Hansen Family

Our Baby Turned 18!

2011-09-17T20:00:00.000-07:00

Trevor turned 18 on September 7th! Where did time go? It seems like yesterday he was starting preschool, playing with Knex, Hot Wheel cars, and zooming around on his little red fire truck. Now it's high school, football, wrestling, dances, girls, fights, zooming around in his Chevy, speeding tickets, ect.  A year from now he will be heading for the mission field. I really can't wrap my arms around the fact that all our kids will be "grown".

Trevor has always been so fun! We look at pictures of when he was little and we can't help but laugh. He was so cute, so fun and full of life! Trevor is kind, passionate, fun, sensitive, tough, and has a high tolerance for pain.  He loves his family, his dad's humor, being waited on, shrimp, football, wrestling, friends, his red Chevy Blazer and fishing.

Things you may not know about Trevor: He is sensitive, he's the first one to notice if you've gotten a hair cut or something new. He showers and changes his clothes about 3-5 times a day. He selpt with an ice pack on his head every night for years. He idolizes his Uncle Dale who is his clone, he is an eagle scout.

As soon as he could balance on his feet, while holding on to something, we couldn't keep him on the ground. We had to tie the chairs to the table so he couldn't move them around to where ever he wanted to climb.  He liked to climb on the stove and turn the burners on.  He would pull out the drawer under the stove to to be his little step stool and then he would be able to pull himself up on top of the stove. So, Dean decided to screw the drawer shut to keep him off the stove and to keep him from hurting himself. And just to be safe he also took off all the knobs that controlled the burners so there was just a metal post for the control. When Dean was finished he went down stairs to put his tools away and when he came back up Trevor had stuck his toes between the drawer and the oven door and was climbing up on top of the stove. Later that night I was talking to my mom on the phone and trying to get packed for our trip to Arizona that next morning and I could hear Trevor whining and whining in the other room, so I yelled to him, "Just a minute Trevor, mommy's comming in just a second."  A few minutes later I finally went to see what all the whining was about and there he was in just a diaper sitting on top of the stove in the very middle with bright red burners around him. He had his knees up to his chest and his arms around his legs holding them as tight as he could to make himself as small as possible. I think I lost a couple years off my life that day, and no, I didn't win mother of the year that year (nor any year after that). Yes, he had two burn marks the shape of a partial coil high on the back of his thigh.  That sums up his life as a baby and his life as a toddler was a different story.

He loved Batman when he was little and would wear a Batman mask 24/7 if we'd let him. We would take it off once he fell into a deep sleep. He was climbing out of his crib when he was 8 months old and we had to put couch cushions on the floor so he wouldn't hurt himself falling to the floor. We just found out a few years ago that he climbed out of his crib thanks to the coercion of his brother and sister who slept in the same room as him. They thought is was funny to watch him climb out and fall to the floor.

When we first moved to Lehi (he was 4) I left to go to the store and he followed me on his bike with no shirt or shoes, just shorts. He went all the way down the hill (I don't know how he made it without crashing and dying) and a nice man saw him down by Sego Lily and asked him where his parents were and he said "They went to California." I think he watched Home Alone a few too many times. He knew our phone number and the nice man called Dean and we got him home safe and sound.

We are so glad he was born into our family and glad he was last so he wasn't an only child. :)

2010-06-26T22:47:00.000-07:00

Taylor told Lexi that for her birthday he was going to take her skydiving. They had it planned for sometime in July, but we found out he has to have surgery on his ankle July 1st. I was excited that he had to cancel his skydiving plans because I really did't want him to go. So, what did he do? He moved it up to June 26th and very much against my will! I was afraid he would mess up his ankle even more if he didn't die first! This kid used his nineth life on his motorcycle accident so I don't want him taking any chances. There was a group of about 10-12 of his friends that went. He had a great time and thought it was totally amazing! Of course!

2010-06-16T22:10:00.000-07:00

2010-06-16T22:09:00.000-07:00

2010-06-16T22:04:00.000-07:00

Taylor's Mission Call

2010-06-16T21:06:00.000-07:00

Taylor got his mission call today! We weren't sure when to open it because Trevor was at Scout camp and we told him we would wait until he got home. But when it actually came, there was no waiting! Well, a little waiting. We had to wait until we all got home from work. Dean got a hold of Bishop Larson at Scout camp and told him we wanted to open the mission call with Trevor on the cell phone and he said they would try to call between 6:00 and 6:30 so we waited for what seemed to be eternity and he never called so we assumed they couldn't get coverage because the were up in Yellow Stone. So, around 6:40 Taylor just went ahead and opened it. We felt bad because we wanted Trevor to be a part of it. Trevor ended up calling about 7:15 and Taylor told him he was called to the San Antonio, Texas - Spanish speaking Mission and reports to the MTC August 25th. My dad, Taylor's grampa, John W. Skidmore, went to Texas on his mission 59 years ago. His mission was called the Texas-Liousanna Mission. He was very excited that Taylor is going there too. Wow! It was torture waiting for those papers to come and then waiting to open it. I was so nervous and sick to my stomach. Taylor had about 15 friends here along with my Nana and bumpa (my parents) and Grandma Beth and Papa Teral (Dean's parents) and his siter Mary Ann and her son, Alex. Jessica and Shawn were here too. Dean picked up some Little Caesars pizza, soda and some ice cream and Nana made a salad and some brownies. It was like a regular party! Some of Taylor's friends that came were: Lexi Nielson, Kiahna Campbell, Rex Measom, Brad, Scott Henderson, Hailie Barber, Colby Massa, Kacey Savage, Annalee, McKenzie Florence, Melissa, Kylee.

Wrestling Season almost over!

2010-02-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

We have had a great year wrestling this year. Trevor has done really well as a 10th grader and Taylor 12 grader was able to wrestle the last week of the season after getting medial clearance on his his nasal surgeries and his teeth implants. Taylor ended up wining 10 matches this year and qualified for the state tournament. Trevor won 1st place at the Region tournament and is excited for the state wrestling tournament this week at UVU. This Saturday the boys will be ending their three month fast for the wrestling season by going to a all you can eat restaurant. Nothing like gaining 10 pounds at one meal. You can view Trevor's matches, they are still posted, but are at the end of our blog page. No, you can't view any of modest Taylor's matches. He will not give us permission to post them. He hates the spotlight unlike my red head. :)

The First Day of School!

