The Hurricane Hanks

Kidding...I was Kidding

2012-05-14T22:13:00.001-07:00

I was mostly kidding when I told Andy to get his injuries in now, while our deductible for the year has been met. But, of course, he took me seriously. And this will most likely not be the last time.

He is doing fine and it wasn't really that bad. I didn't see what happened but the story went something like this..."we were having lego boat races in the bathroom. I was standing on a stool and the stool slipped and I fell. My chin hit the counter."

ouch. His chin split open and his teeth bit through his tongue. He's a trooper. The funniest part to me is how well the doctors know us at the Instacare :)

Here are a few more pictures for your viewing pleasure...

Soccer

2012-04-26T15:45:00.000-07:00

Noah's first soccer goal of the season (and celebratory dance). He actually made 2 goals in this game. Which is amazing because he's never even made one before...unless you count the goal he made for the other team last year.

My Budding Scientist

2012-04-20T08:15:00.022-07:00

I couldn't be more proud. When Noah, my Kindergartener, showed some interest in doing a Science Fair project, I jumped on it...and it was amazing! (I might be a little biased...)

His project was on whether or not food coloring changes the taste of food. And he won 3rd place in the Science Fair (among the kindergartners, at least)! Perfect...good enough to place but not enough that we have to put more work into moving on to District (is that bad of me to say?)

...

Here he is with his friend, Mazie, who placed second (isn't she adorable?) And isn't he tall? He definitely has the Hanks genes for height.

For those of you interested, his conclusion was that food coloring does not change the taste of food. Although it did trick some people into thinking it does...

...

Some pictures of the process...

When it rains...

2012-03-11T20:38:00.017-07:00

So the past six weeks of our lives have been eventful. We had our beautiful baby girl (have I mentioned how cute she is?) after which Ephraim battled kidney stones for 14 days in a row. We were all set to bless baby Kate on February 3rd when his pain started. After 2 ER visits, Ephraim finally had a lithotripsy done on February 16th to remove the stones.

And the latest?...We went snowboarding yesterday up at Brian Head. It was a beautiful day...until I fell and broke my arm. my shoulder. no cast, just a sling for a week until the pain subsides. Then exercises to help it heal faster.

When it rains, it pours. And the medical bills are pouring in. We have met our family's deductible for the year already, so I told my children to get all of their bone-breaking and stitches in now while it will be cheaper. and for those of you who know Andy, you understand.

Around Here (aka, Picture Overload)

2012-02-12T17:11:00.001-08:00

We've had some exciting news around here lately. The MOST exciting being the birth of our beautiful baby girl, Katherine Grace. We like to call her Kate.

She is an amazing addition to our little family, which seems "not so little" anymore.

The labor and delivery was my hardest, by a stretch (I will remind Kate of this during the tough teenage years). I passed out, bled (a lot, like 3 liters a lot) and the labor and pushing was longer than the others. But it was all worth it in the end. 8 lb 3 oz, 21 inch baby Kate made her entrance into this world at 4:03pm on a cloudy January 23rd. And we can't get enough of her.

Welcome to the world, little cheesy vernix baby.

We all assumed she would have blonde hair and blue eyes like her brothers. But we were surprised with dark hair (a long tuft of it at the crown of her head) and dark blue eyes.

Her brothers love her. A lot.

Andy, waiting to hold her...

I'm loving the pink. and the flowers. and the bows.

Other news headlines include...

Lucas Kimball is potty-trained! He decided about 2 weeks before the arrival of baby Kate that he wanted to wear big boy underwear. And we are all as pleased as punch!

Noah got a "Student of the Month" award at his school in the area of Science/Social Studies

Andy...well, Andy is just as cute as ever...

and Ephraim, oh Ephraim. He is battling a kidney stone for the 9th day in a row. Any suggestions? I feel like we've tried everything...from 2 ER visits, to a CAT scan, to home remedies, to drugs (legal, of course).

But we go on. and our family feels complete. This time for sure.

