Happy Birthday Ryan!

Happy 1st Birthday Mikey!

*Adorable pictures all taken by my amazing sister Arianne!*

 

Mmmm, cake.

Lots of fun presents!

 I think the kids had more fun with the balloons from Great-Grandma and Great-Grandpa Pippin than they did with all the new toys..

Cousin Boston - priceless!

Halloween!

Justin was a pirate, Mikey was a lion, Joshua was a pumpkin, Maren was a blue fairy, Madison was the Little Mermaid, Jordan was a black dragon (with a long, stuffed tail), and I was a spider (sorry, I didn't get a picture of myself).  Madison insisted that she needed red hair in order to be Ariel, so we dyed her hair.  She absolutely loves it and is so sad that it will wash out within a week or two.

It rained for a while during trick-or-treating and we got soaked, but we still had lots of fun and the kids got tons of candy. 

Happy Halloween!

Well, we are finally moved and settled.  It has been a crazy, busy month! 

In the middle of packing up I made a wedding cake:

 

 It was lots of fun to make, even though the timing made it somewhat stressful.

A week after the wedding cake we moved!  It was crazy trying to decide what to take, what to store and what to get rid of.  It is amazing how much stuff we had accumulated, even though we had moved less than a year ago.  We ended up getting rid of a lot more stuff than we had originally intended because the truck we rented wasn't big enough.  Thank goodness the guys from our ward who helped us pack the truck were great at Tetris!  Jordan and Josh took turns riding in the truck with Justin - they thought it was a great adventure! 

The week after we moved was Boston's birthday.  Happy birthday Boston!!  He loves construction vehicles and had a construction themed party.  I got to make his cake!  It was so much fun being close enough to make his cake and attend his party.  We are looking forward to being able to attend all the family events this year!

Madison and Jordan are loving school!  They think it is great fun to attend the school where Mamah works.

Mikey got his first real haircut recently.  He didn't even look like the same kid when I was finished!

Before

 After

Madison got baptized last Saturday.  We are so proud of her decision to be baptized!  She looked so pretty in the gorgeous white dress from Mamah and Popi!  Almost all of my family was here, along with her Granny and Papa and Justin's sister, Michelle, who came all the way from the Denver area.  Granny and Papa gave her scriptures.  Madison kept saying, "Scriptures are so precious.  They are the best gift I've ever gotten."

Month in Review & BIG Changes

So, once again it's been a while since I have posted.  Lots has happened in the past month.  The biggest news is that Justin found a new job!  Yeah!  We are so excited (mostly)!  However, the job is in Salt Lake City, which means we will be moving to Utah in 2 1/2 weeks.  We will be living with my mom in Pleasant View for at least a few months while we get back on our feet.  We have mixed feelings about the move.  We are sad that we have to leave our friends here in Henderson, our amazing ward and our new home that we love.  But, we are excited for a promising new job, being closer (much, much closer...) to my family, and the opportunity for me to sell cakes.  Justin left on Sunday, started his job yesterday and will be back in 2 weeks to move us.  So here I am again, sorting through stuff and packing boxes and being a single mom of 4 for a few weeks (Luckily, Renea and Larry will be taking Josh and Jordan up to Panaca on Friday for a week or so, so that I can get more stuff done.  Thank you so much Renea!!).  And to top it all off, I agreed to make a 4-tier wedding cake next weekend.  Life is definitely crazy here!

Madison's 8th birthday is today.  Happy Birthday Mad!!  We went to the Shark Reef with Stacie and her kids to celebrate and then came home for pizza, cake (to see more pictures of her cake go here) and ice cream and presents.  The kids had a ton of fun!  It's hard to believe she is 8 years old already - it's amazing how fast kids grow up!  She is so excited to be baptized in a month.  She told me today now that she is 8 she is much more responsible and grown up.  She cracks me up!  She also wrote herself a birthday poem:  

My Birthday

by Madison Hansen

Today is my b-day,

I love my b-day.

Mom made a tinkerbell cake

but the tinkerbell on top is fake.

We bought ice cream.

It will make me scream!