2009-08-23T12:54:00.000-07:00

Wow! Another summer gone! We have always loved the first day of school. Back to the routine of things, new beginnings and best of all out to breakfast. This was our 16th year in a row going out to breakfast on the first day of school. We started the tradition on Jessica's first day of preschool and have done it ever since. The kids look forward to it, although, the older they get the harder it is to get up early. School starts at 7:45 am at the high school so we leave the house about 6:30 am for breakfast. We missed Jessica and Shawn this year. This was the first year without Jessica. She really wanted to come, but I forgot to remind her about it until really late the night before and she couldn't swing it with work. :( Hopefully she'll be back next year, we may really need her if it's just going to be Trevor. Taylor will be 19 next year at this time and there is a possibility that he may be gone. UNBELIEVABLE! Sure love my kids, I just wish I could stop them from growing up!

Great Kids! We are so lucky!

2009-08-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

Huntington Beach - Family Vacation!

2009-08-02T21:31:00.000-07:00

So much fun! More to come!

2009-07-19T09:10:00.000-07:00

Just a few pictures from our wad campout a week ago. Jessica even suprised us and came up with her dog Aires while Shawn (her hubby) was at his 3 week military camp, but it was getting dark when she came and I didn't get any pictures with her. We also brough Oakley for her first campout. She did really well and I think she kind of enjoyed it. How could she not with all the attention she got from all the kids. :) We don't get to go camping as a family much anymore with all the boy's extra curricular activities, so it was fun to spend some time together up in the mountains. I couldn't resist the picture of Taylor and darling Emily Heaps with both of them missing their two front teeth. It's priceless! I wish I would have thought about taking pictures of the breakfast and everyone who helped cook and get the food ready. We had so much food and it was so yummy! Love those camping breakfasts!

Fourth of July Fireworks

2009-07-17T17:16:00.000-07:00

Fourth of July this year was quite different from most fourth of July's in the past. Yes, my kids are big! No more getting up at 5 am for the hotair balloons and no more parades. I have mixed emotions about that, but I have to admit it was nice to sleep in and not battle the crowds and the heat, but sad that our kids are no longer little. We did have a BBQ with family and then went to Olympic Park where we watched the Thanksgiving Point firework display. Misquitoes were out in full force and we got eaten alive! Trevor decided to go with his friends instead of hanging out with our family. :( Hopefully, next year he will join us again. It wasn't quite the same without him. Jessica and Shawn joined us and mom and dad seemed to enjoy themselves too. The best part of the evening was the 10 minute drive home instead of an hour when we've gone into Thanksgiving Point. Good times! Love my family, they're the best!

Taylor's Two Front Teeth - Gone! :(

2009-06-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

When Taylor was 12 years old he over shot a jump on his bike landing front tire first and hitting his mouth on the cross bar which knocked out his two front teeth and pushed the incisor teeth back into his mouth. I got a frantic call from Trevor saying Taylor had knocked out about 10 of his teeth (which is really what it looked like). I immediately called our friend Dorothy Ryan, to go assess the damage since neither Dean or I were home. Taylor had found one of the two teeth and put it in milk when he got home, but wasn't able to find the second one. Dorothy quickly sent Trevor and his friend, Logan Cottle, back to the empty field to look for his missing tooth. After a failed attempt she sent them back for a second search and told them not to return unless they had the tooth in hand. So, that is what they did! She then took him to the dentist right away where I met them as soon as I could. The dentist was able to put the teeth back in his mouth and reinforced them with a temporary wire which they glued down to the four front teeth until he was able to get braces on the next week. Well, to cut to the chase, 5 years later his teeth are dead, discolored and ankylosed to the bone. So, here we are, on the 24th of June, getting his two front teeth out and the implants put in. He will have to wear a "flipper" (a retainer with two front teeth.) for about four months until the bone and implants are ready for the real thing. I have to say, I am pretty impressed with the flipper! Doesn't he look good? And they are even white. I love it!

Miss Utah 2009

2009-06-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

This was my 3rd year to hostess at the Miss Utah Pageant in Salt Lake City at the Capitol Theater. Linda, one of my sisters came with me again for the 2nd year in a row. It is so fun to spend a whole week with her. We were a hostess to 7 girls between the two of us. I had 4 girls and Linda had 3. The girls don't have contact with their families during the week of competition so we become their moms for the week. As fun as it sounds, it is a very tiring week. We don't get to bed until very late (or early in the morning) and up very early. Dealing with all the emotions and hormones are exhausting too as you can imagine. Three our of our seven girls were in the "Top 10"! Pretty good huh? We just loved them! They were so darling, sweet and talented. One of my girls, Whitney Merrifield, won the title of Miss Utah 2009 and One of Linda's girls, Allie Edgington, was 1st runner up. It was so exciting and we were so proud of them!

JACK THE CAT

2009-05-21T20:51:00.000-07:00

Jessica had been wanting to get Bumpa a cat for a long, long time. Whenever he is at our house he spends most the time trying to pet our cat, Ginger, but Ginger is not a social cat and does not really like anybody but Dean and I. Because dad's birthday was coming up in a couple weeks we finally decided to get him a cat as an early birthday present. Jessica and I went to the Humane Society to look for a nice, calm cat. Denita said that her family would go in on it with us so we could get all the cat supplies that mom and dad would possibly need. We were worried about picking out the perfect cat, but I think we did it! He is so sweet and loveable. Bumpa loves him and spends every waking minute with him. He just sits with Bumpa all day long and sleeps by Bumpa's side when he naps on the couch. Mom even likes him too. :)

Prom 2009 - Taylor and Lexi

2009-05-05T16:37:00.000-07:00

Taylor and Lexi went to Prom Saturday night. Taylor and eight other guys rented a White Hummer Limo. All the guys met at the high school and then they all went together and picked up their dates. They went up to Salt Lake and ate at Tucano's, then back to Lehi High School (have to get limo time in) to get pictures taken and then to UVSC for the dance. They all had a blast and Taylor says it was worth the money or was it . . . . . Lexi was worth the money? :)

Trevor's Ninth Grade Night Dance

2009-04-04T16:21:00.000-07:00

Trevor had his ninth grade night dance a couple weeks ago. As we all know, Trevor is his own person. He wanted to go to DI and pick up a "sportin" sport coat, so that's what we did. Loved the price and glad he feels secure about who he is. :) Here he is making his own unique statement. I realize I am his mom, but I have to say, I think he's adorable!

