Shame, Shame, Shame

Okay, now it's June 1 and we're coming up on six months since the last blog update. Shameful. And not for lack of news! Life has been pretty busy this year so far, so I think this blog will be just a quick catch-up with associated pictures.



In the travel log:

We went to Salt Lake at the end of January for Grandpa Hinckley's funeral. We miss him more than words can express, but are glad that he and Grandma are together. The week was filled with peace and wonderful experiences.

In April, we flew to Phoenix for a friend's wedding - Rob's first time in my hometown! We had so much fun visiting family and friends, and enjoying the desert. There's simply nothing like it. The wedding was beautiful, and we had a great time. We swam in Uncle Tom and Aunt Sylvia's pool. We wandered Tortilla Flat and took a boat ride through breathtaking Canyon Lake in the Superstitions. We visited all the Arizona Hansen cousins and got to give them big hugs and have lots of catch up chatting.



We drove past our old house in Scottsdale. We wandered Old Town Scottsdale. We had a magical time!





Memorial Day weekend took us to Red River Gorge in Kentucky with Jared and Dani Jensen, and Matt and Camie Christensen. Altogether, we had 4 two-year-olds and big sister Lydia Christensen (age 5). Ellie was very taken with Jacob and Claire Jensen and Lydia and Clayton Christensen, and she popped out of bed each morning saying, "Want play kiddos!" We hiked Natural Bridge and a few other gorgeous trails, took the canoe and paddleboat around the lake, played games on the deck of the cabin, and roasted s'mores by the campfire.









This week, we got to play with Grammie and Pops Hinckley right here in Middle America! The day they arrived, I woke up at 6:00 a.m. like it was Christmas morning. We did all kinds of important Cincinnati things: Montgomery Inn pulled pork and Graeter's black raspberry chip ice cream, Harriet Beecher Stowe house, Joseph Beth Booksellers (one of the great independent booksellers), Greenacres Farm (a pilgrimage for any sustainable agriculture fan), the zoo, Germano's Italian Restaurant, and the Loveland Bike Trail. Ellie cried and cried at the airport when we had to say good-bye - it was a pretty pitiful sight! It was so, so fun to have them here. We talked non-stop the whole time, and it still didn't feel like we talked enough!








I think that completes the travel log. Other life news? teamLesan has a baby boy arriving at the end of September! The day we found out, Rob ate a double bacon barbecue cheeseburger from Cheesecake Factory in celebration. We're not sure that Ellie entirely understands what is about to happen, but she is kind enough to offer sips of milk and fruit leather to my tummy, saying "Want share baby."

Well, I won't make an absolute promise to shorten the delay between blog entries. As Mary Poppins says, "That's a pie crust promise: easily made, easily broken." But I do hope to not engage in shameful blog neglect in the near future.

PS: The iMac is everything it's cracked up to be, and Rob has talked me into buying him a MacBook for his birthday in August. We'll never be PC people again!