HANSEN and Co.

Thanksgiving is a time for Thankfulness!

2009-11-25T08:52:00.001-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving!!!
Today I wanted to say a few of the things I am thankful for(in no order of course):

My husband Jess. I love you!
Mitch. I love that he likes to make me laugh, and play games.
Lindsey. I love that she has a cute sense of humor. She gets jokes all the time.
Alyssa. I love that she wants to be big. She told me she wants to learn to babysit so she can go babysit her friends :)
My parents. They are really supportive of me.
My sisters(this includes my sisters-in-law). They are my best friends.
My brothers. They are good big brothers, and funny.
Jess's dad and Cindy. They are great people, and very kind.
Jess's mom. I love her a lot and miss her often.
My nieces, and nephews. They are all very adorable.
My brothers-in-law. They are all very cool.
My home. I am thankful I can fix it up too!
My friends. I can always count on them.
My clothing. I am thankful to be going down in sizes too!
My calling. I LOVE Young Women's and I have the best calling(secretary)! I will be sad when we are done.
The gospel. I am thankful that I know that families are forever, and that Jesus died for me!
Tithing. It has blessed us a ton this year!
The Prophet. How cool is it that we have a living prophet!
Laughter.
Good music.
Good food.
Modern conveniences. I have a washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher! How easy do we have it?!
Beautiful things.
A nice bed.
Cute shoes.
Heat.
My phone. I love to keep in touch with the sisters, my parents and friends!
That my kids can help me clean.
Date night. I Love going out with Jess. He is the funniest, kindest, guy. My best friend, and we always have fun!
My health. Thank heavens my back is doing better, and I am feeling so much better!
That I have EVERYTHING I need. I don't get everything I want but I have so much!
I get to go somewhere warm this Thanksgiving!

I hope you all have a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!

*32 things for my 32 years on earth :)

Love Your Body 5K with the sisters!

2009-08-23T10:47:00.000-07:00

Katie, me, Suzanne, and Darci

Yesterday, Suzanne, Darci, Katie and I did a 5K at Sugarhouse Park. I have wanted to do 5K's and 10K's, half, and maybe even someday a whole marathon for a long time, but...never have. Well, obviously I am not in the best shape of my life, or even close to it, so it was the Perfect time right?! Well...I walked it, but I did it. It is a little jump start to some of the things I want to do in my life, and we had a great time! Suzanne, and Darci(my two younger sisters) ran and did a great job. Katie(my SIL who is a sister to me) was kind enough to walk with me. She kept me marching up those killer hills and helped me reach both of the goals I set for myself. I am so glad that Sue invited me to do this 5K with her, and I am glad that I got to do it with some of my sisters! This is just the beginning for me!

I'm in mourning.... Her Hair is Gone

2009-07-14T17:16:00.000-07:00

ALYSSA'S HAIR is GONE!!

I came home from Girl's Camp, and when Alyssa came home from Grandma and Grandpa's house, I found out she had given herself a little haircut. I gave her a big hug and then it felt like slow motion sinking in, that she no longer had her Beautiful, long naturally curly hair. After I cried a little, I had Jess call the cute girl that cuts her hair to see if we could get her in. No luck... it was July 3rd! She was going to on the 4th, but she ended up having stuff she had to do. So....I trimmed it up. Basically, it looks the same as when Alyssa did it. I just trimmed it up.

Oh well! She is still dang cute, and now her Sassy Hair matches her Sassy Personality!

It is way easy to do, but I miss that hair!

I'm thankful for my Mom today...

2009-05-10T10:15:00.000-07:00

She has done so many things for me; especially in the last few years. She has taken care of me and my family numerous times as I have been recovering from back issues. She is a great example of charity. I hope I can return the favor and serve her and others. She is an awesome grandma. My kids love having her around and all of the fun that comes with her. She taught me about being a Mother and I am so grateful that I get to be a stay-at-home home. I know it is a huge blessing, and one that she didn't always get to have, but she made the best of it. She has shown me, that life is not always perfect, but we make the best of it. It is imperative to keep going forward and progressing. That is happiness. She is such a great Mother and I love her so much and I hope she knows how important she is to me. She is beautiful on the inside and out.
Happy Mother's Day Mom!

Help me find some balance :)

2009-05-07T17:36:00.000-07:00

I need some balance in my life. I really do. There are SO Many things, worthwhile things even, that I need to be doing, but I can't find the time to do them. I get stuck in a rut, and it is Hard for me to climb on out. So for awhile, I can be really good at making great dinners, and then that kind of slacks a little, and then reading scriptures and prayers, and then its spending time with my kids, or getting to the temple and dates with Jess, then, I can blog really well for a few weeks ;), and then I put that on the back burner and I am good at cleaning and then spending time doing something else for awhile. WHY?! I don't know, but I know that I want/need more balance in my life. I have big changes going on right now, and I have a lot to be thankful for. I want to be able to do some of the things I think are important all in the same day ;) So....how do YOU have balance?

I have more on this subject, but I want to hear your thoughts first. ALL of you! Even if you have never commented before! Loves ;)

Not--so--Sunny California

2009-04-10T14:05:00.000-07:00

We are here in beautiful Southern California and the weather is not quite cooperating! Oh don't get me wrong, we are still having a Great little vacation, but it has been chilly this week here in Cali. We went to the beach in Malibu on Tuesday, and after a few hours, the clouds rolled in and we rolled out, and we haven't been able to get back to the beach since! We are so thankful to get to spend a little quality family time together, as we don't get to see much of Jess since he is in school. We are having a GREAT time and hoping that Vegas proves to be a little warmer when we are there over Easter weekend! We will post pics of our trip when we get home!

