Happy Hansenoween

Also, I couldn't resist making this

Have a Happy Halloween & Feliz dia de los muertos!

Time for little things

I've taken seriously the role of providing meals to our family. I'm not perfect yet in any way, but we have food on the table at dinner time and I usually know what its going to be before Oliver gets home from work. Instead of what we'd fall back on in Provo-"what do you want for dinner?" "I don't know." "Let's go to the cafeteria." I've been enjoying making dinner for the most part and have a lot of days where I've been impressed by our meal. Like the lemon chicken mashed potatoes and corn on the cob the other night-sure Evan & Ryan ate chicken nuggets, but we're getting there. Or homemade pizza crust. Or the yummy pasta I made with homemade alfredo sauce. Not extremely healthy, but its feeding us and like I said, we're getting there.

I finally created a wreath for our door. I've always wanted to have such festive things. Ryan and I had a little craft morning while Evan was at school. And we watched Halloween shows on youtube. 

I should have thought about the fact that our front door is white...

Another Year Older

Evan's birthday came and was a wonderful day. The night before I hung green streamers from his bedroom door. He wasn't overly impressed by them,  but when Ryan woke up we had this short conversation:
Ryan-what are those green things?
Mom-IT'S EVAN'S BIRTHDAY!
Ryan-Oh, they're for Evan's birthday? That's a good idea!

I made him this shirt.

A story shared with me by his para(aide) at school when I picked him up:
Evan broke free as we were walking through the halls and ran straight into a 5th grade classroom. I ran in after him and the teacher said: "Look what his shirt says!" So as his aide held his hand, he looked around and smiled as the whole class sang Happy Birthday to him.
At home, we played and relaxed. Beth came down from Logan to spend time with us.

Daddy came home with 6 balloons for him.
5 of them popped within a few hours.
We made pizzas for dinner. Had chocolate zucchini cake and vanilla ice cream and then opened presents. New shoes, new shirts, a toy that he seems to really enjoy, a vibrating toothbrush, and some popups that he thought were hilarious!

Six years ago as we left the house to go to the hospital, it started to snow. This year it decided to snow too. Neither days did the snow stick around for awhile, but it was a nice memory for us.

Evan has been doing really well. He's growing and learning and still a joy to be around. I love that he is so loving and such a people person. He has a concept of things that are "his". He has claimed a very specific pillow and blanket. It is rather endearing.

He was snuggling the blanket right before I took this on our road trip last weekend. 

 We love him very much. We're so thankful for the chance to celebrate him and his life.

Una Vacacion Grande

As the school district's fall break started getting closer, Oliver really wanted to do something or go somewhere. For the last few years, the Grand Canyon has always been mentioned but never taken seriously. Even though Oliver's sister has usually been involved in the planning or thought process of visiting the Grand Canyon, we decided now was the time even though she couldn't come.

What a beautiful trip of sunshiny weather and exciting landscape. Oliver and I really enjoy taking the road less traveled. Or at least going on routes we've never taken before. We enjoy seeing new things, learning new things, and more than anything else, we LOVE to be together. And we got a lot of all of those things this weekend.

Wednesday afternoon after school was over, we started our road trip south toward Delta, UT. It was a route I hadn't taken before, but Oliver has traveled so much with different birding trips or mountain hiking that most of that route was familiar to him. It was a nice calm drive and I'm always happy about driving on less crowded roads. After a quick dinner in Delta, we continued down to Panguitch, UT. As we wound through the canyon to Panguitch after dark, you could see the Milky Way shining down. It was beautiful. The little motel we stayed at was nice, but the night didn't go so well as Evan woke up at 3am and wouldn't fall back asleep. Oliver finally took him for a drive.As he started driving, he didn't want to go the way we would be driving tomorrow, so he found his way to Panguitch Lakes and then to Brian Head-the Iron County highpoint. He said that it was so cold- but you can drive almost to the top and then he got out and ran the 100 yards or so to the marker. He went so early in the morning that the sun wasn't up yet and the moon had already set. I can only imagine how beautiful it was.

After he got back and we all got up for the day for real, we continued south on Route 89. We stopped in Glendale at a rest stop next to an orchard. Oliver was birdchasing and the boys were glad to run around for a little bit.

Our next stop was the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park.

Definitely a fun place in my opinion. I think Ryan and I could have stayed and played for much longer than we did.

