Wow! Where do I begin.......... This is our first post since Zach's kindergarten gratuation. I am a bit behind, as today was Zach's first day back to school as an official First Grader! Where did the summer go?We had some amazing vacations this summer. Our first vacation was a two week trip to Utah. This trip was just for me and the kids. We spent some time with my four sisters and one of my Brothers. Doni, you were missed! All of my neices and nephews were there (there are a total of 9). Things were a little rowdy at times, but the kids had a ball! Nate flew in to SLC to meet us at the end of our stay and from there we drove to Yuma. We spent a few days with Grandma Kimm and Nate's Aunt Jodi and Uncle Chuck. I guess we got there before it started getting too hot, it was only 107 degrees. Needless to say we spent the majority of the time by the pool. Zachary got to hang out with Chuck and Jodi's foster kids. They were relatively close in age to Zach. They had so much fun and got along really well! We can't wait to get back there and spend time with all of you again!After our Yuma trip, we rested up back home for almost three weeks.

Our next destination was Watertown, SD for Crystal and Carl's wedding. Along the way, we stopped in Utah again to say hi to my mom and to visit my grandma who was just placed in a Nursing home there in Logan by my mom. She had been living in Apache Junction, AZ and I hadn't seen her for almost 1o years. Her health isn't so good and she won't be with us for much longer. Under the circumstances it was still really good to see her again.

Back on the road to Custer, SD for an overnight stay and an early rising to spend time at Mount Rushmore the next morning. This was mine and Zach's very first time visiting Rushmore. We have talked about doing it forever, I am so glad we finally did. Now, we will have to do it all over again in a few years when Chloe is a little older so she can enjoy it also. Nate has some childhood memories of a place in the middle of the Black Hills called "Cosmos". We drove up the road a little bit and there it was, just like he remembered it. Now it was mine and Zach's turn to experience it! This is a place were gravity defys gravity. Really! You've got to check it out if you are ever in the area. Take the kids there, they will love it!

Well, about eight hours later (after driving all day again) we arrived to our final destination. Grandpa and Grandma Hanson were anxiously awaiting our arrival. This was the first time they would meet Chloe and as always, they were very excited to see Zach again.

The first couple of days there were already planned out for us with all the wedding events going on. The Rehersal dinner was really nice. I can't go on without saying, we probably could have done without the extreme heat in the room that the dinner took place. I think we were a little more comfortable in Yuma! It was honestly a really nice dinner though, the food was great and I think we were all moved by Carl's speech. We are so glad to have him in the family now!

The wedding and reception were wonderful. Crystal was a very beautiful bride. We had a great time at the reception. The music was fun, the people were great and the food was to die for! Good job with the menu guys! Towards the end of the night, both Nate and Zach decided to get out on the dance floor and cut a rug. Zach has definately learned some cool and some strange moves from his dad. They both had a crowd around them though, clapping and screaming for more!

After the wedding was out of the way, we were finally able to relax at the house with the rest of the extended family. I am so glad that we got to see all of you and especially glad that I finally got to meet Nate's Aunt Jan. I think we only live four or five hours away from each other, but it took us eight years and a 1700 mile trip out to South Dakota to meet each other. We loved, loved, loved being able to spend time with Nate's sister Stephany. We don't get to see her that often, so when we do, it is a special treat! All of you are great, every time we have to leave we talk about moving closer so we can do this more often!

While in Watertown we decided to take a short 1 1/2 hour drive to Aberdeen. Nate grew up here and had a lot of memories he wanted to share with us. We planned to meet up with his cousins Annie and Alisha and their kids for lunch. While there, his other cousin Amy stopped in to visit with us also. It was so cool that I was finally able to meet Annie and Alisha. Nate has talked about them all these years and we could just never make a get together work out for us. Zach thought it was pretty neat to meet some new cousins also. I think we need to plan another get together with them, preferablly a lot sooner. Anyway, thanks for meeting up with us guys! We can't wait to see you again.

