ALAN, HEIDI, RYAN, & CALEB

California via the Allen's blog :)

2011-01-26T07:53:00.000-08:00

So since I am too lazy to blog anymore these days, I am going to paste a copy of James and Meieli's latest blog post which gives an entertaining and memorable account of our annual Allen/Fransen getaway. This year it was in Southern California!! Thanks James for letting me copy your post to my blog. Even though I didn't ask you first. You're the best.

Enjoy!!

Allen/Fransen Winter Getaway: Destination: CALIFORNIA....and a little bit of Halloween :)

MISSOURI

2010-05-03T12:06:00.000-07:00

Surprise! We've moved again... this is our seventh state in six years of marriage and I have to say that Missouri is also one of the prettiest of all the places I have ever lived...or been (after Idaho, of course which will always be my favorite...ok, and Phuket, Thailand which will always be number 2). I am going to make this a really simple post, and not write a whole lot, but here are some shots to give you an idea of just how beautiful it is here in Missouri.... anyone want to come and visit?

Adam-Ondi-Ahman is about 1 1/2 hours north of Kansas City and Independence and we were lucky enough to get to stop there on our way to St. Louis....it was awesome.

Alan, Ryan, and I in front of the Valley of Adam-Ondi-Ahman.

We drove to the St. Louis temple our first Sunday here (which is only about 20 minutes from our house! yay!) and here is my attempt at a beautiful picture...too bad Ryan was pulling his pants down....but then again, why should I think he'd be doing anything normal? :)

Alan and Caleb walking in Forest Park in downtown St. Louis. This park is 500 acres BIGGER than Central Park in Manhattan...and it is beautiful!

I love this picture....

The rest of these scenery shots are at an old neighborhood built in the 1800's that has been preserved and restored as sort of a museum. It was next to a park we were playing at and it made for some great shots!

End of scenery shots... how did you like the antique touch? Did it make them look like they were really taken 100 years ago? ...or did their baseball and Dubai shirts give them away? heehee :)

My kids love being wrapped up in a "cocoon". It's so cute, I had to take pictures...This is at our apartment with our rented Cort furniture that we sprayed a full bottle of Febreeze on to get the cigarette smell out:

And to wrap up my first post of the summer, I have been in a "culinary creating" mood so I took a few pictures of some yummy recipes I tweaked to make them just the way I like them...and they are all super healthy and sooooo delicious, too!

My version of Panera Bread's Meditteranian Veggie sandwhich

Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Brownies with Whey Protein :) ...perfect for someone attempting the P90X phenomenon but not wanting to cut out chocolate either! heehee

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies...OMIGOSH these are so good! (Recipe at:

http://morganmoore.typepad.com/one_more_moore/2007/01/whole_wheat_cho.html)

So pretty much we are having a good time here in Missouri! Really missing home but so happy we picked somewhere beautiful and exciting to spend the next four and a half months!

THE END.

Beautiful Tribute to Mothers

2010-04-28T18:49:00.001-07:00

Read this amazing post that my sister, Jen, wrote on her blog as a Mothers Day tribute. It is beautiful and inspiring!!!

"MOTHERS"

P.S. We are in St. Louis (Wildwood, actually, it's about 30 minutes west of St. Louis) for the summer and LOVING IT. It is beautiful here and there is so much to do. Will post pics soon :)

DUBAI: The Best Kept Secret on the PLANET!

2010-03-18T18:05:00.000-07:00

So my parents moved to Dubai (one of the seven "states" or emirates of the United Arab Emirates"...in the middle east) last summer and we have been planning a trip to visit them ever since. We finally made it there last week (we were there March 9 - 14) and it was one of the most exciting places I have ever been. There is NOWHERE like it. Of this I am very sure. For one thing, they seem to be obsessed with architecture over there. I have never seen so many unique and beautiful buildings in my life--and all in one place! (I took a few pictures of some of the most unique ones and will put them at the end of this post.) The entire city seems to be under construction and I didn't notice hardly any structures that looked like they had been built more than 10 years ago. It was absolutely unbelievable. My other favorite part was all of the people. Dubai is like a melting pot of every culture in the world. Their population consists of practically every ethnicity from native Arabians to Asians to Europeans to Americans to Iranians, Pakistanis, and all kinds of other middle easterners.... you get the idea :) As a result of this there was a massive selection in cuisine--we ate Lebanese, Arabian, Japanese/Italian, and saw hundreds of other delicious choices too. I could have eaten out there for a year without having the same thing twice....but they do seem to like Greek salad a lot. It was on every menu we looked at. And I ordered one almost every day :)

Well anyway, here is a quick summary of what we did every day we were there (with pictures!) Hope you enjoy! ...

Tuesday, March 9 --

Alan and I arrived at the Dubai International Airport at 8pm after a 24 hour trip (16 hours on one plane!) and my parents met us with a delicious mango smoothie and a taxi cab. We drove to their apartment, unpacked, talked for a bit then hit the sack...post benadryl...and slept great!

Wednesday, March 10 --

Wednesday morning mom and I worked out in the gym and then we all headed to Wolfi's Bike shop to pick up my rental road bike for the Abu Dhabi Triathlon on Saturday. (I decided to do the triathlon back in December when I found a link to it one night, before we even had arrangements to go to Dubai...that's sort of why we ended up going that week.) The picture above is of me test riding the bike on the marina walk in front of my parents apartment complex.

We had Lebanese food from the restaurant downstairs for lunch (which, by the way, was very delicious!) and then we headed out! We spent Wednesday afternoon and evening traveling by train and taxi to the Souks or markets (gold souk, spice souk, and old souk) then taking a boat (abra) ride accross the Dubai creek, and then on to the Dubai Mall (biggest mall in the world!) and the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world)! It was FABULOUS...and I don't use that word very often. Here are some pictures of the Burj Khalifa and the Bellagio style fountains in front of it (also the biggest in the world!) More pics of Wednesday to come later...

This is a shot of the Dubai Marina where my parents live. Their building is the short blue one about in the middle of the picture and the Lebanese restaurant is at the bottom in the white part of the building.)

View from the train station near my parents house.

View from the train...look at all those cranes!!!

Cool shot of the Burj Khalifa (tallest building in the world) that I took from the train.

Looking at it next to other buildings sort of gives you an idea of how TALL it is.

At the Gold Souk: me and the largest gold ring in the world...not sure who they made that for...

This is one of the Abra's like the one we rode on to cross the Dubai creek.

The Old Souk.

The Spice Souk.

The largest fountain display in the world at the Dubai Mall (the biggest mall in the world) and in front of the Burj Khalifa (the tallest building in the world)!

Alan and I eating dinner at Scoozi-A Japanese/Italian cuisine at the Dubai Mall. I'm sure it was really tasty but I had clogged sinuses and couldn't hardly taste anything the first three days we were there :(

My parents and the Burj.

One more shot of it...because it's just so cool!

The front of the Dubai Mall...duh. Too bad it was dark because that thing is HUGE.

Thursday, March 11 --

We drove to the beach in front of the Burj Al Arab (the only 7 star hotel in the whole world, cheapest rooms start at $1,500 a night!) and I did a practice swim for my race, and of course we took pictures. Here is one with the Hotel in the background:

And here is a better picture of the Burj Al Arab that I found on the internet...so you can get a better idea of what it is like:

If you look at the top of the hotel, you can see a little helicopter landing pad and a circle shaped putting green that hovers next to it... And, the beach we were swimming at was the one just past the big green circle of land behind the Hotel.)

