I haven't done one of these in a while!

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, we did! Hayden is now officially 4! He is making sure we all know how to act and talk like a 4 year old. (You Don't talk to a kid like that, I'm only 4!, When you were 4 you were naughty too!) Christmas a very long few days. Hayden got so much stuff. We have been building, coloring, putting in batteries etc.
He also had his 4 year well child appointment. Doctor Maria loves Hayden! She was there the night he was born and always remembers he is a Christmas Baby. She was impressed by him(aren't we all!!!) and said she thought Preschool wouldn't really be necessary except the social aspect so only 1 or 2 days a week, part time. I agree with her! He is the perfect size of your average 5 year old. Last year he was the perfect size of your average 4 year old, so i guess he is staying on track. She said not to worry about his size because his BMI was fine. Hayden and Dr. Maria carried on a nice conversation about him, his daily activities and so on. It was really cute to listen to him talk to another adult.
This week Hayden got his first pair of Ice Skates, he unfortunately haven't been able to take him yet, its cold! He is very excited and just wants to go. My friend Sarah is up from Arizona so we have been spending time with her and Breckin, so much fun! I bought out Old Navy's Maternity clearance at .97 a piece. Jason has been working a lot lately but has the next couple days off. We are going Ice Fishing on Thursday(I've never been!) and doing something else on Friday as a family.
In Baby news this little guy has been a mover and shaker. I am excited to see him again on Tuesday. Jason and I have some names narrowed down that we both like! Emery is one of them but we think we have one that might stick and not sharing yet! But middle name suggestions are welcomed!
Have a Happy New Year! Our plans are pretty nonexistent! Oh well we don't care! =)

Merry Christmas!

We are a very excited household as Christmas is a very big time of the year. Hayden wakes up daily and asks if today is the day Santa is coming. I can finally tell him yes its today! We've already celebrated 2 of our 5 christmas get together. Both we very fun with yummy food and seeing family we've haven't seen in a while. Jason and I got a new Wii game that is silly and fun and has induced a lot of laughs lately. Hayden was a wiseman in our Nativity play and did a very good job, and took it seriously.

Hayden is thinking he has already turned 4. We had a small party for him and since then, he is 4! I celebrated my birthday on Sunday. We have a cake ready to bring to the Christmas parties. Its all so exciting. I finally finished wrapping presents last night, as thats something I hate to do and usually Jason does it but he had some work to do.

We want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas!

Here is our son! He is very stubborn and as you can see had arm in front of his face the whole time. So we are going back for another ultrasound in January for scans of his face and head.

Anybody want to take a guess on what we are having? We hopefully find out Friday, if baby isn't too stubborn, but hey its a Smith so who knows!

I really have no idea what it is! I was 100% with Hayden it was going to be a boy, and well obviously i was right. The baby's heart rate has been in the 140's(which according to some website still is high). So guess away!

We'll probably share with everyone at Christmas what it is and I am sure I'll post pictures. I am going to try and get a cd or dvd, I am not sure how to do it but i know they do! It sounds like they will do a 3d/4d scan too.

All of sudden Christmas is here.

We got our tree last week. Hayden loves turning off all the lights and just sitting and watching it in the dark. I use to do this at my mom and dad's house growing up. I'd wake up in the middle of the night and just look at the tree. Ours could be like 2 feet higher since we have 10 or 12 foot ceilings in the house. But I will not complain!

We haven't had to much excitement around here yet. Just getting ready for the "Most Wonderful Time of the Year". Hayden does has a big of an obsession with Rudolph the red nosed reindeer. Good thing Santa knows, I have a feeling Hayden will be getting a singing, one for Christmas. Hayden sings the Rudolph song and I need to get it on tape, its really to cute.

Jason's store is getting the new McCafe in the coming days. The store has gone a huge remodel to accommodate the equipment and is looking rough at the moment, but just wait cheap lattes are worth it!

We are having a small birthday party with Grandparents and Great Grandparents this week. We are planning on having a BIG party in Jan. or Feb.. We are going to have a sledding/skating party, since we live just across the street from the park and warming shack. It should be fun. We are just trying to decide if it will be to cold in Jan. But since its been so cold this month maybe it will be a little warmer next.

I haven't been able to take many pictures lately. I am so sad. But hopefully today we can get outside to do that. I miss it!!!

What are you doing this Christmas to save money? Or are you not? I guess now is the time to eliminate any debt you may have or accrue. Jason and I are not using any credit cards for this year and we have saved what we think is a reasonable amount of money for Christmas. With a good chunk of shopping done we still have over $500 saved, so we are happy with that. We only have 6 people left. Hayden is completely done, whew. He obviously is our biggest expense. What tips or suggestions do you have?

Our baby ticker took a big jump today! My due date is officially changed to May 5th or 6th. I really don't mind either. We find out on Dec. 19th if its a Jackson James or a Maggie Mae. Everything looks good too. The heart rate was in the 140's which to me indicates boy, but we'll see. I had a good appointment this time with my Doctor who i wasn't very happy with, the last time i saw her, so that's a good thing!

Whew. Thats just thinking about this whirlwind weekend. We had a blast down in the Cities doing so many new and fun things!
Friday:
-Aitkin: Fishhouse Parade. Very redneck and a blast.
-Blaine: Adventure Park. A indoor playground that is big enough for Moms and dads to play in with the kids. Or Nanas or Emilys or Brandons. We will definitely be going back.
-Night Trains in Minneapolis. Hayden loved these model trains and went around and around the track. Even though he couldn't touch he loved this. He just watched and moved on to the next step and watched again.
-Dinner at Porky's and Holy Land in Minneapolis.
-Swimming at the Hotel.
Saturday:
-Denny's Bakery stop!
-Science Museum. Hayden saw the Dinosaurs, as he is fascinated by them lately.
-Lunch at Mike's Butcher shop. Super yummy beef sandwiches. No sauce needed.
-Elves and the Shoemaker at Old Log Theater. Hayden seemed kind of restless but he is still talking about those "silly, sneaky elves". I guess he did like it!
-Christmas Festival in downtown Excelsior. We rode on the trolley, saw Santa, Reindeer and walked around the little festival. Reindeer I don't think are the friendliest animals. Hayden was excited to see Santa.
-Minnatonka General Store stop! Didn't buy much but got Hayden cool chopsticks made for kids.
-Macy's 8th floor display. More Elves! And trees with faces. Also another Santa sighting. Hayden even gave Santa a hug.(After screaming, flinging himself back into the stroller, Santa giving him a button, Santa pulling him on to his lap and then it was all good after that!) Ohh, a little shopping after in Macys.
-Driving through Phalen Park seeing a Christmas light display. The lights jump and act out little scenes and actions, very cute!
-Dinner at a yummy pizza place. It tasted like Iron River's. yum.
Sunday:
-Swimming at the hotel.
-Mass at the Basilica.
-Tour of the Basilica.
-Scandia Bake Shop stop!
-Minneahaha Falls for some pictures.
-Dropped Brandon and Nana off at the Science Museum.
-Papa, Emily, Hayden and I driving to Menomonie to drop Emily off.
-Driving back! =)
-Pick up Nana and Brandon.
-Had dinner at the Weinery.
-Dropped Brandon and Papa off at the Vikings/Bears game.
-Nana, Hayden and I went shopping at Macy's in Rosedale, World Market, and Kohls.
-Picked up the boys.
-Got gas. 3 gas stations later, due to the fact the first 2 were out of gas?!?!?!
-Home at 12:30 am.

