Annual NPA 5K/1 Mile

 This year our school decided to have our fun run in the fall rather than spring. It was a cold brisk morning but our family was up for the challenge, we even recruited Grandma Hansen. Malia worked hard to gather enough money for our entire family to participate minus Teesh who was taking the ACT Test. Good luck Teesh, we will be thinking of you.

 Grandma, Corby, and the two little girls signed up for the mile. While Malia, Sierra and myself braved the 5K. We all started at the same time but went down different paths. Corby said Ada ran more than half of the mile. I think we have a future marathoner on our hands. It was a cold morning but everyone survived.


Sierra ran with her friends and Malia and I stayed together.  Sierra came in at 29 minutes and Malia and I were a second apart. It was Malia's first run and she did fantastic. She pushed herself and I am one proud momma. I am so proud of Sierra as well, she is a great little athlete and really gives everything she does all her effort.

Love this of Malia, NPA is number 1.

 Here we are rounding the last bend to the finish line!

 I'm holding Malia's bangs so you can see her beautiful face. So proud of her accomplishments.

After we finished the race, we sat down for the all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. It was nice to have something warm in our bodies. I love the look on Malia's face, think she is cold.

 When the fun run was completed, we had a costume parade for all who wanted to participate. Ada is crying because she is recovering from her face plant she had just performed. Bria is a cheetah cat and Ada Elmo. Don't cry little one, mom will take the photo and then love you.

 Upon our arrival, Bria was eying the playground and we promised she could play at the end. It was cold but they insisted on going down the slides and playing for a bit. After we were half frozen we packed up the family and headed home.

It was yet another successful fund raiser for our school  and we all got a little exercise too!

It's Autumntime

 It's Autumn-time. It's Autumn-time

can you smell the salt city pumpkin spice candle that is lit in the background. Love it!

 The leaves are falling down.

 It's Autumn-time. It's Autumn-time.

 It's all around the town.

It's Autumn-time. It's Autumn-time.

 It's yellow, red, and brown.

 It's Autumn-time. It's Autumn-time.

Bright colors can be found.

Janalee invited my girls up for UEA weekend or "Fall Break". Teesh drove everyone but Sierra up on Thursday evening and stayed till Saturday evening. They did all sorts of fun things. Watched scary movies, played card games, and even made........

Malia the budding chief

Pumpkin rice krispies, stem included. Thank you Pinterest!

Thanks Janalee for the great weekend for the girls and for the weekend off of mother duty. Let's do it again real soon, eh?

School with Ms. B

My oh my! I am not sure about this next step in our family's life! 

Today, September 4th Bria and Ada begin preschool! They attend "The Write Start School" and Ms. B is their teacher. She teaches out of her home and does a terrific job.  I will have two days a week where I am kid-less. I am not sure what to do with myself. I am sure I will figure it out but what a mile stone I am reaching.  I have done this before. First, it is two days, then three, than five, than all day and one evening and before you know it they are gone more than they are here. I am glad my children are growing up and are busy and actively involved but it is a hard realization they will eventually live their own lives without my daily involvement.

Ada and Bria happy to be taking off

The photos crack me up. They did not want to take the time for these silly photos, school is waiting don't you know that mom.
Have a good day little sweeties, I will miss you but together we will figure out this new phase in our lives. 

This is the water tower we pass by to get to preschool. When Bria sees it she knows we are close and will say we are almost to school Ada.

From 20th of Sept. to 7th of October 2012

I am alive but barely!

This is going to be a lengthy post but it has to be written for journal purposes. This time of year is the hardest time for me for so many reasons. I want to remember this time in life and be able to look back and say, "wow, what a super human you were during this phase of life". I wouldn't trade this time for anything but to have a clone(now wouldn't that be crazy two of me) wouldn't be a bad idea on certain days.

Let me begin by saying sit down, buckle up and hold on as we take one wild ride in the weeks of my life!

I have three different schools that I have carpools scheduled and for the most part it goes swimmingly but every once in awhile it gets chaotic and with everything else this was the week of "H E double hockey sticks".

Let's begin, it is an annual tradition for Corby and his brothers to go to Lymen Lake to camp and fish. The fish by this time of the year are huge and they always come home with their limit. Well, several years back the girls and other cousins, wanted to join in on the fun so now it is titled the "Brothers and Others" annual camping trip. Some still call it BAS (brothers acting stupid) because my sister-in-law, Natalie said that is what they do when they get together is just act stupid. The name has stuck for years. Anyway, so we packed and prepared and Corby took Leticia, Malia, Bria and Ada this go around. They took off early evening of the 20th for a 4 hour drive. Have a great time everyone. Sierra stayed back because of school and the whole freezing while camping wasn't so enticing this year.

