Snowy & Icy Everywhere

It snowed all day yesterday and by last night we had freezing rain, I have never been in freezing rain before and this is how things looked this morning.

This is our street, from far away it looks like it should
after about 6 or so inches of snow.

But if you get closer here is what it looks like after James
stepped in the snow coming home from work. You can see
the layer of ice on top of the snow, and how it cracked from his foot.

This is the tire track from the SUV this morning,
amazing how it cracked everywhere, looks like
broken glass.

The hood of our car covered in snow & ice I have

never seen it like this.

This is our tiny backyard but you can

see we got tons of snow.

James said it took him 20-30 minutes to scrap the windows this morning before he could come home from work. This is the time of year we wish we had a garage big enough that our SUV could fit in, but our garage is so tiny the SUV won't fit in. It sounds like we could have wintery weather thru the week hopefully we can finish last minute things for Christmas! Everyone in Oregon be safe on the ice.

Making Candy!!!

James' dad makes candy every holiday season and we love getting it, I have always wanted to try making some but have never attempted to. Until this year, while at my friend Sarah's house she showed me how she melts chocolate and dips different things. So I asked if I could borrow her fun pampered chef pot so I could try making candy with the kids. She said yes and gave me some melting chocolate also.(Thank You Sarah) So on one of the afternoons this past week that the kids have been home "snowed in" we made simple trail mix clusters. They have been a huge hit around here and I have determined I need one of these pots! We are experimenting with all kinds of things we can dip in chocolate. It has been very fun!


The kids making their own pieces of candy!

Olivia getting just the right amount for a piece of candy.

Will not caring how big the pieces are!

*Also a side note we are going onto a week of snow storms and school was cancelled all week and just got a call church is canceled for the 2nd Sunday in a row tomorrow.*

Snowy Day In Oregon!

When we moved to Oregon we thought we were leaving the snow behind us, but obviously we were wrong! We are enjoying a quiet day at home, we got a call that church was cancelled today. We had heard that when it does snow it is a big deal here and people get very worried about the snow. But the difference with this snow is we are not going to get above freezing all week so the ice under the snow is going to be awful. Part of our ward is up in the hills so church was cancelled so they didn't have to try to get down an icy hill to get to church. We let the kids go out for a little bit and Madalynn loved it, she wanted to be wherever Olivia & Will were. We didn't have snow boots for her so she wore her tennis shoes and they got solid ice on the bottom then snow packed. I have never seen shoes do that, when she came in the house she was slipping all over the floor in the kitchen like she was ice skating.(if you click on the picture for a close up I think you can see her shoes)


Madalynn all bundled up and loving the snow!


All 3 of them playing in the front yard.

Reindeer Dust!

Expecting a visit from Santa?
Here is a recipe I have found.
It is a special reindeer food
You sprinkle on the ground.
The oatmeal is for energy,
The sparkles are for flight,
So sprinkle the reindeer food
On Christmas Eve night!
All of Santa's reindeer
Love this healthy snack,
Next year Santa and his reindeer
Surely will be back!

My mother-in-law sent this cute poem and reindeer food for the kids to sprinkle on the ground on Christmas Eve night. I think it is such a cute idea I had to pass it along!

The World Today

Today I had an experience that I never thought I would have. I have been thinking about our country today and everything that is going on and feeling very sad about it, later on I was reading a friends blog and saw pictures of the protests that are going on around the temples. This made me a little upset at how they are acting and treating our religion and the members, so I decided to close the website and try to think of better things such as what a wonderful thing our temples are and be thankful for having them. Then late this afternoon James, the kids, and I went to the store to grab something for dinner, James just ran in and the kids and I stayed in the car. As we pulled up in front of us there was a group of 10 - 12 teenagers/ young adults some were smoking and others were acting not very appropriately so was a little uneasy to begin with. I opened my window to get some air and could hear them talking, around this time I heard them discover our license plates were from Utah. A couple of them came up to the front of our car and held up a book and started to mockingly read from it, I heard them say Alma so I looked up to see that he held The Book Of Mormon. I could tell he was trying to get a reaction from me and this bothered me but what scared me was he was inching towards my open window. I proceeded to close my window and try to ignore them, at this point I hadn't shown really any interest I was trying to get them to stop focusing on me. It is the first time I felt scared that something might happen and praying that nothing would happen and for James to get back to the car. James was soon back and they said some stuff to him but he ignored them and we were on our way. But I was left thinking was this connected to everything going on in CA? It is a very unsettling time right now and I am sad for those who feel they need to act the way they do.

