Girl's Trip

January was long and gloomy so my mom and I decided it was time for us to
take a little girl's trip down to St. George last weekend.
As I'm sure everyone does, I badly needed a break from our day to day routine.
We had so much fun just getting away and as a plus it was my mom's 52nd birthday while we were there.
I always have fun with my mom and we are grateful for her and all she does for us.
I'm lucky to say she is my best friend.
Even though it was her birthday, she left for a minute one day and came back and surprised me with a certificate to get a one hour massage. Love her!


We quickly found out this trip that the girls are not easy to take to restaurants any longer.
Let's just say people really got a show.
Every time the girls got out of hand, I would just start laughing out loud so hard because it was nuts.
Probably not the best reaction, but I couldn't help it.
I guess it's better than breaking down and crying.
We were at Red Lobster for my mom's bday dinner and the girls were particularly rowdy.
Finally we decided we had to just leave and I apologized to everyone as I walked out.
There were some polygamists there a few tables away and they were the only ones that looked at me with their thumbs up and said, "Don't worry, we love it! We love kids."
Oh my, of course they do.
At least there was somebody who didn't care in the restaurant. :)

The trip was just what we needed to get a boost.
We were able to do plenty of relaxing, eating, birthday celebrating,and talking....just what girls do best.
Perfect girl's getaway.

VDay

Our love day was a little different this year. The girls and I spent most of the day
traveling back from St. George where we had a great girl's weekend with my mom.
It didn't seem at all like Valentines Day until I got home at around 5pm and Rick welcomed me with a flower and a card. Then we seemed to get into the Vday spirit.

It was a little rushed but after we got home I went and picked up a heart shaped pizza, some treats, and also got the girls their first little valentine.
We threw together a nice Valentines pretty quickly.

It ended up being a perfect, low key night loving on our girls and relaxing.
Rick was happy Bree and Clara didn't forget him while we were on our trip.
In fact, at one point last night I was holding Bree and she was really unsettled.
She reached out for Rick and he grabbed her. She instantly nestled her little head on his chest and cuddled with him.
This is not typical of Bree and she is not one to cuddle much.
Needless to say, it melted Rick's heart. Such a priceless moment.

So happy that there is one day a year dedicated to celebrating the ones we love. ♥

A Dad's Duty

Isn't it some kind of rite of passage into daddyhood that a man makes his kids pancakes for breakfast?
Rick fulfilled his duty and made the girls their first pancake breakfast last Sunday.
The pancakes were specialized for each girl with a "B" for Bree and a "C" for Clara.
We are having fun introducing the girls to table foods.
The girls loved the pancakes so much, in fact, they ended up having the leftover pancakes for breakfast on Monday and Tuesday. Yum!

After breakfast, we got ready to go to church.
My mother-in-law was in town and snapped a picture of our family before we headed out the door.
I am amazed at how big our girls are getting.
They are starting to look more like little girls and not babies every day.
Can you believe next month they turn 1?!

Phone Photos

I'm pretty good at having a camera on me often.
However, there is one camera that is always around and that is the one on my phone.
So sometimes my phone pictures are the biggest treasures.
Here are a few from the past little while.

Sometimes, There Are Just Advantages of Having a Twin

"You push, I'll ride."

♥

Back to School!

It's a big day here for us in the Hansen home.
Rick heads back to school today for his graduate program to pursue an MBA!
We are excited and nervous, but mostly relieved that we are beginning this journey and the decision has been made.

Rick has worked for almost two years seeking out programs, locations, schools, and studying for placements tests.
We narrowed it down to two schools and programs that we felt were the right fit that he wanted to apply for: Gonzaga University and University of Utah.
Thankfully he was accepted to both programs. We are so grateful for Rick and all of his hard work!
Then came a decision to be made...

After a lot of thought and prayer, the decision is....

We are so excited for this new journey that we are on.
Since Rick and I both graduated from BYU with our undergrads, it is a little strange to be heading to their rival school. But, we couldn't be more thrilled!
I think we both agree our hearts are still with BYU, but we are happy to cheer for Utah when they aren't playing BYU.


Rick will be able to continue working at his job and attending school at nights.
We will miss seeing him as much as we have been but we are so happy and proud of him!

GO UTES!! (so strange saying that)

Farewell 2011

We spent the last week of December in St. George with family for a little post-Christmas get-away and rang in the new year while we were there.
60 degree weather meant golfing for Rick, and extra hands around to help out with the girls meant a little bit of sleeping in for me. It was great!

After a few rough years, 2011 decided to be good to us. Really good.
2011 is the year that brought so many wonderful things.
We have cried, laughed, cleaned, yawned, smiled, stared, and kissed more than we ever thought possible.
It is often exhausting and chaotic, and more often than not I can't wait for the girls' 8:00pm bedtime to roll around.
We have made more than 2000 bottles and changed approximately 2194 diapers.
It has been double the spit up, double the cries in the middle of the night, and a double formula/diaper monthly bill.
With all of this, as cheesy as it may sound - if I could sum up this year in a word it would be blissful.

Every day is more loving and purposeful since we have become parents.
We hoped and prayed to be parents for a while, and it has definitely been worth the wait.
I often get stopped by strangers when I am out and about to glance at our twosome.
I hear all types of comments from these strangers, but one that is the most common is "You are so blessed".
We couldn't agree more.
Goodbye 2011, you will forever be a year we will cherish and never forget.

Christmas, Christmas!

On Christmas Eve we had the whole Dayton family together.
We ate, played the White Elephant game, read about Christ's birth from the Bible, opened a few presents - all of the great traditions we have.
As we were opening gifts, my mom and dad announced some exciting news that they would be taking the family on a Caribbean cruise in 2012!! We can't wait!

Barry was so excited(as you can tell by his stone-cold face) to receive our donation to the White Elephant. A Richard Simmons workout tape for the elderly. Oh yes!

My mom and I stayed up until 4am wrapping presents,talking, snacking, and preparing food for the next day. A little tired the next morning, but it was so fun.

Christmas morning we woke up and went to church at my mom and dad's ward.
It was a nice change to have Christmas on Sunday.
A different Christmas morning than we are used to, but a very good different.

We came home from church and got back in our pjs.
We opened presents and it literally took all day!
We opened some, then took a break to eat and visit.
Then opened some more, then ate some more.
It was nice and relaxing. Just how we like it.
The girls were actually really interested in opening all their presents.
Christmas takes on a whole new kind of fun with kids. It was the best!

Little Miss Clara is officially a crawler

Great Christmas!
Can't wait until next year.