Happy Birthday Punk!

I cant resist!  Somehow Trey has picked up on the word Punk and when he is wanting to be funny he will call you a Punk!  So it only seems right to call him that on his special day!  It is so hard to believe he is already 3.  The last few years have been a blast and his smile, laugh and easy going attitude has been such a blessing to our family.  We love you Randall Trey!!!

Ohh man was Trey loving this special day for him.. He was so excited in the morning that he couldn't resist pulling these faces for Jamie!  He loved opening his presents and his new train set is not only loved by him but also Addie, Easton and Bryson.  Addie exclaimed "Why does Trey get all of the cool presents".  She was quite impressed that he got a back pack with wheels, a remote control car and a remote control train set.

Grandma and Grandpa Hansen as well as his best buddie Bryson and Minnie, Easton and Chloe joined us the night of his birthday for the one and only Dump Truck Cake.  Jamie put her creative juices to work and came up with this hit that all of the kids and adults enjoyed.

The best part was watching Trey scoop out the Dirt (Cake) on to each persons plate!  What a good server.  He even gave himself several heaping scoops and then proceeded to eat it with the shovel!  Got to love this kid and his personality!

Everyone Loves Saint Patrick's Day!!!

One of the many traditions we cherish is the Green Party!  As Jamie and I have been away for the last few years we have worked to carry on the tradition started by my parents.  So it was extra fun this year to be back at their place celebrating just like we remember.

We had our usual green foods with green decorations and who could forget the games and green gag gifts.  Rob has already increased his grip strength and lost 20lbs of Dr. Pepper belly!

I had a long weekend and was able to find cheap tickets to fly up and see Taran in Oregon.  It was a blast as Nate, Taran and I were able to just hang out and do a lot of golfing including a well known course Pumpkin Ridge!

One of the most exciting things is my first day there I found out that I matched to Utah Valley.  I am stoked and cant wait to start my residency there!

Porter's Big Day!!

We were so grateful to bless Porter Kay Hansen on the first Sunday of March and to have so many family members there to be with us.  Porter is named after the one only Porter Rockwell as well as his Great Grandpa Kay Ence.  It is always an amazing experience to bless your children and this was no different.  thanks to all those that joined me in the circle I appreciated your willingness to help and faith!  

Here are pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Hansen, Ian and Marie, Grandma and Grandpa Ence and Jamie and I with Porter after his big day.  

We had a little lunch after and are so grateful for Marie and Ian and making the effort to drive down to help out with the blessing and food afterwards.  We wish Grandma and Grandpa McFadden could have been with us but know they would have been proud of the food and presentation!

Happy Birthday Addie!!

Can you believe it our little girl is 5!  It amazes me how quick life changes and how quick Addie is growing up.  I swear it was just the other day that she was pooping on the floor and was the best lady bug ever for Halloween!  No matter, we are so glad to have her and enjoy almost every minute we get of her.  She is even smarter then ever teaching herself to read and do math...you better be careful because if you give her a chance she will trick you into doing just what she wants!

I was lucky enough to have the day off and we had a blast together as a family.  First we had home made buttermilk RAINBOW pancakes and then we all went to Jumping Jacks to play on all of the inflatables.  We had a blast and I even was able to play on the toys with them! We opened gifts and had a great time the whole day! 

 Addie was especially excited for this birthday as 5 is the magic age that she gets to start having real birthday parties.  Jamie went all out and organized one heck of a Rainbow party for her cousins and friends.

They pinned the clouds on the rainbow, made rainbow pictures, played with rainbow colored play dough, beat up a Raibnbow pinnata  (especially Kaycie)  and then ended with this awesome Rainbow cake that Jamie made. Addie I hope you had a great time....You are the best and we love having you be a part of our Family!!!!!!!!

Welcome Porter Kay Hansen!

Finally, after weeks of begging Porter decided to come out and join our family.  He was born on January 29th  2012 weighing in at an even 8 lbs and about 21 inches.  

The birth went awesome and Jamie did an exceptional job and looked beautiful before...after and even during!  This was an especially special birth for me as I was able to deliver him!  Thanks Dr. Chalmers for all your help and letting me do this...You're the best!

As you could imagine the kids were stoked to see their new brother.  Although I think Trey was a little bummed that he wasn't able to roll around and wrestle with him yet.  Addie loved holding him as well as checking out the hospital!

Grandma and Grandpa Hansen were awesome to take the kids the night before and for the whole next day as Jamie and I began adjusting to a new baby.  It was fun to have them here to help and wish Grandma and Grandpa McFadden could have been with us also but know they are doing the right thing serving the Lord.  We enjoyed all of our visitors in the hospital and thanks for your wonderful gifts as well. 