Happy Birthday Olivia!

Happy Birthday to my 9 year old! This is the 3rd time I have tried to leave this post for some reason the pictures will not go in the order I want them to and it is just frustrating me so I am leaving them all jumbled. Olivia ended up having a birthday week (almost) We started on Saturday Nov. 1st by going to Chuck E. Cheese the kids had tons of fun and Olivia loved opening her presents! Then we had a movie night at home and we had so much fun as a family. Then Sunday Nov. 2nd ( her actual birthday) we went to church and she was excited for her teachers to say Happy Birthday, we then came home and had her favorite dinner, homemade maccaroni & cheese. Then we sang Happy Birthday and ate birthday cake. Then on Tuesday Nov. 4th we took a treat to school for her and her class, and then we went to Chevy's for dinner that night. Chevy's was so good, we waited until Tuesday because kids eat free and Olivia got a coupon for a free meal in the mail so all the kids were free. So that ended her birthday activities but she is so excited to be 9!

Olivia and the doll she got from us, Grandpa &
Grandmother Chadwick gave her a scooter to go
with the doll. Will & Madalynn gave her Connect 4
and Grandpa & Grandma Hanson gave her a
Hannah Montana shirt(which she was so excited about).

Her and the sombrero she got from Chevy's.

Olivia & her friend from school Angela.

Super Family!!!!!

We loved doing the theme costumes last year so this year the kids were a Super Family, Superman and 2 Super Girls. Everyone loved the costumes and the kids had so much fun.
We went to a shopping center to trick or treat, then to our ward party then back to our neighborhood for some more candy! We had a very busy night and we were all tired by the end, even Madalynn was exhausted. She walked almost the whole night at the end daddy carried her from house to house but she would insist on getting her pumpkin and walking to the door for her candy, she was very cute about it.


All 3 Supers!

Our Super Girls!

Our very own Superman!

At the shopping center getting candy.

We have so much candy we will most likely throw some away.

Will's Hair

On Halloween we went trick or treating to a shopping center and it was very crowded but very fun! Will's hair got the most comments, they kept asking is that a wig or his real hair? Of course it is his real hair we sprayed black, which he loved it to go with his costume and we think it really made the costume.

Close up of the black haired Will.

This was in the tub that night trying to get it out, I am not sure if you can see it but there are black drops of water on the shower wall behind him.

This is James washing his hair it took 5 washes that night to get it all out, and 1 more the next morning just to make sure. The whole tub was so black we were all laughing at how much black there was.

Lee Farms

We went to Lee Farms Pumpkin Patch and we had a wonderful day! The kids loved going and we are excited every year to go to a pumpkin patch. This one was so fun we went on a hay ride, petted the animals, Olivia & Will got their faces painted, and went on a few rides. The kids loved it all and we did too. Madalynn has a close encounter with a cow in the petting zoo, I wasn't there but James said it nipped her hand when she wasn't looking and it really freaked her out and wouldn't go by the cows anymore.

This was one of the rides the kids went on, they loved it!

We made the mistake of having the sun in our eyes so not the best picture, but it is a rare occurance that I am in pictures so here is one to show I am there just usually behind the camera.

Fall Is Officially Here!

I just love this time of year! The color from the trees is just beautiful.

This is a picture down the street we live on it was so pretty but now the leaves are about 1/2 way off or turning more brown. The kids love the leaves on the ground.

Free Handbag!!!!

Check this out. www.handbagplanet.com They are giving away 1 free bag every hour for 24 hours on October 15th. Just put your name and email and pick what bag you want.

Good Luck Everyone!

My Curtains!

My curtains are finally done! It only took us a little over 3 months to get curtains hung. First off we have a very unusual size sliding door, it is a sliding door and then a small window above it. So I already had the valance(I made it years ago in Stockton, but still love it!) So I went on a search for curtains to match, found every shade of green but none that matched well enough. So I mentioned this to my friend Sarah and she volunteered to help me make them. So off to Joanns we went and picked the fabric and ordered it. So now I have wonderful curtains and we are so excited! Thank You Sarah!

These are the 2 fabrics that I used, the flash made the color look a little funny oh well.

Headbands Aplenty!

Our silly little girl found infant headbands and REALLY wanted me to put them on her!

