Back in the Game

No, we haven't fallen off the face of the blogging world, we just took a LONG vacation from it (thanks to the little fact that we didn't have the internet in our apartment). But no more! This is such a nice way for me to document part of our lives, and to share with family and friends.

During our short break of health (see post below) we went to Farm Country at Thanksgiving Point. Hayden is finally getting some animal sounds, so I figured it was time to show him the real thing instead of bloated cartoons in the books we have. He absolutely loved it! I didn't realize it was all outdoors (I was picturing it all in a big pavilion) so all I brought for myself was a sweater, and it was COLD. Hayden was bundled up and stayed plenty warm running around. He will tell you what a sheep, cow, and duck say when asked. He's starting to get the hang of owl, dog, chicken, and bird. He can't make all the sounds required to say more animal sounds, but he sure tries. Most of his tries come out sounding like one of the other animal sounds he knows. :)

Hayden even got a pony ride when we were all done! When I put him on he started to whine so I thought I was going to have to pull him off, but once the pony started moving he enjoyed it. If you live around Thanksgiving Point this is a great place to take kids to see some real farm animals (interesting that I saw them all frequently growing up, and now I pay to take my child to see them).













On our other non-sick day we went to Park City to shop at the outlet stores. Dax got a pair of shoes (which he's been talking about for over a year). I wasn't planning on shopping, but came home with a pair of American Eagle pants($7), a zip-up hoodie from Old Navy ($3), and a Dri-fit sports bra($6) and shorts($4) from Nike. My total cost was $20! I love shopping trips like that...

One other exciting thing is happening in our lives...Dax got a TA position for a Europe class! Basically he was interested in this class that only lasts 3 weeks in May that goes to Europe for 2 of those weeks to interact with businesses and engineering companies there. Unfortunately it costs about $3,500 to take the class to cover travel expenses and food. So we chucked the idea out the window. Then Dax got an email from the professor suggesting he come in for an interview to be the TA for the class(the person who plans the whole trip--lodging, eating, companies to see, tourist stops, etc). Dax went and interviewed for it, but as he left saw a kid walking in to be interviewed wearing a suit (Dax had been in jeans, he didn't realize it was that formal). So we thought maybe he wouldn't get it, but we just found out a week ago that he did! I think it will be such an awesome opportunity for him. I would actually love living abroad for a year or two while our kids are still young, so maybe this will be a foot in the right door...who knows? I'm debating whether to stay here or go see family during the two weeks while Dax is in Europe.

My little farmer Hayden riding his tractor (complete with horn and tractor noise)


Hayden crawled in the tub, turned on the water, and soaked himself...fully clothed. He was NOT happy.


Probably one of the biggest purely man-made snowmen ever--10 feet 5 inches! Dax and his brothers made it.


Hayden resting with Uncle Vard during some family basketball.

Sick, Sick, Sick of Being Sick!

Hayden and I were both sick a couple of weeks before Christmas break. We had nasty colds, pink eye, and Hayden had an ear infection to top it off. We got better, and I was hoping for a break from being sick for a while. I got sick again during Christmas break with a flu virus, luckily the kind where you throw up once and then things start to get better. The first couple of days back from Christmas Hayden had a fever again, so we took him in to find out that he had another ear infection.

Hayden has been sick with a fever/cough/congestion since Thursday, we took him in yesterday and found out his ear infection never went away the second time, so we're on a new antibiotic to treat it. He also has a cold, which he has shared with me, so we're sickies together. Our noses hurt from having to be blown so much. This morning was the first time I took Hayden's temperature in 4 days that he didn't have a fever, so we're hoping the worst is over. Either way, I'm definitely DONE being sick this season!