Our Snow Globe

Are you tired of snow pictures, yet? 'Cause this is all it seems to be doing around here. We had a day of sun yesterday which was marvelous! It was so cold though that the snow stuck around and we had more ice form. Then the snow started again this morning about 10:30.It hasn't let up. It's so beautiful falling. It's just the right consistency and looks like we're peeking into a giant snow globe. Wonder what it'll look like by morning? We have almost a foot already. I worried about Maddie's paws being cold before. Now it's her belly, too.It already feels like Christmas Break should be half over, and it's just beginning. Uh-oh!

A Snowy Update

Thanks for getting the mail Jordan. Yup, I picked him up from school. So no stories about walking home 2 miles uphill, in the snow, barefoot, both ways....

Yikes!!! Look at that snowball Jaeden has! Must be Frosty's head.

Oh, to still be that flexible.

Dad hooked up the old sled Grandpa and Grandma Hansen gave us to the back of the mower. Makes for some great snowy day fun!

Tried getting Jordan to take off his hood so I could get a picture to send to everyone, but it seemed to be all the more reason for him to keep it on!

Jordan, Jaeden, and Maddie bringing up the rear. Go Maddie!

Keep your toes and fingers toasty tonight! No school here tomorrow!

Hugs,

The Hansens

Let It Snow

As of 10:30 AM and still coming down. . . .

Sorry about the bad pictures. Maybe I'll go back out later and take some more when the kids get home from school. The snow is still coming down hard. Can't believe the kids had to go to school today. Here in the Pacific Northwest, this is a lot of snow (away from the mountains). We're one of only two school districts in the area that hasn't closed for the day, just a two hour late start.

Brrrr. . . .lots of cold temps this week. We made it down to 7 degrees Fahrenheit. That is cold for us! We set some new records here in Western WA. First time in the 10 years I've lived here that I've seen it this cold. It's been fun though and makes us feel like we're having a real winter.

The kids love digging into our "winter" bucket in the basement and dragging out all the snow gear - boots, hats, mittens, snow suits. Yay!

You know how we hear grandparents tell kids "I had to walk home 2 miles in the snow, all uphill...."? I thought about telling Jordan he had to walk home his 2 miles today (he usually does if the weather is halfway decent), and then he'll have true stories like that to tell his grandkids someday. I didn't though - just didn't have the heart to make him. He may have to if I can't get out of the driveway in a few more hours. Hmmm...

Hope you're staying cozy and warm wherever you are today! Have a cup of hot cocoa and some homemade cookies and enjoy winter.

Love,
The Hansens

Snow

Yup. . . . .that's what they're predicting on Friday. We're ready! These pics are from last year. I was just thinking of them and had to find them so I figured why not post them. Sorry! New pics to come in the next day or two. They were pre-HansenHotline so we're good, right?

December 15, 2007

'Twas a great time we had!

Our kids love hot cocoa, so I'm thinking we'll make some when they get home from school and bake some cookies to go along.

Pics taken near Mt Tahoma, WA

Toontown

Goofy's goofy house

A couple of strays

Playing Mickey's piano

The one and only signature they got all day

The first thing we did was buy them an autograph book. I remember when taking Jordan 11 years ago (wow) that half the fun was getting his/our picture taken with the characters and getting their autographs. It's been a great memory all these years. Things have changed ladies and gentlemen! The Disney characters no longer wander like they used to. We had to stand in a line for about an hour just to get to see maybe one princess (they swap out). Brooklyn changed her mind after we stood in line for about 40 minutes. We tried chasing down Pluto, Goofy, and Minnie when we saw them. We gave up after about 10 minutes. We made the decision to not waste our time trying to get autographs. It was a bit of a disappointment to the two younger ones since Mom had made it sound so fun!

Visiting Minnie's house - a mailbox to love!

For my brother - Donald!

Lesson here - don't let Brooklyn get her license!

It's a Small World

On the Disneyland Railroad

Cousins

One of many fun decorations

Kayla was fascinated by and loved these balloons inside balloons.

We promised Grandma Hansen we'd go on this ride for her. So we made it a priority and decided to do it first!

The animation is so fun to watch! And you know the tune - once it gets started in your head....

Jordan hanging on for dear life - it's a wild ride! Okay, it's not. But it's still fun!
Hi Jaeden!
I only wish I could get the settings correct on the camera for dark/night. Maybe need to take a class.

A candy-colored gift shop outside the ride. Once again, love the details!

It's a Small World - lit up at night.

Happiest Place on Earth

We lucked out and found our hotel to be directly across from the entrance to Disneyland. Yay! We saw signs of Disney before we ever entered the park. Aren't the benches cute? The Mickey heads are actually at the ends of the bench. Excitement was high as the kids waited for Dad to purchase tickets. We were there right at opening time and we could tell it wasn't going to be a slow day.

I think 2008 is the year of TinkerBell. She greeted us just inside with her twinkling, magical wand.

FASHION DISASTER ALERT AHEAD!!!

Can you guess which one we're referring to?

(Jordan, Jaeden, Keith, Brooklyn, Kayla)

Umm, yeah.... I even tried packing his clothes to match, but try telling that to a 15 year old boy. Okay, maybe there are fashion savvy young men out there (somewhere, I just know it!), but not our oldest. Oh no, not him. As soon as I saw him walk out of the bathroom, I tried changing his mind. I might have said something about not pairing stripes with plaid. Something like that. Didn't work! So I figured maybe he'd get lucky and some cute girl would clue him in. Not this day, though. Please tell me he'll change! I guess if his clothes are the worst of it, a girl might consider herself to be quite lucky. I quickly got over it - just had to avert my eyes when looking at his choice of outfit. *sigh* As long as he was comfortable, right?

We decided a trip on the Disneyland Railroad, to get the lay of the land, would be first on our agenda. I love going at Christmas time because everything is decked out for the holidays/winter and has that extra magical feel about it.

Decorations in New Orleans Square. Makes me want to make a trip to Louisiana.

Gotta go make some dinner for starving children. I'll post more pics tomorrow. Buenos Noches!