A Little Culture

Last night I took Hayden to her first play. It was based on the Dr. Suess book "Go Dog Go."I love going to plays and am so excited she is getting old enough to go with me. It was very kid oriented with loud, very animated characters, so it did well to hold her attention. It lasted an hour long and she sat and watched the entire time. I was very proud of her!!

Also Hayden has been talking a little more. Her lasted best pronounced word is "Jesus." It is so cute to hear her say it. She also will now try to repeat everything we ask her and each day she gets better.

It is your birthday.

Colin's birthday is today, but since he has to work and then go to school for three hours we figured we better celebrate it another day. So Sunday we invited all of our family over for dinner and brownies/cake. There were a lot of people in a small area, but it turned out good and I think everyone had fun. I heard about a brownie recipe that I thought sounded really tasty, so I made them and they are quite tasty!! You just use a boxed brownie mix; put half of the batter in the pan, then put a layer of Caramellos, cover it with the rest of the batter and bake...hmmmmmm good!!!!

Hayden gave Colin a very special gift today. We have been trying to get her to say Dad (not Daddy...I don't like the word Daddy) but she has always just refused to even try. She has started to say quite a few words such as Grandpa, turtle, cookie, ect... but would never say Dad. So this morning I was working on words with her and realized that she says two syllable words much better that one syllable words, so I asked her to say "Daddy" and out pops "Da Da." So I immediatly called Colin and had her say it to him and sure enough she did it and kept saying it everytime I asked her to. Colin was very happy, I think she made his day.

Wild Wednesday

Yesterday was Wild Wednesday at the Hogle Zoo which means everyone gets in for free. So me, my sister-in-law Tiffany and every other stay-at-home-mom in Utah took the kids to enjoy the great out doors (finally!!) I wont complain about the weather because it was a much nicer day than it could have been, but it was a little bit chilly! Hayden was feeling a little under the weather so she was pretty subdued the whole time, but she still had fun. She is starting to get a little nervous around animals and was a little intimidated by the elephants, but most of the animals that she could see, she liked. I would point out animals to Hayden and she would try to see them, but I could tell she was looking in a completely different direction than where the animal actually was; I would keep pointing them out and she would finally just smile and act kind of excited like she had spotted them. It was pretty funny!!
It was so nice to get out of the house and do something fun. Spring and summer here we come!!!
Hayden loving the train ride!

Chugg'n along.Gavin and Hayden doing a little fishing.

Looking at the Goriallas.

This was Haydens expression most of the day.

Good Read

Great book...you should read it!!

Valentines Weekend

We had a very low key Valentines Day this this year. Colin took the GMAT(test to get into grad school) on Saturday, so I made him a candy bar poster to wish him good luck. I am not a creative person so I worked on that thing for a very long time, but in the end I think it turned out pretty funny!! Saturday night we hung out with Colin's family and went and got ice cream at Sub Zero. They have the best ice cream (way better than Cold Stone!!) Then we came home and watched "You've Got Mail." I forgot how much I like that movie! If I had to pick another life I would want to be Meg Ryan in that movie. I love her little book store and her little apartment and how cute is Tom Hanks?
Also on Saturday I made sugar cookies which are Colin's favorite and are slowly becoming one of my favorites. I can't even tell you how many I ate!!
Sunday morning Colin let me sleep in and then brought me breakfast in bed that him and Hayden had made; I couldn't have asked for a better present.
We usually always eat Sunday dinner at my parents or Colin's parents but this week I made dinner. We had pork chops, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, bread and for dessert I made the best chocolate cake ever (if I do say so myself.) I was quite proud of myself because it actually all turned out to be pretty good.
Now on to a more important subject...The Bachelor!! jk, but really for those of you who watch it what did you think of last night??

What is our world coming to?

So I saw the movie "He's just not that into you" and was extremely let down. I know there are probably some of you out there who saw it and liked it, so sorry if you don't agree with me. The theater was full of women who were getting really into the movie (screaming & Clapping) and after it was over the majority of the comments that I heard were positive. I personally left feeling depressed and awed at the downward spiral our society is heading into and I was mad at myself for not walking out. "Yuck" is the word that describes this movie best for me.

I hate to say it, but I think I might have to stop watching PG-13 movies all together. It is getting ridiculous how much language, sex, ect. they allow these days. And not only that but being exposed to things the world views as "normal" is just getting harder and harder for me to do. It really scares me to think that when my kids get older they could think these things are completely natural. I want to make sure I don't get desensitized to it all, so when the time comes I will be able to teach my kids what we believe to be natural and normal.

Now I can't promise I will never watch another PG-13 movie, but I think I always know before hand if it is going to be inappropriate. So I am vowing to be more selective with my movie choices and even if it looks really cute and funny I am going to refrain from watching it if I feel like it will be bad. Also I vow to never watch another movie with Scarlett Johanssen (I don't like her!)

A Bunch of Stuff

So, like many of you out there Hayden and I are really starting to get sick and tired of the cold weather. Whats worse than the cold is when it actually is a nice day, but the air is so disgusting that you fear for your health every time you outside. So we have been trying to keep it exciting inside.
I don't really like Hayden to watch t.v., but I found a website with a bunch of animals clips that I let her watch (I know its the same thing as watching t.v., but I feel better about it). She loves watching them and it takes up about 5 minutes of our day, so that's a big help. :) We also had a photo shoot the other day with Hayden and her "friends." They were all very cooperative, especially Hayden. Those pictures are posted below.

Here are just some other random thoughts.

-Tonight I am going to see "He's Just not that into you" with some friends. I am really excited and hope its as good as I think it is going to be!!

-I am really into the bachelor this season. I was happy last week when he voted Stephani off because I felt really bad for her. It was so uncomfortable to watch them together, I hope in real life it wasn't that awkward between them. I did however bawl my eyes out after he voted her off and said all those nice things to her. I really like Melissa, but I think she is too immature for him so I hope he picks Molly.

-We have DVR (thanks to our wonderful landlords) and it is the best thing ever invented. My favorite thing to do each morning is go through and record all the shows I think look good that day. I usually never watch them, but its fun to pretend. The shows that I do record and watch are re-runs of Americas Next Top Model(seasons that on missed), American Idol, The Office and 30 Rock(last nights episode was so funny!!)

-I am in a book club and am not a very good member. I really need to stop recording tv shows and pick up a book and read!!

-Colin and I both got the flu last week and next year will be getting the flu shot.

-I think Hayden is phasing out of two naps a day. I dont quite know how I feel about that?


The whole crew. Aren't they all so photogenic!!
Just the girls!