The Ultimate Hansens

Mike on Bourbon Street

2011-06-28T10:07:00.000-07:00

Mike was here this last weekend:

Bourbon Street in New Orleans. He reported that he did not enjoy being on this street. Mostly because of the other people who were also on the street. But here's why Mike rocks:

His coworkers took him to a dueling piano bar, "Howl at the Moon," where one of those coworkers paid the owner 20 dollars to give Mike some piano time. Watch his little fingers fly as he wows everyone with . . .Mario?

Geo-Quiz: Where's Mike?

2011-05-06T13:33:00.000-07:00

On Mike's latest business trip, he went to this university:

Showing off this machine

Hint #1:

This state was one of the 13 original colonies

Hint #2:

The first time polo was played in the United States, it was played HERE

Hint #3:

It boasts the nation's oldest carousel

Hint #4:

George M. Cohan, who penned "I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy," was born here

Hint #5:

The state's official name is Rhode Island and Providence Plantations

Any guesses?

I'll go first: Let's play doppelganger!

2011-04-19T07:33:00.001-07:00

Guess which person in our family looks most like this famous person:

This is Kevin Bacon.

You might think the person in our family looks more like this guy:

This is Mark McGrath.

Dearth of Posts

2011-04-18T11:45:00.000-07:00

Dear Family,

Have you noticed that we haven't had a post for a while? We "let the summer season begin," but we forgot about the commencement of three other seasons. This is because mom is up to her eyebrows in life. So I figured out how to add our family members as blog posters. So post. Let's make this a fun blog again, filled with love and laughter and stories. We can do it!

Let the Summer Season Begin!

2010-06-13T14:36:00.001-07:00

Mom Hansen can see the summertime light at the end of the BYU spring term tunnel. And since she is taking no summer classes, she's gonna keep up on this here blog. Oh boy, does it feel good already!

First off let me write about my Bill. He climbed the P mountain (That's P for Payson) with me not long ago and we learned all about the geology of our very own mountain from geology expert Corinne Hurst.

Bill is also running 4 or 5 miles most mornings before we head to the office. We spent a weekend at Capitol Reef National Park (Utah), where in addition to taking it easy, we climbed 1000 feet to an amazing overlook. If you know Capitol Reef, you know the major cliffs that face the Visitors Center, and those are the very cliffs we scaled (from behind, naturally).

we got lots of sun (which felt good after our rainy, cool spring)

And we parked our tent in a spot that was cool and green and shady!

Connie and Boyd Ericksen went with us and fed us yummy food.

And we had lots of fun too.

For Mom's birthday, Bill arranged with Don Cook, the BYU carilloneur, to let her play a few songs on the BYU carillon. So last Monday, Lisa got to play I am a Child of God, and a couple of other Primary songs, together with a duet with Don Cook -- and it is SO cool to play with the bells right above you that are sending out their beautiful sound a looooong way.

Do you see keys on that keyboard? I don't think so. Those are dowels that you bang with your fists. It's perfect for those angry piano days.

Mom also just got back from a week at Camp Koholowo in Payson Canyon where (for the first time in 15 years) there were no Hansen young women campers! That was sad. But the Young Women of the Spring Creek Ward were as lively as ever. Here's the conquering of the rock wall. That's Lisa up there. And yes, she reached the top and hit the buzzer!

MIKE & VANESSA

The Rochester Hansens have been hosting Rachel since she graduated from Payson High School in May. For three weeks they have been entertaining her and letting her hang out at their place. For Memorial Day, Mike was the high councilman in charge of a Regional Young Single Adult Conference at Hill Cumorah, so the night Rachel arrived on the plane, she was whisked off to do midnight baptisms for the dead (thanks to Mike's quick thinking to get her recommend faxed out there at the last minute and cleared with various leaders!) Then she got to tent with Anjuli and Alexandria (daughters of Bill's brother, Galen who lives in West Virginia, who are apparently in the same Region as Mike -- go figure!!) at Hill Cumorah.

Rachel reports that Max and Addie and Ella are amazing, and she is really enjoying Vanessa and Mike. This is a not-very-recent photo of the Rochester Hansens -- taken when Grandma Lisa was there for Ella's arrival (last October) This is Max. His 7th (!) birthday is this week.

And one of my favorite photos of Max and Addie!

BJ

He has turning 30 all wrapped up!

This is BJ at the Birthday Surprise Party that Maggie threw for him at his clubhouse. Lots of people showed up and we had a smashing good time! Thanks, Maggie!

BJ earned himself a 4.0 again at UVU. We are awful proud.

BJ popped a tendon in his middle finger (while pulling on socks or something ordinary like that) that means he has to keep his middle finger immobile for the rest of the summer. So his finger is now all cradled in a white plastic cast that looks (says Maggie Chu) like baby Jesus. (!) The really sad news is that BJ can't play any bass guitar for Patio of Fire or for anything else in this Summer of Music! So he'll be shining up his vocals to wow the crowd.

Friday, July 2 IS 2010 Patio of Fire!!!!! Mark it. Know it. Prepare to Live it!!

