Flashback to Summer Fun

In order to capture some of the great milestones of our summer, I have come up with my top 10 highlights of our summer solis:

10. Small Town Patriotism
During the traditional, small hometown 4th of July celebration where my parents live (and soon us too!), we attended the parade.  Now, when you are in a small town things like throwing candy to expectant children standing on the sidelines are still allowed.  My dad and Andrew left to go to the parade before anyone else.  By the time my mom, Ryan and I got there the parade had just started and Andrew was already being showered with sweet delights. 

It did not take him long to start yelling, "Hey you guys, over here!"  Embarrased by the 4 year-olds' battle cry for candy, I ran over to him.  "Andrew, we don't yell at people to ask them for candy.  Why don't you try saying 'Happy 4th of July'?"  He looked at me with that blank stare (all you mothers know this look that is returned after offering a good bit of foreign advice) and then turned back to the parade.  The next float started to pass by and he yells out "Happy 4th of Juuulie!"  And in return was showered with a huge spray of the good stuff.  Immediately he turns around to me and yells, "It worked!!!"  And a "Happy Julie" it was, even though there were no fireworks to end our stay.

9. Mine and NOOOOO
Just had to record these two little words as the most single syllable vocabulary tallied at the Hansen household all summer long!  I might add that Ryan sounds like a cross between a dinosaur and a lion when he says "rrrNOOOOO".  Where do these kids get their facial expressions too?  I really have rrrNOOOOO idea!

8. Gettin' Our Groove On
This is something you can only truly appreciate when it is caught on tape.  Ryan is absolutely the biggest dancin' machine I have ever seen.  It doesn't matter when or where the music is coming from, he starts groovin'!  We have had some side-splitting belly laughs this summer watching him get down with his bad self!
I will have to share a sampling of this crazy, dancin' fool at a later date.

7. The Used Car Salesman and Lemonade
So, if you read the story about Andrew, the Lightening McQueen underwear and his real estate closing ability, you realize that we have a negotiator on our hands.  During a garage sale at the beginning of the summer, I thought it would be fun for Andrew (and helpful for mom) to have something to occupy him...like selling lemonade.  So I got him all set up to start his enterprise, and he began selling lemonade in Dixie-sized cups for 25 cents a glass.

Let me tell you that not one person got by him!  He was fully engaged for the entire four hours we were open for business.  He even helped a gentleman carry a pair of Mike's golf shoes to his truck.  "Come back anytime, sir," Andrew politely said to him.  He came running back with a $2 tip!  Including the tip and lemonade profits, he made $8!  Anybody need a good lawyer?

6. Shoes, Shoes, Shoes
Mike would tell you that I am the one in our home that has a shoe obsession, but I have a rival for the title of "Shoe Princess"!  It used to be that the word and item Ryan was obessed with was "ball".  It was the first word he would say when I would wake him up in the mornings and would be expressed a million times during the course of the day.  Now...it is shoes, shoes, shoes!  Pictures speak louder than words...and with a little help from big brother.

(And yes!  He will be just fine, and will make some lucky lady VERY happy one day because of this obession.  Her natural, womanly need for cute shoes will be understood!  To my future daughter-in-law, you are more than welcome!)

5. Getting Ready for "Big Kid" School
I cannot tell you how excited Andrew was to finally go to "Big Kid" School!  Five has been the magic number at our house... it has meant that you get a backpack, ride the bus, and have a real desk. 

At the meet the teacher day, we went through the circuit of enrollment lines before we received his teacher assignment.  While we were waiting in a line, Andrew was checking out the Cub Scouts' video propaganda at the after-school activities area.  The scout master asked if he was going to be in 1st grade.  Andrew responded, "Well, I'm only 4, but I'm going to be 5 soon!"  The man apologized to Andrew letting him know that you had to be in 1st grade to join.

