Well we are home from a great weekend in Brainerd. We stayed Friday night at the "WaterFall Hotel" (Holiday Inn Express-Waterpark). Hayden was lucky enough to get some waterparking in. He knew once we hit Aitkin where he wanted to go, all of the sudden we were driving around Aitkin and he said "I want to go to the Waterfall Hotel." I don't know if he associated Aitkin with Brainerd or what, but we hadn't told him we were going there. Smart Kid! He swam like a little fish and went up and down the water slides a couple dozen times. We stayed in a Kid Suite and Hayden got his own bunk bed. He loved it! He kept telling us he was going to sleep in his own bed. We went to 2 drive through Christmas light displays. One was at the "This Old Farm" where Paul Bunyan Land moved to 5 years ago. It was beautiful. However Hayden fell asleep and didn't see anything! Then we went to the Brainerd Arboretum. It was a mile of lights to drive through ranging from Teddy bears to Santa Golfing to Nativity and bells. It was amazing. It was so good we went on Saturday night too! Hayden got to see this time. I tried to get pictures but they didn't come out so great! If they do this next year we will be going again.
Saturday we moved on to Cragun's. We ice skated, played in the snow, and made a fire in the fireplace. We love Cragun's! We swam Sunday morning and built a snow sculpture, a Christmas Tree with beads and a snowflake topper! We won 1st place, out of 1 team, us! We still would of won! Hayden didn't really participate but when we weren't by the tree he kept asking "Where is our Christmas tree?" We rode on the Horse pulled Trolley too! We had lots of fun!
I am going to post "Our Year in Pictures" either on the side bar or a separate post so be watching for it! Happy New Year's to everyone. I know we were blessed with another great year i hope you were too!

Christmas is over? Boy does it fly by. My computer is having some issues lately and i couldnt sign on to the blog for two days it was driving me nuts! We had a great christmas getting way to much. I got a new black coat which i am in love with, even Jason really likes it! He got Wii games, golf stuff and a basketball hoop. Hayden got everything! A bike from Santa, Camera, lots of Diego stuff, tools, uber cute sweater from my mom. Now all we need is a LOT of batteries!

My baby is 3! We sang, he sang, lots of people sang! He did very well. It was a long day but we did it! I made sure to tell him Happy Birthday first before all the Merry Christmas. The Buffy is gone. Santa brought it to all the babies who needed them. He cried himself to sleep on Christmas, i wasnt to far off either. Jason had to work the next morning and was sleeping when i was up with Hayden sobbing until 1 am, i was in Hayden's room thinking bad thoughts about Jason! But come the morning he said he heard him and felt bad too. So i took back all the bad things! Sorry Jason. He was fine yesterday and we'll see how today goes. I am the one who needs to be strong.

We have been playing games at night with either Sarah and Casey or Emily and Aaron. I forgot how much i love to play games. We've been having fun. We haven't even really had time to play all our new Wii games. I did try my new game and it's "Mama's Cook Off" it was fun weird too! We don't play our Wii when Hayden is awake or here so we have very limited time to play, but i HATE video games for kids. Our child will NOT ever get a video game system until he's like 16. Computer is fine, a lot easier for me to monitor the play.

I am going to get some video of Hayden singing and pictures on today so check back! Also i think i am going to change the layout and look of the blog so watch for that! If something doesn't work or you don't like let me know!

Merry Christmas

We hope everybody has a Very Merry Christmas. We were lucky enough to celebrate 2 of our 8 Christmas parties this weekend. We had great fun at both of them. We travelled to Grandma Sandmon's house in all the snow, on Sunday, it only took us an hour and half to drive the normal 45 mins! Saturday we celebrated with the Routh's. A very busy day chatting with lots of people. Friday was my birthday and celebrated with Sarah and Casey with dinner and games. Jason bought me a leather Coach Bag! I have been wanting one forever. I also got Exchange cake from my Mom and Dad. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm, nothing better than Exchange cake. I have a few pictures of all the fun! Here are a few things we did this weekend.

• Hayrides
• Presents!
• Eating
• Jessica
• Playing in the Snow
• Singing
• Fun, Fun, Fun

Here are a couple of the Christmas pictures of Hayden and Jessica, none that we ordered though, that's a surprise!

Hayden Driving a Greyhound at the History Museum

What a crazy time of the year, and i love it all! Hayden is growing closer and closer to three. I read that in my mom's Christmas letter and got very teary eyed. I know he is going to be three but seeing it on paper saddened me. He is really growing up and so fast. He is just like a little man too! He takes very good care of me, helping me to keep my purse very close, at all times. Telling me we always wash our hands. Making sure i have my blanket with me anytime i am sitting down for too long. Bringing me my coffee cup in the morning if i walk away from it. He is a good boy! Of course i say all of that very sarcastically. He is a good helper, a little too good some days!

Well we made a very busy Moe Weekend. We stayed at the Crown Plaza in Downtown St Paul. We were on the 18th floor in a corner room with a great view! River on one side and skyline on the other. We walked around a bit in downtown and to the Excel center where we saw High School Musical on Ice. It was cute! I have never seen the movies but it reminded me of Grease kind of. Hayden seemed to enjoy it for the most part too. He liked the fireworks! We had a few quick Museum stops, Childrens and History. Hayden got to run around like a nut! Of course a stop to the Candyland Candy Store, a must. A bunch of great restaurants and a visit with Jessica and Lisa for pictures. A great weekend.

I will end with a few pictures. Christmas Cards are coming i just can't find the best picture and i have been taking pictures like crazy!

A Christmas Card, one of them!

An attempted Christmas Card picture!

I forgot i put this on here just to test it for school. I played this movie at our last staff meeting. I had a hard time getting it to work. It has some interesting facts in it. It makes me think about Hayden's future and what the world is going to be then. In 12th grade on the Friday before 9\11 my teacher told the class "That in your lifetime, the world as you know it, will not be the same." He explained he didn't know event would change our world but something would. Then so shortly 9\11 happened. What in Hayden's lifetime will change his world? Will the world's computers be smarter than he? Can we train today's youth to live in a world we know nothing about?

Pics!