AMELIE & CODY

Look at this remarkable swingset. Now hear this. Cody MADE this playset! Take a look at the slide on it, wouldja? It is a kid's paradise. Amelie says the kids went down that slide and flew off the end halfway into the yard. I woulda loved a slide like that when I was Aubrey's age. And Meisha just taught me how to get a picture from my phone to this blog. I am SO grateful!!

And here's how the Bowers family looked the week before Nels left on his mission:

And before that:

And this is how Amelie looks just driving around Burley. Beautiful.

MAGGIE

This is a picture of Maggie presenting her department's research at a BYU research convention. She's very professional. And smart. And warm too. Maggie continues to work on her Master's Thesis.

And here are some photos of the trip Grandma and Grandpa T. made with Maggie (and Mom and Dad) to San Diego to see cousin Mark get married.

This one is of a family Maggie worked with on her mission: La Familia Ortiz. They were just coming out of the temple after having been sealed while WE were sitting there waiting for the happy bride and groom. Nevermind that Maggie had been looking for the Ortiz family for months because they had disappeared from the ward there and no one knew anything of their whereabouts. It seems as though God answered Maggie's prayers by putting them at the temple on the very, very day -- at the very, very hour when Maggie would be there!

And here's Maggie and cousin David (John's boy) doing some "Bible Bashing!"

And enjoying the beach . . .

And here's all of us that went to the wedding. That's Grandma and Grandpa Tensmeyer who made the trip possible for all of us!

Maggie recently took a spontaneous trip to Boulder Colorado, which was super fast, because she has so much work she has to do back in Provo.

Although Spring and Summer are work-work-work times for her, she did find time to sign up for -- THE RICHFIELD TRIATHLON!!!! She will be training her mind, then her body, then her mind, then her body, then her mind. . . . .

MELANIE

Melanie gave a spectacular senior piano recital at BYU. She played marvelously and I would really like a copy of the sound recording because it was amazing. She played Mozart, Haydn, Boulanger, Rameau, Schoenberg and Faure. Press play and watch BJ give Melanie flowers after her performance. It's really and truly only two seconds long, after it buffers.

And this is Melanie with her Piano Teacher extraordinaire: Scott Holden.

And this is Melanie with Chris Melear. They are enjoying the snowcones we served as refreshments (along with cotton candy).

Here's the Hansen crew celebrating the ultra-successful recital.

And here's Melanie's recent haircut.

NELS -- ELDER HANSEN

Nels continues to prosper in Berlin, New Hampshire. Looking for people to teach is the challenge there. Nels reported that their neighbors in the apartment building where they live approached the missionaries and said they'd noticed the peace the missionaries evidenced in their lives and asked to know more. Tentative baptism date is at the end of June!

Berlin is a beautiful little New England town. Nels says they encountered a bear in the middle of the street the other day. Did they teach Nels defensive moves for bears in his New Hampshire culture classes at the MTC, I wanna know?!

RACHEL

Rachel's big news is . . . GRADUATION!!

And here is a picture of our TWO graduates, Rachel and Maggie Chu!

And here is Rachel with Kyle Butler:

And Rachel with some of her very happy friends:

And Rachel with some vry happy feet!

MAGGIE CHU

Maggie Chu amazed the whole School District by being the first Foreign Exchange student to figure out how to graduate from Payson High School. It was a real accomplishment and we were proud of her too!

And here is one of our last photos of Maggie Chu before she left for Taiwan.

She'll be back here in August, and will be in her own apartment in Orem attending UVU.

MEISHA

And here's a graduation photo that includes Meisha, who is the only child home today (Sunday).

And here's Meisha doing archery at girls' camp.

And here is one last photo of graduation joy!

Nels in New Hampshire

2010-04-19T19:55:00.000-07:00

Here is Nels. He looks like this:

He is with his trainer in Berlin, New Hampshire.

Mom and Dad's respective feats

2010-03-14T18:32:00.000-07:00

If you are reading this, and you haven't read about Nelsie's Farewell, make sure to do so, because that is epic. However, two important things happened this weekend.

MOM: Mom had a BYU women's chorus concert. She did wonderfully in her shimmery black dress, and she did the Elijah Rock choreography better than anyone else.

DAD: Dad ran in the Rex Lee run this Saturday. This is his fourth 5k, and it was his best yet. Nels, Maggie, and BJ all ran with him. Great warmups, Dad!

Nelsie's Farewell

2010-03-14T16:27:00.000-07:00

Breaking News:
Nels' mission call has been changed. President Newman called to inform Nels that Mongolia is not granting visas to American missionaries. So he is now assigned to NEW HAMPSHIRE! Although it's not as exotic as Mongolia, we know that there are people there who need the gospel just as much, and Nels is very, very happy to be going there. We are proud of how well he has accepted the change and decided to serve the Lord wherever he is called.

Nels spoke in church today, and he spoke about how to prepare to preach the gospel. He shared three important aspects of the preparation process: study the gospel, live the gospel, love the gospel. He did a wonderful job speaking. After church, about 8 thousand of his friends came to our house to wish him well and to eat the food that mom and friends had prepared (Mom spent all Saturday getting everything ready with her trusty friends Asia Dutson and Connie Ericksen).

