Lunch Conversations

Lowden: Mom...what if there was a machine invented that scanned your food and then made an exact copy.

Mom: That would be cool!

Lowden: Yeah but it would take all the fun out of cooking.
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Parker: What if we invented a counterfeit money machine?

Mom: Why would you want to do that?

Parker: To pay our taxes!

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Disclaimer: Our family has no intention of making any counterfeit money. What comes out of the mouth of our children does not reflect the views of the parents or other members of our family. Nor does it imply that we ever advocated such behavior.

Our Year in Review

Christmas Morning

Our kids got up very early on Christmas Morning (6:50am or something). Santa must have thought they were good this year as they each got many things on their Christmas lists! We were happy to be together and to stay in our jammies all day! We hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

Snapshots of Christmas

1. cranberry hearts, 2. red and white lights, 3. christmas stars, 4. snowman stool, 5. christmas cards, 6. little tree and christmas blankie, 7. snowy red house painting, 8. snowangel, 9. santa came, 10. joy sign, 11. christmas wreath, 12. gingerbread house

Yummy Gingerbread Cookies

Last night we made gingerbread cookies together. We used my friend Paula's recipe. There were lots of helpers, lots of hands in the dough, lots of noise, and lots of yummy cookies when it was all done.

Santa and Me...

Bennett and I went to meet the "real" Santa at our local mall today! Bennett was shy for just a moment but had no problem sitting on his lap. This is the first time he's met the jolly ol' guy! And I am not sure he will forget it anytime soon...

Friends Forever

The boys decided to help each other do their chores tonight. They were loading the dishwasher together while I was making dinner. So, I'm chopping broccoli florets and I hear Lowden say to Parker, "I will never be mean to you again in my whole life". I asked them what they were talking about. Lowden said they decided to be friends for now on. I asked Parker how he felt about that, he said "Ok I guess."

Either way, here they are friends forever....there is great joy in that!

Our Gingerbread House

Our friends, the Tolmans, invited us to their house last week for their annual Gingerbread House party. We were very excited to go...but unfortunately had some sick kids that night and were sad to miss it. They were very nice to make us some gingerbread walls for us anyway! The kids were thrilled to make a house of their own...now mind you Greg and I are not frosting experts. Another egg white might have kept the candy from sliding off the roof (that or lighter candy) but all in all....in may not be inhabitable but it is surely edible and the kids love it! On another note...notice Bennett's clothes for today. His shirt is on backwards AND inside out. We asked him if he wanted us to fix it for him but he said "I like the tag in the front!" So there you go! Bennett's new fashion statement.

A New Story by Lowden

Flyer

Once, the earth was round. Then, it turned flat, to save itself. The people didn't mind, though. Gravity stayed the same. But then the earth's gravity shifted. All things that were pulled by gravity fell westward. Planes had to transport all living things up and down. Earth was dying, but a brave scientist invented a special machine called a Jet board. It was a regular surf board but with a jet pack on the back. It provided, food, air, and water, etc... But the factory blew up, destroying all jet boards. The people felt doomed. But I, George, found one surviving Jet board. I also found a note. It said: "To whoever finds this: this is the original Jet board. It will help you travel to Darkandritan, where my workshop is. It contains blueprints to many inventions never revealed to mankind. Also you must bring my partner, who lives next to the explosion blast. He has a ship that will take him with you. Find him. The fate of the world is in your hands..."

End of Chapter I

Couldn't Resist...

Once Parker got wind of this neat little tool....we had to elf the kids! So, if you'd like to see our four monkeys kids dancing...click this link!

Our Family Christmas Card

Deck the Halls...

