Christmas Weekend in Star Valley

Last post of the day. I can't believe I have had peace and quiet for this long in one day. On Christmas day we went up to Star Valley to visit with Ethan's parents and his Brother Nathaniel and his wife Julie and their two kids who were also up there. It was so fun being with his family. They live in one of the prettiest places I have ever seen. It is so peaceful and quiet up there. So we got there and Renae and Melvin needed to open their gifts from us. We had gone in on a gift for Renae so they waited for us to get there for her to open it. We got her a digital camera (Julie's idea) you are all welcome Clingers out there. Now maybe there might be some decent pictures of people because she can see what they look like before she prints them. (we love you Renae, just not always your photography.) That was fun having her play with it all weekend.
We went sledding on the hill across from their house with the kiddos. Melvin and Renae kept an eye on Enza so we could both go out with the boys. That is the first time that we have both been able to go out and do something up there with the kids. (I am usually pregnant, or have a new little baby and there are too many kids around to just leave.) It was so fun.
Later that day we went for a drive to go to the Elk observatories, but there wasn't enough snow so they were all too far away to see. It was such a nice drive though, and it gave our kids a chance to get a nap. Yeah! We took a bunch of pics of the canyon on the way up the canyon towards Jackson Hole. It was overall relaxing and nice to spend time with Ethan's family, because it doesn't happen often enough.

Enza's first set of pigtails! Thanks to Julie who did them for me, because I have been too nervous to do them myself. I didn't want to hurt her. They were so adorable. And yes, I did try them when I got home and yes I did hurt her by pulling her hair. So I had reason to fear.

Ethan and I on the side of the road above the Snake River. It was pretty and as usual our pictures didn't do it justice.

Ethan and I in front of his parent's house.

Our little family out sledding. (which if I may interject Cruze hated the whole time)

Renae snuggling Enza after she fell asleep while we were sledding.

Gauge on his sled lovin it, he is so laid back and fun. He goes along with whatever.

Cruze lovin it too, while we were on the flat part. He is so funny!

Cruze, Spencer, Jaicee, and Gauge on Grandma's lounger in the TV room.

Last but not least Melvin holding Enza so we could eat some warm dinner. Thanks Melvin!

Christmas Morning

Okay so as I was trying to find pictures to put on my blog of Christmas morning I am realizing that my husband got most of it on the video camera. SO I am going to post what little I do have and note that we had a great day and am so thankful for this time of year.

Santa brought my boys a Doug & Melissa train set. My boys loved it, and so did Ethan & I. We had so much fun setting it up. Hee-Hee

Here is one of the bean bags (without one of my kids in it)that I made for my kids for Christmas. I make my kids something every year for Christmas. I think it is fun, and meaningful. It was a lot of fun, and they actually are quite comfy. They do take up a ton of the space in my living room though, but other than Enza rolling everywhere and needing some space, it's no big deal.

Gauge in his bean bag with his new pillow pet (Mr. Moose). Yes I got suckered itno buying a pillow pet off of Qubo, because my boys saw them and loved them. So I gave in, because I thought they were adorable. Gauge also got a dump truck, a new ball (always a hit with him) a firetruck garage, a big remote control car, books, a light bright(I think I may have had more fun than he did) and clothes.

Cruze with his monkey pillow pet and his bean bag. It was so nice to have my kids love what I made this year. Cruze also got an art easel, clothes, a big remote control car, Curious George jack in the box & books.

And last but not least Enza in her bean bag with her pillow pet the Ladybug. She got some clothes, books, and a couple musical toys.
As a family we also got some more books, and a few family games, and a new Curious George movie. Ethan and I got snow boots, pants, coats, my mom made each of us girls a quilt. They are awesome. She picked a pattern and some fabric that she thought would go with each of us, and then made it for us. That was so special to me, because she usually gets us things that are store bought (and also appreciated), but I am sentimental so this really meant a lot to me.

Hansen Family Party!

Every year we have a Hansen Family Christmas Party on my dad's side of the family. It has been something that we have done ever since I can remember. It has always been so much fun, but over the years with our family growing so much we have not all fit at my Grandma's house. We are practically sitting laps, and not to mention that when you get up it is musical chairs, because everyone is looking for somewhere to sit. So after years of people suggesting that we have it somewhere else, this year my parents planned it at their church. Thank you for that! It was so nice to have a place where the kids could run around and play and not have to worry too much about them getting into anything. We had dinner, read stories, played bingo, and of course Santa Claus came and gave the kids presents (gifts that of course we have bought our own children and Santa gets all the credit again.) j/k It was fun!

