The Great Outdoors

Today (Tuesday) Hayden and I went to Wheeler Farm with Michelle Anderson, her kids (Abbi and Ty), and her cousins (Dylan and Adam). We had pizza, breadsticks, strawberries, and cookies for lunch--hey, at least there was some fruit involved in the menu, right :) Then we fed some of the leftover bread to the ducks and geese.

We also discovered that the ducks weren't fond of pepperoni and pizza sauce.

Giddy up cowboys and cowgirl! The kids loved the animals...we saw cows, horses, pigs, goats, chickens, sheep, and rabbits. The treehouse also kept them pretty entertained. For some reason, being in a closed space like that causes a chain reaction of screaming (don't worry, it was happy screaming).

On Sunday afternoon, we took a trip up to Silver Lake with Dan. It was such perfect weather and nice to be enjoying the outdoors. Hayden loved checking out the fish and the mama duck with her ducklings. When the ducklings swam underneath the boardwalk, Mama hopped up looking for them. As you can tell from the picture above, she's apparently pretty comfortable around people.

Say cheese! This was about halfway around the lake where we were looking for squirrels and chipmunks.

As we were getting ready to leave we saw moose. I was so excited because I've never seen them in real life before.

Hayden took this picture from the hood of Dan's car. He's such a good little photographer!

4th of July

We had a pretty fun and eventful fourth this year. It started early (I actually had to wake Hayden up around 6am) because I ran the Sandy Classic 10K in the morning. I was just hoping to finish in less than an hour which I did--yay. I even ended up with a third place medal which was completely unexpected. My friend Michelle and her husband ran it as well and they both got medals, too. Then after getting ready, Hayden and I plus Grandma and Grandpa went back and let Hayden play on the inflatables. We also got airbrush tattoos, snowcones, watched the entertainment, and checked out the fun booths. Later in the day we went and saw "Up" with Dan, then we went back to Sandy for the parade, concerts, and fireworks. I can't believe that Hayden stayed awake long enough to watch the fireworks. Luckily he made it and he ended up loving the show...Hayden's first time seeing the big fireworks in the sky.

Hayden on the Spiderman inflatable slide...this one was his favorite!

Here's my mom, Hayden, me, and Bob pretending to be firefighters.

My mom saw Hayden playing with the bubble gun and she ended up buying it for him because Grandmas are known for spoiling their grandkids.

Enjoying the pre-firework festivities: Dan, me, Hayden, Cassie, Jenny, Sophia, and Gracie.

Hayden scaring (not intentionally) Gracie with his dog, Caffee--I seriously don't know where he comes up with these names.

Hayden and Dan watching the fireworks.

Hayden and Sophia smiling for the camera.

More Summer Fun!

Today we went and checked out Cowabunga Bay. It was fun, but Hayden didn't enjoy going down the waterslides. Luckily I was able to convince him to stay, and he ended up having a great time in the pool and the lazy river.

Hayden and the girls (Gracie, Hayden, Zaria, and Zeta). What can I say, my kid's a little stud!

On Saturday we went up to Layton and visited with some of the fam. Here are Luke, Ryan and Hayden playing with the chalk, and drawing streets for the toy cars.

Since Luke just turned 2 (yay!) Hayden gave him his birthday present.

We hit a pretty big milestone this last week. Hayden finally had the courage to go on the carousel, and ride one of the animals all by himself. I'm proud of you buddy.

Our Backyard

I am kind of wishing that I had taken some before pictures of the yard...just think tall weeds and dead grass. Last summer I had the white vinyl fencing put in, but I couldn't afford to put the fencing in on the side with the shared yard. This year I killed/pulled weeds, layed out the landscape fabric, put down the stones, had playground woodchips put in, and I even planted a few flowers in pots. Oh, and last year Bob put in a door from the garage to the yard so that I can access the yard without having to walk through the front yard. We also put together the slide, trampoline, and swing. Fortunately, I had picked up the sandbox and some of the patio furniture off of ksl last summer, so at least I had something to start with.

Summer...So Far

Enjoying some outside time with Sophia and Gracie. It's nice to use our backyard now.

Playing at the aquarium with Hayden's "girlfriend" Abby and her little brother Ty.

"Two little love birds sitting in a tree"--and that's as far as this song goes (thank goodness). Hayden and Abby at the park.

