Celebrating Holly!

Vegan gluten-free double-mint chocolate chip cake and frosting. Delicious.

Photo courtesy of Isaac

Happy Birthday, Holly.

33 reasons to absolutely, positively, unflinchingly ADORE you:

1. you sparkle, inside and out
2. you can still do two-tone
3. your love for all creatures
4. your utter goodness
5. your longsuffering as my wife
6. your sweet piano skills …
7. … and melodious voice
8. your strong thighs good for wrestlin’ …
9. … wide hips good for bearin’ children
10. your devotion to helping others
11. your love of God and Light
12. your combined intellect and compassion
13. your mean curry dishes
14. your brilliant future and inspiring past
15. your perseverance in the face of debilitating headaches
16. you still trust and love me
17. the softness of your skin
18. you mend my socks …
19. … and my soul
20. your toned biceps strong enough to do boy pushups
21. your compassion for the underdog
22. your delight in life’s simple pleasures
23. your companionship on road trips
24. you say you don’t need many things – and mean it
25. you support my hobbies and craziness
26. you give all your energy to your boys
27. you can be trusted with secrets
28. you nurture seedlings to life
29. because you are you
30. you always play piano nice and softly (Isaac)
31. you like to ride bikes with me (Isaac)
32. you help me practice piano (Isaac)
33. you like to read to your family (Isaac)

Feel free to add to the list!

The world is lucky to have you on it, Holly.

baby keira

Isaac, Lincoln, and I were thrilled to have a chance to visit Utah over spring break to visit family and especially to meet our newest little niece/cousin: Baby Keira. She is the sweetest little doll! As a bonus we even got to stay with Michelle, Nate, Aves, and Keira.

Isaac loved the baby and would hold her for a long time. A visit to Oma Grandma and cousins visiting Wheeler Farm The boys even awoke to Easter at Aunt Shella's! Cousins down the line: Carlie, Isaac, Maddie, Brandon, Suzy, Blake, Kennedy, Lincoln, Avery, Anika, and Keira

baby "ti-yah"

Lincoln doesn't know that his little cousin Keira is in the hospital today. But we have caught him going around the house with this little dolly, giving her a bottle, cuddling her, wrapping her in a blanket. Sleeping with her. Calling her "Baby Ti-Yah" (Keira).

ike on his bike

Oh, the joys of watching your child ride his bike for the first time.

piano

Isaac diligently practices the piano for about 30 minutes every day. His little brother likes to squeeze right next to him, too, on the piano bench.

i am the lorax, i speak for the trees!

new home

Just thought it'd be fun to post a few pics of our home.

Love the tree fort/slide/swing/sandbox for the boys. And we have two great garden spots. And I adore my cheery green kitchen. It gets so much light in the afternoons.

silly boys

Just wanted to post a few shots of my silly/sweet/funny/happy little boys. They really are happy little bugs. Link insists on dressing himself lately and says he is "a li'l uh-oh" (monkey). Most of the time he gets it close enough, despite backwards/inside-out The merging of two obsessions: legos and animals (oh, and R2D2 thrown in for good measure . . .can you tell which one?). Built all by himself! Building forts, whispering secrets All bundled up, ready for the cold! At the Missoula Symphony family concert with friends (the boys dig the masks) Sledding/chilling/hiking at Pattee Canyon (thanks Aunt Bek for the groovy scarves!)

photo update

With the move, I never got around to posting some pictures from December. For posterity!

We had a 70th birthday celebration for my Dad Boys with Avery all bundled up for Temple Square lights Lincoln got a wee chilled when we went sledding for Ikey's birthday. Thanks, Aunt Lisa, for the coat! Sledding with Suz on Isaac's birthday Big 6-year-old boy (In case you can't tell, the cake was an open book) Christmas morning. . . waiting for the floodgates to open! Yeah! Animals! Goose, crab, doggies, ostrich, manatee (not enough arm space for them all) Little cutie cousin, Evie And light sabers! It was a Star Wars Christmas. Santa included a note: "These light sabers are not for harming others. . . only for combatting sadness or hard feelings." Homemade giraffe and zebra--Link's two favorite animals (made with love by Mommy and Isaac) Hansen family nativity. Blake: shepherd, Avery: Mary, Lincoln: Joseph, Maddie and Isaac: Wisemen Joseph decided he wanted to ride the donkey (Brit) to Bethlehem, too! Hansen cousins