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Last days in Monterrey

I know we've been gone for over a week, but I still wanted to share more of the great memories we have of Mexico! Our last Sunday was sad to say good-bye to all our friends as well as all the kids in primary.

Here is a picture of all the kids. (All the blondies are Americans) They all came up to say good-bye and give me a hug, but the focus was really how much they were going to miss Adriana! =)

And here is Adriana's fan club! It was like free babysitting at any ward activity. The girls all loved her!

The Armstrongs invited a bunch of people over to make gingerbread houses. This was a first for me, but is a tradition in Mark's family. We had tons of fun and I think we're going to carry on the tradition in our family!

Here is a close up of all the houses!

More to come about Texas livin!

"Well it's hard to say good-bye and let go"

So our blog isn't so much a personal journal, but I have so many feelings right now I'd just like to write a few. I never knew when we came here how hard it would be to say good-bye! There are some things I'm excited for when we get back to the states, but I will never forget the experience we've had here in Mexico. Today was our last time at church and I will miss the people we have come to love so much! They have all been so great to us. It has been so fun to watch people come into the church and see their testimonies grow. One family got baptized about the same time we came and just went to the temple a few months ago to be married and sealed forever!

Adriana has become the guera of the ward and has her own fan club! Someone told me today that they will also miss us... not just Adriana. I'm not sure if I really believe her! =) We can call so many of our friends here family and it's hard to say good-bye. I love the great unity families have here and how they really stick together.

In a way I feel like this was my second mission. We were here almost 18 months even though it felt shorter. I hope to always be a better person because of what I have learned while being here.

Our Adventures in Cancun

For those of you who haven't been to Cancun, here are some pictures to prove its great beauty! Our stay was short, but very nice. We had fun relaxing on the beach and hanging out together. It was Adriana's first time to the ocean so it was fun to watch her explore. She wasn't quite sure about the sand, and we had a hard time keeping her from eating it, but hey what's a little sand? The weather was nice and sunny the whole time, but not too hot. Definitely a great place for vacation.

We decided to take a nice romantic walk on the beach our last night there (with Adriana of course). The weather was perfect, a nice breeze, walking barefoot, listening to the waves, how could it be more romantic? Well, as we were walking Mark stepped on a, we didn't know at the time, spine of a fish! Who knew those were just laying around on the sand? I tried to see what it was, but in the dark it looked like a broken plastic utensil or something. We didn't know how far it had gone in so I tried to pull it out. Yeah, that didn't work. I went for help and we ended up taking the ambulance to the hospital. It was quite an adventure riding down the road with this huge thing in Mark's foot. It was 5 inches long and went in about 1 1/2 inches! They took some X-rays and hooked him up to an IV, gave him a tetanus shot and then waited for the surgeon to arrive. It went in just below his toes and luckily it went between two and didn't hit any nerves or anything. It took the doctor quite a while to get it out because there were tiny teeth-like bones down each side of it angled the wrong way. They put anesthesia on his foot so Mark couldn't feel anything. I couldn't even watch very much because it looked so painful. They got it out and we returned to the hotel with Mark on crutches, around 11:30. It was quite the adventure and I don't think Mark will want to take another barefoot walk on the beach for awhile!

The point went in first which is why it got so far in. If you click on the picture to see it close up you can see the points down each side!

Here's the trooper!

We're moving!

Adriana says it all! Yes, it is true. Our time is coming to a close here in Monterrey. We will be moving to Dallas on Dec. 10 where Mark got a job with BlueCross BlueShield of Texas. He has been wanting to switch out of HR and get back into finance and everything has worked out well for this to happen. We are leaving a lot sooner than we expected, but know that this is what is best. We have absolutely loved Mexico and the people. We have many friends here who are family to us. Because Mexicans are so open and friendly that made our move here much easier. There are many other things we will also miss about being here... and I'm not talking about the bugs. This has been one of the best experiences we've had. I think this is more difficult than a normal move because it will be so much harder to come back and visit. We got to see and do several things while we were here and are actually going to Cancun tomorrow! How can we miss the opportunity to see a Mexican beach while we're here? (Pictures will be forthcoming)

Adriana at bedtime

This a funny video we took about a month ago so Adriana was almost 7 months. Gotta love those tender moments! Need I say more?

Learning Moments

As one learns a new language there are bound to be some bumps and falls... some are funnier than others. I think that most of the funny ones are only known by the person I am talking to and just go right over my head. I know my Spanish has come a long way, but still has a long way to go. Today during church I mixed up a few letters, but who knew it would change the meaning so much! I have a calling in the primary with the kids at church and even though it's been hard to talk in front of them in Spanish, it has really helped my speaking. It's amazing that they still listen to me when I'm sure sometimes they have no idea what I am trying to say. I meant to ask which kids knew how to direct music (dirigir), but instead I asked who knew how to digest (digerir)! I said it wrong several times and then just said, yeah "that" instead of using the word! Crazy stuff, but definitely a good laugh!

