Thanksgiving fun

It's taken me a bit to get my images downloaded, but here I am, finally posting from our trip to Ohio for Thanksgiving and everything since then. This will be a photo log more than anything.
Mike bought me a SLR camera for Christmas and it came right before Thanksgiving, so I have been going a little photo crazy! But I am loving it! I am glad Mike tears me from my frugality every once in awhile and splurges on something I will LOVE!
We went and watched Mike's sister play basketball (#10) Kimmy is a freshman and it was so fun to watch her play. She is a very athletic person and I can't wait to watch her skills develop over the next few years. I just wish I could be out there playing with her!

We went Christmas tree hunting at a u-cut farm just down the road from Mike's place. I think we found the perfect one.
Domino's. A great indoor activity.
Movies and popcorn with all the cousins on the couch. Another great indoor activity. Notice how poor Colton is on the side by himself. Being the youngest and only boy cousin attending Thanksgiving can be rough sometimes.
Santa came to our church Christmas party. This was Lydia's reaction to his appearance. It was a little over the top. I love kids at Christmas.
Don't you want to take him to Disneyland?
Lydia on Santa's lap. For all her excitement, she only stayed on his lap for a second and was so dismayed afterward when she realized she had jumped off before she got to tell him what she wanted to Christmas.
Deer gun season opened while we were in Ohio. Mike and I both sat in this tree stand and watched his neighbors shoot some deer, but none ever came close enough for us to shoot at. It was nice to have company up there, but I think I prefer hunting in Idaho. It's more fun to hike than it is to sit.
I wanted a photo of Colton and I for our yearly photo book. I think Mike did a great job. He likes the new camera as well.
It snowed and snowed on Saturday. We spent about 30 minutes getting bundled up and about 30 minutes loving the snow! We threw snowballs, tried making a snowman and enjoyed sledding. Winter does get to be kind of a pain once you are grown up, but thank goodness for little kids to make it exciting again. Can't wait for the next snowstorm to cleanse the earth in beauty and present some fun family time.

As I've mentioned several times, I am pretty excited about my new camera. I did a photo shoot with the kids and here are my favorites. Can't wait to get the prints so I can proudly display these two cuties on my dresser.

3D

Colton today playing cars in 3D.
A few days ago Lydia and Colton picked at each other all day so Lydia got some time away from her brother and got to go on a Daddy Daughter Date. She said she wanted to go to a resaurant and chose Applebee's. She got all dressed up and left the house skipping. She returned with leftovers for Mom and Colton (Although Lydia made certain Colton got the box she had dropped on the ground.)
This was Halloween. Colton was supposed to be the Cowboy and Lydia had a cute little Indian dress. (This was so appropriate since Colton is always chasing Lydia around the house!) However, Colton didn't want to be anything and Lydia thought Colton's costume was the bees knees. The only thing I could finagle Colton into was this half finished Raggedy Andy costume.

Halloween still lives on in our house though. After the holiday we picked up another pumpkin bucket for Colton. If the children are reverent for family prayer, they get an M&M. I ask them "Do you want some candy?" and then they run to sit down and pray. However, since Halloween when I ask this question, Colton runs to find his pumpkin bucket and then sits down for prayer. After prayer he takes his bucket into the kitchen, where he is ready to receive his candy. 1 M&M rolls around in his orange candy receptacle as he walks happily away.
Thanks for the shirts Grandma! They fit great!

good, the bad, and the ugly

A friend of mine recently swore off blogs. She got tired of reading her friends blogs and having them depict this glorious, sugar-coated life that she knew was not realistic. I will admit, on a blog, you tend to put the fun things, the exciting things, something out of the ordinary routine of life. I can see how this gives a warped perspective. But if we write down real life, will anyone read it? Is it boring? Is it negative? This is where my dilemma comes in. I want to be positive and display fun things on my blog, but I want to be real. (Like my last post admitting the soup I made that flopped.) I don't care to write all the horrible things my children do. I don't feel it's uplifting, but if I'm honest, sometimes the kids do things that drive me crazy. (like draw on the computer screen) So hopefully, I can find a balance in what I post. I can write the truth and be real, but be optimistic about it. And now, I must be truthful with myself and quit putting off the mountain of dishes in my kitchen! But I'm going to be optimistic about it. Won't my kitchen feel so much better when I'm done!

Dinner was a flop tonight. I just wanted to let you know so that if your dinner was a flop tonight also, you don't feel too bad. Thank goodness I made some well done rolls to wash it down! The kids are upstairs serving a sentence of timeout. Lesson I learned from this- don't let the kids serve timeout in their room together. The sounds coming from upstairs frighten me. I'm afraid what greets my eye might be even worse! Oh, I would love to write more, for I am in a writing mood, but I think I had better change that into a "help clean up mood" I'm braving the upstairs and the two wild animals! Wish me luck! ;)

Up to

I haven't posted much lately, so here are a few things we have been up to. We went to the book fair and had Clifford sign a book. Colton loved him and followed him around. Lydia was terrified and stayed in the bleachers the whole time.
We said goodbye to our dear friend Swathi, who moved to California to be with her husband. She just completed all her bench work for her PHD. Yay Swathi!
We visited the fire department. Pretty sure I enjoyed it more than the kids.
We rode the bike to this park. They love tire swings.
Lydia got to bring this bear home for the weekend from her preschool. I think this is the only time Colton touched it because other than this, the bear was attached to Lydia's hip. It went to the mall, to the playground, to bed. I think the only place it didn't go was the bathtub!

