Happy 1st Birthday Allie!!!

I can't believe how fast the time flies! I am now one of those mom's who will chime in and say, "I can't believe she's already one." I now get how people blink and their kids are heading off to college-time goes too fast. Allie, what a joy you have brought into me and dad's life. One cute thing dad does is that whenever mom get's honorary, dad just goes to get you because he knows the happiness you bring into my life. I have mixed emotions on this day because I am so happy for all the great times we've had and have to look forward to, but I am so sad my baby is growing up. Compiling all your pictures for this video has brought me to tears because this last year has been wonderful and there have been so many great memories. The best part is that life just keeps getting better and better. Thank you for being such a great baby!!! Here's to you Al!

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1st Camping Trip-SUCCESS!

Allie made it!!! I am so proud of this little trouper. We had our first over night camping experience in a tent, with freezing temperatures, and we all survived and actually slept well. We left Friday morning to head up to Stanley to set up camp. We found a great camp site at Stanley Lake right on the water with had a beautiful view of the Sawtooth Mountains.

I think within 5 minutes of us pulling up and unloading Allie she was covered in dirt and black from head to toe. She loved the dirt, sticks, rocks, wild life; everything was new and open and she was soaking it all up. Katie, Rod, and Cam joined us later for dinner that night and spent the night at our camp site in a neighboring tent.

Saturday morning we packed our day with adventures all over Stanley. We made breakfast at our campsite and cleaned up camp. We then headed over to Redfish Lake where we lounged around on the beach for a bit while the kids soaked in some rays and played in the water. I just love that lake and the views of the mountains that you get of the Sawtooths. Following Red Fish we visited the fish hatchery, the Visitor Center, ate dinner at our new favorite cafe in Stanley, and drove back home. We again stopped at Kirkham Hot Springs to relax on our way home. You can't beat paying $3 for the family to get in to swim. We are having a great time exploring Idaho and our so lucky we have so many fun things to do in our "backyard."

Sticks were Allie's new favorite toy on this trip

I just love this photo-I don't even know what she was looking at

Blake and I left Allie in her car seat while we went to put up the tent-we came to check on her and she had gotten into the potato chip bag and was devouring them

Nothing like playing in the black charcoal pit-It was hard to keep her out of this pit, she loved it!

Cam and Allie in "their" chairs for the weekend

Cutie Pie

The view from our campground in the morning. Everyone is all bundled to stay warm from the freezing temperatures ( I know it doesn't look that cold, but it was)

Future rock climbers


Redfish Lake

A nice rock pile Blake made for Allie. Her other new favorite toy on the trip-rocks!

A FIRST IN THE TUB!!!!

Well I thought we might have missed this experience with Allie and the tub. Blake and I were both in the bathroom bathing Allie when she started to pass a lot of gas. Blake and I were cracking up and that threw Allie into a laugh with us. I decided to throw in a load of laundry and left the tub for a brief second. Well I wasn't gone but a few minutes when I returned to find Allie sitting in the tub with this, and Blake sitting by just playing with Allie. Both were oblivious to the water's new particles. We were all laughing at this great experience with floaters. Gotta love it!

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

I was in the middle of making dinner, and looked out my kitchen window to find this beautiful rainbow. I was in ahhh. I ran to get the camera to capture this before it disappeared. Blake and Allie were both taking a naps at the time this storm came through on Sunday afternoon, so I had pictures for them to enjoy when they woke up :) I love the simple things in life that bring me joy!

Michigan Trip

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Well I have to admit I have fallen behind with posting blogs. Allie and I went on a trip to visit my Mom's family in Upper Michigan, which is in the middle of no where. I don't think anyone in the small town owned a computer and so I had no internet access for 9 days. So for our adventures to Iron River Michigan, here is a recap of our trip. (Don't be bored by reading my recap, it's for my own personal interest that I wanted things recorded.)

Day 1: We arrived in Minneapolis, MN where we met up with Lara and the kids at our hotel around 1 a.m. Our plane was late arriving due to thunderstorms at the Denver Airport which is where we had a connecting flight from.

Day 2: Due to a short rest we got up and hit the Mall of America. For those who haven't been here, the mall has about any store that you want to shop in, including the Nestle Tollhouse Store, a Peanut Butter Store with any flavor of peanut butter you could imagine and many more. We hit the amusement park for the kids which takes up the entire center of the mall. The kids had a blast here, especially Adam. He was very brave for a 4 year old; wanting to ride everything. The only ride Allie was allowed on was the carousel, which she rode with me standing by. After a morning at the mall, we hit the road for our 5 hour car trip to Michigan in our mini van and the dark. The night driving was not a good combination for my sister and I who are blind as can get in the dark. Let's just say it took us way to long to drive 15 miles, trying to watch for deer jumping our of the forest and illusions on the newly paved highway.

Day 3: I quickly discovered that I was foolish for not bringing Allie's pack n' play with us because the first night sleeping at my grandma's was miserable. I wasn't sure how Allie was going to attempt to take naps either. Allie loves her own space, so something had to change. Well since my grandma's small town did not have any store which carried a pack n'play, we packed up the kids and headed off to Iron Mountain, an hour drive away. This was our closest Wal-Mart and I was so excited to find something familiar. I found my pack-n-play and Allie was a happy camper.

