A Day with Grandpa

Today was the day we have been waiting for for so long, it was a day spent outside!!! It finally warmed up enough to take the boys out and let them roll, run, and eat snow. They had a ball!! Tallon was able to spend the night with Grandpa and went prepared to do some snowmobiling and coyote hunting. Tyler and I bundled up the twins and went down this morning to join them. Tallon was wet and cold by the time the brothers and I made it out, so off to the house for some hot coco and a warm fire he went. The twins, cousin Clancy and I were able to go coasting for about an hour before the cold hit us. Orrin really came out of his shell, which was so much fun. He squealed and laughed and giggled, which is rare for him. He is my sober child and it was a delight to hear how much fun he was having. Vivin is always full of enjoyment and coasting fit him to a tee. Once we got off the hill, the twins were not about to go in the house, so Grandpa took them for a tour of the barnyard. They saw the baby pups and calves, and were so happy to be out.




Tyler finally had to make the boys come in. A pig stick would have come in real handy at this point. He would steer one twin just to have the other sneak back to play with the animals. It was to funny to watch. He finally had to pick them up and pack them to the house. The whole time they were both just a bawling.

It was truly a wonderful day. I am so thankful the boys are healthy and big enough this year to enjoy the outdoors. A little bit of sunshine can go a long way and we were in desperate need of some. The best part of winter is finally having it warm up enough to enjoy its beauty and fun. I am really looking forward to the warm days ahead.

100 Days!!

One would think that after 100 days of doing something that thing would become a habit! Well I am here to tell ya that this morning was just as crazy as the first day of school, if not more. I cannot believe that we have done 100 days of school!!


What is the difference in the two pictures you ask? Isn't it obvious, He is 100 days smarter!!












Congrats to Tallon for making it this far! I am just amazed at what they learn in Kindergarten. Tallon reads, writes, tells time, is writing stories, is learning money, and is doing math!! I hope the next 100 days go by just as fast. Hopefully then school will be out and we will have our lives back.

2 of the BEST

I have many treasures that I love and cherish. 2 of the greatest are my friends. We have shared a friendship for about 16 years (wow that makes us sound old!!), have went our own ways, but still find ourselves very close in life. One of the greatest qualities that we share is our funniness!! We have laughed and laughed and laughed at nothing more than ourselves, and still find ourselves very funny. We call ourselves Clever (just for a smile and to make our husbands roll their eyes)and try to stay up on each others lives as much as possible, in this part blogs have helped tremendously. We have had babies together, got married within months of each other, and live no more than a 10 min drive away. Yes I am truly blessed. Yesterday I got a surprise visit from one of my ladies. It seems as if Clever 1 called Clever 2 and told her that Clever 3 had sick kids. Well it didn't take long for Clever 2 to bring poor old sick Clever 3 some of the most delicious rolls and homemade strawberry jam in the world. If there has ever been a good thing about being sick, this ranks right up there (next to getting to stay in your pj's all day). I was going to take a picture but they didn't make it that long. Now that I am thinking about it maybe I shouldn't put this in, just encase Tyler reads this, he doesn't know the rolls and jam were part of the visit, it won't matter he doesn't read my blog anyway!! There was nothing to make the sickness disappear faster than a hug and a love from my friend. My night was great, I sat and gorged myself on homemade rolls and jam and knew that I was loved. Thanks my Clever Ladies for reminding me once again that you are some of life's greatest treasures and that no matter where life seems to take us, it is always made better with a good laugh, friends, and food!!!

You wore what to school!?!?!?

This morning I woke up tired and exhausted from a long night dealing with the flu. It seems to have hit all of us except Tallon. I called Tallon's teacher and told her I was not going to make it to help in the classroom, and was informed that the heating system at the school was not working. Workers were on their way to fix the problem, but she asked that I have Tallon dress warm so he would be comfortable. I passed the information on to Tallon, he finished getting ready, and out the door he went to catch a ride from our neighbor. The heat must have gotten fixed for there was no call to have us pick up our kids, so I spent most of the day on the couch trying to catch up on some much needed rest. Tallon comes home around 1:45, and today was no different. What was different was his clothing!! He apologized for forgetting his 2 shirts at school, but told me he was too hot to wear all the clothes he had on. I busted out laughing as he took off his coat and revealed that he had on his union suit (he calls them his cowboy underwear, the ones that go from your neck to your ankles, with a butt flap in just the right spot) and wranglers with a hole in the knee!! I can only imagine what some of the adults must have been thinking as they saw his wardrobe.

