****GIVEAWAY****

****GIVEAWAY****

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In celebration of my Etsy shop, The Ginger Stitch,

opening up I'm giving away 1

***HAPPY BIRTHDAY BANNER***

to 1 very lucky winner!!!

So head on over to Everyday Art for your chance to win
a FREE Happy birthday banner. And while your there,
feel free to browse these ladies' amazing craft tutorials
and dinner menus/recipes. 



{Grand Junction, CO}

The kids and I packed up our things and the car and headed out to Grand Junction, CO to go visit Daddy while he was there on a rotation. He was missing us terribly and we him. So we left Wednesday evening

and drove half way. Lucky for us we have family that lives at the half way mark so we spent the night with them and their sweet kids. We were all so excited to see Daddy and made it safely to Grand Junction on Thursday afternoon. The kids were great travelers as usual. Thursday night we just hung out at the house where Tyler was staying. Friday morning, Tyler went to work so the kids and I took our time getting ready and then ventured out to the Mesa Mall to see what it had in store for us! They had a play place there where the kids got to play a little and then we shopped around a little.  We came home put Trey down for nap then Addie and I played outside in the yard until Daddy got home. The fun thing about where Tyler was staying was that they let us stay there with him. It was a fun house with a big yard so the kids loved spending time out there.

Since Tyler didn't have to work on Saturday or Sunday we really jam packed our weekend with fun things to do in Grand Junction. So, first on our list was was to hit up Pufferbelly Restaurant.  We had heard they have the most amazing breakfast particularly their biscuits and cinnamon rolls. So that is exactly what we ordered and we were not disappointed! The cinnamon rolls were about 7 inches in diameter and their biscuits and gravy were amazing. This restaurant is located right next to the train station in Grand Junction. So you can see and here the trains coming. The kids loved it!

 Next on our list was the Studts Pumpkin Patch and Corn maze! We were so excited to have a pumpkin patch to go to. We very much miss the pumpkin patches in Iowa so this was quite a treat for us to go. Although, it wasn't as good as the ones in Iowa, it was still very fun and we all had a great time.

There were endless pumpkins to pick and gather. Which Addie took full advantage of our cart and piled it high with pumpkins. She was quite disappointed when we couldn't take them ALL home with us. They had all sorts of pumpkins. Some very cool looking pumpkins that i had never seen before.

They had this huge orange Bubble thing that you could jump on that the kids and Tyler had a fun time playing on. I would have loved to have gotten on too, but tramps or bouncy things were just not made for pregnant ladies!

 Although, the big orange bouncer was a lot of fun, Addie and Trey had the most fun going down this 24 ft. long slide into a huge corn kernel pit. They loved playing in the corn and getting buried in the corn. Needless to say, I kept finding corn kernels all around the house after we got home due to the kernels being inside pants pockets, coat pockets, shoes, etc.!

 They also had animals there for the kids to feed such as sheep, goats, chickens, and horses. While we were there feeding the animals this red truck pulls up and 3 people got out and headed to the tail gate. Next thing we know these 3 people are hauling out a HUGE pig out of the back of this truck. Well huge to me and the kids. And they just set it down and let it roam the pumpkin patch. Addie thought it was the funniest thing. Trey was deathly afraid of it. Tyler put Trey on the pigs back which i think scarred trey for life. The pig could careless if you were around it, touching it, sitting on it, taking pics of it!

(**Notice the death grip trey has on tylers jacket as ty is holding him while pretending to sit on the pig!)

 Whew! what a busy and tiring morning. We all came home and took naps except Addie of course. After we had all rested we headed to Grand Junctions little Main street. It was full of fun  little shops, places to eat and sculptures. Some of the sculptures were designed for kids to play on like the gorillas that Ty and Addie are sittin on. The coolest sculpture was the huge mountain bike!! We even passed a little ice cream shop called Gelato Junction. I had never tried Gelato before and although we hadn't eaten dinner yet and it was pretty cold that night to my surprise Tyler said, "well lets go in and get some!" What? Tyler never does this! And usually I will talk myself out of it saying, ''No, we really don't need it!" But tonight was different! We did it! We went in tried about 7 flavors of Gelato ice cream then finally settled on one for all of us to eat! It was so fun and SOOO yummy! Then we grabbed a little ceasers pizza on the way home and were all exhausted from the day.

