HANSON BOYS NEW TOY

It is a known fact that men really never grow up. Today Troy and Cameron went and bought themselves an old Land Cruiser. 1970 to be exact. They are going to work on it together and get it drivable for Cameron. (Who will be turning 16 in February - HELP). It is going to need a lot of work and thankfully we have a friend up the street who knows his way around a cruiser pretty well. Thanks Scott and Laura! Especially Laura for letting Scott play with Troy on the cruiser.

FLASHBACK FRIDAY - Bear Lake 1998

This is the family picture at Bear Lake after working and playing all weekend. Notice how far up the water is. We haven't seen it that way for soooo long. Probably 11 years. ha ha. Now we have about 50 to 75 yards of beach.

COUNTING DOWN

Well, just a week left until school starts. Yahoo!!! Cam went and registered for school last week and came home with his schedule. There was a note for him to go and see a counselor. Wouldn't you know it? School hasn't even started yet and already he has to go and see the counselor. At least it isn't the Principal. Actually, we have a friend who is a counselor over at the school and she said that 75% of all the students have to meet with a counselor. There were problems with the computer system and the new school district. It has been a big head ache for them. So now he has to go and stand in a long line to go meet with a counselor.

HAPPY 25TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY

Today is our 25th wedding anniversary. We have so many memories of good times, hard times, sad times, and very difficult times. But there has never been a time when I didn't love my husband. (frustrated - YES) He is a wonderful husband and father and he takes such good care of me. We have 3 beautiful children who have blessed our lives in so many ways. Each moment with them has been an experience. We've experienced joy, elation, frustration, aggravation, (I tried to get all the "tions" in there). Tears of Happiness and sadness. Scrapes, scratches, bruises, stitches, surgeries. Basketball games, Baseball games, and football games and some soccer. Gymnastics, dance recitals, piano recitals, voice recitals. Sleep overs, and having to go pick up kids from sleep overs in the middle of the night, night games, water fights, snow ball fights, ping pong games, nintendo games, x-box games and Wii. Carpool, elementary school, middle school, high school, summer school and college. Dating, dances, sweet sixteen, sweet eighteen, and still waiting. Zits, pms, arm pit hair and puberty. Hunting, camping, 4-wheeling, and bicycling. Driver's Ed, Lerner's permit, new drivers. We have also witnessed many miracles along the way. These are just a few of the things that have made up our 25 years together. We have been truly blessed. I know we have so much more to look forward to. I love you Troy! Thank you for making me happy all these years.

Sorry these pictures are about 4 years old.
Time for a new family portrait

FLASHBACK FRIDAY - September 2001

Can you guess who is in this picture? They have each changed so much.
(and no, Mallory isn't choking Cam. He is just being a little dramatic for the camera)

Mallory, Zac Rigby,
Cameron, Madison Rigby
Aren't they cute?

TOP REASONS I CAN'T WAIT FOR SCHOOL TO START

• Maybe I'll be able to keep the house cleaner.

• I won't need to buy as many Pizza Pockets.

• Less arguing with Cameron (I hope)

• The home will be quiet. (at least until 2:45)

• I can go out to lunch without feeling a little guilty (not that I really did)

• The weather will start to turn cooler.

• Cameron will be a Sophomore!

• I'll try to re-organize the kitchen.
  

• I can sleep in without someone to tell on me.

I SAVED THE BEST FOR LAST!

• I GET THE HOUSE TO MYSELF FOR AT LEAST 6 1/2 HOURS!
  

• YAHOO! YIPPEE! HURRAY! WAHOO! YAY! OH YEA BABY! HURRAH! THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKIN ABOUT! AND ANY OTHER WORD THAT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE FOR MY EXCITEMENT!

DISCLAIMER: I don't want in any way for Cameron to feel offended or sad by my feelings because he is probably just as happy to be away from me and the chore list. I love you Cameron!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TROY!

Happy Birthday to a very wonderful man, husband, father, son, uncle, nephew, cousin, friend, etc. (This almost sounds like an obituary). Oops. We love you Troy and hope that you have a great birthday!

