Father's Day 2010

My kids are lucky to have such a great dad! Emmie adores her "Da" as she calls him, & Parker is always asking when Dad is going to be home.

Chris unfortunately had to work on Father's Day, but got home just in time for a Father's Day Partay at our house with my Dad & that side of the fam. It was a bit of a crazy day trying to pull off late church & getting food ready for the festivities without Chris around to help keep a tiny bit of order to everything with the little munchkins (or should I say "Terrors") running around, but in the end we pulled it off. It was fun to have everyone over!

We missed Steven and Kylie but don't feel bad for them living the high life in New York...my little bro got picked up in a limo this week for an event he is helping with in Times Square...I don't think humdrum Utah is going to satisfy them when it's time to return post his internship in a few months....

I made it :)

I'm alive!

I survived Girls Camp last week.

Yep.

In the Uintas.

In a tent.

With the bears.

All the while battling a nasty cold that pretty much made me miserable - especially that first night.

HOWEVER.

Despite all that, I admit, I still managed to have a good time!

I love being in the mountains (just not sleeping there) & it was definitely a beautiful place (Camp Camelot - Fruitland, UT).

See for yourselves:

A few of the highlights:

• A 3 mile hike to the top of that big ridge
• Tubing down the river was so much fun despite the icy water
• The food! That is a lot for me to say because I am picky but one of the girl's dads was our cook and he was amazing! Best scones ever, homemade hot krispy kreme doughnuts, hawaiian haystacks....the food was super delish!
• Night time devotionals. There is something about being in the mountains, sitting under the stars & listening to a wonderful speaker bear witness of the truthfulness of the gospel that makes the entire week worth the trip. Such an amazing feeling.
• Spending quality time with the girls! I love getting to know each of them better, as well as the other leaders.

All in all - success!

Especially maybe because I had to leave a day early to get back to my orphaned children....(Thanks Hansens for watching them!)

{Can you find me? }

What's cool: Hanging out with 12-18 year old girls. Not Cool?: Having everyone think you are one of the 12-18 year old girls...

3 words: STORY OF MY LIFE! :) LOL I'm THIRTY, people!!!

Off to camp I go...

Well, it's here.

I'm off to Girl's Camp this week.

I'm stoked.

Er that's what I'm telling myself anyways.

The lovely head cold, constant run of the nose and bad sore throat I picked up from Em the other day that are hitting extra hard this a.m. aren't helping my enthusiasm for this excursion.

Nevertheless I am off.

The crazy things we do for the church I tell ya. :) {slight sarcasm here}

Like sleep in a tent. With no showers. {shudder}

Have a good week everyone!

Be thinking of me in the wilderness with all the bugs and wild animals. :)

Oh and if you see Chris lugging around the kiddos, please stop and help him do Little Emmie's hair... that's his biggest fear this week....

Summer Fun....

SWINGS!

Our dinky little swingset we bought last year has proven to be such a great purchase!

It is just the right size for these two monkeys and they have spent endless hours in the last few weeks swinging away....we've also spent lots of time recently at parks. It has been great to finally be able to spend time outside!

BUBBLES! Who knew a little soap and water could keep these little ones so entertained. Emmie especially loves them.

ITTY BITTY SOCCOR & GYMNASTICS

June is such a crazy month for us. I'm not sure what I was thinking when I signed Parker up for soccor this month and both kiddos up for gymnastics on top of all the other crazy activities/events that June is filled with, but I did. It's totally fun but we are constantly go-go-go around here!

Creative entertainment.... they had to find something exciting to do while I cleaned all afternoon....highlighters to the face (Emmie) and decorating their bodies with stickers did the trick...

THE LIBRARY

My kids love to read and I love to read to them, so we finally hit up the library for the first time last week.

It was a quick trip -

Emmie was deshelving the books faster than I could pick them back up so we had to grab a few and dash, but we were lucky to have randomly chosen a really really cute one out of the four and another pretty good one.

As for me, besides taking care of these cutie patooties, my life has pretty much been hijacked by my calling in Young Womens for the last several months....love it but it sure keeps me busy & away from my kids more than I've ever been (& I'm only an advisor!).