Sunday morning we got up and went to church and then were invited to a members house who earlier in the week met at McDonalds for an early dinner! We felt much gratitude for this invite and appreciated all their advice about the area and such. They were so kind to have us over and feel so grateful for their generosity. Later that afternoon after dinner we took a family drive up to the top of Grand Mesa. I think its the largest mesa in the U.S. (not completely sure!) Anyway, it was absolutely beautiful! We got up to the top just as the sun went down. And yes, that is snow where Addie is standing. It was 36 degrees up on top. The view coming down the mountain was even more spectacular because you had other mountains and mesa to the north, east, south and west of you. Sadly enough, our trip was coming to an end. Tyler would start up work again on Monday and we were heading home. Tyler hated seeing us go knowing he still had 2 more weeks away from us and we didn't want to leave him. At least, us going out to visit him made his stay out there more bearable! We had a great time and enjoyed every minute of it!

Thank you Daddy for a great time in Grand Junction, Colorado!

{Oct. 5, 2011}

Today is one of those bitter-sweet days for me. On this day, Oct. 5, 2011, I was due to be holding our little new baby in my arms. But my kind Father in Heaven knew this wasn't the right plan for our family and knew that I needed this experience to grow and be strengthened. On March 21, 2011 I miscarried being 12 weeks along. This was a heart wrenching experience for both Tyler and I. I never really understood how miscarriages could be emotional for others until it happened to me. I truly understand now.  No matter the intensity of the miscarriage it is not an easy experience to cope with.  I was blessed with many friends/family who comforted and helped me during this time. I couldn't have done it with out you. I look back at the experience with much gratitude. I know this may sound weird but I learned so much from this experience and as much as I didn't enjoy going through it, I know it happened for a reason...lots of reasons. And for that I am very grateful. I know my Heavenly Father knows me best and knows what I need in my life. Tyler and I accepted this trial and moved forward with faith knowing that everything happens for a reason. We didn't know what to expect as far as getting pregnant again, but felt we needed to try again as soon as my doctor recommended we could. On June 14, 2011 we officially

had another positive pregnancy test! We were thrilled and nervous at the same time. At 7 weeks I had an ultrasound and everything was looking and checking out to be great. However, we didn't want to get our hope up to high considering our previous experience. I had another ultrasound at 11 weeks and we heard another strong heartbeat and the baby was measuring well. Whew! That was very comforting. And now I am ever so thankfully at 24 weeks and feeling good!

Little baby Hansen #3 is on HIS way....

and we can't wait to be holding this sweet babe

in our arms!

Thanks to a loving heavenly father

who gives us trials to make us stronger and blessings

to make us realize we have a lot to be grateful for.

{September 2011}

We started out the month with a couple

days of much needed rain. With the rain

came cool lightning/thunders storms, cooler weather

and beautiful rainbows!

 

The cooler weather left just as fast as the rain did.

But the kids were happy to be able to play outside

once again. Addie has become quite the little

collector lately. Her biggest collections

are snails and pine cones. This keeps

her and Trey busy most days looking

for more snails and pine cones to add to her collections!

She even finds little "treasures" along the way like

be-bees from a pellet gun, golf balls, birds nests, etc.

It's been fun to watch Trey and Addie

explore their little world!

 

We also celebrated Tylers 29th Birthday

this month! Yay for 29! We had a great time

celebrating his birthday weekend up at

the Pinto Cabin with his family.

 

September didn't even think twice about cooling

off this year. Which meant more time for

the pool! Hooray! One Saturday afternoon

after getting my hair done I came back to find this

clever contraption that Tyler had made for Trey

and Addie. Only during, "Daddy and the Kids time"

could this happen! These kids are so lucky to have

such a fun Dad who will conjure up a pool slide

for them out of a latter, hose, 8 foot serving table,

and scrap pieces of the pool cover!!

 

September also brought the

Dixie Roundup Rodeo!

This was a must-go-to event while we

are living here in St.George. Addie and Trey

had the best time watching the riders and their

horses circling the arena while waiting for the

rodeo events to begin. The highlight of the night

for Addie was getting an actual autographed

picture of the Rodeo queen by the queen herself!!

She thought the rodeo queens and princesses were

so pretty! Trey even got one too! I'm pretty sure that

wasn't the highlight of his night though!

He was actually pretty fascinated with the typical

rodeo events like the bull riding, and calf roping!

 

And guess who learned how to ride their bike

without training wheels this month??

Another afternoon with Daddy well spent!

Way to go Addie!! I think watching his sister

become so successful at riding her bike, Trey

also found the motivation to actually ride/pedal

his bike (with training wheels)!! Now they enjoy the new found joy

of riding bikes together!!!

And last but not least we finished off the month

getting dirty in the mud!

These are my little Mud Monsters!

