EBO

Now that a week has past and I still haven't posted this, I will NOW!!! It is midnite and I just have to post this.

Yes, Ebo is most certainly growing up. All I can do is just SMILE and think of all the long weekends I'll have to me-self while the crew is out for the kill......better make room in the freezer!!!

I Did Not!!!

I did not take a nap after work Monday.

I did not wish a big rain cloud would roll on in a half hour before the parade was about to start.

I did not eat 6 tootsie rolls, a bowl of cereal or a bag of popcorn for dinner Monday nite.

I did not stay up til 12:30 watching "FRINGE" online and drink two beers!!

I did not snooze three times Tuesday morning.

I did not drop my kids off at the football game and then go browse the library...No, I did not!!!!

I did not share with everyone in my office that Ebo was elected to STUDENT COUNCIL!! (YAY! EBO!)

I did not text my two funny gal friends today. No way, I am at work!!!

I did not get a call from Sawyer that his ears are plugged and he thinks he has an ear infection.

I did not watch Sarah Connor Chronicles on-line Tuesday.

And I certainly, did not tape "FRINGE" so I could watch Sarah Connor online. Not me!!!

I did not roll my eyes today or flare my nostrils!!!

I did not wish I was the one at the National Meeting in San Antonio. Hotel, pillows, meetings, FOOD and DRINK....no, I did not!!!

More "I DID NOT'S" to come!!!

Presents!!!

IT'S HERE.....THE GOLDEN BIRTHDAY!!!

WOW!!! I will continue more on the months and days up to Sawyer and Spencer's grand entrance but thought I would post cuz today is the day 14 years ago that TWO little dudes entered the world.

Born 7 weeks early, Sawyer arrived first at 9:04 p.m. weighing in at 4 lbs. 8.7 oz. and was 18 1/2 inches long. Spencer arrived 12 minutes later at 9:16 p.m. weighing in at 4 lbs. 8.7 oz. and was 19 3/4 inches long. Doctor said good distribution on the weight!! Whatever!!! So, combined, it was like having a 9 pounder!!! HELLO!!

Spencer and Sawyer

Spencer and Sawyer

Sawyer and Spencer

How To Pick A Baby's Name, Let Alone TWO!!!

Now that we have had a few days to absorb the fact that instead of leaving the hospital in November (my actual due date was November 1, 1994) with one baby, I would be discharged riding in a wheelchair with two little bundles of joy to take home.

I pictured our GRAND EXIT, me holding in each arm, a bundle smelling of fresh baby powder and something squirming in a newly knitted blue blankie. Aww...me grinning from ear to ear, Barry bringing the car around and opening the back door of our blue Bonneville that has two carseats in the back, locked in place and ready to be loaded with our new family. Barry taking Baby A and.....wait a minute....Baby A?? No, no....the babies need a name. End of dream!!!

So, the name game started!!! Lists were started!! Talking to myself and answering back on if the name sounded good. Did it rhyme with another word that kids would use to tease them? How would it look typed on letterhead or a business card? Would the name fit that little being?

Driving home one night, Barry and I were discussing names. He said, "What you think of Sawyer?" Hhmm...."Sawyer." Kinda liked it!!! "What about Baby B?" I said. "Well, since we don't know for sure if it is a boy or girl, we'll have to think of each." Shelby for a girl, maybe?" Barry said. Kinda like that, too!!! I thought.

Looking through baby name books that I checked out from the library, came upon the name Sterling. Hhmm...Sawyer and Sterling!!! WOW!! Now that sounds so CEO like.

A few weeks had passed and it was time for us to go back to ND for a visit and to announce to all that TWO would be joining the family in November. We boarded the plane and looked for our seats. It so happened that once at our assigned seats, me being in Seat A by the window and Barry in Seat C by the isle, that a little boy sat in Seat B. He was gazing out the window at all the other planes and seeing luggage being boarded into the belly of the plane. I asked him if he would like to sit by the window and he immediately unbuckled and jumped into the window seat. He was beaming!!! Barry and I got ourselves all settled in and I started a conversation with the little fellow. First, asking what his name was? "Sterling, like sterling silver." HUH?!! Really now!!! Isn't that interesting!!! I thought. Here not but a few days ago, were discussing naming Baby B Sterling!!! Barry and I both looked at each other. Was it a sign? Or was it what Baby B would have to say everytime he said his name, Sterling, like sterling silver. Hhmmmmm........need to really think about that name now.

Needless to say, Sterling was crossed off the list and Spencer took its place. Don't really know how Spencer came about but just know that it was a name that started with the letter "S".

