Just because....

I think my daughters are beautiful.

Happy Fall

Not that you would know it was fall with the warm weather we have been having, but I think technically, mid-October should be considered fall.

Earlier this week, Grace met up with her friends at Bates Nut Farm. Pretty much the only thing other than visiting casinos that Valley Center has to offer as far as entertainment/recreation. People from all over San Diego county flock here during the month of October, causing traffic to complain about, becuase it is a superior pumpkin patch. I never really ever went to the pumpkin patches that get set up in the Wal Mart parking lot, but I can imagine this one is much better. I mean the pumpkins are almost in their natural habitat.
Grace really enjoys sitting on the pumpkins. But if you think about it, there isn't a whole lot else to do with a pumpkin.

They did play hide-and-go-seek. Grace found a great hidding place. I think she still works under the "If I can't see you, you must not be able to see me" theory.
Kora managed to find her pretty easily.
When we got home, Grace showed off the pumpkins that my Uncle gave us from his garden. They are just the right size for her and so much fun to have and to hold.


Happy Fall, y'all!

Road trip Part 2

We got to my grandpa's Monday around noon. Grace was so excited to head out to see the animals. Last time we had been up, she had named the newest calf Samuel. Since then, another calf had been born, and he had told her she could name it when she came up. She was super excited. She loves the cows and horses. I took Elizabeth down as well, but she was not nearly as into it as Grace was. Plus the weather was kinda cold and dark, as a rain storm was heading that way. I love taking pictures of Grace and the animals, but holding Elizabeth (who is getting bigger and bigger every day) was rather tricky.

Discussing cow names. She ended up with "Blackie." I bet you will never guess what color the cow is.

Elizabeth slept through most of the tour of the farm. What a party pooper. :)
She did manage to wake up once we got back to the house. She is so smiley, I love it!
My Uncle lives on my grandparents property. He also has the middle name Lee, like Elizabeth, as they were both named after my grandma.

Grace may very well be my grandpa's biggest fan. She loves talking to him and following him around. And let's just say that the playoffs in baseball don't slow her down one bit.
During dinner my grandpa took Elizabeth, who was restless, so I could eat. She feel asleep on his lap, it was super cute!
After dinner my grandpa always has a snack. Grace, like all the other grandkids, was a big fan.
Tuesday morning, it was pouring down rain, so we decided to go ahead and hit the road as early as we could to hopefully miss as much rain traffic as possible.
Regardless of the rain, Grace really wanted to go down to feed the animals. She did, got really wet so she stood by the fire to warm up.
Grandpa gave Grace a piggy bank and some quarters. She thought putting them in, was so fun!
Grandpa and the girls.

Lastly, a ride on the rocking horse before we rode off into the rain. Grace loves that thing.

Road trip Part 1

Last weekend we took a quick trip up to visit my grandpa and introduce him and Elizabeth. We drove half way on Sunday, got to Grandpa's on Monday and came home Tuesday. I think we may have actually spent more time in the car than actually at my grandparents. Elizabeth did great in the car. I brought stuff for Grace to do, so she was okay (although if I have to hear "Father Abraham" one more time, I may scream). I found that the drive is way more pleasant, when you aren't in labor and missing your grandma's funeral. Amazing what a difference that makes.

Our first stop was in Castaic on Sunday night. I had to feed Elizabeth so we went to Starbucks and then picked up a pizza to take to our hotel (which was a few exists north in Labec-in case you are super familiar with the grapevine).



We got to our hotel in time to watch the baseball playoffs. I am not sure who was playing or who won, but Grace found it interesting. Oh, and we didn't have plates so we used the pizza box. That is where the fun in road trips comes, right?
Elizabeth, being the sweet happy baby she is, layed on the bed and smiled. She is such a sweet heart!
Grace found the hair drier to be lots of fun. I don't blame her, I mean, look at that hair! She obviously could use any help she could get. :)
Grace brought her favorite doll, baby Beth along for the ride. And apparently, the blankets make long car rides more fun. Did I mention she spent a lot of time in the car?

Puppy Pictures

As promised, here are a couple pictures of the new puppy.

Grace said she wanted to play Mary had a little lamb with the dog. It worked until the dog saw Oreo, the cat. :)

The dog kept trying to nip at Grace's princess dress, which was bothering her, but not enough to keep her from petting the dog. You can tell she is trying to keep her skirt as far away as possible, while still wanting to reach the dog.

Introducing Miss Daisy

Now I would imagine that most of you are thinking that those Hansons have more than their fare share of animals. A large dog, two cats and five chickens would appear to be more animals than most families of four could use. But then again, what is one more among so many?

We had been talking about getting another dog, ever since the passing of our dog Tess. October seems to be our month for adopting dogs so, we decided to go for it. I was not originally sold on the whole puppy idea, as puppies have a reputation of being a whole lot of work, and I have two kids for that purpose.

Gunnar reminded me of that fact that a) the dog wouldn't be coming in the house, thus eliminating a lot of the classic puppy problems (chewing on shoes and messing on the carpet) and b) he does all the work surrounding the animals anyways c) I barely go outside, so I won't even notice it is there. So enter Daisy, an 8 week old yellow lab puppy. She mostly hangs out with Linus, and since she is outside (or in the garage), she doesn't get in the way. Grace is a fan, of course.

There is the crew the other night while Gunnar bbq'd some steak. This pretty much captures the dynamics. Linus is hoping to snag some steak, Grace is playing in the mud, and Daisy hasn't quite figured out what is going on around here.Not to hyjack Daisy's post, but Tuna is an animal so it sort of fits. I took this picture right after the one above it. Tuna is seriously the nicest cat ever! So sweet and social and WONDERFUL with Grace, he has managed to almost turn me into a cat person. (Notice I said almost) Not only that, but isn't this picture awesome?
I'll post more dog pictures tomorrow.

Smiley baby

Elizabeth has started smiling more and more and it is so incredibly cute. To add to the adorableness, she loves Gunnar's singing. When he starts to sing, she smiles up a storm. I wish I had a video, becuase the pictures don't do her justice.

Here she is at 6 weeks, turning on the charm for her daddy.

Cutest flower girl ever

Saturday night, Grace had the privileged of being the flower girl in a wedding of some friends from church. It really was perfect for her, as it combined all of her favorite elements: wearing a pretty pink dress, having an "important job", being the center of attention, and pink flowers. Sure enough, she loved it!!

See for yourself.

This is the only picture I got of her walking down the isle, as I was in the back waiting with her. Elizabeth was super hungry and sucking on my knuckle, which made taking a picture rather tricky. I was a little jealous of Gunnar, as he got to stand in the front to wait for her, which gave him the much better view. She concentrated very hard on perfect flower petal placement and executed her job flawlessly.
During the ceremony she sat in the front with Gunnar. When the ceremony was over, he was going to let her walk out with him, but she really wanted to make sure she left with the bridal party. So she walked out with the matron of honor.
She really wanted to be hanging out with the bridal party in the back (not with mom and dad). It was super funny, because in typical Grace form, she really didn't think of herself as a little kid, but more of one of the group.
Grace and her friend Silvana. Silvana sits next to us in church most Sundays and is friends with Grace (and me too, of course).
A few more pictures with our favorite girls:

That would be her "I am done taking pictures" face.