What a MONTH...

(PICTURES TO COME AS SOON AS I DOWN LOAD THEM...SORRY, I'm LAZY!!)

January proved to be a JAMMED PACKED month of things happening in the Hansen household.

If it wasn't one thing...it was another. Of course I need to start the month off with what is the BIGGEST thing of ALL...Well maybe the BIGGEST MIRACLE of ALL...

...Seth's Baptism!!

Yep, he made it! I know some of you had your doubts, ok-ok, mainly his father and mother, that this day would come. that he would even survive to the ripe old age of 8~BUT he did and on Saturday Jan 2, 2010, our last baby was baptised by his dad (tear~tear)... it was a nice day. His grandpa Waldron spoke and after, all his family and friends got together at our house for a 6 foot sub. And of course the traditional gift of scriptures was given (boy are we so predictable as parents).

With Seth turning 8 he started scouts and on the 5th, Seth had his very first Pine Wood Derby. This was Crazy. NEVER send an 8 year old up to his toys and say "go look at your cars and pick one you want to copy." He came back with one that was the sleek sports car. Dad was all over it, of course the design got modified a little. Oh and talk about giving mom a HEART ATTACK!! So "THE BOYS" are out side working on the car with the dremel tool. Theres noise going and everything ~ still noise going when DJ comes in and sits down. Did I mention there is noise going. All of the sudden I realize that the noise is STILL going on and DJ IS IN THE HOUSE. SETH IS OUTSIDE WITH THE TOOLS, that are making noise! I look at DJ and say are you CRAZY!! He says Josh is out there and he has the on/off switch in his hands...like thats suppose to make me feel better! SCARY!! Anywho, Seth had fun at his first pinewood derby. He didn't win, but he didn't care and that's what its all about!!

Josh got to go on his MAKE-UP hike this month. You see a few months ago the scouts went camping and were going to go hiking, which they sorta did, but they sorta got rained out. He looked like a drowned rat when he returned home back then. So this time the weather was perfect and he had fun with his dad. He also had his Induction ceremony on the 10th into the National Junior Honor Society. It was short and to the point, which I liked! Josh was really on a roll this month, cuz he made Honor Roll (get it roll and roll... ok so it wasn't that funny...give a gal a break already)! (He really is a smart kid, when he wants to be, he just hides it well). Right now he's off playing Boy Scout at a day camp earning, I hope, lots of badges!

Cayla's life has been crazy this month, but looking at her life, it's crazy every month. The last few weeks she's been going over to a friends house who is currently taking the missionary discussions. Which is pretty cool. Earlier in the month, the cheerleaders had to go and cheer for the P F Changs Rock N Roll Marathon...oh my heck, you should have seen the outfit she had on, I wish I had gotten a pic of it, it was unbelievable! She's had SAT Test this month and Scholarship dinners, Student council, dance, plus cheer and YW's, speaking at other schools for NHS...and so on and so on and so on. Right now she is up in Prescott at a POM competition. Really how does she fit it all in, cuz you know I haven't figured it out yet, and she still manages to get to seminary. Well, it's no wonder she is sick all the time!

Now for all of your sports fans this will be cool to you but for those of you that don't care for sports or should I say football then you just wont care!!! DJ's month was busy with Football games!! Not like what you think. Yes he watched some but his was mainly working them. And of course he worked the BIG one for AZ -- THE FIESTA BOWL!! He was put in charge of protecting one of the coaches and was right there on the field.

But as Football came to an end, other things came forward. The Military got their paper work together (FINALLY) and made him First Sergeant. So now he's the BIG GUY in the unit (He's already one of the oldest...;D) It's extra work but it's what he wants. More power to the old guy! So he had that, THEN we get a call...the Stake President wants to meet with him...BUSTED! Well, we knew something was up. It could be good, it could be bad~ Well, we haven't decided yet. His new calling is to the Stake High Council. So this is either...3rd times a charm or strike 3 your out! We will see!

But amongst all of this DJ's been having A LOT, I mean A LOT of pain in his leg. Not his knee where he had surgery but his leg. After an MRI...drum roll please...THE RESULTS...STRESS FRACTURE! He has to be off his leg for 6 to 8 weeks (maybe more). What's that mean for a police detective...LIGHT DUTY! You can't drive your work vehicle cuz you can't carry a gun cuz you can't fight bad guys! So whats that mean in our family...WELL...3 drivers~2 vehicles...one driver has to drive to 19th Ave everyday at 5:30am...2nd driver has to drive to 91st ave at 5:25 am and then to 115th Ave at 7:00am everyday...3rd driver is NOW STUCK AT HOME without a vehicle until either one of said drivers decide to return home...in case you can't guess...I'M THE 3rd DRIVER! NOT FUN!