So this is it! The tree we traveled out to the country for...tromping through the mud...dragged up a hill...and plunked into our house. It was worth it! (Even though I still have 6 pairs of muddy shoes waiting to be cleaned in the garage.) :-)

Someone came by our house a few days ago selling mistletoe. So, of course, Greg couldn't resist! The kids think it is a very intriguing object. We told them that you had to kiss the person who walks under it if you catch them. They proceeded to run around for a half hour after that...with lots of "ahh she's trying to kiss me" action. And, "she tried to kiss me on the lips". We explained they couldn't kiss each other on the lips. And, in general, they couldn't kiss anyone else on the lips till they are 18. :-) But they were told that if an auntie or a grandma came by...then they could plant one on them. So, be warned if you come to our house...watch carefully for the mistletoe!

Lowden's Writing

Lowden wrote this story recently in his 4th grade class....thought you might like to read it!

Africa Adventures
by Lowden Hansen

"On our 5th day in Africa, we flew in a helicopter over The National Breeding Animals Preserve. West in the Preserve, I saw a herd of elephants bathing in the Palakiki River, away from the lions. In the south-east corner, we saw a herd of gazelles, grazing on the rich grass. When giraffes tried to eat the helicopter, Parker fell out. Luckily, he had a parachute, and landed on a zebra. The zebra ran off and with my brother on it's back. The zebra dropped him off with the rest of the zebras, and the zebras worshipped him. We landed, and with Parker on board, flew off into the sunset."

Our search...

The thing I love about blogs is how easy it is to tell a story with pictures....so here goes a quick story about our search for the perfect Christmas tree the Oregon way.


This year we decided to go to this tree farm and cut down our own tree (with a chainsaw and everything)! There is something extra fun about having this kind of experience...on the way to the farm we saw a helicopter lifting wrapped Christmas trees. That was pretty cool to see...
We got our trusty measuring stick and set out on our search...a very muddy search. But it only lightly rained on us for about 10 minutes....yeah! They came straight from school so if you are wondering why Lauren is wearing white pants in the mud....that's why.

Parker wanted a red dead one this year.

Bennett wanted THIS one!

Lauren wanted this one...

We decided on this one! (Greg just told the kids that the trunk was much bigger than he thought.)

Everybody happy?













Greg and I carried our tree up the hill, paid the nice man, and heaved it onto the car!
Can you see the mud all over Bennett's pants? You know it didn't even bug us. We were all so happy to have found our tree!

Liam came to play today!

Does Santa Read Blogs?

Parker made his Christmas list yesterday....(here it is in case Santa has started reading blogs). I wonder if lists like this one make Santa sweat?

Dear Santa,
I've been extra good this year...you have better believe it!!!!!!!!!!

What I want for Christmas is...

1. Power Pros Wii Game
2. Tickets to a Duck Basketball Game
3. A Dell Laptop Computer
4. XBox 360
5. Free Trip to DisneyWorld
6. Head Banger Big Kick
7. Money for Toys -$50 bills
8. Dennis Dixon Jersey or Autographed Poster Dennis Dixon
9. A WebKinz
10. Penguin 2008 Calendar
11. Stuffed Animal - Monkey
12. Build-a-Bear Shrek or Penguin
13. Hot Wheels Race Track
14. Guinness Book of World Records 2008
15. A Fat Head -It is a big poster that shows it's whole body
16. Myna Bird
17. Rattlesnake
18. Anything I would LOVE!

Please get as much as you can!

From: Parker Hansen

Saturday

Saturdays are always very busy around here. Last Saturday was no exception. Busy Busy Busy!

And in the middle of our crazy Saturday..."Whatcha' doing Bennett?" "Just sawing down the neighbors fence!" Good thing we keep the real hand tools out of reach!

After his attempt to cut into our neighbors fence, he enjoyed some hot cocoa. Apparently, deconstruction is hard work.

Greg was able to get up one strand of Christmas lights on the outside of our house. Yeah Greg! But, Jerrys (the local home improvement store) ran out of our electrical wire for a few days. We'll see if we get anymore up now that it is raining sheets and sheets of rain! Ha Ha. Greg said the roof is much steeper than it looks. Eek.

Happy Thanksgiving from Our Family to Yours...

We love Grandma Lynda!

