The Hanson Crew

Caleb and I were able to participate in the Park Hill Mother Son Field Day. It was so much fun! We got matching shirts that said Mother and Son on the back. Yesterday, I worked at FCA's field day so I got to see Ashlyn and Joshua participate in theirs too, so I had field days in a row. Caleb and I got to participate in the potato sack relay, the water balloon toss, the 3 legged race, 100 yard dash hula hoop style, tug a war, and the water bucket relay. We won our heat of the potato sack relay and really enjoyed all the races. We ate lunch too and were able to hang out with a couple moms/sons we both enjoy. Here are a couple of pictures as well as a video of us racing...

We finally found a park near us... http://www.platteparks.com/parks_ppp.html It has lots of grass, baseball fields, a playground, and our favorite...a 1.5 mile trail for bikes, walking, maybe even running....we have gone a few times and hope to be there most summer evenings!

I have heard from a couple others that this is a great book! I am hoping to get the free e-book today so I can give it a try. Check out the link if you want to get it free too. I'll let ya know what I think when I finish it.

I got an early birthday present from John last week, an Android phone. To be honest, I really didn't want one. John has one and is always on it doing something. I wanted to be able to check my email if I was running errands all day, but didn't want to hear a chime every time one came in. After some playing around on this new toy, I have to admit it is pretty fun. And who knew you could turn off all those chimes John is always getting. The best part about the phone - the HD video camcorder and nice little camera I can stick in my purse. Oh, and Angry Birds, Mouse trap, and unlimited free media :) I was able to capture some of Ashlyn's volleyball game on Sat. She is one of the best servers on her team. She was able to serve 10 points in a row for her team in the last game. I didn't get that on film, but I did get a few good serves in a row earlier in the game. The funny thing about girls fourth grade volleyball is that as long as you can serve well, your team ca

Actually, two in one day (on the same side of his mouth). He was very brave and enjoyed watching Curious George during the hour visit. Later tonight we noticed he was talking a little funny. We took a look at his mouth and his lip was the size of a quarter. And very white inside. We called our dentist neighbor friend who said he probably bit his lip while it was still numb. We felt pretty bad for him and even considered calling an urgent care because it was so big and swollen. He is starting to talk normal again and the Motrin has kicked in. We'll be tucking him in soon and hope tomorrow it is back down to a normal size. Here is a picture of it tonight. We had him stick his lip out so we could see the part that looked infected...

The boys all got some homemade super hero capes for Easter today. I sewed them a little bigger so they will last a few years. I also picked their favorite colors, which typically is their power ranger color. Ashlyn got a personalized stamped washer necklace and some pants. Here are some pics of the boys sporting their new gifts. I forgot to take a picture of Ashlyn's necklace, sorry, but it says ASHLYN on it. The boys wore their capes for the egg hunt and I think they will get worn almost everyday. Here they are...

Easter 2011

I shared at the end of March that Caleb was chosen by Mr. Richards for the March Quality Star Award. The trait he demonstrates is patience (at least at school). Here is the school wide picture of the March winners. It was published in the school newsletter. He is on the left having a little difficulty squatting down. We are very proud of him!

So we are going to attempt yet another new reward/chore system idea. I got this idea from a Raising Homemakers blog , that referenced another blog , that got the idea from Family Fun . We have found that the past couple months our kids have become addicted to Netflix. We don't watch much TV so that is the avenue we have all began watching some TV shows, along with some movies. We now can watch an entire TV series in about a month. We were about to cancel it when we found this new reward idea. Basically, we have created a list of chores and responsibilities that our kids have to do to earn dollar bucks (shown above). Most of the things on the list are things that can done easier for less money. My favorite (and I think theirs too) is their morning chore. They have to make their bed, get dressed, put their pjs away, and brush their teeth for $1. A couple of these things would get done each morning before school and a couple wouldn't. I'll tell you that today all 4 c

Ashlyn and I finished her headboard last week and I forgot to post pictures. It started off with some big scratches and a very dark brown color. (Sorry about not having the before pictures). We decided to paint it white and will add white bead board paper over the two big squares in the middle this summer. We were in a hurry to finish it before my dad came to visit and didn't get that added yet. For now, we painted the 2 squares the blue color of her room. They kinda blend with the wall that you don't even realize it is part of the headboard, which is kinds weird . You can't really see them when she adds all her pillow (second picture)...enjoy! I've thought of a new paint project for May. Our front living room will soon be a golden yellow :) I'm looking for a new couch or oversized chair for that room right now at garage sales that will complete the project.

WELCOME GARAGE SALE SEASON! And we are so thankful to all those who participate in Spring cleaning and donate to our local thrift stores. I have been finding some wonderful deals the past couple weeks. My favorite so far - $89 Banana Republic Skinny Jeans, practically brand new, for $12.

