Seven Incredible Years

Yep! It's been 7 years since Joe and I were married! Hard to believe-- we both don't feel like it's been that long, but then we see all that has happened in the time we've been together and we almost can't remember what life was like without each other.
My sister-in-law Alisa gave us the best gift ever. She came yesterday to watch the kids for us so we could have 24 hours to ourselves. We said goodbye after a big breakfast together and headed over to the coast-- Half Moon Bay--one of our favorite places to go. It was BEAUTIFUL! We went on a hike up on the cliffs overlooking the ocean and the surfers below at Mavericks; we got to exercise in the middle of the afternoon and then soak in a hot tub; we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Mezza Luna; and best of all, we got to snuggle up and watch a movie in bed and eat all of the popcorn we wanted without worrying about the mess! It's amazing what one night away can do for the soul! As we drove up to the house, we saw Kate knocking on the front window with a huge smile on her face and we heard Jake yelling, "Mama! Dada!" 24 hours was plenty! Thank you SO MUCH Alisa! And Happy Anniversary, Joe! Marrying you was the best decision I've ever made! xo

You Can Never Have Too Many Friends...

Kate likes to count how many friends she has. She'll come up with a number and then say, "I have 39 friends Mom! Isn't that great?!" And then she'll begin to name them one by one... well, she was thrilled when some special friends came to visit us not too long ago, because she could add them to her tally :) Friends make you feel loved! There's nothing wrong with that!

One of my best friends, Melissa Walton, was home visiting her family for a few weeks over the holidays. Thankfully, we had a chance to see each other and catch up, even though it wasn't long enough! It was just a tease, really... We did manage a picture of our kids together and I was so grateful she took the time to come see us! Here is Kate, Sadie, Ashlyn, Nate and Jake. We were all having such a good time together, that no one wanted anyone to leave!!! I know how busy it can be when you are visiting from far away. Thanks so much, Meliss! It's hard to believe that we met when we were younger than Kate--but knew there was a special bond there that would last forever! Love you! Looking forward to the summer time :)

Girlfriends are Good for the Soul

Way back when I got a call from my friend Jeri: "Julie! Don't want to bug you, but there are SUPER cheap tickets on Southwest right now and we want to come visit...Let me know what works for you." Yahoo! We were ecstatic! So, as soon as I got my 2010 calendar, it was written in red: "Methenys coming for a visit!" You can never plan 2 months in advance your kids health status. Wouldn't that be wonderful? Gwen caught a cough the day they flew in, and Jake suffered a sad ear infection in the middle of the visit, leaving him looking like a walking zombie.
So, we threw any plans of visiting the museums and the zoo out the window and hunkered down at home. Thankfully, Saturday, there was a break in the torrential rain storm, and we headed out back to play.

Can I even begin to paint the picture of excitement in our house when I explained to Kate that Gwen would be spleeping over 3 nights in a row???

It was almost more than she could handle!

From the moment they arrived, all I heard out of Kate's mouth was, "I'm so sad when Gwennie has to go home. When can she come again?"

Eyes that were not used to the bright sunshine! You'd think we lived in the Northwest or something!

cute

cuter

Making and decorating everybody's favorite--PINK cupcakes and PINK frosting!

I was worried everyone would be bored and sick of each other after being cooped up in our house all weekend. But with good friends it doesn't matter what you do or where you go. I loved the time we had together and Jeri and I got to talk each other's ears off which is always enjoyable! Thank you so much for coming, girls! Can't wait until our next visit. Of course, Joe requests that Ryan and Zach be there too :)

Feliz Cumpleanos Jose!

