There and back again

A Hansen's tale.

Okay so maybe not that much.

We were gone for twenty days.

That is a lot of days.

It was good.

Lots of good.

Now we are tired.

Ready to finish moving into our house.

Ready to sleep in our own beds.

We slept in SIX different ones on our trip.

It's good to be home

Hello

I have nothing to show you yet and I am utterly overwhelmed, but in a good way.

So happy to done with apartment living.

So happy to be in my new house.

So wanting to go to Paris to celebrate!

I know right?!?!?!

Oh Happy Day is having a give-a-way.

And you can bet your sweet bibby that I have entered everyway possible.

Go check it out here.

All of Us

Here is the only picture of our Vegas group

at the Mall in Caesars Palace.

Everyday Jocelyn asks to back to Las Vegas with Taylor and Ester and Jessie.

Bits of Vegas

from Ben's phone

little buddies

old school

The bar at the Cosmopolitan Hotel

"Time to Say GoodBye"

New York, New York

(we rode the roller-coaster, it was awesome)

Running around late at night without kids.

Good Stuff.

POW 14

Flying

This was called the Tarzan Swing.

The first part was absolutely terrifying I was hoisted 50 feet into the air by a golf part and then told to simply: Let go.

At first I held to the rope with dear life, sure that I was to die, feeling the sharp drop of free fall as a swung like a pendulum back and forth through a clearing in the woods.

As the swing began to slow a calm moved through the air.

I let go of the rope I was strapped to, and let my arms fly.

The sound of the wind in the trees, the bright sun flares glimmering through the leaves.

A peace came.

It was beautiful.

Inside the Pleasantree

I can't believe it has already been a whole week since we were at the Treesort.

The morning light inside the tree was divine.

Our bed was a mattress up in the loft. The view out our window.

looking down at the cabin below.

Need to use the restroom?

Hang up your clothes?

Wash your hands?

Behind the curtain was toilet and shower.

No need to go across the suspension bridges in the morning.

The tree ran right through the middle of the cabin.

You can see the sink bumped up next to it above.

There was a heater inside the cabin so we were plenty warm at all times.

The whole thing was really quite spectacular.

The wood was so beautiful.

Warm and cozy.

Future family reunion spot?

I think so.

Zip-lining

This may be our new favorite thing to do.

Ever.

You can do it here.

Roaming the grounds of the Pleasentree

There were many animals wandering the grounds.

Some jumping for food.

Greeting us at the door.

(this counts right?)

Sleeping on the deck.

Waiting to be ridden.

I can't wait to come back with the girls.

They would love it.

The Pleasan-tree Part 1*

In order to get to our darling little Treehouse, the Pleasantree , we had to do a bit of... exploring.

Honestly, we felt like Han and Leia and the planet of Endor.

(I know my nerd is showing)

Or like Lost boys in Neverland.

Like Galadriel and Celeborn in Lothlorien.

And finally, like Us.

Totally stoked to be sleeping in a Treehouse.

The place is called Out'n'about Treesort.

We will be going back many many more times.

POW 11

Oh and we did some of this.

It was terrifying.

and

Fantastic.

Getting Away

Last month was our anniversary.

6 years.

It was all planned.

A secret getaway, just me and the professor.

The girls were going to stay at a friends house over night. (were doing a kid swap)

It was going to be perfect.

and then I got sick... really sick.

But then I got better and yesterday we went.

It was AMAZING!

I have 400 pictures to go through.

So I thought I would share just one.

Oh, did I mention that we stayed in tree-house.

35feet off the ground.

Yes it was AMAZING!

weekly musings of yester year: babymoon

When I was pregnant with Jocelyn we went on a baby-moon. It was our last chance to have a vacation kids free for awhile and so a cruise to Mexico was planned. Ben's cousin worked for Princess cruises and so we took advantage of the family discount (Andrew we miss that... a lot). We spent seven fun filled days traveling to Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and Cabo San Lucas. I had been horribly horribly sick for months and was just starting to feel better. It was good to get out out and get away from it all. Swim in the pools, lay in the sun and eat. We ate... a lot... my doctor was mad when I got back, he was an old fart anyway :)

I think I forgot how to smile for pictures for like a year? I promise you I am happy, I think I am going for a smiling with out smiling picture which just ends up looking mean. I blame top-model.