Soooo, after that awesome adventure, we drove to Abu Dhabi so I could pick up my registration packet for the Triathlon and attend the "manditory pre-race briefing" ...we stopped at the Sheik Zayed Grand Mosque, the largest mosque in the world (of course) on the way and got some really great shots.

They made us put these on because we were wearing shorts. Do we look like authentic Muslims?

The mosque was so beautiful inside. This whole room had flowers and vines from floor to ceiling. I was copying a bunch of other women I saw doing this same shot :)

The mosque from our taxi window. This was the only way I could get the whole thing in the picture!

After we got back to Dubai that night, we went to dinner on the walk and then found this Chili's and took a picture in front of it in honor of Preston...Elder Wheiler :)

Friday, March 12 --

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME :) Friday is the Sabbath in Dubai and other Muslim countries so we went to church that morning with my parents who were the speakers in Sacrament Meeting, too!

I met one of my old college friends, Tiffani (Clark) Bates, at church in Dubai! My mom had just been to her baby shower a couple days before and told me about it but I had no idea it was her! What are the chances?! I didn't immediately recognize her but it only took a couple of minutes before we connected everything! We both still have pictures from a group date we went on 10 years ago!!

After church we went back to Abu Dhabi to drop off my bike and other race equipment at their designated places and have a relaxing evening in our beautiful Sheraton hotel rooms.... BUT that never happened. Instead, when we got to the hotel they wouldn't let us check in because we didn't have our passports with us. We debated with them for about 45 minutes before we realized we had no choice but to make the 1 1/2 hour drive back to Dubai (which we had just completed not 2 hours earlier), get the passports, and drive another 1 1/2 hours back to Abu Dhabi--a total of 6 hours and two trips in one day from Dubai to Abu Dhabi to Dubai to Abu Dhabi. Not ideal. However, I am proud to say we were good sports for the most part and tried to make the drive worthwhile by talking, sleeping, and uploading pictures to the internet (since there is free wireless internet no matter where you are!) We ran into another unfortunate circumstance, however, when we decided to stop for some Chili's to go on our way back to Abu Dhabi. The taxi driver finally found a spot in the busy parking lot and we waited for 25 minutes for our food, got back in the taxi and ended up waiting in a massive crowd of cars for 30 minutes, all of whom were trying to get out of the same huge parking lot and onto the same one lane road (not very good planning on the builder's part). So by the time we finally made it back to Abu Dhabi it was 9pm and my stomach was still full of pasta. Also not ideal on the night before my first triathlon. But I went to bed hoping for the best...and relying on a small dose of benadryl at the last minute, just in case...but again, it was not to be. Both Alan and I layed awake for most of the night and I think it was around 2:30 when we both finally dozed off, only to be awaked by the courtesy hotel wake-up call at 4:45. Once again, very NOT ideal. But I am proud to say that I never lost it. I just pulled on my stylish zoot suit, did a few crunches, and we headed for the race start. Once we were there all of the frustration of the previous 12 hours evaporated and I transformed into adrenaline pumping triathlete.....

Saturday, March 13--

Sporting my color coded (white meant short course racer) Abu Dhabi International Triathlon swim cap and my favorite Speedo Vanquisher goggles and trying to keep warm......

On your mark...

Get set.....

Go!!!!!!

Finishing my first and probably only ever one mile swim in the Arabian Gulf:

This is where we swam:

(That beautiful structure is called the Emirates Palace and this was it's private lagoon. The Emirates Palace is a luxurious Six Star Hotel and also serves in part as the Presidential living quarters.)

Anyway, moving on...

The bike section of the race was 62 miles of completely closed five lane roads, over bridges, through tunnels, along the beach, past miles and miles of new construction, and my favorite part: around the Yas Island F-1 circuit--the smoothest part of the whole ride!! This next picture my dad shot of me at about mile 60-- or 3 hours 40 minutes into the ride...five minutes to go!!!

And after a six mile run, here is the finishing stretch...

VICTORY!!!!!!!!

Alan took a picture of the race results that they sent out later that day. My total time was 5:25:23. I came in 315 out of 372 short course finishers (381 starters) and 41 out of 53 women that finished the course...sooooo definitely not one of the fastest :) ...but I am just happy I didn't finish last and it does feel kindof cool to be one of only 53 women in a race including over 300 men :) GIRL POWER!!!

After the race, we went back to the hotel, showered, ate my See's chocolates that I'd been saving ever since the SLC airport (they were my delicious "prize" for finishing the race), and headed back to Dubai to return my trooper of a rode bike to Wolfi's. This is Wolfi's:

P.S. I love them!!! They were the greatest people ever!!!

Sunday, March 14 --

Our last day in Dubai, and we made it an eventful one. We took a trip out to the Palm Jumeriah (you should google it, it's a completely man made island in the shape of a palm tree with each branch of the palm lined with cookie cutter mansions, each with ocean front property either in front of their house or in back. What a smart idea.) There is also a ring of land that goes around the Palm shaped Island on which sits the magnificent ATLANTIS RESORT and it's masterpiece of a waterpark: AQUAVENTURE!! We spent the entire day there and loved every second...as you will see below:

A shot of one of the branches of the Palm. They are very long and narrow. Only two rows of homes on each branch (in order to give everyone their aforementioned oceanfront property).

On the tram heading to the Atlantis!!!

Here is my dad about to go down the "Leap of Faith" waterslide, which he re-named the "leap of death" but which should really be called the "drop of death". It is straight down and goes through a shark tank before shooting you into the pool at the end.

And there goes Alan, sporting the great Speedo Vanquishers to aid him in seeing the sharks as he wizzes past them.... unfortunately it didn't end up working too well...

My turn!

And I am proud to say I did it TEN TIMES, a feat which I never would have attempted had my dad not suggested we defeat Nick, the "wimpy" four time leap of faith veteran. (Heehee we love Nick!!)

Sitting on the Aquaventure Beach. This beach is part of the ring that goes around the Palm Island which you can see one of the branches of behind us. So totally cool.

My awesome and adventurous parents!

Here is a small picture I found of an airplane view of the Palm Jumeriah. The Atlantis is at the tip of the surrounding ring:

After Aquaventure, we got some Cold Stone Icecream (on the way out of the Atlantis; the icecream scooper guys were throwing icecream like they were juggling balls and they never once dropped any! One guy accidentally hit the icecream on the ceiling though....needless to say, it was very entertaining! And once again, only the best for Dubai--even the best Cold Stone Icecream scoopers!)

Sunday evening we went to the Marina Mall Grocery Store to get a bunch of salad ingredients for our lite and last dinner in Dubai. While we were there I saw something that reminded me of my awesome friend, Meieli and her love of cadbury eggs! This picture is for you, Mei :)

And then we went to the airport to catch our midnight flight back to Atlanta and then on home.

And once again, Dubai treated us to nothing less than the best: reclining boarding area chairs with foot rests...where else?

Have a nice flight!

And last but not least, here are a few shots I got of some of the crazy architecture in Dubai/Abu-Dhabi. I named them myself:

The Burj Canteen:

The Twisting Burj:

The Burj from another galaxy:

The Westin Burj: (Ok, it really was the Westin Hotel...and isn't it awesome!)

