Hanson Crew

So on Friday night, the crew grabbed a $5 Little Caesars Pizza and headed out to find another Letterbox. The box was hidden in Maple Woods park, which is nestled in a nice neighborhood north of the river. We were unsuccessful finding the box, but really enjoyed the hunt! Missouri isn't as flat as people think. The trail reminded me of Colorado Mountains in a way (once you got high up on the trail of course and were covered by trees and roots). The kids loved it (minus Jonathan who was being pushed through a very bumpy trail in the stroller while trying to nap) and we got very close to finding the box. It was the same placer who hid the other box we had to look for twice, so we plan on coming back again sometime for another try. The folks here in KC who are reading this should go give this trail a try with your kids. It's nothing to fancy, but would be really fun evening walk. It is off Hwy 1/Antioch up past 72 nd street. I can email you directions if you are interested... A...

Here is what the kids are looking like these days. In October, Ashlyn will be turning 7, Joshua 4, Caleb 2 1/2, and Jonathan 5 months. They continue to amaze us each day and are each so different from one another. As we begin a new chapter in our life (the one where you watch your kids grow and stop having them!), we are so blessed to have the crew we do!!

While John was at a Men's Retreat this weekend for church, the kids and I decided to plan a little camp out to help pass the time. We got out all our sleeping bags, flashlights, and ice cream and were really excited for a fun night on the deck. So dad left about a half hour after getting home from work on Friday and we began. We set up the tent, ate BBQ dinner, rented a Mickey Mouse movie and had mint chocolate ice cream for dessert. We put Jonathan to bed in his crib and out we went. It was freezing and dark. Each time a semi-truck went across the bridge close to our subdivision, the baby monitor squeaked. We waited until Joshua and Caleb were asleep and after many interesting conversations with Ashlyn about misc things, we packed up the stuff and moved to the living room! It was great, we even left the door unzipped so my legs could stretch out... We made it about 3 hours this way and my back was killing me...so Caleb and I retreated to the master bedroom where we finishe...

Wahoo ! We did it! Our first successful day of letterboxing 9-8-7! John is a natural! We found the two new boxes we set out to find as well as the one from Thursday we couldn't (yes, I was under the wrong tree!) The kids had a blast and we got tons of exercise in a beautiful state park. Even Jonathan got excited on our hike and Caleb looked adorable carrying the " letterboxing bag" with all our stuff in it (journals, ink pad, stamps). We were so excited to find a hitchhiker bag in one of the boxes today too. This log was started in 2004 on the East Coast and many families have carried it to other locations in different boxes. Our job is to sign the log and put it into a different location for the next person to take. We will post some photos of our day soon and can't wait to do this again, maybe in NE or CO too! Rebers - it is a lot like geocaching , except easier and free (no equipment necessary). The kids love it because they can do the stamps and love to follow ...

Ashlyn had a fun optional assignment this week called Letterboxing . We go to this website and find a set of clues that lead us to a "box" kinda like a treasure hunt. The idea is to follow the directions given by the box placer to help the students with their compass homework, following step instructions, and right/left directions. We were so pumped to find there was a "box" in Kearney. So we made a letterboxing journal to keep track of all our new adventures. This one said it had a stamp in the box so once we found it we could stamp our journal and then put the stamp back in the box. John was working late on Thursday so we all climbed in our van and were so excited to give it a try... So, we found the state park, found the parking lot, walked the trail, crossed two bridges, found the two evergreen trees, and looked under the second tree to the right 6 steps (yep, the one with the low branches that the placer said would contain the "box") ... BUT we wer...

1. More sleep for everyone! 2. Yummy bacon at Grandma Sue's Labor Day breakfast 3. Great fellowship with friends at the Dulls 4. Mastitis - Deanna will never forget that pain and praises the Lord for antibiotics! 5. Laundry money from daddy for helping with some work on Saturday 6. Some trampoline time with Dad 7. Scrapbooking time for Deanna - finally finished Ashlyn's birthday book and started Joshua's (2 more to go!) 8. Chronicles of Narnia experience for the kids - saw the " Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe " movie and began reading the " Magician's Nephew " for our family reading time 9. Our Desiring God Books finally arrived! (Yep, the $5 ones from months ago - we must have ordered too many) 10. Fun sleeping arrangements - Daddy and Caleb slept in the guestroom and mommy and Josh slept in our bedroom for a night (since the moaning was keeping John awake the first night from the mastitis!) We're all back in our own beds now, and the boys LOVED t...

Top to bottom: Great-grandpa Pat, Great-grandma Shirley, Grandpa Gary, Grandma Sue, Aunt Carol, Caleb, John, cousin Rylee, Ashlyn, Joshua, Deanna, and Jonathan

We filled our tummy's and then played! Our favorite game and the way we won all our cool prizes! A fun time for Joshua, Ashlyn and Daddy The boys loved the car games!

The crew went to the Drive-In last night and had a great time. We tried a different theatre than where we typically go and that made the experience interesting! We went to the I-70 drive-in over by the Sports Stadium in Independence. It looked abandoned and something from a horror show. A few more people came later, which helped us feel a little less uncomfortable. It was a Monday night so we figured it would be a little less busy - and then we got to switch movies after the first one to see Transformers instead of I Now Pronounce you Chuck and Larry (they said that was allowed since it wasn't busy). The kids did great and really enjoyed going. We had a hard time finding the interstate after we left, which was a little scary in the neighborhood we were in. We recommend The Bourne Ultimatum and enjoyed Transformers as well. What an adventure!

Especially when we go to Walmart - we all have specific jobs. Ashlyn pushes the stroller with Jonathan as the designated rider. Joshua puts the groceries in the cart. Deanna pushes the cart, while Caleb keeps her entertained in his designated spot as "list guy". It has become a regular Monday tradition! Now if we could only cut our bathroom breaks down to two again. We've got a great team.

Last night, the whole family went to the Kearney Theatre in the Park and had a great time. We saw the play "Sugar," which is based on the screenplay "Some Like it Hot." It was pretty funny and something different to do. The actors included high school students as well as adults (and I think one or two children). We're going to try it again next summer if we are still in Kearney. We also spent the morning at this park at a kids festival looking at fire trucks, playing games, more jumping toys, and watching a helicptor land and take off. It was a great family day! We are also planning a mini-family vacation for next weekend to Omaha. We plan to visit great-grandma and go to the zoo. We might try a swimming outing or a visit to a new pizzeria. We'll keep you posted. John and Jonathan enjoying the play after the sunset.

Better late than never ... coming soon to a mailbox near you! (Click on the image to enlarge)

with all six of the crew!