Apparently Taylor is feeling better!

2009-04-01T16:00:00.000-07:00

Well, I guess when you are 17 and making your own money, you begin to feel a little .... independent? Last Friday, without asking or telling his parents where he was going or what he was doing, Taylor decided to skip out of school around lunch time with two friends (girls), drive to Mt. Pilliar, Idaho and purchase a 6 week old Puggle puppy. Yes, a Puggle puppy, in Idaho! For those of you who don't know what a Puggle is (as I didn't) it is half Pug and half Beagle. Taylor decided to call me around 8:00 pm (he was still traveling home from Idaho) while I was at a scrapbooking extravaganza and fill me in on his purchase and his where abouts. The conversation went something like this:

"Hi mom, did you get my text?"

"No, I didn't see it anyway. I probably got it, I just didn't see it yet. What's up?"

"Oh, I just bought a dog."

"No you didn't!"
"Yes I did!"

"You did not!"

"Yes I did mom, I'm not kidding."

"Well, you better be!"

"I'm not! I really did!"

"Where?"

"Idaho."

"WHAT? IDAHO?!"

"Ya, Idaho."

"How much?"

"$250."

"$250?! Holy COW"

"Have you told dad?"

"No."

"Well, good luck with that. Let me know how that goes. I'm not going home until you tell him."

"Okay Mom, it will be fine."

Well, he did call Dean and he handled it better than expected, he is not a dog guy at all. I got home before Taylor and found myself a little axious waiting for him to get home so I could see this little puppy. He finally got home and I immediately fell in love with her as I knew I would. I was a little frustrated with Taylor, but the puppy was darling! He named her Oakley and it fits her perfectly. Trevor was pretty excited too!

It's been 5 days now and so far, so good! It is the best puppy ever! It is cuddly and quiet and potty training so well. Taylor has taken full responsibility for her which is a plus and the part we love the most is the money he has spent on her that we didn't have to. She sleeps in his room in a kennel and he gets up with her when she needs to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. :) She made it all the way through the night last night without needing to go out and he was so excited. He's hoping that becomes a habit quick.

How can you not just love her - she is so adorable! I know, they grow up just like our kids grow up. :( I'm just enjoying the puppy time as long as I can. :)

The "PAIN" of it all!

2009-03-25T14:15:00.000-07:00

Taylor began having some upper gastric pain a week ago Thursday night. I asked him if he thought he needed to go to emergency room, but he said he thought he would be okay and proceded to take a bath hoping that would calm things down a bit. I knew it was pretty bad when he came back out to the family room moaning and groaning after his bath. He's not a complainer, so when he does complain, I know he's hurting pretty bad. I made the executive decision (as a mom and also a nurse should) to take him in to the emergency room. I went back to change into appropiate clothing for the ER (out of my P.J.'s) and persuaded him to do the same (put some P.J.'s on). As I was getting dressed I heard some loud, racing foot steps and then the dreaded sound of "losing his lunch". Literally, since that was the last time he had eaten. I ran out to confirm my fears and assess the damage. Wow! Red lunch (gatorade) everywhere! Bless Dean's heart for staying behind to clean up the mess while I took him to the ER.

The ER experience was not a positive one to say the least. I think we had an intern taking care of him and let's just say he was ready to go home for the night. Taylor threw up one more time in the ER which was pretty handy so they could test it for blood. That is truly what it looked like. That red dye in Gatorade is a powerful thing! (Sorry - I know that is more information than you wanted to know) Anyway, it came back negative after testing it twice. They said the first time it came back "partially positive" which I didn't think was possible. Then the second test was negative for blood to which we were grateful. The urine test showed that he was dehydrated (No DUH!) He's thrown up twice and hasn't had anything to eat or drink since 11:00 in the morning. They gave him two liters of fluid, with some pain medication and an antinausea medication and sent him on his way. They gave no attention to the specific pain he was complaining about. They didn't order an ultrasound, they didn't mention the abnormal blood work, which they told me was "okay", only to learn later that he had a elevated white blood count (usually indicative of infection). We had arrived at the ER at about 10:00 pm and returned home about 1:00 am. Taylor slept until about 4:00 am at which time he came upstairs to take another bath to ease the pain which had returned after the pain meds wore off, which was then followed by another vomiting episode. So frustrating!

Well, by Monday his pain is still coming and going and a visit to our doctor was in order. It was there where I found out his white blood count was high in the ER and the doctor seemed puzzled as to why they weren't concerned about that and why they didn't order an ultrasound of any kind. Our doctor thought it could be one of three things. Pancreatitis, gallbladder or an ulcer. He ran some blood tests to rule out pancreatitis and that came back negative, which is great! He had an ultrasound this morning to rule out gallbladder, gallbladder looked good but his spleen is enlarged which we knew from the ultrasound tech but I chalked that up to his Mono he had a few months ago. Well, the doctor wasn't sure about that and has referred us to a GI doctor and we hope to get him in this week. Put this has been a much better week and he is starting to feel better. So....Not sure what to do now. Go to the GI doctor or don't go to the GI doctor? That is the question.

Note to self ....bag the ER and just wait to take him to a real doctor, to get real help. GGRRR!!