Update!

2009-03-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Okay...So it has been awhile. I don't know what happened. I just needed a little blogging break. I know, I should have told you before I left. I am here now! It seems like a lot of people have needed a break. So anywaysies...what have we been up to....
Jess-still working and going to school. He is super busy!
Me-boring you with this uninteresting post.
M-into basketball right now. Tonight at practice, he was totally showing off. He was so cute and so proud. He told me he is the best on his team! He has a good self-esteem!
L-into dance and being a major help to me. She does whatever I ask her to, and she even offered to scrub the kitchen floor for me! She knows how much I love a scrubbed floor!
A-dancing too, and keeping busy trying to be big. She asks me random things like " Why did Heavenly Father give us a tongue?" and today she asked me what fine means. Like "I am fine."

We are getting excited to have spring come. We went to Bear Lake a couple of weekends ago, just to get away. It was so fun. We stayed at some condo's and took our friends with us. That made us more antsy for nicer weather.

My mom came and stayed with us for a few days last week. It was fun to have her, and she helped me get some things organized. I don't think organizing ever ends. One day, that weekness of mine will become a strength. I Hope!

I promise I will be back soon with some more interesting posts, I think I am ready to blog again, and lets be honest, facebook has lost some of its "new and exciting" so now I will have more time!

2009-01-24T11:17:00.000-08:00

Jess and Mitch just got their hair cut(It looks really good), anywaysies, Jess came home with some "product". On Sunday, as I was getting ready for church, I said, " Jess! now I can use some of your pomade!" (I am all out and I needed some). He turned to me and insistently said "What! I didn't get No pomade. I would NEVER get pomade. That is for girl's and I would never use it."Hmmm....okay. Well.....I like to be right, so I promptly got the pomade and showed him right on the tub where it said pomade. He rolled his eyes. I asked him if he didn't realize he was getting pomade, what did he think he was getting. He thought he was getting gel, because that is what the "smart" girl cutting his hair said. I asked him how much it was and he said it was like $15. OK. Seriously. He spent $15 on what he thought was gel! Boys I tell you.... And the funny thing is, I have been trying to get him to use pomade for years!

It's about time!

2009-01-18T16:27:00.000-08:00

See how excited she is!

She is a big girl!

because....

She Potty-trained herself!!!

Ok...let me just admit it. 3 kids, and I have NO idea how to potty train. Why you might ask? Well, it
could be that I just have no patience, or it could be that I have naughty kids, but alas, I think it is that I just don't get it! I just am not good at potty training! Mitch and Lindsey were both over 3 when they finally made the switch. Let me just tell you. One day in the fall when they were 3, my neighbor Amy said to Lins "Lindsey, aren't you embarrassed that your Mom still has to change your diapers?" Lindsey kind of smiled and ran inside and wanted her big-girl unders on. NEVER had 1 accident...to this day! Well, Mitch took a few more months, but he Never had an accident either! They were totally ready and did it on their own. So...Now Lyss is Finally Potty-trained! Yay! She has been lf potty trained since about November. She decided that I didn't need to change her stinky diapers anymore and I never have. Then last week, we got home from Costco and her pants got wet from her pull-up, so she decided to start wearing her big-girl unders! She only had 2 accidents and one was at 5 in the morning. It has been about 10 days...so we made it! Yay for my big girl!

Our Holidays in Review

2009-01-04T10:28:00.000-08:00

Mitch had fun with all his games.

All of us loved having Jess around.

We tried and failed to keep the mess contained.

Mitch loved his new "basketball warm-ups"!

Lindsey loved all the Barbie fun!

Grandma painted Alyssa's nails on Christmas.

We had a great Christmas and New Year as a family. For Christmas, we stayed here and did some of our own family traditions, and just had fun. The kids thought this was the best Christmas yet, and we thought so too! It gets funner and funner the older they are. Their favorite gifts this year: Mitch-video games; Lindsey-barbies...lots of barbies and a barbie townhouse; Alyssa-either her princess scooter or the Mr. potato head from Grandpa. She loves that potato head! All in all it was a great day. We went to Lehi to hang out with my family at Suzanne and Sterlings and have Christmas dinner. It was fun until the drive home on the ICY roads and blowing snow. Not so fun. The rest of the time, we have had kind of a staycation doing fun things with the kids. We went to Madagascar 2 with my brother Adam and his family on saturday the 27th. Great movie. We also took the the kids to see Bedtime Stories a couple of days ago. It was really cute. Alyssa didn't love it so much. It is more for older kids. Mitch especially liked it. Our nights(and I mean all night) were spent a few times playing cards and games with some of our good friends and our days were spent trying to recover from our nights:) and doing things together! We had a great New Year's with friends again doing the aforementioned up all night games. Thanks heavens for good friends and family. We are excited for the New Year and the possibilities that 2009 will bring!

Out with the old...

2009-01-04T10:25:00.001-08:00

...the very nasty old. And in with the new!

What a great way to start out the new year!

We are good, We know it!

2008-12-20T20:47:00.001-08:00

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Mitch: My all-time Favorite basketball player

2008-12-14T13:42:00.000-08:00

Isn't he adorable?!!

Mitch is COMPLETELY addicted or committed to basketball. You can find him outside 6-7 days a week practicing and playing with whoever will play with him or by himself. He comes home from school and doesn't even come in until he gets at least 20 minutes in. Then he will play very often 2 hours or until it gets dark. It doesn't matter if t is 30 degrees or 100 degrees, he is outside.

