Rain & Radiohead

Wednesday, August 20, 2008 - White River Amphitheater

the rain really just made it that much better...

Bowling + Karaoke + Cousins = FUN!

"It's like finding out Disneyland is in your backyard"

...such were the words uttered by my husband after our late night at the bowling alley with Lori and Lisa. The bowling alley right up the street from our house not only has the usual cosmic bowling, but it also has a full-on KARAOKE BAR!!!

I suck at bowling. Not afraid to admit it. I'm really terrible.

But everyone else seems to be a pro. Here's Lisa doing her victory dance for yet another strike...

We have been acting like this since we were born...

Stephen won the last round!

Preparing our voices and picking our songs. This was not just any old Karaoke bar - the singers in here took their songs very seriously. They had no idea what they had coming when we walked into that bar! We really livened things up....

We sang:

1. Whose Bed Have Your Boots Been Under

2. Sign, Sealed, Delivered (Stephen sang lead!)

3. Bitch

4. Madonna's Holiday (that is a GOOD karaoke song!)

I love my cousins!!!

Lou & Linda's Anniversary Party

Lou and Linda celebrated their 30 year anniversary this year and they threw a big bash to celebrate it. Congratulations to my wonderful Aunt and Uncle on such a long happy marriage with many more years to come!!!

The whole group (most of us)

Stephen and Jordan played a little dodge ball in the front yard.

presents...
Us girls (minus Ashley)

Ashley's Birthday

My baby sister turned 24 on August 14th this week and, in proper Ashley tradition, she did it up right. When it comes to birthdays, Ashley doesn't just have a birth DAY, she has a birth WEEK, sometimes a birth MONTH. She started the week out with a birthday party in L.A. with all her friends - a James Bond theme complete with several dress changes. Then she flew on back to the pacific northwest to celebrate with the family. Lori was in town too so it was a very fun reunion.

We all went to Roundtable for pizza and beer...

...and then back to my parent's for cake and presents.

Happy Birthday Ashley! Love you! Muah!

Michael Phelps is My Hero

Stephen and I have been glued to the tv this last week watching the Olympics. We just saw Michael Phelps win his 7th gold medal in the 2008 Olympics and, I'm starting to wonder - is he superhuman? Really. It's unbelievable - he must be part fish.

Wedding Time

Congratulations to David and Angie LeMay! Stephen's cousin David got married at Marymount last weekend at a beautiful ceremony in the LeMay's chapel.

One of the fun things about having the wedding at Marymount was the amazing cars. Here we are in front of the very car we rode in at our wedding - four years later. We also got to ride in a 1925 Model T. That was incredible! I closed my eyes, felt the wind rush through my hair, and imagined myself in a frilly dress, big hat, parasol in my hand and headed to the World's Fair (see movie Meet Me in St. Louis for context on that one :))

Daniel was so cute with his brand new little brother, Jackson. It was so touching to see them all become a family (a bit of a tear-jerker for me and Kaitlin, especially Kaitlin). We're so happy for them!

David and his mama

California, Here We Come

We just got back from a funfilled week in the great state of California. It wasn't quite a week for me. I had to come home for that nuisance of a vacation-interfering thing called a job. But for the rest of the Hansens it was a full week. The purpose of the trip was the annual dentist convention, but that would only take up the last few days so we decided to make a trip of it and visit my sister before heading out to Laguna Beach ...

We arrived at the L.A. airport around 9pm where Ashley picked us up and crammed our massive quantities of luggage into the back of her little 2-door Civic. We then proceeded to make the harrowing drive from the L.A. airport to Burbank where Ashley lives. I do not recommend this. Driving in L.A. It is one of those thrilling experiences one really doesn't need to have. Fortunately I was not the driver, because my choice of reaction to the car bumpers rushing toward our windshield was to squeeze my eyes shut and pray.

We made it to Burbank unscathed and settled into what would be our home base for the next two days. Ashley suggested we watch the movie Cloverfield (well, truthfully, we suggested 27 Dresses but Stephen promptly vetoed it). What was Cloverfield? According to Ashley it was a mix between the Blair Witch Project and Godzilla. I generally make it my practice to avoid scary movies. Not because I don't like them. I actually like them a lot. But because if the movie is scary enough I may not be able to go to the bathroom, let alone stay home, by myself for the next 30 days or so. This can get quite annoying for the one who has to babysit me, so I just make it a practice to avoid scary movies. But tonight I would make an exception. Like I said, I do like scary movies.