I've never known how to get the tilda over the "n" when it comes to writing Spanish words on my keyboard...any help is much appreciated...but it's completely beside the point. My hunk of a husband turned 34 on January 18th. I only wish he would have been feeling well! In fact, all 3 of my family members were sick on his birthday.
Joe's birthday fell on MLK day, so we were all thrilled that we'd get to be home together to celebrate! We had grand plans of a bike ride along the bay and going to see the migrating Monarch butterflies... the list continued... but the horrendous rain and the runny noses kept us home. We made the best of it with a yummy breakfast and Jake got really into watching his dad open his presents. His shock and surprise grew with each card and present--it was fantastic.
Jake, happy as a clam after Dad opened up his card. Kate showing off her glamerous hairdo-- I wonder who did it???

We did manage to meet my parents in Fremont for a bite to eat at a yummy restaurant called the Spinyard. We practicallly had the room to ourselves, which is always nice when you have 2 little ones.
Thanks for celebrating with us, Momo and BG! You made our evening!

Once again, Jake showing his excitement with presents... you'd think those shirts were for him!

I have to admit, even though the day wasn't quite what we were planning, it was really nice spending a day together at home--playing games, watching movies and dancing to our favorite songs. We don't get those moments very often, so I was grateful.

Kate absolutely thrilled to be in Momo's lap.

Happy Birthday, Love! Next year is going to be the year-- I can feel it--a germ free birthday! It's gotta be :) Snot or not, I love you with all of my heart. I'm so glad you're mine!

BraceFace

For Christmas this year, I received the most incredible heart-felt gift from my mom. Let me explain. For years my sister and I have been asking my mom for our baby books...it became quite the joke because although we were recorded in PLENTY of pictures, they were never put into a book. Well, when Jen had her first child, my mom surprised her with the most beautiful "baby books." She looked at me and said, "You'll get yours when you have your first too, Boo." So, Kate came and then Jake... I still teased... well, this year was my year. Not only did I get a baby book, I got volumes! My mom saved EVERYTHING! You can't hold back the tears and laughter looking through all of it! THANK YOU, MOM! Now I have moments like the one below recorded :) Yes, that's me and that's Chris. Hysterical, isn't it? Remember how excited you were to get braces? Oh, I couldn't wait! I was going to look so grown up! I remember my friends at Foothill Elementary used to take paperclips, unfold them, and then put them in our mouths so they would look like retainers. How gross is that???

So, how come when you get braces on as an adult, it doesn't make you look more grown up? I'm trying to figure that one out :) Yes, I got braces put on yesterday. Oh, I didn't remember them hurting like this! Thankfully I only have 8 of them and they are on the lower teeth, so you can't really see them ;) Joe just laughed. "How long are you going to have these things on?" Once again, thankfully, only 4 months...ok he said 4-6 months. You can do anything for that amount of time, right? Plus a professional discount never hurts! I'll have to get a picture....

You Just Can't Get Rid of those Blue Devils!

AND WHO WOULD EVER WANT TO!!!!! Thursday we got a phone call from our good friends from business school, Tyler and Rachael Rushton-- they were in town--"We know it's short notice, but do you have plans this weekend?" Joe and I looked at the calendar and to our shock and amazement, we had NOTHING on it! YES! We'd love it! So we quickly called up Mike and Carrie who live 10 minutes away but who also hold the Blue Devils close to their heart and within minutes the whole evening was planned. Tyler, Joe and Mike
Carrie, Me and Rachael

Nicholas, Kate and Jake having A BLAST in our family room

They had so much fun together!

So did we! Thanks for a WONDERFUL evening everyone! Now we have to just get the rest of you out here (Jeri, super excited you'll be here next week).... or at least get the reunion plans going!

The Crew

Isn't this the greatest shot? Thank you to Emily White, Kate's new CTR 4 teacher in Primary! I just LOVE it. Last year, Kate was officially old enough to be a Sunbeam at church in Primary. Now that January is here again, she has moved up to the next class (CTR stands for Choose the Right) along with her friends, Dylan, Ryan and Addie. I can't believe how grown up she looks, especially with the new little Sunbeams fidgeting in front of her. I just hope time will slow down a little because I can't believe she is already old enough to move back a row!!!

Who Needs it Anyway?

