every boy needs...

A TREE FORT! When we moved to our house just over 8 years ago, we had dreams for what our home would be. It's takes a lot of time to make your home what you want...as well as money and the perfect situations. It seems each year we tweek a bit more to make it our own. This is one project i was super excited to see come together. Our house came with a bazillion decks and well, one family can only really use one or two :) One morning I found Dave just chain sawing down one of our decks that literally goes untouched. While it made me a bit nervous, he worked away and before I knew it we had a big empty spot where a tall deck once stood. Over the course of a few weeks we gathered some recycled wood and left over paint and after a long day of Dave and Jax working side by side...they finished with one fun little tree fortish area for our boys. Austin loves it and spends a lot of time racing cars and making food in it. It's just off our screen porch where we hang out a lot and has become a perfect addition to our little home. Dave is learning so much with his new job and Jaxon is at an age where he is really becoming helpful in some big ways. I love the new tree fort for many reasons, but most of all because it was built with 4 hands that mean the world to me and they did it together. I don't have a most recent picture, but it is even painted wonderfully and ready for action! Good job Hansen boys!!

remembering

Memorial Day came and went awhile ago, but it was a weekend packed with house projects and remembering. Last year a friend of mine took her kids to the Vets downtown and it looked like a great spot to visit, so I tucked that little information in my head for this year. I just wanted a little something for my kids to do to get a small picture of what Memorial day is and the people we celebrate it for. Living in the USA is such a blessing in so many ways and I am grateful for this land. I want my kids to be proud and feel blessed too. And be thankful to those who have gone before us and still today are living their life to protect our country. 

Dave was tackling a project and Jax was his right hand man, so while Carson napped I took Austin to visit his little buddy's grave-site and then we headed to the Flags flying at the Vets. It was a great little trip with sweet little conversations and well worth the organizing to make happen. Austin wanted to take balloons to Ben's grave and he chose a truck (because he loves trucks), green (his favorite color), and a happy birthday balloon (becasue he loves birthday cake :) for him...and tied them to a caterpillar because Austin has loved that book this last year. I am constantly reminded through my children just how simple faith can be.

The flags are really pretty and we showed up just as they finished a little program, so Austin saw a few vets which was also neat. As we drove home he told me "when I growed up I will be a soldier and live on my farm, but you can see me there". Love, love these little minds and their willingness to dream up their best versions of themselves. And a little one on one time with this guy made for a pretty fun little morning! I left thinking we needed to make that happen a little more too :)

my 11 mth old!

11 months. I can hardly believe it's been almost a full year since we brought this little monkey home. Seems like a blur of days since then and the fact that he will round a corner and be one next month just seems crazy to me. 

Oh Carson baby, what do I say about you... You are FULL of life. You are eager and ready to go and know what you want. You are filled with energy and giggles, yet know you have a voice to be heard. You are persistent and intrigued by the people around you. You are a watcher and notice your surroundings all the time. You love your brothers and they make you laugh so much. You love your blue blanket and will tackle it on the ground to lay your whole body on it. You love the dogs and don't seem to mind them all up in your space. You are traveling everywhere. Climbing on things and pulling yourself up to anything with a little bit of height and cruising along furniture. You stand on your own and seem to be pleased that you can let go and be free. I won't be surprised if you walk soon! Your hair is white blonde and you remind me of your dad's baby pictures. In the middle of roofing and Sturgis Falls, you turned 11 months and these were my quick before bed attempts at some pics of you... Of course, you'd rather chase the dog then sit still, but I suppose we wouldn't recognize you any other way! Happy 11 months Carson baby! We'll be blowing out candles soon!

And one of my favorite pics of Austin is below... this boy and his pets make me smile everyday :)

Lets go for a ride!

just a boy and his pet :)

Foto Friday

It's finally Friday! I love Friday's around here and there is just too much fun to get ready for this weekend with Sturgis Falls in town, but a quick photo today... Austin and his sweet cousin, Hailey. Austin LOVES visiting his cousins on the farm and could be left for days probably and just entertain himself out there. Nothing like a little country life for this boy every now and then! Happy Friday, everyone!

P.S. I love that they both dressed in sweatshirt/turtle neck, shorts, and boots :)

you're the one that I want

My hubs is not big into Mothers/Fathers Day...but I find these designated days a great time to pause anyways and be deeply, quietly, and heart-fully thankful to be given these roles in our journey together. As I spend my day with my kids dad doing nothing too special other then be together at home doing everyday stuff, I find my heart swelling with gratitude that God gave me him and our 3 crazy boys to do life with. Dave has been just what I needed along this journey of almost 12 years together and whether I like it or not at times, he makes me who I am more and more each year. 

Dave has been more then I could have imagined as a dad. Each year he just gets better, like good wine. My boys look up to him so much, they really care what Dad thinks of them, and they copy everything he does. Dave works his tail off to provide for our family in so many ways. He is my go-to guy and the one who deals with this woman's ups and downs, like it or not :) He is full of life, fun, and keeps me on my toes. Most of all, he has a heart for Jesus and that makes me follow him even more. At the end of the day when I am exhausted and don't take the time to say it, he is always the one that I want to start and end my days with. So like it or not, babe, I am celebrating Father's Day for you and couldn't be happier with a more perfect dad in this house to raise this flock of boys! We all love you, even the dogs, and maybe even the chickens :) Happy Father's Day to the one that I want!

Two of my favorite pictures from this year...

Dave with his three sons all gathered together for the first time. Blessed.

And this pic that Dave's sister sent to me last fall. It's an oldie and I had never seen it until this last year. This is the summer I was pregnant with Jaxon...the journey started and we had no idea what would be in-store. It's been one heck of a trip so far. And I'd pick this guy all over again in a heart-beat to do it again.

field day

Jaxon lives for games and activities. He is constantly making up games in the back-yard and recording his scores, placings, and team names on random sheets of paper all over the house. Who has two thumbs and was super stoked about field day at school? This kid!! It's a fun afternoon filled with a variety of games and the classes just move from station to station to play each one. Parents and siblings are encouraged to come watch and hang out and it ends up being a pretty fun event for all. This was one of the last few days of school and my game loving boy looked so old as I walked right by the kindergartners and headed to the upper play-ground. The days are long, but the years really are so short. These kids are so fun to see grow up together and in no time we'll be walking up to the dome to watch real games while this crew of pals gets some real playing time finally!

 Time-out to see the little brothers...

 And he's off...

 pretty engaged!

A little pizza party to end the fun day!

fencing

It is about that time to get the girls back to the coop permanently! I had two pretty eager helpers a couple weeks ago to get a good start on a new fence. It is so fun to see these boys tackle a project like this and feel proud of their efforts to help these pets out. We'll have some back-yard chickens soon!

 Getting started!

 Setting up!

 Moving them back from the garage!

Hello, world...welcome to the grass that is always greener on the other side :)