Annual Hanks Family Reunion

Since the beginning of time, my dad's side of the family has had a big family reunion up at Bear Lake.  Cousins, aunts, uncles, cousins kids, grandparents...everybody.  Well, everybody's families have grown a bunch and my grandparents are getting older so for the past two years each family has done their own thing.  Park City was our vacation destination this year and we had a blast.  Real soccer game was the first event.  I was a little nervous to take Hen since it can be so loud and there were fireworks afterwards.  She was a champ though.  She did cry a couple of times when it got extremely loud, but despite the super hot circumstances and noise, she fared quite well.

 ^^Bus ride to the soccer arena.  Also, chopped my hair. Going for the juilianna Hough look.  Still don't know how to do it and decided I was hoping the haircut would make me look like her. :)  In my dreams.^^

^^Sista, sista and Mom.  All sweating to death.  Henley's face says it all.  (Really missed Niccole this year.  Internships in DisneyWorld take precedence though.)^^

^^Busy body.  The man she was staring at never even looked at her.  Kind of a grump if you ask me.^^

^^Drinking a bottle, dying of heat, and getting her ears covered during the fireworks.^^

We stayed at the Canyons resort, which was impeccable.  So much to do.  Swimming pools, mini golf, restaurants, shopping, hiking, and tennis.  Next time we will take our bikes up to do a little off roading. 

 ^^Shopping with the girls.  Praise my sisters are so willing to help with the baby.^^

^^No shirt, no shoes, no problems^^

We went out to Squatters to celebrate my Mom and Melinda's birthdays that were in June.  There was a 40 minute wait so we took some pictures at the Olympic medal stands to kill the time.

^^Opening up gifts after dinner.^^

We played tennis a couple of times which was the best thing ever.  So much fun.  One day we had an amazing match going which was rudely interrupted by the rain.  Wish I would have gotten some pictures of our drenched bodies.  It was worth it though.

 ^^Enjoying a little tennis on the sidelines.^^

 ^^My cute 8 month pregnant sister.  Can you even tell she is pregnant?!  I think not.  She is tiny!!^^

 ^^Bringing his A game.^^

We also hit up the farmers market.  Definitely a lot of hippy dippy peeps there which made for some good people watching.  Lots of music, kiosks, and yummy food.  Melinda and I shared a baguette the size of our leg and a asiago cheese pastry the size of our head.  Everything is the size of a body part. 

 ^^Henley and I rockin' out to some tunes.^^

It was incredible spending so much uninterrupted time with my sisters, their hubbies, and my parents.  As always, wish Rich could have been there.  Maybe next year...we always say that hoping it might come true some day.

Water Baby & On the Move

Well, we are here in Utah.  It wasn't sure what to expect.  I haven't lived with my parents since I was 19 so I think it is safe to say, I am used to my own space and things.  Great news is, the adjustment has been fantastic!  My parents are awesome to live with and Henley loves having more people around.  Staring at my face all day just gets boring.  Can't blame the girl.  The hard part is going to be leaving.  I didn't expect that at all.  The easiest part is going to be with Richard again.  Gosh we miss him. 

Henley is still obsessed with water.  Splash pads, puddles, sprinklers, pools, bath tubs...you name it, she loves it.  It has kind of become a difficult going outside because she wants to stop and touch every sprinkler we pass or wet spot on the cement.  

 

 

^^Very focused on splashing.  Excuse the immodesty.  She wanted to get in right away, thus no swimsuit.^^

 ^^She made the transition to the big bath tub beautifully.  She can't get enough of her reflection in that little metal circle.^^

 ^^Getting our feet wet in the backyard.^^

She has officially started crawling a few weeks ago!!  I felt like every other kid younger than her had already picked it up and people would comment on it.  I honestly wasn't worried about it and knew that she would pick it up on her own time as most kids do.  She is all over the place now.  Pulling herself up, climbing, emptying out drawers and cupboards.  Very, very independent already which is a little intimidating.

 ^^Pike.  Her famous move when looking through a book^^

Her current fixation is sticks/poles.  I'm not really sure what to call it.  The girl adores anything that is cylindrical.  Below is a robotic dog that has a leash/stick.  She likes the dog - - LOVES the leash.  Other items we will see her frequently carrying around - - a brush (she loves the handle), pool stick (no lie), toothbrush, broom, etc.  The list goes on.  Maybe she will be a baton twirler.  Heaven help me.  Below she did not want me taking her picture.  Actions say it all. 

