Everyone Say Cheese!

So we spent last Friday night at the cabin up Millcreek canyon. We spent a nice quiet evening, just the 4 of us there. Sometimes it is great to escape there with only us 4 for a little rest and relaxation. It was beautiful weather up there. Cool crisp air. We even had to turn the heaters on during the night. The leaves are changing colors, and the scenery is absolutely stunning right now. We opted to not go for a morning hike like we will usually do, and take some family pictures instead. The problem is now we cannot decide which one we like most. So it's up for vote. Let us know what your favorite is.

#1

#2 #3 #4 #5

#6

#7 #8 #9
#10 #11
#12

Let's go for a walk

So the other day we all needed to get out of the house. I suggested that we take the dog, a kite, and go to the new school. So after it took a few minutes to get the dog, get the kite, tell the kids to go potty before we go, get the leash for the dog, then make Bridger go potty before we go, we were finally off for a walk. It sure seems like an awful lot of getting ready, considering the school is only about 100 yards from our house. We got to the school and after about 5 minutes, finally got the kite in the air. About 5 minutes after that both kids were done flying the kite and were taking each other for a walk.

Go Utes

Beth just saw what I'm putting on here and said, "I thought you were putting on a really cute blog, or something". I guess she still has a little blue in her. I keep trying to tell her that everyone bleeds red.

So it's official, we are now flying our flag every saturday, we have our season tix and are just waiting for another home game. It seems like it has been forever since we went to the UNLV game 2 weeks ago up at Rice-Eccles. Air Force here we come.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY VICTORIA

It's a wonderful day in the Hansen house. Not my Hansen house, but my brother Joe and his wife Jenna's home. Jenna gave birth to Victoria Dawn this morning! This is J&J's first kid, making it 3 grandkids for mom and dad. Jenna and Tori are both doing great and looking fantastic. Tori was born around 8am this morning and everyone came HOME about 3pm for naps. I love the soft skin of a brand new baby. Tori was crying when we got there, having just taken a bath, and never cried again while we were there.

What a sweet baby.

The proud parents.

Just hangin' with the new babe.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BABYDOLL

That's right everyone. It is Beth's birthday. I won't tell you how old she is, but on this day, back in 1977, our friend, wife and mother entered this world. I won't go into any details of that event, mainly because I don't know them, but I'm sure it was a wonderful day.

Beth is an inspiration to everyone she is around, and I love her for it. I am blessed to have her as my wife. I love and admire her. She has stood beside me in good times and bad. Thank you for never giving up. I love you.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHTN0sSXDEQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UeypOvsY91Q

Our Last Cabin Retreat

We went up to my parent's cabin in Millcreek this past weekend. We had a really nice time - especially because all the biting flies are gone now that it is colder! Ben, the kids, Whitney, and I went up Friday afternoon. We got settled in and baked papa murphy's pizza for dinner. My mom and Gabe showed up a little later and then my dad and Braxton came even later that evening. The funniest thing happened on Saturday morning. . .

Ben had gotten up really early to go golfing and I guess it woke Braxton up, which then woke Emma up and Grammie. They headed downstairs but it woke me up so I stumbled down the stairs and said, "I'm not trying to be mean, but you are too loud." Then I turned and fell into bed again. I was only asleep for a little bit and by now I believe it was only a dream. The next thing I remember is Bridger putting his boot in my face and asking me to tie it for him. I asked him where he was going and he said on a hike with Grammie. I thought oh good for me - I get to sleep a little longer, but then I realize I don't hear anybody in the cabin. I asked Bridger where Grammie was and he said, "I don't know, but I'm going to find her." WHAT!! I'm not sure what my 5 year old was thinking, going up on the trails of Millcreek canyon alone. Needless to say I dragged myself out of bed, pulled on my shoes and hit the trails with him. As we were heading out towards the road to look on the overlook trail I looked down and realized I was still in my pajamas. Oh well we eventually found my mom and Emma and Braxton and they did confirm that not only was I in my p.j.'s I did in fact tell them they were too loud.

Our weekend was nice. We relaxed a lot and enjoyed being together. Dave, Inga, and Gabe came up on Saturday and stayed until Sunday. We enjoyed watching the U of U football game in the upper cabin on Saturday night and today we hiked to church. There is nothing like church in the mountains with 4 kids and 3 dogs! It was a great retreat - the only thing that wasn't so great is that I arrived home with a full blown cold! My head feels like it is going to explode!

U of U Breaks the top 25 in both the AP and Coaches Polls

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/clubhouse?teamId=254

Billions of Dollars

A friend of mine recently sent me an email. Here's what it said.

A billion is a difficult number to comprehend, but one advertising agency did a good job of putting that figure into some perspective in one of its releases.

A. A billion seconds ago it was 1959.
B. A billion minutes ago Jesus was alive.
C. A billion hours ago our ancestors were living in the Stone Age.
D. A billion days ago no-one walked on the earth on two feet.
E. A billion dollars ago was only 8 hours and 20 minutes, at the rate our government is spending it.

While this thought is still fresh in our brain, let's take a look at New Orleans. It's amazing what you can learn with some simple division. Louisiana Senator, Mary Landrieu (D), is presently asking the Congress for $250 BILLION to rebuild New Orleans. Interesting number, what does it mean?

A. Well, if you are one of 484,674 residents of New Orleans (every man, woman, child), you each get $516,528.
B. Or, if you have one of the 188,251 homes in New Orleans , your home gets $1,329,787.
C. Or, if you are a family of four, your family gets $2,066,012.

Washington, D.C .. HELLO!!! ... Are all your calculators broken??

Accounts Receivable Tax, Building Permit Tax, CDL License Tax, Cigarette Tax, Corporate Income Tax, Dog License Tax, Federal Income Tax, Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA), Fishing License Tax, Food License Tax, Fuel Perm it Tax, Gasoline Tax, Hunting License Tax, Inheritance Tax, Inventory Tax, IRS Interest Charges (tax on top of tax), IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax), Liquor Tax, Luxury Tax, Marriage License Tax, Medicare Tax, Property Tax, Real Estate Tax, Service charge taxes, Social Security Tax, Road Usage Tax (Truckers), Sales Taxes, Recreational Vehicle Tax, School Tax, State Income Tax, State Unemployment Tax (SUTA), Telephone Federal Excise Tax, Telephone Federal Universal Service Fee Tax, Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Tax, Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge Tax, Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax, Telephone State and Local Tax, Telephone Usage Charge Tax, Utility Tax, Vehicle License Registration Tax, Vehicle Sales Tax, Watercraft Registration Tax, Well Permit Tax, Workers Compensation Tax.

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most prosperous in the world. We had absolutely no national debt, had the largest middle class in the world, and Mom stayed home to raise the kids. What happened? Can you spell 'politicians!'

And I still have to 'press 1' for English.

Don't forget to vote!