Mike's fishing buddy!

Last weekend we took the kids fishing at Utah Lake. Julia was a master of swinging her fishing pole all over the place and getting her line tangled. Luke turned out to be our expert fisherman. He caught his first fish ever Saturday (actually the only fish anyone caught). Mike let him hold the pole while he rigged up the other line and the next thing we knew Luke had a fish on his line. He was pretty excited and didn't want to throw the fish back. Mike was super proud, I was amazed, and Julia went back to throwing rocks in the water. Now every Saturday morning Julia wakes up asking if we can go fishing- she wants to get even with Luke and catch her own fish.

Love of Balls

Here is Luke's real true love- balls! Julia was wheeling her baby all around the house in her stroller the other day, so I said to Luke, "Go get a baby and wheel it around in the other stroller". This is what he decided upon!

Maren & Jordan's Temple

A few weekends ago we took the kids on a Sunday afternoon to walk the Mt. Timpanogos Temple grounds. Julia was quite disappointed that the Temple was not opened on Sunday. She couldn't understand why the people who worked in the Temple needed a day off to go to church. Her argument was this: "Why do they need to go to church when they can just go to Jesus' House everyday?". Even though the Temple wasn't opened she still thought the doors were pretty cool. What she did think was amazing was that her Aunt Maren and Uncle Jordan were married in this Temple. So now the Mt. Timpanogos Temple has a new name: "Mares and Jo-Jo's Temple". As you can see neither of the kids were too keen on getting their picture taken that day.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Here are the Hansen household we are pretty excited about our newly landscaped garden! Julia was especially excited about her pumpkins and the possbility they could grow to 20 lbs. Mike is ectstatic about his tomato plants and the many batches of authentic Italian pasta sauce he will be making. Les smells the basil plants everyday and is researching zucchini bread recipes. Luke, well since he doesn't really eat anything besides yogurt and fruit snacks he just ignores the garden. Check back in a few months and see if we can really grow anything!

The blissful month of May!

May is always a great month here at the Hansen household. Both Julia and Mike have birthdays, kids are no longer sick, the inflatible pool is previewed for the first time in the backyard, and flips flops can be worn everyday. We've had a great birthday month with Julia turning 3 years old!!! This is great news for Mom, because no longer when people ask me how old my kids are I don't have to say 2 and 1 years old and have people look at me like I am nuts . Now they are officially 3 and 1 years old! Julia loved her princess castle cake that mom made for her and all of her presents. She was especially excited about her scooter. Two weeks before her birthday she found a $10 bill at the park and after that event she kept telling me that I needed to take her to the store so that she could buy a scooter with "HER money". A week later Mike had his birthday and had a lively party with just the four of us. We were a little bit birthday-ed out from the previous weekend and Mike was happy with his pizza and brownie cake.

Sooooo............As we end May, let me tell you my favorite things about these 2 birthday people!

My Favorite things about Julia Elizabeth Hansen

• She is awesome at sharing with Luke and is truly a kind and loving big sister.


• She is funny, curious, and energetic.


• She is a big helper to Mom and is always willing to help when it is pick up time.


• She reminds me daily that Heavenly Father loves me (and her of course!)


• She always wants to say the prayer and loves to sing primary songs


• She loves to wear my shoes!

My Favorite things about Mike Quiz Hansen

• He is a mean griller and omelet maker


• He is a huge help with the kids


• He works very hard and supports our family so that I can stay home with the kids.


• He is my best friend


• He is a great teacher


• He still loves me after 8 years of marriage!

Enjoy the birthday pictures!

A picture to describe my house!

My 2 toddlers seem to take this to heart!

Who likes to sleep in their own bed- not me!!

I don't care what those hotel commercials claim about their beds being the most comfortable beds found anywhere- nothings beats your own bed in your own house. In the last 2 weeks we traveled to San Antonio, Texas for a week, came back home for 3 days and were off again up to Idaho for Easter visiting the Hansen Family.

I am going to brag a bit- oh so sorry- but we had a fabulous time in San Antonio! When we flew out of Salt Lake we were in the middle of a snow storm. When we landed in Texas it was 80 degrees and sunny!! We took the kids all over, wore them out completely, and loved every minute. Check out the slide show for pics. Click on the bottom of the slide show for captions!

My Aunt Karen and Uncle Joe live in San Antonio and they were sweet enough to have us over for dinner one night. It was a ton of fun to see them and our pep talk to the kids about no running, no touching anything, no screaming, no destroying anything was successful. Here is a picture of my Aunt, Uncle, myself, myself and Luke and Julia acting innocent and angelic!

