Who Is The Next American Idol (updated)

I have really enjoyed this season of American Idol. Let's see if we can predict who the next American Idol will be. Take the poll to the right of the screen. I put the poll on earlier, but decided to start over since Brooke was voted off tonight (I was a little sad!). So, if you voted earlier today, please vote again because it didn't count. You can vote for more than one, so if their are conflicting views in your household, please vote for them too!

Foothills

Finally the weather cooperated and let us do something outside as a family. In the seven years I have lived here, I have never been on a hike in the foothills. It was so beautiful and so fun.

On our hike through the foothills Dan and I were wondering out loud why we had never taken the family to do this before now. We then remembered that for most of Zach's life, he was too sick to make a hike like this. It has been exactly one year since Zach underwent his last surgery and has been free from his battle with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. He never would have made it as far as we did yesterday, a total of almost four miles. (Grandpa Dinger would have loved it!) Maddie didn't want to stop, so after our short picnic she and her Dad went up a little further for a better view of the city. The boys and I stayed behind and went looking for animal holes.
The way down was a little harder because the kids were so tired, but Zach serenaded us with his favorite song, "A Hunting We Will Go." The cutest lyrics went like this: "OOOHHH a hunting we will go! A hunting we will go! We'll catch a bear and put him in underwear, and then we'll let him go!!" Zach sang that at the top of his lungs. It was very funny.
As you can see, the scenery was absolutely beautiful, oh and the foothills were nice too. (Ha! Ha!) We had so much fun and are looking forward to doing it more often, if only mother nature would decide to just let it be spring!

Crazy Stunt

I got this video clip from a good friend and wanted to share it with you all. If you haven't already seen this you must check it out!! I really think this girl is nuts. What I find so interesting is that once the girl has finished her trick, and is a little hurt, the men are too busy giving themselves high-fives to care. As if they did anything!! Whatever!

Happy Birthday Pop

Pop, I love you! Happy Birthday!

Family Fun

As many of you know April is Autism Awareness month. This Friday the Autism Society of Idaho invited many families, including ours, to the Discovery center of Idaho for pizza and fun inside the museum. I have lived in Idaho for seven years and have heard how great the Discovery Center is, but have never actually been inside. It was Amazing!!
My kids were mesmerized by everything inside. There were so many interesting science experiments, and hands on learning activities. (They didn't even realize they were learning, they just thought they were having fun!)
We met many families who have the same challenges. Dan wore his BYU shirt which was great because an LDS family came up to us and talked for a while. They too went to BYU, and have five kids. Two of them are autistic. Their nine year old was pushed around in a stroller most of the time, and has yet to speak. As I was talking to this family, I realized how blessed Dan and I are to have such great, amazing, and high functioning kids.
There was so much fun to be had in the museum, that I finally had to drag them in to the eating area to eat some dinner. Jackson was so exhausted that he took a nap for about 15 minutes, and then woke up and got a second wind. Our entire family learned so many things about mapping, how our bodies work, how sound travels, and more. They had a grocery store there where the kids could shop for food, and then check out using cash registers. (It is very comparable to the Children's museum in Salt Lake City, just a little cheaper)

We stayed for over two hours and decided that we should do it again very soon. We took so many pictures that I am once again including a slide show.

Some Good News

This has been a great week so far so I wanted to share it with our family and friends!

1. My sister passed the BAR!! Way to go Megan! I knew she would, but her pessimistic doubts started making me lose sleep over it. She is an official Kansas City attorney. We Hansen women can be very hard to live with when we are worried about something-- so thanks Garrett for being so supportive of her. We love you too!




