Baby Update...

I went to my 34 week appointment today and this baby is measuring at full term (except his legs - of course -- our babies always have short little legs).  That's right -- I have a full-sized, 7 pound baby just waiting to be born.  I have a feeling the next 6 weeks are going to feel very long.  Wish me luck!

Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day has come and gone, and I don't think there were any kids more excited than ours.  Kale could hardly wait for bedtime on Thursday because that meant Valentine's Day would come that much sooner.  

Rachel had to make a Valentine's box and I was totally dreading it.  She wanted to make an owl, and Jon was out of town, so it was up to me to think up some ideas.  Thank goodness for the internet that could help us figure something out.  Here was her end result.

And here is Sky in her Valentine glory.  She seldom lets me do her hair, but when she does, she almost always insists on curling it.  Oh yeah, and she chose that Valentine outfit all by herself -- all hearts, she informed me, because it was Valentine's Day (of course).

Jon took me on a special birthday date that night, and when we got home, the kids had heart attacked our bedroom doors with Valentine/Birthday messages.  So sweet of the babysitter to help them do that.

Since I wasn't home on my actual birthday, Jon and the kids planned a little party for me on Saturday night with games, presents, and a special dessert.  It was a fun night.

30 Weeks and counting...

Technically I'm 30.5 weeks, but who's counting right?  So far everything is looking good, except that last time they did an ultrasound (which was just 2 weeks ago), our baby was way bigger than expected.  My doctor is going to do another ultrasound at 34 weeks to see if we need to induce early.  Looks like we'll be having another monster baby like Kale was.  Not that he was a monster, but he looked like one compared to all the other babies in the hospital nursery.

And now, just for fun, here's a comparison from 13 weeks and 29 weeks.

The 13 week picture looks like such a dream, but I remember feeling super huge.  The comparison is almost enough to make a girl cry.  Ah well...only 9.5 weeks to go (and possibly even shorter if this baby continues growing at his current rate).  Hooray for our healthy pregnancy.

Washington D.C.

Jon had work in Washington D.C. this last week, and I flew out half way through for a little vacation.  We have talked about taking a trip to D.C. for a long time, but whenever it comes to actually plan vacations, other choices always win out.  So, this was our chance to finally make the D.C. trip happen.

It was so fun being with him.  Our first 2 days Jon was still working, so I spent 2 blissful days just relaxing at the hotel.  My days were full of books, naps and movies, and then Jon would come home and we got to have date night.

When the weekend came, we went into the city and saw some of the sights.  By the end of our first day I was feeling so, so tired.  I was sure we had walked about a million miles, but Jon kept insisting we had probably only walked 2 or 3.  I was so tired, I couldn't believe that it had only been that far; so, when we got back to the hotel I mapped it out.  And sure enough, we had gone a million miles -- or maybe closer to 7.5.  I felt so proud of myself for making it that far without collapsing (remember?  this is the girl who does not exercise when she's pregnant).

It was so freezing!  I was bundled up for almost the entire weekend, but it was definitely worth it to be in Washington D.C. with Jon.

 Mount Vernon (that's code for George Washington's plantation and tomb)

 Museum of American Indians -- Jon thought that the Indian looked like he was holding a microphone.  As a result, Jon was rocking out next to him.

 Jefferson Memorial

 Franklin D. Roosevelt Memorial

 Lincoln Memorial

 Jon and I were surprised at how small the white house was in comparison to all the other museums/monuments, but it was still cool.

 The Capitol -- I was too tired by this time to walk all the way over to the steps, so this was as close as we got.

Natural History Museum -- We couldn't get a good picture of the elephant and me, so I obviously voted to just use the picture where you could see me.

We also went through some more art museums and the Holocaust museum, but didn't get any pictures.

It was such a super fun vacation.  I loved being with Jon and talking over the things that we had seen and learned about.  Hooray -- our Washington D.C. trip was finally realized! 

Bowling

Last night we went bowling with the kids for the first time.  The kids really seemed to like it, although Hallie got super discouraged when her score was 10 behind Rachel's.  But, other than that, they thought it was awesome.  I loved seeing them trying to get that big ball to roll all the way down the lane to the pins -- it was pretty funny.

