Fun times a the Treehouse

During the summer, Weber county sponsors free activities on Saturdays at various places.  Since I am el cheapo, I take advantage.  There are usually about 5 or 6 things to choose from each Saturday and they are usually different each Saturday.  Last Saturday's adventure was at the Treehouse Museum.  My kids love this place but I am usually too cheap to fork out the $6 per person, plus parents have to pay.  So we went and had some fun for free =)  The kids ran around from thing to think and every time I tried to get a picture, all I got was blur.....they had tons of fun!!!  They really loved the music room, my head, not so much.  But I love how much the kids can learn about different cultures here.  They have a Chinatown, and Indian village, a farm, medieval set, a section on the presidents, and a doctor's room

Ian is being a superhero!  He's go the pose down.

Brenna tried to pull Excalibur and be the next King of England.....it didn't work out for her......

My lil cowboy on a bucking bronco =)

This was my cowgirl on her prancing horse. (she didn't want to be bucked around)

With all the fires going on I figured we would be in need of some firefighters so I started training them early.  I'm not sure if the truck would make it to the fire with Ian driving.......

And this is my big kid........

Caution: Wild Animals at Large!

We had fun at the zoo a few weeks ago.  Some of our really good friends, Alan and Kanani, invited us to tag along with them and their family.  It was so nice spending time with them.  She is pretty much like a sister to me =)  Her mom has even offered to adopt me.  Whenever we all go out either Jason and Alan get mistaken for brothers or me and Kanani get mistaken for sisters so it all works.  The last time we had went was when i was bout 2 months pregnant with Ian.  He was so excited to see all the animals. I think hi favorite was the polar bear that kept doing flips off the window.  Brenna loved the baby elephant, especially when she did a headstand =)

Here was my train buddy.

Here's proof that they love each other =)  They sat next to each otheron the train

No DNA test needed here......

He's as big as a female orangutan.

She about as big as a female gorilla.

He was kinda an ornery looking guy.  But then again, I don't think I would be happy stuck in a cage either.

This is the new polar bear.  She kept coming up right next to us and the would flip onto her back.  She was being very playful that day.

The kids were loving watching teh bear swim and the walrus swim around.  The little boy on the left is Tyson (green shirt), then it was Jamison (blue shirt) then Kona (brown shirt, and his due date was the exact same day as Ian's =)  ), then Ian and Brenna.

Isn't she such a pretty poser?

When we went to the rhino exhibit he said he wanted to ride the rhino......the real one.....but I made him settle for the metal one.

Brenna could have stayed all day watching the baby elephant.

Happy Birthday Brenna!

This is about a week late, but better late than never.  My little girl turned 7 last Sunday.  I really can't believe that it's been 7 years since she was born.  Time has really flown by.  Where did my little baby girl go?!  She is growing up sooooooo fast.  She is such a sweet girl, but she definitely has her sassy moments.... which are usually days.  She is such a smart girl too.  Her reading has skyrocketed and she is reading books that some her friends in grades ahead of her aren't even reading.  I think she gets that from me....I am a big bookworm (ok....I know I'm a nerd).  The math skills they learned this year amazes me.  She was in first grade and they were teaching them how to read and make graphs, add together double digit numbers (34+56=?), solve story problems, and telling time on clocks with hands.  I know there were more but those are the ones I was surprised they teach 1st graders.  She mastered all of them pretty much the first time the teacher taught them about it.  Her writing is also pretty impressive.  I'm not talking penmanship, that's pretty good too (she writes better than me =)  ) but the quality of her writing and the information, detail, and structure of her papers were the best in her class.  She got an award at the end of the school year for it.  Not only is she smart, but she in one of the most spiritual little kids I know.  She is constantly teaching me things.  She always reminds us to say prayers and asks questions about different topics.  There have been times that she has been sad about something at school and she tells me that she sat down and said a prayer and then her day went better.  I will also hear her saying her prayers at night.  I am the biggest slacker about nighttime prayers (That is on my to do list....).  I will tuck her in bed and as I am walking out of the room she starts saying her prayers without any prompting.  When she finds out one of her school friends doesn't go to church she gets so concerned and worried about them.  I tell her that by being a good friend and a good example she can help them to learn about the church and maybe one day they will want to go.  She has invited some of the girls to church but they haven't wanted to come.  I love that she is already a little missionary.  She is always willing to help out in primary at church.  Every Fast Sunday she wants to get up and bear her testimony.  I sure hope this light stays burning bright in her for the rest of her life.  It makes me so happy to see her make such good choices and be such a great example to those around her. She is turning into such a big helper with me.  Especially since I have been sick a lot lately she has been helping do stuff for her brother and help me things.  I love it that when she is hungry she can make herself a snack and will even get her brother one too.  She doesn't complain as much anymore about her chores of cleaning her room and feeding the dog.  Now all the sweet stuff being said......she has her diva/sassy times.  She can be very stubborn and wants to get her way. She also has a sassy little attitude and loves to argue (no clue where that comes from......).  I have been told on several occasions, as she is stomping down the stairs, "You're ruining my life!"  I thought I had a few more years before she hit this stage.....there are times she acts more like teenager (attitude) than a 7 year old.  Let's just hope she gets it out of her system now and will be an awesome teenager.....cross your fingers and toes for me please!!!  