2. I found my wedding band!! So in order to tell you the details I have to admit to breaking the sabbath (I did laundry on Sunday, but learned my lesson!). Three Sunday's ago (the week before conference) I was in the kitchen with the kids. Maddie scrunched her nose and said, "Mom, what is that really bad smell?" I opened the pantry door to find Jackson hiding in there with an empty two gallon bottle of vinegar. He had poured it all over the floor. I was so angry that I made the kids go outside so I could clean it up. It took four huge bath towels to dry up the pantry. I decided to put the wet stinky towels right in the washer so it wouldn't smell up the entire house (I should have waited until Monday, but I didn't). By the time I got everything clean and the wash going I noticed my ring was missing. I seared the pantry and the washer. I retraced my steps, and painstakingly searched through the grass outside (I was pushing the kids on the swings to keep them away from the pantry). Dan and I both searched every garbage can and sink drain. I was sick!!! For over two weeks I have been on my hands and knees looking for it. This past Monday I was doing laundry with Jackson. He was putting lint and hair bands in the dryer door when my eye caught something shiny . . . my wedding band!!! I kissed Jackson a million times thanking him, even though he had know idea what he had really found.



3. Dan is a great lawyer! Dan has been working on an arson case. Two juveniles were on trial for burning down a church. Dan did great and put them both in jail. (I hope I am telling this right!) The friend of the boys, told the school officer that the prosecutor (being Dan) was doing "way to good of a job." Now Dan's ego is inflated and he is walking around like some hot shot lawyer. I am so proud of him!! Ada County is now a safer place.



So as you can see we have had a busy, but good week so far. Way to go Meg!!! You rock!!

Happy Birthday Dan!!

Yesterday was Dan's 34th Birthday. We started the celebration the night before by going out to dinner with John and Jessica. Dan made me promise that there would be no singing at Goodwood, which was fine with me. I think we all had a good time. It was nice to be away from the kids for a few hours.

Sunday we woke up early for 8:00 church, so the party couldn't start until lunch! I think Dan enjoyed most of the day. We had him open his presents right after church. His main gift was a cordless play station controller. I think he was pleasantly surprised. Lunch consisted of pancakes, eggs and bacon. Dan didn't want a cake this year so we put candles in his pancakes and called it good, until I told the kids that we were going to make a birthday pie this year instead. . .they were devistated. . .so we ended up making cupcakes and pie this year to make them feel better.

I spent most of the afternoon in the kitchen making homemade spaghetti dinner (which is Dan's ultimate favorite dinner). The meatballs were just a little smaller than tennis balls. They were delicious, and of course I had to make my homemade rolls. We invited Ammon and his family over to help us celebrate. I think Dan was overall satisfied with his birthday. I was so exhausted that I went to bed early.

Dan, I love you! I just want you to know how grateful I am to have you in my life. You are the perfect dad and perfect husband. I love you now more than I did the day we go married!! Happy Birthday!

Three Things In Common

A long time ago Johnny Carson would play this game with Ed. Ed would name three things and then Johnny would have to tell the audience what they all had in common with each other. So, I thought it would be fun to play this game on my blog. I am going to give you three not so random topics and you have to guess what they all have in common. If you want to do this like Johnny you will need a turban or some wacky hat, so when you find one come back and play this game!

Here we go......

1. Leukemia Scare


2. Kindergarten


3. almost deadly bus accident



Can you guess what these three things have in common???




If you would like the answer keep reading. If you need more time to think about it, I understand.

What these three not so random events have in common are . . . . . drum roll please. . . . .

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE DINGER FAMILY


Obviously I can joke about it now, so everything must have turned out okay but here is the scoop.
1. Maddie has had some weird spots on her legs. First they are red, then they turn in to bruises. They keep replenishing themselves to the point that Dan and I have started to worry. Maddie began to complain that her legs felt sore. I took her to the Dr.'s yesterday and Dr. Zieba was stumped. Dr. Zieba took a urine test which came out normal. She then asked how I felt about doing some blood work on Maddie. She said that her gut was telling her that Maddie was just fine, but that her head was telling her to rule out anything and everything. She admitted that it could be a platelet problem. (That's a red flag right there because I knew she was trying not to say the word cancer or Leukemia) She saw the look on my face and told me not to worry just yet. I called Dan and he rushed to the hospital's lab to support Maddie. To make a long story short, the Dr. called today and her labs came back fine. The Dr. thinks Maddie just bruises easily because she is all muscle without an ounce of fat. I wish I had that problem.

