My Little Haven.

Haven had her 4th birthday at the beginning of June and I just wanted to celebrate her for a moment. Here are 4 reasons why I have an obsession with Haven Donna.

1. She has such an intense personality. Her moods change from one minute to the next. She could be completely serious one minute and then all of a sudden say something completely hilarious. Never a dull moment with this girl.

2. She loves to snuggle and she seeks after positive attention.

3. That face and her hair, heavenly.

4. Haven is quick as a whip. She is very smart. When quizzing Elias on the letters and their sounds I have to remind Haven that I want Elias to answer.

I could go on and on, really she is so much fun.

Happy Late Birthday Jay!

Happy Birthday my brother. You are one of the reasons I love to come home. You are so much fun and your laugh is one of the best sounds ever. I love ya to pieces.

Where in the world have the Counihan's been??

Wow, I realize I haven't updated my blog in a long time. Ben has had 4 weeks off from school and everything other than just being together as a family has been put on standby. I first need to tell Ben how proud I am of him. He has just finished his 1st year of dental school and is starting his 2nd of a 3 year program. Well done my love. The following posts are dedicated to updating all of you on what we have been up to these past few weeks.

Papa's and Grandma's

There were major events going on at the Hancock house at the beginning of June. My sisters all came to town along with their families. That in itself was crazy fun. Elias, Haven and Simeon got to hang out with their cousins, something they always love to do. I love having my family all together. Despite any drama that takes place things just seem right when we are all together. We had a packed schedule.
1st: Codey graduated from 8th grade. Now it's off to high school (Go Green and Gold!) You can see the Hancock Clan coming from a mile away. I love us.
Then: We got to go to the Sacramento Temple while my Dad did the temple work for my dear, sweet brother John. What a heavenly experience!
And then: Jay graduated from high school. There's those crazy Hancock's again.
And then: We celebrated Haven's 4th birthday. She got the Island Princess Barbie and by her request, Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobot transformers, (that's my girl).
And don't forget: The kids played non-stop with their cousins and uncles.

Hanging out at Dan-Dann's and Grammie's

Dan-Dann and Grammie made fabulous plans for all of us to take their motor home up the coast for some abalone diving. However, I decided that it would be fun to get strep throat so those plans were thrown out the window (I'm really sorry.). Instead we had a great time just being together.

We celebrated Haven's birthday for the 2nd time. Grandad and I decorated the cake together. He taught me how to make frosting roses and leaves as well as giving me other cake decorating tips.

The kids were swimming non-stop. Big news!! Elias learned how to swim. He can dive down to the bottom, dive, and even do cannon-balls (my personal favorite). Haven even was able to hold her breath and go under water, something she wouldn't even consider at the beginning of our break.

Grandad and Simo had some good bonding time.

Dan-Dann and Grammie took us out on their boat up to Scott's Flat Reservoir. We found a nice beach to play on and roast hot dogs and S'mores. Ben taught both Haven and Elias how to steer the boat. They were so proud of themselves. He also took the kids and I on a couple of wild rides around the lake. We can always count on Ben making things exciting.
I'm so glad that we didn't go to Michigan. We love having moments like these with family.

Hiking around the Marin Headlands!

It was such a good feeling to get back to San Francisco after being away for several weeks. As a family we decided to hike around the Marin Headlands and to visit the lighthouse at Point Bonita. Well, the lighthouse was closed to the public on weekdays so we just hiked around exploring the old WWII batteries that are all over up there.

Mr. Sims is all geared up and ready to go. He really is a trooper. We take him everywhere and he pretty much always cooperates. Just a little side-note, Aunt Jennie made this fabulous beanie.
Elias and Haven were completely happy to run around and explore in the great outdoors.
The kiddos paying hard time for being so cute.
This is my pack mule Ben and our two ton child.
I love these guys and I love that they love to be outside so much. Ben has always been so good at getting us out of the house. Spending this time with him has been so nice. If you look closely you will see that Simeon wanted to be done with this outing.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Our family is what it is because you work so hard for us. Thank you a million times over for being the man you are; hilarious, hardworking, forgiving, loving, and did I mention HILARIOUS. Happy Birthday Daddy!