And,

The Twin Burj Crystler Buildings...

The End.

Viva Las Vegas...Mormon style :)

2010-01-17T14:33:00.000-08:00

So we went to Vegas last weekend with our super cool friends, James and Meieli Allen, to run a half marathon at Lake Mead. I don't necessarily agree that Las Vegas is as "fabulous"as it claims to be--I'm SO not a fan of the gambling scene or the totally wasted partiers, or the Mexican's handing out porn on the street--BUT.... I could watch the Bellagio fountains all day long, and the architectural scenery is one of a kind! The World Buffet at the Rio is also worth mentioning simply because it was AWESOME! So, here is a small sampling of our really great weekend (which, by the way we have decided to make an annual tradition: The Fransen and Allen half marathon vacation somewhere warm in the winter!) And all of these shots are courtesy of James Allen photography...yes, James took them. Not me. I only wish I was that good. Alan took the race photo's though, and did a great job.

The first thing on our list on Thursday when we unloaded after our 9 1/2 hour drive was a walk down the strip to see the Bellagio fountains--my all time favorite part of the Las Vegas Strip....

How could you not love that???

...and how could you not love him??? :)

The awesome Allens: James and Meieli. Peace.

On Friday morning we took our next sight-seeing trip-- to the Las Vegas LDS temple, to take pictures of the temple (duh) as well as the beautiful Las Vegas valley. Meieli and I took the opportunity to do our awesome supermodel poses. Sort of...

And here is a beautiful day-time shot of the Temple and huge Las Vegas valley:

Alan, Heidi, Meieli, James, and Temple. Eternal marriage is so great :)

James really wanted to go back to the temple after dark to take some night shots of the valley from our perfect hill spot, so while we waited for night to come, we went to Boulder to pick up our race packets and to stop at the famous Hoover Dam...This is a picture of that massive dam and the equally massive interstate bridge being built over it:

Ok...drum roll please!!!

So, then we headed back to the temple for the night shots and I have to say that this is my new favorite photo. It is a perfect portrayal of good vs. evil...pure, perfect, beautiful whiteness overpowering stinky, dirty, yellow poo. heehee. But to be fair, I must admit that I still think the Las Vegas Strip is a very cool sight. And, like I said before, there is some beauty to be had there... it's just too bad it has to be surrounded by nasty porn cards and cigarette butts. So, anyway, here it is! :

And one more cool night shot...

SATURDAY= RACE DAY!!! We'd been planning this since September and when it finally came it was perfect! There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the temperature was just about 40 degrees F. Perfect marathon weather. Here are just a few of the shots Alan captured of us during our two hour, very hilly, very awesome, half marathon....

(the lady in orange is another friend from Ashton (her name is Heidi, too!) She came down with her husband and did the 10K. Go Heidi!)

It was a perfect weekend with some of our most favorite people. And thanks to our amazing mom's for staying home with our crazy kids in the -20 degree Idaho weather. They were troopers :) ...can't wait till next year!!!

Thank You!

2009-12-27T20:51:00.000-08:00

To everyone who contributed to our "Christmas Miracle" Fundraiser, THANK YOU SO MUCH! It was a great success. We raised over $1,000 and Lindsay delivered the "gift" on Monday night (the 21st). My bishop told me today that he just recieved a letter from the family telling him how much they have been blessed with this Christmas through the efforts of others. (Apparently we weren't the only ones who decided to help them out--and that is so good to know!) Anyway, It was a great opportunity and I thank all of you who made it possible!

Hope you all had a merry Christmas and have a happy new year, too!!!!

PLEASE HELP!!!

2009-12-21T08:35:00.000-08:00

This will be my last post about our Christmas Miracle. We are delivering the money tonight!! Please, please, please, if you have a few dollars to spare, this family needs it so badly. (If you haven't already, you can read the whole situation and our plans to help in the two posts previous to this). Just to recap, they are a family with seven kids and the dad lost his job months ago. He had gotten another job with a start up construction company a few months back but the company has been struggling a lot (along with the rest of the construction business) and he just lost that job last week. They have no money for mortgage payments, food, and other essentials, let alone for Christmas, but they are incredibly optomistic and faith filled people and have kept positive attitudes through it all. They have no idea we are raising money for them (and never will know it was us), but they need and deserve it so so so much. If you can give even $5 it would be so much appreciated. And just as a side note, the chocolates (from my last post) are still for sale for donations as well!!!

Thanks, and have a merry Christmas!

CHARITY CHOCOLATES FOR SALE!!!

2009-12-16T20:22:00.000-08:00

(PICTURES BELOW!)

If anyone is in need of a small Christmas gift for a friend, co-worker, neighbor, stocking stuffer, etc., consider a small box of freshly made chocolates! They were made just today by myself and the wonderful Sally Phleger. They come in decorative boxes of 4 or 8 and are yours for a money donation of your choosing. The money will go directly to our "Christmas Miracle" fundraiser (read previous post for more information).

We need all the help we can get...and you'll get a sweet treat for yourself in return! What a deal :)

I will be taking orders from now until Monday the 21st and I will deliver the chocolates to you myself if you live in Rexburg!

These are the varieties you have to choose from:

peppermint truffles coated with crushed candy cane

peppermint and marshmallow truffles in a *milk chocolate shell

milk chocolate truffles coated with crushed walnuts

milk chocolate truffles in a *milk chocolate shell

oreo truffles in a chocolate shell

peanut butter truffles in a *milk chocolate shell

*milk chocolate covered cinnamon bears

*milk chocolate haystacks

All milk chocolate shells were made with the best dipping chocolate around...from Florences Chocolates in Rexburg! Yum!

You may place your delicious orders by dialing my cell at 208-521-5232! ...or you can send a donation through paypal (my account is at heidiwfransen@hotmail.com) with an attached note notifying me of how many boxes you would like, I will deliver them to you myself!)

Donation suggestion: At Florences, a box of four runs about $5 ... I will be happy with the same (or more if you are feeling especially generous!) :)

Request for help in creating a Christmas Miracle :)

2009-12-02T09:50:00.000-08:00

I am copying an email I recently sent to everyone on my email list on to my blog in hopes of spreading the word and getting more people involved. Here it is......

Dear Everyone,

I was looking through a bunch of papers the other day and saw an email I had printed out from two Christmas's ago telling about the incredible Christmas gift we were able to give a Japanese family because of so many friends who sacrificed to help us help them pay off their hospital bills and give them a good Christmas too. As I read it, it brought back all those feelings of excitement, hope, love, and generosity that came from so many people coming together to really make a difference for one family.

And so.........I want to do it again! I am sending this email to everyone I know (who's address I have!), but I want you all to know that I do not expect anything from anyone in particular and I will not be offended if any of you choose not to participate. BUT, IF any of you would be interested in donating to another group effort like this, then you are more than welcome to help out!

So here is the background:

At first, I went the same route as last time, trying to find a foreign family that needed help; but after a week of not getting any leads, and then getting a call from my bishop's wife telling me about a family in my own neighborhood that was desperately in need this Christmas, Alan and I felt that we had an obligation to help our neighbors before anyone else.