Grandpa Phil and Gramma Velma with the kids Our crew right before going out to breakfast My dad and I

My dad and step mom joined our crew at the Maids first annual Easter Egg Hunt on Sat. It was freezing and we had just left Ashlyn's volleyball game so we came late, just in time for the hunt. Ashlyn found the Golden Egg for her age group so she won a prepackaged gift basket. Jonathan wasn't too happy he didn't win one. We stayed just long enough to see the bunny, grab a hot dog and chips and then warm up in the car. It felt like winter was back for that hour! Here are a few pics...

We are all excited that grandpa Phil and grandma Velma were able to visit this weekend from Bremerton , WA. The last time we have seen them was when Jonathan was first born. So it had almost been 4 years. They came in Friday and will be leaving today around noon. They got to see one of Ashlyn's volleyball games, joined us at John's work egg hunt, helped the kids dye Easter eggs, played some wii , and went to a few KC garage sales, in between some meals. We are so glad they came. I will post some pics of our fun later today. We hope to go see them again next in WA. We'll have to watch flight tickets before confirming it though. Makes us very fortunate to be close to John's parents and my mom. The kids are sad to see them go today. Pictures coming soon...

It was such a nice day today that we moved our school time out in the sun room. We enjoyed the fresh breeze and the smell of fresh cut grass as we studied. I hear the weather is supposed to take a turn for the worse this weekend, so it was nice to enjoy the nicer weather most of the day today. Only about a month of school left for these 2 (12 actual school days, 8 at home)! But who's counting!

Joshua's first grade class is studying famous inventors right now in History. A couple weeks ago they studied Henry Ford. For an in class exercise, the kids had to make an assembly line and create lego cars. After the lesson, the teacher contacted me to tell me how impressed she was with Joshua. She said in all her years of doing this exercise, she has never seen a child do it so systematically and so quickly. The kids had different colors of blocks and were timed to make so many cars in a short amount of time. Joshua had been able to watch the first line of kids do the exercise. When it was his turn, he sorted the blocks by color, size, and part of the car that they would go in. When the bell rang, he was able to make the most cars quickly. She said no one has ever thought ahead like that and had never put them together so quickly, almost like a robot. She went on to tell me that she thinks he will make a wonderful engineer someday! I was very proud of him.

We got home from our Omaha trip Sunday evening and had a really good time. John got there Thursday evening for some Maids dinners/meetings. The kids and I arrived Friday around 5:00. We got a pizza delivered, enjoyed cable TV, and swam. Then on Saturday we went to John's Aunt and Uncle's new cabin on the river and played wally ball. We had a BBQ and got to meet some new baby cousins too. Then we hung our with Great-grandma Steiner for some bubble fun. We ended the evening with Subway, more cable TV, and more swimming. John joined us on Sunday for the huge hotel breakfast and then we went to the Omaha river walk. We found a fun fast slide and then walked across the new pedestrian bridge. It was a great mini-get-away. I think we are all refreshed to finish up the school year and enjoy this beautiful weather. Here are a few of our favorite pictures...

Back in January when I was planning a women's retreat along with balancing a few other big projects, my very sweet mother-in-law surprised me with a surprise girl's road trip in April. I was very surprised and excited. Well, April has snuck up on me and it looks like we will be venturing out in the morning... We found out after the trip was planned that the annual Maids convention was scheduled for the same weekend as our road trip. So I got to find out what we were planning to do while we tried to reschedule babysitting for the kids (John was planning to do it before we found out he was going to Omaha the same day we were driving out for our trip). Thankfully, my mom agreed to take on the duties at home with the kids while we are all three gone. Sue and I will come back Friday and pick the kids up early from school to then drive to Omaha for the rest of the weekend. They are very excited for that trip....a free stay in a really nice hotel with a wonderful pool and cable.

our lives went from having one of each, to a family of 5. Caleb has been such a blessing to our family and has grown so much the past 6 years. He continues to make me laugh, smile, and usually surprises me every day. Happy Birthday Caleb!

Ashlyn has tried girls T-ball, basketball, soccer and now volleyball since about second grade. This weekend was her first volleyball game. She did great! She can serve wonderfully and even got to volley a few times. We are still working on calling it when she is going to get it. I think that just after 3 weeks of practice, we can easily say this one is our favorite. She will miss her next game because we will be in Omaha, but we can't wait to go to the one after that. We are also excited that our school offers girls volleyball in the secondary (7th grade) so it is something she could do with her school later. Right now 5 of her friends from her class are on her team, which we all love, especially the moms who can visit during practice/games. We are still talking about trying track next year, but have to wait until 5th grade for that. I think we might have found the team sport for her right now.