Going, Going, Gone

What a crazy summer. It was filled with lots of fun and awesome activities. Let me see if I can get them all in.

The first part of May, Kyle got married to Kilie Clayton. We had a family dinner the night before the wedding. They were married in the St. George Temple. The reception was held that evening at a park in Coral Canyon. The highlight was when Kyle and Kilie did a burnout in the Trans Am as they left the receptions. Nothing new to us, but I wondered what Kilie's parents thought about going home smelling like exhaust and burning rubber. They went to San Diego on their honeymoon.





Our next big event was high school graduation for Kurt. I can't believe we have 3 out of 4 that have now graduated. He graduated from Desert Hills High School. He was the first graduating class from that high school with just barely over 100 graduates. It was fun for him to be a senior at the new school. Their class held every school record!! Following graduation, the senior class boarded a bus and was off to California where they played on the beach and went to Disneyland and on an island cruise.





The end of June, Kevin got married to Lizzie Carlson. We had the family dinner the night before at my mom's house in Rexburg. We served dinner that was cooked in a milk can, and it was a big hit. They were married in the Rexburg Temple, and the reception was held later that day in Idaho Falls. They stayed at Destinations Inn in Idaho Falls after the reception. Doesn't look very impressive from the outside, but the rooms inside are beautiful. They went on a cruise for their honeymoon.







Kris has been busy all summer long. He finished his Eagle Project, which was called Comfort Critters. He collected animals for the St. George Fire department that they can hand out to accident victims. It was a great project and the fire captain was really surprised at how many animals and blankets he collected. (Special thanks to everyone who donated and sewed items for him.) He has also been to lacrosse camp in Salt Lake with some teammates. He won a new pair of lacrosse gloves for being the best hustler. As if that wasn't enough, he has taken up cross country where he has been running for several miles a day. Busy, busy, busy.






Rick and I were partially in charge of our Hansen/Wasden family reunion. It was held in Rupert, Idaho at the Sunrise River P Ranch.



We had a great time with family playing games, singing, talents show, water slides, good food, etc.



It was great to see grandma up there rapping with the boys on Karaoke night.


After the family reunion Rick, Kris, and I went to Jackson Lake and played with Rick's brother Dale and his family. It was great to get away and relax a little. We stayed at Signal Mountain.

The first night we stayed in the hotel. Later, when we opened the trailer to take it camping, we found a bat inside. Scared the crap out of us. We still don't know how it got in there. While we were there we went into Yellowstone to see Old Faithful.


We had a great time boating. Kris is a crazy man on the knee board. He even got a chance to drive the boat.



Now school has started and we are back on a schedule. Hopefully life will slow down a little. Even though our summer was loaded with events, they were all great events and we were so glad to be apart of all of them.

A Great Loss

Saturday we had to flush the fish. It was dying, and I could not stand to watch it anymore.

This fish came into our family about 6 or 7 years ago. Carolyn Smith was helping with a youth Halloween carnival in her ward. She invited Kurt and Kris to come. They won about 8 or 9 goldfish from the fishing pond. They were so excited to bring them home. One by one the little fish started dying. Every day we would flush another dead fish. Then, it came down to just one fish.

This fish is a survivor. Not only did he survive the death of several of his friends, but he has survived many other things too. He survived the move to St. George 4 years ago. He rode all the way, splashing in his little bowl. He lived with us for a month in the condo while we were looking for a house.

Awhile after we moved into our new house, Kyle sent a fish tank home from his mission. It was one that they had kept a frog in. It was just the right size for our fish. We moved him into his new home where he swam happily for years. In fact, with the bigger fish tank, our fish grew bigger. It seemed to outgrow it's color. It was mostly white instead of gold, but had the most beautiful tail fin I have ever seen on a fish.

The last couple of months he started not doing so well. He had a large growth just under his tail fin. We would often find him laying on his side during the day. We would tap on the glass and he would start swimming again. Soon, the growth became bigger. It was almost like a bubble that would keep him floating on top of the water. I did some research on the internet and thought I had found his problem. Swimmers Bladder. It can be cause by eating too many dry fish food flakes. All the articles said to not feed your fish for a couple of days. After that, you should feed them boiled peas. After not feeding him for a few days, the growth became smaller. We started boiling peas for our fish. (At this point, the fish was eating more nutritious meals than my boys). Soon he seemed to be feeling better, and swimming back to normal again.

Unfortunately, we noticed that he had a problem with his eye. You could see right into it, like it didn't exist. Kilie, our eye specialist, said that he had macular degeneration of his eye. Ohh, that was so sad. Our poor little fish only had one eye. It was not noticeable until you turned the light on in the tank. Then it became very obvious that his eye was gone.

Soon the growth was back. Didn't seem to matter what or when he ate. He got to where he was slowing down and hardly swimming at all. He would rest his little head on a leaf on the plant and just float there. One night it was so sad that we had to put a towel over the fish tank. I couldn't watch anymore. We fully expected him to be dead in the morning.

Next morning we removed the towel to find him still swimming around. That is, swimming, and then floating on his leaf. We continued to watch him and tapped on the glass regularly to keep him awake and moving. Soon, even the tapping on the glass didn't seem to make him swim. He was old and tired. I kept thinking that he would give up and die, but that didn't happen. Like I said earlier, our fish was a survivor.

I had asked the boys to flush the fish, but no one wanted to be the one to do it. Finally, when they were all outside, I took our little goldfish to the new fish bowl. (The porcelain bowl) I flushed the toilet, cried for awhile, but was so relieved when it was finally done. I couldn't watch our fish die any longer. Kurt and Kris want to buy a new fish to put in the bowl, but if that happens, they are gong to have to keep it in their room. I can't give another piece of my heart to a fish.

Getting My Act Together

Thanks to Allison and Jen, I am getting my act together and figuring out how to do a blog. It's not that I ever have anything really exciting to say - just seems like the thing to do. (Does that make me a follower rather than a leader??) I am still finding this site a little confusing but I hope with a little practice I will be able to catch on.

Things have been a little crazy in the Hansen household lately. We have several things going all at one time. Don't get me wrong - they are all great things. They just seem to be really close together.

I am on the board for the RedRock Lacrosse league. The season is just getting started and has required a lot of time. Kris is working on his Eagle Project and at the moment I have stuffed animals everyplace in my house. Kurt will be graduating from Desert Hills High School in May. Kyle is getting married to Kilie Clayton on May 2. Kevin is getting married to Lizzie Carlson on June 27. Rick and I are helping put together the family reunion. Add in there girls camp, work, and everyday stuff. See - crazy!!!

Well, now that I have done my first post, I better head out to the yard and help Kurt and Rick get that stack of rocks moved into the flower beds.