Well we made it in to December! And just over a year with the blog!! Hayden and I decorated cookies last night, just the whole slice and bake ones. And i had an idea. I would love everybody's favorite, easiest!, cookie recipes. Or great cookie ideas. Either email me or leave a comment! I would love to get a few!

Boy do we have snow! I love it! So far. I also think i have developed an allergy to my Christmas tree. I have had a Sinus headache only when i am home since we got the silly thing. I LOVE real trees and will stick it out, but boy does it make it hard to enjoy! Hayden was so much fun decorating the tree. He really got in to it at first. He put ornaments all over. He picked out his favorite, a little pillow and pretends to sleep on it. Silly Boy. He has not once bothered the tree since we put it up. One little ball found its way in but thats all!

Thats but all thats going on lately. Christmas shopping, cleaning have taken up a lot of time! I can't find the perfect christmas card picture either. So that means Hayden is going to have to pose lots for mommy! Have a good week!

This morning Hayden woke up about 6:45 with "Sparkles" in his hand. I am thinking his hand fell asleep and was tingling. But i thought i'd share that with everyone because i found it very cute early this morning! So i brought him into bed with me where i had a sneezing attack and in his sleep he told me "Bless You" each time i sneezed! What a cutie!

Our almost 3 year old has quite an attitude lately. I think and hope it's because he isn't feeling up to par. He is super stuffy still and felt warm to Mommy last night. But it will pass like everything else does! That is by the way my motto for parenting! Those were my 2nd wisest words to Sarah about her future parenting. (The 1st was to tell your kids you love them tons and tons when they are little because it wouldnt be that easy when they get older.)

My silly son also has been spending a lot of time talking on his wrist. Hmmm. But he is talking to Diego on his watch. I also have been called Dora a lot this week. His little imagination is working so hard i LOVE it. To me even before reading i think imaginations are so important! Baby Jaguar has also been at our house hiding so we have to go find him. Where mommy thinks he is and where Hayden thinks he is, isnt always the same. Oops! Silly Mommy!

Its weird how little boys and girls for this matter are so different from one another. Hayden isnt into cars and trucks. But he LOVES Sports and Diego right now. He likes trains, which is the only toy he really plays with these days. At Angie's house all Jacob does is play trains, he lives, breathes and talks about Trains 24/7. Ben LOVES dinosaurs. I wonder if any of this carries through into grade school and so on. My brother played with Cars and legos until recently. Hayden doesn't seem interested in cars, i find this weird but also a good thing. He knows what he likes and has decided for himself. Being an individual is all it is, probably at its earliest form.

Not sure whats going on this weekend hopefully Christmas Tree. Thats all i have been wanting to do since Tuesday. We got a new, free! Entertainment center so i had to rearrange the living room(again!) and we are moving the old one in the basement but while we did that we felt a draft and went to Menards and the whole "If You Give A Mouse A Cookie" thing. The Old one is still in the living room, where my tree is going to go, so hopefully.....

Have A Great Weekend! Yeah it's Friday!

Wow what a busy weekend. We had a very nice Thanksgiving. Busy, but good! We headed to the Cities on Friday morning. We had lunch at Psycho Suzi's Motorlounge. It was very cool and great food! I would highly recommend this to anyone who wants something out of the ordinary. The pizza was yummy! The Black Bean Chili was AMAZING! We headed to the hotel and hung out a while. We went to Maverick's in Roseville for dinner. Its kind of like Arby's but much better and not a crappy chain. Fresh roast beef and homemade soups! We attempted to go look at Christmas Lights but we only slightly succeeded. Emily and Brittany joined us after that at our Hotel. We went swimming too!

On Saturday we headed to the Science Museum. My mom and dad went else where and the 5 of us kids went and saw an Imax film about Greece and looked at the neat exhibits. We then walked the couple blocks and met my mom and dad at Cossettas for some pizza. Hayden then crashed fast asleep and we drove down to the Old Pioneer Press building where we rode the elevator equipped with its own Elevator Operator. Very cool! I doubt we'll ever be able to do that again. The building was very cool too! I love architecture. We had take out at a yummy BBQ place right by Minnehaha Falls. We then went shopping at World Market and Michaels. I loved World Market and had never been there before what a variety!

Sunday we went to Turtle Bread Company. Then to Wild Rumpus. Hayden had lots of fun with the little front door! He liked the cats and even pet them. He really liked the Chinchillas. The books too! We stopped quickly at Creative Kidstuff and bought none of their overpriced toys! Then we took a quick Trolley ride with Santa. This was the highlight of the trip for Hayden. He LOVED the Lake Harriet Trolley. Smiles the whole time. Whistles, Tunnels, Tracks, and rocks everything he loves! We then just barely made it to the Children's Theater for A Year with Frog and Toad. Hayden sat through the whole thing and loved it. I think he would love to be on the Stage. He loves to sing and dance and loves attention! The show was very cute! I love the Children's Theater! We then went to Macy's and saw the Nutcracker on the 8th floor(not 9th like i previously stated). Hayden was SO good standing and waiting in line he seemed to like it too. He did not like Santa and threw himself on the floor screaming. Oops! Maybe next year. Then we went outside and watched the Parade. Hayden sat on my shoulders. He waved and saw the front of the first float and then he was out, cold. Snoring in my ear. He was very tired! Only my son could sleep through a Marching Band 3 feet away!

We had a great weekend and look forward to a normal week! Christmas tree tomorrow hopefully! Its snowing right now, i hope it keeps up! Have a great week. Thanks for checking on us.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Hayden is learning all about Thanksgiving. So tomorrow we are going to say Thank You to everything. I believe its important to each him the TRUE meaning of every holiday. I don't want him to grow up too commercialized. The gazillion books he has on every holiday helps too! Jason got his buck yesterday. A nice 8 pointer. The biggest one he has shot with his rifle. So yeah for him!!!!! Hayden keeps telling us he is going to eat all the bucks. My poor baby has a nasty cold. I have been debating all week to take him in or not but i really think it is just a cold, virus and nothing else. I HATE when we go to the doctor and all they say is "Its just a virus" So i am going to save myself some pain, by not going! We are going to the cities this weekend for our annual trip. I do believe it will include the Holidazzle parade, the 9th floor display at Macy's and a play at the Children's Theater, A Year with Frog and Toad. I think this will be Hayden's first play. We have snow! Right now outside like an inch. I love snow especially for the holidays. That always makes me feel better. Well i hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving! I am thankful for my wonderful family and friends!

