Cory's and Justen's Blog

Warm Weather Welcome

2010-03-08T21:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks for the great pics Justen!

Family Fotos Finally

2009-11-04T22:07:00.000-08:00

Just snapped these last weekend. Big shout out to Jimmy for spending an evening with us and making us laugh. SHOUT OUT!

On Daddy's Watch

2009-10-26T20:39:00.000-07:00

We're not really trying to solve the world's problems or learn our ABC's when Mommy isn't home. We mostly just wrestle or try to jump over stuff. And clothes are optional.

Dos Mas

2009-10-18T13:25:00.000-07:00

At the Pumpkin Walk

Cleaning up for dinner

Blue-Eyed Plum Baby

2009-10-05T06:57:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist sharing this pic too!

Movie Night

2009-10-05T06:51:00.000-07:00

A quick post for those counting on a pic a week (even though it's already been 2 weeks!)...

Adult game night sentenced all kids to the cold outdoors to watch a movie projected on the house.

Pic a week

2009-09-20T14:34:00.000-07:00

Ok you guys. I know I'm not really talking to anybody because I'm sure everybody has given up on our blog by now. Anyway, for the rest of this year I'm going to at least post a pic a week just to keep things going a little bit. We'll start with this one that we just got today from our sister-in-law Moriah who watched the kids for us this weekend so we could go to Desert Star. Thanks Moriah!

Catch Up!

2009-04-06T11:21:00.000-07:00

Mommy tomato and Daddy tomato were walking ahead of little Timmy tomato who was struggling keep up. Frustrated Daddy tomato turned around and stomped on him and said catch-up!

So here is our little summary of the last four months:

January: I don't remember. I think I was gone all month on business to Mississippi and Whistler, BC. So here's a picture of Cade.

February: Brad got married!

Nobody can figure out how he did it, but Cory's brother actually found somebody to tie the knot. He had to go all the way to New Mexico to find her. Nice job Brad. Moriah, welcome to the family! And good luck!

Brad and I are actually taking the LSAT in June. If I get accepted anywhere we're starting a firm together after school. Wish us luck!
This is Addi at the wedding in Mesa. Bike racks are her favorite.

Then: the hard drive in our computer that we just bought in November instantly died. No warning or nothin. It had Cade's whole life on there as well as Brad's wedding and a lot of other stuff, so we were prepared to pay the guy here in Salt Lake $500 to fix it. But then he said he couldn't and the people in California wanted $1950. So we didn't fix it. Luckily we had everything pre-November backed up and even more luckily I didn't delete Brad's pictures like I thought I had off of my camera.
I say this so maybe you'll be a little more understanding about how long it took us to post.

March: I went to Southern California again for work (my fourth business trip this year) and this time I brought my family and stayed the weekend. It was so awesome just hanging out with Cory and the kids, checking out some beaches and playing in the hot tub. Vacations with kids are a lot of fun actually if it's centered around the kids. We even got to extend it into Monday because our flight got cancelled on Sunday. The highlight of the weekend was watching my cousin Tyler who lives in Anaheim score four goals in his soccer game! The other team only scored one goal I think. Go Tyler!

April:

Mom turns 50!

We (mostly my sister Mindy) planned a surprise Disco Dance party for my mom who turns 50 this year. You should see my family party. You'd swear there was alcohol involved. My aunts and uncles and cousins really get down if you give them a good beat. Especially my mom. She's the grooviest student at University of Wyoming right now.
Happy 50 Mom! We love you!

Dan, Me, Minda, Jorgen, Mom

btw this post doesn't really work in firefox for some reason, but it does in explorer

The Stork Beat Santa

2008-12-15T21:49:00.000-08:00

Labor is rough! Whew! You have to stand there for what seems like eternity and try not to get in anybody's way. You're just like "Come on! Could this take any longer?" I made it through though. Cory did fine too I guess. Of course she had a nice cushy bed so....

Well here's the story. Cory's number one fear in life is natural child birth. I never ever see her take Aspirin or NyQuil or anything for anything, but when it comes to the epidural she's first in line. She made that overly plainly obviously clear to the nurse and her assistant who proceeded not to take Cory seriously when she said she was ready. You can see where this is going right? Cory was really tough though, and tried not to look like a wimp during her early contractions. The nurses finally ran into the room when they heard Cory screaming during the big contractions and were like "Oh my gosh, the anesthesiologist is almost here, just hold on!" But it was too late. Cory couldn't be still enough when she did get there and a few minutes later we had a kid.

