Weekend Getaway

This past weekend we headed up to McCall, ID for a mini vacation.  Matt played in a golf tournament up there on Friday morning so we decided to make a weekend of it.  It turned out to be a fun and relaxing time.

The first morning we took our time getting through breakfast and checking out of the first hotel (we were moving to another place that evening) and then dropped Matt off at the golf course at 10:30.  Hayden and I had A LOT of time to kill and the weather was just okay, so I wasn't sure how we were going to fill the day, but we managed.  We visited a local fish hatchery- that took about ten minutes to get through- as well as nearby Ponderosa State Park.  Hayden enjoyed playing down by the beach there.  Digging in the sand seems to be a favorite activity of his these days.

After the park we had lunch on The Pancake House which was YUMMY! and then browsed through their Christmas house.  We got back to the golf course at 2:30, hoping to kill some time checking out around the club house and possibly see Matt's group come in.  Hayden ended up falling asleep in the car and I sat and read until he woke up at 3:45, which ended up being a good thing because Matt did not get done until 5:00!  It took them a full 6 hours to play their round, but we did get to check out the scenery in the mean time.  It seemed like a beautiful course.

Matt's group did well (they scored a 63 on a 72 par course) but didn't win anything because prizes were only awarded for Net scores.  We did get a nice free dinner at the nearby lodge afterwards, and won a $100 gift card to Cottonwood Grille in Boise as a door prize. That made the day worth it.

Stopped by the lake on the way out for a family picture:

With just over five weeks left until D-day, that sweater was barely doing the trick ;)

We finally headed to Tamarack Resort to stay the following two nights.  Stay tuned for pictures of the rest of the trip!

School's Out for the Summer!

This past Thursday was the last day of the Mother's Day Out program before beginning summer break.  They had a little completion ceremony with diplomas for all of the kids, and the ones moving onto kindergarten wore little caps and gowns.  It was so cute!  Hayden was on stage with his class for just a few minutes, but he did not participate in any of the songs.  He looked somewhat like a deer in the headlights.  I felt bad because he had seen me on his way into the sanctuary, but then as they were filing up on stage I switched seats to get a better view.  He spent the whole rest of the time looking for me.   At least there were no tears!

I got just two pictures and a couple little videos, mainly because Matt was not able to make it.  Not much going on in either set, but I'll share anyway!

Enjoy!

Here is Hayden's class picture that came in the folder with his "diploma."  I think it is hilarious (and somewhat ironic) that Hayden is the ONLY child looking at the camera in the picture, and the only half smile :)

His teachers were Ms. Shalai (left) and Ms. Flo (right).  They were both very nice but I think Hayden was partial to Ms. Shalai :)

Hayden told me after we got home "I sang very quietly, Mommy."  He wasn't kidding- I could hardly tell his lips were moving!

Warmer Weather=Outdoor Fun

We have been enjoying many more frequent sunny warm days lately.  We have finally gotten to 70 a few times and even close to 80 a couple of times.  We still have some cloudy, windy days here and there but when it is sunny we get outside as much as we can!  Yesterday Matt played golf with some friends here in town, so Hayden and I made a trip to the park.  Once we were done there we headed to Green's Nursery here in Mountain Home and bought some strawberry and tomato plants.  After we brought them home Hayden played in his pool while I was planting.  THe strawberry plants already have a few baby green strawberries on them, and the tomato plant has three green tomatoes, so hopefully we should start to have some good fruit in about two weeks!

Here Hayden is showing off the new strawberry plants:

Weekend Happenings

Today we took a family trip down to Hagerman, Id, about an hour away.  There is a resort there that has an indoor pool fed by a natural hot spring.  There was a kiddie pool, slide and diving boards.  Best feature- the warm water!  It was a fun way to spend an afternoon and I recommend it to anyone n the area, especially with kids. 

For some reason Hayden didn't like how loudly the diving board banged when people jumped off.  It really was not that loud:

Here he is playing catch with Matt:

Preparing to catch the ball:

Outside of the pool building was a deck area along the snake river.  There were a few small waterfalls along the way, so we stopped to enjoy the scenery and take some pictures.

Testing the water temperature- it was chilly!

Hayden wanted to show off his baby sister for the camera.

He found a hole in the deck to look through:

After the hot springs we stopped by near-by Malad Gorge State Park.  I had been there with my family this summer but Matt had yet to see it.  It was chilly and windy so we stopped just long enough to look and take a couple of pictures and then move on.  Hayden is not enthusiastic about pictures with us lately; here is one of Matt trying to convince him to smile and Hayden refusing emphatically:

Once home we had ice cream cones in the back yard.  It was almost too chilly for it, but something about an afternoon swimming makes me want ice cream:)

Earlier while at the park I took a quick video of Hayden and Matt doing Hayden's favorite activity- running!

Easter 2011

We had a really nice Easter this year.  The festivities started on Saturday morning with the egg coloring.  We colored two dozen eggs and then finished them off with stickers.  Hayden really enjoyed it but later discovered that do not taste nearly as good as he was expecting.

Not sure what was going on in this next picture but since Matt was behind the camera there's no telling:

Sunday morning we did Easter baskets as soon as Hayden woke up and we were able to drag Matt our of bed 30 minutes later.  I put together an Easter basket for Matt as well, just for fun, and hid them both in the drier for them to find.  I think Matt was anxious for Hayden to hurry up and find them so he could dig in!  He ate is entire caramel-filled milk chocolate bunny in one sitting.  With a glass of coke.  Needless to say he was not feeling very well a few minutes later.

Nothing like capturing some good-morning faces on camera!

Videos to come later...

Golf and More Golf!

Last week Matt bought Hayden his first "real" golf club from Golf Galaxy.  They wasted no time putting it to good use; that afternoon Matt took Hayden to the driving range to use it for the first time and Hayden spent almost all weekend in the back yard practicing his swing.  He even ended up with some pretty bad blisters on his thumb and index finger.  After a few days' break, though, he is back in action!  It will be interesting to if his enthusiasm continues.

Here is Hayden with his "coach" in the back yard.

Anniversary

March 11 of this year marked 5 years since Matt and I said "I do."  Our actual anniversary weekend turned out to be busy and since Matt's mom was coming for a visit at the end of March we decided to wait until she was here to celebrate.  We finally got to go out this past Friday.  We went to Cottonwood Grille in Boise and had a fabulous dinner.  I would highly recommend it to anyone who lives in the area.  We were lucky enough to have beautiful weather that day so we sat on the patio and saw the sunset while we were eating.  They were not really seating anyone out there after we arrived so we pretty much had it to ourselves.  A very nice time indeed!  A big thanks to Nancy for letting us get away while she was here.

We took only one picture that evening.  I was almost 26 weeks pregnant that day.