It was a long fun weekend. I have a ton of pictures. I'll post the rough copies of them all and the edited ones will show up later! I hope everyone had good thanksgivings and safe travels!
Michael and Laura come home a week from Saturday! Hayden is pretty excited.

We had a very busy weekend! Basically only sleeping at home. Jason hasn't gotten his Buck yet. But Rae Ann did! She got a "Basket 8".(Deer Hunter language) But Jason hasn't give up hope and it will be a long week until he does! He is happily sleeping in today and only going out tonight.
Hayden, Emily and I went Christmas Shopping on Saturday to a very crazy Duluth. The mall was packed as well as TJ Maxx. I bought the cutest baby boy outfit. Its stripped Ralph Lauren summer outfit. We have multiple weddings this summer and if we have a boy this will be his "wedding outfit". I also have the majority of my Christmas shopping done! Yeah for me. We are very into Christmas this year and it really can't get here fast enough. I bought Hayden a cute shirt for Christmas as Gymboree and he wants a tie now, bad, like Daddy wears to work. So i am on the look out for a black or red satin tie!
Sunday Emily and I made a ton of Christmas cookies. Sugar cookies, sprtiz and peanut butter kiss cookies. Like 14 dozen cookies. We are giving half to church for our bazaar in a couple of weeks for the big cookie exchange.
We also went out to The Smith's house each night to have dinner and chat. We got to see Smith's buck too. Hayden wasn't a fan of the yucky stuff inside of it, the blood. But has gotten over it already.
I hope everyone is going to have a Happy Thanksgiving. I'll try to do another post soon! Hayden and I will be out of town this weekend with my Mom and Dad. We are hitting up a play and other fun things down in the Cities.

Another Post For It Works For Me Wednesday over at Rocks In My Dryer.

This idea I sadly can't take for my own, as my 3 year old came up with this one on his own, and then I thought darn why didn't I think of that!

Super Why on PBS is a favorite by Hayden, loving the songs and letters. I take pride on him knowing his letters and some of their sounds. So if he likes a show that incorporates all of this, let him watch! So the other day he asked me for his Doodle Pro(better known at our house as a Manga Doodle, that's whats i grew up with) and drew his letters along with the show. Spelling out words and letters we don't normally work on. If you don't know the show, they sound out the letters and put them on the screen giving him enough time to write all the letters. I was so proud! But whats better than interactive TV, huh? That's what works for me!

I Love to Spell! S-P-E-L-L!

Few more tidbits!
I forgot almost the funniest Haydenism! We were sitting at East End Cafe last Wednesday and must of been talking about Christmas. All of sudden Hayden says "Nana, for Christmas I am going to buy you a new "phone" " Okay this may not be funny but he put air quotes around phone. So we would like to know what "phone" really means, crack, weed??? What Nana is that you really want?
Hayden has been having a hard time sleeping lately, we don't know why. He was up from 2:30 until 4:30 last night. At about 3(I think) he came into bed with us. Jason had to open, so he was up at 4 getting ready. I told Hayden that he needed to go back to sleep and he said " I can't close my eyes, they won't stay shut, i am tired" Poor kid! He actually went to bed at 6:45 tonight and he is still asleep at 10:30, we'll see what happens i guess tonight!
I thought I'd though a few pictures in too! Have a good week and opening to hunting season here in Wi!

Haydenisms-

Papa Moe- "I think i see little finger prints all over the Screen"
Hayden-" That would be Me"

Hayden-"Nana, WHAT did you do to your hair?"

Hayden-"Smith, Your hair is Crazy!"

Hayden- "Did you see that boy with the fancy hair?" In reference to a 8th grader who hadn't cut his curly, uncontrollable hair in 6 months.

Mom- "Hayden you need to go to bed" As Hayden climbs into our bed
Hayden-" I am going to bed, in here"

Hayden-"Jessica is just so adorable"

Hayden- "(giggle, giggle) It would be super funny if we drove backwards all the way to Nana's house!(giggle, giggle)"

He has been so funny lately. He has a super personality. I am sorry in advance to any of his teachers. I am pretty sure they will be entertained next year in preschool!

I have been meaning to update the blog and I just haven't had the time and energy! We had a fun, fun weekend. Hayden had a friend over to play, Jessica. He was so excited and just a crazy nut. He is such a show off, kinda like his Daddy! They played Hungry, Hungry Hippo, Lucky Ducks, Kitchen, Running around(a favorite of theirs), and hide from the Monster. He is still talking about it her coming over. I got a few pictures, mostly of her that I am sure to post. It was nice to see her Mommy and Grandma too!

Friday Jason and Hayden drove to Menomoniee and back from 10:45 to 4:15. They had haircuts at 4:00 that they were a little late for but they blamed the snow. Which we got and loved! Hayden said "Now its Christmas time, that means its my Birthday." Close but not quite yet, kiddo.

Nothing else real exciting going on, but thats okay. We are enjoying it!

Works for me Wednesday: Toy Edition! Courtesy of Rocks in My Dryer (Check it out!)

Okay anyone who knows us, knows we could rival a daycare with the amount of toys our child has. But only a few have stuck the test of time, well all 3 years of Hayden! I always suggest these items when people ask for ideas.

Wooden Train set-We have a Target set, Sears seat, Thomas set and a few others. They all fit together(be careful with the Thomas). Hayden plays with this almost everyday and at my mom's. I like the Learning Curve, as they have good sales often getting real Thomas at a good price. Sometimes even free.

Cash Register-We have 2 the Parents and a McDonald's one. We love the Parents one. Its big, bright and very durable. And you get a free year to their magazine.

Books- Of course! I like the classic books. Goodnight Moon, Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, you get the idea. I buy from our book order at school for very good prices.

Some other Good items are: Don't Break the Ice, Wooden Blocks, and for my child anything related to sports!

**Disclaimer: If you voted Democrat my views aren't pointed at you, or all politicians these are just my personal opinions! I am not allowing Comments about this post! If you can't take my political heat don't read this post.

First of all, Why America? I am seriously afraid of what is to come. All I think we can do now is prepare ourselves and pray. And hope the next 4 years go fast and without much action. Mike told me that back in Clinton(I think!) Era nothing got passed because everything was controlled by the Democrats and they were all "Greedy Bastards" trying to get money for their own states and not for the whole of the country, well bring on the Greedy Bastards, I guess.

I hate the color blue.

I vow not to take Nationalized Healthcare, I like my doctor, hospital and insurance company. I'd rather be taxed than not have the choices i have now.

I think that pulling our troops out of Iraq in 18 months is going to royally screw up the world.

I believe my Father in Law is now the proud owner of a new gun after today!

And darn it, I voted for George Bush and still not sorry for it!

Bush is not to blame for our poor economy, Greed is.

I think I should of been a Southerner. I like the way they vote, their food and their accents.

Okay, all done being a sore loser. If you voted for Obama, and I am wrong feel free to tell me I was wrong in a few years.

Oh yeah Emily is moving to Switzerland.

Thanks everyone for the Congratulations. We are excited and having a hard time waiting until May! But oh well, we still have lots to do, buy, decide, you know how that goes.