Ch..Ch..Ch..Changes (and a little Halloween)

2011-11-09T09:45:00.000-08:00

We've had a lot of things going on around here lately...most of which seem to involve buying things and moving furniture. We started with getting rid of our "newlywed" table that only seated 4 people. With the 6th arriving in about 2 months, it just wasn't going to work out anymore.

Soooo...here's to the old...

Let's bring on the new...

I love it. It seats several more and is a good use of wasted space. Thanks to Brian Clark at BC Creative for building this!

We're also in the process of transforming the "office" into a baby room. It still has some transforming to go, but it's on its way.

Before...(this is the best pic I could find...which is of the desk and a cute little boy)...

and after... (this baby had better be a girl)

I've been changing a bit. I was hoping that this baby might come out a little smaller than the others (since she's a girl and all), but I seem to be growing just as fast.

And Halloween was great this year, as always. The older boys are really into Star Wars...and Luke, although he wanted to be Yoda, was happy to wear his brother's hand-me-down Indian costume.

My parents came to visit for a week during Halloween and we were able to do lots of fun things (one of them being when my mom made the cushions for the new benches in my kitchen...well, maybe that was just fun for me...thanks so much, mom!)

One. More. Baby.

2011-09-15T16:45:00.000-07:00

I briefly mentioned in the last post (which was too long ago) that we are pregnant with our 4th (and final) child. (I always say "we" because I am a bear to live with while I'm pregnant. Ephraim experiences almost as much grief as I do).

We recently had our mid-pregnancy ultrasound...and...we found out we are having a girl!

I am very excited in so many ways. And scared in so many others. But mostly excited. I have always wanted a girl. And I love the fact that she is coming at the end of my wild, energetic, and fun-loving boys. But I'm also nervous about all of the worries, stress and drama that come with raising a little girl. Any suggestions to raising a girl would be greatly appreciated.

I look at these ultrasound pics every day. I love them. And I love her so much already.

I am mostly grateful that our baby looks healthy and is growing like she should. I can't wait to hold her in my arms and see what (and who) she looks like. It almost makes the last 4 months of this pregnancy seem bearable.

And for fun... I found this picture in our archives. Seriously, Andy, what are you thinking? And who took this picture? Oh wait, that was me.

10 years

2011-07-22T05:54:00.000-07:00

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)

Ohhhhhh, Andy

2011-06-06T19:20:00.000-07:00

Maybe the defect is with his bike. (and before you ask.....yes, he was wearing a helmet)

This kid is the reason for my gray hairs

What we did

2011-05-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

Sooooo...this is what we did with all of our fabulous weather last week....

Never mind the fuzzy spot on most of the pictures. Ephraim has now taken over camera duty

Weather

2011-05-21T09:42:00.000-07:00

This is really our weather for the next week. I need to be planning some outdoor activities with the kids.

Today
May 21

Partly Cloudy

83°
55°

Sun
May 22

Partly Cloudy

83°
56°

Mon
May 23

Partly Cloudy

78°
55°

Tue
May 24

Mostly Sunny

78°
54°

Wed
May 25

Sunny

83°
60°

Thu
May 26

Mostly Sunny

88°
61°

Fri
May 27

Sunny

88°
62°

Sat
May 28

Mostly Sunny

91°
62°

The tooth

2011-05-08T17:27:00.000-07:00

So I've always had this fear of having to pull out a child's tooth when it becomes loose. I don't like to watch it being done and I certainly don't ever want to do it myself. Thank you, Noah, for making the process of losing a tooth a lot easier on all of us.

We took the kids over to a fun babysitting night at the Community Center last night. We sent 3 kids, each with a full set of teeth, and came home with all 3 kids and one less tooth. We didn't even know that Noah's tooth was loose, but it must have been, because it only took an animal cracker to knock it free.

The tooth is still somewhere at the Community Center, which is the only sad part of this whole experience. We hadn't even talked to Noah in detail about the Tooth Fairy (since he's not even in Kindergarten and we didn't know the tooth was loose), so he didn't bring the tooth home with him (nor did he tell anyone that it fell out).

The funniest part is that when we got home, Noah said "Dad, my tooth feels weird. Will you look at it?" Dad's response after looking at the tooth: "Noah, your tooth feels weird because you don't have one."

