Happy 40th Anniversary!

Tonight we celebrated Kent and Ludene's 40th Wedding Anniversary! We met the love birds and Martin & Rachel's family for a buffet-style meal. We enjoyed hearing Kent and Ludene reminisce on 40 years of marriage. We look forward to seeing what they will accomplish together in the years to come.

Snow Days Are Coming To An End

The snow is already melting here! Our poor snowmen are getting shorter and shorter. The kids were sad to see the snow go and had mixed feelings about going back to school. (Actually, Lauren was all for it. Parker wasn't happy. And, Lowden was Switzerland...neutral.) But, life is getting back to normal already. It was fun while it lasted!

Lowden's Lifeskill Award

The school that my older kids attend teaches the importance of lifeskills and every so often the administrators put on a lifeskill assembly. Today, Lowden was awarded a lifeskill award for Integrity because he did such a good job reading a part for the Martin Luther King, Jr assembly. He was beaming when he received his award which always make a parent feel good too.

Which leads me to an opportunity to share something about cute about Lowden. Recently, he's been on a "what if" spree! Everyday he has a new one "what if" question. I can't even catch them all but here are some recent ones he's asked:

"What if some wacky scientist decided to test a fire-breathing device on
me?"

"What if you walked through a doorway and you were suddenly
dressed?"

"What if everything you ever wanted suddenly came down and landed in your
backyard unharmed?"

"What if the backyard was filled with water balloons?"

"What if we got a bunch of skateboards and took off the wheels and then
used them as sleds?"

"What if our whole yard was full of snow and we put all these tricks on
it...you know loopty loops and spirals?"

"What if in DC (the nation's capital) a bunch of big boats came and took it
up into the center of the universe?"

"What if in 5 seconds you could go anywhere you wanted to for free?"

And on a different note, this question:

"Do you think it's hard to rule the universe?"

Let me know if you have answers to any of these questions, because I'm lacking brilliant answers to match his brilliant questions. :-)

Another Quick Kid Quote

January 2008

Lowden & Parker: "When I told the boys I was taking them to the bookstore, Parker said I was "the best mom in the world". Then, Lowden chimed in saying I was "the best mom in the universe". And Parker said "yeah you are even better than the alien moms!"

Snow Day Number 2 - Photojournalism Style

On Monday, all schools were cancelled due to the most snow we've had here in 10 years. So, we headed out to Grandpa and Grandma Hansen's house to try out the hills around their home being that the snow was even deeper out there.

This is our favorite old barn by their home. It looks so beautiful all covered in snow. Too bad the van got stuck when I told Greg to stop the car for a picture. Thankfully, Grandpa and Greg have serious van-digging-out skills!

So we walked the rest of the way up their driveway . Bennett was so excited to drag the sled up the hill!


"I made it! Now what?"

"OOOOOOOH No!" Don't you love the look on Bennett's face?!!

Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!

Luckily, they stopped before they hit the fence!

"We're ready to go again!"

"We just need to make it back up the hill first!" Bennett decided to hitch a ride...to his delight and Lauren's fright!

"Phew! That wasn't easy! I'm going to rest here by my favorite dad."

Lowden's turn!

Parker's turn!

Check out how deep his boot is sinking in. That's pretty deep around here!

The kids couldn't wait to go again!

Happy Kids=Happy Parents

We took a break and had some soup, cornbread, and hot chocolate that grandma made!!! Yum!

Then, they went back for some more! "Let's try out the back hill!"

Bennett wanted to go first!

Do you think he liked it?!

Time to catch a nice warm daddy hug!

Dad and Parker tried it out in tandem!

Lauren's turn!

Such a fun day! The kids kept saying "this is the best time of my life!" Amazing what a difference a little snow and a few sleds can make!

Quick Kid Quote

January 2008

Lowden: "Goodnight Mom. I love you more than video games!"

A Great Loss

We just heard the news that our beloved prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley, passed away today. We will all miss him dearly! But, are happy to know that he is with his wonderful wife, Marjorie, now.

Our Snow Day Continued...

We cleaned up from our morning romp in the snow...piles of wet pants, boots, gloves, and hats everywhere! And then headed off to church! We just had sacrament meeting today. The rest of the block was cancelled since it was still snowing so hard outside. We carefully headed back home...since there are no snow plows to be seen and the roads were still kind of messy. As soon as we walked in the door, the kids couldn't wait to change back into their snow clothes! And, head back outside...

They engaged dad in a snowball fight! It was a toss up as to who actually won...

Greg helped Lauren and Bennett add another snowman friend! Lauren was very pleased with the results!

Greg also helped increase the walls size of Parker and Lowden's snow fort. Aren't dad's great?! The boys used this for shelter for further snowball fights!

Such a fun day! We finally came in for hot chocolate and warm apple cider. It tasted so nice after being so cold.

Tonight, I caught the kids looking out the windows to make sure the snow wasn't gone yet! It's still there in all it's white glory and doesn't look like it will be going away anytime soon...

Real Snow!

