New York

Vacation Day 1 - Wells, Maine and Portsmouth, New Hampshire

We started our trip in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Brett and Adrienne came and met us. It was rainy and cold but that didn't stop us. We saw some houses from the 1600's, ran on the rocks on the beach of a lighthouse and took a path out in the middle of a lake to a small protected island.

Portsmouth in the rain. The steeple in the distance is from a church built in the 1600s.



This is a path we saw while driving back to New Hampshire. We stopped and let the kids run to the small island. I love Olivia's face in the group shot. Every picture we took of her had this expression.


This lighthouse is totally surrounded by water. There is a small basket think that runs along a pulley system to get to the island. It looked terrifying. The waves were really strong and the kids loved to watch the water crash on the rocks. Grant swears he saw a sea lion pop up to watch the kids.

Hansen Family Vacation at the Cabin

The Hansen family spent the 24th of July at the cabin together. There were trips to the lake, dancing to YMCA and lots of food and fun.

Thanks Mimi and Bompa for making this, and all our trips, so special. We love you.

I heart San Francisco

Last year, Wicked came to Utah. In the midst of the chaos that sometimes surrounds our home, Cory and I missed our chance at tickets. So, using this as our excuse, the two of us took off for San Francisco. It was a much needed trip after a hard handful of months. Cory was finally feeling well and we set off to celebrate. Our theatre excursions included Wicked and the unplanned Spamalot (we had to see John O'hurley aka J. Peterman play King Arthur).

We took a day trip to Alcatraz which was amazing.

We stopped at Lombard street.

I discovered that San Francisco in the summer is FREEZING! I wore three layers every day. I admit, I was warned, but I did not believe.

We rode the cable cars everywhere. By the end of the trip Cory become a master at hanging off the outside of the car.

We ate really good food, went to museums, shopped, and spent uninterrupted time together. Now, which production do I need to convince him I need to see next?

Lazy Cabin Days

Last Wednesday, my kids were going stir crazy.  They are off-track but all of their friends are still in school which means I was left to entertain them.  Since plopping them in front of the tv for the next two weeks was not an option, I decided to pack them up and head to the cabin.   

My parents, Brian and Erin (along with Jack and Sam), Danny and Cassie, and little Carman (to keep Ella company) went along as well. We ate tons of good food, watched movies (Ghost Town), played card games (Cory and I each lost), and let the kids roam in their pajamas all day long.

I always wonder if my kids know how lucky they are to have a place like this . . . a place where we can, at any given moment, drop everything and escape into nature.  We snowmobile and sled/snowboard in the winter, we ride atvs, bike and hike in the summer.  We love to go in search of deer and moose.  If allowed, I would live there forever.

Home Sweet Home

We are home.

We are tired.

Disneyland was fun but oh so crowded.  So many people.  If this is off-season, I hate to see what peak season looks like.  We had to do some creative fast pass/parent switch pass tricks to get in the big rides.  Peter Pan was a long, painful wait. And yet, crowded Disneyland is usually better than real life.

Pictures tomorrow.  Today we have tutoring at Kumon, grocery shopping to do, and snowboarding to top off the day. 

 

Lucky us.

Snow, Snow, Go away!

It is snowing again.  My house suddenly feels colder and the big windows in my great room are freezing to the touch.  My spring bulbs (I'm not really sure what they are yet since they were planted by the previous owner) were just peeking through the ground. Now they are covered in cold slush.  But it is ok because we are leaving for California in three days.  So snow all you want Utah - just make sure to have it gone when I return!

Colors in Quechee

I have a horrible case of Spring Fever.  Today is one of those days where it starts to get a little warmer, I get used to the nice weather, but I know more snow is around the corner.

I have been thinking back to the trip to New Hampshire Ella, my mom and I took last June.  We went to stay at my 

long lost brother, Brett's house. 

Brett is the world's most fun person to travel with.  

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to go on trips with Brett.

While we were there, we took a day and went to the balloon festival in Quechee, Vermont.  You show up, find a place on the grass among the many, many balloons being prepared for flight.  

Notice the boy poses (funny faces) and the girl poses (fancy, fancy)

While we waited, the kids ran around inside a partially inflated balloon.

The balloons are filled with hot air all around you.  Some flew so close over head we could touch the bottoms of the baskets.

We laid on the grass until the last balloon was out of sight.  The Quechee balloon festival is something everyone should see.