Hayden had a very lucrative Halloween! We only went trick or treating for at the most 2 hours and he got 2 serving bowls full of candy. Its insane. He had a blast and Jason and I just laughed at him. He just ran from house to house that had lights on. He'd ring the bell and when they opened the door he "Trick or Treat" and then "Thank You" if you asked him anything else he usually responded with "Trick or Treat"! Silly boy. It was just beautiful and he didn't even wear his coat(he did have layers on under his Mr Incredible suit) After he was done we went out to Smith and Papas house to Trick or Treat and than it was home to look at the candy and he feel asleep, pretty fast. He had a hard time waiting all day long before we went but did good!

Saturday and Sunday we celebrated Brandon's birthday. His party was at Carnival Thrillz. Where Hayden ran wild and played games and climbed around, he had a blast. Sunday it was at my Mom and Dad's house and Hayden had fun playing with Brandon's Legos.

We had beautiful weather this week and got out and played a few times, even having a picnic at the park, its suppose to be nice again this week!

Don't forget to vote! =)

Look at my rock star! We had fun yesterday at our church's Halloween party. His Mr. Incredible costume broke yesterday morning and we had to come up with a quick costume for him i think it works!


Last night we were laying in bed together all three of us and Hayden asked me if i had a baby in my belly. I asked him why he thought that. He said he just thought he should be gentle with my belly. Then he asked the dreaded question, how to babies get into bellies. I answered Very Carefully! Phew that was close! But guess what my son has a sixth sense of some sort:

He didn't know! He still doesn't! We will be welcoming this little one in early May. EDD is May 11th but baby today was measuring for a EDD of May 5th! (Thats a profile pic)

Football went great again on Saturday. Hayden played the whole hour and did well. You can really tell he is catching on and does what he is suppose to be doing(well most of the time). He played just about every postition too. He hiked the ball, was the Quarterback, Runningback and did lots of blocking. He was the safety with another little boy on one play and the two of them just stood in the exact same spot the whole play it was pretty funny. He has one more game on Tuesday night and then we are done. I probably won't put him in any more sports until at least spring, he really is younger than a lot of the kids. Soccer is in the spring and Tball in the summer so that will be a great way to start it off again. I have a few videos and pictures of football i am going to try to put on here. The pictures are under Sept/Oct Fun in my Picasa account or towards your left on top.
This last week has been pretty quiet. But thats okay with us. Today is Tzone hunting for Jason and we did lots of yard work to get ready for winter. Our shed is in great shape! Thats a first for us. Saturday was beautiful and we went on bike ride and to the park. Next weekend we have a Halloween party or two, and maybe a trip to Madeline Island. Ohhh it was Sample Sale Days at Maurices and i scored a bunch of new clothes for the winter from my mom, Thanks Mom!

Football update!

So Tuesday nights game went well. Hayden played, he had some good blocking going on! Then when the other team got the ball his Asst. Coach told him he had to get the flag from the guy who had the ball, so what did he do. He went until he got that flag, he ripped that flag off with confidence and pride. Good Job Hayden!

Too bad the kid had already got the touchdown.

Newly Edited Photos. Make sure you look at all of them!

What a fun fall weekend! We had pretty nice weather this weekend and we took full advantage of it! But first of all.....

Happy Birthday to Papa Moe who turned the big 5-0 this last week. Hayden helped blow out candles and open presents at his little party at Barker's Island. It was fun and i got a piece(and half) of Exchange cake, but they totally changed they frosting the B****es! It was still good though. (I think i took more pictures of the cake than anything else)

So Saturday we started off with Football, but that didn't happen. Hayden decided when we got there that he wasn't playing. So after some tears and threatening(It didn't work, i told him i'd take him Gatorade away) we just left before his teammates saw him. But we had a fun together anyways going to Wisconsin Point for some fall pictures. I now have all 4 season this year out there. Then we went on a bike ride. Hayden has been riding his big boy bike that he got for Christmas this week. Jason and he rode all the way to the High School to visit me on Wednesday thats over 2 miles!(They drove back though!) We enjoyed all the fall colors and smells. I love fall! I have been battling a cold all week and being outside helped my stuffy nose so it felt really good to be outside.

Sunday we went to Mommsen's Farm in Rice Lake. Its a big Pumpkin Patch, petting zoo, corn maze, bakery all rolled into one. I bought apples too! Hayden had a blast on the Hayride and the petting zoo which has stuff for the kids to play on and animals. He touched a Llama, rabbit and a goat. Which if you know Hayden is a pretty big step! He loved the hay you could climb in/on/over/under. And the big boat. We have gone here once before when Hayden was 1 1/2. So he didn't remember it. We picked out a big ol'pumpkin and a few little ones. We had a great day and the temp. got up to 77 degrees! It was about 66-73 while we were there. It was wonderful. We went shopping a little bit in Rice Lake and had dinner at Norske Nook, pie too of course! It was a lot of fun. I of course have pictures! They are not edited yet, but soon will be and located in a new folder i'll post! So come back and look at those.



Enjoy your fall we sure are!

Pictures that I needed to put up! Including this weekends festivities!

Wow this is my 200th post!

So yes i am a slacker. No I don't care! Our lives are slowing down and only are really exciting on the weekends! And by Sunday night i am too tired to write about all the excitement so we'll write on Sunday morning instead.

Since Jason has returned our lives are getting back into the School Year routine. Mondays are with Papa Smith, Tuesday have been with Papa Moe, and the rest of the days are split between Daddy and Angie. Hayden has adjusted very well this year with no tear shed still.

Last weekend my mom and dad brought Hayden and I down to the Cities for a little getaway. On Friday Brandon and My dad went to the Twins game(They lost) and my mom, Hayden and I went Shopping and had dinner. I bought Hayden a cute hat that i am sure we'll be seeing all sorts of pictures this fall. On Saturday we hit up the Farmers Market at Mill City Museum, Mill City, The MN Zoo(Which Hayden loved. He has never really been into zoos when we've gone before but this one has so much stuff and stuff to do he was happy, he really liked the Otters and the Bears.) We also went to Gibbs Historic Farm, which was neat we we're like the only people there. We had a very busy day as you can see. That Saturday was Smithsonian Museum day which we got into the Zoo and Gibbs for free thanks to Smithsonian. We'll be going back to the zoo. Sunday we all went to the Twins last home game of the season. They won and that was exciting. We were in the "Cheap Seats" but had a good spot due to the fact we got there incredibly early. Hayden actually slept though the first 3 or 4 innings, only my son. But then enjoyed it and his foam finger. We had a fun and very packed weekend down there i don't think we could of fit anything else in there!

Okay so this weekend we celebrated my Grandma and Grandpa Routh's 60th wedding anniversary. With a big party, lots of people and lots of food. I helped out on Friday night and the Church basement never looked so nice. All fall colors, it was very nice.

Also on Saturday Hayden had his first Football "game" he was a hoot. Watching 3,4 and 5 year olds play is great. They just do. Hayden was the running back and got tackled(yeah its flag football) one little boy just kept running around the field because he didn't know where to go. It was so funny. His next game is on Tuesday, should be interesting!

Today we are going on a Steam Engine to Two Harbors, its basically an all day affair. We'll see how that goes. I am excited to get good pictures of the fall leaves because i have been a major picture taking slacker! But to enjoy the day and the new pictures should be up tonight!