On a cute and somewhat humorous note, Parker started hysterically crying when I told him I was going to Girls Camp in the mountains saying how he didn't want me to leave him and that he was afraid I'd be eaten by a mountain lion. His words. It didn't help that he had caught part of Homeward Bound earlier that day where a ferocious mountain lion was chasing after Chance and his crew....okay and so it probably also doesn't help that I'm a little (who am I kidding - a LOT) fearful of being ravaged by a wild animal myself....deep breaths.... :)

MOVING ON....

Chris bless his heart, :) has been doing a little painting for me (more on that later), has been playing soccor dad (his schedule has allowed him to go to P's classes), and work work WORKING away! It is great that he has the opportunity to pick up overtime hours here and there. Sometimes that great extra pay is hard to pass up!

This picture pretty much sums up this month at our house.... a bit CrAzY but we're holding on tight with our eyes half open & are trying to make the most of it. We're definitely enjoying the ride though! :)

Let freedom ring

Who is: Little short guy, on his post, barking orders....

Napoleon?

Nope...

That would be our Parker ....

Little P is strong enough this year to open our ultra heavy back sliding door all by himself. Quite exciting for a 3-year-old as all our other doors have handle locks on them prohibiting his break away. With this has come great freedom for him... and some added stress for myself....

Everytime I turn around the little guy has escaped into the backyard & his mini accomplice - aka Emmie, is right behind him, regardless of what I have just told him about staying inside. Obedience is not his strong suit these days - it's tough when such autonomy is within his own capablities...

So what is he so eager to get outside and do?

Up the slide, to his favorite post this social little butterfly goes....

where from he screams high-pitched summons over the fences to all the neighbor kids to come over and play with him.

And come they do!

This is great- we love to play. But if my plans don't quite align with his & it's NOT a great time to play with friends, huge fits ensue. Not so great.

You can bet that this little girl loves every minute of her big brother's new found independence. She loves the outdoors every bit - if not more than him - & walks around saying "side, side! ". Naturally, as P's sidekick, the more liberty he steals when mom has her back turned, the more she gets as well. What a perfect position to be in as the little sister.

Those little stinks.

(To explain - the only reason I object to them being out in our fenced yard without me closeby is because our cute neighbor girl taught Parker how to open the gate (which would have happened soon anyways) to get to the front yard which could result in catastrophic devastation if E were to follow P out ...you know - streets, cars, kidnappers... you get the picture...)

Having said all that, we mostly do just get laughs out of Parker & the way he thinks he can run the neighborhood from his post on the slide. & I think it's time to figure out a lock for the back gate.

I'm just so glad that it's finally getting nice enough to spend the majority of our days outdoors...

it's about time, Utah weather!

BRING ON THE FRIENDS, we're excited to play! ;) Maybe just not 24/7...

American Idol, Baby

AMERICAN IDOL...

What can I say? This show just makes me so happy. Every year I look forward to January for some high quality television - aka - American Idol!

(Bless my beloved DVR for making it possible to watch!)

I was BOUNCING off the couch with elation last night as my man Lee Dewyze was announced as this season's winner.

YAY LEE!!!

(Did I call it or what? :))

He is so humble, so talented, so good, so cute...so -- I might have a tiny crush. No big deal.

Chris is well aware. :)

If you missed his Hallelujah performance last week, check it out HERE. It's AMAZING - probably my favorite song all season. Just watching it will make you a fan too if you aren't already.

Or I dare say there might be something wrong with you... :)

....& I just have to add that the finale was GREAT! Besides Lee winning, my favorite moment was seeing all the old Idol winners and runner ups singing together.

LOVED IT!!

Let's admit it, next year just isn't going to be the same without Simon Cowell. You either love him or hate him and I love. (not that I love it when he's rude...hate rudeness he somehow gets away with it...) Honestly, I was tearing up when they were doing his little tribute. As big of an Idol fan as I am, I just don't know that I'll be watching in the years to come without him!

Oh well.

Anyways, here's to a great ending to American Idol 2010!