Mixed in with this month was things I had for school, my grandpa's 82nd birthday (which we had a small party at the hospital for him), and lots more. Oh and who could forget ALL THAT WONDERFUL RAIN! It was soooooo COOL! I wish we could get more. It was nice while it was here!

Those were just a few of the major highlights in January believe it or not! SO, SO MUCH MORE HAPPENED, but I figured your getting sick of reading my blog and it's time to move on.

With that said, Here's looking forward to February...cuz it's looking a bit jammed packed!

Roller Coaster Ride...

My life's been a bit complicated lately...and anyone who knows me knows thats SO normal and your saying "What else is knew."

It's like I've been on a roller coaster ride lately- up & down - down & up -side to side - round & round-loop to loop - back & froth - then back again! Really that's what life's been like lately and I'm sure most of you can relate to what I'm talking about!

Lately our family has been faced with some VERY difficult decisions (which I'll keep to myself right now), and we are really having a hard time with those decisions... sometimes I wish I could be 7 years old so my Mommy could make all my decisions for me! I'd be loving life then. Oh plus she could come and clean my house...that would be SO sweet!

Anywho- you know you want to do whats right and whats best...but the question is...WHAT IS RIGHT?

So you pray and your not sure if you get your answer cuz if your like me your stubborn and pigheaded (you all can stop agreeing with me so quickly...try to act shocked when I say things...where is the love). Of course as a parent you want to do what's best for the family.

Have you ever wanted something so bad - so bad that you dreamed about it --- You just knew it would happen. It had to happen...RIGHT? Well, sometimes the Lord has other plans for you. Even when you argue with Him - Yes, I do argue with the Lord, sometimes...not all the time. It's in my nature to argue...don't know why...you'll have to talk to my parents, I blame them for it ;)...But I do often argue even though He's always right. You see I generally know what the answers are before I get that full answer feeling. I just don't always want to hear it.

Then theres dealing with the effects of others and ho you interact with them after they have treated you a certain way.

I know...none of these makes any sense to you all...but what do you expect...it's the ramblings of a crazy women...ME;)!

When all is said and done...I still don't have the answer to my question and my life is STILL complicated! GOT TO LOVE IT!!

So here I go again...UP & DOWN - BACK & FORTH! IT'S ALL GOOD!

Its time for the stress wagon to set in...

The Holiday shop is OVER...THANK GOODNESS!!! Like I said before...It was CRAZY! It made Black Friday seem mild. Those kid's were CRAZY!! TRUST ME...I saw it in their eyes!!! They were WILD EYES!! The kids wanted EVERYTHING!! And there was ONLY Teresa and me working ALL week (and due to an emergency for a while -just me)! It was a MAD HOUSE!

BUT because of the Holiday shop --- I LOST A WEEK -- A WHOLE WEEK!! Do you know how much a week is during the holidays...it's a life time!!

I'm so far behind! In fact other than shopping, I've gotten nothing done!! NO WRAPPING, NO BAKING, NO CLEANING, NO NOTHING!!!

And I only have part of this week left because I lost this weekend, cuz, well we took the kids to DISNEYLAND for Seth's 8th birthday! It was a BIG surprise for the kids! And what a better place to try and get into the Christmas holiday then at Disneyland! Did you know they make it snow there? We soooo LOVE Disneyland!! More on our trip another time, with pics!

But because of the trip, which I'm sooo glad we took, our family really needed it, I'm going to lose A LOT of time getting things ready for CHRISTMAS! So this next 4 days will be crazy. Plus today, Seth has an appointment in town at 1 and then there is Christmas lights tonight...then Wed we are going someplace, can't say where yet, cuz we are taking my mom and dad, and well, mom reads this and then she will know where we are going. She probably knows where already but, I'm not going to say just in case! But the Christmas Eve party is coming up and I have to be ready by then. So much to do, and so little time.

I'm starting to look like one of those crazy women runny around with wild hair and bulging eyes!! Well, I'll some how get it all done...I don't know how...STAY TUNE!

Hansen Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends, December 2009

We know we say this every year, but its true…it amazes us when Christmas comes around because we really can’t believe that another year has passed. BUT here we are at the end of 2009, with Christmas fast approaching. There is so much to get done with all the hustle & bustle of the season but we wanted to take a moment & pause to celebrate the birth of our Savior. This year has found our family a little stressed but as we look back we realized that we have been so blessed with His love & we wanted to express our gratefulness for the blessings we have received.

We hope that as you are reading this you & your family are well &in good spirits. DJ, Suzi & the kids, Cayla (17), Joshua (11) & Seth (7-8 on the 17th of this month) have kept ourselves sort of busy this past year. We are still out in Buckeye watching it grow everyday. Like we said its been a busy but quiet year for the Hansen Family. The kids however, have kept us running from one place to another.

