"Lavender Fields Forever..."

Every girl needs a best friend, and I have been fortunate to have had the same best friend for 42+ years.

Julie and I met in Kindergarten at Rosecrest Elementary School. We would get in trouble for talking during nap time, and in later grades spent much of our lunch time at opposite ends of the stage because we just couldn't shut up! (Can you believe that they actually expected kids not to talk during lunch back then? No wonder everyone my age can wolf down a meal in less than a minute. It was self preservation. If we didn't eat fast and get out to the play ground we might forget ourselves and visit with our neighbor during lunch and find ourselves on the stage of shame.)

We have been friends ever since, not that we have not had our tough times, there was the infamous "Jax" incident of 4th grade. But all in all I have been priviledged to call Julie my chosen sister for 42 years. There are many things we share, not the least of which is our love of lavender. We have plans to visit the lavender farms this coming July, where I am sure we will smell our selves silly, well not ourselves but the plants, we will smell them til we are silly...ier.

We have been with each other through marriages and the end there of and remarriages, children, deaths of parents, weddings of children and births of grandchildren. She is a major part of my life and I am so grateful for her. I believe that we were friends even before we came to this earth, and we will be best friends and sisters long after we leave.

Julie, I thank you for all the love, support, frank feedback, and brilliant advice. I have really loved the books and fabulous finds that you have shared with me over the years. I love you more than you can know and hope one day to be as amazing as you are.

Mr. Miyagi...uh, Arnold

This is one of my favorite pictures of Arnold, he looks so happy and Ella is so content. I am the luckiest wife in the world. He still had his goatee in this photo, I miss it, but he thinks that he looks older with it. All of us girls think he looks marvelous with it. I have high hopes that it will return soon. Anyway, aside from the lack of facial hair he is still amazing and I am still lucky.

I love to see Arnold with the kids. They love him and he loves them. He will be the funnest Grandpa ever I have no doubt, there will not be a serious moment with him. An apology up front to all the mommies who have had thier little ones taught to "furt" or who can no longer use the facilities with out a little voice on the other side of the door asking if they are "having a good poop?" and being reminded to flush. All fun things they learn from Arnold.

They also learn that he loves them and is interested in them and their thoughts and ideas etc...

if that is any consolation.

My favorite memories include his silly antics, sometime everyone should have the chance to see the movie Tyler made of our trip to St. George, if only so you can see Arnold's aerobics or hear his Dr. Miner song (totally mocking me of course on that one).

I thank my Heavenly Father and all the Angels involved in bringing Arnold to my life. I hope I can make him as happy as he makes me.

Jamie (David), Gary and Caitlin Hansen

I love this picture of the kids (looking through the photos, I was sad to see that we didn't have any of David, we will have to have Channing fix that) this was the first Christmas in the Bluemont house and we gave all the kids Nerf Guns and had the greatest nerf gun war of all time. It was so fun. It is great when we can all get together and happily the kids all get along well.

Jamie is the oldest of all the kids (Hansen and Carrier) and is a Customer Service/Booking Agent for Marriott Vacations. As you can see she is also beautiful. Something that one of her co-workers, David, also noticed and they are dating quite happily from all appearances. Jamie is really successful and great at her job and I know that her Dad is especially proud of her. She has a nice apartment and a really adorable boxer named Captain. Arnold loves to meet Jamie and Captain on Friday mornings for walks. We are lucky to get to see more of her lately and look forward to more visits. She is a busy girl with work and school and I know that she would like to extend her post high school experience to the University of Utah. I have no doubt that she will do it and be an asset to the U.

Gary is a favorite of all of his sisters. And how could he not be with that infectious smile. We don't get to see him often right now but we are so proud because he is on his second year volunteering with Americorp. Arnold and I had an amazing trip to Mississippi last spring to see his graduation from his first year with Americorp. Gary has really grown into a confident and talented leader and team player and this year is a team leader with Americorp. He has had so many great opportunities with Americorp and it is fun to see them recognize and utilize his many talents. We are hopeful that he will be able to be back in Utah for the holidays this year.


Caitlin (with the brown hair) is a senior at Taylorsville High School this year and the second in command of her ROTC unit. It has been a treat to see her branch out into so many activities and groups in High School. She has been a part of a Culinary Arts class and team that was really supposed to be reserved for upper classman, yet she confidently joined and did really well. She has been a great addition to the JROTC and made many friendships that will surely last. Cait has the whole world at her feet right now and it will be fun to watch the adventure unfold. She is fearless in the opportunities that she will grab onto. Will she find herself at the Airforce Academy? BYU Hawaii or somewhere she hasn't even mentioned yet. We will just have to wait and see. But one thing for sure is that she will embrace her plans with full enthusiasm when she does decide.

"Boy...Oh Boy?or Girl Nope Boy!!"

