Oh Ed

Was I the only one jumping for joy to see him back??? Soooooo glad to see that Ed is back on the Bachelorette!!!
He is my only hope for Jillian. LOVE HIM!!!

As for the other guys......
Wes~It goes without say... TOTAL DIRTBAG! Why she's even remotely attracted to him is beyond me! And who in their right mind is going to buy his CD? Especially after seeing what a snake he is. Ughh.
Reid~He's alright but he's not emotionally mature enough for her.
Kiptyn~She's obviously way more into him than he is genuinely interested in her...I think he'd totally break her heart if she were to choose him.
And poor Michael.....he was so adorable and I just loved his cute family. Too bad he was so young! He should be the next Bachelor.

But HIP HIP HOORAY that my Ed came back!

How it all began.....

JUNE 24, 2000

(I know, I know - it's LONG!!! But I have to document for the posterity...) Has it really been NINE years since Chris and I were married? That truly boggles my mind!

I'll never forget sitting in a health class ten years ago at UVSC... I was an independent, excited about life 20-year-old who was ready and eager to take on another year of college. I had sent out a missionary earlier that summer whom I had met my first year up at Utah State University, but I was already enjoying my new found "singlehood" and was having fun dating various people, writing my missionary, and just enjoying the thrills of student life. I in no way was looking to be married and in fact I was hoping for the opposite for a few years. Well, - as I have learned in life - sometimes PLANS CHANGE!

So I was sitting there in class when I saw him. The cutest red-headed boy I'd ever layed my eyes on walked into the classroom and sat down several desks ahead of mine. I had never really been attracted to a red head before, but this one caught my attention and I was somehow intrigued by him. If anything, I was happy for the prospect of having a cute boy to look at in one of my classes. That is, until a few days later when I dropped the class for another one that worked better with my schedule. I remember thinking that I'd probably never see that cute red-head again on a campus so large.

A few weeks later I was walking from my car to my student apartment and I spotted him - that same red-head! What were the chances?? I came to learn that he was not only in my ward, but he lived in my SAME apartment complex. Oh - and he had a name - Chris. Over time, my roomate Jill and I became friends with he and his roommate, Josh. Friends was all however...Chris and Josh were both freaked out to learn that Jill and I both had missionaries that we were writing! :) By then I really wasn't too interested in being more than friends... I was having fun dating other guys I had been meeting, writing the mish of course, and getting to know a variety of new people. Weeks went by and Chris took interest in the (loud :)) girl that lived across the hall, but our friendship continued. I would give him advice on how to 'win' her over, and he would talk to me a little about the missionary situation. I would walk over to the library in the evenings to study and always sat in the same place. Chris caught onto this, and started to make appearances in the library as well. He later started walking over with me to "study". But we would end up just doing a lot of talking and goofing off together. Walking back from the library one night he got up the nerve to ask me out. I was a little perplexed because he was supposedly kind of dating that girl who lived across the hall from me (who by the way was a year younger than myself and who - how do I say this nicely? - drove our entire apartment crazy because she was a little um - obnoxious way to late into the night & also whom I didn't think was cute enough for him... Jill - help me out here- you know what I'm saying!). Inside however, I was elated. I had tried playing it off as though I wasn't interested in him that way, but deep down I knew there was something about him that had drawn me to him the first time I laid eyes on him and I was attracted to the idea of finding out just what that was. Needless to say, I agreed to go out with him.

On our first date we went on a group date to the "Extreme Fun Center" in Orem and did a little sparring, obstacle courses, jumping in those bouncy houses, etc. I'm pretty sure he was impressed by my skills, because later that night he tried really hard to hold my hand while petting his friend's dog at the same time as me. Nice, ay? Well, I can't remember if I really let him hold my hand that night, but nonetheless I was humored by the whole situation. He asked me out again, and had another group date and he impressed ME this time with his cooking skills! He cooked fajitas for at least 12 people. On our third date, we went on yet another group date, this time to Temple Square to see the Christmas lights and then to the symphony. We were standing there, looking up at the beautiful Salt Lake Temple, when out of the blue I had this distinct impression that THIS was the guy I was going to marry. It was a surreal experience - but the message was very clear. It COMPLETELY freaked me out! We hadn't even kissed yet! Well, that is until my doorstep that night. So the story goes on, but

about six weeks later we were engaged, and 5 months later married. So there you have it! One of those whirlwind, only-in-Utah dating stories. The poor missionary ended up with a 'Dear John' on Valentines Day (I had no idea that would happen and I felt awful when I heard), and the girl across the hall was a little jealous, but we all came out okay. :) One more neat thing to add, is that after we were engaged, we decided to read one another's Patriarchal blessings. We were astonished to discover that we had our blessings given on the EXACT SAME DAY! September 15th, 1996 -- my 17th birthday. It was a neat confirmation that we were doing the right thing and especially incredible to think that we were promised many of the very same things on the same day!!!

And here we are NINE YEARS LATER! I can't believe it! We've truly been blessed. We sacrificed much to forge through and get Chris through EIGHT years of school to attain his Pharmacy degree. It has rewarded us with job security and a comfortable, stable income for our family. Education truly does open the door of opportunity and I'm so grateful to Chris for working so hard for so many years to get us to this point. It was well worth it and has been a joyous and refining journey over the years. The completion of school for him along with the birth of our 2 beautiful kids are our greatest achievements thus far. Marriage isn't always easy, that is for sure. But the best things in life never are and are so worth every bump in the road, as long as they are taken together.