So here is a little bit about them and their situation... They are a family of 9: mom, dad, and seven kids ranging from about 16 to 3 1/2. They started building their very simple two story house across the street from us last February and were doing most of the work themselves. The Dad worked for a flourishing construction company so he had access to all their equipment for building his home. However, he lost his job in April and for the next five months they all spent their time fixing up the house to sell to someone else. It was very sad to see how much work they had put into it only to give it away. Unfortunately, with the economy the way is, the Dad is still out of work and they have been unable to sell their home so they moved in and are putting every last penny they have into the mortgage payments. They turned their entire back yard into a garden this summer to feed their family but now that the planting season is over they are worried about being able to feed their family through the winter. I have learned from a close friend that they have saved a total of $30 for Christmas this year--for their whole family! And the thing that makes me want to help them the most is that you would never know that this was their situation just from talking to them. They are ALL the nicest, most polite, and respectful people. Their kids come to our house all the time and ask to help with whatever they see we are working on...and they only hope for one little sucker in return :) The mom gave me bags and bags of corn this September and is always willing to give me mothering tips when I ask (I figure she has more experience with kids than most people I know!) Anyway, they are just an exceptional family and they deserve any help they would receive. They are very humble people, too, and I would expect that they would be happier with gifts of neccessity such as gift cards to Walmart, gas stations, grocery stores, etc. than they would with lots of toys and treats. So with whatever money we earn/recieve in their behalf, we will put it towards gifts like this...and depending on how much we are able to come up with, maybe we will even be able to take care of one month of their mortgage so they can have a little less stress at least during the Christmas season.

Well, this email is getting way too long. Sorry about that. But, if anyone is interested in helping out, you can send a donation to:

Alan and Heidi Fransen

1120 Green Willow Drive

Rexburg, ID 83440

Or, you can also donate through paypal to my account at heidiwfransen@hotmail.com. The donations are free of charge if you send it as a GIFT.

We will appreciate any donations!! Even $1 can buy something :) And just like last time, we would be happy to let you know how it all turns out! Thank you guys and hope you all have a great Holiday Season!!!

What will they think of next?

2009-10-24T11:31:00.000-07:00

Oh I am so thankful for funny moments at the end of a really long day...even if that funny moment involves another clean up for me. At least I get to laugh :)

Here is today's story:

I had just gotten Caleb out of the tub and into his jammies then went in the kitchen to get him a drink...It was only a matter of two minutes or so. However, as any mom would know, that is PLENTY of time for ANYTHING to happen (sort of like how it only took that long for Ryan to catch the broom on fire today while trying to sweep the kitchen floor...but that's another story!) Anyway, when I found Caleb again, this is what he was doing...

Honestly...what makes them do these things?!??! I couldn't even get mad! It was too funny! I called for Alan to come see what Caleb was doing then ran to get the camera.

This one is definitely going to show up on his wedding video someday :)

As will this one, but for different reasons. Little boys are just the cutest when the want to be! :

I love them.

Wise Counselors

2009-10-21T12:08:00.000-07:00

I listened to this talk from the most recent LDS Conference Priesthood session address, today. It was very heart warming and encouraging and I would recommend it to anyone. There is so much valuable and wise counsel available to us whenever we need it. I am so grateful for apostles and prophets...and for internet :)

The following is a great quote from that talk:

"It is often in the trial of adversity that we learn those most critical lessons that form our character and shape our destiny."

--Dieter F. Uchtdorf

And this is the link to the talk, so you can read, listen to, or watch it if you would like :)

"Two Principles For Any Economy" (text)

"Two Principles For Any Economy" (audio)

"Two Principles For Any Economy" (video)

Redirecting :)

2009-10-20T18:40:00.000-07:00

I realized that I have gotten a little off track of using this as a gratitude journal so I changed the blog heading so I would remember more easily :) I've decided it's very important to keep a regular record of the blessings we receive as a family or else it becomes too easy to start complaining!! So I'm redirecting again to make this specifically a gratitude journal of the Fransen Family...

Today, I'm grateful for divine help with the smallest things. Whenever I make a conscious effort to try and be calm and patient, I feel an added measure of those things almost as if someone is next to me, gently reminding me every minute of the day, of my goal.

I'm also grateful for cute pictures that make me happy...like this one:

Nie Nie is on Oprah today!!

2009-10-07T12:24:00.000-07:00

Remember the blog I told you about? NieNieDialogues.blogspot.com? She's on Oprah today! You have to watch it and support her! She is incredible.

What the end of summer means to me...

2009-09-28T14:50:00.000-07:00

It's funny how most people are sad when the summer comes to an end...and I am soooooooooooo happy!!

Here is what the end of the summer means to me:

1. I get to see my husband again!!! This was a Twins Baseball game that we went to after his last full day selling...I loved every second.

2. My mom comes! She comes at the end of every summer to help me pack up, move back to Idaho, then unpack...she is a LIFE SAVER. This year we drove home for the first time ever. It was an experience I am happy to forget...other than that we got to go to Mt. Rushmore and that was pretty cool. This is mom and Ryan walking towards the mountain:

3. The Farm!! I think we would all agree that our favorite part of coming home is that we can go to Alan's parents farm in Ashton WHENEVER WE WANT. It's the greatest.

I love September!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANK YOU :)

2009-09-05T22:00:00.000-07:00

this is going to be a quick post because it's late and i'm really tired...........but thank you for all the uplifting and helpful comments. i have really been struggling lately and it is so comforting to be encouraged by so many people who know just how i feel :)

also, i have to mention that for the last two hours i have been completely engrossed in a blog that a stranger suggested i read:

http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/

you have to read it!!! i read every post for the last year and a half...it's amazing. SHE is amazing. really. i have a completely new outlook on my life and on motherhood now. and i will never be complaining again...and if you ever catch me complaining, remind me that i said that.

if you want a little background before checking out the blog, watch this youtube video first:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2o6U-P10rHs&feature=related

AWESOME.

My Fairy Tale Life...

2009-08-26T19:09:00.000-07:00

I have never written a post like this before...especially since it's supposed to be a "gratitude" journal...and I am really going out on a limb by being this honest, so forgive me, but....

Sometimes I feel like I am going to go crazy! Am I the only one??? Or does anyone else ever feel that way? It is SO HARD raising two little boys! I never ever in a million years EVER expected it to be this hard! I mean, obviously it's still worth it and I wouldn't trade my job or life for anything...but that being said, I am exhausted!!! This is the most physically and mentally challenging "job" I have ever experienced. I am constantly being ordered around, yelled at, hit, disrespected and disobeyed. I spend my entire day most days cleaning up disaster after disaster and trying to keep my kids from killing each other, themselves, and me. I dread making meals and sometimes forgo attempting to eat all together just because the effort it takes to prepare food while juggling two toddlers who want to climb all over me, the counters and the oven, grab my cooking utensils (namely knives), hang on my legs crying for attention, etc. is too much for my fried brain to handle and I'd rather just be hungry. So I make their food and once they've gone to bed I'll make something for my poor husband who doesn't get home from work till after 10:30 every night and has to wait till then for his dinner! I despise nap time simply because of the ridiculous amount of effort it takes to get them to actually go to sleep and then half the time I find out Ryan never even went to sleep and Caleb only sleeps for 30 minutes. Hardly worth all the fuss... but I do it every day (twice a day for the one year old) anyway. Why? Because I have this crazy fantasy that one day the stars will align and I might get to lay down for a few minutes too!! ...It actually happened on Monday so I shouldn't complain...but it was a three month stretch before that.

