First Day and Lava Hot Springs

Hayden and I both started another new school year Monday. He did pretty good both days...he only cried on the second day because he saw me in the hall and he wanted to come with me (oops!). He did have an interesting bathroom incident on the second day. Keep in mind that he only uses the bathroom at home and in the women's restrooms. One of his teachers found him in the boys bathroom with his pants and shoes off standing in the urinal. Can we say bathtime as soon as we got home from school.

Here he is with Miss Jennifer and Miss Kristie--his Pre-K teachers

Posing with Miss Kristen--his 3-year-old teacher (along with Miss Jennifer, too).

This last weekend we went to Lava Hot Springs with Dan and his friends (Enrico, Jean, and their daughter Cassie). We had a good time--it was Hayden's first camping experience. He did have a few traumatic moments, though. He went down the slide on the playground which ended up being too slick and flew off the bottom which resulted in him landing on his backside pretty hard. Luckily, Hayden's a tough kid and he bounced back.

Dan and Enrico entertaining us with some music (I wish that I could have sat and listened the whole time, but I had to walk Hayden around a bit to keep him occupied).

I did get a picture of Dan in the middle of singing.

Cassie and Hayden thought it would be fun to bury things in the dirt...whatever works, right!?

Here's Dan, Enrico, Hayden and I tubing down the river. Hayden loved it! I was kind of surprised at how well he did. It was pretty fun, but the water was nice and cooooooold.

The Past Week

So last Tuesday we were feeling brave and went to Thanksgiving Point for the $2 Tuesdays with Michelle, Abbi, Ty and some of their friends. We ended up at the Gardens since we don't have a membership there. Let me just say that the whole place was packed, but we still had fun. I don't have any pictures, but we started out in the Discovery Garden where Hayden enjoyed the Noah's Ark water feature (he got soaked). Then we did the mazes, the childrens' stage and some of the other activities there for the kiddos. Luckily, we were able to connect to some of the other gardens (I guess you normally have to pay separately to enter the other ones) and Hayden was fascinated by the neat waterfalls they have there. We explored those and the kids had fun rolling down the grassy hills (or on top of eachother as was the case with Hayden).

The following day we went to the zoo because I was trying to get in some more fun stuff before school starts. It was the first time that I could get Hayden over to watch the bird show which I thought was entertaining, but I'm not sure that Hayden shared in my enthusiasm...oh well. There was a new baby giraffe (pic above), but the baby elephant wasn't out yet. Below is a picture of Hayden enjoying the cool air from the fan. Sadly, it took him awhile to work up enough courage to stand in front of it. Once he realized how fun it was I couldn't get him away from it.

Saturday (Aug. 15) was Brooke's bridal shower. I had planned to have it outside, but we ended up relocating inside because of the rain showers (a day of showers all the way around).

The bride to be. I had a Bachelorette sash that I made her wear. The bows and ribbons in her hair came from all the gifts she received (thanks Emily for attaching them so stylishly).

Some of the party guests (I didn't get everyone on here, but we had a great turnout). Above is my mom and cousin, Tiffany.

Front: Emily, Thomas, and Ashley Back: Selena and Kristy

Opening gifts

The first game we played was for Brooke. She had to match her answers with her hubby-to-be, Travis. She had to put bubble gum in her mouth for every mismatched answer. I was surprised by how much gum she ended up with.

Then we played a matching game for everyone. Guests tried to match the wedding phrases and for every correct match they got a candybar that correlated with the phrase (ie "Wedding Gifts" was a Mounds bar and "The Wedding Night" was a Skor bar).

Aunt Betty

Betty Gardner Ackerlind 1930 ~ 2009 On August 1 2009, I peacefully surrendered to breast cancer after 34 years. The cancer metastasized to the lungs and bones, even though I had never smoked.I was born October 17, 1930 in Neola, Utah to Mary Mazella Jensen Gardner and Leonard Derle Gardner. Our family including three older sisters, Lila, Carol and Gwen, moved to Salt Lake when I was 11. I graduated from East High and University of Utah, later returned for a Masters in Educational Psychology. I married Curtis E. Ackerlind, Jr. in November 1951 in the L.D.S. Temple. We were divorced several years later. I also received a temple divorce. We traveled in the Air Force for six and a half years, later making our home in Salt Lake. I worked for oil and gas companies; in equal opportunity for minorities and women (topic of my Thesis); in a young adult offenders program (alternative to jail and prison). I always wanted to have children of my own so I became the next best thing, a counselor at East High, retiring 1992. One highlight in my life was becoming baptized at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in November 1994. I have found an inner peace since learning about the wonderful grace of Jesus. The combination of the love for my L.D.S. family, my church family, and many friends, has helped me through the highs and lows of my life. Via de Cristo (four day and nights with Jesus and women from many different churches) was another highlight. I have been on prayer team of Christian Motorcycle Association. I enjoyed co-leading groups and reading and writing poetry. My best friend Jesus and my soul-mate my Westie dog, Angel. I am survived by my sister Lila Turnbow and brother-in-law Wally (Penny) Donaldson; nieces and nephews: Sheree (Bob) Barnes, Dave Donaldson, Lee (Meg) Donaldson, Susan (Harvey) Hawkes, Linda Matulich, Rich (Carolyn) Sutherland, Hal (Julie) Turnbow; many special grand-nieces and nephews; and my "would like to adopt" children at Good Shepherd. Preceded in death by my parents; sisters, Gwen Donaldson and Carol Gilliam; and grand-nephew Andy Matulich. A special thanks to Dr. Kent DiFiore, my oncologist since 1988; my friend, Gene Westerman who drove me to treatments; and Carol McPherson who stayed at my bedside; and CNS Hospice. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made through Good Shepherd Lutheran Church for CMA (Christian Motorcycle Association), Sandra Hays' Salvation Army Ministry or WOW (Women of the World) projects (make checks out to GSLC and write ministry name in memo). Please join my family in the celebrations of Jesus and the influence he has had upon my life on Friday, August 7, 2009 at 12:00 noon and one hour prior to services at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 8575 S. 700 E., Sandy 84070. Interment will be held at Wasatch Lawn Cemetery, 3401 South Highland Drive.

