fun in the fog

it's hard to believe 'summer' has come and gone... especially when your summer is full of fog. san francisco has actually had it quite good these past few months, but i am looking forward to our true 'summer' months during september and october. this is the perfect time of year for SF, so if anyone wants to come and visit, let us know! here's a recap on some of our adventures we haven't cataloged yet... just to warn you, it's pretty long.



boating with cinda's family (my sister) at home in merced... although her home is no longer in merced, which is bitter sweet.








sunset ward chili cook off, which i happened to win with my sister stacie's white chili recipe. thanks, stace! i love ryder's face in this picture. he's fixated on huge bubbles falling down on the grass. i've got to find a large bubble maker!







a fun trip to a nearby splash park with some great friends - mckenna, jacob and courtney... ryder got to run through water, swing on the swing set, and get sand in every crevice of his body.



lots of swimming at mom and dad hansen's house with cousins austin, cordon, cameron and kateylnne... even jacob joined from utah for a week. ryder learned to LOVE the water and would throw little torpedoes in the water for his cousins to retrieve over and over again.


I love this picture of my mom and katelynne! kate is the youngest of four, with three older brothers. mom and kate have become little buddies, and now with cinda's family living in roseville, mom is trying to find new ways to keep busy!


me, kristin, cinda and julie (four of the seven girls in my fam) went to the faith hill/tim mcgraw concert in fresno. we had a blast!!!

We learned how to show our teeth!

(no, I do not regularly bathe ryder with his bib on... he just didn't want to take it off!!)

dinner with fabulous friends!... from the left, ryder, todd, dave, michelle, sarah, dave and me. although, i've decided dinner out isn't so fun anymore with a little guy who prefers anything but a highchair.










adventure walks where we come back with anything and everything we can carry. if you look closely, you may be able to see the four different types of flowers we picked, a rock and some sort of orange thing that grows on trees near our house. i don't mind the flowers and such now. i'm just not ready for the day when he comes home from these walks with snakes, frogs and lizards. yuck.





a 'hike' in marin county with our dearly missed friends tara, tessa and trevin (and ty, of course) and some neighbor friends. don't ask me why, but every time we're in sand, ryder gets all comfy on his tummy and gives a pose for the camera. hilarious.

and of course our kayaking trip over to angel island for the big 3 year anniversary. here are a few more shots for posterity's sake.

Todd gearing up for our adventure during the instruction session.

me taking a rest, which seemed to happen every so often. i've got to say, it sure is helpful having a strong husband who can keep up with the group all on his own.... enabling me to sit back, relax and enjoy the scenery a bit.
hee hee hee...

a lovebird shot from angel island. a bit fuzzy but one of my favorites.

my poor attempt at photography. i've promised myself that one day i'll take a real photography class. maybe soon.... maybe.

and todd made an amazing anniversary dinner... including homemade bruschetta. yes, you're allowed to be impressed. it was so yummy!





a girls' night out to dinner...













fun in the courtyard on a rare sunny day...
















and ryder's first big 'hurt' - a blister on his finger from touching the hot hubcap on our car. he now associates anything and everything about getting hurt to that same finger.















a run across the golden gate. as you can tell, the workout was quite taxing on ryder. he was very focused on hydrating his body during the drive home.
















huge strides in sign language... and an obsession with blueberries. here ryder is signing 'more,' since half the bin of blueberries obviously isn't enough for him.












many an evening spent on the playground nearby while waiting for daddy to get home from clinic... and ryder can now even go down the slide by himself (with an anxious mother right at his side).

And last, but certainly not least, a beach day in Sausalito with lots of friends. This little strip of sand is nestled in the marina, resulting in a very small, gentle tide and warm water.... two things you don't get to enjoy much up here in NorCal.

bella, ryder, caleb, jacob and olivia.... all playing in a hole. what fun!

from left to right: mckenna, maddy, liz, olivia, courtney, jacob, jen, bella, me, ryder, olivia, caleb and kat.

and that completes my lengthy summer entry.... but don't worry, we still have labor day and the recent weekend activities to catch up on. So we should be posting again sometime soon.