I love my baby girl!  She lights up my life.  I couldn't imagine how it would be without her.  She brings so much joy to our lives.  I look forward to watching her grow and learn and can't wait to see the person she turns into.  If how she is now is any indication, she will be an amazing young lady.

For her birthday this year we didn't do a big party.  We have decided that every other year will be a family party.  But I told her that she could pick 2 friends and I would take them to go do something.  She chose her friends Maryann and Sammy.  They are in her class at school and in her primary class.  These girls love spending time together.  

I took them bowling at fat cats, then playing in the arcade, and then we ate pizza in the park.  These 3 girls polished off a large pizza by themselves!  They had lots of fun.  It was funny watching their competitive spirits come out when they were bowling.  Brenna and Sammy were neck and neck up until the last frame, but Sammy pulled ahead by 2 points.  I was worried that there would be drama and tears over losing but they were all happy and fine about it.

The next day was Saturday, the day before her birthday.  She got to choose whether we went out to eat or she got to pick any meal for mom to make.  She wanted to go to TGIFriday.  That's her favorite place.  After we were done eating, they brought her out a birthday sundae and then they sang "Happy Birthday" to her.  She loved getting the attention.  

Sunday was her actual birthday.  After church, we had Papa, Makayla, Jaydon, and Aunt Tasha come up for dinner and cake.  Brenna loves Shepherd's pie so I made that.  Then I made her a butterfly cake.

It turned out pretty good for last minute.  I spaced making the cake until the night before but then had to bake everything Sunday morning before church and then decorate it when we got home.  Normally that wouldn't be a big deal but when you have to do 4 little cakes and you only have 1 pan in the shape you need, it takes awhile.  Brenna helped decorate it.  Then it was time to blow out the candles after dinner.  Jason got the trick candles that kept relighting.....it was a hoot watching her try and blow them out each time.  She eventually got them. =)  

After that we did presents.  She got kinda spoiled this year.  She got this huge Littlest Pet Shop tree house, and then about 12 little animals that go in it.

She has been wanting a Bullseye horse (from Toy Story) for awhile.  I had been searching everywhere and couldn't find them anywhere.  Luckily, I had a friend that said she was going to the Disney Store in Salt Lake a few days before her birthday.  I told her to call me if they had any.  They did!  (and surprisingly they were cheaper there than the other stores I had seen them earlier in the year).  Brenna was stoked to get it!

Can you tell she liked her other present?  It's a Wappy Dog.  It's a little dog that you can control and play with with the nintendo ds.  It has a game with it too that you can play games with the dog on.  She has had so much fun playing with it.  she also got a Zoobles ds game too that she loves! (Zoobles are the girls version of the boy toys bakimon or something like that.  They are little balls that spring open when they are on metal.  The boy version have "battles" but the girls just play and have fun with theirs.)

She also got a sprinkler and bubbles from Ian.  The sprinkler is a long tube that lays on the grass and has water shooting out of it in different places.  The kids will have lots of fin playing.  Ian was happy to be able to pick something out for his sister for her "happy birthday."  He even sang to her and gave her a hug and kiss that morning.  It was super cute!

After the fun was over we headed outside and watched the solar eclipse.  Brenna thought it was pretty special that there was an eclipse on her birthday.  Papa brought his welding mask and we were able to look through it to get a good view of it.

Brenna had a very good birthday and we had lots of fun celebrating this sweet girl of ours!

Ready or not.....

The past couple weeks I've been feeling kinda sick and blah. So I went to the doctor today. They found out what it was. I have a parasite. symptoms include nausea, weight gain, moodiness, random food cravings, and in my case the filter between the brain and mouth may not always be functioning. The doctor said it will make it's way out around December 11th. It's fairly common and most women contract it at least once in their lives. Here's what it looks like:

Jason is FINALLY done with school!!!!

Ok....so he was officially done in December but he didn't do the whole graduation ceremony until last week. I am just happy that he is all finished with school.  Since we've been married he's pretty much been in school.  The last few years have been crazy with him being in school, working full time, plus having to do all his student hours.  We didn't get to see much of him.  Now we actually get to see him.  I'm proud of all the work he's done to get to this point.  He has made so many sacrifices for our family but I know it is worth it.  I am happy that he is doing something that he loves to do and at the same time, it's something that pays enough that I get to stay home with the kids.  Sure, we could probably have some more "extra" money or stuff if I worked, but we've weighed all the pros and cons and it is definetly worth going without a few luxuries to be able to spend the time with my kids.  Now that Jason is done he'll actually get to spend some more time with the kids.  I'm hoping that maybe now him and Brenna will get closer again....she used to be such a daddy's girl but now she's a complete mommy's girl but she is getting better (she's realized that daddy can tuck her in once in a while and daddy knows how to do some of the same things mommy does.... =)   )

The kids are proud of their daddy!  I hope this will help them realize that school is important and that they need to continue their education as well.