Poor Cruze was so distraught, because his and Gauge's presents were the very last in the bag and he was getting more and more upset with each kid that went up there. He hung in there and was very excited that Santa brought him a motorcycle , but also that Santa knew his name. It was cute and interesting to me that over everything else that is what mattered to him, is that Santa knew who he was. It was so cute.(I couldn't help but think of how we all will feel when we realize that the Lord really does know each of us by our name.)

Gauge on the other hand could have done without Santa, he was scared to death. He was trying to sneak up there when his name was called and get his gift and get out of there. But of course everyone knows that you have to sit on Santa's lap to get a present from him. SO at the very beginning of being on his lap all was so-so, then all of the sudden he got really upset. As soon as he was off of the lap then he was just fine.

Enza, well she could have cared less. To her it was just someone else to hold her. Funny how Santa affects different kids and ages differently. It really is crazy, we tell our kids over and over again don't talk to strangers. Then we shove them on Santa's (stranger) lap while we smile and take pictures. What a great message to send to our kids. Don't talk to strangers unless they are dressed up and look happy. Oh well, at least we are always around when Santa is, so hopefully that will sink in too. Merry Christmas!

Other Cute Pics!

My boys snuggling with Grandma Hansen

Precious Enza

Hanging with Cousins Abigale & Preslie

Trimming the Tree!

My adorable boys by the tree!

I asked my boys to put an ornament by their face so I could get a picture, and these are the ones I got instead. Interesting, but still cute!

This year we were supposed to go to WY last weekend, and then there was a change of plans. We were waiting to get our tree because the permit costs $5 and it is fun to find a tree and cut it down yourself. So instead of spending $50 for a so-so tree for two weeks of enjoyment we decided to get a smaller tree so that we would still have one. We let the kids decorate to their hearts content (with the plastic ornaments of course) Then we just put it on the table so you can actually see it out of our window. (It looks pretty redneck, but hey my husband is from WY. j/k)

First Time in the Snow!

Yeah my kids were so excited to play in the snow. I am always so excited to play in the snow too. There are few things that I love more than playing outside in all of the different seasons. I do love that you can make things out of the snow. When I was little my Grandpa Strand used to make snow animals in his front yard. When I say animals I mean huge, taller than we were. There was an elephant one year that was literally life-size. I remember taking pictures up on top of it. One day when all of my kids are old enough I will blog about the super cool elephant, or monkey that I made out of snow. For now we will just stick to snowmen.

Gingerbread Builders

My mom bought all of us girls gingerbread house kits this year. We had fun, and the kids thought it was great! I am not sure how much of the candy ended up on the house, and if it did I think most of it was sucked on first. When I went in to make sure my kids were all tucked in and covered for the night, I found that they each had their little candy bowl full of candy by their beds. It was pretty sweet!

Halloween Costume Party!

So here is a grundle of pictures for your viewing pleasure! I actually put our Halloween party and halloween night on the same post.

Cruze with his personally designed pumpkin pizza

Enza on Halloween Night, she was Little red riding hood

Cruze & Abigale with their Carmel Apples!

Ethan & Enza, Ethan was a blind ref for Halloween, not a Footlocker Employee!

Gauge was a Tiger who couldn't see, and Cruze was a monkey for the second year in a row, he absolutely loves monkeys what can you do. It saved us money. Aren't they adorable, I just love them so much. Holidays are so much fun with kids.

Here are all the cousins minus Enza, I didn't see any likely candidates that I thought could hold her while all 20 cameras were flashing.

I laugh so hard every time I see this picture, it is Gauge trying to catch his donut 9yeah it's the one that is behind him at this point) while we were playing the eatingyourdonutwithouttouchingitwithyourhands game. I was surprised that he got the concept (better than some of the adults, you know who you are cheaters), he chased it around for quite some time. It was absolutley hilarious.

Gabe & his carmel apple!

See if you can guess who is who! That's right Sandy is on the end, the African-American man is my dad, and the Gringo is my Mom, that's right my mother has a goatee.

Now this is Gauge's creation on his pizza, yeah, there is a face on there somewhere. Don't you just love his smile? It is adorable, I hope it becomes a little more refined before he starts dating, otherwise he may scare off some of the girls. I just love it though. It makes me laugh, and it is truly amazing how long he will hold it for.