Here's to a WONDERFUL LIFE!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Chris!

I love you!

Card from a 2 year old

Is the picture below a great one? No. Is it the most recent of the three of them and the best of the few I took? Yes. :) Chris unfortunately had to work on Father's Day. However, that doesn't mean that he got out the door without some celebrations first. Father's Day morning, Parker lovingly gave Chris a 6 a.m. wake up call and dragged him downstairs to excitedly present him with the card he had ever-so artistically made for his Daddy the day before (I was still sound asleep and didn't even realize that Parker had taken note of the drawer I had tucked the card into!)

Here is the card: It reads:
Dear Dad:
You are nice and fuzzy. I like to play with you. I especially like to roll the ball with you. You are silly. I want to go to Disneyland with you.
I love you, Dad!
I of course wrote it for him, however he narrated every word to me with no help! I thought it was so cute. I had to repeat back the "fuzzy" part to him three times to be sure that is really what he had said, and sure it enough, it was. He makes me laugh -what a little character. He even signed his signature "P" at the bottom (the bottom of the P is cut off in the pic, but for the record it really is a P, not a D.:)).
In addition to the card, Parker also gave his Daddy a mini-sized soccor ball (made for smaller kids) so that he can teach him to play the team sport, as Chris' entire family are longtime soccor players/fans.
Among a few other clothing items and gifts, Chris also received an exciting leaf blower for the big day. We later went over to enjoy some dessert with extended family on the Hansen side.
HaPpY FaThErS DaY, Chris!
Our kids are blessed to have such a great guy as their Daddy!
We love you.

Forget the dinosaurs, where are the bones?

Last Wednesday we went to a free dinosaur exhibit down at BYU. Beforehand, we told Parker that we were going to go and see some dinosaurs. His eyes got big and he said, "Are they nice ones?". We went on to explain that the creatures lived a long, long time ago and so we were just going to be looking at their bones. Upon arrival and after assessing the T-Rex (okay, I'm not completely sure that's a T-Rex) Parker said, "I want to see some bones. Where are the bones?" We said, "These ARE the bones, Parker. You're looking at them." A couple minutes later he repeated, "But where are the BONES? I want to see some bones!" He went on to question us about this over and over again. Chris and I just had to laugh. He didn't quite get it.

Emmie on the other hand, was quite impressed and was clapping at the dinosaurs from her stroller and flashing them big grins.

This is the perfect example of our kids these days and their personalities.

Parker's never quite satisfied... But Emmie, she's pretty easy to please.

On a sidenote: The middle pictures are of a CROCODILES HEAD who was 37 FEET LONG! CRAZY! That big guy was found in Texas.

In Parker's defense, I can't really blame him for not really comprehending the whole dinosaur thing. It's hard for ME to wrap my 29-year-old brain around the idea that these massive guys really once roamed the earth, so I guess I'm not too worried that he really isn't getting it at 2! :) In thinking about it even more, he is OBSESSED with feeding the dog her bones and has quite a strange fettish with them, so I think he must have had it in his head that we were going to see an exhibit of doggy bones. After all, that is his understanding of what bones are at the moment.

Sorry to disappoint the little guy! :) Maybe we'll just have take Parker on a whirl around PetsMart for our next little field trip...

Happily Ever After...

My cute little brother and his darling fiance, Kylie, got married last Thursday, June 11th in the Salt Lake Temple! It was SUCH a fun day. Steven was beaming with pride as he escorted his stunning bride around the rainy temple grounds. She looked so beautiful in her white dress and red sash - I LOVED it! There was a huge downpour of rain just prior to them exiting the temple, but luckily it cleared up for family pictures. Unlucky for them, the rains turned back on after the family portion of pictures ended. JUNE 11, 2009
The reception was at a place called the Canterbury up in Bountiful. What a neat place! The colors were red and pink with a lime green accent, and everything looked super cute. Parker was in HEAVEN.... between the yummy candy bar (is that the cutest thing? Bethany and Brett had one too and whoever came up with the idea gets a giant gold star - LOVE THEM! ) and having TONS of room to run around, it's pretty safe to say he had a ball. He even snuck into their getaway limo (a surprise for Kylie) to test it out before the bride and groom made their way into it. Parker and Emmie got their grooves on when the music turned up and the dancing started. Emmie (who was sooo tired by that point) got this huge grin on her face, laid herself on the floor, and just started rolling around and laughing to the beat. I was so busy laughing and snapping her picture, I'm not sure anyone else even caught the moment, but she definitely had me smiling! She loves music - it's so cute.
At the end of the night, the happy couple made their exit through a man made hall of sparklers and off they went into their white stretch limo....
What a GREAT DAY! Exhausting with kids, I tell ya, but so fun.
I am soooo happy for them and I'm thrilled to be getting Kylie as a new sister!
CoNgRaTuLaTiOnS S&K!!!
What are the newlyweds up to now???
Oh they are off honeymooning on a Caribbean cruise....
Nope. No jealousy here. Not at all.
Okay, maybe just little. More though of just the thought of an hour or two of just laying in the sun with a yummy fruity beverage with a little umbrella in it with NO INTERRUPTIONS would give me great satisfaction. I don't need the whole ten day trip. Just a couple of hours of it. THAT'S what makes me breathe out a "Wow, that'd be nice" sigh.

Anyone else???
You have to have small rambunctious kids to even begin to relate to me here. :)