Growing Up So Fast

While in Illinois this past weekend I had a chance to spend the day with my little siblings. I just can't believe how much those kiddos grow each time I see them! Makes me wish we lived closer and got to see them more than once or twice a year.

I love that they are now old enough to remember who I am and are excited when Chris and I visit. Well, all except Nicholas who is only five month and oh, is he precious!!

I just wanted to share some pics of the cuties!

Much Excitement!

Happy Friday! Today holds much excitement for me, the most obvious being that it's the last day of the work week and the last day of Winter! All I have to say about that is peace out and bring on more sunshine!

And the second and biggest excitement I have today comes from the call I received from my Dad early this morning letting me know I am a big sister again to another BROTHER! His name is Nicholas and everyone seems happy and healthy! A huge congratulations to my Dad and Rebecca! Sending you all my love and kisses! Can't wait to meet the little guy!

And finally, I'm looking forward to a delightful, sunny, SPRING weekend! In honor of the glorious occassion, we're going to plant new herbs, take Abby to the park, maybe hit up a few garage sales and just enjoy being outside!


Have a lovely weekend!

Indiana!

Until I was a Freshman in college, I was an only child. Since then I have gained one brother, three sisters and have one more on the way. It always makes me laugh when I tell people these cute little kids are my siblings and they give me a double take! I absolutely adore them and savor each and every visit we get with them, and of course my Dad and Rebecca! :)

This visit was different than usual since they have recently moved from Chicago to the small, cute town of Danvillle, Indiana. This trip was our first since they moved earlier this year and we had a blast! It's always fun to switch it up and experience something new!

We couldn't have chosen a better time to visit as Fall has fully set in and the weather was amazing! Our visits get better and better each time because as the kids get older we become more familiar to them. In fact, this trip they didn't need any time to warm up to us. On Saturday morning (we got in late Friday night) they were sneaking in our room and excitedly discussing how to wake us up. Their conclusion? Turn on the loud saw on Nathan's tool bench and stare at us until we woke up...yep, that did the trick:)

My two oldest sisters, Audrey and Ava, are absolute dolls! They seriously couldn't be any cuter (and different). I love seeing how their personalities are developing as they grow up. This entire trip Audrey continued finding our similarities and calling us twins. I even wore my pink headband to match hers:) Ava is a hoot and definitely loves Chris! And then there's precious Madeline who is almost a year and a half and just takes it all in.

We also got the pleasant surprise of spending some time with my Aunt Lyn, Uncle Jim and cousin Samantha while we were there. My Aunt and Uncle live in Illinois and Samantha was visiting from N. Carolina for the week (I haven't seen Samantha in 7 years!). Needless to say, it was wonderful to see them! We drove to their house on Saturday and stayed the night, leaving Sunday afternoon. My Aunt made us a fantastic homemade meal, which was delicious, and we got to do some catching up:) I would also like to brag on my Aunt and Uncle who completed the Chicago marathon last weekend, which was also my Aunt Lyn's birthday! They're rad, I know! My Dad actually joined them, even though he hadn't run in 7 weeks (whatever...;).

Monday we went to The Indianapolis Motor Speedway and got to tour the ground, which was fun! And now that I've been there, I may actually take some interest in the event:)

And we spent Tuesday in Indianapolis, which turned out to be an amazing day! A lot of walking, a trip to the Eiteljorge Museum of American Indians and Western Art and the NCAA Hall of Champions made for a fantastic day! Fun museums and perfect weather, right up my alley! Our flight didn't leave until 7pm, which gave us a full day.

I can't say enough good things about our trip and I am anxiously looking forward to visiting next year and meeting the new baby!

Chris helping Audrey with the monkey bars:)


Madeline and Audrey


With my Aunt Lyn and Samantha:)Can you tell we're related?


"Twins!"






Chris is always so popular!


Silly!





Chris "kissing the bricks" at the finish line of the Indianapolis Speedway!


The whole family!






Oh, happy times!

Back to The Grind

Good morning and happy Wednesday!! We're back and I can't believe I feel so alert today! After a very long and uncomfortable flight that arrived in Sacramento at 10:45 last night, getting home at 11:40 and finally sinking into bed at midnight, I never imagined I would wake up as easily as I did this morning...at 4am!

Our four day trip to Indiana was absolutely wonderful! But, given my lack of time this morning and my pictures still being on my camera, I think I'll wait to blog about our trip so it can get the full post it deserves. Keep you eyes peeled for it:)

The word today is BUSY! That's what happens when you take 2 days off work to have fun with your cutie little sibs!

Just a little glimpse into our weekend:

Nathan and Audrey


Talk to ya soon!

A GROWING Family

Well my friends, it's Wednesday and the upcoming three day weekend is calling my name! Which means I've gone six weeks since my last day off and it is much needed! Oh, and the best part is, Lael and her sister are coming Monday and staying the night!! They're only stopping through as they head south and leave for New Zealand to live for, well, who knows:) I wish they could stay longer, but these days, I'll take what I can get with my sweet friends who are now scattered all over!