We are so happy that Nels is such a good young man, and that he got his new suit and sweater yesterday so he could look super sharp in front of everyone.
(We are also proud to announce that we were on time for the farewell and even had time to throw together a nice musical number, but this isn't about us. It's about Nels. Even so, please be aware of those facts).

We'd also like to spotlight the significant others who came to support Nels.

Heather . . .

Chris . . .

Kyle . . .

. . And Kristin

Oh. And Let's not forget TALON.

We also played some board games this afternoon, including Ticket To Ride and St. Petersburg.

In short, we just couldn't be happier for Nels, and we couldn't love him more. He enters the MTC this Wednesday, on March 17, and he's taking my luggage. Look out, you East coast vacationers. Proselytizing is about to get a kick in the pants, and that kick in the pants has a name: Wilford Nels Hansen III.

Dinner and the Huff

2010-03-07T18:02:00.000-08:00

For those of you not familiar with Payson High School's annual musical competition "The Huff," You may think that I am alluding to some sort of feud that happened after dinner tonight. I am alluding to no such thing. They are two separate events.

Let's start with dinner tonight.

Amelie and Cody came by last night to bid Nels farewell. Mom made a scrumptious dinner, and the kiddos are still adorable.

Observe:

Thanks to BJ for staying for the pictures. It was a difficult thing, but he did it for the greater goood.

Here are pictures from the Huff competition. Rachel entered in 4 categories: Piano solo, bassoon solo, vocal solo, and vocal duet. We are so proud of our baby sister, who has too many talents to be contained in one category. Oh, and FYI, she just finished a bassoon scholarship audition at Utah State. What a musical genius. Get your autographs now, because you might not get another chance.

San Diego! More reasons to love it!

2010-03-07T17:10:00.001-08:00

Dear Family,

We regret to inform you that we had the time of our lives in San Diego over Valentine's weekend. We means Dad, Mom, Maggie, and Melanie. The highlight of the trip was watching Chris be commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Marines. We are so proud of him, and it was easy to see that his family was, too! Janelle Melear (Chris' mom) told us that this was the only time that both Chris and his dad would be in uniform together, and the sight was smashing.

The photographer was gracious enough to take a few shots for us.

Melanie got to help Chris' family pin his lieutenant bars on his shoulders. I'm sure there's a more technical term to describe this process, but to me, it was pinning bars.

The ceremony took place outside of the Dr. Seuss library (seriously, named after San Diego native Ted Geisel. I spy with my little eye . . . Dr. Seuss' leg in a picture)The Melears had a luncheon at California Pizza Kitchen, and we felt really lucky to be a part of eveything.

Chris goes to begin officer training in Virginia this October.

Cheers, Chris and Melanie!

6 months later . . .

2010-02-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

It's time for another Hansen posting. Before fall semester began (September 09), Mom was doing a fantastic job of keeping our blog postings current. However, times have changed--and for a good cause. Mom has begun school at BYU again, taking prerequisites for the graduate program in psychology. Daily trips to BYU to TA and be in Women's Chorus, as well as the myriad of tasks at home, have caused our blog to fall by the wayside. Unfortuntately, it didn't dawn on me (Maggie) to keep it up myself until today. So here are some highlights of the last six months:

Mom got into Women's Chorus at BYU! She's a second soprano, and she's doing a great job as the secretary over devotionals. She's also in the middle of graduate school interviews, and hopefully we'll have some news about her educational pursuits soon.

Dad is still running in the mornings, despite rumors that a cougar and her cubs live around Wal-Mart. We'll watch out for shreds of Dad's warm-ups around the temple site if he doesn't come home in time for scriptures one day.

Which reminde me . . .
A temple has been announced in Payson, just a few blocks from our home! The site is next door to a ward building in our stake, and we are really looking forward to the changes it will bring. No more arduous treks to the temple in Provo in our car with a heater!

Mike and Vanessa welcomed Ella Noel into their family on October 25. Mom went out to visit the week after. Grandma and Grandpa Tensmeyer were able to be there for the blessing.

BJ has been called to be the elders quorum president in his ward. He is also working and going to school, as well as accruing an impressive collection of upscale band regalia. Amps, guitars--you name it, he's got them by the dozens. Pretty soon he'll have to rent out Ariel's undersea cavern for all of his whos-its and what's-its galore. And don't get me started on his thing-a-mabobs.

Amelie is doing a great job raising her kiddos. She and Cody purchased a '62 Toyota to fix up. It's gold. It has a Christian fish on the bumper. What a nice addition to their family. We went to Amelie's house for Thanksgiving, where there was a lot of food and a lot of target shooting out back.

I'm still in graduate school, working toward becoming a speech pathologist. This severly limits my discretionary time and my preferred topics of conversation. I generally turn any conversation into a lecture on dysarthria or auditory feedback loops with subtle verbal transitions such as "Did you know that . . ." or "Here's something for you. . . " I've been told that my stress level is contagious, so I should keep it to myself. I'll see what I can do about that. I find out about internship placements within the next month.