Here is the Link to Hayden's Christmas Photos! Just Click here--------> Hayden

Update: No pictures happened last night! Hayden fell asleep and I couldn't wake him up. Appointment on Friday!


Here is a picture of Hayden in Brandon's new room! And a good example of his hair cut.
Enjoying the Snow!

Wow another week has blown by! For my MN readers any big bucks this year? WI are you ready for the big hunt this weekend? Jason is. He is like a little kid at Christmas. He also gets 9 days off of work! Usually for this vacation he only gets a few days off, so he is REALLY happy. He told me he has lost is omph lately at work and needs to get it back! Nothing like a week in a deer stand by yourself to make you want to go back to work, right!

Stuff I want to get done during Hunting Season:

• Christmas Tree and Decorations up.



• Finish Christmas Shopping(Yes thats right finish!)



• Make my Apple Crisp, French Silk Pie, and Sweet Potato Casserole(For Thanksgiving!)



• Get All my loose ends done at work



• Hopefully paint the bathroom

Hayden has been a non stop talking hoot lately. "Why" "Why" "Why" Its enough to drive one nuts! But after talking to my aunt whose Grandson doesn't ask these type of questions i am quite Thankful for my wonderful, smart, beautiful son.

We have had a little issue potty training. He can't seem to make it to the bathroom. He has wet on my Pottery Barn bath mat one to many times! But we did better this weekend and only had one accident. Pullups are great!

Anybody have any ideas on the buffy? I'd love to hear them. I once heard of someone putting all the buffys in a stocking and then Santa would take them and leave gifts in return. Or putting them all in a baggie and sending them to Sarah for her baby. Hayden is a sucker for babies!

We are getting Hayden's Christmas pictures taken tomorrow, hopefully! We have his dorky little christmas sweater vest! I'll post the link to the pics on thursday if they are ready by then. I have a truckload of Sears coupons, so hopefully i can pick up something nice!

Hayden is a huge christmas/winter freak like me! I am so proud. He was SO happy it snowed on Friday and Saturday, of course none stuck, but he saw it and got to even throw a snowball. We are going to have a fun winter! We have been listening to Christmas music too! He only likes one song though, Jingle Bells. But he loves to sing and is learning the words!

Well i hope everyone has a great week! Check out the poll i am putting up, i need help!

Hayden is in love. Everything he ever has liked before does not hold a candle to this new love of his. It's Diego. Some know him as Dora the Explorer's cousin. He just adores him. He talks about him like he is a close friend. He is watching Diego's Christmas(Hayden's 2 favorite things right now!) right now. Well for Christmas we want to get him a Rescue Pack, but not the plastic talking one. So if anyone finds an obnoxious orange backpack please let me know!

Hayden got a haircut today =(
I am not happy. I told her keep the length just clean it up. He has short hair. He still has curls but they aren't flowing. I'll get over it. Jason and my mom both loved it. Its hair, it will grow.

Pics to come tomorrow!

I hope everyone had an enjoyable Halloween. We had a blast. Hayden was so much fun. He had his routine done pat. We'd walk up to the door, he would ring the doorbell\knock HARD, Open his treat bag up, say "Trick or Treat", Weasel his way in between the door and the person handing out candy(the closer the better i think was his plan, because he ended up almost in people's houses!), say "Hi", and then "Thank YOU". As we would walk away he'd say "Where to next?" Silly boy! I had so much fun watching him, he was a Trick or Treating Pro! He has a serving bowl full of candy! And boy was he on a sugar high last night, bouncing around! But oh well!
He decided on Tuesday he wanted to sleep in his own room, ummm OKAY! We moved his bed in their and he has slept thru the night in his own room both nights. He couldn't fall asleep, but we moved him! Nap time too. He actually fell asleep in his room! We are working on getting him a twin size bed, hopefully with a trundle so if any cute little girls(cousins!) can spend the night too!
I have to run! I have to work at 7 this morning, blah! I have a pic, its not very good though!

Update: Mark your calendars, Hayden's 3rd Birthday party is going to be January 5, 2008!

Its almost Halloween! Hayden is going to be a dragon, he will roar for you if you want! He knows to knock and say "Trick or Treat" and then of course "Thank You". Wednesday is going to come very slowly i think!

We hit up a Halloween party on Saturday at my church. My cousin did everything and it was wonderful! She should throw kids parties! Hayden had fun and even got to dance the Chicken Dance. It was a good day!

We stayed the night on Friday in Stillwater with my mom and dad. We had a fun little day trip to the area. It was so pretty the deep, dark reds and gold leaves on the trees in the river valley! We stop in Shell Lake and saw a museum full of wood carved figures depicting Bible stories. It was amazing, the sheep actually looked fuzzy even though they were wood! The old(senile?) lady who runs the place could not get out of her head that Hayden was a boy. He was "Little Girl" or "She" or "Her" even though my mom politely told her otherwise. We couldn't even get offended we just had to keep from laughing. It was almost like she was mocking us! Super Funny!

We carved pumpkins today! Hayden painted his. They are all very great jack o lanterns!

Happy Halloween!

Well October is almost over, already! We can't believe it. It rained ALL week here except for today, saturday. Jason was off and was able to go out in the woods with his dad and work on deer stands. We had Kaitlin's 11th birthday. Then we went out to Amnicon Park and i snapped lots of pictures! The light was kind of funky so i didn't get a ton but oh well! We also bought Pumpkins today at the Farmers Market! We'll carve them up soon!!!!

This week i worked at Cooper in addition to working at SHS. IT was neat to see how the library works at that level. Its actually very different. I think i really like working at the high school even more now. But the Kindergartners are SO cute. I wanted to take them home with me!