In the nurses defense, Cade came pretty darn fast. The doctor was called to come at 12:15 and Cade was born 3 minutes later. The nurses and substitute doctor told Cory not to push until her real doctor got there, but controlling your body isn't actually an option when you're in that much pain. He said it was the first baby he missed since working at this hospital, and felt really bad. Cade just kept saying "Get use to it people, when I'm ready I'm ready!" in so many words.

There are a lot of other details that I'm sure all the ladies would love to hear. You'll have to get with Cory about them. I started to lose focus when my legs began hurting.

Here's what I did get though:
Cade Allen Hansen
7 lbs 8 oz (exact same as Addi)
19 inches (exact same as Addi)
Appearance: almost exact same as Addi
Born 12-15-08 at 12:18 pm. (Naturally induced by pitocin)

So lets give a shout out for Cory - the love of my life - who conquered her biggest fear! Next on her list - a couple of nurses?

Snow Day

2008-12-14T12:56:00.001-08:00

The snow has finally arrived! Addi and Dad had a great time throwing snow and sledding around the flat yard (good workout for dad) while Mom was cozy-warm in the peaceful house!

By popular demand

2008-11-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

How could we forget Addi's Halloween pictures? Thanks for the reminder Ariel.

This is at some pumpkin walk that
Addi and Thomas the Pumpkin went to.

This is the look she gives me when she's ready for more candy.
Works every time.

Coolest butterfly you've ever seen?

Latest Photo Shoot

2008-11-23T21:17:00.000-08:00

Addi was feeling especially posery today so I caught what I could. This is on our golf course during a Sunday morning walk and in our back yard. By the way, this swing set was given to us by Rick down the street and is Addi's new favorite thing to do. Thanks Rick!

Singing with Jovie

2008-11-16T19:30:00.000-08:00

Aunt Mindy taught Addi and Jovie many songs and accompanying actions when she lived with us in August. So, when Jovie sang the ABCs, Addi happily incorporated moves from "I'm a Little Tea Pot", "Pat-a-Cake", and "Once There was a Snowman." Enjoy the performance...

Summer of FOUR concerts

2008-10-09T11:38:00.000-07:00

Hey that's a lot for simple people like us. We haven't been to a concert in years, unless you count the Utah County Fair last year but we didn't even know who the Gatlin Brothers were.
Anyway, quick recap:
We went to Ben Folds at Saltaire with Allie and her cute sister Caitlin earlier this summer. It was basically shoulder to shoulder standing room and I think I was the oldest guy there. It was exactly like I expected - which was tons of fun.

Then we went to Steve Miller Band with my sister, mom, and friends at USANA. For some reason I had the reputation in high school of being a Steve Miller Band freak, which is kind of true. I know way too many SMB songs for my age. We took Addi to this one who is now also a SMB freak.

Then came Jack Johnson, one of my current favorite artists. We went with the same group as we did to SMB only we brought some cousins for Addi to play with. It was an awesome concert just laying on our blankets on the grass playing with the kids. Awesome.

Then a week ago I won Weezer tickets by being the 10th caller and naming the four cheesy songs and their artists. Kev went with me and we had a great old time. The best part was calling Dave and letting him know where I was because two weeks ago he called me and let me listen in on a Celein Dion concert. Don't get me wrong, I love Celine, but I had to declare myself the winner.

Adoramos Peru!

2008-09-07T23:05:00.000-07:00

Cory's entire family went to Peru to pick up her brother Brad who just finished his mission. We were there for a whole week and it was one of the coolest places on earth!

Let's just start with my favorite thing about Peru...No Rules!!! You could be one step away from a 1000 foot fall to your death and nobody cares. It's so refreshing.

We spent two days sight seeing Lima before we could grab Brad. These are Cory's sisters and mom on the coast. Good luck figuring out which one is mom!

Isn't Lima Beautiful?

Our beautiful hostal, especially if you like lumpy noisy beds and sheets that haven't been changed in months and larry bars and cold water.

Watching this family reunite was phenomenal. Definitely the climax of the week and year and more. Glad to have you back Brad!

We went to see some of Brad's old areas. This little town is basically a big sand hill with humble homes and lots of cute little kids. I'm so jealous of all of Brad's experiences.

Then we went to a city called Cusco (like the groovin emperor). It was way up in the mountains and sort of a base town for the trip to Machu Pichu. Aside from the $7 massages, we loved this ginormous old chapel/structure thingy called Qorikancha. It was a huge building built by the Incas but when the Spaniards came and took over, they made a huge chapel out of it. Notice the difference in architecture between Cory's right side and left. The Incas preferred the new age "groutless" effect.

Most of the people of Lima and Cusco dressed the same as we do (in fact better than I do), but some of them dressed in more traditional clothing. Some of them would get totally decked out and let us take their picture for a sole (pronounced solay - 3 soles equals $1).

