Mountain Springs Lodge

Last Saturday, we left home in the wee hours of the morning, stopped to pick up our niece, and drove up to the snow in Leavenworth, WA for the day. We got there in time to enjoy a scrumptious buffet breakfast in front of the massive fireplace in the Mountain Springs Lodge. A girl could get used to that. . . . .Kayla and Jordan already dreading Mom dragging the camera out.

The hooligans.

They couldn't wait for the real fun to begin!

Hey, look! Here comes our ride.

The website said we'd get to feed the horses in the meadow. Hmph! That was if you were on the right sleigh (which we weren't 'cause I wanted to ride the "pretty" one). And I thought we got to hand feed them, not dump a few pieces of hay off the back of the sleigh as we glided along. But who's complaining? We got the pretty sleigh to ride in!

It was a gorgeous and mostly sunny day just for us!

Wild turkeys

Our shadows on the beautiful and sparkly snow.

Now this is what I call a sleigh! I'd love to go for a ride in one of these someday. . . .

At the end of the ride, we warmed ourselves by the campfire and drank hot apple cider - the best I've ever tasted!

The main lodge where we had breakfast. They have many cabins on the property and the next time we go, we'll definitely rent one. That way we can play more in the snow. It was hard to throw snowballs this time because the snow had more of an icy layer on it and it was pretty crunchy. Felt more like dirt clods being thrown at you.

Jaeden and Boo practicing their turning.

What everyone was really waiting for. . . .the snowmobiling! Usually they take everyone out in groups, but we were fortunate enough to get a guide all to ourselves.

If you click on the picture above to enlarge, it looks like Boo is checking to see if her nose is still attached after the cold ride.

We took a few breaks along the way for pictures and play.

Boo was tickled about how deep the snow was here - past her knee.

Cousins - who cannot wait to go back on a MUCH longer ride.

The view including Lake Wenatchee in the middle.

Great memories were definitely made that day! We look forward to many more this year.

Happy 2010!

Love,

The Hansens

Lions and Tigers. . . .Oh My!

At the beginning of January, I took the kids to the Oregon Zoo down in Portland. It was really cold out that Saturday, but the rain held off. We got there early and it was so beautiful and peaceful, very few people out.

Our first main stop was the Lorikeet area. We each got a little cup of nectar and when we went inside, they swarmed us. This was definitely a highlight of our day.

We discovered that Jordan's hair makes a great nest!

Sorry I can't turn the video around, but it's more for the sound anyway.

Nice kitties. . . . .

Bats - way too creepy for my taste! Ewwww!!!

I'm second-guessing the whole driver's license thing.

Love these kids! And cannot believe they will be 10, 17, and 9 in just a few short weeks (Jordan in 3 months). We went to the Old Spaghetti Factory in Hillsboro, OR for a yummy lunch. Fun times with fun kids!

Holidays

Nana and Papa paid us a visit at Christmas time. They drove up from AZ to spend a couple of weeks with us while the kids were on their break. The time went all too fast!