Melanie is surviving the onslaught of her last full semester at BYU (besides school in the summer time). She got home safely from her summer trip to Europe, spent Christmas in San Diego with her boyfriend Chris Melear, and is now preparing for her Senior recital on April Fool's day. Be sure to mark it on your calendars if you're in the area.

Nels got a letter from the first presidency in the mail last week. It was a mission call (Duh. The first sentence just seemed like a better transition into a paragraph about Nels), and he opened it at our stake center, with Mom, Dad, BJ, Mell, me, Rachel, Maggie Chu, and Meisha present. Mike and Amelie were on speaker phones. He's headed to Mongolia, Ulaanbataar, on March 17th. 6 weeks to prepare to leave the western hemisphere isn't very long. We're all really excited for him.

Rachel started (and is now finishing up) her senior year. She is in Chamber singers and wowing us all on the bassoon, getting ready to compete at the regional level. She also got accepted to Utah State and will be heading there in August. Now, I know she's not 3 anymore, but really, who told her she could grow up so fast? It wasn't me.

I didn't mean for this to end up sounding like a Christmas card catch-up, but that's what it's like. Given my potentially nebulous audience, I'm struggling to decide how much information needs to be put on here. And certainly each of us has had SOMEthing important happen to us in the last year. It needed to be delineated. Hopefully future posts will read better. Cheers!

Let's celebrate the Fourth -- Again!

2009-08-02T14:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to see first-hand how our nation's capital celebrates the Fourth of July?

Mike and Vanessa with Max and Addie spent the holiday weekend in Washington, D.C. Here they are in front of the white house!

In front the of J. Edgar Hoover FBI Building

Here they are at the Air & Space Museum

and in and around DC for the celebration. . .

Here's the Declaration of Independence in Chinese (!?)

And here they are at the D.C. Temple

And here are some photos from Max's T-ball team.

in other news. . .

BJ got highlights in his hair.

Maggie has some stories about Aubrey, Cooper and Sara.

Melanie has left Munich and is staying with Gittlers in Gleiszellen.

Nels got twenty stitches in his chin after a bicycle encounter with a huge decorative rock in somebody's yard.

Rachel and Nels have re-read all the Harry Potter books this week.

Bill and Lisa returned from a week in the Wind River Mountains with Ericksens and two llamas.

Promising pictures of lots of these lightly-sketched events in next Sunday's blog.

The way it was -- this week -- July 19, 2009

2009-07-19T17:27:00.000-07:00

Nels' big news is that he got his haircut. For your pleasure, here are the before and after photos! Let's start with AFTER!

>

And Before!

So maybe you can't tell just how long his hair was getting. Anne cut off FIVE INCHES!

Pay no attention to the fact that on successive Sundays, Nels is napping on the Family Room couch. Pure coincidence.

BILL

Bill's 40th Skyview Reunion was last night. He renewed acquaintance with a couple dozen friends. One girl told me at the end of the night that Bill had been the talk of the class, because he joined them as a senior as a cute, smart California boy -- Bill said afterwards he'd never had the chance to talk to her before in his life! What you don't know people are saying about you!

RACHEL

Ray spent the weekend at a Youth Conference Mission, enjoying her immersion in all things New Zealand-ish and mission-ish. She wore one of Maggie's mission outfits, complete with worn-out shoes!

MIKE & VANESSA

Vanessa's going to help us capitalize on our own natures while being tolerant of our liabilities (and others' too!) through Carol Tuttle's book "It's Just My Nature." Vanessa was able to attend a Carol Tuttle workshop during her most recent Utah visit. We're going to get ourselves a copy of the book and get figuring ourselves out, but we'll be turning to Vanessa for help, you can bet! Here's the link to Carol Tuttle's info: http://www.caroltuttle.com/cmd.asp?af=1013381

BJ

BJ entertained Bill and Lisa (& Rachel) on Friday night at his most amazing and beautiful apartment complex. We swam and hot-tubbed and watched Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie up their sparring ante as Mr. and Mrs. Smith on the big screen in BJ's apartment. Family members are not likely to believe this, but I didn't fall asleep once during the movie! Rachel laughed at the end that she and I were the only ones awake. So, it was an anomaly. I love BJ's apartment complex. Part of me wants to shake off the huge house and its incessant demands and find a niche in his nice little Italian villa.

AMELIE

We're looking forward to Amelie's visit in Payson beginning Monday night. And we promise photos next blogging day.

MAGGIE

Maggie's enjoying her last month before graduate school begins again in unyielding earnest, promising no time to think about personal things or engage in personal activities (so she's been told). We've loved having Maggie live at home in this fast-vanishing interim. She's always up for a conversation about what's happening in this or that arena. Her witty incisive insights and even better questions make great conversation. I know I should illustrate rather than tell, but the quality of her wit exceeds the quantity of my memory.

MELANIE

Melanie is staying a few days with Serena and Roberto at a place on this lake (Como) in Italy.

