Happy Days!!

This has been a fun week for our family. It has been a week of celebrations and vacation. Last Friday we began our week of fun with the celebration of Laynee's 7th birthday. She was so excited to add a digit. She has blossomed this past year. First grade is very exciting for her. She is at the top of her class and leading the pack in learning her addition and subtraction facts. Jerry and I laugh constantly as she is becoming quite the comedian.

Over the weekend we loaded up the trailer for vacation. We decided to take the kids to California and try to do it on a budget. Monday morning we pulled out and headed for Newport Beach. Instead of staying in a hotel, this year we decided to "camp" on the beach and drive in two days to go to Disneyland. The kids were so excited to finally get to go to the magical kingdom. It seemed like the perfect time to take the plunge. The kids are on fall break, Laynee turned 7 and .......Brody turns !1!

YES, I said Brody turns ONE year old tomorrow, October 9th. I can not believe it has already been a year. This past year has been blessed with many great memories. We have tried to capture as many on film as we can. As we get older our minds remember less but we will always remember that we we have thouroughly enjoyed every minute of this baby boys life. He has brought so much joy to our family. The firs t name he has learned (other than DaDa) is "Tyler". Maycee is his second mommy. Clay is Brody's favorite playmate and Laynee is teaching him how to share his Mommy. The other day I had just finished changing his diaper and then she came in the room and climbed on my lap. I was snuggling with her and he turned around and gave her quite the look. He let out a little "ahhh" as if to say, hey....it's my Mommy. He then crawled over and climbed on her lap and into mine to push her out. It was very cute.
We will be celebrating his big day this next weekend and I will have more pics then.

Disneyland was a big success. We started our playing on Tuesday and enjoyed many of the oldy but goody attractions. Brody took a nap in It's a Small World and then we were hijacked by Pirates of the Caribbean. The ride broke down and we sat in the sea for about 20 minutes. Tyler and his friend Sheldon took off on their own enjoyed a little independence. On Thursday we began in California Adventure and tackled Tower of Terror. I have never laughed so hard in my life! We all decided it was the best ride of all because it was the most entertaining. That night we stayed for the parade and fireworks. Maycee and Laynee got to dance in the parade with the entertainers. We ate dinner in Downtown Disney. Overall, fun was had by eveyone and Jerry and I felt gratification when the kids fell asleep in the car on the way home. We officially wore them out! Disneyland was a very happy place for our family vacation.

Today we went to enjoy some waves of the ocean and a little sand in our toes. Brody loved the water and sand. He splashed his feet in the ocean and crawled around in the sand. He is definitely a Hahn kid! The weather was a perfect 73 degrees. The kids all enjoyed burying Clay and Laynee in the sand and then jumping the waves in the ocean. We all got a little kissed by the sun but it felt good to relax and hang out as a family.

Once again as long as we are together as a family we seem to have fun. Jerry and I are always amazed how well the kids seem to get along when we are doing these kinds of things. I actually thought for a moment that maybe those families that take off and tour the country with their kids in a motor home may be on to something. I don't think we have that kind of adventure in us but I sure think our kids would enjoy it. For now Jerry and I will just try to provide as many of these types of experiences as possible so that our family will be bonded and we can escape the distractions of day to day life long enough to take notice of how blessed we are. Raising a family is all and more than I ever dreamed it to be and I am so thankful!