I try to be positive and read uplifting things and find good advice to help me out but really, the only time I can designate to this purpose is after they go to bed, by which time I usually just fee like falling into a heap on the couch and sleeping for a month!

I do try to do the right things to raise good kids...but honestly, most of the time I just feel too tired to build a fort or make up imaginary games to play or to wrestle and tickle and chase. I'm sure I could give up running in the morning...but I don't want to give up the only time I have to myself every day! And it is a stress reliever for me...but apparently not enough of one. lol.

This whole blogging thing has been really hard for me to get into because for one, I only have a limited amount of free time each day and it's from 9-11pm ...or less if I really do fall asleep on the couch and updating my blog usually isn't my top priority by that time :) But also because we all naturally tend to share the best parts of our lives with everyone else, and it's so easy for me to feel jealous of other people's lives and how easy they seem to have it, and that I must be doing something wrong... but then I get comments from people saying they think MY life seems so perfect and that I have such a "fairy tale life"... but really I'm just telling you all the best parts and leaving out the dirty laundry that is 99% of my day!!!

I know this sounds so negative, and really, I do love my kids and I want to be a good mom... but this is how I feel a lot of the time (and right now...which is why I am writing it now)! And, I need help! I need to know that someone else feels the same way I do sometimes and that I'm not just really lame and making a fool out of myself.

...and I'm sure tomorrow I'll be embarrassed that I wrote this and will want to delete it... but for now, I want to share my heartache and frustration and out of control feelings with the hope that someone else will know how I feel and then I can at least feel a little bit better knowing I'm not alone.

Translation: Please tell me your life isn't as perfect as it seems and you have bad days too!!!!! I need to know I'm normal!!!

...and I guess I can still make this a gratitude post because I'm grateful to be able to have somewhere to share my feelings and with people who I believe will still want to be my friends even after I am this blunt.....I hope :) Ha.

PhOtO sHoOt

2009-08-07T20:26:00.000-07:00

Marie Cottle and I decided to try doing our own "professional" photo shoot with our kids so we took all four of them and Marie's camera down to the dock at Lake Josephine and ...this is what we got! ...Oh, and by the way, the second we got to the lake, Caleb walked straight down to the water and fell in face first... so these are the shots we salvaged :) ...and I added a few of Marie's girls, Makenna and Autumn, just because they are so super cute!!

for the LOVE!!!!

2009-07-27T18:50:00.000-07:00

Thanks to my parents, Alan, Shannon, Monica, Becca, Amanda...and everyone else who was inconvenienced or who put forth extra effort this weekend so I could make it to the wedding of my beautiful cousin Katie and her awesome new husband, Tyson!

It was worth every bit of the work and stress and travel and everything else that went into getting there, just to be a part of that sweetest of all moments when two wonderful people are sealed together for time and all eternity, and to feel the presence of our precious angel loved ones who have passed on but who, no doubt, were also in attendance to witness the creation of that greatest bond of all which is marriage!! It was a perfect day full of happiness and LOVE!!!!

I am so glad I got to be there!!!

Mom, Dad, Aunt Carol, Uncle Jon, Jeffrey, Grandpa, Uncle Bob, Connor, and Nathan (the "hott" one--heehee) kneeling in front--waiting for the bride and groom to appear!

Lainie, Lauren, Erin (sister of the bride!), and Kirsi --my super cute cousins :)

Another sister of the bride, my favorite Steph, and me :)

YAY!!!! Introducing the new Mr. and Mrs. Tyson Steel :)

Aren't they ADORABLE?!?!

The coolest wedding cake I've ever seen...or eaten! (Made by the very talented cousin of the bride, Kelly!)

Everyone waving to Alan who was working his rear end off and wasn't able to be there :(

Hangin at the reception :)

I took this picture as a joke since my lovely Aunt Theresa seems to always be texting during wedding festivities (refer to my pictures of Lindsay and Nate's wedding-heehee) ...but little did I know that Alan's cousin and his wife were standing in the reception line behind them! Ha! Funny, eh?

..Ok, that's all for now folks! Back to life as a "single" mom for the summer...only 5 weeks to go though! ...unless we extend....

BABIES AND FIRE

2009-07-23T20:42:00.000-07:00

Fortunately this is not a post about babies and fire TOGETHER ... just pictures of my babies and other pictures of a fire...

My very talented friend Monica Baumgartner made these super cute beanies for the boys :)

I love this picture of Caleb in his new pool...he looooooooooooves it!

Now for the fire....

One of the apartment buildings in our complex got hit by lightning yesterday and caught on fire!! So, I took some pictures of it...it was crazy!!! The lightning bolt hit the apartment right next to where a few of our APX guys are living--good thing they were in North Dakota this week! The people that lived in the apartment that got hit were home though! Luckily they weren't in the same room and they got out! ...unfortunately for our guys, they will return to some ceiling damage and an apartment that smells like smoke. Boo.

Summer Shots

2009-06-29T20:07:00.000-07:00

This is going to be a summary of our summer in Minneapolis so far...since I am not the best at keeping my blog updated :) We've spent most of our time at the park and the pool...neither of which I have pictures of so far. That's funny.... So here are some pictures from some other fun summer moments!

CALEB TURNS ONE!

This was Caleb's birthday party at our apartment in Roseville, with all our little "summer" friends (left to right: Chevelle, Caleb, McKenna, Autumn, Ryan, and Ethan).

Caleb celebrating with his birthday cake.

MALL OF AMERICA MOMENT:

Alan and Ryan riding on one of the many rides at the Mall of America.

BEST BUDS:

This is Ryan and his first BOY best friend: Ethan. They are like two peas in a pod. They growl at each other anytime they meet and wrestle and beat each other up all the time...and still say they are friends afterwards. It is a rare phenomenon which I am so pleased has occured. And here are a few more cute pics of the two of them...

COMO TOWN AMUSEMENT PARK:

Ethan and Ryan on their favorite ride. The frog hopper. They both have season passes to Como Town and this is always the first ride they find.

Riding in cars with boys...isn't that a movie?

Cheryl (Ehtan's mom), Me, Ethan, Caleb, and Ryan on the tea cups...I am surprised they never get sick after this ride. They could win an award for how fast they can spin that tea cup.

BABY CALEB:

Father and Son time...a very coveted treat for my children during the summer months. They LOVE their dad.

This is my favorite picture of Caleb and all of his funny teeth :)

Anyway...we are loving it here but definitely missing Idaho and our families. More pictures will come as soon as I get around to it again!!!

And PS...I love all of you!!! I have the best friends in the world. You are all AWESOME :)

VENTING.

2009-06-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

Yes, just as I predicted I am now regretting publishing my complaints on the internet. But thanks for all the really nice comments anyway. I'm sorry. It's now been deleted...except for this small remnant :)

For anyone who was worried about my poor children who I left for so long, here is proof that they were alive and well when I returned...and life goes on.

THAILAND!!!

2009-06-18T14:22:00.001-07:00

My dad has been racking up the frequent flyer points and decided he had enough to get our whole family (minus kids) to Thailand for a 10 day summer vacation! His main objective was for us to all participate in the Laguna Phuket (pronounced Poo-ket) International (Half) Marathon...which most of us did. Unfortunately, Preston didn't make it since he is on a two year mission for our Church in Peru, and since it was right in the middle of the summer, Alan also wasn't able to attend since he is neck deep in work all summer every summer managing and selling for APX Home Security Solutions....poor Alan. But he was an incredible sport and I was able to get two of my awesome friends to watch my kids while Alan worked (so from about 11am to 11pm every day) ...and other than missing my boys profoundly the entire time, it turned out to be an UNFORGETTABLE and TOTALLY AWESOME trip and I loved every second!!!

