10 years

So we celebrated our 10 year anniversary this week. It was fun to look back and see how far we have come in the last 10 years. We started out so young, although we weren't even THAT young...we were 24 and 27. But we looked young.


Don't you just love the cheese oozing from this next picture... (and why do I look so much happier than Ephraim?)

It was just Eph and I in the beginning but now we have been blessed with 3 amazing boys. And one on the way (one baby, not one boy. Well, maybe one boy...we don't know yet).




How lucky am I?
Thank you, sweetheart, for an amazing 10 years. We've been a lot of places and have experienced many things. And I'm so glad I've been able to do it with you. I can't wait to see what the next 10 years hold (we just commented last night that on our 20th anniversary, we will have 3 teenage boys...oh my)

And the winner is...

No, I'm not sponsoring a giveaway on my blog.

We took the kids up to Cedar City to see the Harlem Globetrotters with our friends, the Clarks. And of course, the Globetrotters won!


This was my first time to see them play and it was so entertaining. Ephraim has seen them a couple of times but he said that this was his favorite! (it must have been because I was with him...)

There was dancing...


dunking (ephraim's favorite part)...



crowd-pleasing stunts...


lots of cheering (just look how captivated we all were...)



and some tired kids on the way home...


except for Andy, who runs like the Energizer bunny...


I think we may have to do this again.

Merry Christmas...a little off key

Sewing has been on my to-learn list for years now and I finally did it!...with the help of my mother and the Dixie Community Education sewing instructor. The pajamas (on the older boys) were my first sewing project. They took 6 weeks to make and I made almost every mistake possible (thank goodness for seam rippers)...but they ended up turning out OK.

My favorite mistake was when I tried to sew the front of the shirt to the back and asked the sewing instructor if it was right. Her reply..."If you're a double amputee..."

I hope these hold up in the wash......

My Boys

Bear with me while I show off some pictures we had taken of our boys a few weeks ago. The photographer is Kristie Holland, a great friend from our days in Louisville. She lives in the Las Vegas area and is fabulous! (if any of you are interested). My kids were next to impossible to photograph and she still got some good shots. Thanks again, Kristie.

Rise and Shout

Am I indoctrinating them too early?
(one of them seems to be soaking it up a little more than the other)

What a great game on Saturday!

Breakfast

This is how my kids ate breakfast this morning. And I'm not one bit ashamed.

My Fathers

My husband is the best father I could ever ask for my children. And in the words of my children, this is why...

• He snuggles with us every day when he comes home from work
  
• He let us watch movies (that's why they never cried when I left for work)
  
• He has our blonde hair and blue eyes (remember, this is in the words of my children)
  
• He takes us in his car without car seats (hmmmm...)
• He has LOTS of muscles

I find it funny (but not surprising) that my children always cry for their father when they get hurt or are upset. I'm a red still working on the whole sympathy thing.

My dad...is the greatest example of love, laughter, generosity and kindness that I have ever known. I have many memories of growing up with my dad...riding with him and about four of my friends in his tiny little Fiero, accompanying him on speaking engagements, and watching him pull weeds from the garden in his suit and nice shoes...to name a few. My dad will probably never know how lucky I feel to be his daughter.


To my father-in-law and my grandfather... I count myself exceptionally lucky to have you in my life.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day was a fabulous day. We spent the day eating yummy food with great family and friends and had lots of fun. But no holiday gathering is complete without an accident or two.

Poor Andy was the victim this time. Here's how it all played out...

Noah's thinking about the swing...


He's winding up...


And the swing... (notice Andy walking right into the bat)


Ouch! But he IS smiling. (the bruise on his head was from a few days earlier)

Funny Things

We've been taking it easy around here after a busy weekend. Lucas was blessed in church on Sunday and it was a wonderful, fabulous weekend.

Since there's not much to report from the Hanks household, I thought I would post a few funny things I've heard from the kids lately.

1. Noah: "Andy, do you remember when you were a baby and you weren't married and you didn't have a child."

2. This conversation took place after Andy passed gas at the dinner table...
Andy: "I tooted."
Mom: "Andy, what do you say?"
Andy: "Dad, change my poopy diaper. Bye, bye poopy diaper."

3. After the kids helped clean up a mess in the kitchen, I told them they could have a pop tart.
Andy: "Hooray, now we get a hot tart."

4. Mom: "Noah, tell me the truth because we always want to be honest."
Noah: "I'll be honest if you don't put me on time-out."

Who needs TV when you've got this entertainment?

The Prophet Said to Plant a Garden

"For God has given us rich brown soil, the rain and sunshine too." I always see this song as I flip through the LDS Children's songbook but I don't think I've ever heard the melody. For our garden, the Hanks Family might have to add the "rich brown soil"...and the rain...but southern Utah will definitely provide the sunshine.

My yard has been begging for a garden ever since we moved into this house last year. There is a raised patch of dirt in the corner of our yard that just screams "Plant something!"

(don't be fooled by this questionable piece of our property. It will be TRANSFORMED when it is time to transport the plants).

We started today by sowing our seeds in some soil. The kids helped and were so excited to be involved. Noah informed me that he will only eat the cucumbers and we'll have to give away the tomatoes, squash, and peppers. We'll see. The kids are excited about the pumpkins that we will hopefully harvest in the fall.

We'll keep you updated on our successes and failures as we take on this summer project.

Happy Valentines Day!