Friday, I did normal carpool duties and  a few mystery shops and attended my parenting class. I hit the hay early because I signed up for the Dirty Dash in Solder Hollow the next morning. I met with my team and we left around 7:15am. It was a brisk morning but I was so excited. We ran a 10k in mud puddles and different obstacles all morning. I was a little sad because I signed up with 8 other women and I basically ran the entire race all by myself. I was sad and lonely but such is life.

Homecoming was that evening, see that post but let's just say the evening was full of fun and adventure.

Sunday the 23rd , a day of rest, Corby was up and gone to meetings from 6am to 9pm taking my two oldest for choir practice from 5:30 to 9. What an excellent opportunity they have to sing in General Conference. Lots of work practicing, but will be so worth it in the end.
Monday the 24th, we had our normal cross country practice, carpool duties, piano lessons, guitar lessons, and voice lessons. Tuesday 25th, I had to have Corby to the airport at 6:30am so he could catch his plane and I could drive NPA  carpool. He leaves for Las Vegas till Friday for a work convention. Tuesday evening was the cross country dinner before the meet and Wednesday was the meet. It was held at Sugar House which meant Highland was the host. I had to direct the runners on the course with Bria and Ada at my side. Thursday 27th, Leticia and Sierra and Nathan left at 4am for the black powder rifle hunt. It was opening day and they had a long drive ahead of them hence the way early departure. Tuesday and Thursday I have carpool for preschool and ballet so I leave at 2:45 and rarely get home before 5:50. Can you say crock pot meal! Thursday evening I had parent teacher conferences for my high schooler's. Luckily, Malia helped me out with the little girls and I was able to leave them home. I made appointments for 16 teachers all 5 to 10 minutes apart. I raced from one teacher to the next and am happy to report I met every teacher and all great comments. Parent Teacher Conferences took me 2 1/2 hours. Friday I picked Corby from the airport and we went to dinner to celebrate Jaren's birthday. We went to Joe's Crab Shack then to  Off Broadway for the laughing stock production. It was a great way to spend the evening. Saturday was spent canning and cleaning and helping with church volleyball and attending the dress rehearsal for the general conference choir. Sunday same as last week meetings from 6am to 9pm. Monday the 1st of October Corby took Malia and Teesh out hunting again. Teesh and Sierra weren't successful and Monday was the last day the hunt was open. The mighty hunters returned with great memories but no meat. I then had parent teacher conferences for Malia on Thursday the 4th and parenting class on Friday the 5th. Saturday the 6th, the girls and Corby had to be at the stake center at 9:45 and did not return until after 5 from their singing. Corby raced home, quickly ate dinner, and was off to the Priesthood Session with his brother, Jaren. Cindy and Jaren's children stayed here and we stayed up way too late playing card games. Sunday the 7th I made cinnamon rolls and had Brad and his wife and children over with my parents. That was a rare treat. And that concludes my two weeks I survived! Boring as it may be to read, I needed to record that what some weeks look like as a mother of 5 beautiful daughters who are all so busy with their individual activities and desires.

Pumpkin Patch

For family night, we headed out to an awesome pumpkin patch. They allow you to choose your own pumpkin, take a hayride, and go through a corn maze. When we first arrived we jumped in line for the hayride.  Bria was so nervous our driver wouldn't know how to get us back to the pumpkin patch, she is such a silly girl with the things she worries about. Ada loved the ride and was all smiles. My three oldest are so good to enjoy the fun in the babyish activities we participate in.

 They are such good examples for me.

When the hayride was complete we went through the corn maze. Once again sweet little Bria was so nervous we would get lost. Dear sweet little Bria, leave worrying up to mom you just be 5 and enjoy life. 

We then found some wheelbarrows and began the hunt for the perfect pumpkin. They had small wheelbarrows and large wheelbarrows. The small ones were broken according to Bria because they only have one wheel. It cracked us up to watch Ada and  Bria push these wheelbarrows around on the uneven ground. The wheelbarrows would tip over and get stuck so after many attempts Ada would either drag her wheelbarrow or carry it. We all laughed so hard. Malia found a perfect pumpkin and had some great poses for the camera.

Isn't that the most precious face.

Sierra was able to drive the family to and from the pumpkin patch because guess who passed her test and is  the proud owner of a learners permit. I have to say she did fantastic driving.