The week didn't really bring much excitement, only Hayden being in Time out, a few times. Hayden's newest favorite sport is jumping on my furniture. Hmmm, not cool. So he jumps, he gets time outs! He'll learn soon! Also the kid doesn't sleep. Yuck! Anyone who knows Jason knows he needs his sleep! Daddy was a little crabby this week!

We had lots of fun at Jessica's house last weekend. It was gorgeous out and Hayden was able to play outside in the yard. Jessica pushed him in her swing, her favorite thing to do with Hayden. They also played Traffic Jam in Jessica's Little Tikes cars. They are very cute too! We, me, Smith, and Hayden stayed at a Hotel and then went shopping on Sunday at the Albertville Outlet Mall. I scored a few good deals at the Gap(both of them!) Also cute pajamas for Christmas at Carters. It was a fun quick weekend getaway! Poor Jason had to work!

Next week i only work 3 days! Yeah. Not sure what we are going to do yet but something! Like CLEAN! Ha. OH well! I of course of some cute pictures of my little man! Who is getting a quite large personality. Funny as heck. He tries to make us laugh, and succeeds. The things he comes up with. We love him! Enjoy! A Cute little video of Hayden and Jessica and her big wipe out!

Lovely fall Weekend

We enjoyed a grand autumn weekend today and yesterday. We spent the beautiful day down in the Cities playing outside at Jessica's house. I was able to take a few pictures of the cuties. We had so much fun! I hopefully will post a longer post later with details, but i am tired! Just pics for now!

Fun in the Fall!

Wow! What a busy weekend! Hayden was lucky enough to go to the Apple Fest on Thursday with my mom and dad. He had his first piece of Apple Pie! Yum. And went on a ride that went "rounding, round." (his words!) We had a beautiful day that day and Jason got a few rounds of golf in. I stayed at home and read! I am addicted to another series of books. But sadly i am on the last one right now. Its actually a young adult book called "Twilight", "New Moon", and "Eclipse". Very good!

Friday, Jason and I went out with his friend, Nate. I can't even remember the last time we went out. We had fun. Went bar hopping and even went to the casino. It was great to see him. He is going into the Air Force on Tuesday. Best Wishes to him!

Saturday we went to the Boo at the Zoo with Auntie Nah and Jessica. Jessica was cute and ever! Sporting a new haircut too, i think. She didn't have to much to say but she and Hayden were expert Trick or Treaters. We were really glad they called us! We also had lunch with two completely comatose 2 year olds! It was actually amusing. Jessica was like a zombie, Hayden was completely out.

Today, we went to Taylor's Falls. It was HOT! Yeah!!! We went on a river boat ride. It had Paddles, Hayden liked these! It was gorgeous, warm, and perfect! I love the fall too! I even stole a few leaves from a park! We had supper in Luck. Hayden was zonked out. But luckily i ordered him his favorite, Corn Muffins. Which he enjoyed after his nap.

I keep forgetting to update on the Potty Training. I think i am safe to say he is 90% trained. Today and Yesterday he only went on the potty. Boy, can he hold it too! The whole time at the zoo, lunch and his nap he didn't go. He was dry! Yeah for him. I can't remember the last dirty diaper i changed either. He is wearing pull ups, out and about. But i haven't had a wet one all week, and he had been wearing his little undies to Angies and hasn't had any accidents. Yeah! Its great!

I can't believe that week flew by. But on to another! Have a great week. Enjoy some pictures from today.

I can't believe another week has gone flying past us. It was a good week though, A new season has started! I am in love with Grey's Anatomy, loved Private Practice(made me cry!), and got into the new show Gossip Girl(sorry mom!). Lost isn't on until half season so like January i am guessing, boo! Oh well. I haven't been much of a tv watcher until last year, i had like a show every night. Oh well. And i love the Internet! I missed Gossip Girl so i watched them online, i love it! Grey's too. Make sure and use this awesome feature if you miss a favorite show.

We love our new babysitter! She is only coming one day a week for now. Her little boy, Ben gets along with Hayden so well! I am very happy with this arrangement! Hayden loves tuesdays now.

Not much else has happened. We haven't seen Jessica in a long time! Hayden keeps telling me let's go to Jessica's house. Hopefully soon!

My best friend, Sarah found out she is pregnant! I am so happy for her and Casey! She has a due date of May 15 right now. I am cross your fingers either going down for the birth and/or for a few weeks after school gets out in June. I am going to bring Hayden with in June and Jason too! She is actually up until Wednesday. It has been so great to see her this past week. I get to see her tomorrow too, one last time until Christmas. Congratulations you guys!

Hayden was happy to see his Auntie Em today, she came up for a quick visit.

Go Packers! Another happy sunday in the Smith house. If Daddy is happy the whole house is happy! I have even got him to STOP yelling at the TV. Football games are on when Hayden naps! Its a good excuse for me to take a nap too!

Have a good week! Enjoy the wonderful Fall! Its the favorite season here in the Smith household!

Make sure and vote! I set up a poll at the right! Just something fun and new from Blogger!

I didn't take any pictures this week! So i thought i would post an old one! This is from Sept. 18th, 2005!

Happy 100th!

Well Happy 100th post to me!

We've all been great this week! Not to much to say. What a beautiful weekend though! Got some golf in, mommy got to go take LOTS of pictures! I just thought i would post some of the pictures i snapped!

Happy Fall Everyone!

The Chicken Dance

Warning: This may result in large amounts of laughter and has mild nudity. Watch at your own risk!

Choo Choo!

Another week gone by! Life lately has just been flying by. We had a great weekend, full of trains, roundhouses, turntable, fairies, turkey legs, cars, books, and a hotel. Hayden's new favorite thing is, hotels. He is constantly asking "Can we go to our hotel?" I guess this means we travel too much! Oh well. Hayden wants to have his birthday at the Waterpark HIE in Brainerd. He keeps inviting people! So this may happen! We were just going to take him there over my Christmas break! I have also began to plan his birthday, we are going to shoot for before his birthday this year. And its themed at a favorite sport! He talks about his birthday a lot lately and we have to read all the Birthday books. He knows his birthday is on Christmas and as of right now is proud of that!