Then we were off to Machu Pichu for a day. Amazing!

The whole lot of us. Ken Justen Brooke Brandon Cory Eddie Kelly Rachel Brad.

Can you imagine a better vacation?
Thanks for making this happen Brad!

Baby Boy Debut

2008-08-15T12:43:00.000-07:00

We discovered last night that we are having a boy. He is due December 25th. Addi was a little fiesty during the ultrasound, which is probably a small hint of what is to come with the new competition! We couldn't be more excited in our preparations for life as a family of four!!

Season for Reunions

2008-07-27T09:33:00.000-07:00

July was the month of family reunions.

Uncle Greg (waving) lets us all crash his place in Sun Valley Idaho every 4th of July and Christmas. Cory jokes that this is the actual reason I married her.

Hiking is one of the major activities every year, whether it be in July or in December. This is atop one of the many mountains overlooking Sun Valley.

On the way down.

Pool parties every day!

Addi loves the 95 degree water. She'll have a rude awakening when she starts swim lessons tomorrow at the Stansbury pool.

This is Grandma throwing a ringer. She's the mother and the v.i.p. of this whole event. Grandpa spent the week in the I.F. hospital, but had plenty of nurses to harass.

Other activities included kayaking/tubing down the Bigwood River, movies in the theater, baseball, lots of tennis, floating in the pond, hearts, and lots more. Cory might not actually be joking.

Two weeks later we went to Morning Star Lake in Northern California and camped the weekend with my extended family. The third cousins split off a few years ago, so we're just down to second cousins.

All the kids made masks and paraded around behind this sign while the adults cheered.

This is Morgan whacking the reinforced pinata.

We have a talent show every year. This year's included dance moves through the ages,

some skits

some sweet songs and more.

Keeping Addison clean was not an option.

Other events included playing in the lake, playing volleyball, and more playing in the lake. Good times cousins! See you next time!

Day in the Yard

2008-06-04T14:40:00.000-07:00

I mowed. Justen fixed the chimney. Addi had a grand old time!

First Melon of the Season

2008-06-04T14:30:00.000-07:00

Walmart, watermelon, and a 1-year old...what more could we ask for?

P.S. Can you tell Addi loves her Daddy?

Translation Please!

2008-04-26T17:22:00.000-07:00

What does all this mean?

Our Climber

2008-04-18T11:11:00.000-07:00

Addison loves to crawl into and on top of everything. She climbs into diaper and toy boxes, on to the dishwasher door, my scale, etc. She simply climbs atop and sits there.

We tried to give her her own keyboard so she wouldn't type on ours. But, pictures are deceiving...it didn't really work...she continues to toss hers aside to type on ours!

And, she has her first molar tooth!

Bannister Banging

2008-04-02T20:32:00.000-07:00

Addison and her cousin, Blake, at Grandma's house. I love Blake's self-induced whiplash, Addi's delicateness, and Jackson's "elder brother/cousin" voice.

Hand-Me Downs

2008-04-02T19:32:00.000-07:00

Addison's entire wardrobe is hand-me downs. Thanks Minda and Tia! The only thing I have bought is socks and bows, which is why she is so stylish!

Dish Helper

2008-04-02T18:45:00.000-07:00

Addison loves to "help" with the dishes, which means throwing everything on the floor or simply sitting on the door.

Tired Chomper

2008-04-02T14:41:00.000-07:00

Addison has been doing this little chomping thing for the past several weeks. This is an especially cute moment of chomping!

Ariel got us both

2008-03-24T11:51:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged as well. Six things most people don't know right? Here goes:

1. Dogs are my favorite animal, but penguins are a close second.

2. My favorite award I've ever won is "nicest boy" in high school.

3. I think toilet-papering is a healthy release of anxiety.

4. I love to dance. I don't know why it's so fun to me and not others but it is. There's just something compelling about the challenge of putting moves to music. Add a girl and and the challenge is doubled. Plus I just like meeting people. I like all kinds of Latin and Swing. I have five 1st places in different swing competitions in the last three years (some big, some small) and the team I coached and love took 3rd at a big college swing challenge in Colorado last year (go Swingcopation!). Cory and I like to dance to all different kinds of music and with all different kinds of people, but a nice slow bluesy dance with my beloved wife is my favorite by far.

5. Cory turned me down the first time I asked her out, but with a little persistence and a name that wasn't her own I finally got a yes out of her. (Thanks Dave for coming that night - I was nervous as heck!)

6. I have three goals left in life: run a full marathon; go sky-diving; and dunk a basketball on a 10' hoop. Oh and have 14 more kids.