Originally, the kids got in their suits to run through the

big sprinklers out on the golf course behind

our house, but instead found this squishy mud made

from those sprinklers. And boy did they

ever have fun with it! They spent a good hour +

playing in that mud. Building mud pies,

slip and sliding, lotioning each other with mud,

running their feet and hands through it, etc!

Good bye September! Thanks for all the successes,

good memories, hot weather, and fun times!

{Ty's Birthday/ Labor Day Weekend}

Labor Day weekend we found ourselves loading

up the van and heading to Pinto to meet up

with other members of Tylers family.

 We started the weekend off by celebrating

Tylers 29th Birthday!

Doesn't he look so happy to be turning 29!!

His cake took a beating during

the drive up to Pinto so it didn't look real great

BUT...it sure tasted fabulous!! It was my first attempt

at making a cake from scratch and I'm glad it

turned out or else i would have never heard

the end of it!

 Biking "stuff" was at the top of his birthday wish list,

and biking stuff he got!



 The great thing about Pinto is that it's a place

you can relax, enjoy the outdoors, go

on adventures, play with family, gather up

wild turkey feathers and stick them in your pants,

wear Great Grandpa Ence's hats, play in the sand/dirt,

sit and do word searches, go on four wheeler rides,

collect acorns, feed the cows and horses, go

on tractor rides, and the list could go on and on!



 Boys will be boys with their parents toys!!!

(Hopefully someday we'll have some of our own!)

This is Tyler's happy place!

There is a little reservoir about 5 minutes away

from the cabin. We had a great day

out on the water thanks to Aunt Amy and Uncle Rob

for bringing their boat. Trey experience tubing for

the first time and Addie experience tubing solo

for the first time. They loved it! And  Tyler and

I even got some wake boarding in! Its been a while since

either of us had done it but it

was just like riding a bike...you don't forget!

 And last but not least the long awaited

tractor ride with Daddy. Addie and Trey

just can't get enough of the tractor. They

love to sit up there next to Daddy and go

for rides around the cabin and out in the pastures!

We had such a great weekend!

I'd consider it a Labor Day weekend

well spent!!

{Pre-school 2011}

Addie was very excited to start preschool again.

She has loved being in Miss Suzies class

and is making a lot of new friends. She

comes home with a smile on her face everytime!

And every now and then she'll spout off something

she learned that day or even days later. I will even

catch her singing songs to herself that i've never heard

and ask her where she learned it and she happily replies,

"at pre-school!" She is doing very well

and is becoming more helpful and mature day by day.

And as much as I get excited to see her grow

 physically, and maturity, and in knowledge it breaks

my heart at the same time knowing there is nothing I 

can do to keep her from growing up. 

We love you Addie! 

{The Call, The Departure}

This big white envelope FINALLY

appeared in Grandpa and Grandma's mailbox around 11:30 a.m

on June 15, 2010.

They where like kids on Christmas morning

anxiously waiting to open it! But

to their dismay they would have to wait

until all their kids got on a conference call later that

evening to open it. In this envelope contained

information that would determine the next year

of Grandma and Grandpa's lives.

And do you know what that letter said? Well, this is what it didn't say... It didn't say they would be staying in the United States of America, it didn't say that we would be able to call them on their cell phones still, it didn't say they were close enough to travel to and visit them, it didn't say they would be able to speak their native language, it didn't say they would stay in their comfort zone, it didn't say we would get to see them again in 12 months, instead it said quite the opposite...

It said.....

ROMANIA.

Need i say more.



 Grandma and Grandpa McFadden chose to serve a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and willingly said they would go anywhere they were needed. However, they were just as shocked as we were when they read in the letter that they would be serving in Romania. Diligently, prayerfully, and nervously these two immediately started preparing themselves to serve the people

in Romania. They worked hard everyday to study the language, the culture, and get everything ready before they went.

 Aug. 30th came way to fast. Before we knew it my sister and I where headed to SLC at 5:30 in the morning taking my parents to the airport. The dreaded goodbye that we all didn't want to do. It was a very emotional morning, sending my parents off to another country for 18 months wasn't exactly easy. Knowing there at the airport would be my last time to wrap my arms around my parents for the next year and a half was heartbreaking. Although, this was a hard thing to do I know this is where they needed to be, serving and bringing the gospel to the people of Romania.

We are sure going to miss you, Grandma and Grandpa!

We love you and not a day goes by that we don't think of you!

{3 places, 45 days}

Whew...the title just wears me out thinking about

our busy, crazy summer. In a span of a 45 days, or

to make it sound better a Month and a half we lived

in 3 different places. So in a nutshell here is how

our month and a half went....