 

January Happenings

10 Year Anniversary

It seems crazy, but it really has been 10 years since Jon and I were married.  Definitely the 10 best years ever!  I definitely lucked out when I found Jon.  He's the best, most supportive husband ever, and the greatest Dad.  Sorry to all those who didn't get to marry him, but he's mine forever!

Rachel's 9th Birthday

Rachel turned 9, and chose to have some cousins over for a party.  She planned everything out (of course, as is the usual for her) and was so excited to have everyone come.

 

Rachel decided to have feats of strength for her games.  There was long jump, balancing, standing high jump, and then the high jump where you take a running start and try to make it over the pole.

It was a really fun party and Rachel loved having her family there to help her celebrate.

Music Recitals

 Rachel and Hallie had their recital on the same day (all of my classes have their recitals together), and they were so happy to have the Snarr's there to support them.  Thank you, thank you Snarr's for coming.  They felt pretty special that even the kids came!

 

 Hallie was really nervous that she would mess up and then she wouldn't know what to do.  Turns out, her fears were not warranted.  She did a wonderful job and didn't have to start over even once.

 

 Kale's Recital

 This was Kale's first recital in the recital hall, and he could barely wait for the time to come.  When Jon got home from work the night of the recital, the first thing Kale said to him was "Can you hardly even wait for my recital Dad?  Have you been thinking about it all day?"  Obviously, that's what Kale had been thinking about all day.

After playing his first song, Kale did a little spin on the piano bench, then re-situated himself and started his second piece.  It was unexpected and pretty funny, although I tried to explain that usually at recitals we don't spin around on the bench.

 Sky's Recital

 Although Sky's face looks like she's unhappy, she actually had a really fun time and was one of the best singers/dancers we had in class.

Longest December post ever...

January is here again, and we're trying to return to regular life.  Rachel and Kale are off to school today, while Hallie and Jon are recuperating from a night with no sleep (Hallie was sick all night long, and Jon knew I would just get sick if I tried to help clean her up, so he let me sleep).  So, it's just me and Sky for the day.  So, with everyone being busy, Sky and I decided it was a good opportunity to tell about our December fun.

There's always so much that goes on in December.  Here are a few of the highlights that took place while the kids were out for the Christmas break.

SEEING THE LIGHTS

 Jon and I found this crazy light display at the Layton Park one night.  So, we decided we would come here to see the lights instead of driving all the way to Salt Lake.  True, there is no temple, but there is also no parking hassle and no long drive.  It seemed like the trade-off was worth it.  The kids loved it!

 After walking through the lights, we stopped at Starbucks for hot chocolate and a few treats.  Kale couldn't believe that we were actually going to a place that sold coffee.  He was relieved that we could also get hot chocolate.  Looks like he was really listening during those Word of Wisdom lessons.

HANSEN PARTIES

 We had our annual sleepover on a separate day than the Hansen party this year.  It was fun to be able to see everyone twice during the season instead of just once.  We stayed up late playing games, and the kids were back and forth between games and watching movies.  Our kids were especially excited because they got to stay up until midnight, which is a far cry from the usual 8:00.

 This is the Hansen clan these days (minus Star and Anna who are still on their missions).  There are getting to be quite a few of us.

 In addition to the Hansen sleepover, we also had the usual Hansen party that Anita hosts.  Bree gave us a family night lesson about Joseph Smith and then the games and presents began.  It was lots of fun being together.  It was so much fun being together.

  Kale got some new running clothes from Anita, and he was trying them out on the treadmill.  Sky also got some new things from Anita, none of which were for running, but she also got all geared up in her new things and tried them out on the treadmill.

CHRISTMAS EVE

 Christmas Eve was the usual affair for our family.  We started off with a dinner of waffles and ice cream.  Usually the kids have regular waffles with a separate bowl for their ice cream and another one for strawberries, but this year Kale and Rachel tried it with the ice cream and strawberries on top.  They're getting pretty brave.