Happy B-day!

 

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My 30th birthday was on Sunday.  Justin has been teasing me a lot lately that I am going to be old now.  But honestly it doesn't bother me (I'm pretty sure it bothers my mom though - love ya mom!).

We (the kids and I) spent most of July up visiting my mom and keeping an eye on Chris and Maren while my mom was at school everyday and Popi was at work.  We had a lot of fun going to the trout farm, going to parades, watching fireworks, going swimming, playing the wii, going to the movies and hanging out with the family.  The last week we were there we went up to Lava Hot Springs for a big family reunion.  Justin flew up to interview for a few jobs and then came with us.  We had a blast staying at the old schoolhouse inn, going swimming, tubing the river, roasting marshmallows, playing games and hanging out.  Thanks Mike and Mom for a fabulous trip!!

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While we were at Lava we celebrated Josh's 3rd birthday with a pinata (Thanks Arianne!), cake (with chocolate chips, a helicopter and a rainbow per the birthday boys request), ice cream and lots of presents.

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I am working on creating a new blog for my cakes: iceddelights.blogspot.com. Let me know what you think!

Michael is getting so big.  He will be 9 months old this weekend.  He is crawling everywhere, including up the stairs, pulling up and walking along everything, babbling constantly and eating everything in sight.  He thinks everything around him is hilarious and that sleeping through the night is optional.  He also doesn't have any teeth yet, although that doesn't stop him from eating!  This is a picture from the stake 24th of July activity - he LOVES watermelon!

Memorial Day at Granny and Papa's

We went to St. George over Memorial Day weekend to attend Justin's parents' sealing in the St. George Temple. They were sealed by Justin's Grandpa Banks, who also sealed us. It was such a neat experience! Congrats Larry and Renea!! We spent the rest of the weekend in Panaca with all of Justin's siblings and their spouses and all the nieces and nephews. On the way up to Panaca we stopped at the volcano just outside of St. George. Everyone except Renea, Emily and I (and the 4 kids under 3) climbed all the way to the top. We also celebrated Christopher's 15th birthday while we were there with a skateboard cake. The kids had a blast hanging out with their cousins and sleeping in a tent in Granny and Papa's backyard.

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Dance

Madison's End of Year Dance Review

She did a fabulous job!!

Preschool Graduation

Jordan graduated from preschool on May 14th. Granny and Papa were able to come down and attend, which made it extra special. We have some awesome video of him picking his nose during the program - good blackmail when he's a teenager, right? He is really excited to be going to kindergarten next year!

Wow! I have tons to catch up on since I last posted! Here's what you missed:

• I was released from the cub scouts and have a new calling as the 1st counselor in the Primary. I work with some amazing women and it is tons of fun!
• I started an Etsy shop. It doesn't have a lot in it yet, but I'm working on getting more things made and listed. Check it out at http://www.etsy.com/shop/LittleMonkeyStore
• Justin has been playing stake basketball and loving it!
• Justin is looking for a new job (if you know of anything let us know!)
  
• Jordan graduated from preschool (pics to follow)
• Madison had her end of year dance review (pics to follow)
• Madison finished up 2nd grade and received lots of awards (straight A's, perfect attendance, etc). She is looking forward to 3rd grade.
  
• We are trying to potty train Josh, only somewhat successfully
• I spoke in church. Justin was supposed to speak too, but I guess I got a little long-winded (I know, hard to believe, but true) and left him no time to speak.
• We took a trip to Panaca (pics to follow in another post)
  
• Michael is now 7 months! Where has the time gone? He is sitting up, scooting everywhere and will soon be crawling. He is also working (still) on cutting 4 teeth, which is so much fun!
• I am still teaching piano lessons and will (most likely) be getting 3-4 new students this next week.
  
• Justin, with the help of his dad, finally finished patching and texturing the hole in the bathroom wall where we removed the medicine cabinet. Now it is all painted and looks great!
  
• We (well, mostly Justin and his dad) cut out a wall so we have access to the dead space under our stairs. We will eventually put a door on it and use it as a food storage closet.

