Ladies Night

It turns out that a father of one of my primary kids workable at Impact Guns in Ogden. He told my dad that Tuesday nights are Ladies Night and therefore ladies shoot for free. For the past little while I've wanted to get to a shooting range and work on my aim...now here was my chance.

Last Tuesday my dad and I headed over to see what we thought. It had been a while since I last shot, but I didn't do too bad.  I was able to use the ammo that my brother had made for me.

My mom's side of the family always has a shooting competition during our family reunion. Last year I won the ladies division (due to default...I was the only girl shooting). I file myself I would practice and win it for reals this summer. Now with Impact Guns so close and Ladies Night on Tuesday's, I just might get better.

Finally done!

So I know I've been a slacker, and I just don't know why. I guess I just feel like I don't have much to say and that I don't really do much. But as my sister was kind enough to point out...I post things on Facebook, so I must have something to say. 

Anyways, I FINALLY finished my cross stitch. I went through phases where I would work on it a lot and then I didn't touch it for a few weeks. Well I buckled down over Christmas break and got it done.

There is a lady at work that is crazy about cross stitching. She says she works to feed her cross stitching habit. She has really been a huge help in some areas. Now all I need to do is wash it and get it starched so that I can frame it.

So here is the finished product...what do you think?

#2 Run Ragnar 2012

As most of you know, I am not a runner.  I run occasionally to stay in shape, but that doesn't make me a runner.  But for some reason I make myself believe that I am a runner and I continue to sign up for races.  Last year I was convinced to run Ragnar 2011 after I got done with it I thought "never again!".  But some how I was convinced to sign up and run in Ragnar 2012.  While I was training for it this time around, I told myself that this would be the last year.  I'm just not cut out for all this running business.  However, Ragnar 2012 was so much fun!  Here are some pictures to prove my point.

This is a picture of my van.  If you don't know what Ragnar is go here to learn more.  The six of us got really close over the next 24 hours as we jammed to music, cheered each other one and slept as little as possible. 

Here is Thomas showing off his Ragnar tat.  His wife better keep an eye on him because he loved it...he might come home with a permanent one. 

Every team has to provide 3 volunteers to help out during the race.  My dad offered to be one of our team volunteers and loved every moment of it.  He was luck to choose his location and happened to pick the spot where Thomas would be running by.  So we were able to chat with my dad while we waited for our runner to come.  As you know my dad is a people person so doing crowd control was right up his alley.

Here is a closing picture of our team.  So picture this...12 runners, 2 vans, 36 legs, 2 days, 197 miles...no wonder we all look fabulous :).

So the real question is why I am crazy enough to do this next year...I am not sure.  I guess the thing to ask is...who wants to join the craziness for Ragnar Wasatchback 2013?

Top Half

Here is an update on my cross stitch.  I went through a time where I spent a lot of time on it. However, I hit a point where I just didn't want to touch it...for about three weeks that is.  Then a few weeks back Charity reminded me that I hadn't touched it for a while and needed to get my act together.  So for the past two weeks I have spent a few minutes here and there working on it.  And finally, I finished the top half...well not really finished, I still have all of the detail work to do on it. But I love the fact that I have done the top and can now move on to working on the bottom half.  What do you all think?

#15

#15 on my 30 by 30 list was to learn how to make one of my grandmother's blankets. These blankets are known through out our family and everyone loves their blanket. When my grandma started getting older and her hands didn't work as well, she didn't make them as often. Katie and Thomas got blankets when they were younger, but then she stopped making them. I remember when Forrest was old enough to comprehend that he didn't get one, my grandma felt bad and bought him a blanket...but it wasn't one of Grandma's blankets. So being the kind big sister that I am, I traded him. I gave him my blanket and took the one grandma had bought for him. After I went to college and Forrest got old, I was sure that my blanket had been thrown away. It was ragged when I gave it to Forrest and I was sure that he finished it off. Imagine my surprise when last year Faith brought my blanket down to my room. After Forrest had out grown it, she put it in a box and kept it for me. Here is a picture of what it looks like.I know this isn't the best picture of it, but you can see where the blanket is completely worn through in some areas. Now what is so special about these blankets? Well they are super soft and everything is hand stitched. Every time I see one of these blankets I can't help but think about all the hours she put into making them. I decided that I wanted to learn how to make them, so that I could start making them for my nieces and nephews, because everyone deserves to have one of Grandma's blankets.