We met his teacher, played in the room and started to walk back down the hallway to leave the school.  Withen 5 steps of walking out of his teacher's door Andrew announces, "I decided I'm just going to 1st grade."  I explained to him that it doesn't work that way, that you have to go through Pre-K, Kindergarten, and THEN 1st grade.  "And then after that mom, I go to college right?"  "No, Andrew, you have many, many years of school before you go to college."  BIG sigh of disgust, "I'm so tired of being a kid already!"  Couldn't help but laugh out loud!

Andrew on his first day of school, Friday, August 19th.

4. The Lake
We had a blast at the lake.  Andrew and Braylon had a wonderful time flying off the dock into the water with the assistance of Uncle Kyle.  We went tubing (Andrew and I - the entire time he was yelling "faster, faster"), skiing, and swimming.  We also witnessed the discovery of a very funky and unpleasant smell on the dock.  An enormous beaver who had met his untimely end underneath a boat in the dock. 

3. Roller Coasters
Andrew is now truly considered a roller coaster enthusiast.  During the July trip to see Mike's parents, Uncle Steve, Aunt Cindy, Cousin Amy and Braylon, Aunt Lisa, Uncle Kyle and Macy, we all excitedly headed for fun at Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO.  (I LOVE this amusement park. Very sentimental since my dad took us there for almost every family vacation we ever had!  We had a system down too so that we would be able to visit the park three days in a row for the price of one ticket...my dad's a genius, and a penny pincher!)

During our most recent visit, we ride the kiddie roller coaster ("Yeah, that was fun mom, but not big enough"), Thunderation ("Too cool"), and the newest addition to his roster - Powder Keg.  Now, I rode this roller coaster when it first opened almost seven years ago.  It was a great coaster and goes from 0 mph to 60 mph in about 3 seconds, but I clearly didn't remember it very well.  If I had, I would not have let Andrew get on. 

He was tall enough, so we get in line.  We climb into the coaster (towards the front of course!), they move the coaster up to the "launch pad" and we take of...literally.  I look over and a sinking feeling of guilt, regret and horror fill me when I see Andrew's face - which is as grave as stone.  I leaned over and put the mom vice-clamp on his little chest, praying the entire time that he will not be scarred for life!  We get to a point in the ride where it slows down to crank back up a hill to continue on the journey.  Andrew and I both relax, and I ask "Are you okay?" 

Andrew throws on a huge grin from ear to ear and yells "This is amazing!!!"  I start laughing with a HUGE sigh of relief.  We get to the top of the hill, vice-clamp goes back over his chest, then we pull back into the starting point.  As we climb out, an older man behind us says to Andrew, "I can't believe you rode this.  It scared me."  Andrew simply replied (walking like Fonzie from Happy Days with both thumbs up) "That was awesome, baby!"  He is such a cool kid!

Here's to reliving the excitement of Powder Keg:

2. Duncan Golf & Tennis Club
Mike is great at what he does - golf pro - and has landed a GM/Head Golf Pro position.  He is doing a wonderful job!  We are working on selling our house.  He is already down there living with my parents.  We are ready to be altogether again...hopefully soon!  I am looking forward to life slowing down a little and having the opportunity to stay at home with my little handfuls part-time.

1. The Streghtening of Our Faith
Our church has an active drama troupe that I am a member of and we staged 'Cotton Patch Gospel' this summer.  Andrew and Ryan were in two scenes as young Jesus' brothers and then as the little children that Jesus calls to him.  We were constantly talking about God and Jesus and listening to the music over and over and over again in the car. 

On the night of the dress rehearsal we were on our way home.  Andrew's little voice piped up from the backseat, "Mommy, when does Jesus come into my heart?" Completely caught off guard, "Well, Andrew, whenever you ask him to."  There was silence from the backseat.  Then that sweet little voice whispered, "God, please let the Holy Spirit live in my heart."  Tears, lots and lots of tears, and praises to our Heavenly Father for witnessing such a beautiful moment and being trusted as mom in such a neat kid's life.

I'm a Believer

Okay, so on my way home I had to call in a total confession to my friend and co-worker who has now created a monster in the blogging world. That would be yours truly. 

