San Diego-Taste of Spring!

We went down to San Diego around Valentine's day this year to say goodbye to Sara.  She was leaving on her mission to Guatemala so all of the sibilings and their families gathered into the Hansen house for a few days to spend time with her before she left.  She is such an amazing missionary and we are so grateful for her awesome example!  While we were down there we took Jenna to Sea World for the first and second time.  She LOVED it!  She got to ride on some of the kid rides in the Sesame Street land, pet a couple of dolphins, hold some starfish, and see lots of cool animals.  Shamu had a baby while we were there so we didn't see the Shamu show but we did get to see Shamu, Shamu's family, and the brand new baby orca whale.  The beluga whale exhibit was closed so we will look forward to seeing those and the Shamu show next time we go.  Jenna had a lot of fun playing in Grandma and Grandpa Hansen's yard, hanging out in the hot tub and around the pool, playing with Roxy and Daisy (she loved the dogs), and running around and playing with her cousins. We had such a nice, fun, relaxing, warm trip!  We are Happy we are Hansens Yesiree!

Christmas

Christmas was a lot of fun! Jenna was really into everything this year.  We made gingerbread houses, read lots of Christmas stories, learned about the nativity, learned about Santa Claus, went to see the lights at temple square, made and delivered neighbor gifts, wrapped a lot of presents together, etc.  Jenna has made up a lot of new Christmas songs, mostly about baby Jesus, Mary Joseph, and the donkey. :)  We have one of them that she sand to us before bed on Christmas eve. She is so smart and adorable! She got a polly pocket house, her first barbies, some magnetic puzzles, her very own nail polish and more!  Christmas with a toddler is the most fun Christmas has ever been!

Jenna is three!

Jenna turned three last week and seems to have extra energy ever since!  Her birthday was a lot of fun because she totally knew what was going on.  She got a lot of fun presents and we went to the library and out for ice cream on her actualy birthday.  And then on Saturday we had a family party. We colored Mickey Mouse Clubhouse pictures and she had a Minnie Mouse cake per her request.  It was a lot of fun! 

Some fun facts about Jenna at this age are that she has an amazing memory! She is SO smart.  If you teach/tell her something once she seems to remember it forever.  She is very obedient and good at listening to us.  She has an awesome imagination.  She is really good at 'pretend play'.  She loves to tell stories and have us tell stories to her also, especially when we are driving somewhere.  She really likes going to the library.  She loves to read.  Some of her favorite things right now are anything to do with Mickey Mouse Clubhouse and she really likes the Fancy Nancy books.  The winter cold weather has arrived but during the summer she loved being outside! She really likes hiking, 'rock climbing (she likes to climb on any rock or boulder she sees), swimming, boating, swinging and going down slides, including big water slides on Mommy's or Daddy's lap.  She is such a sweet, silly, smart, fun, amazing little girl! Happy Birthday Jenna!

Yellowstone Pics

Yellowstone

We had the Bedells at our house for about a week before the Yellowstone family reunion which was a blast! We made bubble blowing devices, went to Seven Peaks a couple of time, went bowling, and more! It was fun to spend time with them because they live the farthest away so we don't get to see them very often. Our trip to Yellowstone was for the Donald and Carol Hansen family reunion, so Andrew's Aunts and Uncles and cousins were all there. We were missing only a handful of people. It was a great turn out and we had a lot of fun! We went b.b collecting at Margie and Terry's cabin (the kids collected airsoft gun b.b.'s in plastic cups. Some of the kids and I decorated a Christmas tree in the woods with flowers and b.b.'s. :) Sadie, Makaylee and Jenna had a lot of fun catching butterflys around our cabin. We also did makeovers, played games, went fishing, river rafting, on a hike, and of course drove through Yellowstone! We all got up and left by 5:30 am and followed Uncle Brian's itinerary. Our goal was to see a bear. And we did! We saw a grizzly! He was super far away so it just looked like a blob but he turned a certain way while I was looking through the binoculars and I could the outline of his ears and head. So then I believed it really was a bear!

Flaming Gorge!

We went down to Flaming gorge with the Hughes clan (minus Greg) and we had SO much fun! It was beautiful down there! The natural landscapes around us were constantly changing dramatically, it was a fascinating drive. And there were so many beautiful red rock mountains surrounding us in certain parts of flaming gorge, floating down the river through the red rock canyon was especially beautiful. (Red rock is my favorite). It was just a quick trip but we made every second count! We fished, went boating, floated down the green river, played games, ate A LOT and had loads of fun! Jenna was fearless! She LOVES the water! She went tubing with us, was always asking to get out of the boat and swim, and even jumped off the boat into the lake into my arms when we had stopped the boat and were taking a swim break. She sure is one brave little fishy! Oh, and how cool are Grandma and Grandpa Hughes doing tricks on the water skiis!?

Camping!

We have a very busy summer this year which is so much fun! We have been going to Seven Peaks Waterpark a lot.  Playing with friends, going camping, and we have a lot of fun trips planned for the rest of the summer too. Andrew replaced our roof too! It was a huge job!  His fchildhood friend Levi and his family came down to help.  The men roofed and the ladies and kids played, cooked and shopped. :) Good times! Here are some pics from our first camping trip of the summer.  We went with four families that are our friends that also enjoy camping and canoeing.  We went to Palisades State Park and it was so much fun!  They had a really nice lake and a beach which makes for lots of fun in the sun!