... and that's our lives in a nutshell!

Happy Mother's Day!!

I don't post much (Beth does most of that), but I wanted to thank all of the wonderful mother's in my life. I grew up with a great mom who took excellent care of me and my siblings and was super fun to be around. We learned the gospel in our home at her feet and we were encouraged to become our own people. I love you mom!! Happy Mother's Day!!

I have been blessed with a wonderful mother-in-law that I get along with famously. I tell her I won the in-law lottery because she is so wonderful and I feel like a natural part of the family. She raised such a wonderful daughter that I could never thank her enough for what that has done for my life. Thank you for your daughter!! You are wonderful!! Happy Mother's Day!!

My sisters are great mom's too but I don't have a lot of experience with them as mothers but their kids don't seem to be too messed up so that says something. They were wonderful sisters to grow up with and I love it when we have a chance to spend time together. Thank you for all you do. Happy Mother's Day!!

I have some wonderful sister's in law that are excellent examples of mothers as well. Your children are growing up wonderful as well. I don't express my love for you much but thank you for what you bring to my life. Happy Mother's Day!!

I grew up close to my aunt who was, in many ways, like a mother to me as well. Thank you, Aunt Carol, for being there and helping to raise me. I'm sure you don't get thanked for that much so for you too, Happy Mother's Day!!

Of course, grandmothers can't be forgotten either. They taught my parents how to be good parents. I love you and owe much to you too. Happy Mother's Day!!

Now, for the one closest to me: my wonderful wife.
She deserves the prize!! She has to put up with me, which really isn't easy. She takes care of our children and she is raising them as wonderful little people. She is amazing. I can't ever find the words to express what she means to me. I have tried writing poetry and songs but I don't ever feel like they say nearly enough. She is so wonderful and beautiful but she seems to not know it. How crazy is that? There are things I wish I could do better for her because she deserves the best and sometimes I feel like I am not giving that to her. She is the most wonderful woman I have ever met (sorry mom). Thank you for all that you do for me, Beth. You are wonderful and amazing. I am constantly in awe at you. I won the wife lottery too. I love you soooooooooooo much. Happy Mother's Day!!!!

Spring Break Fun

We spent the entire week of Spring Break up in Utah. Here are some of the highlights:

Visiting Grandpa and Grandma Banks:

It was great to see them. We also visited my Grandpa and Grandma Pippin and my Grandma Holladay (our kids have 5 living great-grandparents!), but unfortunately forgot to get pictures with them. Grandma Holladay was at my Aunt Joyce's house, so we got to see the whole Glen family too - so much fun to catch up!

Hogle Zoo:We had lots of fun at the zoo with Arianne, Dustin and Boston. Our favorite animals were the baby elephant, the giraffes and the huge gorilla that came right up to the glass!

Playing in the Snow at Mamah and Popi's:
Rather than stay in Sunny Southern Nevada, we decided to spend our spring break in the cold and snow. The kids, except Josh, loved playing in the snow (although it did take lots of convincing to get them out there). Even Mamah got in on the snowball action! Josh was extremely upset about getting snow on his boots and then had a complete meltdown when he fell off the sled face first into the snow.

Easter:
Coloring Eggs... Easter Egg Hunts... A Visit From the Easter Bunny...
One Big Sugar High

When we got home we discovered one of our (dead) cypress trees had blown over in a wind storm while we were gone. Luckily nothing was damaged by it.
Jordan had a lot of fun helping Justin clean the mess up. We have a couple more cypress trees that are dead and are definitely going to be taking them out soon so they don't get blown over too.Also this month: Michael's 1st Food - oatmeal cereal. Yummy!

Baptism

Just wanted to let everyone know that

Madison's Baptism will be

September 4th at 5:00.

We'd love to have you join us!

Pictures

We got pictures taken of the kids on Saturday. Here are some of our favorites:

New Car!

We have a new car! Yippee!!