GO LEE! :) :)

I don't sound at all over-the-top obsessive in this post - do I?? ;)

New Yorkers

My awesome little brother scored an amazing internship at Times Square in New York City this summer! He and his cute wife leave tomorrow for their 3 month adventure of living in the Big Apple.

HOW LUCKY ARE THEY???

We got together for a little farewell party last night at our sweet Grandma's house - who recently was able to return home after months of being in the hospital and then rehab center. We are so happy to have her back home!

We will sure miss Kylie and Steven for the next several months but are so excited for them and this incredible opportunity!

If you have any New Yorker advice for the new Big City explorers, please share!

GOOD LUCK Kylie & Steven!

We'll miss you!

Careful of the terrorists, please. :)

Super fabulous homemade pizza

I realize that most people love their Saturdays. Well, honestly, I don't. I pretty much dread them. The explanation is that Chris works all but one Saturday a month. (Before you go pitying me, he does have Mondays off which is so nice.) The hours that he is gone (8:30 a.m. to 6:45 p.m.) on that day of the week seem like an eternity. I guess that this is a pretty normal work day for most, but we love his weekday schedule of either 8-4 or 2-10, which leaves us a nice chunk of the day together as a family either in the morning or the evening.

So when Saturday rolls around we are left with very little time together as a fam as Chris makes his appearance during bathtime which is just prior to bedtime. This translates into ME being at my wits end by day's end & the last thing I have time and patience for on top of a crazy day is making some great dinner with little munchkins whining and screaming at my feet. So lately I've been trying to find ways to simplify,(not an easy task for my complicated little brain) and this I did by finding the perfect solution for dinners on my dreaded Saturdays...and a tradition Parker looks forward to.

Well, a few months back after a little research, I found the greatest homemade pizza recipes. Not just kinda good -- REALLY GOOD! So I started the Saturday ritual of giving the kiddos early baths and then having homemade pizzas ready to pop into the oven just as Chris is getting home. The kids absolutely love decorating their own pizzas, they love eating the pizzas, and they love the little bit of time they get to spend with their Dad on Saturday nights just before going to bed.

I love that I don't have to think about what I am making for dinner that day, LOVE that they are SUPER EASY, super cheap, & I love that they are all homemade. & don't tell anyone but I especially love that I don't have to deal with any raw meat... you could say it's definitely NOT one of my favorite pasttimes.... ughh. But that's another story...

And did I mention that I. LOVE. THIS PIZZA!?

This is some of the tastiest homemade pizza I've ever had. Seriously - SO YUMMY! I love it so much that I wanted to share these great discoveries with the three people who may be lucky enough to have made it this far into my post without falling asleep.

Really - these recipes are worth the boring post - I promise!

Here they are:

(super duper easy!)

PIZZA DOUGH

(courtesy of Martha's website, but Wolfgang Puck's recipe)

One 1/4-ounce active dry yeast

1 tsp honey

1 cup warm water

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp coarse salt

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and honey in 1/4 cup warm water; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine flour and salt. Add oil, yeast mixture, and remaining 3/4 cup warm water; mix on low speed until dough pulls away from the sides fo the bowl and clusters around the dough hook, about 5 minutes.

2. Turn dough out onto a clean work surface, and knead by hand until dough is smooth and firm, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer dough to a large bowl, and cover witha clean, damp kitchen towel. Place bowl in a warm spot, and let rise for 30 minutes.

3. Divide dough into four balls, about 6 ounces each. Work each ball by pulling down the sides and tucking under the bottom of each ball; repeat 4 or 5 times. On a clean, unfloured surface, roll the ball under the palm of your hand until the dough is smooth and firm, about 1 minute. Repeat with remaining balls; cover witha damp towel and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes. Prepare as needed and arrange desired toppings; balls can be wrapped in plastic and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

(Makes four 8-inch pizzas - or one large)

*Note: I like to bake the rolled out dough for 4 or 5 minutes before I put any sauce or toppings on - then cook with toppings for additional 10 minutes or so at 400 degrees. But then again, we like crispy crust around here...

MOVING ON TO THE SAUCE....

The super fabulous sauce recipe is from one of my favorite food blogs - Our Best Bites. Click here to never ever want to use the jar marinara sauce ever again. Who ever liked that stuff anyways?! This is super easy and super tasty! I love it.