We put on a Halloween Party at our house this year, and it was so much fun. I was so excited I could hardly stand it. We had chili (Danielle) and chicken noodle soup (me). We ate it in pumpkin bread bowls (Mom), with a spooky salad (Mech), homemade rootbeer (Dad), Eyeballs (Sandy), and spiderweb pie (Tanelle). We had Pumpkin Bowling by Alan & Danielle, Face Painting with Tanelle & Ben, Carmel Apples with Mechelle & Jon, and Donuts on a String with my parents. We had so much fun, and want to thank everyone for coming and bringing food and games.

November is National Adoption Month

For those of you who don't know, November is National Adoption Month. For some of you that may not mean anything at all, but for others it means a great deal. I am one of those people that it means a lot to. Five, almost six years ago now on December 26th I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl that was named Ashlyn Bailey Cantrell. I placed her for adoption on December 29 with a couple named Steve and Julie Cantrell. They were living in New York, and now they live in Ohio, and have been able to have three of their own after getting Ashlyn. What a blessing, they just needed her so they could start their family.

My mom was adopted, my sister Danielle has adopted Preslie, and my sister Mechelle has adopted Gabe, I also have an aunt and uncle who were adopted. Adoption has touched me in so many ways, and has changed my life. There has never been a harder experience in my life than placing Ashlyn for adoption, but there also has never been a decision in my life that has had such a far reaching effect on some one else. What a neat thing to have available to make families whole. I can't imagine a world that would be created where people just couldn't have children and that was that. The Lord is very mindful of couples who have that righteous desire, and I truly know that children get to the families that they were meant to be with. I know that birthmoms are used as tools to get those children where they need to be. And although the choices that usually get birthmoms where they are when they find themselves pregnant are not good, I know that the Lord watches out for them, and blesses them in many ways, both while they are pregnant and afterwards.



I want to thank a lot of people that have to do with adoption, for starters I want to thank my grandmas & grandpas for both adopting and giving me an open mind about adoption. I want to thank my sisters & their husbands for adopting Preslie and Gabe and giving them great lives. If all girls who were pregnant could place their children with people that were as good as my sisters & their husbands, more girls would place and feel satisfied with their decision. I want to also thank my parents for helping me and being loving and supportive while I was pregnant. I want to thank Steve and Julie for being such amazing parents, and for giving Ashlyn what I couldn't at that time. I also want to give a big thanks to my sweet husband who knew when he took me on our first date that I had placed a child for adoption. He took me out anyways. I truly love him for being so accepting of me and my past choices. Thank you, I love you so much.

My sister Danielle and her husband Alan are in the process of trying to adopt another child. I am attaching a link to their adoption profile. If you know anyone who is trying to find a family to place their child with, please send them to look at their profile. They are wonderful parents, and have such a happy, fun and loving environment in their home. https://itsaboutlove.org/ial/profiles/23078349/ourMessage.jsf

Fall Fun!

Ethan chowing down on his pie, I think it was a tie, but that is just me!

The kids and I on the hay ride, my kids couldn't get enough of this!

WARD CARNIVAL!

Our ward put on a wonderful fall carnival this year. They had games, pie eating contest, hayride, line dancing, cookie decorating, and yummy chili. So I took some pics, and yes Ethan entered the pie eating contest. (he was wishing there was more than a piece of pie.)

WICKED!

Wicked, need I say more? Gregory Maguire and the musical adaptation Wicked by Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman really are amazing and creative. I have always enjoyed musicals to some extent, but this play was absolutely amazing. I saw it will some of my family members last spring while it was here, and I immediately wanted to see it again, this time with Ethan. I thought I would give this a tribute, because this time of year is about witches, but also because I borrowed my mom's CD of it and fell in love all over again. I especially love the songs, "Popular", "Defying Gravity", and "For Good" If you haven't been to see it, please when you get the chance GO SEE IT. You will love it, and will be shocked at how clever Gregory Maguire is. The story that he created is so magical, and will make you love Elphaba, the bad witch. And really for most of the show not love Glinda very much. I really can't wait until they do a movie of it, and hopefully they will do it justice. We are going to see The Lion King when it comes next year, so at that time there will be an update.