Mitch loves to watch basketball on TV and rarely misses the Jazz or BYU games. Sometimes he is even lucky enough to go with his dad to Jazz games. He also went to the Matt Harpring basketball camp this summer. That he didn't love so much. Matt ran a great camp, and didn't let the kids mess around. That was good because Mitch learned a lot!

He practices with the 12 year olds in our ward sometimes, and can hold his own! The coach is excited to have him in 3 years! The funny thing is this is all new in the last couple of years. He now loves basketball, football, and rugby. A couple of years ago (ok when he was 1-5) he was all into vacuums. I wasn't sure what to do with him. We have gone through 6 vacuums in his short life. We are now on #7. We went with a dyson for the warranty, although I think he has outgrown the desire to play with vacuums! I think sports are easier to deal with. the vacuum addiction was very cute though!

He has a drawer full of collared golf shirts and jeans,but will he wear them? NO!!! He wears too big T-shirts with the Jazz on them and washes them frequently so he can wear them or some other athletic shirts EVERY day. I barely got him to stop wearing shorts to school last week!

He wants to play college basketball at BYU when he grows up. He knows he has to have good grades to get in, so a few weeks ago at SEP conference, he had a B on his report card and he wanted to make sure that the B wouldn't mess up his chances of getting into school. I assured him that he was ok. I thought that was very cute! He is such a good boy and a joy to have around. I am so glad that he has found something that he likes and that he sets goals for himself. I am a proud mother!

Go Mitch!!!

You feel bad....

2008-12-10T13:29:00.000-08:00

You know that I love teeth. I try to take care of mine and so far so good. Until now.......

I made it 31 years with no cavities until yesterday when I had a little cavity filled. I know you feel bad for me. I Know it!

Nativity: The First Tradition

2008-12-02T22:11:00.000-08:00

When Jess was growing up, his family had a tradition of putting out the Nativity at the very first of the holiday season, before anything else. I love this tradition, and Jess and I have wholeheartedly incorporated this wonderful little idea. Tonight, while Jess read the story of Christ's birth in Luke, the kids took turns setting up pieces of the Nativity. They had a great time, and I love that putting up the Nativity before the tree and the lights puts the most important reason of Christmas--The birth of out Savior Jesus Christ--in the forefront of our minds. After Jess read the story, we sang a few Christmas songs and got really excited for Christmas! The Christmas songs about Christ always bring a wonderful spirit. I am so glad we get to carry on family traditions and incorporate things from both sides of the family. Don't worry...Christmas Eve will find the kids acting out the Nativity, another wonderful tradition from my side, that I know many people do! Enjoy the pictures!Alyssa was sooo careful with baby Jesus. Lindsey is little Mother---I love her!Mitch and Lins are good friends:) They are getting it just right.Alyssa was sad that daddy wouldnt let her touch the nativity and play with it after--now she has her own in her room.The After picture. It is even ok that Alyssa put the donkey in the rafters! The kids had fun! Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

2008-11-27T16:25:00.000-08:00

Happy Thanksgiving one and all! We have so many things to be thankful for at this time of the year as all of you do too! I would love to tell you what we are all thankful for today.

Alyssa is thankful for: her daddy and mommy, preschool!, nursery, the temple

Lindsey is thankful for: her clothes, food, family and her friends

Mitch is thankful for: basketball, his sisters, friends and BYU

Shanna is thankful for: her family, blessings that come from trials, friends, The Gospel and the knowledge that comes from it, that we can continually try and be better, healthy kids, a great husband, my home, all my extended family(including Jess's great family) I have alot to be thankful for!

Jess is thankful for: his family, me, that Mitch goes with him to BYU games, that his girl's go on dates with him, The Gospel, that he has the opportunity to get his MBA(even though it is really hard) and of course BYU football!

We hope that this day finds you happy and able to reflect on all of the blessings that you have. It makes life so much easier to deal with when we have an "Attitude of Gratitude" and look for all of the positive things in life! Happy Thanksgiving!!!

New Kids On The Block!!!

2008-11-18T20:52:00.000-08:00

I went...I seriously went! And I am not going to lie, it was AWESOME! I thought my love for NKOTB was in the far recesses of my mind; Now It's Not. They were amazing 18 years ago when I saw them in Seattle...I was 13 and full of hopes and dreams.....Anywaysies, and they still are! On saturday, I was remebering they had their concert that night. I kind of wanted to go. Jess, being the jem that he is told me to look and see if they still had tickets. One of my best friends, Irene, had great seats on the 14th row. I was going to try and get seats close to her. I found some on ebay for a fraction of the cost and Jess bought me a couple of tickets with the stipulation that he would not be caught dead anywhere near the concert. Thankfully Chyrelle, another friend, went with me and we had soooo much fun! We met up with Irene and some other gals and had a crimpping party ( see the side pony with crimps). Now that I think about it, I think ThAt was even out of style when I went the first time! Oh well. We had fun--Notice Chyrelle's big jean jacket, and bow in her hair. We had row 24 seats on the floor. Halfway through the show, The New Kids did a couple of sons n the middle of the e center on a small rotating stage. We turned around, and they were only 9 rows away! I could have thrown something at them they were sooooo close! They sang a few new songs and then mostly san old ones. It seriously felt like I was at the same concert as the 1990 one. They were so fun to listen to. Jordan s still, you know ummm cool and his falsetto voice is wow! Joey was really cool too. Ok they all were. Some hihlights were definitely Jordan singing "I'll be loving you forever; the small rotating stae where they were so close; all of their other old songs, and being with good friends. Everyone there was around my ae and previous fans. It was knd of sweet that people love them so much. They have helped create memories for many girls/now women. I guess that once a fan, always a fan! Thanks for all of the fun girls!!!

