Grandma and Grandpa Hansen--Seventy Years of Marriage

I'm sorry y'all.  I'm just not feeling it.  Blogging, that is.  I don't know why, but for some reason I just can't seem to get excited about writing the way I used to.  My hope is that getting started will help me out of this slump.  After all, the last thing I blogged about was our spring trip to Omaha.  A few hours ago we arrived back in Omaha for our summer adventure, so there's plenty to catch up on.

Let's start with another road trip since the sight of freeway stretching on for miles is familiar.  Jason took this last picture on his way to Idaho for his grandparent's 70th wedding anniversary.  Tremendous.  The sky, yes, but mostly 70 years of marriage. 

While the whole family would have loved to have joined in the celebration, Jason, Talia, and Eli were the only ones able to make the trip.  Brooklyn was in California with her choir while Annika and I were at the Salt Lake airport meeting Callie and her wee ones. Those traveling to Rupert passed right through the Middle of Nowhere.  Literally.

Who knew Nowhere included llamas?

Now for the real stars, Great-Grandma and Grandpa Hansen.

There is something so inspiring about love that continues to grow and flourish over the years.

I adore Leland and Norma's love story.

Jason recently spoke in church about his grandparents.  He pointed out how at one point in their early lives, their futures might have looked dismal and hopeless.  Before marrying each other, both had been married previously.  Leland's wife left him while he was serving a mission in Australia, while Norma's separation left her a single mother.

At that time, it would have been difficult to imagine all the blessings still lying in the future.

It's fun to feel a Salt Lake connection with this younger Norma who was from the area, marrying Leland Junior in the Salt Lake Temple.  If I remember correctly, they were sealed by Ezra Taft Benson.

They really are the cutest couple.

I think Jason's Facebook post sums in up best:

In November 1948, my Grandma and Grandpa Hansen met, fell in love and, after courting for a few months, married in early 1949. Over the last 70 years they have built a tightly-knit family, 6 children, 26 grandchildren, and I-have-no-idea-how-many great-grandchildren strong. Today, many of our family gathered in southern Idaho to celebrate their 7 decades together. Both now in their 90’s, Grandma has incredible health and stamina, and Grandpa maintains his gentle sense of humor despite the challenges of a failing memory. I watched the current of small children running, jumping, flowing through chairs, tables, and legs; their parents (me and my cousins, ack, when did we all turn into adults?!?) meanwhile filling each other in on jobs, experiences, homes, and schools; and in the midst of it all, Grandma and Grandpa, round-shouldered towers of stability. Grandpa tenderly holding Grandma’s hand, then in jest touching her cheek as he overheard my dad explaining to my aunt that she could focus the iPhone camera by “touching” grandma’s face on the screen. The three-hour drive back to Salt Lake through snow-capped mountain passes, starkly blue and white against a white and blue cloud-studded sky, left me filled with emotion and appreciation for these two incredible people who never had much, and yet have cups running over with everything that matters. Thank you Grandma and Grandpa, for your lives, for your examples, and for the heritage you have gifted me and my children.

Peanut Butter, the past sixteen years of marriage have been the happiest of my life.  I don't know if we will make it to seventy, but if not, let's die trying.  Love always, Jelly.

Omaha Spring Break 2019

It's been over a month since last I blogged.  Did you miss me?  I missed me.  We've been so unbelievably busy that it feels like I've hardly been present at all.  School finally ended on Wednesday, so I am immensely grateful for the chance to slow down.

Speaking of missing people, Papa Kay is a bit lonely right now.  NomiAnn is currently staying with her father in Florida, having flown there directly from visiting us in Salt Lake.  She will reunite with her husband in a couple of days but leaves shortly thereafter to spend time with the Wilhoits in Washington.  To alleviate Papa Kay's boredom and mitigate the bizarre texts that result from having too much time on your hands, here are some photos from our visit to Omaha over Spring Break.

May I share an Anonymous quote from today's family text chain: "Your feet sweat about a pint of liquid each day."  Maybe that's why Papa Kay is chuckling.

Of course, even in retirement, Papa Kay doesn't actually have that much free time.  He has considerable familial obligations, like setting up the zipline for his grandchildren.

Plus there's a swing to be maintained.

The treehouse was in need of major repairs this year.  Papa Kay recently replaced the rickety wooden ladder with a sturdy steel one.  Brooklyn seems pleased.

After a long drive, Talia was happy to introduce Spark to Nebraska.

Jason seemed happiest.  Here he is celebrating his birthday with silly string, friends, and a wild ride.

Woo hoo!  39 years young.  We love you to the zip line brake and back.  (Or at least we're glad that the brake is there so you will come back.)

A few of our party guests.

It makes me so happy to see these familiar smiles.

Jason baked his own birthday angel food cake.  Not to brag or anything, but I married the best of the best.

Bon anniversaire, mi amor.  Ich liebe dich.

Other fun Omaha happenings: birthday bowling.  Strike!

Annika also bowled quite well, courtesy of the bumpers.

We toured Omaha Central's gorgeous new addition.  My kids immediately fell in love with the new library space.

The blackbox theater was likewise pretty amazing.

No visit to Omaha would be complete without a day at the zoo.


Just a disclaimer: I generally have way more pictures of Annika than the other munchkins, but not because I love her more.  Now that they are older, the others often run ahead and do their own thing.  I stick close to Annie on the other hand, since she is prone to wander off.  She still talks about getting lost at the Omaha zoo years ago.  Even so, the scary memory hasn't dimmed her love for the place.

This year she was especially excited to visit the butterfly house in anticipation of a visit from the Butterfly Lady at school.

Our creature kid was likewise thrilled about the touch tank.

Last but certainly not least, Talia!  See, we really do have other children.

Next adventure, the Omaha Children's Museum.  Annika and Eli explored while Brooklyn and Talia kept NomiAnn company at Central High.

My favorite kid of all.

We couldn't leave Omaha without stopping for a reuben at Crescent Moon.

On our last day in Omaha, we ventured into Iowa via the Bob Kerrey pedestrian bridge.  Here's Eli spanning both states.

The bridge had just barely reopened after major flooding throughout the Midwest.  Nebraska, Iowa, Kansas, and Missouri were all hit hard.

Once we got to the Iowa side, it was easy to get a sense of the destruction.  

On the positive side, we enjoyed visiting this pavilion designed by APMA.

Back in West Omaha, we felt grateful that my parents' neighborhood stayed dry.


All too soon, it was time for the drive home.  Fortuitously, our Omaha pilgrimage happened to coincide with the migration of the sandhill cranes.  While I don't have any good pictures, we saw thousands around Kearney as we passed through both directions.  It was really amazing.

If viewing the sandhill cranes was a high, our car breaking down near Sidney was a low.  We made the best of it by dining at Cabellas while they checked out the battery in the very same shop that checked out our transmission when we moved to Salt Lake three years ago.

After finding her dolphin pal, Annika would have gladly stayed at Cabellas forever.

Through a series of minor miracles, we managed to get the car repaired that day and still made it home, despite a snow storm.  We arrived in Salt Lake to discover our walk had already been shoveled by kind neighbors.

Traumatic as the return trip was, we are genuinely excited to be driving back to Omaha in just a few weeks.  May I share one final quote offered by the Anonymous Papa Kay on yesterday's text chain:
"Absence is to love what wind is to fire; it extinguishes the small, it enkindles the great."  --Comte Roger de Bussy-Rubutin.

NomiAnn and Papa Kay, thank you for another wonderful Omaha week.  We love you, miss you, and look forward to seeing you soon!