A few days ago we had a little bit of snow which quickly melted, much to the kids dismay. This morning we woke up to the real deal! Snow everywhere!!! More snow here than we've seen in a long time. The kids ran to the windows and shouted "It Snowed! It Snowed!" And then excitedly put on all their snow gear and ran outside!

They made snow angels and snow forts. There were many snowballs thrown every which way!

Lauren and Bennett helped mom make a snowman while Lowden and Parker were busy making a snow fort! Lauren decided the snowman was a boy, due to his wearing Lowden's scarf, and named him Carter!

More pictures to come....

Sort of Snowing

There was a lot of excitement at our house this afternoon when a teaspoon of snow fell from the sky! Around here that's pretty exciting. So, the kids tried to catch the tiny bits that came down with their hands and their tongues. We'll see if there will be any real substance to this "snow". At 26 degrees this morning, it's surely cold enough. But there isn't much coming down from above yet.

A Little Blog Cleaning

So...I am revamping our blog a bit. Changing up the colors...I was in a red mood. Moving a few things around. I am posting all the kid quotes from my sidebar here so I can keep them for my posterity. Instead of listing them all there, I will be spotlighting one at a time. If you haven't had a chance to read these yet and need a good laugh, read away!

December 2007
Bennett: "Mom Mom..Look at your ears! They are "e" holders. They hold your ears." (He was pointing out my earrings)

Bennett: We were talking about giving to families in our ward that are less fortunate. Each of the older kids gave a few dollars toward a gift. Bennett had a dollar so we asked him if he wanted to give it to a little boy who couldn't get toys for Christmas. He said "No" very definitively. (...guess he needs some more teaching on that principle).

Bennett: "I want spiky hair like you dad" Dad said, "I don't have spiky hair." Bennett said, "Yes you do behind you (and he points to the back of dad's hair)!"

Bennett: I told him I was going to eat him (just teasing of course)..he said "I'm not a sandwich, I'm a boy!"

Lauren: I asked her if she still had a crush on a certain boy (One she's liked since she was 3.) She replied "It broke!"

November 2007
Bennett: If you ask him what his name is, he says "Bennett Robert Handsome!" Sometimes he says "Bennett Robber Handsome".

Bennett: About the microwave popcorn package, "...and the popcorn grows in it"

Bennett: On a cold morning, he starts saying over and over "smoke is coming out of my mouth" in response to seeing his breath in the air.

Lauren: We are singing to her for her birthday and dad sings "...happy birthday princess tootles" at which point Lauren she pounds on the kitchen counter 3 times saying "no no no". (Apparently, we are only allowed to say "Lauren" when singing Happy Birthday to her!)

October 2007
Bennett: We are at the pumpkin patch on the tractor ride and he yells out "I see the potty!" (after seeing a blue port-a-potty in the field)

Our 100th Post

To celebrate our 100th post milestone, we decided to make a list of 100 things we are most grateful for:

Greg's List
1. My lovely wife
2. Good kids
3. Faith
4. Good health
5. Good friends
6. Wilderness
7. Second chances
8. Third chances
9. Electricity
10. Well-written fiction
11. Job security
12. The internal combustion engine
13. Role models
14. Thai food
15. The occasional hot bath
16. Septembers

Margaret's List
17. Greg
18. My children -Lowden, Parker, Lauren, and Bennett
19. Jesus Christ, my Heavenly Father, the Holy Spirit, and the Scriptures
20. My mom
21. My dad
22. Good friends and free therapy
23. Laughing
24. Scrapbooking
25. Traveling somewhere new
26. Tidepools
27. A warm home
28. Food to eat (but especially chocolate)
29. Jane Austen movies and the occasional action movie
30. Good books (like Pride and Prejudice and Twilight)
31. Family history
32. Hugs

Lowden's List
33. Baseball
34. My fish
35. My wonderful room
36. Our church
37. A great backyard
38. Vacation
39. Family
40. Friends
41. School
42. Our life
43. Basketball
44. Football
45. Math
46. Delicious Food
47. The whole ocean
48. Everything

Parker's List
49. Sports
50. My mom
51. My dad
52. My brothers and sister
53. My WebKinz
54. My basketball hoop
55. My sports cards
56. My sports posters
57. My stuffed animals
58. Our house
59. My birthday
60. Recess at school
61. Lunch at school
62. My friends at school
63. Chocolate
64. Video games

Lauren's List
65. My family
66. Food
67. Our house
68. The world
69. You (Mom)
70. Everybody
71. When I go scrapbooking with my mom
72. Littlest Pet Shops
73. Junie B. Jones books
74. Go to Skate World
75. Go on vacations
76. Go to swimming pools
77. Swimming lessons
78. Hip Hop
79. Ballet performances
80. My friends

Bennett's List
81. Oren (Lauren)
82. Pawker (Parker)
83. Lowdin (Lowden)
84. Cereal
85. Play a game with Parker...the one that spits butterflies out, it's called the Elefun
86. Eat something hard...you know what that is, spaghetti
87. Froggy Blanket
88. "Cutie Bear"
89. Super Why
90. My giraffe
91. Pictures to paint...I get paint on paper, that's silly
92. Santa Claus
93. My school
94. Playdough
95. Grape juice
96. The park

Others things we are grateful for
97. A new year
98. Happy days
99. Blog readers
100. Your blogs

Post-Game Treat

Lowden had a basketball game this morning. He played good defense and did some nice assists. We took him to get a post-game yummy to celebrate!