New Pics & Life Happenings!

I thought my blogging vacation should probably come to an end seeing that it has almost been 2 months since I posted anything and the fact that both sets on Great-Grandparents (Dickens & Minicks) on my side of the family called on the same day last week wondering how we are doing. We have officially survived the winter season of the flu and are more than ready for spring to make its appearance here in snowy Utah. Yep, we still have snow on the ground here-aren't you all jealous!

Check out life's happenings in the past 2 months:

• Mike took Julia downhill skiing for the first time last weekend and she loved it! She was begging to keep skiing when it was finally time to leave the ski slope. She could ski down the bunny hill/rope tow hill all by herself by the end of the day. Our friends, Russ & Heather Christensen brought up their little boy Noah who is about the same age as Julia and the two of them had a great time. Look how tiny their skis are! Check out the slideshow for skiing pictures.


• Luke is officially a car fanatic. He loves to hop in his little tikes care that Mom rescued from the DI and beep the horn. He spends a good part of his day climbing in and out of it- even right after bath time!

As far as Mike and Les go we don't know where the time has gone. Mike recently laid 4 truckloads of gravel on the side of our house and Les has done the usual day by day activity: Take the kids on a animal outing (zoo, dinosaur museum, aquarium, pool-yep it has a monkey and parrot slide, cabelas-stuffed dead animal capital of the world, farm country, mall- even the mall has animals in it- just check out the carosuel, library), done a million loads of laundry, cooked to many dinners, worked out while watching "Sesame Street", and pretended to be a normal mother!

Sequencing

Here's what occupies Luke these days. I am really grateful it is the weekend and Mike is home. I truly thought I might lose my mind these week! It was a long week of Julia telling me she is grownup and can do everything I ask her not to do because....guess what she is a grown up!

Morning Reading

It is amazing to me that starting so little my kids have loved books. Here is a precious moment from that past few days. Luke loves to crawl up on Julia's bed and this is what I found one morning. Today I am just plain grateful for books and the ability they have to teach & entertain!

Go Cougars!

On Saturday we went to a BYU Men's Basketball game at the Marriott Center down in Provo. It was Luke & Julia's first BYU Basketball game and Julia woke up first thing Saturday morning singing the BYU Cougar fight song. Both Julia & Luke were a little bit timid at first with all the noise, people, and the huge arena. Can you tell by the pictures?! In the end we had a great time!

I am really grateful for the opportunity I had to go to BYU. Coming from NY where there is not a huge LDS population it was so much fun to meet so many people my age with my same values. Plus cheap tuition, great education, and meeting Mike were also bonuses!

Go Cougars!

Mail & Naps

Yesterday we received a package from Italy. Take a look at how it arrived:

Mike wasn't too surprised by the look of this package. Our friends in Italy who sent the picture were not too surprised either. Amazingly everything in the package was intact and nothing was lost.

Here is a picture that totally surprised me on Friday though:

Julia took a nap for the first time in months! Everyday we have quiet time where Julia spends time in room reading or playing with toys, but this day everything was quiet and this is what I found when peeking in. It was a great afternoon for Mom, however not such a great night for Mom & Dad when Julia didn't want to go to bed till 10pm.

I am grateful for those little moments of quiet in our home. They don't happen a lot, but that 1 hour of peaceful time I had to myself on that Friday afternoon made me a happy wife to come home to- sometimes Mom's need a break.

Halloween at the Library

Coolest part of the public library system: FREE story time every week. I am totally grateful for the librarians at our public library who put up with a half an hour of runny nose babies and toddlers running around, asking nonsense questions, and pulling on their pant legs.

Here is a picture of Julia's Halloween outfit she insisted on wearing to story time today. One mother told me she looked like a Halloween princess lost in a snow storm!

Happy 1st Birthday Luke!

Luke is officially 1 years old now. He really turned 1 on Friday (Jan. 23rd), but we didn't celebrate his birthday until Sunday. He loved his cake, presents, and the million times we sang "Happy Birthday". He liked Julia's singing of "Happy Birthday" the best.

Today I grateful for Maren, Jordan, Dave, & Ashley who braved the snowstorm and celebrated Luke's birthday with us. It was nice to have some Aunts & Uncles here since none of the Grandparents could make it.

Most of all I am grateful for Luke. He is our little funny man! Here are a few things I love about him:

• He loves to say "Hi" to everyone. He usually wakes up before Julia in the morning and when she wakes up he loves to run into her room and tell her "Hi".


• He loves to be cuddled and give hugs to Mom & Dad.


• He is a little bit more cautious than Julia-ie.. less falls down the stairs, less bruises, and less worry for Mom.


