Visiting Houston

Recently we visited our son and his family in Houston. It was a fun trip for us although I unfortunately did not get many pictures. We enjoyed hanging out. We arrived late Thursday morning. That afternoon we went to the park and the other adults played pickleball while I watched the kids. My toe was bothering me so I didn't think I should play. Fortunately I was able to go on a lot of walks around their community lake which I enjoyed.

On Friday we visited the Houston zoo. It's a really good zoo and the weather was just right for the animals to be more active. They have an impressive elephant exhibit. In this picture, Addie is checking out all the turtles in the water.

Addie really loves flamingos because they're pink. It's easy to decide what your favorite animals are if your overriding concern is how it fits in with your favorite color. She also loves pigs. On Friday night we babysat for Lincoln and MiCayla while they went to the rodeo and saw the Jonas Brothers.

On Saturday we visited a park where they were doing free train rides on a real steam engine train.

On Sunday we went to church with them and hung out while waiting for our Sunday dinner roast to cook. In the evening we visited my uncle and aunt who live in the area. Lincoln wanted to see my uncle's very nice grand piano.

Monday morning we flew home. This was complicated by the fact that I discovered on Sunday night that I had lost my driver's license. Fortunately I was able to get through security so I'm not stuck forever at the Houston airport in some kind of air traveler's purgatory.

Lincoln and MiCayla did a great job hosting us! It was a short trip but I'm glad we got to go and spend some time with them. We hope they can visit this summer.

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Visiting Susquehanna: The Priesthood Restoration Site

On our way home from Palmyra, we decided to go a couple of hours out of our way to visit the recently opened Priesthood Restoration Site along the Susquehanna River. This is where we believe that Joseph Smith and Oliver Cowdery received the keys of the Aaronic Priesthood from John the Baptist which gave them the authority to baptize. This site also has the restored Isaac and Elizabeth Hale home where Joseph and Emma lived for a year as well as the home where Joseph and Emma lived on their own. We spent a couple of hours there and I wouldn't have minded a few more minutes but we had a long way to go that night. It's a beautiful setting, very much in rural Pennsylvania. However, on the day we were there, cars at a racetrack nearby were detracting from the peace and quiet. I'm guessing that's not as big of a problem on weekdays. The Hale Family was quite well-off for their day so their home was probably nicely decorated with wallpaper and carpet. ...

Hansen Family Reunion 2026, Wednesday and Thursday

We had another Hansen Family Reunion at Bear Lake! In total, there were 93 of us there with 11 missing--our biggest yet! We enjoyed seeing everyone and catching up a little bit. Here are some pictures. My goal was to get a picture of everyone, so if you don't see a picture of yourself, keep scrolling. Also, more individuals coming on the post for Friday. Sorry for the weird angles on some of them. Michelle made dinner the first night, chicken and vegetables with Michelle's specialty--lots of sides and plenty of leftovers. After dinner and clean-up, we had a FHE lesson outside on the lawn with Melanie in charge of the lesson after a few raucous songs. The newest addition to the family, #103. On Thursday morning, Kent and Melanie chaired breakfast with eggs and sausage and plenty for everyone. The cook with his breakfast sandwich: After breakfast, some of the group went rock-climbing, courtesy of Everett, David, and Susanna while more people went on a hike--the Limber Pine Hike....

Nauvoo Pageant!

I have been a negligent blogger this last month. My reason is that we have been super busy. At the end of July, we went to the Nauvoo Pageant. We were able to participate once again in the Gold Cast like we did in 2007 and 2014. We picked up our daughter at the end of her cross country camp in Price, Utah on our way out of town. Then we drove to our friends' house in Golden, Colorado near Denver to stay the night. It was fun to reconnect if only briefly. The next night we were in Lawrence, Kansas, visiting my brother and sister-in-law and their family. That was also fun but short. We left the next morning, attending nearby church before taking off. We arrived in Nauvoo around 4pm with just enough time to have dinner at our cabin before going to our orientation at the pageant building. The next day we went to the pageant building to get our costumes and to learn how to do our hair in the 1840 styles. ...

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