Although, I really shouln't knock the ER. It's the same ER who saved his life when he inhaled the pin. This visit however, not quite as successful. :(

Draper Temple Open House - March 9, 2009

2009-03-12T16:42:00.000-07:00

We finally had a chance to go to the Draper Temple open house before it closes for the dedication. I began to wonder if we were going to be able to come up with a time when we all could go together. We almost made it, but Jessica wasn't able to get off work so her and Shawn weren't able to make it. We missed them. We went on Monday morning when the kids had the day off of school and it was such a good day to go. It wasn't crowded at all and were able to walk right up to the entrance and beging the tour. It was a great day and we sure had a good experience. It was a great reminder about what is really important. We are looking forward to, and are hopeful that we will all be able to go to the Oaker Hills Temple open house when it opens.

Jazz and Rockets Game - March 4, 2009

2009-03-12T15:18:00.000-07:00

We had the opportunity to go to a Jazz Game with my mom and dad last week. When we were walking to our seats we couldn't help but stop and take a picture in front of the media booth with Jeff Hornacek in the background. Mom and dad have a soft place in their heart for him because of his time with the Phoenix Suns. Dad was so excited to get his picture taken he couldn't even open his eyes. (The flash causes him to close his eyes EVERY time!) Oh well, at least we have record that he was there. (He would beg to differ - he doesn't remember being there.) :( We had such a great time, we were in the nose bleed seats, but it didn't seem to matter. We beat the Rockets! Elliot from American Idol sang the National Anthem, he's the one on the jumbo tron in the middle picture. Good Times!

Our Fireplace Makeover

2009-03-01T19:16:00.001-08:00

Dean recently went out of town on Business and I decided to makeover our fireplace while he was gone. With a lot of help from my dear friend Cathie I was able to pull it off. I couldn't have done it without her. It was way more work than I ever anticipated, but well worth the time and effort. We started on Monday and ended on Friday. We worked until wee hours of the morning more than once. I have been having a hard time recovering, I'm so tired! Dean got home from his trip Friday afternoon just as I was trying to clean up and make it presentable. He loved it! That's success! This is the before...

This is the during....

And this is the after....

Our Fireplace Makeover

2009-03-01T19:16:00.000-08:00

Valentine's Festivities

2009-02-15T21:01:00.000-08:00

Taylor and Lexi on Valentine's Day which also happened to be the Sweetheart Dance. It started at about 7:00 am when Lexi came and got him out of bed for a morning date complete with donuts and milk. Came home about 10:30 and he gave her a Valentine's gift, a dozen dark pink roses and tin heart full of Ghirardelli chocolates where he put Rascal Flats tickets. Lucky! He left again at noon for the afternoon date. He came home again and slept for about 3 hours and then got up to go to the evening date at 7:00. What a long day! He said he had a great time, but felt bad that Lexi had to pay for everything especially on Valentine's Day because it was a girls choice dance. Then he quickly remembered that he'll have his turn for Prom which is coming right up!

While Taylor was at his dance Trevor had his "friend", Jayden Southwick over and we had Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches for dinner, watched a movie and then went for icecream at Iceburg. We had a great time!

On Sunday we had our traditional Valentine's candle light dinner on our China. We have the same menu every year which started back when the kids were really small (so it's a very simple dinner which is really nice). We have chicken patties, mashed potatoes and gravey, corn and peas and don't forget the Apple Sparkling Cider. Good times!

More Wrestling - It's almost over!

2009-01-25T14:07:00.001-08:00

This was a tournament a couple weeks ago. Trevor was wrestling a kid from Salem Hills (the new high school by Payson). The kid was on Trevor's back so Trevor did a flip forward and this kid landed, as you can see, on his forehead with the force and momentum of them both. We thought he broke his neck and it sent him into a seizure. It was very frightening! The match is on youtube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfgg67gnRr4 if you want to see it. It happens at the very end so let it load and go to the end if you don't want to watch the 5 min. match. It was pretty intense for a while. He was carried out on a stretcher and taken to the hospital. He was released later that night and is just fine. He wrestled Trevor the next week and the kid said to Trevor, "Hey, no hard feelings" and they gave eachother a "manly" embrace.

This is Taylor pinning a kid from Spanish Fork with his legs. It was so awesome because this was his first match back after all his injuries. Yeah Taylor!

Sweet victory!

These are our very good friends from Orem, the Grovers. They have come to two of the boys wrestling duals. How sweet are they? It means so much to us and the boys that they would take the time, effort and money to come and support them. Taylor started preschool with Bryan, (the tall one standing by him with his arm on his shoulder) about 12 years ago. Wow! How time flies! We just love them!

Taylor pinning a kid from Layton at the tournament on Friday. While in this position the kid punched Taylor in the face and was kicked out of the tournament. Maybe he should fight for UFC.

Trevor pinning a kid from Copper Hills.

Sweet Vicory!

Check out the sexy legs! White, but sexy! This is one of our favorite things to watch Trevor do. Stand up with a guy on his back. He's awesome! He's got the strongest legs on the planet, I'm pretty sure.

Okay, this is our favorite thing to watch Trevor do. The throw is the best, unless he is on the other end of course. Ouch!

And this is what they feel like after all of that! They are POOPED! Completely drained and exhausted, then they have to get up and do it all over again in 30-60 minutes and they do that 3 more times. Then they get home late and have to get up at 5:30 am to start all over again on Saturday. All this is after 3 days of starving themselves to death and in Trevor's case depriving himself of milk to make weight. Then, they get home on Saturday afternoon about 4:00 and their unrelenting (insain) coach makes them practice for 3 more hours.

During the week they get up at 4:45 am for practice and then practice after school until 5. Everyother day they also have a conditioning class right before practice which is run by their coach. Ya, they are in great shape, but their bodies are hammered!

Regionals is in 2 weeks and State is 5 days later. Wish them luck! (Wish me luck, they are taking years off of my life.)

Christmas Decorations - Put away for another year!

