Happy 2008!

Hello again! It is already February 16th, and I have not yet posted an update for 2008! My intent was to post as soon as all of the holiday cards were sent out, but, alas, that has not yet happened. I am currently trying to decide if I should even continue with trying to send them out or just wait until the end of the year for the Happy Holidays 2008 cards!

The Hansens are keeping busy in 2008 and we've had some fairly exciting adventures so far.

Holly's brother, Monty, and wife Alison and sons Luke (5) and Matthew (9 months) came to visit for nearly a week in mid January. It was great to see them. It's really hard to see them too often, as they live in Raleigh, NC and don't have many opportunities to head west, nor do we have many chances to go east. The best part of the trip was seeing Quincy and Luke playing together. As they grow older, it's really wonderful to see them getting along and setting the framework for a lifelong "cousin-ship." Baby Matthew is as cute as a button and is a big boy! We are looking forward to hearing news of his first steps.

We took a day trip to Colorado Springs on January 26th to see the live stage production of "Walking with Dinosaurs." This was a very exciting event for Quincy and Grace, as two of their favorite shows are the "Walking with Dinosaurs" and "Prehistoric Park" shows on Discovery Channel. It was a very good show with lots of realistic dinosaurs. Grandma and Grandpa Bowser accompanied us on the trip, which also celebrated Grandma (Virginia's) 71st birthday.

On January 28th, Quincy checked into Children's Hospital for a planned surgery to have his tonsils and adenoids removed. The surgery went quite smoothly. We checked in at 11:30 a.m. and were on our way home at 5:00 p.m. Recovery wasn't quite as easy after the first day when the IV pain medicine from surgery finally wore off. He was in quite a bit of pain and wouldn't swallow the Tyelnol prescribed to help him feel better. We tried to explain that a little bit of swallowing might hurt but that he would feel better, but we had no luck. He went through most of the recovery with no pain medication -- he's a tough little guy. Now about 3 week s post-surgery, he's doing great, is back at school and is sleeping and breathing so much better!

Grace is continuing to thrive at Eastlake Montessori School. She brought home her first reading book, called "Sam and Mat." She reads most of the words (using picture clues) and is quite proud. We have decided to enroll her in kindergarten next fall at Silver Creek Elementary. She is excited to be a kindergartener, and though she will be one of the youngest, I'm postive she can hold her own. Why do I think this? Well, the other day, we were at Chick-fil-A for Spirit Night, and Quincy was playing in the play area with a friend from his class. The play got a little rough and Quincy came out with a bloody nose and some minor bruises. After making sure that he was OK and ensuring that it was just a case of overly rough plan and not bullying, Grace said to Quincy, "Do you want me to go kick that boy in the head for you?" We couldn't help but stifle a giggle.

Kids are great! I don't know if anyone is even checking in with us on this blog, but I am having fun writing it. If nothing else, we'll be able to look back and keep up with what we were doing in 2008.

Until next time...