Christmas!

We had our big family get together on Christmas evening with a huge dinner. I think I am still full from all that food! 4 of the 5 children were there and we had so much fun although we missed Lisa and her family very much! It was fun to have Stephanie and Kim come in from California although I know they hated all the snow and they were freezing. My cousin Juanita and her kids joined us for dinner as well. We had so much fun laughing, playing games, talking, and eating way too much! But that is what holidays are for, right?

I am usually a picture taking fool but for some reason this year I didn't take very many pictures. We did manage to sneak in this picture of all the girls (although Mister wanted to join us so we figured we could make an exception for him because he is so dang cute although you can't really see him).

Merry Christmas

We just wanted to wish everyone a very merry Christmas! We hope everyone has a great day.

Love,
Ian and Kristin

Melts My Heart

So as some of you may know, I have been a Primary teacher for almost 3 years now. I love serving in the Primary and I wouldn't normally complain about it, but for the last 3 years I have been teaching the same kids. It's nice in a way because we know each other really well now, but it also has its down points. Such as the kids are way too comfortable with me so sometimes it is difficult to get them to listen and be reverent. Lately I have been debating about whether or not I should ask to be released. Well this last Sunday in Sharing Time the kids were making Thank You cards. One little girl in my class decided to make one for me and this is what she handed me. It really melted my heart. It's things like these that make Primary all worth while!

Christmas Party

Friday night we went to Dr. Maymi's Christmas party. It was held at the Desert Star where we had dinner and a show called "Home for the Holidays". Neither Ian or I had ever been to the Desert Star but it was a lot of fun. They had a buffet style dinner before the show and then we saw a show that was all about Christmas songs - with some slap stick humor thrown in here and there. It was pretty funny! Ian and I definitely want to go back and see another showing sometime. It was also fun to get to spend time with my co-workers outside of work. Dr. Maymi and his wife were so generous too. I am thankful for the opportunity that he has given me to work there and learn from the other amazing hygienists I work with.

Temple Square

This weekend we went to Temple Square with my sister and her family. Ian and I have been saying that we want to go see the Christmas lights at Temple Square since we were married, but 6 years later we still hadn't followed through with that goal. So this year we decided to finally make it happen! I am so glad that we went. It was beautiful! And the weather was pretty nice. It's neat how they have the grounds open so you can walk right up to the temple-even up the stairs! I heard on the news that they have over 750,000 lights on Temple Square, but they are worth it! I highly recommend you visit if you haven't yet this year!

Sidetracked

So I had my visit with my doctor today. It went well and we discussed starting Clomid and what to expect while on it and all that fun stuff. Well bless my poor doctor's heart-as she was explaining this to me, she also discussed my weight and she tried to tell me in the nicest way possible that I was fat. Ok, she didn't use those words, but that was the gist of it. She recommended that I lose weight (as if I wasn't completely aware of this before) and she gave me some options to help me achieve that goal.

So after deciding to put off starting Clomid for at least 2 months so I can try to lose 20 pounds, calling and telling Ian about the appointment and crying a little, I decided the best thing for me to do was to continue with my Tubo Jam and to try Nutrisystem. It is a lot of money but I figure that a baby is worth it! Just wanted to give an update because I really don't feel like retelling the "I'm too fat" story to everyone! But thanks for everyone's support-it means a lot to me!

'Tis the Season

It is officially Christmas Time! I was your typical crazy Christmas person and I put up all my decorations the day after Thanksgiving. However Ian and I waiting until today to put up our tree. We bought this poor 3 foot tree the first year we were married-it was very cheap and we were poor college students back then. It has probably seen its better days, but it has sentimental value to me. Besides I don't have any room in our tiny apartment for a bigger tree! Now we just need some snow!

Happy Thanksgiving!

I love this time of year and I thought I would take a minute to write about the things I am grateful for.

My husband-He is the greatest! He is so loving, caring, and supportive of me. I could not ask for anything more. I love him so much!

My family-I am a little prejudice, but I think I have the cutest nieces and nephews and I love spending time with them. I also have the best and coolest sisters! My parents are pretty great too!

My job-I am truly blessed with my new job. I love my boss and the other girl I work with. I really feel like I have found my "home" at this new office. I love going to work now!