 After dinner we had a program.  Jon talked about how we can remember Jesus Christ when we see the different Christmas decorations.  We watched a movie about Jesus' birth, sang songs, and then everyone performed a Christmas song on the piano.  It was a really nice night.  We made everyone go to bed at 6:30 since there had already been so many late nights.  Surprisingly, no one put up a fight. 

CHRISTMAS DAY

 Jon and I woke up at 2:30 and opened presents together.  We went back to sleep at around 3, and the kids woke up soon after.  The rule is that the kids can't wake us up until 6, but that didn't stop them from staying awake.  They checked out all the wrapped presents and tried to guess what was inside, then they passed the time by playing games until they were allowed to come and get us.

 We spent the rest of the day playing with our new things and enjoying phone calls (or skype dates) with the missionaries.  It was a fun, but exhausting, day.

 Steve, Anita, Bree, and Ruth and Matt and their boys came over that night for Christmas dinner.  It was nice to have something else to look forward to once the excitement of presents and phone calls had passed.

CLASSIC SKATING

 The kids (minus Sky) got roller blades for Christmas, so we headed to Classic Skating to try them out.  We were the very first people there (literally -- we had to wait in the car for 10 minutes before they unlocked the doors).  It worked out perfectly to be there by ourselves -- it gave the kids time to learn how to get around on their skates without having to worry about other skaters.  They also got free tokens from one of the workers so they could play a few games.  Wahoo!

 After about 40 minutes of skating/scootering, everyone's legs were hurting from where the roller blades were hitting their shins, so we spent some time playing the games (and pretending to play them once the tokens ran out), and then made our way over to the bouncy toys.

 It was such a fun morning.

TRYING THE NEW SKATEBOARDS

 Rachel and Kale both got new boards for Christmas, although if you ask them neither of them got a skateboard.  Kale's is called a banana board and Rachel's is a ripstick.  They had a good couple of hours learning how to stay standing and make it down the sidewalk with all the bumps.  Pretty impressive.

 CASTLETON SLEEPOVER #1

The first Castleton sleepover was on the 23rd, but I didn't have my camera to take any pictures.  Jon and the kids went to bed early, and Becky, Rob, Ryan and I stayed up playing games and making treats while we waited for the Lee's to get in from the airport.  Unfortunately, that's where the party ended for me.  I said my hello's and then promptly fell asleep while everyone talked.  We woke up early the next morning (compliments of the kids) to discover that Becky and Ryan were super sick with the flu.  Fearing that we would have sick kids for Christmas, Jon and I quickly packed up our kids and headed home.  So, the party was short-lived on our end.

CASTLETON SLEEPOVER #2

Luckily, we were able to have another sleepover on the 26th.  We played clue charades with everyone (including Joshua and Sky).  It was pretty funny to watch the kids try and determine what was being acted out.  They were always so certain of what things were within seconds of watching the actor.  The clue charades was my kids favorite part of the night.

We also had feats of strength which included backbends, balancing, long jump, and limbo.

 Jon was out in like 2 seconds, and he kept crawling under MJ and Alyssa to try and make them fall.  And, since he was doing it, so was Sky.

 Anytime MJ and Brian are around, we can always count on a good dance party, and this night was no different.  So, we cranked up some sweet Beatles music and everyone danced around for a few songs.

DATE NIGHTS

NEW YEARS EVE

 We had been planning to go to our neighbor's for a New Years Eve party, but alas, the flu hit our house this week, so we didn't want to go and make everyone sick.  So, we had a celebration of our own.  

All the kids got to choose one game they wanted to play and one special treat they wanted that night.  Rachel made a list of what everyone chose, we went to the store for the necessary ingredients, and then the fun began.

 We played Twister, Feast or Famine, puzzles, and a game that Kale made up for us.  After dinner the kids got to have a movie night (but only 2 movies -- after all, school started again on the 2nd).

The kids were disappointed about missing the party, but we had tons of fun with just our family, so it turned out to be exactly right for us.

We have lots of exciting things coming this year, what with the new baby, Kale starting all day school, and Hallie turning 8. . . the kids are already talking and planning about all these things.  I love their enthusiasm.