Daddy was lucky enough to have 2 days off in the middle of the week in a row! Yeah! Hayden and Daddy went golfing both days! I am not sure who likes this best. Jason loves to golf and doesn't like to go out alone, so Hayden tags along and has a blast. Also Jason is Hayden's new favorite. I am not sure how i feel about this. Daddy has to do everything for him. Fine. The not as much snuggly with Mommy and a little more with Daddy, hmmm thats the part i don't like! My theory is that he is mad at me for going back to work. Oh well everything passes with time!

Potty training going strong! Tuesday he had the same Pull-up on all day long. So that was great! On Wednesday we worn Undies out of the house for the first time! Did good! I had to go by him more undies, 7 wasn't cutting it! I found a pack with sharks, stripes, and 1 white pair. Well i got home and he was "So Excited!", over the white pair. That's all he wanted to wear! Dork! I finally told him that we needed to wash the white pair and happily put on the sharks. He looks so cute in his little undies! He is so good with Potty Training, he just goes and flushes and washes his chubby little hands. Sometimes he comes out and tells me "I don't want to wash my hands." So we go back and wash them. I don't know why sometimes he doesnt want to! Cutie!

We have a wedding this weekend for one of Jason's friends, thats all! Relaxing! I need a new book though! I only have 3 more in my series to read! Have a great weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Another week has gone flying by. School went well. We are super busy in the library right now. We got so many new materials over the summer and are trying to process them fast. WE also have no computers at the moment, of course, the library's brand new computers were back ordered and its just a mess! But that's okay, the IT guy and me have been getting to know each other pretty well!
Hayden did well for the most part. Wednesday was awful. He kept telling me he didn't want to go to Angie's house. But after a little kicking and screaming i left, almost in tears! But when i picked him up they were just getting home from errands and he had an ice cream cone, he was happy! Thursday was a little tear and mommy bribing him to not. All was good!
He is doing VERY well with going potty. He wears undies around the house and sometimes he forgets and then goes flying into the bathroom. Hopefully we'll be fully potty trained by the end of the month.
We are going to the cities this weekend for the Renaissance festival and book/car show. Lots of fun! Have a great weekend! We will!

Post Full of Pictures!

Squeezing out the Summer!

I love summer. But i don't hate the fact its basically over. I had a great day at work today. Its nice to have Jodie back! Her little girl, McKenzie looks like she is all grown up over the summer. She is just a little under a year younger than Hayden. She is beautiful! We still have one more quick trip to Cragun's and next weekend Hayden and I are going to Osceola with my parents and Renaissance festival. It will be a good way to wrap up the first work week!

We had lots of fun at the State Fair and Craguns! I can't remember if i blogged the fair?? Oops! But anyway! We met up with Lisa and Nick, Jessica too! They led us to the Dairy bar, yum yum! Real ice cream, malts, can't ask for better. And they introduced us to the "French Fry!" Really good ones! Hayden and Jessica of course got matching chicken tattoos! What trip to the fair would be without! We looked at some fish and walked around before parting with them. We hung out with my family and did all the stuff we HAVE to do at the fair! Milk, check..Cookies, check...rides, check....games..check(Kasie won a Curious George for Hadyen!)...family Christmas ornament, check .......Turkey leg, check. WE did lots! I think we were there from like 9 until almost 6! A long day. Hayden even took a nap for us. We were going to go to Ikea, but took a wrong turn and looped around the cities, stupid 94! But oh well! We could of turned about but decided home sounded pretty good!

We of course had lots of fun down in the cities. Our hotel had a waterpark, nice size for Hayden, swimming was done! Lots of yummy food. Holy Cow, i just thought of something, we never went to Porky's!! What is the Moe family coming to? Should i be ashamed? or confused? We went to my FAVORITE place, the Farmer's Market in Mpls. If you've never been, its wonderful. Tons of people, tons of food, good coffee, and lots of variety!

We went to a play on Sunday night at the Old Log Theater in Excelsior. Hayden wasn't able to go with us, so my mom's good friend Tania watched him for us. Her son Trace came with us to the show. My god did i feel old! Trace is 13! I think he is still like 9 and his brother to me should be like 4, he's 9! But after a minute of screaming and caring on hayden quickly had a blast! Those boys have some cool toys! Her house is AMAZING! I want her to come and decorate my house. She does the most bold, incredible things, i would never think of anything like this. Her walls are the perfect colors of yellows, and reds. Bright and bold! I was in awe. She has a smaller bathroom(like us!) and she needed cabinet space and found this awesome cabinet at Ikea and i asked her about it, because it was perfect, and she said it was a cd rack! She was giving me crafting tips that included, window glue! Yeah right! All i thought about was "They make window glue?!?!?" Thanks again, Tania! Hayden had lots of fun and talked about you guys! He made sure i remembered John too! Every time i'd ask him he say John too!

Oh yeah the play was funny too! It was about family vacations. I was laughing because i think the playwright was in the car with us when writing this! Its canny, how similar to our trips it was!

Cragun's was the same, just the way we like it! Swimming, campfires, horse pulled trolleys, and grilling. Can't ask for better than that!

We hit up Paul Bunyan land too! Lots of fun, Hayden LOVES the rides! No fear!

We made it to Little Falls! Cutest little town in the world. It was Gilmore Girlish. A great bakery we hit up, twice.

A side trip to Charles Lindbergh's boyhood home. Hayden has no idea he was there, he slept the WHOLE time!

Got to love the Brainerd Lakes Area! Ahhh Summer!

Potty Time!

Well I finally had a week to potty train. All is well so far. We've had a few little accidents but other than that its going good! We have a little sticker chart, 5 stickers = treat. Well 5 times isnt that many for him! Already this morning he has gone 3 times. He LOVES his "undies", like mommy and daddies, he says. He has spent the week bare butted around the house. I figure we'll work on home before public. But if he goes someplace other than home he gets 2 stickers. This weekend will be the test for sure!