But, luckily, the Tooth Fairy comes whether you have the evidence or not.

Noah, you are so dang cute with a missing tooth! I can't get enough of seeing you smile!

Dear Andy, (not for the faint of heart)

2011-04-28T20:26:00.001-07:00

My Dear, Sweet, Loving, Adventurous Andy,

I've now documented several of the injuries you have acquired in your short life span of four years. I don't do this for my own amusement (I'm actually concerned CPS might start calling). But rather I document these injuries so that someday, when your dad and I are old and gray and you're choosing our nursing home, you might remember the craziness we endured during the early years of your little life (I don't even want to think about the teenage years). And I hope you will have some idea of how much money (and worry) we spent hauling you to Instacare for stitches. And armed with this information, we hope you will choose well.

Love,

Your Devoted, Caring, and Tired Mother

(there is a stitch through the fingernail, as the cut descended into the nailbed)

More Cruise Pictures...

2011-04-26T13:35:00.001-07:00

...just in case you haven't seen enough...

More pictures from the ship...

Treats from the chocolate buffet... (don't be embarrassed mom...we all went up to the buffet at least twice :-)

Shopping, shopping, and more shopping...

Me, nervous about Pancho's glass bottom boat...

Not so nervous anymore...

My dad, in all his craziness...

And...what we saw when we got home... (thank you Allison)

The Cruise

2011-04-25T06:34:00.000-07:00

We've been able to do some fun things lately with the family and I need to document some of them. The funnest?...is that a word?...Ephraim and I were able to take a cruise for our 10th anniversary (a little early). We sailed on the Carnival Splendor (yes, the one that caught fire back in November) out of Long Beach down the Mexican Riviera. Carnival must have gotten things straightened out because we had the time of our lives.

We were able to go with my parents and really had a blast. (I sure didn't realize 15 years ago how fun my parents could be!) We ate, slept, shopped, ziplined, ate, played cards, slept some more, shopped some more, and laid on the beach. We took a glass bottom boat ride to the very edge of the Baja Peninsula. Pancho didn't mention that the glass bottom was a 12 inch by 12 inch piece of frosted and dirty glass. We couldn't see a single thing. I guess that's what you get for a $20 boat ride in Cabo San Lucas. But it took us to one of the most beautiful beaches I have seen...the Sea of Cortez on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other.

Ephraim and I came away from this trip weighing a collective 11 pounds heavier than when we started. It only took having the flu for a whole week after I got home to lose the weight again.

We would often take a nap in the afternoon and come back to our bed looking like this (oh how I miss this)...

I was able to experience this trip with the love of my life...

The beach...

The ship... (where we watched the Academy Awards Sunday night...)

Are we up for another trip yet? Because I'm ready to go again. Maybe with the kids this time. I missed them so much by the end that I could barely stand it!

Back

2011-04-09T15:28:00.000-07:00

I know it's been forever since I've posted. But I'm back. Really.

Let me just start with something short and sweet. With more to come. Later.

Because we have been living it up.

My two oldest boys learned how to ride their bikes without training wheels. And we are so proud of them.

(I promise this was not staged. We're not that cruel. And Andy's doing just fine.)

My Bread Recipe

2010-12-13T06:16:00.000-08:00

Although I fail in many ways as a wife and mother, I do love to bake and cook. I've been promising a friend for months that I would post my bread recipe here on my blog. So here goes.... (this recipe came from my sister-in-law, Heidi, which came from Pantry Secrets located here in Utah). It is delicious and easy!

Pantry Secrets Bread Recipe

10 1/2 cups white bread flour or wheat flour (sift the white flour)

1/2 cup sugar or 1/3 cup honey

1 Tbsp. Salt

3 rounded Tbsp. Saf-Instant yeast (this is a special yeast that works with dry ingredients...it does not need to be proofed with liquids)

3 Tbsp. liquid lecithin OR FOR WHEATBREAD 4 Tbsp. liquid lecithin (this replaces oil...it tends to make the bread more moist)

4 cups hot tap water OR FOR WHEAT BREAD add 1 cup applesauce as part of water

Mix the dry ingredients. Add lecithin and water (don't measure the lecithin. Just pour and guess!)

