Sledding

We all trekked over to the big hill in Hyde Park, tubes in hand. Josh had his 4-wheeler there, so the kids never got tired of going up and down the hill, until they got too cold that is (see Gage). He face-planted and that was pretty much it for him. Since they pretty much only get to do this at Christmas, the kids wanted to stay all day long. Definitely a draw back living away from readily available snow. This picture of Ryan just had to be put in, to show you just had hard the ground was...and just how soft Ryan's posterior is! Too much "P90X" Ryan, and not enough "Buns of Steel!"

Pajama Party!

Thanks to Grandma and Grandpa Jensen, no one else in the country can have these jammies, they scooped them all up for the grandkids! Christmas Eve at the Hansen home was fun for all!

Hawaii

We had a very important Peak PT shareholders meeting in November, where lots of critical information was disseminated and key decisions made as to the future of our business. Unfortunately, the only place we could find to hold the meeting was in Maui. So we sucked it up, and went. I must say, it's very conducive to decision making to be there. I decided very quickly to not move my lazy butt from the beach chair for pretty much 5 days. Except to eat that is. I did occasionally switch chairs to one on the beach, to avoid bed sores. We had a great time, saw an awesome comedian/magician, watched the sun rise over Hale'akala and pretty much forgot we had 4 kids at home torturing their poor aunt Tara and cousin Kamden. Thanks to Tara we were actually able to do this trip! She's the best!

Football

Well, it was Cole's inagrual season of football this year, and he was slightly miffed that we made him play flag unstead of tackle, but all in all he had a great time. He was one of the stars of the team at every position he played, and was ultra-proud when the coach named him at the end of the season as "The player most likely to be a first-round NFL draft pick." He's looking forward to next year already. It's not often that you get a picture like below, where your SON'S golden hair is flowing in the wind as he runs! Sheesh!

Shay-dy Bug

For Halloween this year, Shay took on (one of) her namesakes and was a lady bug. She got the candy thing down pretty quick, but wanted to stop after every house and eat what she just got. I think I could pretty much hear her heart beat after the seventh house since she had so much sugar coursing through her tiny body!

Soccer

Gage's first official organized sport! Soccer! And he was less then thrilled to play. Definitely not like his older brothers were at the same age. He participated...barely. And the team picture has me in it (as his coach) but not him, he refused to stand in and when he refuses, there's no changing his mind! By the end of the season he was doing a little more (as evidenced here) so maybe he'll get more into it as he goes along.

The Agony of Da-Feet!

Miles and Cole ran in the annual Snohomish Pumpkin Run, where all the elementary schools in their district have a race around Halloween time. They are age based, and quite long (I can't remember exactly how far, but Miles's was over a mile.) They both did great and improved on last years times. Miles took 4th after being tripped near the finish line by the 3rd place finisher, and Cole took 7th. Great finishes by both, and as you can see, they gave it their all! It hurts just to look!

Miles make's it look easy!

Miles figured out the wakeboarding thing, and is hard at work on learning to jump the wake now. Cole got up briefly, and next time we go, he'll be just like Miles, shredding it up! Gage is the master of the tube, with a big goofy grin as we haul him around the lake.

Cake and babe

Here's Shay and her first birthday cake. It didn't last long, once she got her hands on it.

Shay's Birthday

Shay's first birthday finally arrived (too soon for mom though.) We had a party with her friend Max, who was born 5 days after her, his family (the Reynolds) and the Strattons. We actually were able to have it outside (despite the "sub-arctic weather we've been having this summer," according to Lisa.) She dove right into her cake and proceeded to smear it all over her brothers. This was her new stuffed animal she got for her birthday. I think she likes it!

Hike to Wallace Falls

Our friends, the Johnson's, came up to visit (yes Dad, it was a tax write-off, don't worry) and we took them to Wallace Falls. This was at the top of the Falls. The kids were troopers. It is 3 miles one-way, and the last 1/2 mile is pretty steep. Gage made it all the way up, but on the way back, gave in and had to be carried. He proceeded to fall asleep and bang his chin on my head for 30 minutes. Cole, despite repeated warnings, decided to run down the trail as fast as he could. When we caught up to him at the car, he had a nice big road rash on his chest from Superman-ing it after tripping.