A "Great" Grandpa!

My dad is very talented with his hands. He has a wood workshop in his basement and has created many things. My favorite are my cedar chest and the clocks he made for me. Lately, he has been making toys for all the grand kids at Christmas. It is so fun to see what he creates them each year. He made them rocking horses this year which he gave to them last night at our Christmas party. The kids love them. They have been on them non-stop since we got them last night. We are so lucky to have a talented Grandpa who is willing to share his talents. The horse will be something my kids can pass on to their kids - a great keepsake. Hayden loves to go to his Grandpa's house because a lot of days he will go down in his workshop with him and create a new toy -a tractor, a train, a truck, a helicopter, etc. He loves seeing what they can create. It is a great memory for him. We love you Grandpa!

Hayden's Antics

On Friday, I was wrapping a few presents (sometimes that is the best way to hide them). Hayden came in and saw one and asked who it was for. I told him this one is for Hannah and the other one was for him from me. He asked matter of factly, "Let me look at what mine is." I told him he couldn't because he had to wait for Christmas day. This made him mad and then he said, "That is not a very nice thing to do mom. Why would you do such a mean thing?" He wasn't mad anymore he just really wanted to know why I would wrap a present and not show him. It is so funny how a three year old brain works. Or maybe we have it all wrong and they really understand how things should go. I tried to distract him by pulling out the present he boughtfor his dad and wanted to get him excited by helping me wrap it. He then told me, "Why would I want to be so mean to dad and wrap his present?" It is hard to wait until Christmas when you are a three year old.

Hayden was so excited on Saturday when we finally found him a Christmas train. He has been wishing for one for a year. That is all he wants for Christmas. We have looked all over but were unable to find one. Finally, Heath took him shopping and they found one. He has been playing with it non-stop since then. I don't know how many times I have put it back on the train, but it is worth the fun he is having. We will see on Christmas day if he remembers that that was all he wanted for Christmas.

4-Wheeler Fun

We started out our Thanksgiving break by going 4-wheeling as a family. This is Hayden's absolute favorite activity so he was very excited to go. I was a little worried about being cold. I got out every possible warm clothing item we had. We were completely covered inside and out from head to toe. We even had the toe and hand warmers. It turned out to be a really warm day. I even got a little hot which is unusual for me. It was a nice ride on a new trail at Heise. I get a little nervous with a new trail because I'm not sure what it will bring. I don't mind climbing up the mountain, but I get very nervous going down if it is to steep. It really was a beautiful trail. We ended up on the top of the mountain with a spectacular view and had cookies and hot chocolate. I only hyperventilated a few times going down the mountain. I am getting to be a better driver but it still takes every ounce of courage I have sometimes. Hayden thinks I drive a little too slow too. It was a great day spent with the family and enjoying the beautiful scenery we have in Idaho.

O'Target!

I remember when I taught Kindergarten you could tell the kids anything and they would believe you because you were the teacher. Why does this principle not apply to your own children? I have learned that while they do listen to what you say, sometimes they don't believe you because they think they are right and you are wrong. For example, we were shopping on Friday and Hannah asked which store we were at now. I told her Target. She looked up at the sign and adamently said, "Mom, this is not Target!" We had a small discussion of what store she thought it was and finally she said, "I don't know what store it is but it can't be Target because it would start with a "T" and that sign starts with an "O". I looked up and saw what she was talking about and it made me laugh. She was thinking that target symbal was an O. I thought that was very smart of her and I realized maybe I'm not always as right as I think I am. Maybe I just need a little understanding in what other people see.

Halloween Fun

We were all excited to get Halloween here. The kids both had school parties, pumpkin parties, and parties with cousins to decorate cookies. On Halloween, we went and visited both sets of grandparents and then there dad took them trick or treating. They had a great time. But who would have known that their favorite part of Halloween was answering the door to give treats out for the trick or treaters. They thought this was the best thing in the world. They even wanted to give away their own treats when we ran out of candy. I loved that they were happy to answer the door and I didn't have to do it. It made me realize that you don't have to go all out wiht a big event but that sometimes it is the simple things that kids enjoy.

Another weekend in Utah

We spent another wekend in Utah. We went down to go to my nephew's missionary farewell. He is going to Kenya next week ~ Good Luck CJ! We spent most of the weekend with Jenn and Shaun, hence the newly created blog at her insistence. We did take a break from all of our projects and let the kids go to Thanksgiving point and ride the ponies. We have done this before but they love it and could do it everytime. We got in the Halloween spirit and carved some pumpkins. Hayden did not like putting his hand in the gooey stuff. They had a great time playing with their cousins. Hayden wanted to stay for five days (everything is five to him) but Heath had this thing called work we had to get back to.

Trip to Utah

A few weeks ago, we went to visit Heath's cousin, Sara, in Utah. We went with Cody, Tylee, and Rylin. The Beck's joined up with us later that weekend. On the way down, we stopped in Ogden at a dinosaur park. Hayden loved this. As you walked through the park and looked at the dinosaurs you heard roaring noises. It made it very real. He did not like being fed to the T-Rex by his dad, but it made a great picture moment. We also went to carnival place that had a lot of rides. The kids had a great time racing from ride to ride. They were just the right size so we didn't have to ride with them and get motion sick. It was a nice time to get away.

The First Snow!

Hannah was so excited to wake up to snow on the ground. She had her snow clothes on at 7:00 a.m. and was quickly out making footprints and snow angels. Hayden joined her when he woke up. They were both very excited when their dad went out with them and made their first snowman. Laura's snowman kit worked great to complete the look. They used all the snow in the front yard but Hayden was a little disappointed it wasn't as large as the house. We were glad to see the snow melt away the next day. We are not quite ready for winter.