So without further ado, here are the pictures from our super cool trip to Thailand!!!

Jen, Lindsay, Nate, Mom, and Nick making their way through the Bangkok International Airport to find dad after 12-29 hours (depending on the person...I was the 29 hour one) of travel time. yuck.

The next night we all felt (and looked) a lot better. This is in the lobby of our hotel (The Pathumwan Princess) in Bangkok, on our way to eat at the 5th floor food court of the massive shopping center attached to the hotel (called MBK).

Me and my Spicy Patong curry from the Thai food booth....one of my absolute favorite foods!

Jen ate Greek, I ate Thai, Mom ate Indian...and there were at least 6 other countries to choose from!

Man hauling watermelons...I took this picture out of the window of our taxi and he just happened to look at me right when I took it. What a coincidence.

There were massive pictures of the King (and in this one, his wife) everywhere in Thailand. They absolutely love their king. They even wear yellow every Monday because yellow is the king's color and he was born on a Monday....crazy, eh!

Me, Jen, and Mom in our very fashionable skirts at the Golden Palace where the Emerald (Jade) Buddha resides :) You are not allowed to wear shorts so I rented my skirt from the front office people.

This picture and the next one are close ups of the Golden Palace. The emerald Buddha is inside of it. It was unbelievable. The building actually sparkled and as you can see from the next picture, the tiny jewels were all individually placed...it must have taken years to build!!!

The entire building was this detailed! Amazing!

Our next stop was the Reclining Buddha....he is huge to say the least. I couldn't even get his massive feet in this picture!!!

After 3 days in Bangkok we flew to Phuket and stayed on Patong Beach...every street looks like this one--it's all just shop after shop with tons of restaurants stuck in between! So fun!!!!

We played Pool Nerf ball every day at our hotel (the Thara Patong) pool in Phuket. It was very addicting. This is me just before I caught the ball...maybe.

This is one of Nate's many perfect air shot poses. He and Lindsay had the best form...but I don't have any of Lindsay on my camera...those will come later :)

Nick looks like he's more focused on keeping his shorts up than catching the ball in this one...heehee! ...where is the ball anyway?

Our second night in Phuket we ate at the Three Spices Thai Restaurant just down the street from our hotel. They gave us all cold wet towels to cool off with and I forgot to take mine off my neck before the picture :)

The main street on Patong beach. The beach is just to the right of the picture.

Patong beach at 7am....4 1/2 years ago it was all destroyed by the Tsunami but the town has recoved amazingly well.

My cute parents on our sunset walk on the beach :)

Sisters! (This is one of my favorite pictures from the whole trip.)

Eating our Pre-Marathon dinner at the Italian restaurant, Napoli.

The Runners just after the big race! Yay for us!!!

Our sweaty celebration hug :)

The Half Marathon Awards ceremony: I took third in the Female 16-29 yr. division with a time of 1 hr 44 min 18 seconds. (The first place girl finished in 1 hr 25 minutes!!!!!!!!!)

They gave me a free pair of Air Nike's as my prize!! ...and of course my "Run Paradise" trophy :)

Jen, me, and Lindsay hanging out on the beach a few hours after the race....what a lovely day.

I should photo-shop Alan into this picture....what do you think?

Cute Thai kids playing on the beach.

Nick went parasailing on our last day...he loved it.

The rest of us watched Nick parasailing and are probably all wishing we had done it, too.

Eating my spicy Thai Beef Salad at the German Restaurant on our last night in Phuket (everyone else wanted to eat German but I couldn't get enough of my Thai food!!! It's the best!)

And every restaurant offers Thai food no matter what their specialty is. I guess that's to be expected when you're in THAILAND.

Our last meal in Thailand--at the Silver Gold Garden Cafe next to the Silver Gold Garden Hotel that we stayed at the night before we left. It was the best food ever and we all ate till we were stuffed for a grand total of only $35.

I found these Green Tea Kit Kat bars at the Tokyo Narita Airport....only in Japan. No, I didn't buy them. Gross.

And last but not least (until I get ahold of Jen and Lindsay's pictures anyway) ...the funny signs I saw during our trip made by well meaning Thai people attempting English......

This sign was on my door at the Silver Gold Garden Hotel.

In the lobby at the Silver Gold Garden Hotel.

Behind the toilets in the Phuket Airport.

(look at the one on the left...get it?)

This was a toilet in the bathroom at the Tokyo Airport. (You can't read it very well but there is a "flushing sound" option and on the right, a "powerful deoderizer" with selections as to which deoderizer you would like. HA!!!

Hope you enjoyed!!! More to come...eventually :)

Sightseeing in Minneapolis with my mom :)

2009-05-11T14:16:00.000-07:00

My mom flew out to Minneapolis with my kids and I last week and today was her last day here so we went sightseeing for the day. Here are a few pics from our trip:

Grandma and Caleb eating lunch at Minnehaha Park :)

Grandma, Ryan, and Caleb at the Minnehaha falls...cute :)

That big white bridge in the distance is the I-35 W bridge that collapsed in August of 2007 killing something like 7 people and injuring over 100. I remember watching the news about it when it happened. It completely collapsed into the Mississippi river. Unbelievable. It is probably the biggest bridge in Minneapolis. We cross it every day to go somewhere. They rebuilt it in under a year!!

I wanted to find the bridge from the Minneapolis picture I posted when we found out we were moving here...and we found it!! It's called the stone arch bridge and it crosses the Mississippi river right in front of the Minneapolis skyline. It was AWESOME. Its a pedestrian/bike bridge and it's over 100 years old!

Ryan and I on the Stone Arch Bridge

My personal remake of the original "Minneapolis" photo from my older post :)

Nathan & Lindsay Duffy Wedding

2009-05-08T18:50:00.000-07:00

My little sister, Lindsay (who isn't so little anymore...she's 21) got married last Saturday, May 2, to Nathan Duffy. They were highschool sweethearts and when he got home from his mission they started dating again and got married 11 months later :) Here are a few cute pics from their beautiful (but rainy) wedding day in Seattle/Maple Valley...

Lindsay opted not to have a cake because it would have cost $500...so I decided to try making one myself...this is my satisfactory job at smoothing out the icing :)

Trying to get a good picture with Ryan and Caleb is ...pretty much impossible...oh well :)

The Newleyweds...in the rain!!

Dad, Mom, Lindsay, Nathan, Jen, and me at the temple.

LIME RICKI

2009-03-18T16:01:00.000-07:00

I found the best website EVER for swimsuits...and they are MODEST! I just ordered two of them and tried them on and they are so cute! I can't wait for summer!!!!!!!!!! I am so thankful for smart people who make modest swimwear!!!

The website is: www.limericki.com

...If I can figure out how to put a picture on here, I will :)

My New Dish...

2009-03-08T17:35:00.000-07:00

I made up a new recipe that we just had for dinner and it was AWESOME-- if I do say so myself :) So if anyone would like a good Italian pasta dish....here you go!!!