So to start off you go and buy the material. You start off with it blank and then you draw the design you want, right on the fabric. You use removable markers that you can find at any fabric store to trace on your outline. My grandma and her twin sister, have four or five patterns that they have used through the year. One night I went with my grandma over to her sisters house to trace on the design.I know this isn't the best picture, and if you can't tell it is a cat. At first I was going to make this blanket for my niece Kayley. Then I decided that I wanted to keep this one for my first child, since my grandma and I spent so many hours making it. I promise I will go back and make one for Kayley. Then it was fitting that I keep it, since it was a cat and my blanket had a cat on it.

Once the design is drawn on to the blanket, the rest is easy :). Where ever there is marker on the blanket, you hand stitch. Ok, so maybe that isn't the easy part. But it was the funnest. Every Monday night, my grandma and I would go into her basement and quilt. We would talk and laugh, have dinner and quilt. These past few months with my grandma have been very special to me. We have spent some wonderful quality time together and I wouldn't trade that for the world. Well we finally got the blanket complete and I am so happy with how it turned out. In fact, we have already started working on blankets for Katie's baby and Tammy's baby (both due in June). We have changed our quilting nights from Monday night to Sunday afternoon and have even dragged my mom into it. The three of us get together and chat and quilt and spend some wonderful time together. I am so glad that I learned how to make these blankets, but I am even more grateful for the excuse I had to get together with my grandma. I sure love her!

#26

Well number 26 on my 30 x 30 list was to do a cross stitch. Before I went on my mission, I did a few cross stitches. Nothing to big and fancy but just little ones. I really enjoyed them, but really haven't had the time to do them since coming home from the mission. I was excited to add this to my 30 x 30 list, but really didn't know how to get started. My little sister encouraged me to find one online that I liked and to purchase it that way. I found this really cute one online and bought it right away.It was only after Katie looked at it, that I realized how hard it was going to be. I figured it wouldn't be too bad, after all most of the characters are one color. But then Katie started to explain how much detail work would be involved in a cross stitch like this. Now I am a little nervous about doing it.

I've had the cross stitch for a while now, but I just didn't know where to begin. This past weekend I went up to Rexburg to visit Katie and she helped me get started. I am proud with how far I have come in a week, but I know that I still have a long way to go before I finish.Yes, so far all I have done is part of Tigger and some of the fence, but I like seeing my progress. I can't wait to work on it some more and get further along. I will continue to post pictures of my progress...just bare with the quality of pictures, most of them come from my phone.

Quick Update

Well things will finally start to calm down around here. I finished clinicals the week before Christmas and I have been lazy every since. I sleep in (all the way to 6:30) and have time in the morning to workout and study before heading off to work. I am still at Jenco for the holidays. Speaking of holidays...they were wonderful. I spent most of it with family and friends, and is there a better way to spend the holidays??

On a different note, now that I am done with school I should probably find a job. Well good thing I did! I start at Ogden Regional the middle of January. I am excited to get going. I was a little hesitant to work at a hospital and be on call and what not, but I think it was just too good of an opportunity to miss. Even though I will be on call at nights and weekends, I think that I will really enjoy the work. I guess more on that to come :)

Now that I am done with school I will have more time to post updates on here. Also, I now have the 9:00 am church, so there will be plenty of time on Sundays to update. So don't give up on this gal...I will be better and more posts will come.

10k Mud Run aka The Dirty Dash

So this is a little old, but it has taken me a while to get around to posting the pictures. These aren't even all of them, but they will have to do for now (I don't want Katie to get any madder at me for my lack of posting).

A few months back my friend Missy called me up and asked if I wanted to do a 10k mud run. I told her that I would and asked her when we were going to run it. She said, I would have about a week to prepare. A WEEK!!!! Now as everyone knows, I am not the best runner in the world. I just don't really care for it. I would much rather burn off my calories doing something else, anything else really. So if I am going to sign up for a race, I need a little bit of time to get into running shape. Any by a little bit of time I mean more than a week.

Well a week is all I had, and I ran probably twice to prepare myself for the run. Now I had never run in the Dirty Dash before and so I didn't know what to expect. I went to www.thedirtydash.com to check things out and found this awesome video.



After watching the video I got really excited for our run. We got up early on Saturday and drove to Park City for the run. The weather had just turned a little cold, but you didn't really notice it during the run. We had to jump over hay stacks, jump over mud holes, swing across mud holes on a rope swing, wade through Deere Creek, walk across a balance beam, climb a rope ladder and crawl (army style) through barrels full of mud. It was so fun. Even though I hadn't been training, I felt good after the run. We had to stop so often and wait in order to proceed with the next opstical that we had time to catch our breath.
I don't know how long it took us, but we sure had fun. Afterwards they offer showers, but the water was so cold that I couldn't even stand to be in there very long. We went back to the car and I used baby wipes to get some of the mud off me. Three showers later, I was still finding mud! If anyone is looking for a fun little run, sign up for the Dirty Dash, you won't be sorry you did.

