Need Blog Addresses!

Dear Friends:
Some of you know this, but others don't. Our computer crashed a couple weeks ago (with no backup) and I lost everyone's blog addresses. I need you all to leave them here as a comment or email me at Hansens911@aol.com so I can continue enjoying all your posts. A few of you have already given them to me, but if you haven't yet, please do so. I'm missing seeing your posts!!
Love, Nicole

Our New Baby

 

A few days before Christmas we gave the kids an early gift - a puppy!! What were we thinking??!! No, really, she's so sweet, but it's like having a newborn without a diaper on. The first few nights were sleepless as she adjusted to her new home and missing her brothers and sisters. She has settled in well and LOVES the kids and they love her as well! We are also adjusting as it is a lot of work. She is a golden labrador and we wanted to name her something to remind us of the holidays. After much debate we decided on "Holly." We thought of Holly Berry, not to be confused with "Halle Berry." But we mostly call her Holly. I'm sure updates with the adventures of Holly will follow. Stay tuned...

I've got a GIRL!!

 

Okay, it's really fun to have a girl and dress her up! I couldn't decide on a Christmas dress for her so she actually has 2! I've waited so long for this!

Anyway, this was our attempt at photo shoot in her pretty dresses. She was totally uncooperative. She just kept taking ornaments off the tree. We got a few decent shots. She's still adorable.

That's what big brothers are for!

 

Darren got this brilliant idea one morning before school.... he used this "suction thingy" on Ryan's face. It's from a science kit he has for fun experiments. He decided to experiment on his little brother instead. It left a perfectly round hickie on Ryan's cheek for about 3 weeks. What a great big brother! Ryan was really upset at first and wouldn't let me take pics, but eventually I convinced him that he'd want to see pictures later. The first shot is Darren doing a reenactment a few days after the real incident.

Stranded!

 

Well, the week of Thanksgiving, Jason was stuck on a strike team in San Bernardino for 6 days. The winds were supposed to be bad, and the State was stationing many engines throughout So. Cal to be ready for a quick response in case we had another bad firestorm. He was basically stuck in this parking lot the entire time. We were lucky to visit him on our way home from our Thanksgiving trip. That was a treat for the kids! After he came home, he was stuck for 3 more days at the fire station. It's been a long time since he's been gone for such a long period of time. We missed you Daddy!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

We had a busy Thanksgiving! First of all, Jason was stuck in San Bernardino for a week and couldn't be with us. So, we went to Riverside to visit family that day. We went to his parent's house, then we went to the park with my family for our annual flag football, then went to my Dad's for dinner and fun. We spent the night and went to visit Daddy the next day. Then we came home. We missed Daddy a lot that week. I'm glad the kids could at least be with cousins and have a great time!

Elf Yourself Presentation

Okay - We e-mailed this to some, but if you want to see our elf presentation, check out the following link.
Merry Christmas!



http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=1231753458

Just the Boys

 

On Monday, Daddy took the boys riding on their day off from school. I love that they all enjoy this activity together. It's a lot of work for Jason, but he loves doing this with his boys. Oh yes, he puts Allison on the quads when they're sitting in the garage. I'm sure he plans on grooming her at a young age to tough it out with her brothers. But for now, Alli and Mommy stay home and have girl time, while the dirt bike riding is for Just the Boys!

Gone Fishin!

This past Saturday, Jason went deep sea fishing with some guys from the ward. They left at 3:30 am to make the 5:00am boat. Yikes! He caught his limit of 10, and almost had the biggest catch of the day, until the line broke. He paid the guys on the boat to fillet the fish for him. We grilled them for dinner the next night. All the kids ate it except Blake, of course.

Halloween Fun!

 

Halloween was great fun! Darren went as Indiana Jones, Ryan Obi Wan Kenobi, Blake a SWAT guy, and Alli as Miinie Mouse. We met up with friends to share in the fun and everyone had a great time!

My Pumpkins

 

Our trip to the Pumpkin Patch this year was short and sweet.
Luckily I was able to snap a couple photos.
It was fairly uneventful - the most exciting was Allison not liking the wheelbarrow.

Happy Birthday Darren!

 

My baby boy turned 10 on Monday!! A whole decade old! I can't believe it! (I feel old!) We surprised him by picking him up from school right before lunch and taking him to Disneyland!! We had a great time as usual. What a fun way to celebrate a birthday! We celebrated again the next night with his gifts and cake - which actually was a chocolate trifle at his request! Yummy!

Baptism!

We had a great weekend in Visalia, visiting our friends the Schimelpfenings! Their son Jake was baptized and we were so excited we could be there to share in his special day! Congratulations Jake! It's always fun to visit there. They are great hosts and my kids have so much fun with their best buddies! Thanks for a great time!

A Boy Thing!

