I promise I'm 31...

So, I totally went and saw David Archuleta at the Burns Arena last night. My sister MinDee, sis-in-law Kenz, niece Hailey, and two best friends Corinne and Nicole all accompanied me. We had such a great night. We started out our evening listening to Archie's CD on our way to dinner. After awesome burgers and lemonades at Red Robin (yummmm) we hit up Kohl's for a few minutes and then went on to find a parking place for the concert.

After the worlds longest lines, I finally found a door that no one was at. I aproached it thinking someone would turn us away, but sure enough they just took our tickets and let us on in. We sat on the front row right off the floor. They were such awesome seats.

Best things about the concert:

• Hailey's perma-grin
• Thousands of screaming "tweens"
• Making fun of the 2 guys sporting David Archuleta shirts and dancing to every song
• David singing a song in spanish and a latino family next to us yelling "Hola" continuously
• Archie singing a medley of "oldies but goodies- some from the 90's and some newer" (as he quoted) consisting of: 'One' by U2, 'You Gotta Be' by Desiree, 'Love Song' by Sara Barellis, and concluded with 'I'm Yours' by Jason Mraz. Talk about feeling old, U2's 'One', really? Am I seriously that old that those songs are just not "oldies" to me?
• The girl to the left of us that was doing a lyrical dance to 'Angels', the last song he sang (seriously, laughing SO hard)
• Using my niece as my excuse for going to the concert (even though I would totally have gone if she wasn't there. Yeah, I'm that lame. ;) But being with her made it ten million times better).
• Enjoying a fun evening out with my family & friends. Loved it!!!

Murder Mystery Dinner - aka, Corinne's Birthday

What a freakin' blast we had in February for Corinne's 30th Birthday. We had a Murder Mystery Dinner at her house and treated everyone to a night of great food, fun memories, and lots of laughs. The whole thing was centered around a renowned chef named Foxgang Luck (Wolfgang Puck). His friend Uma Vermon (me- a Hollywood starlet- note the big glasses) flew all of her friends out to Paris for a soiree in Foxgang's behalf. The invited were: Whitney Shears (a drunken pop star), Rambo Cruise (an American Action Hero/Movie Star), William Chinton (an ex-US President), Angeli Silencio (a mime), D. Piddy (a rap star), Double 'O' (a secret service agent), Jayna Clark (Foxgang's TV Producer), and Marcy Dark (a Lawyer).

We had a french cuisine of Chicken Cordon Bleu, roasted vegestables, salad, sparkling cider and cheese/bread/fruit. It was fantastic. Everyone got so into their characters and were dressed to the nines. They stayed in character the whole night, and some even sported some very authentic accents. :)

What a blessing it is to have great friends who are so willing to have fun all the time. :) I can't wait to do the next one. We're looking at a cowboy theme, or an old '40's War time theme. Either one will definitely be fun. You can purchase the games online, so if you ever have questions about it just let me know, I'm always willing to help you have a fun night for yourself as well.

Best Christmas Ever

There is this funny little show on VH1 that always reviews the previous week, it's title: Best Week Ever. I thought that was very applicable for my title of Christmas. It was such a fantastic Christmas of 2008, not that I've ever had a bad one, but this one was just so much fun. I had ALL of my family here for the holidays. My little brother, sis-in-law, and niece flew out from Iowa (med school). My other little brother and sis-in-law were down from school at SUU, and the rest live here, but were part of the Hansen side this year. We had a fun party at Grandma & Grandpa Ence's, then went back to Mom & Dad's for our gift exchange. We all get along so well and always have a good time. My family are definitely my best friends. Me and my little brothers and their families all slept at my parents that night, so Christmas morning was even more fun with a little one there. We slept in until 9 a.m., but finally got up and going. Addie (my darling niece) was so entertaining. She loved opening presents, but unless it was her tool set, she didn't care too much about what was inside. Just loved ripping the paper off.

I got an awesome new digital camera. I have one that was pretty sweet that I got like 5 years ago, but it's so bulky now. So, check out this sweet & sleek little gadget "Santa" brought me.

It's touch screen and everything. I LOVE IT!!! It's been so fun to figure out, and I can't wait to take a lot more pictures in 2009. I also got a cocoa latte, cute new watch (that my little sis made), picture albums, sweatshirt, hand mixer, beach mat, Office 2009 calendar, as well as The Office DVD/Board game. And last but not least, my parents always give me a "gag gift" every year, but this one was a personal favorite; oh don't you worry that it's a deliciously beautiful poster of Edward from Twilight. Life just wouldn't be complete without him. :)

So again like I said, "Best Christmas Ever". It was such a blessing to have all the family around and to share the beautiful holiday. I am so thankful for the opportunity we have to honor our Savior's birth and to spend the holiday with friends and family. I am so truly blessed!!

