Last Day of the Year...

I would say that New Year's Eve and Day are by far our favorite holiday. Not because we are looking forward to a new year. Not because we have amazing resolutions. Not because we are wild party animals. It has to do with the food. And this year didn't disappoint.

The Hansen side was in charge of the shrimp and crab this year. I being a super thrifty budget shopper scoured the sale ads to find the best deal on crab legs and shrimp. We were able to get 11 lbs of crab and 6 lbs of shrimp for a relatively good price. We also drove around to 4 different stores to buy horseradish to make cocktail sauce. We finally found it. I whipped up and amazing batch, and then left it at home. There is another point on my complete moron chart.

I, with the help of Brian, whipped up some amazing salads. We made potato and macaroni salad. Then I made ambrosia which is always a big hit. (don't ask me why, I find it to be icky, but that is just me) We decided to store and transport the stuff in disposable aluminum pans. I guess the salad look very professional because Shay asked if we had the salad's catered.

We left early in order to arrive at Bachan's in time to help with the rest of dinner. We were the first to arrive and were able to help a little. We shredded chicken for the won ton salad and helped roll sushi with the other girls.

Auntie Sam made a delicious dessert which the little girls, Essence and Farrah, helped with. All 3 looked as if they were in heaven working together. It was adorable.

There was so much food and we all ate too much.

We hung out, talked, played cards, played Uno and watched TV. Everyone who stayed watched the ball drop in Time's Square and drank sparkling cider.

Now let the I haven't done this all year jokes begin.... I am usually the perpetrator of those jokes.

Family, Food, and Fun. It can't get better then that. Here are all the pics and video.

Snow Day!!!

This beginning paragraph really has nothing to do with snow. But, I didn't want to do a whole blog post about Valkyrie. Brian, the boys, and I all went to see Valkyrie the day after Christmas. It was actually a really good movie despite the reviews. A truly wonderful story about heroic men standing up for what is right.

Now to the white stuff....

The boys got new sled/snowboard things from their Auntie Lisa for Christmas. There is a great place to go sledding not too far from our house. We got all bundled up and headed to the hill. It was a really cold day, I think about 20 degrees plus wind. Lisa's crew, Vicki and Richard all met us there. The boys performed some death defying stunts and even created a jump. I cannot even count the number of times they went up and down the hill. Josh helped Farrah and Mya go down the hill several times. He is such a nice big cousin. The girls absolutely loved sledding. Jalon went down one time and then made some snow angels. He didn't seem to be as into sledding as the big boys.

After our toes were about 2 minutes away from frost bite we all headed over to Lisa's for lunch.

Another fun family day.

Pictures and videos here
and here

Christmas 2008

It all started with a little snow... and it ended with 2 feet of the white stuff!

We woke up Christmas morning around 8 am. When I say we, I mean Brian and me. The kids had been up for a while begging us to drag ourselves out of bed. The boys shuffled through their presents and picked out the biggest one to open. Much to their surprise, it was a laptop. Xander had only been asking for his own laptop for years now. My kids now have more computing power than anyone else in the house. They were very excited and grateful. They know how much laptops cost because Xander had been saving up for one. The last present they decided to open was their Karate Gees. They had tossed those aside thinking it was just clothes. They were THRILLED to get a year of Karate lessons that would start after the holidays. We had been trying to find a local place that we liked for quite a while. Just about a month before Christmas a Bobby Lawerence Karate studio opened about 5 minutes from home.

Oh I can't forget Taffy. She got a bit Dingo bone. Her favorite kind of bone.

Brian was very easy to shop for this year. He had been wanting an air compressor and electric razor for months now. He has me feel his smooth face all the time. (granted it takes him 3 days to grow a 5 o'clock shadow) Now he making lists of all the tools he can get to go with the compressor.

