Madera Spring Break Trip

we were so excited to go back to madera! the kids remember living there and have such special relationships with my parents and sisters, so they were excited to see them! sadly kent couldn't get off work so we went without him. we both feel differently about trips like this than we have in the past, and i'm grateful that our relationship has matured in this way. we are both independent people, but i am so happy that we can be interdependent as a married couple. it is a nice feeling. i hope it continues to grow! 

it has become a tradition to stop at grandpa jamie's farm on the way up, to be sure we get to spend some time with him! the kids got dirty of course and had a grand ol time =o] 

grandma and grandpa hansen stopped by and grandma stayed for dinner while my grandpa and dad went with jenae to a fancy FFA event. i'm pretty sure my grandma hansen is the kindest hearted person i have ever met! it was great to catch up with her and watch both of them interact with the kids. my kids are the BEST at greeting people when they walk in the door and making them feel welcome and this was no exception- i loved watching their faces as the kids shouted their names and jumped up from what they were doing to go hug them =o] we are so blessed to have them in our lives!

they brought jelly beans as a special treat so melissa busted out this little bag and my kids were in heaven! they took turns eating their beans out of the bag and pretending to get weird flavors. good times!

after finally getting the kids to bed i worked on the family history project with my mom until jenae and crew got home. jenae is such a character! she is super classy and talented and i just can't wait to see how high she can fly! she is only allowed to wear the top three most important pins she has on the outside of her FFA jacket, so she keeps the rest of the collection on the inside- they clink together slightly when she moves =o] she gave me the tour of her room and we chatted it up in the early mornings and late nights but true to junior year schedules i didn't see her much otherwise. 

on this day i also made yet another carrot cake. i'm done i think. it was good but again just not the same. and i know what i'm talking about because i had it again at another baby shower for a different girl in our ward and it is seriously rockin! what the heck does that lady put in that cake?!?! i'll never know. ah well.

here is caleb showing grandpa jamie that he can cross the monkey bars by himself now. he was so proud of his accomplishment, and of course my dad felt his muscles and looked appropriately impressed =o]

the old stomping grounds. sometimes i can't believe it really happened (i really lived with my parents!!) but i am so grateful they opened their hearts and home to us in our time of need. we all definitely felt (and discussed) the blessings of that time and how the Lord strengthened us all to be able to make it through, loving each other more for it none the less!

we went over to our best friend's house in madera while visiting and this is definitely becoming a tradition as well. i say "we" because i mean my, natalie, and caleb's best friends from madera are all in the same family. there is also a little girl jenna's age but they are still deciding about each other lol Sarah is expecting their SIXTH baby (so inspirational, right!?!) and we were visiting teaching companions and she just always was the nonjudgmental listening ear i needed. 

anyway, here are the kids playing out in their yard 

and here's natalie and maren =o]

i brought an easter craft for the kids to do with grammy while i was at the play with melissa (the musical this spring was urinetown- i miss theatre SO MUCH!) but ended up busting it out early and doing it with them. fun, but cheap and now most of them are junked up pieces that i will throw away when we pack up the easter decorations. thank you target dollar section. 

and here are the kids with quite possibly their favorite person alive aside from me and kent. and for good reason. aunt melissa is the best aunt ever! i try to follow her example when i'm with my nieces and nephews but i know i'll never live up to her coolness. they made a lot of good memories with her yet again on this trip! 

and then we headed home. rockin out to our happy hansen cd or listening to harry potter all the way, of course =o]