MAN-B-Q

Since we ripped out our old built-in BBQ, we needed to purchase a new one.
Boy, did we get an upgrade! Ty went shopping for it without me, and it's a good thing he did, because there's no way he would have been able to talk me into this beast.
He told me I'm not licensed to be "in the cockpit of this five-burner machine..."

Meet the MAN-B-Q:

Grilled chicken, carrots and asparagus for the "maiden voyage."
Like the beard? Also, I cut all my hair off. I'm ready for summer!

Hotel Stay

Jack LOVES hotels. Some manifestations of that fact:

1. I caught him on Marriott's website trying to make a reservation. He had already entered in the dates and was selecting a location.

2. Jack asks daily to go to Tucson. I keep telling him that there's nothing exciting to do there. He responds, "But they have hotels!"

3. When I ask Jack what his favorite part was of our Disneyland trip last November, he tells me it was the hotel (and he still remembers the address of it, by the way!)

We had the opportunity to stay a few nights at a hotel Ty had for work, so we jumped on it. Jack was in heaven. He had his own queen bed, a fancy hot tub, and a continental breakfast each morning.

This is one happy kid.

Zoo Date

Last week,  we went to the zoo with some of our friends. I didn't take very many pictures, and there's a not a single animal in any of them, but that's not the point.

The point is Jack and Olivia look so cute together!

It was hot by the time we left at noon. Summer is coming faster than I think!

Demolition Saturday

Last Saturday, we decided to rip out the built-in BBQ in our backyard. It was looking pretty rough and either needed to be re-stuccoed or torn out. My parents came over to help out and, within an hour, it was knocked straight to the ground. We all had a lot of fun with the sledgehammers. Talk about stress relief!

Jack even got in on the action!

We're really grateful we just decided to get rid of it, because while we were tearing it down we discovered a RAT'S NEST. Yes, we found one dead and one living rat just chillin' in our BBQ.

A Little Family History For You...

First, I just want to give you all a quick update. Our adoption paperwork is moving along and we're waiting on the state right now to set up our home study. Thank you so much for all your support! So many of you have sent me little notes of encouragement, added our adoption button to your blog, and even posted about us on your Facebook pages. We love when our friends and family members aren't afraid to talk to us about it and spread the word.

Okay, now for the pictures. (Excuse my little modeling session.)

This was my great-grandmother's dress. My mom has it now and  asked me to try it on so she could have some pictures of it to send to her siblings. My great-grandmother's name was Rachel Higginson. Here's a picture of her with my great-grandfather Carl Glen Hansen. They were married in 1919. Two summers ago, my family took a trip to Idaho and got to see the land where their home was and also where they were buried.

Now back to the dress. This was Rachel's Sunday dress in the 1920's. She died in 1928 after less than 9 years of marriage and while giving birth to their sixth child. She was 31 years old. According to his biography, Carl slept by Rachel's grave every night for months. My grandpa Dean was 6 years old when he lost his mother. I wonder if he had any memory of her wearing this dress.

Pretty neat, huh? Family history is so much more exciting when you actually know a little bit about your ancestors, what they went through, and even what they wore. 

Happy Birthday, Ty!

Ty stayed true to tradition and asked for a Texas sheet cake this year. This was a big birthday for him--he turned 29. It's crazy to think this is the last of his twenties. It's also crazy to think that Ty is finally the age that I thought he was when we first met over 7 years ago!

President's Day

Like I said earlier...our weather has been incredible lately. We spent our President's Day holiday outside hiking beautiful South Mountain.

{I told Jack I wanted to get a picture of all the Oreo crumbs stuck in his teeth.}