Mix for 1 minute and check consistency. If dough is too dry, add more water. Dough should be very sticky and be sticking somewhat the side of the bowl. Mix for 5 minutes for white bread (10 min. by hand) or 10 minutes for wheat bread (20 min. by hand).

(I should go back and redo the picture above...maybe I will. The dough should be a little stickier!)

Do not add flour to the dough after it has finished mixing. Spray the counter with cooking spray. Shape loaves and cover with a dishtowel.

Let rise 25 minutes. Bake at 350 for 25 minutes.

This recipe makes four loaves of bread. Use 4 x 8 inch pans.

I usually only make 2 loaves at once. My kitchen-aid seems to handle that better. If you have a bigger mixer, then 4 loaves at once would be great...less work!

Good luck! It's hard to go back to eating store-bought bread when this is so good and so easy. I also buy bread bags and ties and I freeze my extra loaves.

This recipe can also be used to make more delicious goodies...like dinner rolls, bread sticks, and cinnamon rolls. That post may be for another time.

Lately

2010-11-16T12:20:00.000-08:00

I don’t really have a reason for the lack of blog posts lately. Well, maybe I do. September and October were very busy…almost a blur. I am grateful for this early part of November to have a little rest before the holidays.

So…..what we’ve been up to lately…..

My parents came in October to visit for a week and a half. We always look so forward to them coming. We did a lot of our usual things while they were here. Eating, playing, shopping, and my dad messing around with the kids.

My baby started walking. Hallelujah! For those of you who don’t know, all three of our boys have a muscle condition and start walking pretty late. Luke started taking lots of steps at 18 months and is now fully walking at 19 months. I think this is my favorite time with my kids. I told Eph that I just now feel like I’m getting the hang of 3 kids. And no, I’m not ready to have another!

My oven has been broken for a week and a half. The gas valve broke and we had to order a new part. Luckily, we have a neighbor who can fix just about anything. Thank you Leif! I told him not to worry about getting it fixed right away because this gave me an excuse for not making dinners. But I soon realized that there are plenty of meals that can be prepared on the stovetop. Shoot.

I helped throw a baby shower for my friend, Kellie. I made 98 cupcakes and 36 peanut butter cookies. And it was the next day that the gas valve broke on my oven. Coincidence?

Ephraim has kept busy with his job and more schooling. He has started a doctorate program in Psychology. I often find myself competing with the laptop for his attention.

I have kept busy with my little side job…tutoring kiddos in math. I’ve also started an ACT prep course for the local high school kids. I held the first class in September and October. I love it. I have a great job!

Noah and Andy are growing like weeds. Noah is learning how to read and advancing quite quickly in math. He’s already learning fractions! I’m pretty sure I didn't do fractions until middle school. Noah goes to amazing preschool if any of you in the Hurricane area are interested! Andy loves his preschool and tries to keep up with his big brother. Our days usually involve a lot of legos, trucks, motorcycles, and diggers.

One more accomplishment. Andy, who has sucked his thumb regularly for the past 3 ½ years, has finally quit. All on his own! There may or may not have been some bribing involved. And we may or may not sometimes catch him sucking his thumb in his sleep. Regardless, we are very proud of him.

Oh yeah...Halloween. It was exhilerating and exhausting all at the same time. The kids' dressed up so many times that I lost count. Thanks to my mom again for the costumes!

And how cute are these neighborhood kids?...

So other than some fun diversions, life goes on like normal. Which includes me feeding three kids throughout the day, changing diapers, getting kids ready for school, preparing for tutoring, and entertaining a 19 month old. It sometimes can get monotonous, but we love every minute of it...well, most of it.

Back to School

2010-08-21T05:33:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again...and we love it. Not the driving and time-management so much. But the excitement and anticipation of what a school day holds...that we love. (and mom loves a few hours of freedom each week).

Both of the older boys are attending preschool just down the street from us. Different schools...we just thought it would be better that way.

Andy was quite excited his first day.

How we got to school...