Jason's Pictures from Colorado:

Jason has returned from his trip to Colorado, with no elk, but he still had fun. Its so good to have him home! He brought Hayden home a new remote(grmote) control truck, Hayden is in love! It has lights and blinks and its pretty crazy.
We put Jason to work right away when we got home, my bath tub cracked while he was gone so on Sunday we went to the big home improvement store and bought all the fixings for a new tub. So today Mike and Jason get to install it!!! We discovered our bathroom use to be light blue tile=really ugly! But i am guessing it had a claw foot tub which kinda makes me sad they replaced it with the crappy tub that cracked. Oh well.
On Wednesday is Jason and I's 3rd Wedding Anniversary. I bought him a GPS for his trip(a trail GPS) I guess it did the job because he didnt get lost in the woods! I got the 7th season of Gilmore Girls and something yet to come. Its a "traditional" present Jason said. So its glass, hmmm.
Hayden had a bit of a rough weekend and it included a lot of whining, but i think with things getting back to ordinary that will improve, it better!
Not much on the agenda for this week. We are going to a Twins game this weekend(Hayden and I with my family) so thats exciting!

Blah. Thats how i feel right now! Its been a long, long week without Jason. I just want to sleep! We miss me much. He hasn't shot an Elk yet and has only seen 1(not including the Elk farm that he said may be over taken due to their frustration.) They are having fun though and thats what matters.
Hayden and I enjoyed the day together on Tuesday. It was very nice here for being the middle of September it the mid 70's. We went to Playfront Park, Little Angie's for Lunch(AKA the Other Angies) and shopping in the shops. Then later that night we went Mini golfing, which Hayden has been begging to do for like a month. It was a very nice night. Ohh for supper i grilled, all by myself, i was proud.
I have a new work schedule starting this week and the days seem soooo long. I prefer working with people and I am mostly by myself. I know some people would kill for an hour and half of uninterrupted working time. But I like working with kids. I am sure i'll get more kids in once winter sports start.
Our shopping trip was fun and very fruitful! I bought a ton of stuff for Hayden(Gap had jeans/pants for only $10.00 and Hayden always needs pants) I bought a lettuce knife, bread knife and oh yeah a Coach Purse. It was dirt cheap(well for a Coach purse) and it fits my huge camera so i am happy. It was a little crazy of me, oh well.
Not to much going on this weekend but we'll see i'd love to get some stuff done around here. Check out the Sept. Pics I am planning on adding some more tonight.
Enjoy!
Oh yeah Hayden was having his nightly 5:30 meltdown and wanting to go to my Aunt Dana's house. I told him "No honey Auntie Dana lives to far away" so he said in response "Well just take the GPS then" Apparently our GPS has a special time transport mode helping us get from one place to another in a short time! Always thinking that boy.

So yes i have been a ridiculously bad blogger. But school has started and nobody wants to read me go on and on about how i wish it was still summer. So yup no blogging! Its been actually pretty uneventful and we got right back into the swing of things. Hayden happily going to Angies, loves playing and probably being away from Mommy. Work is work and just the same! Oh well. I did actually get new hours which is okay. I still have been thinking(ok looking) to see what else is out there for jobs, maybe even applying. (maybe drug testing for different jobs) but nothing that i want to switch to yet or even talk about! I will let everybody know. I just don't know. I probably will stick to this until Hayden goes to Kindergarten. We are happy with this situation for the moment. I really am not willing to go Full Time until then. I was listening to the Today show today and heard about little boys and learning and how they don't do very good with sitting down and doing worksheets and stuff. This is SO true with Hayden he learns so much better and gets a lot less frustrated when we just talk to him and teach him by example and seeing. Now I can't do this with everything but a big ol'chalkboard works better than paper for us. I find this interesting and maybe a reason why i will not send Hayden to preschool/4K. I really don't think its for him. He is so smart and loves to learn and asks awesome questions i don't want to loose that on a sheet of paper. Just my thought for Hayden and our next children maybe totally different and i'll be pushing them to preschool at 2 and half. Who knows. He is very into numbers lately(as always actually) and we are learning 24, 30, 54 etc. he is always asking me to tell him the numbers on the clock, i bought him a watch too. But we can't find it at the moment we just hear to beep once an hour, so its here somewhere!
Jason is in Colorado hunting!(Ohh the watch just beeped, speak of the devil)Its kind of lonely but we'll stay busy. I have been running errands in the morning and hanging with Hayden in the evening. Been kinda lazy cleaning the house but who do i have to impress? Hayden? He doesn't care. We have a Cities trip on our agenda and High School Musical the Play! Hayden is equally excited about those my little music loving boy! He LOVES HSM. The 2nd one even more, it has golf.
Well have a great weekend! I'll try to update more!

Its hard to find a place to begin. So much has go on the last week!

Happy Labor Day! This also equals end of summer. Oh well we had a wonderful summer and I can not complain. We went to my Aunt Dana's beautiful Cabin/Hunting Shack overlooking Lake Superior. Great weather, swimming in a relatively warm Lake Superior.

Okay rewind to a week from Saturday. We-My mom, dad, brandon left for the Cities stopping at our annual stop to Askov, MN for the Rutabaga Festival. Had yummy food, kids played and we enjoyed the small town charm. We make it to the Cities stop at Psycho Suzy's (A must!), Restoration Antiques (gorgeous stuff!) and to hotel for a quick swim. Hayden had an allergic reaction to the massive amounts of Chlorine in the pool, his face was all red and blotchy, he kept coughing and his eyes burned for like a half an hour out of the pool. Yikes. But all was well and we headed to Anoka for their bi monthly? Car Show.

Sunday we did the must do thing-Farmers Market. I LOVE the farmers market and am sad about what a crappy one we have up here (and they are way, way over price). Then we hit up Second Debut(Where i got my Coach Wallet) I bought Jessica Simpson ballet flats, cute and practical. Then we went to the shop up the street and both me and my mom bought a few things. Then it was to Wild Rumpus and Creative Kidstuff. I bought some adorable christmas presents for Breckin. Then we rode on the Lake Harriet Trolley. Hayden was in heaven. We even went in a tunnel. We got takeout from Ted Cook's 19th Hole(BBQ) and hit up Minnehaha Park-but we couldn't find it and settled for another park close by. The Kids played and played. We went to Jason and I's hotel and met Jason and Emily who just got down there and went Mini Golfing at Como and had ice cream at Conny's Creamy Cones. Then some swimming with Daddy!

Monday-State Fair Day! Early start at 8:00 and absolutely no traffic into the fairgrounds-bliss. Had a great fair day doing and eating everything! Hayden had fun riding the rides the kid is fearless! We did so much at the fair! We then at like 6 headed to Wisconsin Dells. Stopping at a nice McD's for supper and hitting up our hotel The BlackHawk Motel in the dells. We got to our very retro, good retro motel and enjoyed the in front of our room parking and their pools with waterslides. Nothing fancy but perfect for all of us.

Tuesday-Waterpark Day! Mt. Olympus was quite awesome. They have so much to do. We first did some go carts. Multilevel, pretty fast tracks. It was fun. Then we hit the waterpark-so much fun. Hayden had a blast. He wanted to go on the fastest biggest waterslides. But they have something for everyone. We waterparked until 3ish and then did rollercoasters and more go carts. Jason and Emily left around 6 but we stayed and went on rides inside and out. They have a bunch of little kid rides and big people rides too.