In 2 weeks, Seth will turn eight. Its hard to believe that he has survived this long without some major incident happening…you know, like mom trading him in for a nice quiet chinchilla...just joking (maybe). Really, he is a very loving, but very talkative child, he NEVER stops, EVER! But we love him! Next month he’ll get baptized for our church. He’s really looking forward to that. He’s also getting ready for Cub Scouts, which he is SO excited about. He’s been watching his big brother do it for 4 years now & he can’t wait. He’s working hard in 2nd grade, where he has his own little group of friends…most of which are girls, they adore him (it’s that smile)! They want to play anything he plays…even if its Indian Jones or Batman, the girls will do it, if Seth says so. It’s so fun to sit back and have him read books to us now, its kind of cute watching him sound out words. He’s still working hard on his speech & trying to stay out of trouble (that’s a hard one).

Joshua is our funny child. He’s such a cute kid. But he’s tricky. He has you thinking he’s such a quiet & shy kid & then BAM!! He shows his wild & crazy side. This year he has had a lot of changes in his life. He moved up from cub scouts into 11 yr old scouts & he is loving it. Right as he was moving into scouts he received his Arrow of Light which is a big thing in cub scouts. His first scout campout, Josh had so much fun~they got poured on (who would of thought it would rain in AZ)! He thought it was GREAT!! 6th grades going pretty go so far for him. He’s starting to come out of his comfort zone (alittle). He’s playing football & basketball & my shy kid has joined student council. This requires him to talk in front of others…kind of a hard thing for him to be center stage. Oh & he was asked to join Jr. National Honor Society this year. He’s been such a help to his mom when it comes to helping with Seth & things with School. We think he’s a pretty good kid.

Now for the busiest of our three, Cayla. She’s still juggling EVERYTHING in life! How she manages, I really don’t know. Her Senor year has proven to be busiest year. She’s balancing cheer, dance, school, NHS, Pom, student council, church, trying to find a college, family, lots more, & oh yes, can’t forget BOYS, BOYS, BOYS. At the end of her Jr. year she ended up attended 3 Proms, good thing we had 3 prom dress’(we love a good sale). This year Cayla was elected to the Homecoming court and ended up coming in as first runner up, Homecoming Princess. Cayla is still actively involved in her dancing & this year she has done so much singing for our church. She really does have a beautiful voice. She is working on her second YW’s medallion & should have it by Feb 2010. We really don’t know how she manages all of this & maintains a 4.4 grade point average, but she does. She is her biggest critic; if she doesn’t feel like she has given her all at something then she is the hardest on herself than anyone else is. That’s a hard thing at such a young age. She continues to be a help to her teachers, friends & family. She can be such a good example to us all with the amount of love she gives to others.

Suzi is working on keeping the family together. Keeping everyone’s schedule straight gets a little hard sometimes. This year Suzi’s spent most of her free time at the boy’s school working with the PTSA, where she serves as Vice President & Treasure. This really keeps her busy. She enjoys being at the school with the boy’s & having an active involvement in their lives. She continues to serve as Laural (16-17 yr old girls) teacher at church. Cayla enjoys this cuz she gets to have her mom as her teacher. We are grateful for all the balancing acts Suzi does for our family and we love her for it.

DJ is starting his Christmas off with an early gift, he just received word this week that he was made the 1st sergeant of his military unit. This made his year! He’s been keeping life busy between family, church, work & guard. He still enjoys teaching the Gospel Doctrine class at church. He kind of got depressed this year cuz he didn’t get drawn for elk hunting which ended up being a good thing, according to Suzi, because during the summer he hurt his knee & last month ended up having knee surgery. So it all worked out & there is always next year. We’re just grateful the surgery went well.

From our house to yours we hope you have a Merry Christmas and May your New Year be Fun and Happy!
All Our love,
DJ, Suzi, Cayla, Joshua and Seth Hansen

Ok~Ok...

I know~I know...Don't get on me like ugly on a frog!! I've been a SLACKER...AGAIN!! No surprise there~RIGHT!

But what can I say~Life's been~well~NO I WON'T SAY IT... we all have crazy busy lives, so I wont use that excuse... so let's just say life's been life, according to my definition of life!

BUT...I will say I SURVIVED BLACK FRIDAY!!! With all the insaneness and wildness (yes that would be my life, not just black Friday), I managed to get 90% of my shopping done!! (I'm so awesome if I do say so myself...now Suzi get off your cloud!)

The day was HILARIOUSLY INSANE if I do say so, and I do! The sales weren't really all that if you ask me! It was what I did and who I did it with that made it a FUN day/night! (yes that was the word night in there).

Thanksgiving Day...we spent it at my moms this year instead of home or at Disneyland (yes we go there a lot on Thanksgiving, its so fun) or at Kim's, cuz, you see my grandpa's in the hospital. We all needed to stay close so we could go back and forth that day. More on that another time, maybe....

