Happy Independence Day!

It was a fabulous 3-day weekend for the four of us here in Portland. It finaly warmed up on Friday so we found a fun place to play and cool off in the fountain at a park in Beaverton. The first park we went to was pretty crowded and the water was a little overwhelming for Jack. Laney sure loved it though. She was dancing around and having a great time in the water. There were a lot of big kids with buckets of water going crazy and it didn't even phase her. She was singing and dancing and having a blast!

Then we decided to a go to a different park that Jack would enjoy too. This one had a small fountain that squirted up little streams of water. They didn't know when it was going to come out so it was a fun surprise. Jack kept running in, getting squirted and running back out, laughing the whole time. They both had a ton of fun at the second park. At this park there was a little kid riding around on a bike, circling the fountain and Jack kept watching him. Then Jack looked at him and said, "Cool bike!" It sounded really funny coming from a one-year-old.

Then yesterday we went to a fireworks show in Tigard. On the way to the show Laney was asking why we celebrate this holiday and we were telling her about it. She asked how old our country is and we told her it was 236 years old. Then she said, "Daddy are you older than our country?" Hahaha! I laughed hard at that one!

We tried to do some sparklers with the kids before the show but they did not like them at all. Laney said, "Get those away from me!!" It was pretty funny. But we all enjoyed the fireworks and had a nice time. We hope everyone had a wonderful July 4th weekend! We sure did!

Red Rover, Red Rover

Remember the good ol' days, when the Hancocks lived in Portland with the Borgs? Those were days of fun, laughs, craziness and even some tears. We sure do miss them and all the fun we had together. When they first moved here, Mason was almost 2, Laney was 18 months, and Ava was not even born yet! When they moved away Mason was 3 1/2, Laney had just turned 3, Ava was 1, and Jack was a newborn. We all had a lot of fun in that short year and a half, and have a lot of great memories from that time.

Rumor has it that the Hancocks may be planning a trip to Portland this summer. Just thinking of all the fun we will have together makes me smile. :-) We love you guys!

February 2006


Best Friends Forever

Fun at the Zoo

I love my new cousin Ava


Enchanted Forest
What a ride!

Happy Birthday Laney and Ro!

Tustin and the girls


Fall Festival 2006

The Wiggles! Halloween 2006


Nat's Birthday


Easter 2007



Welcome Jack!


Fun at the Park 8/07


Laney's 3rd Birthday


Red rover, red rover, send the Hancocks right over!!

Silly Laney

Laney says the funniest things sometimes. Tonight I was saying goodnight to her and as I was leaving the room she said: "Mom, remember this and write this down. I want Cheerios for breakfast everyday. Except not on Tuesdays. Me: Why not on Tuesdays? Laney: Because Tuesday is friendship day and Cheerios are off the vote. We can vote for anything but Cheerios on Tuesdays." Where does she come up with this stuff? She cracks me up! A lot of the silly things she says happen at night when we are saying goodnight because she's trying to stall and make us stay in her room longer. Sometimes I'm standing in her doorway for 5 or 10 minutes while she goes on and on with crazy, made up, 4-year-old stuff and I just can't bring myself to leave because she is just so darn funny. I love that silly girl. :-)

Road Trip 2008!

We left San Francisco on October 22nd, and arrived home to our beautiful kids and wonderful babysitters Gramga and Papa Borg. The kids were very happy and very well taken care of and the grandparents were exhausted. :-) They all had fun together while we were gone and we really appreciate Ron and Karen so much for taking such good care of Laney and Jack. Tustin and I had such a wonderful time together and it made me wonder, do I have to run 26.2 miles again in order to get away with my husband next time? I hope not, but it was worth it!


We then had 2 days to unpack and then repack for our next trip. We gathered up everything we would possibly need for a family of four, loaded up the minivan and headed out on a family adventure. We were gone for 18 days, drove over 3300 miles, visted with tons of family and friends and just had a blast. First we spent a week at Grandma Rae's in Southern CA. While we were there, we visited with friends, spent a day at Legoland, and celebrated Halloween as well. We had a really nice visit with Tustin's mom, and the kids enjoyed every minute of their visit with Grandma Rae and the kitties.










Next we drove to Yuma for the Hall family reunion and surprize party for my parents' 70th birthday. They both turned 70 this year and we decided to throw a big party to celebrate. The whole family was there except for Tina's 2 oldest kids, Ryan and Ally who are away at school. Also Lori, Matt and Shayla could not be there due to Shayla's medical condition. We missed them very much and hope to see all of them soon.









We all had a ton of fun, but I think the cousins had the most fun of all. They ran around, played games, and went wild! Laney and the girls had plenty of girly time together which included tea parties and dressing up together with fancy jewelry. I think Laney had the time of her life! When it was finally time to head home after our long trip, instead of looking forward to her own bed in her familiar pink room Laney said, "who are we going to visit next?"

I did it!!!

Getting ready to start the race.




20,000 runners!


Feeling great at mile 11!


Almost done.


Reaching the finish line.


So proud!!


On Sunday 10/19, I completed my 2nd (and final) marathon! It was the Nike Women's Marathon in San Francisco and it was amazing. There were 20,000 runners, and all the proceeds went to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. I trained very hard for this event and it was worth it.

The first marathon I ran in 2000, was with a team for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. They provided coaches, mentors, training schedules and a wonderful support system, and in turn I raised $5,000 for this great cause. It was a wonderful experience that I will never forget. I made many friends, had a lot of fun, and did something amazing for a great cause.

This time it was just as incredible but for different reasons. This time it was all about me, and that may sound selfish but it was very necessary. I knew I needed to do something amazing for myself this year, and back in February when I read the description of the Nike Women's Marathon in Runner's World Magazine, I knew that was going to be my marathon! And I did it!!! I worked so hard and accomplished this incredible thing all on my own. I did research to come up with a running schedule that was right for me. I did my daily runs, and weekly long runs, I made sure I ate the right things, had the proper shoes and clothing, and did the right things for proper recovery after the long runs. I gained strength and fitness, and lost 13 pounds along the way, but the best thing I regained was self respect. During those many hours of running I had a lot of time to think and I used a lot of positive thoughts to get through it everyday. I would think to myself, "you are strong, you are amazing, you are a runner and an athlete." All of these thoughts made me stronger mentally and helped me get through the difficult long runs. Then one day I looked at my reflection as I ran by a window and thought, "Who is that runner?" I was changing on the outside as well as on the inside.

While I was running the 26.2 mile race I thought about why I was doing it and realized it was just as important for my family as it was for myself. I was running to set a good example for my kids about being a healthy and strong person. By accomplishing my goal I had become a better mother and wife. I am much stronger, healthier and happier than ever. It was an amazing experience and I'm so glad I pushed myself to do it.

Yesterday I decided to go for a little run. Just four miles, and it was a great run. It felt so good to be running again after a five day break since the marathon. This time when I saw that runner in the window's reflection I recognized her right away. She was strong, powerful and amazing and I was extremely proud of her! :-)

Visit with Grandma Rae

Tustin's mom (Grandma Rae) came to visit us for a week after Laney's birthday. The kids were very excited to see her. We played at the park, rode the carrousel, and went to an ammusement park. Laney and I rode all the rides and had a blast. They even let Jack go on one ride and he loved it. We had a great time and were sad when Grandma Rae went back to California.

We shouldn't have eaten all that junk food!