The Gospel-I'm not one for sounding cheesy and all, but my life has been so blessed because of the Gospel and I am thankful it!

I could go on and on but I will try and keep this short. But I also want to say I am grateful for my friends, my insurance so we can afford all the doctor visits, and my education. So I just want to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and don't eat yourselves silly! But enjoy a good piece of pumpkin pie for me.

What's Happening Hot Stuff?

It's been a while since I last posted, and even before that my posts weren't all that interesting, so I thought I would give a quick update on what has been happening in our lives.

My new job is going great! I love it! I have been working a few days a week at my old job so I have been working 5-6 days a week. There have even been a few 12 hour days! It's been a long few weeks, but it's been nice to have the money to pay back the student loans! Ian had an interview with a local sports radio show for an internship and he said things went well. They said they will be hiring new interns the first part of the year so he is excited about getting his foot in the door.

I also have an appointment the first part of December so I can start fertility drugs. All of our test came back and we are fairly normal so now we can start the next part of this process. Just pray for me that I don't end up with multiple babies at one time! You never know with the track record of my family and twins!

Ready to Play

The other day Ian told me that he needed to get photoshop for one of his classes and he said that we could get a good deal if we bought it through the school. Well, ever since I have seen the cute things my friends have been creating with photoshop I have been secretly envious of them! So I didn't put up much of a fight (especially after I saw the great deal we got) and I agreed to fork out the money. We just got it today and I am so excited to play around with it! I can't wait to be the next one to post some of my cute creations!

Crafty Girl

As some of you know, I went to a clock party a few months ago and made my own clock. I love my clock and I always get complements on it. So when I heard that Tick Tock Collections came up with a new product I was so excited. They designed a magnet board and as soon as I saw it I knew I wanted to make one! So my sister and I tagged along on a party so we could make them. It was so fun and easy, they walk you through everything! Although I have to admit that the dots were kind of a pain to put on, but I think the final product was worth it! Now I just have to find a picture of us that is as cute as my new board.

New Beginnings

I started my new job today with Dr. S. It was great! It is a brand new office so today we just ordered all the supplies that we will need to run the office. It was actually very nice to get to order what I wanted for the hygiene department instead of using whatever the last hygienist used. I feel so spoiled! He is such a nice guy and I feel so lucky to have gotten the job! And the best part was I was finished by 4pm! No more 9 o'clock nights for this girl!

I am also excited for Thanksgiving. I love this holiday but it kind of gets skipped over because once Halloween is over all the stores focus on Christmas. So last year I went to the Quilted Bear and spent way too much money on wooden turkeys and pilgrims but they just make my door so cute!

Voting Time

Well it's that time of year again when we get to vote. No, I'm not talking about Dancing With the Stars, but why is Cloris still there, or American Idol, although I just had to vote for my native Murray neighbor! I'm talking about the presidential race. I decided to avoid the crowds and vote early this year. If you live here in Utah you can vote early too although I am sure there are other states doing the same. You can check out where to vote early here. I even got a "I voted early" sticker!

Arizona Road Trip

I went on a road trip with my parents to Arizona this weekend. My dad had some time off work for fall break so we thought we would drive down to Chandler to visit my sister Lisa at her new house. It was a long drive but it was fun to visit Lisa and her family. Unfortunately Ian couldn't get the time off of work but he was nice enough to let me take off without him! Thank you honey!

Lisa has 3 cute kids, A, J, and J. The last two are twins. They already had their Halloween costumes so they wanted to model them for us. Ok, A just liked wearing her costume since she is fascinated with superheros so she would wear her's all the time! Her favorite is Batman but she is equally into Superman and Spiderman. J wasn't too interested in putting on her costume so I don't have any pictures of her.

We also celebrated A's 5th birthday while we were there. She was so excited and kept asking for a superhero cake. Lisa was able to find one that had Spiderman rings on it so A was thrilled about that! The kids were so excited about having cake and ice cream. Oh the joys of childhood! I love spending time with my family and especially my nieces and nephews. I love hearing them call me "Aunt Kussie" and getting kisses from them. I am so glad that Lisa lives a little closer to us now that she is in Arizona.

Why is it Snowing Already?

