Ski Videos

Enjoy the short videos of us skiing with Hayden, as well as Matt's very enthusiastic commentary. You'll want your speakers on for this one.

Hayden's First Ski Day

Today we headed out to Bogus Basin Ski Resort just a little north of Boise. It has been several years since Matt and I have been skiing, and Hayden has never been so it was ambitious of us but we were determined to try. After it took us five hours to get all of our ski clothes on we headed inside to get our equipment and Hayden promptly got undressed.

After we got set with all of our equipment and got Hayden dressed (again) and got all of our stuff into the lockers, then reopened the locker twice to get things we forgot, we were finally ready to head outside. Not far from the lodge patio there is a small kid area we wanted to take Hayden to. Never having tried this with Hayden before we underestimated how difficult it would be to get him out there, and we tried all things, including dragging him behind before we realized we just needed to lose the skis and Matt resorted to carrying him the short 25 yards that we had to walk.

Then we were off! We took a trip up the moving sidewalk and I held Hayden's hand while we headed down the small hill. He loved it! We didn't get any pictures the first time because Matt was way too nervous to take his eyes off of us.

This picture was taken just before we headed down:
We got through two whole times down the hill before Hayden was DONE and needed some lunch.

What I forgot to mention earlier is that while we were all getting our boots on and picking up our skis, Hayden took a dive off of a bench and got his first shiner. He was pretty upset about it but it was nothing a few m&m's at lunch couldn't cure.

After lunch, we regrouped and Hayden was in a much better mood. We headed right back out the the kiddy hill and Matt and I each took turns going down with Hayden over and over while the other one of us took a turn skiing. By then he was a pro at getting on and off the track and I just had to hold him a little on the way down.

Stay tuned for the videos!

Going to Work

Hayden came walking into the kitchen the other day with one of Matt's work boots on. By the time I got my camera he had taken it off and I was unable to coax him to put it back on. But, its still a cute little video anyway. So enjoy!

Back Together Again

Matt finally made it back this afternoon at 4pm. He was already off the plane by the time Hayden and I were heading to the baggage claim and Hayden spotted Matt before I did and took off! He was so excited.

Needless to say we are very happy to have him home. Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!

Almost Home!

We officially have less than 24 hours until Matt's plane lands in Boise and I am so excited! It has been a long 9 days and we will be happy to have him home. Hayden has had a more difficult time than I expected with Matt being gone; he is very whiny and demanding and impatient and clingy and defiant...I am hoping this mess stops when Matt gets home. Hayden has, however talked to Matt on the phone every evening and that has gone well. He talks about Matt every day and mostly says things like "daddy ride airplane" or "daddy work," and only today did he really cry and ask for his daddy. It almost broke my heart. He kept saying "daddy lunch" because he wanted Matt to come home and eat with us.

On a lighter note we filled our last of these long nine days with fun time with friends. My friend, Nikki also has a husband who is out of town and she invited us over to spend the afternoon and evening. Her boys, Jack and Caleb are 2 yrs old and 11 months old, and they all played great together. It was even warm enough to let Jack and Hayden play outside for a bit. We had cheese and chocolate fondue for dinner, and afterwards we tried "craft" time with the older two (I use this term lightly because neither Nikki nor I are really the crafty type); we made Valentine's Day cards for the boys to give their dads. Jack did a much better time at sitting and being constructive then Hayden, who was much more concerned with getting ample pay time with all of Jack's cars and trucks and trains. Then the boys all played and played until it was bed time. They all got in their pj's together and I brought Hayden home and put him straight to bed. Jack and Hayden have the same Lightning McQueen slippers so we tried for a good photo, but with both of them being two, you might guess how that turned out:

Earlier today Hayden discovered his "pouch" on the front of his hoody. First, I must explain that the last few days we have had to take his little toy cars EVERYWHERE. This consists largely of me helping him carry them to his car, to his room, to the bath tub, and even loading them up in his little Dr. case and toting them around that way. Well, the discovery of his new little hiding place provided much entertainment for him this afternoon. Take a look:

"Where should I put this one?"

"How 'bout right here"

I Almost Forgot...

We talked to Matt on the phone again tonight. He is still doing well and says he is sleeping comfortably out in the woods. Today is his birthday, and I had told Hayden that it was earlier in the day and he has been saying things like "happy day daddy" and "happy present" and even "happy cake" all afternoon. He had even been singing his version of the happy birthday song, which you would not recognize unless you caught the "happy" in the beginning and had heard him sing it before. So when Matt called tonight and I put Hayden on the phone he sang happy birthday to him. It was so sweet, and I think Matt really loved it!

Mommy's Little "Helper"

Hayden is all about helping me these days, especially in the kitchen. Which is so much fun as long as I remember to allow double the time to do things and keep the paper towels close by. This afternoon we made a meal to deliver to a family who just had their third baby, complete with brownies for dessert! When we were all finished we of course licked the bowl clean, and Hayden would not give the spatula back to me until there was not a trace of chocolate left on the thing. It was a fun way to spend the afternoon!

Later that evening I was in the kitchen preparing our dinner and Hayden came walking out of my bedroom heading to his room with all this mess:

I told him to stand next to his trucks and say "cheese" but instead he decided to take the opportunity (while on camera) to tell us all about it. I finally (almost) caught a smile before he jumped up to see himself on camera.

Update

I heard from Matt earlier this evening. He was able to borrow someone's phone but apparently he didn't even know the person so our conversation was brief. He did get to talk to Hayden, and Hayden let out an enthusiastic "Hi Daddy!" and then said "I love you" which Matt was thrilled about.

They spent the afternoon/evening setting up the tents and will be spending the night there tonight and for the remainder of the week, but their exercises (whatever it is they entail) officially kick off tomorrow. He will be sleeping out in the woods until next Saturday.

We still have not located his phone. I will keep calling the movie theater but at this point I am losing faith that we will find it!

Hayden and I had a pretty low-key day today. We went to the gym on base this morning where they have an area where he can play while I work out and can still see him. We also made a trip to a local coffee shop this afternoon just to get out of the house. I got Hayden a "treat" (really it was a whole grain granola bar, but he doesn't have to know the difference) and I sipped on some tea while he played with his toy trucks. Other than that we just played at home and finished the evening with an Elmo movie. It was a nice day but I am looking forward to picking the pace up once next week starts!

Is it Valentine's Day Yet?

This morning Hayden and I dropped Matt off at the airport for a short training assignment. He is heading to the Panama City area of Florida, to Tyndall Air Force Base. The basis of the training is to pretend they are setting up a bare-essentials type base, with just tents and cots, from the ground up. I am sure I am not explaining it very well but basically he will be camping for the week!

Last night we hired a sitter and were able to go out and celebrate his birthday. We went to Tucanos, a Brazilian grill in Boise and then to the movies for "Leap Year". The night was great until we got home and realized that he did not have his phone and had evidently left it at the movie theater. Being late at night already and with no way to get it first thing this morning, he had to take off for his trip with no phone. So, if you try to call him don't be offended when he doesn't call you back! I am disappointed because it means we will be able to talk even less, but he is traveling with others from his squadron, so he will surely be able to borrow a phone at some point to call and check in.

Fortunately, he will only be gone for 9 days. He comes home the afternoon of Valentine's Day so at least we won't miss spending that together. I will have to get planning to fill our days with fun activities, though. We are barely through day one and I already feel like the 14th can't come fast enough!