Serena is the cutest expectant mom!

BILL

Every day Bill comes up with a new Chuck Norris joke emphasizing the intelligence, the ubiquitous presence (and violence) of Chuck. Recent dailies include: There is no chin under Chuck Norris' beard, just another fist. Another one. Chuck Norris once aced a calculus test by writing in the word "violence" as the answer to each question. Chuck Norris solves all problems with violence. OK, one more. Chuck Norris was the fourth wise man. To the baby Jesus, he gave the gift of beard, which Jesus wore proudly until the day he died. Today's edition: You probably didn't know that Chuck Norris discovered Mars. That's why there is no life on that planet.

MOM

This week I'm discovering the Community of Christ hymnbook. Each day a new hymn (or even better, a familiar melody with new words).

Hansens will have no blogging next Sunday cause Bill and I will be in the Uintahs battling either merciless sun or pounding rain, and loving every minute of being away from the 21st century (except for the extraordinarily wonderful sleeping bags and dehydrated food).

Pleasant dreams to you all!

Potpourri of Hansen Summer Stuff

2009-07-12T14:30:00.000-07:00

We shoulda posted this in June (when we actually took the vacation), but it took a while to put this little presentation together. Fun, though.

You can tell from this video that when we arrived (the first slides are evening in Waikiki) we were TIRED OUT! We'd been up about 40 hours straight. It's hard now to even look at the pictures, exhaustion oozes from my face. By the last days in Hawaii, we look as relaxed and happy as we felt! Parasailing was the best! It was hard to come back to work!

MIKE & VANESSA

We promised photos from their Fourth of July in DC, and they're still coming. . . We discovered this week that Vanessa is the quickest ever at helping Bill and Lisa find online directions to wedding reception centers that have non-existent addresses in time enough not to miss the reception. Monday is Max's last T-ball game of the season

BJ

BJ's Patio of Fire pictures are coming in now! When BJ's Michael Jackson tribute comes in, I'm gonna post it here.

AMELIE

When the cutest little clip from Cooper comes in, I'm gonna post it right here!

MAGGIE

Maggie is 23 and has never really had a car of her own. She says Am's husband, Cody, is gonna give/lend her a car. Maggie bought a keyring to give to Amelie that says "I love Cody" but she's considering hanging it on the rearview of the car, just to remind her who gave her the wheels!

MELANIE

This is the view from the top of Mel's hotel this week. She also visited. . .

NELS

Nels is distributing resumes like a madman. He had such a responsible position with his last employer (a private school that closed its doors), he should be snapping up a job, but not so. Nels was sometimes in charge of the entire cafeteria -- making meals for up to 60 people all on his own, opening, cleaning and closing the place, never called in sick, was super dependable. If anybody knows of a job for our Nels other than landscaping at the law office (he does great at that), speak now.

RACHEL

Ray is teaching piano lessons and playing bassoon in the Sunday night city band concerts, rubbing shoulders with the folks who have lived a lifetime in Payson. She's also teaching piano lessons and mowing the HUGE lawn at the house.

THE PATIO WAS AFIRE! (as expected!)

2009-07-05T11:54:00.000-07:00

Friday was the 8th Annual (no quibbling, there's been a concert for eight years now) Patio of Fire Concert!!

As BJ announced: Best show ever this year!! We had three sets, with three opening bands. Willie Nelson started, followed by Reuben Holdaway and then some from the Blues Brothers. Meels on Wheels [BJ's band] headlined the 3 sets and even had a "chic set" (ode to the girl bands). What a blast!!

The audience filled the hillside there. Couple hundred people, maybe. The sound system was great, and the fireworks fired up the sky after the concert to the tune of some pretty inspiring patriotic music. Nice job, BJ & Friends.

BJ rested post-concert by bloodying up his head in a game of water basketball on Saturday.

No stitches. Just stopped the game for awhile.

In other news. . .

Rachel passed her driver's test! Now we just need a trip to the DMV to get Rachel and Nels' smiles plastered on official holographic cards that cops can look at when they write Rachel and Nels speeding tickets.

So Nels and Ray may have passed their drivers' tests . . but they are now wishing they had jobs, and are a little late on the summer job lookout. While keeping their eyes open to be economically useful, they make music and write and mow lawns and do landscaping.

Meanwhile, Melanie is currently in . . .

ROME! And word is that the pope has blessed her phone. Or something on her phone. . . Or that he would have . . .

and while Melanie celebrated the Fourth of July in the ancient city of the seven hills, Mike and Vanessa celebrated the day in the nation's capital!

They took Max and Addie and explored the National Treasury and museums aplenty. We can't wait to find out what Max's favorite part was. They'll come home tonight and share photos we'll post next week! Sunday they went to the DC Temple grounds.

They sent Mom and Dad a phone photo of the temple, leading to reminiscences of that day over thirty years ago when a couple of kids all dressed up in their wedding finest were there contemplating and committing to a family just like the one we have!

Amelie reports that the bird funeral opportunities in Burley appear to have increased . . .

