SCHOOLS OUT FOR THE SUMMER!!!!!

School is finally out and my kiddos couldn't be happier. I've said it before, but when I was a kid I could never understand why my mom didn't just LOVE summer the way we did. now I know. Kids actually have pretty short attention spans and get really bored FAST! The result is a crazy mom that has to entertain them or let them rot their developing brains with video games. Don't get me wrong, we play many a video game in the Hansen home but I do have my limits. There in lies good old fashion bribery. I will pay a solid 10$ for every book read this summer with a 1 page written report on it (1/2 a page for Ashlee) not that I don't trust my kids but lets be real. 10$ per book can make even the most honest kids fib a little. Caleb is saving for an IPOD Touch (thanks Uncle Ian) because the IPOD he already has apparently isn't good enough. Whatever. So now to kick off our "amazing Summer 2009" we went to our friend Allison and Philips house for a swim party after school. The kids ate, and swam and played and got pretty excited for many many more summer days. I know that I have 3 kids but the other 2 kept disappearing and so that is why Sydney is the one on display in the photos below.

Going down with the tube didn't work out so well.

Will she actually jump this time?

Yep!! What an awesome little girl.

All the girls got out because all the "big" boys were making waves.

Princess Ballet

Sweet Sydney is taking a Princess Ballet class for the summer. They dress up as a different Princess every week. Today was Ariel. She did such a good job, but she was pretty serious about what she was doing. She LOVED it, but I think that she will love it even more when her friend Dylen is back to go with her. These pics and movie are taken through a window.

Last Blue and Gold.......

Wednesday was the last Blue and Gold assembly at the kids school. And for Caleb his last one at Van Allen (sniff). When we first moved here I was pretty sad about the old school the kids had to go to. Caleb was moving from a brand new school in Roseville to our little country school that was first established in 1861. He has had the most amazing teachers and such a great experience there. Because it is so small, he has gone through 1-5th grades with the same kids in his class. I love the school now. Both of the kids received awards and I was a pretty proud mom. School was not really a priority for me (those of you reading this that went to school with me will recall I had a slight attendance problem) but I am so glad that both Caleb and Ashlee LOVE school.



Ashlee got the ACADEMICS Award for having the highest marks in her class.

Caleb received an Award for English and the Presidential Academic award for getting good grades in 4th and 5th Grade. Another award that Hansen got was a MATHEMATICS Award that only 2 kids got. I was especially proud of this achievement because he did it ALL on his own. I can no longer help him with his math. I had a good little cry because my son is moving on to Middle School. I love you guys and I am so proud of you.

Marshmellows and sunsets

On Monday afternoon we went out to Woodward Reservoir to roast marshmellows and swim. By the time we got there most of the crowd was leaving so it was nice and quiet. The kids swam until they got cold, we even brought our fake dogs with us. Cabo jumped in and swam with the kids, but Pita was not a fan. We had an awesome fire that we roasted hot dogs on. just a side note. my hubby LOVES to build fires, a little bit of a pyro. Caleb is following in his footsteps and wanted to burn everything he could find. So the result is a nervous mom with the kids by the fire. The older two really thought it was just hilarious to start their marshmellows on fire. Why I ask? I just don't get the fun. Don't they know that fire is HOT? And burnt marshmellows are disgusting? Anywho, they had fun and we stayed to watch the sun go down.



Cabo swimming with the kids.

Pita is miserable in the water.

Family Bike Ride

Carl took the kids for a bike ride Sunday afternoon. Sydney found her knee and elbow pads so she had to put them on for the big event.

Memorial Weekend

We decided to brave the crazy boat traffic and went out on the Delta with some good friends on Saturday. They have a house boat so it makes it really easy and nice with the kids. There is a bathroom and place to lay down and relax when the girls got tired. The fact that Sydney LOVES our friend Bridgette is a huge plus too. We swam, and wake boarded, knee boarded and kayaked. Chris peer pressured me into jumping off the house boat too. For anyone that actually knows me will think that this is huge. I have NEVER jumped into water willingly before. (I'm not sure how willing I was this time either.) Despite being a busy weekend on the water, we had a great time.

Our boat docked with the house boat.

Carl called this a Squirrel dive??????

I jumped 3 times. this was one of them.

These boys are great friends and have fun getting into trouble together.
(I love their reflections in the water.)

Daddy and the girls on the paddleboat.

This is my teenager jumping off the boat.

Carl wakeboarding.

I tried a wake surf board. this was my first time. I felt crazy not having bindings.

Caleb Knee boarding. He is a Rockstar.

Caleb and Brando. Brando is a crazy daredevil.

This big floating mass of weeds drifted around the boats from the tide moving in. Here is Carl paddling out of it to do a little fishing.

The little girls spent most of the day relaxing in the HOT tub. This is Syd with her BFF Bridge.

moving = sad :(

Melanie and baby Calvin left today to move down to Arizona where Joe is stationed for now. My only consolation is that it is not Italy and I can drive there to visit. We are sure going to miss you friend and I love you. We had a blast this last year.

Allison's swim party

Our little friend Allison had a swim birthday party this weekend. She has a brother Caleb's age so he said he would come to the party too to help "supervise" the girls. Pretty generous of him eh? The kids were pretty excited to swim and it was super hot so they had a great time.

Ashlee and Allison

She is awesome!

Super Caleb.........?

She thought she was really brave for going down the slide.

The kids made their own t-shirts. This is Ashlee's.

First trip.....

Saturday we decided at the last minute to dig the boat out of the garage and take it out for the first trip of the season. We just went to Woodward Reservoir that is only about 20 minutes away because Carl had the Boy scout fundraiser later that night. The first trip after a long winter can sometimes be pretty interesting. After you've gone a few times you get into a routine of the best way to launch, set up, putting the plug in (very important) and boat rules. it actually went off pretty easy and we had a great time. The weather was hot but the water was still freakin cold. Caleb was the first brave soul in to knee board and he is pretty much the coolest kid ever. Carl and I both wake boarded and I actually did great because it was pretty motivating NOT to crash in that cold water. We had a picnic and the kids swam. Boats are great family time because you are stuck with each other and the kids can't go do their own thing.