Rocky Mountain Get-Away!

This week is Fall Break, and since Sam doesn't have school we decided to take the chance to get away and have a mini family vacation! We thought we would enjoy the beautiful Fall weather and scenery up in the mountains at Breckenridge. We thought we'd have Fall weather, anyway!
On our way up on Monday afternoon, we got a little bit of rain, and although it was a bit chilly when we arrived, it was still beautiful and had that wonderful crisp Fall smell!
Tuesday we decided to take advantage of the sunshine, although it was still chilly, and walked through the town. For those of you unfamiliar with this area, Breckenridge is up in the mountains and is one of the many ski towns here in Colorado and about 2 hours away from Vail. There isn't really much there to do during the off season, but it is still a fun atmosphere to relax in. After we walked around the main street in the town, everyone was feeling a bit chilly so we stopped into Starbucks for a little warm refreshment. You know me, I love my vanilla steamer!
We didn't get much sleep the night before so that afternoon we all went back to the hotel for some naps. When we woke up we were surprised to see snow falling! We decided instead of walking that afternoon, we'd take a little drive instead. There was plenty of beautiful scenery to enjoy up there!
Needless to say, we decided we'd have an early dinner and head back to the hotel. As if having rain, sunshine, and snow all within a 24 hour period wasn't enough, after dinner we walked out of the restaurant into a little hail storm! We had pea-sized hail pelting us the whole way to the car. The kids thought it was very funny that mom was shivering from the hail that had somehow fallen down my back! We spent the rest of the night warm and cozy in our hotel room, safe from the hail, snow, or whatever the weather decided to throw our way. This morning when we woke up, we were definitely not surprised to see a blanket of snow surrounding us. It was a little bit of a slippery ride home for the first little bit!
Despite the crazy weather, we still managed to enjoy ourselves, and although it was only a few days, it was fun to just be together without our daily stress and chaos. The kids enjoyed the change of scenery, and I think their favorite parts were staying in a hotel and seeing the snow - I'm not quite ready for that yet. I was glad to see that winter still hadn't come to Parker when we got home. Hopefully the autumn weather will hang on for a bit longer, but I have a sinking feeling that winter is right around the corner. My fingers are crossed though, that the snow might hold out until after Halloween at least! ...Maybe!?

The Greatest Show on Earth!

The circus is in town!

I haven't been to the circus since I was really little, and only once in my life, so when we saw that the circus was here in town, we thought we'd take advantage of the opportunity and take the kids to see the Greatest Show on Earth!
Wow, how the circus has changed! Nope, no bearded ladies or tatooed men! The show was really great and the kids absolutely loved it!
It really is amazing the things they can do! Of course the clowns were funny, the acrobats were amazing, and the various tricks they did with the animals were pretty cool, but my favorite part was watching the kids' faces. I don't think I have ever seen them all so still and totally focused on one thing for so long! The show was about 2 and a half hours with constant action - the kids were mesmerized! Of course the endless popcorn and cotton candy helped a bit too. It is the circus, after all, how could we have gone without it! (Of course Sami specifically asked if she would get some when we told them we were going. How could we dissapoint her?)
We got lucky and had really great seats, especially since I didn't buy them until the day before. The kids had a totally clear view and were up pretty close to all the action. If you ask them what their favorite part was, they will give you a different answer every time, but of course one that always comes up, is when the clown "tooted" every time he popped a bubble! The things that stick with them???? We invited Grandma and Grandpa to come enjoy the day with us and the kids were really excited to be with them too. They bought the kids a DVD of the circus performance and of course, they all asked if they could watch it when we got home. It was a little late last night, but today we HAD to put it on! They sat there watching it with their hats on the whole time...and somehow those hats have turned magic and I have imaginary bunnies popping out of them all over the place!
I'm so glad they enjoyed it so much and had such a wonderful time! It really is amazing how your perspective on things changes with children. Yes, I was excited to go see the circus and "ooed" and "awed" at the amazing show they put on, but the best part of the show for me, really wasn't the show at all. It was watching the fun and excitement through my children's eyes, and the wonder and joy they felt at being there. Their sweet faces and happy giggles are why the circus truely is the Greatest Show on Earth!!






A few snapshots of the show.

Our little family after the show.

The kids with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen.

Sweet Justice!!!

