Hansen Happenings: July 2008

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Pioneer Day

Last week I spontaneously decided to take the girls to the 24th of July "Float Preview Party" at the South Towne Expo Center. I had heard about it on TV and decided it was a nice air-conditioned alternative to a traditional parade. We had never been before, but I was pleasantly surprised! Maddie loved looking at all of the floats, and they even had free face-painting and balloons. I was completely impressed by all of the details in so many of the floats. I think we'll make this a tradition, and I highly recommend it to anyone else!

Bravery with Hair

So about two weeks ago I got really brave and got my hair cut shorter than I've ever had it before. I'm putting up some pictures so you don't have to look so shocked the next time you see me. I think I like it, but about an hour after the cut I was asking myself, "What did I just do?!?"

Aaron likes it a lot more than I thought he would. He says it's like he has a new wife. (I guess that is a good thing?)

I like it as a nice change, but I'm still trying to learn how to style it. And I'm missing not being able to pull it back into a ponytail. I probably won't keep it this short, so here's some pictures to prove my bravery:

Friday, July 25, 2008

Seriously So Blessed

For a good laugh, check out this blog that pokes fun at all of us blogging Mormon moms out there!:

seriouslysoblessed.blogspot.com

(I discovered it in yesterday's newspaper--click here for the article.)

Sunday, July 13, 2008

Big Girl Kennedy - Part II

It's so fun to watch Kennedy act so much older now that she is a professional walker! Her favorite thing to do this month is to grab a book and find her own seat, which is one of three places:

1. Her Elmo chair

2. the stairs (which scares me since she hasn't completely mastered these yet!)

3. or, her favorite place, my lap (pictures to come...)

I just love how babies this young love "reading" books. And it is just too cute when Kennedy picks out a book, finds me wherever I am in the house, and backs herself up in reverse to plop down in my indian-style lap. I always try to stop whatever I'm doing if possible so that I can take a moment to read to her, because she is just too cute to resist! I hope she always loves reading as much as she does now!

And here's a video clip entitled, "Not Quite Ready For Only One Nap"

We Love to See the Temple

Last week we were able to watch as the Angel Moroni was placed on top of the Draper temple. We were surprised at how big the statue is! You can see in some of the pictures that the statue is quite a bit larger than the men hanging in the harness from the crane.

Maddie is excited to be able to go inside the temple when it is all finished!

Tuesday, July 8, 2008

Destructive Boredom

I heard the term "destructive boredom" on a Supernanny episode, and it perfectly describes Maddie's Sunday.

First of all, as I was trying to prepare my primary lesson Sunday morning, Maddie decided to cover herself with ballpoint pen tattoos. Take a look.

Later that evening, we had our friends Nate & Andrea over for dinner. Maddie always loves playing with their son Carter.

After dinner, the two kids ran downstairs to "go hide." When we didn't hear or see them again for a while, I decided I had better go check on them. I went downstairs to the toy room/computer room, and the door was closed. I tried to open it, but it wouldn't budge. I pushed a little harder, and this is what I found:

The two of them had dumped every toy and toy container in front of the door to barricade themselves inside! I couldn't believe it. Luckily I found it too funny to get mad. And they were really good helpers at cleaning it all up.

Fourth of July

Our Fourth of July celebrations began Thursday evening with our city's parade. Aaron had school that night, but I loaded the girls into their wagon, trekked a few blocks in the 100 degree heat, and found a great, shady spot sitting with some neighbors. Maddie hadn't been to a parade since she was a baby and was a little hesitant about running for the candy. Her neighbor friends quickly taught her the ropes though, and they were so good about sharing with her. In the end, she ended up with more candy than she got at Halloween!