A special shout out to another of my closest frends Amber who has been a fan with me from the beginning. She was going to fly in from Boise but had a new baby! Next time.

A very belated Happy Birthday!

2008-11-11T11:43:00.000-08:00

Really, it's too late, but...HAPPY BIRTHDAY JESS!!! I need to take any opportunity I get to say how wonderful he is, even if his birthday was last month. :) Jess is an extremely hard worker who has never complained about working and going to school full time (both times) and is happy to do it, knowing he is helping his family. He loves to play with his kids and has never complained about watching them for me. He loves to take them anywhere he is--running errands or going to do fun outtings. He is truely an amazing person. He is very genuine, and will do anything for anyone! He also likes to take me on really fun dates! I could go on and on, but I won't...at least today! He is Awesome and I love him!

The Good Ole' U.S. of A!

2008-11-04T12:55:00.000-08:00

Enough about music (thanks for your opinions). We have more pressing issues.

Use your right as a Citizen of the

United States of America

GO VOTE!

Don't wait...Go now, and tell me how it goes!

Music, or no Music...THAT is the question!

2008-10-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

I just can't decide....Do I pu t music on my blog, or not. (I have jucier posts coming soon, including Jess's birthday, and a give-away celebrating 6 months in bloggy land, so stay tuned!) The thing is that I think I get a better glimpse into people's personalities by the music they listen to. I love to (as my friends call it) Shannalize. There is not a dang thing wrong with that! It is fascinating to me to see what music people like. Sometimes it is very predictable, but sometimes...not so much. I want people to hear what I like, and I Like to hear what other people like. I am sure I am pretty predictable. Also, sometimes it is annoying to go on someone's blog to have music blasting at you. It is sometimes hard to concentrate. Maybe it is just me...and of course that is None of you. And that is easily remedied. I can turn it off if I want, which is Not all of the time. So what to do, what to do. Why do you, or do you not have music, and what do you think?!

Cute Handbag's! Enter to Win

2008-10-09T17:15:00.000-07:00

There is a company launching a new website in a few days and before they do, they are giving away 24 bags in 24 hrs. You Choose Which Handbag You Want! No Credit card required, and no shipping! Oh...and they are

Way Cute!

You have to go to their website and enter. It will take you 30 seconds or less. Click on this link. http://www.handbagplanet.com/ Good Luck! This green one is the one I want...I love it!

I Love General Conference

2008-10-03T12:12:00.000-07:00

I am excited for General Conference for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints this weekend. I love the talks and the spirit that is in our home. I not only love Conference, but I really love getting together with family and having traditions. We have a tradition of making chicken salad croissants and peanut butter rice crispies a.k.a. scotcharoos and getting together with family.

What are your traditions for Conference Weekend?

Happy 3rd Birthday Alyssa!

2008-09-27T17:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Alyssa!
We Love You So Much!
Today Alyssa turned 3. It is hard to believe! It has one by so fast, and we have loved every minute with this sassy little girl. She had a princess party today, and she was dressed as Cinderella. I will post some pictures soon. But today, I will tell you my 5 favorite things about Miss Allysa.

She comes and tells me secrets like "I love you mommy". I love it.
She loves to snuggle and have me read her stories.
She gives funny looks, disgusted looks, and dirty looks. It is hilarious. I wonder who she gets that from?! hmm...
She is very grateful. She tells me thank you for EveRyThinG!
She is so cute! She is just fun to dress up. People stop us all the time to say how beautiful she is. She always says thank you. How cute is she?! I know people stop you too about your kids. I still love it!

I love my little girl, and I could go on and on, but she is so sweet and I hope she knows how much I love her!

10 Years of Wedded Bliss

2008-09-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Today is our 10 year anniversary! Happy Anniversary Jess! 10 Years ago today, we got married in the Idaho Falls Temple. It has been the best thing I ever did. Jess has been a great husband and dad to our kids and I will go ahead and say that I have been an awesome wife as well! (I'm kidding...I am sure he would say that though.) Today I am going to give you 10 tidbits for 10 years.

1. Our Kids. They have been a huge blessing in our lives. They came to us very fast in our marriage, but I know that was meant to be and I wouldn't change it. I love Mitch, Lindsey and Alyssa and I am glad to have Jess to help me raise these sweet kids.

2. Our First House. We moved about every 2 years for the first 6 years and gathered many friends and memories along the way. Now we are in our first house We have been here for 4 years and will be here probably 4 more (at least). I love having it be mine. I am glad we got to move around little before settling down, because I LOVE meeting new people.

3. Our First Minivan. We finally broke down and got one last year. It has been nice. I think SUV's might be nice too!

4. Golf. We love golf. I got Jess into it shortly after we got married and he would like everyone to know, that he finally beat me on his birthday last year. Oh...and he beat me at mini-golf on my 28th birthday when I was 9 months pregnant with Alyssa. I still tell him that was rude.

5. Vacations. We haven't traveled much. I hope we will more. Some fun places we have gone include: McCall, ID.-We have stayed there a couple times in a condo with our kids. We Love, Love, Love it there, We have also taken our kids to Bear Lake and Wolf Creek. I guess we need to get out more! We are taking them to Disneyland in the spring. Jess and I have gone to Missouri and Nauvoo. We have also gone to California. Time to Travel!