I flew up to Utah about a week and a half ago to get it (cars are lots cheaper up there). Arianne, my amazing sis, took a break from glazing all the cabinets in her house to pick me up and drive me all over creation to test drive cars. We hit a bit of a snag, but after some amazing problem-solving by my mom and sis, we were able to work things out and buy a van. It is still a little weird to be driving a minivan (all my siblings and a lot of our friends seem to think it is hilarious that we gave in and got a minivan after being so emphatic about never driving one), but it is so nice to be able to go places as a whole family. The kids love it too!

Even though it was a little stressful, it turned out to be a really fun trip. I got to spend time with Arianne and Dustin and their adorable little boy, Boston. I also got to see my brother Daniel, my mom, my brother Ryan, my Grandma Holladay and my sister Rachelle.

It was almost 70 degrees here today...
and yesterday...
and the day before.

I love Las Vegas this time of year!

January Chaos

Wow! I am way behind on blogging! I keep thinking life is going to calm down a little, but it never seems to. Maybe that's just life with 4 kids - constant chaos.

We started out the month with a New Year's Party at our house. We invited a bunch of friends to come see our house and have fun and yummy food with us. It was great hanging out and celebrating the new year with everyone. Madison and Jordan actually stayed awake until midnight with us!

Madison started at her new school and loves it. She has a great teacher and is making lots of new friends. Her new school is only about a 1/2 mile from our house, so we walk to pick her up at least a couple times a week (loving the Vegas weather!).

Jordan turned 5 this month. We celebrated with a surprise visit from Mamah (Popi was in town for work and she decided to come down too), a birthday dinner at Applebee's and then presents and cake and ice cream back at home. He chose a blueberry cake with blueberry cream cheese filling and marshmallow buttercream, all covered in marshmallow fondant and served with mint chocolate ice cream - a fabulous combination! He loves dinosaurs these days, wanting to be a paleontologist when he grows up, so he wanted a dinosaur cake (and it had to be orange and blue, just like Buddy from Dinosaur Train). Jordan really enjoyed spending his birthday with Mamah and Popi! On Saturday, rather than have a party with his friends, he opted to go see the dinosaur exhibit at the Natural History Museum. We also got to see lots of cool animals (stuffed), live snakes, lizards, frogs, fish, sharks, and sting rays. We even got to watch them feed the sharks!We've been busy doing lots of little projects around the house, including painting the downstairs bath and Madison's room. Hopefully we will get the boys' room painted soon, too.

Awesome gold color that my mom and sister helped pick out. It took 3 coats of paint!

Perfect little girls room - cotton candy pink!

Last week Jordan (and later, Josh) got the flu. Justin was wonderful and got up with him in the middle of the night and then changed his puked-upon sheets and started a load of laundry. The next morning we went to throw the load in the dryer and discovered the laundry room floor covered in liquid laundry soap. The brand new (Costco-size) bottle of laundry soap must have fallen off the top of the washing machine, breaking open and completely emptying all over the floor. It took me over 4 hours to clean it up, scooping up as much as I could salvage and mopping the rest of it up with towels and then finally the mop! I was so sore the next day I could barely walk!

We are down to one car right now, which is really frustrating. We outgrew our Santa Fe when Michael was born, but put off buying a van so we didn't mess up our house loan. We took two cars everywhere for a while, but finally sold my car a few weeks ago. We figured it would be no big deal to get a loan to buy a car since we have (or had) great credit and a decent down-payment. Unfortunately, when we applied for loan we discovered that due to our mail not being forwarded (FINALLY got that fixed after 2 phone calls plus a visit to the post office), we didn't receive (thus, didn't pay) our final internet bill and it got sent to collections. Big sigh... so much for almost perfect credit. So now we are trying to get things sorted out with the credit bureaus, which could take several months, and trying to get by with only one car. We have rented a car a few times so that we can go places as a family (like church) and Justin has been trying to work from home a lot so I can take Jordan to preschool and Madison to dance. It is amazing that one $50 bill can affect one's credit so drastically. Hopefully it will all get sorted out soon and we will be able to buy a van.

Michael is getting big. He is smiling and laughing and starting to interact more. He loves to watch his crazy siblings and all their antics. He has also discovered his hands, sucking on them constantly and starting to reach for things.