Confession.......

Since its release over the weekend I have seen this twice. Sad thing was, it was the same night. I walked out of the 7 o'clock showing bought tickets again, and walked right back in for the late show. I know, I have a problem. Edward's eyes are like my own personal drug. :) And don't worry, I'll probably see it again soon, my little Sister still hasn't seen it. So sometime over the holiday week I'll be going again.

I met Matt (sighhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh)

For the few sheltered folks out there who do not watch So You Think You Can Dance, this post may not mean as much to you, but for you others....hold on to your shorts. I go to Thriller out at Tuacahn every year in October. To me, that is Halloween. I love it!! It's so entertaining, and amazing to watch the dancers and creativity. This season on SYTYCD, Matt Dorame was in the final 20. He got cut at #14, but he was always one of my favorites to watch. After the show he went back to Odyssey Dance Company in northern Utah, and they do the Thriller production each year. I was blessed to see Matt many times in the evening, and when the show was over I met, talked to, and took my picture with him. Unfortunately all I had was my camera phone, and I can't get the picture to transfer over (or at least the pic big enough to be seen without a microscope). So, instead I thought I'd post one of his dances.

He was so funny, and I had a blast meeting him. Corinne was totally laughing at me, but it's ok, every girl can feel 12 again every now and then, right? (You should have seen how many little girls were getting his autograph, and then I show up for a pic. I'm sure he was giggling on the inside). It's ok, he was TOTALLY worth it!! :)

Fun in Iowa!!

October 9th I took off after work to go down and see my cute cousin and her family in Las Vegas. I was flying out to Iowa the next day to see my cute little bro and his family. I was able to watch The Office with Kiley and Brandon before heading out. And after catching a few hours of sleep, Kiley was a trooper and drove me to the airport at 5 a.m. (I know, she's a saint) Jamie and Addie picked me up from the airport in Des Moines. What a cute place that is. It brought back so many memories of the ol' mish. I was so excited to see everyone. Jamie took me to the med school where Ty was. He was giving tours to future med students, and I got to tag along and get a personal tour of what he does everyday. It was so awesome, and was such a great school. We had a picnic there, then went back to the house. After a quick nap (I was in need of one as much as Addie, hehehe) Ty got home and we all headed to dinner. We went to this local pub and had some great food. They brew their own beer there, but the closest thing we came to was the A&W rootbeer barrell candies they gave us when we left. :) We watched a movie and then crashed. Saturday we headed to the Red Rooster Pumpkin Patch, Ty couldn't come because he had a huge test Monday and really had to study. It was so cute. We took a tractor ride to a local pumpkin patch and got to pick our very own pumpkins. Addie, my super cute niece, had so much fun picking one and then spotted the airplanes flying overhead. We played at the pumpkin patch, in the hay house, with the mini tractors, etc. It was so fun. We stopped by the Hogback Covered Bridge on the way home and saw the awesome old bridge. There are tons around there. Addie fell asleep on the way home, then Jamie and I dropped her off with Ty and we went to the mall. It was so fun. We came home and had an awesome salmon dinner before Ty, Jamie and I headed off to a hockey game. The Des Moines Buccaneers to be exact. We were 2nd row off the ice and had such a good time. The fights were great, and all the flowing beer around us was thoroughly entertaining. Church was on Sunday and I had so much fun getting to know all the sweet members of their ward. Plus, I got to help in the nursery and had a blast. Those little kids are so priceless!! We had a great stake dinner, then played games with Doug and Rachel (friends from med school). Monday I had to say my goodbyes, then headed back to the airport for Vegas. Addie started crying when I left, so of course I did too. Kiley picked me back up in Vegas, and I was on my way home. It was such a fun trip and made me ok with Ty and Jamie being back there for a few years. Thanks for your hospitality Hansen family, I love you all and look forward to many more trips to see you all. Iowa is a great place!!

P.S. Thanks Jamie for letting me borrow your pictures. ;)

A little bit of "ME" time...

On Sept. 8th I was promoted to the new Branch Manager of the Sunset Office.

The end of August we lost our Branch Manager here. He was let go, and I wondered what would happen to our awesome office. A few days later we were all sent an email that interviews would be conducted for all of those that were interested. There ended up being 5 of us total, and after a grueling hour long interview, and a weekend to wait in anticipation, I was offered the job the next Monday morning. I am so excited to be a part of such a great team at SouthWest, and know that I have the BEST Branch ever. We all get along so well, and I seriously have the greatest staff. I am excited to get things rolling here and to boost our business. So, if anyone is in need of a loan, new account, or business development, let me know. I can definitely help you out!! :)