And in other exciting news that I've been holding onto for a few weeks...I am going to have another little sibling this Spring! That's right, my stepmom is pregnant for the fifth and FINAL time:) Sadly, I probably won't get to meet this new addition until next year, but I will see her prego when we go to Indiana (they recently moved from Chicago) to visit them in October! Yay! Can't wait for that trip. I wish it could happen more than once a year, but it's so worth it to see how much my brother and sisters grow each time we see them:)

I LOVE these kids!





And finally, by special request, I will post this crock pot recipe later today:) So come back and you too can try it out!

Happy Wednesday!

PS ~ 20 days 'til Fall!

Chicago, Our First Married Trip!

So it's back to the grind for the Hansens. We just got back from what was, a pretty fantastic trip! Last Thursday we left for Chicago to visit my family. The weekend was full of fun with my young siblings, meeting new additions to the family and great evening outings with my dad and step mom, Rebecca! This trip started with a little extra excitement because it was our first trip MARRIED! (with the exception of our honeymoon, of course!) It is so cool to realize the freedom you have as a couple!

Upon arriving Thursday night, we took a cab downtown to meet my dad at an event for a ministry that he supports in Zambia. It was really neat to take part in and meet some new people that my dad works with, but we were exhausted from the flight!

We were awakened Friday morning by my brother, Nathan, and oldest sister, Audrey, standing on the stairs and deciding how they would tickle us. It was so cute to listen to and I am pretty sure they thought that nobody could hear them. I just love the mornings I spend there with the kids. They are so adorable and lively in the morning! We also met my new sister, Madeline for the first time!!! She is the most beautiful thing! She looks like a perfect baby doll!

Once we were all ready, it was off to get the kids hair cut. Talk about an ordeal! Imagine getting four kids ,under 4 years old, ready to go and buckled into the car!! And to top it off it was cold so they all needed coats! Whew! Friday evening, after the kids went to bed, we went to a fabulous Greek restaurant. I forgot how much I love Greek! After we ate, my dad and Chris went to a poker game held by my dad's best friend and Rebecca and I went to Second City, a great comedy show where often, the comedians from SNL come from. It was hilarious! Afterward we sipped hot chocolate at Starbucks and chatted for a few hours. We knew the guys wouldn't be home for a while. We were right about that, they didn't get home from the game until 5:30 AM!! Apparently, the game ended around 2:30, but some of my dad's buddies, who are highly successful men, stuck around and gave Chris a bit of drilling about financial planning and a lot of good advice. To top it off, Chris won second in the poker game! A little extra cash never hurts, right?

Unfortunatly for Chris, I woke him up at 8 am on Saturday so we could get an early start to Wilmington, the town my parents grew up in and where a lot of my family still lives. It is only an hour drive, but we had a lot of people to see! Our first visit was having breakfast with my cousin Brianne, her boyfriend Jerry and their new baby Gavin!! I just love babies! Gavin is such a perfect little baby! Next we went to visit my cousin Josh and his new Great Dane puppy, Ellie. Chris has wanted a Great Dane for years, so when Josh sent us a picture of her, he was a bit jealous! Then we drove to my cousin Brittany's new house and spend a while with her and her husband, Josh. It was so great for us to spend quality time with some of my cousins individually, since most of time we spend together is sparce and in big family gatherings. Throughout the day, we visited with my grandpa and a few of my aunts and uncles. The day was fantastic and suprisingly very relaxing.

Sunday was such a laid back day for us. We hung around the house with the kids and the guys watched football. Who could ask for more? Well, we could. The trip wouldn't have been complete without an outing to a sporting event! The four of us went to the Blackhawks vs. Sharks hockey game! The game was especially good because Chris is a huge Sharks fan. Honestly, I had never been to a hockey game, but I am pretty sure it is my new favorite sport to watch! There was constant action and it didn't hurt that we had really good seats where we could see everything! I will admit that I was a little scared that the Chicago fans may throw beer on us or something because Chris was wearing his Sharks jersey. Thankfully, Chris is not an obnoxious fan, even though the Sharks won 6 to 5!!!

The kids after waking us up on our first morning.

Me and Ava

After hair cuts

Me and Audrey. She is acting shy:)

Gavin!!!

Ellie

Beautiful Madeline!! Seriously, doesn't she look like a doll?

Chris and I with my Dad and Rebecca

So we are back home and wishing the weekend hadn't flown by so fast, but incredibly thankful that we could spend such an fantastic weekend with my family! Can't wait to go back, which hopefully will be sooner rather than later!

On a side note, I am seriously considering doing the Chicago marathon with my dad in October. He has done it for years and I kind of feel challenged to do it too. If my dad can run three marathons and do two triathlons this year, surely I can do one, right?!? I have to decide by December. Yikes!

Also, we had such a pleasant welcome home as my dad (step dad) had cleaned our carpets while we were gone! He is so sweet! We had been complaining about them for a few weeks and he took the liberty of taking care of it while we were gone:) Our family is such an awesome blessing!

Lastly, Thanksgiving is in 10 days!!! Can you believe how quickly the year has gone by? I can't wait since this year our families are coming over to our place! Woo hoo!! And, my mom an I are doing a 10/5 K on Thanksgiving morning!

That's it, I promise! If you took the time to read this entire blog, thanks so much and enjoy the season!