its great to be {eight}!!

 Clayton has been counting down the months... then weeks... then days, until his birthday. 

He was so excited to turn 8. He loved all of his presents and had fun at his birthday party. 

But more than that... he can now go to scouts with Wyatt and in a couple of weeks he will get baptized. He is thrilled! Eight is such a big deal.

Clayton and I went to one of his friends baptisms... and now he can't wait for his own. We love him so much and are so thankful that he is a part of our family. I am so proud of him... he is such a good little helper.

I hope that this birthday is all that he wants it to be and more!

{10.20.12}

i'm 2... i'm 2 yaers old

Darby will spend the next year practicing holding up 2 fingers... but if you ask her she can tell you exactly how old she is. She is our spoiled rotten little angel.

 Wyatt, Clayton, and Sadie tried to make Darby's birthday a fun one for her. They made her a pinata out of a cereal box and put some candy in it. They let her hit it all she wanted. I have the sweetest kids.

 Make a wish Darby, and blow out the candles.

 Daddy is learning how to do the girl things.

I hope all her birthday wishes came true this year.

{6.28.12}

Little Miss {6 year old}

 Our little girl is getting big {and beautiful}. She really enjoyed her birthday this year... {and I really enjoyed it because we could have it outside and the weather was nice}. I asked Sadie what kind of cake she wanted and she said "I want a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting"... my kind of girl, lol. She got lots of barbie stuff which is exactly what she wanted. It was a fun afternoon with all the family there. {Caleb and Bailey are officially engaged}

{5.6.12}

9 Years Old... WOW

 I can't believe we have a 9yr old! That is just nuts. Why do our children have to grow up so fast? Wyatt is such a good young man and getting {sort of} more responsible each day. He is such a huge help... no matter what we are doing. I love my little boy so much... really not that little any more... in a couple of years he will be as big as me... that is a crazy thought. I hope we are giving him all the tools he will ever need to succeed in this life and the next.

Wyatt wasn't really sure what to ask for, for his birthday. So I told him not to ask for anything and just be surprised... so he did. He had lots of fun having everyone who came... and he really liked his presents. The cake was experimental... {I think we watch too many cooking shows... then the kids want to try making all kids of crazy things... but won't eat them}... Wyatt wanted a vanilla cake with orange frosting. So we made a vanilla lava cake with orange frosting {cream cheese frosting with food coloring added} and a little bit of orange extract. I guess it tasted good because it all got eaten. It was a fun night. Wyatt really had fun.

{5.3.12}

Grandma Hansen's Birthday

Grandma Hansen has been a busy lady, lately. She has a new job as a Flight Attendant where she is based in Minnesota... so she has been gone quite a bit. On one of her days off, her and Grandpa decided to come out and visit because we haven't seen her in a long while. It was close to her birthday... so we sang "happy birthday" and ate some treats. It was fun having them come to visit. The kids just love their Grandparents so much. We are looking forward to another "get together" soon.

Families are like quilts, lives pieced together, stitched with smiles & tears, colored with memories, and bound by love.

Brooks

3.30.12

31 aNd cOunTing

I hope Willy had a good birthday... his birthday was spread out for 3 days. We all had a great time ice skating. Willy enjoyed jumping the kids over a ice bank on the pond... they got some pretty good air. And of course we played hockey. Willy got pink Strawberry cake for his birthday because that is the only cake we had in the cupboard when we decided to have cake and ice cream, lol, it was funny. He liked blowing out his fake plastic candles, lol. We all enjoyed the cake... there is nothing quite like lava cake. We played some Wii games and shot off fireworks... which was the kids and Willy's favorite part. (they like playing with fire) Willy is such a good husband. He works so hard takes such good care of our family. I am so grateful for him!

{1.14.12}