and my very best friend. I love him so much, and I'm so lucky to have him in my life. I love you Dustin! Thanks for being perfect for me!

Recent Activities...

2009-06-23T20:58:00.000-07:00

So we have gone climbing a lot lately, so here are a few pictures.

Here are just some random pictures. Dustin told me if I made the pancake batter, he'd make the pancakes. He only had to make four...for four of us.

Macie just sitting at this little table at work, drawing.

Sitting on Dad's motorcycle.

Dustin was laughing so hard when he saw her. She found the can opener and a can of beans and pretended like she was opening it. She does so many things acting like a big girl. It kills me.

Playing in the dirt at Bear Lake.