Now onto the middle name!! This was the easy part. My dad is Robert and Barry's dad is Robert. End of story!! How easy was that??!!! Don't ask us which one is named after which grandpa. It is also Ethan's middle name.

We arrived in ND greeted by friends and family. My mom had planned a "get together" for both sides of the family. Everyone gathered for laughs, food and good times. After we had eaten supper, Barry and I asked that everyone join us in my parents living room. Everyone piled in...some on the couches, some on the floor, some on the cushion of the front bay window. Barry announced or repeated that we indeed were having a baby. But not just one baby, but TWO!!! The room exploded with cheers and tears!!! There were plenty of hugs and congrats!! It was a good day!!!

The picture below was taken the night that the word TWIN would be forever part of our families vocabulary!!! Pictured are my grandparents (my dad's step-dad and mom) and Barry and I. Grandma Verna died shortly after the twins were born. That is when it really hits hard that being so far away from family really bites!! I had to say "Goodbye" to my grandma over the phone. I wasn't able to make it to her funeral and it still bothers me to this day. Grandpa Irvin died a couple years ago. He was able to see the boys grow up and give them rides on the four wheeler every summer when we visited him on the farm that he was born and raised on.

HOW FAST 14 YEARS HAVE GONE BY!!!

I sit here wondering where have the last 14 years gone. In 10 days, the twins will turn 14!!

It was June 17, 1994 in Uniontown, PA, that Barry and I sat waiting for our ultrasound appointment. We had no idea what we were about to learn. All I knew is that I really had to pee!!! My doctor wanted to have an ultrasound done since I was measuring BIGGER than what I should be at 4 months. He said we probably just calculated wrong or you are just having a linebacker. Ouch! I thought, how am I going to get a watermelon out something the size of a lemon? So, sitting there, bladder full, wearing a lovely gown that tied in the back, listening to the tick tock of the clock, waiting for my name to be called, thought do I want to find out if it is a boy or a girl.

The tech came out of her dark, little room and asked us to come on in. I took my spot on the somewhat soft table/bed. A little nervous and wishing that this procedure would go by quickly so I could go pee!! It didn't help that it was a little chilly in that dark, little room.

The tech, I can't remember her name, started asking questions. "How old are you? How many weeks? Why are you here today? Gee, I don't know....maybe something to do with this bulging belly that looks like an alien could pop out of it at any moment."

"This is going to be a little cold," as she squeezed gel onto my belly. Barry was to my left and the tech, who was using her magic taser thingy to spread the gel around, was to my right. I could see the monitor and as she moved the thingy around this is what I SAW......

I DOUBLE blinked to focus again because I couldn't believe what I had just seen!!! The tech says, "Ah, let me zoom out." And did she zoom out!!! On the monitor were two, TWO little beings dancing around. One was kicking the other. In the picture, Baby B's (Spencer) head has a foot resting on it. Cross your eyes and you probably can see it. The tech said, "Oh, there are two membranes in here. Did you know that?" HELLO!!! The word TWO, two babies....OMG, I have to get two watermelons out!!! The tears started!!! Happiness, shock, anxiety, needing to pee like a race horse, LABOR, OMG, LABOR!!! I turn and look at Barry, who has this deer in headlight look, is swaying back and forth mumbling, "Double stroller, two car seats, two highchairs, dollar signs in his eyes.

The tech hands me a box of tissues and said, "I'll give you a few minutes. I need to go tell my supervisor that this will take a bit longer since I have to measure two instead of one baby!! Oh, great!! There goes any chance of going pee anytime soon!!!

So, Barry and I were just speechless. I lie there looking at Barry and he looking at me. Then we started laughing. TWINS!! Who knew!!!

The tech returns and starts her process of measuring and taking shots of Baby A. She would take the taser thingy and press it into my belly and bladder. She finally finished with Baby A.

"Can I please go pee just a little?" I pleaded!! She said, "Just a little bit." Thank you, thank you!!!

I returned and she started on Baby B (Spencer). "Do you want to know the sex of the babies?" I looked at Barry and we agreed that knowing the sex wouldn't be any more of a surprise than finding out that we were having twins!!!!

"Baby A is definitely a BOY!!! Baby B is being a bit shy but from this angle, she is now pressing on my bladder, looks to be a BOY as well. But on your next ultrasound, we will check again." WHAT? Next ultrasound!!! This took two hours and the whole time all I could think about is peeing!!! And the babies will be bigger and it will take longer to measure....OMG!! I will explode!!!