So Teresa, my friend (yes I really have one, mom :))~I've talked about her before...anywho, we decided to be a little shall we say mentally ill. We went out Thanksgiving night at 11:35 pm! Yes, that wasn't 4:30 am like most sane Black Friday shoppers, that was 11:35 pm, the night before. Other than the first store we went to, where we had an hour & half wait, the rest of the stores we had NO~ yes NO wait ~ in and out in just a few minutes! We did decide that the mall was not worth going to! That's where we had the long wait! After we left the store and started walking around we were laughing at all the people in some of the lines that went the length of the mall (sorry if that was you). Then, as we were leaving Old Navy at around 3:30~4, we were laughing at the people at Best Buy camping out at their doors in Tents with little grills to keep warm! It was so funny (again if that was you sorry, and I know my laughing is going to come back and bit me in the darreair~it always does), but we were in and out with all our stuff with in 20 to 30 minutes, come on is that shopping or what!

At JC Penny's we had to have one of the guys help us out with our stuff & when he got to Teresa's truck he started laughing. Can you believe that...he laughed at all the stuff we had. Teresa had to buy for a lot of family. When we went to Target a guy was pushing in carts, looked at the back and just walked away laughing at the back of our truck!

Teresa and I got home around 11 or so still full of energy and then I turned around and left again with DJ and didn't get home till 5:30 or so. We went out looking for things for Cayla, came back empty handed! I hate shopping for her!

The two bad things out of all that is...I still have NO idea what to get Cayla other than clothes~ugh! And now I have to wrap the gifts! Stupid Teresa already has hers wrapped!!

LET'S REVIEW BLACK FRIDAY...

~The deals this year were SO-SO (at least I thought so)

~Got 90% of my Christmas shopping done~yeah me!

~Teresa & I had a BLAST!

~Sleep is SO over RATED!! You should try going a few days with out it!

OH and GUESS WHAT...

CHRISTMAS is COMING!!!!

Poor~Poor~Poor Cayla...

You got to really feel for the kid...NOT!!!

When the poutty lip comes out and the sad, sad eyes and then the "it's not right, it's just not right!"

WHY...You ask? Well, I'll tell you...

See Cayla has a few friends that, well, will text me and ask me questions, or that I'll text and ask questions (What can I say...I'm a cool mom...hey don't laugh...let me live in my own little world and think my own little thoughts, ok!). Now I'm sure there are some of you moms out there with teens that do that. Now, it just so happens that some of our conversations will go on and on and on for a while and maybe those conversations will be about...well I don't know...about Cayla...just maybe... and maybe, she happens to be sitting right in the same room with me or with the friends at the time...and maybe, just maybe neither one of us will tell her what were text. I'm just saying MAYBE!

OH BUT DON'T FEEL SORRY FOR THE EVIL CHILD!!! Yes, I said EVIL. That poutty lip will change, the whinny and complaining will change and the EVIL EYES come out...the STARE STARTS. She will walk around and JUST LOOK into your eyes... You moms KNOW what I'm talking about...BUT NO...SHES EVEN MORE EVIL...SHE ATTACKS...THAT'S RIGHT...YOUR READ IT HERE and YOU READ IT RIGHT...she went after me around the kitchen table (after the cell phone...it might of been cuz I said do you want to read what we've been texting...oops, I deleted it...ha ha ha) and I'm not ashamed to say I ran to DJ and hide, but then...she came after me!!! That little pill, how dare she and started to try and tickle me and take the cell phone. DJ had to protect me. What a hubby he is!!!

All this cuz I text Geoff about his new dogs name (which I wanted him to name Cayla's nick giggles and he said NO WAY...You can't have two weird crazy females name giggles :))... and about whatever else we could think of about Cayla (heheheheheheheheheheheheh)...and it just went on for a long time...WE JUST DID IT TO BUG CAYLA...CUZ WE CAN! ;) LUV YOU BABY GIRL!!!

Where or where is my PURSE...

I really miss carrying my purse right now...

You see ONLY 2 DAYS TIL THE CARNIVAL
...WOW...CAN'T BELIEVE THAT...

I have to carry so much junk...oh WAIT...it's not JUNK...it's important PTSA stuff (right Teresa)...that it wont fit into my purse so I have to carry a bag, a big bag full of everything, papers, money, checks, notes, documents, things you write with, gum, water, t-shirts, tape, calculators, EVERYTHING under the sun...HECK IF YOU LOOK, I BET THE KITCHEN SINK IS IN THERE SOMEWHERE...I WANT MY PURSE!!!

I keep forgetting stuff...example yesterday...What did I forget...my drivers license so I couldn't cash one of the checks we needed to write for PTSA cuz I don't have my Lic number memorize...come on, what more do you want...thats too much for my head to remember~numbers!!! REALLY...if its not your socially security number~who has it memorized...obviously I DON'T!

Your killing me here people, just plain old killing me!!!