So I woke up early this morning to get my Primary lesson ready and as I walked out into the living room this is what I saw! I was not expecting snow! I guess I should have watched the news so I was a little more prepared...but still, snow this early in October? The leaves haven't even fallen off the trees! Salt Lake didn't get as much snow as my sister did, but we got a fair amount. I am just glad that I don't have to drive to Utah County anymore now that school is finished. Last winter seemed so long and we got so much snow! There were a couple of nights where it took me 4 hours to get from Orem to my house. I am not going to miss those days!

New Job!

So I can officially share the news since I told my current boss tonight that I am leaving. I was offered a full time job at a brand new dental office! I am so excited for the job! The dentist is the nicest guy and the best part is that the hours I will be working will be "normal" hours! No more nights and weekends for me. I am very excited for the change! I start my new job on November 3rd.

I also had my appointment for my x-ray today. Boy that was fun! It was quite painful, but the things we do for kids! My right uterine tube was blocked but they were able to unblock it so hopefully that helps. Now Ian needs to have his swimmers tested to make sure there is enough and then we will start fertility drugs. Yeah!

So I haven't put up any pictures in my last few blogs and it was looking a little bare so I thought I would share a picture of my cute nieces in California playing dress up in their mom's high heels.

Check This Out

This is one of my favorite websites to look at. If any of you have served missions or your husbands have served missions you need to check it out! It called http://www.mission.net/ and then you can click on the region you served in and it will bring up all this missions in that area. It's pretty cool because you can see the alumi of the mission, info on the past presidents, and other neat stuff. Just thought I would pass along the info!

Doctor Visit

So I had my appointment today with the womanly doctor, Dr. Holmes. She was super nice and everything went well. The visit consisted of me getting violated, felt up, and my blood stolen. But in all seriousness, she said that most likely I am not ovulating and so she wanted to do some blood work to check on my hormone levels. I also have to have a hysterosalpingogram done next week, which is a long fancy word for an x-ray of my uterus and tubes just to check to make sure everything is positioned correctly. She said that they inject dye into your uterus and then take a picture and that it is really uncomfortable so I am not looking forward to that! Once all the tests are in we will go from there and most likely start fertility drugs. So now I am just waiting for the results.

So Annoying!

Have you ever looked forward to something and then have it ruined? Doesn't that just bug you? Well that happened to us this morning. I was so excited for today to come because I was going to get to sleep in. And it was the day after Ian worked his 12 hour shift and so he was really looking forward to sleeping in too. But bright and early what do we hear? A bunch of guys in the swimming pool right outside our bedroom window using a jack-hammer! There should be some law against people using loud machinery before 8:00 in the morning! I had to get up because I am such a light sleeper, Ian on the other hand is still in bed trying to sleep through all the noise! He must be really tired!

PS I love Halloween and I had to restrain myself from putting up a Halloween background before October...but now there is no stopping me! I'm busting out all the Halloween decor!

Go Utes!

Ian and I went to the U of U football game on Saturday. Ian is a huge fan of college football and loves the Utes and so by default I am a Ute fan too. Ian's friend has season tickets and wasn't able to go so he gave us the tickets for free. The U played Weber State and it was an awesome game. The Utes won 37-21. We sat in the student section and it was so crazy! There was a guy there in a red speedo and girls in their bras with Utah painted on the stomachs. The funniest part was the group of boys in front of us who brought in a flask and were getting drunk during the game!

The only bad part is the stadium is up on the east bench and we had to park a mile away and so we ended up hiking up the mountain! I have only done my Turbo Jam for 5 days so that hike nearly killed me! That's why I look like I am about to pass out in the picture! That and our seats were on row 55 so after my hike up the mountain I had to hike up the freaking stadium! Maybe next year it will be easier!

I am Sore!

So, I finally had to give into the whole exercise thing. I resisted as long as I could! Anyway I spent my last day off of work in bed watching TV when an infommerical came on for Turbo Jam. It looked interesting so I thought I would give it a try because obviously what I am doing on my own is not working!

I got the DVDs this Monday and I started them yesterday. It's a fun workout but, man, I am sore! They kick your butt! Literally! My butt is sore sore but I guess it's a good thing because it means that it is working. Hopefully this pushes the diet thing and the weight loss thing in the right direction since I haven't lost any more weight recently. I'll keep you posted! Thanks for everyone's support!