#4- Run a 5k with my dad

I have officially checked one of my 30x30 items off the list. On Saturday (Nov. 12) my dad and I ran in our first official 5k. Yep, that is right. I have run Ragnar and a 10k Mud Run, but I had never run a 5k. When I was looking for a 5k to sign up for, I remembered that the DATC had one. About a month ago I had to run to the DATC to meet with my instructor. While I was there I grabbed a brochure about the run and brought it home to my dad. That night we signed up for the run.

I hoped that by signing up for the race, it would help give me the motivation to come home after work and run. However, I was a little too optimistic. I wasn't able to train for it as much as I had hoped to. The morning of the race came and I was excited to go out and run with my dad. Imagine my surprise to come upstairs and see that it was raining! It was in the low 40's and raining hard. I wasn't worried about running in the cold, but I didn't want to have to be cold and wet! Luckily for us, the rain died off before the start of the race and it was perfect running weather.

My dad did a fabulous job. He is amazing! He kept pushing me and motivating me. We crossed the finish line together and I couldn't be more proud of him. We finished in 33 minutes. My dad came in 2nd in his age division. I still can't believe what a good job he did. We are going to turn this little run into our family tradition. So everyone can start preparing now, next year around this time...for the family 5k!

30 by 30 Update

I have been 29 for almost three months, so I should be pretty far into my 30 by 30 list. However, doing my clinicals have kept me pretty busy. So I thought that I would do an update on how my list is coming...kind of as a reminder to myself and to re-motivate myself.

1. Participate in a triathlon- I have been looking around for one to do, but with the weather turning bad I will have to wait until the spring or early summer to get this one checked off.

2. Participate in Ragnar 2012- I have signed up for Ragnar 2012 and am really excited to do it.

3. Visit every temple in Utah- Haven't started on this one yet, but once I am done with clinicals I will have more time to do this.

4. Run a 5K with my dad- I will pass this one off next Saturday. On Nov. 12 my dad and I will be running a 5K. I am excited to be able to do this with my dad.

5. Become a temple worker- Like I said, right now I don't have the time, but come the first of the year I will have more time.

6. Read all the standard works- I am almost finished with the Book of Mormon and then I will start on the D&C.

7. Read one new book a month- I have worked on this one. I have read the Secret Garden and am currently working on two other books Jane Eyre and The Lord of The Rings.

8. Learn the guitar- Charity is helping me on this one. She is giving me lessons, I don't feel like I am learning to quickly. But I will keep practicing.

9. Go on a monthly date with a niece/nephew/brother/sister- I have failed miserably on this one.

10. Finish my mission scrapbook- Nope, haven't even started.

11. Reduce my debt by 1/2- Just adding to it right now, until I have a paying job...I will only be adding to it.

12. Try one new recipe a month- check and check, I have been doing this one. It's nice having someone else cook for you.

13. Learn to scuba dive- A few months ago, my sister-in-law sent me a link to a deal that Groupon was having. It was a discount for the first lesson on how to scuba dive. So I bought one at the discounted rate. I haven't taken advantage of this deal yet, but I am well on my way to learning how to do this.

14. Go on a scuba diving trip- Can't really do this until I pass of #13

15. Learn to make my grandma's blanket- I will be posting pictures of this soon. I am almost done with the blanket. My grandma and I have been working really hard on it, and I believe that on Monday we will finish it. I'm so excited!

16. Learn to drive a manual car- I need someones help with this one. I don't have a manual or know anyone who has a manual car.

17. Visit a church history site- Probably won't do this for a little while. Need to have a job, so that I can travel.

18. Do something out of my comfort zone- Working in the OR has done this on a repeated bases. I will have to write about some of my experiences.

19. Buy dinner for a stranger- I haven't yet to do this. I don't eat out all that much.

20. Make children blankets with my mom for hospitals- Unfortunately we haven't been able to start on this project yet. I haven't been to my moms for a while, so I need to work on that too.

21. Visit Lori in New Orleans- Nope, not yet...but maybe come spring

22. Visit Missy in Kansas- She doesn't live there yet, so I can't really visit her until after the new year.

23. Do a complete temple name- Haven't done anything with this yet.

24. Learn to play the piano- I have been working on this one. Every so often I sit down with Faith and we go over some things and she helps me. But I can only do basic things as of right now.

25. Start a journal (and write in it often)- Nope, haven't done this once. I am going to start off small, maybe once a week.

