A Christmas Carol

As many of you know, we've been crazy enough this Christmas season to have all been in our community theatre's production of "A Christmas Carol". With all the hustle of the season, it does seem crazy to spend countless hours rehearsing and performing a show when we could be getting ready for Christmas, but actually it has truly reminded us of the reason for the season itself. The message of the play is such a touching one, and we are so glad that we have been able to share that message with others. Aaron reprised his role of Bob Crachit. He played that same character two years ago. Shenna, Kiera and I all played Belle's family (I was Belle) and Samuel played the boy whom Scrooge asks about the turkey. Enoch was a village boy and also played "ignorance".The whole family after the second to last performance on SaturdayWaiting with the other members of the cast in the green room for the show to start. It was so crowded in there!

Enoch was the only one of us who had a costume change. Here he is with makeup and hair done in the dressing room just before he went on as "Ignorance" He is really trying to look neglected and sad. On a funny note, during rehearsal, the director kept having to tell Enoch to be sad because no matter what, he kept smiling in the ignorance scene. He just was sooo excited to be on stage!

Some Family Pics!

Yep, here are a few attempts at a family picture.

The kids would have rather been playing. A matter of fact, Aaron would have rather been playing as well.

I wonder what everyone is thinking?.......

THE KITFOX IS ALMOST READY TO ROLL (or should I say FLY?)

Saturday was a big day at our house....Aaron and Daryl started up their plane for the first time! Since I recorded it, now you can all enjoy the moment along with them!

Fun with the Grandparents!

Last night we decided to go visit Grandpa and Grandma Hansen. It is so nice that we are able to live so close to them. No matter when we stop by, they are always happy to see us.

My dad absolutely amazes me. Here he is, almost 89 years old and he can still wrestle and rough house with Enoch and his other grandsons. He had Enoch just laughing and trying his hardest to escape to no avail.

It is so great to see him still so healthy and active. Even Aaron sometimes doubts whether or not he could beat him in an arm wrestle! What a great man he is! I'm also just glad I have his genes!
It looks like Enoch may have gotten some genes from Grandpa...don't they look similar in these pictures?

HAPPY HALLOWEEN?!!?

What is it about Halloween that causes shivers to go up and down my spine? Could it be the countless hours that are spent trying to figure out how to create the costumes the kids want to wear with the minimum cost? Or is it anticipating the endless stream of candy-hunting goblins that will be knocking at my door?
Whatever the reason, Halloween is not one of my most favorite holidays. However, it IS one of my children's favorite holidays, and for that one reason, I try my hardest to make it through each year. The costumes this year came to fruition quite easily. Enoch was count dracula, Samuel was a jedi complete with light saber, Kiera was a classic bat and Shenna wanted to dress

up like Elphaba, the witch in the musical WICKED. After all the make-up was applied and the costumes pinned, it was on to the candy collecting. We allowed both girls to go around with their

friends this year, so Aaron and I took the boys around the neighborhood by themselves. The weather was great - without any coats being needed. So, needless to say, I endured another Halloween, and the kids aquired lots of loot. Now if I could only stay away from the candy bowl!

Off to School!

Well, the end of August brought the start of another school year. No more summer fun! Shenna started her 7th grade year. Same school, same place! Kiera, on the other hand, started 5th grade....on top of the heap! I'm having a hard time adjusting to Enoch being in school now for half of the day. He loves kindergarten, but sure is bored without any siblings to play with all afternoon. Mom just doesn't seem to be as much fun! Samuel is having fun in his 2nd grade class this year. His teacher is Mrs. Canfield, and it may be hard to believe, but she was teaching at the elementary school when I was in 2nd grade! I never had her as a teacher, but my cousin Jeff did, so I remember her very well. Samuel says that she is pretty funny!

White Pine Lake Adventure

A couple of weekends ago, we took a trip with the family up to White Pine Lake to camp overnight. It was Samuel and Enoch's first moderate hiking trip and they did great! Our family actually started out hiking first and then our neighbors, the Blacks and the Freezes, followed on horses with the pack horses coming last. I guess the pack horses weren't thrilled and gave them a hard time so the going was slow for them. We got into camp just before dark with the horse group coming in about a half an hour later. We ended up eating dinner about 10:30 p.m. All four kids slept in the pup tent and Aaron and I just slept out under a tarp. I actually had a pretty good night. I got cold a couple of times, but not enough to keep me awake. THANK GOODNESS!
Breakfast over the camp fire is always yummy, and the kids enjoyed riding the horses around the next morning. The boys aren't as used to horses since we sold ours when they were little. Shenna still is a bit leary since the time she was thrown off of Cricket when she was about three, so I don't think she rode this time. I don't think we got back to the trucks until about 6:00 the next afternoon. We were very dirty and tired, but in a good way.

The Plane, The Plane!

Aaron and Daryl are having a lot of fun with this toy. I like to call it my Honda Pilot since the engine alone cost as much as a nice SUV. Their plans are to have it finished sometime this fall. Then they can fly their own plane and not have to rent the warrior at the airport in Brigham City. It certainly is a neighborhood conversation piece when they pull it out of the garage and work on it in the driveway. I'm thinking I should just start calling the garage "The Hanger".

Our WICKED Trip

Last summer Aaron took a business trip to LA and I tagged along. My motive? To go and see the broadway musical WICKED in Hollywood. We loved it! This summer I was able to go again and see it with Shenna and Kiera. It was so fun to see their exitement and enjoy the girls' night out. Funny thing though, before going to the theatre, we were at the beach. Shenna asked me to hold her glasses while she went boogy boarding. I hung them on my shirt just like I always do my sunglasses and promptly forgot about them. My youngest boy, Enoch, was playing in the waves and got swept under. Being the mom I am, I dove right in after him and lost Shenna's glasses. After some great drama on the beach, we spent the rest of the afternoon getting her another pair made at a Lenscrafters so that she would be able to see the stage!