2009-01-02T20:38:00.000-08:00

This has been such a fun Christmas for me. I have really struggled the past few years enjoying the Christmas Season. I'm not sure exactly why, but I have a theory. I think It was difficult for me once my children came to the realization about Santa. It wasn't fun any more. There wasn't the magic of Santa and the thrill of the suprise any more. It was really sad for me. I think this year (6 years later) I finally am at peace with it all. Realizing that time moves forward and that's a good thing, not a bad thing. I really enjoyed the whole experience this year. Having Jessica and Shawn and my parents here helped I think, but it was really good this year. Usually, I take down all the decorations on the 26th, I'm just done with it all and I'm anxious to move on. This year I didn't want to take them down. I wanted to keep it all up for another week or so. I loved it! A few of our favorite decorations are the Holiday Barbi Collection, Our Town Village and I always love our tree. Dean get's Jessica and me a Holiday Barbi every year, never fail. I love them. I'm not sure what we'll do with all of them once there is 50, but for now I just love them! Our Town Village, that sits on our fireplace mantel, I have collected over the years as well. My mom and dad bought us our first piece, a cottage, on our first Christmas and it's just grown from there. Dean's sister Mary Ann bought us a lot of the little people and trees etc. I think it's my favorite of all! Also, I've always loved the Christmas Tree, no matter what it looks like as long as there are lights on it. I remember being a teenager and just sitting by the tree and enjoying the beauty of it all. Love a lit tree! A few other's that I love but didn't mention earlier are the stockings, Poinsettias, our Christmas card and picture doors and of course our nativity. There's just something about a baby Jesus laying in a manger. Anyway, all the decorations are put away for another year, but I am happy to say that I can't wait to get them out again next year.

Quilts by Taylor and Lexi

2009-01-01T22:10:00.000-08:00

Taylor and Lexi decided to make the most of their Christmas vacation. They made "twinner" quilts. They both have a tan and white snowflake flannel on top and then Taylor's has a dark brown flannel on the back and Lexi's has a grey knit Jersey on the back and they tied them both with white yarn. They turned out so cute and I'm so impressed with their "quick learning skills". I helped them with the first one and they did the second one almost all by themselves with just a little help tying and sewing up the open end. Way to go guys! They're darling! I mean... Taylor's is very masculine and handsome with the dark brown! :{

Taylor and his girlfriend Lexi tying one of the quilts.

No Way! We finished the whole thing! One down, one to go.

Christmas Day

2008-12-29T19:52:00.000-08:00

We had such a great Christmas! We had a great Christmas Eve dinner with Dean's mom, dad sister and nephew and my parents. Then we had my mom and dad over in the morning to open presents with us. We were also lucky enough to have Jessica and Shawn here for all the Christmas celebrations. They were going to go to Vernal to Shawn's grandma's and grampa's house, but the weather was so bad they stayed home. They came over for our Christmas Eve dinner and then spent the night so they wouldn't have to travel in the bad weather Christmas morning. So they were here too, to open presents with us and eat the yummy tea rings. We loved having everyone here.

It's funny how the dynamics of your family changes as your kids get older. These next few (5-20) Christmases are going to be strange as our family continues to evolve. I just realized this Christmas that we only have one more Christmas with Taylor home before his mission. So, so strange!

Nana and Bumpa Christmas morning. I'm so glad they are able to be here with us. It is so much fun! They came over to open presents with us and eat our traditional tea ring thanks to my friend Camille. Thank you Camille, it was fabulous!

A women's tool kit from Jessica and Shawn.

Dean's BIG present (and heavy!). A 3 ton floor Jack! (It didn't weigh 3 tons, it holds 3 tons :0) Who knew he would like that so much?

My "BYU Blue" Kodak camera. I love it! I can carry it in my purse. I'm so excited to have it!

Dean's weather station.

A 750 GB hard drive to backup all these pictures we take. Do you think we'll ever fill that up. Impossible! Do they make them bigger than that?

Jessica's pink flash drive. Yep, they make pink ones!

Dean got a monopod to help stablize the camera while takes all his action sports pictures of the boys. It's so cool! And best of all, I suprised him with something he likes, twice. He really likes the jack too and totally didn't expect either one. :) Love that! He's so hard to buy for because he has NO WANTS! But he's glad he got them both!

The boys both got a down comforter and a cover.

Trevor and his "Red Neck" fishing shirt-jacket. He loves it! Taylor was sad he didn't get one. Who knew he would want one? I had no idea.

Jessica's darling necklace from Shawn. Maybe I can borrow it sometime?

Shawn's new sunglasses, from Jessica, to replace the ones that were stolen out of his car when it was broken into last spring. He is just Too Cool!

Nana and Bumpa showing off their neck massaging pillow.

Cute Jessica, We're so glad they were able to spend Christmas with us. Thanks for coming guys. We love you! It just wouldn't have been the same without you.

Jessica trying out her brothers gift. The "Perfect Pushup" machine. Go Jessica!

Trevor was just pooped by the whole morning's events or maybe he was just stuffed from all the tea ring he ate. Who knows?

This was how much snow we had by the end of the day. Dean went out 3 times to snow blow and shovel. It was so fun to have a white Christmas! IT CAN STOP NOW! I'm done for the rest of the season. Bring on Spring!

Christmas Party - CTR 5 Primary Class

2008-12-19T19:09:00.000-08:00

Jack Ryan, Jocelyn Stambaugh, Cameron Buck, Alyssa Wyatt and Marley Christensen at our Christmas Party a few weeks ago. How cute are they? I will miss them as they move on to their new CTR 6 class. They were so much fun and grew up so much this past year. I just love them!

Ups and Downs of Wrestling

2008-12-15T07:32:00.000-08:00

Just one day after my "Wrestling Has Officially Begun" blog, It officially ended for Taylor. He had what we thought was a season ending injury. We had a tournament in Layton last Friday and during Taylor's first match the kid had his arms around Taylor's waist on the ground and flipped him over with Taylor's back on the kid's stomach with Taylor's legs in the air and on the way over Taylor's right leg flung a little to far and caused a hip flexor injury. He was in a lot of pain and couldn't bear any weight. We were very worried and Taylor (and all of us) thought he was out for the rest of the season. Dean took him to the Davis Hospital ER while I stayed with Trevor to support him in his last match. We struggled keeping our emotions intact and lost the battle as we both sat on the bench and sobbed. Trevor was devestated that his season with his brother was over. He has had so much fun being with him and his friends at the high school as they condition and practice. We were so sad to think it was all over.