This picture is history in the making. I've NEVER seen my Dad in the hospital for himself...sure, he's been there plenty of times to see me! My phone rang just as I was running out the door for work on Saturday. "Boo, we won't be coming up to see you guys today--Dad's in the hospital." What???!!! Apparently his appendix couldn't handle the popcorn or the 3D Avatar film that he and Mom went to see the night before, because he woke up in the middle of the night and (I'll spare you the details) it wasn't pretty. He was in emergency surgery within hours. I was happy to see a smile on his face when I walked into his room later that day. I was entering as Jen was leaving--with a yellow mask covering her face and nose. I couldn't keep the laughter in. 'What are you doing??' Her response, "Have you gotten the H1N1 vaccine yet?! I haven't." I just try and do shallow breaths when I walk through the halls! A little phobic? Yes. But I'm happy to report that Dad is going to be fine. We are just waiting for him to stand up a little straighter. Love you so much, Dad!

BUSTED!

One of the last nights that Chris was home, we decided to go over to Mom and Dad's house and play some games and just enjoy being together. We were having a gay old time (The Flintstones theme is running through my brain) when suddenly Chris came downstairs and said, "The girls got into Mom's makeup. It's everywhere." Like graceful gazelles, Jen and I sprinted up to see the damage. What we found, was this: If only you could have seen the goop that was hanging off of Gracie's chin. We later discovered it was Mom's good eye cream--of course. Apparently a facial was in the works. We owe you, Mom!
Yes, that's eyeliner all over their heads! You should have seen the floor!

I love this shot. Who is ticked at who for getting them in trouble? Apparently when Chris found the girls, Joe's daughter looked up at him and said, "Momo said we could use it." Where the heck did she learn to lie like that?!!! We'd both like to know.

To bring a little comic relief, Brik and Jake decided to put on a show.

So glad the boys get along

It's a good look, Jake

"When is it going to be Christmas again?"

That was the question Kate asked as we were driving out to Ceres to be with the Berryhill's for Christmas Eve. Remember that excitement when you were little? Oh, I do. My dad would actually get up on the roof with sleigh bells and stomp around late at night...amazing that serious injury never occurred...Little did he know that Santa would always come after he made all of that fuss! I still believe...Here are some Christmas moments captured....

Kate and Aunt Krista dressed up as angels

What a great family you two have raised!!! So glad I'm a part of it. Acting out the Nativity

Jake enjoying a few snacks on Nana's lap

Mike couldn't wait to sit on Santa's lap :)

Jake and Papa perfectly content with one another

Santa Moments

Santa's beard is losing it's elasticity! Jake...is that your Uncle Ben???!!!

Christmas morning...waiting to run through the wrapping paper! Joe's tradition when he was little and our kids LOVE it.

Being lazy on Christmas day at the Hansen house

I think Dad was the only one NOT in jammies... I never got out of mine on Christmas Day. Love you BG!

Kate trying out the roller coaster from Momo and BG. The kids still fight over this. No one likes taking turns. What a hit!

Heading Up to the Snow

Ok, so we didn't quite make it to the snow over the holidays-- everyone got sick. But we at least donned our snowgear and headed to Del Osso Family Farm for a little sledding! I made this mad dash to Target about 2 hours before we decided to go. We were going sledding! The kids needed snowgear! We thought there'd be more white stuff on the ground :) The cousins looked cute anyway!

The girls showing off their matching coats

Always the one who is ready to pose for a picture

Jake loves cousin Ben--although he looks a little ticked in this shot--I think he didn't like the hood...too constricting.

The farm was great. It had a train of lights, real reindeer, a petting zoo, an area for snow play and off course--the Sledding!!!

My kind of sledding--no hiking up the hill! You just hopped on and let the ramp take you up!

"Are we sure about this?!"

Brett couldn't wait!

The double tube--Gracie looks ready

My action shot while we were flying down the hill! I think Kate liked it!

Here's a little clip to really prove she did it :)