We had some guys trimming our trees in the backyard this week, and the boys were enthralled watching the "chipper" in action. I was inspired to grab the camera after my friend Ginger took pictures of her son watching workers pave the street in front of her house. Thanks for the idea Ginger! It's such a 'boy' thing!

Student of the Month!

I was so excited when Ryan's teacher told me to come to the year's first assembly to see Ryan receive an award! He was Student of the Month for his class!! He is such a great helper and eager to learn. He loves school and that must be obvious to his teacher too. We are so proud of him!

New Paint!

The completion of the room addition has been stalled again... still waiting for the doors! Aaagghh!! But the exterior paint has been completed! Here are the BEFORE and AFTER shots! Of course, I didn't think to take the before shot until all the paint sample splotches were all over it. :-) It's great to have it done!

Slumber Party!

 

 

 

 

Our best friends came for a visit today and spent the night! The boys were so excited to have a slumber party! The older boys slept in a Spider Man tent in one room where they had a 3-D projector that displayed planets on the ceiling, and the younger boys slept on the pull-out couch in the family room. They watched a fun movie, had yummy popcorn and treats, and stayed up WAY too late! How fun to be so young!

Dentist Visit

Alli had her first dental check-up. It was totally unnecessary and I believe a ploy for my dentist to get more money from my insurance. But it sure made for some cute pictures!

Soccer

 

Blake and Ryan are loving soccer this year! Their team is called the "Fire Blasts." That's what happens when you let 6 year olds pick the name. hee hee The first few picks are Blake playing this past Sat. He's really enjoying playing this year. The next one is the boys together on the field. The next few are Ryan playing hard. He blocked 3 goals during his quarter as goalie and was awarded the "Player of the Week" certificate at the end of the game. Great job Ry! The last pic is our littlest soccer player in training - Alli. She loves to walk up and down the sidelines during the games kicking a ball the whole way. It's so cute to watch.

Room Addition Update!

 

Well, this has taken a while to post, but here it is for those of you who have asked. This is what the room looks like now. The top two were taken 2 weeks ago, the bottom two were last week after the walls were painted. By the end of this week, it should be completed. Everything is being held up waiting for the doors (2 weeks behind schedule) which are supposed to be in tomorrow (Wed). My house exterior is being painted today and tomorrow so I'll post a pic of that too when it's done.

Funny, huh?

http://www.myheritage.com

First Day of School!

Well, I don't know who was more excited, the boys or Mom!!

I can't believe my babies are in first grade!
And my first baby is in fifth grade!
Next year he'll be in middle school which just blows my mind!
Don't they look handsome?
Check out Blake's shoes! He picked them out himself and loves them. They've really grown on me too!

I'm glad I snapped this shot before we left because once we got to school I left the camera in the car. Go figure! This is all I have but it's precious!
Such big boys!

Alli will be lonely when she realizes her playmates are gone.
Mommy will eventually be sad when she realizes Alli's playmates are gone.

Pig Tails!

Okay, I know I just did a blog of Allison, but I couldn't resist these pics! I love her in pigtails and she looked like such a school girl and was being so funny. She's finally walking Nana!! Yeah! In the third pic she got ahold of one of the boys' Gameboys and totally knew how to open it and push all the buttons with her thumbs. It was funny. The last pic is her 'sassy' face. She's a load of fun and growing up way too fast!

Happy Birthday Mom!

Jason had to work over my birthday weekend, but the kids were not going to let me miss out! While I was out for a while on Saturday, my Mom babysat. The boys decorated the house starting with arrow signs on the garage and front door directing me through the house and to the family room. There I found streamers and balloons everywhere. They obviously had worked hard. I wish I had snapped a photo of that! Then they surprised me with a sign in the back yard made out of extra 2x4's from our construction. They nailed them all together and it was a huge tribute to MOM! What great imaginations and I sure felt loved!
On Monday when Daddy was home they baked and decorated a cake.
Yummy! I love my family!

p.s. - don't ask how old. I'm still 24!!

Silly girl!

Allison got herself into quite a pickle when she climbed up into the barstool and got stuck. She started to whimper and complain until she saw me grab the camera. Her tears quickly turned to smiles as the flash shined her way. What a ham!

Under Construction!

We are excited to have our room addition half way done. I was going to do before and after photos, but it will still be a few weeks, so here's the before and halfway photos. The first 4 were from the first day. They tore off the stucco from the outside of the house, took out the windows on the two walls and put up plywood. After the concrete was removed on day 2, the middle pic is Blake & Ryan standing in the trench for the footings. The new foundation was poured on day 7 and framing began day 9. It was finished by day 14. Not bad for 2 weeks in to this. They are currently doing roofing, and Jason did the insulation and air ducting himself. Electrical is done. This Sat. we'll start the interior drywall. I'll keep updating pics. So exciting!