Don't be intimidated by the fact that one of it's ingredients is some of their homemade garlic bread seasoning. Yes, you'll have to make that too to make the recipe work but trust me it is fast and easy... the only strange ingredient are the marjoram leaves (well at least to me that is) but I found them with no problem in the seasoning isle at Smith's and they were even under $2.

Here I go rambling - what else is new??...

Just try out these recipes! You'll love 'em! Er you can call me crazy. :)

HAPPY PIZZA MAKING!!!

More cuteness

HOW CUTE IS THAT?

There is something I just love about 17 little 3-5 year old boys chasing balls around a gym! What a site! Besides the fact that it's pretty stinkin' cute, I love that they are constructively putting their spastic little hyper active bodies to beneficial use by aquiring new skills, gaining coordination, and learning to take turns, all the while spewing out some of that endless energy they all seem to have bottled up in them!

Itty Bitty All-Ball was a huge success this week! SCORE! Once I peeled Parker off my arm on Monday(bribery courtesy of Cold Stone worked like a charm for later that day) he kept up with the best of them playing soccor and he even made a goal. That-a-boy. :) More importantly, he had a great time. I was worried today that he would revert back to his clinginess - which he did for the first 5 minutes but then he jumped right in to play basketball and once again had a great time! Yay! So---yes. I bribed him. Again. This time with a trip to Target for popcorn - but hey, bribery works and sometimes whatever works is the best option in my book. :) Especially when it's to get over an initial hesitancy about something...

Parker's words about class today: "That was so so SO way totally fun, Mom!".

This session is all over for his team but we are gearing up to start Itty Bitty ALL Soccor next month with several more friends & we're excited!

...& this little girl....we don't want to leave her out. I snapped this picture on our way out the door this morning. I might be a teensy bit biased but seriously how could you not adore that little face?! I just love her.

Mother's Day...

All I can say is that MAY has been one CrAzY month.

There has been so much I have wanted to post but I am still catching my breath just trying to keep up with everything...& the month is still running....FAST. But here is a start...

Better late than never right? Let's start off with Mother's Day....

I am one lucky Mama! I love these kids!!!

*(Notice hair obsessed Parker's fistfuls of my hair - the kid never lets go - I swear!)*

It was such a great day!... P & E were still getting over their sicknesses (but on the upswing) so Chris and I had to tag team church. Chris cooked us all breakfast, and the kiddos gave me some pieces of art they had colored with attached gift cards for my favorite smoothies, to do a little shopping & get a pedicure!

What more could a girl want???

Sacrament meeting was actually quite rejuvinating because I got to sit in peace and actually hear what the speakers had to say since Chris was home with the kids.

Sometimes I forget that that was once possible in my former life....Ahhh. It was nice. :)

After church we sanitized our germy kids the best we could and headed over to the Hansens for a big Mother's Day partay. To our surprise, it turned out to be a Mexican Fiesta with the boys cooking YUMMY authentic Mexican food (Zach served a spanish speaking mission in NC & cousin Lara's husband is Mexican). Chris' Dad Lance is great at putting on a shindig and a shindig it was, complete with gameshow games & even a pinata. It was also Chris' littlest sister - Sarah's (youngest of 6 kids) 19th birthday and courtesy of Mexican tradition she received an extra special birthday treat by having her birthday pie slapped all over her lovely face. Nice. Happy Birthday, Sare!

My favorite moment of the night however had to be Chris' precious 93 year old Grandma Lonczyna beating the pinata (pictured above).

Love that girl. She makes me smile! :)

YAY for Mother's Day!!!

Happy Mother's Day

This woman is such an inspiration!

Stephanie (aka Nie Nie)....She is the survivor of a plane accident that happened in 2008. You may have heard about her on the news, watched her on Oprah, or you may be one the hundreds of thousands who follow her blog...what an incredible perspective she has on her second chance at life & what a wake up call it is for the rest of us to stop sweating the small stuff & to be GRATEFUL for our many blessings.

She offers so many heartfelt messages...Motherhood truly is a divine privilege & and I hope I never take it for granted. I also love how she says, "I am not my body...." How true that is and such a reminder that we are all so much more than the packages we come in...a hard thing to keep in perspective as a woman!