Well, after taking him to our doctor here in Lehi we felt much better. He started him in Physical Therapy and the therapist told him that if he would use crutches for a few more days, do physical therapy 3 times a week, he could be ready for wrestling again after Christmas. Wow! We are so excited to think he might be able to finish the season.

This is a tournament in Heber that was December 12th and 13th. Trevor is always the one with the bright green shoes. He had 9 matches. Four on Friday and five on Saturday. He was pooped to say the least. But he did great! We are very proud of him and his dedication, hard work and perserverance. Way to go Trevor!

Taylor and the team watching Trevor's match so intently. I think Taylor is Trevor's biggest fan. It was hard for Taylor to watch from the bench as someone else took his place at the tournament.

Trevor's first win at the tournament. It was very exciting. Because he is a freshman and wrestling Jr.'s and Sr.'s he gets his booty kicked quite a bit. But he always gives them a good fight. He never just gives it to them. We keep reminding him that you learn more from losing than from winning. He realizes what he's in for and he's ready for the challenge.

The win!! Yeah!

Wrestling Has Officially Begun

2008-12-04T18:42:00.000-08:00

This is our very first Lehi High School dual wrestling meet. It was so amazing to be there and to realize I was there to watch both my boys wrestle varsity. We were so proud! Trevor is a freshmen who has wrestled every year since he was 4 years old. Taylor wrestled every year since he was 6 years old until 2004 when he suffered from torticollis (spasm of a muscle in his neck) after inhaling a needle into his trachea (That is another story). He hasn't wrestled since then, but he hasn't seemed to miss a beat. It was so surreal! I teared up as they all ran out in a straight line in their matching warmups ran around the circle on the mat and then lined up accross from their opponents and the audience joined them in the Pledge of Allegiance. Their names and weight class were then announced and the name of their opponent at which time they ran out on the mat and shook hands and at which time I felt the urge to lose my dinner. It is the most nerve racking thing on the planet. Actually, I had a sick stomach the whole day before the meet.

The meet was against Millard who were the state champions last year and are ranked number 1 in the pre-season poll this year. Taylor wrestled at 135 lbs and pinned his opponent in the first period. I guess you could say I was a little excited. When we watched the video later that night you could hear me screaming Hysterically. Oops! When you are in the moment you kind of forget about video camera and the people around you. We were so excited and proud!

Sweet, Sweet, Victory! As you can see the other guy is a little upset.

Trevor wasn't as lucky. He got pinned in the second period. :( It had been a very long time since he had been pinned, he had forgotten what it felt like. It all came back to him quickly, he was bummed! But Kianna (Taylor's friend) came to the rescue showing him that she had written his weight class on her cheek to be supportive. As you can see, that was just enough to put a smile on his face.

Yep! Lexi had written Taylor's weight on her forehead in support of Taylor. How cute is that?

The Hansen Brothers, and I think I can finally and safely say, FRIENDS. :) They have had fun working out and practicing together.

Taylor and Kenzie at Sadie Hawkins

2008-11-18T12:17:00.001-08:00

This is Kenzie and Taylor after their day date for Sadie Hawkins. They had a scavenger hunt and they won. Their prize was a "Winner" cake. It was yummy, I ate at least half of it. The boys are trying to cut weight for wrestling, so I didn't want it around to tempt them. The best way I could think of to get rid of it was to eat it. So I did! They had to do things like take a picture with someone in their 80's holding their identification for verification of their age, take a picture of a child making a funny face etc... They went to Walmart and radomly asked people to do the things they needed them to do. I would be mortified, but not my Taylor, he's not afraid of anything (except maybe performing in a skit or play, he hates doing that).

This was their crazy clothes for the dance. The them was like "The Jungle" or something like that. (I'm writing this without Taylor around if you can't tell. So, some of the details are sketchy at best. Don't quote me.) Their clothes vaguely represent a cheeta or something in that family. :)

Kenzie is a very fun girl! I don't think she will mind if I tell you about our first meeting.... She came over to our house one afternoon with a group of girls and Taylor took them back to our office to show them something. I was out in the kitchen making cookies standing at out counter. All of a sudden this girl (Kenzie) whom I didn't know, came sliding across our kitchen floor on her stomach. She had taken a running start down our hall and when she got to the kitchen she took a flying leap sliding on her stomach across our hardwood floor. I was so alarmed as you can imagine (I think I jumped 5 feet in the air because it scared me). I didn't know her and wasn't quite sure what to say. I said something like, "Oh, Wow! My goodness! Wow! Are you okay?". She said something like, "Oh, that wasn't as fun as I thought it would be but I just couldn't resist". We laugh about it quite often. Now we now know her and think "Of course she would slide across our kitchen floor on her stomach, why wouldn't she? She is very high energy and very fun! They had a great time at Sadies. If you every see this Kenzie; Sorry, I just had to share. :)

Jessica's Photography - Engagement Pictures

2008-11-12T18:42:00.000-08:00

Jessica's been doing some photography on the side. These are the latest engagement pictures she took just on Saturday. I love to look at her pictures. I think it's her calling in life to be a photographer. Good job Jess! You are a Pro!

All grown up! (Almost)

2008-11-02T17:26:00.000-08:00

I can't believe this is where we're at, with kids "almost" all grown up. I am so thankful for each one and their individuality. They are so much fun! Teenagers are great! They are all so different, but all have such good qualities, talents, strengths and yes, even weaknesses. I just love them for who they are. I think the greatest joy a parent can have is seeing their children make good choices and doing what's right. I love seeing their testimonies grow and their relationship with their Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ strengthen. Don't get me wrong, we are far from perfect with good days as well as bad days, but the good seems to out weigh the bad. They are all headed in the right direction. I love you guys and gal!

Jessica, Shawn and Ares Have Moved

2008-10-17T18:16:00.000-07:00

Jessica, Shawn and Ares moved to a house in Cottonwood Heights where they are renting with Shawn's mom. They love the new house and it has a great backyard for the dog. Now they can spread out a little more and the dog has a playground to run around in all day. We have been busy helping them get settled. Doing things from helping them pack, move, hang, unpack, and paint to shopping for necessities. They are happy and doing very well. Jessica is still at Cory Adams photography full-time and still loves it! Shawn is going to school and working at Walmart doing oil and lubes. They are adjusting to married life quite well. Jessica's biggest complaint? She doesn't get to spend very much time with Shawn. Remember those days?