I asked what 2 shirts got left at school and was informed that one was his orange flannel and the other was a sweatshirt!! No wonder the kid got hot! We had a small talk on what was appropriate for school clothes and Tallon just smiled and said "you told me to dress warm"! What a good little boy to always mind his mother!

Found at last!!!

We have been blessed in many ways since we have moved to Afton 5 years ago and I love that we have ended up with the best neighbors anyone could ask for. An example of why happened this morning when I got a call from Brook asking if I had lost any memory cards for my camera. To make a long story short, about 3 months ago I went looking for a card that had a lot of our videos stored on it. I looked and I looked and no card. I asked Tyler if we had got it back from his family and he told me he had put it on the counter, in the never ending pile of papers that always seems to be there. I remembered a few days before that my twin angels had helped clean up and put all of that pile in the garbage for me. I thought I had got everything out, and was sure that the cards were now at the county landfill. I was just heartsick. The twins first steps, Tallon's sheep rides, and Whits wedding were just a few of the treasures we lost. Now 3 months later, with one good neighbor and a phone call, I have my pictures back!! Somehow between our 3 boys they ended up next door, and Brook found and returned them today!!! I have spent all morning in thanksgiving and smiles as I have looked over our returned memories. Sometimes life does decide to smile and give a uplifting moment in hard times. Here are just a few of our near lost moments.

Summer bums

Tallon practicing his moves

A fun trip up Hobble Creek with Grandma

Fun horse races across the living room
Yes, I am going to enjoy my day on the computer looking over these found pictures and smile all the while.

My kid has WHAT!?!?!?!

A few days ago Vivin started with a cough and I was worried that the crud had finally found its way to our home. He would only cough at night, during the day he was fine. However, yesterday morning when I went to get him out of his crib, to my horror, his face had these red streaks and blotches all over. They went all over his face and up the back of his neck and into his hair, it looked terrible. He was running a slight fever so a little Tylenol and many phone calls later we found our selves at the doctors office. After a brief examination and the answering of a few questions it was determined that my little Vivin has tonsillitis and Scarlett Fever!! I just about died right there on the spot. The doctor picked up on my horror and quickly explained that Scarlett Fever is simply an allergic reaction to the strep virus that was nestled in Vivin's tonsils. It made me feel a bit better, but still, Scarlett Fever!! We filled his prescription and this morning we are all giggles and grins. I am glad that my kids react quickly to medicine. The fun thing now is that Orrin is starting with a cough, I have already called the doc for some more of that good medicine and hopefully we will bypass the horror of hearing "your child has Scarlett Fever".

Little Cowboy

I was just sitting here listening to the twins beat on each other and really don't want to deal with the problem right now, so I found this picture of Tallon. It was taken at last years rodeo.

He is all grins after he gets done "bucking on sheep". He is such a funny little cowboy!!

Where oh Where...

...did my babies go!!

Last night I finally had enough of finding hidden treasures in the boys hair, and decided it could wait no longer, they needed a haircut. The bad part is that I got brave and did it myself. It ended up being A LOT shorter than I intended, but hey it will grow back!! (it will grow back won't it!?!?) Here is the before

and the after

It is amazing that haircuts can make babies grow up in an instant!! I now have little boys who look almost 2!!! Well, as the old saying goes, the difference between a good haircut and a bad haircut is 2 weeks (it might take us a bit longer)!!

A Lifetime Friend

I was going through pictures from this summer and came across our trip up Murphy. As I was looking at some of the twins I smiled and thought how lucky they are to have a built in best friend. They are so close to each other and how great that this closeness will carry through their lives.
It has been quite the experience watching these two grow together. I remember in the NICU when they finally were able to be put in the same isolate, their monitors starting going off and buzzers were screaming. As the nurses looked everything over, all the commotion was caused because their numbers were over 100!! These two boys had fought for life for 2 days and struggled to keep their sats in the low 90's, and the moment they were back together they thrived!!
I love the bond that has developed the past 22 months. Just think, always having your best friend right there!!!