Maggie convinced Bill to run 5k yesterday morning, and convinced Lisa to hang up a few pictures on some bare walls, already. She also organized and labeled our linen closet, and can give the best Minnesota-accented tour of the linens! Her help is lovely and encouraging to all who dwell beneath our roof.

Maggie and Cammie had an interesting coincidence. Cammie handed out a pass-along card to a Spanish-speaking couple at a Sonic Drive-In who asked directions to Park City. The couple looked at the picture of the Salt Lake Temple on the card and exclaimed "That's the place we wanted to go see tomorrow but we wondered if there would be anybody who could speak Spanish there and tell us all about it! That's why we're here in Utah!" Well, Cammie and Maggie assured Alfredo and Rosa (originally from El Salvador, now from California) that they would be most happy to meet them at Temple Square and make sure they learned (in Spanish) anything they wanted to know. And they did. How fun for Maggie and Cammie to be missionary sisters together!

At church yesterday, Maggie and Cammie got adopted as Primary helpers. Cammie played the piano for the whole shebang, and Maggie taught the six-year olds about Ammon and the incident of ahem. . . the arms. . . by illustrating with a box of crayons. Oh, not that they used the crayons to draw pictures of the scene. Oh no, they used the box of crayons to imagine a . . box of. . arms. As they acted out the scene, Maggie's students expressed appropriate horror at the grisly box passed from servants to king. They may never look at crayons the same.

Our family owes thanks to Mike and Vanessa . . . . Lisa followed up on their brainstorm for her study by . . .

. . . finishing the COMPLETE overhaul! Now Bill and Lisa each can work at (a clean) desk and have access to all the stuff they need at the same time. Good work, everybody!

Lisa also went to see the Tabernacle Choir sing at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver. She didn't have a ticket to get in, and it was sold out. But she hung around the entrance till somebody fessed up they had an extra ticket (at $120) and they'd give it to her for free! It was a spectacular concert. She got a ride from a Colorado family who found out about Nephi's Courage, and told her that their oldest boy Levi (now 27) used to ask the Primary Music Leader to sing "Levi's Courage." It was his favorite song.

Thanks for sending mom your news and pictures. It makes the blog a snap to put together!

Honoring Bill, who's honoring. . .

2009-06-28T13:24:00.000-07:00

Bill's Father's Day request was to spend the day at the Fairview cemetery, so Dad, Mom, Maggie H., Nels, Rachel, and Meisha drove an hour or two down the road and found the pioneer burial grounds. There were at least six sites honoring six different families in Bill's family history.

*John William Pritchett (Maggie Ann's father) and his wives
*Samuel Napoleon Bonaparte Pritchett (John William's father, joined the church in Virginia in 1845)
*James Mitchell Pritchett (the venerable uncle who first joined the church in Virginia)
*Wilford & Emma Terry (Grandpa Wilford Hansen's aunt & uncle, the one he was probably named after) They had nine little babies buried next to them.
*Peter Niels Hansen and Marie Jensen (the first converts in the Hansen line)
*Maren Jensen (Mom to Marie Jensen)

We spent the afternoon getting to know these folks a little bit. Since we'd brought along family histories, it was easier to see how people were related and how long they'd lived in Fairview and stuff like that.

Meandering around a cemetery is very relaxing and thought-provoking. You can't help but think about why people do the things they do.

In other news. . . . This is almost a picture of Addie. Cody Forsyth tossed her just a bit too high for Maggie's viewfinder. She really does have a head.

Addie was the spotlight child in Primary today. In case you were wondering if she is All Girl or not, her favorite color is. . . pink, her favorite toy is. . . polly pocket, and her favorite food is. . . salad. . . with balsamic vinaigrette!

Max celebrated his 6th birthday at the video arcade (since the miniature golf and go-carts were rained out). In his first crack at the Price is Right Wheel, Max struck the jackpot of a thousand free tickets. Guess Mike and Vanessa can come back as often as they want for miniature golf and go-carts!

Vanessa did NOT fall down the stairs yesterday, though Addie still maintains last fall's event in her late-breaking news folder. It scared us too, Addie.

Mike created a lawn of lush beauty with the help of Ghostbusters Poison Packs (take that Lawn Zul!)

BJ & Maggie spent last weekend in Moab! In addition to seeing a number of spectacular arches, they discovered a new love: mountain biking!

BJ's Patio of Fire is THIS FRIDAY!!!!!!!!

Amelie's Aubrey found a dead baby bird in the driveway and tearfully asked Amelie what to name the bird before the funeral she wanted to give it. Amelie, who wasn't terribly into the idea suggested the name "Flappy," though the poor bird was apparently lacking in the flappy department. "Cooper, would you like to say a few kind words for Flappy?" Aubrey asked. Cooper gave the eulogy for Flappy the Baby Bird's funeral by unceremoniously poking the poor thing and shouting, "Flappy! Are you dead?"

One of these things is not like. . . . but they ARE all from Hawaii!!

Maggie started her new job as a ACT prep teacher at BYU this week, once again making science intelligible and irresistible to the average Joe. She also revamped the linen closet and gave each item a long-awaited place to belong.

