Licensed To Drive!

On Saturday, February 28, Rebecca passed her driving test. On Monday, March 2, we visited the local Registry of Motor Vehicles to pay the final fees and on Saturday, March 7, the actual license arrived in the mail. Rebecca is now officially licensed to drive!

In Massachusetts, Rebecca is required to hold her license for 6 months before someone from outside of our family is allowed to ride alone with her, so she won't be able to drive freely with friends until a little after her 17th birthday. We feel like this is a pretty good law, one that encourages new drivers to gain more experience before the potential of being distracted by friends. Rebecca is doing well driving though and does drive safely.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

New Year's Eve brought us another 5-6" of snow, closing out the December 2008 total for us at about 25". Whoopee! Living in an area that averages about 44" of snow per year, we're already sensing that this is going to be an above average year. Can you feel our complete lack of excitement?

All four of us have entered 2009 healthy and beyond the normal stresses of a tough economy, happy. We wish all of you a very happy and properous new year!

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

We paid our annual visit to the North Pole this year and Santa was very accomodating! We assured him that we'd all been very good this year and in turn, he assured us a great Christmas. We're going to take him at his word and while we're on the subject, we wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous New Year!

SNOW!

Winter hasn't wasted any time in our area this year. In fact, the snow didn't even wait for the official start of Winter. On Friday, December 19 and into Saturday morning, we got our first dump of snow. Our town's official measurement was 10 inches, but it sure seemed like more. We got it cleaned up during the day on Saturday, but Sunday dropped another 9 inches on us. Sure, it's pretty and we're going to have a White Christmas and all, but couldn't the same have been accomplished with a more manageable 2-3 inches?

Steve's 48th Birthday

On December 14, Steve celebrated his 48th Birthday. (I know, he doesn't look anything near 48 years old. It must be all that healthy living!)

Steve's Mom kept with tradition and made him a cake related to something that happened to him during the year, which in this case was a vacation that included parts of the South, hence the rebel flag. (No...Steve is no more rebellious now than ever!)

Getting Into The Spirit!

It's that time of year again! Thanksgiving is behind us and the elves in North Reading are hard at work decorating for Christmas. Santa and Mrs. Claus may still be hanging out at the North Pole, but rest assured that they're getting everything ready for Christmas.

Of course the Hansen family is big into traditions, corny and otherwise. Here's a playful nod to the seasonal movie "A Christmas Story." You can call it a tacky "Leg Lamp", but we prefer to think of it as a "Major Award", one that's "Indescribably Beautiful!"

Here's one of the trees through the front window.

Here's that same tree from the inside.

...and here's the Peanuts tree, covered entirely with lights and ornaments featuring the Peanuts gang, particularly Snoopy and Woodstock.

We're well on our way to our full complement of six trees, which should be completed any day now. 'Tis the season to be busy!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

It's that time of year again! The leaves are falling...quickly. The temperatures are dropping...even quicker. The days are getting shorter...and shorter...and shorter! It must be Halloween!

We began a couple of nights before, carving our pumpkins and roasting the seeds afterwards. YUM! (Use cooking spray on a large, flat pan. Spread the seeds out flat. Spray a thin coating of the cooking spray over the seeds and then lightly sprinkle salt over them. Bake at 300 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour and then watch for when they start browning. Remove them when they are as brown as you like them.)

Here are the results of our carving!

Erik dressed up as a "Woopie Cushion" this year...such a "boy thing" to do!

Rebecca got together with some friends and dressed up as bunches of grapes.

All in all, it was a spooky, fun and SAFE evening!

DON'T FORGET TO TURN YOUR CLOCKS BACK AN HOUR TONIGHT!