We came home and wrapped up the evening with a little treat my friend Joani told me about. You take vanilla wafers spread caramel between two and make a sandwich. Then you dip them in melted chocolate and sprinkles. Delicious. I thought this would be a fun activity so I purchased all necessary items and we proceeded to make the goods. They didn't turn out the way I envisioned but hey they tasted great and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. 

What a fun Monday activity and now we have pumpkins on our front porch!

Ada just wouldn't cooperate in our photos

Individuality.....

At the beginning of this school year I thought it would be fun to ask my family questions and at the end of the year compare to see how much they have changed. It is interesting to know that all these individual came from the same gene pool, are reared in the same environment, and yet are so different. I love different. I embrace different but from a parental point of view it can pose challenges. I present our family and the things that make us unique and different.

Corby Earnest Hansen is 40 years old. He has his Bachelors Degree in Sociology with a minor in English. He works as a manager for Futurity First Financial. He loves hunting, fishing, and yard work. He loves ice cream every night before bed and cleans bathrooms without complaining. He rides his bike for exercise and one day hopes to run a marathon with his wife( um just kidding, he hates running unless he is playing basketball) He is on the High Council in our Stake. He works hard and plays hard. We all  love it when Daddy comes home!

Jennifer Gay Ellis Hansen. I am 42 years old, and yes I robbed the cradle! I work out everyday at Gold's Gym (except for weekends). I love lifting weights, running, spinning, pretty much anything that makes you sweat. I graduated from Brigham Young University in Elementary Education. I taught one year, 3rd grade at Orem Elementary. I ran my first half marathon this spring and did the Dirty Dash in September. I am signed up for the Spartan Beast in June. I am a mystery shopper. I am learning to develop a love for books and am a part of a book club. I am a social person. I love to always have someone over to hang out. I am crafty and love to decorate my house with the items I have made. I love to cheer my girls on in the different activities they are involved in. I teach the CTR 4 class in church. I wear many hats but my favorite for sure is mother and wife. I have an obsession with ice. I crave it and will chomp on it for hours.

Our first born! Leticia Elizabeth Hansen is 17 years old. She is named after my Grandma, Mary Elizabeth Shoell. Leticia goes by "Teesh".  She is a senior at Highland High. She is in the IB Program (International Baccalaureate). She ran cross country. She completed her first half marathon in the Spring. She is so easy to please and such a good natured girl. She is responsible and caring. She is the second mother to Ada and Bria. She is the Laurel President at church and plans to attend USU in the fall. Leticia is beautiful inside and out and yes, her hair is natural. Leticia is the manager for the Highland Girls Basketball Team.

Sierra Jane Hansen named after the Sierra Nevada's. Sierra( Magera) is a junior at Highland High. She is so close to having her learner's permit. She hates having her birthday so close to a holiday. She is 15 years old. Sierra ran cross country and made the varsity team this year. Sierra is our social butterfly. She has a million friends and has something planned every weekend. Sierra plans to participate in the IB Program next year. Sierra is a great, kind, loving, girl and our family wouldn't be the same without her spunky spirit. Sierra is in the mia maid presidency for church.

Malia Ruth Hansen, named after her Grandma Ellis, my mother. Malia just turned 12 and now the world is at her feet. She is in ballet and is so close to achieving the next level of Pointe. Malia attends Navigator Pointe Academy. Malia is our overachiever. Whatever she sets her mind to she accomplishes it with all effort. She is a great friend. Malia loves our cat, Maybelle. She is so kind to all animals. Malia  is involved in voice lessons and piano. Malia has participated in several school theatre programs. She even sang a solo at the school talent show, that girl has guts. Malia earned enough money for the school fund raiser to eat lunch with the school director, Mrs. Farris. She will run a 5K with her mother for the fund raiser. Malia is so sweet, loving, caring and goes the extra mile for anyone. We love you Malia, mafreea! Malia's favorite food has to be Slim Skillet Lasagna, way to make your momma proud and eat your zucchini. Malia is in the Beehive Presidency for church.