We are heading to the Cities for a weekend of fun, and on Monday is our annual State Fair day. This year for the very first time Jason is coming. I have so much i want him to see! Poor guy, and then i want to go to IKEA! The rest of the week we'll be at Cragun's. I am coming home thursday afternoon/night, i work on Friday, all day! I can't even ease into it. Then we are heading up to Cragun's again on Sunday. Jason and his family are going golfing and i am showing off Cragun's. Its just for the night, but its always fun to close the summer off with Cragun's, its usually how we start it too!

On Thursday we went on the Vista for a Pizza and sightseeing tour. If you are planning any trips on the Vista its the way to do it! Its only 2 dollars more then the usually tour and you get lunch and an extra 1/2 on the boat! Hayden had fun going under "Our Bridge". Its always fun to do the Tourist thing in your own home town.

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend!

Here is a new thing Blogger installed, Videos! I just upload them like pictures! So i may put random videos in my blog for a while!

Wow! I haven't blogged in a while! We've been so busy. Hopefully i'll hit it all. Here is just the list of things we have done since last time!
Stayed at Lisa and Nick's house. Played LOTS!
Went to a Chlorinated Swimming Pond. (Didn't get to stay long due to thunder, boo!)
Went to the Children's Museum in St Paul. Lots of fun! The kids went wild. Played lots and ran around!
Watched Jessica for a half day. She is SO cute! She let me fix her hair, which was harder than i thought it would be!
Went shopping at Tanger, Hayden and I. We ran into my cousin's wife and their baby Hudsen. Whom Hayden keeps talking about!
Brought Hayden to Monday night Golf League. He was SUPER good. We are bringing him again tomorrow. The kid loves to golf.
Storytime on Tuesday! Hayden was a rabbit and hopped around with cute little ears on. Nothing cuter than seeing 20 preschoolers and toddlers hopping around with bunny ears.
Wednesday was the Maurices summer picnic. Had both Grandmas of course! Jason, my mom and dad, Brandon and Rae Ann, (plus a few more people) were the tug of war champions. Dominating 3 teams!
Wednesday night Hayden ran! He ran the whole 1/4 mile, without tears and a huge smile on his face and determination, we were very proud of him!
We went to Hayward with my mom and dad. We saw the lumberjack show. Yo Ho! Swam, and swam! My little fishy. Saw some family friends. Candy, ice cream, and bake goods! And we hit up Wilderness Walk. They had Wallabies, don't remember these from before! Hayden now knows they hop and will demonstrate if requested!
We've been so busy and having so much fun. I got a blah letter in the mail today telling me i actually have to start working again a week from Friday! I love my job, but i love my baby more! It will be one tough first week!
I have started storing most of my pictures online. There is a link on the side to my albums. These photos that i make public are(should be!) there for your use and printing if wanted. If anyone ever tries to save one and print please let me know! I just want to know if it works! Remember too, COMMENTS are always appreciated i love to know who is reading the blog. If you just click the comment link on the bottom of each post you can leave a comment without a blogger name!
I hope everyone has a great week! Summer is coming a close!

Fun with Hayden and Jessica!

Update coming! Pictures until then!

Another Week!

I can't believe another week just flew past us. This is summer is going to fast. I love my time with Hayden. I don't want to go back in Sept. but i am! We've just figured out such a nice little schedule. Tuesdays we do Storytime at Barnes and Noble in Duluth, we have lots of fun. They always do cute activities with their stories. I am going to try to rearrange my work schedule of Tuesdays so i can take him still.

On Tuesday we went fishing! Just a Lake Minnesuing. They have a little dock and Hayden and Jason fished off that. Hayden caught a like 6 six(or longer??) sunny??, Jason said it was pretty big, sure! Jason caught what looked like bait, we laughed at that. Hayden liked to reel them all in and he would throw them back, until he dropped one and it flopped on his foot, then daddy had to throw them back. I even bait Hayden's hook, anyone who knows me, knows that is the last thing i would do, but i did it! Jason can still do it from now on though.

On Wednesday we got a call asking if we wanted to go on a train trip with Grandma Sandmon, Jessica, and Jason's Mom. Hayden and Jessica were fun and they had a great time. It is always a fun ride on the Northshore railroad. Jessica was too cute! Like always. She was laying on a site kind of thrashing around, and she looked at me and said "I a wiggle worm!" I started laughing so she kept saying it. Thats exactly what she was doing too! Thanks again Grandma!

Hayden raced on Wednesday! He ran in the Wednesday Night at the Races. This was our second attempt, last week, he just cried because he was scaried. This week, the started, stopped, cried, i carried him, and then ran like half way, he wanted a treat. So he did and did great, we didn't even come in last!

This weekend we are going to stay with Lisa and Nick! Just Hayden and I. We are very excited! I am going to be there until Monday night. We are going to have lots of fun! Poor Jason has to work all weekend, but he is taking a week of vacation starting on Wednesday. We have nothing planned but golf and relaxing, oh and I want to wall paper the bathroom, with stuff that looks and feels like beadboard, its cool, i am in love! But i am sure we will be doing a lot more stuff!

I have been on a reading frenzy lately. I can't get enough. I am completely wrapped up into Janet Evanovich. When i worked at the SPL so many people told me to read these and i never did, i didn't think they were my thing, boy was i wrong. I first read her "Full" Series, which are more Romantic, Comedy, Mysteries. Great combo! I actually laugh out loud. Now i have moved onto the Stephanie Plum Series. She so far was written One-Thirteen. I have read 1,2,7,11,12. I love them. I don't know what i am going to do once i finish. I have also read a few other romantic mysteries that i bought on our trip, in the airport, i NEEDED them! Poor Jason just shakes his head at me. I have been reading one in a day or two! I bought one on Tuesday and finished it on Wednesday night. But if anyone wants something to read i HIGHLY recommend these. If you want one i have a few!

I hope everyone has a great weekend! I of course have pictures!

August Already!