As she was printing out the shots of the boys, I waddled into the bathroom and never, never in my life, been so happy to perch myself upon the john!!!

I dressed, grabbed the pictures, scheduled my next ultrasound and headed for the car. Barry and I looked at each other, took a deep breath and just sat there. It was starting to sink in!!! TWINS!!! TWO of everything!!! Diapers, bottles, onesies, burp clothes, blankets, CRIBS!!!

By the time we got home, it had set in and we were on CLOUD NINE!! We couldn't wait to tell friends and family. OMG, family!! Ok, we are going home in a few weeks, we'll break the news then. But all our friends and neighbors in PA were so excited for us and just couldn't believe it!!!

First Day of A New School Year

Monday, August 25th was the first day of school for the boys. Sawyer and Spencer are big 8th graders this year. Where have the years gone? Seems like yesterday, I was taking them to all day PRE-K in GA!!



Ethan is a big 5th grader. New school, locker, three teachers, riding the bus and responsibility!!! Bear and I are quite pleased with how he has adjusted to the schedule. It has only been one week so.....

Ebo and Ruger

It was a hot day on Saturday. Ruger had been given the "OK" to have a bath. He was snipped, snipped a week and a half ago and until the stitches came out, NO, bath!!! After we got home from the vet, I went inside and 10 minutes later, Ebo is yelling from the garage, "MOM, come take our picture!!!" So, I grabbed my camera, headed out to the garage, nearly slipped in the puddles of water in the garage and found the two by the water hose. Ebo had taken a Rubbermaid storage container and FILLED it with water. Or in his eyes, an opportunity to take a dip!!! 10 year olds don't have time to change out of their dry clothes and into their swimming trunks when there is a water hose nearby cuz that would waste too much time. So, I guess you can kill two birds with one stone or should I say WATER!!!

My BFF, Karen!!

What can I say, I am LUCKY!!! Karen has been my best friend for over 18 years!!! We met in college, Moorhead Tech, in class. Our instructor wanted the class to partner up with someone and go over our assignment. I turned around and Karen was sitting behind me and I asked, "You want to be partners?" And that is how our friendship started.

She being a city girl, Fargo, and me, a rural America girl, Milnor, there was a lot to learn from each other. There are many stories of how this CITY GIRL got a taste of the rural style of living. Yeah, sure city life is great....malls, movie theaters, restaurants but once you leave the CITY and head to the country.....it was a different world for her. Now, it wasn't like Karen never left the CITY. She went on those family vacations and road trips but to experience rural America, that is a different story.

I can remember the first time Karen came home with me to Milnor. Once we exited the interstate and hit good old Highway 13....her attention shifted from finding the right song on the radio to gazing out the window at the countryside. And that we hadn't met a car in 20 miles either!! Soon, there were questions of what was that? And OMG, what is that big bird? It's an owl!! JK!!!

Well, me being the wonderful friend I am, decided to do a little matchmaking!!!

Bill and I had been friends since childhood. Bill, who liked my hair ribbons and was always seated in front of me in class because the teachers always seated the class alphabetically, was available. So, I asked Karen to come home with me for the weekend for a bachelorette party I was going to. In a small town, as the nite wears on, bachelorette and bachelor parties seem to become one big get together. So at the BIG get together, I introduced Bill and Karen and then scrammed!! The rest is history....they ended up getting MARRIED!!! Score one for the BFF, Abby!!!

They will celebrate their 15th year wedding anniversary in September. We both were in each other's weddings. They have two kids, Drew-8 and Leah-5. And what cute kiddos!! They are very good kids. Very polite and well-behaved!! They even lived in Milnor for awhile. City girl to rural America girl. They make their home in North Fargo now.

Karen and I chat online everyday during the week. We talk on the phone. We giggle, we cry, we share!! We get tattoos together and get locked out of her car or house, TOGETHER!!! With Karen, there is always an adventure and a good story to boot!! BFF's...NO, sisters is how I see it!!

I love Karen to the moon and back and am blessed to have her in my life! She is coming to vist me in October and I can hardly wait to see what adventures we will have!!!

Love ya sista, RRIIGGHHTTT!!!! 10-4 good buddy. Over and out!!!

Scanning Away

I recently read an article online that told a story of how years and years, heck, decades of photos were destroyed by fire, water, or just time. Just GONE!!!

When the twins were born, the NICU let us use their Polaroid to capture those special moments. After years of the them in the "Gotta get these into albums" I made a trip to Target and had them scanned. Phew! Safe since Polaroids shouldn't be cut and yellow after time. But after reading this article, I am starting ANOTHER project.