I highly recommend the movie Cloverfield. It really was Blair Witch meets Godzilla - action packed, thrilling, nervewracking, fun - and I was able to get out with only a couple of nightmares about the Godzilla creature.

When we woke up the next morning we did not have a plan for what to do with our day. And what do you do when you don't have a plan in California? You go to Disneyland of course! So, we hopped into the little civic (Stephen drove this time) and headed to Anaheim, relying entirely too much on Ashley's Garman to lead the way.

What can I really say about Disneyland. It was a blast! Is Disneyland ever not a blast? Here we are in the Magic Kingdom...

We used the "Fastpass" option on most of the rides so we wouldn't have to do too much standing in line, but we couldn't escape it entirely...

Our favorite ride was the Tower of Terror - I could go on it again and again and again...

Just before the big drop...

Disneyland was so much fun, so much excitement, that Ashley chucked her cookies in the parking lot on the way out. Poor Ashley didn't want to go home despite feeling so sick - You have to know you've had a good time when somebody pukes!

"It's not that bad"

The famous words inexplicably used by my sister to convince us to forego our plans to head straight to the beach in Laguna and, instead, climb a mountain.

Let this be a warning to any of you considering going to Runyon Canyon. It is that bad. It is a very, very steep climb in the L.A. desert where there is no shade. Fortunately, I have been working out and, aside from one moment of weakness (see picture below), I very much enjoyed myself.

Runyon Canyon takes you high up over L.A. where you can look out over the whole city. There is smog. Remember, we're not in Seattle anymore, but it is a pretty awesome hike. And, really, it wasn't that bad.

Here's me in my moment of weakness - you want me to climb WHAT?

Yay! We made it to the top!

After we finished our hike and were sufficiently drenched in sweat, we set out for Laguna Beach. Pretty soon we were ready for lunch. And when you are in California, or Nevada, or any of the other divine states that house the pure goodness that is In-N-Out Burger, there is simply no other place to go for lunch. Seriously, why do we not have one here? Dear In-N-Out personnel: Washington is waiting!!! Please come!

Laguna Beach is actually a lot like Disneyland. It is clean and beautiful and doesn't quite feel like a real place. But it is a real place and it's spectacular. No wonder they made a tv show about living there!

Our first day in Laguna we went to a BBQ at the home of some very good friends of the family. We had such a wonderful time and it was so nice of them to open their home to us.

Little Hudson was such a cute little punkin. He's only seven-months-old and such a little doll!

We played a game called "cornhole", which was consisted of trying to toss very large hacky sacks into a hole. Sounds simple, but very fun.

Spencer and Ashley - the winners!

Kaitlin and I were anything but pros in this game - I think we got about three sacks in the hole between the two of us. Oh well!

The beach in Laguna was fantastic. The hotel provided everything we needed to go body surfing which we promptly took advantage of. After our surfing lesson in Mexico, I figured I was a semi-pro and would go out there and show everyone a thing or two. Ok. I was wrong. After getting slammed around by the waves over and over, swallowing about a pint of salt water, and feeling the sharks nip at my toes over and over (well, that may have been my imagination), I said enough is enough and opted for a nap on the warm sandy beach, leaving Stephen and Kaitlin to brave the treacherous waters. Kaitlin, like her brother, immediately took to it and the two of them had a great time riding the waves.

That was our hotel, the Ritz-Carlton, up at the top of the cliff.

Stephen in his new bird shorts.

Bowling in Laguna. A lot like bowling in Seattle. Very fun!

We celebrated our four year anniversary with dinner in downtown Laguna. I still can't believe its already been four years. Time really goes so fast. I just feel so lucky to have had these years with such a wonderful husband.

Four years is something to celebrate...

Sadly, on Wednesday morning I had to head back to Seattle. I hopped on a plane at 7am and was back to work by 10:30am - how's that for a morning commute!

That night, the Hansens went out to a dental convention party. I'm hoping to get Stephen to write a little about those last couple days, but don't hold your breath. Here's some pictures instead...