Holiday Lights and Parade Festival

Tonight we went to the local Holiday Lights and Parade Festival which draws almost 40,000 people annually. The kids really liked it and we enjoyed all the holiday lights until it was time to go; and then there were tears for the next hour (I'm not exaggerating either). We were sitting in front of Cold Stone Creamery and I had to laugh as there were about 40 crazy people in there buying ice cream in the 40 degree weather! Too cold for me to eat ice cream!!!

Brooklyn loved the horses and the dogs and would dance to the band music and she only wanted me to hold her. The boys stood out on the street to get the closest look and didn't want me to take very many pictures of them; therefore there are more of Brooklyn who was just so cute in her puffy pink coat and I needed someone to practice my night pictures on. Half-way through the parade Briggs found some sidewalk chalk and wrote his name and then proceeded to ask how to spell "ball" and then "kangaroo" and "rhinoceros." Silly boy.

I took about 125 pictures as I really wanted to try and capture the essence and feeling of evening, the lights, and the mood. Out of those pictures I yielded about 15-20 decent pictures. Here they are!

We love our little town! It's actually quite charming!

All the little boys and girls were buying these cheap light sabers and Briggs really wanted one. Maybe Santa will bring him a more sturdy light saber for Christmas!

Brooklyn looking at the people behind me who were smiling at her! Love that little girl!

Let the holiday's begin!!

Black Friday; friend or foe

I really don't like Black Friday! I hate how everyone gets up at 2 in the morning, in the freezing rain or snow, to stand in line for one of five tickets available for the hottest electronics this year. I hate how it is a complete zoo inside the door with frantic parents trying to get the latest toy for their little Bobby who will die if he doesn't get what he wants, and I hate the rush I feel in my heart as I think, "is this what Christmas is all about?" and every year I say I won't be roped into black friday and every year I fall for those great lost leader ads enticing me to rise much earlier than the birds to try and save a few dollars. This year was no exception.

After looking at all the ads I decided that if I was going to choose one store to get my shopping done for christmas it would be Toy-R-Us. So, since it opened at midnight I decided I would head out a little before and get in and get out. Wouldn't that be nice? So I went to bed about 10:30 to take a short nap (I was pretty tired) and then I woke up to drive the 15 minutes to our nearest, brand-new store. It was raining and cold and I was certain there couldn't be that many people there. Boy...was I ever wrong. As I get closer and closer I see more and more cars on the road; not a good sign. Then as I come up to Toys-R-Us I see a sea of cars in their parking lot as well as the full parking lot next door. Then, I see, no kidding, 50-60 more cars jammed up on the road and trying to get into the parking lot. Heck no! I drove right past and circled home. I ended up going home and ordering exactly what I wanted on their website for about 10 bucks more with shipping. Definitely worth the extra $10 bucks. I was even able to get the doorbuster items for the price in the ad. So, overall I am pretty happy. I think I'll head out today for some casual shopping; after all I am more rested up than 90% of the other shoppers out there today!

Cory just called me (it's 9:20 am) and after waiting on the phone for an hour last night at midnight to try and order the laptop that he wanted from Best Buy he finally gave up and went to bed.

This morning he decided to go in the store and see if there was a chance he could get the one that he wanted. Cory started to talk to the boy in front of him who had a ticket and was waiting in the doorbuster line to claim his lap top and he told Cory that he was outside at 12:30 this morning and there were already 200 people in front of him; Cory thought there would be no way he'd get what he wanted but he decided to wait and see if they had anything when he got to the counter. The woman working there came up and down the line taking people's tickets and giving them their desired HOT electronic item. When she got to Cory he told her what he was looking for she said that after 9 a.m. they no longer accept tickets and it's a first come first serve basis. Talk about great timing; he was actually able to get the laptop that he wanted! I am so excited for him.

Turkey bowl/Thanksgiving

Last night was a LOOOONNNGG night for all of us here at the Hansen home! Around 6 p.m. Ethan threw up all over the couch, and the kitchen, then continued to throw up all night long (5-6 times). The poor boy kept saying, "I'm just not feeling very good." I hate when my kids feel sick! He couldn't even seem to keep down his own saliva (too much information?) Anyway, about 3 hours after Ethan threw up Briggs woke up and had lost what looked like 3 days worth of food. It was quite incredible actually--and a HUGE mess. Needless-to-say, it was a long night! So, when the alarm clock went off at 7 for Cory to get up and get ready for the ward annual turkey flag-football game; I wasn't anywhere near ready to get out of bed. But since Cory was he heading that one up he was on the move and out the door by 7:30!

About 20 guys showed up to play, as well as 1 wife with her 5 kids and 4 other kids to help cheer on their men/fathers, as they played in the 44 degree weather; brrr! The boys and Brooklyn and I showed up around 9 and stayed for about 45 minutes. Briggs had fun playing with the other boys and enjoying hot chocolate.

Briggs in heaven!

The guy walking behind Cory is Andy; he's a BIG guy. Well, during the game Andy was diving for something and his head came into contact with Cory's mouth which resulted in Cory's huge fat lip.

When we got home and we looked inside his lip it was a huge cut (looked like a big valley). Cory decided to go to the hospital to see if he needed stitches and sure enough they put 2 in his lip. No fun for him! When he came home from the hospital the nurses told him that that there were two other men in there today from accidents that happened while playing football. One man broke his leg and another a rib; so we'll take the two stitches!