Ingredients:

1 zucchini

1 yellow squash (the kind that looks like a zucchini but yellow)

1 red bell pepper

10-15 mushrooms

1/2 onion

olive oil (2-3 T?)

1 15 oz. bottle Alfredo sauce

1 bag (2 cups) Italian blend cheeses

shredded parmesan cheese (maybe 1/4-1/2 cup)

1/4 - 1/2 cup frozen peas

10-12 slices of bacon

10 oz or so spiral noodles (or penne or whatever you like)

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper to taste

Directions: (I'm not the best recipe writer so bear with me...)

Preheat oven to 425.

Cut zucchini, squash, mushrooms, and onion into big chunks and pepper into length wise slices.

Mix all the veggies with olive oil and spread on an aluminum lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 15 min. Leave the oven on when you're done.

Meanwhile, fry the bacon, garlic, and cook the noodles (I used whole wheat ones). Drain after 6 MINUTES.

When the veggies are done, dump them into a bowl with the noodles and bacon. Add cheese, alfredo sauce, browned garlic, and peas.

Mix it all together and dump into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan. Top with a generous amount of shredded parmesan cheese, then dot with butter (like you do when you make apple pie).

Bake at 425 for 20-25 minutes...

ENJOY with garlic toast or whatever else sounds good :)

PS I would have taken a picture of it but our camera BROKE.

DESTINATION: MINNEAPOLIS!!!

2009-02-22T14:22:00.000-08:00

Just thought I'd let everyone know...we are moving to Minneapolis for the summer this year! I have been there once before and have always wanted to go back so I am really excited for this summer! The town we will live in is 10 minutes north of Minneapolis, a little place called Roseville. There are tons of lakes and jogging paths all over the place and an outdoor skating arena next to our apartment complex...and MALL OF AMERICA is less than a 20 minute drive from our house! ...if this is helpful in encouraging anyone to come visit then get your ticket now!!! Anyway...we love moving every summer and are so grateful for the opportunities this job gives us :)

America the Beautiful

2009-01-20T13:28:00.000-08:00

With all that is going on in our country and in light of today's events (the Presidential Inauguration), here is my contribution: two of my favorite quotes from prophets of God speaking on the subject of America...

"This nation, founded on principles laid down by men whom God raised up, will never fail...I have faith in America. You and I must have faith in America if we understand the teachings of the Gospel of Jesus Christ." Harold B. Lee

"I doubt not that we shall have days of trial...But I am certain that if we will emphasize the greater good and turn our time and talents from vituperative criticism, from constantly looking for evil, and lift our sights to what may be done to build strength and goodness in our nation, America will continue to go forward with the blessing of the Almighty and stand as an ensign of strength and peace and generosity." Gordon B. Hinckley

I am also grateful for this country and all that it has to offer, despite the problems we face. And I really believe that if we will each do our part in be good and loyal citizens, supportive, and encouraging of America and what it stands for, it will continue to be the greatest nation on the earth!!

CANCUN!!!

2009-01-14T15:56:00.000-08:00

IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER...

...hmmm...i guess now would be a good time to list VACATIONS in our gratitude journal :) ...and good friends to share them with, a fantastic babysitter, ...and APX for paying for it. It was AWESOME!!!!

Tender Mercies :)

2009-01-07T14:32:00.000-08:00

Elder David A. Bednar
of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles

I just read (for the third or fourth time!) one of the most beautiful talks ever given...and I am going to share it on here for anyone who hasn't had the opportunity to read it or hear it before. I LOVE THIS TALK. It is inspiring and humbling and so encouraging. It is called:

The Tender Mercies of the Lord , by Elder David A. Bednar

I am so grateful for living prophets and apostles! Life would be so hard without their inspired counsel and direction...and I am so grateful that I can refer to their words at any time...thank you internet :)

The End and the Beginning

2009-01-05T08:10:00.000-08:00

HAPPY * NEW * YEAR* 2009

Probably just like lots of other parents of young children, we celebrated New Years at our warm and quiet home while our children slept peacefully. We watched reruns of The Office then watched the ball drop in Times Square at 10pm and called it a night... nothing exciting but I'm not complaining. I'm not a night person anyway...Alan, on the other hand, stayed up till 3:30 trying to find good deals on the internet...he's addicted. BUT we are grateful that we got to be with each other on New Years this year! (Last year I was home with Ryan and Alan was somewhere in the snowy Idaho mountains on a winter trek...)

Bowling in the New Year..........

Kyle and Jamie came up for the New Years weekend so we all went bowling on New Years night...Grandpa Fransen was the champion but we all had fun and we are grateful for The REX and it's fun family centered atmosphere...we missed Brook, Cameron and baby Ethan though!!

Ellie, Kyle, Sadie (the supermodel), and Jamie waiting for their turns...

Ryan, Alan, Caleb, and Heidi waiting for their turns...

Fransen Date Night...

We went to BedTime Stories (really good movie by the way) and then to Bajio for dinner while two very brave babysitters watched all our crazy kids...and we are very grateful for our babysitters :) It was another really fun time...but we wish Brook and Cam could have come!!

Alan, Heidi, Mark, Bonnie, Susan, Dennis, Kyle, Jamie

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year!

2009-01-04T20:51:00.000-08:00

We spent Christmas in Maple Vally, WA with my family this year. Here is a sampling of our holiday festivities....

HO!HO!HO! Getting into the Christmas spirit:

DATE NIGHT X 5

Preston planned a "family date night" our first night there. It was the first time my whole family went on a date together and it was a BLAST! Preston is a master date planner and thanks to our fabulous babysitter, we were able to enjoy pizza at THE ROCK, and a Christmas gift exchange (courtesy of Mr. Kent Wheiler) --We went on a $10 shopping spree at WalMart and bought gifts for eachother which we later opened at home while devowering freshly baked cookies and icecream...yummmmmy!

From left to right: Nick, Jen, Nathan, Lindsay, Alan, Heidi, Preston, Anna, Kent, Karen

My favorite siblings:

My favorite husband:

CHRISTMAS MORNING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The "hat" Alan is wearing was a gift from my dad (who else)... All the guys got one, but I'm still not sure what exactly they are for...Merry Christmas anyway!

It is a Wheiler Family Christmas Tradition to put sheets of paper over every glass window with mean messages from Santa...wow that sounds really terrible when I actually write it down...but really, it's just funny. My dad started doing it when we lived in Japan because he didn't want us to be able to sneak peeks at our Christmas presents through the living room french doors...but now we just do it wherever there are french doors, even if the french doors don't lead to the presents... ok so it's a really strange tradition...but we really like it!!! Good luck trying to read what they all say:

This was Caleb's first Christmas and he was a fan right off the bat...I think his favorite part was eating all the wrapping paper.

Seattle got more snow this Christmas than they have gotten in something like 30 years. I think they had almost as much as Rexburg... Thank you, Washington for helping Alan to feel at home... alas, we did not have snowmachines, so we settled for the cheaper version of a sled and spent Christmas afternoon racing down the hill in front of my parents house.

We are SO grateful for Christmas and the opportunity to see family...and especially for the airplane that got us to Washington with no delays even though the weather was uncommonly cold and snowy...thank you Southwest!! We had a splendid Christmas this year :)

for love of our neighbors...