She is so funny when she sets her mind to something and she has played with these things non stop, although putting them on makes her say OW sometimes.(they are pretty little and according to Uncle Matt she has the Hanson big head :) ) I just thought it was so cute that she had all 3 headbands on.

My Baby Is 2!!!!

I can not believe Madalynn is 2 today, it seems like time went by so quickly and other times more slowly. This little one is so different from my other 2, she has attitude like you wouldn't believe and the funnest personality. We have never had to baby proof our home before but with Madalynn I am on the verge of baby proofing. She doesn't get into everything but enough that we might need to baby proof. She is the 1st one who chooses to go to me just as much as James(the other 2 would always choose James over anybody else) and I love having her snuggle up to me on the couch at night when James is at work. We are so grateful to have her in our lives we love her so much!

I am excited to post this, I am giving it a go and trying to make a small business from home. I am excited for some sales that are coming up here and we will see if I can make this successful. Thanks to Evaly for help on this great business card! If you know of anyone interested tell them to call me or email me!

Our Itty Bitty Warrior

Madalynn went to a preschool at Aloha High School, their mascot is the warriors.( hence the name of her class) We were worried about her because she doesn't like to leave us and won't go to nursery without screaming. The class was just over 3 hours and she has 3 High school buddies with her every Wed. They said she cried and was nervous at first but got better as the time went on we are so excited for her.

They told us to bring a comfort object to help the adjustment, so she got her Blankie.

Warm & Cozy!

Madalynn is such a character sometimes, I was just telling my mom that she has more attitude than Olivia & Will but together! This coat was her winter coat last year and it made me smile to think of her wearing it at Temple Square for the christmas lights. She couldn't put her arms down the coat was so puffy and it reminded me of the kid in A Christmas Story! Anyway it still fits this year and while trying it on she got away from me and was giggling with it on. The funny thing is the bare legs sticking out of a winter coat and the coat is still very puffing and must be heavier than her she tipped as she walked. The coat was making her top heavy so she couldn't walk straight we all laughed which made her laugh. She is such a fun little girl but she is starting her terrible 2 stage, I can't believe my baby is turning 2.

Their 1st Day Of School!

I can't believe I have 2 kids in school now, they both were so excited to get up and go to school! Will is in AM kindergarten and will get to ride the bus to school with Olivia and then they both come home separately. Will said today was the best day he was so cute and happy. Olivia also came home super happy and excited about the 3rd grade.

The kids before leaving the house this morning.

As usual the school was so crazy the 1st day we had to park a little bit away and walk to the school. The kids loved seeing all the other kids walking to school also.

The kids outside of the school, and yes they have coats on it was 51 degrees this morning when school started but by this afternoon it had warmed up to the 80s.

Even Madalynn was excited this is on our walk over to get Will off the bus. She was so excited she kept saying wheel which of course is how she says Will. Since starting to walk a little while back she has started to get a very independent streak and she also has been a little grumpy 2 year molars are coming in. I very rarely get a good picture of her these days, she sees the camera and looks away or down and says cheese, it is very cute but frustrating to not see her face. Oh well, we love the personality she is getting.

Cobble Beach

On our 1st trip to the coast we went to Cobble Beach.

Where the sand is supposed to be there were all these rocks. It was really cool but even harder to walk on than sand.

Madalynn loved playing with the rocks while the older kids looked at the tide pools.

James, Olivia, and Will heading to another part of the tide pools.

The kids loved the tide pools looking at all the sea life. This is also where Will got the rock in his foot. We are so excited to go back and see it again.

Hello or Hawoow

Madalynn is so funny about the phone, she calls it a Hawoow(her hello) and loves to walk around the house with play phones or our cell phones (which are locked) and talk to it. The funniest thing is that I let her talk to Grandma Hanson and Aunt Heather and when I took it away she was so mad that she couldn't have it anymore she starts saying Hawoow in a whining voice so it drags out the woow. This phone was at a museum we went to and we couldn't get her to leave we had to drag her away crying.

Cape Disappointment

First off not sure why it is called Cape Disappointment, we took the kids up to Astoria and went across this cool bridge and then we were in Washington and we ended up at this cove at Cape Disappointment it was very cool, we did not anticipate it being warm enough to go in the water but by the end of the day James, Olivia, and Will were soaked head to foot. Luckily we brought a change of clothes for everyone. The kids got to play in the sand and Madalynn even let them bury her in sand up to her waist. We had a blast and have decided to make it a yearly tradition to go to the beach the week before school starts.