It was fun to travel south and to see the changing landscape. A short drive away from the sand dunes is Kanab, UT, where we stopped for a pizza buffet lunch. Then with three sleeping boys, I drove us across the border into Arizona and over the Glen Canyon Dam. We made it into Flagstaff, AZ, and picked a hotel to see if they had any openings(before leaving, we couldn't decide on a place so we just started driving and figured we'd get lucky). 

Friday, our only plan was to go to the Grand Canyon. So we did. I don't know what words to share. There's a pamphlet or maybe its on the national park website that says this is an awe-inspiring wonder of the world. And it is. Its like nothing you've ever seen before. Yes, the rocks and the formations are similar to some of the other parks in southern Utah, but it is vast. I am continually intrigued by the fact that this giant chasm can't be seen until you get right up next to it because it is surrounded by trees. Our first glimpse of it was at Mather Point which is just north of the main visitors center on the South Rim.

There was a woman painting the canyon as we went on our walk. I thought that was pretty cool. 

It was kind of as I expected-crowded, railings, awesome view. What I wasn't expecting was to walk along the Rim Trail and find multiple spots close to the edge with no railing at all. I loved it. I think there's something about not having that restriction to make it a little more real.

This is a picture taken as he was trying to pull away from me while standing on the edge of the canyon...he wants to give me a heart attack I just know it. :)

Proof that Evan was here too! And Safely strapped into the stroller next to the open edge.

We almost had to cut our Grand Canyon journey short due to a massive diaper blowout, but again, we got extremely lucky. I had to laugh at Ryan a little. We had been enjoying the scenery  and then had to return to the van to take care of Evan. Ryan found the "cramera" (Oliver's smart phone without the phone part) and then still had it as we headed back to the visitors center to decide where to go next. It was interesting to me that amid the many people we were surrounded by, Ryan was the only one with some sort of device to distract him. Sure there were cell phones and cameras out and about, but people were engaged in either their company or the surroundings. Ryan actually stood out a bit with his little game device. Oliver decided that we should go to the east end of the canyon to see the sunset so we drove that way. We stopped at Lipan Point which I thought was just as amazing, if not more so, than looking at the more visited Mather Point.

We continued on to Desert View for the actual setting of the sun and then drove through the remote and dark roads back to our hotel. 

Saturday, we drove just north of Flagstaff to the Snowbowl. Oliver decided he wanted to hike the Arizona State highpoint. The trail starts at this ski resort. We all got out and hiked together for the first half mile before Evan, Ryan and I said good bye and good luck to Daddy and turned around to find something else to do for the afternoon.

He had walked most of the way and then got tired. He was SO happy when he finally got on Oliver's shoulders.

This was the only way we were going to make it back to the van.

Oliver's hike to Humphrey's Peak was pretty uneventful(hooray!) and when he reached the top it was cold and windy.

I decided to go back down to Flagstaff and walk around the "historic downtown" area. As we had driven through it earlier that day to get to the mountain, we witnessed the lovely effects of a regular college town enjoying "Tequila Sunrise". Luckily, by the time we were walking around, that wasn't happening anymore. We found the visitors center inside the Train Depot and I learned a little bit about Route 66. We found a train. I thoroughly enjoyed walking along the small but busy streets. We found a candy shop-okay, I saw it on the map and decided that out of all the shops and places that I could venture inside, this might be the only one worth doing so. Then we just started walking around. Well, I walked, the boys rode.

We found our way to the campus of Northern Arizona University. I kind of liked it. While on the campus, Daddy called to say that he'd made it to the top and would probably make it back down in 2 hours.

 So we wound our way back to the van and found a park to play at before we HAD to leave for the trailhead. It was a beautiful drive up the mountain as the sun was setting and it was fun to see the people up there just to watch it set.

We finally got our Daddy back from the mountain and then had to decide what to do next. We could find another hotel in Flagstaff and then have to drive 10+ hours home the next day, we could drive north a few hours until we found another hotel, we could just drive and see how far we could make it, or we could head west and crash at Oliver's grandma's house in Vegas. We called Grandma who was home and more than willing to let us stay with her. I'm so glad we opted for that. Not only were we able to have at least one free night of room and board(she fed us breakfast and an awesome lunch) but it was so nice to just spend time with her. Then on the road again with no more detours and we finally got home just after bedtime.