NO MORE BRACES!

Cameron is a very happy now. He got his braces off last Tuesday. He said it was weird and that his teeth feel a little slimey. He has had those dang braces on for a little over 3 years. He would have had them off sooner but he wasn't very good about wearing his elastics. Neither were Michael and Mallory. Let's hope that he will wear his retainer. Unlike his older siblings who didn't and therefore their teeth shifted a little. Anyway, Cameron has a beautiful smile and beautiful teeth and is ready for high school. (Well, not really ready for High School, but you know what I mean.) So, we are done with our Orthodontist forever! We don't have to pay for braces ever again! Yahoo! I'll add pictures of his cute smile later. I am at the mercy of Mallory's camera since I lost mine. (Guess what I am going to ask for for my birthday....A Camera!) But I have to wait until October for that. :(

ABBY

Okay, since Lucky is gone, we have decided to let Abby be in the house more. Well, it is looking like it is not such a good idea. She is getting into all the garbage cans and shredding the garbage in them along with the garbage bag. I know that she is 13 years old and has been an outdoor dog mostly all her life and that we can't expect her to just change her ways over night but, I don't think I can do this. She also found a bag of m&m's somewhere and was found eating them on Mallory's bed. She also threw up on a blanket in the living room (probably because of the m&m's) WHAT DO I DO? Oh, and did I mention that we recently realized that Abby is deaf? Yep, we are such great dog owners that we didn't even realize she was deaf. Whenever we called the dogs for one reason or another she always followed Lucky so we had no reason to think she was deaf. It's sad! But I'm thinking I need to let Abby outside a little more than we have been. But we will still let her sleep inside (with Mallory). She has both Abby and Kobe sleeping in her bed now.

SAD DAY! WE WILL MISS HER!

Today is a sad day because we had to put our sweet dog, Lucky, down. She went to sleep today about 3:15 p.m. this afternoon. Lucky has had a really bad week. Her hind legs gave out on her completely a couple of days ago. It was like she was completely paralyzed in her lower back yet she was still in a lot of pain. Lucky was keeping herself under our deck where it was cooler and yesterday Troy had to crawl under the deck and practically drag her out and then he put her on my wheelchair and we got her into the house and laid her on her little bed. That is where she stayed until we took her to the animal hospital today at 3:00. Lucky was an awesome dog with a very distinct smile. A lot of people weren't sure if she was growling or smiling. But it didn't take long for people to realize that Lucky was extremely friendly and she smiled to let you know she would be your friend. She smiled the most for Troy. She loved Troy. She will be missed. Especially by her pal Abby. Abby is our little Britney Retriever (Britney Spaniel/Golden Retriever). I am going to make a slide show of Lucky but for now, here are a few pictures of our sweet Lucky girl. WE WILL MISS HER!

SMILING LUCKY

HAPPIER TIMES FOR LUCKY

LUCKY AND ABBY

FOR MICHAEL

Mallory sent me an email that was called smile. It was really cute and it did make me smile. I scrolled down to a quote that is so funny because it is something we tell Michael often to help him with his self confidence. (He needs it sometimes.) So here it is. (Sorry it's a little blurry, it came that way.)

A MAN OF EXAMPLE

I was reading on Laura's blog and she wrote a wonderful post about life and not taking it for granted. To start living for today. She is related to the Cardall family who recently lost a son/brother. They also have a son Paul who is waiting for a heart transplant. If you want to read a truly inspiring blog, go to his. (I'll list it below) It shows his incredible faith and endurance. There is also a beautiful tribute to his brother Brian. This is the family of Duane Cardall who is a Sr. Executive with KSL. Anyway, I will leave you with this quote that was on Laura's, that was on Paul's. I hope it is okay that I am borrowing it. Anyway, here it is.

"Stop waiting for life to come tomorrow, begin living today. Don’t miss what’s NOW because you are looking for what’s NEXT!" Paul Cardall

Go to LIVINGFOREDEN.COM to learn more about Paul and his battle for a heart transplant. Go to http://mytricuspidatresia.blogspot.com/ for his inspiring words and tributes. You won't regret it.