Adriana and Halloween

We haven't given enough attention to Adriana lately so this one is all about her! She turned 7 months a few weeks ago and is making lots of progress. She started crawling just after she turned 6 months old and about a week later figured out how to pull herself up on things. She keeps her mom busy. She's eating some solids now and has figured out a sippy cup. (She never really liked the bottle so we just moved on.) She is still the best baby we've ever had!

We had a great Halloween and had lots of trick-or-treaters. Here they say, "Noche de brujas, Halloween!" On Saturday we went to some friends for a party and Adriana got in on all the fun.

Our cute little flower!

Even further south

Now that we've acclimated you all to life in Mexico we can tell you more of the great things we've seen and done. My parents were here for a few weeks and we took a trip down south to more central Mexico. We went to Guanajuato and San Miguel de Allende. Guanajuato is an old mining city up in the mountains. It is beautiful.

Because it is in the mountains several of their roads are underground. It's awesome. 

We also took a tour of a torture chamber that was, well, kind of sad, but Adriana took advantage of her dad while he was in cuffs.

They also have a mummy museum. Not like the Egyptian style, but real Mexican style. These people were buried normally, but because there are so many minerals in the soil, their bodies remained somewhat in tact. Skin and all, pretty weird. The museum has a collection of over 100 bodies, most from the early 1900s. Pretty interesting!

We were there during a big festival they have each year that is named after Miguel Cervantes, author of Don Quixote. (Here is Mark posing with a statue Mr. Quixote.)

Because of this there were tons of people there and lots of activities going on. We got to see some great bands.

Adriana even learned how to ride a motorcycle.

I must admit that she really is a star when we are out and about. Because she is so guera (blonde hair, blue eyes) people are always surprised to see her. A handful of people asked to take her picture too! She loves all the attention which makes her even cuter! Our next blog will be dedicated to her cutness!

Monterrey top 10

Now that we have lived in Monterrey for over a year we feel like we know a thing or two about the culture. We don't, really, but even so, we thought it would be fun to make a list of the top 10 tidbits we've learned while living in Monterrey (and since today is October 13th, let's just make it an even 13). Thus, due to our great kindness, you can virtually relive our experience without even crossing the border into Taco Bell. Drum roll please . . .

1. Never drive behind a bus or a taxi. Buses stop every block to pick up 3 more people, and taxi drivers do whatever they want, whenever they want. They will cut you off with centimeters to spare and they will stop at any random moment in any location in any lane to pick someone up, or to just sit and think. It’s best to just avoid both situations.

2. Put your hazard lights on and you suddenly have the freedom to drive like a taxi (i.e. a crazed maniac). Tired of waiting at a red light? ahh no one's coming anyway.

3. We constantly hear friends coveting us because "everything is cheaper in Mexico". This is a complete myth. In fact, the cost of living here is comparable to Washington DC. True, taxis and maids are cheaper than in the USA, but everything else (clothes, electronics, cars, furniture, etc) is ridiculous.

4. There is an unwritten understanding that everything begins 2 hours after the official start time. We still haven’t gotten used to that one.

5. Mexican parties are hilarious. People show up any time between 10 pm and midnight, and they stay all night. I do not know where they get that kind of endurance.

6. Everything is made out of cement. (This is actually a good thing since Mark works at one of the world’s biggest cement companies. The only problem is decorating walls. Neither tape nor nails are very effective.)

7. Police outside of San Pedro do whatever they want whenever they want. They are especially fond of pulling you over, lying, and taking your money for no reason.

8. Generally, other drivers are unlikely to let you merge . . . unless you stick your hand out the window. If you stick your hand out the window, you can do whatever you want. Mexicans really are a friendly people when they can see you. The kiss on the cheek is becoming habitual. So if you really need to merge or change lanes, just stick your hand out the window and you'll be fine.

9. Never ask a Mexican if the salsa is too hot. The answer is always no. They don't know what 'hot' means. There is a whole aisle at the store for hot sauce, salsa and chilies in all varieties!

10. Cockroaches are big and obnoxious down here.

11. Add “mex” to your company name and you will automatically be successful: Cemex, Telmex, Cintermex . . . Wal-Mex)

12. If you want to make chocolate chip cookies, you best bring the brown sugar and chocolate chips with you on the plane.

13. Some cultures are monochronic. That means they tend wait in line, drive in their lane, and generally do things in an orderly fashion. Mexico is polychronic (the opposite of everything just mentioned).

Two Years of Bliss!

Today Mark and I have been married for 2 years! We met in our BYU ward Fall of 2005 and started dating in January.

This is how Mark looked the first time we started flirting when we got back from Christmas break. He's convinced that it was the mustache that won my heart, but I keep telling him that his dimples made me forget about the silly thing growing on his face!