We have the best grandparents in our family and they didn't disappoint this Valentine's Day. Thank you Grandma Nona and Grandpa Randy for sending the kids this great package...the pjs, the movie, the coloring books, and ohhhhhhhhh the candy.

And I couldn't resist this picture. Andy fell asleep today with one of Ephraim's birthday balloons.


And for those of you who have been worried about Ephraim's chocolate, he got some more for his birthday.

Happy Birthday Ephraim

On Sundays, Ephraim and I teach the Sunbeam class in Primary (3 year olds). Eph's birthday is this Friday (the 13th) so on Sunday the Primary sang to him and gave him a Nestle Crunch candy bar. Later that day, while Ephraim was taking his Sunday nap, the kids and I helped ourselves to a little bit (well, most) of his candy bar. My thoughts...my husband is not a big "sweets" person and I can buy him a new candy bar anyway...he won't mind. Well, he did. He was a little upset and said it would have been nice if I had asked to eat his candy. He was right. The situation was made a little funnier later that evening when Ephraim's parents came for dinner and his mom helped herself to the rest of the candy bar.

Yesterday Ephraim was sick so I went to the store to get some Advil for his pounding headache. I was standing in line to check out when I spotted a Ghirardelli all milk chocolate giant sized candy bar. Perfect, I thought. Ephraim's favorite is all chocolate with no bells and whistles. $2.50 later, I was heading home with the chocolate bar. Expensive, yes (I'm usually a pretty intense bargain shopper) but worth it. Eph would love it.

I came home with Ephraim's candy bar and laid it on his nightstand next to the bed. And then proceeded to lie down to take a nap (I haven't been feeling well myself...you know, this whole pregnancy thing). I woke up an hour later, feeling very refreshed. I looked on the nightstand next to the bed where I had laid the candy bar. Hmmmm, no candy bar. Ephraim must have found it and eaten it. Nope. "I know I laid it there," I said to him. So the interrogations began.

Mom: Noah, did you eat a candy bar that was laying on daddy's nightstand?
Noah: Yes.
Mom: Did you eat it all?
Noah: Yes, Andy and I did.
Mom: Where is the wrapper?
Noah: We ate it on the couch.

Not seeing any evidence of this anywhere, I wasn't sure I believed this version of the story. And my thoughts...there is no way my boys could have eaten this whole candy bar.

So I went to the 2-year old (not expecting much of an answer):
Mom: Andy, did you eat a candy bar today?
Andy: Yes.
Mom: Where is the wrapper?
Andy: In the trash can.

Sure enough, there was the candy bar wrapper lying in the garbage. The kids had eaten all three ounces. What was most amazing to me was that there was not a drop of evidence anywhere and that the wrapper ended up in the trash can.

Happy Birthday, Ephraim.

Still summer

The great weather has been hanging around even longer than expected. Here the kids are playing outside again (all three of them).

I'm back

OK, I'm back from a long needed vacation. No, I didn't go anywhere tropical or fun. I'm just back to the blogging world. The Holidays were so fun and exhausting that I needed a hiatus.

I'm back largely due to an e-mail I received from my father today. I've copied and pasted it below:

Megan

I have sent your web site out to a lot of my friends – they are looking for an update – they are worried about Andy’s head – is it better?? Come on where are the new pictures – where is Popeye and Olive Oil’s picture – you have had that a long time – lets get it on the site.

Randy

This may seem a little demanding and forward but if any of you know my dad, it's all done in love and good humor...I think. So here ya go, dad.

Christmas was great this year. We had so much fun with all of Ephraim's family. So much fun that I was feeling very tired and worn out from all of the festivities. I thought I was just having a hard pregnancy this time around but realized after all the family left and went home that I just needed to take it easy.


(If you're wondering why Andy's PJs are zipped open...my son has a fascination with his belly button. It's a comfort thing. He sucks his thumb and puts the index finger of his other hand in his belly button. Wierd, I know. Any clothing that prevents this process must be altered).

Eph's brother Chris and his family came down for the week after Christmas and Ephraim took the week off. We did lots of fun things...Jumpin' Jacks, the Aquatic Playground at the Rec Center, dinners, movies, a New Years' Party and Parade, and lots of talking and food. LOTS of food. My OBGYN cringed a little when I weighed in at my last appointment. This babe is livin' it up.


We have been taking it easier since everyone went home. Eph's sister, Summer, and her family also left after the new year. They moved up to northern Idaho for a new job. We had been living across the street from each other for the past 4 months. (Is it a coincidence that our move here and their move away came so close together?...hmmmmmm). We love them and miss them very much.

So, dad, I'm back. About the "Popeye" picture...I think it "accidentally" got deleted from my e-mail. Send it to me again and we'll see what we can do. Oh, and Andy's head his much better, thanks for asking.

Christmas Cookies

I made plates of cookies for all of the guys at Ephraim's work. We started out with 20 plates of cookies. Now we're down to 19.

Happy Halloween!

What a Happy Halloween it was. We had a great time with all of the festivities leading up to Halloween and with the great pumpkin holiday itself. My mother makes the kids costumes each year and this year the Cowboy and the Indian were a big hit. Thank you grandma!

The costumes weren't a hit with the kids so much as they were with all adults involved...
these were the comments from my children as we were putting on the costumes:
Noah: I want to wear the moccassins
Andy: Mine boots, mine boots
This is significant because Noah was supposed to be the cowboy and Andy the Indian.
But it all worked out in the end.

The promise of lots of sweet candy kept the children excited. We had a great time with all of our friends. Cameo and Steph, thanks for coming! Your kids were adorable!