The Dog Days of....Winter?

Cabin fever is an understatement around here! The first of several snow/ice storms hit on January 12th and we've been trying to make the best of cabin life ever since.
Because most of the fruits are out of season, Judah has quickly discovered that one of his favorite wintertime snacks is "freezin' blueberries." I had to quickly snap a picture as I told him, "DO NOT TOUCH ANYTHING!!" I've had to get my running fixes indoors as of late. While there have been days that have been "warm" enough, the roads have been covered in several inches of ice, and I guess I'm just not that dedicated of a runner to risk falling down in front of others, that's more Kenton's style! :)

But never fear, there is only one good thing to do in Kansas when the earth is covered in powder... sledding!!! We layered up and enjoyed as many runs as we could until the frostbite set in. Kenton, Judah, Judah's Uncle Scott, and I ran up and down "Grandpa's Hill" while Aunt Tara and Cousin Amy watched. (Geesh! Tara's only like 7 months pregnant, I don't know why she wouldn't join in!!)

Kenton sent Judah down all by himself and I pretended it was all fine, and was so happy to see him saying, "Whoo-Hoo" as he finally came to a stop.

Some hard-core ten year old sledders built a ramp and Kenton showed them what was up when it came to catching some air!

He even let Judah give it a try, as you can kinda see the green coat peaking out from the sled, yeah he wasn't a fan of the jump.

Well, The sun came out for the last three days and we might be able to break up the last of the "ice rink" on our back patio soon. Winter is fun in small bursts, but I'm done... bring on the spring!

I guess Friday will tell us how many more weeks until the flowers will bloom, If you believe in Groundhogs, that is!

The Hansen's Rockin' New Year's Weekend!

We bid 2006 ado with a few special moments that we'll cherish for always.

We woke on Sunday Morning to the sound of Judah getting in to the fridge, or "frig-a-dore", as he calls it. Being extremely tired and certain we could probably clean up any mess he dished out we hesitated to get up. Finally, Kenton went to check on him and quickly returned to me saying, "Get Up. You've gotta come see this." Terrified of the destruction that awaited me, I rose in fear of what lied ahead. I reached the kitchen only to discover the single most sweetest act I've ever encountered. Placed perfectly in front of all our spaces at the table were individual yogurt containers, opened, with a unique straw placed in each one. I was breathless, Judah had made us all breakfast. It was the best New Years Eve meal I've ever had. Thank you Judah!

Saturday morning was another "first-time ever" day. Wendy and I set off in the rain and completed a near 13 mile run. We ran that trail down and back. It was 20.8 Kilometers of chatting, rain, bonding, rain, hard work, and rain. As we finished the last quarter mile with wet shoes, tired legs, and the fresh drenching a of a passing semi-truck, we knew we breached the crazy level. But it was oh, so fun. Kenton Snapped a few pics of us after we returned looking like wet dogs. We're going for a marathon in April so we'll have to do most of our training in the "fun" Kansas winter. I say, "bring it on"... I'm falling more in love with every extra mile. (Just to clarify, Wendy's great and all but the "falling in love" was in reference to running) :)

All of the hype and practice lead to a full New Year's morning of running too. The Central YMCA hosted the Frosty 5K. Wendy and I decided to run to the "run" just to get a few more miles in. (Can you say CRAZY?)

Kenton showed up quickly followed by the Berryman's and Amy Racchini.

With the support of "Coach Pauly" (Paul showed up in his Halloween costume, for funsies) and all our kiddos, we all gave it our best shots. Wendy crossed before me around 25:30 to earn third (look how close we were!) Kenton finished around 30 minutes. Amy rounded the bend around 35 minutes, and we all tried to run Jamie in to the finish but she was trucking way too hard for us to catch her. (Look we are all trailing behind her in the picture).
It was cold and fun. We went in and were served soup and chili and we all parted to enjoy our last day of vacation.

Judah's first day of 2007 ended with the conversion of his crib to a big boy bed. He was overjoyed to be railess! Granted he's hit the floor about once a night, but he's still very excited to have taken the next step in "big-boydom." Now, if we could just get him to poop in the toilet we'd be set!

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE, MAKE IT A GOOD ONE!