Melanie covered the most miles of any Hansen recently, driving to San Diego ten days ago with Michelle, then touring a bit in Dallas (the site of this photo), on to Boston, and tomorrow to London by way of Switzerland. Europe awaits!

Nels passed his drivers' test this week. Bill has been dutifully supervising hours of driving to far-flung places to pack in the requisite 40 hours. Nels also scrubbed out the (mini) fridge and went to the Manti Pageant.

Rachel played her first Payson Band Concert in the Park tonight, the cutest little bassoonist you ever did see. She also served as the only Youth Camp Leader for our ward's girls camp this last week.

Mom and Dad -- the return from paradise

2009-06-20T05:25:00.000-07:00

This is Mom and Dad, taking a turn at blogging the family site. We are glad to be home because we missed everybody, but when we remember Hawaii. . . well . . . Before the memories fade into the paper-moving that is our daily fare, we thought we'd post a few photos and give out a little advice.

Here are some key points to remember about Hawaii.
1) Forget what breathing experts tell you. Learn to breathe through your mouth so you can catch on quick to snorkeling in Hanauma Bay. Then the striped and polka dotted fishes and turtles are yours! And no sputtering and scraping your knees on coral that some people (!) have to do to get the hang of it! (Also don't forget to put sunscreen on the back of your husband's legs.)

2) When you go to the Polynesian Cultural Center (and you will because there is a magnet drawing you there the moment you step out of the airplane), you don't have to go to the luau. Oh, it's OK if you want to try purple rolls made out of taro, and real kalua pig. But the very best part of the PCC is the people you meet at the pretend villages. Because they're not pretend people. They are really from the places they're pretending. . . er. . . telling you about, and their stories are the most interesting part of the place. Invite somebody from the Fijian village to take you on the homemade river raft and talk about his family back in Fiji. Do the crafts they have in the villages and find out what those kids miss most about home. That way you can use the extra hours when everybody is busy eating to have a real treat. Eat luau back in Payson when you get home. Don't miss the Horizons show, though. It's guaranteed to surprise and impress you. The 2:00 p.m. show on the water is worth watching too. That's where this clip is from.

3) If you want to climb Diamond Head crater (the tallest mountain on O'ahu), forget the bus from Waikiki that takes you there. It doesn't even start running till 7:30 a.m., and the hike is gonna be a hot ol' one. Call a shuttle and git out there early! And wear real good shoes (unlike some tourists who try to wear their sandals because they forgot to bring any good shoes and end up walking back in bare feet and their husbands have to carry them piggy back out of the sticker patches).
4) When sunning yourself on the beach at Waikiki, keep one eye open for weddings that happen with no fanfare just a few feet from your hotel towel sprawled on the sand. If it's just the couple and the preacher, they might not mind if you take a picture of them, and they might ask you to take one with their camera. Cause maybe they changed their mind about not wanting anybody there.
5) Be sure to see the Honolulu Tabernacle. You can go there on Sunday for church just about anytime cause three wards meet there. It's got classrooms and stuff just like a regular building, except that the hallways are open to the sky! And instead of the chapel being where you expect, the center of the building is an open courtyard with green stuff and flowers. You get into the chapel through a door just like a classroom off the hallways! And what a HUGE resonant chapel it is! Also take a minute to look at the mosaic of Christ on the outside (the only LDS church with a mosaic of Christ).
6) When you go to Pearl Harbor's Arizona Memorial, you may get so wrapped up in the museum exhibits inside that before you know it, it's time for your movie and ferry boat trip. Instead, be sure to rent the little audio presentation and leave plenty of time to go outside and listen. That's where the best overview is. Also, go see the U.S.S. Missouri battleship first, so you have an idea just how big the U.S.S. Arizona that was sunk in the water beneath the memorial site really is. Then take a flower to leave at the Arizona memorial.
7) Don't bother paying beaucoup bucks to swim with dolphins. Just take a bus to the Kahala resort and watch them up close for Free! There are no crowds there and the dolphin trainers love to talk about the dolphins with you.

8)Enjoy the orchids on the garden wall at the Kahala resort (and everywhere else you go on O'ahu)!

9) Play the grand piano at the Kahala resort and smile when passing folk talk to you like you belonged there or something.

10) Spend an evening on the empty Kalaha beach, just you, the sand and the surf! MUCH less crowded than Waikiki! (And the bus takes you back for $2)

11) Parasail! (But follow all safety instructions! An experienced parasailer in Hawaii made headlines April 30 for dying while trying to dive in the water from 40 feet up-- I'm sure 40 feet seemed like nothing after being up 800 feet!!!!)

Flag Day!

2009-06-14T18:50:00.000-07:00

DID YOU KNOW that our Great Grandmother Margaret Burt was NOT born on Flag Day? If you didn't know, she was born on the 4th of July, which is also a day about flags. But it reminds me of days like today; when all the little boy scouts get up and stick a flag in your lawn. It's like saying, "Thanks for being American, Grandma Margaret." On a more current-generational note, the Hansens are jumping this week.