(Thanks is sent out to Megan.. aka the celebrity blog writer of "tales of the trees".  Yes, I get to claim her as my friend!)

I will have you know that when I talked to Mike tonight and told him what I was doing - learning about and becoming part of the blogging world - he called me a nerd.  I like when he calls me that.  I know I am still well-rounded in life.

So....a monster, yes it is true, I have been up until 2am (and later tonight!) the past two nights getting acquanited with my new bff The Blog.  And how glorious he is!

With that said, my work here tonight has to come to an end...for tonight. I will have my usual 7am wake-up call by a little dude who will be excited to start the day.  His usually Saturday morning wake-up call is, "Mom, get out of bed! The sun is up, the sun is up!" 

Oh to be SO excited for the day to start...especially when all you have to do is play!  I need more of that in my day/year/life!  When do we as mommies get to have a turn on the monkey bars?

Insight to the Hansen Handful...

Life changes in a hurry, as we all know too well.  Our life, my husband Mike and our two little boys, is changing a lot all at once.  For this reason, I decided to begin to document our new life journey.  This also comes about because of the influence of a good friend who is a known “celebrity” in the blogging world.  I really like the idea of releasing thoughts, joys, and tribulations of life in one place. This way friends who we are leaving behind can keep up with our clan, and so I can still feel attached to everyone.

I am the world's worst at recording life moments and milestones or even capturing them on film (or digital devices).  I pray that this does not some day hinder the loving relationship I have with my two little bundles of joy when they get older.  I hate to say that this trait of not documenting life's milestones is hereditary, but it clearly is.  I also hate to confess that I was going to put some sort of end to this gene trait three years ago.  I found a huge box of pictures at my parents house in a closet and thought it would be a great Christmas present to my mom to organize them in photo albums.  The task just became too overwhelming, and I wimped out.  Guess where the box has been for the last three years?  Yes...you guessed it, at the back of my closet!

Hence another reason why this blogging adventure might just turn out to be a great way to capture some of those funny moments that happen around here with a very dramatic four-year-old and a dancin' fool of 18-months.

For instance, I mentioned this huge change in our lives... we are in the process of moving if you couldn't figure that out from the staying in touch comment above.  Mike is living with my parents!  And the boys and I are living in our home which we are in the middle of trying to sell so we will, hopefully soon, be reunited as a family once again.  To move on to the antics of the four year-old, last night the doorbell rang at 8pm, thinking it was the neighbor boys I answered the door.  Andrew was in his underwear ready for bed.  It was not our neighbor boys standing underneath the porch light, but a realtor and a family (very cute I might add).  Needless to say, wires got crossed and I never received the notification of anyone coming by to look at the house!  Long story short, they decided to go ahead and look around while I tried to corral the dog (Lucy, the border collie) and the extremely hospitable 4 year-old to the back bedroom. 

I gave up on Andrew and took the dog back first.  When I came flying back around the corner, I hear Andrew giving the grand tour..."And this is our living room and you can see our other dog Zoe outside in the back yard.  Let me bring her in so you can meet her better."  "No, Andrew, we are not going to let Zoe in.  We are going to give these nice peoople some privaacy."  "Well, this is our kitchen.  I am sorry it is a little bit of a mess, but my mom hasn't cleaned it up yet after we ated dinner..."  Finally, after scooping him up we were all out of the hair of our important visitors. 

Then it hit me, I had just holed us up in the master bedroom, which is a deal breaker in a potential sell.  So I stuck my head out of the door and asked if they would like us to change rooms.  They ended up just coming in to the room with Andrew sitting on the bed watching Sprout.  After peering into the bathroom and closet, they reentered the bedroom and Andrew turned and politely asked "Well, are you going to by our house or not?"

Our realtor called this afternoon to confirm a second showing for the couple.  I told him that he was going to have to give part of his commission check to Andrew in the form of some great toy cars since he was working as his closer.  And, yes, the whole time negotiating the offer in his Lightening McQueen underwear!

Life is great and abundantly blessed.  I hope to use this recording venue to capture all of the precious, and not so precious, moments along the way.