For Christmas last year, Santa brought me a photo printer. Yes, Santa ROCKS!! It is also a scanner.

There is no way to replace those photos once they are destroyed but why not NOW scan them, save to CD or flash drive and be safe? We are now a TECHY generation and someday when my kiddos want to see where they came from, what Uncle and Auntie looked like when they got married, they can!!!

Yes, A BIG PROJECT but in the long run......my kiddos will have both.....picture albums and a back up, JUST IN CASE!!! I just hope that they will appreciate them as much as I do, MEMORIES!!!!

If you haven't already guessed who that sweet, adorable, kissable, little girl is, it is ME!! Taken in Belgium!! Goodness, I was so dern cute!!! Yes, I know, Cindy Lu-Who style hair!!!

Lake Country

I guess photography has always been in my blood. Growing up, mom, auntie or grandpa were always snapping pictures!! "Hold on, one more just in case it doesn't turn out." was said a lot. That was when FILM photography was the thing but these days, DIGITAL rules!! Yes, I say the same thing..."one more" but at least I can view it, decide if it is ok, upload, edit and then give final approval. I am no means a professional. I am a beginner and trial and error is how I learn. I love photography and I hope you like what you see!!!

Family Reunion

Family reunion for the Gilbertson Family was July 18-21st. This is my mother in-law's side of the family. We cleaned, manicured the lawn, chopped, cooked, marinated, grilled and entertained family and a few friends too!! And of course, lake FUN!! Great time was had by all!! Next Gilbertson Family Reunion will be in CA in 2010, I believe.

Nationals for Ebo

Ebo's baseball team qualified for Nationals. Nationals were July 5-11 in Desoto, TX. It was a great time and Ebo FINALLY was the one playing and not watching his brothers play.

Fourth of July 2008

We celebrated July 4th by tailgating before the Cats baseball game. We met up with friends who are professional tailgaters and had a blast!! The Cats won the game and Ebo enjoyed playing with the kids and watching the game. Sawyer and Spencer were up in MN at the lake for the 4th. After the game was done, we watched an amazing fireworks display. Some of the fireworks look kaleidoscope like. I put 3D glasses over the lens of my camera. Pretty neat!!!

I have A LOT to read!!!!

Copied this from a friend's blog. The average American has only read six of the following books. The BOLD ones are the ones I have read. I have A LOT to read!


1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen*saw the movie, does that count?
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling*movie
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott*movie
12 Tess of the D’Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell *movie
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald *movie
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli’s Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
44 A Prayer for Owen Meany - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery*PBS series
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert*movie
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones’s Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight’s Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker *movie
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro*movie
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte’s Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl*movie
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

I do read!! Really I DO!! Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum series is my thing now.

Monday!!

So....my updating isn't going as fast as I would have hoped!! My first goal is to get the many pictures edited and organized. Then upload them to SLIDE!!! But it is so nice to be able to work on those odd/end projects that seem to never get done when the kids are home.

Oh, BTW, the kiddos are up north at the grandparents. They spent last week at the lake with Gramps and Grandma Hanson and leave today to meet Gamma Eileen for a week in Milnor. Then they are spending the weekend with Uncle Eric and Aunt Nichol. Baylee, Nichol's sister, turns "SWEET 16" so Uncle and Auntie are throwing a party so the boys can celebrate along with the rest. It sounds like a BLAST!!!!

Way Too Long.....

Goodness me!!! Where did July go? I haven't posted since July 1st. Good grief!!!! Where to begin.....?

Ebo and Mom.....published!!!

Here we go again.....first, it was a website and now a magazine!!! A friend spotted this and sent it to me. The magazine is called Sports Kid. I can't wait to show Ebo this.

Father's Day!!!

Baseball Mom!!

Love my FLOWERS

Here are a few pictures I took a couple of weeks ago. They are from my little "garden"!! It is more like an orphan garden with odd heights, textures and colors but I LOVE it!!! From annuals, perennials, to herbs, something new is always blooming!!!

Otterson's come to visit!!!

Rob, Amy, Chase and Dillon arrived for a visit May 22nd. This is the first night at the Hanson Hotel!!

Happy Birthday, Gramps and PaPa!!!

Gramps' birthday is May 31st. Here he is getting into the July 4th spirit for the annual boat parade at their lake in Minnesota.

Papa's birthday is May 24th. Here he is pictured with a Christmas gift from Nichol and Eric.

Happy Birthday!!!! Love~The Hanson Five!!!!