so fun!

after getting riley off (at 4:30 this morning) to the church history tour & hunter off to scout camp, D & i found ourselves with a free day today so we begged for milo to come over & swim.... SO much fun! he is just about the cutest thing ever!

inspiration?

i'm holding on to the belief that it was inspiration which caused us to send tanner to guatemala for the summer. he is working with choice humanitarian to spear-head a pilot program with the locals in an obscure village about 8 hrs. outside of guatemala city. it's been a total adventure getting there tho! He actually left vegas last thursday & only made it as far as los angeles & was told all flights into guatemala were cancelled due to a volcanic eruption & that the whole area was covered in soot! shortly thereafter an earthquake was reported. then his flight was diverted to el salvador but delayed due to tropical storm agitha!! check out the sink hole it created!

inspiration?
what on earth did we do sending our boy into this tri-fecta of natural disasters?





and then a tender mercy! after a stressful trip (marked with a special "shake-down" by a guatemalan militant), he finally arrived in guatemala (on his b-day) & spent a few days there waiting for the back-country dirt roads to open up after the flooding. on his first morning after arriving there he heard his name being called by a familiar voice. it was good friend elder jordan johnson!!! tanner was literally moved to tears as he had begun to feel very alone & isolated in this foreign place & not understanding the language. tanner said that jordan had been in the city for a dentist appt & he & his comp had just boarded a bus to head back to their village where they are serving. had it even been 30 seconds later, they'd of missed each other! they spent the next couple of hours together in tanners air conditioned hotel room & having lunch completely in awe of how small the world is!

(jordan's kinda skinny in this pic.... too much rice & beans?)

he called today having finally arrived at a small town 8 1/2 hours away from civilization..... cell service??? another tender mercy! he still had another hour or so to his destination where he'll be "camping" in the jungle for the next 10 weeks. he said the roads can only be described as "ATV" accessible & still cannot believe that his driver was able to maneuver his truck through the rough terrain.


D keeps saying that this is the coolest thing EVER to which i cant do anything but worry! i just wish he werent there alone. i wish he knew the language (altho he did say today that his understanding has increased about 300%... now if he could communicate back). even the choice humanitarian employees that he'll be living with don't speak english. to me that is so scary. he's up for it tho & even with the anxiety, he's pushing forward. we are praying A LOT! grateful he is so strong & so capable.

FYI d & i, our kids & so far the hansens are going on an expedition there the end of july for 10 days. the expedition is open to anyone who'd like to go & is very reasonably priced. along with the service that we'll be providing the first week, we'll end our trip with a tour of the ruins in that area one of which they think is most likely to be the ruins of zarahemla. pretty cool huh? contact me if you're interested in knowing more.

....really? can you see me camping in the jungle for 10 days? i'm nervous.

so stinkin' cute!

Chels catches the BEST pics of Milo.... here's a few of her latest ones that I've just got to share!




this pic totally cracks me up!



thanks for letting me brag!

random pics in my iphone

i was going through the pics i've had on my phone & thought i'd share a few of them.

note to self: remember to bring your camera instead of having to rely on your phone camera.

D & i got the privilage of going to slc to the joseph smith bldg for a dinner/presentation for a beautiful & wonderfully spunky 96 year old woman named florence jacobson. she was being honored by the church's historical foundation (thus the reason we were invited) for being a most stellar contributer during her lifetime.... it was inspiring to be there! but the icing on the cake to the evening was that among several ga's there to support her, was President Monson himself ....SITTING AT THE VERY NEXT TABLE! how. cool. is. that? he really is such a sweet man! after the dinner was over, pushy me went right up to him, introduced myself & gave him a hug. oh & he kissed me on my cheek! i don't think he knew what to do with me.... SO grateful for the opportunity. it was pretty special!


(look close & you can see the back of his head)



because i have a pretty special family, mother's day was pretty special! i love this gift from chels & aaron. my milo cannonized in crystal! love it!


tanner snapped this pic of d & i at dinner the other night at our new favorite pizza place. not sure the pamela anderson pic in the background is appropriate.


friend kyle stopped by the other day with his new toy & completely decked out in leather down to his boots! it was just to fine of a look to not snap this pic!


i love this pic of my darling hubby in the back yard surrounded by the most beautiful roses. love him!

let's do lunch...

i have great friends! it was friend linda's birthday so a very good reason to "do lunch"! i had the best time! we laughed... & giggled... & shared! thanks linda for giving in to yet another bday & giving us all a reason to "do lunch"! (wish i had brought my camera)

gotta brag: i CANNOT believe that my darling grandbaby is 7 months old already! thanks to chels & her cute pics, i have a few to share... enjoy his
cute-ness . . .




i love this baby!!!!!

i miss blogging...

i miss the opportunity to say what i want to say. i miss sharing what i want to share. so i'm planning a comeback. where to start? i guess i wont worry too much about that as that'll discourage me! but i have a plan.... it involves cleaning my office first or by the end of this week...whichever comes first!

the LOVE of my life (move over derrick!)

my kids will have to take a back seat... derrick will definately have to move over... & the dogs have totally been replaced by my sweet little grandson, MILO!
Milo was born early saturday morning (chels had gone into labor on friday at about noon) weighing 7lbs, 5oz & 19in long! He is a total boy & definately of the "Hodson persuasion"! He came to us plump & healthy with the cutest chubby cheeks ever! He looks a lot like Chels! AND I SIMPLY CANNOT GET ENOUPH OF HIM!!

Chelsea is doing great...the normal aches & pains ;) but has become a great mommy already! She adores this little boy as does his daddy Aaron!

Derrick & I & the whole family are so grateful for this little angel addition to our family!