Take a few minutes to watch - it will touch your heart!

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!

The latest...

Sheesh! It seems that lately we've been go-go-go... with what exactly I'm not even 100%. I must be getting old or just have a mommy brain but I can hardly remember what takes place from day to day. It's as though it gets deleted as soon as I move on to the next one. All I know is that I'm exhausted by day's end.

That is where my friend the blog helps me out...I can journal a few things that otherwise I know will never make it to my hard drive.

So here are a few happenings as of late...

(Let's see what I can remember...!)

PARKER:

P started an Itty Bitty All-Ball class with his friend Zach through our local rec center. Today was his 3rd class of 6 and they are exposed to soccor, football and T-Ball. It's pretty darn cute, I must say.

WHEN Parker chooses to participate that is. For the last few months my little man who was BORN independent (previously this kid could walk around a mall with no parent in sight without batting an eyelash) has suddenly turned into a VERY clingy/whiney 3 1/2 year old when we do things with other kids. At our house he seems fine. But All-Ball class, Sunbeams at church, & playdates he REALLY struggles to detach himself from my arm. It drives me a bit crazy (& Chris even crazier) and we're not quite sure how to handle it. Even bribery of playing the Wii, chocolate, or another love - the reward of popcorn at Target don't do the trick. When those didn't phase him I knew we had a big problem on our hands. But we are trying. And that is why I signed him up for this. He NEEDS this interaction in group settings!

EMMIE....

THIS little girl (who is sick AGAIN by the way!) has developed a strong sense of style. Well, I'm not sure STYLE is the right word seeming as most days she's a complete rag-a-muffin, but she has a STRONG opinion for what she wants to wear each day.

One of many examples:

The other night I heard her throwing up in her crib at 3 a.m. (awesome), so I go in, clean her & her crib up and get her new jams to wear. I found out that the ones I chose were NOT acceptable when she started screaming, "No! No!" over and over again. Really? You are throwing up, have a fever and it's 3 a.m. and you have an opinion on what jams you want to wear?

YES. She did. Whatever the 20 month old wants. So we had to lay out all her pajama options from her drawer so that she could make what she felt was the appropriate choice. It took her about 4 minutes of debating before she finally pointed and said, "Dose". I'm afraid this is only the beginning of a very opinionated girly girl. Happy day. :)

CHRIS

Has recently developed a love for Blu-Ray DVD's. This red-head doesn't express a lot of excitement over many things, but he gushes about those Blu-rays. He even convinced me to watch Iron Man with him. He was a bit offended that I was giggling in disbelief half way through (come on - the dude turns himself into a flying transformer that saves the world) but nontheless it was exciting and the blu-ray was pretty sweet - I will even admit. :)

ME:

So I have developed a strong liking for THIS American Idol contestant:

No, not Ryan Seacrest. LEE DEWYZE. He is amazing and I'd purchase his tunes in a minute. Not to mention he's pretty cute. I am rooting for him all the way!

I was a little perplexed just now as I was getting his pic and noticed that he was born the same year as my little bro - 7 years my junior. Really?? Dang. I really must be getting old.

Well that is plenty for now. Exciting, I know - for the one person who might still read my blog.... !

Barnyard Party

~Parker, Emmie, Atticus~

Hooray for cousins!!!

A few weeks ago P & E's little cousin Atticus & Aunt Cindy (Chris' brother - Eric's wife) were in town from Texas so clever Grandma Hansen put on a cute "Cousin's Barnyard Party" for the reunion.

Activities consisted of hunting for hidden little animals around the house, singing 'Old MacDonald with props made by Gma H, an animal toss into the barnyard (notice flying green bear in front of carefully aimed Atticus), playdough animals, & even peanut butter sandwiches in animal shapes. They also got to take home cute barnyard sacks full of fun prizes!

Thanks Grandma H for such a cute party.

The kiddos loved it & loved hanging out with their cousin A!

Best scent ever

I LOVE Bath & Body Works!

But then - what girl doesn't, right?