• He makes a great dinosaur "Roar"


• His legs can run really fast now!


• He is our little boy for forever who was sent from our Heavenly Father



• Here are pictures of Luke the day he was born and at his first birthday. Check out the slide for more pictures from Luke's birthday!

Bath tubs

Luke's new trick: Putting all of his food and practially anything that is on his highchair tray on his head.

What am I grateful for today?: Bathtubs. Luke & Julia are currently averaging 2 baths a day due to Luke's new trick and Julia's insistence that she takes a bath too if Luke gets to take one.

Make Believe

Julia has never been a good self-entertainer. From day one she craved interaction with everyone around her. In her mind toys were only meant to played with when someone else was willing to play with them too. So today when she went to her room and looked at books on her own for a good 15 minutes I was estactic. What was even better though, was when she came out of her room with a princess crown on and said that her friend "Chubby" was tired of playing and she wanted Mom and Luke to play with her now. The mention of "Chubby" and the way she had put on the crown was hilarious. We all took turns pretending to be princesses and everyone thought it was pretty funny when Luke wanted the crown on him.

Cupcakes, Tutu skirts, & a messy house!

I have been falling off the blog wagon lately. You could blame it on the fact that instead of cleaning the house, responding to email, doing the budget, or doing anything else responsible I have had a great time making elaborate cupcakes with piped candy letters or assembling pink & purple tutu skirts for an upcoming Relief Society craft night. Sometimes it feels so good to let my creative side wander and ignore the cheese sandwich on the floor from Wednesday.
Here is what I have been grateful for since Wedesday:
Thursday- A friend of mine in the neighborhood did a babysitting swap with me and it was my turn to leave my kids. This meant 2 hours of grocery shopping, visiting the post office, and hanging out at JoAnn fabrics with no children. I turned up the radio full blast- no "Wheels on the Bus" song for me! It was heaven and I am grateful for her friendship. Today is her birthday and the fancy cupcakes ended up on her doorstep!
Today- I am grateful Mike has a job right now. Mike came home tonight and told me it took him 45 minutes today just to go through email from acquaintances of his seeking employment opportunities at IM Flash. We will just save our pennies and hope for the best. What a scary time.
Check out the slide show for a few new pictures from this week.

Crockpots!

For Christmas Mike gave me a new crockpot. I love my crockpot and to celebrate the new crockpot I found a blog where the author cooked in her crockpot every single day (yep-365 days) of 2008. I am thinking the Avocade Chiplote Soup, Barbequed Hot and Spicy Shrimp, Broccoli Beef, Buffalo Chicken Lasagna, Coconut Beef, Pasta Fagioli, and Rotisserie-style Chicken sound delicious.

Check out the blog at http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

Thanks to the author for being a dedicated cook and blogger and helping me gain new enthusiam for dinner!

Mr. Chubby!

Today I am grateful for the funny little things that happen each day. Often they help a long day move along. Here are few from Lehi UT:

- Julia got a new little table for Christmas that we keep in kitchen where she can eat her meals and use as a craft table. Along with the table came a pink stool and a blue chair. Yesterday she pulls out the stool from underneath the table and says, "Hey Mr. Chubby. You can sit on the pink stool for lunch." Mike has been telling me that she has an imaginary friend she calls Mr. Chubby, but I really didn't believe him- well he's right! So now the daughter of a former school counselor has a friend named "Mr. Chubby"- real politically correct!

-Luke has a new trick where you give him a piece of food on your finger and he bites at the piece of food and growls like a tiger at the same time.

-Click on this link to see a video off of YouTube that Julia thinks is very funny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJOE1GyJwSk&feature=PlayList&p=889139AF17B8289B&index=19

Last of all here is a first for Luke: a Mohawk!

Jumping Beans

We currently have 2 1/2 feet of snow in our front yard and it is snowing as I type. The ever ending saga of being housebound in the winter with kids that challenges every mother has officially arrived at the Hansen household this week. So today I called up a few girls in my neighborhood and we all caravanned to the Kangaroo Zoo. The Kangaroo Zoo is a warehouse filled with inflatible bouncing toys for kids. Julia and all her little buddies jumped for 2 hours straight. Luke had a great time hanging on to Mom for dear life everytime I tried to put him on a bouncy toy. Eventually he decided to venture off on his own as he tried to see how fast his new little walking legs could take him.
Tonight I am grateful to the 3 Moms in my neighborhood who ventured off with me, Julia, and Luke. It was so fun to visit with these 3 girls and hear that my frustrations as a mother are pretty common.

