Aug. 25, 2025
Labor Day Weekend With The Hansons
This Labor Day weekend, the Hanson crew split up for double the adventure in Wisconsin! The boys headed north for the legendary Crandon Off-Road Races, where roaring engines, dirt tracks, and adrenaline-filled competition made for an unforgettable time. Meanwhile, the girls enjoyed all the charm of the local county fair—rides, games, food, and those sweet small-town moments that make fairs so special.
In this episode, we share the stories, laughter, and highlights from both sides of the weekend—from the thrill of off-road racing to the joy of fair fun. With 13 kids and a big family like ours, there’s always plenty to talk about, and this holiday weekend was no exception.
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Welcome back to We are the Hansens. Today's episode is
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all about our annual Labor Day Weekend adventure and how
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our family splits up for some fun in Wisconsin. Every year.
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Labor Day Weekend is something we all look forward to.
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It's the perfect way to wrap up us summer before
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school kicks into full year. For us Hansens, it means
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packing up, hitting the road from Missouri and spending a
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few days with family, making memories well we'll talk about
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for a long time. Our trip starts on Thursday or Friday,
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depending on the year and how heck life is. Packing
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for all of us and two separate trips is always
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an adventure in itself. We've got coolers of snacks, bags
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of clothes, blankets for the car, and of course the
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kids favorite travel must have. The boys get especially excited
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because they know exactly where they're headed, Crandom, Wisconsin for
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the big off road races. Meanwhile, us girls can't wait
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for the Wisconsin Fair and all the rides, food games
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and all the animals just waiting for them. Leaving Missouri
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is always bittersweet. We love home, but a road trip
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with family that's its own kind of fun. The kids
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usually argue over what playlist we'll listen to, but somehow
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we land on a mix of country pop, old throwbacks
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that everyone can sing along to. Those long hours in
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the vehicle are full of laughter, car games, and are
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we there yet? About five hundred times. Let's talk about
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the boys trip first. Crandon is famous for its Championship
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off road races, and my boys live for this weekend.
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They packed their racing shirts and hats and all the
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energy in the world to cheer on the drivers. There's
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something about the roar of the engines and the dirt
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flying that makes it their favorite event of the year.
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They meet up with family and friends at the track
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and spend hours watching trucks, buggies, and side by sides
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tearing through the dirt. It's loud, dusty, and a little chaotic,
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but the kind of chaos that makes memories. The boys
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love walking through the pits, getting autographs and seeing the
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trucks up close. Of course, there's no shortage of food.
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They come back raving about cheese, curds, brats, or whatever
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fried creation they tried this that year. Knights are spent
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around family with their cousins and their grandpa and uncles,
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talking about the races and making s'mores and whatever under
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the Wisconsin stars. The boys always come back sunburnt, dusty, exhausted,
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but so happy. It's a fathers bonding weekend. They'll never forget.
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Every year. They have their favorite drivers to root for,
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and the competition never disappoints. Even the younger boys get
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into it, waving flags and yelling louder than anyone in
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the States. While the boys are revving up their engines,
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the girls are off to the Wisconsin Fair. Our trip
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is full of sparkly outfits, braids, and fair themed excitement.
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The girls always talk about witch rides they'll go on first.
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It's usually the ferris wheel or bumper cars or something
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like that. And let's be honest, the fair food is
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half the reason I love to go, and I'm sure
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they love to go for the food corn dogs, funnel cakes,
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caramel apples, cotton candy, and the best, the deep fried
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cheese curds. We're eating it all. The girls spend not
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usually a lot of money, but they like to spend
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some money trying to win giant stuffed animals, even though
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we barely have room for them in our vehicle. One
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of our favorite things is seeing all the animals in
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the barns. The kids love petting the goats, watching the cows,
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and learning about how families raise livestock. At night, the
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fair lights up and it feels magical walking through all
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the neon signs and hearing the music from the rides.
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The girls always end up with glitter in their hair
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and smiles that don't fade for days. We always catch
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up with family and friends who live nearby. It's the
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perfect mix of fun and family time. Sometimes there's live
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music in the park there and the kids dance in
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the grass until bedtime. It's the kind of simple, wholesome
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fun that makes my heart so full. Every year, the
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girls talk about their favorite ride or food from the
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fair and it becomes part of the family tradition. People
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always ask us how we manage splitting up for a weekend.
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The truth is it takes planning, teamwork, and a sense
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of humor. We make sure each group has everything they
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need snacks, clothes, tickets, and plan for meetups. Having family
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in Wisconsin helps. It gives us home bases on both
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sides of the trip. The kids love having their time
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with each parent. In smaller groups, it gives us different
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kinds of memories. Plus the reunion on Sunday, when we
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all come back together is the best Sunday morning. It
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always comes too fast. The boys are usually tired from
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the races and late night campfires. The girls are sleepy
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from staying up too late on the rides. We pack
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everything back into the vehicle, somehow fitting all of the souvenirs,
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fair prizes, and dirty clothes. Saying goodbye to family is
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always hard. We wish we had more time with them.
