"You is Awesome!"

No, this typically not how I speak! ;)

Anders and Madelin had played in the first snow of the season earlier in the day...

Later that day Anders wanted to go back outside; he had his boots on and gloves and was ready to go. He asked me where I got his boots from and I told him, "the store." He quickly exclaimed, "You is awesome!!" I then explained to him that it was too cold to go out and that it was going to be dark. He was quite disgruntled by this, so I told him I would bring the snow inside for he and Madelin to play with.

My little man all decked out in his snow gear. The duo enjoying the snow! Later in the day... Mad's snow creation, with an addition of yellow and blue food coloring. Anders' pile, pretty much untouched. He enjoyed eating it instead! :)

Fourth of July Fun

I'm not going to ramble on and on because I've posted alot of pictures from our Fourth of July weekend. Most years I'm doing good if the kids are wearing anything "Fourth of Julyish" on the fourth but since I've had more time to be crafty, the kids were all decked out in red, white and blue. To make Anders' shirt, I bought the shirt from Target and used the freezer paper technique to create the stars. Madelin and Anders were more than willing to help me paint them on...needless to say, I had to be VERY patient with both of them without losing it!!

Madelin's shirt was made using fabric scraps, Pellon Wonder Under, I sewed around each piece and finished the star off with white floss. I found this tutorial and HAD to make a skirt for Madelin. It's called the Simple Skirt but it took me 2 hours to make it, but it was well worth the time because I was really happy with the way it turned out. After all that hardwork and time, Mad didn't want to wear it on the fourth...oh well! I made these flip-flop pom-poms with yarn; I made them by refering to a Martha Stewart clip-out from a few years ago. Again, Madelin didn't want to wear them. 1 out of 3 not bad, right? ;) Now onto the lake (the weekend before the fourth)...Anders chowing down on "who knows what!" Looking for fish in the stream. A fish in the lake! Needless to say, after 6 hours of playing in the lake, Madelin took a long nap (which doesn't happen much anymore)! My favorite boys enjoying (?) the lake. Yes, Chris does eat!! ;)

On the fourth...the "Hansen Duo" in their shirts. Notice how Madelin is skirtless? And notice how Anders really doesn't like to have his picture taken? Can we say stubborn? I wonder who they get that from! :)Fun with sparklers...

Good times! :)

Hope You Had a Happy Easter!!

I hope your Easter was as wonderful as our's was! Here are some of the things I made for Easter, as well as some pictures from the day. :) I found these adorable bags here and thought that they would be really easy to make. They were fairly easy to make but sewing with ribbon is still not a favorite of mine. My mom gave me a bunny mold from when we were kids...fill it with a rice krispy bar recipe add black gel for eyes and whiskers and a jellybean nose and you've got one tasty little bunny. I made the tags on Photoshop. I made one for the kids' Easter basket and gave one to each of our bible study friends'. I found this Peeps Bunny Bunting here. I love how it's so bright and cheery! :)

Now for some Easter day pictures...don't mind the fact that they are in backwards order.

Madelin showing off her Easter egg findings.

Madelin sharing an egg with her brother...I'm sure this won't be the case every year!!! ;)

The Hansen fam all gussied up for church!

My favorites! :) Anders checking out what the Easter bunny brought him (with Madelin's help, of course). Madelin lining up her Easter basket treasures. Madelin and I dyeing eggs, while Anders napped. :) We're not quite ready for help from an almost 2-year-old!

Say "Cheese"

I've been working hard on making our Christmas stockings and hope to have them done within the next few days, so until then I don't have any crafts or decorating ideas to post. I thought it would be fun to post some photos from our recent family photo session. We were lucky enough to have a few good ones to chose from for our Christmas card. And then there were some that just made me laugh or smile (you know, the photos that truly portray what really happens at those photo sessions). Enjoy!! Madelin posing on the slightly-too-small rocking horse; she HAD to pose on it.

This just screams, "DISASTER!!!!" Luckily, all ended well! :)

We thought "Buddy" could "help" Anders smile and cooperate. Wishful thinking!

One of my favorites of the "Hansen duo."

And then there's this one! I think to myself, "Is this photo session really that horrible, Anders?"

I enjoy this one, too. That little boy ADORES his sister.

This sums it all up...Anders was not enjoying being photographed (if that wasn't already obvious). And then there's Madelin who loved the spotlight! You've got to love it! :)