TAG, I'm It! - 6 Random Things About Me

2008-10-16T22:14:00.000-07:00

The Rules for playing TAG:

*Link to the person who tagged you
*Post the rules on your blog
*Write six random things about yourself
*Tag six-ish people at the end of your post (I'm doing three-ish)
*Let each person know he/she has been tagged
*Let the tagger know when your entry is up

Dorothy Ryan tagged me.

1. I hate waiting for people. It drives me crazy when people are late or just slow.

2. I grew up a red head and have been a red head my entire life until about 5-8 years ago. It is now an ugly flat brownish black color that looks horrible on me. I have to work hard to keep it a redish color but I think I'm going to give up in just a bit. It is exhausting trying to keep the roots up.

3. I love catalogs that come in the mail. I look through them over and over . I usually don't buy anything out of them I just love looking at them. I have a hard time throwing them away because I love them so much. Weird, I know!

4. I put triple antibiotic ointment (generic Neosporin) on my cuticals every day and then rub it into my hands like a lotion. I do it in the car on my way to work and I usually do it at the same intersection every time or if I don't work that day I do it right before I go to bed. I don't have to do it at that intersection, but I think it's become like Pavlov's dog. When I come to that intersection I think about it and so I do it. Also Weird, I know.

5. I like to take a shower first thing in the morning. I hate the mornings when I put it off and start cleaning or making phone calls or whatever and all of a sudden it's 10:00 and I haven't showered yet. Getting ready for the day seems like such a chore.

6. Almost every time Dean goes on a business trip I work on a home improvement project. Not sure why. The only thing I can think of is that I feel better about just letting everything else go to pot while I focus on this one thing when he's not here. It works!

Now I TAG Rose, Amanda and Crystal

Taylor & Lexi - Homecoming October 11, 2008

2008-10-16T17:03:00.000-07:00

Taylor and Lexi had a blast at Homecomeing. They started out at 10:00 in the moring and met their group of 14 at the high school to carpool up to Ogden to Flowrider to Surf. They rented the place for an hour and they had a blast! Taylor's neck was so sore from bracing himself on his wipeouts, but he said it was way worth it! For dinner they went to one of the boy's house whose parents made them a Brazilian feast. Taylor said it was the best meat he has ever had. (I'm sure he meant the best meat that he has ever had that I didn't make.) Then they went to the dance where it was more like a sauna. Taylor said he had sweat dripping off his chin on to his tie. It was pretty miserable, but fun. Oh, to be young again! Then they went back to the house where they had dinner and watched a movie in their home theater. They had a great time all around!

Trevor's Tonsillectomy

2008-10-15T11:57:00.000-07:00

Trevor had his tonsils out yesterday at American Fork Hospital by Dr. Denys. This was a before picture taken with my cell phone. He was a little anxious to say the least. Dean, of course, had to go out of town on Sunday and so he wasn't able to give him a blessing and I think that added to his anxiety. One of his Young Men leaders had volunteered on Sunday to give him one and we meant to call him Monday night, but when we remembered, it was too late to call. Trevor and I said a prayer together before we left for the hospital and I think that helped a little. The nurse that took care of him before surgery told him that after the surgery the nurse would ask him his pain level aksing for a number 1-10, 10 being the worst pain ever and told him that they would be able to give him a slushy right away to help soothe his throat. He was pretty excited about that!

This is obviously an after picture. He did just fine through the whole ordeal. Right when they brought him into the recovery room and was trying to wake up from anethesia the male nurse asked him how his pain was on a scale of 1-10 and Trevor answered, "I want a slushy." The nurse laughed and went to make him one. I'm pretty sure he downed it in a record time of 30 seconds. I was feeding it to him and couldn't get it to him fast enough. I was afraid he would get a brain freeze, but he kept wanting it shoveled in as fast as I could shovel. He kept commenting on how good it was. He had the hardest time waking up though. Every time we would try to wake him he would say, "I'm so tired."

We stayed for about 2 hours after his surgery until he could fully wake up. Dr. Denys said his tonsils weren't very big, but were very scarred from all the infections he's had. Once we got home he did really good all day drinking a lot of home made slushies (3 popcicles thawed in the microwave for 20 seconds, smashed and a little sprite added and stirred all together. It's quite fabulous!) icecream and sprite. Today is a little worse, but as I told him, I think it will get worse before it gets better. We are in for a good time for the next few days. :) We have great hope that this will cure his infectious throat problem. Only time will tell!

Watch Out Trevor's On The Road!

2008-09-09T20:11:00.000-07:00

Dean took Trevor to the DMV this morning to take his drivers test. He passed the first time! He is very excited to have his learners permit. I can't believe my baby is driving! We are not quite as excited as he is. To be perfectly honest it scares the the crap out of us! But he does look cute behind the wheel if I say so myself!

Jessica and Her New Baby!

2008-09-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Jessica and Shawn didn't lose any time starting their family. They found a Husky named "Aires" at the Humane Society and couldn't resist him. Yes, he has one blue eye and one brown eye. How cool is that? He is about a year old so he still acts like a puppy. He wakes them up at night to go to the bathroom, he slobbers a lot and loves to chew things up! Wow! Just like a baby! They love him and take good care of him. We asked Jessica why they wanted a dog and so soon? She said, "Dad always said when we get married and have our own place then we can get a dog. So, I did."

Taylor Asks Lexi to Homecoming

2008-09-06T05:30:00.000-07:00

Taylor has been really sick the last 3 days. It started Tuesday with a sore throat and by Wednesday morning he was fevering and had a terrible achy body with chills and sweats all through the night and his throat was killing him. I took him into the doctor that morning and the doctor was amazed at how bad his throat looked. It tested negative for strep but he had some sort of terrible bacterial infection. They gave him a shot of Rocephin and he slept for 3 days with a few friends visiting him after school and in the evenings each day (they will all be sick this next week!). This is all leading somewhere, I promise.