I am obsessed with their hand soaps...I feel like a bad home exec (help me out -sounds better than homemaker, right...maybe? Maybe not.)

if I don't have one at every sink in our house.

I am currently IN LOVE with this scent:

(pull out all the stops - this is definitely deserving of a drumroll and maybe some spectacular fireworks...)

*ISLAND NECTAR*

Seriously - AmAzInG...probably my favorite ever -- & there are some pretty good ones out there.
I recently stocked up with 6 of them myself...
The only thing wrong with it is that they don't carry this scent in lotions...(what are they thinking).... just soap and home fragrance.
I'm okay with it though. I just feel blessed to be associated with it as
my beloved foamy soap.
It makes me inhale with delight everytime I wash my hands.
Which tends to be alot since I'm a bit of a germaphobe...

Seriously... TRY IT!!! It's so worthy of a trip to the store. You won't regret it.
& in case you were thinking of getting me a gift sometime...a box of these would be a welcomed treasure, for sure... :)

Spring trip to the desert

On Sunday we got back from spending 8 days in sunny St. George, visiting my Mom & Reed. We had a great time and were so happy that Chris could join us for half the trip!

{The good old doggy door always provides some pretty rad entertainment... the two munchkins were chasing each other round and round...}

We had a great time at this popular splash park over by the Tabernacle.

E & P both had a blast, but H20-obsessed-Emmie was especially in heaven!

The cute but cautious one above got a little wet....

But Emmie was FEARLESS and needless to say ended up SOAKED!

She was so funny not only trying to drink the water, but she also got a kick out of sticking her bum in the waterfalls over and over again!

We did not come ready to get so wet and the poor girl was shivering but she loved it so much she didn't whine once with the cool breeze hitting her wet clothes...braver girl than me - for sure! :)


On our last day there, my Mom and I took the kids to a Kite Festival.

It stinks when hundereds (thousands? A LOT!) of people show up to such an event armed with their souped up kites and the wind doesn't show.

No wind meant no flying kites but tons of bouncy houses and yummy snowcones kept my two monkeys occupied and thoroughly entertained!

I was completely entertained watching them bouncing, sliding, climbing and laughing.

If my kids have fun - I have fun!

Emmie once again was fearless and wanted to do everything her big brother was doing. And she pretty much did!

My poor Mom has had problems with her arm/shoulder for the last few years... so much so that she hasn't been able to work out or put her makeup on with her right hand for the last 6 months. She is finally having surgery today to have the rotator cuff in her shoulder replaced and will be out of commission for the next several months.

Not fun! :(

Good luck Mom - we love ya and we'll be praying for you!
Thanks for a fun trip to the desert!

Just helpin' out

Emmie gets sick of me asking her big brother to do simple tasks over and over again with no follow through on his part. One example he struggles with each day is getting dressed into his clean clothes that are freshly laid out for him each morning.

Something that has become evident in our home lately is that:

P is a procrastinator & E is a 'get-it-done' kinda girl.

So much so, that sometimes she just goes ahead and does his little tasks for him.... Like the other day when she helped him out by putting on his (clean) undies - all by herself - that had been laying on the floor for P to wear all morning. She'd heard me tell him a million times to put these on so she took the initiative and did it herself.

She was so proud! And so was I. They were even the right way. :)

Such a nice, helpful little sis!

While I'm at it, her efficiency doesn't stop there.

This little 19 month old do-it-herselfer drops her dishes into the sink following a meal, (plastic of course!) makes sure to wash her hands before eating, puts her own socks on (P is just barely doing this himself!), tries to dress herself, and puts her dirty laundry in the hamper each night after her bath. (To give Parker some credit, he does that one, too.) She will also assist Parker in cleaning his plate when he takes too long to eat by stealing bites. And as you can see in the bottom right pic, she is always toddling around trying to help me clean.

Don't get me wrong, Parker is a great helper as well in a lot of ways.

But Em is thorough and to the point while Parker gets extremely distracted from the task at hand.

SUCH A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BOYS & GIRLS I tell ya!

Well, between my boy & girl that is. :)

But I love them both the same. Even when P ignores me and E walks around in her big brother's Toy Story undies while spraying down my fridge with a water bottle....