Happy Memorial Day!!

Okay, so this is going to be another long post with lots of pictures again. Sorry they have been so long lately but we've been busy. Anyway here we go....

ONE OF THESE THINGS IS NOT LIKE THE OTHER

So, the other night Ryan and I were searching the house for a binky. Hayden has had so many and they always get lost. We looked everywhere and were getting so bugged! Finally Ryan found it. If you look closely you can see her dang binky down in the tube with the balls. Hayden definitely keeps us on our toes.

The weather has been gorgeous the last few days so we have been outside enjoying it. On Saturday we discovered this awesome park. It has a bunch of trails, huge trees, a lake, a beach, a huge playground, wildlife and a lot more. So, Saturday we went on a hike and checked it out.

Hayden was having fun riding in the pack. She was really enjoying all the sights. She was pointing and talking about everything.

You can't tell very well in this picture, but those are little turtles on the rock. It had a few more on it but they jumped in the water when we walked up. Ryan was very excited about the turtles. When we checked out another part of the lake there were some people feeding the fish. There were swarms of the biggest carp I have ever seen. It was so nasty. I tried to get a picture but Ryan thinks it's weird that I would want to take a picture of carp. He hasn't fully excepted my blogging ways yet.

After church on Sunday, we went back to the same park with my brothers fam. We hauled in our new little charcoal grill and had a BBQ. It was so nice!

Then last night, Hayden discovered the joys of a box. That's right, a box. She literally played with this box for over an hour. It was hilarious. She turned it upside down and climbed on top. She climbed in it. She threw things in it, and then she did it all over again. Wouldn't it be so nice to be so easily entertained?!

Today we went to Caboose Park (hence the big Caboose) and had a Memorial Day picnic with our ward. We ate and played and played some more. It was so fun. Hayden loves being outside so she was having a blast. Later, the adults played a game of Softball. Ryan did a pretty good job of showing off his skills :)

Here is Ryan playing with the kids. He was actually proving to me that he could go across the whole thing with no hands. Nice work, babe.

I love this picture. She looks so sweet.

And I love this picture because it is so Hayden... Just so happy!!

We're excited for more grilling tonight and then Ryan's back to work tomorrow. What a bummer. At least we had an awesome weekend and were able to enjoy being outside. We hope you all had a wonderful holiday, too!

Salt Lake Trip

It has been a few weeks since I have added a post so I have a lot to write about and a ton of pictures to post, too. Ryan was supposed to go on a business trip to Singapore for 2 weeks over Mother's Day. I didn't want to be home alone for 2 weeks, especially over my first real Mother's Day. So, we got me a plane ticket to Salt Lake. After we bought the ticket, Ryan's trip got cancelled. Hayden and I went to Salt Lake for 2 weeks and poor Ryan ended up home alone for 2 weeks. Don't feel too bad for him, he spent most of the time playing the Wii until all hours of the night.
Hayden and I had such a great visit in Utah. We didn't tell my mom we were coming. My Dad and I set it up to be a surprise for her for Mother's day. So, my brother invited them to dinner the night we flew in. Hayden and I were hiding in a bedroom and when my mom came in we came out for the big reveal. She started screaming and was so excited. My Dad and I were so proud of ourselves for keeping it a secret for over a month and my mom was in heaven!

There rest of the trip was great too, but super busy. We were running from place to place trying to see as many people as we could.
Here is a picture of Hayden with "Uncle Jake", as Ryan calls him.

Hayden had so much fun playing with all of her cousins. She loves having other little kids around. She was more quiet than usual because there was just so much going on that she wasn't used to.
We went to Discovery Gateway downtown. If you have kids and you've never been there, you should definitely go. It was so cool and the kids loved it.


My Dad had a lot of fun with Hayden. He would take her outside first thing in the morning and tell her about the different plants growing in their yard. He also gave her a full sized ice cube to hold in her hand so she could learn about cold things. Who gives a baby an ice cube? Funny Grampa!One of my favorite parts of the trip was going on a motorcycle ride with my Dad. The weather was perfect. The ride was a little bumpy, but it was a great ride! Hayden even got to test out the bike for a minute.
It was so great to be with family and friends. We love all of you and can't wait till we get to see you again in 3 weeks!

After we got home, Hayden thought she was hilarious because she climbed into the suitcase. She is such a ham!!


While we were in Utah, a few people were teasing me about Hayden's comb over and there was even a comment that she had hair like a Emo. So, I decided to try a ponytail. Doesn't she look so old?! It was fun to do her hair up a bit and I am excited to buy her some barrettes. Poor girl, now she is really in for it :)

Weekly Happenings

My Aunt Christy came to visit a couple weeks ago. It has been years since I have seen her. It was so fun. We went out to eat and did some shopping. Hayden was of course showing off the whole time. We live about 20 minutes south of Wisconsin so we took her up to state line and took her picture so she could say she had been to Wisconsin. It was really great to spend time with her. Hopefully it wont be another 4 years til we see her again :)
Hayden has been busy with some new pasttimes. Some of our friends gave us this little toy car. Hayden loves it. She has been walking around pushing it all over the house. It is so cute. I love to see her little legs going.

She has been opening the cupboard doors for a while but she usually just looks. This week she has started taking things out. The first day she did, she spent the whole day banging the pots and throwing the tupperware around. It was awesome because it kept her occupied for hours and she thought she was so hilarious.

She has also been standing up on her own a lot lately. She has been doing it for a few weeks but has recently been doing it a lot more. She doesn't like to though so I couldn't get a picture of it. She will only do it if she has something in both hands and is distracted. Once she realizes she isn't holding on to anything, she immediately falls. The little stinker. It would be really nice if she would be walking by her birthday. That way she wouldn't have to crawl around outside and could have more fun this summer. First she has to get over her fear of standing alone. We'll see how it goes. Oh and one more thing. Ryan went on a business trip to Texas for two days this week. It was so cute when he came home. I saw the limo pull up so I told her daddy was home. She immediately raced to the stairs. When he walked in, she got a huge smile on her face and was waving her arms. He came up and gave her a big hug. He was so happy that she missed him. It was so cute. Anyway, that's what we've been up to :)