Being a mother is a highlight of this mortal experience, but being a mother of twins is a special blessing. Some days are better than others, and when they fight I want to pull my hair out. But to see them love each other better, and go off to play, melts my heart. Of course right now they are napping and what is better than nap time (twins are so innocent when they are asleep)!!!

Sign me up for Mother of the Year

Have you ever had something happen that makes you feel like the worst mother EVER!? Yesterday I put the twins down for a nap and went downstairs to get ready for church. When I got out of the shower I could hear the boys still playing in their cribs and didn't think much of it until I heard THUMP!! This was followed by a scream that indicated that the world was coming to an end. I instantly knew one of the boys had fallen out of their crib and came a running. Tallon had already rescued the crying victim and when I got there he looked at me and said "I think we should take him to the doctor." To my horror I found that Vivin had not only fell out of the crib, but managed to cut his face on something on the way down. It instantly swelled and bruised. I searched all over and for the life of me can not figure out what he hit. A few loves and we were all better. Doesn't this look awful!!


The worst part was we still had to go to church, and the first thing everyone asked was "What Happened?!" You just can't explain something like this without guilt! To top it off I have to most wonderful husband with a sense of humor that just horrifies. The bishop came for a visit and of course asked what made such a wonderful mark. Tyler looked at him and said "Jaymie finally had enough and smacked him, she just forgot to take her ring off first." I could have died!!! Thank goodness bishop is also Uncle Mike and knows the amusing Hansen sense of humor. There is nothing like a loving hubby!! I am just glad that this didn't affect Vivin any, he never missed a beat of being his sweet self.

A Day with Clancy!!!

Some of our favorite things in life are the titles Uncle Tyler, Aunt Jaymie, and cousin's Tallon, Orrin and Vivin. We adore all of our 3 nephews and 3 nieces and love when we are able to spend time with them, especially one on one time. Last night we had dinner with the Dana family and we were able to have Clancy come home with us for a sleep over! Tallon loves to have sleepovers and these two stayed up all night solving the problems of the world. It is so much fun listening to the conversation of a 6 and 5 year old. Topics ranged from *awesome hunting adventures past, present and future with a few dramatic sequences to keep the excitement going!! *favorite songs complete with sing along *favorite superheros and the totally awesome powers little boys wish they had *future fields of employment Tallon's 5 jobs will include Sheriff, Doctor, Fireman, Fish Cop, and Reading Mastery Teacher!! Clancy's "6 or 3 jobs but probably only 4 will be Cowboy, Dude, Snowman builder, and of course do the dishes and sweep the floor for my mom." What a delight to have these two be the best of friends!!

This morning the sun was out and the boys were not about to spend the day inside. Tallon and Clancy had a ball with each other.

The twins found the big dump trucks and had a ball moving snow! This is Vivin always with a smile

And of course frustrated Orrin! He just wanted the truck to go where he wanted, not where the snow was taking it.

The boys had to go find the snow shovels out in the back yard and once that task was done, they spent time digging a tunnel in the snowbank and sledding down the snow hill.





Watching these two plan out the best way to both be in the sled going down the hill was great! We had a few wrecks and a couple of times only one of them got to go for a ride, but at the end of the day they were all giggles and grins! Tyler just mentioned going for a ride in the ranger and it didn't take long for snow clothes to get back on and off they went. The last thing I heard as they went out the door was "Dad get your gun we might see a coyote! Clancy we get to go awesome hunting, it's not the fake kind we do in the house, it is the REAL thing!!"

Soon it will be back to normal

Wow, we have had a busy week. I love the Christmas break!! I am not looking forward to Monday morning when life has to get back to normal. Tyler ended up having 2 weeks off from work which is not great on the check book, but great for catching up on some quality family time. We were able to sleep in as long as the twins would let us, eat whenever we got around to it, stay up late, and spend time outside in the cold! Tallon has moved his focus from duck to coyote hunting. He has begged for days for Tyler to take him. I don't really get the fun of going to tromp around in the snow, sound like a rabbit, and wait for a coyote. But that is because I am a mom and Tallon tells me if I don't want to go with him I can just stay home. So that is what I did. He and Tyler had a ball. The day was fairly warm and snowshoeing makes up for what cold you would feel.