We've been having fun since we've been back from Vegas. Hayden got a nice sandbox on Sunday and has been playing in that at least twice a day. Which is nice, Mommy gets to sit in the sun and read. We made a trip to Wisconsin Point on Wednesday the weather was HOT. But it was windy, so no fliess! But the water was icy cold! The wind was pulling the warm water out and pushing the cold water in, and it was COLD! Jason said it reminded him of crossing the river in October! Hayden was looking very cute, and didnt care the water was like -10. His Nana bought him a cute new swim outfit and we put his new life jacket on him, we thought he looked like he was ready to go water skiing. So cute!
Uncle Ken passed away on Sunday. So they have been busy trying to get things sorted out for his funeral on Saturday. We are having the luncheon in St Anthony's church basement. So at least i feel like i helped a little bit. Make sure you say a prayer for the family.
I feel so bad for the families and friends on the people involved with the collapse on the 35w bridge. What a miracle so many people got out alive and relatively uninjured. The bridge looks like such a twisted mess. You think about how many times you've driven over that bridge. Things like this never seem to hit this close to home. I hope the number of dead doesn't rise too much. It was odd and great to see the number actually went down. Please pray for those families also.

My little water boy!
A Little lunch!

Lots of fun in Vegas!

Wow did that week fly by! We had lots of fun. Hayden was an AWESOME flier. HE did great the whole trip. He only had one bad day but was fine after a 3 hour nap. He thought it was great everything about it. He rode in a bus, monorail, tram, taxi, mini van, plane, and rental car. A little boys dream. He talks about the mini van the most oddly. I think its because he didn't ride in a car seat that ride.(I was not okay with this but apparently the way in vegas.)He napped everything and swam up a storm. We had a little waterslide and a pretty warm pool! He has learned how to swim very well. He lifts his little but up and kicks with his head in the water so he is level, its very cool he learned this on his own! It was hot and humid a few days, its the desert! Rae Ann and i were on the Today show on Tuesday. Very cool! We woke up at 3 am and went down to the venetian and saw Al and his crew. We were on TV so thats very cool. Oh my so much to tell! We went to the Grand Canyon. Hayden liked the "Big Rock". He was in ohh and ahh over it. Jason worked for 3 days but stopped and took me out at night. He actually came home with about the same amount he left with. He was on fire gambling! It was nice! HE won over $200 on one spin on a machine. Its a lot more fun to gamble when we win! We found a good cheap prime rib dinner in Downtown at Binions. We went there a couple times! WE ate a couple buffets too. It was fun to try new things. We saw the light show downtown too. Something i really wanted to see. Its pretty amazing. We really liked it downtown. We saw a cross dresser dressed like Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. He was big, hairy and ugly. And Skipped! OH may lots of fun. I will tell more later! Here are some pics for everyone to enjoy! Hayden is still going Poopie on the potty! Yeah!

OH we love summer!

We've been uber busy! I am just loving this summer so far. We've been having way to much fun. All last week we got to play with Jessica! We went out there like 3 times and spent the day out there. Boy did we have fun. They are so cute. Jessica just has me! I can't help but think she is the cutest little girl ever! She sings these sweet little songs she makes up. She is such a girl and a little mommy! She wants to help everyone and make sure ever one is happy. She likes to push Hayden in the stroller, bike or whatever! She tries to put on his shoes, brings me his buffy or sippy. She is so loving to her dolls. So cute! She reminds me of me actually. I loved dolls when i was little and pretty much played with them until junior high! Hayden went skinny dipping in Lisa and Nicks river! He was just going to put is toes in but ended up staying in there until he was blue, and then still want to stay in. Hayden's foot is looking better. The skin actually broke and it looks like he had a blister that popped. Weird. On other stuff. Hayden has been going poopie in the potty. He just tells me and then goes. Very cool! As much as i like it i don't want to be running around Las Vegas trying to find a bathroom for him! I will try hard core to train him once we get back from vacation. I am going to let him run around naked for a week while we are at home. My grandma swears by this method. She calls it "One week and a hundred dollars."($100 bucks for carpet cleaning! We don't have carpet! Yeah!). We are all set for Vegas. I made final reservations for stuff. We decided to cut Vegas short and take a 2 day trip to the Grand Canyon. Jason gets to go too! We are actually staying at the same hotel i did with my family in 2003. That will be fun! I never realized how much planning vacations take! Rental cars, airline policies, stay n' fly , hotels! Blah! Actually i love it! Planning runs deep into my blood. But its still a lot of work! I am going to try to make a post on vacation! Wish us luck. Its actually suppose to be cooler there then when we went before, 3 degrees! Hayden is ready to go on the airplane. I keep reading horror stories about toddlers on planes. I hope he is good!

A Polkadot Kid!

Well Hayden was a lucky person this week. He is spotted! On Monday morning he woke up and got out of bed and told me his foot hurt. I looked down and he had a HUGE foot. His foot was swollen, red, hot, and splotchy. Called the doctor, waited. Mike came over, his eyes got very big when he say Hay's foot and told me i had to take him in. Doctors were baffled. They don't know what it is. We couldnt find a bite mark but who knows. WE got a prescription for Antibiotic and Benadryl. Then later that night his foot got worse and he started getting a rash all over his body. So i was going to take him to the ER but when i called they told me at least a 3 hour wait. Yuck. Called the doctor! Told me cut the antibiotic and watch it. THen we are thinking she was reading up on something called us back and told us to watch for streaks and a fever. So i was up every 1.5 hours checking on his rash. He never got a fever thank goodness! Ended up going back to the doctor in the morning and 2 doctors looked at it and still werent sure what it is. He still has the rash too! Fun! Oh well, it doesnt seem to be bothering him!
We had fun with JEssica yesterday at her camper and Wilderness Walk! I'll post more about that later with pics! Have a good Weekend!
Here's a pic of his foot, gross huh!

Now and Then!

We've been having fun with Miss Jessica! Here is just a couple pictures from last year and this weekend! Enjoy!
2006
2007

2007
2006

2005 all at the Hansen Family Reunion!

2006

2007 Same dock! They just are at the other end.

Slideshow!

Happy 4th!

On the Mighty Mississippi! The Boat was the Mississippi Belle!

I hope everyone had a good Fourth. We sure did. We have been so busy the last few weeks or 4th had to follow tradition.

We got back from Brainerd on Tuesday. WE had lots of fun. We got a boat ride down the Mississippi in, a baseball game(Duluth Huskeys v. Brainerd Blue Thunder), lots of waterparking(Hayden is going down the BIG slides with me now!), and some other great activities.

