The Hansen Hotspot: Escape

Hello Family!

We love and miss you! Here's an update on us: It has been a busy couple of months, to be sure! The highlight, of course, being Greg's visit here a couple of weeks ago. :) He stopped through when in the Ohio area for business, and we got to steal him for a night. Thanks for putting up with our running-around routine, Greg!

We had multiple weekends of travel in February for the girl's activities. Three weekends away at gymnastics meets and friend's baptisms, and another at an ice-skating competition for Ashlan. One of the gymnastics meets was in Philadelphia, and so we decided to make a family trip of it, take a long weekend, and play in the area. Unfortunately, we were ALL hit with the stomach flu throughout the weekend....luckily Elli had it first just before going so she was able to compete. Honestly though, we still had fun! I love cities, and it was just fun to be there. We found a great deal on a hotel right downtown and were able to visit the Liberty Bell, Independence Hall (the old State House), and Betsy Ross's home. The meet was HUGE, it is called PINK, and is one of the largest meets in the country. ALL proceeds go to supporting breast cancer causes. Nastia Liukin came and Elli got to meet her. It was great to be a part of.

March began with an escape for Matt and I as we left for our cruise. Melinda came to stay with the girls, and we are so thankful to her! They had a fun week....and we had a fabulous one! Our stops were Costa Maya (Mexico), Belize, Honduras (Island of Rhoatan), and Cozumel. We went on three dives (scuba diving) in Mexico and Belize, had fun on a zipline, and explored the jungle and beaches. In Cozumel we arranged for a day at an all-inclusive resort on a private beach. It was beautiful. Most of all, we enjoyed the time away together. Thank you to my sweet husband for surprising me with this anniversary gift (15 this year).

Now we are back in full swing! Our Stake RS Women's Conference is a week from Saturday and has been consuming, as is expected. I worked hard to have things rolling before leaving on our trip, and now I'm catching up and moving forward with all that has to be done right before. We are excited for the day and I am looking forward to being with the wonderful women of this Stake. Ward Conferences begin this weekend, as well, so I'm preparing lessons and trainings for those. I always love the opportunity to visit the other units at Ward Conference time because there are such great people to brush shoulders with and learn from.

Matt is always busy with research and classes, and his consulting. Exciting things have happened in all areas and he works hard to keep up. The girl's have had art shows, and book fairs, and Ashlan's big Skating Show is coming up, as well as a hockey performance with the skating team. Oh, and somewhere in there we will celebrate Easter! :)

Sincerely though, Easter is more important than all of it of course, and I'm looking forward to taking the time to study in the scriptures and celebrate with our nightly Easter readings the week before. That and Conference will be such spiritual feasts. Speaking of feasts, I wish we were closer to have Easter dinner together! It looks like we will go to Buffalo and celebrate the holiday with friends there, which will be fun.

We are looking forward to being together in June/July, and it will come faster than we think! Let us know each of your plans as it draws closer so that we can make the most of our time together. It looks like we will be in Kaysville from June 29th - July 7th. Let's play! We love you all! Stacie and family