Checkin' in from Tucson

Had a few moments to put some pics up of our trip thus far. We're having a great time and are trying to make the most of every minute in the sunshine.

The Hansen's new home - from the backyard

A perfect sandbox for little boys

A fun day at the zoo

Uncle Kevin and the boys playing with blocks

Popping up popcorn for a bedtime snack with G. Bonnie

Jaxon and his new expression

The first time in the pool for Jaxon - he really enjoyed it!

Tricks in the pool - getting BRAVE!

Jaxon taking it all in

Big jump into the pool

Easter Fun

We gave the kids Easter baskets in celebration of Easter and tried to explain to Kaleb that Christ died on the cross for our sins and rose again and is ALIVE! After explaining it to him in very simple terms, I waited a little while and asked him why we celebrate Easter and he said because of Jesus. I was delighted and proud of him for retaining that information :)

Because we are leaving for warmer weather, there were a few things the kids needed for the trip so I included them in the Easter basket! Kaleb needed a new pair of tennis shoes because his 6 1/2's were getting very tight. Both Eric and I commented within the past few days how long Kaleb's foot has gotten and now he's comfortably in a size 8 shoe. He got "fidder man" tennis shoes and I thought he would be wearing them to bed last night, but he parted with them just fine when it was time for jammies.

He also got some new equipment which will come in really handy for the plane ride. Nothing like new boy toys to keep a boy occupied!

Jaxon got a few short outfits and a hat. It might sound like Jaxon got short changed, and well, I guess he probably did. But I can get away with that this year for two reasons.
1. He doesn't know the difference (yet),
2. He has all the hand-me-downs from Kaleb and since they were born in the same season, all Kaleb's stuff is perfect for him. I dug out all the clothing Kaleb wore to Tucson the first year we went (Kaleb was 9 months) and it is really a good thing I didn't have to purchase new stuff!

We rounded out the evening with Easter egg dying. That was a lot of work and prep for the whole 10 minutes Kaleb spent enjoying putting them in different colors. Then he just got bored and figured out you could bang the eggs together and make a lot of tiny cracks in them.


I think Eric enjoyed dying eggs the most. I stand corrected..... I mean Eric enjoyed dying 1 egg the most. Yes, he spent about 30 minutes dying one single egg. I bought this camo egg dying kit and he was determined to achieve the perfect camo egg. I'll let you be the judge.

We'll enjoy a nice quiet family dinner tonight. This will be the first year (I think) in our married time together, that we haven't spent Easter with family. It will be just the 4 of us and I am really looking forward to it!

I hope everyone reflects on the resurrection of our Christ, the King of Kings! He did indeed RISE from the dead and is ALIVE. May his Holy Spirit live in you today, tomorrow and forever.

Final Preparations

The moment I've been waiting for for 2 months is finally closing in! I'm going south - with both boys - all by myself.

Now to say the excitement overrides the anxiety of traveling alone with 2 small children, would be a mis-statement. I keep playing the scenarios over in my mind: airport security, waiting to get on the plane, having to nurse and keep track of a 2 1/2 year old, the plane ride, potty on the plane and every where else, meltdowns when they get tired....you get the point. Managing all this with 2 hands might be a little challenging, but I know it will all be worth it once I arrive at my destinations.

First stop will be Las Vegas. I am flying into Vegas (from Bozeman) on Monday and will be picked up at the airport by my grandparents who winter in Laughlin. I fly in at 2pm and from there we will head out to Henderson to see my cousin Shelly and her husband Pat, have dinner with them and see their new home. I haven't seen them since their wedding in June (I was 7 months pregnant) and they haven't yet met Jaxon so it will be a good visit.

From there we will trek further south to Laughlin, or Fort Mohave, which is where my grandparents have their 5th wheel parked. The boys and I will spend 3 days with my grandparents, probably mostly at the pool, and then head back to Las Vegas on Thursday. We'll catch a quick flight to Tucson, AZ and land in AZ around 12:30pm. Greeting us will be my dad Garry and his wife Bonnie. Off to their new home we will be whisked to spend the remaining 8 days.

This will be my third vacation to Tucson and I'm growing quite fond of the place. I love the weather this time of year, the cactus in bloom, the pool, all there is to do in the area, the shopping and the company. My brother Kevin also resides in Tucson and will get to see him and go on our annual Mexican food date. YUM

I'm looking forward to the memories we'll make and just an overall great vacation, even though we'll be missing Eric terribly.

Snapshots

Bath Time! The bath is not complete without the cup. Can't get it away from him without a fight.

Jaxon was smitten with my scarf so I wrapped it around him and he was delighted with himself!




Bottle time! Just recently I gave Jaxon a bottle (with Mama's milk) and he loved just being able to hold his bottle and chill on the floor. Kaleb was very curious and was right there to oversee that things went okay.

Kaleb enjoys a cupcake at his friend's birthday party.

Kaleb and Sawyer (the birthday boy) at the party.

Farm Boys

The boys going to explore the farm with daddy

Maybe that lamb is okay....

Both boys not really sure what to make of that wiggly, noisy lamb

Saturday was full of sunshine and farm animals. We took a drive to my great-uncle's place to show Kaleb and Jaxon the chickens, roosters and lambs. It was fun to show Kaleb the world of baby animals and see his eyes light up when the baby lamb would baaaaaaa at him. He was very timid at first but as soon as dad was holding one it all seemed to be okay with him. Jaxon pretty much just soaked in all that was happening around him and was very entertained by it all.
I love this time of year with all the baby animals. It makes it seem like spring is here and that is a really good feeling.

NEW HOME FOR SALE

** New Construction **

SINGLE LEVEL HOME
FOR SALE IN DILLON

-1,400+/- SF
-528 SF attached garage
-3 bed, 2 full bath
-Conveniently located between schools and Safeway
on the east part of town
-Covered front porch
-Projected finish date is August 1st
-Still time to choose interior finishes, etc. if purchased
prior to June 1, 2010
-$175,000

Call 406.683.3441 for further information.

My Baby's Got Blue Eyes

I took this great photo by mistake. I was just playing around with my new camera and Jaxon was my subject. I think what appeals to me is the perspective.
I gray-scaled the photo in Photoshop and picked up the color of his eyes from the color version but only applied the color to his eyes at about 45% opacity. I think I managed to turn a very average photo into something I might consider blowing up and hanging on the wall. Children make such great art!