Marie was gracious enough to complete a little photo shoot of our new little guy!  These are some of the photos.  I am sure Jamie will put together something with them once the little man lets here have some sleep! Hes a doll and seems to have attributes of both Trey and Addie....we only wonder what his personality will be like.

Yeah for CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Christmas was extra sweet this year because Jamie made me another three Banana Cream Pies!!!!!!! No she didn't.....that would have been sweet though.  It was sweet though.... because I was finally done with all of my away rotations. Hooray! Finally, I was able to complete the rest of my rotations in St. George and be with my beautiful Jamie, Addie and Trey.  We were also able to continue our family traditions of looking at lights together, delivering treats to the neighbors and serving one another to serve Christ.

It was a ton of fun to go over to Grandma and Grandpa Ences and participate in the Christmas Eve Dinner with everyone.  As usual my Grandma wrote a poem about everyone in the family and my Grandpa read the nativity story from Luke.  Then we shared gifts and headed home to celebrate just our family.

The kids were up bright and early and as was expected very excited to see what Santa had brought.  Jamie and I did our best despite only getting a few hours of sleep.  Putting together two bikes takes longer then you would think!  The kids loved there bikes and we had a great time having it be just our little family Christmas morning to share gifts one with another and celebrate the birth of our Savior.  Later that day Grandma and Grandpa Hansen came over and showered the kids with more gifts.  They definitely made out well again this Christmas!!!

Thanksgiving!!

We have so much to be thankful for!  I always feel  a bit bad every time Thanksgiving comes because I know that there is no way in the matter of a few days that I could sufficiently show enough thanks.  I have to do it everyday and we all know that we could be better at expressing gratitude to others as well as our God.  No matter we had a great Thanksgiving!

As is tradition the night before we worked to prepare the feast. Ian and Marie joined us and we all worked together making food for the next day...mainly pies!  Lucky for me Jamie spoiled me and made three banana cream pies which are my favorite.

The next day we were able to go over to my Grandma and Grandpa Ences and there have the big feast.  It was awesome to be back there and was especially fun to have Jamie, Addie and Trey see how I celebrated Thanksgiving growing up.

Unfortunately for me I had to head back down to Las Vegas to finish up a Pediatric rotation right after dinner.  While I was gone the kids had a great time and even lucked out with a Tractor ride by the man himself...Grandpa Ence.

Jamie also utilized the good weather and got all of the cousins together for a great hike up to Johnson's Arch.  It is an awesome hike to a hidden arch that many people are not aware of.  It is especially fun for me as it is pretty much in my backyard out in Ivins and is a hike I grew up doing all of the time.  The kids have blast hiking around the arch and playing in the sand!

Fall 2011!!

Yeah for Fall!!! Aren't these kids just so flippin cute.  Although raking leafs week after week kind of stinks..you wouldn't think so if you spent an hour playing in them with these two.  And how could you resist that inviting smile of Trey's...saying come in the garbage can with me!

You always have to start off Halloween with the carving of pumpkins!  This is something that our family really enjoys and each year we always find something fun to carve out.

Addie made her jack-o-lantern all by herself.  Yes we let Addie use a knife.  And we all still have our fingers!
Trey did the horse with some artistic help from mommy.

We scored this year.......that is we got away with out the kids getting too much candy! Although I am sure they would have received a lot more if they would have allowed more to see there cute costumes!

Don't these two look awesome.  Addie was the best witch....you would think that this costume was bought but Jamie made it and Trey's pirate costume.  It was a blast to go trick or treating with them as on occasion Trey would say "Arrg Matey Trick or Treat".  This year was cool too because Addie and Trey were finally able to go Trick or Treating to Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's and see there cousins all dressed up.  They even went Trick or Treating to Great Grandma and Grandpa Ence's.

Return to Jamie's Birthplace.......California!!!

Pregnant....New Baby....constantly having to watch the kids has left Jamie with little time to do anything else.  So the other day I was thinking of something I could do for Jamie without her knowing and this popped into my head.  So please no expectations and please do not compare this to her previous posts.  However, for the sake of history it will have to work!

In November I was able to interview for a residency in California and they paid to have both Jamie and I fly to it.  Well lucky for us it was only a few hours away from Jeremy and Kelly.  So we made a few days out of the trip and after interviewing we were able to spend an awesome weekend playing games and exploring the beach.....even Jamie's favorite...tide pools. We were even blessed to receive this amazing Fiat 500 to drive around from the rent-a-car agency.  I was stoked until I realized J Lo did not come with it!!

****GIVEAWAY****

****GIVEAWAY****

(closed)

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!