Hanson Crew

We enjoyed another year at the Lifelight Festival this weekend. Our crew went up to Bethany, MO Friday around 4 and setup our camp. Then we quickly went swimming because it was so hot. After swimming, we grilled some dinner and met up with our good friends the Caudles. We took a hayride over to the main stage and listened to City Harmonic and Leeland concerts. Saturday morning we woke up and went swimming again. Then our good friends the McKinzies setup their camp next to ours. We all hung out and had lunch and then tried boating. We listened to another concert and then started packing up. The McKinzies stayed the night Saturday, but we came home to our AC. It was a great trip! Here are a few pics from the fun...

Last year, our crew along with our good friends the McKinzies, decided to try out a Lifelight Festival about an hour outside of Kansas City. We enjoyed a water slide, pool, canoeing, and paddle boating, along with a couple awesome Christian concerts the first day we were there together. Then, a storm came through in the middle of the night and unfortunately out tent collapsed. We then tried to pack everything up while it was pouring the next morning. It was very memorable - here is our post of pictures from last year. Since that fun experience, we have purchased a brand new 2-room, sturdy tent (the tent the McKinzies own too), a couple blow up mattresses and a lot of camping gear. So we decided to give it a second try this weekend! The heat might be our nightmare this weekend. We are planning on going a little later than we did last year to avoid some of the heat today, plus plan on taking more advantage of the water slide this year. The Caudles are coming up just for the conce...

Grandpa Gary and Grandma Sue recently purchased a brand new RV for them to live in while they retire to AZ in the winters. It is really nice! They invited the grandkids to share their new fun home this past week for some camping. They took shifts. Rylee, Ashlyn and Caleb went the first day. Then she brought them home and took Joshua and Jonathan. The kids were very excited. I think driving in the RV was their favorite part - oh, and smores. Here are a couple of pics from camping trip... We plan on trying it out in August for our float trip. We are combining the boys and girl trips this summer and doing one big family float trip. Sue and Gary are officially invited to join us this year, even though they said they plan on just camping and not floating. The kids are already excited for another night in the RV.

Caleb figured out how to use my camera phone effects the other day, specifically the distortion.  He took Jonathan around the house and came up with some pretty funny art.  Here are a few of my favorites...

My amazing friend Svea organizes Fun, FREE, Friday, Field trips through the summer for her girls FCA classes through the summer. Joshua is in Claire's class so we are one of the lucky ones who get invited to them. We were able to join the group this past Friday to tour the Roasterie in downtown Kansas City. It is a very famous coffee plant here. They get imported beans from around the world, roast them, seal them in bags a very cool way, and then ship them out to be sold. We saw how the process works. Here are a few fun pics from the tour... The whole group walking through (kids from 3rd and 4th grade w/ siblings)  Our crew waiting for the rest to arrive in the coffee shop Explaining how the shipping works The area where all the beans are stored before they are roasted.  They are from everywhere! The giant, loud, roaster machine The oxygen is sucked out the bag so the coffee stays fresher longer.

Sue and I threw Carol a baby shower this weekend to help them prepare for Molly Grace's new arrival in July. She is hoping to go early and is due July 12th. The shower was simple, small and at church. Here are a few pics of the setup before people arrived... We will keep you posted on when she arrives. This will be the youngest cousin the kids will have. Rylee is excited to finally be a big sister even though they will almost be 15 years apart. Carol was 11 days early with her so they are are hoping to have Molly this week...

We still need to purchase a mirror for above the sink, but then it is done :) I think our house value might have went up a bit and so did Ashlyn's excitement for privacy.

Grant me the serenity to accept the stains I cannot get out, the courage to bleach the ones I can, and the wisdom to remove that one red sock from the load of whites.

Today was an interesting day at our house. Someone was shot in the leg with a pellet gun at close range, someone was whipped across the face with a toy snake, and someone has a bunch of planter's warts on their feet.  They are all boys! Any guesses on who were the victims (and who caused some of pain)? It may actually surprise you this time...

We tried a couple trails at Weston Bend State Park today to celebrate Father's Day. They were great! Very shaded and lots of woods. We walked along the Missouri River up on a cliff which was pretty too. Hard to believe John has been a father for almost 12 years. Happy Father's Day John!

One of my favorite Jonathanism has been his inability to say today.  It's almost like it is not in his vocabulary.  We used to spend every MWF together before summer and he would say "this day" at least twice each day.  For example, he would ask me if we were going to go to Quicktrip this day.  Or if we had to pick up the kids from school this day.  It was really cute. Now Caleb has started doing it, but laughs when he says it.  He is obviously making fun of Jonathan, who still cannot say today.  I have had him try and he still ends up saying this day.  It's funny enough to get on record!

While going through some of our vacation pictures, I found a few where Joshua and Caleb really look alot alike. They don't normally. I think it is because Joshua cut his hair short recently. I thought I would share them and see what you all think..click on the picture to make it bigger. I also posted this picture of Ashlyn on Facebook this week, and many of my family and friends (from childhood) commented on how much she looks like me at that age.  Usually, John's family comment on how much she looks like him (or at least when she was a baby and young boy).  I think she might be making the change over to looking a little more like her mom.  I was excited about that since none of the boys look like me (maybe Jonathan a little).  Here is Ashlyn's pic at the volcano...

We survived!  Yep, we drove 13 hours the first day through KS, OK, TX, and part of NM.  Then we drove another 9 hours through NM and into most of AZ.  We rested for 5 days and then drove 5 hours to the Grand Canyon.  Then drove 5 hours back to our personal resort :)  Then we drove 10 hours through AZ, and most of NM home the first day.  Second day, we finished it up in about 12 hours and lost 2 hours along the way...man, what a road trip!  But well worth it.  We got to spend some much needed family time together as well as some wonderful time with John's aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents.  We sure hope to go again someday and will be on the lookout for some cheap air tickets for that trip...ha! More pics to come from the trip...

When we stayed in Flagstaff, AZ to visit the Grand Canyon, we decided to check out a volcano national monument. It was awesome! We could walk on and around dried lava. John's cousin Nick went with us to the Grand Canyon as well as the volcano. The boys LOVE him and will miss him. He is going into the Marines in the fall. Here are a few pics from the trip...