I tag Derek, Dan, and Tony (Allie, Heather, and Lace, will you please let them know. Thanks!)

Tagged

2008-03-23T10:33:00.001-07:00

I was tagged by Ariel to share 6 things about myself. I NEVER do this stuff becuase it makes my brain hurt, but here goes...

1. I want to be the next Rachael Ray. Since I have finally finished school and my thesis, my stress level is extremely low. So, I have a new found love for cooking. I watch her show every day and can't wait to make my menu for the week. Check out my recipe blog to see all my favorite recipes each week.

2. I ran the olympic torch for the 2002 Olympics. A highschool friend nominated me to do this. She wrote a little blurb about me and submitted it without me even knowing. Then, I received an offer in the mail to run the torch. I got to keep the torch and it is hanging in my room at my mom's house.

3. I finally finished the last piece of my thesis on Friday, which was bringing 7 copies of the 155 page thesis to the USU library to be bound. What a great day! I couldn't help smiling as I pushed Addi in her stroller out of that library after a long 9-hour day on campus with a 10-month old.

4. I work as a nutrition instructor for USU as well as a real estate agent. I love that these jobs force me to keep up to date on current nutrition research and the housing market. While I miss little Addi tremendously during work, it is so healthy for all three of us!

5. I dated 2 guys named Cory before meeting the love of my life, Justen :). That would have been wierd. I'm glad it didn't pan out!

6. I want to write a book with my mom. However, I must keep the topic secret for now!

Now for the tagging part...Brandon, Rachel, and Arianne.

Ouch, my cheeks

2008-03-15T07:50:00.000-07:00

I was out blog hopping this morning and came across a girl I knew in high school (go EHS). Well, we had a class together anyway. She probably has no clue who I am . Nevertheless, my cheeks are aching from how hard I was laughing at her kids' video. Hope you don't mind me sharing Mel!

Addendum: So that video doesn't actually belong to that blog. Whoops. My bad.

Almost Walking

2008-03-12T14:11:00.000-07:00

Addison loves to push her walker around the kitchen and gets a bit flustered when it gets stuck.

Bottle Crawling

2008-03-12T13:00:00.001-07:00

If Addison could drink and crawl at the same time, she would hardly ever be mad. As it is now, I have to lay her in her crib or carseat to eliminate distraction so she doesn't starve. As for solid foods, I chase her around the house with a spoon and she happily eats every bite. I particularly love her verbal squeeks and hands-crossed at the end.

Dancing with Dad

2008-03-12T12:49:00.000-07:00

Addison and I both love dancing with Dad. When Addi and Dad dance, I grab the camera. When Justen and I dance, Addi looks at us half-happy and half-wondering why I stole her partner.

The Crazy Bunch

2008-03-11T20:56:00.000-07:00

No I'm not talking about the three of us. I'm talking about the 20 or so of us that my mom has no choice but to claim.
My friend Allie took our pictures in December and they turned out awesome of course. She has the touch. Since it hurts my brain to come up with clever captions, I'll just let the pictures do the talking.

Can't you feel the LOVE!

Food Allergies

2008-02-22T11:28:00.000-08:00

Addison had to have blood drawn for an ImmunoCap lab, which tests for allergies. It was so sad when the nurses tied a band around her arm and poked at her veins, but she did great and has a cute pink band to show off.

We found out she is allergic to egg whites and wheat, which means some major changes in our grocery shopping and hopefully an accompanying improvement in her eczema.

Sweets Candy Factory Tour

2008-02-19T14:43:00.001-08:00

Addi and I went on a candy tour today with some

friends and had a great time sampling taffy right

off the conveyer belt!

Addison and Dad Playing Catch

2008-02-18T20:17:00.000-08:00

She's Mobile!

2008-02-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

Our little Addison is now crawling! We are quickly learning what "baby-proofing" a house means. She also loves to pull herself up to a standing position, during which she is amazingly smiley and quite wobbly.

What to post?

2008-01-27T09:05:00.001-08:00

I should make a blog post. Let's see, what's happened lately.......hmmmmmmmm.
I'll just post some pictures of Addi.

This is on one of our walks next to our lake on a chilly day in November

This is Addi pretending to study hard, just to make her daddy happy. This was at Allie's house while she was taking portraits of the rest of my family (our next post!)

Helping Mom with the laundry

Merry Christmas

2007-11-27T21:42:00.000-08:00

I don't like doing paper Christmas cards because what do you do with it? Do you keep it? Do you throw it away? I feel bad throwing them away so I have a storage unit that's completely full of Christmas cards that I didn't know what to do with. I'm waiting for it to burn down because then I won't feel guilty about losing them.

