The Hanson Crew

Ashlyn is officially the first of our crew to ever wear braces.  Both John and I have gotten close to getting them, but never did.  Her first day home she swears "we just don't understand the pain she is going through."  We are excited to use the pediatric dentist she has been going to since she was 3 and covered with cavities.  Thankfully, she will only need them around 20 months.  I will post a picture next week when she has all the wires put in.  Right now, she only has them on the top teeth and will get the bottoms in about 4 months.

I have to remember the first time one of our kids had their first crush so I am documenting it on our blog.  It's funny that it is our youngest and our baby.  Jonathan eyes light up when he talks about this girl.  He even will say, "Uh!  I can't stop thinking about Haley!" while hitting his head during dinner.  The other day he begged me again to call her mom to setup a playdate.  And the other day I decided to make his bed for him where I saw her school picture hanging above his bed.  It's cute, but also funny and disturbing.  His favorite day of his life so far is January 10th, 2014.  When I asked him why that day, he replied, "That's the day I got to sit with Haley at library, recess and lunch!  Best day ever"  I wonder if he will remember this and her when he is actually able to date?

Let me begin by saying that we have tried all three of the typical education systems available to us.  We have used private school, public school, and homeschooling full time. We do not have a favorite right now nor do we think one is the perfect system to use, but we have sure seen the benefits of all three. Today I wanted to write about our public school system. We are in a really good school district.  Our high school is ranked #6 in Missouri. We have been so impressed with both our elementary and middle school we have used.  One of my favorite things about Line Creek Elementary is the staff there and the opportunities for extra staff to help our children succeed.  Because of Caleb's speech disorder and delay he had from age 2 to 6, we knew that he would need some special education classes in elementary school.  We have to report that Park Hill has done an AMAZING job in this area!! One big advantage to the new Common Core curriculum implemented in our district is quarterly

We have enjoyed watching football this year together as a family more and are so excited for Superbowl 48!  Looks like our favorite team (well 4/6 of us), will be heading to New York!!!  Party at our house as they win it...

Joshua and I have successfully started our workout habit and are so excited!! We have only missed two days and have been consistent going right after we take the boys to school. Out routine looks something like this: Cardio for 30 minutes (bike, treadmill, elliptical, or stair stepper) Run or walk two laps around the track Dips  Assisted bench press Assisted leg press situps weight ball tossing our favorite part - Quick trip hot chocolate right after!

 Joshua and I decided during school one day that we would spend a day shopping, cooking, and planning out some meals for the month.  After some thought, I decided to make it a family affair, which Joshua wasn't too pleased about.  But it began anyway. We started in the morning with a huge list for 17 recipes.  We all went to Walmart for all of the ingredients and all managed to make it home safely.  Then we paired up and each pair took a recipe at a time.  We had to do a lot of chopping and measuring, but ended up with 17 gourmet meals at the end ready to be thrown in the Crockpot.  And it all cost about $200.  We hope to do it again one day once we decide if we like the recipes we picked this round.  Hopefully the kids will all love the food, since they helped make it!

The kids and I are sure enjoying football this year!  We don't typically all watch football on TV, like we did growing up in Colorado.  But I have convinced 3 of my children to become Denver Broncos fans this year.  John and Caleb are still not swayed, but we sure did enjoy seeing so many Bronco fans when we went to CO this month.  We think they might make it to the Superbowl this year!  We'll see if we are right soon...

We begin homeschool this coming Monday and are more excited this time around.  Joshua is such an easy going child and such a fast learner.  His memory skills surprise me.  We are going to learn alot of scripture together, workout each day, learn Spanish, and keep up with the FCA curriculum we did the first semester, minus Latin.  We will try to post pictures as we go.