And Noah would stay all day if he could. (these pictures weren't forced or anything)

Noah just turned 5 at the end of July. We struggled over whether to send to Kindergarten this year or not. In the end, we decided that another year of preschool wouldn't hurt. I hope we made the right decision.

Happy Anniversary!

2010-07-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

8 years of Wedded Bliss

(We are celebrating our 9th Anniversary)

In all reality, I am blessed to be married to such a wonderful man. A great husband, father, and provider for our family. What a wonderful 9 years it has been.

A look through the years...
(I couldn't get any of our wedding pictures to scan...we got married before digital photography got big...boy we're old)

In all our newlywed splendor...

Baby #1...

baby #2...

and baby #3... (obviously we failed to get a
complete family picture here)

I realize this is picture overload, but we got some great shots as we hiked in Zion National Park for our anniversary...

our hotel...

at the top of the mountain...

Welcome Summer

2010-06-24T07:01:00.001-07:00

Today Jun 24	Sunny	105°/73°
Fri Jun 25	Sunny	103°/72°
Sat Jun 26	Sunny	101°/73°
Sun Jun 27	Sunny	104°/73°
Mon Jun 28	Mostly Sunny	103°/76°
Tue Jun 29	Mostly Sunny	100°/73°
Wed Jun 30	Sunny	99°/69°
Thu Jul 01	Mostly Sunny	99°/67°

Noah's preschool graduation

2010-06-08T18:13:00.000-07:00

We love Noah around here for so many reasons. He's cute, fun, smart, informative, and compassionate.

Another reason we love Noah is that sometimes he is unpredictable (which adds a little entertainment to our otherwise boring lives)...

Noah's preschool graduation video (click here)
(bear with us for the first uneventful part of this video)

Highlights of this video...

1. Of course Noah's attitude towards this sweet, innocent boy sitting next to him.
2. Noah joining in on the last letter of the song
3. And Noah's comment at the end..."He distracts me."

Noah, we love you so much. Quirks and all.

Chiclet

2010-06-05T13:44:00.000-07:00

So what do these...

and my baby have in common?

Seriously, have you seen bigger baby teeth on a child?

This has to be coming from the Hanks side of the family.

Just in Case...

2010-05-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

I put on my shoes this morning only to find that Noah had autographed one of them. So just in case I lose my shoes, they can be returned to us. Maybe we should write our phone number as well.

The culprit (who is in desperate need of a haircut)...

When I asked Noah about the shoes, he walked directly to the kitchen table and said "I'll put myself on time-out."

At least something is sinking in.

A Weekend Away

2010-05-02T19:27:00.000-07:00

What did I do when the husband gave the OK to go away for the weekend? I decided to relive college memories (well, some of them).

This weekend was Women's Conference up at BYU. I met my old (as in former) roommates up in Provo for a weekend that I won't soon forget. It was a weekend filled with fun, food, and spiritual uplift.

Things I took away from this Conference Weekend...

Prioritizing my life makes room for the essential things (like scripture study, prayer, and meditation)...and we will be drawn off course if our priorities are out of order
I control my calendar, not the other way around
Chocolate covered cinnamon bears taste delightful (thank you, Brittany)
Being consistent in spiritual things will help them become a forum for spiritual moments
"Our sorrows and sacrifices carve and stretch the caverns of feeling within our own hearts, and as those caverns are enlarged, they expand our soul's capacity for joy" (I can't remember the author...)
I'm not sure why I was worried about a 4 hour car ride by myself...it could've lasted longer
I really do like Cafe Rio salads better than the burritos
I will pray for the love that allows me to see the good in my loved ones and makes weaknesses and mistakes seem small
I'm not sure why we thought the dorms were so awesome our freshman year (see picture at bottom)
I was reminded why (15 years ago) I spent so many hours at the bookstore candy counter...and why I gained so much weight...and possibly why I didn't get married until a year after I graduated
Seeing other people through the Savior's eyes will help us build sound relationships
If I am constantly judging others, I have no time to love them...Mother Teresa
I remember so well why my BYU experience was wonderful...I had the best roommates in the world