Wednesday-Was Waterpark Day part 2! See above! Much hotter out though and we left for a little while to check into a different hotel and had lunch. We hit up downtown Wisconsin Dells(Skip it! WAY WAY too expensive $14.00 for a pound of Fudge) But we found a way cool New Orleans restaurant where we got Benignets(sp?) French Doughnuts. And we got fresh Cheese Curds.

Thursday-Go home day. But wait first we were going to go to a little circus museum in Baraboo. IT was HUGE and informational. I know nothing about the Circus, now i do. It was cool. They had shows and a carousel and animals and Circus wagons and so much history! It was very neat. We were there until like 5! We had dinner at Paul Bunyans Cook Shanty in the Dells. It was okay, Haywards was MUCH better. We miss it!

Friday- I had Staff Development day. It was good to be back I'll have lots to do tomorrow! Hayden hung out with my Mom and Dad. They took him to the Depot and for a Train Ride. Hmmm little boy heaven!!!!
Saturday-Laundry, Cleaning and haircuts for the boys. Mommy did a little shopping at the mall too!
Sunday-Birthday party for cousin Treavor who turned 4. We set up the large Tent Jason and Mike are taking to Colorado for their hunting trip.

Enjoy the weather only a few weeks until Fall! Its just about here! School is in Session!

Warning! Political Views!

I am not one much for politics. I have my views, very strong views but i don't often voice my opinion. Especially living in the area that i do, with mostly democrats. I am a Republican. My beliefs, opinions and daily life live up to that. I have very strong thoughts on Abortion, Gay Marriage, Gun Control and Education. I don't think i have every wrote anything about politics on here before until today.

I am so excited for John McCain's choice for VP Sarah Palin. I was pretty excited about Tim Pawlenty being in the running for it too. But after reading about Sarah Palin and her thought, family and life I know i am behind the McCain/Palin party 100%.

Now I am not here to push anybody into being a Republican. But i am just going to share somethings about Sarah Palin that i have read and learned.

First-She is a Working Mom. That's huge to me. Even though her kids have odd names(Track, Bristol, Willow, Piper and Trig) she is still a Mom and that is one of her top priorities.
Second- She is a outdoors person. Her family hunts. Like my own family.
Third- She is VERY anti abortion and Very anti gay marriage. She has a son with Down's Syndrome and did not abort him.
Fourth- She stopped the bridge to now where project in Alaska that Congress tried to pass. $400 million dollars of the tax payers money, she vetoed.
Fifth-She has a son in the Army who is going to Iraq.
Sixth-She was in beauty pageants.
Seventh-She has a great sense of style in office! Cute shoes and tailored suits!

A few things I was/am worried about.
**McCain picked her just because she was a woman. But Sarah thanked Hilary for helping pave the road for her. Using a glass ceiling analogy.
** Not much political background. But she was been in/running for public office since 1992.

Just some thoughts! I find no harm in people voicing their opinions to me via the blog! Just stay within some boundaries please! This is just my personal opinion and some info i have found via the Internet. I shall not be held responsible if some of this info isn't 100% correct-its just what i read!

This summer is slowly creeping to an end. I know that school is starting soon when its State Fair time, and we are heading there on Saturday. This summer has been great. Great weather(We had a terrible June until we got out of school on June 13) So many fun activities. Spending so much time with Hayden. And now its all coming to a close. But September brings us a whole slew of new activities and then it will sadly be October, but we look forward to the bright beautiful leaves that welcomes in winter each year. I am working on a photo album of all my favorite pictures of the summer. I have also started a new photo storing/sharing site that I will share soon. I am still organizing everything.

As we close up the summer we still have a few more "adventures" left. Our annual weekend in the Cities with the Askov Parade/Rutabaga Festival, State Fair, and maybe a trip or two to Porky's. We then head over to the Great state of Wisconsin for some fun in the Dells. We are doing Mt Olympus waterpark two days and staying at a cool retro looking hotel/motel. Then we are back and then its back to work for me, one week from tomorrow. I am looking forward to it actually. I miss the daily interaction with adults and the kids at school. You grow pretty attached to them. Pictures coming soon. Some more great ones from this past week. We went to Enger Tower, Barker's Island and i got a few great shoots at Papa and Smith's house. Enjoy the end of the summer and that slight nip in the air that I have been feeling and enjoying.

August Pics

Wow, I can't believe a week has gone by, again. We had a multi-adventure week. I made it to and from Baltimore safe and sound, a little sleep deprived and hungry, but all is well. The boys had a fun weekend of camping, fires and fishing, all things mom isn't all that into! Hayden has been quite the little runner. He has been running the 1/8th mile in about 1 min 20 seconds, seems to be the average. He loves it too! He is so proud of his ribbon he gets. Last night we stayed for the prize drawing. He stared at that ticket remembering the numbers-he didn't win. We were walking out and he looked up at me and said "I really wanted to win a prize" looking so sad! I felt so bad, i wanted to give him a prize, but thats life kid. We had a nice dinner out at Baja Billy's on Sunday and then went to the Rose Garden and I took a ton of pictures. Some turned out beautifully. I out some printed at Wal Mart and they wouldn't give them to me w/o copyright release I was rather proud of myself! Check them out. I took pictures for Always and Forever Bridal too. They are trying to sell some dresses it was fun and hard, bad lighting and no place to actually take the pictures, dresses everywhere! But if you need a dress, check them out! They have beautiful dresses for good prices! I found out recently that next year we will have 5 weddings! 3 cousins and 2 friends, thats a lot of weddings. Jason is in 2 of them! Lots of picture taking opportunities.
Not much set for the weekend just relaxing! yeah right. Oh we set Hayden's room all up! It looks very nice! Enjoy!

In the next few posts you will see a drastic change. I am going to try a few new things on my blog to make it more "likeable". There will be more "mommy posts" and more about our adventures too. So hold on with me!

I need something new!!!!!!!!!!!
Help!
I can't seem to find a blog style i like.
I feel like its so blahh.
I have so much to say, but no format to say it.
Oh well!
Maybe i'll write all my blog entries in Haikku.


I feel like we are on an adventure, always. The way we seem to go through life is our own little adventure. We have our own Amazing Race. I wanted to take that in to my blog. We are constantly going places and experiencing new things. So much for Hayden. I want him to look back at this blog and thing "Wow I had some pretty cool things happen when I was only three". I know he is grateful for everything he has and by no means were Jason and I deprived as kids, but I want him to know and appreciate everything he gets to do at such a young age.

Hayden is the highlight and life of our world, that's why so much of this blog is for him. But it is also mine. A journal kind of. I look back at old posts and pictures and think oh yeah we did that. Maybe this blog is actually for me when i am old and senile and can't remember anything, i can read this and reflect on what a wonderful life we led.

On Friday my mom and I are flying to Baltimore to pick up a car for her. It should be fun. Hayden will be spending the weekend with Daddy, Smith and Papa. They are going to Hayden's Cabin. Have fun guys!

Until i can think of a semi-creative way to write about everything I'll just list off in no particular order what we have done recently and link our August pics.
Friday: Played with Lily, Went to the cabin, Hayden spent the night at Nana's house.
Saturday: Farmer's Market with Nana, visited with my mom and dad's friends, went to the Smith's house.
Sunday: My mom's birthday! Saw the Tall Ships.
Monday: Dinner at our house(Smith and Papa) Hayden got up at 11:30 and wouldn't fall back asleep until after 2 am!
Tuesday: Went to the beach with Papa and Brandon. Went to the Huskey's game, they won!
Wednesday: Wednesday Night at the Races. Wish him luck!