Anyway, last night (Friday night) was a home Lehi High School football game with a dance right afterwards. After school his friends, including his "girlfriend" Lexi, came over and tried to persuade me to let him go to the football game and dance. I said, "No way! He has been way too sick and I don't want him over doing it." They weren't very happy with me, but he had been so sick and he was finally starting to feel better and I wanted him to be ready to go back to school on Monday.

Well, he caught wind (through text messages I'm sure), that some other kid, who is supposedly obsessed with Lex, was going to ask her to homecoming. Wanting to ask her first, he decided he wanted to surprise her at the dance. She didn't think he was going so there was great potential for the surprise factor. He talked me into going to Costco with him to get her 2 dozen pink roses. Once he decided to do it he was so excited! It was only about 4 in the afternoon and the dance wasn't until about 9:45 or 10:00. That was a long wait for him!

With a lot of help from his friends he snuck into the dance without Lexi knowing (with the flowers). He went straight up to the D.J. and asked him to ask Lexi to come up where the D.J. was because their was someone there who wanted to ask her to go to Homecoming. He asked him to play a slow song right after he asked her but he had just played a slow song. So, Taylor had to wait for three fast songs to play before the D.J. make the announcement and play a slow song again. Taylor said he was hiding behind the speakers with the flowers just waiting for the time to come and Lexi came up to the D.J. to ask him to announce a few things (I think she is on the student counsel). Anyway, he was freaking out thinking she was going to see him, but luckily she didn't see him. Well, when they made the announcement for her to come up she was freaking out because she just knew it was this other boy who wanted to ask her and she didn't want to go with him. She wanted to go with Taylor. Her friend said she was totally bummed as she was walking up to the D.J. dreading the whole event. As she walked up there was Taylor standing there with the 2 dozen pink roses. Taylor said she was so surprised to see him and totally excited. He said it worked out perfect.

He had a lot of friends texting him to help him know when the game was over and then when Lexi got to the dance etc. They were able to distract her while he came into the dance with the flowers. I wish I could have been a fly on the wall (mostly to take pictures) but I would have loved to see how it all worked out. Oh well, I'll just have to imagine it the way Taylor explained it. Homecoming isn't until October sometime but I will post pictures and blog it when it happens. This is so much fun!

Football Season Is Here!!!

2008-08-31T21:19:00.000-07:00

Trevor had his first football game last Wednesday, August 27th. It was so much fun! They are playing at the High School this year as 9th graders and it feels like we are at a high school game. It made us very excited for him to play football in high school.

They played Willow Creek Jr. High and wanted to win so badly. He was suppose to be #22 but for some reason they didn't order the #22 that he requested so he is #31. That will do for this year, but hopefully he will get #22 next year to take after his uncle Dale, which is his number one goal in life. He played first string defensive middle linebacker and first string offensive full back. He had his first hand off and carried the ball 7 yards through the middle of the pack before four guys drug him down. He also had some really good unassisted tackles for losses. He played 90%
of the game only going out to bring plays in from the coach. But, unfortunately it wasn't enough and they lost 6 to 22. Trevor felt the pain all week long, mental and physical. He was so disappointed they lost but more than that he was so exhausted! He could hardly carry himself to the car, into the house and then finally into the tub. He still rubs Icy-Hot all over his body every night before going to bed. But he can't wait until this Wednesday for his second game where they will play American Fork. He said the pain is all worth it!

This is just a little pre-game stretch and I thought it looked so cool! I just have to mention how beautiful the view is from the stadium! I just love Lehi. The view of the mountains and all the surroundings from the stadium is so AMAZING! The Roller Mills to the South and Timp to the North, not to mention the brand new multi-million dollar artificial turf. It just brings me so much joy watching him play, everything about it; the nip in the air, the amazing view wherever you look, the fact that he's my son and I love watching him play any sport and just the excitement in the air. Taylor says he's going to play his senior year, he better not be teasing me! I can't wait!!

Taylor and Lexi Hike Timp

2008-08-17T19:34:00.000-07:00

After getting up at 2:30 am Saturday morning to go to East Canyon for a Bass Fishing tournament. Taylor came home, went to friends birthday swimming party, came home at 11:15 pm to get ready to go hike Timp with his friend Lexi and her dad. They started around midnight so they could be at the top for sunrise. It was a full moon and they were able to see pretty well while they hiked. He said it was freezing when they got to the top which he wasn't prepared for. But as you can see it is a beautiful sunrise. He got home about 10:15 am, just in time to go to church. Ha Ha! He was too beat, tired and sore. (I saw that coming!) He said it was the toughest hike he's ever done. I think that was because he had only gotten 2 hours of sleep the night before and then hiked all night. Ya think? I stayed awake most the night worrying about things I had no control over, like; did he have enough food? Was he warm enough? Could he see good enough in the dark? Was he hurt? etc... Things moms worry about. I was glad when he was back home safe and sound.

Jessica and Shawn's Wedding August 7,2008

2008-08-12T21:27:00.000-07:00

Well, I thought the Hansens better get on the band wagon and start blogging. I thought Jessica's wedding would be a great place to start.

Wow! She's married, it seems unreal! Jessica and Shawn were married last Thursday and it turned out to be such a beautiful day! It was overwhelming to see everyone who came from all over to support her and Shawn. They have so many people who love them.

It was so nice to see all our hard work and planning come together. Thanks to everyone who helped us with everything from announcements, shower, wedding dress, shopping for whatever we needed to find to Swedish Wedding Cookies, choosing colors and just being a sounding board. You are such amazing friends and family members! We love you all!

It has been weird this past week without Jessica at home. Actually, it has been weird without Shawn as well. He has been part of our family ever since they started dating two and a half years ago and spent a lot of time with us. So, our home is very quiet these days. Trevor and Taylor are hardly ever home trying to get all their partying in before school starts. It's just Dean and I most of the time. I never thought we would be at this point in our lives. It seems very strange.

Jessica and Shawn are in Las Vegas having a blast! Yes, I have texted her. I can't help it!