PS-Sorry forgot the camera today.

Update!

Since it has almost been a whole month since I last posted anything, let me give you an update on the latest happenings:

• Our basement is finished with new drywall, baseboards, paint, carpet, and tile!!! All courtesy of our December flood.
• Noel, Amber, and Greg Dickens spent a little bit of time with us before they headed up to Idaho for the holidays.
• We were snowed in for Christmas and had a great time spending the holiday with just four of us. It was peaceful and so fun to watch Julia and Luke be amazed by all the activities.
• We have lots and lots and lots of snow and Julia has made good use of her sled!!
• We finally made it up to Twin Falls Idaho to visit the Hansen family for New Years.

I added a slide show with some pictures from Christmas for all to enjoy. As I looked back at these pictures I am so grateful that Heavenly Father has sent me these two little energetic spirits. As we had our little Christmas Eve activities of singing carols, reading the nativity and lightling candles for Jesus, it was so fun to hear Julia ask all sorts of questions about baby Jesus, Mary and Joseph, and the birth of the Savior. I am grateful for the little bit of time we had to slow down and spend time just the four of us together during a holiday season which is usually filled with parties, extended family members, and gifts.

We are still alive!

We have had a few inquiries as to the status of our household since I have not posted anything for almost a whole month now. Well let me tell the chaos that has occurred here!

• We arrived back in Utah from our Thanksgiving vacation with 2 sick kids and a sick husband. Julia ended up with a double ear infection.



• Christmas parties galore



• Our basement was flooded with sewer water and a plumber, a disaster service company, and the insurance company were all called in.



• I was in charge of our centerpieces for our ward adult Christmas party and in charge of the Relief Society Christmas Enrichment Dinner & Program



• Luke had a huge diaper rash that included blisters all over bottom area and spread upwards- if you get my drift!



• And did I mention its almost Christmas!

So I am really wishing it was January right now, but for the meanwhile here is a picture from our warm and sunny vacation to Marco Island!

Nov.19th & 65F

It is hard to believe that today, Nov.19th, it was 65 F here in Utah. To make the most of it we headed to the zoo with our neighbors Jeanette and her little boy Alex. Julia ran circles around Alex and everyone was exhausted by the time we left 3 hours later. I am grateful for this little time in our lives where Julia and Luke are home with me. No school to run to or sport practices to shuttle them to. It was great to go to the zoo and practically have it all to ourselves!

Tomorrow we are off to vacation- so no posts for 10 days!!!

Crafts galore

I wanted to find something fun and easy for Julia to do that would help her understand what Thanksgiving is all about. We tried making cookies for her nursery teachers and writing a thank you card. It wasn't too successful-Mom ate way too many cookies and Julia was more interested in playing with the nursery teachers' children instead of giving her teachers the cookies & cards.

Luckily fate was on my side today and I found my new favorite website at http://www.makeandtakes.com/. They have a cute little paper turkey with paper feathers that will transport easily in the suitcase. They were using the turkey as a countdown calendar for Thanksgiving, but I think this will be a great way for Julia & the Thanksgiving guests to write what they are thankful for on the feathers.



So..............tonight I am grateful for all of those little teaching moments you have with your children. Hopefully this project turns into one of those awe-inspiring moments. Most likely though, I can just picture a lot of glue on hands and maniac scissors flying around in a 2 year-olds hand.

30!

Tonight I am grateful to have had 30 years of good health, loving friends and family, and opportunities to learn and grow.

Aunt Mares

We are lucky enough to have my sister Maren and her husband Jordan live close to us. Julia loves them and gets so EXCITED when they come over. Maren is a talented hairdresser and tonight Maren gave Julia her first haircut. As you can see Julia was a little bit nervous at the beginning. By the end she loved it and kept going around showing everyone her new haircut.

I want Maren to know how much I appreciate and love her. She is loving, talented, funky, and always fun to be around. Thanks for helping me so much with Julia and Luke. In a year or so her and Jordan will be moving and we will miss you so much. We love you- Les & the munchkins

Mornings

I am very grateful the Savior created mornings. In the Hansen household everyone is at their best in the mornings. Julia comes bounding out of her room with crazy Einstein hair and chatting away. She is always excited about the new day and it always gives me hope I can survive another day of a messy house, diapers, and toddler meltdowns.

Let's Eat Cake!

Luke had his first piece of cake today and as you can see he devoured it! He sat for a whole hour in the high chair eating, mushing, and smearing chocolate cake. Bet you can guess what I am thankful today- chocolate cake and the many "firsts" that occur in a babys first year of life.