Twilight Series

Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, Breaking Dawn. Any of these sound familiar to you? Well its the outstanding series by Stephanie Meyer. The fourth book, Breaking Dawn is coming out tomorrow and like a good portion of the nation I am super excited. These books are beautiful written with elegant words and grand descriptions. When first hearing its about Vampires I automatically dismissed it as a fantasy novel, novels i don't' read. But after Freshman girls bugged me enough for this book I just had to read it for myself.
Twilight captivates you right from the start. I couldn't put it down. It drew me in. I was as thirsty for this book, as Vampires as for blood. The book isn't just about Vampires, its about Romance and living in a small Oregon town. I felt as I was inside this town and in the head of Bella and Edward. Upon finishing the first book I quickly read the 2nd and 3rd all within a week. New Moon had me sitting on the couch, the last nice day in late fall, bawling my eyes out. I felt as much emotion as Bella did. The third book is even better than the second wanting the fourth book immediately, but unlike me, having to wait 10 months you can finish the series right up. Stephanie Meyer is an outstanding author. Even if you are not a Young Adult, read the series. I have 2 copies I am willing to give out. You will not be disappointed.

Adventure: 1002
Where: Bayfront Park, Duluth

Next adventure planned: Day with Baby Lily, Spending the night at Nana's

Description of adventure: Wednesday Night At The Races! Its that time of the year again where Grandman's Marathon sponsers races for kids. If you can recall Hayden may have had some issues running before. But not this year! He kicked butt! He was rearing to go and got 6th place! With a time of 1 Minute 40 Seconds for an eighth mile. It was Hot, they usually do a quarter. Daddy ran with him and almost beat him, good thing Hayden passed him at the last moment.

Favorite memories: Giving everybody highfives as Hayden ran down the chute. Standing so proud of his ribbon he received.

Photos/Videos:

Adventure #1001

Place: Home
When: Summer 2008
What: Learning To Cook

This summer I have learned that I like to cook and can cook. I have found love in a few blogs that have tips and advice on how to save money, feed a family and great recipes. I found I love Cumin, so, so yummy! It has a very nice smokey flavor. I told Jason I am going to put it in pancakes now too!

A Great place to look for recipes is Recipezaar. You can look for recipes through ingredients, recipes and members, plus lots more. My favorite recipes so far are Oven Fried Chimichangas, they are so delicious! I used fresh Cilantro and Green Enchilada sauce and garlic. These were so good. Another great recipe was Baby Red Salt Potatoes. I made these for a little party i had and everyone loved them. We also had some not so good recipes like this one. Today I am making This and This. I will let you know how they go!

Any favorite recipes? Let me know!

**Update** 10:10 pm
My supper turned out pretty darn well. I served my carnitas on a warm tortilla, cheddar cheese, and lettuce. I also decided to make homemade spanish rice, that was very good too. The only thing was the Carnitas was it needed SALT! I also didn't make the Oatmeal Cream Pies, soon! I made Candycoated Puffcorn. We had this at Relay for Life and it was very yummy! I couldn't find a recipe but just melted a package of Vanilla Almond Bark in the Microwave with a little shortening and then dumped the whole bag of puffcorn into a paperbag and then drizzled the melted almond bark on top and then I shook it.

Take a look at what we did this weekend:

That's Michael's house on Lackawanna if you are wondering! Hayden was an awesome little painter and helper!

Happy Saturday! What a beautiful day we had! The last couple actually. Today we had my family reunion at Anna Gene Park. It was fun and we got to see and meet lots of people. We ate lots of yummy food, visited, and played. It was a very nice outing. We then came home and enjoyed the evening on the swing in the yard and with a little yard golf. Right now Hayden went to "Nal Park" with my mom and dad for a walk. He got a little light up "Spy Watch" from the MCD today and has been talking in to it all night, he brought that with him and "called" me and told me to clean his room, I did. Gotta make the kid happy, right??

On Friday Hayden and I went to the park in the morning. I realized it was going to be a hot one so we came home packed our bags and hit the beach. We went out to WI Point and enjoyed the beach basically to ourselves. We had a great time playing in the sand, swimming and riding the waves. He was giggling so hard he flipped over his floatie while riding the waves. It was great. He is so awesome some days, most days. He is becoming such a little man. We had a lot of fun just the two of us! Well we decided we needed a little Daddy time too. So we went home picked him up and went out to Lake Minnesuing for a little swimming. We had a blast out there too. The boys played football and swam and i got to take pictures. We've been wearing the little guy out the last few days he has been going to bed early! I don't mind!!!! Pics up above and a few to share with you guys!!!

We've had more fun the last few days! Jason was lucky enough to have both Monday and Wednesday off.(this is a rarity this summer he has been working a ton! Almost all 6 day weeks, yuck. But thats okay i am making up for it by not working!!!) On Monday Jason, Hayden and Papa Smith went Golfing at Norwood's. They said they had fun! But while they were golfing i went shopping at some new stores in Superior. Earth Exchange across from the Library. It has new, old, and used stuff. But I found something beyond great. A set of Noritake Rosay China dishes. 12 full place settings. I also got with my set a serving platter, 2 oblong bowls, round bowl and divided vegetable dish. Plus Salt and Pepper shakers, sugar bowl, and creamer. Each place setting has a dinner plate, salad plate, bread/butter plate, fruit bowl and Cup/Saucer. I got the whole 81 piece set for...........$39.95. One tiny chip thats all that's wrong with it. I don't know why it was so cheap but they were crazy. Its beautiful and i am beyond excitied about it. A lady on Ebay sold her set for $500 last week. So very cool.

Anyways on Tuesday night we went and watched Brandon play baseball. I took a bunch of pictures. Hayden was tired and crabby so he is laying in the grass in a bunch of them. He fell asleep on the way home, goofball. The fair is in town and we wanted to go show Hayden but that didn't happen.

On Wednesday we had a picnic at Playfront Park with my mom, dad, Brandon, Jason, Hayden, Don and Anthony. We had yummy food from Famous Daves and then we played for a while. There were a ton of kids there though. Then later we went to the Fair. Hayden went on a ton of rides, he is fearless. We looked at the cows, horses, bunnies etc with Smith and Papa. Ate of course and then headed home. We had lots of fun and Hayden won a sword. He hasn't put it down all day! Gotta love cheap plastic toys.

Another week went flying by. We really can't believe that August is almost here. Where did this month go? I swear the 4th was only last week. But we still have a lot planned for August so we aren't slowing down yet!

On Saturday we were surprised with a visit from Jessica, Lisa and Grandpa Blakey. We ate pizza and played! We had lots of fun. Hayden and Jessica got along SUPER well. That always makes me feel better!

On Sunday we visited Big Gram and Big Papa Smith out at the Cabin. It was weird to be at the cabin without any other kids, only Hayden. He loved it, he didn't have to share his favorite swing. He also went swimming, sort of, he is afraid of the Lake. We'll work on that! Hayden also went and had grown up conversation over ice cream with Nana and Papa. None of us can believe what a little man we have. He talks to us like an adult. He can carry on a conversation very well.