Monday, September 13, 2010...a day to remember! At aproximately 3:30 p.m. Channing and Tyler came into my office with a gift bag with Pink and Blue tissue paper coming out of the top. My job was to open the gift which would reveal the gender of my first grandbaby. It was all so exciting, I had been waiting all day for it. It was just almost too much. But finally the time had arrived and there I was tearing into the package to discover a....wait for it...a blue & white striped onsie, yep, my first grandbaby will be a little boy named Max Tyler (and in a side note just to my adorable nephew Max Brent, the baby is not a copy of you. There could really only be one Max Brent and I love him like crazy) to be named after his daddy and grandpa Thomsen. We then called Grandpa Hansen so that he could share the news (he works all the way in Provo and could not be on the news route that day).

It was so fun to see the photos, he is a really cute little alien, and the few minutes of video that we were able to play before things got too hectic at work were so sweet (we got to see the entire 11 minutes two days ago). Channing and Tyler then went on to visit with all of little Max's Grandparents and his Auntie Carly and Auntie Caitlyn and fill them in on the excitement. It was so rewarding to see the cheshire cat grin on Channing's face and the proud Daddy look on Tyler. Truly one of those payday moments we parents look forward too.

So...now we wait anxiously for March 3 or there abouts for the big moment when we can welcome Max Tyler Thomsen into the world. :) Then "Let the Spoilin' Begin".

"Pull up a couch and tell me all about it..."

So, last time Carly had started college life at the U of U, but I had not yet mentioned that 3 days later Caitlyn started her college career at UVU.
Caitlyn is such a fun, complicated young woman. It really should come as no surprise that she has chosen Sociology for her area of study. Her desire is to become, first, a Social Worker, then she may go on to get her Masters Degree and then finally her Doctorate. Such a smartie; and very nosey as she likes to point out. Loves to know what is going on with other people. She is also incredibly compassionate. Cait has the biggest heart of anyone I know, just another way she takes after her Aunt Elaine. She doesn't always like to show it, preferring often to seem aloof and disinterested, don't you believe it, she is just the opposite.

I told her that with our crazy family she should have lots of practice.

But in the mean time she as she doesn't want to commute down to Provo too often and likes being able to ride with Arnold, she has crammed all of her classes into two days each week. Yikes! With the other days being devoted to homework, volunteering (more about that later), aerobics, laundry (and various other household duties) and her favorite television show of the moment. She is currently signed on to volunteer with YMCA working with disadvantaged elementary aged school children. She is going to be a wonderful Social Worker and advocate for the people she works with, my only worry for her is that her tender heart will be vulnerable; I know however, that a tender, vunerable heart usually makes for the best ally.

Caitlyn has wonderful traits, one of which is being frugal with money, Parker must be so grateful to have a good wife with those kinds of skills. She is just about the most relentless tease I know and I am not sure that Parker is always grateful for that. He has thanked me for letting him marry my "beautiful, handful of a daughter" are the words he used if memory serves.

As you may imagine, I am way too proud of her and her accomplishments, makes a mother proud she does.

I love you Cait.

UTAH MAN...UH WOMAN

Since my last post, things have been pretty hectic around our home. Carly began her adventure in Secondary Education at the University of Utah. And yes, she made Singers, WooHoo! of course as a Freshman, she feels somewhat overwhelmed, but it is awesome. She will be spending a month in Argentina (as in Don't Cry For Me...) next summer and will be heading to Chicago before that. Travel! did you read my "I love to go a wanderin'" post yet? If you did then you know how much I love to travel. I know that she does as well, we both love hotels, something to do with someone else making your bed I am sure.





Carly discovered that she could survive the "Band Nerd" look, when on the first day of school she was sent home with a French Horn. She had to run for the trax train with her back pack and french horn a flyin'. Goodbye Cool? Not for that girl, she handled it was grace and a sense of humor. :) so proud.





She has already attended her first Runnin' Utes football game (victorious over Pittsburg, go Utes) and eaten a burger in a bar (Ed's) no beer for our girl though, just a burger and fries and she wisely took a male friend with her. I remind her all the time to stay away from crazies, she just smiles and nods, but I am sure she is listening. Anyway, enjoy the U Carly we are proud of you!!!

I Love to go a-wanderin'...

Happiest memories have to include our recent trip to St. George. Too much fun, all of us hanging out together, laughing, talking, playing in the pool, seeing Tarzan together. I have to echo Carly's sentiment..."I love hotel living..." I know that I love my home and it is true that there is no place like home, but I love the traveling thing. I envision our family owning a vacation home in St. George, Lava, Catalina, Austoria. The ability to say, "hey, lets spend the weekend in..." you name it. The total relaxation of having left the "real world" behind if even just for a few days.

So Goal #1

Everyone gets their passport, everyone. So that we are ready to go and we just start thinking along the lines of travel. I think of our trips to the cabin, pineview, bearlake...as a kid and how fun those memories are. We will spend time in New Zealand, Driving the curvy roads that Arnold has told us about. Time in Italy, on the Riviera. Eating fish and chips off a street vendor in London. Flying wooden gliders at the column in Austoria, and counting Pelicans off of the South Breaks. We will create happy family memories. Arnold has a vision of he and I taking the grandkids (not the parents) on a trip to Disneyland, how fun would that be.

"Oh, may I go a-wandering Until the day I die! Oh, may I always laugh and sing, Beneath God's clear blue sky!"