A crazy trip, but one that I loved.
Random facts: Kanab, UT, is almost directly south of Granstville, UT. Route 66 was never one actual road but was just the way to get from Chicago to California through a variety of already built roads. We want to go back and explore more. We'd love to explore more of the Grand Canyon itself-hike down into if possible or I think it'd be fun to go find the glass walkway or rent bikes and bike along the rim trails. Oliver would like to explore Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and the Meteor Crater site near Winslow, Arizona. Evan loved having his family together for four days straight. He was so huggy and lovey on Sunday. I'm sure I could keep writing, but I don't think I should. Hooray for family adventures.

Hearts will Turn

At the end of September, the Brigham City Utah Temple was dedicated. Instead of regular Sunday meetings, the dedication sessions were broadcast across the state (I don't know how far spread it was). Since there were multiple sessions, I was able to attend one while Oliver watched the boys and he attended while I watched the boys. One of the things that really hit me strong was a comment of how things happen in duos. The gift of the Holy Ghost is given in conjunction with being baptized. In turn, attending the temple has a counterpart. If you are not participating in working on your family history, then you aren't getting the full blessings of participating in temple work. They go hand in hand and if you are only doing one then you are missing out on something.
After hearing that, I felt strongly that I should begin focusing on doing family history myself. The following week at our new ward, they announced a family history class would be starting that day during the Sunday School hour. Oliver and I looked at each other and knew we would be going. Both of our mothers have worked diligently on family history so we aren't starting from scratch, but at the same time, it feels like we have no idea where to start. During that first class I had a thought of what I could contribute to family history. The teacher mentioned gathering your own files in your own home that no else has copies of-marriage certificate, birth certificates of children, any sort of certificate that you have in your home. Find them, scan them, and save them on your computer. They talked alot about keeping things on the computer and creating multiple backups. I had several thoughts that day from why is it important for me to do family history, to where to start and then finally I thought perhaps something I can contribute would be to create Evan's legacy since he won't have children of his own, I want Ryan's children, grandchildren, etc. to know who Evan is.
Last week during General Conference, Elder Richard G. Scott spoke about something similar as was spoken   during the temple dedication. He said: Any work you do in the temple is time well spent, but receiving ordinances vicariously for one of your own ancestors will make the time in the temple more sacred, and even greater blessings will be received. He also shared the following quote that I felt was very wise: Set aside those things in your life that don’t really matter. Decide to do something that will have eternal consequences.  
I thought this was great reiteration to me of how I should truly be focusing more on this important aspect of the gospel. I've already had a Family Home Evening with Ryan where we wrote his grandparents as well as all of his cousins and aunts. I've pulled out the binders of information given to us by my mom, Oliver's mom, and Oliver's Grandma.
Little do I know of the Lord's plans. Yesterday, a member of the bishopric came over to our home and he asked Oliver and I if we would accept the calling of family history consultants. Haha!!
So we really will be delving further into family history than we ever have before. We were set apart this afternoon and with that came a blessing to me that I would love this important work. I believe I will. I hope that I can remember during the week to set aside the things that don't really matter and I am going to begin praying that I will find things that have eternal consequences. I hope you can too.

Happy October!

September ended with Evan losing a tooth. A gentle reminder that Evan will continue to grow and age and there's nothing I can do about it.
Oliver heard about a Baltimore Oriole close by(not a bird normally found in Utah) and went to find it. He did find it! But it wouldn't let him take his picture. So instead, he took this shot of the lake in Stansbury Park.

 Ryan and I painted pumpkins this week. His is very beautiful. But it also reminds me of an Easter Egg hiding in the grass.

 This weekend has been General Conference. The semi-annual meeting is a time for the leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to address the world with messages about the gospel and with inspiration received from the Lord for us. It was a definite renewal for me. On Saturday we watched it on the internet. Since we watch it from home, food is definitely a part of the "conference weekend." We made orange rolls for breakfast and for dinner had cheesy potatoes and corn on the cob. Ryan and I made ghosts in between sessions.

 Then we hung them on the tree outside.

 Today I made a breakfast casserole, that was delicious. During the last session of conference, Ryan and I played Apostle memory and made witches hats. 

After the sessions, were over this evening, we went for a short drive in hopes of getting to a canyon. We didn't, but we did get a nice view of the valley. This is a shot of Granstville looking back east from the west side of the valley. The long street you see heading east is Main St.
Its been a great week so far and we are enjoying the fall with all of its traditions and lovely weather.