On Friday we went up to Cirrus aka Smith's New Work and enjoyed their family picnic and airshow. It was neat, I'd never been to an airshow and didn't really know what to expect. They are loud! We all had a good time and then to enjoy the beautiful weather we went out on Lake Superior in the big boat. It was neat i saw MN point from the Lake and was surprised that those giant big houses are not on the beach nor did it look like many people had Lake views. The boys did a little fishing, didn't catch anything only a few bites. We saw a boat getting filled with taconite and a beautiful sunset, and oh yeah i took pictures, a lot of pictures. Which are on top now. I'll keep the current month up there.

On Thursday Baby Lily came to visit. She isn't much of a baby anymore but that's what Hayden calls her. She is so sweet and you forget what a great age 18 months(almost) is. She was into exploring and tasting. She is quiet and then all of a sudden she says Thank You in the littlest sweetest voice. But I took a ton of pictures of her too! Click HERE to View Lily

We had a picnic last week in Billings Park too. Hayden got to play lots of baseball and was a very happy camper! My dad's friend Don and his son Anthony came with and played with him. Don pointed out Hayden's monster sized hands! He is just like a puppy who hasn't grown into his paws yet. Hayden had fun playing with a 7 year old, who was very good to him. They played on the playground and went on a little walk together, very cute!

On Wednesday we went Mini Golfing. Hayden got a hole in one on the first hole. He was actually pretty darn good. We kept his score and he got a 48, Jason a 42, Me a 43. At least i can still beat him at Mini golf! He loves his sports. He golfs in the yard all day long, then he plays t-ball, then soccer, then basketball and then a little football. This kid is crazy! He loves them all too! Someday i will be that Soccer Mom driving him to practice all week long.Such a boy.

Okay I went on and on. Look at the pictures on top. If you want to get right to certain pictures (like Jessica pictures) just click on the slideshow and it will bring you to the album through Picasa. Then you can download them, print them or just view them.

Ahhh! I can't believe I haven't blogged about all this stuff yet! We've had a lot going on and nothing at the same time! Last Tuesday Hayden bumped his head and I was looking at it and he had this HUGE bump I look and it and I freaked out because it had legs! I scooped him up and brought him to McDonalds to see Jason. Jason was like yup its a monster woodtick, super stuck in his head. Okay off to Urgent Care we go. So he had it removed at Urgent Care with both the nurse and Doctor saying Gross! (how can a dr say gross, really??) He got a little shot of something good and out it came with a hunk of skin. So he got a huge bandage wrapped around his head(See picture below) due to his head bleeding. He was like whatever the whole time. The woodtick was flesh colored and the size of a lima bean, it was nasty! I learned that ticks don't lay eggs on humans or other hosts they will only lay eggs on the ground. Good!

I was lucky enough to see Sarah, Casey and Breckin a bunch before they had to leave for Arizona. Breckin is so cute and loved me! He would coo and smile at me. I forgot how sweet they are at that age just learning to interact, oh he melted my heart. Hayden liked him too. Telling me he had beautiful eyes and little tiny baby ears.

Jason, Hayden, and I went to Port Wing, Herbster, Bayfield, and Washburn on Saturday. We had a fun little family outing. (We had plans on Saturday and they got sick, we hope they are feeling better!) We hiked at Twin Falls Park, played at an awesome little park in Herbster and went to the beach there. We headed to Bayfield for lunch, ice cream and a walk about the town. Hayden saw a pirate ship on the water, he thought that was pretty cool. Then it was off to our dairy in Washburn for milk and ice cream. We had a very fun day!

Sunday Hayden and I went with my mom and dad to the Greek Festival in Duluth. We had very yummy food. Hayden loved the meat he had(lamb or pork, I can't remember) and ate some other dishes we tried. We also walked on the Lakewalk that night with them, Jason too! Take a look at the pictures there were beautiful clouds and colors on Sunday night.

All right I am going to brag about my son, so beware! Hayden is learning to spell! He knows religiously how to spell his name and write it without help. I am so proud of him, granted he does have an easy name to write and its only Hayden I haven't even started with Smith yet. He catches on so easy! I have been spelling words for him when he asks questions. Like what a new remote did. I told him to push the ON and he did and i asked him what that word means and he said ON(He isn't dumb I suppose I should give him a little credit!) the same with OFF. Good Job Hayden!

Pictures!

This album is called the Colorless Collection, but I added 2 colored pictures! But Enjoy!

There are a lot of things i fudge a little on with Hayden but there is one thing that i am very strict about, car seats. He will always be in a booster seat and in the back seat until he is 8 and 12. I think this article proves why:

3 year old uninjured

I know if you live locally you probably heard about this, but i find this amazing. A 3 year old was uninjured from a car accident that left the other 2 people dead and 5 other people hurt. Put your kids in car seats, always.

Ahhh, I don't even know where to start!

We have had an amazing week! It started off with gorgeous weather at Cragun's. One of our favorite places in the whole world. We have been so lucky this summer with nice weather(knock on wood) and that just continued at Craguns. We joined my mom, dad, brother and sister up there Monday afternoon and had a quick picnic and then hit the outdoor pool. Hayden LOVED the kiddie pool. He even pushed his Nana in there! There was so many people it was crazy but thats okay. Hayden and I swam in the deep end and jumped in and went under water. He is becoming a very strong swimmer. Very confident too. He likes his lifejacket on but is swimming without it too. I don't even know how long we swam but it was a very long time, we spend almost all of tuesday in the water too! Tuesday and Wednesday were spent by the pool or beach. We did all the Cragun things too! Wild Animal Show(Hay liked the camel, he didn't really know what a camel was until then), Trolley rides w/Kurt, Movies on the Beach(My favorite new thing) and of course campfires. Papa sneaked us over to Madden's Resort and had ice cream too. I threw Hayden's away, it was a down right tragedy, but he told me he was done. He got over it! Sadly we had to leave at 1 on Wednesday because Hayden went to His Cabin with Smith and Papa.

Thursday brought a day with no Hayden and lots of cleaning and grocery shopping, we had NO food! We had dinner with Micheal and Laura before they headed home to Texas.

Friday, Happy 4th of July! We went to the parade with Sarah, Breckin and Tanya. Hayden got the most candy! Whole handfuls. He loved it, but it was hot. Hayden has been a hoot lately. Sarah's favorite thing he said to me at the parade was "Mom, settle down, settle down, I am right HERE" Silly boy. Got to love 3 1/2. We headed to the Smith cabin for the Jen's 21st birthday and 4th celebration. We had lots of fun, I took tons of pictures of Baby Lauren and watched the Fireworks.

Saturday we went to Gordon with My mom, Dad, and Brandon in Jason's new truck to watch the fireworks. They were pretty fantastic. My mom and dad secretly were jealous of Jason's truck the whole time too! (Firework Album!)



Sunday we shipped Hayden off with my Mom and Dad and Jason and I went to a party for Breckin. We had fun but it was HOT. It was 96 in town today and 86 in Lake Nebagamon.

We have nothing on the block for the week! Except i am having people over on Friday so i will probably clean and get ready for that. I hope everyone had a fun and safe weekend, we had a blast.

Check out all the new pictures too!

Jason had a fabulous idea last night. We drove to Billings Park and spent a couple hours walking around the park and playing of course. I took way to many pictures(as usual) and just thought I'd post them before i leave, again, this time for Brainerd. We have been gone for the last 2 weeks. But we are having fun and going to spend the month of July relaxing and going to the beach(we haven't done that yet!) I played around with my camera settings last night. My favorite setting for last night was the Sunset setting. The lake and the sun just led to amazing pictures! Who couldn't take a good picture of that??