Just kidding of course. We love Christmas cards from other people. Please contact me for our address.
justend@gmail.com

And our Christmas card to you is below. Make sure you click on the link. This is from Me, Cory, Addi, and our friend Meg.

click here
Thanks to Jasmine for showing me the site

By the way, Addi really can't shake her hips like that. It's just a computer animation.

Enter Final Stage of Life

2007-11-27T19:57:00.000-08:00

Well I guess I still have retirement, so I'm not in my final final stage of life. But I'm married with kid and I finally have a job!
I just got hired at WesTech Engineering. We manufacture equipment for filtering processes like waste water treatment, food processing, industrial filtration etc. I just started today and already have my first project. It's to install two huge (30 foot) tanks in Redding, California that will thicken their waste water so that it's easier to treat (or something like that). I know I know, everybody wishes they had a job as sexy as mine. Well keep at it.

Prepare to be Amazed

2007-11-09T22:40:00.000-08:00

I used to photocopy my friend Allie's scrapbook pages in high school because I didn't want to do it myself (I know I'm lazy... and a boy). Now she does the digital thing and even won an award.
She made this page for us this a little while ago, but I just watched "Meet the Robinsons" for the first time so I thought I'd celebrate by posting it.

Addie is only three months in these pictures, but I thought I'd post it anyway since I'm so behind with keeping you updated on her.

Ace Costumes

2007-11-09T21:41:00.000-08:00

With that last post in mind, we thought we'd find out....

Well, actually Cory was Venus and I was Serena for Halloween. Addie was a tennis ball but we somehow missed having a decent picture of her. Anyone?
We got to dress up for the annual Cousin's Halloween Party, and also a swing dance in Sandy. I tied for scariest costume at the Cousin's Halloween Party, and Cory and I won the contest at the dance. Which is good because you can only put yourself out there like that once in a long while. I think next year I'm gonna wear a sheet and be a ghost like I did my entire childhood.

(Picture courtesy of Tony)

Thanks to Cory's mom for the tennis skirts and the rest of the costumes.

This is Addie the next day with her buddy Jack. I just thought I'd slip it in to the Halloween post.

Photoshop Fluke

2007-10-12T11:18:00.000-07:00

I was trying some of Allie's Photoshop tricks that she teaches on her fabublog (pronounced fabyoo-blog) and realized I have a lot of learning to do. While I was practicing on Addison, her face was suppose to be getting softer but instead it kept getting darker. Which made me wonder - what if the mail man was black? (just kidding of course) So I finished the job and this is the result. You've got to admit, Black babies are pretty darn cute. I wonder if Black people ever do this?

Look-alike meter

2007-10-10T22:11:00.000-07:00

I tried this here and these are the results. I tried a couple of different times to try to skew the results but we came out even both times. When Annie P tried it she came out ahead 14%.

Cory's First Post

2007-10-10T21:24:00.000-07:00

As Justen said, I should be working on my thesis. But, sometimes I get so sick of it that I just can't do it any longer. Luckily, Justen has provided me with yet another distraction (this blog). Other distractions in my life include my sweet little Addi, the new home and the fun and not so fun chores that come with it, family vacations including Montana, Idaho, Colorado, Minnesota, and Wyoming in the past two months, and the endless hours I enjoy devoting to studying up on nutrition and real estate.

Well, I can't wait to share the adventures of the Justen-Cory-Addison gang and learn about all of yours!

Big Weekend

2007-10-10T15:20:00.000-07:00

Last weekend was a biggie. There was a birth, a funeral, and a wedding all between Thursday and Friday. Jayli Mae(7lb 13oz) was born to Jorgen and Kayla Hansen in Evanston on Wednesday actually, but we didn't get there till Thursday. Friday we went to a graveside service in Evanston for Peggie who was my Uncle Boyd's girlfriend for many many years. Also on Friday we went to our cousin Angie's wedding in Syracuse. Whew. We topped Friday off with a big dance at the MAC (Murray Arts Centre) just to make sure we were still young.
Give me a few minutes and I'll get some pictures in here.

First Post

2007-10-10T15:05:00.000-07:00

Well hello everybody and welcome to our blog. My name is Justen. Cory will be joining us as soon as she finishes the latest draft of her thesis which should be in a couple of days. She should have her masters in dietetics completed by December or January and then WE'RE FREE FROM SCHOOL! Unless I decide to become a lawyer, which I probably won't.

We just moved into our house in Stansbury Park about two months ago. You all should come visit us. It's the best town on earth.

Stay tuned for many pictures and stories of Addison and her future siblings, because lets face it, that's what blogs are really about.