Of course Ian wanted to be like daddy and wear daddy's hat =)

Now that Jason is done, it's my turn!  I am going to be doing some online classes this summer and then depending on how Jason's schedule is in the fall (and if we get financial aid) hopefully I can keep going....but we'll see and I'll just keep doing what I can, when I can.  I should be able to get my Bachelor's in Biology Composite Teaching in less than 2 years.

Vacation at Nana's/fun in Vegas

Brenna had her spring break last week so we decided to head out to my mom's house.  Jason was able to get the whole week off too! (yay!!!) My mom was able to get a few days off work too. (another yay!!!)  Usually when we go down to visit it is usually during the Harley River Run (lots and lots and lots of motorcycles!) and since my mom works for Harley-Davidson, that is a busy time for them so they won't let her take time off, plus she usually has to work extra, so we usually don't get to see her much.  I was glad that she was able to take a few days off.  Since she did......we ditched the kids with her and we went off to Vegas to have some fun (about as much fun as people who don't drink, gamble, and are on a budget can have).

(yes....I am in shorts and sweatshirt...it was windy and cold and only my arms were cold)

 Some of our really good friends, Alan and Kanani, came down to Vegas to play too.  It was great spending time with them too.  They are seriously some of our best friends but we don't get to see them much.  While we were there, we stayed in the Stratosphere.  It was pretty decent priced....the only bad thing is it was on the very end of the strip and we were walking everywhere.....I got a workout.  The first night we decided to walk down to the Flamingo for dinner.  We didn't think it was that far....at least walking there.  But on the way back it was a bit chilly and we all had full bellies, plus we were worn out from walking.  Later we mapped it and we found out that it was around 3 miles to the Flamingo from the Stratosphere.....so we walked 6 miles.  I think we worked off our dinner.  Plus, I did my running that morning and I think I ran close to 5 miles.....

This is on top of the Stratosphere.....is it too much to ask to get a decent picture of the two of us....oh well =)

Want to hear my blonde moment?  As we were checking into the hotel, I reached into my purse and my wallet was gone!  I freaked out!  I thought I had lost it or something. (it wouldn't be the first time....) Before I freaked out too much, I called my mom to see if I left it at her house.....yup......left it sitting on the counter.  so I left my ID (you seriously can't even buy a pepsi in Vegas without ID) and the money I had been stashing away to splurge with......and my mom lives 2 hours away from Vegas so it wasn't like we could really just turn around and go get it.  

This is me and Kanani......we get mistaken for sisters a lot =)

(I love this pic!)

Of course we had to go see the fountains at Belagio.  We stayed for 2 shows.....which was a good thing.  The first show they did it to the song "Big Spender" and I wasn't all that impressed....it was lame.  But then we stuck around for the next.  They did it to "God Bless the USA."  It was great!  Very moving.  

After the show, we went to look at the garden's in the Belagio.  They were pretty cool too =)

This was made completely of flowers.  Pretty neat, huh?

The only way I ever get pictures....the lovely "hold the camera in front of you and hope you get a good shot" pose.

We also went to M&M world and got the kids some stuff.  We went to Coke World....that was kinda lame.  We also did some shopping in the outlets, but of course, since I had permission to go shopping I couldn't find a single thing that I liked.  I was also bummed because the pool at the hotel closed at 6pm.  We wanted to go hang out in the hot tub at night.  We didn't go on any of the rides on the Stratosphere.  I was too big of a chicken, plus we had just eaten dinner right before and I didn't think spectators wanted to see what I had eaten.....We still had fun, even though I left my wallet.  It just meant Jason had to stay with me the whole time =)  

Of course the most beautiful building in all of Vegas has no neon lights, admission is free, and it has the biggest payout of all.

This was the temple we were married in so it is a special one for us.  We did a session before we went home.  Jason's parents and grandparents met us there and joined in.  It was pretty neat seeing the three generations of Hansen men.

We had lots of fun hanging out.  It was just nice to be able to have some time away from the kids.  Don't get me wrong, I love my kiddos, but it is nice to have a break once in a while.  So now that we were done playing, it was time to head back and be responsible parents.

When we got to my mom's we mainly just hung out and relaxed.  Jason got to go spend some time with some of his friends and I hung out with my mom. =)  I didn't get too many pictures....I know, I'm a slacker.  But my defense is that my digital camera is broken and so I forget to take pictures with my phone (and phone pics aren't always the greatest in quality).

Here's my mom with the kids.  She loves her grandkids and they sure got spoiled while we were there.

The kids liked feedin gthe huge fish they have outside the Colorado Belle Casino.  Jason used to work there so we always stop by to see if any of his friends are still there......but after almost 10 years not too many are left.

We had some time to waste before going out to eat so were taking some pictures.  The kids liked the big bear =)

They played with the wishing well too =)

On the last night, Brenna played Monopoly with Nana.  She was such a Nana's girl.  Nana read her to sleep, fixed her hair, and did lots of crafts.  Ian had fun just playing outside with rocks =)  Jason took the kids for a few walks in the desert while I went running and one time they came back with a lizard.  Ian was so excited that they caught a lizard!  It was a nice break to down there but I was glad to get home......nothing like my big ol' comfy bed that I ca sprawl in =)