I know we’re still newlyweds, but it has been a great road together. I like the song “Bless the Broken Road” by Rascal Flatts and I think that really describes well how I felt when Mark and I got married. “Man, what took you so long!” Okay, they say it more eloquently. Each person we date helps us get ready for the keeper.

Yes, I even convinced him to do a mask just once! I posted the wedding video that I made at the bottom of our blog if you want to check it out. Mark wrote the second song for me and surprised me with it at our reception.

I am so grateful for a righteous husband who has such a good heart. We have so much fun together and there isn't anyone I'd rather be with. God even remembered all the little things I wanted in a husband. People always say how grateful they are to be married to their best friend and now as I've been down the road a step or two I feel the same. I love you Mark and I'm excited for all the fun times ahead!

More babies

And no, I'm not pregnant. There have been two more babies born in the Hansen family since Adriana. I decided that we needed to post their cute pictures. The first was Robert & Melanie's baby Jonathan David, born on June 5. This is one of his 3 months old pictures taken by my sister-in-law Sarah. He has the biggest, cutest eyes and of course, all of him is just so cute!

The next is Kathryn Bela Smith, daughter of Emily and Drew. (Now this is sounding like a wedding announcement or something.) She was born on September 6. I haven't seen her in person, but from looking at the photos she also is a cutie! I'm glad that Adriana will have some cousins her same age to play with at our family get-togethers. Yippee for cute, adorable babies!

Monk followers

We have a TV, but we do not have cable. Thus, we tend to watch a plethora a movies. However, there have always been three significant problems with movies: (1) We used up our personal selection a long time ago so getting a new movie now requires time and money; (2) The selection at Mexican movie rentals is rather limited (i.e., they don't have anything good); (3) Even when they do have a movie we're interested in, 93% percent of the time it's from wrong region! [What's a region?, you ask. We also wondered that the first time we popped in a rental and saw nothing but a blue screen of death! I guess the world is divided up into 4 or 5 regions to somehow limit piracy (obviously a very effective system). Our DVD player plays region 1 movies while most Mexican movies are region 4. Incidentally, make sure to check the region next time you order a movie on eBay. We recently bought a copy of Disney's Mulan that only plays in Asia!]; (4) We usually only have about an hour if we want to get a decent amount of sleep.



A few weeks ago we were introduced to Monk, and he has solved all of the above problems. (The money problem [see above] is taken care of because our friends lend us seasons at a time.) He also solves his own problems in every episode. For those who don't know, he is a genius detective who has OCD. To give an example scene, he could be chasing the antagonist and suddenly stop to fix a crooked sign for no reason.


It's also quite a wholesome show, which is unusualy these days (sure, they're murders, but they're "wholesome" murders.) So now, when we get an urge to watch a movie at bedtime, we choose Monk instead. You can too.

...And on to Utah

Well, our vacation didn't end in Colorado even though it's taken us forever to finish writing about our trip. After CO we went to Utah to see more family as well as some great friends. Mark has 2 grandparents still living and we were able to visit both and introduce them to Adriana. Here are two 4 generation pictures.

We spent several days in the Uinta mountains where my family has a cabin about 15 miles from Mirror Lake. We brought most of Mark's family there and had a great time! We enjoyed quality campfires and scarfed down large numbers of hamburgers and hot dogs. (We divided up the meals, but failed to confer with the others to make sure we were not bringing the same thing.) We had several canoe trips, one that even ended in an unplanned swim in the ice cold river. It is so peaceful and beautiful up in the mountains and you've never see so many stars. Just check out the picture... 

oh, just kidding the stars didn't turn out, but here's our biggest star!

We had a little tradition when I went to the cabin as a kid. We would find really cool rocks and persuade my parents to buy them! Yes we had rock sales. 100% natural. This way we had some cash to get the penny candy on the way home. My favorite was how my mom and grandma would rave and rave about how beautiful and original the rocks were. I never remember any of the rocks making it home, but it was a great business for us kids in the Hansen house. This time the kids took pride in painting rocks to really make them shine!

Too bad this picture isn't bigger because it doesn't show it all, but a group of us hiked to this awesome waterfall. I'd done the hike several times before, but it was a first for Mark. I think it was our first real hike together, during which I came to find out how much he enjoys hiking. It's a real hike (about 1 hour 20 min. each way), but the perfect activity when one is in the Uintas! Some figured it would go faster since there were no kids with us, but I estimated pretty well. We even saw a moose on the way back, but even with all the beauties, I don't think some of the Tanners will join me on this hike again.

I guess for some, pictures are sufficient. Others even go as far as walking a few miles on a paved trail to see the sites. Still others enjoy the whole journey! So, if it fits your style, here is a picture to enjoy and now you can forgo the rigorous trail (and do something more productive with your time).

This is the other great picture we took while in Utah. We spent time with some of my family that wasn't in CO and Adriana had fun with my brother's dogs. This shot was expertly timed by Mark!