A TRIBUTE TO BILL

We have had the pleasure over the last five years to know the Dain family, and come to love them. We have grown so much closer over the last 10 months, as we have watched Bill and Sandy suffer through Bill's cancer. We love you both so much and will miss Bill like crazy. He had a way of making everyone around him feel loved and appreciated. Sandy is one of the most patient and caring people I have ever met. She would not leave Bill even long enough to go to lunch with a friend, because she didn't want him to need her and her not be there. Hang in there and know that you are loved. Here is the link to our other blog for them. http://thebillandsandydainfund.blogspot.com/

William Michael Dain (June 29, 1947 - October 11, 2009)

William Michael Dain returned to his Heavenly Father at his home in Layton, Utah on October 11, 2009 after a two-year battle with cancer.
Bill was born in Canoga Park, California, second oldest in a family of seven.
Bill was the general manager for many different companies in the printed circuit board industry. Bill’s employment took his family to Arizona, back to California and finally to Utah where Bill lived the remainder of his life.
Everywhere Bill went, people were attracted to him because of his cheerful personality, optimism and genuine kindness. Bill was honest and hardworking, and passed these traits to his children.
Bill was married to Sandra Lynn Schommer on June 11, 1977 and they were sealed in the Mesa, Arizona Temple on the same day three years later. Bill shared 32 years with his eternal companion Sandra. Bill loved his wife. Everything he did was to impress her and make her happy. She was the love of his life. Bill was a dedicated father who loved his children with all his heart. He showed this love for his children every day by continuing to care for his severely disabled son (Jason), until his final days upon the earth.
Bill enjoyed baseball, hunting, fishing, camping, water skiing, and barbequing. Bill’s real passion was for classic and muscle cars.
Bill was a dedicated and faithful member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He was converted to the church in 1977 and continued faithful to the end. Bill held many different callings, but above all he was a dedicated home teacher.
Bill is survived by his loving wife Sandra Dain, and his children Christine O’Sullivan, William Dain, Patricia Turner, Jonathan Bailey, Jeffery Bailey, Jason Dain, Jared Dain, 14 grandchildren and his mother Helen Dain.
Funeral services will be held Friday, October 16, 2009 at 2 p.m. at Lindquist’s Layton Mortuary, 1867 No. Fairfield Road. Friends and family may call Thursday from 6 to 8 p.m. and Friday from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. at the mortuary. Interment, Lindquist’s Memorial Park at Layton, 1867 No. Fairfield Road.

GAUGEY'S NEW OUCHIE!

BEFORE

AFTER

We were at my parent's house on Sunday for dinner and Gauge was playing over by the front door and there is a table that has some decorations on it. We are still not entirely sure what happened, but it fell over and landed on him. Some of the decorations were pretty heavy, and it got him good. His poor nose was swollen for a couple days. He is a tough guy, and is back to playing with Cruze, but it was so sad.

HEADBANDS!!

All of us modeling our headbands right before heading for home at midnight!

Joann modeling one of Jessica's scarf belts as an actual scarf. She really truly loved it, and thought it was cute! It was such a good thing that Jessica brought her array of them so that we could have some entertainment from them.

Here is cute Jessica holding her headband she was working on.

Amanda making an adorable face.

And Stace too making a great face! She is cutting out her fabric, and what cute fabric it is too!

Some friends and I had a girl's night Saturday night, and a few of them decided that we should make these super cute headbands that Amanda had bought one of. So we got together and had such a great time! Now some of you that attended may not appreciate me putting some of these pics on my blog, but I didn't take them so don't be mad. Besides it shows your cute personalties. They were just so fun, and showed how great the night was! Thanks, guys! Nice scarf belt Amanda!

CANNING GRAPES ANYONE!

I thought that the grapes were so beautiful when they were cooking. I just had to take a picture of it. And to be honest with you, it seemed that I took one of almost every batch, and they usually looked pretty much the same as the last one. So here is one of them.

This was the finished product! We ended up with about 74 after some had broke and I gave away a coule of them. Needless to say I think we will be drinking grape juice for quite some time. Yeah for food storage!

Isn't that color great! They really should make a crayon named after this color. It could be called cookedandbottledgrapejuice. It is just lovely. Once again, I couldn't get over how pretty it is.

My sister Danielle and I picked grapes from Lori Morgan's house and ended up with 5 laundry baskets total counting the grapes I had already picked. By Friday I decided that Mech might want to bottle grape juice, since she is the one who started that and it is her juicer. Thank heavens that she did. By Saturday I was graped out. For about a week my house has been covered from top to bottom in grapes, grape juice, and smashed grapes and dried grape juice. How wonderful it is to get my house back and not be sticking to my kitchen floor. Thanks Danny & Mech!