2008-12-15T14:45:00.000-08:00

Ryan and I made chocolate cupcakes to take to our neighbors today. Ryan put all the papers in the tins and tested the batter to make sure it was edible...apparently it was since the beater didn't satisfy him and he resorted to licking what had dribbled onto the counter as well...then we decorated them (or some of them since Ryan ate half the decorations too) and delivered the freshly finished treats to our Green Willow Drive neighbors--frosting covered faces still intact and in perfect time for Family Home Evening--are we good or what?! Just kidding...we just love our neighbors and are very grateful to live next to such awesome people!!

Merry Christmas Neighbors!!!

Brave Little One

2008-12-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

After two months of ear infections and ruptured ear drums, Caleb finally had tubes put in his ears today. We had to be at the hospital at 6:45 in the morning and he was so tired, but he was such a good little sport and smiled all the way into surgery and (almost) all the way home from it. The doctor was amazed that he was so happy afterwards. He said they are usually crying and very unhappy when they come off the anesthesia but apparently Caleb just smiled at him. He is such a little sweetheart. Caleb...not the doctor. But the doctor was great too...and we are thankful for great doctors who take care of our precious little jewels :)

BEFORE SURGERY

(with his new teddy bear from the nurses)

AFTER SURGERY

...a little groggy from the anesthesia :)

and a little bit of post procedure video feed:

"Quote" of the day

2008-12-01T19:44:00.000-08:00

by Ryan Fransen:

It was Ryan's turn to offer the family prayer tonight...and in all seriousness, these were his humble words:

"Heavenly Father, thank thee for this day, and the food, ...snonobile (snowmobile), ...four wheeler, ...hiccup (pickup) ...amen."

Oh the sweetness! ...and apparently today we are grateful for motorized vehicles.

black friday=goodbye green, hello red & green!!

2008-11-29T10:16:00.000-08:00

Would you believe that Alan and I have never been shopping on Black Friday? We weren't planning to go this year either but at the last minute (around 8am) we finally decided to try it out (small scale) so we bundled up the kids and headed out. We hit Kmart, WalMart, (McDonalds), RMS (Rexburg Motor Sports), and Porters (Craft Store). It was a BLAST!!!! We spent way too much money...but we got awesome deals on everything! Alan bought new snow pants and Klim gloves. We got Ryan a remote control dirt bike for $10! A ton of Christmas decorations (which were all in place within an hour of getting back home)...and some other really good stuff. And to top off our great shopping day, my sister Lindsay and cousin Katie came over to make fudge-YUM! We spent the evening at Mark and Bonnie's house with all the Fransens playing PS3 and eating Pizza Hut...and Caleb was happy all day. It was HEAVENLY! ...so today we are grateful for great deals, yummy treats, and happy babies!!!

A sampling of the new additions to our home:

Our fudge...we put candy cane on

it to make it look more seasonal!

One of my great deals from

Porters-I actually bought 2

so I could give one as a gift :)

Another great Porter's deal...

which I bought two of as well :)

I bought 20 of these cards for $1

a piece-happy day!

Turkey Day in Harvest Land

2008-11-29T10:01:00.000-08:00

This Thanksgiving was the Fransens year to get together and it was yet another chaotically exciting day...especially the last part of the day when Caleb wouldn't stop crying from lack of nap (notice the gingerbread house picture). We loved being with our family and eating yummy food!!! And here are some snapshots from our day of thankful celebration...

Brook, Cameron, and Ethan on the

couch after dinner-precious :)

Jamie, Sadie, Caleb, and me

making our gingerbread house!

Ryan drew on himself just in time

for Thanksgiving pictures...nice.

Caleb, Ryan, and Sadie watching

Wally.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM THE FRANSEN FAMILY!!!!!!!!!!!

COUSINS!!!

2008-11-20T13:12:00.000-08:00

Here is a funny little video clip of all the cousins (minus one) at Grandma and Grandpa Fransen's house. It's kind of dark in the room (and my camera's video capabilities are fairly limited) so it's a little hard to see but there are seven kids ages 3 and under in one room...chaos is too delicate a word for what happens when the Fransens are all together. And it is so weird to think that only four short years ago none of the grandkids even existed! (It was a pathetically easy life back then.)So anyway, today we are very grateful to have so many cousins all so close in age so they can all be really good friends...eventually :)

more about love...

2008-11-15T13:44:00.000-08:00

this quote goes along with the LOVE post from the other day...

"If the world is to be improved, the process of love must make a change in [our] hearts...It can do so when we look beyond self to give our love to God and others, and do so with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind" (President Gordon B. Hinckley, "And the Greatest of These is Love," Ensign, Mar. 1984, 5)

from the mouths of babes

2008-11-14T09:55:00.000-08:00

I don't know if it's the blogging that's addictive, or just trying to find more things to be grateful for...maybe both :) but here's another one!!

Soooo, this morning as Alan was rushing out the door to get to class, Ryan comes running to the door almost frantically (how do you spell that?), "daddy! hug!" he says. So Alan hurries to give Ryan a quick hug, but as he starts to pull away, Ryan says "daddy! kiss! kiss!" so Alan again hurries to give him a quick kiss...and then just as he's about to shut the door, Ryan shouts "daddy! prayers!" How do you say no to that?! So, late as he was, Alan comes back in the house, shuts the door behind him, folds his arms and starts to pray...both Alan and I are content with just standing until we notice Ryan getting down on his knees and folding his arms.

It is definitely humbling to be reminded by a two year old that we need to have family prayers and give each other hugs and kisses before we leave the house...but we are so proud of our son and grateful for the good example he was to us this morning and the sweet little boy that he is.

date night

2008-11-13T20:25:00.000-08:00

We have been trying to go on a date once a week, and last night was our date night. we had to take caleb this time because the babysitter was 11...but we still got to eat yummy taco time and play a fantastic game of pool which we were not quite able to finish due to caleb's bed time. and even though it wasn't quite as romantic as a date night should be, we are still grateful for our children...and our date nights!!!

LOVE

2008-11-12T07:04:00.000-08:00

"There never will be a time of peace, happiness, justice tempered by mercy, when all men will receive that which is their right and privilege to receive, until they get in their hearts the love of God" (Joseph Fielding Smith, Doctrines of Salvation, 3:319-20)

I read this quote this morning and it made me think of all the problems our country and the world are facing right now...and it could all be solved with such a simple thing as love! But the world will never learn to love each other or to love God unless we start to teach and show that love individually in our homes and to our children.

So today I am grateful for the opportunity to be a parent and to teach my children love :)

popcorn & chocolate chip cookies

2008-11-10T15:26:00.000-08:00

you had to know that chocolate chip cookies would show up somewhere on heidi's gratitude list...so we'll just go ahead and say it right away...along with popcorn which is one of ryan and alan's staples--and we love that ryan loves to make our favorite foods with us!!!

the beginning...

2008-11-10T13:44:00.001-08:00

we are going to try and make this (at least partly) a family gratitude journal that we will add to a few days a week, and write about something from that day that we are grateful for-caleb and ryan will participate as well (since we can read their minds). we'll try to add pictures of our "grateful moments" so that when we go back and look through our past entries we can smile and remember how lucky...and blessed!...we are to be a family!!!

another blogger is born...

2008-11-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

Soooooo after countless requests to create a blog, we have finally relented and have asked Miss Brook Kelly to help us with the creation process. Thanks Brookie.

This is as far as we got today but when Brook has more free time it will get better!

To be continued...