Birthday Fun

So today is my birthday and I am another year older. I can't believe I am 32 years old now! I still feel like I am 20...too bad I don't still look like I am 20! It is so crazy! Anyway, I had to work today but my cute sweet husband got my some flowers, a cake, and a balloon while I was away cleaning teeth. He is the sweetest guy anyone could as for! I love him so much. He also got me an ipod adapter for my car so I can listen to my music while driving. Pretty cool! We also went out for dinner to my favorite Mexican restaurant here in SLC. I am addicted to their salsa. It was a fun day even though I had to work.

My best friend Michelle has a birthday a week before mine so this past weekend we celebrated our birthdays together with our husbands (ok her's is a fiance, but close enough). Ian and I went to Provo (since last year she came up to Salt Lake) and we went to Los Hermanos (gosh, I eat a lot of Mexican food!). It was a trip because I haven't been there since I moved to Salt Lake. Nothing has changed a bit at that place! The funniest part was some high school was having a big dance so there were about 30 couples there in their prom dresses and tuxedos. I remember doing that same thing when I was in high school. I guess some things never change! We also went to see The House Bunny-cute movie. It's fun to celebrate our birthdays together! It's even better that I get a whole week to be younger than her...I get in all my old lady jokes in that short week!

Finally Made the Call

Ian and I have been trying for a baby for 14 months now. It has become discouraging but we are trying to stay positive. I have put off going to the doctor for every reason under the sun...I don't know a doctor in Salt Lake, I want to wait until school is finished, I need to find a job first, the list goes on and on. But with a birthday looming next week I decided that I shouldn't wait any longer because I am not getting any younger! So I finally called a doctor on Tuesday. I have an appointment in a few weeks. I am a little nervous. Hopefully they don't tell me my innards are broken and it's something that can be fixed easily. At least the scarey phone call is out of the way!

Still in Shock

Ok, this post is for all my hygiene friends! Yesterday I had a patient come in and before I looked in his mouth I looked at his x-rays and found huge spicules of calculus between every single tooth. His probe readings were between 4-5mm and his gums were very edematous and red, and they bled just by looking at them. I thought he would need a blood transfusion by the time we were done due to the amount of bleeding. My first though was he would be a great boards patient (sad that thought still goes through my head!) but he would not have qualified becasue he was only 14 years old!!! Can you believe it? I about died! I have never in my life seen a 14 year old with that bad of a mouth. I spend an hour and a half cleaning his teeth. Poor kid probably hates me but his mouth will thank me in a week or so!

Rest In Peace

Here lies my relationship with Mountain Dew. Our beautiful relationship started shortly after high school when my best friend encouraged me to switch from my ever trusted Dr. Pepper. One sip of that sweet yellow nectar and I was hooked!

I even bought some Mountain Dew while on my mission, much to the utter disgust of my companion who snipped at me that I needed to avoid even the appearance of evil. But you gotta do the dew, right? (The best part of Iowa was their knock off brands of Mountain Dew were called Hee Haw and Hillbilly Holler, funniest thing ever!)

Well as part of my commitment to a better life, I had to say good-bye to our relationship and just like that it came to an end on Monday, August 18, 2008. I even cut the ties to all related beverages. No more caffeine or carbonation. And I have to say that I feel better! It has not been easy especially since my husband brought home a case full of Mountain Dew and there are about 20 cans sitting in my fridge even as I type this!

But no worries, I have replaced my drinking habits with something else. I tell myself that it is just as tasty as my previous habit and when that doesn't work I just look at that label full of nutrition and I realize that I am drinking it for a purpose. And when that doesn't work I just look at the scale and realize that I have lost 4 pounds and it makes me smile. I think I am going to like my new relationship!

It's Amazing

So our computer decided that after 5 years that it had computered enough and it died on us on Monday. Well actually it was a stupid update from Windows that froze the computer and then it reinstalled its previous setting and erased everything and wasn't working properly. I was so mad I wanted to call up Microsoft and tell them that they needed to buy me a new computer!

Anyway, we wanted to get a new one together and since my day off is Thursday, Ian took the day off as well and we finally got a new computer! It was driving me crazy not having a computer and the Internet at home! I could only use it a few minutes a day at work. It's amazing how dependent and accustom to the computer we are! I am so excited to have a working computer again!