Brian got me the best presents ever. I got a new stainless steel programmable Crock-Pot. (seriously people, I have wanted one of these forever) He also got me a gift card to Zappos.com for new shoes. A new dustbuster. No more lugging the big vacuum out to clean the stairs. YAY! A new trifle dish. And a buffet serving bowl set. It was awesome. I guess he does listen when I ramble on and on about the crazy stuff I want. I am pretty sure he cheated and went over budget on my gifts. But, I cannot complain because everything was fabulous.

The boys made pancakes for breakfast and they were delicious. After that we all looked outside and saw the massive amount of snow we had received over night. And it was still snowing. They all bundled up and went outside to start the massive chore of shovelling snow. It took them almost 2 hours to clear the 2 feet of snow. While they were out there the channel 2 news team came by and interviewed Brian and the boys. Josh was so excited to be on the news again. He had previously been on the news with his boy scout troop while helping neighbors that had their basements flood during a rain storm. Josh actually got the most airtime in the broadcast. And Xander ended up on the cutting room floor.

While the boys were shovelling I was busy getting the turkey ready. This year's turkey was lovingly named "The Redneck Turkey". I had forgotten to buy string to properly truss the bird. I had to zip-tie the legs together and use toothpicks to hold the wings in place. It actually turned out to be a beautiful bird, after the fluorescent green zip-ties were removed.

We packed up the turkey, gravy, and cranberries and made our way in the snow to Lisa's house. She was nice enough to host Christmas this year. She had her basement all set up with tables and chairs. She decorated the tables really nicely with cute centerpieces and candy. Everyone was able to make it despite the blizzard. I guess most of the valley was missed beside West Jordan, South Jordan, and Herriman. We had a great dinner and then opened presents. The boys once again got such wonderful presents. We decided to draw names this year to make the gift giving and receiving a little more manageable.

It started snowing again around 7:30 pm and everyone decided it was time to get packed up and head home. No one wanted to get stuck in the snow and several of the cars did not have 4 wheel drive.

Another Merry Christmas under our belts with many more to follow.

Click here to see pictures and video of all the festivities.

Christmas Eve 2008

We made our annual trek to Uncle Niels and Aunt Dorothy's for Christmas Eve this year. The drive there and home was free and clear of snow, despite weather reports to the contrary. We had to drive home in a blizzard the year before and were pleased that was not the case this year. Alan and Marie were able to make it out this year. LeeAnn and Jason stayed in Georgia awaiting the birth of their little girl. Hopefully they can join us next year.

Niels and Dorothy were wonderful hosts as usual. It was very kind of them to open up their home considering they were leaving early the next morning. We had a fabulous dinner (I made sugar brown potatoes. 20 cans later and my hands were ready to fall off) and the traditional rice pudding after (there is a Danish name for it but I cannot recall the spelling and I am blogging at 12:45 am and too tired to google). The kids all exchanged gifts and came home with so many presents.

We made it home just in time for the great snow of 2008!

Check out all of the Christmas time festivities here.

Introducing Josh the Cellist

Josh joined his junior high orchestra this year. He chose the cello, which can be rather challenging for a novice. However, he took on the challenge and has become an amazing cellist. He surprises me everyday with his dedication to learning and practicing. He is playing pieces that you would never expect a novice to tackle.

We had the opportunity to see his first concert of the year. It was a beautiful Christmas program. The school choir also was able to perform at the concert. I think the highlight of the evening was the cello solo. Josh and the few other cellos did a spectacular job. Auntie Sam, Auntie Sharon, Essence, Lisa's crew, Richard, and Vicki all made it out to the concert. They were all as impressed as we are.

Josh was not nervous at all and smiled throughout the concert.

We are proud parents.

Xander's Christmas Program

As most of you know, Xander is in his school choir again this year. He absolutely loves choir and performing. It takes a lot of dedication because they have to wake up early each Wednesday, even when off track. The choir held a Christmas concert this year. It was so much fun to watch Xander and his friends sing and be filled with so much joy. It helped remind me what Christmas is all about. We were so pleased that Vicki, Richard, Lisa, Shay, and all the little ones could join us that evening. Xander enjoyed having an audience watching him show off some of his self made dance moves. His bum-shake left us all in stitches.