6. School. I graduated with my associates a few days before M and L were born. I started back to get my bachelor's, and found out I was preggo with A. That's on hold for now. We got Jess through school, getting his bachelors degree in Business Finance. Now we are into school again! Jess getting his MBA. I guess some things never change.

7. Cars. When we got married, I had a little red chevy cavalier and Jess had a gold ford taurus. Then he got a blue oldsmobile. Then we sold both and got a maroon dodge stratus....then a white jeep grand cherokee, navy dodge stratus and now a silver dodge grand caravan. Do we like dodge? Apparently. But now I want a wine colored Honda Pilot...Maybe someday!

8. Church. We love church. We both have our dream callings right now. Jess is the Scoutmaster and he is very good at it. He is also the 2nd counselor in YM. I am the secretary in YW. I LOVE Young Women's. I hope to be there for a long time. We have also been primary teachers, the ward librarians and various other things separately in these 10 years.

9. Work. Our jobs over the last 10 years. Shanna--Artco customer service for 7 months after we were married and then SAHM for 9 years. Love it. I did sell Cookie Lee Jewelry for awhile and loved that. Jess--worked at Showcase Interiors for 7 months after we were married and then at Fidelity Investments since. He worked there while going to school full time and he has even had a few second jobs to make ends meet including: a paper route(there is a funny story about that), Albertson's Deli, Delta Center and Fed-Ex. He is definitely a hard worker.

10. Family. We both come from great families. We have been able to go to every one of our siblings wedding(except Gina and John who got married before us in Logan, UT),and they have all been in the temple. Adam and Krystal in Mesa, AZ. Darci and Dale in Idaho Falls, ID. Ryan and Becca in Idaho Falls, Id. Brandon and Shari in Salt Lake City, UT. Andy and Katie in Bountiful, UT. and Suzanne and Sterling in Idaho Falls, ID. I love all of my in-laws and think of my SIL's as my sisters. All of them. That has been a blessing! note: when CJ is married, we will be there too.

All in all, we have had a good and adventurous 10 years.

We have had good times and rough times but thankfully, it has been together!

I LOVE YOU JESS!!!

the above picture is horrible i know. I took a picture of a picture.

My Quirkiest Quirks

2008-09-21T21:11:00.000-07:00

I have been tagged by Chrissy and Jaclyn about my quirks, so I better get busy on this post. They are basically the same tag so here goes....

The Rules:

a) Link Person who tagged you. b) List rules c) List 6 quirks d) Tag 6 people

Bonus quirk:

7. I, like Jaclyn, love love love to pop zits. So gross, but so fun.

NOW:

6. I LOVE Lipgloss. I mean I really love lipgloss. I can leave the house with no make-up, but I HaVe to have liploss on. One of my friends gave me a make-up bag FULL of lipgloss for my birthday last year and it was Awesome(thanks Rachel)! Jess buys me lipgloss at Costco. That, my friends is how much I love it!

5. I am revealing something really gross about me... I have 2-3 little hairs that grow out of my chin. 8( It grosses me out so much, that I am constantly feeling my chin to make sure they are not growing. If they are, I hurry and get them with tweezer. I LOVE getting them with a tweezer. One time last fall, I was driving back from CA. with Darci(sis) and she was barely preggo and very upset and annoyed about me feeling my chin all of the way home. No tweezer + annoying hair = I felt my chin the whole way home. Now that I think about it, that would be annoying. sorry.

4. I get my words mixed up all of the time. I mean to say one thing and say another. Jess tells me that it is one of the things he loves about me. phew.

3. I love Clorox. I love how it smells after I clean with it. I use it more than should, and I have ruined linoleum from not using it right, but I love it. Along those same lines, I have to scrub my tile kitchen floor. I can mop other floors, but my kitchen floor has to be down on my hands and knees scrubbed. My sisters think I am weird.

2. I drool. It is a serious problem. It s family related, because, although I will not name names, there are others with the same problem. In high school, I would be concentrating so hard in class, that all of the sudden, there would be drool on the desk and I would get so embarressed and hurry and wipe it up. Luckily, no one ever noticed.

AND.......

1.Well, THIS is another family trait:

Ok, the pictures at the top should be here. Pretend they are for effect.

A few of us, including my dad , do this pose when we are relaxing. So weird, but SO relaxing. Try it...........................................................................................................................................................................

What did YOU think?! When I am talking on the phone or watching a movie, you will often find me in one of these two ways.

So now you know a little about my oddities, but I am sure that you still find me facinating. Just to be fair, next we I will brag about my most awesome qualities! j/k

Now I tag: Cortnie, Katie, Dee, Rachel, Irene, and Bonnie

Good Luck and Have Fun!

NKOTB ANYONE?!

2008-09-04T08:23:00.000-07:00

I LOVED them back in the 80's/90's. Picture me running down the streets of Seattle chasing a limo holding Jordan (he was MUCH cuter then). What an awesome concert. My first when I was in 8th grade. And yes tears were in my eyes...

OK I was crying, because that's what NEW KIDS

fans do. So look out Nov. 15th, here I come.

WHO'S WITH ME?! COME ON YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO!!

Hallelujah!!!

2008-08-17T22:03:00.001-07:00

We can have dual loyalty right? This is a hard concept for Jess, so its about time for some HUMBLING right?!

HE IS GOING TO GO TO THE U!!!

Jess got accepted into their professional MBA program this fall!

I am so proud of him. I keep threatening to buy him a Ute hat, and anything else Utah. He rolls his eyes...None the less, Way to go honey! I am so excited for him. He will do great!