Tallon and the twins decided the next day should be a papa day. It was around 35 degrees so we loaded everyone up and went feeding. The twins loved the baby calves. They would let them suck on their gloves and laughed the entire time. They played with the puppies and drove the tractor, what more could two little boys ask for!!

Tallon's favorite part was riding the sled behind the wagon. He laughed and fell off so many times. He really loved it when grandpa got on with Uncle Jace and they got to try to push each other out of the sleds. It really brought back memories of my childhood being pulled behind the team and sleigh. It is great that enjoyment can come from the simplest things.

Tyler and Jacob were able to get some duck hunting in and Jacob was all smiles when he brought back his first duck.

I wonder what it is with boys and just having to touch it!! The twins and Jace thought it was the best thing ever.

Tyler and I decided tonight should be our date night and told Tallon we were going snowshoeing, so it ended up being date night plus one (I guess it is better than date night plus three!). Of course we didn't leave until around 5:00 and by then it was cold!!!!! I tried to talk Tallon out of going but he told me to toughen up because when you go with him getting cold isn't good, and if I didn't want to go I could go home because he and dad were going!(sometimes he isn't at all sweet). So I toughened up. When we started out it was cold!!!! I even made Tyler take a picture so I could prove how tough I was. No you are not seeing things, it says -4 but I didn't want to get left for my date so off we went.

The best part of snowshoeing for me is the views. I loved the sunset and you can't beat the peace and quiet.




It really wasn't as cold as I thought it would be. After a while you just go numb!! It really was a great night and a warm truck never looked so good. Tallon was really worried that a coyote was going to eat me!! He wasn't scared he said he just didn't want me to get hurt (sometimes he is a sweet kid)!! We were all glad to find some hot coco and enjoy the rest of the night!!

Random facts about me!!

I have seen this on others blogs and it was kinda fun to get to know some random things about them, so now you get to know some random things about me!!

bold: means you have done ititalic: means you want to

1. Started your own blog2. Slept under the stars3. Played in a band4. Visited Hawaii5. Watched a meteor shower6. Given more than you can afford to charity7. Been to Disneyland8. Climbed a mountain9. Held a praying mantis10. Sang a solo11. Bungee jumped12. Visited Paris13. Watched a lightning storm at sea14. Taught yourself an art from scratch15. Adopted a child16. Had food poisoning17. Been to the Statue of Liberty18. Grown your own vegetables19. Seen pyramids of an Ancient Civilization20. Slept on an overnight train21. Had a pillow fight22. Hitch hiked23. Taken a sick day when you're not ill24. Built a snow fort25. Held a lamb26. Visited the Caribbean27. Run a Marathon28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice29. Seen a total eclipse30. Watched a sunrise or sunset31. Hit a home run32. Been on a cruise33. Seen Niagara Falls in person34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors35. Seen an Amish community36. Taught yourself a new language37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person39. Gone rock climbing40. Been to a World Series game41. Sung karaoke42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant44. Visited Africa45. Walked on a beach by moonlight46. Been transported in an ambulance 47. Had your portrait painted48. Gone deep sea fishing49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling52. Kissed in the rain53. Played in the mud54. Gone to a drive-in theater55. Been in a movie56. Visited the Great Wall of China57. Started a business58. Taken a martial arts class59. Visited Russia60. Served at a soup kitchen61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies62. Gone whale watching63. Got flowers for no reason64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma65. Gone sky diving66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp67. Bounced a check68. Flown in a helicopter69. Saved a favorite childhood toy70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial71. Eaten sushi72. Pieced a quilt73. Stood in Times Square74. Toured the Everglades75. Been fired from a job76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London77. Broken a bone78. Been on a speeding motorcycle 79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person80. Published a book81. Visited the Vatican82. Bought a brand new car83. Walked in Jerusalem84. Had your picture in the newspaper85. Read the entire Bible86. Visited the White House87. Killed and prepared an animal for eatin88. Had chickenpox89. Saved someones life90. Sat on a jury91. Met someone famous92. Joined a book club93. Lost a loved one94. Had a baby95. Seen the Alamo in person96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake97. Been involved in a law suit98. Owned a cell phone99. Been stung by a bee100. Read an entire book in one day