26. Do a cross-stitch- I am going to go this weekend and find one. I have been thinking of it a lot lately and just need to find the time to go to the store and get one.

27. Go horseback riding- This will have to wait until the weather is warmer. Maybe I can get Shane to help me out with this.

28. Go skydiving- If only I can convince my dad to do it with me.

29. Make a budget and stick to it- Its not hard to stick to a budget when you aren't making any money. The true test will come once I have a job and have income coming in.

30. Go a whole month without eating out- I have done 3 weeks of this, I believe I will be able to accomplish this goal really soon.

So there you have it. I have started on many of them, just not accomplish them. Some of them will take all year to accomplish. But I am glad that I did this update, it was a good reminder that I have actually accomplished a lot. This way I am not discouraged!

Number 30...part 2

Well, I'm sorry to say it...but number 30 will have to wait. I am pretty sure that I am going to have to amend it. I have realized that it is kinda hard to do a whole month without eating out. So I might have to do a week at a time. Or maybe amend it down to two weeks. We will see. So for the time being I will have to hold off number 30.

Number 30

When I was in college I never ate out. Once I moved to Salt Lake, I started eating out every once in a while. Lately, it has been a lot more. The other week I counted that I had eaten out 5 of the 7 days. They were all for different occasions (with my grandma, with my mom, with my friends) and they were all fun times. I love getting together with people and sharing a meal and laughing together. Now doing get me wrong, I am not opposed to eating out, not at all. But 5 times in 7 days was a little over the top. So I wanted to set the goal to help me tone that down a little. And I am happy to report that I have gone a whole week without eating out. Now I know it isn't much, but I am happy about it. Now, only three more weeks to go and I have one of my 30 by 30s done. Wish me luck!

30 by 30

Friday was my birthday...and I turned 29. I thought about what I wanted to do to celebrate my birthday...and I thought...and thought...and thought. I finally decided that I would do a 30 by 30 list. 30 things I wanted to do before I turned 30. And let me tell you, it was a lot harder to think of 30 things than I thought it would be. Given my current situation (going to school and hardly working) I don't know how many of these are actually going to happen, I only have so much money after all, but I am going to try my hardest to get it done. So without further adieu, here is the list (not in any particular order):

1. Participate in a triathlon
2. Participate in Ragnar 2012
3. Visit every temple in Utah
4. Run a 5K with my dad
5. Become a temple worker
6. Read all the standard works
7. Read one new book a month
8. Learn the guitar
9. Go on a monthly date with a niece/nephew/brother/sister
10. Finish my mission scrapbook
11. Reduce my debt by 1/2
12. Try one new recipe a month
13. Learn to scuba dive
14. Go on a scuba diving trip
15. Learn to make my grandma's blanket
16. Learn to drive a manual car
17. Visit a church history site
18. Do something out of my comfort zone
19. Buy dinner for a stranger
20. Make children blankets with my mom for hospitals
21. Visit Lori in New Orleans
22. Visit Missy in Kansas
23. Do a complete temple name
24. Learn to play the piano
25. Start a journal (and write in it often)
26. Do a cross-stitch
27. Go horseback riding
28. Go skydiving
29. Make a budget and stick to it
30. Go a whole month without eating out

I know these are random and some of them I might not be able to accomplish due to lack of funds, they are all things I want to do. If anyone wants to help me accomplish these, just let me know. And I do plan on taking pictures so everyone can see my efforts :)

Redesign

I'm in the processes of redesigning the blog...so bare with me while I update it.

Recap

So I know I am a slacker and should try harder to update my blog. But I just feel like nothing of importance has happened lately. However, my little sister keeps harping on me to update...so here I go (this is for you Katie).

As most of you know I went back to school last September. Because the DATC is self-paced I set a goal for myself to be finished with my bookwork by July (making it 10 months since I started the program). I am happy to say that I finished all of my bookwork on June 30th, so just in the nick of time. Since finishing, I have had to play the waiting game until there was a clinical spot open for me. I just found out that come September 6th, I will be spending 300 hours at Ogden Regional. I am really excited about getting started and all the things that I will learn while I am there.Also of note, my little brother left for the MTC on July 6th. He was very excited to go. I wasn't able to go to the MTC with him, but I was able to spend all morning helping him pack and get the last minute things together. I was kinda shocked to find out that he still hadn't packed that morning. When I went to the MTC I think it took me a week to pack all my stuff. The morning I reported I didn't want to have to stress about anything. I guess that just goes to show you the difference between the two of us. I sure do love Forrest and miss him already! But I know he will do an amazing job.Every year my family gets together and goes to the Ute Stampede in Nephi. This year was no exception. We had the Hansen Family Reunion on July 16th in Lehi, and afterwards we drove to Nephi for the rodeo. I love going to the rodeo with my family and look forward to it every year. This year my dad, Faith, Christian, Charity, Katie, Jeff and Kayley came down as well. One of my favorite moments of the rodeo is right at the beginning. The highlights of the evening is when a skydiver jumps out of his plane with a giant American Flag strapped to his feet. I can only imagine how heavy the flag must be as the man soars through the air. It is quiet a sight to see. I was actually able to snap a picture this year of him coming down. So those are just some of the fun things that have been going on this summer. I promise to write more often and keep everyone in the loop about what is going on in my life.