Bria Paige Hansen is 5 years old. Her birthday is September 10th so guess who misses the deadline by 9 days and gets to be the oldest in her class. Sierra says she will love being the oldest! Bria attends preschool with Ms. B, at Write Preschool. She loves to play with her baby dolls, brat z, barbies, play dough, and loves loves loves puppies. When we are out on our bike rides, she will stop and politely ask to pet their puppy. She is so careful to be kind and not scare the animal. She loves the monkey bars and jumping on the trampoline. She is a great helper around the home and will "babysit" Ada while mom showers. Bria does a great job answering the door when solicitors come knocking and she knows when texts come in and will relay the message to the proper texting recipient. Her vocabulary is not a normal 4 year old, she is 4 going on 15. She can roll her eyes and put hands on hips like no other. Bria took a long time to join our family and we are so lucky to have her sweet spirit in our home. Bria has a best friend named Star Blankie. She has had this blanket since birth and seriously loves it.

Ada Rae Hansen is 3. She is sporting her new haircut given by big sister Bria. Ada is our miracle baby. She was born premature and we are so fortunate she survived. She is best friends with Bria and they will play for hours. She has no fear with any tasks she sets her mind to. She can ride her two wheeler so fast and freaks her mother out. She has her own language and for the most it is a bit challenging to understand but as her mother, I know exactly what she is saying. She loves playing baby dolls, puzzles, coloring and helping mommy cook. She will assist with all the pouring needs. Ada Rae you are so special and we love you! Ada attend preschool with Bria. They are inseparable and I love it.


This is our family. We love each other and love the differences we all provide. We all balance each other out and together we make each other stronger and more loving. We love you girls and continue to bring the differences in our family and we will embrace them and become better people.

5 ingredients not welcome!

Ratatouille

 ( I must throw in here everything but the eggplant came from our garden)

I have always been health conscience but I would say the last 5 years I have made a complete transition. I don't use labels like vegetarian or vegan. I just try to insure my family gets the recommended servings of fruits and vegetables; but in order to achieve this goal we don't eat as many meats and other processed foods.

The 5 ingredients that are no longer welcome in our home(to be completely honest some make it in for short stays because Corby is not completely convinced that my new found knowledge fits his motto which is:

I agreed to die before I came to earth so I am going to enjoy myself while here.)

Sesame Ginger  Noodles with Asparagus

 

• Enriched products in any form
• Hydrogenated oils/ trans fats
• High Fructose Syrup
• MSG
• GMO (genetically modified foods)

I carefully examine the labels of the foods we eat and if any of these nasty items are found in any of the multiple creative disguised names we don't purchase it. I have been lucky enough to have multiple mentors, Robyn Openshaw (Green Smoothie Girl), Debra Walton (Health Seekers Kitchen), and James & Colleen Simmons (Original Fast Food). These individuals have given me links, recipes, informational literature, taught classes and many more tidbits of info to help me make this transition. I am eternally grateful for them willingly sharing all their hard work gathering information and at no cost I might add.
 During this journey, I have found recipes where I can make my own Worcestershire sauce, without the nasty ingredients found in the store bought version. It is a lot of work to eat and cook this way but I feel like now I know how terrible these ingredients are, I can't put them into my families bodies.
There are a few key kitchen appliances you must have in order to cook this way and my most favorite is my..............

Vita-mix

I use it daily, sometimes multiple times a day. 

Basically in a nutshell how we eat is 10% or less a day of any animal product. We try to get 9 servings each of fruits and vegetables. We try to drink water and only eat foods that spoil. We don't eat processed foods or anything that doesn't spoil in a few days. If it has a shelf life it  isn't living and our bodies are living so feed the living living. Follow the thought.We also eat a lot of raw food, that doesn't necessarily mean it isn't cooked it just means cooked at a lower temperature.  I love listening to Michael Pollen. He has a small book titled 64 rules of food. It is simple, easy to read and  just overall makes perfect sense. He says no food is off limits but you make the food yourself. So have french fries but cut and cook them yourself. You won't eat them everyday if you have to do all the work. He also says, eat foods that come from a plant not from a plant. Meaning don't eat things that are manufactured in a plant eat living growing foods from the vine(plant) I love this way of thinking. He says don't eat anything your grandma wouldn't recognize as food. And when you aren't denying yourself things you crave them less, right? Simple enough, yay? So jump on my boat and I will hand hold you all the way until you know this process like the back of your hand.
I hope my family lives to be over 100 and we can live happy, healthy, fulfilling lives by following the word of wisdom and this process is following the word of wisdom dear friends.
On to healthy green smoothies! 

Tortellini with spinach, asparagus, tomatoes and Parmesan cheese

Making a momma proud a salad for lunch. Yes, they are in their pj's but hey that is not what we are focusing on.  When they asked for salad it was like heavenly angels broke out in chorus. Way too make good choice little darlings.