On the 2nd Day of Christmas...

Boxing Day Morning--

The boxes for Finn just kept stacking up and all Finn really cared about was playing with the kitty. He wasn't exactly sure what to think of everything.


The adults decided to let him ease into it and we started opening our stockings and gifts. Everyone got such nice things, and it was such a fun morning. Dad got restocked with some classic t-shirts.

It was definitely filled with many Finn moments.

Seriously does this kid get ANY cuter?

I hooked Finn up with a sweet Camo vest that I knew Grandpa would appreciate..

And there was plenty of time for some quality Grandma and Grandpa time. Finn is still obsessed with books so everyone took their turn reading, but I think Grandma probably read the most. Grandpa got to try his hand at some killer puppets that Mom gave to Finn.

And while FInn wasn't super into opening any of his gifts, I knew it was a good sign when he opened one of mine and immediately kissed it. :) He is VERY generous with his kisses...and we all got our fair share.

And then after all of the gifts were opened, there was more napping..

I've always loved Christmas, but it is definitely amplified with a child in our family again. Seeing Finn get so excited about even the smallest things makes you excited for it all over again, like you are seeing it yourself for the first time.

It makes me excited for those additional Keaty babies that I know are on their way! :)

Christmas...

I've been debating the last few days how to 'handle' the Christmas blogs. It is so hard to boil many days of great times down into a few pictures and some pithy descriptions. ESPECIALLY when you have the world's cutest nephew of all time...very very difficult to cut anything down.

We basically had 3 Christmases so that is how I decided how to break up the holiday joy.

Becca and Nick and Finn arrived in Viroqua on Christmas morning, and I really couldn't wait for Finn to open his gifts. We weren't going to open gifts until the 26th, so I talked everyone into letting him open a couple.

Mom had all of the decor up, and everything was absolutely beautiful as always. Check out our awesome stockings all hanging up for Santa...or whoever comes on Boxing Day (i.e. the 26th).

We had the Sherry Christmas on the 25th and it was fun to see everyone and see how Finn played with the older boys. They were all very intrigued by Weezer...and Weezer was a gem to Finn.

We had a delicious Norske meal of meatballs, potatoes and lefse...and 1 million cookies courtesy of Mom and Janet.

And of course there was quality R&R time...It is so nice to come home after work and school being over to be able to relax and just hang out.

Great Food: The Final Episode

As 2008 draws to a close so too does our Great Food Fast adventures.....While we haven't cooked our way through the entire book, it is time to give good old Martha a rest and try something new.

Our 'final' meal selection was the Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps and they did NOT disappoint. Nate and I knew very quickly that this would soon become a staple in the Hanson household.

All you do is stirfry some chicken with some soy sauce, ginger, garlic and a few other ingrediants and then add in some onion and peppars. Then you put it on a Boston or Butter lettuce leaf and voila! Delicious, healthy, filling dinner.

Nate and I will be starting in on a new cookbook in 2009 so stay tuned.......It's a good one! And one this is for sure...the photography should continue to improve. :)

**P.S. More to come on Christmas 08**

Merry Christmas to All

Merry Christmas Everyone!!!

Please enjoy our 'digital blog card' (that is...we didn't do Christmas cards this year so this is all your getting!)

The Weather Outside Was Frightful....

So I know a lot of Christmas songs...and I am pretty sure there isn't a merry Christmas ditty that speaks of weather cancelling a party you have been excitedly planning for a month.

And if there were a Christmas song about this subject it would have to be sure to include a line about "have fun eating leftover party food (i.e. horrible for you) for the next week"...

Yes, our fabulous 1950's retro holiday cocktail party was cancelled. In homage to the party that never was, Nate and I wore our glasses all night to make ourselves feel better while eating Christmas cookies, deviled eggs and potato chips with french onion dip.

Here we are with our sad faces:

Tag Part Deux

I have been tagged again by Emily! Just in time for some Friday procrastination.

This time the rules are as follows:

Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog... some random, some weird. Tag 7 friends at the end of your post.

So here goes...

1) One time while I was walking home from elementary school I found a dead opossum that had a rope tied around its neck. I decided it would be a great idea to drag it the remainder of the way home and play a 'prank' on my Dad. Needless to say it worked (my Dad hates opossums) and definitely made for a good story...albeit paints me as a freaky child. I am ok with it and hey..the rules state weird stories.

2) I do a lot of things with my feet. They are constantly moving, and in some cases helping me mutli-task. Just ask Nate. If I see a sock that is out of reach, I'll let my little monkey toes to the grabbing for me.

3) When I am alone in my car, I sing. I sing a lot, I sing loud, and I pretend that I am really good at it.

4) I have an irrational fear of getting hit in the face with a hockey puck. In fact I really find hockey extremely unenjoyable for this reason. Last year we went to a professional Wild game and were way up in the 2nd tier and I still ducked everytime I heard a slapshot.

5) When I was a kid, I had some teeth issues (read: headgear and braces). For some ridiculous reason I was adament about wearing that stupid headgear for exactly as long as the Dentist told me to (such a rule follower). This lead to pictures of me with headgear at a Christmas concert, a football game, and more. How did I get like this?

6) I have 'witch powers.' No, you don't need to burn me at the stake, but just weird things. I can't explain it, but it is true. Nate will totally vouch for me and can probably supply some great examples.

7) I am fairly superstitious about weird things. For example, I will never call in sick to work because I firmly believe that I will then get sick. Maybe this makes me more a believer of karma than superstition. Hmmm....

Alright those are my random and weird 7 things.

Now who to tag: Tag Uncle Todd, Debra, Kara, Rachel Rosen, Amy J, Meghan and Emily Ekern.

2nd Annual Festivus Cookie Decorating

Last night marked the 2nd Annual Festivus Cookie Decorating event...and it did not disappoint.

After spending 1 hr and 10 minutes in my car to go 4 miles because people in MN don't know how to drive, I was so happy that we had friends coming over to eat, drink and laugh with. And Nate was happy because we got a pizza from Bunny's...seriously he is obsessed with that place.

ANYWAY...Lindsay, Rachel and Debra arrived and the combining of Christmas with our favorite Jewish friends commenced.

It got serious right away this year. Last year we eased into the detail work but this year it was straight for the toothpicks to get our masterpeices created.




There was some serious diappointment that Nate and I had lost the toy soldier cut-out so we will be on the look out for a new one.

Now for those of you who have been reading along with us for the last year, you may remember Nate's first attempt at cookie decorating. He must have been doing some closet decorating practice the last year because he had some great improvements.

The favorite of his was the tree..you can't really see the details but picture a 'popcorn chain' made of white frosting dots. You can also see his attempt at a snowman..maybe not his best work given the belly button he was insistent on giving him...

And the obligatory senior picture pose in front of the Christmas Tree....

I was given strict instructions to find white sugar crystals and a toy soldier cutter for next year, so stay tuned for year 3!!