Happy Birthday Ben!

My sweetie finally turned 30 today. I am not longer a cougar lusting after a younger man. At least not until March 16, 2019 when I'll be 40 and he'll be 39. Then I'm sure Ben will tell me I'm a cougar once more.

It was an event filled birthday weekend. Friday we went to lunch with his parents at Ruth's Diner. We love that place. Then Bethany and my mom watched Sam and we went on a real date. Sushi at Mikado and Up 3D. Yesterday Gandolfo's breakfast and then we went and saw Ben's grandma and had a fun visit. We ended up hanging out with his brother Nathan and his family and eating delicious JCW's in American Fork. (Are you noticing a trend regarding our celebration technique?) Finlly, we had cake and presents with my parents tonight.

Here is Ben with his cake. Yes, he is that handsome in real life.

(Please excuse the blurry picture. Usually I take million but for some reason I only took one. Weird.)

Here is my revenge. Since I've been hearing about how old I am for the last three months I decided to give it back in birthday cake messaging.

And just for fun, here is Sam in the Hawaiian outfit my parents brought back from Honolulu last winter. He hadn't worn it before today so we figure Daddy's birthday was the perfect opportunity. So funny.

On a side note, I had a little blast from the past this week and contact from an old flame. The details of the situations are really sad and my heart goes out to the family. The situation made me realize how lucky I am to have Ben and his awesome family. He really is my perfect match and the best dad and husband ever. I can't imagine my life without him.

Love you Sweetie!

Etsy Shop

So . . . .

Hubby Ben and BFF Kara have been telling me for the last couple of weeks that I need to share something with our readership.

I have an Etsy shop.

Today I actually sold something.

For a whole $5.

I'm very proud.

I've been a little nervous to post it because I was afraid that:

1. My cards are dumb.

2. No one would ever buy one.

3. My cards are dumb so why would anyone EVER buy one.

4. Just plain nervous.

Well, a nice lady in Connecticut bought one today. A Tea Party thank you card. It was an exciting moment. A moment that only took 3 weeks to come.

I even have people who heart me. Ahhh!

Anyway, here's my shop

You will notice that I have exploited various friends and family members with their permission in order to make some money. You can even see some of the mock ups of Adam's wedding invitation. (The real one is not on there yet)

Shorty Fussy Pants

Ben has called our niece Paige "Shorty Fussy Pants" for practically her entire life. With tons of help from our other niece Riley we got this fun little picture. Notice the little boys in the background poised to burst the bubble as soon as I gave them permission.

It's so fun having a million little nieces and nephews. Between our families there are 19 kids under the age of 13 with one on the way. There is always something crazy going on.

Paige was the very first one that I met. She was 3. She showed me how she would stand on the "temple"(aka Barbie Castle Dance Mat) and then dance.

She'll be 7 next month and wants to be a teacher when she grows up.

Thanks for the cutie pic Paige!

Let's go to Los Hermanos.

Now he just needs to learn to walk.

Sam's balance is really developing.

A Break from Our Regularly Scheduled Program

My laptop died.

Ok, it didn't die, my hard drive did.

This stinks for many reasons.

The first, no computer sitting on my lap whenever I want. I had no idea how computer dependent I am and lets face it, I'm too lazy to go use the old desktop in the other room. Ben is fixing my laptop right now.

Second, it also means that we have to reload all of my programs onto the new hard drive. Do you know how long it takes to load Photoshop, Windows and Office? FOREVER!!!

Third, I also have to move all of my photos, documents and other crap to our external hard drive so I can move some of it back onto my computer. I know, if I just backed up my computer like I'm supposed to I wouldn't have to deal with this boring task. I'm a slow learner.

Here is what I have learned from this experience.

1. Backup your stuff.
2. When your computer starts to act crazy, give it to someone tech savvy. Hopefully either that means you or you have an awesome spouse like mine.
3. Backup your stuff.
4 . Photos in raw=HUGE files. Back them up regularly
5. Next time your computer is slow don't curse the computer gods. They'll get ya back.
6. Did I mention backup your stuff?
7. I like lists WAY too much.

Redneck Roadtrip The Kid

Sam has been so great on this trip! He has spent many hours in the truck and doesn't complain hardly at all. He just sits and watches his Baby Einstein, takes naps, eats snacks and plays with Mom. I really cannot believe that he is tolerating this at 10 months! He even sleeps well in the trailer at night. With behavior like this I think a Disney trip is just around the corner for the Hansons.

Redneck Roadtrip The Beach

My dad really wanted to make sure that everyone saw the things that they were excited about so we went to the beach for my Grandma Barlow. Grandma was on a mission to find some seashells that had been requested by a couple of my younger cousins. Unfortunately the shells at this beach were kind of lame so we went north to find some better ones.

This was also Sam's first trip to the beach. Here is how his approval checklist panned out.

Water - Check.

Sand - Check.

Out of the car - Check.

Lots of attention - Check.

Final Sammy analysis - Approved.