Nate wanted to take us to another place in Aberdeen where he had some fond childhood memories. This was a place called "Storybook Land". I am just amazed that this place is free to the public, it is the cutest and a really fun place to take the kids. It is exactly what it sounds like it is. I guess the main theme of the park is the Wizard of Oz and it just kind of stems from there with a tour and a few rides. Amongst the Wizard of Oz stuff there are little Statues and settings for probably all of the nursery rhymes you can think of. Very, very cute!

So, we returned to Watertown for one more day of R&R. Grandpa, Nate, and Ryan decided to take Zach and Carl out on the Sailboat. While we thought it was Carl we would have to worry about because of his bit of reluctancy to go out, it was actually our little trooper Zach that they had to turn around for. Uncle Ryan made it all better by offering to stay back with him. I don't know.... maybe that was Zach's clever way of getting some alone time with his favorite Uncle!

Our next stop was Omaha Nebraska on our route home. Nate has a good friend from the Navy who lives in Des Moines Iowa. He hasn't seen Grant in about 10 years. When Nate got a hold of him and told him that we would be in the area, he was more then happy to travel a little to meet us. We ended up meeting at the Henry Dorley Zoo there in Omaha. It was so fun to finally meet the man behind all these stories that Nate has shared with me from his Navy days. Grant, you are a super great guy, and we cannot wait to see you again!

The following day, we went to Grand Island Nebraska to spend time with a few of Nates High School buddies. Once again I am hearing stories of my husband in his younger years. As I am listening to all these stories, I can't help but to be very grateful that I met him as an adult! We'll just leave it at that! :-} One more stop in Utah on the way back. This time we stayed with some of my childhood friends, and no, the stories they have about me aren't near as good as the stories that I learned about Nate. Thanks for not divulging guys!

Finally, we are home again, awe.. home sweet home! Of course, the first thing you do when arriving back home from a long trip is go to the computer and play catch up. I have just started doing business with a company called Shade Clothing. I was anxious to see what I had missed in the newsletters that were released while I was gone. The first newsletter I opened read: For those of you still interested in attending our anual training on August 24th and 25th, need to get your R.S.V.P. in immediatly. What! There's a training I need to think about going to now? I just got home! Well, the training would be very benficial for me as I am very new with this company and I have a lot of questions, but it's in Utah! Well, I tossed it around for a couple of days. The only way I would be able to attend is if I could get someone to watch my kids. My sister who lives in Logan Utah, just so happened to have a vacation planned for Oklahoma that week. My Mom who also lives there just had two major stomach surgeries. So I am unable to use my only two resourse and leaving them behind in Fallon just isn't an option with me. I decided to take a long shot and call an old friend who works for the school district and would probably have time on her hands since she was off for the summer. I told myself that if she said she could watch both of my kids for two straight days then, it must be meant to be, so therefore, I would R.S.V.P. for the training. I called her up, told her what was going on, made it sound like it really wasn't a big deal, if she couldn't do it that would be just fine. ( I would really be okay with that, as I am reluctant to get back in the car and travel alone, once again, with the kids on another long trip to Utah). But, she said Yes, I'ld love to! Well, like I said it must be meant to be, so Utah here we come again!

The training was great, I obtained a lot of usefull information out of it. I learned that I really love this company and the people within this company more then I thought I already did.

Zach totally made out by being left behind with my friends. He managed to make it to the county fair three days in a row, always coming back with something new and a huge sugar rush to boot. He got his first tatoo and got to hang out with one of his favorite kids (your the man, Brandon).

As for Chloe, I guess she did really well for being left behind for the first time ever. Tanja introduced her to table food so now her baby food is just a thing in the past. When I left Chloe with Tanja, being the anal mom that I am, I left her with a list of instructions. Well, Chloe had other plans and convinced Tanja that there was a better way to do things...Her Way! Sorry, Tanja, I hope you have recovered. I am so grateful for my wonderful friends who I only get to see once in a while but whenever I go back to Utah, they are still always there for me. I love you guys!

Like I said Zach started school this week and things have actully slowed down a little for us now. We want all of you that we had the priviledge of spending time with this summer to know, we had a great time and we look forward to seeing you again (preferably in our neck of the woods).