Day 4: We visited my Great Aunt Mary, which would be Allie's Great Great Aunt Mary, who is 92. She is still living at home and is the most blunt person that I have ever met. Here is a tribute to her with some of her quotes that were said on our trip.

Mary to everyone "I'm filling my pants."
Mary to Lara "Do you fill your pants?"

Mary to Adam, "If you're Adam, where's Eve?"

Mary to me, "I hate that pink shirt."

Mary to Adam, "Go ask your mom if I can have a piece of chocolate cake."
Adam's Response, "You have to wait till after dinner."

Mary (after eating a plate full of manicotti) "I hate manicotti."

Mary to me, "You are crazy for wanting 6 kids."

Mary to Allie, "You look like Skeezic."

Mary to anonymous, "You've gained weight haven't you? You're fat!"

I know this is probably not comical to everyone, but for me and my sister these quotes bring back great memories of our Aunt, which I needed to have recorded down somewhere.

Day 5: My mom's sister Chris and her husband Terry arrived from Wisconsin. The kids were so excited to have a male father figure in the house. Especially Uncle Terry, who is a playful, ruff, guy. He was so brave and walked with Adam and Ainsley up to the store to buy them treats. The girls stayed back and just visited with one another. The real reason Terry had to leave the house was because it was hotter inside the house than it was outside. We couldn't convince my grandma to turn on the air conditioner. My sister and I couldn't figure out how to turn it on either. It ended up being a great day despite just hanging out in Iron River.

Day 6: Probably my favorite day of all if I had to pick. We drove 1.5 hours North to my mom's other sister's house in Marquette, MI. I love this little town, it sits right on Lake Superior. After we arrived we hung around at my Aunt's beauty shop while my mom received a French manicure and got her ear's cleaned out. My mom's ear cleaning was the craziest thing that I have ever seen. My Aunt stuck these bamboo type sticks inside my mom's ear and lit the top on fire. This created suction somehow and pulled the wax out of the ear into this stick. It was interesting and quited disgusting. I was curious to know how much wax I had built up inside my ears. After all of the adventures at the beauty shop, my sister and I went to Lake Superior with the kids while my mom, grandma, and Aunt went shopping. My sister and I had such a relaxing and enjoyable time at the beach.

Day 7: This was the day prior to leaving to drive back to Minneapolis. We just bummed around Iron River all day. We wanted to go back and visit with Aunt Mary but she was taken up to the hospital for a chest x-ray. She had gotten a fever and a cough that got progressively worse. She ended up being transfered out of the small town hospital to a larger one 3 hours away. (Good move because they had misdiagnosed her at the small town hospital)

Day 8: We left early in the morning to drive back to Minneapolis. We visited the Mall of America one more time so we could actually do a little shopping this time. We also visited an aquarium that was in the mall too. I couldn't believe that I paid $18 to get in. It was impressive, but a very short tour through the aquarium. I was glad Allie ended up getting in for free. The aquarium was known for their shark exhibit. It was pretty cool because the aquarium went over our heads so there were sharks, stingrays, and fish swimming all around us. At the end their was an area where the kids could touch stingrays and sharks. Great adventures at the Mall of America. This would be a great place to take an "all girls trip."

Day 9: We flew home to Boise on two uneventful flights. We had such a great time in Michigan, but were so excited to see Dad. We missed you!

Settler's Park

Another fun thing we did while the Hansen Gang was here was a picnic at Settler's Park. Most of the Boisean's know about this park; it's a great park with water fountains and great playground equipment. As you can see all the kids had a blast in the water and on the playground. The one nice thing is there is a little playground off to the side for smaller kids, which Allie loved exploring.

Jane and Warren having fun in the water

Allie's first time climbing through a tunnel

Natalia and Lilia trying to bring the babies down the slide

Allie having a blast on the miniature playground

These swings are hilarious. I just had to put Allie in one and take her picture.

Red Fish Lake

We took a trip up to Redfish Lake with Blake's brother Scott and his family when they were up from Utah visiting a couple weekends ago. I haven't been there since I was a little girl; and for all those Idahoans out there, this is a must!!!

We took a boat across the lake to a trail accessible only by hiking in or by taking a boat across the lake. It was a couple miles in that we ended up hiking. Allie traveled the whole way via the ride on dad's back. We packed a lunch and ate on our way in. We passed through a place called "Garden of the God's" which had huge boulders all over. Our final destination was a place named "Flat Rock." It was a river which was literally made up of flat rocks. You could actually slide down the river as if it were a water slide because the rocks were so flat and slick.

To top the day off we went to Kirkham hot springs on the way home. Allie thought this was a huge bathtub and loved it. What also made these hot springs unique was the river running next to it. You could jump off these big rocks into the river and float downstream to the hot springs. Blake and I both jumped into the river which took my breath away because it was so cold. I used to love that kind of stuff, but for some reason now that I am a mom, I'm a chicken. It's harder to do the riskier stuff knowing you have a family.

The great view of the Sawtooths

Allie and the cousins on a lunch break

The gang for a group photo at "Garden of the Gods"

Scott "sliding" down slick rock

Me and my girl!

Blake and Allie in the big "bath tub" hot springs