 Place #1.

On July 18th we moved from place #1 were we had been

living for the past year. We loved our stay in Wyoming.

We then temporarily moved to Grandma and Grandpa McFaddens house

for 2 weeks while Tyler studied his guts out for his 2nd

set of boards which he had scheduled to take in St.George

on Aug.1st.

 During the 2 weeks we were there,

Addie made her first debut in the New Harmony

parade on July 24th, Pioneer Day. Earlier

that day we got to go watch a parade in Ivins, UT

with Grandma and Grandpa Hansen and enjoy some

carnival fun after.

 Addie and Trey also swam their hearts

out while staying at Grandma and Grandpa

McFadden's house with 24/7 pool access!

1 day after Tyler took his test we moved

to place #2.

 I introduce to you...

Place #2.

A small quaint apartment that suited us just

fine for the month we would be there. It was

located in Cedar City, UT. Tyler signed up

for a Pediatric rotation in Cedar City and wanted

the family to join him for the month. So we packed

up the bare necessities to get us by for a month and

headed up to cedar city. Lucky for us we found a

furnished apartment so we didn't need to haul

furniture.

 While we were there we found great

joy in headed up Cedar Canyon

and taking the kids to the Kids Pond

to do some fishing. It was beautiful up there

and not to mention like 10-15 degrees

cooler! The kids would have fun

casting and reeling in for the first 15 minutes

then get bored and go play in a pile of sand

they found. While they were happily

occupied with the sand Tyler and I got

do some fishing of our own! And guess

who got the first and only fish???

 Me!!!!

I guess there is a first time

for everything, right?!! I have to say I was very excited

when i reeled this baby in and saw that it was

a pretty good size. So we kept him and cooked

him up for dinner the next night! Yum!

We also enjoyed going on hikes, playing at the

parks, and making new friends while we

were there. After Tylers rotation was done we moved

to place #3.

Place #3. St. George, UT.

A place we can finally call HOME.

A place we can finally settle into for good

("for good" meaning, a year)

And fortunately for me this place really is HOME.

I grew up here and am very grateful for the

opportunity to live here and take care of the

place while my parents are gone. We are finally feeling

settled and into a more normal routine of things.

And it feels so good to not be living

out of suitcases anymore!!! Yay!!!

{Snail Art}

What is Snail Art?

A. Kind of Gross

B. Fun

C. Artistic

D. All of the above

 D. was our answer!

My kids had such a fun time with this.

It made them giggle, laugh, and explore

hands on fun!

 These slimey, slow, creatures can make

quite a master piece without even trying to hard!

Put them to the test and see how yours turns out!

What you'll need:

* Snails (any size)

* Paper  (thicker paper or freezer paper so the dye doesn't go through)

*Liquid Food coloring

* And cute little helpers



Put a drop of food coloring on the paper then have your

cute little helper place a snail right on top of the food coloring drop.

If the snail doesn't come out right away, just wait a minute and it will.

Then sit back and enjoy the show! We had about 7-8 snails going

at one time. And when they would go off the paper we'd just pick

them up and put them back on.

And when their all done you have beautiful

snail art!!!

(no animals were hurt during this activity!!!)

Martins Cove

I feel like through out our medical school journey we have somewhat

followed the pioneers path but in an air conditioned vehicle.

Starting in Iowa (Nauvoo, and Winter quarters) then trekking

our way to Independence Rock and Martins Cove, Wyoming.

Then landing in Utah as our home stretch to being done with

medical school.

It has been really neat to be so close to many of theses

great church history sites along our way. We have taken

full advantage of them being close. So on our way out of 

Casper with ALL of our stuff in tow we stopped at Martins Cove. 

We toured the visitor center and watched a movie.

Unfortunately, they weren't taking people out to the cove

that day unless you wanted to walk to it. And with the kids

and our time frame we really didn't have the time to walk out there.

But we did push around the hand carts. They are A LOT harder

than you think. They have this little circular trail that you can take 

them on and Addie made it the whole way with her little cart.

She got tired, but finished the course. So Tyler and I put the kids

in a big cart and together pushed them along the course. It's not as

easy as it might seem. And this was on a cut out flat trail. Lets

just say I wanted to cry for what those pioneers had to go through.

I can't even imagine having to pull and push one of those through

the snow with all my belongings on it. I'm so grateful for the faith

of those great pioneers and the many hardships they went through.

Move #3...Destination: Utah

Two days after we got back from Iowa we moved.