Ok, so anyone with boys will know exactly what I am talking about...
As all boys do when they are really little, sometimes when they get their diaper changed they feel the need to "tinkle" mid-change. And, if you have been as lucky as I have, of course their aim is perfect and it shoots right at your face, your hair, all over your clothes right after you've changed them to go out somewhere, or my personal favorite, right in the exact spot on your pants so it looks like you, you know what! Well, today I got my revenge...
As I was changing Kaden's diaper (that right there tells you how well the potty-training is going) I had his legs lifted up to wipe up his dirty buns. While I looked up to talk to Sam I hear Kaden go "Oh, Oh!" I look down at him and his face and shirt are all wet with droplets of water, or tears, maybe?? Oh no, it was not tears!!!! When I realized what had happened, which hasn't happened in a long while, and that he was the target of his own perfect aim, and not me, I couldn't help but bust out laughing - ahh, sweet revenge! Of course he thought it was pretty funny too, so we both had a pretty good laugh together. So, to all you frustrated moms out there, who are tired of being the subject of target practice - there is hope!! What goes around, comes around!

Happy Birthday, Katie!

Today is Katie's birthday! Katie is my little sister, and she would have been 29 today. She died 9 years ago due to a skiing accident. She was in her freshman year at BYU, and I was a junior. She was fun, happy, beautiful, smart, and full of life! It was kind of a running joke between us that all the guys wanted to be friends with me, but they all wanted to date her. Yes, I was even a little bit jealous of her at times - who wouldn't be! Every year on her birthday I have the same thoughts: What would her life be like now? Whould she be married? How many kids? Whould she be rich and famous as she always wanted to be? I'm sure in some way she would have had it all - she was Katie after all, and things always seemed to work out for her. Regardless of how her life would have been, I know she is happy now, and I know she is watching over us. I know she will eventually have everything she ever wanted and will not have missed out on any of life's wonderful experiences. She was special, and wonderful, and I love her more than I can say! Yes, we had our fights and our arguements, we were sisters after all, but of course I loved her despite our differences - those differences are what made us special to each other. You can always count on a sister - you know the good and the bad about each other, and still know they love you no matter what and will always be there for you. Of course I still miss her and think about her often. Life is never the same when you lose a loved one, it just takes on a little bit of a different perspective. Some days are better than others, and most days you can smile at the memories left behind.

So, today, in honor of Katie, the kids drew pictures for her that we mailed off to Heaven, and we sent her a balloon for her birthday. We sang happy birthday before we let the balloon go, and by the end, Sam was the only one singing - the boys were distracted by then, and mom was crying. The kids had fun doing it, and it made the day special for them - and a little healing for mom. It is important to me that they know who Katie is and how wonderful she was - that way they will know exactly who she is when we all see her again in heaven!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my sisters and I from a very long time ago. Luckily I have 3 sisters, and I love them all!
Happy Birthday, Katie! We miss you!

The Third Footprint

One pair of footprints, or should there be three?
One for the Lord, one for you, one for me.

Three sets of footprins were seen in the sand
When we walked by the Lord and he held our hand.

When only two footprints were washed by the tide,
The Lord carried you and I walked by your side.

And then there were times when just two pairs you see,
That you did the walking and the Lord carried me.

And whether you carried me, or I carried you,
The Lord was with us all the way through.

But when only one set of footprints were washed by the sea,
Where were you, and what happened to me?

Those were the times, and you know that it's true,
That you carried me, and the Lord carried you.

(Katie wrote this poem as an adaptation of the poem "Footprints". I have always loved this poem and think about it often. It demonstrates just a small portion of her many talents!)

The best phone call I've had in a while

Just as I was sitting down to my computer, racking my brain and trying to come up with something noteworthy to share with everyone, I got the best surprise of my day! My phone rang and since I didn't recognize the number, I debated whether or not to answer it, not really in the mood for telemarketers. I picked up the phone anyway, and a familiar voice was on the other end. He was purposely being coy, making me guess who it was. It didn't take too long for me to realize who it was - my brother Donny! Yes, he called me out of the blue from Afghanistan! It was about 2:00 am on Sunday morning there. He said they haven't really been up to much, and have had a lot of time on their hands lately. Judging by the pictures he just emailed, right before he called me, they are definitely in need of something to do! He said that he just got a new vest and they all thought it would be funny to take a picture that looked like something out of "Red Dawn". This one of just him reminds me a bit of "Rambo", right down to the bushy curly hair and the cool army-issued glasses! When they have this much time on their hands, I think it's about time to send the troops home! Donny is actually going to be coming home on leave at the end of October. He will be able to spend Halloween with my parents and my sister's family down in Texas. After a few days in Texas he will go up to Utah and hopefully go out with a few girls my cousin has lined up for him. He sounds a bit ready to finish up over there and to move onto the next phase in life - including dating and marriage. His tour ends in February of next year and we are all very anxious for that day to come. He never complains though and is always up beat and positive whenever he emails or calls. He just takes everything in stride and does what he has to do. I couldn't be prouder of my baby brother - he is definitely not a baby anymore! Love you, bud!









This is his home, or "qalat". He lives down where the two bottom windows of the picture are.

This is Donny's unit. As you can tell, he is about the only one who hasn't been able to grow a full beard. That would be the Bills genes at work!