Ben and Sam hangin' at the beach.

Grandma on a mission. Yes family, Delia let me take her picture. I even have more!

Sam showing Grandpa gratitude for stopping and letting him out of his seat. Sam gives great kisses.

Mom proving that Beth, Kent and Adam are not the only ones with texting problems in our family.

Redneck Roadtrip Scare

So last night we stayed at a beautiful campground at Winchester Bay, OR. It was ideal until about 2:30 am I heard knocking outside the trailer. Then somebody started messing with the jacks. THEN I could hear someone outside the door. So I called out for my dad. No answer. So I woke up Ben, "Ben! Ben! BEN!!! Someone is messing with the trailer!" He got up and walked to the front of the trailer to tell my dad someone was outside. My mother then informed him that it was my dad jacking us back up since the air had been released from the truck. Needless to say Dad thought this was HILARIOUS that I freaked out.

All I have to say is that the story wouldn't have been nearly as funny if someone had been messing with the trailer!!!

***I also should point out that Ben took this lovely picture.***

Redneck Roadtrip The Transportation

Why do I keep calling this vacation the Redneck Roadtrip? I'll show you why!

This is my dad's truck and my parents toy hauler. The other car is a rental. As you can see the sleeper has windows. He installed the windows so we could see out when riding. Where the bed used to be there is now a bench that seats four quite comfortably. We ride in the truck from place to place, sleep in the trailer and then go see the sites in the rental car.

Dad is reliving his younger years, we are even listening to 70's rock. He drove truck when I was really little and my mom and I went with him. We also lived in a trailer for awhile when he worked on the railroad gangs. His truck driving skills are still sharp. Just ask those of us that lived through the coastal highway he drove us down yesterday! Scary! (Not his driving, the windy road) He also thinks it is fun to flip U-turns in places like Las Vegas. The rest of us . . . not so much.

Redneck Roadtrip The Skunk Train

Throughout my life I have been heard about railroads, looked at railroads and rode railroads. Maybe because my dad works for the railroad. Growing up I rode lots of fun tourist trains. Sam is getting the same opportunity. Today we were in Fort Bragg California and went for a ride on the Skunk Train. It was a fun ride up a mountain and back. Everyone had fun, especially Grandpa and Sam. I'm sure this is just the first of many trains that the two of them will ride together.

Redneck Roadtrip Sequioa's

Sunday we went and saw the biggest trees in the world. Ben says he wasn't impressed. He lied.

I think Sam is the one who isn't looking very impressed.

Ben and Sam in front of the biggest tree in the world. Then Sam made the biggest poopie diaper in the world.

Our little fam in front of the Three Graces(?) My parents have a picture of me, Karen and Adam standing each in front of a different tree a million years ago. They were just saplings then.

Sam being a big boy.

Ben standing inside a tree. He said this tree was alright.

This is what Ben and I look like without a baby. It lasted for 2 more minutes and then Sam woke up.

Mr. Sam really enjoying this awesome forest. He looks like such a big boy!

Sam's Bath

Being a little boy, it seems like Sam always needs a bath. Bathing him in the trailer creates a special problem since he is afraid of the shower. Since I'm such a smart mom, I came up with the perfect solution for bathing and packing . . . a Rubbermaid tub. He loved it and it contained his incessant splashing.

Notice the little head peeking up above the edge of the tub.

Redneck Roadtrip Sneak Peek

Alright, so I'm supposed to post some pictures of our adventures in my Dad's semi but I never seem to get it done at night. So I'm sitting in the dark up on the bed posting while everyone in the joint is snoring, even Sam. Here is a little sneak peak from our trip so far. I will post more tomorrow while we are on the road heading to Fort Bragg, CA. Apparently we are going to ride some train. I know! Ride a train while on vacation with my dad?! That's shocking.

Sam riding in Grandpa's truck. Imagine 30 years ago this was me with no carseat. Ahh the good old days.

Grandma's Bear. Dad found it just for her

Sam and Ben hanging out by the river at our campsite on Sunday night on the Kings River

Ben FINALLY impressed by a big tree. It only took the General Sherman tree which is the largest tree in the world or something. He kept saying the whole drive up, "Eh, these trees are nothing special."

Big Boy Jammies

Sam has officially moved into big boy jammies. No more footies. Ya know when their jammies are a little small and your baby can't quite straighten theire legs? That's where we were. Granny even said the other night that she was going to have to make a trip to Target to buy Sammy Jammies. I got the hint.

It's been a big 2 weeks developmentally

- The kid is scooting like crazy. I think he has a cord radar. If there is a cord or string within 50 ft, Sam will find it.

- Tooth #5 came in today.

- He had jello. Yummy.

- Daddy gave him shaved ice tonight. Super yummy.

- Mom may have given him Diet Coke and he may have liked it.

- Sam embarks on his first big vacation Saturday. We are going to California and Oregon with my parents and my grandma in my dad's semi. I'm sure we will have lots of pictures to share.