Every once in a while you get to witness history...

This may not be the history that everyone knows about, but to me it was an awesome experience! Chrissy Wellington, world champion triathlete, broke the record on the AZ course! And I was there on the sideline to see the whole thing!

Someday...I will finish an ironman...not breaking any world records...just reaching a goal!

Gilbert Temple Groundbreaking Ceremony

My father-in-law called me one day and asked if I would be the "official photographer" for the Gilbert temple groundbreaking ceremony. I replied..."just because you think I have a nice camera, does not mean I can take good pictures." It is all about the person taking the photos. So I quickly called one of the best photographers I know and begged her to come along! She happily agreed. It was a great day!

So many families from the new temple district were there to witness this great event!

I was grateful to be able to be a part.

(We even had front row seats with our names on them...MEDIA!)

Bowling with friends...

Cute group of 8 year olds running around our neighborhood. I took them bowling one Friday afternoon...Lots of fun!

Ashlynn turns 15

What mom thinks it is ok to let their child give a HAMSTER for a bday gift??? Well, we got a knock at the door, opened it to some giggling girls asking for Ashlynn, and waiting to give her a gift! Yes, a HAMSTER! I am not a pet person. AT ALL!!! So I agreed to keep it for a while to not offend. We woke up to new noises...wheel running, cage scratching, and noisy sipping. There was no where in the house to put it that someone did not here it.

Then it came time to clean the cage. No one wanted to hold it, touch it or clean it! YUCK!

A neighbor came over one day and thought they wanted it. I sent it home and quickly send a text to the mom saying "no give backs." Sadly, it returned a few days later.

Ashlynn was invited to a friends Christmas party and what better gift for a white elephant than the hamster. We wrapped it up and strategically poked hole in the paper to give it air. It made it to the party. The girl who got it cried...not wanting to take it home and show her mom! I thinkit made it to several white elephant parties this season...not sure where it ended up!

Ashlynn has really great friends...They all had to come check out the hamster. The other big gift was a new mattress. Ashlynn had been sleeping on my mattress that I had grown up with. It was time for new! She loved it!

Callie made the birthday poster...complete with the "Hansen" picture.

Ashlynns crush at the time!

Halloween

Start of a new chapter for Ashlynn - VOLLEYBALL!

Ashlynn decided she was finished with dance and wanted to try something new...so she went out for the volleyball team! Having never touched a ball, we were not sure what to expect! Ashlynn is coordinated, smart, hard working and strong and the coaches saw that in her and she made the team! It was a team of mostly beginners, so it was a long season, but they had a lot of fun together and learned a lot!

Some of her strengths were at the net.

Her dancing legs gave her a good jump and her toes were always pointed!

Fabulous Fall Break trip!

We have been looking forward to fall break for a while now...we took the family back east to Washington DC and Philadelphia! Everything went off without a hitch and we had a great time!

Day 1 - Started off with a church service at the National Cathedral! Our kids thought we were doing something wrong going to another church, but we felt like it would be a great experience for them to see! What a gorgeous building inside and out! We sat in on the morning service and got the lesson of the ten lepers and gratitude! Then it came time for the plate to be passed around...as the priest explained the concept of a tithe - he told the congregation that if they had a hard time paying 1/10 then it would be okay to start out with 2% and then go to 5% and build up to the 10%...Greg and I thought that sounded like a pretty good program...we left though before the plate got to us! The music was incredible and the stained glass...AMAZING!!!

Then we were off to the Arlington National Cemetery to see the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and the Changing of the Guard. This is one thing I remember from when

I visited DC way back when...It was an unforgettable experience then and it was everything I remembered it to be.

And on to Mt Vernon...Beautiful! What a mah George Washington was and pretty remarkable what he did for his country. Wonder what he is thinking now?

Monday morning we hit it hard...It was the day to see all the monuments. We hopped on the double decker red bus and set out to see everything we could in one day! Started and the Jefferson, Lincoln, WW II, Washington and Ford's Theater. Then at night we took the twilight tour to see them all lit up! We were exhausted and ready to head back to the hotel.

Day 3...Bureau of Engraving, Holocaust Museum (one of my favorites of the trip), Tour Capital with Congressman Flakes office, Library of Congress and the Supreme Court building.

One of the highlights was the filming of Transformers 3...yes we saw SHIA, BUMBLEBEE and OPTIMUS PRIME! missed all the blow em ups - they did those around 3am.

Day 4- no cameras...White House Tour, National Archives, Air and Space Museum and The Museum of American History.

Then we hopped on the Amtrak and headed to Philadelphia.

Very hot HOT CHOCOLATE at the Philadelphia Train station

Day 5 - Hershey PA

Day 6 - Lancaster, PA. My favorite part of the day. Driving through the colors, hills and Aish Farms! Their life is so simple...I love it!

Day 7 - Philadelphia, PA. I had to see the ROCKY steps! Some of my favorite movies...

Independence Hall, Liberty Bell and the Betsy ross house.

Great memories!

Thanks Dad for working hard so we can go have fun together as a family!