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The drive back to Missouri is a mix of quiet
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naps and kids telling each other all about their weekends.
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The boys tell the girls about the craziest things that
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they saw at Crandon. The girls share which rides made
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them scream the loudest. It's a perfect debrief of our
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weekend adventure. Sometimes we stop at a gas station in
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Wisconsin just to grab cheese curds for the road. They
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don't taste the same anywhere else. By the time we
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roll back into Missouri, everyone is exhausted but happy. Labor
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Day weekend is a lot of work for parents, but
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it's worth every second for memories we make. I love
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how this weekend has become such an important tradition for
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our family. It's not just about the races or the fair.
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It's about being together even when we split up. It's
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about giving the kids experiences they'll carry with them forever.
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Labor Day weekend means the end of the summer, but
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it also means the beginning of new memories for the fall.
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We talk about these trips all year long, the funny moments,
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the spills on rides, the epic off road crashes, the
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safe ones. Of course, I love hearing the kids say
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I can't wait until next Labor Day weekend before the
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school year even begins. It's prooved that family traditions matter,
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and it's a reminder to us as parents that even
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when life feels busy or overwhelming, these little adventures are
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what our kids will remember the most. I think part
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of what makes the trip so special is how beautiful
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Wisconsin this time of year is. The trees are all
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still green, and air feels cooler than and there's just
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something about being surrounded by your family. Road trips themselves
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are half the fun, singing along to music, playing games,
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and making up silly stories as we drive. It reminds
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me of my own childhood and how important it was
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to have moments away from home with family. If there's
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one thing I've learned is that traditions don't have to
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be extravagant. Kids don't care about fancy hotels or big trips.
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They care about time spent with you. For us, Labor
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Day weekend is proof of that. It's a simple, predictable
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routine that brings so much joy to our kids, and honestly,
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it brings just as much joy to us parents watching
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our kids laugh on rides or yell at the races.
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It's what life is all about. Of course, no hands
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and trip is complete without some chaos. Someone always forgets
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a toothbrush, someone always spills something sticky in the vehicle,
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and someone gets a little carsick. But those mishaps become
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part of the story we laugh about later, like the
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year we got caught in traffic for hours and the
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kids started playing would you rather to pass the time?
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Or the year that the girls brought home a goldfish
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from the fair and we had to figure out how
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to keep it alive on the drive home. It's messy,
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it's loud, and it's perfectly us. As we settle back
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into routine after Labor Day. I always feel grateful for
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these trips. They remind me of how important family traditions are,
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even if they take effort to pull off. I hope
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when our kids are grown they look back on these
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weekends and smile. Maybe they'll take their kids to Cranton
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or the Fair someday. That's how traditions keep going from
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one generation to the next, and honestly, I wouldn't trade
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the exhaustion for anything. Labor Day Weekend with the Hansons
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is loud, chaotic, and full of love, just like our family.
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Thanks for spending time with us on this episode of
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We Are the Hansons. We will see you next time,
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but until then, hold tight to your family traditions and
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make those memories count. You can get on over to
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our YouTube channel and subscribe. You can send us a
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Facebook message with any questions you have, or you can
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send us an email on our We Are the Hansons
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Show at gmail dot com. Let
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00:10:10.320 --> 00:10:14.360
132
00:10:15.080 --> 00:10:21.279
133
00:10:21.399 --> 00:10:25.600
134
00:10:25.679 --> 00:10:28.120
135
00:10:28.200 --> 00:10:31.799
136
00:10:32.600 --> 00:10:35.000
137
00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:37.639
138
00:10:37.679 --> 00:10:42.519
139
00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:49.159
140
00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:52.840
141
00:10:52.919 --> 00:10:57.279
142
00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:01.720
143
00:11:01.720 --> 00:11:05.799
144
00:11:05.840 --> 00:11:09.840
145
00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:15.679
146
00:11:15.679 --> 00:11:20.159
147
00:11:20.759 --> 00:11:25.840
148
00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:30.279
149
00:11:31.320 --> 00:11:34.080
150
00:11:34.120 --> 00:11:36.919
151
00:11:37.320 --> 00:11:41.120
152
00:11:41.159 --> 00:11:44.159
153
00:11:44.200 --> 00:11:47.360
154
00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:51.360
155
00:11:51.399 --> 00:11:54.120
156
00:11:54.519 --> 00:12:14.919
