Our time with Grandparens and Cousins

The Hansen Grandparents and Tara's family came out for Holden's Priesthood Ordination. We stayed overnight in a hotel in Scranton, Pennsylvania on July 7th. It was Holden's 12th birthday. We all met up in Scranton. We had fun swimming in the hotel pool, going to Denny's for dinner (p.s. they do sell chocolate milk there for those who have boycotted it), and having a present opening party for Holden and Johnnie. Holden got a lot of money, and Johnnie happily got a lot of books, as well as a cute sock monkey! This picture is Johnnie with is grandparents and cousins.

Holden and Gavin showed Johnnie how to sword fight! The cousins went to Valley Forge earlier in their vacation and picked up these wooden swords.

Johnnie, Carly, Holden, and Gavin

Everyone had a fun time playing together. We can't wait to see them again when we go to Texas!

Holden's Priesthood Ordination

Our nephew, Holden, turned 12 on July 7th. He and his family as well as Grandpa and Grandma Hansen came all the way from Texas to ordain Holden to the Aaronic Priesthood in Harmony, Pennsylvania, where the Priesthood was restored to Joseph Smith. Holden's Dad grew up in Binghamton, NY and this is where he was also ordained.

This is everyone who was there that day. From left to right: Johnnie, Kriston, Holden, Grandma Hansen, Courtney, Carly, Grandpa Hansen, Gavin, Tara, and Jeff.

This is our family in front of the monument there.

Hiking at the Pawling Nature Reserve

We wanted to go hiking one day in June and found a place close to our house. Up on Quaker Hill there is the Pawling Nature Reserve. It has several trails that hook up to the Appalachian Trail.

Courtney carried Johnnie on his back most of the way.

Johnnie got out and walked for a while. In this picture he is helping me hold up a fallen tree that went across the trail.

The trail brought us over a stream that eventually flowed into a water fall that Courtney and Johnnie are looking at in this picture. We did stop in the stream and put our feet in to cool off. We had a fun time hiking, talking and enjoying the scenery.

Johnnie's 2nd Birthday!

June 19, 2009 was Johnnie's 2nd birthday. I can't believe he is already two! We had a little family party for him. We invited Nonna, Grandpa, Joshua, Inkeong and Jangkun. Courtney made hamburgers and hot dogs on the grill and I made the cake.








I helped Johnnie blow out the candle. All he did was stare at it.




















He LOVED the cake. He loves any thing with sugar and chocolate!


















Johnnie, Courtney and Me!

Lightning

In May we got a bunny. Her name is Lightning. Someone at work asked Nonna if she wanted a bunny, I don't know why she called home and asked me if I wanted it, because of course I did and we all know how Nonna feels about stinky pets. Anyway, the lady told her that she found the bunny next to a garbage can, because someone wanted to through her out. What a sad little bunny. So she came to live with us. First we put her down in the basement because it was still too cold to leave her outside. She was a very scared little bunny. Everytime we tried to get her out of her cage she would bounce all around her cage trying to get away from us. After a few days she started to become curious. When I opened her cage to feed her she would come to the opening and peek her head out like she wanted to come out. She still didn't want us to touch her though. I left her door open for a while and eventually she hoped out. So let's just say she hopped around the basement for a few hours because she is as fast as lightning and that's how she got her name. We eventually corralled her back into her cage. After a few weeks of being in the basement it started to stink. Since it was becoming warmer out we put her in the side yard.

The bunny was very scared of the outside. After a while she started to get used to it, but looked very sad in her cage. I wanted her to be happy so I made a little bunny corral that I thought she could hop around and play in. One day I took her out of her cage and put her into the corral. Well let's just say the walls to the corral were a little shorter that they needed to be because she took a few hops and then hopped right out of the corral and under the fence to the neighbors yard. After chasing her around with no luck we thought that we might never get her back. She hung around in the neighbors yard for a while and then we didn't see her for a day and a half. She came back and I was able to trick her to getting back into her cage with some bunny treats. She stayed in there for a few days, but started to look sad again. So I let her out to get some exercise and have fun. She looks so much happier as a free little bunny. We usually see her in the morning and at night in our yard. She likes to hide under the cars in the driveway as well.

Johnnie LOVES to try and pet her. He also loves chasing her and the neighborhood cat around our yard. I think they both like to be chased by him because they keep coming back!

First yard sale of the year!

May 1st. was the first yard sale of the season. Johnnie did really well. He got a new truck, which he is posing in front of here.













He also got this fireman's suit.

















Too cute!













Not only did he get the new truck, and the fireman's suit, but he also got this lawn mower. Here is Johnnie and Daddy mowing the lawn. Oh yeah, he also got some puzzles, books, a t-shirt, and a magnetic alphabet. I went a little wild at the yard sale. It had been a long time since the last yard sale we had been too and everything looked so good.

More aquarium pictures

The best exhibit at the aquarium was the shark tank!

The shark tank not only had sharks, but fish, large sea turtles, sting rays, and other sea life. We wondered how the sharks could live with other fish in the tank. One of the aquarium guides told us they feed the sharks regularly through plastic pvc pipes they put dead fish in. We asked if they have ever eaten the other fish in the tank and the guide said it usually doesn't, but they are still wild animals with their own instincts.

Another animal we were the walruses. This is Johnnie next to a walrus statue (not a real walrus).

We found out that the baby walrus and Johnnie are the same age. They both turned two in June! Here is a picture of the two babies; Johnnie was exhausted after walking through the aquarium and is sleeping for the picture.

NY Aquarium

When Maggie came in April we also went to the NY Aqarium. It is located all the way down in Brooklyn. Maggie and I drove down their with Paytyn, Johnnie and Jangkun. We found out that Coney Island is right next door to the aquarium, so now we know where it is. One of the best thing about the aquarium was the sea lion show. Johnnie and I are standing in front of the aqua theater.

Here are Maggie, Paytyn, and Jangkun waiting for the show to start.

This is Osbourne the sea lion.

This sea lion loves to kiss. Here he is kissing the animal trainer. After that he went around and kissed everyone sitting in the front row of the theatre. So if you want to be kissed by a sea lion I would recomend sitting in the front row!

More pictures at the zoo.

Here is Johnnie looking cute at the zoo!






















Here are Maggie, Paytyn (in the stroller), Johnnie and Courtney.













Me, Courtney and Johnnie sitting on the benches.

























One of my favorite animals to see was the polar bear. We could see it really well and he was walking back and forth like he was thinking about something serious. It was probably that he wanted to go back into one of those cave-looking doors to find some food. Anyway we had a good time with Maggie and Paytyn at the zoo.

The Bronx Zoo

When Maggie came to visit us in April we went to the Bronx Zoo. Here we are in front of the main gate.

One of the first animals we saw were the giraffes. Here is Courtney showing Johnnie the giraffes.

Here are the peacocks roaming around. In addition to the giraffes and peacocks we saw gorillas, zebras, a polar bear, fish, monkeys, flamingos and even a bald eagle.

Filling the garden box with soil

While Grandpa and Johnnie made the garden box, I mixed the "special" soil. The soil is made up of equal parts peat moss, compost, and vermiculite. It took us all day to find different types of compost and the vermiculite. Not everyone carries vermiculite and the one place that carried it, did not have enough at their one store so we had to pick up the rest of it at their other location.

Here I am raking the soil into the garden box.

Here are Johnnie and me wetting down the soil.

Here is the finished garden box ready and waiting for plants.