Candy, Gateway, Racing, and a Slip n Slide

Today was like a "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory" experience. We toured Sweets Candy Factory, ate candy, and my child had a meltdown (oh, and I lost my keys but luckily found them in the bathroom...ya, another story). However, it really was an eventful, educational and yummy day. Above is a picture of Hayden, Annie, and Gracie.

Here's our group of friends that came to the factory with us. Jenny came with her girls (Gracie and Sophia), her sister-in-law (Annie), and her brother-in-law (Ben). Amy brought her kids (Brayden, Kelton, and Ryker) and her niece (sadly I can't remember her name). After our candy adventure, Jenny and I decided to let the fun carryover to McDonald's...I didn't hear anyone complain about that idea. Overall it was a real HEALTHY day (ok, at least it was fun).

Discovery Gateway...Again!

Yesterday we went back to Discovery Gateway with Michelle, Abbie, and Ty. It is such a neat place, and the kids are definitely intrigued by all the hands-on activities.

Hayden and Abbie in the Construction Zone.

Hayden and Abbie signed up for the Van Gough art class during our trip there. They had fun, but Hayden can only sit still for so long in a place like that. Here they are creating their own "Starry Night."

We didn't want to miss the helicopter this time. It took a little convincing to get Hayden inside because it was pretty loud.

Putting on a show...there was a cute little theater for the kids to dress up and act out favorite stories. Of course, there was very little acting going on. Hayden ended up chasing Abbie around the stage, but they were having a blast. Later, as we were leaving, there was an incident that involved Hayden refusing to put his icecream cone in his other hand which somehow resulted in me falling on the sidewalk (salvaging most of my diet coke, thank heavens). As I layed there unable to move from shock, Hayden just looked at me and said "You got my shoe wet." Hello, I just fell flat on my, what does Hayden call it, oh my toosh. However, at that moment all I could do was laugh. Some guy came over and asked me if I was alright to which I quickly replied "yes," but seriously, I am a mother and I will probably never fully be alright for the rest of my life.

Running the Deseret News 10K

What a great way to start the day! Nothing like a 10K that starts at 6am--especially when it's already hot before the race even begins. Actually, I did have a lot of fun running with about 2,500 other people. I ended up in the top 300 (close to 300th place) with a time of 43:05 (which averaged out to be a 6:57 min. mile--did that make sense?). I at least placed 12th in my division out of like 270 people, but I really was pleased with my time. I can't believe how fast the top finishers were--first place in the men's was just under half-an-hour. Later that day, Hayden and I went and saw the new Ice Age movie. He liked it (for the most part) and he behaved quite well throughout the entire show.

Slip n Slide and Dirt Cups

Last Tuesday (the 21st) we played at Michelle's house with Abbie, Ty, and Luke. Here they are on the Sponge Bob Slip n Slide.

Afterwards, the kids had worked up quite an appetite so they had yummy quesadillas and chips.

Here they are making their own dirt cups (a combination of chocolate cookies, pudding and gummy worms). Doesn't that just make your tongue tingle!? Hayden made this massive creation and then took about two bites.

A Few Days of Fun

On Saturday we enjoyed the Draper Days festivites. Below is a picture of Hayden petting a corn snake. He's much braver than I am.

The morning started with a 5K run...the most competitive race I've ran in so far. Even though I kept a pretty good time (just over 22 minutes) I finished 4th in my division. Oh well, it was still tons of fun and I loved the fact that so many people were involved.

Shortly after the race we found a spot to watch the parade. We sat with some people who were incredibly nice and shared their unused chairs with us.

Of course what kid doesn't love catching and collecting the candy. Maybe Hayden shouldn't be handing it to me to hold on to...he might not see it again.

Hi-fiving the police officers on their motorcycles.

Visiting the Zoo

On Friday we met up with some friends from work (Suzanne, Jenny, and Amy) and their kids. They all had so much fun playing with eachother outside of school, and fortunately I was able to get them to hold still long enough for a few pictures.

The mamas (me, Amy, Suzanne, and Jenny).

Discovery Gateway

On Thursday we met up with my sisters Tawni and Danika plus Dan (Danika's husband), and their kids (Luke and Layna). We went and explored Discovery Gateway and then enjoyed lunch by the fountains outside.

Hayden loved the Construction Zone!

What is it about playing in water that kids are absolutely drawn to, but when it's time to get in the water at bath time they throw a fit.

We were lucky enough to get Hayden and Luke in a picture together. What cuties!

So I'm trying to teach Hayden early on how to pump gas in the car so that he can start doing that for me...haha.

Since Hayden loves to act like a dog at home all the time, I thought that this was an appropriate photo opportunity.

So as a journalism major in college I couldn't resist taking this picture.

Uncle Dan helped the boys with this activity. There were these big magnectic pipe-like tubes that you could rearrange into different configurations, and then drop a ball in and watch it come out the bottom.

Swimming

On Wednesday we went to visit my great aunt Betty, and then we went swimming in her pool. Hayden is quite the little swimmer this year...I think he likes having a bit more freedom because he's wearing a life jacket.