Wedding Pictures! We had lots of fun at Patty and Mark's Wedding this past weekend. I had a ton of fun taking pictures. Here is a few of my favorites! This is my ploy to get people to look at my blog! So Smith Family if you want to see the wedding pictures you must look at my blog! Ha!

Happy Birthday Hayden!

Well happy half birthday! My baby is 3 1/2 today. We were up in Orr, Mn this week at a Cabin at Melgeorge's resort. We had fabulous weather, great company, and super fishing. Just ask Hayden how big his fish was. Lots of pictures in the new album(i maxed out the June one, oops!) he had a ton of fun. We all did!

Patty's wedding is next on the list, then Cragun's, then Hayden is going to his cabin with Smith and Papa, then 4th of july festivities. Then breathe! Not really Sarah and Casey are coming home for 15 days and i am trying to find time to see them and the baby. What a crazy time.

Okay i am super tired and at a loss of things to tell, but i have so much to tell! Check out the album!

Ahh Summer! My little buddy is sure enjoying our beautiful weather. The hose and "his garden" are two of his favorites! We have had a great week. Starting with Father's Day which was going to "Hayden's Cabin" and fishing. Daddy caught a 19 1/2 bass, he was pretty excited. Mommy got a terrible back ache from the boat! We had fun with lots of fish biting at our hooks. Monday Hayden went with Papa Smith for their weekly time together. Hayden loves playing at Papa B's house. He has a "big hill" (handicap ramp) that Hayden runs up and down on. I made lasagna in my new Pampered Chef stoneware(buy one, they are awesome, perfectly set lasagna ever time, i promise!). Tuesday we were lucky enough to go on a picnic with Papa Moe and Brandon. Luckily we were at the park by our house, since we needed to go back 3 times. Wednesday i cleaned and cleaned, i just want to get rid of stuff! I also got new dishes since i am sick of mine and wanted something new. I found these dishes at the amazon! I only paid $27.99 for them, they went up to $79.99 the next day. Today we went on errands day. Up to Duluth we went which in its self is an adventure these days. Bridges being fixed, detours, machinery falling over. But its still weird that i am not working, i miss it already. The week ahead brings camping on Elephant Lake and Patty and Mark's wedding. Jason is so excited! lol. Hayden looks very handsome in his outfit for the wedding and lucky Jase gets to wear a tux! Don't forget to check out the new pictures too! I am just going to have 1 album for each month and will add almost daily. My poor computer can't hold my pictures so i am uploading them all to my online albums instead of only a few. I use to just upload my favorites in case something happened to my computer i'd have the best ones. Have a great weekend! Enjoy the summer!

Okay this is quickly becoming a photo blog! Which i really am okay with. Here is my new favorite picture of my Hayden.

We had lots of fun on my first official day off for the summer. Emily, Hayden and I went to Park Point for their huge rummage sales. I bought a glass pitcher, a milk bottle with a plastic Bridgeman's cap( did you know i collect milk bottles? Look next time in my house they are in the kitchen lining my shelves.) and a book. I also had a very good boy! He was a super shopper not asking for one thing! I loved it, so i bought him a slushy without him knowing where i was going. He kept saying "Oh thank you Mommy, thank you so much for my slushy" cutie! I also fell in a hole breaking Emily's antique cake stand that she bought(that is the shorten version) The long version is, I was walking with a pop in one hand the 5 pound cake stand in the other, Emily was pushing Hayden, i apparently went into la la land and the next thing i know i heard the glass shattering. I then realized i had my camera on the other hip turned to save the camera, skinned my knee, lost both shoes and still had the now just pedestal of the cake stand in my hand. I don't know how i fell or how i didn't get cut from all that glass, but i am fine. Felt HORRIBLE about the cake stand but i bought her cheese curds to make up for it. Camera is fine too! I didn't spill a drop of my drink either!

After rummage saleing we hit up two Salvation Army stores. At one they had a bunch of kids games for $0.49. I got Hungry, Hungry Hippo and Don't Break the Ice. All the pieces were in both too. They both are a huge hit for the Hay!

We had Brennah's birthday party today too. She turned 7! I can't believe it. I bought her gift from the Pumpkin Patch i need an excuse to shop there since Hayden is well set for clothes.

Happy Father's Day to all the fathers out there too! I think the father in our household has requested Golf if the weather holds up.

Happy Summer too!

More New Pictures!

So far this weekend we had a picnic at Billings Park...So Mommy could take pictures!
We played outside..... So Mommy could take pictures!

We've had fun and enjoyed the nice weather on Saturday. Take a look at the June Album, right below this!

Things I Love:
#1 http://www.pumpkinpatchusa.com/
Go there. I LOVE their clothes, they have kids clothes, baby, teens and even maternity. Great quality and nice prices(sale items!). Super Fast shipping too! I ordered on Tuesday and Fedex brought it this morning from New Zealand, 2 day shipping!

#2 My Husband. Why See Things I Love #3.

#3 My NEW Camera! See pictures above for a glimpse of greatness!

We are home!

We had a great time in Arizona, Sarah and Casey's baby is beautiful. He is a very good baby too! But boy did we miss our Hayden. He is so sweet when we got home. I didn't get to see him until Friday after work. He was very lovable and snuggly, he actually fell asleep on me. I was kind of a lump all weekend. Hayden too. We both were tired and went to bed early.

I Can't Believe it's June!

Reasons why we love June:

• Mommy is almost done with work for the year
• Beach time is coming
• PBS has kids shows on in the morning!(they usually have educational programing for schools on from 9 to 1)
• Apple Blossoms
• Having the windows open
• Parties(Graduation, Weddings etc!)
  

Why do you love June??? Or do not love it???

We had a good weekend. On Sunday my mom's Relay for Life Team had its annual Pancake Breakfast. Hayden and I helped for a while and ate yummy pancakes! Then my boys went golfing at Madgee(Haydens most requested place to go these days) on the hot day! What a great way to start June. I mowed the lawn. It was hot but i got it done and boy do i hate our hill! Then Jason's friend Jon invited us to a Huskey's game in Duluth. He had tickets for the Dog Kennel which is a big fenced off area with picnic tables and all the food and pop/beer you want. Free tickets=Free Beer and Free Food! We kind of had crazy weather but oh well. Hayden and I sat under the condiments counter to stay dry. Hayden got a foul ball too! He was VERY excited and couldn't wait to show Brandon. We brought his baseball glove and a whiffle ball which was the greatest idea! It kept him occupied for a long time. Jon also threw the first pitch of the game. Jon in the manager at Arby's in West Duluth, check them out! Its a brand new store! Jason and i have gone up there a couple of times. Thanks Arby's!

***This post was written on Sunday, May 25th!We of course got to the airport early, as always. We try to be late and we can't! So anyways today we hit the road at about 9 dropped Hayden off and went on our merry way. We stopped for Cheese Curds in Abbottsford and hit up Lambeau Field for a quick visit and to buy a few things! I of course followed Jason around with the camera since Hayden wasn't there! He is very much less agreeable than Hayden! Oh well got some pictures anyways! Some extras from yesterday with Hayden. We had a fun day golfing(mini and regular), dinner at Grizzly's(Hayden picked, they have free popcorn!) and Mommy getting a nail in the tire(noticed at Walmart and they fixed it! I didn't even now they did stuff like that and for only $10!) Enjoy!