1 is FuN!

My Baby is 1 today! Here are a few things I love about my Mallory:
*I love that I can hear her babbling happily to herself in her crib in the morning

*I love (that until a few weeks ago) she is content to just sit and play with toys

*I love her easy going temperment


* I love the dimple on the right side of her face when she smiles

* I love that she has only two teeth, a little bit of hair and is only now starting to "crawl"...because she doesn't seem too grown up yet
*I love her innocent face

* I love her new tricks: clapping, trying to learn to crawl...doing her "push ups" and dragging her one leg around like it's broken :)
* I love her nicknames: Mal Jane, Miss Mal, Mit Mal




HaPpY BiRtHdAy MaLlOrY JaNe!!

A Father's Love

I have lots of memories of my Dad that I could share but this was one memory that really has stuck with me and I thought I would share it on Father’s Day as a tribute to my Dad.

It was my senior year during basketball tryouts. Tryouts were the last two or three days of basketball conditioning and I was feeling a lot of pressure this year. I had made the team the previous three years on hardwork and hussle but that year I wasn't sure if that would be enough to get me on the team. I ran faster, worked , and made my rebounds picture perfect.

My sister Heidi who was a sophomore was trying out as well. We were running some scrimmage games and during one of the mixed games I came down with a rebound with my elbows out and and hit my sister in the nose.

I heard it crack and I knew it was broken! I dropped to my knees with my hand over my face so everyone thought I was hurt and came to see if I was okay. I told them “I broke her nose!” I started to cry and my coach sent me to the team room to call my parents. So I called my mom and through sobs told her “I broke Heidi’s nose!”

I wasn’t the nicest sister so even though breaking her nose was purely accidental, I felt a lot of guilt!

My parents took her up to the hospital and when they got home it was time for my Volleyball Awards Night. After the season the team uses a secret ballot to vote on things like “best leader, best hitter, best defensive player, best hussle, etc.” Usually the seniors win a number of the awards and most of the seniors did…but not me! For all my effort through the whole season I didn’t win a single award!

I was devastated! It was the worse day ever!

I got no recognition from a team I had devoted 4 years of practice and play to. I was working so hard to be on a team that I wasn’t sure I wanted to be on. I broke the nose of a sister who I was already not-so-nice to, adding to my parents bills and giving my sisters a possible crooked nose!

I came home, went to my room, and cried myself to sleep!

When I woke up in the morning I found this on my dresser:

It is a piece of cardboard with jagged edges (I think he cut it out with a knife :)) and the letters are written with a red sharpie in my Dad’s squiggly writing, but it says:

“An Award to Michelle Hansen”

Best Daughter, Best Smile,

Biggest Heart, Most Thoughtful,

Best looking, Most Spiritual,

*The Best Player on the Team,

Love ya, Dad

It’s those simple everyday acts that make a daughter feel special and right then I knew my dad loved me!

I don’t know if I thanked my dad or what happened next but I still have my award and every time I look at it I feel my Dad’s love for me!

I love you Dad! Thanks for your love, support and kindness through the years! Happy Father's Day!

FINISHED

About a year ago my husband, dad, and brother bought a lot in Garden City (Bear Lake) and began building a cabin. Almost every weekend for a whole year they would go up and work for 2 days straight. Needless to say that last summer was hard and not very fun for them and us moms at home with the little ones. They did 90% of the work themselves. Everything from pouring the foundation to framing. They poured the concrete countertops themselves and welded the metal railings. My brilliant husband put in a geothermal heating system and did all the electrical himself (the inspector commented that he had never seen a system done so well and asked who the "electrician" was). So after months of blood, sweat, and tears we have a gorgeous cabin!
We are so thankful to them and look forward to many, many years of wonderful memories up at the Cabin!

You can go to this website to see the final pictures!
www.bearlakegetaways.com

My husband is also working on another website that chronicles all the steps they went through to "build their own cabin." I will post about it when it is finished!

P.S. To all my friends out-of-state...if this doesn't get you to come visit me, I don't know what will! :)

Oregon, Here We Come

After Kylie's preschool graduation we packed up the car and headed to Oregon. Kody's parents live in Vale and it had been a year and a half since we had been up there. These smiles are BEFORE the eight hour drive but they all did great, especially Mallory who loved facing forward and watching movies with her sisters!

When we arrived we were greeted by some newborn kittens
My girls had never held kittens before (deprived I know) but caught on fast.
Then it was on to see the newborn puppies.
A quick stop by the outhouse...
Kylie's face says it all!
And a look at what's left of the tree house daddy built as a boy. In it's day it had many stories, solar panels, and a pulley system.
The girls loved cooking with grandma!
As well as hugging...
and teasing grandpa!
We went bowling!
Aren't these shoes so cute...
much better than this crazy face!
We managed to knock down a few pins!


After that was pizza at Pizza Hut. The next day we ate at Carl's Jr. and went swimming...but forgot the camera.
Our favorite part of the trip was when grandma brought out a box of daddy's things from when he was younger.
Like his "Fred Flintstone" Sippy!


And a picture of the famous tree house is it's glory days!

Kindergarten Graduation

Kylie had her kindergarten graduation the first week of June! This has been a great year for her. Her teacher Mrs. Jessee is a great veteran teacher. Very organized, kind, and even tempered.
Their program was so cute. Mrs. Jessee played the guitar while the kids sang about going on a bear hunt, having peanut butter on their underwear,



And being kind to alligators!Kylie was so lucky to have so many wonderful friends in her class including her friend Brinley!
Kylie will miss Mrs. Jessee but is excited to move onto 1st grade!

A Window!

Three years ago I bought this book. I imagined what it would be like to have Kylie loose a tooth, read her this story and put her tooth in the cute purple velvet bag.

Well this month it finally happened. Kylie had a tooth that was very wiggly. So wiggly that it hurt every time she ate. She begged me to pull it out. I declined. So when dad got home he did the job. She was SO brave...didn't even flinch or cry.




It left a cute window in her adorable smile!

She was so excited to read her book, put her tooth under her pillow, and go to sleep.
We almost met with disaster when mom realized she had in fact NOT read the whole book before and the book says the tooth fairy replaces the tooth with a "gold coin." Lucky for the "tooth fairy" she had a couple of "gold" dollar coins! :)

The BIG 3-0

So I turned 30 in April...it wasn't a big deal...in fact it was one of my favorite birthdays. My dad brought me these


My husband took me here for three different kinds of sushi


And my present was the best


For me 30 is just the beginning. I feel like the past 10 years have been filled with working, school, and kids. We are ready as a family to take some great vacations and as selfish as it sounds, I am ready to have more "me time."
So for me 30 is the beginning of some great times ahead!