Parker and Grandma made a apple pie together. Parker really enjoyed it! He was so happy to help and very satisfied with how "his" pie turned out!
Lauren couldn't wait to help Grandma bake the pumpkin pies. Grandma makes the BEST pumpkin pies. Ironically, she doesn't even like pumpkin pie. But, we all do and love her for making them! Lauren thinks her pies look delicious! Yum yum! Lauren and Bennett also helped make a pumpkin cheesecake. One of my favorites!

Lowden helped grandma with the pumpkin pecan pies...spreading pecans around with great skill...(mostly he sort of flung them on with great skill.) They all turned out looking very yummy looking! Can't wait to try them out! Thanks Grandma!

The Many Faces of Mr. B

I asked Bennett a few questions recently, here were his answers:

• What's your favorite color? "Gween" (Green)
• What's your favorite food? "Staghetti" (Spaghetti)
• Who's your best friend? "Liam...he's so little!"

Birthday Tradition

We have a birthday tradition that we've been doing since the kids were little. We always take them to the bookstore and let them choose their own book. I took Lauren today and, after much deliberating, she chose "Junie B., First Grader: Jingle Bells, Batman Smells! (P.S. So does May.)" We started reading it tonight...and it was funny...as all Junie B. Jones books are! In recent years, we have added another tradition to their birthday book outing...which is that we always stop to get a special birthday doughnut. Lauren chose a maple doughnut with sprinkles. Yum!

Parker's New Pet....

So Parker's fish, Betahead, passed away yesterday. He was VERY unhappy about it. Parker asked me (mom) what I did with him. I explained that I didn't feel like he would have wanted to be thrown in the trash nor surrounded by a bunch of dirt...."no, he wanted a much more glorious burial.... A burial at sea seemed more appropriate." Then, Lowden piped up..."You flushed him down the toilet didn't you..." I, quickly, replied that "it was the quickest way to get him to the sea".... Parker wasn't satisfied and still unhappy about his loss.

Today, Parker was outside the house and Greg noticed a spider on his arm and flicked it off. Parker said, "What was that?" Greg showed him the spider. Parker insisted on keeping it. He named him "Wolfie" once he realized that he was a wolf spider. Being the spider-phobic person that I am, I very nicely explained that spiders prefer to live in the garage. So, we have a 8 eyed wolf spider in our garage in a salsa container. ...Mom is wishing the fish was still alive!!!

Facts on Wolf Spiders that Parker and Greg looked up:

• Wolf spiders do not build webs. Instead they are active hunters that search the ground for prey.
• Although wolf spiders are not aggressive, they are able to bite people, and should not be handled.
• Wolf spiders will feed on almost any living insect or worm that is about 1/2 their own body length.
• Life span- up to 3+ years, depending on species.
  

UPDATE: I walked into the kitchen tonight to find an empty salsa container with the top half on. I freaked out for a few minutes trying to figure out how it got in the house and I was SURE the spider was loose in the house. Then, I finally remembered that I had used a container just like the one Wolfie is in for raisins tonight. Somebody must have eaten them all and left the container on the counter. Sigh. I think my heart skipped a beat though...

Day Two...

Growing out Lauren's bangs...day two. Anyone have any hot tips on how to do hair in this in between phase? Right now it sure is taking longer in the morning trying to figure out what to do with it....but, patience IS a virtue. :-)

Can you tell.....

Bennett dressed himself this morning. He did a pretty good job. Can you tell what he still needs some work on? A box of raisins goes to the first person that can guess. Ha Ha

*UPDATE* My Sister-In-Law, Rachel, was the first one to answer! Yes, she wins the raisins box prize! Bennett had his little pants on backwards...he still needs to work on that. :-)

My Helpers....

We had lots of helpers in the kitchen tonight. Lauren grated the cheese with expert percision. Parker made the fruit salad almost completely by himself. And it was YUMMY! Bennett poured the yogurt in the fruit salad. Lowden got all his chores and homework done! They are all great helpers! Note - Lauren has decided to try to grow her bangs out- today was day one.

It's Lauren's Birthday!