I Won!!---I hope :)

2008-08-08T17:06:00.000-07:00

I won a $20 Gift Card from the hilarious website http://www.seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com/ to Beauty from the Earth, but now they are telling me they gave the code for the prize to a different Shanna! What the heck. They are practically perfect! I hope it is a mistake:(

UPDATE: The mistake was fixed...all is well! I guess they are still practically perfect:)

Memories!!!

2008-07-25T13:19:00.001-07:00

The Directions: 1)As a comment on my blog, leave a memory that you and I had together. It doesn't matter if you knew me a little or alot...anything you remember. 2)Next, repost these instructons on your blog and see how many people leave a memory about you. It is pretty cool(and funny), to see the things people remember. If you leave a memory about me, I'll assume you're playing, and I will leave a memory about you on your blog :) If you don't want to play on your blog or you don't have a blog, I'll leave a memory of you of you in my comments...

HAPPY THINKING!!!

What a Mess!!!

2008-07-23T13:18:00.001-07:00

I am sure everyone heard about the storms that happened out here in my neck-of-the-woods yesterday. It was bad. I heard all of the nasty hale pounding on my house for a good 10-15 minutes hard! My kids went out to play for a minute in the HUGE puddle( aka pond) at the end of our circle for a few minutes and then came running in to tell me that one of our neighbors had water in their basement almost up to the ceiling! It was true! I went down and a house about 4 houses down (with a road in between was completely flooded. When I looked in the window, it was a leafy, watery mess. You can see the picture of the water being pumped out of their basement. After about 2 hours, there was still at least 3 feet of water left. I don't know how much longer it took. The house to the east got about a foot of water. We spent a couple of hours getting the stinky silty mess off of the lawn while the water was being pumped out. We were on channel 4 and fox 13. I left after that to take care of the kiddies, but I know many of my neighbors were helping get furniture and things out of the 2 houses until 9 or 10 last night. What a mess!

***a big shout out to dee bulkley and melanie for their accurate and amazing photgraphy used for this blog. It also made it on channel 4. They are accepting awards and requests for their autograph(especially dee).

Mamma Mia!

2008-07-19T13:38:00.001-07:00

My girlfriends and I went and saw it last night. It was hilarious! It was funny seeing such a cheesy movie. The actors/actresses really played up their parts and did a good job. Now remember, it is PG-13 so I wouldn't recommend taking the kids or anything, but we loved it. I am sure that movie is a little more entertaining if you know the ABBA songs, as most of us did, but those who didn't still found the movie very good. I have to admit that we were tempted to get up and dance at the end---Don't worry, we didn't. I am willing to go again, just be prepared for an after-movie-dance-party. Momma Mia anyone?!

There is Nothing Better.....

2008-07-13T12:52:00.000-07:00

Than a Girl's Camp Testimony Meeting. Do you all remember those? You are out in the beautiful World that God created for us. You are dirty and tired and have about had it. That is the perfect setting for being humble enough for the spirit to completely overwhelm you and everyone around you. I have to say that I love Girl's Camp and I feel totally blessed to be able to go. Although it is really hard to leave my kids, deal with girl's and their issues, and get soooo dirty and gross, I have to say that Testimony Meeting on Thursday Nights ALWAYS make it worth it. Girl's that haven't been to church in a year get up and say they know God loves them, or that they know that church is where they need to be. Shy girls get the courage to bear their testimonies in front of the little safe haven they feel. Girls express their love for each other and the examples they are to one another. They even let their leaders know that they don't always think we are insane. They love us too! I have absolutely no doubt that Heavenly Father had a HUGE reason for implementing Girl's Camp and Testimony Meeting. Many testimonies are strengthened, and Girl's---even the ones that sometimes feel unloved or not part of the group---are able to bond with each other and know, that people love them, Especially Heavenly Father.....

4th of July and Wray Reunion

2008-07-09T00:15:00.001-07:00

We went up to Idaho this past weekend for the 4th, and for my dad's family reunion. On friday the 4th, we went to my cousin Stephanie's wedding at the Shelton Reception Center in Idaho Falls. They had a nice outdoor ceremony, but I am not sure why they chose the 4th to get married on! After that, we just went to Rexburg and watched the fireworks and did a few of our own with my mom and dad, and Sue and Sterling and fam. Pretty low-key. On Saturday, we had the Wray Reunion. It was fun to see cousins that I don't see often, but none of my close cousins came this year:( My kids had a great time with all of their cousins though. It was held at my Grandma and Grandpa Wray's house (even though they are not living) I guess it is now my uncles house. It is the house that my grandma's dad built. It is really old, but my grandparents took great care of it. They had a beautiful lawn and it was always so fun to play there. The swingset has been there for at least 50 years! I think it is so important to build strong family ties, and we had fun on saturday. The kids had fun swinging on the swings, jumping on the tramp, playing in the orchard, and eating cotton candy. And there was even more fun! Mitch had fun getting dunked in the dunk tank(which I missed) full of...canal water! He was freaked out after he swallowed a bunch. Hey we used to swim in ditches and things all of the time. It's Idaho! And I love it!

Splash Park and Carousel

2008-07-08T23:43:00.000-07:00

After the reunion, we went back to Rexburg, and went to the new splash park. We went with Brandon, Shari and kids. My kids and Ryan all had so much fun. They were all freezing cold, and were chattering away, but were not about ready to leave. We also rode the carousel there at the park. My kids love to ride it when we go to Rexburg. All in all, we had a great weekend in Idaho and are planning to go back in a few weeks for a little longer. Right now I need to go to sleep as I am off in the morning for Girls Camp! I am excited. Wish me luck!