Our internet server was down yesterday so this post was really yesterday's. So here's a little bonus: This is super easy for little ones to help out with. Somtime I just put all the ingredients right in the pan and mix. That way I don't dirty an extra bowl.

No Egg Chocolate Cake

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1 tsp salt

2/3 cup oil

2 tsp vinegar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cup water

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour 1 9x13 inch pan or 2 round cake pans. Mix all ingredients except 1 cup water. Beat until smooth. Add remaining water and beat for another minute. Pour into pans and bake for 30-35 mintes. Cool 10 minutes and remove from pans.

Sleep

Sometimes a night of good sleep makes a bad day fade away. So.. tonight I am grateful that Luke is sleeping through the night once again. We had about a month of him being sick and cutting teeth where he was waking once or twice. Makes for a much more patient and loving Mom.

Here's a picture of both Luke & Julia sleeping right after they came home from the hospital.

Life Before Kids

Tonight I am grateful for a Heavenly Father who often knows what is best for us, even when we think a different path would be better. Next week the whole fam is flying back east for Thanksgiving and today I was thinking about the joys of flying 7 1/2 hours on an airplane with 2 children 2 years old and younger! Before we had children Mike and I would plan a trip and just go. We went to some amazing places and have amazing memories from those places. However, during that time the doctors and us were also trying every miracle to conceive a child. Sometimes I look at my children and think "oh me of little faith". I am grateful now for that time Mike and I had together to build our relationship. Especially now that we don't have any time together.

Here is a picture of one of our favorite trips- just the two of us in Maui, Hawaii- actually just the 2 1/2 of us-right before we left I found our I was pregnant with Julia!

Short & Sweet

Today out of the blue Julia came up to me and said, "Mom I love you. I love Dad too" and then went back to playing with her baby dolls. I am grateful that children are forgiving of very imperfect parents.

Things 2 year olds love at church!

I want to personally thank whoever invented sugar free Ice Breakers Sours. They totally occupied the 2 year old for the last 10 minutes of sacrament meeting today as the speakers kept talking and talking and talking and talking. I also think the greatest invention is the miniature toilets that are in the nursery at church. Julia thinks they are the coolest!

Here's Luke's newest trick!

Songs Galore

Julia's newest passion is singing songs. She knows the Primary songs better than most of the Sunbeams we have ever taught in Primary. She sings them all day and where ever we might be. Tonight on our way out of a restaurant she starts belting at the top of her lungs "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" and of course this makes Luke laugh and laugh. We are officially a three ring circus now!

Tonight I am grateful for the gift of music. Not only for Julia's little songs, but music in general and the amazing ability it has to usher in the Holy Ghost (obviously, uplifting music) and uplift your spirit.

Silly Tricks

I wish I was a more creative mother. Unfortunately, I am a analyzer and planner type of a person. So all of the fun activities and games I play with Luke and Julia have been thought about for days or stolen from more "on the fly" creative people.

I am grateful for this silly little trick I saw my mother play with Julia when she was an infant. When my Mom went to change Julia's diaper she would put Julia's pants on her head. Julia had a great time trying to take the pants off and giggle at my Mom. So I decided to start this tradition with Luke and here is today's picture of it. In the process he also found his 2 ears and the rest of the day I would ask Luke "Where are your ears?" and he would grab them and giggle.

Thanks Mom for this little piece of inspirition (along with everything good about me).

Blender Wheat Pancakes

Today I am grateful for my neighbor up the street and her talents! Recently our ward has been focused on emergency preparedness and food storage. One of my neighbors is an amazing bread maker and last night she did a little wheat/bread making class. I was so excited that I even hired a babysitter to come so that I could go to the class. The class was chock full of info and my neighbor made the yummiest samples. Here is one of the recipes she handed out which we had for breakfast this morning.

Whole Wheat Pancakes

1 cup milk

1 cup wheat kernels

Blend in blender or food processor for 4-5 minutes until smooth (if you soak your wheat kernels for a few hours before hand or overnight you don't have to blend them for so long)

2 eggs

2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp oil

2 tbsp honey or sugar

Blend on low until mixed (25-30 seconds)

The 1st Snow!

Snow, Snow, Snow! Julia was beyond excited this morning when she woke up and saw 4 inches of snow in our drive way. Starting at 7am she kept asking to go outside and play in it. Poor girl- it only took us to 10am to finally get everyone dressed and outside. Sometimes Julia & Luke's amazement at new things reminds me how lucky I am to be home with them full time. I would have been so sad to miss seeing Luke stick out his tongue and try to catch the snowflakes for the first time today. So thanks Mike for working hard!