 ^^Hanging out in the laundry room with the swiffer.^^

The other great thing about living at home, is my parents love (or say they do) to babysit and take her around.  Such a nice break.  I posted this picture on Instagram last week, however it is too classic to not re-post.  And NO, this was not set up as many people have asked.  Real life here.  My dad keeps saying "If anything were to happen I was ready.  I swear I had one hand on her." Too funny.

The Time We Got Family Pictures

Family photos...they down right stress me out.  I contemplate the outfits, the poses, the location, etc for far too many hours.  Typically by the time they occur I'm frazzled and not in the mood to smile.  This time around I wanted something casual and easy, but found myself getting tense over nothing.  I was a fool and tried to plan them around my hubby's school schedule which happened to be two days before we moved out of Iowa and the day my parents got into town.  Our apartment was a hot mess and so was I.  Good news is, they turned out just how I wanted.  Glad they are over.  I will dread the day when we have to do this again.  Until then...

Don't mind Henley.  She was was more interested in looking at some peeps working in the field nearby or having the look on her face saying "Why am I here?"

American Gothic House

Before we left go old Iowa, we had to hit up the American Gothic House for our last whoo-raw with the Graff's.  Don't know what that is, yeah me either until I looked up the painting online and recognized it immediately.  Of course the house is in a teeny tiny town a couple hours from Des Moines.  It was definitely worth the drive.

 A replica of the real deal.  The artist's sister and his dentist.

Henley loved this.

One of the best parts about this place is they had costumes for you to dress up.  Even a little guy for the babe which Rich was totally grossed out by.  Exact words, "Are you sure you want to put her in this?  Do you know how many people have touched it?"  The thought didn't even cross my mind. Rich had the look down, however I think I was glaring/snarling too much.  PS...not a flattering dress.  I look pregnant which is not a good look for a post pregnant woman. 

 

 

The whole crew

 Taking a break with a bottle and some shades.

We ate lunch at this awesome hole in the wall, called the Canteen.  The place was like a 5X5 room underneath a parking garage.  One of the most random restaurants I have ever been to.  They did serve a pretty delicious hamburger --- sloppy joe without the sloppy.

And of course we had to hit up an ice cream place before heading home.  We were both so sick on the drive home and I maybe had to undo the button on my pants.  That's when you know it has been a good day.

Big Changes

The time has come for our fourth year of podiatry school.  We have heard about the horror from our predecessors and we put it out of our minds for as long as possible.  To fill you in a bit, Rich will be traveling around the US interviewing at different hospitals for 6 whole months without us!  Each month he will be in a different place.  Above are all of the places he is going, and the two little ladies way across the country in Utah are Henley and myself. So currently, we are here living with my parents while the hubby is in Michigan working his fanny off trying to impress those in charge.

Moving rules in our house: No shoes, no shirt, no problem. (Most anyone in our apt complex would have fit the bill).  The poor thing endured two full weeks of me packing like a champ.  Couldn't have asked for a better baby.

My parents were awesome and drove out to Iowa to help us move most of our stuff to a storage unit and to drive back to the west with us.  Biggest blessing!  They were so helpful and I can't imagine doing that drive with just Henley and myself.  Side note: During this move I have realized that our "stuff"...yea, mostly junk.  Not sure why we care to store it.  Can't wait for the day when we can buy furniture that matches.

 The Graff's were awesome and helped us out all day.  Best friends evah!

 The U-Haul place was super super sketchy.  The reviews online said to take a friend with you.  Um, yes.

 Last day in our apartment.  Such a bitter sweet time.  A lot in our lives happened and changed in that apartment.  It was our first long term place we lived as a married couple, first time I moved away from Utah for an extended period of time (best thing), it was the place we brought Henley home to...we made a lot of great friends and memories in Iowa.  We will miss that place dearly.

On a more up-and-up note, Henley is 8.5 mths old!!  Time is flying right before our eyes.  Quick rundown on her - army crawling and getting up on hands and knees to rock back and forth, no teeth, loves eating everything we are eating, very noisy eater, loves being around other people, music is her favorite thing, her favorite toy is cords and straps on bags, hates getting her nose wiped, cute as a button.

I promise I wasn't stepping on her here.  She loves it when I put my foot on her tummy while I shake it so she can hold on.