Fun Times, No Camera!

2008-07-02T09:11:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting to bring my camera wth me. Not always---just this week when we have had a lot of goods things going on, and many kodak moments that could have been captured. Last thursday, we went to a magic show in Lehi. It was more like a comedy routine, and Mitch was loving it. I love to see him laugh. It comes rolling out, and it is like he can't stop it. I love it. The magic show was geared more for kids M and L's age so Alyssa liked watching all the other kids. We went with Suzanne, Parley Charlotte, and Grandma. Then we went to a fun little museum. We also had a reunion, lots of runnnng through sprnklers/slip n' slide and of course, the baby blessing of cute little Zachary (Jess's brother's baby). Last night, we got together with both of my brothers, and ther families at my very special sister Suzanne's house. Of course I forgot to take picures, because I wanted to get some with my kids, and their cousins. (I have very adorable nieces and nephews on both sides of the family. Not an ugly one in the bunch!) Needless to say, I am just going to start keepng my camera with me in my purse at all times. I love to get good pictures!

How do I keep summer fun?

2008-06-19T16:39:00.000-07:00

So I haven't updated for awhile 1. Because we have had some computer issues 2. My camera needs new batteries, and I pretty much need a new one anyway and 3. We are very boring around here. I feel like I need to have something interesting to say so I don't waste anyone's (The 3 people who actually read this) time. Well...life isn't getting interesting anytime soon so what can I do to make summer fun? I told my kids before school got out that we could plan 1 fun thing to do a week through the summer. I wish I had more energy to do more than that but that isn't going to happen this year. I am also on a tighter budget this year so I need some ideas. We are done with Discovery Gateway(we had a pass last year and my kids need a break from it) but other than that I would welcome any ideas. Some things we have planned include 1. Going to the fountains at Gateway and Liberty Park 2. Of course Wheeler Farm 3. Going with Suzanne to Thanksgiving Point. Any ideas(especially free would be great) I feel like I don't want to let my kids down this summer. It has been a rough few months and they have been little troopers. M and L have learned how to do their own laundry and have been really good helpers. I feel like I need to really get out there and make a stronger effort to have fun with them. I feel like a slacker lately.

Tagged

2008-05-31T11:44:00.000-07:00

I was tagged by Katie about Jess, my husband.

1. What is his name? JESS CARTER
2. How long have you been together? 10 YEARS IN SEPTEMBER!!
3. How long did you date? 4 MONTHS, ENGAGED FOR 3 MORE.
4. Who eats more? JESS
5. Who said I Love You first? JESS, BUT I FOLLOWED RIGHT AFTER.
6. Who is taller? JESS BY FAR.
7. Who sings better? JESS SINGS GOOD, BUT I STAY ON TUNE BETTER.
8. Who is smarter? WELL, JESS IS VERY SMART. I AM PRETTY SMART TOO, THOUGH. I GUESS I WOULD SAY JESS.
9. Who does the laundry? BOTH--JESS HAS ALWAYS DONE HIS OWN.
10. Who does the dishes? ME, ALTHOUGH MY KIDS USUALLY HELP. AFTER READING KATIE'S MAYBE THAT SHOULD CHANGE:)
11. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? WHICH PERSPECTIVE ARE WE TALKING? IF WE ARE LOOKING AT THE BED, ME, BUT HE SLEEPS AT MY RIGHT.
12.Who pays the bills? JESS
13. Who mows the lawn? JESS (AND MITCH).
14. Who cooks dinner? ME, BECAUSE IF I DIDN'T, WE WOULD HAVE A WHITE SAUCE EVERY NIGHT. (J/K JESS--HE COOKS VERY WELL ON SUNDAYS!)
15. Who drives when you are together? JESS
16. Who is more stubborn? ACTUALLY JESS--HE IS A CLOSET STUBBORN PERSON.
17. Who kissed who first? JESS--HE MISSED AND GOT THE SIDE OF MY MOUTH...HE GOT SO NERVOUS THAT AFTER THAT IT TOOK HIM A FEW WEEKS AND THEN, MY ROOMMATES DARED ME TO GO TO HIS APARTMENT AND KISS HIM. I GUESS THAT IS A WHOLE OTHER STORY FOR ANOTHER TIME.
18. Who asked who out first? I ASKED JESS OUT FIRST ON A GIRLS CHOICE.
19. Who proposed? OF COURSE JESS--UP ON A HILL WITH ROSES AND A PICTURE OF THE IDAHO FALLS TEMPLE--VERY ROMANTIC.
20. Who is more sensitive? ME
21. Who has more friends? I GUESS ME. WE BOTH LIKE TO GO OUT WITH FRIENDS THOUGH.
22. Who has more siblings? ME--3 SISTERS AND 2 BOTHERS. JESS HAS 2 BOTHERS AND 1 SISTER.
23. Who wears the pants in the family? IS THAT EVEN A QUESTION? ME!

OK, Now I Tag Tiff, Jaclyn, Jen and Melissa. Have a great day!