Manti Temple

My little brother, Forrest, just got his mission call. He is heading to Eugene, OR and leaves July 6th. I am so excited for him. He is going to be a great missionary. Because he is going to school in Ephraim, he wanted to go through the Manti temple prior to school being over. On April 8, the family drove down to Manti to share in this experience. I had never been to the Manti temple and was excited to go.My dad and brother-in-law, Jeff, were able to be his escorts. It was so nice of Katie and Jeff to drive down from Rexburg to be there.It was a really neat opportunity. I love the temple and really enjoyed being there for Forrest. I sure do love him and think he will be a fabulous missionary.

WAC Tournament

Last month I had the privalege of going to Vegas to watch WAC Tournament. Utah State had won the WAC regular season title and were poised to win the WAC Tournament title as well. With a win, the Aggies would get an automatic birth to the NCAA tournament. It was fun to watch the Aggies play two games and be there to see them win it all!Missy and I were able to go down with Josh's parents and his sister. It was fun to spend time with them. They are really a generous family and they treated me like I was family.Missy and I really had a wonderful time. We were able to escape the cold weather in Utah and spend the afternoons laying out by the pool. Unfortunately even though the Aggies won the WAC tournament and made it to the NCAA tournament, they once again lost in the first round. But I had a fun time supporting the Aggies while I was in Vegas. Thanks to the Willis family for such a great trip.

KU/KSU

I know I am a slacker...my sister reminds me that I haven't posted in a while. So sorry about that :)

Growing up in Kansas I grew up a KU fan. I lived and breathed KU basketball. In fact, to this day I always pick the Jayhawks to win the tournament each year. I love college basketball, but I LOVE KU basketball. The real question is, how did I grow up in Kansas and NEVER make it a KU game? If I was to make a bucket list, going to a home KU game would be on there. There is something about hearing the crowd do their Rock Chalk chant that sends chills through your body.



Well my friend Missy heard of my desire to go to a KU game and made it happen. Her fiancee's parents live in Liberal Kansas and are big K-State fans. So she called them up and was able to get us tickets to the KU/K-State game. Now it wasn't a home KU game, but it was just as good. We went out to visit Josh's parents and was able to go to the game as well. it was a fun weekend. I wore a K-State shirt (since Josh's parents got the tickets from one of their friends), but I silently cheered for my team. I probably should have cheered for the Wildcats...after all they did win, and win big. But it was all really fun.

The New Year

2011! Wow, where did the time go? I feel like we were just celebrating the start of 2010 and all of a sudden it was over. When I was a little girl I would come out to Utah every summer to visit my mom. One summer the trip ended quicker than I wanted and I wasn't exhited about coming home. I was at my grandma's house just crying that I had to leave. My grandma took me by the hand and said, "Lexie, a year isn't that long. Before you know it you'll be back with us again." I looked at here and said, "Grandma, a year is FOREVER!". And you know what? To a little girl a year is FOREVER! But you know what, as I get older I realize my grandma was right, a year really isn't that long. The older I get the quicker the years go by. So enjoy 2011 while you can, because before you know it the year will fly by.

Family Pictures

At the first part of October everyone got together for the blessing of my little niece. We decided that since everyone would be together needed to take a family picture. We took one in October of 2008 and since that time we have had four people join our family. This was our picture from 2008. Since that time Katie has gotten married and had a baby, Reese has added another boy to his family, and Thomas has gotten engaged. Our family is quickly growing. Below is our new picture. I can't believe how old we are all getting.The following picture is all the boys in the family. From left to right we have Thomas (20), Forrest (18), Jeff (Katie's husband-23), Reese (29), William (Reese's boy-4 months), Daniel (Reese's boy-3) and Christian (10). Now for the girls in the family. Also from left to right: Celia Renee (Thomas' fiancee-20), Katie (age 22), Kayley (Katie's girl-1.5 months), Charity (15), Lexie (28), and Tammy (26). So there you have it...the whole family. Man I love these guys.