life lately

Our life lately has consisted of the sound of the hammer pounding and generous hands helping around here as we try to complete this roof project. We've had a variety of great friends and family show up to offer a hand and in the worst of conditions too! The cooler weather this week is a big welcome as we try to plow through and get this thing done!

 Grandpa and Uncle Kyle measuring, sawing, and placing boards just so get a new garage roof line created.

 Some days bring extra "little helpers" too :)

 Finding a little relief in the shade for a few minutes

 Lots of food flying out of the kitchen to feed the crew... hard workers need to eat well!

 It's taking shape!

 New roof coming together

 All the commotion exhausts my kids some days... I heard them making a fort and two minutes later they were both sound to sleep as people literally pounded right above their head!! Now that is some tired boys :)

 Faithful helpers!

 uncle Kyle leading some work

 The view from our garage :) It looks like a construction zone out there...oh wait, it is!

 Good looking group of volunteers! A couple of nights many of our guy friends and brothers-in-law/brothers came to scrape their little hearts out. Not a fun job, so thankful for their help and good attitudes while doing it! :)

Stay tuned... we're still roofing!

concessions!

One Sunday afternoon, it timed out perfect for Carson to nap with Dave staying home and me able to take the big boys for a little pool fun. They know mom is limited to what she can do when the baby is along, so this was a great treat! We splashed it up in the big pools and celebrated with concession snacks! Of course, Austin was just as excited about the ice-cream treats as he was the basketball hoop pool opportunity, but the whole trip made for a great afternoon with my big kids and two boys saying on the way home..."can we leave Carson with Dad again"! They love their baby brother, but they love a little one on one time too :)

Sturgis Falls '12

Sturgis Falls was a HOT one this year! But, we still found our way to the big wheel race, music in the park, street fair, parade, and classic car show. Whew, makes me tired thinking about the heat and that line-up again! It was Carson's first Sturgis fun as well and I think next summer will be even better with a little babe who is ready to GO!

 Austin's 1st Big Wheel race...he did so good and had fun, which is all we cared about!

 Go Austin!

 Music in the park...traditionally, we usually head over to Overman to have dinner and watch the Bill Riley Kids Show after the Big Wheel Race. Even Dave makes an appearance for this night :) Over the years we've met the same friends in the same vicinity of the park and eaten the same food....and every year I look forward to doing the same thing again. Mini donuts and tenderloins just taste better at Sturgis Falls.

 Carson turned 11 months old over his first Sturgis Falls! Big Boy!

 And it is a campaign year, so you'll find the Hansen's walking in the parade to support our good friends as they work hard to represent our state of Iowa! Go Rogers & Reisetter!

 Sunday we head down for the Fun Run and this year we cheered on some familiar faces doing the half marathon!

 Good job, Uncle Cliff!

 This is one of my favorite pictures of Austin! He smiled from ear to ear the entire race...he was so happy and just having fun and simply enjoying the moment. I love it.

 And Jax was ready to race this year! He checked out his competition and ran hard...and only lost to one girl :) My competitive boy was quick to strategize for next year, ha!

 Our runners!

Waiting for our dear neighbor friend to come across the finish...

And she made it!! Great job, Rachael! We're so proud!!!

Another summer with Sturgis fun...never disappoints!

Beginning Stages

This summer we are tackling a big project that has needed to be done for a few years now. Thankfully, we've got some good handy helpers...including our 8 year old. I lost my camera for a few days and sadly have no pics of the 3 foot narrow hole Dave and Jax dug together to pour cement for the new garage wall. It was a big task of digging through clay like dirt and Jaxon worked and worked to help get it ready. Once the hole was dug, inspection approved, and cement ordered....we waited for it to arrive. And arrive it did...in style! The boys were pretty excited when the big cement truck turned into THEIR driveway. Kind of a costly entertainment investment, but worth every penny to not have to mix cement up ourselves!! once the footings were in place it was time to move to the next step... stay tuned :)

Last Day CeLeBrAtIOnS!!

My goodness, I am a bit behind in postings. My camera wouldn't down-load my pics for so long and now I have 400 pics to go through and catch up on :) Don't worry, I won't post all of those, ha!! Jaxon's last day of 2nd grade was a real breath of fresh of air. This last school year has been very different from past and I think we were all ready for summer break and onto 3rd grade. I wanted to make the day special for him,so I let him plan some last day celebrations for the family to do. He likes planning things and he likes knowing whats coming up to look forward to. I think the biggest thing he was looking forward to though was summer and the temps were perfect those last days to get you in the summer spirits. Our 8 year old spent a lot of this year growing, his little soul that is, and (growing physically-he started the year in a size 12 shoe and ended the year in a 3 1/2!!) we know it was hard at times, but he has come a long way and we're so proud of him. He brought a list home from school of his favorites things from the year and my heart swelled to see home-school was on it. Just confirmed that our change in the year was good, for all of us. He loved butterfly experiments and special field trips and math centers and football with friends and gym class too, amongst other things. But now we are into summer...Summer is our time to celebrate and breathe a bit...welcome summer!

 Jaxon wanted cherry turn-overs...from the box. (Thank you, Katie, for introudicing my kids to these :)

 Carson enjoyed his own while we prepped for the big boys to eat.

 Yeah! last day!!

 So big...

 After school we hung out and played...these kids we surround ourselves with just keep making for sweet childhood pals and memories. I know I will blink and these days will be gone all too soon, but I hope these relationships last forever.

 We went out for ice-cream and then returned home to kick off summer in style... with our pool bags packed, water activities ready for the yard, and summer food sizzeling. (Austin helped make the sweetest summer sign and wrote an even sweeter message to Jax..."you are the best big brother...etc, etc")

 And we ended the day with one of our summer wish-list activities...a baseball game! Nothing says summer is here like popcorn, peanuts, and baseball!

Two dads and all their BOYS!