A Messed Up Pedi

2008-05-16T16:46:00.001-07:00

So my friend and I went to get pedicures today. It was so nice to get one since it has been awhile. They did a brown suger rub and then did some other massage lotion stuff that they wrapped in hot towels and plastic bags. It was so relaxing and nice. Now for the problem...first of all it took the girl like 20 minutes to get my old polish off because I had a nice friend who gave me a pedi before my surgery and she had some awesome top coat that stayed on VERY well. The people even asked me to find out what it was because it was so good. Then as I was getting off of the platform, my freshly painted toe got messed up on the chair and she had to redo my big toe. I did tip her very well because she was really good and I really made her work. They said it would take an hour for my toes to completely dry. Then when I picked up my kids about an hour or so later, Mitch stepped on my foot and what do you know, my other big toe got messed up. What do I do? I thought I could go buy matching polish at a beauty supply store, but I don't know the name. Do I call and ask for a redo? The girl already had to work hard, but then again, they said they would be COMPLETELY dry in and hour and they weren't. I just don't know. It is not a huge deal, but I don't want it to be a waste of money either. Suggestions?

What a Week!

2008-05-13T22:54:00.000-07:00

A Special Shout Out to MITCH an LINDSEY. I was chewed out for having Alyssa' s picture under the Happy Birthday Mitch and Lins. Sorry--I am still getting this blogging thing down. Aren't they Adorable. Such good kids. VERY different from one another.

These girls look so cute in their coordinating Easter outfits. I had to take another picture of them after church on Sunday. On to my busy week. I was at the school for most of the week since it was Teacher Appreciation Week and I am in charge. We did lunch for the teachers, gift bags, notes from ALL the kids in the school, and a 20 minute relaxing retreat for all of them. Whew...I am glad it is over. Exhausting. Alyssa was so good the whole week as she was at school some of the days the whole day practically.
These pics are out of order, but the bottom one is of Alyssa the other day. She was picking out her jammies with Jess to get on. I came in the room and he is getting her swimming suit on. I asked him what the heck. He said she really wanted to wear her swimsuit to bed. I was kind of like...um NO! I tried talking her out of it. I said "Lyssie you are going to be freezing cold" and she said in her sassiest voice, "No, I will be toasty warm under the blantie" you read that right, not blankie, blantie. Anyways, Lind came in with her jams on and Alyssa decided to get hers on after all. Thus the after pic. Sorry I forgot to turn it. She keeps us entertained!
Lins had a dance competition on saturday. She did excellent and she is so happy to have her best friend dancing with her now. They are so cute and very dilligent. They are constantly practicing together and having so much fun. They did excellent at their competition and we will see what place they came in on Wednesday. I was not about to stick around until 10:30pm to find out. Good Job Lins!
Mitch had a basketball game on saturday too! Busy day. He is pretty darn good. They won the game of course. They have only lost once and I guess Sterling was right. He must be bad luck. Anywaysies, He loves basketball more than anything. It really helps me make sure he gets his jobs done. He won't let anything come between him and basketball. I am so glad he has found something he likes!
Wow! What a week. I also went up and saw my very adorable nephew Zachary on tuesday. Good job Andy and Katie, he is sooo cute. That makes me also want to see my new niece Alice in CA. I can't wait to see her. Now after all of this rambling on and on, that about wraps up my week. I hope you all have a great week

Happy Birthday Mitch and Lins!

2008-05-01T16:59:00.000-07:00

Alyssa loved Elmo's World. She probably would have been happy to sit there and watch him .
Testing their strength at Discovery
Kind of fitting for my kids to be in a life flight helicoptor for their birthday!
More of Discovery

Ok this has gone by waaaaay to fast. My babies(yes they still are) are 9 years old today. This is shocking to me in a few ways. First of all, that means I am getting old. I know that you are all a little shocked by that because first of all, I am YOUNG. I am not old. People with 9 year olds are not young anymore. OK I am still young, but reality is starting to creep up on me that I am about halfway through with having these little people in my house. That scares me. We still have so many things to do and I have so much to teach them. This day has been more traumatic for me than turning 30(which actually was not traumatic at all--I have loved it). Anyway, M & L have been so fun and I am so thankful to have them. Yesterday, besides going to Discovery, we went to build-a-bear for their birthday. They had a great time and we are going to post pics of their new bears. Anyways, for their b-day, I just wanted to write 5 of my favorite things about each of them.

Mitch--1. He hates to be late which is very helpful in a family like ours. 2. He is very bright and takes school very seriously. 3. He is pretty nice to his sisters. 4. He is passionate about basketball which is a very good thing 5. Even though he thinks girls are soooo gross, he still likes me!

Lins--1. She is very helpful 2. She has the greatest self-esteem...no one can get her down 3. She has the cutest freckle/mole above her lip...she rolls her eyes when I tell her how much I adore it. 4. She is nice to everyone 5. She is very good at dance and practices all the time!

Happy Birthday my 2lb and 1lb 14 oz babies. I love you.

It's Spring!

2008-04-30T19:08:00.001-07:00

We are so ready for spring at our house! It seems like this winter dragged on and on...and on. Lindsey and Alyssa have been keeping me stocked in Tulips(my very favorite fower) from our garden. We are excited to go to the park, and the pool....so then today it has to be cold and rainy. Oh well. We took this opportunity to go to Discovery Gateway and see Sesame Street: the body exhibit(which by the way was not overwhelming and a little gross like the body exhibit my friends and I went to see in Vegas last year). Anywaysies, the kids love Discovery Museum and so here are a few pictures of my cute trio from our yard and I will post some shortly from the children's museum, which I would recommend to anyone over 2. We have gone quite a few times this year, and Alyssa has liked it more and more the older she gets. I hope you enjoy the pics!

Yeah a Blog!

2008-04-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Yeah I have a blog! Thanks Tiff. I am excited to post some pics. Give me a day or two. Also thank you everyone for your thoughts and prayers. I am feeling much better. This is just a little process to get totally better. I should be good to go in a month or so. Love you all!