It's Over!

Today I was in charge of Sharing Time in our Primary. If you know anything about me than you know that I hate (with a capital H) public speaking. It was nice of the primary presidency to give me 3 weeks notice so I could prepare but it also gave me more time to stress out about it!

The theme for primary this year is I am a Child of God and this month we talked about showing our faith in Jesus Christ by being baptized and confirmed. My class was so excited about it. They all wanted to help with the lesson which I was happy about! They have just learned how to read and they all read their part beautifully and helped put up the pictures and stuff. They were too cute! The lesson went very well and I was pleased at how well it turned out. But the best part of it is now it is finished! I have a whole other year until I have to do it again!

Making the Commitment

So I have finally decided that today is the day! I am going to make the commitment to myself about losing weight. Today is the first official day of my lifestyle change! I know I should have started on a Monday but, hey, I like to shake things up a bit!

I have always been one of those unlucky people who have always struggled with their weight. Not to mention the extreme difficulty in taking it off! That is the most frustrating part. But I have decided that I can no longer live like this and I want to be healthy and happy. So to help me in my long journey to my goal weight I am going to blog about it and keep track of my weight loss. I am hoping it will be a motivation for me to stay on track. If not, the rest of you can help me stay on track! Deal??

Hansen Family Reunion

We had a family reunion for my mother's side of the family this weekend in Provo. Unfortunately I had to work and so I only caught the last hour of it but I really enjoyed the short time I had with my aunts, uncles, and cousins - all of whom I don't see enough.

I don't know my mom's parents at all. Her mother was very sick but when she found out my mom was getting married she made a remarkable recovery for the wedding, getting well enough to stand in the recieving line and greet everyone who came. She died just 3 weeks after my parent's wedding. My grandpa Hansen died when I was about 3. I don't have any memories of him. I have always said the one thing I would like different in my life is to know my Hansen grandparents.

My mother is the youngest of 10 children and then she didn't marry until she was 35 so by the time we were born, her brothers and sisters were long done with having kids so there is quite an age difference between my family and the rest of the Hansen cousins. I think some of my cousin's children are closer in age to us then my actual cousins!

There are 4 of my mom's siblings alive and they all made it to the reunion. It was pretty neat considering some of them are close to 90 years old! Each family brought some memorabilia of the Hansen family with them such as stories, pictures, or genealogy. One cousing brought a family history chart that showed the Hansen family as decentants of King Edward the First, so I am royality! I thought that was pretty cool!

Clock Party

My sister Janette hosted a Tick Tock Collection clock party on Saturday. It was so much fun! She invited her friends and family and we all got to make a clock. It was so simple! We had great teachers, Mandolin and Sheri. They showed us how to paint the clock so it looked antique and they even fixed our mistakes when we made them. The whole party was pretty neat, the company gives the vinyl letters for the numbers and you can pre-order your names so that the clock is personalized.

I decided on a white clock so that it would match our future house decor (whenever that happens) but Ian really, really wanted me to make a red clock to represent the Boston Red Sox. (I tell you he is obsessed!) So to surprise him I decided to make a smaller red clock for him. Since I made it on impluse I didn't have anything to personalize the clock with but the cool thing is that you can order after you make the clock and they will mail it to you and then all you have to do is stick it on. So the nice wife that I am I ordered "Red Sox" for him.

So if anyone is interested in it you should really check it out! They are so cute and easy to make and the whole party concept is so much fun and the prices aren't too bad! They have several colors to choose from in the larger clocks and tons of smaller clocks. I am so proud of my work and would totally make another one!

Lagoon

On Saturday my sister Janette called me and invited Ian and me to go to Lagoon with her. I decided that since we had bought season passes this summer and had yet to use them we might as well go and get our moneys worth! So we met up with Janette and her 5 kids. It was the first time in probably 12 years that I have been to Lagoon. And I was pleasantly surprised at how much fun we had! In fact we had so much fun I just might go back one more time before summer is over! ;)

There is a new ride (or at least new to me) at Lagoon called the Spider. The first time everyone went on it I volunteered to watch the little boys but as soon as they came off the ride they all wanted to go again. Everyone talked me into going on it. Reluctantly I agreed. This is a crazy ride! It's a regular roller coaster but the cart spins around while you are traveling along the tracks. I don't mind roller coasters but our cart was spinning the whole time we were on the ride. I couldn't even open my eyes because we were spinning so much it was making me sick to my stomach to watch all the lights whiz by me!