Note the sea-sickness band on my wrist, those things are a life saver!

Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Varallta was our favorite spot. I got a massage next door to the tattoo parlor by the church. The city was nice and we had a good time walking around and seeing the old cathedrals surrounded by well, tattoo parlors. Next time we go we will go into the jungle and ride the zip-line, but being 6 months pregnant our "shore excursions" options were limited.

Next up was Mazatlan

This was not our favorite spot, it was cold and windy that day and the beach was swarming with salesmen. I bought a cheap wedding band because at this point my fingers were so "swollen" that my ring no longer fit. I was tired for feeling knocked up so I bought a new one here. Oh... and Ben went para sailing.

You see in Mexico you don't need to fill out any wavers or insurance forms before you get thrown up in a kite and pulled around the ocean 100 feet in the air. You just need 30 bucks and an basic understanding of broken English.

It was fun to watch him, however I chose not to partake, I just sat on the beach and prayed my unborn child would still have a father by the time we were supposed to be back on the boat.

Cabo San Lucas

We woke up very early this morning to watch the sunrise.

It was pretty, I was sleepy, but then we ate waffles and it was good.

We went snorkeling with the fishes. That was really fun though I am pretty sure everyone on our boat was concerned about me going into labor at any minute. I assured them I was fine.

I just remembered... when we were swimming to our "private island" we saw a whale! That was cool.

I realize now that pirate stripes and pregnancy don't mix, but what did I know then? I paid two dollars to have my picture taken with an iguana with a tiny sombrero. Clearly not my chicest moment. Can we talk about the cropped gaucho pants?!? sad face.

So that was our baby-moon, we really had a great time (regardless of my facial expressions say in pictures) I highly suggest you taking one.

Oh and one other thing...

Ben got a tattoo

the end.

PS

It's fake.

traveling with toddlers

it had it's moments

but for the most part they were wonderful little travelers.

new sensations

While riding the metro (choo choo train) in Portland Jocelyn's finger discovered her nose.

Let's just say our reaction turned it into her new favorite game.

hello people of the west

We made it.

The little ones flew like champs.

You would never know they were on the plane.

... well maybe a few times.

We only had one casualty, (Brooke's sippy, gratefully she and Joce shared)

Ben and I even got to watch the movie, which was really good.

I had a suitcase full of treats, and still have some leftover for the rest of the week.

it included:

7 different kinds of snacks (costco has my back)

stickers

our favorite aden+aians blankets

Foofa

Brooke's special Kitty

mini cars

coloring pages with magic markers (that only work on the pages)

Barf bag puppet show

baby wipes

and finally,

when all else fails

Toy Story on the laptop.

Were now in the beautiful city of Portland in a swanky hotel for Ben's conference before we head out to Eugene to find a new home.

photo of the week 29

What a week of wonder and water slides

Sorry I have been away for so long

like I said... it was a long week

a good week

camping

Remember when I went camping with these guys?

I mean these guys

(note to self suck in belly when standing in pictures with people who look like movie stars)

we stayed here

but sadly took very few pictures
it was my first time camping when I was the mom (Jeri too)
ya know the person who made sure everyone ate
and didn't get stung by bugs
or attacked by bears
(OK so that is Ben's job)
the point is
Camping is hard
especially when you just want to play with this

so that's it for pictures
maybe...
we'll see if there are any good ones on the boat

Wouldn't it be wonderful if a brilliant photographer could just live in my pocket and pop out to take amazing pictures of us

when I get to create my own world...
it's gonna happen

admiring brilliance

The Met

we loved it

I think I stared at the detail in this armor for twenty minutes, unbelievably beautiful

such love and passion carved from stone is truly divine

notice that the professor is nearly as tall as the armor and he is standing on the ground. Knights were little men

I fell in love with this painting but only saw it for a moment, does anyone know what it is?

for Jason this is what chairman Mao looks like, ya loon :) see his version here.

the end.