Here he is getting ready to kick the ball in his soccer class. Notice how I am not on the receiving end--Hayden's a great kicker!

Checking out the cute animals at the farm! We just can't get enough of Thanksgiving Point.

Circus Days

Yesterday and today was "Circus Days" for Hayden's preschool classes. Above is a pic with his friend Abby squirting water in the Duck Race.

Hayden and the girls! From left to right--Zaria, Paige, Gracie, and Hayden

I didn't have to dress up as a clown (oh, darn!), but I have days where I dress pretty funny anyway. This picture was taken by little Miss Zaria.

Here is Miss Jenny, the preschool director (Gracie took this picture).

Crazy Miss Paula! I only recognized her because of her glasses.

Zaria and silly Miss Kristen. I can't remember which kid took this picture. Most of these pics in this post were taken by the kids.

Here is Hayden with his buddy Isaac. Yes, he does have friends that aren't girls.

Hayden's Program

Last night was Hayden's preschool program--it was a combination of all the 3-year-old classes. He did such a good job and he actually sang this time. My heart melted when Hayden did the occassional wave at mommy, and then told his friends (during the program, of course) "There's my mom."

He loved sitting next to his friend Jordan. Hayden has become quite social this past year.

The them of the program this year was the four seasons. I'm sure you can guess which season Hayden is representing.

Here he is posing with some of his friends who watched him during the program (Ashlyn, Hayden, Paige, and Megan).

I was lucky enough to get Hayden to hold still for this picture. This was right after the program, and he really wanted to go back to his classroom for some reason (probably to play with the toys).

Fun At Work

So now that it's getting to be the end of the school year we have the opportunity to get a little crazy. Yesterday was crazy hair/accessory/sock day. For anyone that's known me for a long time, you probably know that it doesn't take much arm twisting for me to dress up (think disco attire, tutu, and boredom all mixed together). Some of you may even recognize the glasses--they've made the occassional appearance throughout the past 15 years. I didn't go crazy with my hair because I had to look semi-normal later on for Hayden's program, but I did have some crazy socks (think Pipi Longstocking). This pic above was taken with Tiffany and Brianne from first grade.

Last week was our Jogapalooza or "fun run" to raise money for our playground/PE equipment. I just love getting paid to run! I ended up running with kindergarten, first grade, second grade, and my enrichment class in the afternoon. I did the math and I think I ran about 6 miles that day. It was tons of fun and the kids had a blast (plus we met our fundraising goal). We really put the "fun" in fundraiser, right (total inside joke for anyone who saw my stint on Channel 5 back in the day).

Day Out With Thomas

We've been waiting for this day for almost a whole year. We finally got to ride Thomas the Train (for anyone who doesn't know, Hayden is a huge fan).

Here we are posing in front of Thomas. Hayden really was happy, but he wasn't thrilled about having to pose for a picture--what a surprise.

The first thing we did when we got to Heber Valley Railroad was ride the 25 minute train ride in an open car. Hayden loved having Grandma and Grandpa with us.

One of the places to visit after the ride was the Imagination Station which was filled with trains, puzzles, and art activities. Hayden said he was pretending to be a howler monkey in this picture. Again, I don't always understand his thought process, but he was certainly using his imagination.

There was also a small petting zoo, too. They had ponies, baby donkeys, and a baby camel. Hayden really enjoyed grooming them once he realized that's what all the brushes were for. In fact, he spent quite awhile grooming the backside of one of the ponies--that's so typical of my kid.

Race for the Cure

So Brooke and I did it! We ran the race this Saturday in celebration of our loved ones who have either passed away from breast cancer or survived it. It was such a neat and inspiring morning-who better to spend it with than my sis. There were about 18,000 people there and I was amazed by that big of a turnout. The weather was absolutely perfect, too.

This is before the race about a block or two away from the start line. My mom, Bob, and Hayden dropped us off here so that we didn't have to drive down and find a parking spot. One of the more emotional moments of the morning happened after the race. As soon as my mom saw us and saw our "In Celebration Of" signs, she started crying. I can't imagine what it was like to lose a mother at such a young age, and I just want to let my mom know how much I love her. She has been my rock, my hero, my comforter, and my best friend throughout my life. I couldn't of hand picked a more perfect mother for me or a better grandma for Hayden. I love you mom!