Crazy? Ya, you could say that. This time we were headed

to Southern Utah. A 10 hour drive that turned into 17 hours due to

our awesome budget truck that topped out at 70 mph going down hills, with an average of 60 mph on a straight away, and a whopping 35 mph going up hills!! (and there are quite a few hills along our route) It made for a very long trip, however,

we arrived safely with no break downs or problems. And for that we are very grateful.

We are also very grateful for those who came to help us move. We couldn't have done

it ourselves.  And for those who let us stay with them while

we were in transition.

As much as we hate to move, there are many other factors that

make moving around worth it. My favorite being the awesome

people you meet along the way that become your dearest friends.

For us we were fortunate enough to meet and become close friends

with the Rupp family. They are an amazing family.

Addie and Trey absolutely loved going to their house

and spending time with them. We all loved spending time

with them and their boys.

They too came to help us move on that HOT hot day in July and

convinced us we needed to take a break and cool off in the pool

with them. I'm so glad we did. It was our last time to get together

with them before we were to take off for Utah the next morning. 

Good times that we will forever cherish! Thanks for being

apart of lives! We will miss you lots.

{Good ol' Iowa}

As if we hadn't been on the road enough lately....

Why not throw in an 11 hr. drive to Iowa?

Yes a week after the kids and I got back to Casper from Utah we loaded

up the van with ourselves and 3 of our favorite people and headed

out to Iowa.

(but that week in between...we spent packing up our whole house!

so fun, I know!)

It was a pleasant drive and all 3 kids did very well.

We rolled in late Sunday night but woke up Monday

morning ready to hit up the zoo with our friends,

Rykker, Brigham, and Mindy Stromberg.

After a year of being apart, Addie and Rykker reunited

like they had seen eachother yesterday! They had so much

fun exploring the zoo together and the new Dinosaur

exhibit they had there. They were side by side the whole time.

We saw lots of fun animals and we even got

to ride the zoo train. Trey thought riding the train

was heaven. He was grinning ear to ear the whole ride.

And the other kids loved it too. Thanks again Mindy

Rykker and Brigham for inviting us to the zoo.

Next stop on the list:

PELLA!!!

And when I say list I mean list. Addie had a list

of places we had to go when we were in Iowa.

The zoo being one of them and Pella being another.

She loves pella. And who wouldn't love this sweet

little dutch town full of dutch charm.

The morning started out stormy and rainy so I was hesitant

to make the 45 min drive. But Addie convinced me we

should still go. Well, as it turned out we had beautiful

sunny weather the whole 2 1/2 hours we were there!

And you can't go to Pella without having a treat from

the awesome Jaarsma Bakery. Dutch pastries of all

sorts and chocolate and nuts galore! The kids

always go for the brightly colored frosted

sugar cookies.

I have yet to go to Pella when the Tulip festival is going on.

The town is covered in beautiful tulips and i'm dying to

see it. Maybe at Ty's graduation we'll be able to see them!

You also can't go to pella and not watch the

Klokenshpel. This is Addies favorite part.

The clock goes of every odd hour and plays a 10 min

chime/song and little figurines that come out at the windows

below the clock. Each figure represents some sort

the Pella history. Yet another great trip to Pella!

And no more than 5 min after getting on the road to

head back to Des Moines it started to

DOWN POUR rain, and not just sprinkles. I mean

the classic Midwest down pour! I miss that kind of rain....

We couldn't have picked a more beautiful time of year

to go to Iowa. Yes it was hot and sticky because of the

humidity, but it was also so GREEN and lush. With

wild flowers everywhere!! I miss the tall green cornfields

and flowers that grow where ever and all over!

Our trip was short and sweet. After 4 fun days of being back

in Des Moines, IA we made the 11 hr. trek back to Casper.

Ty was amazing as usual and drove the entire way home.

I got to sit back and watch the MILLIONS of bugs splatter

on our windshield...yes those are all bugs on our windshield in

that picture...not rain. Our windshield was covered inch to inch

with bug splats! But even more fun was the rain/lightning storm we drove

through at about midnight. The lightning was amazing and lit up the

entire sky around us. I love lightning storms and they don't get much

better than in the Mid West!

We had such a great time in Iowa. It made me miss it so much

and all our great friends that are there. A huge thanks to

one of those good friends for letting us stay at their house

while we were there! And a thanks to Ty's school for making

him come back to do some mandatory testing at the school so

we could come back and visit. So I guess in reality, the kids

and I were the ones that really had fun...while Tyler was

being tested everyday and studying more every night.

Although, he did manage to go out shopping with us at all our

favorite places for an entire afternoon!! And believe it or not

we ALL had a fun time shopping...yes even Tyler!!