2. Zach is officially registered for Kindergarten. He passed with flying colors and did great. I was so proud of Zach. He was almost over confident (which was okay with me). I have a feeling he is going to love Kindergarten. We met the new principal and some of the new Kindergarten teachers that will be teaching at the brand new elementary school the kids will be attending. We will definitely miss Mary McPherson though.

3. Finally, the bus story. My boys love school buses. Zach takes one too and from school so you would think he would be over his infatuation by now, but instead he has passed it on to his younger brother. We sit outside on the front porch every day and wait for the bus to come. The boys get so excited. Today was no different, except I got cold. I ran in to grab a jacket and I hear the bus horn honking several times. I ran out and saw Jackson in the middle of the road with his arms out stretched wanting to "hug" the bus. The bus was a few houses down because Jackson kept running towards it. The bus driver thought it was very funny, but was also worried for Jack's safety. I ran out and had to chase him half way down the block. He knew he was in trouble. The bus driver was a good sport about it, but I was quite upset at Jackson.

If you guessed correctly what these three things had in common give yourself a pat on the back!!

What Was I Thinking?

I was asked to provide a picture to the Stake Young Women's president of me when I was a MiaMaid. As I was looking through my old photo's I was reminded of an experience I had a few weeks back when I was visiting my old home ward back in Salt Lake. I was sitting in Relief Society when they were introducing visitors and new people. When it came to me, the women in the back, Sister Madson, said--"and look at Paige she is sooooo beautiful isn't she? Wow, she has really changed and is a beautiful young mother?" I was rather embarrassed and tried to sink deep in my chair. I was told several times that day that I had changed so much. I came home and told Dan that either I was really ugly when I was a kid, or must be really gorgeous now. After looking at this 8th grade picture it was easy to realize that I was just a really ugly kid!! What was I thinking!?! Mom, what were you thinking!?! As far as the looks department, I could only go up hill from there!

Hey Batter! Batter!!

David Ortiz. . .meet Zach "The Big Guy" Dinger! He's got a great swing for a lefty. He's great on the tee, but he also can swing and hit the ball when Dan pitches to him.

Dan and Zach have been practicing for a few weeks now. He starts T-ball in a month, and Dan wants him to be ready. With a little practice Zach is turning out to be quite the player. The Red Sox may be signing him before you know it!

Jack has been enjoying the nice weather too. I think he will really enjoy Spring and Summer!

Maddie doesn't really want to be a pro, but she likes to come out and practice with the boys. She will probably stick with cheerleading, unless the signing deal with Hannah Montana goes through.

Dan loves to see Zach excel in a sport. Baseball may be just what Zach needs to have an enjoyable spring.

Salsa

I absolutely love salsa! The word makes my mouth water! I have been known to actually drink the stuff. I don't even need a chip, just a spoon or a Dixie cup and I'm good. I guess you could call me a salsa connoisseur of sorts because I can be very critical of salsa if I don't think its worth my taste bud's time. So, with that being said I have decided to plant a salsa garden this summer. I am not much of a gardener. This will be my first garden ever!! I am planting a small garden that will consist of everything I need to make some delicious salsa this fall!

I even have an amazing salsa recipe that has evolved throughout the years. Today, Jackson and I started this new adventure. We planted jalapeno peppers, green pepper, onions, and tomatoes. I am also considering planting cilantro too. I know it is too cold to have planted them outside, so I have planted them in small cups and will have them indoors until it is warm enough outside. We will see if I even have a green thumb, I may end up killing them all before fall, but at least my intentions are good. Maybe this fall if any of you are extra nice to me and bribe me with gifts and money I will share some! LOL



WISH ME LUCK!!!