The Tooth Fairy's Hard of Hearing

(I am usually pretty tech savvy but I have not figured out an easy way to rotate this video yet. So consider it a good stretching exercise for your neck! In fact, anytime you need to stretch you can just come here and press play...and away you go. :-) In the meantime, if anyone knows a way to rotate it without buying Quicktime Pro, please let me know.)

We have a tradition in our family of having the kids yell out the front door when they have a tooth for the tooth fairy. But as you're probably aware, the tooth fairy is getting on in years and may be somewhat hard of hearing, so sometimes she does not appear when summoned on account of not hearing the call. Or maybe she just forgets ;). So when the kids look under their pillows and discover (to their great dismay) that the tooth is STILL THERE, we have them yell out the front door even louder! Ah, to make sure the tooth fairy can hear them this time. "Tooth fairy, I have a tooth for you!" goes echoing down the road three times. And if the tooth is still there in the morning, well, they just have to keep yelling louder....

(Wonder what the neighbors must think!)

You Either Got It...Or You Don't!

Bennett and I enjoyed some boogie time in the kitchen today! You just can't make up this kind of natural talent. Although I'd like to think that I passed along some of my love for dancing to my little monkey boy. But I believe this just comes from within him...all on his own. Do you think he could get on "So You Think You Can Dance"? You decide if he's "got it" or not.

(Maybe he will get to be on the show with Jessie and Matt whose talent was recently displayed on their blog here and here. It will be tough competition. I'm biased, of course, but my money is on Mr. B. That finger over the eye move is as good as gold!)

Where in the World...?

Lowden was a finalist in the school Geographic Bee tonight! He was very excited to be one of the 11 finalists that made it to the final round out of 91 students who took the pre-test. The competition includes students in 4th through 8th grade. Grandpa and Grandma Hansen came to cheer him on. This video above was taken before the bee when he was getting mentally ready.

He had a tricky first question. But scored on the second one he was given...."The Snake River borders Idaho and what other state?" He had that look of understanding in his eyes as he answered "Oregon" proudly. I think that made his night. We were all very proud!


His last question was about "what city in Wisconsin has the highest population?" He guessed Madison, which is the capitol. But, the answer was Milwaukee. But he ended strong...in the top six. The top two winners were seventh graders. The third place winner was a sixth grader. Being that Lowden is only in the fourth grade, we were very proud of him for placing where he did!

He enjoyed a lot of the PTO provided cookies!

And went home with a globe medal and a big smile on his face! Way to go Lowden!

A Little Reflection

I took Parker into the doctor today since his ear has been hurting him for the last three nights. As we were waiting for the doctor, I had some time to reflect on the last five months since Parker's accident. I'm so happy to see him whole again! Although when the doctor came in, it was determined he has a double ear infection. But, he is doing really good otherwise! He's as feisty as ever which, if you know Parker, that's totally normal! The doctor asked him to do some multiplication for the prescription she was writing and he knew the answer right away. I did some worrying in the hospital on how he might be affected long term and so far there has been no major side effects. This is such a blessing and we are all very grateful to Heavenly Father for watching over him!

Me and My Friend

The fourth child always seems to be the most resourceful! Bennett came to me today and said..."This is my friend Sponge Bob. He's so nice!"

We also caught him putting mouse in his hair all by himself today. "I spike it like Parker!"

And, he is pretty sweet....as I was delaying getting out of bed this morning. He said "A hug will get you better!"

Try To Get Past Us!

Uncle Tyler and Aunt Mele came by last night to say goodbye before heading back to Hawaii. Lauren and Bennett weren't about to let them leave so easily. Be warned that if you come to our house...there may be some obstacles to leaving it. We had a great time with them and we are sad to see them leave!

Our Favorite Day

Today Greg and I celebrated our favorite day! The day we were married in the Portland Oregon temple years ago. And this is one of my most favorite pictures from that day.

Lauren said to Greg and I (knowing it was our anniversary), "You need to go to a pond together and talk." Dad said that we couldn't because there was no one to watch the kids. Lauren said, "We can be climbing the trees and you can be by the pond to talk." Ah...so sweet and SO romantic sounding with the kids climbing trees nearby (although somewhat fitting since sometimes they act like monkeys)! I think Lauren's been watching a lot of princess movies where the prince and princess talk by a pond.

Well, after she said that. I found this picture from our wedding day by the reflection "pond" at the temple. And yes...it has a little kissing action. In fact, most of our pictures from that day have pictures of us kissing. We were and are so very much in love!

Lauren is commenting as I type this... "Oh gross gross gross. Love. Marriage. Kissing."Today as we left for church, I was reminded of what we have accomplished together...
And in honor of our anniversary, I am going to add the song we danced to at our wedding reception (Greg picked it). Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton. Love you Greg!