Another ride we went on was Rattlesnake Rapids which promises that you will get wet! Considering how hot is was that day, none of us cared if we got wet. Except Dallin, he said he didn't want to get wet. We all went on the ride and had fun, even the two little boys had fun until we came to the waterfall (pictured next to this). It doesn't look like you would get that wet going under it, but looks are deceiving. As soon as we went under it everyone got soaked. Poor little Liam had all the water land right on top of his head! There was not one person who escaped getting wet. Even Dallin got wet but he didn't complain or cry, he just smiled, he even said he had fun!

Despite my decade long ban on Lagoon, I was very happy we went. Ian even said to me that he had more fun than at Disneyland! I don't know if I would go that far but I did have a lot of fun. Even thought the food costs an arm and a leg and I was a sucker for my cute niece and nephews and bought them all $3.00 ice cream cones!

Goodbye Notes

On Friday we had a bon fire with the girls from my dental hygiene class. The main purpose of this bon fire was to burn the mountains of notes that we collected over the last 2 years from school. Most of it being pointless, outdated, leftover crap from the dark corners of our teacher's files that they felt they needed to share with us.

There were 7 of us that joined in the festivities. I thought we had a great turn out! Kim S. and Marie did a great job planning the night. They were so sweet - they brought hot dogs that we roasted over the burning notes and we made smores. But my favorite part of the night was when we burned the UCDH banner! That felt great!

I brought a stack of notes but I barely made a dent in the files of notes I have from school. I even donated my community health book the the cause! It felt great burning all those notes! Some of the girls were smart and remembered to bring their dental hygiene class manual booklet. Why didn't I think of that?

Marie put on a great show for us by blowing fire balls with powdered sugar. I was too scared to try. I didn't want to burn my eyelashes off! But the best part of the night was just sitting around and talking. It brought back the good old memories of all our talks in the lunchroom at the MATC building. I am sure going to miss all these beautiful girls now that school is finished! We need to get together more often!

Lets Go Red Sox

So as some of you may or may not know, Ian's all time favorite baseball team is the Boston Red Sox - and any team playing against the New York Yankees. In light of this fact, we planned our whole vacation around the Red Sox's play schedule. We arranged our trip to California to coincide with Boston's series against the Anaheim Angels of Los Angeles so that we could see them play, not once but twice!

The first game we went to was a night game and my sisters and their families joined us for the game. I was surprised that little two year old Millie was good for the whole game. Of course she spent most of the night playing around with the binoculars but that's part of what makes her so cute! She was so pre-occupied with them she wouldn't even look at me for the picture.

The game went to almost 11:00 which is way past Chelsea's bedtime, but even with all the noise she fell asleep. She even slept through the firework show at the end of the game. I guess there really is some truth behind the phrase "sleep like a baby"!!!

About half of the crowd were Boston fans. I was actually surprised by how many Red Sox fans were there! My sisters were good Angels fan and they wore all their Angels gear. They even dressed my nieces up in Angels outfits. I tried my best to convince Chelsea to move over to the Red Sox Nation, but my sister was having none of that! She even booed me!

The game was really good and we had a good time, in spite of the drunk fans behind us that kept yelling profanities. Sadly the Red Sox lost the game, but it was still fun to see them play live.

The next game we went to was a day game and it was just the two of us, so we splurged and got really close tickets so Ian could be up close and personal with the players. We got there early so we could see them warm up. However our tickets were right by the Angels dug out and so all the Red Sox players were across the field from us! But I got to see my favorite Boston player, Jason Varitek, walk right in front of us, that was pretty cool!

It was a fun game but we were sitting in the sun for 4 hours and we both got fried! It was a good game and the Red Sox looked like they were going to win after Youkilis hit a two run home run, but in the 7th inning the Angels rallied and came back to win the game. That darn rally monkey! Ian was very disappointed and a little upset that we didn't get to see the Red Sox win, but it was still a good time - minus the sunburns!