In other news, Mike's intramural football team is 2-1. The tournament starts this week.
I just finished reading "The Host" by Stephanie Myer. (Author of Twilight) Can I just say without offending anyone, that I am tired of Stephanie Myer? Though a very different plot from the Twilight books, I still found a lot of parallel's in this science fiction. Drama, drama, drama. I enjoyed the Twilight books, but I don't think there is near as much talent there as what is celebrated. However, after "The Host" I read "The Last Song" by Nicholas Sparks. HE is a writer! I cried and cried. Not about the romance part, but about the story of growing up and loving your family!
On the way home from Ohio, we hit a deer. The driver side door won't open. You can hardly tell there is a dent, but I think we will get that fixed tomorrow because already I am tired of crawling out the back!
Colton has learned to jump. He seems to now think this is the best mode of transportation.

I like hiking!

Awesome mall. I loved the architecture. It was such a calming place.
Impressive Michael Jackson impersonators on the Strip.
Mike's co-worker, Johnny. He's from China and never been around a horse before. He rode this big "powerful" horse.
Bryce Canyon. We drove up and enjoyed a half day there.
Mike on top of Angel's landing in Zion's. That is the scariest hike I've ever been on! I didn't make it all the way to the top because the last half mile you hang onto this chain that's secured into the rock and just shimmy around the mountain. If you mis-step, it's a 1000 foot fall! I know there was a time when I would have done this, but something about having the responsibility of children changes you. (Dad- you would have been proud. You would have been pretty upset with me had you seen this thing!)
Another hike at Zion's
The barn at Mike's house. The colors on the tree's got pretty washed out, but it was a beautiful evening. I thought the silhouette was cool.
Colton carrying this poor patient kitten around any chance he got.
The swing. Wee!!! It's a tall one. You glide through the air.
Mike's sister carved and painted these awesome veggi-tales pumpkins!

Call this a photo log. Over the last week, we went to Ohio and dropped off the kids where they stayed for the week. We flew into Las Vegas, stayed a night, and then headed up to Zion's National Park in Southern Utah where Mike had a chemistry conference. My mom even came down and spent a few days with us. The hiking was awesome! There are no real hikes in Indiana. It is too flat. Vegas was fun to see, but if you don't drink or gamble, the selection of awesome things to do is limited. We didn't catch a show or ride the rides on the stratosphere, which were about the only things that interested us, but that's alright. Zion's was much more our style. I read a book by the pool or window shopped while Mike was in his sessions. It was a nice week.

Indy Zoo

The kids had never been to a zoo, so we went with our good friends Elsie and Isaac. They had a wonderful dolphin show that we all loved. The giraffes were also a favorite.
Next to the Cheetah exhibit, they had this thing where you could run and see how far you could get before the cheetah would pass you. I made it a whopping 15 feet! A NFL lineman can get 24 feet. =
A shark touch pool. I think this was Colton's favorite.
Lydia made binoculars out of toilet paper rolls and used them to spy all the cool animals!

camping!

Our first ever Hansen family camping trip was a success! We had a great time. We tried just one night, and though the kids slept well, the parents didn't sleep so well, so it was a good thing we did just one night. Mike with his one match fire.
I think this is the best timer picture I have ever taken. Lydia is giving a peace sign- imitating the bunny ears she saw some other kids giving.
Cool waterfall and two happy, dirty kids.
The best part of a smore is the chocolate!
I ran upstairs to grab something while we were packing and when I came downstairs, the kids had packed themselves in the cooler.

We also went hiking, and to a Frisbee golf course. The kids were the perfect age to take. I am so glad we finally did this. Hopefully we can continue every year. (Hopefully next year the raccoons won't be quite so anxious to eat our marshmallows!)

friends

"Hi Grandma!"
My most recent sewing project. Last time the kids were in Ohio, I found some fabric for cheap, so I decided to cover my couch. I thought it turned out very nice. It's a good couch, it was just outdated. I'm sure you have seen photo's of it in the background of older posts.
We went to Chicago for a weekend with Mike's brothers and their wives. It was so much fun. One of the stops along the way was a Harley Davidson dealership. Oh one day Mike and I will have road bikes. They don't have to be Harley's, but something to cruise around in. Yesterday after church I saw a girl hitch up her skirt and drive away on her bike. I loved it! That will be me in 10 years!


Today the breeze is blowing through my windows. The house smells great from baking and I am content. The kids rode their bikes this morning and I laughed when I noticed that Lydia was carting along her baby doll and Colton had chosen a Lighting McQueen car to tote around outside. I love that they both have their interests and identities, yet they remain best friends.

Happy Birthday Colton!

Colton turned 2! He got a punch bag for his birthday which is being used as a bench here.
This is Colton's cake. It was fun and pretty easy to make. I am far from professional with my cake decorating, but I'm improving.
We played in the sprinklers at a friends house on Colton's birthday. Another little girl was also there celebrating her 1st birthday, so our hostess gave the birthday kids ice cream cones with candles. They loved it!
Some interesting things about my little man. He is a huge tease and shows promise as a class clown. He thinks its really funny when people fall. He loves wrestling, movies, cars and horses. If you ask him how old he is, he will say 4. (Like his sister) Colton loves cookies, but doesn't care for icecream. I pray for Colton's safety everyday because he is always climbing on something or trying to jump off something. He must have one good guardian angel. This week Colton learned how to open doors!