Hayden has been kind of naughty lately. He likes to hit. Yuck. We are trying to punish him but nothing works. I don't want to hit him back, but if nothing else works a little swat on the hands might be coming.

We hit up the parade yesterday. Lots of people! Hayden got more candy than Halloween! He was a giant sticky mess. There was lots to see too. After the parade we went out to Big Grandpa's cabin(Smiths) in Lake Nebagamon. It was perfect out there. Hayden got lots of swimming in. I got to take pictures of Maria, Hayden's 2nd cousin?? She is the cutest! Of course we had lots and lots of yummy food.

We went into Superior for the fireworks, which were a little disappointing. First they started early, we didn't have time to get our blankets or chairs out, and the Grand Finale wasn't so grand. Oh well. Thats what i get for dragging my boys into town to watch the fireworks instead of staying at the Lake.

We have the big family reunion this weekend for the Hansons(Right???) Grandma Sandmon's side of the family. So we get to see Jessica, who will be up for a week. We are planning some fun stuff to do! We are in a Golf Tournament on Saturday too!

Have a great weekend! Hopefully you took a long weekend!

Brainerd!

Finally i am home for a few days! We had a great week. First Vegas and then Brainerd. We are actually going back to Brainerd on Sunday! Hayden is a little ham as always! He kind of was a little stinker in Brainerd. He liked to try to escape out of the room. He as in love with the ping pong table in the pool area, so kept trying to run down there, he is fast too! We went to Nissawa and went to their Turtle Races. It was fun! Hayden was terrified of the turtles. He clung on to us like a baby koala bear. We swam a lot, which Hayden loved. He is a fish i swear. He would go under and pop up with a huge smile on his face.
I got his hair cut today! It was horrible for me! He was great! He walked around like a proud little peacock afterwards. He just sat and watched her cut his hair and whispered things to me. I just had his bangs trimmed, because when we were swimming his hair was in his eyes and he couldn't see, i felt bad!

Fun in the Sun!

Hello! We made it home from Las Vegas and now are in Brainerd. We had a awesome trip and the wedding was great, the weather was hot, but still was okay! Hayden had a great weekend with Smith and Papa smith. I'll do a big update soon!

Ahh!

I had lots of problems this weekend with Blogger! I hope now i have it all worked out and i can post lots of pictures! Happy Father's Day to all those Dads out there! Have a great week! We leave Friday for Vegas! If anybody has a great place for us to go let me know!

Zoo!!!!!!!!!!!

We made it down to the Como Zoo! We were lucky enough to steal Jessica for the day too! Boy did we have lots of fun. Hayden and Jessica's favorite animals were the Giraffes! They even got little toy ones afterwards. It was also HOT! 92 is what i was told. Those two got along just fabulously yesterday too! We napped and then played and played after the zoo too! We went to Como Town too. Both kids seem a little fearless! Jessica wasnt too sure about them until Hayden was on and having fun. Then they were all big smiles and giggles.

They were so much fun to have around. They were in the backseat of our car and talking to each other and giggling, SO CUTE! Singing too! They reminded me of Kaitlin and Brandon when they were little. Kaitlin could just giggle and giggle, just like Jessica did. Hayden is just a little ham too. He just has to make people laugh, and i think Jessica is his easiest customer!

A big thanks to Lisa and Nick for letting us stay with them and taking Jessica for the day!

I Love Summer!

Its only Wednesday! Ahh! We've had a very fun couple first days of summer. On tuesday we hit up story time at Barnes and Noble, and saw Corduroy. Hayden wasn't too sure of him, but liked the coloring/sticker activity they had! It was HOT up at the mall so after a few Duluth errands we went down to Canal Park to throw rocks in the water. Now this is what i love about our area. We get down there, find a parking spot, get out of the car, down to the rocks and bam its cold out! But we were strong! Hayden threw lots of rocks and Mommy snapped lots of pictures. I didn't love any of them.
Today we played outside, cleaned some of our outside toys, and went to the beach. We went at 4:45, it was colder here and windy. We get to Lake Nebagamon, and people were swimming at the beach! We couldn't believe it. Hayden was in jeans and a jacket! I of course knowing our weather brought shorts. Thank goodness! He got rosy cheeks in that. He could play in the sand for hours. He just digs and scoops, happy as can be. He were laughing that its the only time he is quiet. We had dinner, outside!!!, at the Waterfront. It was nice to be outside and eat. I think Hayden thought it was pretty cool. We being the push overs that we are let him order our food. He remembered what we had last time with my mom and dad and wanted sweet potato fries and pizza, and thats what we had!
Have a good end of the week! We may be heading down the the cities for a Zoo trip tomorrow or Friday!

Jessica!

We got to play with Jessica yesterday, and boy was it fun! Jessica's mommy and daddy were very busy doing work at both their properties so Grandma Sandmon had Jessica. Hayden and Jessica are so cute together! They talk to each other and seem to understand each other. They shared! And had lots of fun! I could take pictures of her all day too! I did of course!
Best Buddies!

Isn't she sweet?

Hayden had this long curl in his eyes all day long and didn't care, i wanted to cut it!

Looking at silly Hay Hay!

This was a HUGE smile for me! She was "getting" me!

School's Out! Yeah! Friday was a weird day for me, i didn't really know what to expect. We were very busy getting things all set for the summer. I can't wait to spend the summer with my baby!

Right after I snapped this one, she told us it was windy! Her hair was blowing in the wind.

Posing for me!

This was the first picture i took. She was still a little sleepy!

Two weeks until Jason and I go to Vegas, yikes! I miss Sarah so much and i can't wait to see her and Casey. I am all set and ready to go pretty much. We found my dress and Jason's dressy summer clothes, to match me of course!

THis is Haydens new favorite thing to do. He walks the little retaining wall at St. Francis. He thinks this is the greatest thing ever. He must of did it for 45 minutes yesterday.

I Love this picture! No editing even!

A Rock! Very intriguing.

Have a great week! First week of summer vacation! Yeah Summer!

My Lovey!