Mom and Dad: In Hawaii. Snorkeling. Swimming with sea turtles Singing with the Payson Civic Chorale. They also went hiking, saw the temple, and went to the Polynesian Cultural Center. Are we jealous? Yes. Are we glad they finally got a vacation all to "themselves?" Also yes.

Mike:

BJ: 19 more days until Patio of Fire.

Amelie: Had a funny Aubrey moment. The post will come when she emails me the artifact. It will surely be an heirloom.

Maggie: I made cornbread from scratch. I also finished my last clinic session with my little speech client. I worked with him by myself for the first time this week. I was nervous, but it was just great! Maybe I won't quit and become a bartender after all!

Melanie: So this is just surfacing, but Melanie received a prestigous nomination at BYU in March. It looks like this. She also accompanied for a recital, and is surviving her busy busy term before she escapes to Europe. Her trip begins this week.

Nels: He passed his written driver's exam, and he begins road tomorrow. He spent this weekend hanging out out at Payson's Relay for Life(sound familiar, Em?).

Rachel: She also passed her written driver's exam, and she took the ACT on Saturday, too. What a grueling weekend! To top it off, she submitted a story for the 3rd round of a peer-judged writing competition.

Maggie Chu: Is back in Taiwan, or "hell" as she calls it, since her parents are making her wear a mask to ward off swine flu and enroll in English classes (for the same purpose?) We took her to the airport on Friday. Maybe it's a good thing: just in time for Flag day.

Pictures you are wanting to see

2009-06-07T17:28:00.000-07:00

So family, this week I received a veritable dearth of updates. Hm. Have we cryogenically frozen our lives? I doubt it. In the meantime, I snagged these pictures off of Meisha's facebook album. Thanks, Meish! These are pictures of the Sunday after Easter. You'll like them.

We had some special guests at dinner: Luci and Eddie Amorim. They are the grandchildren of Athos and Maria Alice Amorim--a couple taught by DAD when he was a missionary in Brazil 30+ years ago. They came to deliver a letter Dad had written to his mission president the week before he left the mission field. Eddie told us that his dad had found it as a missionary and had given it to Eddie before he left to serve. This letter is the only written document Dad has from his mission, since he lost his missionary journal 20 years ago. We felt really priveliged to have the two of them at our dinner table.

Grandma and Grandpa Tensmeyer were also in town for a U of U reunion of Grandpa's. Amelie and Cody had also managed to make it down from Idaho, so we got a four-generation picture of Grandma, Mom, Amelie, Aubrey and Sara. Priceless.

Brother Johnson brought his horses out, and Dad had a heyday. He looks so dashing. Cowboy Bill.

These pictures weren't taken that Sunday, but let's just say they were. Amanda and BJ are fun and funny.

And Rachel is just aDORable.

Grandpa's Birthday!

2009-06-02T19:04:00.000-07:00

Grandpa Hansen turned 81. He told me. That's how I know. The wonderful thing about getting together for his birthday was that all seven of us were in the same place! This hasn't happened since 2006, when we got our family picture taken in Idaho. Back then, Cooper was trying to launch himself out of his mother, and Addie had no hair. As for Sara, she was just a twinkle in her mother's eye. (Who thought up that phrase? It's ridiculous.) We celebrated Grandpa's birthday at Aunt Loreita's house.

We also got to see Uncle Neal, Matt, Kristina & Brooks, and their kids Austin and Savannah

Loreita and Neal have a fantastic playhouse in the basement that uses the space underneath their stairs. Loreita has a little door and window painted into the wall.

Addie found Kristina's old dance outfit in a toybox. She wore it for the rest of the evening.

Outside of Loreita's house there is --or WAS--a giant white flower bush. It probably has a proper name. We don't care, because it's gone. Look:

"You want your Mommy, don't ya?!" --Aubrey, during the BJ takedown

Find Cooper.

Someone got Cody. I think that's when it all ended.

Chris Melear came with Melanie.

Mike's Family. Addie still has that hot outfit.

Amelie's Family. They need two pictures to adequately depict them

Nels Graduated!

2009-06-02T18:12:00.000-07:00

We are incredibly proud of our little Wilford Nels Hansen III, who began his educational journey as an impressionable larva. He has blasted his way through the chrysalis known as Payson High School and has emerged as a beautiful, more intelligent moth. He sang in the choir and played drums in the Jazz band. Plus he just looked so good. Three cheers for our little brother! Hip hip . . .

HOORAY!

Since When Do We Have a Family Blog?

2009-05-12T13:06:00.000-07:00

This is Mom's birthday present. Happy birthday, Mom! Now we can all stay connected!

Here's the Rule (subject to majority modification, of course):

On Sundays, everyone should sit down and shoot Maggie an email at maggie.m.hansen@gmail.com. You can put news for the past week, plans for the future week, pictures, etc. in your email. Then she will update the ol' blog. If you called someone to tell them a story during the week, the story must be published here by the source. This way, we don't get gossip running around. And you know how we Hansens love to gossip.

Here's to Us!