Brooklyn in her element. Cups and spoons! Wearing the hat the my sister-in-law Jackie made her!! I LOVE it!

It didn't take her long to realize that this warm goodness was chocolate and she was all over that one!

As I'm looking at these pictures commenting I just realized that Brooklyn should not be sharing a cup with sick Ethan. I've been saying all day how I hope she doesn't get sick and look at that! I think I just won mother of the year award for that one!

This is the only sunshine we saw today; and it wasn't out for very long!

Three cold, tired, sick, and grumpy kids. Ready to go home!

A nice spread for the hungry guys!

Bryn Keck (tuff guy Andy's wife) who came with her 5 kids. She's a trooper!

The boys being silly. The two boys on the end are two of Bryn and Andy's boys.

Love silly faces

Look at Ethan! So cute!

Briggs is a funny boy! That boy loves to play ball!

This afternoon for dinner we planned to eat around 3 and share Thanksgiving dinner via skype with Jodi (Cory's sister) and her family in Texas. So we brought our computer in the dining room and we prayed, and talked and ate together. It was a lot of fun! The kids loved it! We loved it! It was the next best thing to not being with family!

Ethan, still not feeling great. Talking to cousins.

My family talking to the Palumbo family!

Here they are! What we were seeing!

Thanks for sharing Thanksgiving with us! We love you guys!

November happenings

Well, we've had a busy month as I'm sure most of you have had.

A little on Ethan! He is thoroughly enjoying preschool twice a week. He is in a wonderful class taught by my friend Erika. He hasn't done too well in the past when I had to drop him as he clings to me and wants me to stay with him; though he loves it when he is there and I've gone. Finally one day last week I decided to try something new and I ask Briggs if he would take Ethan up to the door. Briggs walked him up to the door and it worked; he walked right in. And that silly little boy decided that the next preschool he wanted to walk in by himself. It was a total metamorphous from the previous week; we were so excited for him and were sure to tell him all the time. He loved that! He walked in and announced to his teacher "I walked in all by myself today!" She said he was so proud!

Cory and I have really seen him grow and mature these past few weeks and we really feel that preschool has given him a new level of confidence. His teacher says that he loves his classmate Gabriella and likes to sit by her any chance he can get and she really likes him as well. He will also sit by Gabriella's brother Joshua, though his teacher says she is his first choice. He does a great job coloring and participating in class and he loves Thursday's show and tell! He usually brings his motorbike and race cars! The boy loves anything with speed! This past Monday during Family Home Evening Cory was teaching the boys about why we celebrate Thanksgiving and Ethan kept saying, "I learned that in preschool!" He likes to be the leader because he gets to be the helper for the day and bring and pass out snacks, hold the flag for the pledge of allegiance, feed the fish, as well as other fun "leader" activities. Here are a few pictures from his class.

(I hope Erika doesn't mind that I snatched them from her blog so I could share them with family and friends! There are a few from the end of last month as well)

From a safety lesson they did on fire

(Ethan came home and showed me "Stop, Drop, and Roll")

All dressed up for their Halloween party!

Our little Jack Sparrow who refused to wear anything but the shirt!

Playing store. Ethan brought little candy pumpkins to sell. The kids were very excited!

Painting!

Here is Ethan in the tub lining up all of the rubber duckies and toys!

One day Ethan came in wearing this. Cowboy boots, his Boise State football pants, a summer shirt over a white shirt and his soccer medal! Love it!!!

So cute!

We sure love this little boy!

On to Brooklyn. She is what we lovingly refer to as our Precious Little Spitfire! Boy that girl knows what she wants and she talks non-stop! We are in trouble. She is so much fun and such a bright little girl. It is quite amazing how much personality is packed into such a small body; Cory and I often marvel at that and laugh when that big personality manifests itself (which is often) and usually at a decibel 10 as well! She loves to be the center of attention and people often tell us that she just walks around like she knows what she is doing and where she is going and boy does she! She is constantly on the go and into everything! What a fun little girl that we absolutely adore! So, having said that, here is what she is up to these days!

Yep! Coloring with blue marker all over the wall. I usually have them up high but one slipped from view and she got ahold of it! So did her mouth and arms! Thankfully it came off the wall and off of her quite easily!

Giving loves to her baby doll. I love these pictures because she not only has great bed-head, but she is also wearing her silver shoes! The girl LOVES shoes and requests to put them on first thing in the morning. She also has her favorites and will baulk if you try to put one on that she doesn't want to wear. Already a fashion guru!

Love the bed head and cute little dimple!

Tonight she was really on one and talking up a storm and being so funny so I wanted to try and capture a few of the Brooklyn moments!

See what I'm talking about! Sass! The girl has Sass!!

Decibel 10!! Seriously, we need to work on this one!

She loves reading her books and being read to!

And those big brown eyes just melt our hearts!

Last, but certainly not least! Briggs. Boy is he growing up! He impresses us on a daily basis. He gets up and gets dressed, makes his bed, brushes his teeth, eats healthy (because he wants to), does his homework without being prompted, is a great helper, and such a good boy! I have been trying to do some more preschool activities with him. So this past week we made play dough....

...and built a volcano

...that he later painted and then then we did our experiment with the baking soda and vinegar. The boys loved it and did it about 4 times! It was really fun!